Cinema Babble: Absolutely Stunning Art

The Flick: Epic

The Voice Talent: Colin Farrell, Christoph Waltz, Josh Hutcherson, Amanda Seyfried, Jason Sudeikis, Chris O'Dowd, Aziz Ansari, Pitbull, Beyonce Knowles, etc, etc.

The Dealio: Based on a book by William Joyce (and, OBTW, I am an absolute sucker for both the art and the storyline of this writer's entire catalogue of works) The Leaf Men and The Brave, Good Bugs. This is the story of a girl, MK, who, upon the death of her mother, returns to the middle of nowhere, where her estranged dad lives alone and -in full mad scientist mode- spends his time exploring the microscopic life of the adjacent forest. To the exclusion of all else, may it be said. Her arrival makes a barely perceptable ripple in his existence, although he has thoughtfully made plans for MK to join him in his hunt for the wee creatures who inhabit the countryside. When a weird quirk of fate reduces MK to the size of the aforementioned creatures, she finds herself equal parts Dorothy in Oz and Amelia Earhart. And she- and her dad- are forced to experience the pain and loss of ignoring one world for another.

The Grading Session: 4.919 pengies out of 5. This film is simply one of the most beautifully-executed ever. No detail is too tiny to be fine-tuned. No expression or transition is left to just happen. And the storyline is an important one, too. Alternately, Dad is frustrated by the daughter's skepticism: 'Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it isn't there.' Daughter, in turn,  is discouraged and saddened by her father's focus on the minuscule creatures of the forest, when she, mourning the loss of her mother, just wants to find her pain eased and be comforted: 'I am right here, Dad! Right here!' Both have much to learn, as do the small ones. Especially the small ones.

Lessons Learned: Ooooh, here's a goodie: 'We are like leaves on a tree: each individual, but all part of the same creation.'  Another one I liked is this: just because you are a slug does not mean you can not act like a Leaf Man. And, lastly this: there is beauty to be found wherever we look...if we only look.