DVD's & Popcorn: Little Miss Sunshine, Good Night & Good Luck, Elizabethtown & The Illusionist

I sat down to do a review of The Illusionist and suddenly was inundated with the fact that I've seen a TON of movies lately and some how neglected to post about them!

So where to start? At the beginning would be best I suppose. Ages ago when Tim had his last LAN party (and I was penned in the bedroom with Lilly) I watched Little Miss Sunshine. It was odd, it was funny and it was sad and sweet all together. The film focuses on the family's struggle to get their daughter to the Little Miss Sunshine Beauty Contest in California. With a self-help guru father, an overburdened mother, a post-suicidal uncle, a cocaine addicted grandfather, a disassociated teen brother, a very awkward bookish daughter and one dilapidated VW Van the journey becomes more about the lengths family will go for one another than the actual destination. With each hurdle the family begins to look inwardly at what makes them so dysfunctional and what exactly they need to become closer. The humor is dark, but wonderfully timed by Steve Carell, Alan Arkin and the rest of the cast. The end is bittersweet but well in tune with the rest of the film. Abigail Breslin debuting as Olive, the daughter working her heart out to win, is a stunning selection and the most natural looking child actress I can remember.

Good Night and Good Luck covers Edward R. Murrow's critical journalism of Senator Joseph McCarthy during the Red Scare of the 1950's. Staring Jeff Daniels, George Clooney, David Strathairn (as Murrow) and Robert Downey Jr, the film can't help but be wonderful. I was surprised and delighted when I saw the first few minutes, the entire thing is done in black and white and is visually stunning. Taking the bulk of the film to look at the media's ethical responsibility to critically report about Senator McCarthy and his search for the communist threat, the topic is more than relevant in today's society. At what point does the media need to stop acting as the government's platform and start looking critically at what it's flaws are? What, if any, amount of censure is the government allowed over the media? Not only dealing with the relationship between Murrow/CBS and McCarthy/Government, the film also delves into the effect of Murrow's actions on each of his co-workers. The cinematography and acting are wonderful and the plot is timely and thought provoking.

On the flip side of thought-provoking is the stuff that Elizabethtown is made of. Fluffier and easy to watch, it offers a dark comedy about falling in love at the worst possible moment. Orlando Bloom portrays a failed shoe designer traveling to Kentucky to retrieve the body of his father on behalf of his mom. Told that the family hates her, he's surprised to find a warm, inviting welcome from the first. Emotionally supported by the "air hostess" (Kirsten Dunst) he met on his flight, he soon finds a connection to the family he didn't even realize he was missing. While the ups and downs of their relationship parallel the conflict between Drew and his mother and within himself, it never really gets too serious, either morally or romantically. The movie is filled to the brim with realistic family portraits and while it sometimes struggles to make the point it's aiming for, the humor is good and the plot is something a bit different.

If you're looking for a more rock-solid movie with a romantic twist, The Illusionist with Edward Norton and Jessica Biel is your best bet. In some ways it watches like a M. Night Shyamalan movie; unexpected twists and an air of mystery define the film. Norton is a illusionist in love with the Prince's fiancee, Sofia. A friend from childhood the two soon reconnect and set into motion a series of events that could bring them together, leave them running from the police and Prince Leopold or worse. The trick of the film is that everything has the potential to be an illusion. While it's not the most seamless plot and you're pretty sure you know what's coming, it's still a treat to watch the final sequence. Seeing everything come together, especially with the dark moody cinematography that nearly borders on art, is thrilling. Also, Americanized Vienna accents sound remarkably British.