Life After Beth Has No Pulse

Jeff Baena wrote i heart huckabees. I LOVE i heart huckabees. So I was excited to learn that he had penned and was going to direct a new "zombie" flick starring Aubrey Plaza... Life After Beth.

This is a story about a kid who recently lost his girlfriend Beth to a snakebite while she was out hiking by herself. But when her parents begin acting weird after the funeral, he gets suspicious and decides to break into their home only to discover that she is still alive... well not exactly alive... but living... you get the point.

The only problem is... well there turned out to be a lot of problems... For one, Aubrey Plaza (note that she was top billed) barely had anything to do in the movie... no real character... no arc... no screen time. The real lead of the film was Dane DeHaan who has failed to make any kind of an impression on me between the four movies I've seen him in... wait, that's not true... I know him as that whiny kid.

HE

NEVER

STOPS

WHINING.

Ugh. But then the film itself turned out to carry a plot that would've worked better in a short. I know this because my friends and I made said short four years ago. When your characters have to repeat the same conversation fifteen times over the course of the movie, you probably don't have a complete feature-length story.

The one truly shining moment for me came in the first couple of minutes... and it had nothing to do with the script... or really the film in general. It's an obvious ad-lib by John C. Reilly at the shiva. Just this tiny random moment that proves how much of a genius performer that man is. If (and I'm telling you, you shouldn't) you decide to go watch this film, I'm sure you'll know exactly what moment I'm referring to.

My final comment is to Jeff Baena. I know you can do better than this... I've witnessed it. Please write another screenplay with the same caliber of i heart huckabees! Don't make me beg here!

DisneyNature's Bears Is A Welcome Earth Day Treat

Almost every Earth Day, DisneyNature puts out a little family friendly documentary in hopes that we may better understand and care for our planet. This year's latest installment was Bears, as narrated by John C. Reilly.

While at times the film does manage to feel a little TOO kid friendly, it eventually manages to break free of its constraints with some rather epic bear fights... of course nothing too brutal. When African Cats came out several years ago, the biggest note I heard from parents was their kids were scared because (quite honestly) the violence was rather intense. And while I, being an adult without the constraints of children, enjoyed that aspect of the film, I do recognize that it's intended viewers are families. So it would seem with this most recent installment, DisneyNature has learned its lesson, bringing the intensity of violent behavior down to a minimum. Any parents who find themselves wary of bringing their kids should rest assured, this one is truly made for all ages.

That is not to say it is without drama. Some of the events this bear family has to deal with are quite harrowing. And at times I honestly thought things would take a turn for the worse. But at the end of the day, it is a family movie. I cannot emphasize that enough.

The choice to bring Mr. Reilly on board was, in my mind, a stroke of genius. After all, he's just another lovable bear in his right. And man was it fun to hear him joke around on screen. You could tell he was just having a blast.

Bears is a welcome big screen documentary for the whole family. Now I just can't wait for next year's Monkey Kingdom!