This film was spellbinding for me.  I felt as though I was a little kid, watching my imagination take me away.  It was so thoroughly saturated with emotions ranging from passionate abandon to crushing heartache, changing with the furious whims of an 8 year old boy named Max.  The imagery conveyed intense feelings of very real danger and pure joy.  There were several scenes when there was unrest among the Wild Things and they would place the blame on Max, their chosen King.  Because of the unpredictability of the mood and direction of the scenes, I became genuinely uncomfortable and concerned for the outcome of the fights between them.

Basically this movie drew me in and I quickly became invested in Max’s fate.  It deals with a lot of real-life issues in such a disarming way that, at least for me, was very powerful.  I would recommend this film to anyone who was once a crazy kid.

This is one of the strangest and most enjoyable movies I’ve seen in a long time.  Filling me with both sadness and joy, the character of Benjamin Button touched me in a unique way.  I’ve always enjoyed the unusual stories, those told of outcasts, the misunderstood, or the broken.  What could have easily turned into a common story of a man born with a physical deformity and the challenges he faced, became so much more.  A tale filled with the magic and adventure of a life, viewed from the perspective of a woman at the end of hers.  A story of romance and love, both the passion of youth and commitment to do whatever is best for your family.
In summary I think this movie achieves much of what I believe it set out to.  It shows us the highs and lows of life, told in a new way.  It’s hard for me to point out flaws in a movie that I so thoroughly enjoyed, so I’ll just say this.  While I wouldn’t recommend this to everyone, if you enjoy the epic, romantic stories of life, love, and growing old with someone you truly care for, see this movie.

As with any movie I write about, please talk to me if you have any questions about the movie or my thoughts on it.

I love talking about movies!

I feel like sobbing, cheering, maybe throwing up a little.  Mostly I feel like talking about this movie for a few hours.

This film did a fantastic job of making me feel like I was there.  My heart is hurting for those lost in war.  The concussive force of these explosions was excellently translated using stunning slow motion shots, very intentional camera angles, and supurb special effects.  Spanning about 40 days of this particular squad’s deployment, we get a peek into several very different situations this group of men must face.  The suffocating unpredictability of the urban enviroment brings out anxiety, anger, terror and paranoia in these very realistic characters.  We see the constant threat of attack during each disarming mission wear on them, especially as they near the end of their deployment.  Each of the actors filled their roles with a subtle intensity that at times made me forget I was watching a movie at all.  I enjoyed the brief cameos by Guy Pearce, Ralph Fiennes, Evangeline Lilly, and Christian Camargo.

While very tough to watch, this is definitely one of my favorites of the year.  If you’re at all interested in seeing this, unsure about seeing this, or have seen it, please talk to me!  I’d happily share my thoughts. 

In closing, I am profoundly grateful for everyone who has served or is serving in our military.

I love going to the movies. I’ll just say that right away. There is something old-timey and magical about making a night of going to the movies.Whenever I see a film with any weight to it, I always like to sit through the credits. I feel like all to often people watch this epic, intense movie and then stand up and start jabbering the second the credits roll. They go right back to their lives and forget what just happened. So as a movie comes to a close, I like to sit and marinate in what I just experienced. The music that’s playing was picked for a reason. Depending on the people I’m with, I often don’t even say anything until the lights come on and the ushers are sighing loudly at the edge of the stairs. I go back over the film in my mind, thinking about the highs and lows, the parts I loved and the parts I didn’t.

The people who made this film put so much of their lives into it and I think that warrants some extended thought. I know it’s not just me that does this, there’s generally a few other (usually older) moviegoers that sit through the credits with me. I then stand up, stretch, smile at the old folks, and make my way out of the theater.

My name is Jeremy. And I’m a “Sits Through The Credits” guy.