Kubo and the Two Strings
Moonlight
Hell or High Water
Captain America: Civil War
The Little Prince
10 Cloverfield Lane
Silence
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Every year, I struggle to write one of these Top Ten lists. I’m certain that in a few months I’ll look back at this list and think “Why wasn’t X movie on it?” and “That one shouldn’t have been.” But regardless, I will now attempt to put together my ten favorite films of the year. Judging by my taste in movies, it should be an interesting selection. So, let’s get started. Also, Honorable Mentions: Kubo and the Two Strings Moonlight Hell or High Water Captain America: Civil War The Little Prince 10 Cloverfield Lane Silence 10 - Sausage PartyOkay- I am aware of the fact that in terms of film-making quality Sausage Party is far inferior to anything else on this list. And yet, it’s still on the list because, of all the movies I saw over the year, this one made me laugh the most (and considering how many of the movies on this list are comedies, that’s no small feat). A horror comedy about talking food that realize they will soon be eaten, this is a movie that has everything from stupid food puns to highly offensive ethnic stereotypes to extremely graphic violence. Oh, and did I mention the giant food orgy at the end? I know, it’s incredibly dumb- but I dare you to watch and not have a damn good time. 9 - MoanaThe Third Disney Golden Age (or Second Disney Renaissance) is still going strong. In contrast to Disney’s other release this year (I’ll get to that soon), Moana is a classic Disney fantasy story, but updated for the 21st century. This includes both animation technology (the film is absolutely gorgeous), the music (I hate how Lin Manuel Miranda is more talented than I ever will be) and content wise (it’s always good to see more women and people of color as protagonists). Plus, it has Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson singing. What more could you ask? 8 - Rogue One: A Star Wars StoryI struggled with the placement of Rogue One on this list, since last year I placed The Force Awakens in slot number four and later regretted it. Now the opposite will probably happen and I’ll regret not placing it lower. But regardless, Rogue One is the movie that shows that the Star Wars franchise has room for lots of different kinds of movies. Whereas the other entries are epic space operas, this is a dark, gritty war movie. I had always wondered what a darker Star Wars movie would be like, and know I have my answer: it is awesome. 7 - Green RoomNew studio A24 (who have released three of the films on this list) and director Jeremy Saulnier (creator of Blue Ruin) both continue to impress with Green Room. The way I see it, there’s two good kinds of horror movie- compelling psychological horror and edge-of-your-seat thriller films, and Green Room is an excellent example of the latter. I can’t remember the last film I saw that created tension and suspense as well as this movie. Plus, whoever would have thought that Patrick Stewart would play such a good Nazi? Although it was unfortunately one of Anton Yelchin’s last roles, Green Room will go down as one of the best horror-thrillers of the decade. 6 - ArrivalAfter already proving himself with the excellent Prisoners and Sicario, French Canadian director Denis Villeneuve continues to distinguish himself as one of Hollywood’s new great directors with Arrival. The story of humanity’s first contact with extraterrestrial life, Arrival is certainly the most intelligent movie of the year, which is especially refreshing considering how rare smart sci-fi movies are. This, in combination with Bradford Young’s impeccable cinematography and a tour de force by Amy Adams (the fact that she wasn’t nominated for an Oscar this year but Meryl Streep was for the fiftieth time appalls me) creates one of the best sci-fi films of the 21st century so far. Now we just wait and see how Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049 is like. 5 - ZootopiaFor a long time I struggled with which of Disney’s two movies I should put on this list, until eventually I came to the realization of: “Why not both?” Like I said above, Zootopia is very different from Moana, being a buddy cop movie (or bunny-cop movie) with talking animals. It’s clever, funny, and incredibly entertaining. But what really bumps this movie up so high is its message regarding tolerance, prejudice, and pre-judging someone because of who they are. Although some complained the movie’s message is heavy-handed, judging by recent events I don’t think this is at all a bad thing (some anvils need to be dropped after all). 4 - DeadpoolHey everyone! It’s me again: Deadpool! I know you’ve all been missing me, so I thought I’d stop in and say hi! So it turns out, people like me. I know, shocker, right? In fact, judging by the giant checks I keep getting in the mail, people like me almost as much as they like Jesus! I am pissed off that the Academy didn’t just mail me all the Oscars though- I mean, they nominated Meryl Streep for fucking Florence Foster Jenkins and I get nothing?! Fuck that shit, who needs em’- I’ve got a sequel to make! 3 - The LobsterAlmost certainly the least-known movie on this list, The Lobster is a masterfully dark, cynical comedy. It has no clear message- it starts by satirizing our compulsive need to be a part of relationships, then turns around and makes fun of people who aren’t in relationships. Its equal opportunity humor and just sort of hates everything, demonstrated by the film’s ability to make you laugh at some really awful subjects. Although the bizarre premise (people who can’t find love are turned into animals) and grim tone will ensure that it remains a highly niche film, I think The Lobster is one of the funniest films released in quite some time. 2 - Swiss Army ManAlright, alright, I know what you’re thinking: “Why is the Daniel Radcliffe farting corpse movie on your top ten of the year list?” Well, as you have surely figured out from the list already, I love bizarre, absurdist humor, and in a year chock-full of this type of comedy, Swiss Army Man stands at the top of the pack. Weird, crass, yet oddly poignant, Swiss Amy Man will make you laugh by using Daniel Radcliffe’s fart-filled body as a speedboat and yet still make you smile at the budding friendship between him and Paul Dano and the life lessons they learn as they travel back to civilization. It is a wholly unique film, and I doubt that I’ll anything as weird and wonderful for some time (excepting, of course, the last entry on this list). 