On Christmas Eve we went as a family to see "We Bought A Zoo" at the movie theater in downtown Colorado Springs. It was wonderful to see a Cameron Crowe film as a family, considering that previous Crowe films have definitely been intended for mature audiences. While "We Bought A Zoo" deals with some pretty heavy issues, I was impressed with Crowe's ability to gently handle ideas which a lesser director would have exploited for emotional effect. The film centers around a man who has lost his wife and his two children (who lost their mother). Instead of dwelling on the past, Crowe focuses on the daily challenges of life. I think that it must have been very tempting to incorporate flashbacks into a movie like this, so that we the audience could understand how wonderful life was before the wife/mother was lost. Instead Crowe introduces us to characters who have already begun the process of life without their loved one. Of course the film still is quite sad, as each person struggles with this new life, but ultimately they are supporting each other. The run-down zoo which is attached to the family's new home works as an allegory for their life and it is also just what it seems; a zoo. This was a smart move for Crowe, I think he understands that a good film should entertain it's audience, and be substantive to boot. Even if children don't understand the deeper meaning upon their first viewing, it will be there when they return. I think that my favorite movies from childhood have turned out to be the great films which have gotten better as I am able to understand them more.
I didn't take the family to see "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo", and I don't think any of them will be seeing it for quite some time. I had seen the original film version, which really was sufficient, but I really wanted to see how David Fincher would treat the same material. Honestly the first film could easily have been directed by Fincher, so he definitely had to out-do himself to leave no doubt that this was really his movie. The opening titles reminded me of the opening to "Fight Club", it really grabs your attention and sets the atmosphere for the film to follow. Throughout the film there are moments and techniques utilized which definitely made the film uniquely Fincher, but overall I was surprised with how similar it was to the original version. Of course Fincher's best films ("Fight Club" and "Seven") are best the first time you watch them, so here he was already at a disadvantage. The moments of greatest tension, or that are meant to shock were the same exact moments from the previous version. When I think of "Fight Club" I always think about the first time I saw it, the visceral experience that was burned into my mind; this movie fell far short of that. This film was billed as "the feel bad movie of the holidays", to which it totally delivers... And yet, Fincher's nihilism, which somehow worked to his benefit in some of his other films somehow feels like too much here. "Seven" is about men who confront evil for which they are unprepared. That film at least forces the audience to ask themselves what would they do if faced with the same dilemma. The closing moment of the film solidifies the main character's belief that she is and always will be utterly alone. If this review has bummed you out, I'm sorry, I didn't force anyone to read it. You should have stopped with "We Bought A Zoo".
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