Naked

Watch it.
Mike Leigh Directs.
David Thewlis Stars.
It is a well shot, well acted, well scripted, well scored film.
9/10

Where the Wild Things Are

Two days ago I saw Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are. Granted I havent been to the theater alot since I moved back to NJ (no more free movies! and also another reason why I havent touched this blog in months), but I was willing to drop down the $10.50 it cost at my local theater to see it. I have always been a big fan of Spike Jonze whether it be The Beastie Boys "Sabatoge" music video to "Being John Malkovich" to my favorite film of his "Adaptation"(one of the only movies that Nicholas Cage has ever been good in), and one of the all time best skate videos "YEAH RIGHT!".
This is the most beautifully filmed movie i have seen so far this year. Jonze had a vision and I think he succeded in every way possible. He took Maurice Sendacks landmark childrens book and turned it into something better than the source material. With giant live action wild things that are like three or four times the size of a muppet and even more gigantic sets I feel like Spike went all out on this one. The landscapes are breathtaking, the characters were all complex and on different levels from eachother, the mood is dark and not really something that kids would enjoy (which I found out the hard way by sitting in a theater full of crying and screaming babies!). The soundtrack from Karen O and the Kids is also fantastic (check out "Capsize" its pretty sweet).
Overall, I found this to be a profound movie and I would recomend it to anyone who can appreciate the childrens book, Spike Jonzes directing, great cinematography, and a beautiful story. But due to the extremely annoying children in the audience, and a pace that dragged down the story at times I give the film an 8/10. I am sure that after a few more viewings (especially without babies in them) I will appreciate the movie alot more.