This Weekend We All Win With The Two New Releases!!!

Hey folks, Harry here... The two movies that open this week more than make up for the travesty of last weekend. This time, if you choose the Family film "UP" or the oddly PG13 Horror film from Sam Raimi - you're going to have a fucking great time in whichever theater you're in. UP is simply amongst the finest work PIXAR has ever done. I saw the finished film this week after seeing it for the first time over a month ago. (My Review of PIXAR'S UP) - At that time there was no 3D print of the film - but frankly - this is a film that is so good you won't miss a damn thing if you see it 2D or 3D. It's simply a great film regardless of the format in which you are enjoying it. In addition - you'll be seeing a Pixar crafted TOY STORY 3 trailer, when you see the film - which brought one helluva smile to my face. I've talked to a lot of people about UP and the thing we all seem to keep bringing up is... Is UP the best PIXAR film? And more often than not, we can't state that another is better. It's just a great film in a line of many great films. The only two Pixar films that I don't out and out love are CARS and A BUG'S LIFE, but I completely get why they're loved by their respective audiences. They're just not my favorites. But as I watched UP for the second time, I realized why the film is so powerful. Carl & Russell are out and out brilliant characters. It's nice to see animated characters that are not spazzing out all the time, or that have wild insane super powers. I think it is because one is an Elderly Man and the other is naive child that my concern grows with every tense moment of the film. There's a part of me that projects my Father as Carl and my nephew as Russell... and at another level, I project myself as Russell and Carl as my father during my own South American Boy Scout era adventures. But it really comes down to character. I love these two. I love how every scene, be it action, danger or dialogue... they're all there to advance these characters and our understanding and affection for them. The end credit photos - which were not there when I saw the film originally actually really got me. Even during the end credits they're building upon our relationship with these two. UP is the very best film I've seen this year - and I can't imagine that we'll have another film that is purely lovable as this one for some time to come. If you're a romantic. If you've decided you'll never have a family. If you've ever put off a dream or an adventure of your own. If you were in scouting. If you love your Grandpa, can't wait to be a Grandpa. If you love Ed Asner. Or if you're a Pixar fan - this will be amongst your very favorite films this year if you relate to ANY ONE of those IF sentences. THEN I also saw the finished version of DRAG ME TO HELL. (Read Harry's SXSW review of DRAG ME TO HELL!)The difference between seeing these two movies for the second time was this. As much as I loved UP the first time, I loved it even more upon second viewing. With DRAG ME TO HELL, that first viewing was one of the single greatest screenings of a film I've ever seen, that I'll never be able to recapture that awesome first experience again. When I saw the film this week, I loved it! The audience had its share of screams and jumps - but I didn't scream or jump like I did the first time. Instead, the second viewing was one of those where I just loved watching Raimi work over an audience. The most amazing improvement from the work print to the final is the astonishing Sound Design. Not only should this film end up nominated for all the sound awards at the end of the year, but Horror filmmakers should dissect its use of sound. This is a PG 13 Horror film that is so much better than so much of its R rated brethren simply due to the use of sound and the overall editing of the film. It's gross as the thought you have of me naked, but without the image of my distended ballsack hanging out from under a flabby gut. It does it without gallons of blood, knowing full well that there are other fluids which can gross us out. This film has crazy violence - and is very much a Torture film, but it isn't about tying someone to a chair... it's torture the way Ash was tortured. It's something otherworldly torturing this poor girl. You remember that sweet gal from MATCHSTICK MEN? Well, she gets all sorts of fucked up in this! This is the Sam Raimi that we all fell in love with. This is absolutely a return to form. SO - this weekend, Take the family to UP - then get your favorite horror buddies together and prepare to get freaked out by DRAG ME TO HELL. Why am I writing this piece? Simple. I love these movies and want to remind and encourage as many of you as possible to see them both. Because I want more movies like these... and less movies like last week's!