evancyl

The movie is based on a series of short autobiographical stories and the title literally means "Tin Mine University". In the 1950s, Arjin drops out of the prestigious Chulalongkorn University and goes to Southern Thailand to work at a tin mine, where he learns many life lessons.

I like how the movie is split into four chapters, one for each year of university (freshman to senior), and delves into the lives of its characters while still following a narrative arc. The camaraderie among the workers and the kindness of the boss make for many heartwarming scenes, though the mine environment is of course very much a boys' club (alcohol and swearing abound).

There was nothing too wrong with this movie (exciting plot, great animation, likable characters) but it failed to move me. Hiccup is a Viking teenager from the island of Berk. Unlike the tough, beefy men for whom fighting dragons is a way of life, Hiccup is lean and scrawny. He tries to live up to the community's expectations but fails miserably each time. His encounter with a dragon challenges him to see things from a different perspective and propels him to revolutionise his community.

I find the premise - that human beings were wrong about the nature of dragons for centuries - not quite believable. To be fair, we have been wrong about many things in the course of history, but to be so wrong about a creature that you encounter on a very regular basis pushes the limits of believability. It just seems so silly that no one realised that the dragons could be tamed/trained except a naive teenager. This fundamental problem is what marred my enjoyment of a movie that otherwise had a lot of things going for it.

Anyone who likes Peanuts is sure to enjoy this movie! The animation really brought the characters to life and the story is excellently crafted. A new kid moves to town and Charlie is excited at the prospect of being able to start a clean slate - he hopes that he will no longer be seen as a failure who can't do anything right. The new kid turns out to be a little red-haired girl whom he falls in love with at first sight. Everything seems to go wrong in Charlie's pursuit but his good heart shines through each time. I love how the movie managed to incorporate a solid moral message without being in the least preachy. We also see Snoopy taking to the skies to pursue his arch-nemesis, the Red Baron, and rescue his beloved fellow beagle Fifi.

It was great to see the whole gang back in action, from the bossy Lucy to the laidback Peppermint Patty. Snoopy and Woodstock were really adorable too! I'm pretty sure this movie is going to spawn more Peanuts converts.