Now, what I want to know is how long do I have to wait for a Pitfall version?

Charlotte Gainsbourg – Heaven Can Wait

The story is pretty simple: a peaceful world is invaded by an alien explorer, and with the help of a goodhearted youngster and his friends he eludes the government and attempts to get back home.

Okay, not that original I grant you. Even though the story does a nice job of tilting the perspective by having a Earthman be the invader on an alien world, the weakest piece of Planet 51 is its plot.

By allowing the film to take place on an alien world, however, the film also is finds its strength in designing a world, though goofy, is certainly interesting to explore. This world seems to be centered around a circular design you see in everything from windows to the design of automobiles. Merged with this aesthetic is a 1950’s Americana style in terms of look, film, and sound.

It’s not only the buildings and cars, which resemble rounded and more molded versions of rides you’d find in American Graffiti, but the people themselves who are imbued with a certain honesty and gullibility found in the B-movies of the period. Although slightly forced at times it does imbue the film with some innocence and simplicity. The look of the aliens themselves I could take or leave, but the world that they inhabit is one I enjoyed spending some time in.

Our hero is the young junior astronomer Lem (Justin Long ) who is just unlucky to have Captain Chuck Baker (Dwayne “Stop Calling Me The Rock” Johnson) land on his doorstep. Along for the ride are the girl next door (Jessica Biel), Lem’s goofy friend Skiff (Seann William Scott), and the astronaut’s robotic doglike sidekick Rover (who may not be as lovable as WALL-E, but definitely has some charm).

The two main obstacles to getting Chuck home are an army led by General Grawl (Gary Oldman) and his pet mad scientist Professor Kipple (John Cleese) who are positive the alien has some kind of mind-control powers and has come to take over their world.

The film doesn’t do itself any favors by including “kiddie scenes” (cheap jokes usually involving some form of bathroom humor). Here we get an alien dog who urinates acid and chases the mailman (even Rover looses control of his bladder at one point). This is a film that will make you roll your eyes from time to time, but I was never turned off by the film’s more juvenile failings. As it makes these mistakes the film also takes numerous opportunities to pay homage to several sci-fi films of the past, most notably E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

Planet 51 isn’t a great film and if you are going to try to hold it up to the likes of Pixar or the glory days of Disney you’re going to be sorely disappointed. However, if you enjoyed Monsters vs. Aliens and the Madagascar films then a trip to Planet 51 might suit you just fine.

What follows is a May/December romance that everyone sees happening, including Jenny, her teachers, and her parents (Alfred Molina, Cara Seymour), but no one can prevent.

Mulligan provides the heart of the film, and will no doubt recieve a fair amount of praise for her performance. Although I’d seen her in small roles as one of the Bennet sisters in Pride & Prejudice and one of my favorite Doctor Who episodes, I didn’t know she could carry the bulk of a quiet dramatic film on her own.

As good as she is, it’s Sarsgaard’s performance that I was most impressed with. There’s little to like about David, especially as the film slowly reveals more damaged layers of his character.

And though we desperately want Jenny to turn away from him, we never come to hate his character, nor do the other characters in the film, which given the circumstances is quite remarkable and a testament to Sarsgard himself. The amount of charm and emotion he puts into this cradle-robbing cad makes all the difference. Director Lone Scherfig makes sure we see both the charming visage Jenny falls for, and her parents adore, as well as deeply flawed human being underneath.

And the supporting cast is strong as well. Both Molina and Rosamund Pike provide deliciously funny moments by doing nothing more than stating obvious points from their characters’ point of view. And I wanted more of Olivia Williams as Jenny’s teacher, and the one person who never gives up on her.

Adapted by Nick Hornsby the film definitely has the feel of a memior, and, to be honest, is stuck with its limitations as well. We certainly see the world through the eyes of Jenny and live through her joys and mistakes. At the same time the film ends rather abrubtly, which I can only assume was a choice by Hornsby to follow the the lead of the memoir rather than contrive a more cinematic final act.

An Education is a nice quiet film you’ll no doubt have to search for. It’s not without its flaws (which include a rushed ending and puzzling final narration), but with an entire film filled with strong performances and an engaging story about a girl who is forced to make hard decisions far beyond her years, it’s one film you shouldn’t miss.

This is deeply disappointing but unfortunately not surprising at all. The two best documentaries I’ve seen this year have just been screwed out of a shot at an Oscar nomination.

“Anvil! The Story of Anvil” and Michael Moore’s “Capitalism: A Love Story” were not picked as one of 15 films deemed eligible by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to be nominated for an Oscar. Read on…

They could have taken this Prisoner remake two different ways either a modern day thriller a’la Jason Bourne, or they could have taken surrealism to a new level in this post Lynch world.

Instead we get something that doesn’t even try. We get a show that has been diluted to the point of pure drivel. We get a series of mildly amusing homages to the real Prisoner, a #6 who doesn’t have nearly cleverness that Patrick McGoohan had, and a #2 with no emotional depth. Neither character is able to preform the clever repartee that made the original so special.

There is just to much wrong with this new series for me to even put it all in this post (trust me, I tried and ended up with a short book). None the less, every person should watch it, if only so it becomes universally mocked and hated.

Now, if I can only get my hands on a working DeLorean and some Plutonium… and $275.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii Review

*If you have already played the game let me just say we hate you, we really, really, hate you. (Except you Morgan)

Royals Greinke Wins Cy Young