1 - The Neon DemonI still can’t believe I saw advance screenings of Swiss Army Man and The Neon Demon on the same day- by the time the credits rolled for Refn’s latest film I was sure I was in some sort of fever dream. I’m really not sure what it says about my mental state that this is my favorite film of the year, but it’s just so bizarre and horrible and incredibly beautiful. A cynical look at the nature of beauty, desire, envy, and power, Refn looks at the world of high fashion and sees a world filled with monsters. It is certain to shock and appall you, but sometimes that is what the best cinema does. It is a movie that, if nothing else, you will never forget.
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There is nothing I enjoy more than seeing a really unique film. After over a century of cinema history, and thousands of years of literary history, essentially every story has been told before. But what keeps us coming back to them is how these stories are told. Most films, all stories really, are told in a very similar way. But once in a while, we find a familiar story told in a unique way. The Red Turtle is one such film.
The Red Turtle is the story of a nameless sailor who is shipwrecked on a remote, uninhabited island. Although the island is full of fruit to eat and fresh water to drink, the man decides to leave the island. He chops down the island’s bamboo trees and lashes them together into a raft. But when he tries to sail away from the island, he encounters an enormous red turtle which sinks the raft. Still determined to leave the island, the man makes another, larger raft. But once again the red turtle destroys his vessel. Yet the red turtle never harms the man. That is really all I can say about the plot of the film without getting into spoiler territory. The Red Turtle is an exceedingly simple film- it has very few characters and is barely 90 minutes long. But most importantly: it has no dialogue whatsoever. The entire story is told without any more than a few grunts and some yelling in frustration or fear. It is almost unheard for anyone to make a silent film in the twenty-first century, and I applaud both the director (Michaël Dudok de Wit) and the production companies (Japan’s Studio Ghibli and the French/German Wild Bunch) for taking such a risk with the film. And that risk pays off wildly. The Red Turtle is an enchanting film not only despite of its simplicity, but because of it. Without any spoken dialogue, all of our attention is focused on the remaining sounds and visuals of the film, all of which are fantastic. The film’s art director is Ghibli’s Takahata Isao, known for such films as Grave of the Fireflies and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, and his influence on the art style is considerable. It looks much like Princess Kaguya, possessing a similar watercolor-like animation style on par with some of Ghibli’s greatest works. Although the film lacks dialogue, it is certainly not silent. The film has a simple and understated yet beautiful score, which is used sparingly to highlight specific emotional scenes. Much of the rest of the film has no sound save for the crashing of the waves on the beach and the wind blowing through the bamboo trees. And although we’ve all seen survival stories before, I’ve never seen one pack the emotional punch that The Red Turtle does. Again, this is where its simplicity serves it well, as the near-complete stripping of any human voices from the film really hammers home the isolation of our unnamed protagonist, which is only enhanced by the gorgeous visuals and the stirring score. Plus, a few other things that I won’t spoil for you. The Red Turtle is a rare gem of a film. With only a barebones story, a few characters and no words, it provides a more emotional journey than most normal films twice its length. In many ways it is cinema at its essence, with all extraneous details stripped away to leave only a core of imagery, sounds, and an elementary narrative. And it goes to show that, sometimes, simplicity is best. Grade: A+ I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that The Lego Movie was the surprise hit of 2014. I think most of us (myself included) expected the film to be a lazy cash-grab or a giant, glorified Lego commercial, and were then completely blown away when it turned out to be one of the most entertaining and unique animated films to be released in years. This was enabled (along with the great writing and voice-acting) by the film’s inclusion of characters from all the many IPs that Lego produces sets for- from Star Wars to Harry Potter to DC’s super heroes. The Lego version of Batman, voiced by Will Arnett, was a particularly fun surprise. Although I was once again skeptical of an entire movie based around the character, The Lego Batman movies manages to be just as fun, if not nearly as unique, as its predecessor.
