"Her"

Through Theodore's eyes we see, "Her." 

In this SciFi romance, society continues in the direction that it is already heading during this cyberage – playing with the paradox of how we can be constantly connected through social media yet less intimately connected. We have replaced personal interactions with text messages. Even on a physical level sex has been replaced by safe cybersex. The art of letter writing has been lost with the advent of chat, creating an industry for personal correspondence writers. Writer/Director Spike Jonze explores this theme with his main character, Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix), a professional letter writer who specializes in drafting touching, intimate love letters while being totally shut down by fear in his personal life.

Instead of creating a hollow, unfeeling world of SciFi technology, Jonze creates a world where people still strive for human connection. Using the rules of artificial intelligence as a guide, Jonze makes it seem totally feasible that an operating system could be conversational and interactive. After Theodore downloads his own personal assistant operating system (Scarlett Johansson), she introduces herself: “Hi, I’m here. I’m Samantha.” Theodore is taken aback by the beautiful imperfections in her voice. When she wakes him up the next morning, she surprises him by exhibiting a sense of humor. Programmed to anticipate his every need (while making no demands of him), it’s not difficult to believe that Theodore falls for “her.” "Her," really isn't a her at all, but a projection of himself and what he wants in a woman. When Theodore shares the news of this relationship with his ex-wife, she responds, “You’re dating a computer? You always wanted to have a wife without the challenges of actually dealing with anything real. I'm glad you found someone.”

One of the delightful things about their romance is that the filmmaker can’t rely on physical attractiveness to show us why these characters come together. We watch how they inspire each other to grow. Samantha actually helps Theodore face his fear, enabling him to have a real relationship. Jonze, Phoenix, and Johansson have created a uniquely heartfelt love story in, “Her.”

Movie blessings! 

Jana Segal

www.reelinspiration.blogspot.com

OSCAR UPDATE:
Spike Jonze won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for, "Her," in 2014.

"Where the Wild Things Are"

This year I only posted movies I had personally seen on Reel Inspiration's Most Inspiring films poll. Unfortunately, because of the mixed reviews, I didn't watch, "Where the Wild Things Are" so it isn't on the list.

Reel Inspiration reviewer Josh Valentine wrote, " I would really like to be able to vote for "Where The Wild Things Are," it was the most transcendentally uplifting and inspirational film of the year for me!" Here is Josh's review - better late than never...

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

BY GUEST REVIEWER JOSH VALENTINE
Indiebum

A film that permeates the mind, and allows one to discover their inner child in a way you’d never expect. The attainment of innocence and one’s inner child is impossible to exact in a completely genuine way – but one single viewing of Spike Jonze’s adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s book will transport its viewer (if not for a single night) to a place they’d wholly forgotten. The tragic loneliness of childhood – the inability to let out one’s deep emotional pains because you lack the education to iterate it through metaphor – is portrayed, something I’ve never seen in the medium. The innocent intelligence of a child’s mind which only exists within that mind is actually achieved in Jonze’s brilliant script and through the performance of Max Records. And that’s only the first fifteen minutes. Sendak’s original book was relatively thin in terms of characterization, but it spoke loudly in terms of the explosive potential of a child’s imagination. Jonze and screenwriter Dave Eggers name and explore the actual wild things, utilizing each beast’s personality as a reflection of the complexities of a child. The voice work is phenomenal (watch the film, then check IMDb and be amazed at who played certain characters) as is Karen O and Carter Burwell’s inspired score – the best in terms of cinematic relevance since Jon Brion’s score or “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” While the film has become something of a hipster’s wet dream, it should not be ignored as it is artistically important and singular in a new genre of film – the inner child’s film.

Just for fun:
Where the Wild Things," video adaptation of the Maurcie Sendak classic.