Review: Kubo and the Two Strings

Okay, here’s the problem with writing about Kubo and the Two Strings: a lot – and I do mean A LOT – of what I need to point out might or might not resort me into spoiler territory. Sucks, I know, but not doing so would not give this movie justice. So what I’m about to do is explain the story, explain the surface level stuff, and leave the deeper material later on. Fair deal?

            In either case, yes, you’ve heard it right; Kubo and the Two Strings is a masterpiece. After almost a decade of major studios like DreamWorks, Disney, and Illumination trotting out safe, eye-appealing kid’s movies, the small Claymation studio Laika returns once again with yet another masterwork. It’s a film that exceeds more than just their use of performances and impressive visual style with their usual somber aesthetic and shockingly relatable fables. This time, they finally step out of their usual gothic horror design and focus more on a Miyazaki-inspired Eastern palette. The result might finally replace their previous film ParaNorman as their definitive peak of their abilities, and probably be the best stop-motion movie ever made since Nightmare Before Christmas.

             Borrowing wholesale from Asian folklore, the story takes place in Ancient Japan where a one-eyed child by the name Kubo lives in a desolate mountain with his grief-stricken mother. During his downtime, he travels to a nearby village to perform origami tricks with his magic guitar (which is so amazing you won't even question it) , which he uses to tell an ancient story about his father - a legendary samurai - who was the first to square up against the Moon King with the aid of three pieces of golden armor (sword, helmet, and breastplate) . But after disobeying his mother for not staying home after dark, he soon encounters the Evil Sister who are in cahoots with the Moon King and decides to fuck things up in the village and take Kubo away in the process. The mother, reawaken from her grief, defends Kubo with her last of her powers in an attempt to fend off her foes. In the aftermath, Kubo now must find the three pieces and make things right while fending off the Moon King and his cohorts. Along the journey, he encounters a stern, assertive Monkey (Charlize Theron) and a brave but dense warrior Beetle (Matthew McConaughey).

            So, no guesses for which this story will wrap up in the end, or even how the inevitable plot twist will turn up. However, like Laika always promises, there’s real depth and a fresh new take on this material amongst their visual flair.

MAJOR SPOILER BELOW!!!

You see, the whole film is pretty much a parable for a broken/dysfunctional family scenario integrated into an epic Zelda-esque fetch quest storyline. Kubo’s mother is scarred by the Moon King who happens to be Kubo’s grumpy grandfather (Ralph Fiennes). When she wouldn’t comply to join his world – the world free of mortal consequence and pain – he punishes her by killing her mate and damaging Kubo’s left eye. So really, the whole clichéd epic story where the hero fights a villain to save the kingdom actually has some resonance because they twisted it into a psychological trial of fixing a broken family. It’s even right down to having the two companions (You read the spoiler warning!!) be the reincarnated versions of Kubo’s parents guiding Kubo to find the right tools to fend off old Grandpas’ evildoings and bring him away from his evil. It’s the type of story that can also relate to both young kids and adults alike, which is a type of feat we seldom see these days.

Now granted, the twist with Beetle and Monkey seems fairly obvious right from the get-go, with them possessing typical mother-and-father traits. However, it seems like it’s the point like it almost comes with the supply of Kubo engaging in a trial for finding his courage and family connection up until the big boss fight.

Spoilers end!!!

           

            Even if any young mind wouldn’t capture all the subtext, they’re probably too busy gushing over the widely impressive stop-motion animation. Even for a guy who never really get all impressed with stop-motion, I was in awe with what Laika has done here. With subtle feats like face details and clothing/hair physics to grand moments like the varied and large-scale boss fights, I’m glad this type of animation came quite a long way. What also amazes me lies in the remarkably detailed Eastern setting bursting with color and homage. For an animation company coming from the origins of the classic Harryhausen days, it's simply astonishing for how far their hard work exceeds this medium.

            The performances are too good to dismiss. Mathew McConaughey shows his usual charming swagger in Beetle while also pulling off his shortsighted aspects. Charlize Theron once again gives her best as a stern Monkey. Ralph Fiennes almost disappears in his role as the intimidating yet entirely nuanced villain the Moon King. Rooney Mara also impresses as the Sinister Twins, who mostly sounds reminiscent of the Twins from The Shining. The standout, though, is Game of Thrones own Art Parkinson utilizes impressive range as Kubo, invoking both the vulnerable and the courageous aspects of his character.

            Emphasizing any more of how Kubo works would now sound redundant at this point. There’s virtually nothing hampering the movie nor any one element overwhelming another. As a kids film, it’s pretty much perfect. As a warm diversion for the adults, it still works considerably. The type of film that relates to kids without talking down to them. It’s the type of deceptively simple storytelling that captures adult themes without falling gratuitous territory. It’s the type of film that contains huge respect for Eastern folklore without wearing out its welcome. Filled with character dynamics and a variety of emotion, Kubo and the Two Strings is an instant winner and you need to see it!

