Rebecca Reviews: The Owl Movie

This movie is actually called "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'hoole"  but I didn't want to say all of that to the guy at the ticket counter. "Two for the owl movie, please," got me in just fine.

If "Chicken Run" is "The Great Escape" done with chickens, then the owl movie is "Prince Caspian" done with owls. Beautiful owls. Incredibly animated owls. They look like owls. They move like owls. I have never seen such visual realism in digital animation. Watch the credits--they had a whole team of programmers just to design the feathers. Wow!

Kidnapped by evil owls, the owlet Soren discovers their plan to dominate the forest using their secret super-powerful weapon that Does Something Very Bad (never quite clear on that point). With the help of a disgruntled guard he escapes and goes on a dubious quest to find the forest's only hope, the Owls of Ga'hoole, a legendary band of warriors that lives across the sea and defends freedom and goodness everywhere.

Although some of the story elements were chosen based on "this will look really cool" rather than "this will make sense," and some of the minor characters teeter off the fine line between providing comic relief and annoying the audience, this is still a movie worth seeing. Emphasis on the seeing. Go see it on the big screen. The visual impact won't be the same on video. I also loved the character who becomes Soren's mentor in Ga'hoole, the old soldier owl, and his insights on what it really means to be a warrior.

This is not a film for the little ones. Not only are there scary scenes, the story is complex and there's some definite pacing problems that small children will not sit through.  But the older ones should love it. We're taking everyone over age ten to the 4:00 showing this afternoon.

Happy flying!

Rebecca's Reviews: How to Train Your Dragon

I was right. This is the movie I have been waiting to see all my life.

Hiccup ought to get an Oscar nomination for best actor. The emotional timing, the body language, the way he reacted to everything with such honesty---it was perfect. And hilarious. Toothless is the coolest dragon to ever grace the silver screen. No doubt. His design, the way he moves, his attitude---loved it all. The story is epic---the tale of how one open mind, one kind heart, can change the world. There are amazing flying sequences, big battles, and the most perfect moment of father-atonement I've ever seen in a film.

Huh?

Unfortunately, I'm in the middle of reading Joseph Campbell's "Hero With a Thousand Faces." I guess it's a thousand-and-one faces now that Hiccup is here. Though I feel very knowledgeable about why "How To Train Your Dragon" worked on a psychological level, this did not add to my enjoyment of the film, I can tell you that. Thanks to Mr. Campbell, I had a hard time seeing Toothless as himself, as a big fantastic wonderful scaly creature with wings, instead of everything the dragon symbolizes---the dark and powerful creative/destructive force that lies within us. Near the climax, when I was thinking, "Oh look, what an amazing moment of father-atonement!" my inner child said, "Hey, sit down! I can't see!" and my muse said, "Look, we're trying to watch a movie here." And what with all of that, the moment was lost. It didn't move me as much as I knew it should have.

So I'll just have to go see the film again, and leave my analyst outside in the lobby to study the movie posters.

The writing in this film is incredible. The dialog is lovingly crafted. Watch for the repeated lines that grow in meaning throughout the story, and then turn themselves around at the end. There was a perfect blend of comedy and adventure. Clever word play, situational humor, great visual gags, all that fun stuff, and it all added to the story rather than ever taking away. I laughed hard at the same time I was aching for the characters. The tragedies were tragic, just heart-wrenching. Real cost. Real pain. Real fear.

This is storytelling at its best.

And they did it all with dragons.

Rebecca's Reviews: Percy Jackson and The Olympians - Lighting Thief

Otherwise entitled "Motivations? Who Needs 'Em?"

First, the good stuff. This film had clever moments. I especially liked "Auntie Em's Roadside Emporium of Atrocious Lawn Art." Always knew there was something creepy about those places. And the Lotus Casino? Marvelous. And I loved the boatman and our visit to the underworld. Basically, this film was Greek Myths redone with snarky teenagers and computer generated monsters. Kind of fun.

On the other hand, I spent most of the film wondering, "Now why are we doing this?"

Percy Jackson doesn't know his absent biological father is really Poseidon. I want to know why not? Why hasn't mom told him? You want some teenager with awesome magical powers wandering around not knowing who he is? Not knowing that there are hydras and harpies and minotaurs lurking about that want to eat him for lunch? I can't see how keeping the poor kid in the dark could possibly be in his best interest.

In order to keep all the monsters off their back, Percy's mom marries a fat, abusive, beer-guzzling slob because, because, now get this, because the man's foul stench keeps the monsters off their trail! Oh really now, there has got to be an easier way! How about dousing Percy in ketchup every morning or something like that instead. A lot less counseling needed later on down the road, I tell you.

