The Beasts of the Southern Wild

When two minds collide, a debate is born. But what if it's one mind divided? That was where I found myself shortly after viewing The Beasts of the Southern Wild, a film I find difficult to critique. On one hand, it is a wonderfully envisioned tale of magic realism, a movie that relishes in its creativity, and relies heavily on its visual aesthetic. However, through an objective lens, the film's visual achievements are marred by, among other things, a thin story lacking narrative flow.

This is, of course, nothing new. Anything that we evaluate will lead us to draw pros and cons, to balance our decisions and arrive at a conclusion. And I'm not even really sure why this film has divided me? There have been many films (and books, and albums) that I can honestly say were, from an objective viewpoint, problematic. But I gave the middle finger to objectivity because subjectively, I absolutely love them: be they a poorly written book with amazing ideas and characters, or a band that lacks musical chops but generates a powerful and raw energy that pulses through your veins.

Perhaps there's the distinction and I've answered my own question. I love those works, but I can't say I love The Beasts of the Southern Wild. I really liked it, but it's harder to disregard the flaws when you only like something. For love, we'll overlook pretty much anything.

The Beasts of the Southern Wild
Score: 75%

Lincoln

This is one of those films that has Best Picture Oscar written all over it, and I don't mean that as a compliment. I just mean the Oscars are predictably boring. Feel free to come back here and point your finger and scream, "HA!" if Lincoln doesn't walk away with Best Film at the Banality Awards.

Don't get me wrong, Lincoln is a good film, a beautifully shot film, it's just not a film worthy of best of the year.

Daniel Day-Lewis embodies the role of Lincoln in a very believable performance that is (and should be) the anchor for this film that is less a biopic of Lincoln and more a film about the passing of the 13th Amendment. The film often veers from historical accuracy in favor of fictional storytelling, but this isn't a hindrance to the overall experience as it mostly creates necessary dramatic tensions; however, there are moments where the fictionalization detracts, mostly in scenes played for comic relief that do more to undermine the serious tone of the film than it does to complement it.   
 


Lincoln
Score: 68%

  

Leolo

Director Lauzon's Leolo is a darkly comic, surreal coming of age story, blurring the boundaries between reality and fantasy. Leolo creates an imaginary world to escape his real life: the insanity of his family (literally) and his own battle to keep the crazy at bay. The film does an excellent job blending the the two worlds until the viewer is no longer sure what is real anymore. There is tremendous beauty in Lauzon's film; it is poetic and disturbing, surreal and painfully real, walking a line between conflicting worlds--visually and symbolically--much like Leolo does as he struggles to maintain his fantasy world as his real life tries to drag him down. The film is expertly directed, gorgeously shot, and has the added bonus of an amazing score by Tom Waits.

Leolo
Score: 85%

  

Secret World of Arrietty and Pirates! Band of Misfits

The Secret World of Arrietty is a Studio Ghibli production penned by the great Hayao Miyazaki and based on the novel, The Borrowers, by Mary Norton. Visually beautiful like everything Studio Ghibli creates, The Secret World of Arrietty is a wonderful film for both children and adults. The artistry and attention to detail is amazing, and it's very easy for the viewer to be transported into this beautiful but dangerous (and secret) world of Arrietty.

Much like Studio Ghibli, Aardman has a strong reputation for excellence when it comes to crafting animated films that appeal to adults and children alike. Although The Pirates! Band of Misfits isn't Aardman's strongest effort, it is a solid film with Monty Python-esque humor, quirky characters, great voice acting and impressive-as-always stop motion animation. 




The Secret World of Arrietty
Score: 80%

The Pirate! Band of Misfits
Score: 69%

The Raid: Redemption

The Raid: Redemption is visceral action at its violent best. There's not much by way of story or characterization, but if you're hungry for some ass-kickery, this film will more than sate your appetite. The movie is well-paced with impressive choreography, and boasts some of the most frenetic and accomplished martial arts fight scenes I've seen in a while.

With that being said, there's little else here to appeal to anyone who doesn't enjoy pure, mindless action; if not all the time, at least once in a while. Sometimes it's just nice to turn your brain off, sink back into a comfy chair, and watch bloody mayhem unfold in an unrelenting swirl of fists, knives and guns. A few good beers wouldn't hurt, either.

The Raid: Redemption
Score: 70%

Juan of the Dead

For starters, this is a zombie movie, so my priority is to be entertained, and my inclination to analyze is somewhat lessened by the minimal expectations I've developed over the years for a genre that tends to produce wretched crap by the truckload. Which is not to say there haven't been some very good zombie movies (and a few great ones) but for every Night of the Living Dead there are 500 mind-numbingly bad Gangs of the Dead. With that being said, Juan of the Dead falls somewhere between the two. I've read reviews suggesting that one needs to be Cuban to understand the sociopolitical satire, which is not the case. Sure, being Cuban will allow one to pick out the more subtle expressions, but most people will get the bigger messages here, which hit you on the head with as much blunt force as Juan's oar.

Story and plotting are not the movie's strengths, and at times the film shuffles along as painfully as the zombies; but it still manages to work, thanks in part to its satirical bent, as well as the newness of the setting. There's just something about the combination of urban decay, a constant stream of jokes about how nothing works, and the mostly immoral cast of characters, that not only complements the movie, but really helps deliver the sociopolitical icepick to the forehead.

And it's those things, as well as some new and interesting kills (e.g. Havana's Revolutionary Square) that separates Juan of the Dead from the average zombie movie. Some critics and reviewers complained about the immoral actions of some of the characters, but I don't share their viewpoint because those moments were played for laughs. It's called dark humor, people! However, I did take issue with the homophobia in the movie, which was too obvious and too vicious to be considered dark humor.     

Like Shaun of the Dead, for which this movie borrows heavily, this is a comedic zombie movie. So for fans of comedy movies that can't handle a lot of horror and gore, this one should fit the bill. Which is not to say it doesn't splatter some blood...it is a zombie movie, after all.




Juan of the Dead
Score: 61%