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I found this old text file on a thumb drive and figured I should commit it to my journal. A lack of logging movies meant a lot of befuddlement when a picture of my friends and I popped up on FB and we didn't note which one it was :-D Mild spoilers.
Coco - colourful and fun, and not the movie I thought it was going to be. It would be easy to make comparisons between Coco and The Book of Life - The Book of Life lacks the same polish as Coco and runs on too long - but both movies have their charms. To me, there wasn’t anything standout in the animation, which may mean that Disney Pixar has reached the texture rendering pinnacle.
Batman LEGO Movie - while not as good as the original LEGO movie, this one was still very fun and has a great message about found family as opposed to biological family.
Moana - I think the catchiness of the songs made me loathe this movie a little, but I couldn’t believe how beautiful the water was. I liked how the story used Moana’s adventurous spirit as a form of teenage rebellion to change the lives of her people.
Prince of Egypt - the 90s were full of a lot of forgettable and cheap animation and I think this is why I never bothered to watch The Prince of Egypt. What a mistake! The 3D blend animation scenes have held up well. The songs are excellent and the story - while a little softer for younger folk than The Ten Commandments - is still one of transformation as Moses discovers his true self. It’s not just the story of Exodus, but a person deprogramming themselves for their real life.
A Wrinkle in Time - I'll have to watch this one on Netflix. I saw it in the theatre this past weekend [last summer] and unfortunately it was hard to get into because the audience was so restless. Near the end of the movie, a couple came in and clearly they were in the wrong theatre while the movie was playing (no one realizes that theatre 12 is at the very end of the hallway - they just assume it’s theatre 11). They thought someone else was in their seats and it was hugely distracting after they left. I cried - it has a really heartfelt message for preteen girls in it and more importantly, girls of colour. I didn’t realize until afterwards that I had not read the book. I read A Swiftly Tilting Planet as a teenager. I think it helps to read the book as otherwise everything just seems kind of weird.
The Last Jedi - I could really watch The Last Jedi again. We saw it in a packed theatre for a friends and family screening and it was just the most amazing movie I had watched in a while. The movie is really layered and as has been noted around the web - tells several stories at the same time. You can watch it as a straight action movie or appreciate it's depth, or both. I loved the diverse cast and the satisfying way the movie ended, even if there are a few plot holes and unanswered questions (what happened to Kylo Ren's posse?). The movie sets up the future movies for the future as opposed to trying to recreate the past. My only complaint about the film is the same with other Star Wars films - there’s no sense of time. That you can warp off and fight baddies and make it home in time for dinner always seemed strange to me!
Blade Runner 2049 - really, if any movie should get it's own entry, it's Blade Runner 2049. We watched it on opening weekend in IMAX which made a huge difference. I felt like I was getting the full effect of the music. Every movie lover has one or two movies that they hope won't get screwed up and talk of a Blade Runner sequel was so long in the making that it seemed like it was in development hell. I was taken aback by Ryan Gosling's casting - but he was actually very good at playing an emotionally damaged replicant. Some might think he doesn’t emote very well, but I read it as constantly having to hold back emotion. The film had some interesting roles for women that doubled as commentary. It seemed that there was a main female character for every male character but the female characters have richer and more in-depth lives. I'm not sure if part of this is due to the unique experiences that only a female character could bring.
Luv really stood out for me. Maybe it was the purposeful way she was portrayed as a purpose made replicant, but Luv has to do all the thankless tasks she gets ordered to do and do them well. She multi-tasks - getting her nail done while zapping baddies - and has the additional responsibility of looking good while working twice as hard to be successful. She strives for perfection constantly, but her one flaw is that violence makes her cry. Luv is never good enough and is constantly seeking approval. K notes that she was wanted/loved enough to be given a name, but it's not really a name - just a term of affection. If you don't believe this theory, watch at the end where she's punching K while shouting "I’m the best!". Luv will not fail in her mission - but she does. Overall it's a very thinky movie with lots to contemplate.
Spiderman Homecoming - I'm not sure how we missed this one in theatres because we love a good MCU movie (we still have to see Iron Man 3 and Thor 2) and we couldn't believe that the Tobey Maguire versions were so ancient now ;-) Spiderman Homecoming had a lot of sincerity and it really helped that Tom Holland was just barely out of his teens. Tobey Maguire was 27 when he first starred as Spiderman. It was laugh out loud funny as well as action packed.
Thor Ragnarok - I couldn't wait to see Thor Ragnarok. It looked so big and colourful from the trailers and it didn’t disappoint at all. Thor doesn’t get enough credit as an Avenger - it seems Cap and Iron Man steal the spotlight…and they pretty much did in Civil War (ugh, hate that movie!). Ragnarok is either an awesome action movie or a deep tale about discovering that everything about your past is wrong. Everything that makes Thor Thor is deconstructed as he realizes that Odin was simply a colonizer who erased his daughter Hela from history. As a Canadian who only learned of the extensive reach of the residential school system within the past few years, this really spoke to me. And speaking of...
Black Panther - really, Black Panther also deserves it's own entry. There was so much to love about this movie and the carefully crafted designs and characters really made this film enjoyable. It wasn't just a great superhero movie - it was a superb one! I honestly can’t think of a mainstream North American movie where African culture was proudly on display. If the plot seemed a little familiar, it’s because it mirrors Hamlet. The film surprised me with it's "pick an ending", something that I haven't seen in a while. Pick an ending is where you think the movie is going to end, but surprise, it’s not the end. There was one aspect of the ending that I didn't care for, but it was necessary to advance the final ending.