Rating: 10/10

Review: Pete's Dragon

It'd be almost pointless to call Pete's Dragon a remake at all. Built on the core foundations of the original, the movie takes such a fresh the angle on it that I'm surprised that they kept the name. Rightfully so, since the original wasn't all that good and - however ironically fun - weirdly outdated even for its time; obviously trying to replicate the success of Mary Poppins, the movie squanders the otherwise interesting "Calvin and Hobbes" influences in favor of bizarre song numbers and old-timey camp. It takes a special talent (namely David Lowery coming off the shoes of the indie crowd with Ain't Them Bodies Saints) to rework this from the ground up and ultimately surpass the original by a country mile, and this movie succeeds. Pete's Dragon captures the childlike awe and the rustic setting like the original but with a much more meditative and gentle tone, resulting in the most honest and emotional family tale of 2016.

The movie starts with a very young Pete as the sole survivor of a tragic car crash (a sequence that defines messed up) in the isolated woods in the Pacific Northwest. Alone with no family left, he scours for refuge after being chased by wolves, until he encounters a gigantic but also a friendly green dragon, who is appropriately called back to Falkor from Neverending Story. The dragon takes pity for the lost boy and the two instantly form a bond. After a huge, yet delightful, piece of the first act focusing on the dragon (called Elliot) and Pete just playing around, they soon encounter a lumber company led by Karl Urban who wishes to cover more ground in the woods under the disapproval of Bryce Dallas Howard as his park-ranging stepsister. Alongside her is Oona Laurence as her daughter who soon greets Pete and soon makes a connection with the rest of the family. But when Urban grows suspicious of the woods after his confrontation with Pete, he soon develops a different motive for proceeding further in the woods.

Now before you say anything, yes, the story isn't all that new and you probably know where this is going. The lumberman might step into the bad guy role in the pursuit of the dragon. Pete winds up retreading the fish-out-of-water story beats. There's a subtle tension between Pete and Elliot in the beginning of the third act. Heck, there's an old man (played by an otherwise fantastic Robert Redford) who tells a story about the dragon who turns out wasn't crazy after all. However, this movie goes to show that how you approach these clichés is important, and the amount of patience and rawness Lowery approaches these should be given more credit.

From the very first scene to the last, David Lowery proves himself as an unexpected master of rural scene geography and cinematic language. It's big things like the setting and tone, which feels reminiscent of an old Terrence Malick piece. It's small things, like the way it shows certain plot points rather than telling us and the personal dynamics between Pete, Elliot, and the family. And it's the things with individual scenes, like the first act devoting itself to just Pete playing around in the woods with his amazingly rendered dragon friend, and a sequence where Pete interacts with the unfamiliar town in which might be the best version of such moments. The clichés themselves are given more honesty and complete lack of plot contrivances. It all culminates in a piece that largely feels fresh and accessible without being too twee or fluffy.

But the biggest accomplishment of this film truly lies in how it does wonder with its coming-of-age parable. Despite some effective adult development with Redford, Howard and the rest of the family - Urban himself isn't much of a bad guy in this as he is a man who's ambition goes too far - it's all kept just simple enough to let the child perspective truly sell. Referring back to the Calvin and Hobbes influences, Elliot himself embodies a child's struggle to cope with the loss of friends or family, even as far as resulting Elliot resembling more like a giant dog or teddy bear than an actual dragon. So the whole film structures itself as a trial for young Pete to fully embrace human connection again. In the end, Pete's Dragon implicitly tells the youngsters that it's okay to move on from your loneliness, and it does so without any stupid dance numbers or weirdly dated stereotypes. And believe me, guys, this results in probably one of the most heartbreaking endings I've ever seen in any kid’s movie.

This perspective almost comes with a crutch during the third act, as it does mute most of Elliot's grand presence while the human's reaction clearly states something greater. This issue is honestly almost all throughout the movie but only highlights itself more prominently during the end.

That minor issue aside, Pete's Dragon proves worthy of its own place of original works, let alone as a remake. It's the type we get seldom these days, where the remake redefines its own name by having a man with a unique vision builds a whole new creation out of the same blueprint much like David Cronenberg with The Fly or The Coen Brothers with True Grit. Everything from the true nostalgic charm to the rustic geography to Elliot's unique design to the introspective tone works wonders in a movie I've never thought I see in my life. I'm usually bad at spotting a classic, but this might be the one.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Suicide Squad

   

           Here is how I encapsulate Suicide Squad in one scene in a movie. Not in any of the plot elements, or the dialogue exchange, or the abundant gun-toting action scenes, but in the end credits. Yes, the end credits – where, after the world is saved by our “heroes”, we see them back to square one in their cells in Blackgate prison in the typical “gritty reboot” Warner Bros aesthetic. Then, out of nowhere, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie, who is by far the best part of the movie) escapes from prison via a jarring raid led by her meth head puppy face Leto Joker. Then after that, the credits roll in a bombastic, colorful blend of purple and green vape gas while a rap song called “Sucker For Pain” plays with Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa, and Ty Dolla $ign. It's not a particularly good song and the credits look phony and obnoxious, but I'd be lying if I didn't hum the song after it's over. Lazy, generic, and sloppy are words that come to mind to this eye candy, but "fun" stands out the most, plus it does calls back to the taste of my short roster of friends that I sort of hang around with. That’s the whole summary of Suicide Squad in my viewpoint.