Later on, Percy plans to march down into the underworld to rescue his mother with no better plan than explaining to Hades that he doesn't have the ransom Hades is demanding. The daughter of Athena, goddess of wisdom and battle strategy, does not say, "You idiot that will never work." No, she says, "I'm coming with you whether you like it or not. I've always wanted to go on an adventure."

Maybe she takes after her dad.

The whole film went on like that, with me scratching my head over the choices the characters were making. I guess you could say this film was plot driven, not character driven. Did I get that right, my writing friends?

In the end, what puzzled me the most was why the Greek Pantheon had spawned so many half-mortal children. It looked like there were at least a hundred of them just between the ages of 14 and 18. It was creepy. I didn't want to think about it too hard. With a premise like that, I'm afraid I can't classify this as a wholesome family film.

The Lightning Thief movie was a toss-up for me. I really enjoyed some of it, really hated the rest of it. Of course it is possible that I only liked the parts I liked because I saw it after ten o'clock at night. My brain was tired, I could tell, because the trailer for the new Cats and Dogs movie actually looked cute. That's never happened before, though I've seen that trailer three other times.

I've got hopes for better kid films to come out later this year. My calendar's marked for "How to Train Your Dragon" in March, and "Toy Story 3" in June. Stop by then for more reviews!

Rebeca's Reviews: Someone Named Eva

I love World War II historical fiction, and this is one of the best! Chilling, almost science-fiction-like, it deals with a relatively small Nazi program that kidnapped children from occupied countries who fit the Aryan mold, "reprogrammed" them, and then adopted them out to good Nazi homes. Of course those who couldn't take the reprogramming got shipped off to prison camp.

Clear, unaffected prose let the power of the story shine through. As I read I had to keep reminding myself that this really happened. Sixty years ago in Europe, modern civilization went very, very wrong. Could it happen again? Could it happen here?

I want my children to read this book and see the spiral of destruction that blind hate and bigotry can lead to. This book is a memorial, a warning, and an offering of hope. As I read this book I had the benefit of knowing that the war would end, that Germany would surrender, that some time in 1945 the skies would grow quiet again and the Nazi regime would crumble. I could urge the characters on - hang on, survive a little longer, and the night will be over, and once again you will have a chance to live. If I should ever face such dark times myself, I will remember - the night ends, the sun comes up in the morning.

Rebecca's Reviews: One Magic Christmas

While you're all snowed in due to the marvelous winter weather we've been having, I recommend watching this marvelous family film. You'll recognize the parallels to "It's a Wonderful Life," but the film "One Magic Christmas" carries its own weight. The last time I saw this film I was too young to appreciate the great writing and the surprisingly honest characters. It is the story of a young mother who can't find the Christmas spirit. Hard to blame her since her husband was laid off from work six months ago and their family is being forced to move out of their home in a week. But through a series of tragic events, and through the courage and faith of her seven-year-old daughter, she realizes what's really important and learns that having her own Christmas spirit can make a big difference.

In today's gloomy economic climate, the film is poignantly relevant. If you've seen it before, watch it again. If you haven't seen it, check it out!

Merry Christmas, everyone! Happy Snow Day!

And if you haven't seen this film, watch out, there's a minefield of spoilers posted in the comments (yes, Kimberly, you're still my favorite person of the day, too).

Rebeca's Reviews: Kung Fu Panda

I have one thing to say about Dreamworks Animation's "Kung Fu Panda."

The characters and story were so good I entirely forgot I was watching computer generated animation.

As the closing credits rolled, I sat up in sudden surprise and exclaimed, "That was CGI!" Sure, the animation was awesome, the styling was incredible, and there were 3-D shots that could only have been done in the computer, but I got so absorbed in the story I never thought about the media.

That, to me, is a great achievement of storytelling.

The film is PG for animated Kung Fu action, and has a few vulgar gags thrown in, so parents should definitely watch it first to make sure it is appropriate for their children. Don't worry, parents, you'll want to watch it again with the kids.

Rebecca's Reviews: Greetings from Planet Earth

I first met Greetings From Planet Earth by Barbara Kerley a couple of weeks ago at the library. The spine really caught my attention. That font, those colors - the book looked like it ought to be thirty or forty years old. But the book had a shiny new plastic jacket and a "NEW BOOK" sticker half-covering the first letter of the author's name. I had to investigate.

