By Clarence Yu

IT was a cool Saturday evening as people of all ages and all walks of life wandered together, almost telepathically, to see Pixar Studios’ latest offering, Up. What is so great about this movie that drew a full crowd–something I haven’t seen in quite a while?

For one, the film is a Pixar movie, which is always an event in itself. Pixar has always been known to create high quality animated pictures, from Toy Story to their most recent entry WALL-E, which was released last year. Up is the tenth full-length film from the studio since–a run that began with Toy Story in 1995–and all the films in between have been critical and commercial successes.

Up doesn’t feature any robots or talking cars, no Buzz Lightyear or a rat who wants to be a cook, but it does have a grumpy old man who has just lost his wife and an over-eager young Asian-American wilderness explorer. That brings us to the movie’s main strengths: the simple yet resounding plot that connects emotionally with adults and the great animation work to which children can easily respond.

Up tells the tale of aging Carl Fredericksen (voiced by Ed Asner, known for his role in the ’70s TV sitcom, Mary Tyler Moore), a widower who is relegated to living out his years in his simple home. Times are changing around him, but his memories are firmly fixed on the life he led with his beloved wife Ellie, and their one unfulfilled dream:to travel to Paradise Falls in South America.

His self-imposed hibernation is disturbed in the form of young Russell (voiced by newcomer Jordan Nagai), a “wilderness explorer” (think Boy Scout) who needs a badge for “assisting the elderly” to complete his training. Carl and Russell then embark on the adventure of their lives–for Carl, to fulfill his promise to his beloved, and for Russell, to fulfill his training. Carl is the father that Russell rarely sees, while Russell is the son that Carl never had.

Without giving away too many plot details, the movie sends out a basic message: it’s never too late to follow your dreams. While this may seem corny, Pixar’s animation is so evocative that it is able to deliver this timeless message without live action. One of the great moments in the movie is a silent montage that tells the love story of Carl and Ellie, which will bring tears to your eyes.

In these complicated times filled with complicated films, Up is a straightforward, uncomplicated, and heartfelt movie that will refresh and uplift, as evidenced by the ovation it received from the audience I watched it with as the credits rolled. See this with the love of your life, your family, or even by yourself.

By Clarence Yu

BEN Stiller returns with the usual suspects in this enjoyable second installment of the Night at the Museum series. The film’s basic strength is its appeal to both adults and children and the ensemble cast of terrific character actors.

The plot is quite simple–the museum characters face extinction, and Stiller’s mission is to save them. Stiller’s strength has always been to play the regular guy caught up in an irregular situation, and he demonstrates this again in the movie.

The film’s main surprise is Amy Adams, who plays Amelia Earhart. She lights up the screen with a confidence evocative of the “can do” woman, and plays the main foil to Stiller’s everyday man.

However, this film just does not stand up as well as the first one. While the first had a more balanced blend of appeal to both children and adults and had more time for character development, Battle of the Smithsonian seems to focus more on toilet comedy and quick laughs.

It also suffers from trying to squeeze in the talents of Robin Williams, Hank Azaria, Owen Wilson, and Christopher Guest, among others, in less than two hours. Focusing on one specific character is quite hard to do without diluting the others, and this happens when most of the attention is focused on the talented Azaria.

Also, much missed are the talents of Carla Gugino, whose character disappears without any notice. Sorely underused are the funny Ricky Gervais and the always dependable Owen Wilson.

One thing can be said about the Night at the Museum series thus far: While it may be a poor attempt to educate viewers about history, it can serve as a good starting point for kids to arouse their interest in it.

History buffs and purists may disagree, but in this day and age of Nintendo and Playstation holding the attention of children of all ages the world over, this movie is a boon. Hopefully, the kids who watch this film will get interested in, say, the real Amelia Earhart, by the great on-screen portrayal of Amy Adams, or try to find out more about the real Napoleon Bonaparte or what Ivan the Terrible really did.

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian stands up better compared to the overly pretentious “re-boots” currently in release. Kids of all ages will still get laughs and kicks out of this one. Take your family with you when you can.

Izah Morales
INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—“What path should I follow?”

This seems to be the recurring theme in the latest episode of “Star Trek: The Future Begins,” which tells the stories of each young crew of USS Kelvin Enterprise.

We see a young Spock (Zachary Quinto)–who is confused about his half-human, half-Vulcan roots–taking a path that would later shape his life as an adult.

Spock joins James Kirk (Chris Pine), Uhura (Zo Saldana), McCoy (Karl Urban), Sulu (John Cho) and Chekov (Anton Yelchin) in a maiden voyage to stop Romulan Nero’s vengeful attack on the United Federation of Planets. In the process, the “battle” also takes place among the crew whose friendships and leaderships are tested.

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By Clarence Yu

17 Again tells the story of Mike O’Donnell (Matthew Perry/Zac Efron) who, at the age of 37, finds himself regretting the choices he made when he was in High School. He is unhappy with the way his life has turned out and is in the middle of a divorce with his once beloved wife.

Wishing that he were back in high school again, Mike soon finds himself transformed back to his young self, however, it is still the present day, and he has not gone back in time. What follows next is a predictable storyline that sets the stage for a series of events that makes Mike realize that he should have been happy with what he had.

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HUGH Laurie, yes of “House,” will be doing the voice “Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D.” in DreamWorks’ latest animation film “Monsters vs. Aliens.”

Director Rob Letterman recalls why they chose Laurie to play the part: “We wanted somebody to be very formal and erudite, because we thought that would be a great contrast with the whole ‘cockroach bad’ thing. And so, we immediately thought of Hugh. And a lot of people don’t realize, at least people in the States, that he’s a Brit. Hugh Laurie is obviously mostly known in the States for ‘House,’ but he is a famous actor for many years in England. He did ‘The Black Adder’ [television series] with Rowan Atkinson and he’s an incredible comedic actor. We were fans of his prior to ‘House.’ So it was very fortunate to have him on the movie.”

Dr. Cockroach is a brilliant scientist who turned himself into a cockroach as a result of a self-experiment gone awry. With his life’s work confiscated, the doctor spends his time locked up, working on something diabolical.

“First of all, I love doing animated projects. You wear your own clothes. I love the freedom of messing around and trying to create something in a voice. It’s exciting and a fun challenge. But also, now these animated films have sort of really become the summit of modern entertainment,” Laurie says, referring to his role as Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D.

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