We Bought a Zoo
Published 2012-09-13
Film info
- Title We Bought a Zoo
- Director Cameron Crowe
- Year 2011
- Run time 2hr 4m
- Genres Comedy, Drama, Family
- Tagline A true zoo story
- Cast Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson
Following the death of his wife, a boston newspaper columnist (the father of 13-year-yld boy and 6-year-old girl) buys a dilapidated new hampshire zoo in hopes of making a new start. Against enormous odds, he and his children, working with a small but loyal staff, not only make the improvements needed to get the zoo certified, but come to terms with their loss...
Live Blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 0:40 | Who voluntarily stands amongst Killer Bees? I hope they weren't really killer bees. Poor Matt Damon. |
| 2:36 | "I've had it with whatever. I don't want to hear it again this century." |
| 6:04 | He took six months away from people and missed them! Madness. |
| 7:05 | iPocalypse! |
| 9:19 | Headteachers are scary. |
| 17:18 | I thought he said there weren't any rolling hills nearby? |
| 18:56 | Who looks after the zoo whilst it's being sold then? |
| 21:38 | "I said... human interaction." |
| 23:34 | I don't want to jump the gun, but that boy is pasty and greasy and bound to be all fresh-faced and lovely by the end. |
| 23:55 | "Give me some fork." |
| 26:09 | Ohhh, Scarlett Johansson has been looking after the animals. Silly me. |
| 28:14 | That was a monkey facepalm. |
| 33:17 | Didn't they want to move to get away from noisy neighbours? A lion is quite noisy, let alone a peacock! |
| 41:29 | Butter is that important. 18 miles of important. |
| 44:20 | She is seven going on twenty-seven. |
| 49:17 | I probably should have expected the snake thing in a film about a zoo. |
| 57:22 | BEAR! |
| 1:05:28 | I love the brother the best. "Listen to your heart, not your brother." |
| 1:14:45 | I wonder how many takes it was to film with a real tiger. |
| 1:21:10 | I don't buy that he would have left his kids like that. She's only seven. |
| 1:23:38 | The trouble with associating someone with a store like Target us that they are all the same. |
| 1:26:56 | "What about the Easter Bunny?" |
| 1:33:44 | Mr C says: "You'd cry too, if you were normal." |
| 1:37:43 | Drinking all night long, that's the way to deal with people you really don't like. |
| 1:43:51 | It's an ensemble piece, for sure, but the child is stealing the show. |
| 1:44:52 | "I like the animals, but I love the humans." |
| 1:53:19 | The ending, the music, bit soppy for my taste. Like the kid being forced into labour at the peacock enclosure. |
| 1:55:08 | Scratch that, its not so much the ending as the Jónsi. |
Thoughts
Saw the trailer for this one a long while back and was keen to watch it. I figured it would be sentimental but hey, it's Matt Damon so it's always worth giving it a go. However, the wait was so long that by the time it was available to rent via iTunes, I had talked myself out of watching it. We event left it to near the end of the 30 day allotted period. I don't know why but I had decided it was going to be rubbish. Nevertheless, the prospect of it going unwatched was too much.
It was brilliant! I was so wrong! Of course, it was sentimental and it was predictable as anything but the characters were fun and it was a story you really got engaged with. The girl was far too precocious for her age, so it was almost unbelievable, but it was also incredibly cute and made quite a difference. I was surprised at how small a part the animals played really - a rogue bear and a sick tiger and that was about it. My only complaint of the whole film, though, was the music. Not really a fan of Jónsi, and as he composed the whole thing, it wasn't really my kinda music. Not enough to dock it a point though.
Rating: 5 / 5