All posts by John P. Meyer

Scribbler with aspirations to logical thought. Dabbler in film criticism. Lover of all things wild, weird and wonderful. (Oh, and I take pictures, too.)

Review: Oscar Nominated Short Films 2012 – Live Action and Animated

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
'The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore'

Ah, the Oscar-nominated shorts! How I look forward each year to seeing them — and be assured that, for once, my scribblings contain not a single iota of irony.

The Oscar shorts program annually showcases the best of both animated and live action films, typically of no more than 30 minutes in length, with the animated films generally trending closer to five or ten minutes in length.

This year’s crop of shorts can be seen at Dallas’ Landmark Magnolia, and kudos to them for providing one of the few opportunities to see them on the big screen before Academy Awards time.

Here are capsule reviews (observations, if you will) about each of the shorts in the two categories. NOTE that there is also a set of Academy Award-nominated documentary shorts, which will be playing separately at the Texas Theatre, starting on February 19.

LIVE ACTION

Raju (German with English subtitles)
A German couple travels to India to adopt an orphaned child and take him into their European household. All goes well until Dad takes the young boy for a stroll around the seedy looking Delhi neighborhood; then events take a nightmarish turn as the boy disappears. But all is not what it seems. The action is presented documentary style as the new adoptive father prowls the streets looking for Raju – and for answers. We are eventually forced to ask ourselves the question: where is the higher moral ground here? And what is the right thing to do — for Raju?

Pentecost
A comical tale about a failed Irish altar boy whose focus is more on football finals than his assigned duty wielding the censor in high mass. The priest’s pep talk before the big game — er, I mean the mass — is done with tongue firmly in cheek.

“Let’s see some grace, some vision – go out there and have the mass of your lives.”

Timefreak
Slacker dude and would-be quantum physicist Stillman has made a scientific breakthrough — from his cluttered garage workshop. But when he lets his best friend in on the details, a startling revelation about where he’s been traveling in time comes to light. This plays like Groundhog Day done short and sweet, and asks the question: How far would you go to do your friend a solid? (How far in time, I mean.) Obsessives will relate.

“So, you built  a time machine, and you’ve been traveling around yesterday?”

Tuba Atlantic (Norwegian with English subtitles)
A crusty, curmudgeonly Norwegian bachelor farmer has six days to live, says his doctor. (Yes, exactly six.) In order to enjoy his final days in the comfort of his seaside home, he’ll need a companion to monitor over his progress (says the government). Enter a pert and extremely annoying blond angel of death named Inger, who learns that there are many ways to murder seagulls. (Machine guns, dynamite and washing machines, to name a few.)

The Shore
An unassuming, almost inconsequential half-hour story filmed on the green, green tidal shores of Northern Ireland. Two old friends whose lives took radically different courses come together again after 25 years. Ciaran Hinds stars as a former IRA man who immigrated to America — when he returns to his homeland, he has his lovely daughter in tow, and quite a backstory to tell. A case of mistaken identity leads to hilarious results; then mistaken motivations result in an emotional reunion.

ANIMATED

La Luna
This magical Pixar-produced fantasy tale presents us with three generations of fishermen in one rowboat, on a sea of dreams. It’s not fish they’re going after, but star stuff. Complete with an engaging starry-eyed little boy and a ladder to the moon. Stylish design – artistic composition – a joy to behold. Don’t ask what language they’re speaking — think the Swedish Chef and you’ll get the idea.

A Morning Stroll
Presented in vintage line-drawn animation look and accompanied by a jazzy score, this odd story spans several decades to tell the story of a pet chicken who startles passersby as he (or she) ambles down a busy urban sidewalk and then pecks at the door of a flat to be let in. Look out for 2059, where zombies appear to hold sway on the populace.

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (pictured above)
A phantasmagorical celebration of the printed page, and a paean to those singular individuals who devote their lives to them. Literally. Features gorgeous traveling camera effects. Sure to elicit a sympathetic sniffle from librarians and bibliophiles everywhere. (Kindle users need not apply.)

Dimanche/Sunday
Charming, naive, childlike animated art is employed to tell this whimsical slice of life story about a little boy forced to spend his Sunday going to church and then struggling through a visit to his grandparents’ house. Here, he discovers that bears mounted on the mantlepiece still have some life in them, and that life is permeated with glimpses of death. (In an interesting way.) Three squawking crows make for a fine Greek chorus.

