The Secret of Kells

Goolphipp Award: 2.8 (Wait for DVD)

Goolsby:
Phipps and I were drawn to this movie because of Ireland. Clearly our trip overseas left an impression of us. I would say this is the second recent Ireland-based movie we have seen frankly, just cause we need an Ireland-fix. So, while we were in Dublin we went and saw the Book of Kells exhibit at Trinity College. The book is amazing. For a tiny tiny background of the Book of Kells, Wikipedia gladly supplies us with this description, "...an illuminated manuscript in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament together with various prefatory texts and tables. It was transcribed by Celtic monks ca. 800."

We got to see select pages of the book on our visit. And let me tell you something, it was pretty amazing. The detail! So we were pretty stoked to see this children's cartoon story surrounding the Book of Kells.

The basic idea - a boy helps in the creation of the Book of Kells, and gets into quite a bit of adventure along the way.

This cartoon was actually semi-hard to follow. I think it would be best to go in to this thinking of it more as a fable or oral history, not a movie cartoon. I have to say us State-side people have been exposed to fewer types of cartoons or animated movies. We have a simple plot and goal laid out in the very beginning of the movie. This movie however, sort of wandered around. It was a solid story, filled with scary moments, amazing symmetry which mirrored the insanely detailed book itself. I say just sort of sit along for the ride in this movie, don't expect anything at all.

Oh... and a bit of a tidbit if you do go see this movie, wolves went extinct in Ireland around 1773.

Oh! There was a black man depicted in the film that bordered, no, straddled the racist line. Did he really need that big of lips?

Goolsby overall: 2.75
To quote Phipps during the first 3 days of our trip to Ireland, "I don't get it." Which is sad to say, and I wish I connected more with this film. Where's someone from Ireland when you need 'em?

Phipps:
I don't get it. This movie was spectacular visually, but plotwise, I pretty confused. I felt like I needed an Irish brain to get all the references. This is definitely a piece of Irish culture, because like most things in Ireland, nothing is outright clear (from street signs to movies apparently). The roots of this (I was told) is fear of invasion, which is actually depicted in this movie with faceless buffalo-like Vikings. It boils down to a story about fairies and magic...which helped write a transcription of the Christian gospels. Paradoxical, right?

This is not a kids movie. The meandering plot combined with very serious and scary animation scenes - I would suggest 10+ (or 12+ to be on the safe side) on this one.

This movie did get an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature, which is well-deserved for the actual animation. The visuals were wonderful, and they all had their roots in the Book of Kells itself. The entire movie was full of filigree motifs and geometric pattern design. Frankly, it was amazing, especially because I have seen the real book in person. I got that part of it. The character Brother Aidan, was the spitting image of Willie Nelson as a cartoon...with an Irish voice. Absolutely hilarious. I felt like the people in general were funny looking - what was up with the notches on the ears?

Bottom line: Not for kids, tough to follow, but worth a watch for the visuals. Read up on the Book of Kells before viewing.

Phipps overall: 3
Interesting, but I was too lost to fully enjoy it. That 3 is for visuals alone.

Leap Year

Goolphipp Award: 2.75 (See the Cheap Matinee)

Goolsby:

Goolphipp has been to Ireland. That is the main reason we wanted to see this movie. We wanted an Ireland fix. We got what we wanted, but I might say we were both a bit frustrated. I have two problems with this movie: geography and shoes. I had a hard time following the logic that went behind Anna, played by Amy Adams, and her crazy journey. If she hired a boat from Wales to take her to Ireland - with the goal of getting to Dublin, then why in the world was she diverted in a storm to Dingle?! How does that even happen. Maybe my lack of sea skills and knowledge is to blame, but this just doesn't make sense. This whole issue would have been rectified if they could have put in a little map overlay that showed her journey points- like Indiana Jones style. Then the shoes! Oh gosh, how in the world would a fashion forward woman only bring one pair of shoes, and high heels at that? She knows it rains in Ireland, are high heels a good choice? No! This may seem like a ridiculous complaint (more so for our male readers) but traipsing around country roads in Ireland with 3 inch heels is not even feasible or possible! We know!

