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| Movie Review: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Alternate Title: So Long and Thanks for all the Fish
Story: Beam me up, Scottie!
If you like imaginative, often silly, visually delightful romps through
the galaxy then beam on over to see this funny film directed by music
video veteran Garth Jennings.The author and screenwriter
of the vastly popular book and series, Douglas Adams,
sadly died before he saw his vision come to the big screen. All of Earth is destroyed to make way for a super
highway through the galaxy except for our accidental hero and a chick
he met at a costume party a few weeks before. His adventures, along
with his alien pal Ford Prefect, the president of the galaxy, Zaphod
Beelebrox and a clinically depressed robot named Marvin are what this
film is all about. They story is told through vignettes as they travel
the Galaxy meeting all types of creatures in attempts to solve galactic
conundrums. There's a lot of running around, silly escapes and occasional
lags in the story. It is best if you leave all earthly beliefs and
truths at the door if you want to enjoy this film. There are some great
laughs and solid visual effects. Acting: I am not sure what we see up on the screen
is acting. There's running, acting scared, gazing and some really good
one liners. That being said, I did enjoy the voice of Alan Rickman
as the robot, Sam Rockwell's mania, Martin
Freeman's British cool and Zooey Deschanel's
pluck. The Jim Hensen workshop created characters were hysterical.
Predilection: I like outer space.
Critters: Oh my! So many wonderful critters. The
film opens with a great sequence about dolphins. Along the way we see
mice, whales, birds, fish and some that are not of this earth.
Food: Lots of food on earth. Not much to eat in outer
space.
Soundtrack: A terrific soundtrack with a toe-tapping
beginning and ending song, So long, and thanks for all the fish!
Opening Titles: Cool
Visual Art: Everywhere
Theater Audience: Three other galactic wanderers
and us.
Quirky Meter: 7
Squirm Scale: 0 (although some might find the end
of the world squirmy).
Drift Factor: I did not really drift but the middle
did get repetitive.
Predictability Level: I did not read the book so
I did not have a clue where this film was headed.
Oscar Worthy: Perhaps some technical nods are deserved
along with the song.
Soap Box: In today's political climate, any other
planet looks good to me.
Nit Picking: The films episodic tone tended to make
it meander too often. Some of the visuals reminded me of Star Trek's
The Borg or other outer space films.
Big Screen or Rental: Big screen for sure.
Length: Under two hours.
LOBO HOWLS: 6
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