In Lego Gotham City, Batman (still voiced by Will Arnett) seems to have it all: he’s loved by the citizens, he’s got tons of cool Bat-vehicles, and he’s just saved the city yet again from The Joker (Zach Galifianakis). Although the Joker gets away, he soon surprises everyone when he turns himself (and all the other villains in Gotham) in. Suspicious at his seeming change of heart, Batman is determined to discover with his nemesis is up to. However, he also has to deal with the new Police Commissioner, Barbara Gordon (Rosario Dawson), who is trying to get him work within the law rather than outside it, as well as a young orphan named Richard “Dick” Grayson (Michael Cera) whom he accidentally adopted. Soon, he realizes that he may have to face something far worse than a supervillain: his own fears about getting close to other people. In many ways, The Lego Batman Movie is quite comparable to the last film in the series. It possesses the same whacky tone, rapid-fire jokes, and ridiculous amount of references as the first. Actually, if anything, all of this is amped up even further, but tweaked to fit a superhero movie. For example, the movie starts with an almost Deadpool-esque, fourth wall-breaking montage narrated by Batman, there’s a long sequence of scenes from every previous Batman movie recreated in Lego form, and the password to the Batcave is “Iron Man sucks”. Just as the last film took delight in hanging a lampshade on dozens of tropes we take for granted in adventure movies, this film revels in doing the same thing for superhero tropes in general and Batman conventions in particular- the homoeroticism between Batman and Robin gets a lot of mileage in particular, but they also poke fun at Tom Hardy’s now-iconic Bane voice from Rises, some of the more obscure members of Batman’s rogues gallery (Condiment King?) and a few of the especially absurd parts of the campy Adam West series (and yes, I’m talking about the Bat-Shark-Repellent). The director, Chris McKay, worked on Robot Chicken for several seasons, and the influence on the movie's tone and humor is obvious (though this movie is of course kid-friendly). The technical aspects of the film are wonderful as well. The voice acting, in particular, is phenomenal. I honestly vastly prefer Arnett and Galifianakis’ interpretations of their characters than Affleck’s and Leto’s from the live-action DC movies. Batman as an arrogant, selfish, beat-boxing edge lord and Joker as basically Batman’s insecure boyfriend are so much better than whatever Zack Snyder and Warner Bros. are trying to do with the live-action movies. In addition, the action scenes from the movie are great (a step above the last movie), and I’m still amazed that the special effect artists can construct such amazing-looking visual effects from digital versions of plastic bricks. The only negative thing I can say about this movie is that it’s not quite as original as the previous. But that’s really only because the last film was such a surprising smash hit. There might come a day when the distinctive style of the Lego Movies stops being so funny, but today is absolutely not that day. Also, I’m not sure what it says about Hollywood when the Lego version of a DC movie is this much better than the actual “real” DC movies. Regardless, The Lego Batman Movie is another surprising hit- a fun, action-packed and incredibly funny film that will please audiences of all ages. If you like Lego, Batman, Lego Batman, or good movies, you can’t go wrong by seeing this. Grade: A After I saw the press preview of Passengers earlier this week I spent some time talking about it with some fellow critics I know. Specifically, we talked about how it compared to some of the other big sci-fi films of the year. Some names that came up in the discussion were Rogue One, Star Trek Beyond, and Arrival. However, it didn’t really feel fair to compare Passengers to any of these other films (or any of them to each other); even though they’re all science fiction films, each of them is a completely different kind of film. Passengers exemplifies the large amount of internal variety in “science-fiction” works.
