Writer: Peter Chai

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Watch this if you liked: "Jerry McGuire" and "Mighty Joe Young"

This year, you have watched Matt Damon taking on an action role in, "The Adjustment Bureau" and heard his voice in "Happy Feet 2", but now he ends the year by bringing you the family comedy drama, "We Bought A Zoo".

Best known for his directing effort for "Jerry McGuire" and "Almost Famous", Cameron Crowe is back on the director's seat for his latest film, "We Bought A Zoo", which is actually a true story based on Benjamin Mee, a former journalist and single father who builds a new life with his children by buying and running Dartmoor Zoological Park, a dilapidated zoo after losing his beloved wife due to illness.

In this movie, the audience will not see the level of Damon's intellect from "Good Will Hunting" and his coolness from "The Bourne Identity", but you will get to enjoy his warm and sincere performance as an emotional man who is finding a way out to get over his grief after his wife's death. His portrayal of the main character, who is optimistic all the time with his hopes to live a brand new life with his mischievous son, Dylan, and his little sweet daughter, Rosie, is impressive. Damon definitely shows you a single parent's mental struggles and a father's greatness in raising his young on his own.

Besides stressing on how a man overcomes his sadness and challenges as a widowed father, Crowe's piece not only tells the audience the importance of human interaction in daily life, but he is sending the viewers a very important message on caring for animals and animal extinction. You will get to notice the concept of a zoo from a zoo owner and zookeepers' point of perspective.

The director had previously featured Sigur Rós, an Icelandic rock band's tracks in "Vanilla Sky", and after ten years, Jón "Jónsi" Þór Birgisson, the frontman of Sigur Rós, was asked by the director to compose the musical score for "We Bought A Zoo", and he did a good job with it, as the music he created has matched the highs and lows of the touching storyline very well. Good melodies make a movie alive and the soundtrack of this drama is an obvious proof for this saying.

In conclusion, "We Bought A Zoo" will inspire you to find the joy of life whenever you are with your family or friends. This movie will also be your teacher on leaving negative life experiences behind and thus keeping your hopes alive for the future.

Cinema Online, 15 December 2011