The Five People You Meet in Heaven - 7 stars out of 10

The Five People You Meet in Heaven - 7 stars out of 10

“The Five People You Meet in Heaven” is a creative exploration of one man’s life and how it impacted others.  Mitch Albom’s interpretation of heaven tells the story of “Eddie Maintenance” and allows him to make peace with those whose lives he impacted and vice versa.  This creates an interesting flashback effect, showing us Eddie’s life through the perception of others instead of through his own perspective.  Jon Voigt brings life to Eddie and paints him out to be a lovable old grandpa and a hero from the start.  This empathy carries us from the beginning to the end of the film, even when we doubt his goodness.  There are very few indications that this is a made-for-tv movie.  Despite several obvious green screen moments, the low budget of the film never interferes with the amazing storytelling technique of Albom.  It does move slow at times, but it is worth it to get to the end.  The acting is excellent for a low budget film, particularly Michael Imperioli as the gruff Captain and the lovely Dagmara Dominczyk as Marguerite.  I also think that Ellen Burstyn was perfectly selected to narrate the film.  From the tough childhood to the beautiful love story and difficult realizations of Eddie, this story will take you through many strong emotions in a short amount of time.  I wouldn’t include this film in my list of “great” ones, but it certainly brings Albom’s story to life and causes us to reflect on which five people we may meet in Heaven someday.

The Messenger (2009) - 7 stars out of 10

The Messenger (2009) - 7 stars out of 10

“The Messenger” explores a different side of war: the family members who have lost someone in the war and the military officers who have to inform them.  This film develops as a series of vignettes that show the reactions of families receiving this bad news and the emotional toll that it takes on the messengers.  We never meet the soldiers and truly take on the perspective of the lead characters.  The only things that we will ever learn about each soldier are revealed through the short interaction with their family.  And then we must move on.  The film is full of pure, raw acting by Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster, supported by a cast of characters who all react to their bad news in different ways.  Woody has played some great roles in the past, but his breakdown at the end of this film is his finest moment.  It will send chills down your spine.  Steve Buscemi taps into an emotional place that we typically do not associate with him.  Because of his goofball partnership with Adam Sandler, it is easy to forget his amazing performances in “Reservoir Dogs” and “Fargo.”  The script is well pieced together with anti-war sentiments and the honor due to the men who protect our country.  Each character response tells a different story of their relationship with their soldier and perspective of war.  I did not have high expectations for “The Messenger” but it delivered a strong two hours of drama and emotion.

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977) - 10 stars out of 10

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977) - 10 stars out of 10

“The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” is a true Disney classic.  The film is so good that its characters have become iconic and beloved by children everywhere.  Unlike the heroes of most Disney films, Pooh lacks a certain… intellect, and this makes him adorable as he goes to his thinking place to “Think, think, think think think think”.  His childlike logic puts him into memorable comical situations (and often honey pots).  The animation of Pooh is very well done, allowing him to express emotions while maintaining his stuffed animal appearance.  The style of the film is what makes it so special.  The story is presented as an illustrated children’s book that we are reading.  We see the pages being turned while the text of each page echoes the dialogue and actions of the characters verbatim.  The film utilizes the book style as characters jump from page to page, the pages flip back and forth to see what other characters are doing, and the words on the pages interact with the story as they are blown away by the wind and washed away by the flood.  The hand-drawn effect is enhanced by using a sketch-like outline for the characters when showing them close up.  It is a visual masterpiece.  The three short stories are seamlessly tied together and you would never know that these featurettes were produced and released over an eight year time period, with the “Honey Tree” being released 11 years before this compilation.  Unlike “The Three Caballeros” and “Saludos Amigos” (which feel disjointed and random), the storybook approach of Pooh’s “chapters” allow each story to flow into the next.  I love the Sherman brothers’ songs in this film.  They create the classic Disney sound by using those full jazz chords in the voices without creating a stylistically jazz sound (a la “The “Aristocats”).  The repetition in each song will quickly have it stuck in your head, and you will be singing “The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers,” and “When the Rain Rain Rain Came Down” for weeks.  As a child, the trippy “Heffalumps and Woozles” haunted me but, as an adult, it’s actually a really cool sequence!  While the visual style and music are great, the true triumph of Pooh lies in its voice acting.  This diverse array of voices is what makes each character so distinguished, not only in this film but also throughout pop culture.  When you consider the voices of Sterling Holloway (Pooh, Cheshire Cat), John Fiedler (Piglet, church mouse in Robin Hood), Paul Winchell (Tigger, Shun Gon from The Aristocats), Junius Matthews (Rabbit, Archimedes), Hal Smith (Owl, Flintheart Glomgold from Duck Tales), and Barbara Luddy (Kanga, Lady from Lady and the Tramp, Merryweather), they are so radically different that each voice stands out from the rest.  There are few films that boast this many great voice actors and this film is as much as feast for the ears as it is for the eyes.  “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” is a great family favorite for each generation to pass down to the next.  It has an appeal for all ages and will truly come to life once you have ridden the ride of the same name at Disney World.

The Bad News Bears (1976) - 6 stars out of 10

The Bad News Bears (1976) - 6 stars out of 10

“The Bad News Bears” is entertaining but it just has too much language to be a family movie.  I have a vivid childhood memory of sitting down to watch this film (since we LOVED “The Mighty Ducks”) and having to turn it off because it was too crass for children.  It’s a shame because the language does not add to the plot or characterization.  It would be easy to represent this motley crew through their lack of skill and immaturity.  Then, if you saved the swearing for Kelly Leak, it would only require two or three swear words and the cigarettes to paint his bad boy image.  I actually think that the language of the other characters detracts from his image.  If they all swear, he doesn’t seem quite as bad.  As an adult, I felt like it wasn’t intended for me but I still enjoyed it.  Walter Matthau is great in this grumpy role but the true star is Tatum O’Neal.  She adds the human element, insecure about being a tomboy but having no reservations about sticking it to the boys.  The story evolves in a way that you really do care about these underdogs and want to see them succeed.  While I much prefer “The Mighty Ducks,” this is a good film for baseball fans.