The Secret World of Arrietty

 I remember in elementary school making a diorama for little people. A wooden thread spool became a table and a large match box became a bed. The fancy of recycling found objects for a scaled down world intrigued me and captured my imagination. The Secret World of Arrietty has done the same thing. With its lovely animation and heartfelt story telling I was completely lost in their world and thoroughly enjoyed the journey.
 
At the top of our story, Arrietty (Bridgit Mendler) is going on her first borrowing mission with her father (Will Arnett). She is brave, cocky and full of anticipation. After venturing beyond the house on her own and securing some bay leaves for her mother as a gift, she is confident of her abilities and is ready for action. But once inside the secret passage ways with her father, she soon discovers how dangerous borrowing truly is.
 
The house that the Borrowers live within belongs to an old lady and is run by her housekeeper Hara (Carol Burnett). On the day of Arrietty’s first mission a new resident arrives (David Henrie). Shawn is very sick and has come to his grandmother’s house to rest. He has a bad heart and is due for an operation. He is sad, quiet and expecting to die. But when he unexpectedly spots Arrietty the excitement gives him something to occupy his mind. He starts to think beyond his circumstances and begins to imagine how tough life would be for a little person.
 
Through his investigation, Shawn learns that his parents believed in the little people so much so that they built a customized doll house for them. But the code of the Borrowers kept them away and his parents eventually stopped believing. According to the Borrowers they only take what they need and only things that would not be missed. Taking anything for the doll house would be too noticeable.
 
After Arrietty’s and Shawn’s encounter they become friends against the advice of her parents. Her mother (Amy Poehler) is a chronic worrier and in this case she is right. Shawn’s interest piques the curiosity of the maid and she in turn hires some pest control. This puts the Borrower family in peril and Shawn, with his illness, is not in too much of a position to help.
 
What I loved the most about this film were the details in the artwork. Everywhere you looked you would see texture, nuance and lovely delicate flourishes. Whether it was the flowers in the garden or the engraving on a tea cup, every frame was imagined and complete with exacting detail. I also liked the heart in this film. You could really feel the relationships between the characters and I especially liked the relationship between Arrietty and her father. Will Arnett’s voice has a quiet authority and even though he says little, you could tell how much he admires his daughter. He protects her, but he also wants her to be independent and free. He truly loves his daughter.
 
This film, coming from Japan, is not your typical American animated film. There are no jokes, silly songs, cute little characters or merchandising ploys. What you get is a lovely fully-realized film with heart and breath-taking animation. Small children may get squirmy but everyone else will love this film. Carol Burnet is funny as the menacing housekeeper and there is a fat cat that provides some lighter moments. But The Secret World of Arrietty is a serious tale with life and death issues. It is a film to be appreciated and enjoyed by all. 

Rating: First Run A lovely animated tale
 

Thin Ice

In Thin Ice it is said, “Never believe what you hear and only believe half of what you see.” This is the philosophy of Mickey Prohaska. Mickey also believes that there is no such thing as being over-insured and he has no problem mixing his business finances with his personal ones. This strategy has not served Mickey well and at the present time his life is a mess. He has just won a prestigious award for being a model salesman and he should be proud of his achievement, but his wife has kicked him out of the house, he took his son’s college fund to pay off a gambling debt, his business is floundering and his constant lying is catching up with him.

Greg Kinnear as Mickey Prohaska lives his life in shades of grey. He is a likable fellow, charming, fun to be around, but he is always on the make and trying to round up the next client. At an insurance convention he steals away a new hire from his competitor just because he can. And when that new hire turns out to be a honest, hardworking, genial salesman with the client’s best interest at heart. Mickey feels that he must step in and teach this guy a lesson.

David Harbour plays Bob Egan and he is the kind of insurance salesman you wish you had, kind, thoughtful, caring and looking to save you money and get you the best deal. But Mickey is looking for big sales so he steps in and takes over one of Bob’s clients. The client, an old, senile farmer by the name of Gorvy Hauer (Alan Arkin) has lots of money and no family to speak of. Mickey gets him to invest to the hilt, but the man is temperamental. Mickey has to work to keep the fish on the hook. Especially when he discovers that the man is in possession of a expensive rare violin.

This is where Randy Kinney (Billy Crudup) comes in. He has just installed an alarm system at the Hauer house and Mickey has a great idea. Gorvy Hauer is going out of town to visit his ailing sister and Mickey is slipping some money to Randy to turn off the alarm so Mickey can “get some important papers”. But what Mickey really does is switch the expensive violin for a reasonable copy with plans to sell it and keep the cash. This caper goes horribly wrong and Mickey is now officially on thin ice.

Thin Ice, shot on location in the mid-west, has that trapped winter feel. As Mickey dreams of a tropical retreat he becomes increasingly frustrated with his wintery home. Everything is a hazard, death trap or accident waiting to happen. It has gotten so bad that Mickey is believing his own lies. Mickey’s last minute accomplice turns out to be a really bad idea because the man is unstable and also has a record. As the two try to untangle themselves from a crime of opportunity their biggest threat is each other. This film is about bad choices, bad decisions and bad luck. It’s also about insurance, sometimes you are better off accepting your losses.