Wild Life
Tells the tale of a dandified Englishman who decamps to early 20th century Canada — a land of rugged adventure — to try his hand at ranching. Glowing, shimmering impressionist animation highlights this surprisingly melancholy story. The significance of a cryptic comet backstory remains clouded ’til the bitter end. A very moving piece of work. “A’fore too long, I shall be as rough as a cowboy.”

The Oscar Nominated Short Films programs — separate admission for Live Action and Animated — is now playing exclusively at Landmark Magnolia for a limited engagement.

Review: ‘The Woman in Black’

Daniel Radcliffe in 'The Woman in Black' (Hammer/CBS Films)
Daniel Radcliffe in 'The Woman in Black' (Hammer/CBS Films)

The new Hammer strikes again! And this hammerstrike packs one heck of an entertainment wallop.

We’re talking about Hammer Films, the organization that brought us such cheesy, guilty pleasure, ’50s era creepshow treats as Horror of Dracula and Revenge of Frankenstein, only to find itself increasingly less relevant as a horror film factory in an emerging era of schlock, gore and torture porn.

The semi-dormant film production company resurrected itself to wide critical and public acclaim with 2010’s Let Me In, an English-language remake of the Norwegian vampire film Let the Right One In (Låt den rätte komma in). Let Me In was a really good movie. The Woman in Black (directed by James Watkins) is better.

Think you’re too old to feel chills running down your spine? Too jaded to discover, to your amazement, that your hair is actually standing on end? Buy a ticket to this old fashioned haunted house tour de force and prove yourself wrong. (And me right, as a happy consequence.)

Harry Potter — I mean, Daniel Radcliffe — stars as a struggling law clerk named Arthur Kipps. Kipps, a down-at-the-mouth widower with past-due bills and a son to support, accepts an assignment that finds him traveling by train to the remote seaside village of Crythin, where a wealthy and reclusive property owner has just passed away. It will be Kipps’ job to pore over the old lady’s reams of documents in order to settle the estate.

Daniel Radcliffe in 'The Woman in Black' (Hammer/CBS Films)
Daniel Radcliffe in 'The Woman in Black' (Hammer/CBS Films)

The documents in question are said to be found in the shunned and shuttered mansion known rather whimsically as Eel Marsh House, located at the end of a spit projecting seaward. The promontory upon which the brooding manor house stands becomes an island every time the tide comes in, making for the kind of tailor-made isolation and otherworldiness that only a devilishly clever writer could conjure up.

(Credit to Susan Hill, who authored the 1983 novel upon which the movie is based; and Jane Goldman for the screenplay; and, perhaps most of all, to the visual effects artists who make this remarkable bit of unreality look so astoundingly real.)

Upon arriving at the village of Crythin, poor Kipps must think he’s stumbled into the plot of an old Dracula movie — I mean, if he’d been born 100 years later and had occasion to actually SEE an old Dracula movie, he being a fictional character and all. See, the townsfolk treat Kipps like a visiting leper who’s lost his wits: the hotelier claims to have never received his reservation, the town lawyer hands him a slim packet of papers with the insistence that these are all the relevant documents, and the buggy driver seems intent on delivering him, posthaste and without further ado, to the train station for immediate return to London.

Only the exhorbitant fee of six shillings convinces the driver to abandon his instructions and drive Kipps to Eel Marsh House — and that degree of bribery only gets him to the front gate of the expansive property, from whence he must walk the rest of the way to the manse itself. This forced perambulation takes him past the graveyard where various members of the Drablow family have been laid to rest. And where one, in particular, hasn’t.

Ciaran Hinds in 'The Woman in Black' (Hammer/CBS Films)
Ciaran Hinds in 'The Woman in Black' (Hammer/CBS Films)

The marvelously craggy Ciarán Hinds — who recently starred in another above average ghost thriller (2009’s The Eclipse) — plays Mr. Daily, a landed gentleman with the only motorcar in the county. Daily is also singular in the sense that he welcomes Kipps and becomes an ally in the lawyer’s efforts to carry out his estate-settling duties.

