Blog of Roger Hyttinen » Movies

Pixar Movie Up – a Fun Film

Roger — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:00:33 +0000

Last week I headed out to my favorite theater, the Fox Bay and saw the 3-D movie “Up”, another movie courtesy of the folks at Pixar (the same folks who brought us WALL-E). The film was a comedy/adventure about a 78-year old balloon salesman named Carl Fredrickson (voice of Ed Asner) who ties hundreds of balloons to his house and flies away for the adventure of a lifetime. Shortly after his launch, he discovers, much to his dismay, that the rather annoying 8-year old neighbor boy Russell has stowed away on his porch. What follows is a wacky adventure as Mr. Fredrickson and Russell explore new lands in South America.

Themes themes of letting go and unfulfilled dreams give the movie a “heartful” aspect but not so much as to overshadow the themes of adventure (complete with a villain), fun and inner childhood. The movie basically takes you through an entire spectrum of emotions – seriousness, happiness, comedy, suspense, action and thrills. The movie lifted my spirits and made me laugh – and gave me ideas to ponder. And the talking dogs are a hoot!

And speaking of dogs, dog lovers are going to adore Dug, an adorable little mutt with Master issues.

I highly recommend this movie if you get a chance to see it. Big fun!

View “Up” trailer

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Movie: Let the Right One In

Roger — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 06:16:05 +0000

I saw an awesome art house film the other night called “Let the Right One In” -- a Swedish coming of age vampire story. A young girl, Eli, moves in next door with an older man and her 12-year neighbor Oskar notices that she has some unusual habits. For instance, she doesn’t go to school -- and she only comes out at night. They become close friends and at his insistence, she agrees to go steady with him. Eventually, Oskar discovers that his new girlfriend is a vampire -- but his fondness for her is stronger than his fear. Meanwhile at school, Oskar is tormented by bullies and through is friendship with Eli, learns how to defend himself. And when the going gets really tough for Oskar, Eli steps in to help.

I found this movie to be absolutely awesome -- one of the best vampire movies I’ve seen in awhile. It is not your typical horror movie -- nor your typical warm and fuzzy coming-of-age movie. The characters were extremely well-developed and believable yet with a certain rawness about them, which I found quite refreshing.

The movie has been out since 2008 playing in various art houses around the country but it only just recently made it to my local theater. If you get a chance, I highly recommend seeing this movie. But if it doesn’t play anywhere near you don’t fret -- it is to be released on DVD on March 10th, 2009. I also understand that an English language remake of the film is scheduled for 2010.

The movie is based on the bestselling book with the same name by Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist. I haven’t had a chance to check out the book yet but it has now been added to my reading list.

Below is a sneak peek at the film:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICp4g9p_rgo

Buy the Book

Buy the DVD
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Coraline the Movie

Roger — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:15:06 +0000

Last night, went out to see Coraline with some friends and I loved it! Written by Neil Gaiman (one of my favorite authors by the way) and directed by Henry Selick, Coraline is a fantasy/horror movie about a young girl who enters a parallel world.

I read the book awhile back so I had to go see the movie when it came out. While the story is aimed at young adults, this is a story that anyone can enjoy (as an adult, I found parts of it to be quite creepy). A fun movie if you get a chance to see it. Check out the trailer below: