Ed Asner & A Talking Dog

Who hasn't wanted to do this?

 Saw “Up” on Saturday night and cannot suggest more strongly that you do the same. As brilliant, delightful and visually stunning a film as you’ll see this summer.

Won’t say a word about the plot, but the story is a delight. Quixotic, suspenseful and full of surprises, it demonstrates a mastery of the craft of storytelling – a hallmark of all great Pixar productions. Of course, proclaiming Pixar a bunch of geniuses is a bit like saying Esther Williams was pretty good in the pool or that Cassius Clay knew how to throw a punch. But the structural complexity woven through even the slightest of sight gags demonstrates the incredible amount of thought, planning and imagination that went into the creation of this wonderful piece of work.

Last week I watched Synecdoche, New York (flawed but sort of brilliant,) Hannah Takes The Stairs (also sort of brilliant and also sort of flawed) and Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (harrowing, but also brilliant and yeah, sort of flawed.) Three radical approaches to filmmaking all trumped by Ed Asner and a talking dog. Apples and oranges of course, but fashionable as it is to hate on Walt’s Evil Corporation, I can’t deny that Up was the only film of the bunch that made my heart ache. I laughed while tears rolled down my cheeks.

It may not be an “art film,” but by god is it art.