Wolfwalkers
Cartoon Saloon has been absolutely killing it with their output. Within only a handful of films, they’ve made a name for themselves in the animation game, delivering exquisite 2D animated films that offer more patient and interesting stories compared to a lot of the stuff we’re getting here in America. Wolfwalkers is no exception, delivering some of their finest animation to date while also telling a beautiful story about colonialism, fanaticism, and man’s relationship with nature. It’s also a really unique take on the werewolf movie. I’m not sure if any of the details are rooted in Irish mythology, but it’s really fun, whimsical, and emotional.
Wander Darkly
I get what this movie is going for, and it’s a touch more compelling that initially expected, but I ultimately wasn’t as invested as I wanted to be. The idea of this couple exploring the ups-and-downs of their relationship after a traumatic event in this surreal, purgatory-esque dreamscape is a fascinating one, and the editing is brilliant in how it moves from one moment and one memory to another. However, as great as the performances from Sienna Miller and Diego Luna are, I don’t find their characters or their story to be all that interesting, and with the film going off the deep end within 10 minutes, it can be a little hard to parse through the psychedelic sequences. Wouldn’t call it a misfire, but it didn’t do a lot for me.
Two Os Us
Two Of Us is a very tender and beautifully told love story, but to my surprise it’s one that is also weirdly suspenseful as well. The idea of an older woman being in the closet for many years, suddenly suffering a stroke that renders her mute, and her love being forced to deal with a family that likely won’t believe the truth about their situation is a harrowing premise. The film has a couple moments where it dabbles into some surreal elements that I don’t think totally work, nor did I find them necessary. But I did find the story to be so well done, and the performances from Barbara Sukowa and Martine Chevallier are terrific.
Let Them All Talk
The Laundromat was a rare misfire from one of America’s finest filmmakers, Steven Soderbergh, but his new film is definitely an improvement. Though, I wouldn’t necessarily call it a film I would revisit again and again. It’s a fairly light comedy about a bestselling author, played by Meryl Streep, who is taking a cruise over to England where she is to accept an award, and she brings her best friends with her, played by Dianne Wiest and Candice Bergen. Their dynamic is easily the best part of the film, the actors do so much to make them very well drawn, and they’re very funny as well. It’s fairly low stakes and very dialogue driven, but there are some charms here, and it’s cool to see Soderbergh continue to experiment with the form within the confines of a ship.
Happiest Season
Boy, who’d have thought such an unassuming Christmas rom-com would cause such a heated debates online? To a degree, I get it. However, I did find it fairly charming as far as one of these kinds of movies go. It’s a Christmas rom-com, and it delivers pretty much everything you would expect from that, just with a lesbian couple at the center of it. I’ve seen some criticism about the character played by Mackenzie Davis, and sure, she makes some really questionable decisions, but I like that she’s flawed and messy. This wouldn’t be all that interesting if everyone was just perfect and there wasn’t any conflict. I wouldn’t call it an amazing movie, but it’s cute and amusing, and that’s kind of all it needed to be.
Dreamland
On the off-chance you needed any more proof that Margot Robbie is a full blown, real deal movie star, this is the movie that will show you just that. The movie is fairly solid early 20th century crime drama, it’s characters are compelling, the period details are good, and it’s well made with some genuinely surprising and stylish camerawork and editing choices – though the clean, digital sheen didn’t do much for me. It’s a good movie, but a mostly disposable one, that is – if not for just how great and magnetic Robbie is. She holds this together so well, and she brings so many layers and complexity as this outlaw on the run. It’s no wonder she’s gotten as big as she is, and I continue to be fascinated to see what projects she decides to produce because she has a good eye for interesting projects with interesting voices (see: Promising Young Woman). Anyway, it’s a decent movie with a great performance, the kind of thing that in my childhood would have been running countless times on TNT or something. It’s worth seeking out if you haven’t seen it.
That’s it for today. Like I said, you’ll see a second part for this soon enough. If you have any thoughts on these movies, whether you agree or disagree, feel free to sound off in the comments.