The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
I don’t really watch quirky, indie movies, and while The Secret Life of Walter Mitty isn’t indie, it is certainly quirky. The message of living your life is extremely heavy-handed in the film, and yet, it’s OK. I can’t explain why it is… I suppose because of the style of the movie. Words of wisdom are written out on the street and on buildings as Walter talks to a guy on the phone about his online dating account, which he only has so he can “wink” at a girl that works with him that he is too shy to confront in real life. And the humor (minus a really weird scene where Walter imagines growing old but backwards a la Benjamin Button) is spot-on and really makes most every character interaction and moment just charming and endearing. This isn’t your typical movie, but it’s a character study and it speaks of the human condition, and to me those are two very important elements of storytelling. And the music was spot-on too. Even though the music featured in the film is not the typical fare on my iPod, it fit so perfectly with the movie and I instantly wanted the soundtrack. If you’re looking for something a little different and a little inspirational, Walter Mitty is definitely worth checking out.
How To Train Your Dragon 2
This is a hard review to write (even in miniature form), especially without spoiling things. Here’s the thing: when you hear they’re releasing a sequel to a beloved standalone movie, it’s easy to be nervous. But for some reason, I didn’t feel that with How to Train Your Dragon 2 at all. The first one blew me away so much I figured this would be have to be incredibly awesome just like it. Well, in many ways it was. But here’s the problem… it’s the sequel to something that was meant to be a standalone. It took something fairly light and made it a bit darker. It changed the characters’ lives in a more dramatic way than I was bargaining for. But it really is still very, very good. But it did make me sad and I did cry. And that was something I was not expecting at all. I understand why the story happened the way it did academically, but I still wish they had done it a little differently. But overall, still really good. I loved seeing how Hiccup, Astird, and the others had grown.
Have you seen either of these movies? What are your thoughts on them?