Jim Preston (Chris Pratt) is a passenger aboard the starship Avalon, a colony ship on a 120 year journey to the planet Homestead II. The vessel is a sleeper ship- before its departure from Earth, all of the crew and the 5000 colonists were placed into suspended animation. They are all scheduled to wake up approximately four months before the final approach to the colony. However, about 30 years into the journey the ship encounters a debris field which damages several key systems, causing Jim’s cryo-pod to fail. Unable to reenter cryo-sleep and faced with the prospect of spending the remaining 90 years of the trip with no one except the ship’s AI bartender for company, he slowly gives into despair. That is, until he has an idea: waking up someone else. Much like Arrival, Passengers falls into what I call “human science fiction”- that is, works of sci-fi that are actually about human drama. Although it takes place aboard a starship and has robots and other trappings of science fiction, it’s not about any of those things. Rather, it’s actually a romantic drama; the focus is not on technology or space travel or any other typical sci-fi aspect but on the relationship between Jim and the woman he wakes up, Aurora (Jennifer Lawrence). Fortunately, Passengers has in abundance the most important of all elements of the romantic drama: chemistry between the two leads. Pratt and Lawrence play off each other very well, which is vital since they’re the only people aboard the Avalon save for the robot bartender (played by Michael Sheen). While a film with so few actors could have easily gotten boring, both of them manage to keep the film entertaining and enjoyable for the whole of its run time. And although the sci-fi aspects of the film are mostly simple background scenery for the most part, the art design of the movie is incredible. The sets which make up the Avalon are beautiful, equal parts clean sleek lines and art-deco styling. In terms of quality and attention to detail I’d say they were comparable to Roger Christian and H.R. Giger’s work on the original Alien, albeit in entirely different styles. Even if you’re not a huge fan of romantic dramas, the film’s style should keep any sci-fi fan happy. If this film doesn’t get the Oscar for Best Production Design I’ll eat one of my many hats. All in all, Passengers is stylistically a science-fiction film and a romantic drama in terms of plot. Whether you’re a fan of either genre, there is something for you to like here. It's not a typical romance movie, but I think you'll like it if you give it a shot. Grade: A- In the past I’ve written about what I call the “Big Three” animation studios: Disney, Pixar, and Studio Ghibli. At least in terms of feature films, these three companies dominate the market both commercially and in terms of quality. The various other animation companies either can’t quite match the Big Three in terms of filmmaking skill (such as Blue Sky) or can match it but whose films still remain niche (such as Laika). Illumination Entertainment’s movies tend to fall closer to the former category- many a person over the age of 10 has grown to hate their omnipresent Minions characters. However, their films have been improving somewhat recently, as demonstrated by this year’s The Secret Life of Pets and Sing.
In a world of anthropomorphic, talking animals, Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey) is an eternally optimistic koala who owns a small theatre. Unfortunately, his last few shows have not been very successful and the theatre is in danger of being shut down for lack of funds. Luckily, inspiration has struck him with an idea for a new show: a singing competition. After his secretary (Garth Jennings) accidentally lists $100,000 as prize money rather than the $1,000 he actually has, the whole animal city shows up to audition. The eventual cast for the show includes a domestic housewife pig named Rosita (Reese Witherspoon), an English-accented gorilla named Johnny (Taron Edgarton), the punk-rocker porcupine Ash (Scarlett Johansson), the Frank Sinatra-singing mouse Mike (Seth McFarlane), Rosita’s German-accented pig dancing partner Gunter (Nick Kroll), and an elephant with severe stage fright named Meena (Tori Kelly). But can this group overcome their various personal problems so that the show can go on? There are two primary things to note about Sing. First: it’s a pretty gimmicky movie. Second: for such a gimmicky movie it’s actually pretty entertaining. For the first point, this entire film is basically if the characters in Zootopia went on American Idol, an analogy completed by the fact that nearly all the film’s musical numbers are covers of Top 40 pop songs from the last five years or so. All of them except for the Sinatra songs by McFarlane, and the occasional classic rock song peppered here and there. The pessimistic part of my brain revolts against the very concept of this movie as a cynical cash grab, and I'm sure that this movie will make an absurd amount of money, not just from itself but also through sales of its soundtrack. However, I will also admit that Sing is far more entertaining than any movie about singing animals from a B-grade animation studio has any right to be. Regardless of your (or my own) opinion regarding the selections of songs in the movie, all of the voice actors perform them very well. McFarlane was already a known quantity from his time singing Sinatra on Family Guy, but the others prove their own singing chops as well. The film as a whole tough, like most of Illumination’s releases, does still suffer from lower quality compared to films of the Big Three. The fact that this comes out the same year as Zootopia shows how much more effort Disney puts invests in characterization and world-building in a world about talking animals. Zootopia felt like a fully-fleshed out world with complex, interesting characters inhabiting it, while Sing is solely a platform for a karaoke musical with talking animals. But like I said, at the end of the day Sing is surprisingly entertaining, all things considered. It’s certainly not for everyone, and don’t go into