Okay, so after my some what long rant, lets point out some other things. I loved the portrayal of Ireland. I thought it was true to how the people and land actually are. I loved the old men in the pub, and I loved seeing the picturesque landscapes. I thought Matthew Goode played a good Irish lad named Declan. He did a good job hiding his British accent from an American's ear perspective. I thought that Adams and Goode gave great lovesick performances. We saw Goode this weekend in Watchmen and were surprised to see him without facial hair.

On another note, this movie is predictable, but you know what I say, what movie isn't? I think for the most part, any romantic comedy is predictable, and I'm fine with that. There are other good reasons to see this movie, the Irishness.

Goolsby overall: 3

Go for Ireland.

Phipps:

Boy meets girl...and poof! They fall in love. That's a romantic comedy. And this one is no different. I read a review before I saw this movie that said (paraphrasing), "the animosity between Matthew Goode and Amy Adams is too believable, and makes the idea of love between them ridiculous." And I agree...the animosity between them was believeable, but I disagree with the believeability of falling in love with someone that gets under your skin. Remember grade school? Fight one day, and in love the next. I felt the bonding moments were significant enough push Declan and Anna past the animosity. As a kid who has been to Ireland, the countryside does cast a spell over you...add in a good-lookin' bloke...well, what more do you need? And honestly, I loved the scene where Declan and Anna made dinner at the B&B. Never underestimate cooking as a bonding tool. At any rate, I believed it enough.

But I stand by what Goolsby said, the shoes Amy Adams wore were impossible. Who only packs one pair of shoes? Not any girls I know. Now lets talk about the geography craziness! I swear someone thought we were really stupid when they were writing this movie. It just wasn't explained at all. You'd think that if they hit a storm, they would just fly into Shannon Airport on the West coast of Ireland - it's closer than Wales. Anyone that knows anything about where things are in Ireland and the U.K. will be thoroughly turned-around.

Okay, but my complaints aside, it was still a decent watch. It was fun to see Ireland again. It was fun to see the bits of culture these filmmakers got right. I came out of the movie with a hankering for a properly poured Guinness.

Phipps overall: 2.5

Decent...but the geography drove me to distraction.

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The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day

Goolphipp Award: 3.75 (Worth 11 Bucks)

Phipps:
All hail the return of the Saints! They are definitely older. The movie started off in the wilds of Ireland with insanely fake beards. Needless to say, it was a really rocky start. It took a good chunk of the movie to get back into the swing of things. Once you were in the groove, there were tons of jokes referencing the first movie, which were hilarious. It seemed like the movie had just embraced the campiness we all know and love. Believe it or not, Rocco returns to the story, and it was done well. Replacing Rocco, is a spry Mexican kid called Romeo, who actually has more of a brain than our Funny Man. Our favorite trio of detectives were back, enjoying a bigger role. Willem Dafoe’s place was, as lead FBI investigator, replaced by Julie Benz. Plot was a little unexpected, the Saints’ Dad being at the center. Like I said, it was rocky at times. However, the last ten minutes of the movie must be seen by every Boondock Saints fan. In the words of another reviewer, Writer/Director Troy Duffy “pulled a rabbit out of a hat.” I agree. My jaw dropped, hit the floor, and stayed there. I was flabbergasted in the best way possible. Go check out the best kept secret on film.

Phipps overall: 3.5
For the last ten, baby.

Goolsby:
I was excited for this movie, very. Phipps is right, it had a rocky start, but panned out in the end. The last ten minutes definitely going the extra mile. I think the second half of the movie was well done though. It paid homage to the greatness of the first one, but also brought a unique story too. However, I don't think the plot packed enough umph for me. I wanted to be completely blown out of the water, and I wasnt.

When you have such stellar performances from all the characters in the first one, its hard not to feel like each part is being replaced. The new Rocco is obvious and the new Dafoe was even more obvious. That was a bit disappointing. It's almost like making your grandma's famous cookies, just because the recipe works so well, doesn't mean that you cant tweak it. This movie delivered what I was expecting, but I still wanted a crunch.

There are a few scenes that just made my heart smile, so cleverly done. The old bartender with tourettes is one of my favorites. I want to say more, but can't! Go see it!

Goolsby overall: 4
For the old man and black cat cameo!

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