I know I've been promising a review of Shaun of the Dead for a while now. Well, here it is (at the bottom of this post). I'm kind of getting caught up with everything I've seen in the past month or so. Here's what's on tap: Pure, Save the Green Planet!, Me and You and Everyone We Know, The Island, The Thief of Bagdad (1924), A Dirty Shame, and most likely the direct to DVD Family Guy movie! You won't want to miss that. So, keep checking back, because I'm still going.



March of the Penguins
Review by Jon Waterman

***

Once a year, the Emperor penguins of the Antarctic migrate towards a common ground. They come from tens of miles away, gathering in this central location for the purpose of breeding. The masses mingle around this giant school dance party and eventually find their mate for the year. Once the breeding has finished and the egg has formed, the two parents take turns returning to their respective homes to eat and bring back nourishment for their young chicks. It may sound easy, but breeding season also brings the harshest weather and the farthest journeys to and from home.

If cartoons have taught me anything, it’s that penguins are funny. Just look at that little guy from Looney Tunes, Tennessee Tuxedo (from the Underdog family) and even the decidedly unfunny “Madagascar” had penguins you could laugh out loud to. This film capitalizes on this indisputable fact and shows the flightless birds bumping and sliding into each other on accident several times. It’s filled with plenty of situations that aren’t really funny, but they are made so because they’re cute and because of our ability to relate to them. Plus they waddle and flop on their bellies.
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+++++++++


Fearless Freaks
Review by Jon Waterman

***

Anyone who’s ever heard or seen The Flaming Lips has probably, at least in passing, wondered what makes them tick. For those uninitiated to the band, let me briefly describe their approach. Their stage show consists of fans dressed up in fuzzy animal costumes dancing on stage, while lead singer Wayne Coyne sends countless bubbles and balloons out into the audience (sometimes with himself inside). He also likes to use props to really add that extra oomph to his songs. For instance, during one song, about a Japanese schoolgirl fighting off evil robots, he dons giant fists. During another song, he holds a boxing nun hand puppet and smears his face with blood. But the music sounds so happy.

The documentary exudes that same unusual harmony. Documentary filmmaker Bradley Beesley succeeds in balancing the good (the musical accomplishments) and the bad (drug addictions and arrests in their families), the strange (just about everything) and the mundane (mowing lawns, talking with neighbors). What aren’t balanced out are the musical and the personal sides. After breezing through their beginnings and rise to popularity in the alternative circuit, little attention is paid to their career, how they create the music or the inspirations behind the stage show. It’s less a celebration of the band and more of a respectful attempt to understand.
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++++++++++


Shaun of the Dead
Review by Jon Waterman

**

Shaun is stuck in a rut. During the day, he works as a low-rung manager of a retail store. At night, he plays video games with his roommate for a while before heading off to the Winchester Pub. His girlfriend is sick of it. She wants to go out and have fun and explore the city, etc. So, Liz breaks up with Shaun and he has to try to figure out a good way to win her back. But that’s not the least of his problems, because evidently overnight a space probe crashed into Earth. This collision woke the dead. So, not only does Shaun have to woo his girl back into his arms, he has to make sure that random zombies don’t eat those arms first.

I left this movie feeling disappointment. There’s such a great concept, with plenty of material to work with and exploit here and it felt very flat. Part of that could be the British wit (written by Simon Pegg who plays Shaun and Edgar Wright who also directs). A bigger part of that is that most of the jokes come from references to other movies.
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