Rio

O Cresto Redentor

There aren't many reasons to seek out a film like Rio. It's probably the very definition of inconsequential. But I  imagine that the makers, who also gave us the three Ice Age movies, didn't have much consequence in mind. A domesticated blue macaw, aptly named Blu, is kidnapped after taken to Rio De Janeiro to mate with the only other bird of his kind. A weird hypothesis for the film to take, considering that we aren't told what kind of blue macaw these birds are - hyacinth or throated? Is it a Spix blue macaw? And even so, why are there only two of them left? I'm not an ornithologist, but this crossed my mind more than once during the film. Suspending disbelief works most of the time. 

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In Theaters This Weekend

Edvard Munch gets it.

In theaters this weekend, we've an interesting mix. The long awaited, much applauded four-quel to a brilliantly tongue-in-cheek horror series, a cutesy kid's movie about birds, a mauling of a classic novel, and a peek inside the assassination of President Lincoln. For those of you who are wondering, the classic novel being adapted is Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, in three parts by director Paul Johansson. 

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Rango

Ride 'em, Rango

I wasn't prepared for Rango to be as dark as it was. Gore Verbinski has always been a director to dabble into life's bigger questions with a lot of subtle ease, without losing the ostensibly fun side to his films. But, with this being a Nickelodeon production, and being animated, and all that, I was blind-sided by the depth of the screenplay by John Logan, and the heartfelt genuineness of Johnny Depp's performance as a chameleon with an identity crisis. To be fair, the screenplay's base elements are very standard - there is a formula, and you know where the film is headed as soon as it starts. But, to the film's credit, on the flip side, everything that happens in between is remarkably intelligent. 

And the whole thing feels like a painting. Gotta love that. 

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Country Strong, White Material, and Others on DVD This Week

Proving there's no "O" in "country"...

This week on DVD, four releases that no one saw. Country Strong, White Material, Heartless, and Farewell (L'affaire Farewell). A melodrama, a bare knuckle drama, a Brit thriller, and a French thriller. Which is most worth your time and money? 

Let's do this. 

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