What We Do With Our Setbacks

UP is an adventure film full of emotion and rich with magical imagination. The story that Peter Doctor directed and co-wrote w/ Bob Peterson could very well be watched as a silent film accompanied by Michael Giacchino’s delightfully moving score and you’d still feel every heartfelt moment and beat of humor.

The story of UP presents the idea that all lives are adventures and adventures have setbacks. What we do when we come up…

There’s Someone for Everyone

The greatest achievement of this film, directed by Tomas Alfredson, is convincing our very heart to yearn for Eli and Oskar to be together; one fully formed monster and one who has the potential to evolve into a killer.

The final single shot of the film guides us to our 12 year old lead tapping an affectionate morse code on the box that his vampire companion is stowed away in, then Johan Söderqvist’s gentle score confirms…

It’s Scary How Life Just Goes On

There is a matter-of-fact touch and lack of flashy photography to the film by director David Fincher and cinematographer Harris Savides. This is one of its many strengths.

The Zodiac murders recreated for the film aren’t sensationalized as an audience would expect when watching a standard American thriller. They aren’t absent of tension, they just are not amped up with embellishment, and rather the scenes play out awkwardly. Two secret lovers prepare to…