Janet McTeer, fresh from her stunning performance as a cross-dressing carpenter in Albert Nobbs, provides some much-needed levity in the role of Mrs. Daily. When she invites “the twins” to join Mr. Kipps and her husband at the dinner table, you will likely be surprised at who shows up. Or, at the very least, amused.

The haunting of Eel Marsh House ramps up through a series of hints and intimations of continued occupancy. Kipps, working by candelight to decode the tragic Drablow family history, experiences them as rumblings (as might be caused by disused plumbing), distant stirrings (as if from draughty windows) and faint musical susurrations. The source of the latter is revealed when Kipps finds his way into the nursery, where dozens of wind-up toy animals line the dresser tops and side tables. Seldom have closeups of toys been used to such sinister effect, as cinematographer Tim Maurice-Jones delights in transforming them into demonic villains merely through the use of extreme closeup and artful framing. And, of course, context.

Children play a key role in the events at the center of The Woman in Black: their instinctual wisdom and innate sensitivity inform an ongoing series of horrific events. Their very existence carries with it a load of potential tragedy in the lives of their parents — a potential that turns all too real, all too often for the residents of Crythin, whose misgivings about the meddlesome, inquisitive outsider end up being entiretly understandable.

In the film’s nerve-wracking climactic scenes, there’s nothing subtle or suggestive about the titular entity haunting Eel Marsh House. She (played, ironically enough, by an actress named Liz White) emerges as a full-on banshee of a spook, as visible and impactful as any of the all-too-mortal players.

Nervous Nellies and those with small children (or children on the way) would be well-advised to bypass this old school  cinematic shocker. For the rest of us, it’s a shivery treat of the highest order.


“She makes us. She  makes us.

They took her boy away and now she takes us.” – Crythin children’s chant

[The Woman in Black opens wide across the Metroplex tomorrow.]

Innocent children in 'The Woman in Black' (Hammer/CBS Films)
Innocent children in 'The Woman in Black' (Hammer/CBS Films)

Review: ‘The Innkeepers’

Sara Paxton in 'The Innkeepers' (Magnolia Pictures)
Sara Paxton in 'The Innkeepers' (Magnolia Pictures)

For its first 45 minutes or so, The Innkeepers (directed and writtten by Ti West) plays like the Seinfeld of horror movies.

Which is to say, nothing much happens — forcing us to turn our attention to the quirky characters populating the film, as opposed to any sort of actual otherworldly apparitions.

Chief among the corporeal players are Luke (Pat Healy) and Claire (Sara Paxton), a pair of twenty-something college dropouts and would-be paranormal investigators. They also happen to be the resident caretakers of the locus of haunting: an historic east coast hotel called The Yankee Pedlar. Our two slacker staffers are presiding over the final days of operation of the old inn before it closes its doors forever.

Nerdy haunting-blogger Luke professes to have actually seen the establishment’s most famous ghost, Madeline O’Malley — aka The Widow — twice. Unfortunately, on both occasions he was alone and without his camera.

Manic, asthmatic, anorexic Claire envies her fellow employee’s close encounters of the spiritual kind, and is determined to make contact with the unquiet spirit before this doorway to another world begins its new life as a pile of rubble. When Luke retires to his room for the night, Claire mans the preternaturally quiet front desk, alert for any sign of spooks —  EVP recorder and microphone at the ready…

One of the hotel’s few remaining paying guests is former television actress Leanne Rease-Jones (Kelly McGillis), in town for a fan convention. She’s a prickly old bird who prefers keeping to her room — at least as long as the contents of the mini-bar hold out. It’s not until Claire’s first genuine paranormal encounter that we discover there’s more to this over-the-hill soap star than meets the eye.

The Innkeepers is one of those crafty, edgy, atmospheric films that develops slowly, then pulls the trigger on terror only after we’ve been lulled into a sense of complacency. There are foreshadowings of danger and doom involving shackled exits and ominous portents, and a curiously disquieting episode involving an elderly gentleman who checks into the hotel on its final night of operation, insisting to be put up in a particular room on the shuttered third floor.

Lovers of slow-boiling psychological horror — and Schlitz drinkers — will find The Innkeepers to be an offbeat treat.

Just one thing, though: don’t go into the cellar.

