It's All About the Kids

So last night, I went to go and see Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. But I stupidly did not buy tickets beforehand. You know that feeling when you are standing in the box office line and your movie is sold out, you are kind of pissed. And then of course there aren't that many options, because let's all be honest...Christmas movie selection this year was a little bit lacking. So I decided to see We Bought A Zoo. Truthfully, I was not that excited about it. I mean, from the trailer, the movie looks touching and Matt Damon is always a charmer, but Scarlett Johansson is not my favorite actress.

Little did I know how surprised I would be about this movie. I will now say that this is the best movie I have seen this year. It combined comedy, dark family times and animals all in the same film. Keeping with my theme of my posts so far, I am really very shocked that this film is not picking up more awards hype.

The first reason being why is the truly great cast. As a viewer of movies from all genres, time periods, and casts I would say that the casting of children in a movie can make or break the chemistry of the entire film. Thankfully, in We Bought A Zoo the rest of the ensemble shines because of the two children stars. The plot focuses on what Matt Damon's character, Benjamin Mee, and his two kids are supposed to do after their mother dies. The young girl who is cast in this movie is truly brilliant. She is so cute that I wanted to grab her out of the screen and take her home with me. Her name is Maggie Elizabeth Jones (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1369619/ ) and this girl is currently paving her way to becoming a Hollywood Great. She is just seven years old and has been in two films just in the 2011 calendar year. For such a young girl, she has comedic timing and grace beyond her years. This girl could have saved the film is the rest of the casting was shotty. The film still would have been halfway decent because of her.

The second reason this film is top notch, is because of the chemistry between Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson. Now, I am going to retract what I have previously said about Johansson. She shined in this movie and the way her and Damon interact on screen is mesmerizing. Her big lips didn't ruin the movie this time.

Go SEE IT!!