Movie Review - Paddington

Paddington (2015)

Starring Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters, Samuel Joslin, Madeleine Harris, Jim Broadbent, and Nicole Kidman

Featuring the vocal talent of Ben Whishaw, Michael Gambon, and Imelda Staunton

Directed by Paul King

Those who read this blog know that I am not afraid to give adequate credit to a kid pic that does its job well.  (The Top Twenty placement of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day in the 2014 RyMickey Awards is evidence of that.)  Because of this, it's a bit disappointing to say that I wasn't completely captivated by Paddington, an admittedly charming film that feels a bit too choppy and episodic to make a big impression.

Through a rather odd and off-putting prologue, we learn that British explorer Montgomery Clyde discovered a new species of bear upon his travels to Peru.  While he had to leave South America, Clyde befriended the bears who learned English and he told the ursine creatures to visit him someday when they were able.  Cut to years (decades?) later and a terrible earthquake ruins the bear's Peruvian home and young Paddington (voiced by Ben Whishaw) is sent to Britain by his Aunt Lucy (voiced by Imelda Staunton) in order to live a better life.

Upon his arrival in London, Paddington finds himself adrift in the Paddington subway station only to be discovered by the Brown family headed by dad Henry and mom Mary (Hugh Bonneville and Sally Hawkins).  With it difficult to acclimate to suburban life, Paddington finds himself at odds with Henry who wants the bear out of his house.  With this apparently not enough of a story, Paddington also must avoid being captured by a rather sadistic taxidermist named Millicent (Nicole Kidman) who wants to stuff the rare bear for her collection.

If the summary seems rather at odds with itself and a conglomerative mess, that's because it kind of is.  There are too many "episodes" without a really singular captivating storyline to carry the film.  That isn't to say that the film disappoints entirely.  Director and co-screenwriter Paul King has made an innately "British" picture with much of the film's charm and laughs coming from Paddington's experiences with this new culture with which he's attempting to assimilate.  Hugh Bonneville and Sally Hawkins are both delightful in their roles and Nicole Kidman succeeds with her rather underwritten and seemingly unnecessary character.  Additionally, the special effects that create Paddington himself are quite good and meld rather seamlessly with the bear's human counterparts.  However, overall, Paddington just doesn't quite cut it.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - The Impossible

The Impossible (2012)

Starring Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, Tom Holland, Samuel Joslin, and Oaklee Pendergast

Directed by Juan Antonio Bayona

I might as well just start off this review by stating that The Impossible made a tear roll down my face.  There were many moments during this film that caused my eyes to well up, but the saline only fell down my cheek in a single droplet at the film's climax.  I don't know why it fell -- I knew the ending thanks to an interview I had seen with the real life family this film is based upon who were vacationing in Thailand when the horrible December 26, 2004, tsunami hit -- but director Juan Antonio Bayona, screenwriter Sergio G. Sánchez, and the wonderful cast of actors who make up the Bennett family have created something so emotionally riveting that I found it impossible to not become invested in this story.

Expecting a relaxing and calming vacation in Thailand over Christmas week in 2004, the Bennett family made up of mom Maria (Naomi Watts), dad Henry (Ewan McGregory), and sons Lucas, Thomas, and Simon (Tom Holland, Samuel Joslin, and Oaklee Pendergast, respectively) are lounging at the oceanside pool at their resort the morning of December 26 when out of nowhere a fairly strong breeze begins to kick in off the water and the birds suddenly take flight as fast as they can in the sky.  The giant wall of water came much too quickly for anyone in the Bennett family to be able to run away and instead they are simply pounded by the force of the ocean engulfing the Taiwanese soil.  Rather amazingly, Maria and oldest son Lucas are carried quite far by the water but somehow manage to stay together.  The first half of The Impossible deals squarely with their struggle of trying to stay alive in the hours immediately following the disaster and trying to find help for Maria who has both internal bleeding and a massive gash in her leg causing her to lose large amounts of blood.  A little over halfway through the film, we discover that Henry is still alive and he is with his two younger sons Thomas and Simon.  Henry is desperate to find Maria and Lucas alive but with each passing hour it gets more and more difficult to hold onto that hope.

Let me start my fawning over this movie with director Juan Antonio Bayana.  In what is only his second film (after 2007's The Orphanage, a horror film which I've seen but remember nothing about), he's crafted something rather fantastic here.  Of course, with the tsunami we're given some wonderful large scale special effects within the film's first forty minutes.  Rather amazingly, I never for one minute felt like I was watching Naomi Watts and Tom Holland in a water tank.  [I realize that sentence sounds obvious -- of course I shouldn't feel like they're in a water tank -- but that often isn't the case in films where it's sometimes quite obvious you're watching special effects.]   Bayana uses a variety of different camera angles -- from above and afar, underwater, close-ups -- to masterful effect creating an incredibly visceral and frightening experience for the filmgoers during this horrific sequence.  How these effects didn't get nominated for an Oscar is beyond me.

While Bayana effortlessly lenses special effects and also moves the film along at a great pace with nary a wasteful or unnecessary sequence, he also gets some absolutely amazing moments from his cast who make the most out of Sergio Sánchez's heartfelt and very strong script.  I don't even know where to start with the fabulous quintet of actors so I'll just begin with the only one who has garnered any awards buzz -- Naomi Watts.  I rarely, if ever, quote other people when writing my reviews, but Reese Witherspoon (of all people) crafted a lovely letter praising Watts' performance that totally sums up my thoughts:

"Your brutal physical performance, the ferocity of your mothering spirit and the soul touching moments where you hold on to life with every part of your being were incredible...such strength and absolute vulnerability in the same performance.  A mother who is determined to teach her son what if means to be a good person even when facing her own mortality...you have created a performance that will stand the test of time."

As if Watts's performance wasn't enough, Ewan McGregor brings quite possibly his best performance to the screen as a father determined to find his wife and son.  There's a moment when McGregor's Henry essentially loses hope and breaks down that is simply heartbreaking and shows us both Henry's strength and vulnerability.

Tom Holland's Lucas is actually the central male character and he more than holds his own opposite the tour de force performance from Watts.  At the start of the film, Lucas is your typical twelve year-old doing all he can to distance himself from what he feels is an overbearing and overprotective mother.  However, after the tsunami hits, Lucas and Maria's roles switch with Lucas needing to take on the role of caring for his injured mother.  There's a moment in the film where it hits Lucas that without his father as a protector, his role in life (at least at this moment) needs to change and Holland expertly conveys all that needs to be said without ever saying a word.

This role is Holland's first film and it's also the first film for the much younger Samuel Joslin and Oaklee Pendergast as Thomas and Simon.  Joslin, in particular, is given a scene in which his father tells the young Thomas that he must look after his brother Simon while he goes out to look for Maria and Lucas.  There's a look in Joslin's eyes that is just heartbreakingly real -- without words, we know Thomas is frightened, but willing to do what is necessary when tasked with something no seven year-old should have to undertake.

The Impossible is not an easy film to sit through even when one is aware of the characters' fates in the end.  The chills one experiences during the tsunami sequence, the uncomfortable squirming as the bruised and bloodied characters search for safety, and the gut-wrenching moments when unexpected reunions amazingly occur all combine to create one of the most engaging, exhilarating, and touching cinematic experiences I've seen in a very long time.

The RyMickey Rating:  A