MOVIE REVIEW - Into the Wild

This movie inspires.

Ask Lexie. I spent one of the most sacred holidays of the year, Columbus Day, at home cleaning our disaster of a room. Two loads of laundry, 8 trash bags of filth, some dusting and half-assed vacuuming, a closet door that can actually be opened now, and, most importantly, a quaint little grin on Mattie Mckinnon's face each time he walks past our door. And all of this because of this movie. Thank you Sean Penn. Thank you for taking this story beyond just a movie, and making it a life-changing experience. Amazing cinematography, focused direction, surprisingly great (Eddie Vedder) music, and truly committed acting (by all, even Vince Vaughn) make this one of if not THE best movies of the year. I don't want to ruin this story like Oprah did, or the book (really just Oprah-who reads?) so I won't reveal the ending. Just know this is a very documented, researched, and accurately portrayed true story.

I'd like to close with this final thought. Emile Hirsch lost 41 of his 156lbs during this role. He performed all of his own stunts- including kayaking down the Colorado River and floating downstream nude in 35 degree water. It is a memorable performance to say the least. So memorable, that Rolling Stone recently wrote, "(Emile Hirsch) is the only hope for bringing down this Shia LaBeouf boy-wonder era."

Final score, on a scale from 1-10: I give this a 9.5