"INSIDE OUT" (2015)

Dir: Pete Docter

This movie really is a Joy!

Rating: PG

Cool Quote: "Crying helps me slow down and obsess over the weight of life's problems."

Recommended? Definitely

If I could use one word to describe PIXAR films, it would be "brilliant." It's amazing how many childhood memories I can connect to their staggering catelogue of masterpieces (I know every line of dialogue of "The Incredibles" and can recite them with completely accurate inflection) and even now, as I make the transition from a child's perspective to an adult's perspective, I am just as enchanted, perhaps to an even greater degree. Unfortunately, lately it feels as if that PIXAR magic has been dulled a bit by unneccesary sequels such as "Cars 2" and "Monsters University" as well as the just-okay "Brave." It seemed as if Disney and Dreamworks were about to take over the animation game that PIXAR had ruled for nearly 20 years. However, PIXAR's latest film, "Inside Out," proves just how BRILLIANT the company can be with one of the best movies that they have ever put out. 

"Inside Out" is a genius little tale that takes place entirely inside the brain of Riley, a fun-loving eleven-year-old girl from Minnesota. Instead of being a boring mass of tissues and synapses, Riley's brain is a colorful world with imaginative (no pun intended) landscapes and functions. It is controlled by five emotions that reside in a control center in the middle of the world: Joy (Amy Pohler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Bill Hader), and Disgust (Mindy Kaling). The casting for these characters is absolutely spot-on, especially Lewis Black's highly entertaining interpretation of Anger. The performances are simply amazing. 

So essentially, these emotions control Riley's actions and feelings, creating new memories associated with whichever emotion was dominant at the time. They are all surprisingly deep characters as they all equally care for Riley's well-being but their personalities and actions are each bound to the emotion they represent, it isn't like one of them is actively trying to screw things up for everyone, they work as a team, much like our own emotions.

Joy is by far the dominant emotion throughout Riley's childhood, creating happy memory after happy memory with the other emotions chiming in here and there when needed. A wrench is thrown into the works, however, when Riley's family has to move to San Fransisco. Sadness, an emotion usually relegated to the background, begins tampering with emotions, turning them from happy to sad, forever. Alarmed at Riley's lack of happiness, Joy tries various methods to maintain her control over Riley and her core memories, memories so important that they form fundamental aspects of Riley's personalities, expressed as various "islands" throughout the brain world. Sadly (so many puns), things escalate from there...and that is all I'm going to say because this movie is one that needs to be experienced!

What I love most about this movie, as well as other fantastic PIXAR movies, is how much detail they go into in order to make their world seem plausible from a fantastical perspective. They have managed to express what makes a peson who they are in such a complete and entertaining way that I am still baffled by how they were able to pull it off. From nightmares to imaginary friends, its all in the movie's world in some form or another! There is some pretty complex and abstract stuff in there too that anyone who has taken at least one psychology course can admire. That's the magic of PIXAR right there. The film is colorful and creative with an emotional and intellectual depth so that pretty much any age can genuinely enjoy and appreciate it.

We all know that PIXAR's animation is always top notch but the design in this movie stands out to me as one of their best. I especially love their use of color to create a mood and even tell us a story. There is an enormous contrast between the world inside Riley's head and the world on the outside. While her brain is bright and colorful, the outside is extremely grounded in reality and shrouded in hues of gray, gray and more gray. Another notable color distinction deals with the emotions themselves as each one is represented by a color. When memories are created, a little orb rolls into the control center, its color depending on whichever emotion influenced the creation of the memory and because we see a huge swath of yellow orbs, we can tell that Joy is used to being in charge.

It is only natural that a movie about emotions will make us feel emotions ourselves. As is usual with PIXAR films, you will probably well up with tears from both laughing and crying. This movie really does get to the core of our emotions, especially for people who are undergoing transitional periods. There are some pretty deep themes running through the movie about emotions and life in general that are made easily digestible in a way that only PIXAR knows how to do.

