“How to Train Your Dragon” didn’t even make my radar when it came out. Then, one of my bffs called me and said, “Candy, you may as well just go buy this movie, because you’re going to love it.”
I’m leery of buying movies I’ve never seen before (a recent “Hellboy” misadventure comes to mind), but I did add it to my Netflix queu. She was right: I may as well have just bought it.
Maybe it’s because I love, and always have, stories dealing with magic and dragons and long-lost ages where people spent more time being brave than whining about their paycheck. This even adds in a little Viking culture.
Meet Hiccup (Jay Baruchel), the characteristic odd-teen-out, who just wants to kill a dragon and be like everyone else. Plus, he figures killing a dragon is the only way to impress his super macho father, Stoick (Gerard Butler), who just also happens to be leader of the Berk Vikings.
It might even get the old smith and dragon slayer Gobber (Craig Ferguson) off his back, just for a little while.
See, dragons and Vikings don’t get along. Dragons terrorize the village of Berk, which is pretty old but has all new houses. Vikings, as we know, are too hearty to let a little thing like constant terror and death at the hands of fire-breathing dragons scare them away from the craggy, harsh part of the world they call home. (Hiccup’s description of a barren landscape where it snows 9 months out of the year and hails the remaining three bears a strong resemblance to several states in the North Central region of this country.)
So, with a crazy invention of his own making, Hiccup manages to bring down the most fearsome of the dragons that terrorize his people: the Night Fury. But once he sees it, he can’t bring himself to follow the village’s “kill on sight” mantra. He releases the dragon, which in turn pays it forward by not killing Hiccup before disappearing.
But Hiccup and the dragon cross paths again, and form an unlikely friendship. Through Toothless, the aptly named dragon, Hiccup discovers that dragons don’t terrorize Berk just for the fun of it – there’s a darker, and much wartier, purpose at work.
Of course, Hiccup can’t tell his dad. Or Gobber. Or any of his peers in “dragon slaying school.” Then he faces his moment of truth, when he must choose to either kill a dragon in front of the villagers and earn their acceptance, or walk away and face something much scarier than even dragons: being told by people you care about that you don’t belong.
Though I’m still a traditional animation snob, this film looks fantastic. Toothless is cute, funny, and superbly expressive. He made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion.
Yes, it’s somewhat predictable. No, I don’t understand why the Vikings speak English with a variety of Scottish and Midwestern accents. In an animated film about fire-breathing dragons, however, it’s not especially hard for me to suspend my expectations of what is or is not realistic.
All I know is that this film reaffirmed my desire to have my own flying dragon to ride. So I don’t care what you say, Roger Ebert. I’m buying this movie.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
'Life as We Know It'
Katherine Heigl plays a successful, uptight, but romantically-minded single female who meets a successful, carefree, somewhat self-centered man (I would even go so far as to say a man whore) and is instantly repulsed.
No, this isn’t “The Ugly Truth.” At least, not quite. Different names, scenery, different leading man…but you’ve seen this movie before: Two people who hate each other are thrown into a situation where they’re forced to spend lots of time together and realize that they actually don’t hate each other.
Holly (Heigl) is best friends with Alison (Christina Hendricks). Alison is married to Peter (Hayes MacArthur). Peter is best friends with Eric Messer, aka Messer (Josh Duhamel). In the opening scene, a pre-marriage Alison and Peter decide to set up their best friends on a blind date with each other.
Messer arrives an hour late and acts like a tool – even setting up a date with another woman while in the car with Holly – establishing himself as the carefree playboy. Holly gets snippy and refuses to get on Messer’s motorcycle, establishing herself as the uptight shrew. They decide to not finish the date.
Rather than being put off by this, Alison and Peter get married, have a baby, and make Holly and Messer the godfather of their daughter, Sophie (played by three equally adorable little girls).
Then we watch these grown ups’ lives revolve around christenings and birthday parties for Sophie’s first year of life. I’ve never really understood why you’d have 45 of your closest friends over for your baby’s birthday, but I suppose it was necessary to introduce the obligatory “wacky” set of neighborhood players who do little for the film, other than provide a few marginal laughs and remind us all why it’s ok to not be best friends with half the neighborhood.
Then tragedy strikes, and Alison and Peter bequeath their most prized possession – Sophie – to their two best friends. The condition is that Holly and Messer must move in together, in Alison and Peter’s house, and raise Sophie together.
Holly has to adjust her control issues to accommodate a baby who doesn’t always sleep or eat exactly as she should. Messer has to learn what it’s like to actually have any sort of a schedule, rather than coming and going as he pleases. Sophie has to endure two people who somehow managed to reach adulthood without knowing how to change diapers or identify baby food. It’s less than ideal, but we all make sacrifices.
They don’t think they can do it. Their case worker doesn’t think they can do it. The neighbors have bets on how soon Holly and Messer will “do it.” I’m guessing you know what happens.
Despite being incredibly predictable, it’s still watchable. Heigl reprises the quirkly control freak role, doing it as well as she always does, and Duhamel is able to pull off annoying and charming at the same time. There are some laugh-out-loud moments, several cutesie montages and one super cute baby.
Thank god they’re both super attractive, because otherwise the whole operation might have been a bust – and then what would have become of poor Sophie?
No, this isn’t “The Ugly Truth.” At least, not quite. Different names, scenery, different leading man…but you’ve seen this movie before: Two people who hate each other are thrown into a situation where they’re forced to spend lots of time together and realize that they actually don’t hate each other.
Holly (Heigl) is best friends with Alison (Christina Hendricks). Alison is married to Peter (Hayes MacArthur). Peter is best friends with Eric Messer, aka Messer (Josh Duhamel). In the opening scene, a pre-marriage Alison and Peter decide to set up their best friends on a blind date with each other.
Messer arrives an hour late and acts like a tool – even setting up a date with another woman while in the car with Holly – establishing himself as the carefree playboy. Holly gets snippy and refuses to get on Messer’s motorcycle, establishing herself as the uptight shrew. They decide to not finish the date.
Rather than being put off by this, Alison and Peter get married, have a baby, and make Holly and Messer the godfather of their daughter, Sophie (played by three equally adorable little girls).
Then we watch these grown ups’ lives revolve around christenings and birthday parties for Sophie’s first year of life. I’ve never really understood why you’d have 45 of your closest friends over for your baby’s birthday, but I suppose it was necessary to introduce the obligatory “wacky” set of neighborhood players who do little for the film, other than provide a few marginal laughs and remind us all why it’s ok to not be best friends with half the neighborhood.
Then tragedy strikes, and Alison and Peter bequeath their most prized possession – Sophie – to their two best friends. The condition is that Holly and Messer must move in together, in Alison and Peter’s house, and raise Sophie together.
Holly has to adjust her control issues to accommodate a baby who doesn’t always sleep or eat exactly as she should. Messer has to learn what it’s like to actually have any sort of a schedule, rather than coming and going as he pleases. Sophie has to endure two people who somehow managed to reach adulthood without knowing how to change diapers or identify baby food. It’s less than ideal, but we all make sacrifices.
They don’t think they can do it. Their case worker doesn’t think they can do it. The neighbors have bets on how soon Holly and Messer will “do it.” I’m guessing you know what happens.
Despite being incredibly predictable, it’s still watchable. Heigl reprises the quirkly control freak role, doing it as well as she always does, and Duhamel is able to pull off annoying and charming at the same time. There are some laugh-out-loud moments, several cutesie montages and one super cute baby.
Thank god they’re both super attractive, because otherwise the whole operation might have been a bust – and then what would have become of poor Sophie?
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