Mark Twain

Documentary Director Ken Burns does it again. This time he sets his sights on the quintessential American author Samuel Clemens, more famously known as Mark Twain.

This three-and-a-half hour biographical documentary covers every imaginable detail that was significant to his life and writing, from his rambunctious youth and young adulthood to his rise to the top of American literature with the Mark Twain persona to his tragic later years when he was left with no family and resting merely on his own celebrity.

Of course, Ken Burns does an amazing job of tracing the storylines of Twain's life, showing the roots and growth of his strong moral positions that pulled at his consciousness and influenced his literature. But, as usual with Ken Burns's films, the biographical and historical narrative is broken up with enlightening commentary by a nice mix of celebrities and historians - such as Hal Holbrook who performed as Mark Twain.

At times the film is dragged down in some of the details of his lesser works while perhaps a few more minutes could have been used to discuss the significance of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." This would not have stayed true to the form, though, as it focused Clemens's life and work and not on the works themselves - regardless of whether one of those works ("Finn") is possibly the single greatest piece of American literature ever written.

Ultimately, we grow to understand the writer as a human being apart from the books he wrote. It helps to have at least a general knowledge of the Twain books, but isn't necessary. What is necessary is a nice long chunk of time to truly absorb the life of quintessential American writer as documented by the quintessential American documentarian.

Up

I must admit that I was originally hesitant to watch "Up" given that it arrived with such universal acclaim, which often leads to disappointment. Thankfully, disappointment never arrived, though. Wonderment showed up instead.

Carl Fredrickson (voiced by Ed Asner) is a lonely, grumpy old man who isn't quite sure what to do with himself after the death of his adventure-loving wife Ellie. When he is forced out of his home by redevelopment in the neighborhood, he decides to pick his house up via balloon and move it to Paradise Falls - a trip he had always promised his wife, but never followed through on. Along the way he picks up an energetic but misguided boy scout named Russell and a loyal if challenged dog named Dug. Almost to his goal, Carl runs into the missing adventurer Charles Muntz (voiced by Christopher Plummer) who has grown a bit crazy in search of the elusive bird called the Snipe. Ultimately, Carl must choose between the past he built with his wife - quite literally his home - and the "family" he has acquired on his quest.

The first twenty minutes of this movie are some of the most emotionally charged scenes in any feature film I've seen - animated or live action. Directors Pete Docter and Bob Peterson use these waves emotion masterfully to help pace the story. Every moment of action is tinted with a moment of emotional reflection. The musical cues heighten this effect, reminding us of Carl's wife whenever he needs to make a difficult decision.

My only complaint about this film - and this is a minor gripe - is that it felt a little too chunky and episodic. The "person vs. person" conflict that gives the film its climactic moment felt too distant from the early "person vs. self" and "person vs. nature" conflicts. In fact, the whole final conflict between Carl and Charles felt a bit forced and unnecessary compared to the profound simplicity of Carl's personal conflicts.

Still, this movie is easily one of the best films of the last few years. It is humorous and entertaining while also containing an intense emotional poignancy. Although the "happy ending" may not have been Carl's first choice, it is ultimately the most fitting ending to such a strangely powerful movie.

Hiatus

I sincerely apologize to anyone who may have been chewing their nails waiting for me to post on this blog. Now that I have my own internet, I will.