4th August 2010 -- 'Where The Wild Things Are'

So, the first film to make it onto this blog o'mine is Spike Jonze's coming-of-age family/monster movie -- the 2009 hit, 'Where The Wild Things Are'

Just to clarify -- I'm not writing 'reviews'. These are just my own thoughts about the movie, I don't intend to constructively criticize of suggest what may have been better or the general content of a film critic review.

Actually -- that's silly. Of course I do -- just don't think of it as a review, because that makes all this seem far too upscale and pompous. I'm just a kid, with a big bucket of popcorn. A dog chasing a car. I'm happy.

Anyway, the film is about this small kid called Max. He's....odd. He's got a wonderful adventurous spirit which I hate in kids, and he's got the usual contempt for his mother's new male-friend. These two combine and result in him biting his mum, and rushing off, hopping on a boat, and arriving at some random island where he meets large monsters. They think he's a king and has the ability to keep them all together. They eventually realize he's not, and get a lil' bit lairy with him. He decides it's time to go. Hops back across the pond. Arrives home, all is forgiven.

I gotta' start off by emphasising that this movie bloody well scared me -- the monsters are frickin' freaky. Judith (Catharine O'Hara -- Beetlejuice, Home Alone) is some sorta' goat monster with razor sharp teeth and a bloody huge horn on her nose. She describes herself as a 'downer' -- I'd describe her as...uh...something really scary. They were some freaky beings -- Max even ended up in the stomach of one of them, and like him, I felt myself holding my breath at points. Monsters are unpredictable, kids are unpredictable. Imagination is unpredictable -- for all I know, they coulda' gobbled that exuberant lil' bastard in a heartbeat...

I'm not very technical -- I don't know how they did the monsters -- special effects, puppets -- men in suits -- whatever the weather, the monsters had that desired effect of being placed between the worlds of reality and imagination.

On the outside, the film clearly inhabits a sense of family, change and abandonment -- it ties 'em together with a pretty ugly and furry bow. Seen through the eyes of a kid, it appears as if he can't win. We all remember those times when we needed the attention, yet are parents and siblings either gave us too little or too much. Nothing was good enough, and I felt the actor in this position, Max Records -- did a grand job. He displayed an innocence which was vital to any coming of age story, yet his 'wild' side was all so apparent in certain moments, such as the opening scene as he chases his poor defenceless pooch around his house, wearing a wolf suit.

On the inside, the film's undertones are so much more -- a question that has to be asked is 'Is this place real?'
I'd say no -- and that's where I think the film's flaws lie. Imagination
is NOT as powerful as reality. Within the imagination, the mind can do things which as the viewer, we can do nothing but marvel at. But in this case, the imagination felt empty. It lacked something more powerful, an anchor perhaps...
I know what I mean, but to put it into clear, cohesive sentences at the moment is not do-able. Something about it didn't have enough depth for me.


The voice actors were all very good, adding something different to their characters. I liked Carol (James Gandolfini -- The Sopranos) and Ira (Forest Whitaker -- The Last King Of Scotland) -- I felt their names and voices were identifiable and were the two most important 'Things' to Max. KW (Lauren Ambrose -- Six Feet Under) was also a great character for Max, and was placed in as the sister that Max doesn't feel he has anymore. These characters don't want to grow up in a way, they want to be together, and sleep in piles, and do whatever it is that they do, and when Max first arrives, this is all he wants too -- so it'd make sense for him to stay. As the film progresses, in Max's mind, he knows he has to leave -- he has to return to reality. To his mum -- and this is the development. He knows things will have to change -- it's the way of the world. People grow up, and move on -- have relationships -- meet different people. It's inevitable, and Max is the one who makes this decision in the end -- it's heart-wrenching. But if he had stayed any longer...he woulda' been eaten.