“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.”
We Bought a Zoo – Movie Trailer
Jan 1st
Acclaimed filmmaker Cameron Crowe (Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous) directs an amazing and true story about a single dad who decides his family needs a fresh start, so he and his two children move to the most unlikely of places: a zoo. With the help of an eclectic staff, and with many misadventures along the way, the family works to return the dilapidated zoo to its former wonder and glory.
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Swedish Version Better
Jan 1st
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
“Swedish Version Better”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the Hollywood version, is out only 1-1/2 years after the Swedish version was released in the U.S., and if you didn’t see that version, you might think that this newer one is pretty good.
Daniel Craig plays investigative journalist Mikael Blomqvist, and Rooney Mara has replaced Noomi Repace as Lisbeth Salander, the girl with the dragon tattoo on her back, and the similarity of the actresses’ names can be confusing, just as the story can be for new audiences.
Spoiler Alert! If you have read the book on which both movies are based or if you saw the Swedish movie and managed to read the subtitles and watch the action at the same time, then you already know how this one ends, unless you have forgotten some of the convoluted details.
The movie cuts back and forth between Lisbeth and Mikael for the longest time before they ever get together to solve the crime that is the basis of the mystery, and once they do, Lisbeth says, “I like working with you,” to which Mikael replies, “I like working with you, too.”
This exchange is amusing, considering what happens just before they say that, but for the most part the movie is serious, grim, and graphic in its sex, violence, and nudity.
Mikael has been hired by a wealthy industrialist to figure out what happened to his niece, Harriet, who was 16 back in 1966 when she disappeared from the remote island on which the industrialist’s dysfunctional family all live.
Harriet’s disappearance was especially mysterious, because her body was never found, and an accident on the bridge to the island prevented anyone from getting on or off the island.
Meanwhile, Lisbeth has problems of her own in her personal life, she has a history of committing violence, and although she claims that she has taken care of herself since she was 10, she has a guardian from whom she gets her money to live on.
Lisbeth is an experienced researcher, an accomplished computer hacker, and her appearance is, shall we say, “extreme,” although I liked her appearance better in the Swedish version. Her dragon tattoo is better in the Swedish version, too.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the Hollywood version, is just not as good as the Swedish version.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
