Drag Me to Up

I have so much to catch up on. So this is probably the most interesting double feature I have and ever will see in my life. As midnight showings would have it, neither Up nor Drag Me to Hell offered me a chance at sleep deprivation so, instead of choosing one of the two to watch on a
Friday night, we went to both with Sam Raimi's thrill fest up first:

















Drag Me to Hell

I hate horror movies. They are usually stupid, unrealistic and ultimately provide me with zero thrills or entertainment whatsoever. I've become recently a little less stiff towards the prospects of watching a horror movie but the fact that Orphan will probably make a shit ton more money than a wonderfully quirky film like The Brothers Bloom scares me more than than the former probably would if I saw it.

That being said, Drag Me to Hell is maybe the most fun I've had at a movie in a long time. It is utter brilliance. I really mean that. Sam Raimi has once again managed to subvert the genre much better than some silly Wayans could by simply setting out to scare you and then making you laugh at the fact that he scared you. The entire sequence in the parking lot is haunting and yet ridiculous.

I think it's awesome that the plot is so thinly drawn. Woman gets angry, sets curse upon woman who pissed her off, woman tries not to go to hell. Ha! That's so unrealistic that you can only have fun at a movie like this. When I kept recommending it to my friends, they would basically scoff at me because they think it's just another horror movie. They have a point. The trailer is indicative of another Haunting in Connecticut but the movie itself is so much better and essentially a fun ride. It's kind of sad that it takes cinephiles with extensive knowledge of Raimi's previous work to enjoy a movie like this but maybe the future of horror movies can learn something from this movie because it's, in a word, awesome.

Grade: A-

2009 Marlon Welles Awards Nominee:

Best Picture
The Real Deal
Best "Best Moment of the Film": The possessed donkey
Best Scene Stealer: Reggie Lee's caricature of nervous and conniving Stu
Most Surprising Moment: She still ends up being dragged to hell


Up

Wall-E is probably one of the best animated pictures ever and maybe the most daring. To follow that up (pun intended) is no easy task. Overall, I think Pixar has provided another solid entry but one that cannot rival the previously mentioned masterpiece they produced last year.

Up is great. By any standards it's one of the best movies of the year. But, as I already said, it followed an unrelentingly fun film so it was handicapped from the beginning. I'm sure that I'll like it more when I see it again but upon first glimpse, I was not blown away by the film. The montage sequence of Carl Fredrickson and his wife was as touching as everyone had said it would be. The juxtaposition of the two leads was hilarious and was accentuated by the hilarity of the talking dogs.

I think my only problem with the movie is that the villain, Charles Muntz, falls flat for me. He was Fredrickson's idol but now he's trying to prove to the world that the tropical bird is real? I don't know. Overall, it seemed a little forgettable as far as Pixar movies are concerned but then again, I did see after the catharsis of Drag Me to Hell. I don't know. Either way, it will probably still be better than most movies this year.

Grade: B+

2009 Marlon Welles Awards Nominee:

Best Animated Picture
Best Montage: The life and relationship of the Fredricksons
Best Scene Stealer: Dug the dog. "I have just met you and I love you."
Best Use of a Song: The Habanera as Carl is getting out of bed