Very well executed

This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

Boring, over-political, tech fuzed mess

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Many films have attempted to make movies on death with humour that certainly will not appeal to everybody, but those who like it will probably really enjoy it. This is one of them. However, for me personally, this was not a triumph. We follow a duo of father and son who work in the undertaking business, but run into trouble when a chain reaction causes a huge rock to fall on their car. There are some nice references in here about death such as the river Styx or also that the protagonists' death is so close to them when that rock hits the car and a couple more. Still I have to say the humor did not appeal to me too much. Apart from that, the plot was also not well-constructed. It was never really clear if the old lady was dead or even if the two undertakers were still alive in the latter parts of the film.Also the parade scene did not work for me at all. It stood so much in contrast to the whole atmosphere before that and the ending was not my cup of tea either. Why would they jump in the hole as well? So random. The final song was nice, but I cannot really make a connection between the music there and the 9-minute short film before that. The animation is fine. The Academy quite loved it as they granted it a nomination in the Best Animated Short Subject category. There, it lost to the (in my opinion far superior) Japanese entry. I kinda like the title though: "This Way Up". But that alone is not enough to let me forget about all the negative and mediocre aspects here. Not recommended and I cannot say I am too surprised that Foulkes and Smith, the two filmmakers behind this, have not worked on more movies in the last 7 years according to their IMDb filmography. I hope when they start a comeback, they will have improved.

a dark short comedy about a very delicate theme. amazing at whole for the great imagination and for the splendid animation. crazy, chaotic, it is, in fact, the story of two men who desires make a good job. the duty is the most precise thing and that fact is source of hilarious adventure. it is far to be comfortable but it is a remarkable work and that fact is the great virtue. a film about death in Tim Burton style. really impressive. and not easy to accept it. but not only amusing. the remember of adventures heroes from childhood stories for the noble cause is the real axis of story. and that fact could be the most important.

Like last year, I went to a special showing of the Oscar-nominated animated short films. However, unlike last year, in addition to the nominees, several "commended films" were also shown. In this review I'll make my predictions, though if it's anything like last year's choices, I'll probably once again pick the wrong shorts as my favorite for the award.This film is a computer generated short from the United Kingdom. It's about two morticians who are out to retrieve a body for burial. However, again and again, events conspire against them and nothing seems to go right. All of the mistakes make this a highly creative and funny film but I also assume some people might find it all in bad taste--though that's exactly why I liked the film. Seeing them lose the corpse and it getting stuck in a tree, taking a side trip to the after life and all the crazy Looney Toon-like stunts made me laugh repeatedly--something none of the other shorts did even once.Overall, I think the award for Best Animated Short is probably between this film and PRESTO--though LE MAISON EN PETITS CUBES seems to have a shot at the prize as well. THIS WAY UP is very daring with its dark content, exceptionally different CGI look and sense of humor. If the Academy is willing to pick such a dark toned film, it can easily win. PRESTO is a very good CGI film, with the best artwork of the five films and a story that seems inspired by Tex Avery. It's not surprising that it looks so good, as it's a Pixar short. However, THIS WAY UP seemed more creative and different--whereas PRESTO seemed like a 1950s cartoon brought to life using CGI.Considering my track record last year, I assume THIS WAY UP won't win. It's a shame, as I really liked it and would love to see more from the sick folks who made it!UPDATE: LA MAISON EN PETITS CUBES was the winner this year. Not surprisingly, I got this one wrong but at least saw the film as a strong contender.

Two gentleman must lay their dearly departed love one to rest--but circumstance largely forbids it. From an interesting chain reaction to bumbling mishaps while carrying the coffin, the two men go from the heights of hilarity to the depths of Hades just trying to get the damned woman into some holy ground. Jeez, if only it could be made easy by burying it somewhere else...This animation is a pretty witty and hilarious take on funereal ceremony. On the other hand, as fun as it is to watch, it didn't really add anything for them to go into the Land of the Dead and have to climb their way, Dante's Purgatorio-style, out. Frankly, it could have ended right as they got crushed by the giant boulder, making a pretty consistent and to-the-point comedy of ill-fate. Instead, even a short animation such as this can drag under the weight of the dead horse they were beating. Nonetheless, fun to watch and equally well-animated! --PolarisDiB