The cover illustration looked just like the cover illustrations on the books that had been published when I was very young - scratchy line drawing filled in with pools of uniform colors like bright red and pale turquoise. The end paper was that bumpy stuff you never see anymore. Published in 2007 but set thirty years ago, I held in my hands a piece of historical fiction about WHEN I WAS ALIVE ALREADY! I must be getting really old.

I smiled at the book designer's cleverness and popped it back on the shelf.

But I couldn't get it out of my head. Two weeks later I was back to check it out. I am glad I did. This is unlike any book I have read before. It deftly combined the wonder of moon exploration and the Voyager probes with the tragedy of Vietnam, all through the eyes of a twelve-year-old boy who wants to know more about his missing father. The book made me think, made me laugh, made me cry, made me wonder. What more could I ask?

Could I write a book like that?

What is it With the Reviews?

No one ever comments on my reviews! Are they all that boring?

Anyways, I just finished reading "Alcatraz Vs. The Scrivener's Bones." It is absolutely awesome. I can't even start talking about it without dropping spoilers so read it for yourself! Instead, I will just tell you it is smart, funny, action-packed, clever, suspenseful to the last drop, and the final scene had me laughing my head off.

I was going to tell you what the final scene was, but I can't because that would spoil everything.

Buy it. Read it. Now.

Rebecca's Reviews: Titan AE

Eight years ago, I missed "Titan AE" when it came out in theaters. It looked cool, but I was afraid it would be stupid. Don Bluth had disappointed me before.

It turns out that this flashy, expensive science-fiction epic brought the Don Bluth studio down in flames - their best, their worst, and their last film.

Let us consider the tragic fall. What went wrong? On the surface, the film looked incredible. The character animation deeply impressed me. Facial expressions, gestures, timing, even the illusion of weightlessness were masterfully executed. The lush interstellar backgrounds, the 3-D ships, the incredible imagination at work - I almost think they should have hired John Williams to compose a soundtrack and simply skipped the dialog and story. It could have been like an outer space version of Fantasia 2000.

Not all of the dialog was bad. In certain individual scenes the exchanges between the characters were delightfully honest. The trouble was, in the next scene the dialog would be stilted and canned and the characters would be, well, out of character!

The story should have been compelling enough to command ninety-five minutes. In the opening sequence of the film, mankind flees planet earth just minutes before an evil alien race turns our home sweet home into an asteroid field. Fifteen years later, humans are living on the fringes of galactic society, homeless and quickly dying out. Wow, what a premise!

Then things begin to go down the drain. Enter surly twenty-year old Cale. He might have been unhappily cutting up derelict spacecraft for his alien employers all his life if it were not for the fact that his dad was a brilliant scientist who built a nifty machine that makes . . . planets! Just what we needed! Unfortunately, Dad hid the machine and went missing, and Cale is about to find out that he's the only one with the secret genetically encoded ring map to find it. He's got to hurry because the evil aliens bent on the destruction of the human race would like to get to it first and blow it up.

Okay, okay, so it's silly, but I still think they could have pulled it off. Unfortunately, the story has no cohesion. I can not watch the film a second time because things the characters did and said early in the movie make no sense in light of later events. Did I mention there's a pirate captain, a kangaroo woman, a batty scientist turtle, and a hot laser-toting space pilot babe with purple bangs? Sounds awful! That's why I didn't go see it in the theater.

Worst of all, this film had no audience. After the exposition, where Cale is a cute five-year old kid on the day the aliens destroy the earth, all my children howled with disappointment when they saw how old he would be for the rest of the film. "I liked him better as a kid!" they all cried. With lead characters in their early twenties and a garage-band soundtrack, the film is aimed directly at teens. It was eight years ahead of its time. The equally sloppy and much less brilliant "Clone Wars" may not be doing tremendously well, but it was cheap to make and enough people went to see it that it hasn't put a hole in the studio and sunk it.

"Titan AE" is one of those films that makes me wonder - is there some kind of inverse relationship between the amount of really awesome visuals and action sequences and the intelligence of the plot? Must it always be this way? Or will anyone ever combine smart storytelling, great characters, and mind-blowing visuals into a single film?

I'm waiting!

Rebecca's Reviews: Hidden Talents

I have wanted to read Hidden Talents by David Lubar for a long time. I started it once, but the first few pages were so much like Holes I thought "Been there, done that" and hopped off the bus. Shortly after that, I felt I had to spend every spare minute revising my first novel to get ready for a writer's conference in June. When I got home from that I felt I had to write the new book I started at the writer's conference. Now, four months later, I'm having a week of rebellion and I'm reading everything in sight.

