freelancedancepants Reviews

Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

More Quirky than Funny, but an easy watch

[8/10 · 3 December 2023]

Fantastic Mr. Fox absolutely is hard to look away from when you start, as everything about it oozes style. The stop motion definitely has a bit of a stiff feel too it, in large part due to the materials used, but every scene is so dynamic and fun to observe all the little details.

I wouldn't be surprised if viewers found this films aesthetics a little bit uncanny, but it would be fundamentally different if it looked more classily cute. I personally was not a fan of some of the music choices as well, but I believe that is personal taste.

My biggest and only complaint with Mr. Fox is that it seldom ever made me laugh. I never stopped paying attention, I cracked a few smirks, but the lead character especially was not as charming to me as he likes to believe he is. The supporting characters steal the show.

Andre the Giant (2018 TV Movie)

A fascinating man, but a limited perspective.

[6/10 · 3 December 2023]

I am a very big fighting game fan, and my introduction to Andre the Giant was knowing he was the inspiration for the character Hugo in Street Fighter 3rd Strike. Seeing this documentary, I was excited to learn more about this significant pop culture Icon.

I loved learning about Andres personal life, and I found it really interesting ( and sad ) to have to hear about the practical challenges of being a man his size. While the documentary isn't all seen through rose colored glasses, it definitely feels like something is missing.

Knowing the history of big wrestling and understanding how concerned with image Vince is, I couldn't help to feel that there is a more critical version of this film that exists. It seems Andre had his problems with the institution, but that story was largely told through the lenses of the big wigs while the people closest with him shared purely the sentimental or novel.

Paddington 2 (2017)

Fantastic Vignettes, suffers from plot

[7/10 · 3 December 2023]

It had been a running gag with me and my friends to point out that this movie was one of the highest rated of all time on Rotten Tomatoes. After watching it, I can definitely see it has many positive qualities.

The clear Wes Anderson influence combined with the sweet and sentimental relationship between Paddington and the characters in the film makes it hard not to smile while watching. The Paddington-centric parts of the film that see him in these comedic fish out of water slapstick situations are easily the highlight with lots of laugh out loud gags.

The biggest weakness of the film is the plot and some of the special effects. It served its purpose well enough to get us from scene to scene, but I found the more we focused on the villain and the family the less fun I was having. The writer simply does his best work with the titular character at the center.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Undisputable Iconic, but shows its age

[7/10 · 3 December 2023]

Up until recently I have only experienced 2001 through the filter of its predecessors and its pop culture influence. Having watched the film myself for the first time, I think all though it is beautifully framed and contains some very iconic scenes that its age shows.

So much of the film is dedicated to the atmosphere and the eye candy, and while much of it is still effective and even has a retro charm it is not quite captivating enough to get you through the sluggish pacing. The third act of the film especially suffers from its effects being outdated and not so awe inspiring.

The none verbal story telling of the chimps and the monolith in the beginning of the film has to be one of my favorite sections in a movie to date and I still walked away taking plenty of value, but I will likely only revisit hand picked clips rather than watching the full film again.

Gone Girl (2014)

Great premise, weak characters.

[6/10 · 1 February 2019]

Gone Girl is broken up into two parts, as the twist of the story happens right in the middle. Having never seen that before, It's hard to deny that I was very engaged and interested to see the story flip in on itself. What I found most impressive was the way the film radically changed my perception of it's characters several times through my first watch.

Unfortunately, I do think this film is held back by some seriously lack luster performances. It shines in it's ability to tell you just enough to be invested in the protagonist, whilst saving his flaws for fascinating reveals. However, Ben Afflecks relaxed schlub is highly forgettable and fails to deliver any convincing emotion, and Rosamund Pikes blank faced sociopath is equally uninspired.

Overall, Gone Girl offers an interesting plot ripe for inspiration. However, the characters were either written or performed in a way that they themselves were not as interesting as the things that were happening around them. If you find a story more important than compelling performance, I would highly recommend Gone Girl.

James White (2015)

Slow, but deeply personal.

[8/10 · 1 February 2019]

James White follows it's title character, an avoidant and immature 20 something, through a period of grief and growth over his dying mother. James is lazy and emotionally closed off, opting for parties and drugs when the going gets tough. While James might normally be an unlikable character, it's hard not to relate to his fear of facing the despair that is waiting for him in the real world.

This movie is definitely a slow burn, but by it's ending sequence it sears quite the scar. James is clearly very close to his mom, and seems to be the only decent influence in his life anymore. His friends might be marginally more stable than himself, but it's clear that his relationship with his mother is the last good thing he's got going. When James is finally confronted with the responsibility of caring for her full time, the performances are top notch and had me weeping mournful, as all of his feelings are finally pulled to the surface.

The only things that hold this movie back for me are mostly issues of presentation, and I am very certain that a lot of people will be off put by the pacing. A lot of time is spent establishing the character, and it takes a while for anything notable to happen. When it finally strikes though, you are gonna have a harder movie cry than you've had in a long time.

Blackfish (2013)

Shocking, and in ways you may not expect!

[7/10 · 1 February 2019]

This movie will tell you what you could probably already guess, sea world is messed up. However, the information it brings to light is particularly shocking as it shows not just a horrible mistreatment of these animals, but also what appears to be a complete apathy towards the lives and well being of the trainers.

It also contains some very powerful interviews from former sea world staff, who were brought on because of their love and passion for animals. From the emotion that's on display when they discuss the conditions, it's clear that they had lost some of their innocence and optimism that they came to SeaWorld with in the first place.

If you are looking for an accessible and shocking Documentary, Blackfish is sure to keep you engaged. This is a must watch for anyone who thinks of supporting SeaWorld, as it would challenge your whole perspective. However, due to the attempts by SeaWorld to keep a lot of these things under wraps, there is very little from current or old SeaWorld management. A stark lack of footage and audio did make me feel as if some punches were pulled as well.