Sociable Movie Guy
REVIEWS
A HEARTWARMING TALE OF FRIENDSHIP AND SELF-DISCOVERY As social beings, it’s only natural for human to want to belong to somebody else. That somebody else has a pretty wide range. From significant others like your parents or your siblings, to your school friends, romantic partners, and colleagues. The needs to be socially included and appreciated come since we were very young. That’s why most of us really enjoy going out and playing with friends when we were little. Not only was it super fun, but it was also how our social needs were fulfilled, though we might not aware about it yet. Of course it wasn’t all fun at the time, frictions were always there too. Whether for trivial matters (just like it has always been) or for something more fundamental, frictions, when they’re done right, can lead to a greater bond between humans. What I just described (or ranted) about is more or less what Charlie Brown is facing. Based on a comic strip by Charles M. Schulz, this Blue Sky-produced film offers a simple premise. The story focuses on the aforementioned character and his everyday antics. Charlie Brown is a clumsy kid who never does anything right and is very close with his dog, Snoopy. One day, a new kid moves to his neighborhood and catches his attention. He sees that as a chance to restart his image since the new kid never met him before. A ‘clean slate’ as Charlie Brown likes to put it. Will he make it? Or will he embarrass himself in the process of doing so? Being an animated film, ‘Snoopy and Charlie Brown: The Peanuts Movie’ has a visual that clearly doesn’t disappoint. The visual successfully brings the warmth and nostalgic feelings to the screen and eventually to the viewers. I didn’t even grow up reading or watching the classic series but I can totally get the nostalgic feelings. Can you imagine how the visual alone will take back those who grew up with Charlie Brown and the gang to one of the happiest days of their lives? The film is jam-packed with characters and Charlie Brown stands out among the rest. It’s not because he is the main character in the film, but it’s because he’s just adorably selfless to the people around him despite his clumsiness. He is the type of a person whose kindness is always taken for granted by his friends simply because he is too nice. How the adults are never fully depicted in the film is also genius. It shows that the film really wants to focus on the kids and how they make sense to everything that happens around them. The way the adults speak with a very unclear voice is so hilarious. It captures how kids usually don’t care with what the adults have to say to them. As adorable as Charlie Brown and the gang are, the story sadly can’t fully support the whole film to be memorable. Yes it’s warm and nostalgic, but that’s it, nothing more. One character in the film also fails to be memorable and ironically it’s Snoopy, the very character whose name is in the title. What he does in the film doesn’t contribute much to the story line. He’s just there goofing around Charlie Brown but never really helps him getting through his problems.
Another thing that crossed my mind while watching the film is all of Charlie Brown’s friends, except for Linus, are selfish and self-centered. Even Snoopy is selfish too! (MINOR SPOILER ALERT) Every time Charlie Brown gets into trouble, Snoopy always looks like he’s mad to what happens to his best friend. And then he uses that as the vehicle to enter his own imagination. Instead of reimagining on how to actually help Charlie Brown, Snoopy’s imagination is always about how he overcomes obstacles to be with his love interest, Fifi. In other words, Snoopy uses his best friend’s unfortunate situation for his own dreamy pleasure. If I was Charlie Brown, I would have unfriended them from a long time ago. Overall, ‘Snoopy and Charlie Brown: The Peanuts Movie’ is a nostalgic and visually terrific film that has enough warmth to entertain both kids and adults, though the film might not offer something new to the latter ones. Score: 3/5
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An Exceptionally Original Creation from the Mega Studio Disney Pixar Have you ever wondered what’s going on in your head when you feel all the feelings you feel? Like when you’re happy to see your significant others, mad for being left out by your friends, or even sad for being cheated by your romantic partner? (I certainly hope the latter one didn’t and won’t happen to anyone of you!) Well, wonder no more! Disney Pixar is here to answer your questions, though you may need a spoonful of imagination to grasp that, with its latest film ‘Inside Out’. The film focuses on Riley (Kaitlyn Dias), a bright and cheerful eleven year-old girl whose life seems always surrounded by happiness. We get too see what’s going on inside Riley’s head through the five emotions she has, Joy (Amy Poehler), Sad (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), and Disgust (Mindy Kaling) who live inside the Headquarters. Those emotions not only react but also reflect what Riley feels towards her environment. One day, she and her family moves to a new neighborhood and that seemingly simple event threatens the status quo in the Headquarters. Will she finally get a grip of her emotions? And more importantly, will she adapt to the new situation? First of all, let me give a huge applause to Pete Docter (known for his award-winning ‘Up’) and the team for creating such an incredibly creative and original piece. They excelled in taking something that’s so apparent in our everyday life (who doesn’t feel the feelings mentioned above?) to a whole new level. The story is also very well-thought with just the right amount of imagination. So the film is neither too ‘out-there’ nor too by-the-book. That’s an important thing since what they try to convey in ‘Inside Out’ is actually very scientific. I know that because I learned all that mind and emotions thingy in a class I took in college. Never