Posts tagged California
“We Bought a Zoo” All’s Well That Ends with Animals
Jan 7th
“All’s Well That Ends with Animals”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
We Bought a Zoo is based on a true story in which the location has been moved from England to southern California and was directed by Cameron Crowe.
Crowe is also the writer-director of the 1989 Say Anything…, the 1996 Jerry Maguire, the 2000 Almost Famous and the 2005 Elizabethtown.
Starring Matt Damon as Benjamin Mee, the movie starts with the information that Benjamin’s wife had died six months earlier, and Benjamin is left to raise their daughter, Rosie, who is 7, and their son, Dylan, who is 14.
Benjamin doesn’t want to go to any of the places that he and his wife used to attend, but he reluctantly tells his brother, “I shall try to start over.”
Consequently, he quits his job at the newspaper where he works, decides to move to a different location, and is shown a “unique” option by the realtor, which is exactly what Benjamin says he was looking for.
The house is unique because the 18 acres on which it sits comes with a zoo that was shut down two years ago, and a stipulation requires the owner of the house to also maintain the zoo.
The zoo already has a staff, and it includes Kelly Foster, the head zookeeper, who is played by Scarlett Johansson.
Of course, we can predict that a romance between Benjamin and Kelly is in the future, as well as one between Dylan and Kelly’s niece, Lily, who is 13.
Naturally, however, the main part of the story is to get the zoo ready for its grand reopening, pass the required inspection, and take care of the animals, which are more than just a lion, two tigers, and a bear, oh my.
Benjamin also has to overcome the resistance of his brother, who calls Benjamin insane, the grumblings from his employees who think he will never last, and the fact that Benjamin is running out of money before the zoo can even open.
In addition, the zoo is so far out in the country that Benjamin has to drive nine miles to the nearest grocery store, which causes a problem when there is no butter to go on the corn on the cob that he prepares for Rosie and Dylan.
We Bought a Zoo shows that all’s well that ends with animals ends, well, with animals.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
“The Way” a Beautiful Film
Oct 23rd
“Beautiful Film on Different Levels”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
The Way is one of those rare films that you will remember for a long time to come, because it can affect a wide range of audiences in many different ways.
The film stars Martin Sheen as Tom Avery, and it was written and directed by Emilio Estevez, Sheen’s son, who also plays Tom’s son, Daniel, in flashbacks.
The title refers to the Camino de Santiago, the route of a centuries-old religious pilgrimage that begins in southern France, crosses the Pyrenees Mountains, and ends at the Cathedral de Santiago in Compostela, Spain.
Tom is a widower and an ophthalmologist in California, and one day he receives a phone call from France, and a man asks, “Are you the father of Daniel Avery?”
Tom learns that Daniel was going to walk the Camino de Santiago, but he was tragically killed in a sudden storm on the very first day of his journey.
So, Tom goes to France to retrieve Daniel’s body, and we learn that Tom and Daniel weren’t close ever since his mother died, he was Tom’s only child, and he wanted to see the world.
While he is in France, Tom learns more about the Camino de Santiago, and so he decides to have Daniel’s body cremated and, using Daniel’s backpack, take the ashes with him while he walks the pilgrimage himself, which will take months to complete.
We are told that the pilgrimage is a very personal journey, but shortly after he begins, Tom encounters three other people with whom he will spend most of the journey: Joost from Holland, Sarah from Canada, and Jack from Ireland, all with different reasons for wanting to make the pilgrimage.
Also, along the route, other interesting people are encountered, some making the pilgrimage themselves and others in the villages through which they pass, including some who own and run the inns where pilgrims can spend the night.
Needless to say, Tom has interesting experiences along the way, some touching, some pleasant, and some not so pleasant.
Although Tom walks and acts as if he wants to complete the journey in as short a time as possible, events occur that slow him down and allow him to appreciate the trip and to come to a better understanding of his son Daniel.
The Way is a beautiful film on many different levels.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
“Due Date” See It
Nov 10th
“See It”
DUE DATE could be dismissed as just another “odd couple, “buddy,” “road-trip” movie, but it is much more than that.
It is a very funny, often laugh-out-loud movie about two men forced to travel across the southern United States in order to meet separate deadlines, but I have a feeling that men will enjoy it much more than women will.
However, everyone can enjoy the talent of the two actors who play those two men: Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakas, who portray Peter and Ethan, respectively.
Peter is an architect, Ethan is an actor wannabe, and the story begins in Atlanta, where they have an unfortunate, but funny encounter at the airport departure curb.
Then they have another funny, but unfortunate encounter before takeoff on the same airplane to Los Angeles, and it just keeps getting better as it goes on.
Peter and Ethan end up in a rental car and in a hurry to get to California, because Peter’s wife is about to have their first child and Ethan has a scheduled meeting with an agent.
Peter doesn’t want to share the road trip with Ethan, but is forced to, because as Ethan tells him, “I have all the money, the car, and the winning personality.”
Peter and the audience will agree on two of those reasons.
However, Ethan also has a dog traveling with him; glaucoma, which causes a side trip to buy some medical marijuana; and the ashes from his recently deceased father, which he carries in a coffee can.
Unfortunately, Ethan spends almost all his money on the weed, and now they are left with only $60 between them, and they have reached only Birmingham, Alabama.
There is a very funny scene in which they try to get some money wired to them from Peter’s wife; an even funnier scene in Dallas where they stop for help from Darryl, an old friend of Peter’s played by Jamie Foxx; and a scene that tops them all when they accidentally try to cross the border into Mexico, which ends fantastically hilarious.
When they reach the Grand Canyon, where they stop to satisfy Ethan’s wishes, they swap confessions in a touching scene until Ethan reveals the biggest confession of them all, and then we have one final mad dash to meet their . . .
DUE DATE. See it.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”