Movie Shorts: The Road and Fantastic Mr. Fox--Get Depressed or Get Animated

The Road:

One sentence synopsis: A father and son wander around post-apocalypse USA, stave off the odd attack from redneck cannibals, look filthy and hungry, and eventually reach a destination which doesn't offer a whole lot apart from ambiguity.

Best bits: Despite the bleakness of the terrain, the film is visually stunning. The concentration of filth that shrouds stars Viggo Mortenson and Kodi Smit-McPhee is impressive. And, being a native Pennsylvanian, I can verify that the redneck cannibals were true to life.

Worst bits: Let's be blunt and say this movie does not have much of a chance as far as grossing more than its budget. Thus, the studio had to do what it could to ensure it would make some money back. That doesn't make blatant Vitamin Water product places any easier to swallow. Some might say it's just as sour going down as a gulp of Power-C.

What was the score like?: Nick Cave and Warren Ellis took the depressive grandeur of their The Assassination of Jesse James... score and blended it with the intermittent cacophony of their score for The Proposition, The Road director John Hillcoat's previous outing. Not surprisingly, the result is a sometimes intense, sometimes heartrending accompaniment.

Level of Disappointment: 5; one of my favorite directors and two of my favorite musicians collaborating on a book by one of my favorite authors (Cormac McCarthy) to produce...a so-so movie. Whereas the book continously jabbed at my heart with its filthy fingers, the film only did it twice (although I really felt like I was being stabbed both times). Still, the source material isn't exactly a cinch to adapt, so I feel a valiant effort was done by all.


Fantastic Mr. Fox:

One Sentence Synopsis: A fox adept at chicken-nabbing plans one last stake-out and puts his family and the wildlife community in jeopardy in the process in this Roald Dahl adaptation.

Best Bits: It's so refreshing to see a film that is a throwback to the stop-motion animation of yesteryear. Although a lot of Rankin/Bass (the company behind Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer) are being thrown around (and within reason), I felt the movements and mannerisms of the characters had more in common with Jan Svankmajer's creepy vision (see his version of Alice in Wonderland. Please). And, any movie featuring a stop motion Jarvis Cocker cannot be entirely bad.

Worst Bits: Fantastic director Wes Anderson was one of many who signed that "free Roman Polanski" petition. That puts a damper on a lot of the works of Polanski's supporters; due to this being a children's film, things feel particularly soggy.

What was the score like?: Sly and heavy on the Burl Ives; what you would expect from a stop motion children's film helmed by Wes Anderson.

Level of Disappointment: 2; put an anthropomorphic animal on-screen and I'm sold. Put said anthropomorphic animal in a corduroy suit, and I'm signing off my soul to you. Visuals aside, this was a smart, funny, somewhat touching, and vastly entertaining film for adults and--I suppose--kids too. Plus, I fell in love with Roald Dahl before I fell in love with Cormac McCarthy, so I'd have to say Fantastic Mr. Fox is the victor.