1698 - Away We Go

I've seen this a few times now and it's still enjoyable.  Maya Rudolph and Jim Krasinski are a perfect couple here.  They have their quirks, they have their faults, but it's hard not to fall in love with them pretty quickly and pretty hard. 
This film tells the story of a couple who finds themselves pregnant, and with family and friends scattered throughout the country they decide to embark on a trip to figure out where they should raise their child.  It's a funny, touching, and poignant film that's treated with both simplicity and care.  It's an interesting film visually (might revisit it again soon just to study that aspect).  I don't think the camera moves the entire film and it's all shot on simple tripod shots with simple pans and tilts - but even inside of that it's a really pretty film. 
It's on netflix if you haven't seen it yet, but if you happen to snag the DVD it's got a really nice making-of feature about how they tried to make the film as 'green' as possible.

1576 - Road to Perdition

I haven't seen this film in years.  I forgot just how damn fine of a film it is.  Given that it's been out for almost a decade you'll excuse me if I go into some territory that might be SPOILERS.  But seriously, folks.  It's been out for ten years - if you were going to see it, wouldn't you have?

I've been on a revenge film kick for research I'm doing, and there's no surprise why it's such a popular genre, it's just one of those things that's so damn primal.  This is one of those films where you just know that each and every shot of meticulously planned and meaningful.  The way that Mendes using sound here is very clever and integrated.  I imagine his experience in the theatre has informed some of his style choices on the screen.  The film is full of wonderful performances from Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, Daniel Craig.  If I have a gripe it's that there is a framing narration where Tom Hank's son in the film mentions the various stories about his father, how some say he was a good man, and others that there was no good in him - the problem is in the casting - Tom Hanks couldn't be unlikeable if he tried.  Fair enough, he starts the film off a bit cold, removed, but he's still nowhere near the guy you avoid in a dark alley.  I think that they could have made him a bit rougher around the edges.

So if you haven't seen this film you really should.  It's not something I really ever heard spoken about, but it's just a really wonderful film from top to bottom

1303 - Away We Go

It's been two days since I saw this film, and it's going to be a different review than if I'd written about it right away. Right away I thought this was a pretty sweet little film. John and Maya are really really enjoyable, and they're believable as a couple and I dig them. Upon reflection what this film really is is an examination of different finds of families and how they work, using these two as a way to get to them. It's contrived, and that's okay. That's how these kind of films have to be to show a diverse group of people with varying opinions. I guess the problem I have in further reflection on this film is that the groups of people are a little too stereotypical for me. I feel like I want these two to remain unbiased, but there's a definite bias with the filmmakers. Some characters are left to feel real and others being characatures and I don't think it's fair to the mindset of the people that they're meant to represent. As a person who has pretty specific views and opinions on how I want my family to be, and a strong view of how I see other people's families, I thought the film was a bit... judgmental. That being said, I recommend it. I want to revisit it and check out the extras on the DVD. It's a film I need to watch more to see if some of my reservations are intentional, and what those intentions might just be.