The roof? Very creative.

My roommate always jokes that I hate every movie I see. Maybe he’s right. 

I went to see The Hangover on its opening day at noon. The theatre was half full. It was myself and about 50 young businessmen dressed casual on their extended Friday lunch break. The were excited. You would have thought they were about to go to Vegas. In an odd sort of a way they were.

So I’ve been thinking about that now for a while, how these guys were all amped up like a bunch of college kids getting ready for their first big beer pong tournament. And I have been listening to what people have been saying and reading what I’ve been reading and I can’t figure out if I’m just a cynic, like my roommate says or if this movie was just really mediocre at best.

I feel confident in saying it’s mediocre at best. 

I feel like everyone has gotten caught up in the nostalgia of Vegas through this movie. They see the strip and guys struggling to remember the wild night they just had and they can’t help but remember the trip they had to Vegas and in their minds it was just as crazy as The Hangover, save a tiger or two. This movie shows all its cards in the previews and there isn’t too much for it to stand on past that. After seeing it I want to go to Vegas again, I’m just not going to go drop $20 on the DVD anytime soon.

I didn’t hate The Hangover; hate is such a harsh word. I thought The Hangover had its moments (have you ever seen a baby masturbate…pretty funny). Suffice it to say; in the end I was not too impressed. There was a real lack of creativity in the picture and although I got my laughs in I think there are too many well-made comedies to consider The Hangover one of the best.

My Vote: Don’t believe the hype. I’m sure the right crowd could make this movie a lot better than it is. Please, I beg you, please don’t go around quoting this movie cause it just didn’t earn it

UP

The better a movie is the harder I find it to write about with out gushing and sounding like I’m trying to sell something. I have no problem doing that here. Go see this movie. Do anything you can to see it on the big screen and then reserve a copy at Wal-Mart before it’s released. This is by far Pixars biggest accomplishment to date, putting together a masterful work of art on so many levels. I laughed, I almost cried, and I forgot about everything in life beside what was going on in the theatre. That’s what great movies do to you.

The scenario could not have been more perfect. A few seats next to me I had a 5 or 6 year old girl accompanied by her father while in front of me I had an elderly couple holding hands. The little girl didn’t stop asking her father questions, adorable questions, which I could hardly ignore. The elderly couple in front of me must have exchanged a hundred or more loving glances at each other. It really set the mood.

Up is about Carl, an elderly man who sets out on an amazing journing he’s been waiting his whole life to take. After his wife Ellie passes away and on the verge of being condemned to an old folks home he anchors thousands of helium filled balloons to his house and takes flight. 

Carl really loved Ellie, the kind of love that can’t be described with words. Fortunately Pixar didn’t try to describe their love with words but with a montage sequence that knocked my socks off. It was as loving and heartfelt as any live action montage I have ever seen. When the little girl next to me turned to her father and whispered “Daddy, what happened” as Carl stood alone in a funeral home I had a hard time keeping it together. 

Up, well, it was almost….real. I usually have a hard time suspending my disbelief for a cartoon but this wasn’t just any old cartoon. Up will stand the test of time and become a classic, I'm sure of it. A great story, wonderful animation, and talking dogs...how could you go wrong?

My Vote: Go see it now, but not in 3-D.