Fantastic Mr. Fox

Fantastic Mr. Fox is a movie about a fox who has a bad habit of stealing chickens and turkeys and other birds. When Mr. Fox and his wife got married, he promised her that he would start a new way of life, get a real job, and stop stealing. But once they move into a new tree, he starts to steal again from the three biggest farmers in the town. After he begins to steal from them, he gets them upset and the farmers come after him and his community.

Fantastic Mr. Fox is a very cute stop motion movie. The animation is cute but something about it is really crude. With the recent improvements in animation, all animation appears very realistic and pretty. But Fantastic Mr. Fox isn't like that. It doesn't rely on pretty pictures like most animated films. It relies on the story and plot. The animals look real in some ways and sometimes they even look like stuffed animals. They're cute but also kind of savage and dirty, like real animals. Another great thing about the animation was the attention to detail. Everything worked and fit together perfectly and everything was very detailed, like the fur and paws.

The story is very good. It is well written and exciting, even intense at some points. Most animated are cutesy, but Fantastic Mr. Fox is more than that. Like most animated movies, Fantastic Mr. Fox has a point or life lesson. The lesson Mr. Fox learns is that he needs to stop caring so much about what he wants to have and more about what he already has like his wife and child.

The "acting" in Fantastic Mr. Fox is also very good. George Clooney is the voice of Mr. Fox. He does the voice very well and makes it sound like a fox. Meryl Streep plays Ms. Fox and also does a good job. But, I think, both Clooney and Streep got off easy. The script of Fantastic Mr. Fox gave them plenty to work with. The script was beautifully written with some truly hilarious lines and scenes. However, part of me doesn't think the movie was truly written for children. The director, Wes Anderson, is known for more crude and adult movies. But his venture into the realm of children's film worked very well for him, but he didn't completely leave the adult world. The animals in the movie deal with some adult situations like lying and stealing. And the animals do like to cuss, however they never actually say a cuss word. Whenever they cuss they actually say the word "cuss." It's cute, but not necessarily child friendly.

Fantastic Mr. Fox was nominated for an Oscar, but I think it was truly looked over by the public. Hardly anyone has seen this movie, but it's probably one of the best that came out last year. It's a fun and entertaining movie that can be enjoyed by the whole family.

-H

Oscars!

Well, it's official. The Oscars have been aired and there were some shocking wins and some shocking losses. Some great moments and some not so great moments.

Here is the list of winners for the bigger awards followed by some of my thoughts about the winners.

Best Picture: The Hurt Locker

Best Actor in a Leading Role: Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart

Best Actress in a Leading Role: Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side

Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker

Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Mo'Nique in Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire

Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Christopher Waltz in Inglourious Basterds

Best Screenplay: The Hurt Locker

Best Animated Film: Up

Well, I'll start by saying that I have only seen four of the ten nominees for best picture so I may have a bit of a bias in my opinions. The four I have seen are Up, Inglourious Basterds, Avatar, and An Education. I have not seen The Hurt Locker so I cannot say whether or not is deserved to win best picture. I don't know if it did or not, but I will let you know after I watch it. I have seen Inglourious Basterds and I feel that it should have won an award for something. I would have been ecstatic to see it win best picture and I would have loved to see Quentin Tarantino win Best Director. However, I must say that it does make me happy that Kathryn Bigelow one. It's about time a woman one for best director and hopefully her win will open the category up for even more female directors. The main thing, however, I think the Academy got wrong was the Best Actress award. I have not seen The Blind Side so I cannot truly make an unbiased decision, but I do think that it is almost disgraceful that someone could win an Oscar and a Razzie in the same week. I know it wasn't for the same movie, but it's besides the point. Sandra Bullock is not the best actress that was nominated. I truly feel that Carey Mulligan did an amazing job in An Education and, even though she wasn't even nominated, I think Diane Kruger was just fantastic in Inglourious Basterds. The Academy didn't get everything wrong though. Up winning best animated picture was one obvious yet exciting part of the night. Up was an amazing movie and it definitely deserved to win. Another appropriate win was Christopher Waltz who played a Nazi obsessed with hunting Jews in Inglourious Basterds. He was incredible and truly deserved to win.

The Oscars was a fun-filled night and both Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin were great hosts and made the night funny and enjoyable. Anyone who missed last nights show can catch up on all of the winners at imdb.com

What are your thoughts on the Oscars? Did the Academy get it wrong or am I just bias? Comment and let me know!

-H