Review: ‘ParaNorman’

Norman (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is a normal, young boy. He loves to sit on the couch and watch TV with his Grandmother (Elaine Stritch), chat with people as he walks down the street in his small town and play with all of the dogs and cats as he passes them by.

There’s only one problem. They’re all dead.

Ok, so he might not be your typical young boy.

But that’s ok, because when the town suddenly becomes overrun with ghosts, ghouls and zombies, Norman is the only one who can help. But from his disbelieving family and the school bullies, will Norman – ParaNorman – have enough confidence in himself to get rid of the horrors?

The film, from the stop-motion animation studio that gave us 2009’s Coraline, is entertaining and the visuals are outstanding. It’s got humor for young kids – not too young though, there is some creepy stuff going on in the film – and older and a lot of don’t-blink-or-you’ll miss-it moments that someone my age got a big kick out of. The film also has a solid (but not preachy) attitude about bullying and what it’s like to be different. Read more

Trailer: “Tower Heist” starring Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Casey Affleck, Matthew Broderick, Michael Pena, Gabourey Sidibe

Tower Heist: After the workers at a luxury Central Park condominium discover the penthouse billionaire has stolen their retirement, they plot the ultimate revenge: a heist to reclaim what he took from them.

Director: Brett Ratner
Cast: Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy,  Casey Affleck,  Alan Alda, Matthew Broderick, Judd Hirsch, Téa Leoni, Michael Pena, Gabourey Sidibe, Nina Arianda

In Theaters: November 4th, 2011

 

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Casey Affleck on how he chooses a role and what makes a killer tick

Casey Affleck is starring in The Killer Inside Me where he plays a small-town sheriff’s Deputy. Oh, and he a psychopathic killer.

He tells USA Today that he was attracted to the script “because it was a really interesting portrait of a very extreme person. The violence and sex were never sensationalistic. He’s a sad, violent, unhappy person. I felt for him.”

The director, Michael Winterbottom wanted Affleck from the very beginning. He says that Affleck “has a gift to convey that something else is going on in his head that he’s not showing you. He has a great sense of timing and he’s interesting. I don’t know if it’s technique or if it’s who he is. The days he had to be violent, those were the difficult days for him. You felt that Casey found it quite hard to get into Lou those days.”

In the video below, he talks briefly on how he chooses a role (at the:39 mark).

The trailer is after the jump

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