‘Cloudy’ brighter than expected (3.5/5)

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Starring: Bill Hader, Anna Faris, Bruce Campbell
Directed by: Phil Lord, Chris Miller
Rating: PG for brief, mild language.
Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

I wasn’t in a big hurry to see “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” for a couple of reasons.

1.) I like to think that I’m open to movies, but truthfully, I’m highly biased against any recent animation that doesn’t come out of Pixar Studios (or, to a lesser extent, Pixar’s owner, The Walt Disney Co.). Before “Cloudy with a Chance,” Sony Pictures Animations has been responsible for such bombs as “Open Season” and “Surf’s Up.”

2.) It’s based on one of my all-time favorite childhood books, and the catastrophes that were “The Golden Compass” and “Where the Wild Things Are” have left me wondering why the imaginative spirit that those books inspired within me seemed to skip over anyone in the movie industry. (I refuse to watch “Bridge to Terabithia” for that very reason.)

But it’s hard to say no to 11-year-old sisters (especially when they have a vice grip on the remote and disturbing knowledge of a young adult’s pain threshold). And so I found myself last Saturday nursing a hand with a Wii-remote-shaped bruise and watching “Cloudy with a Chance.”

Thankfully, it got me laughing right away — a banana falling on the Columbia Lady was hilarious and put me in just the right mood for the film.

The charm and originality of the book are preserved in the movie, as well. Flint Lockwood (Bill Hader) is the typical socially-awkward-but-wants-to-make-a-difference nerd (he actually reminded me a bit of Hiccup from “How to Train Your Dragon”). His inventions, such as the spray-on shoes, are pretty cool, but often backfire.

Despite his father Tim’s requests for Flint to give up the science act and join his side at the local bait shop, Flint soon comes up with a way to turn the flavorless island town of Swallow Falls (where everyone eats sardines) into a regular smorgasbord — a machine that can transform water molecules into food.

When the machine is accidentally launched into the atmosphere, wonderful (and delicious) things begin to happen — mostly in the form of cheeseburgers.

Flint finds himself in the company of a junior weather reporter, the beautiful, vibrant and overly perky Sam Sparks (what a great name for a weather reporter) played by Anna Faris.

Swallow Falls used to be a pretty OK town — until the Baby Brent Sardine Canning factory closed down. Now, Mayor Shelbourne (Bruce Campbell) is determined to find a way to put Swallow Falls back on the map — and with Flint’s invention, he believes he has found a way. But the effects of gluttony catches up to him in many ways, and soon the machine becomes a danger to the town’s residents and tourists.

With the help of Sam and his pet monkey, Steve, Flint must shut off his best invention before it destroys the island.

Flint, Sam, and the formerly famous “Baby” Brent must all come to terms with who they actually are — which leads to many hilarious, heartwarming conclusions.

Flint’s pet monkey Steve (voiced by the ever-hilarious Neil Patrick Harris) is 100 percent the best part of this movie. I only wish that he was the main character — that’s one spinoff movie that I could actually get behind.

Maybe my one major complaint with “Cloudy with a Chance” is how easily it lends itself to becoming a video game — it was hard to forget that I wasn’t sitting on the couch with an X-Box remote in hand at times. The visuals and plot were great, but I wondered at the motives at times.

Overall, this is one literary adaptation that didn’t make me want to scream — an accomplishment in its own right. There’s no doubt that “Cloudy with a Chance” is aimed for the young, but I think it will also appeal to those young at heart.

3.5 of 5 stars

‘Lost’ will continue to unfold (5/5)

"LOST"

Starring: Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly, Terry O’Quinn
Created by: J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse
Series length: 6 seasons (2004-2010), 121 episodes

Spoiler alert! This column reveals plot points of the “Lost” series finale.

John Locke says it better than anyone: “We’re gonna need to watch that again.”

No, not just the emotional and, to some, potentially disappointing finale (more on that later), but all six seasons.

I knew about “Lost” before a lot of others. I was coming off a “Lord of the Rings” high that reached its peak for the December 2003 release of “Return of the King.” Still needing my fix, I often checked up on what some of my favorite actors from the films were doing, including Dominic Monaghan – LOTR hobbit turned “Lost” rockstar has-been.

But when Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 crashed into a mysterious island Sept. 22, 2004, I was hooked.

The “Lost” series premiere was arguably one of the best pilots in television history. From the beginning, “Lost” was more of a novel played out in hour-long live action segments than a resemblance of anything I personally had seen on TV before.

And for six years, creators J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse took us on quite a turbulent ride.

There were moments of pure shock (finding out John Locke used to be in a wheelchair prior to the crash), pure emotion (Desmond’s tear-laden phone call to Penny), perfect humor (anytime Hurley was on screen) and sacrifice (Charlie’s heart-breaking decision).

The mysteries of the island are what fueled the show. But what truly guided its direction were the characters. And bringing those characters to life was the unbelievably engaging cast, composed of mostly unknown actors. “Lost” introduced us to the nuanced Terry O’Quinn (John Locke) and boosted the precise Michael Emerson (Ben Linus) as well as Matthew Fox (Jack Shephard), Evangeline Lilly (Kate Austen) and Josh Holloway (James “Sawyer” Ford).

A complaint I’ve heard most about the finale is that it left unanswered many of the biggest questions surrounding the show: What’s up with Walt? Why did the Dharma food drops continue after the Purge? What is life like post-Island for the survivors? How did the Losties “create” this alternate-reality meet-up place? What is the Man in Black’s name?

But “Lost” was always about the characters. It was about their stories, their struggles, their sacrifices and their redemptions. That’s exactly how it ended, and, I think, the character-based finale was much more satisfying than any overlong, over-explanatory monologue by the Man in Black could be. Too, whether we wanted it to be or not, “Lost” was always Jack’s story, and so the ending of the series finale was perfectly fitting. Whether we ever discover the answer to Charlie’s question in the premiere (“Guys, where are we?”), the show leaves itself open to dissection and discussion for years to come.

I won’t give you my theory on the ending, mostly because I haven’t quite come to terms with it all as of yet, but also because “Lost” was left heavily up to interpretation. I fully intend on watching all six seasons again, and maybe then I’ll have changed my mind on a lot of the theories I hold now, but isn’t that part of “Lost’s” appeal? Like a good book, you can delve into “Lost’s” mysteries again and again, picking up on new clues and coming to new conclusions.

I don’t believe “Lost” ever had the most viewers. But it did have a very large, heavily devoted fanbase (possibly more than any other show at the moment). “Lost” proved that it’s OK and possibly even needed to have a show that is intellectually challenging. Steeped in mythology, literature, spirituality and sociology, the show not only leaves you thinking after the TV set has been turned off, but has also sparked new interests in aspects of life beyond television. Although “Lost” flew unexpected into many lives, it has quickly become the new standard of television.

5 of 5 stars