I cannot recommend this movie enough to ANYBODY. While some may be thrown off by the cartoony looking characters and concept, the film really is one of the most emotionally mature animated movies that I have seen in a long time. PIXAR is back with one of their best yet!            

"CLUELESS" (1995)

Check out those cell phones!

Dir: Amy Heckerling

Rating: PG-13

Cool Quote: "As if!"

Recommended? Yes

I heard a ton about "Clueless" before actually watching it so I went into the movie with a bit of dread that it would be full of Valley Girl lingo and have a ton of really annoying and shallow characters that I was supposed to root for. In some ways, that is exactly what I got (I picked up a new insult in the form of comparing someone to a Monet painting). However, although I wasn't "butt-crazy in love" with the film, I also got a highly entertaining flick with an extremely likeable protagonist.

This protagonist is Cher Horowitz (named after the singer, of course), a hip, fashionable, and wealthy girl from the Hills, played energetically by Alicia Silverstone. While this may sound like the description of one of those teen sitcom villains (you know, the materialistic girl who surrounds herself with other materialistic girls to torment the quirky lead, you see it all the time), Cher sets herself apart by having some depth, a conscience and a lovable naivety that gets her into some pretty hilarious situations. In fact, I wonder if her quirkiness and good nature served as any inspiration for the protagonist of "Amelie." Cher is not dumb either, as her surprisingly observant and articulate voice-over monologues prove to us time and time again throughout the film. All of these elements form an intriguing and captivating character that both breaks and adheres to the "superficial popular girl" stereotype, being shallow and deep at the same time. In fact, the entire movie can be seen as both shallow and deep (apparently it is actually loosely based on the Jane Austen novel, Emma, though I have never personally read it).

What I thought would be a mindless romp through supposedly funny '90s teen hijinks actaully turned out to be a movie that is very driven by the development of Cher's character as she tries to help the new student, Tai (Brittany Murphy), fit into the Beverly Hills high school lifestyle and set her up with a boy while trying to find love herself. All the while, the focus remains on Cher's character as she goes to parties, gets flirted with, gets rejected and even gets mugged (you know, the usual teen stuff...except for maybe the mugging). These events are simply backdrops for Cher's evolution and rarely overstay their welcome for the sake of unneeded comedy or plain goofiness. We see her grow, fall in love, fall out of love and come to conclusions about herself and those around her. While many teen high school movies try to add depth to their characters, it usually comes off as not very genuine and ends up being a drag. That is not the case with "Clueless." 

Cher's character shines through so brightly that it may actually be a detriment to the audience's feelings toward the other characters. In all honesty, besides Cher, Tai, Cher's friend's funny boyfriend Murray (Donald Faison) and her dad (Dan Hedaya), I don't really remember paying much attention to the other characters, let alone caring about them. For example, Cher's best friend Dionne's (Stacey Dash) only main role seems to be comedic relief (often paired with Murray, the boyfriend, who I thought was funnier and more entertaining). I don't really see much of a deep friendship or relationship with Cher and she seemed to slip into the background most of the time. The same could be said about most of the other characters, they just weren't that interesting without Cher! The "main plot" about how Tai somewhat infringes on Cher's life also seems to be a little undeveloped compared to Cher's character and the plotline seemingly disappears at various points in the movie. 

However, the strength of Cher alone is enough to carry the film as an entertaining slice of '90s culture that stands out among other movies of its kind with its witty dialogue, self-awareness and fantastic main character. "Clueless" knows what kind of movie it wants to be but twists a few things around, making it far more interesting than what meets the eye. I can definitely recommend this one!         

Welcome!

Hi, I'm Spencer and I love movies. I love watching 'em, I love talking about 'em, and I love making 'em. I love being able to appreciate the genius of the best of 'em and being able to laugh at the unintentional hilarity of the worst of 'em. So I decided, why not take this love for all things cinema and put it into a format that enables me to share it with everyone!
The site will primarily consist of me talking about my impressions of movies and whether I can recommend them or not. They won't be overly technical, this stuff is straight from the heart. I can’t promise a specific upload schedule at the moment, but I will try to be semi-consistent. Enjoy my ramblings!