Shopgirl & Chicken Little

Shopgirl

This movie reminded me of 'Lost in Translation' due to the pacing issue. Both movies are based on scripts that are probably not long enough for the length of the movie, both are written by people of other fame and both are about relationships and loneliness. In LIT you can check out Scarlet Johansson's booty and in this one Claire Danes'. Despite having seen LIT previously, I found this movie much more to my liking. The story is of a young girl in LA, leading a life that's pretty darn lonely and boring. Enter two potential love interests played by Steve Martin and Jason Schwartzman. Schwartzman is broke but young, and Martin is much older but can buy her tailored dresses. Both treat her like jerks overall. Both conform. It's too late for one of them. Even though so far I haven't pointed out any positives, I did enjoy this movie despite some issues.

The actual story is very uncomplicated, but the way it was presented reminded me of a painting for some reason. It was told in layers, trying to add a little slab of paint, one brushstroke at a time. There was only one instrumental on the soundtrack and they played it over and over which I thought was a bit odd. Danes and the rest deliver great performances and even though I never been a fan of her since she ditched My So Called Life, maybe, just maybe I'm finally ready to forgive her. Despite of it being moody and not exactly uplifting, I found this movie pretty decent entertainment on a Sunday night.

Chicken Little

Well it's not a bad start to Disney's plan to move on and get used to live without Pixar. However, it's a long way from Nemo or Monsters or even Incredibles. It's a little unusual to watch a Disney movie without original songs, but rather a soundtrack of very popular songs. Story is just what you'd expect from Disney: a young character faced with a goal no one thinks they can do, who then must prevail and be a hero/success. Also like most Disney movies this one only has one parent (I always wonder why they do that). The animation was cute and well done, but the story lacked originality and needed better jokes and some plot twists that you didn't see coming. I actually enjoyed the first half of the movie, when poor Chicken Little goes through his life day to day as a failure and laughing stock. Unfortunately, then the movie takes a spin into a 'War of the Worlds' recreation (which the characters acknowledge!) after which the plot is just shot. Too bad. It is a movie that kiddies might enjoy, but don't be expecting one of those animated features you'd even go to without kids.