December 8 2007

Across the Universe

The Beatles inspired musical Across the Universe seems to have split the critics between love and hate. One scene you won’t find them discussing takes place within the first 20 minutes of the nearly 3 hour film. It’s my brother Mark’s second time on the big screen, this time in a significantly smaller role credited simply as “football player”. With no lines and less than thirty seconds of camera time, I’m amazed I managed to snap a photo at just the right moment.

As far as the film itself goes, I certainly didn’t enjoy it as much as Roger Ebert did. However, there are a few songs that were done so well, that at that moment in time I really did love the entire movie.

In particular, Eddie Izzard as Mr. Kite in “Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite” from “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” (as seen in the trailer) is amazingly over the top with a great mix of animation and Big Top showmanship, it’s really quite spectacular. Another favorite is the performance of “I’ve Just Seen a Face” from “help!“, which happily tugs just a bit at the heartstrings of young love. These moments really make you want to dig through the entire Beatles catalog all over again.

While Across the Universe could have benefited greatly from some serious scene cutting, I still can’t help myself from saying I had a good time.

movie / tv