Film Review: LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (2006)

Directors: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
Writer: Michael Arndt
Running time: 101 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Adventure/Comedy/Drama
UK Release date: 8^th September 2006

Watched on DVD Monday 9^th April 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I bought this DVD several years ago by mistake and it has lurked at the back of my collection ever since. Having heard several good things about it I decided to take the plunge and give it a look. I was pleasantly surprised; it wasn’t the usual ‘dysfunctional family’ cliché ridden rubbish I was expecting. No, it was so much better than that and I must say I even enjoyed it! I will give you my thoughts after this brief summary.

There are six main characters; first there’s seven year old Olive Hoover who has won a place in the finals of the ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ beauty contest. Then we have the mother, Sheryl, harassed as all mothers are in these films and Richard, the father, he has business problems that are causing friction with Sheryl. The fifteen year old son, Dwayne, hasn’t spoken for nine months; he has decided that until he achieves he ultimate goal of becoming a fighter pilot, we will not speak. The grandpa, Edwin, who swears, takes drugs and really doesn’t much care what the others think of him, apart from Olive (of course). Finally, there’s Sheryl’s brother, Frank, who has just attempted suicide and cannot be left alone. This unlikely collection has to get Olive the 700 miles to the beauty contest in a broken VW Camper van in just two days. What could possibly go wrong?... Well, I’ll leave it there or the Spoiler Police will be having me towed (again).

Now I’m not usually a fan of comedies, but the humour in this one is so dark that I actually enjoyed it! Very well made with some great dialogue and some characters that I could actually relate to (makes a change!). All the performances were great; the young Abigail Breslin did a great job as Olive Hoover and I really loved Alan Arkin as Grandpa Edwin Hoover, he really nailed it! Greg Kinnear as Richard Hoover and Toni Collette as Sheryl Hoover both did a good job. I thought Paul Dano as Dwayne also did a good job and Steve Carell showed what a good actor he can be as Frank Ginsberg.

As road trip movies go, I must say that this is the best one I’ve seen in quite a long time. The mix of characters and the way they interact works pretty well and I found the film quite engaging (I even laughed a few times!). Yes, some of the situations they got themselves into were a tad far-fetched, but I can forgive that (this time) because the characters actually had some substance. Would I watch it again? Yes I would and so I have no problem in deeming this one… Recommended.

My score: 8.2/10.

IMDb Score: 7.9/10 (based on 194,846 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0449059/

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 91/100 (based on 205 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 90/100 (based on 379,546 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/little_miss_sunshine/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Sheryl: [after Frank tried to commit suicide] I'm so glad you're still here.
Frank: Well, that makes one of us.

Richard: There's two kinds of people in this world, there's winners and there's losers. Okay, you know what the difference is? Winners don't give up.

Grandpa: Are you gettin' any?
Richard: Dad!
Grandpa: You can tell me, Dwayne. Are you gettin' any?
Richard: Come on, please.
Grandpa: [Dwayne shakes his head] No? Jesus. You're what? Fifteen? My God, man!
Richard: Dad!
Grandpa: You should be gettin' that young stuff.
Richard: Dad!
Grandpa: That young stuff is the best stuff in the whole world.
Richard: Hey! Hey! Dad! That's enough! Stop it!
Grandpa: Will you kindly not interrupt me, Richard! See, right now you're jailbait, they're jailbait. It's perfect. I mean, you hit 18, man! You're talkin' about three to five.

[Dwayne looks around van; writes frantically on notepad... ]
Frank: [reading notepad] "Where's Olive?"...
Sheryl: Oh!

Olive: What are you guys talking about?
Grandpa: [thinks for a moment] Politics.
Olive: Oh.

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Trailer:

Film Review: RANGO (2011)

Director: Gore Verbinski
Writer (Screenplay): John Logan
Writers (Story): John Logan, Gore Verbinski & James Ward Byrkit
Running time: 103 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): PG

Genre: Animation/Action/Adventure
UK Release date: 4^th March 2011

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 8^th January 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

This is a film I’ve wanted to see for some time, although I didn’t know all that much about it. Recommendations did the trick, but it never made it to my local cinema and so I waited for a TV airing. As you can probably guess, it aired this week and I’m pleased to say the recommendations were correct! Although not quite up there with the best of the Pixar films, it’s still very entertaining and beautifully animated. I will give you my thoughts after this brief summary.

When a pet chameleon is involved in an accident that leaves him on a desert road, he looks for help. It first comes in the form of an old armadillo called Roadkill; he sets the chameleon off in the direction of the nearest town, Dirt. On the way he is picked up by Beans who is going to town for supplies for her ranch. Once there the chameleon enters the saloon where he makes himself out to be a bit of a hero… a hero called Rango! The townsfolk immediately make him the sheriff; but there’s a problem. The town is running out of water, there’s very little left in the bank and the mayor is behaving strangely. When the remaining water is stolen from the bank it’s up to Rango, and a posse, to go and bring it back. Also, can they solve the mystery of the disappearing water supply? Well, I’ll leave it there or the Spoiler Police will be confiscating my glass of nice cool refreshing water by my side here… (thirsty?).

As I’ve already said, it’s beautifully animated and well worth seeing just for that alone! As for performances, well everyone was very good, particularly Johnny Depp as Rango/Lars, he surprised me with this performance; very reminiscent, at times, of his character, Raoul Duke, in ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’. Isla Fisher as Beans and Abigail Breslin as Pricilla both put in great performances, as did Ned Beatty as the Mayor. Honourable mentions must also go to; Alfred Molina as Roadkill, Bill Nighy as Rattlesnake Jake, Stephen Root as Doc/Merrimack/Mr. Snuggles, Harry Dean Stanton as Balthazar, Timothy Olyphant as Spirit of the West and Ray Winstone as Bad Bill.

I must say I did like the offbeat style of this film, very reminiscent of an old Western but with a modern twist. Lots of slapstick comedy moments and some great sight gags add to the fun. A nice score by Hans Zimmer is interspersed by a nice collection of songs, principally performed by ‘Los Lobos’. Over all, I found this film very entertaining with some great animation; one I will definitely re-watch sometime… Recommended.

My score: 7.9/10.

IMDb Score: 7.4/10 (based on 57,195 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1192628/

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 88/100 (based on 205 reviews counted at the time of going to press).
Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 69/100 (based on 94,672 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rango/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Rango: [after some kids throw rocks at him] Hey! What was that for?
Priscilla: You're funny-looking.
Rango: Well? You're funny-looking too.
Priscilla: That's a funny-looking shirt.
Rango: That's a funny-looking dress.
Priscilla: You got funny-looking eyes.
Rango: You got a funny-looking face!
Priscilla: [small pause] You're a stranger. Strangers don't last long here.
[walks away]

Rango: Reptiles gotta stick together, brother.
Buford: I'm an amphibian.
Rango: Ain't no shame in that.

Rango: [an arrow is sticking through Turley's head, entering in his right eye and coming out the left-rear side of his head; Rango looks disgusted] You've, uh... got something in your eye.
Sergeant Turley: [indicates his left eye, seemingly oblivious] Oh, that? That's conjunctivitis. It's hereditary.

Rango: Is this Heaven?
Spirit of the West: If it were, we'd be eating strawberry Pop-Tarts with Kim Novak.

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site: http://www.rangomovie.com/
Trailer: