'Flow' A Review

Flow is an animated adventure about a cat and a flood. In a nameless jungle the cat prowls, tries to steal a fish from a pack of dogs, flees but is interrupted by a massive flood. The cat hops on a boat with a capybara and the two gather other animal friends as they travel towards a distant monolith.

The animation style is simple but rich and the characterization of the animals is complex. There's no dialogue and relatively minimal scoring, its more an experience than a narrative, which is fine although at 90 minutes the film drags, it feels like a short that was expanded into a feature. There's, seemingly, a lot of ideas here(is this a biblical fable? environmental?) but its all rendered in relatively vague, abstract terms in a way that we are meant to interpret.

This is clearly meant to be an adult piece of animation which is commendable although if the animals can sail ships and have sophisticated social interactions it feels kinda silly not to just have them talk. Nonetheless it looks great, is unique, if lacking some thematic oomph.

Interesting if not particularly engaging.

Currently in theaters, coming soon to VOD.

Rent It.

'The Wild Robot' A Review

The Wild Robot is a scifi family adventure set in an unspecified future. A service robot Roz(Lupita Nyong'o) crashes into an unpeopled island and inadvertently becomes the caretaker of a gosling Bright Bill(Kit Connor). With the help of a fox, Fink(Pedro Pascal), Roz prepares Bright Bill for the annual migration.

The voice cast is stellar and are all able to build out pretty remarkably dimensional characters enabled by a stunning script. The story is richly emotional, funny, relatively straight forward but with vast worldbuilding and potent themes. Nyong'o both as the lead and with the most complicated part soars and is able to translate, ground, and make us empathize with this character, which on paper, is somewhat inscrutable(not to mention she's funny). This used to be the kind of film Pixar was known for making, engaging for both kids and adults a purely entertaining adventure with a compelling but subtle morality.

The animation style is a catching mix of CG with almost a pastoral watercolor overlay. The score is stirring, its paced perfectly, and it has something to say. It works great both as a genre film, investigating reoccurring SF themes like sentience and technology, as a coming-of-age adventure reminiscent of the Ugly Duckling as Bright Bill grows up, migrants, and finds his place, as well as a film with something to say about compassion, the environment, and community but it doesn't shout it.

A spectacularly potent surprise. One of the best of the year.

Currently in theaters.

Don't Miss It.

'Inside Out 2' A Review

Inside Out 2 is an animated coming-of-age dramedy a sequel to the 2015 hit. Riley hits puberty and Joy/Sadness/Anger/Disgust/Fear welcome new emotions Anxiety/Ennui/Envy/Embarrassment. As Riley sets off for a weekend hockey camp the summer before high school the emotions jockey for control.

The vocal performances are all decent although the re-casting of Fear and Disgust conveys an odd audio uncanny valley, like Dan Castellaneta taking over the role of the Genie from Robin Williams. But the emotional impact of the original is not present, not a fault of the cast but of the script.

It is nice to revisit Riley and her emotions but there is an assembly line quality to the story that leaves something to be desired. The movie splits its time between Riley in the real world and the world in her head which results in a distracting lack of focus and much of the plotting feels perfunctory. With some of the action it also implies that Riley herself is more a robot to be controlled by the various emotions which is disconcerting and doesn't jive with the mechanics of the original in some ways undercutting the whole metaphor. The emotions don't really have a clear journey, Joy and company pretty much just tread water for the entire second act, and it is apparent Riley, on the precipice of puberty and high school, is the more interesting character and has the more engaging story. The two don't feel particularly integrated and in splitting the narrative down the middle neither are fully realized. Riley's anxiety attack towards the end of the movie is the only really inspired and effective sequence.

Mildly diverting but not particularly exciting, lacking the desired Pixar emotional punch.

Currently in theaters, coming soon to VOD.

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'The Boy And The Heron' A Review

The Boy And The Heron is a Japanese animated fantasy about a boy, Mahito, in 1943 Tokyo who's mother dies in a fire after which his father re-marries his aunt and moves to that side of the families country estate. Once there Mahito gets harassed by the local Grey Heron and finds himself in another world.

There are two versions of the film available, Japanese with subtitles or the English dub, both feature returning Miyazaki(writer/director) casts and both give excellent performances. The animation style is typical for Miyazaki and it is gorgeous as well as refreshing simply not to have the kind of CG 3D same-ness that almost all animated films have aesthetically devolved into.

The story is sweeping and complicated and emotional. Imaginative and odd in Miyazaki's typical style. It feels more more of an appropriate send-off for Miyazaki who originally announced his retirement with 2013's The Wind Rises. This is much more focused, much more rich in its ideas, metaphors, themes, and imagery. In a year with a lot of great movies but a lot of the same kind of great movies this sticks out as a bold, necessary, adventurous piece of cinema from one of the art forms absolute greats.

Unique, challenging, an absolute thrill.

Currently in theaters, coming soon to VOD.

Don't Miss It.

'Elemental' A Review

Elemental is an animated family romcom about anthropomorphized elements living in a city. Ember is conflicted about running her immigrant father's shop, during a pipe burst she has an accidental encounter with Wade, a city inspector, who reluctantly gives the building multiple citations. The two then work together to save the shop and fall in love in the process.

The voice cast is all talented but emotionally the movie doesn't really get off the ground. The script is trying to do too much, the allegory too convoluted and muddled, and as a result so is the narrative. Its cute, it looks great, although could have used some songs, but its thin and predictable. 

Not that every Pixar movie needs to reinvent the wheel but it seems recently they have fallen prey to Disney's inevitable homogenization. It feels like something we've seen before many times, its made of parts and sequences and scenes we've seen before many times, the setting and the fact the characters are elements is new, cool even, but what they do with it is pretty rote. Too much time is devoted to the inter-elemental conflict as well as the machinations of the store and too little is spent on what, presumably, should be the focus- the romance of the two main characters. Story and emotion are sacrificed for furthering the momentum of the plot.

A cheese plate appetizer rather than a meal, fills the belly but doesn't quite satisfy.

Currently streaming on Disney+.

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'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem' A Review

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is an animated action comedy, a fresh take on the titular turtles. The movie opens on Baxter Stockman and the mutagenic ooze and serves as an implied origin for our heroes. We then flashesforward to the teenage turtles chaffing under their adopted father Splinter's over protectiveness. As they go out into NYC they meet April O'Neil a high school reporter and they hatch a plan to make the turtles media heroes so that they will be accepted outside the sewers.

The voice cast are all solid particularly the main four, the animation style is kind of a retro watercolor claymation type look that feels unique and is effective. The story plays a bit like a protracted episode of the 90's TV show which is great, it's a necessary return to form for the franchise after Michael Bay's bizarre takes. Its fun, its funny, its got heart. A good flick for kids and adults.

Not as innovative or rich as Into The Spider-Verse but a well made, well executed piece of popcorn entertainment.

Currently in theaters, coming soon to VOD.

Rent It.