Reviews

Raccoons resolving intergenerational trauam and ending cycles of disfunction. What more could one want!? I was crying by the end: both because I am a generally emotional person, and because the emotional impact was so well executed.

Each time I watch this movie I find another small flaw. That being said, the number of small mistakes do not eclipse the good parts of this movie by any means. The little mistakes in logic or character trait are outweighed by stunning visual detail, a compelling and emotional storyline, and a classic tale of advancing from boy to man. (Or rather, dinosaur-boy to dina-man).In this world, the meteor never struck the earth, and as such dinosaurs never went extinct but instead evolved, as one does. Argo, youngest and weakest of his siblings, is swept away from home and forms ties with Spot, the primitive human boy. Spot and Arlo make their way back to Arlo's family farm in a classic western frontier style: facing cattle rustlers, scavengers, and the dangerous unforgiving elements. What makes this more than just a fluffy cute buddy adventure is the dynamic between Spot and Arlo. Spot plays the role of a dog, in essence, as in this timeline humans are not evolved to the point of language and are generally still hunter-gatherers. The two cannot communicate in words, and so the meaningful moments between them require actual thought and care into the presentation. Showing emotion is harder than simply expressing it in words, and the fact that this movie manages to achieve this is a huge point in their favor. Aside from the actual content of this movie, the animation is drool-worthy. There are a lot of scenes involving water and light, and each one has such deliciously perfect lighting and physics. Director Peter Sohn clearly put his heart and soul into this project. Originally, Sohn was co-director, but when he became the primary, the story was simplified to what we now see. His decisions to create the movie with quality being prized over quantity/sensationalism gave shape to the old-west feel of the movie. In tandem with Stephen Schaffer (editor), the wheat was separated from the chaff. Schaffer worked on Wall-E, and as such knows how to shape the scenes to pack an emotional punch.

This movie is guilty of several of the seven deadly sins that the main antagonist seems to revere so greatly. Detectives Somerset and Mills are the classic idealistic rookie and grizzled veteran pairing and work together to try and catch a serial killer loose on the city. The killer, never identified, and so-called John Doe, kills those he feels represent the spirit of each of the deadly sins, starting with gluttony, and working his way down the list. The murders are brutal and grotesque, and the detectives scramble to catch up to Doe before he claims another life. The dark gritty style and content are well conveyed with the deep shadows, isolated colors, and deeply angled face shots. The dialogue was nothing special or emotionally potent, but what portions were full of emotion worked well within the ambiance of the grim, gritty, horror-filled nature of reality. I felt that the religious themes, while not revolutionary, helped establish the zealotry of John Doe.

Tim Burton is mostly known for his whimsical arose animated films starring Jonny Depp. This film has all of these elements but in a far different context. An idealistic and pasty protagonist, a jaded or revolving door of love interests, and some high concept quest as the goal. Ed Wood desires nothing more than to be a successful film producer, director, and actor (and to wear women's clothing on his time off). He is met with failure after failure, between a complete lack of patronage and his relationship issues, but keeps on running. His haphazard dash toward whatever he sees as the finish line brings him into contact and friendship ( a loose term) with old film star Bella Legosi, famed for his role as Dracula. Ads complete lack of awareness of when it is an appropriate time to quit is refreshing, and the clean-cut nature of the roles everyone in his life plays keep an otherwise almost sad to watch series of failures moving at a happy and fun place. Tim Burton certainly knows how to deliver a movie that walks the line between obtuse and obscene and lightheartedly comedic.

Given that this film is almost a character study rather than a dramatic plot based movie, I felt deep empathy for Mabel. The people draw you in, and you see so deeply into their minds and their vulnerable intimate moments that the consequences of their actions feel sad rather than deserved. In essence, you feel invested in the movie, as the creators and characters clearly have invested their entire selves. This was an independent unbacked film, and still reaches emotional depths that million dollar movies have failed to find. It shows a woman struggling with herself and with the world, in a world that seems to throw her one curve ball after another. This ,combined with her unpredictable mental state, create a mess that we watch unravel.