Review No.97: Big Miracle

I have to say I'm a sucker for a film about animal rescue my favourite being Fly Away Home however if we're looking at films about whales it has to be Whale Rider. Combining both of those elements is Big Miracle which is based on a real life story in which several groups of people banded together to help three whales trapped in a hole in the ice of the Arctic Circle. Initially breaking the story is John Krasinki's local news anchor Adam Carlson who has been reporting on local stories in Barrow for a month forming a good relationship with the locals in particular Nathan a young lad who looks up to Adam as someone who is exciting as opposed to the old native Inuit culture from which he comes. Adam's former girlfriend Greenpeace activist Rachel Kramer, played by Drew Barrymore, becomes obsessed by the story haranguing Oil Chief Ted Danson and Chief of the National Guard Stephen Root to band their resources together in order to help. As the story becomes national news more and more news anchors descend on Barrow leading the locals to up their prices for accommodation and food. One of the reporters, Kristen Bell's Jill, wants to use the story that everyone ignores to further her own career and with help from a smitten Adam is able to do this. Though everyone, including the office of President Ronald Regan, has their own agenda for helping the whales eventually they decide to help purely so the whales can survive. At the end of the day there are careers furthered, minds changed, new romances formed and old couples reunited.

I have to say I'm a sucker for emotional manipulation and Big Miracle has that in droves especially when the focus is on the CGI whales which it is mainly in the film's final twenty minutes. It's less pleasing however when dealing with the multitude of characters that director Ken Kwapis' film has decided to deal with and while I'm aware that all of these people were involved in the true story one of the beauties of this being a film is that you're allowed to edit. If there was a way of doing it I would've removed Barrymore's Rachel because while I do like the actress the character was far too annoying plus her romance with Adam was dealt with in a very slapdash manner. The focus on politics, international relations and big business were all dealt with well however neither really got the chance to develop while the eventual love story that developed throughout these elements was really only afforded a handful of scenes. The best story about the film was about the people of Barrow and the traditions of its elders which are being tested by the influences from outside a plot point which is represented through Nathan respecting Adam more than his grandfather. The comedy that arises from the over-charging of the world's news that has descended on Barrow's doorstep was also a good story slightly reminiscent of Local Hero. Kwapis definitely is able to create a descent family film here as he did with his first big name movie Dunston Check In however with so many stories it's hard to focus on just one. There's no denying that Big Miracle is a superior family film, and indeed I was entranced all the way through especially by the whales, however given some time to edit the source material it could've been much more than that.

Verdict: An engaging and involving true-life tale with some cute CGI whales is a more than passable family film however due to an over-abundance of characters it fails to be anything more than that so for that reason it gains only 6.5/10

Review No.49: We Bought a Zoo

After a taxing day sometimes you just want a film that looks good and you don't have to think too hard about so thankfully last night I chose to watch We Bought a Zoo. The film is directed Cameron Crowe who has previously made two of my favourite films, Almost Famous and Say Anything, but recently went off the boil with his latest effort Elizabethtown. His latest film is based on the memoir of British journalist Benjamin Mee who, along with his family, bought Dartmoor Zoological Park in Devon before re-opening it to the public. In the film Damon plays Mee who is still a journalist but here a widower with two children one a fourteen year old  teen rebel Dylan and the other Rosie a cute little girl. As he is played by Matt Damon he is attracting attention from the local ladies but when his son his expelled and he is reminded of his late wife he decides his family need to relocate. As the title would suggest they end up buying a zoo which the girl loves the idea of but the boy hates as he is dragged away from his friends. Benjamin also has issues as there is a lot of money to be paid out so the zoo can be up to inspection standards and at times he doesn't think he's going to be able to afford it. The plucky young zookeeper Kelly, played by Scarlett Johansson, keeps Benjamin's spirits up but at the same time wonders why he bought the zoo while Kelly's cousin Lily develops a crush on Dylan however his closed nature eventually pushes him away. As you would imagine at the end of the film live lessons are learnt, everybody becomes happier and everybody ends up where they should be.

I do think that We Bought a Zoo is better than Elizabethtown but only just and that's mainly because Matt Damon is a more superior actor than Orlando Bloom. The plot of the film is fairly simplistic and most of it is expressed in the title however there is hardly any grit to the film underneath the sweet surface. The two main big issues here are the Mee's financial status and Benjamin's relationship with Dylan however both are treated pretty poorly. The finances are solved in a way which felt a little convoluted while I found the Dylan character had little depth partly due to Colin Ford's limitations with the issues between him and his father sorted out fairly easily after a lot of build-up in addition the romance between Dylan and Lily isn't really dealt with in a believable way similarly I didn't like the fact that Crowe had to put Kelly and Benjamin together before the film ended. There are some plus points in We Bought a Zoo with the majority of the cast being on top form notably Johansson who I've never been a big fan of and also Thomas Haden Church as Ben's brother and John Michael Higgins as the picky zoo inspector. While we're talking about cast-members I felt some of the others were ill-served notably Elle Fanning as Lily who essentially has to smile and act goofy and also Patrick Fugit whose role is basically walking around with a monkey on his shoulder. The themes of bereavement are dealt with well mainly due to Damon's believability and also his chemistry with the young actress who plays Rosie. Credit must also be given to Rodrigo Prieto whose cinematography on the film is spectacular and as this is a film directed by Crowe the soundtrack is also splendid with a score by Sigur Ros' Jonsi combined with tracks by Bob Dylan and Cat Stevens among others. A film with highs and lows I would recommend We Bought a Zoo for anybody who just wants to watch a predictable but heart-warming film with plenty of plus points to count out the negatives

Verdict: Though it has some great supporting performances, wonderful cinematography and a splendid soundtrack there's no getting away from the fact that We Bought a Zoo is incredibly cheesy so for that reason I'll have to award it a 6.5/10