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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Tahoma><FONT size=6 face=Impact><U>AVON
THEATRE EXTRA! EXTRA! <BR></U><FONT color=#000080 size=3
face="Arial Black">Hey, folks! Here is Decatur Herald & Review reporter and
all-around good guy, Jim Vorel's, blog entry (from the online Herald-Review.com
edition) that you might find helpful if you are on-the-fence about seeing RANGO.
This was used with Jim's kind permission. Read it and see what you think! Then,
come see it at THE AVON!! (No other theater in the Decatur area is
groovy enough to see this one in!).<BR><BR></FONT>
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<DIV style="WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left" id=post-3596
class="post-3596 post hentry category-decaturade tag-movies tag-rango">
<H1><FONT size=4 face=Tahoma>Ten reasons you need to go see “Rango”
immediately</FONT></H1>
<P style="COLOR: #666666; FONT-SIZE: 11px"><B><FONT size=4 face=Tahoma>By Jim
Vorel</FONT></B></P></DIV><BR clear=left>
<DIV class=entry jQuery1299864473656="89"><!-- Facebook Like Button v1.9.6 BEGIN [http://blog.bottomlessinc.com] --><FONT
size=3 face=Tahoma>If you’re the kind of person who is easily convinced of
things, then just stop reading right now and go see </FONT><A
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rango_(2011_film)"><FONT size=3
face=Tahoma>“Rango.”</FONT></A><FONT size=3 face=Tahoma> As in, like, RIGHT NOW.
Just go. Go.</FONT>
<P><FONT size=3 face=Tahoma>…alright, for everybody who needs a little bit more
explanation, I present the ten reasons.</FONT></P>
<P><STRONG><FONT size=3 face=Tahoma>10. It’s not just for
kids</FONT></STRONG></P>
<P><FONT size=3 face=Tahoma>…or even mostly for kids. It may not even be for
kids at all, but they’ll still probably enjoy the frenetic action. However, this
movie is much more rightly aimed at smart adults who appreciate witty
humor.</FONT></P>
<P><STRONG><FONT size=3 face=Tahoma>9. It’s a great Western</FONT></STRONG></P>
<P><FONT size=3 face=Tahoma>Once again, not a kids movie, it functions
fantastically as a genre film. If Westerns are your thing, this is pretty much
required viewing. There should not be any human being in America who went to see
“True Grit,” thought “I enjoy this,” and does not go to see “Rango.” For the
record, I am ranking “Rango” above “True Grit,” and the rankings honestly aren’t
even close.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=3 face=Tahoma>It’s got every aspect of a great Western, with the
right amount of clichés and stock characters to make you feel totally
comfortable with the character archetypes but unsure of how things are going to
proceed.</FONT></P>
<P><STRONG><FONT size=3 face=Tahoma>8. The action scenes are out of
control</FONT></STRONG></P>
<P><FONT size=3 face=Tahoma>The trailer doesn’t even do them justice in
communicating how action-packed this movie is. This argument is very closely
linked, however, to…</FONT></P>
<P><STRONG><FONT size=3 face=Tahoma>7. The visuals are
gorgeous</FONT></STRONG></P>
<P><FONT size=3 face=Tahoma>I was hesitating before calling this “the
best-looking animated movie I’ve ever seen,” but now I’m thinking back and I
can’t think of one that looked more beautiful on screen. There is literally so
much going on at times that I know I couldn’t possibly have seen it all. This,
factor, combined with the action sequences, means an absurd degree of visual
candy. And I’m NOT the kind of person who says “visual candy” or goes to a movie
for special effects. Thank goodness the special effects are backed up
by…</FONT></P>
<P><STRONG><FONT size=3 face=Tahoma>6. Great performances by a bunch of
character actors</FONT></STRONG></P>
<P><FONT size=3 face=Tahoma>And yes, Johnny Depp is fantastic as well, but this
kind of Western wouldn’t work at all without the help of around a dozen great
character actors, like Ned Beatty as the scheming mayor, or especially </FONT><A
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Nighy"><FONT size=3 face=Tahoma>Bill
Nighy</FONT></A><FONT size=3 face=Tahoma> as the absolutely terrifying
Rattlesnake Jake. Much like he did in the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie
as Davy Jones, Nighy emotes to the nosebleed seats as a thug who is WAY too
smart and too cunning for the hero to reasonably hope to overcome on his own.
And this leads me into…</FONT></P>
<P><STRONG><FONT size=3 face=Tahoma>5. The fantastic character
designs</FONT></STRONG></P>
<P><FONT size=3 face=Tahoma>Maybe the most incredible achievement is how the
film creates an entire town of different animal species and tailors their looks
to serve the roles of a Western. The mayor is a long-lived desert tortise. His
secretary, the vivacious fox-lady. The hired muscle Gila Monster. The haggard
jackrabbit doctor, missing one ear. A quartet of owl mariachis that narrate the
story. For lack of a better explanation, they all have the perfect ratio of
animal-to-human in their features to communicate “what animal are they?” and
“what stock character are they?” In the same vein…</FONT></P>
<P><STRONG><FONT size=3 face=Tahoma>4. It’s a movie-geek’s
movie</FONT></STRONG></P>
<P><FONT size=3 face=Tahoma>The thing is absolutely packed with callbacks to
dozens of other Westerns and Hollywood movies of all sorts. Some scenes directly
remind one of films like “Apocalypse Now” or “Star Wars,” and there’s even one
direct reference, early in the film, to Depp’s own “Fear and Loathing in Las
Vegas,” of which this entire film could be part of, as a feverish, drug-addled
fugue state vision. It would certainly explain a lot about where all the talking
animals came from.</FONT></P>
<P><STRONG><FONT size=3 face=Tahoma>3. It was the number one film at the box
office last weekend</FONT></STRONG></P>
<P><FONT size=3 face=Tahoma>…If that’s the kind of thing that motivates you to
see films, I’m willing to provide the factoid in order to get you to the
theater.</FONT></P>
<P><STRONG><FONT size=3 face=Tahoma>2. The soundtrack is
spectacular</FONT></STRONG></P>
<P><FONT size=3 face=Tahoma>Composed by Hans Zimmer, fresh off “Inception,” and
using Los Lobos, it’s just everything you could want in this sort of movie. The
epic instrumental pieces are intercut with comedic songs throughout the film on
how Rango is “sure to die any time now.” I’m seriously considered buying the
soundtrack, and that would make it the first time I’ve bought a movie soundtrack
outright since…ever?</FONT></P>
<P><STRONG><FONT size=3 face=Tahoma>1. It took me like 10 minutes to write this
list</FONT></STRONG></P>
<P><FONT size=3 face=Tahoma>I didn’t have to think about these reasons at
all–the film is just that good. Go see it. If you hate it, then by all means let
me know, but let Roger Ebert know too, because </FONT><A
href="http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110302/REVIEWS/110309997"><FONT
size=3 face=Tahoma>he’s on my side on this one</FONT></A><FONT size=3
face=Tahoma>. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=3><FONT face=Tahoma><STRONG>EXTRA BONUS 11TH REASON TO SEE
“RANGO”:</STRONG> <U>It’s not in 3D.</U> </FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=3 face=Tahoma>That is all.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=3 face=Tahoma>So go see it in theaters while you can! Do not wait
for the deadened version that will be playing in months on your TV screen–this
thing needs to be experienced on the grand stage. And feel free to thank or hate
on me, as
necessary</FONT></P></DIV><BR><BR></FONT></DIV></DIV></FONT></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>