expecting another Zootopia. But if over the holidays you have some small kids who want to go to a movie, you could do worse than seeing Sing. Just be aware they’ll be begging you to buy the soundtrack afterwards. Grade: B- It’s still sometimes hard for me to believe that I now live in a world where there will be a new Star Wars film coming out every year for the foreseeable future. If you had said that to even the most die-hard fan even just a few years ago they never would have believed you. And yet, here we are. It’s been one year since the release of The Force Awakens, and I still stand by everything I said in that review. In particular, I said that “I kept waiting for something new, something different to happen, something I didn’t expect. And that moment never came.” Well, that moment has finally come. Rogue One: A Star Wars story is a very different movie from what we have come to expect from the franchise, and that is precisely why its great. It has been nearly twenty years since the fall of the Galactic Republic, and Imperial banners now fly across the galaxy. The New Order affects everyone’s lives- some enormously, some only a little. One person whose life has been irreparably altered by the Empire is Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), who has lived as an outlaw ever since her mother was killed and her father (Mads Mikkelsen) was abducted by Stormtroopers when she was a child. While serving timing in an Imperial prison she is unexpectedly rescued by members of the Rebel Alliance. They have discovered that the Empire is building some sort of superweapon, and they need her help in order to gather information on it. She is brought into a team that eventually includes Rebel intelligence officer Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), his droid K-2SO (voiced by Alan Tudyk), blind warrior Chirrut Îmwe (Donnie Yen) assassin Baze Malbus (Jiang Wen) and Imperial defector Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed). But standing in their way is the project lead on the superweapon, a ruthless Imperial officer named Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn). This superweapon, of course, is the Death Star. The single defining feature about Rogue One is how different it is from the other entries in the franchise- it is by far the least Star Wars-y Star Wars movie. Rogue One doesn’t feel like an epic space opera adventure like the other ones do- rather, it feels more like a war film. The tone is significantly darker than is typical of Star Wars. This applies both in the sense that it includes a good deal more physical violence than one would expect from the series as well as some darker themes- there is less idealism here and more gritty reality, as it were.
Going along with this, unlike the rest of the franchise, Rogue One is not a story about heroes. This is partly because the characters of Rogue One are not heroes: they are rebels, outlaws, and soldiers. There are no Jedi, larger-than-life personalities, no Chosen Ones. But even more than that, it’s not even really a story about people per se. What’s important is not who the individual characters are but what they do, just like war movies which place more emphasis on the mission than the soldiers who carry out the mission. If the other Star Wars films show the epic stories of heroes who will be remembered for ages to come, Rogue One is the story of the ordinary soldiers who made the heroes’ quests possible. And in my opinion, this is a fantastic change of pace for the franchise that works incredibly well. The Force Awakens felt far too similar to past iterations of the series, but even beyond that all the movies have followed more-or-less the same epic space opera format. Just like the Marvel franchise has expanded when it released Guardians of the Galaxy and Doctor Strange, Rogue One has shown that there is room enough in its franchise more a variety of films, and in some ways seems almost tailor-made to address criticisms of The Force Awakens. Although, this film was always going to feel more unique since this is a story that the franchise has never told before. But even beyond the simple different-ness factor, Rogue One simply works as a darker, grittier version of Star Wars. The characters felt much more relatable and human than the nearly-superhuman heroes of the other films. The tone fits very well the setting during the height of the Empire and the incredibly dangerous mission the characters undertake. The technical aspects of the film are all excellent as well. All of the actors perform excellently, though again this is not a film which focuses on characters. Alan Tudyk and Donnie Yen's characters both have a tendency to steal the show during their scenes, the former because his deadpan personality is the only source of comic relief in the film and the latter due the chance to show off his superb martial arts skills. The cinematography is gorgeous, and it contributes to the film’s tone with a darker and more subdued color pallet. All in all, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is an excellent, albeit very different, entry in my beloved, ever-expanding franchise. Although your response to the film will likely depend on whether or not you like the new tone and style of the film compared to the others, I urge you to go into the film with an open mind. Not all stories, even Star Wars stories, are about heroes, and that’s okay. Grade: A Anyone who examines the history of Disney will see that their film output goes in cycles. Since their first animated feature film -Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs- in 1937, Disney has had four periods which produced predominantly good films (which I call Golden Ages) and three periods where their film output was less than stellar (which I call Dark Ages). The current Fourth Golden Age began in 2009 with The Princess and the Frog, and every film they’ve released since then has been excellent. I’ve been looking forward to Moana since it was first announced several years ago, and I am happy to report that the Fourth Golden Age is going strong as strong as ever.