Rating: First Run A film about bad decisions

The Woman in Black

Mood, atmosphere, shadow, The Woman in Black is a classic ghost story and Daniel Radcliffe proves that he can carry a film other than Harry Potter. As Arthur Kipps he portrays a widower whose beautiful wife dies during childbirth. Barely hanging on for the last four years he has been given a last chance by his law firm to redeem himself and save his job. He has been tasked to travel to a small remote village and take over the details of an estate left by a strange mysterious woman. Lost in his own grief he barely registers the resentment and fear that greets him there. But soon the town loses all pretense and Arthur Kipps becomes fully conscious that his presence is completely unwanted.

The house on Eel Marsh is a solitary one. During high tide the road is completely immersed and you may only access the house during low tide. Why anyone would build such a house is a puzzle, but the family and those who lived and worked there are even a greater mystery. There is death and tragedy at Eel Marsh and Arthur must sort through all the household papers and discover the secrets behind them. Mr. Daily assures Mr. Kipps that if you sell the house it won’t be a local. Ciaran Hinds as Mr. Daily is the only voice of reason in town.

Mr. Daily abhors all the superstition and only wants to get past his own child’s death. His wife (Janet McTeer) has not gotten past it and she believes that her son is trying to speak through her. Their home is like a memorial to their late son with paintings and keepsakes all around. But their son is not the only death. Dozen of children have died tragic and brutal deaths. According to legend, whenever someone sees the woman in black a child will soon die. And now they have Arthur Kipps poking around in their business. It is no wonder that the town hates him. In their eyes he is responsible for the deaths.

It has been a long time since I’ve seen a film of this type and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. This film operates on mood and shadow and is much more reliant on psychology than monsters, ghouls and demons. But it does have its ghosts and I can’t tell you how creepy Victorian wind-up toys can be. I can honestly say that after this film I will probably never sleep in the same room as one. I mean we had spooky wind-up toys in The Poltergeist when I was a kid, and that was bad enough. But these toys are disturbing even when they aren’t moving. Thanks to this film I have a new phobia.

Daniel Radcliffe does an excellent job in The Woman in Black. He displays a maturity that he hasn’t been able to show before and I found him quite convincing as the melancholy young father. Being immersed in someone else’s grief forces him to wake up and come out of his own. I thought that his transition from a moor less man into a man of resolve was well done. I have great hopes for the future of this young actor and I really liked this film.

Rating: First Run A classic ghost story that will thrill

Big Miracle

I have to give some credit to NBC Universal. They managed to find a compelling story, old enough that most people won’t remember, but current enough that most people will be engaged. Plus, it appears that they were the lead on the original story and had all the rights and permissions to the archive material. Therefore, using likable modern actors and mixing them with archive footage of the actual event Big Miracle allows us to revisit this issue in a fresh and exciting way. After 40 years, the environment still warrants our attention and Big Miracle is a very entertaining film.

John Krasinski plays Adam Carlson an Anchorage Alaska news reporter who is covering the town of Barrow mining for every bit of newsworthy material he can. After doing a story on the northern most Mexican restaurant in the world Adam is about to be called back home when he discovers a family of California Blue Whales that have been trapped in the ice. Surviving by keeping a small hole open, it is too far for them to swim to the open ocean, so when the temperature drops and the hole ices over, the family of whales will drown.

Adam runs his story, and in a quirk of fate it gets picked up by the network in New York City and soon the story of Wilma, Fred and Bam Bam goes national. People all over the country become engrossed in the plight of the whales and now the entire world is watching. Drew Barrymore who plays Rachel Krammer finds out about the whales on television. As the ex-girlfriend of Adam she is incensed because Adam didn’t tell her directly. Rachel is the northern director of Green Peace and she is determined to find a way to save the whales. Meanwhile Adam is trying to protect the town and its natives. Through his time there he has become very fond of the people and he respects their rights and culture. When the Native Americans consider harvesting the doomed whales it creates an international controversy. At this point all eyes are on Barrow.

Rachel Krammer is a thorn in the side of many politicians and in her quest to save the whales she goes after the governor of Alaska (Stephen Root) and then the owner of an oil company (Ted Danson). What Ted Danson’s character doesn’t know is that his wife has been secretly feeding Green Peace information. (Kathy Baker) wants to save the whales too, and with the information she leaked and by manipulating her husband, she gets him to volunteer his ice crushing ship and putting up all the expenses, if the Coast Guard will agree to help.

Dermont Mulroney plays the Coast Guard officer who has been given this project to manage. He believes that it is a waste of time and expense but he is following orders. But as President Reagan becomes involved in the project it now becomes a matter of national importance. The power of the press and the power of the people are now guiding this venture. These whales have become a symbol.

As the little town of Barrow becomes a media circus and the natives, long forgotten by the world are now front and center Big Miracle covers the environment, Native American rights, life above the Arctic circle, Green Peace and the fate of three whales. The miracle of this film is that it handles everything in a light and family friendly way. Kristen Bell is introduced as a fellow reporter and love interest, Ahmaogak Sweeney plays a local boy who has become like a little brother to Adam and with his grandfather (John Pingayak) becomes our link to the Indian world. And then there is a score of minor characters, like the two brothers from Minnesota who fly to Alaska at their own expense with their de-icing invention. Everybody wants in on the action and everybody wants to save the whales. Big Miracle is an excellent message film and it entertains as it educates.

Rating: First Run An entertaining message film