The Innkeepers opens tomorrow, exclusively at the Texas Theatre. Actor Pat Healy will participate in a Q&A session via Skype following the 8:00 p.m. screening on Saturday, February 4. 

Review: ‘Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos’

'Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos" (Funimation)
'Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos" (Funimation)

Where else but in the wild and wacky world of Anime would you find a pint-sized superhero with transmutable metallic prostheses and his giant robot brother squaring off against a ferocious “wolf chimera” (i.e., werewolf), in an attempt to capture an escaped terrorist alchemist (i.e., black magician) bearing the deceptively mild-mannered name of Melvin Voyager?

(Not exactly a moniker designed to strike fear into his enemies… but then he’s got deadly energy beams emanating from his hands to take care of that.)

Throw in a bunch of mysterious swooping human bats, two powerful empires bent on wresting territory from each other, and the exploited residents of a once-proud nation caught in between, and you’ll start to get an inkling of just how much is going on in ‘Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos,’ director Kazuya Murata’s feature-length animated action-adventure drawing on characters and themes originated in the long-running manga series.

For English-speaking autiences, Murata’s 110 minute Japanese-language anime may seem considerably longer, thanks to the need to frenetically read subtitles while non-stop action takes place on the screen above. Occasionally it’s a matter of deciding which is more essential: following the threads of the remarkably dense storyline (via the dialogue) or keeping close watch on the action to discover whose magical spells and energy beams will emerge triumphant.

(In military terms, it’s a lot like the balance that must be struck between strategy and tactics.)

'Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos" (Funimation)
'Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos" (Funimation)

But enough of this logistical grousing: Divided attention obviously won’t be an issue for Japanese-speaking audiences, or for those viewing the dubbed-in-English version (awaiting the feature’s forthcoming release on DVD and Blu-ray). If you do see the film during its North Texas theatrical release, simply be prepared to encounter plots within plots intersecting with other plots, with nary a pause for reflection in store. As such, it would behoove one to show up with wits fully engaged. A strong caffeinated beverage (or other mental stimulant) might be called for.

(Either that, or just have another beer and let the colorful fast-action visuals wash over you like a techicolor fever dream.)

Edward and Alphonse are the titular replacement part heroes of the tale, with Ed being the mostly humanoid one and Al inhabiting the big metallic suit of armor. Seems they lost their various anatomies when attempting a forbidden transmutation spell in an attempt to converse with their dear departed mom. Those desiring to keep their corpus intact would do well to steer well clear of the Doorway of Truth that Ed and Al once darkened.

In an equally precarious position, in terms of soul-damaging magical intent, is 16-year-old Julia Crichton, whose alchemy-practicing parents and brother were ravaged either by the forces of darkness or wolf chimeras — or quite possibly both — when she was considerably less nubile than her miniskirt and tight sweater reveal her to be at present. Julia has been living with the downtrodden residents of Milos, a slum-like community at the bottom of a canyon between the warring nations of Creta and Amestris.

Julia (along with various others) is seeking the secret location of the Star of Fresh Blood — an ill-begotten mythical gem whose possessor stands to gain “a way to unlock the world’s truth” and, tangentially, open up a portal to another reality. All very Lovecraftian, though without the bothersome, overwrought, insidiously hinted-at amorphous dieties and non-Euclidian geometries.

Having witnessed first-hand the way the Milosians are being dumped upon by the current residents of Table City, Julia is determined to aid them in their quest to rise above the garbage that constitutes their home and re-establish the glory that once was Milos. Even if it means risking her innocence and becoming a vessel for an unholy power in the process.

Aside from the fact that it takes college-level reasoning ability to keep track of the ins and outs of what’s going on, Fullmetal Alchemist deals with the adult-ish themes of geopolitical alliegiance, personal sacrifice and moral compromise; in addition, it’s really quite violent, with the Star of Fresh Blood living up to its name in the film’s first climactic sequence (of which there are at least two).

For me, the film’s action highlight occurs early on, when Ed faces off against his were-villain antagonist atop the speeding cars of a passenger train. As it crosses the maze of vertiginous canyons in its approach to Table City, it’s possible for a few fleeting minutes to ignore the ponderous layers of backstory while two characters risk life and limb in a toe-to-claw, cliffhanging battle.

As far as I’m concerned, it’s all downhill (to Milos) from there.

