Movie Reviews: "Life of Pi," "Hitchcock," and "Rise of the Guardians"

Hollywood Bites Reviews: Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

Settling in to watch "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole," there are already some pretty glaring clues that this isn't going to be your typical animated children's movie jaunt.
First of all, there's the title, which can be a tongue-twisting challenge for adults, let alone folks who spend their days writing the ABCs in crayon, and then there's the film's director, Zack Snyder, a visionary whose previous work includes the blood bath epic "300" and graphic novel opus "Watchmen." Any man who's willing to include a central character with a bright blue glowing schlong isn't the type of guy who's going to turn in your usual Saturday matinee kiddie fare.

And that's a good thing.

Based on Kathryn Lasky's series of young adult fantasy books, Guardians of Ga'Hoole, Snyder's 3D animated spectacular is about Soren (voiced by Jim Sturgess), a young Barn Owl who lives in the peaceful forest of Tyto. Kidnapped by the evil Pure Ones, lead by Metalbeak (Joel Edgerton) and Nyra (Helen Mirren), Soren escapes and finds himself confronted by an onslaught of Harry Potter-esque challenges, like taking his first flight, as he sets off on a dangerous adventure that leads to the mythical Great Ga'Hoole Tree.

Darker and more challenging than most recent offerings by other animation studios, "Legend of the Guardians" has no qualms putting animal kingdom norms unflinchingly front and center. For example, one of the film's first frames is of an owl stealthily swooping in and snatching an unsuspecting mouse in its talons before flying into a hollow and announcing, "Dinner!" Hey kids, who wants to learn about a li'l thing called The Circle of Life? But this ain't "The Lion King."

Mouse meals are nothing compared to the fierce mid-air battles, Snyder, who admits he took a page from his "300" days, strapping his fight choreography team into homemade cardboard owl wings in order to work out a samurai-like battle style he felt was befitting an ancient nation of sky predators, never shies away from the fragility of life in nature. Thoughtful and mature, the director instead created a fantasy realm firmly rooted in reality, even if it does feature talking animals.

From the rich, lush texture of each owl's brilliant and beautiful feathers, a jaw dropping digital process that took two of the film's three years of production to perfect and should surely win them acknowledgement come award season, to the Magic Hour hues which watercolor each Maxfield Parrish backdrop, "Legend of the Guardians" is astonishingly tangible and stunning to behold, though not without some considerable plot holes. Luckily, Snyder has created a visual tapestry so lush, structural hiccups are quickly forgotten in favor of savoring animation that belongs in the Louvre.

Talkin' Helen Mirren on Fox News Lips and Ears 7.2.10

I come in at the 0:46 mark and again in the last 30 seconds of the clip.

Helen Mirren Responds to Outrcry Over "Nude" Photos

Earlier this week, the internet exploded after topless photos of Dame Helen Mirren were published in New York Magazine. Based on the brouhaha it created, I half expected the 64-year old Dame to be stark naked, riding a unicorn side-saddle and eating a Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich with Elvis when we Googled the shots.

Nope.

All that raucous was over a little flash of murky areola under water in a bathtub. What a snooze of a "controversy."

Sitting down to speak with Mirren at the press day for her new film, "Love Ranch," I mentioned the free-for-all the photos had ignited and she was quick to sound off.

"I know. Please! Idiotic. What can you do?" she said with a dismissive wave of the hand before continuing.

"Those photographs were taken by a very great art photographer, one of the best in Europe. Whenever I work with a really good photographer, I try to give him or her their own artistic freedom because that's how you get the best work, or, at least, the most interesting work. I gave [photographer Juergen Teller] his freedom and that was the result. I like the photos because I thought they were naked in the proper sense of the word: I've got very little makeup, there's no elaborate lighting and it's simple and real. They weren't intended to be sexy. I think sex and nudity are two different things. People tend to get the two mixed up."

Asked if she felt that people were upset because the actress is willing to flaunt her body "at a certain age," when most women are fed the propaganda that they shouldn't be sexualized past the age of 40, she quietly replied, "Well, too bad," cracked a knowing smile and started to laugh.

Take that haters.

"Love Ranch" opens June 30.