Change Your Image
crpenman
Reviews
IF (2024)
The Ending saves this from being an interesting thought experiment
The majority of this film I was questioning this film, I won't lie. The messaging seemed all over the place, the target demographic similarly seemed to vary scene to scene. There were a bunch of grin inducing moments and some good laughs, but I was frustrated by the film's lack of commitment to answers or internal logic, why certain things are important etc. I was very impressed with some of the acting, John Krasinski and Fiona Shaw are delightful in particular and the stacked cast is a wonder of "I know that voice" all of which are charming. But it seemed the key function of pairing imaginary friends with kids to be a very child friendly line. The way it takes it in reality is far more adult while still being a little confusing. I got about 70 minutes into this film and started wondering why, if anything other than a 1 sentence summary John Krasinski and Ryan Reynolds had said this was a live action Pixar film.
The ending and the subsequent hours of reinterpretation and pondering leave me in awe of its execution. I still think there are problems, and scenes that feel very haphazard in some ways, and I still feel some bewilderment over a film that takes 90% of its run time to come into its own. It's a fantastic twist, and similar to Gone Girl (an odd but apt and well considered comparison given that to mention any others would constitute a spoiler) is one of the best examples of a twist impacting your entire viewing experience, I've ever seen. Everything crystallises and the amount you get from it as a young adult increases exponentially-I can only wait and look forward to how its meaning and poignancy will change throughout the rest of my life as the best Pixar films do.
The Lion King (2019)
On rewatch it does improve, to a point
With the trailer for Mufasa coming out and seeming to fix some of the uncannny valley effects of the first , I decided to go back and rewatch the Live Action remake for the first time since the cinema. My thoughts have changed somewhat.
Is it soulless as so many have said? No, not entirely. I will say that the issue of non-emoting photo-realistic animals still presents a major sticking point, but I have noticed some subtle changes. For me, there are 3 characters who due to the specific animation actually do match their voice and deliver therefore some sense of character. Timon, Pumba and Scar have the benefit of great vocal performances that seem to compliment some more subtle or otherwise animated movements, to an extent which the facial expressions aren't so distracting.
Problematically, issues are possibly more apparent by contrast with Zazu and any lion besides Scar as their vocal performances don't match the level or ranges of emotion conveyed by the face, making it feel like dubbing.
This only becomes more apparent for me past Hakuna Matata, and specifically with the casting choices of Beyonce and Donald Glover whose tones don't mirror the spirit of the 1994 animated film at all, and whose talent for riffs only exposes the flaws of the animation further by mirroring their lip movements on a lion. Both of them, for me, were woefully miscast. Both are too pop centric for the tunes they're singing, and feel like they're both struggling to outshine each other vocally. Add in Spirit by Beyonce instead of one of Zimmer's most underrated pieces and.it takes away all momentum and feels out of place.
Visually breath-taking, with key themes and some great vocals, Timon and Pumbaa are an absolute delight and Scar's performance has a lot more nuance than I initially credited. I would say that it's not as bad as people bash on it. But is it flawed and in no way superior to the original? Yes.
Joy Ride (2023)
Funny, inappropriate and touching at points
Firstly, I should say this isn't my sort of comedy usually, not usually my street. Therefore, the fact that I laughed out loud numerous times should be taken as a compliment, even if quite a few jokes didn't land for me at all.
Ultimately, this was an absolutely wild ride, enjoyable, raunchy, cringe out, nice mix of slapstick, expertly timed delivery of some truly great dialogue. It continued to surprise me.
But therein lies the biggest problem for me personally. I connect especially with comedies with heart. For others that may not be the case. That's fine. But for me, there's so much absurdity that the film meanders copiously from the emotional core and almost central plot of the film. The one scene that is truly emotional could have been more so if there had been a more compelling narrative push. I would also say that while an argument (I'll say no more) near the end was delivered in an exceptionally brutal way that definitely should have been handled better if it was in reality, but the apology felt like backtracking on the substance-I thought the.main character was 100% right, and so the backtracking didn't feel earned necessarily.
Overall, very entertaining and funny, but if you're looking for something more than 1 emotional anchor...this won't do it for you.