OBVIOUSLY (pt. 1): “Is it a tomb? Should we open it?”

OBVIOUSLY (pt. 2): “This wasn’t part of our plans.”

OBVIOUSLY NOT: “Even if this is a trash pile, it is not an ugly world.”

‘Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos’ opens today in limited release.

Best of 2011: John P. Meyer’s Top 10 Films

Thomas Horn and Tom Hanks in 'Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close'

1. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (dir. Stephen Daldry)

Movingtouchingendearing, and all those other adjectives that describe how a movie affects us profoundly apply to this post-traumatic stresser about a family dynamic put on hold after the horrific events of 9/11. It’s also a crackerjack mystery story, played out against the backdrop of New York City and its polyglot denizens. Full of terrifying realities, challenging truths, and cathartic outcomes. Youngster Thomas Horn and oldster Max von Sydow shine brightly. (Opens in Dallas on Jan. 20.)

2. Midnight in Paris (dir. Woody Allen)

I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to find Woody returning to the sort of manic tomfoolery he orchestrated so well in his “early, funny stuff” days. This madcap time traveling romance — complete with appearances by Ernest Hemingway, Cole Porter, Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald and Pablo Picasso — is a pure delight to watch. (Available on DVD and Blu-ray.)

3. Win Win (dir. Thomas McCarthy)

Leave it to offbeat genius writer/director McCarthy (The VisitorThe Station Agent) to turn the story of a high school wrestling coach and his unlikely protege into the most heartwarming odds-against sports drama of the year. It’s also an odds-against family drama, one that will leave you with a great big smile on your face when you walk away from the theater. (Or, at this point, I suppose, the DVD player.) (Available on DVD and Blu-ray.)

4. Melancholia (dir. Lars von Trier)

Hands-down the most visually arresting movie of the year and one of the most thematically disturbing — starting with its first several minutes, during which we see a woman in bridal regalia running in extreme slow motion across a golf course, while vines appear to be pulling against her. Before this Wagner-accompanied sequence is done, we’ll see one planet collide with another. And wait ’til you meet the wedding guests! (Now playing.)

5. The Artist (dir. Michel Hazanavicius)

Given the level of contrivance employed in its production (black & white cinematography; silent, subtitled dialog), this movie should never have worked. But we leave it feeling ennobled instead of manipulated, thanks to a good-hearted script and illuminating performances by a pair of international actors with whom we were previously unfamiliar (Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo). Simply charming.  (Now playing.)

6. War Horse (dir. Steven Spielberg)

Spielberg-style sentiment at its most epic, here applied to the heartwarming tale of a boy and his horse. Throw in an ill-fated cavalry charge (mounted swordsmen against machine guns), a lonely girl living in the countryside with her grandfather (shades of Heidi), and quiet on the western front (the trenches in WWI) and you’ve got yourself a horse story for the ages. (May be too intense for younger colts.)  (Now playing.)

7. Hanna (dir. Joe Wright)

I can’t tell if I’m more impressed with Saoirse Ronan as a bio-engineered killer adolescent, Cate Blanchett as a bleeding-gums control-freak villain, or The Chemical Brothers for constructing the most whimsical score ever for a Bourne-like thriller that never lets up from start to fabulous finish. (Available on DVD and Blu-ray.)

8. Beginners (dir. Mike Mills)

Ewan McGregor quietly underplays one of the sweetest and most affecting roles of his career as an emotionally stunted fellow whose father (played by the great Christopher Plummer) embraces his gayness just as he’s coming to terms with a grim medical diagnosis. Mélanie Laurent charms as the woman who threatens to break the ice composing Oliver’s (McGregor’s) lonely shell. Best talking dog movie ever. (Available on DVD and Blu-ray.)

9. Crazy, Stupid, Love (dir.s Glenn Ficarra, John Requa)

Don’t be fooled by its comedic trappings: This relationship-savvy romantic drama has more heart (and intellect!) than most of the “serious” films that released this year. Steve Carell demonstrates why his brand of funny ought to be patented, while Ryan Gosling builds on his “actor who excels at everything” credentials. Emma Stone’s portrayal of the hopeful, courageous Hannah is irresistible. (Available on DVD and Blu-ray.)

