By Robin E. Simmons
THE LEGO MOVIE
Spectacular, manic, smart, silly and, get this, even emotional. This fast paced, surprisingly thoughtful and finally endearing 3D animated film will satisfy kids just out of diapers as well as mature adult new to diapers. This is one of those extremely rare family films that has a premise that works and a brilliant, bright, endlessly witty execution that constantly dazzles. There’s no segment of a potential audience that this film misses. It’s a bulls-eye.
The story follows ordinary, average LEGO figure Emmet who is not only mistaken as extraordinary, but key to saving the world! Quickly Emmet is recruited into an army – or fellowship – of strangers on an awesomely epic quest to crush an evil tyrant. Only problem is, Emmet is woefully, hilariously, ill prepared for such a task.
The studio expectations for this nicely crafted film were modest but optimistic. The actual take as of this writing (Sunday) hover around $70 million. Not bad for a $60 million budget. What’s more, the initial reviews were ALL very positive. This is one of those surprise moves that at first seems like it’s for little kids when in fact it’s a cross generational movie for men and women, boys and girls of all ages. And on top of that, the 3D is extremely effective and perhaps necessary to tell the story most effectively. 
Even though Warner’s pointedly marketed the film to Lego collectors and nostalgic adults, the movie is so wildly imaginative with relatable characters, it was destined to find its audience – after all, who has NOT played with the Danish plastic building blocks?
The film incorporates a mix of Lego-licensed characters, like Batman, C-3PO and Gandalf, as well as the Blue Spaceman, a favorite Lego character. Warner also has some big names in the voice cast, with nice performances from Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Ferrell, Morgan Freeman, Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum. Now playing.
NEW FOR THE HOME THEATER:
NANOOK OF THE NORTH
Robert Flaherty’s 1922 groundbreaking documentary of Eskimo life is among the most important films of the silent era. It’s arguably the first documentary, although that filmic term was not in use at the time. The film has held up well and it is still a joyous experience.
Even though Flaherty had no qualms about re-enacting scenes, some perhaps from a slightly earlier era, the end result is pretty astonishing in its portrayal of everyday Eskimo (Inuit) life. The endless quest for food by Nanook for his nearly starving family is gripping, to put it mildly. There’s always a pervasive beauty of place and an authenticity of circumstances. Flaherty spent a number of years in the Canadian arctic as an adventurer, explorer and prospector. He knew well the people and their harsh lives. But Flaherty’s great gift was his mastery of the pure drama of Eskimo life. (Shockingly and sadly, it was reported that Nanook died of starvation not long after the film’s release.)
The Criterion edition is mastered in hi-def and in the correct speed. The source print is the painstakingly 1972 restored 35mm nitrate print. The fitting orchestral score is from Timothy Brock.
The Criterion two disc set includes “The Wedding of Palo” (1934), the obvious successor to Nanook. There are also six bonus films: “Nanook Revisited” by Claude Massot shows the changes to the people and places since Flaherty; “Dwellings of the Far North” (1928) is a re-edited version of the igloo building sequence; “Arctic Hunt (1913) and extended excerpts from “Primtive Love” (1927) are by Arctic explorer Frank E. Klenschmidt; “Eskimo Hunters of Northwest Alaska” (1949) by Louis de Rochemont shows many similar scenes as in Flaherty’s film but 30 years after, and “Face of the High Arctic (1959) shows the region’s ecology. There’s a fascinating 32-page booklet with excerpts from Flaherty’s book “My Eskimo Friends and a new essay by historian Lawrence Millman. This is one for the digital library. Criterion. Blu-ray.
THE COUNSELOR
Probably the most scathing and divided of recent movie reviews greeted the release of Ridley Scott’s THE COUNSELOR. Based on an original screenplay from Pulitzer Prize winning author Cormac McCarthy and with an A-list cast including Michael Fassbender, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem, and Brad Pitt. The resulting thriller about a lawyer dealing with a shady incident in his past that comes back with an unforeseen ferocity is not for everyone. The movie has its fans but its detractors are legion. What disappointed me most was the talky script and the lack of suspense – or thrills. Even so, there is no shortage of McCormac’s trademark bloody violence. The movie looks great, as all Scott’s films and there are tantalizing moments that suggest a different, hard-boiled modern noir story. Fox. Blu-ray.
Comments? RobinESimmons@aol.com
