It’s become a cliché to say that Pixar is the most consistently wonderful creative force in cinema today. But like many clichés, it’s a cliché for a reason… and Up — the studio’s tenth film — is the latest example of why they leave everybody else in the dust.
I won’t bother with a detailed recap of the film’s plot. Most people who read this will have seen the film already, and if you haven’t you should go do so instead of reading about it here. Very quick synopsis: elderly widower Carl (voiced by Ed Asner) travels in his house via helium balloons to the South American paradise he and his wife always planned to visit. A nerdy and needy kid winds up as an accidental stowaway. Adventures, laughs and life lessons ensue.
Recently I discovered that DirecTV has signed me up for free Showtime. Apparently this is something they do as an anniversary gift to subscribers who’ve been with them for a certain number of years. If they alerted me to it, I missed the note. And I have no idea how long I’ll have it.
‘Star Witness’ was the first song that really hit me on Neko Case’s wonderful Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. As the second track, it sets the tone early on for what’s to come — it’s my favorite song on one of my favorite albums.
I love highlighting songs featured in movies because it’s a marriage of my two great artistic passions — the peanut butter and chocolate of the entertainment world.
I don’t really like Katy Perry or her music, but I have to hand it to her. She’s really carved out a niche for herself through her outsized sex kitten persona and a batch of songs that, shallow though they may be, are undeniably catchy. Delivering her sexy-but-safe pre-packaged pop, she’s a vision of lustful innocence — the prima donna and the whore.
