The Lives of Others
I'd been wanting to see this one since before the Oscars so I was pretty happy this past weekend when we finally got around to it. I can see why it won the Oscar—the film is freaking brilliant. I mean, not only was the acting amazing but I was fascinated by the glimpse it provides into life in East Germany. I have only some vague memories of news reports of the Berlin Wall coming down but I remember how much it affected my mom, who kept saying how she never thought it would happen in her lifetime. I was too young to appreciate the significance of it, but this movie has really sparked an interest in me to learn more about that part of history. I think that's one of the highest compliments I can give a film, really. It may be out of theaters already in your area, but if you get a chance to rent it you should definitely check it out.
Viewed: 2007-04-20 | Released: 2006-08-02 | Score: A
Meet the Robinsons
The people at Entertainment Weekly didn't think much of this one, but I'm inclined to disagree. Sure, it wasn't on the same level as, say, The Incredibles or Monsters, Inc. but it was certainly head and shoulders above movies like Robots or Madagascar. The voice acting was decent and the humor worked pretty well for me. And although it didn't bring anything new to the time travel genre I still thought it was better written than most stories of that sort. It's definitely a kids' movie but if I were a parent I think this would be one that wouldn't make me groan when my kids wanted to watch it over and over.
Viewed: 2007-04-06 | Released: 2007-03-29 | Score: B