Ode To Public Transit

I like trains
and buses

they move me

through space

and time

I do not move

I am moved

flying costs too much

'Not Just A Goof' A Review

Not Just A Goof is a documentary about the making and impact of 1995's A Goofy Movie. 

With talking head interviews and extensive archival/behind-the-scenes footage from director Kevin Lima the genesis of the cult classic is explored. Pleasant, breezy, and heartfelt the doc gets into casting, performance, story, the soundtrack, and animation. For A Goofy Movie fan it's interesting if not particularly in-depth. The majority of the runtime is taken up with making-of type stuff then there's a montage at the end as to its impact which is too truncated. Why anyone would even watch this is because A Goofy Movie, a second tier Disney experiment, had unanticipated and substantial cultural influence and this aspect isn't really addressed, there's just brief clips of folks cosplaying at conventions. It would have been nice, and more robust, to have some critics or Gen Y animators contextualize this more fully.

Enjoyable but uneven, a victory lap more than an actual documentary.

Currently streaming on Disney+.

Stream It.

'The Ballad Of Wallis Island' A Review

The Ballad of Wallis Island is a dramedy about a widower Charles(Tim Key) who brings out a famous folk duo who have been broken up for years, Herb(Tom Basden) and Nell(Carey Mulligan), to the remote island where he lives to play a private concert.

Key explodes on screen brining his delightful banter and positive energy to the character with a large helping of idiosyncrasy and pathos to the affable but grief stricken Charles. It's pretty astounding what he's able to do and, one hopes, bodes well for more meaty acting roles in his future. Mulligan is perfectly cast and brings her immediacy and poignancy to this(for her) more light hearted role. She's one of those actors that just has a knack for being there, for being present and authentic, and this serves the film well. Her nature presence just anchors the action and whenever she's onscreen you are comfortable. Basden can't quite get to the level of either of his co-stars, he's good no question, but his character has more of a formulaic arc and there are points where he kind of flails(sometimes this works) and his transformation, especially contrasted with Key's, feels a bit over worked.

Visually the film is picturesque, shot on location(or an excellent equivalent), it's evocative. The only misstep is a kind of bizarre and unnecessary scene with CG paper balloons. The music, mostly diegetic, is wonderful and effective although there's not enough of it. Particularly not enough of Mulligan and Basden performing together, this is deliberate for narrative purpose, but it is a disappointment as the brief glimpses we see are really spectacular.

Sincere, simple, funny, occasionally moving and briefly cathartic. A triumph for modern 'adult' cinema.

Currently in theaters.

See It.

Anticipation

I find it is not the doing

that is difficult

but the waiting to do

not the action

but the inaction

the quiet between

the no-need-for planning bit

that is the challenge

to find peace

in those moments

when there is nothing to do

but be.