THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY

Reviewed by Patrick Gibbs

 GRADE: A

Bridgit Mendler, David Henrie, Will Arnett, Amy Poehller, Carol Burnett
Screenplay by Hayao Miyazaki & Keiki Niwa
English Adaptation by Karey Kikpatrick
Directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi

Just a small sized girl, living in a lonely world.

Arriety  is a “borrower,” one of a disappearing race of little people who live under the floorboards of houses. When little things go missing inside your house, and you have no explanation for it – it just might be “The Borrowers.” But borrowers aren't thieves – they take only what they need.

Arrietty is a spirited young girl, living alone with her parents, and reaching adolescence. She longs for more than her isolated word. Excitement, friends – anything. When young Shawn arrives at the house his mother lived in as a child, to live with his great aunt Jessica, Arriety is intrigued by the boy. When Shawn leaves the car, he sees a cat trying to attack something in the bushes, but the cat leaves after being attacked by a crow. Shawn goes to see what the cat was trying to attack – and catches a glimpse of Arriety.

That night Arrietty's father, Pod, (voiced by Will Arnett of Arrested Development) takes Arrietty above the floorboards to show her how he gets sugar – her very first “Borrowing.” Their first stop is the kitchen, then they walk within a wall to reach a dollhouse in Shawn's bedroom, to get tissue. Before Arrietty and Pod can leave, Arrietty notices Shawn is awake, and accidentally drops the sugar cube they got. Shawn tells them not to be afraid of him.

It's not long before things spiral out of control, and Arrietty's high strung mother, Homily (voiced by Arnett's real life wife, Amy Poehller) is terrified of being discovered, and talk of picking up and moving begins. But the lonely Arriety may have found a reason to stay.

Generally speaking, I am not a fan on Anime, but Hayao Miyazaki doesn't make ordinary anime. I find his works to be wildly inventive and captivating, and once again, Disney has expertly adapted it for an American audience. Typical to the Disney treatment of Studio Ghibli films, this is a heavily Americanized take on the original Miyazaki screenplay, complete which American names replacing the Japanese names (Sho becomes Shawn, for example) and American stars, including Disney Channel flavor of the month Bridget Mendler of Lemonade Mouth fame (yes, it is sad that I know that) as Arrietty, and Poehller earning big laughs as the fragile Homily, not to mention the the great Carol Burnett as the housekeeper, Hara. The film has been given a lot of American sensibilities, and it would be easy to forget that it wasn't made for English original without the little tell tale signs (Konji writing, a worker drinking cold coffee out of an aluminum can.). At the same time, the style and the spirit of the atmosphere are distinctly Miyazaki. There are a few moments in particular that shout out Miyazaki's influence on this magical world, and the result is really quite delightful. This is quite little a grand adventure on a small scale, or vice versa, depending on your perspective, and Arrietty herself is quite the resourceful heroine.

Based on the Award Winning Novel The Borrowers, which was the basis for a 1997 film, The Secret World Of Arriety may be a bit more distinctly aimed at kids than Spirited Away or Howl Moving Castle, but it's one that can be readily enjoyed by adults, and is an excellent family film. The pacing is fast, the characters involving, and the vivid world of the Borrowers is one I could disappear into for a long time. This is a wonderful little film that deserves an audience, and one that I could see many times.

The Secret World of Arriety is rated G.

THE GREY

                                                     
 Reviewed by Paul Gibbs
GRADE: B+
Liam Neeson, Dermot Mulrooney

Directed by Joe Carnahan

The Grey is a difficult film to review. It's made with stunning skill and talent. In fact, on that level, it matches many of the films nominated for this year's Academy Awards. And I consider this a particularly strong Oscar year. This is a huge surprise for a film released in January, typically Hollywood's dumping ground for duds. However, as brilliant made as The Grey is, it's not a pleasant film to watch. That's not always a bad thing, but viewers are likely to be very split on the issue of whether the movie is worth the downbeat feelings it inspires.

Liam Neeson stars as John Ottway, employed in the Alaskan wilderness to hunt wolves. When Ottway and a group of co-workers go down in a plane crash, Ottway becomes the de facto leader of the group, leading them back while protecting them from the elements, and, most importantly, from a ferocious pack of wolves. By description, and judging by the trailer, this is a fairly simple variation on the 1992 drama Alive (wherein a Uruguyan rugby team crashes their plane in the Andes and stuggles for survival) with the classic creatures feature. And, in it's basic structure, that's still an accurate description of the film. What's different is that Alive was a “triumph of the human spirit” story that balanced it's gruesome, harsh realities with an uplifting story of hope. There is no hope to be found in The Grey. On some levels, the brutal, bleak honesty of the film is refreshingly forthright. But it's hard for me to remember the last time a movie was likely to leave it's audience feeling as depressed as this one.

Director Joe Carnahan has fashioned some masteful suspense sequences that rival the best films of this type. I found myself utterly compelled and mesmerized, and more genuinely unnerved than I can any film making me feel in a very long time. In fact, at a couple of points, when an audience member who had forgotten to to turn off his cell phone let out a loud ring, I actually felt a sense of relief at being pulled out of the reality of the film for a moment. I wasn't actually stuck in the freezing cold and being hunted by wolves. It was just a movie.

Neeson, one of our greatest living actors, does some of the best work of career. He certainly has reached the pinnacle of his new-found “tough guy action hero” persona. One can almost imagine a Clint Eastwood character being intimidated by Neeson's character in this film. But it goes much deeper than that. Neeson's Ottway is a fully-fleshed out human being, and every emotion he feels resonates deeply with the audience. The supporting cast is also excellent, in particular Dermot Mulrooney, James Badge Dale, and Frank Grillo, who offer moments of devestating emotional realism. Neeson and Badge Dale share a scene which I would probably rank as among my top ten unforgettable moments in film history. And I don't say that lightly.

The Grey is also far more thoughtful than it's “Liam Neeson beats some wolves” trailers suggest. It deals with complex philiosphical and theological issues. I haven't decided yet whether it answers those questions. If it does, I disagree with the conclusions it draws. But I still respect the artistry of Carnahan and company in how they express them. But those questions add greatly to that disturbing, unsettling quality that makes it so hard to recommend the film to viewers. There's a difference between respecting a film and enjoying it, and I respected The Grey much more than I enjoyed it. Part of me wants to see the film several more times to study the brilliance of its technique. Another part of me doesn't think I can afford the vast spectrum of antidepressants that would require.

So, balancing out my conflicting feelings, I give The Grey a B+. The film easily earns it's R rating for violence, gore and profanity.