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San Francisco, 11:10 AM
Sat Nov 21
23 posts in the last 24 hours
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10/19/09
I couldnt believe they didnt do the bedroom-to-forest scene. That should have been awesome. In the end nothing seemed resolved. He diddnt help the wild things, and diddnt fix his home life. South Park has a better message of morality that this film. Really dissappointing take on an imaginative childs imagination book.
Perhaps I just diddnt have a bad enough childhood to understand the misery and viloence in this film.
10/19/09
10/18/09
And Spike Jones? Wevs.
I've thought this movie looked like an over-rated mess since I saw the first trailer, and I can usually get excited about anything.
10/18/09
Whether such an uneven pattern of symbology is annoyingly ill-thought-out or just one of Jonze's works of genius I'm undecided yet. #wherethewildthingsare
10/18/09
10/18/09
1) I think that characterizing the Wild Things as behaving like "emotionally stunted, narcissistic middle-aged people" misses a key point: They are behaving like children.
Kids are self-involved, and still developing emotionally. When they continue to behave that way into adulthood, we start using terms like "narcissistic." The Wild Things sound like middle-aged people because they were voiced by...middle-aged people. But they are kids.
2) The message of the movie didn't seem to me to be "that life sucks, growing up sucks, and most of all, any attempt to escape into wildness or fantasy will only turn out even suckier."
The story was Max, in his own head, sorting out his emotions about his arguments with his mom and sister. He starts out guilty and angry, and by confronting the Wild Things, which represent himself (Carroll) and his mom/sister (K.W.), and other kids, he gains some perspective and is able to forgive himself and get over his anger. When he recognizes himself and his struggles in the Wild Things, he doesn't need them anymore, so he leaves.
He realizes that though his mom yells at him, and his sister isn't as close to him as she used to be, they still love him. And he's not a bad kid, even though he loses control sometimes, as kids do.
I don't think that there was anything remotely nihilistic about Where the Wild Things Are. It highlights the fact that childhood is emotionally difficult, but not hopeless. Tinged with sadness, sure. But not depressing. #wherethewildthingsare
10/18/09
10/18/09
10/18/09
10/18/09
I am torn on the movie... the best comparison I've heard is to RObert ALtman's Popeye, just an all-out attempt to recreate what the director and screenwriter liked about the original. I'm glad that they were respectful to the material, unlike most other kid's book adaptations *cough*Shrek*cough*.
On the other hand, I just didn't feel that much at all when I saw it. I was ready to be bawling at the end, and while I got a little misty-eyed, it just didn't effect me that much. Hell, I was more upset by the big celebrity death in Zombieland. #wherethewildthingsare
10/18/09
10/18/09
What else could Jones have done with this movie? It was this, which was frankly amazing, or abandon the ideas of conflict in it and create a normal hollywood kids imagination movie following the same single conflict plot that ends up seeing the main character save the day with his ragtag band of magic imagination friends? That would have been boring, it would have made the movie a flop (maybe not at the box office, but as a movie itself), and it would have betrayed the image of the book Sendak had to begin with.
One of the biggest, best themes was Max projecting so much onto the characters, simplifying and making it into what he understands, and through that he shows how little he understands what is going on around him. Anyone who doesn't feel emotional or can't connect with the issues of the Wild Things and Max himself probably had an ideal childhood or didn't know anyone who had issues in their life - especially as a 9 year old child. #wherethewildthingsare
10/17/09
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10/19/09
it was an island of social disorder. #wherethewildthingsare
10/17/09
10/17/09
-Kle. #wherethewildthingsare
10/17/09
The Cult of Can't Leave Well Enough Alone scores another victory
10/16/09
10/16/09
10/18/09
Charlie Jane interprets their changeless repetition of the same fights over and over as them being middle-aged and set in their ways, but they're the kids who just wouldn't grow up (a la Peter Pan's lost boys). #wherethewildthingsare
10/16/09
10/16/09
This review is excellent and really captures everything I noticed about the movie. I left not liking it (the movie), but have not been able to get it out of my head all evening; it's growing on me - I think ultimately, it has much more to say than one sees on the surface. #wherethewildthingsare
10/16/09
10/17/09
10/17/09
10/16/09
Excellent review as usual. #wherethewildthingsare
10/16/09
Not this weekend though because Paranormal Activity is getting me and the wife's $11.00/ea (ugh!) #wherethewildthingsare
10/16/09
10/16/09
I'll be sure to miss it entirely. I can't afford mood-altering drugs with no medical coverage, plus children and hipsters annoy me.
This is an incredibly well-written review, though. It doesn't just recap, it really gives you the info to decide if you'll like it or not. More reviews should do that. #wherethewildthingsare
10/16/09
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10/16/09
2) I totally don't believe the whole nihilism thing. Sure its not "The world works out ok because Jesus loves you" or "The world sucks because you're an asshole kid" but I thought there was definitely an ethos. Its about families and the weird relationships and emotions they entail. #wherethewildthingsare
10/16/09
10/16/09