Coco - colourful and fun, and not the movie I thought it was going to be. It would be easy to make comparisons between Coco and The Book of Life - The Book of Life lacks the same polish as Coco and runs on too long - but both movies have their charms. To me, there wasn’t anything standout in the animation, which may mean that Disney Pixar has reached the texture rendering pinnacle.
Batman LEGO Movie - while not as good as the original LEGO movie, this one was still very fun and has a great message about found family as opposed to biological family.
Moana - I think the catchiness of the songs made me loathe this movie a little, but I couldn’t believe how beautiful the water was. I liked how the story used Moana’s adventurous spirit as a form of teenage rebellion to change the lives of her people.
Prince of Egypt - the 90s were full of a lot of forgettable and cheap animation and I think this is why I never bothered to watch The Prince of Egypt. What a mistake! The 3D blend animation scenes have held up well. The songs are excellent and the story - while a little softer for younger folk than The Ten Commandments - is still one of transformation as Moses discovers his true self. It’s not just the story of Exodus, but a person deprogramming themselves for their real life.
A Wrinkle in Time - I'll have to watch this one on Netflix. I saw it in the theatre this past weekend [last summer] and unfortunately it was hard to get into because the audience was so restless. Near the end of the movie, a couple came in and clearly they were in the wrong theatre while the movie was playing (no one realizes that theatre 12 is at the very end of the hallway - they just assume it’s theatre 11). They thought someone else was in their seats and it was hugely distracting after they left. I cried - it has a really heartfelt message for preteen girls in it and more importantly, girls of colour. I didn’t realize until afterwards that I had not read the book. I read A Swiftly Tilting Planet as a teenager. I think it helps to read the book as otherwise everything just seems kind of weird.
The Last Jedi - I could really watch The Last Jedi again. We saw it in a packed theatre for a friends and family screening and it was just the most amazing movie I had watched in a while. The movie is really layered and as has been noted around the web - tells several stories at the same time. You can watch it as a straight action movie or appreciate it's depth, or both. I loved the diverse cast and the satisfying way the movie ended, even if there are a few plot holes and unanswered questions (what happened to Kylo Ren's posse?). The movie sets up the future movies for the future as opposed to trying to recreate the past. My only complaint about the film is the same with other Star Wars films - there’s no sense of time. That you can warp off and fight baddies and make it home in time for dinner always seemed strange to me!
Blade Runner 2049 - really, if any movie should get it's own entry, it's Blade Runner 2049. We watched it on opening weekend in IMAX which made a huge difference. I felt like I was getting the full effect of the music. Every movie lover has one or two movies that they hope won't get screwed up and talk of a Blade Runner sequel was so long in the making that it seemed like it was in development hell. I was taken aback by Ryan Gosling's casting - but he was actually very good at playing an emotionally damaged replicant. Some might think he doesn’t emote very well, but I read it as constantly having to hold back emotion. The film had some interesting roles for women that doubled as commentary. It seemed that there was a main female character for every male character but the female characters have richer and more in-depth lives. I'm not sure if part of this is due to the unique experiences that only a female character could bring.
Luv really stood out for me. Maybe it was the purposeful way she was portrayed as a purpose made replicant, but Luv has to do all the thankless tasks she gets ordered to do and do them well. She multi-tasks - getting her nail done while zapping baddies - and has the additional responsibility of looking good while working twice as hard to be successful. She strives for perfection constantly, but her one flaw is that violence makes her cry. Luv is never good enough and is constantly seeking approval. K notes that she was wanted/loved enough to be given a name, but it's not really a name - just a term of affection. If you don't believe this theory, watch at the end where she's punching K while shouting "I’m the best!". Luv will not fail in her mission - but she does. Overall it's a very thinky movie with lots to contemplate.
Spiderman Homecoming - I'm not sure how we missed this one in theatres because we love a good MCU movie (we still have to see Iron Man 3 and Thor 2) and we couldn't believe that the Tobey Maguire versions were so ancient now ;-) Spiderman Homecoming had a lot of sincerity and it really helped that Tom Holland was just barely out of his teens. Tobey Maguire was 27 when he first starred as Spiderman. It was laugh out loud funny as well as action packed.
Thor Ragnarok - I couldn't wait to see Thor Ragnarok. It looked so big and colourful from the trailers and it didn’t disappoint at all. Thor doesn’t get enough credit as an Avenger - it seems Cap and Iron Man steal the spotlight…and they pretty much did in Civil War (ugh, hate that movie!). Ragnarok is either an awesome action movie or a deep tale about discovering that everything about your past is wrong. Everything that makes Thor Thor is deconstructed as he realizes that Odin was simply a colonizer who erased his daughter Hela from history. As a Canadian who only learned of the extensive reach of the residential school system within the past few years, this really spoke to me. And speaking of...
Black Panther - really, Black Panther also deserves it's own entry. There was so much to love about this movie and the carefully crafted designs and characters really made this film enjoyable. It wasn't just a great superhero movie - it was a superb one! I honestly can’t think of a mainstream North American movie where African culture was proudly on display. If the plot seemed a little familiar, it’s because it mirrors Hamlet. The film surprised me with it's "pick an ending", something that I haven't seen in a while. Pick an ending is where you think the movie is going to end, but surprise, it’s not the end. There was one aspect of the ending that I didn't care for, but it was necessary to advance the final ending.