Oh, it has been so nice to lie on the couch (lie, not lay) for hours and read! This is why I write, why I slave and stress and work and burn the candle at both ends and in the middle, so that somewhere, someday, someone can lie on the couch with one of my books and let the whole rest of the world melt away.

But I was going to tell you about Hidden Talents. This time, I'm glad I stayed on for the ride. The book is clever, fun, and it even has a great sequel! I read them both in one day. The main character is a boy who has such a smart mouth that he's been sent to alternative school for very bad boys. He gets a pyro for a roommate, makes freinds with a clepto and a pathological cheater, and fills out his crowd with a hyperactive boy who wears his hair in little braids (that was one of my favorite parts) and a kid famous for randomly throwing objects.

They all have one thing in common, one thing they haven't discovered yet.

None of it is their fault.

There is some language in this book I wouldn't want to hear my kids use, but other than that, nothing objectionable. The sequel is more action oriented and less contemplative, but still clever and well written. I recommend them both.

Rebecca's Reviews: Palace of Mirrors

Palace of Mirrors by Margaret Peterson Haddix is a princess tale of mistaken identities. The character, Ella, from Haddix's earlier book, Just Ella, makes an appearance, but this new book isn't really a sequel. The story stands on its own.

The characters were the best thing about the book. The setting is your typical princess book setting, a very well behaved Medieval Europe that has been through the wash a few times so as not to horrify the kids. As for the story, some very important plot points were a little beyond my willing suspension of disbelief. But the characters were great! I almost didn't mind where the characters were or what was happening to them - I liked them so much.

But the reason I am going to buy this book, besides the fact that I'm a dedicated Haddix fan, is that she did her research on harps! I loved the details on harp-playing in the book, all accurate by the way, and wished for even more. It makes me wonder if Haddix plays the harp, knows a harper, or simply spent hours on the internet reading everything she could find.

Girls ages 9-12 should adore this unusual twist on the "princes raised as a peasant" theme.

Rebecca's Reviews: City of Ember

City of Ember is built upon an intriguing premise. A two-hundred year-old city deep beneath the earth is the last refuge of humankind. But supplies are running short, the mighty electric generator is breaking down, time is running out, and somewhere along the line the secret instructions for returning to the surface have been lost.

When it comes to atmosphere, Ember's got it. Rusty pipe-works drip and spurt, a web of overhead lamps illuminates the drab city streets, citizens wear thrice made-over clothes, and no one dares to venture into the darkness beyond. The characters are simple but compelling, and the best parts of the story focus on the choices that different people make when faced with the imminent collapse of everything they know. Do you wait for someone to come and save you? Do you horde supplies for yourself while everyone else around you goes hungry? Do you keep patching the pipes and hope for the best? Or do you risk everything to find a real solution?

The only thing keeping City of Ember from going down as a great science fiction classic, in my mind at least, was the cheap movie tricks that made the film feel like a grade-B clunker instead of a serious work of art. Cheap trick number one : the giant mole. My daughter could not get over the giant mole. An hour later she was still complaining, "If there were a mole that size running around in the pipe tunnels, someone would have noticed it and killed it! They wouldn't let it go around eating people!"

The giant mole was not in the book. Ember author Jeanne DuPrau is probably rolling her eyes. I hope they paid her well for the movie rights.

Clone Wars

With a whole intra-galactic war going on, you would think they could have found something more interesting for Anakin Skywalker to do than rescue a baby slug.

Oh well, maybe that's the real reason he turned to evil. Being a Jedi was beginning to look like a dead end job.

Rebecca's Reviews: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Harrison Ford: the man who can make badly written dialog sound good.

Good thing for Indiana Jones.

Our story opens with Dr. Jones being fired from his university teaching job because he helped a beautiful but evil psychic communist Russian lady spy steal space-alien remains from a warehouse in Area 51. Of course he was forced to do so at gunpoint by a squad of Russian soldiers, but in the anti-communist climate of the 1950's, that still leaves him under suspicion. I mean, any true red-blooded American would rather be shot than let the Russians have our precious space-alien remains from area 51, right?

As it happens, Dr. Jones is glad he doesn't have to teach classes for a while. Just as he's on his way to sulk in Europe he receives a mysterious coded letter from a former colleague who was hunting for a lost temple in South America. To further complicate the matter, the letter is delivered by a teenage boy on a motorbike, leather jacket and hairdo reminiscent of The Fonz, who claims his mother knows Indiana. And guess what, mom is being held captive by the Russians somewhere in the Amazon. Those Russians do get around.