The hero of this story is a young woman named Moana (voiced by newcomer Auli’i Cravalho), who lives on an island somewhere in ancient Polynesia. Ever since she was a child, she has gazed with wonder at the endless ocean surrounding her home, stoked by stories told by her grandmother of ancient adventures. But her people, particularly her father (the village chief), refuse to venture into the open sea, fearful of violent storms and the terrible monsters said to dwell there. But when disaster strikes the island and her people face starvation, Moana’s grandmother tells her the truth: their ancestors were skilled seafarers who set sail in search of new lands to settle, until the demigod Maui (Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson) stole a powerful magical artifact which angered the gods and made the seas too perilous to sail. To save her island, Moana must embark on a quest to find Maui and help him return the artifact he stole. Nowadays Disney films tend to alternate between more ‘contemporary’ adventure films, such as this year’s Zootopia, and their more traditional fantasy musicals. Moana is in the latter category, and out of the ones released in the current Golden Age (along with The Princess and the Frog, Tangled, and Frozen), I think this is probably the best one. Although it to some extent follows the same formula as those other films, it always feels fresh and fun and never stale. The first reason for this is the core aspect of every Disney musical: the music. It certainly has the best music out of all the newer Disney musicals. The three songwriters for the film are all incredibly talented musicians: Mark Mancina (who previously worked with Disney on the music for Tarzan), Opetaia Foa'i (lead singer of the Polynesian band Te Vaka) and Lin-Manuel Miranda (creator of the cultural phenomena Hamilton). The performances are incredible as well; Auli’i Cravalho, a sixteen year-old acting novice from Hawaii, is absolutely amazing both in her voice acting and her singing. The directors (Ron Clements and John Musker, who previously directed The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and The Princess and the Frog) auditioned hundreds of women from across the Pacific until eventually finding Cravalho, and boy did they make the right decision. Her singing is incredible- Lin-Manuel Miranda better cast her in whatever he makes after Hamilton. Also, The Rock sings a song called “You’re Welcome” about how awesome his character Maui is, and it’s just as cool as it sounds. In short, after watching the film you’ll want to buy the soundtrack and listen to it on repeat for at least a week. Secondly, Moana is visually stunning. Although I was originally a bit disappointed that the film was changed from 2D to 3D animation in early production, after seeing the final product I can see it was the proper decision. The Pacific Ocean and the Polynesian islands are animated in such lush and stunning detail that they’re simply spellbinding. It actually seems like Disney’s 3D films are catching up with Pixar’s- Moana’s oceanic environment is at least the equal of this year’s Finding Dory. Finally, Moana’s characters and plot are some of the best out of all the recent Disney films. A good part of this is due to Cravalho and Johnson’s incredible voice work, which bring Moana and Maui to life in a way that few other Disney voice actors have managed to do. Some of it is due to the film’s story, which strikes a perfect balance between the familiar Disney fantasy tales we all know and love while still being fresh. Moana is a complex and nuanced character, who struggles between her responsibilities as a future leader of her tribe and her desire for adventure. Maui is a deeply flawed but ultimately sympathetic character who at his core simply wants to be appreciated and loved. The movie continues Disney’s recent tradition of self-awareness regarding itself- at one point Moana and Maui have an argument about whether or not she counts as a princess. And not to be overlooked is the fact that Moana is a story deeply-rooted in Polynesian culture and mythology, a culture which is nearly always forgotten by mainstream society. Having an additional strong, non-white female protagonist is a good step for Disney, and seems especially important at this moment in American history. In short, Moana is an impeccably well-crafted film which keeps the current Disney Golden Age going strong. It has a classic fairy tale storyline, a unique cultural setting, well-written protagonists who are people of color, fantastic voice acting, and absolutely incredible music. Basically, it’s everything you could ever ask for in a Disney movie, and I believe it will stand as one of Disney’s strongest films for years to come. Grade: A+ In the past, I have been quite open about my general apathy towards superhero films in general and Marvel films in particular. Although there have been a few exceptions, most notably the excellent Guardians of the Galaxy and this summer’s Captain America: Civil War, on the whole I find Marvel films to be generic superhero action flicks at best. Fortunately, it seems like Marvel and Disney are slowly learning from their past mistakes. Doctor Strange is not the best film that Marvel has released (that honor is still claimed by Guardians), but it is a significant improvement over most of their past iterations.
