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Reviews
Flushed Away (2006)
This "Flush" is not crap
*i wrote this for my university's newspaper, so bare with the format, please!
This past year has been big for animated movies. Hits like "Cars" and "Open Season" have been box office successes. So what exactly do directors like David Bowers and Sam Fell consider while trying to make "Flushed Away" stand out? For starters, it helps having a creative and original plot. And whether or not Bowers and Fell actually thought about gearing this movie directly towards kids, they were clever enough to add jokes that can be enjoyed by adults.
Hugh Jackman voices Roddy, a sophisticated mouse who lives as a pet to an upper-class family in a Kensington neighborhood. When a sewer rat named Sid comes out of the sink, he immediately becomes keen on the lifestyle Roddy lives. In attempt to get Sid back to his home, his plan backfires and Roddy finds himself in the sewers. It seems there is a whole other world, which Roddy was never aware of, living in the sewers. Desperate to get back home, Roddy meets Rita (Kate Winslet), a scavenger who agrees to get him home in exchange for some of his families' (well, owners') jewels. Little does anybody know that this "city's" fate is doomed, as the villainous Toad (Ian McKellen) plans to unleash a wall that will leave the entire metropolis flooded. And since Rita has taken the wire needed to do so, she and Roddy are forced to take a detour on their way up top, to avoid running into Whitey (Bill Nighy) and Spike (Andy Sarkis), employees of the Toad. After seeing this "city" where rats live freely, and witnessing Rita with her family, Roddy feels lonely and questions whether he belongs on top.
"Flushed" is a creative and well-written animated film. A film well suited for every age, I will admit that I laughed on more than one occasion. With a cast whose voices were both playful and energetic, they were easily able to charm the audience with their witty one-liners. In fact, "Cars" may have some competition come time of the Oscars. Although I question the mad rush of animated films, "Flushed Away" is one that is definitely worthwhile.
Scoop (2006)
The perfect man+the perfect story+the perfect murder=The perfect movie
*i wrote this for my university's newspaper, so bare with the format, please!
Woody Allen seems to have finally gotten things right with last year's "Match Point", and now "Scoop". It looks like he might be making a comeback after all. Its one thing for me to get into the movie and really like it, that's my personal taste, but you could tell that the entire audience (a semi-full theater) felt the same way. "Scoop", a fast paced murder-mystery, has a little bit of Woody's "Manhattan Murder Mystery" and "Match Point" mixed together.
Scarlett Johansson (who starred in Allen's "Match Point") stars as Sondra, a young American journalist who has a habit of sleeping with the people she usually interviews, without ever getting the scoop. While in London she feels compelled to solve the mystery of the "Tarot Card Killer". In the audience during a show of The Great Splendini a.k.a. Sid Waterman (played by Allen himself) Sondra volunteers to participate in one of his acts. She finds herself telling the magician all about her latest story which she sees to be the scoop of a lifetime. Sid is, of course, reluctant on joining Sondra in the investigation though he later does. So Sondra moves on and meets Peter (Hugh Jackman). Peter is a British aristocrat, at first Sondra suspects to be the killer but his charm immediately wins her over. Things start to get complicated as Sondra begins to fall for Peter and question whether or not it is worth it to find the serial killer.
The whole movie is witty and very light in humor for a Wood Allen film. Woody Allen seems to like Scarlett Johansson a lot, and I don't blame him. Not only is she beautiful, but she is an outstanding actress. Woody uses his one-liners to his advantage in this movie and you'll get a lot of laughs out of it. He is great as Sid, making him a little bit off beat and quirky. Hugh Jackman is absolutely charming, which is why he is perfect as the character pursuing Sondra.
I applaud Allen for the ending, as it is a lot more creative and unexpected as I predicted. The last scene of the movie is worth the price of admission itself. And while "Scoop" is not as highly publicized as "Superman Returns" or "The Devil Wears Prada", it should not be overlooked. Is this Woody Allen's best work? No, but it is good work and something worth seeing.