Elf

In ten-twenty years I think that Buddy the elf will be remembered as one of the iconic characters from this decade.

Elf is an amazing little film. One that I have to watch each and every Christmas, and occasionally even when it’s not the holidays. The single best thing about Elf has got to be the juxtaposition of such an outlandish character as Buddy amidst the utterly normal characters of New York city.

I can’t imagine what it was like to be an actor opposite Will Ferrell in Elf. Everyone is so straight laced and then when you change the camera angle Ferrell will be making a crazy face, eating syrup covered spaghetti, or jumping up and down. On an episode of Dinner for Five James Caan actually talked about how he would have to turn around occasionally to be away from camera and just loose it. Ferrell makes Buddy memorable because of the wild abandon he gives the character, and the direction of Jon Favreau makes the combination of Buddy’s world and harsh New York seamless.

If you haven’t seen Elf I highly recommend that you make sure to see it soon.

Buddy: Actually, I'm a human, but I was raised by elves.
Carolyn: I'm a human... raised by humans.
Buddy: Cool.

Yes Man

Yes Man Poster
Originally uploaded by AsceticMonk

I expected to dislike Yes Man. While I love Jim Carrey I kind of feel like a lot of his recent comedies have all been the same thing. Despite seeming like Yes Man is a retelling of Liar Liar the film is actually quite original and really is a grown up version of Carey’s comedy.

Carey plays Carl Allen, a divorcee who works at a seemingly dead end job and has decided to check out of life. He doesn’t hang out with his friends, he doesn’t talk to his co-workers – unless he’s forced to do otherwise all Carl will do is sit at home, ignore his phone and watch DVD’s. The thing is that Carl messes up big time by accidently blowing off his best friend’s engagement party; his friends anger sets Carl in motion and he makes it to the Yes! motivational seminar where he makes a covenant with the leader to say yes to everything that is presented to him in order to bring about positive change in his life. Carl takes this covenant literally and sees where life takes him and suddenly he begins to enjoy being himself again.

While this movie is by no means perfect it is a really fun movie to watch and a really enjoyable piece to watch Carrey in. there is a drunken bar fight between Carl and a muscle clad man that still has me laughing if I think about it. I also enjoy that unlike most comedies now adays anything shown or mentioned in a joke or otherwise actually comes back up to have a point in the movie. Nothing is just a laugh. Also, the 300 party may have you cringing.

I am also a little in love with Terence Stamp as a motivational speaker. Not only was he just so darn believable as the egotistic leader, but it reminded me of why I have loved Stamp since childhood – Zod. I just kept wanting him to grab the mic and shout “Kneel before Zod!” Yes, I am aware I need some serious therapy.

I would love to see Jim Carrey get the acclaim he deserves for his dramatic roles. I honestly believe that he is an amazing dramatic actor and I don’t think anyone that has seen Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind can disagree. However, I am glad that he continues to do comedies - I just want them to stay as adult as Yes Man.

Director: Peyton Reed
Writers: Nicholas Stoller, Jarrad Paul & Andrew Mogel
Carl Allen: Jim Carrey
Allison: Zooey Deschanel
Peter: Bradley Cooper
Norman: Rhys Darby
Rooney: Danny Masterson
Tillie: Fionnula Flanagan
Terrence Bundley: Terence Stamp
Lucy: Sasha Alexander
Nick: John Michael Higgins

Elf

Elf
Originally uploaded by dustinmew

Alright, alright. I know it’s not really appropriate to be excited about Christmas yet, but for some reason for the first time in forever I really am stoked about the holidays. I’m making a Halloween costume and I felt like watching Elf (though I can kind of blame that one on my Iron Man obsession). Elf is a great holiday movie, and just a genuinely good comedy. I really do think it’s a modern classic.

Elf is the story of Buddy who wiggles his way into Santa’s sack when Santa visits his orphanage and Santa doesn’t know until baby Buddy crawls back out of his sack at the North Pole. Papa Elf always wanted children so Santa lets him raise buddy as his own and so he grows up believing he is an elf until one day he overhears a few of the other elves discussing how sad it is that Buddy doesn’t know he’s a bad Elf because he’s actually a human. This leads Buddy onto the journey of his life as he goes to New York to find his real father and discovers the wonders of the real world. When Buddy enters New York everyone assumes he is crazy as he so fiercely believes he is an elf, but with his persistence he infects everyone around him with a joy and innocence they had long forgotten.

While I am not a giant Will Ferrell fan, I don’t dislike him; I genuinely think that no one else could have played Buddy. Job Favreau knew what he was doing when he cast the actors in this film. Ferrell stands out in sharp contrast to everyone else because of the goofiness he is capable of exuding while still being committed to the genuine goals of the character.

Watching this movie makes me realize even more that I truly am a fan of Jon Favreau as a director. Elf is yet another example of how Favreau is incredibly capable to put together a good, worthwhile movie and make it one that is not dated, or tired after repeat viewings. He knows how to cast a movie, how to compose shots, and just how to make you care about a character.

Director: Jon Favreau
Writer: David Berenbaum
Buddy: Will Ferrell
Walter: James Caan
Papa Elf: Bob Newhart
Santa: Ed Asner
Emily: Mary Steenburgen
Jovie: Zooey Deschanel
Michael: Daniel Tay
Gimbel’s Manager: Faizon Love
Miles Finch: Peter Drinklage
Deb: Amy Sedaris

Santa: That's another thing... Buddy you should know that your father... he's on the naughty list.
Buddy: Nooooo!

The Happening

The Happening - 06
Originally uploaded by MyCine

M. Knight Shyamalan is one of my favorite directors because no matter what he does he is one of the few filmmakers that can still surprise me, and make me react to his films and not because of his films. Despite the critical blasting it received, I loved Lady in the Water; I thought it was fanciful & brilliant and the scene where Cleveland talks about how he lost his family nearly makes me cry.

I’m not going to go too far in depth here as to the story of The Happening because I respect Shyamalan’s right to try to surprise his audience – that’s how his films work. However, while I liked The Happening I have issues with it because it is a message movie, and it does not try to hide it. That being said, The Happening is one of the only message movies that I may own someday.

The Happening is Shyamalan’s first R rated film. It feels and is told very differently than any of his other films; death abounds and you see it happen. The entire premise of the film is based around people committing suicide in mass quantities, at the same time, without explanation. A sizable body count and amount of gore is expected.

What shocks me greatly, and makes me respect Shyamalan more is that after being introduced into the concept of the film, after the first jarring suicide I knew what was coming and yet it was still tense and terrifying. You knew when a character was going to commit suicide, and how they were going to do it, and the 5 seconds that led up to that suicide were scarier because of it – the fright was not diminished. Yet, there was not an overdone amount of gore like so many filmmakers would do in today’s film market.

The thing that actually shocked me in a not so good way was the acting in the movie. I love Mark Wahlberg, Zoey Deschanel & John Leguazimo; but together they did not work. Wahlberg & Deschanel had no chemistry, and the pair had no chemistry with Leguazimo who played Wahlberg’s best friend. The actors seemed very stilted, and well…directed…not very natural at all.

Even through what I didn’t like about the movie, I do have to say I think the goods out weigh the bad and this is a heck of a movie to go see.

Writer & Director: M. Knight Shyamalan
Elliot: Mark Wahlberg
Alma: Zoey Deschanel
Julian: John Leguazimo
Jess: Ashlyn Sanchez
Mrs. Jones: Betty Buckley