The (eventual) hero of this story is Doctor Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). He was not injected with a super serum, he doesn’t have any fancy gadgets, and he is not an alien or a Norse god. He is a neurosurgeon, an extremely skilled and wealthy neurosurgeon, a fact he takes enormous pride in. Unfortunately, he is also arrogant and very selfish, a fact that drives most people –such as his former girlfriend Dr. Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams)- away from him. But one day he crashes his car while driving recklessly, which leaves him with major and irreparable damage to his hands. Faced with the prospect of losing his career, along with the wealth and fame that he has attained from it, he tracks down a formerly-paralyzed man who made a seemingly miraculous recovery. Following a trail of clues to Nepal, he meets a mysterious woman called the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton), who opens his mind to a much greater world than he ever conceived: the world of magic. The first thing to keep in mind is that Doctor Strange is not a superhero film. Much like how Guardians exists as a space opera in an otherwise superhero-based franchise and The Winter Soldier draws on elements of the espionage genre, Marvel has continued the diversification of their franchise by making a straight-up fantasy film. The magic that Strange learns really is magic, with all the tropes and concepts that entails. In fact, this movie has so little to do with the other characters and plots from the previous films that it’s easy to forget that its even part of the Marvel franchise. Which, in my opinion, is all for the better. To be fair, I’m biased because I like fantasy films more than I like superhero movies, but branching out will delay the inevitable superhero movie fatigue significantly. The best way I can sum up this film is that it is one part magic viewed through the lens of Eastern occult practices, one part insane mind-bending visual effects, and one part witty Marvel dialogue. The magic as shown in the movie is less Harry Potter and more Buddhist mysticism mixed with a healthy dose of infinite alternate dimensions and pseudo-quantum mechanics. Some of the more crazy magic is illustrated by visual effects which are by far the best that have been seen yet in a superhero film. It’s like if a special effects artist went to see Inception while they were on an LSD trip, and then decided to replicate what they saw with CGI. To be honest, I didn’t realize how, well, bland most superhero films look until I saw Doctor Strange. Definitely make sure to see it in IMAX if you get the chance. And, of course, it has the cool one-liners we’ve all come to expect from Marvel films, but it is (thankfully) toned down a bit from The Avengers. The film is not perfect though. Probably the most serious problem is with the pacing of the film. When Strange is learning the mystic arts, there is surprisingly little shown of his actual training, making it seem like he transitions from arrogant, disbelieving doctor into powerful sorcerer nearly overnight. It annoys me that the filmmakers missed a perfectly good opportunity for a cool training montage, particularly since an early scene established that Strange has a vast knowledge of old pop music. But the fact that the film clocks in at a comparatively short 115 minutes is likely the root of the problem- I felt like it could have benefitted from another 20 minutes or so. So is Doctor Strange the best Marvel movie ever? No, but it is certainly one of their best. I strongly believe that the more diverse the Marvel Cinematic Universe becomes the stronger it will become. There is more than enough room in the franchise for superhero movies, science fiction movies, and fantasy movies to live side-by-side. And just as importantly Strange continues Marvel’s slow but steady improvements from simple superhero action films to a much more complex, diverse, and nuanced franchise. I can only hope that the writers and directors of future Marvel installments will keep this in mind. Grade: A- P.S. And yes, of course, there is a mid-credits scene and an after-credits scene that you should probably stick around for. Bleecker Street, the distribution company behind Denial, could not have chosen a more appropriate time to release this movie. Between the assorted world and political events which have occurred over the course of the year, and the controversy surrounding one of the other films being released today, a movie about hate speech and truth feels incredibly topical right about now, particularly when it dramatizes real events as this film does.
Denial is the story of Deborah Lipstadt (portrayed by Rachel Weisz), a historian with a specialization in the Holocaust. She was famous for refusing to debate with Holocaust deniers whether or not, well, the Holocaust happened. While giving a lecture on the subject in 1994, Lipstadt was confronted by English historian and noted Holocaust denier named David Irving (played by Timothy Spall), who tried to bait her into a debate. She refused to fall into his trap, but Irving wasn’t done with her. Two years later, Irving sued Lipstadt in English court for libel, claiming she damaged his reputation as a ‘legitimate historian’ by labeling him a Holocaust denier in one of her books. Because of the peculiarities of English law, the burden of proof in a libel case rests with the defendant, meaning that Lipstadt and her legal term essentially have to prove that the Holocaust did in fact occurr. Like most movies focused around legal cases, Denial is not really about the trial between Lipstadt and Irving. Rather, it is a movie about truth, and the people who try to squelch truth. The movie is a powerful examination of how the truth must constantly be defended against those with hatred in their hearts. Considering the current political climate, I feel this is a topic which we need to reexamine. The film’s main strength is in the power of this battle, both in general and in the specifics of Lipstadt’s case. In particular, a fact-finding mission undertaken by her and her team to Auschwitz (filmed on location) lends the film an incredible emotional punch. In addition, the film