April Movie #2: Hop

Starring: James Marsden, Kaley Cuoco, Gary Cole, Russell Brand (voice), Hank Azaria (voice), and Hugh Laurie (voice)
Directed By: Tim Hill
Run Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Hop is about the Easter Bunny's (voiced by Laurie) son E.B (voiced by Brand) who runs away from his responsibilities as the next Easter bunny. He heads to Hollywood to make it big as a drummer. There he runs into Fred (played by Marsden)... or rather, Fred runs to E.B... with his car. E.B. convinces Fred to take care of him and soon their lives intertwine.

I saw this movie with Dawn, Joel, and Benjamin! This was my first movie with Benjamin and I must say I did quite well. No poking, no talking, and no hogging the popcorn. Benjamin did quite well, too, although he slept through the first half (no commentary on the movie there). He managed to figure out the plot and keep up with the movie. Such a bright little 15 month old.

Ya know, if my rabbit Rufus could poop candy, I think Baloo the fat cat would be his best friend. I'm just saying... Sorry. Strayed from the review. There are some fun little scenes like that (where the Easter Bunny poops jellybeans) that add whimsy to this movie.

When I first saw the previews for this movie, I thought it was a joke. It was being released on April 1st afterall. I really did think it wasn't a real movie. And then I saw it as a trailer on the DVD for Despicable Me and I realized it was a real movie. And then I thought to myself, "Wow. They'll make anything into a movie, won't they?" I did not think I would see it. It seemed too laughable. But when a 15 month old baby calls you up and tells you that you're taking him to this movie, you see it.  When we walked out of the theater (after dancing to all the credit music), I actually said out loud - "I rather liked it. It was much better than I ever thought it would be." Hop is funny (although it could stand to be funnier more often), sweet, and has a rather fun plot. It's well acted. I'm not a huge Russell Brand fan but I found his E.B. to be quite endearing and rather likable.

We did not see it in 3D (Benjamin didn't think the glasses would make him look "cool") and I really didn't notice anything that should be better in 3D until almost the end (the Pink Beret rabbits getting doused in chocolate; the Easter airplane crashing; perhaps travelling through the Rabbit Hole). The regular version is just fine.

I think Benjamin enjoyed the animated animal scenes better than the strictly human scenes. I was surprised at how many strictly human scenes there were. The animal scenes were funnier, brighter, and definitely more enjoyable. Who doesn't like to see a jellybean waterfall? The candy factory was visually captivating, almost Willy Wonka-ish but less mesmerizing and more merry. The human scenes made the movie more real. It brought the plot closer to home. I liked how the saga hanging over the two species (rabbit and human) mirrored the other's plight. The human scenes worked well. The animal scenes worked well. Once Fred dealt with the notion of a talking bunny, the animal/human scenes worked well. The movie gelled.

So... I liked this movie. I didn't love it but it did surprise me at how well done it was. It was actually quite good. Perhaps my assessment of the movie improved because I saw it with the right people. Who knows? I just know that I was pleasantly surprised with how non-hokey the movie was. I might even own it when it gets released on DVD. I'll say it serves as a memento of the first movie I saw with Benjamin but I might actually secretly watch it from time to time without him.

Oh, and a great tip we received from a member of the movie theater's cleaning crew: Stay through the credits for a little extra laugh. The credits are long (but filled with great music to dance to) but that little snippet was funny. It really brought the movie full circle. Two thumbs up from me and Benjamin adds his "En goo!" of endorsement.

April Movie #1: The Adjustment Bureau

Starring: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Anthony Mackie, John Slattery, Michael Kelly, Terence Stamp
Directed By: George J. Nolfi
Run Time: 1 hour 46 minutes

After David Norris (played by Damon) loses his first congressional race, he meets the woman of his dreams (played by Blunt). A few months later, he runs into her again quite by accident... and not at all according to plan. He wasn't supposed to run into her again and that mistake leads him to discover that there are mysterious people shaping our lives, people who are apart of the Adjustment Bureau. The agents apply pressure and tell him that if he tells anyone about the Adjustment Bureau or tries to contact Elise again (who isn't part of his future according the Bureau), they will erase his memory. David just can't stop thinking about this woman and three years later, quite by chance again, he runs into her. The Bureau isn't happy. They explain to David that he either gives up Elise to let them both live wonderful lives or staying with her will change their fate for the worse. He must choose between a life of greatness without Elise or a life of misery but with the woman he loves.

I thought this movie would be more subtle about pre-destined paths/God/angels than it really is. It upsets me to think that someone has written the story of our lives and that we can't alter the plan. Deviating from the already defined agenda causes unseen forces to revise external factors so that we fall in line with the written plan. Traffic jams that cause you to be late, a long line at the coffee shop, spilling something on yourself so you have to change clothes - all things designed to make you miss something that would have changed how you would live your life. And when those things don't work, the Bureau just performs a mind sweep and physically changes your mind about something. Of course, the next time there's an unusually long line at McDonald's or my alarm didn't go off in the morning, I'll know that the Bureau is just messing with my course. I will have to wonder at those times - who was I supposed to run into that now I'll never get to meet?

I'm not sure I like how this movie ends. Should everyone do what David did then if you don't like how your life has been scripted to turn out? And why doesn't everyone get that chance?

I thought the ending would be more powerful. I did wonder how it would get resolved and I envisioned a rather weak explanation of how things work in the Bureau. The ending did indeed work but I expected to have more of an impact, feel a bit more moved by the ending. I had definitely picked how I thought David should resolve the issue when the two fates were proposed to him. He didn't go that route, and that troubled me a bit.

This is definitely a unique storyline, one that raises a lot of debates between divine right and free will. On one hand, I do find the explanation of why there has to be traffic to be a bit comforting. On the other hand, I simply do not understand the notion of a supreme being controlling what people do. If there's someone writing all of our scripts for us, why are there murders? Why is there child abuse? Why is there famine? I understand that the bad things in life help shape who we are, make us stronger, but the really bad things don't seem to be right (particularly if someone wrote that into our plan) or fair, particularly if you can do nothing to avoid those bad things. So troubling.

It's a decent movie. It's well acted. David is definitely a charismatic character. I wish there was more to the Elise character, that we had more time to see what made her truly worth the risk for David. She was exhilarating and so different from the suit wearing David but I think we needed one more scene with her to truly understand the connection, what made her special. The agent Harry (played by Mackie) - was he tired or did he actually let his emotions interfere with his watch over David? I wish he hadn't fallen asleep on the bench. I wish he had watched Elise board the bus and actually decided to let David run into her.  I think Thompson (played by Stamp) needed to be more ruthless, actually live up to his "Hammer" moniker. He seemed like he had a heart, too.

I wish there were more a little more to this movie. I think exposing the Bureau so quickly on in the movie left it flat. I also am not a fan of the message. I'm not sure how to rate this movie or if I should tell you to see it. I liked it... but I didn't. It was missing that something extra. If you do see it, we'll have to talk about how you think David should have proceeded after he was told about the two different fate lines that were dependent on his actions.