Indiana Jones to the rescue.

The film had some clever moments, but much of it was re-hash of old ideas. Especially amusing was the way everyone looked so amazed as they discovered that the space-aliens had taught farming and civilization to the Incas or Aztecs or whoever they were. I mean, haven't they seen 2001 A Space Odyssey? Oh, I guess not. That came out in 1968.

I disliked the fact that so many people died horrible deaths in the film. It made it less fun for me to see extras lying all over the ground. Another problem I had was the teenage boy, played by Shia LeBeouf. They tried to make him a tough kid, but I'm afraid that no matter how many lousy action films they put him in he'll always be Stanley Yelnats for me. I was sorry they gave him a couple of vulgar exclamations.

My favorite line, delivered as only Harrison Ford could:
"So what does that make you? A triple agent?"

Better than Temple of Doom, not as good as Last Crusade, still a worthy addition to the series. However, when the writers have to resort to space-aliens and psychic Russian lady spies, it is probably time for Indy to hang up his hat.

Rebecca's Reviews: Fablehaven 3: The Grip of the Shadow Plague

No author I know can top Brandon Mull for sheer imaginative power.

Kendra and Seth Sorenson are the grandchildren of the caretakers of Fablehaven preserve, one of the few places left on earth where magical creatures can live on in an increasingly skeptical world. The trouble is, not all magical creatures are nice. In fact, some of them are downright evil. All the worst ones have been locked away in a magical prison, and if they ever get out, the world as we know it is basically over.

Mull creates a world where the stakes are high, danger is real, and almost everyone is under suspicion. His book has an endless parade of fascinating magical creatures, each with their own habits and personality. Fablehaven 3 contains Mull's best paced plot so far, with lots of adventures, an intense action climax, and an ending that leaves the reader eager for the next book.

Mull introduces some great new characters in this book, and only kills off about half of them. He's still having trouble with Grandma Sorensen, who had more personality during the time she had been turned into a chicken, but his tween-aged characters live and breathe as always. Seth is still my favorite, and I'm glad to see him begin to discover more of his abilities in this book.

So go out and buy your own copy. You certainly can't borrow mine. My husband is going to start reading it to our children tonight, and we just can't wait!

Rebecca's Reviews: Prince Caspian

It all began so well.

The film opens by taking advantage of all the natural drama of cut-throat politics. Young Prince Caspian has to flee for his life because his evil usurping uncle's wife has just given birth to a son and potential heir. Fortunately for Caspian, he has a secret passage at the back of his wardrobe, and thus avoids being made into a pincushion in his sleep. Caspian's kindly old tutor sends him into the woods, where he encounters the Narnians: talking animals and assorted creatures from Greek Mythology who have been in hiding since Caspian's ancestors took over.

Meanwhile, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy have been through a miserable year of trying to adjust to life in dreary old 1940's England after having been kings and queens of Narnia. Just as they're about to take the train to boarding school, the train station blows away and leaves them standing on a beach. Can you get any more wishful thinking than that? The kids immediately guess they're back in Narnia, I mean, where else could they be? What they don't know is that it has been over 1000 years since their last visit, and this time they have to help Caspian reclaim his rightful throne.

The first half of the film enchanted me. Everything worked, even Edmund's electric torch. Storming the evil uncle's castle was an unexpected twist that had not been in the book, and it turned out to be one of my favorite sequences of the film. The spell remained unbroken until at one point King Peter and Prince Caspian start blaming each other and arguing in front of everyone like a couple of idiot teenage boys. I know they are teenage boys, but Peter has been a king and Caspian has been trained to be one, and rule numero uno is: never argue in front of the troops! It was so-o-o-o unprofessional.

After that point, the film got a little silly. Sure, the epic battle scenes were great to watch, but if Aslan could have shown up and saved the day sooner, why didn't he? They tossed out a few excuses as to why he waited until the last minute, but I was not convinced.

Still, I couldn't help feeling an ache of loss when Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy end up back at the dreary old train station again. Everything in Narnia is beautiful, the landscape, the architecture, the CG creatures, the costuming, and even Caspian's embroidered pajamas, which I think he wore for most of the film. No time to pack when you're running for your life, I guess.

Lots of people die violent deaths in this film. I agree with those who said it should have had a PG-13 rating. I don't know if that would have stopped anyone from taking their little kids to it without seeing it themselves, but it might have made the director take the film back and cut out some of the more disturbing footage to earn it a well deserved PG.