thought my class would come handy in this movie-review stuff. They also managed to insert moments that will resonate to anyone seeing the film. The final result is a heart-warming and touching film without being overly sappy. Though it doesn’t achieve the emotional peak like ‘Up’ did, ‘Inside Out’ will still make the manliest man alive trying his best to hold the tears from streaming down his cheeks. Oh have I mentioned that this film is hilarious too? Out of the five emotions, Disgust is my favorite and the best laugh-inducer among them with her witty and sarcastic lines. Another thing to adore from this film is its striking visual. Definitely a feast for the eyes! This film of course has its own flaws. One of them is the explanation regarding all the things in Riley’s head and how they work at the beginning of the film feels a little bit too fast. So viewers might get a bit confused to grasp all of that at once. The duration of the film is also a bit too short (or maybe it’s because the film’s so good it just passes by without me noticing the duration?). But don’t worry, all those flaws don’t affect the quality of the film much and they are covered by tons of the other goodness of the film. (NOT SO MINOR SPOILER AHEAD. YOU’VE BEEN WARNED)
Seeing this film, I can’t help but admiring the message it’s trying to say. Throughout the film, we’ll see that Sad is always ignored and pressed by the other emotions, especially Joy. I see that as the representative of human who naturally denies any vulnerable feelings. The film then concludes that any one of the emotions can really complement each other, even sadness. So the point is: don’t be afraid to embrace your feelings. It’s okay to be sad, because sadness allows you to be vulnerable and open yourself to people around you. By doing that, you’ll feel relieved and guess what happens when you feel relieved? You feel joy. Overall, ‘Inside Out’ gives an interesting look at what’s going on in people’s heads that is as exciting as it is very original. Best Animated Feature for the next awards season? Yes, please! Score: 4.5/5 Note: MAKE SURE you don’t come late to the theater to catch the heartbreakingly sweet short movie ‘Lava’. Be careful, the song (which happens to be the entire dialogue of the short film) is extremely contagious you won’t stop humming it on your way back home! A (Surprisingly) Dark yet Charming Fairy Tale Musical To me, musicals are always fun to watch, whether they are in drama or comedy form. The reason is simple, it is because they usually have songs that go straight to your head and stay there for a couple of days or even weeks. Just about two years ago, one of Disney’s animated film did that. Yes, I’m talking about ‘Frozen’, an award-winning and influential musical animated film. I believe you still can see ‘Frozen’ footprints everywhere, especially in merchandises from your younger sister’s or her friends’ birthdays. Not to mention the songs, particularly ‘Let It Go’ that is still on the playlist of your local radios. Even one of the recent ‘Glee’ episodes features ‘Let It Go’ sung by Lea Michele’s Rachel Berry. Disney then brings another musical to the silver screen. Adapted from Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Broadway musical of the same name, ‘Into the Woods’ is directed by musical expert Rob Marshall. His previous films include Oscar-winning ‘Chicago’ (2002) and Oscar-nominated Nine (2009). His latest feature sets in the village whose inhabitants are very unique, such as The Witch (Meryl Streep), The Baker (James Corden), The Baker’s Wife (Emily Blunt), Little Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford), Jack (Daniel Huttlestone), Cinderella (Anna Kendrick), Rapunzel (Mackenzie Mauzy), Prince Charming (Chris Pine), and The Wolf (Johnny Depp). One day, The Witch persuades The Baker and his wife to go into the woods to get a few things that she needs. In return, she promises to undo the barren (or mandul in Bahasa Indonesia) curse she once put on The Baker’s family tree. Since they have been wanting to have a child for so long, they take The Witch’s request. In the woods, all of the aforementioned characters will collide while The Baker and his wife try everything they can to collect the things that The Witch wants. As a musical, Into the Woods has a handful of sing-able numbers from composer Stephen Sondheim. My personal favorites are the opening song and the one sung by The Witch when she explains why she placed the curse on The Baker’s family tree. Another positive thing from the film is none other than the charm of the star-studded cast. All of them play the roles finely and sing so beautifully. Kudos to Meryl Streep, whose performance as The Witch is as malicious and creepy as she is charming and engaging. I really think she does deserve her Oscar nomination for that portrayal. Lilla Crawford also shines as the strong-headed and fearless Little Red Riding Hood.
Story-wise, ‘Into the Woods’ starts off really strong. Sadly, it gets weaker and unfocused as it goes through the second and third phase. Streep’s performance actually experiences a downward too, but it’s the script’s fault not hers. There’s another thing that came to my attention regarding the story. I first thought the film would be a whimsical and light musical, but I was wrong. Much to my surprise, the story is dark and grim FOR a Disney film. What I mean by dark and grim here may not be surprising for some of you who have read the actual version of the fairy tales, not the Disney’s one. So yeah, that’s a hint of how dark ‘Into the Woods’ is. In sum, ‘Into the Woods’ is a nice fairy tale film with charming ensemble and a few ear-catching musical numbers that is darker than it seems. If you want to bring your kids or younger relatives to see this, please make sure that they are mature enough to digest the film’s dark element. Score : 3/5 |
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AuthorA self-acclaimed movie guy who likes to socialize |