Movies: "Orphan"; "Up"

Summer movies, eh? No, not Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (eww...), or Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince (which I have yet to see). One is a little under the radar, while the other is pretty mainstream, much like its predecessors. And... they are polar opposites.

Orphan

Distributed by Warner Bros. and produced by Dark Castle Entertainment, this is your standard horror/thriller film. It tells the story about a family that loses an unborn child to stillbirth and the psychological repercussions that ensue. Eventually, they adopt a young girl. The thing is, there is more than what meets the eye for this peculiar child.

I would not be writing this if I did not like the movie. However, in all honesty, the first hour of the film dragged on to a point where I wanted to get up and leave. However, the second half of the film - yes, another hour, the movie is about two hours long - turned out to be a roller coaster ride.

Originally, I have to agree with those whose initial reactions to the movie's promotions, commercials, and trailers consisted of comparisons between Orphan and the 1976 horror film, The Omen. The latter film also centralizes its plot around exceedingly creepy children. Of course, demonic kids also show up in Rosemary's Baby (1968) and The Exorcist (1973). All I can say is, the actual orphan... well, you will have to find out what makes her different from the rest of the pack. More thrilling than scary, though there are those horror moments, the majority of the scenes only try to freak you out, and do not actually carry out the actual freaking. Personally, I like that, since the cliché horror aspects do get old.


Moving on to a not-so-scary film...


Up

Yes. Just "Up." That's the title. Distributed by the famous duo, the Walt Disney Company and Pixar Studios, this is your typical animated film of the year. It's humorous, it's touching, it's adventurous and fantastic.

It tells the story of a man named Carl, who dreamed of exploration during his childhood. Years (many, many years) pass and he's now a crusty, old man. Attempting to fulfill the dreams of his late wife, he... well... inflates several thousand balloons and proceeds to fly his house to Paradise Falls, South America. Along the way, he is joined by an oriental-looking kid named Russell, who, as a Boy Scout, needs to earn one final merit badge by assisting the elderly. Then there's a giant tropical bird they find in South America. And then there is a talking dog that also joins in shortly afterwards. This is all to Carl's dismay. The audience pretty much travels along with the odd group in their adventure, which is to the most part, an enjoyable ride.

The introduction to Carl in the opening sequences of the film happen to be one of the most saddening Disney moments that I can remember. The aforementioned "late wife" of Carl, the childhood they experienced, and the long lives they led with each other have got to be the most touching elements to this film. From there, after the "aww's" and "...'s" the film moves on with the main storyline and turns to the standard children's entertainment it is meant to be. It's a pretty good movie, matching well with the previous Disney productions.