10. Contagion (dir. Steven Soderbergh)

From beginning to end, this multi-threaded chronicle of the relentless spread of an infectious virus commands our attention — and gives us pause to wonder whether a scenario like this might actually be in the cards for the oh-so-cosmopolitan human community that we have become (for good and — in terms of this story — ill). Terrifying and fascinating “what if” stuff, expertly presented. (Available on DVD and Blu-ray Jan. 3.)

Review: ‘Happy Feet Two’

'Happy Feet Two' (Warner Bros.)
'Happy Feet Two' (Warner Bros.)

Happy Feet Two is more than just a choreographed musical romp in the snowfield — a whole lot more, actually, with writer/director George Miller and his co-scripters tackling such hot/cold topics as global warming, human-animal interactions, and predator-prey relationships. Most pointedly, the filmmakers want us to understand that, in today’s complicated and fast-changing world, it takes more than just a village to get by. (In this case, for instance, it takes three villages.)

As for the singing and dancing: It’s certainly front and center, with the big production number you’ve seen in the TV trailer unreeling in the movie’s first few minutes. Additional musical theater outbursts happen in direct support of various plot and character situations as the animated narrative moves forward. Yes, penguins are cute, and fluffy baby penguins singing and dancing are almost too cute for comfort.

But the important thing to know about HF2 is that it delivers on the entertainment front, providing non-stop thrills and adventure from start to finish. The story plays out via some of the most sophisticated and seamless 3D animation you’ve ever experienced. The banks of processors required to bring this cast of thousands to life — including a seeming galaxy of multi-appendaged krill — ought to be sufficient to calculate Pi well beyond its present 2.7 trillion digits. (Hard to argue it’s not being put to better use here.)

Elijah Wood returns to his HF1 role as Mumble, with Alecia Moore — aka Pink — as Mumble’s soulful-singing mate Gloria (stepping in for the tragically-departed Brittany Murphy). Starring as Mumble and Gloria’s little penguin kiddo Erik is young vocal talent Ava Acres, who rises to the occasion late in the film with the movie’s most heartfelt singing performance. Her (I mean, Erik’s) desperate plea of an aria seems lifted from the climax of an Andrew Lloyd Webber production, and is all the more striking for having come from out of nowhere. Bravo!

Robin Williams reprises his twin roles as Ramon, the spirited but lovelorn outsider in the Emperor penguins’ camp; and Lovelace, the brightly-hued and bombastic spiritual leader of the Adélie penguin community. New to the vocal mix are Hank Azaria as a curious last-of-the-Mohicans “northern penguin” named Sven who amazes everyone with his startling ability to fly; Sofía Vergara as Ramon’s new love interest, a glamorous Adélie named Carmen; and Richard Carter as Bryan, an Aussie-inflected type A elephant seal.

Stealing the show while delivering the movie’s most quotable quips are Brad Pitt and Matt Damon as Will and Bill, planktonic crustacean pals who strike out on their own, leaving the krill swarm behind to explore new worlds both bravely and — in terms of the unforeseeable dangers they end up facing — inadvisably. But these are the tribulations faced by all explorers, regardless of species.

The central drama of the picture centers on the efforts of Mumble, Erik, and a few other Emperor youngsters to rescue their entire tribe from a seemingly hopeless situation brought about by an iceberg collision. In order to free their loved ones from this precipitous trap, they’ll need to seek help from several unlikely sources. They’ll also have to think outside the box, and call upon inner strengths they never even knew they had.

Some of the film’s most adventurous interludes occur in flashback, as Sven and Lovelace regale the assembled Adélie masses with tales of their strange and wondrous encounters with “aliens” (i.e., humans) in their separate explorations beyond Antarctica. These scenes blend live actors and animated characters with remarkable artistry. The “aliens” make a later appearance on the penguins’ home terrain, but this time — I think — some of them appear to be animated right along with their tuxedoed hosts.

It’s getting harder and harder to tell what’s manufactured by digital animators from what’s real. Kind of disorienting, actually.

QUOTABLE QUOTES:

I WANNA BE FREE…: “There is no free, Will.” – Bill

HELLO, MOVIE STARDOM: “Farewell, krill world!” – Bill

NEW WORLD ORDER?: “That’s one small step for a krill; one giant leap for spineless invertebrates.”


‘Happy Feet Two’
opens wide across the Metroplex today.