2009

The Secret of Kells (2009)

140 Character Movie Review – #140RVW

A breathtakingly unique animated film – an instant classic. Many different visual styles come together to make something truly spectacular.

Spoiler-free Movie Review of The Secret of Kells:

My daughter has seen a great many movies, being the child of a movie geek (and a patient mom…), but once we watched The Secret of Kells earlier this year, it jumped into her number one slot.

Fairly easy to understand why – this is one of the most original and beautiful films I’ve ever seen…

Young Brendan (Evan McGuire) is being raised as a monk by his uncle Cellach (Brendan Gleeson), Abbot of the Abbey of Kells in medieval Ireland. Cellach fears the Vikings and spends all of his time fortifying the Abbey. The work of building a great wall has caused him to give up his work as an illuminator, the gifted artists who create ornate decorated manuscripts. Brendan tries to please his uncle, but he yearns to become an illuminator and spends all of his time in the monastery’s scriptorium.

When master illuminator Aidan of Iona, fleeing the Vikings, comes to Kells, his work will tempt Brendan to learn more of the world and sneak out of the Abbey into the nearby forest in search of ingredients to make inks. There he meets the mysterious Aisling (Christen Mooney), who protects the forest and helps Brendan, as does Aidan’s cat Pangur Bán.

As Brendan struggles to find his path, the appeal of the film for kids is obvious. This isn’t an art movie, despite the sumptuous visuals. Disney could have (should have) made a picture like this. It’s a classic animated film.

One of the driving forces behind making this film was to emulate the great work done by Hayao Miyazaki, as well as the traditional art inspired films like The Thief and the Cobbler and Disney’s Mulan. The idea that animated films based on the traditional art of their respective cultures might be interesting was an inspired one, no matter who you credit, and using the gorgeous artwork of medieval Ireland and the Book of Kells is a masterstroke. Scholars and art historians will find plenty to sink their teeth into here as the film directly incorporates elements of the Book of Kells. For the rest of us, it’s simply a strikingly beautiful film.

It’s hard not to over-focus on the visuals of The Secret of Kells. The movie is more than just the look of the thing. It’s a very good story with all of the classic conflicts of loyalty, caring, tradition and finding your own way. It just so happens to also be among the most refreshingly original and lovely films you’ll ever lay eyes on.

Poster:

Trailer:

Bechdel Test:

Fail

The Representation Test Score: B (7 pts)

(http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/)

[schema type=”movie” name=”The Secret of Kells” description=”The animated story of the boy behind the famed Book of Kells.” director=”Tomm Moore, Nora Twomey” actor_1=” Evan McGuire” actor_2=”Brendan Gleeson” actor_3=”Mick Lally” ]

Main Cast	Evan McGuire Brendan (voice), Brendan Gleeson Abbot Cellach (voice), Mick Lally Aidan (voice), Christen Mooney Aisling (voice)
Rating	Not Rated
Release Date	Wed 11 Feb 2009 UTC
Director	Tomm Moore, Nora Twomey (co-director)
Genres	Animation, Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Plot	The animated story of the boy behind the famed Book of Kells.
Poster
Runtime	75
Tagline
Writers	Tomm Moore (original story), Fabrice Ziolkowski (screenplay)
Year	2009

Hotel for Dogs (2009)

#140RVW

EXACTLY what it appears to be. That’s not a bad thing, really. Tidy little story for kids, funny & well executed. We should all be so lucky.

What’s more:

Going to be hard to stretch this review out, because there really isn’t a ton to say when a movie is so completely transparent about what it plans to accomplish. Hotel For Dogs knows exactly what it wants to be and what it wants to do, then proceeds to do exactly that.

Based on a 1971 novel, orphan siblings Andi (Emma Roberts) & Bruce (Jake T. Austin) are struggling to get by and running out of time and chances with foster parents, as they want to stick together but keep getting themselves into trouble. Their current foster parents, played by Lisa Kudrow and Kevin Dillon, are self-absorbed wannabe rockers who have little interest in the kids and no interest in letting them keep a dog.

While caring for their stray dog, Friday, they chance upon an abandoned hotel where they plan to keep Friday. The hotel is already inhabited by two strays, Georgia and Lenny, and if you can’t see where this is going I suggest you re-read the title.

Did you spot the metaphor? Unwanted dogs = orphans? Well done. Don’t be afraid to ask for help on the hard ones.

It’s a fun little movie. Undeterred by the adage “never work with children or animals”, director Thor Freudenthal manages to competently handle both in what couldn’t have been an easy shoot. Working on these type of family pictures is sort of a thankless job; you really only get recognized if you screw it up. But the production is very good, and the machines that young Bruce designs to care for the dogs are a blast.

But the young actors are cute and precocious and when you find out that Nickelodeon was behind it you may fall over from non-surprise. Everything is very safe.

Most of the enjoyment of the film comes, obviously from the animal talent. It really is quite impressive how well the animals are trained. They hand of man is completely absent here; the animals behave so believably for the camera that you completely forget that there are probably 50 trainers standing six inches out of frame. This movie could have been make with CG animals and they wouldn’t have had to change a thing – that’s how perfectly the dogs “act”.

I appreciate movies that punch their weight, and Hotel For Dogs certainly does. Unlikely to remain long in anyone’s memory, it is nevertheless certain to captivate kids for years – until they watch the next family-friendly movie…