Rangovision
I need to run — the wife needs computer help and I still need to stretch — so only a minute or so of verbal vomit: We saw Rango this weekend, which was highly entertaining. My challenge was keeping up with all of the movie references. Star Wars, Chinatown, pretty much every Clint Eastwood western, Pirates of the Caribbean 3, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas . . . With all the references, it was a challenge keeping up with the dialogue. I was often too focused on the potential references and not on what they were actually saying: “One time I found an entire human spinal cord in my fecal matter.” Nothing like a kids’ movie with plenty of twisted adult content . . .
The last time we tried to see a film was when the latest Harry Potter came out. The line was agonizingly long and they sold out before we got in, so we arrived early for Rango. Not too early, although with half an hour to spare, we were four of maybe ten people in the theatre. As it got closer to showtime, the theatre filled up, mainly with 8-10 year old kids, gathered together for a birthday party. Their constant pre-show yapping filled me with dread and annoyed the hell out of the wife and the girl-child. I forgave the children, however, when they started singing a Sarah Palin parody song. And since they stopped all yapping once the movie started, I was doubly pleased. Hopefully these are the children of our future, not the ones up in Idaho worshiping Sarah.
A movie I probably will not be seeing anytime is the latest Moby Dick remake: Age of the Dragons. The music was properly dramatic, but the dialogue sounded awful and the action cheesy. C’mon, Mollywood, you can make better films than this! (or maybe these were early cuts?) Saints and Soldiers wasn’t awful, but the preview for Ages of the Dragons had me giggling and rooting for the poor dragon!
Rango was cute, neurotic, uplifting, a bit scattershot and ended up with an environmental message that seemed a bit forced coming as late as it did, but very enjoyable overall. If I gave out such things, I’d give it a two big toes up.