also explores the tension between what is the moral action to take and what is the proper action to take. During the trial, Lipstadt constantly pushes to call on Holocaust survivors as witnesses, feeling that it is wrong to put the event on trial and not to hear from those who lived through it. However, her legal advisers fight her on this, saying that it would in fact likely damage their case since survivors’ memories are invariably imperfect, opening up space for Irving to cast doubt on their testimony. Weisz skillfully plays the impassioned Lipstadt, a woman who will do anything to ensure that the truth will prevail. Spalding plays Irving nearly as well, a character who is charming enough that you’d probably enjoy an afternoon tea with him but who still nurses a burning racial hatred. The two of them play very well off each other, creating an excellent antagonistic chemistry. Unfortunately, despite its clear emotional impact, the script of the film doesn’t quite live up to their acting talent. The movie focuses too much on facts and details of the legal battle, and doesn’t give enough time to character interactions and more emotional scenes. Not to say the movie is unemotional- far from it. But it could have benefitted from a little rebalancing in favor of certain aspects and scenes over others. Normally, Denial would probably be regarded as simply a decent drama film. However, because of current events and the contemporary political climate, it is granted a power it would not otherwise have. Our society needs to have a serious discussion regarding truth, falsehood, and hate speech. I don’t know the best way to have that conversation, but Denial is not the worst way it could start. Grade: B Tim Burton is a filmmaker who, like Quentin Tarantino and Wes Anderson, has developed a very distinctive style over the years he has been active in Hollywood. The worlds he constructs arounds his movies possess both a childlike whimsy and a deeply macabre tone. This trademark stylization has produced a number of excellent films, such as Edward Scissorhands, Sweeney Todd, and the 1989 incarnation of Batman. However, it has also produced some notable flops, such as the lackluster Dark Shadows and the commercially-successfully but critically-underwhelming Alice in Wonderland. Burton’s latest film, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, doesn’t quite reach the levels of Burton’s best films, but it is an enjoyable and decently-made movie.
When Jake Portman (Asa Butterfield; Hugo and Ender’s Game) was growing up, his grandfather (Terrence Stamp) used to tell him stories of a place he lived as a young man. On a small island off the coast of Wales there was a home full of “peculiar” children- a girl who was lighter than air, a boy with a hive of bees living inside him, and even a boy who was completely invisible. As he grew up, Jake eventually stopped believing in his grandfather’s stories, believing it was his way of dealing with life after being forced to flee the Nazis in World War II. But when Jake finds his grandfather dead, with his eyes removed from their sockets, he begins to wonder if the old stories were actually true. Convincing his father (Chris O’Dowd) to take him to the island, he discovers that not only are the children in the stories real but that they and their caretaker –Miss Peregrine (Eva Green)- need his help. Now, the first thing to note about Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is that, unlike much of Burton’s previous work, it is aimed primarily at older children and young adults. Burton’s spooky style has always seemed liable to give young children nightmares, and this film is no exception. In fact, I’m quite surprised the MPAA granted it a PG-13 rating considering the amount of (fairly graphic) violence portrayed in the film. But beyond Burton’s ghoulish style, the film mostly adheres to the standard tropes of young-adult adventure movies. Now, I know some of you groaned internally when I use that phrase (and not without good reason). However, MPHFPC is separated from the flood of bad to mediocre Hunger Games rip-offs by several important points. First and most importantly, the film has a very strong cast. Asa Butterfield ably plays the young lead, even if he has lost some of the childish charm he displayed in Scorsese’s Hugo. He is complemented by another young cast member, Ella Purnell, who is quite charming even if she didn’t blow me away like when I first saw her in Wildlike. Eva Green is a delight to watch as the motherly caretaker of the peculiar children, especially because she seems to get a lot of villainous roles. And finally, Samuel L. Jackson portrays the film’s antagonist, Mr. Barron. He, entertainingly enough, seems to have decided to play a villain I can only describe as “exasperated and annoyed” rather than a classically “evil” villain. In addition, the film’s visuals are a treat for the eyes. Burton’s attention to detail, color, lighting, and all the props on set is not surprisingly but always wonderful to see. Burton, in like all his other works, crafts a strange little world that we can visit for a couple of hours. But if the film has a weak point it would have to be the plot. The story draws inspiration from the likes of well-known fantasy works like Harry Potter and also bits which are reminiscent of the superhero genre here and there; in short, the story feels too derivative of other works. Plus, the film’s plot involves a certain amount of time travel, which is neither sufficiently explained nor allowed to be glossed over a la Looper, which left me struggling to make sense of certain plot points. Although whether these problems stem from Burton, Jane Goldman (the screenwriter) or the book the film is based on is unclear. Overall, while not quite up to the standards of Tim Burton’s masterpieces, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is a pleasantly entertaining, charming, and at times very creepy fairytale. I don’t expect it will ever be looked upon in the same light as Edward Scissorhands or Sweeny Todd, but if you like fantasy and/or Burton’s signature macabre stylings you could certainly do a lot worse. Grade: B- |
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