It's been an interesting two days of contrasts.  Yesterday Lee and I went to see "The Dark Knight Rises."   We had been trying to find time to go see it for weeks and although I had heard some great things, it was also one of those "check it off your list" kind of things.  Today we went to see "ParaNorman" which we had both been wanting to see.  Perhaps it was my mood, but each movie-seeing experience was remarkably different.

i found Dark Knight to be incredibly dark and crushingly depressing much of the time.  Certainly Batman is a somber fellow and the latest trilogy has played him even more dark and disturbed than ever before.  Still, I found the tone of the film relentlessly hopeless and macabre.  Ann Hathaway really sizzled as CatWoman and her performance really made the movie for me.  I was also really impressed with Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  Both were terrific, and interestingly also both brought the only true comic relief or sense of hope to this dreary film.  I was relieved when it ended.

With ParaNorman I honestly spent much of the movie sitting forward in my chair, as if I couldn't wait to soak up all that was on the screen.  The music by Jon Brion was picture perfect for the film, with a main theme that may be my favorite in years.  An early scene of Norman walking down the street saying hello to all the ghosts he sees and encounters had an ingenious way of introducing our main character, his sense of his special "gift," and the tone of the entire movie to follow.  Plus the soundtrack for this scene just took my breath away.

ParaNorman was incredibly funny and clever, with hilarious camera angles at every turn.  The script was also clever with a distinct voice for each character (both the words and the vocal talent) that kept me entranced.

This movie is, at its heart, about bullying…and what happens when we react with fear to things we don't quite understand.  By the time we reach the film's climax I found myself incredibly moved, with an isolated young boy sharing his story with another equally tragic figure, and yet talking about how we have to look for the good, for those around us who ARE on our side and care for us.

Perhaps I loved ParaNorman all the more for seeing it the day after the depressing Dark Knight, but I can't wait to sit in a theater again soon, leaning forward in my seat, and seeing this great artistry unfold before me once again.  See the movie, you'll be glad you did.