            Suicide Squad is - objectively and inescapably - garbage. On the writing part, the story makes no sense, plot points get repeated for no reason, backstories serve no purpose other than a cheap way to establish character, and the characters themselves aren’t well-written in the slightest. Aesthetically, the direction defines choppy, characters aren’t well established – one character looks straight out of a Grudge movie while another one looks like those S&M clowns that might fit in Spring Breakers – the tone has “schizophrenic” written all over its face, (no thanks to those reshoots, because that always works!) and the CGI looks distractingly bad. Taken as a whole, it’s the cinematic equivalent of the modern, lazy, pandering rap song made cynically by the intent of establishing a name rather than making good products. BUT…even considering how much I actually listen to those same bad rap songs, I still like it? Yes, the movie has no right to be overrated by anyone with the aforementioned problems in mind (even if the web is still somehow mad about “biased Rotten Tomatoes”), but I still find joy and guilty pleasure in the whole thing, even if any of it sucks.

            The story, for the record, is far too convoluted to summarize. After the events of Batman V Superman, Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) for some reason comes to the conclusion that the world needs the help of Gotham’s rowdiest criminals. So she recruits Killer Croc, Boomerang, Harley Quinn, El Diablo, Deadshot, and… some other guy, under the help of Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flagg and Katana to do some rescue mission. Oh, and Davis comes to terms with Enchantress – who looks like she was pulled straight out of a Troma-esque Grudge ripoff – in order to persuade the officials to use the Squad, only to eventually be held hostage for the film to set up a rather questionable twist. Oh, and Enchantress is controlling Flagg’s boring girlfriend as she controls the city via a sky wormhole and a strangely crappy-looking demon brother who serves nothing other than a mini-boss. Oh, and the Joker shows up for no reason for both a flashback and in act 2 and literally drives and/or flies by the screen without any point.

            So yeah, like Batman V Superman, the movie suffers greatly from numerous plot issues and bad design choices, but at least it makes more sense since its actually under one man’s helm this time. Now I may like David Ayer’s movies in his unapologetic, openly grimy movie catalog, (I personally think Fury is still his masterpiece) but there is no denying the amount of weight he struggles to carry here, doubly so thanks to the reshoots. Everything from the nonsensical plot (in which we're supposed to believe that the all-powerful witch gets defeated by the old Bugs Bunny trick) to the jarring lack of appeal with the whole thing seems to be under the sway of cynical committee rather than a single vision. Constant shifts in tone, the weak transition of plot elements, and stupid-looking design choices he makes with the purple and green color palette and supercharged cutting techniques make the film look occasionally phony, and that’s before you see the final boss in her crappy-looking silk-sheets-as-smoke-clouds getup. In design, it’s as if Ayer desperately panders to the new age of wannabe gangster Snapchat teens the way he panders to thugs in Harsh Times, as he also shoves on-the-nose pop songs in any scene possible.  

            However, as someone who objectively follows some people in that demographic, I can’t help but enjoy this broken apparatus. The songs are obnoxiously phoned in but I think it's catchy. The story beats make no sense, but how the film gets there - from action scenes to out-of-place flashbacks - are a joy to watch. Even among the catchy soundtrack and weirdly enjoyable aesthetic, there is quite a lot of genuine good that’s sadly squashed by the vape-stinking baggage. The backstory for both El Diablo and Deadshot are genuinely engaging, however short-shifted, there’s a small bar scene where they share fun, if shallow, banter, and I’d be lying if there aren’t some good payoffs in the action scenes. Plus, I cannot deny the effort by Margot Robbie as the best Harley Quinn ever (although a bit oversexualized) , Will Smith and Viola Davis. All the rest are on autopilot (Killer Croc does nothing in this movie surprisingly), but it's fun to see Jai Courtney hamming up as an Australian stereotype.

            Sadly, all the poor actors lose any goodwill by a terrible performance by one Jared Leto as the new Joker. Passing aside the way the film contrives a way to have him swing by in the movie, Leto tries too hard to put a name for himself in this role as he scavenges multiple impressions of both Caesar Romero and Heath Ledger. The result is quite the most embarrassing and the most obnoxious Joker I’ve seen forever. If this shows up in the new Batman movie, then DC/Warner Bros is screwed.

            However, with that all in mind, this movie is the ultimate guilty pleasure. Nothing is good about it AT ALL, but I can’t shake off the mindless, pandering, coked-up fun that is Suicide Squad. It's poorly paced, thinly written, awful-looking, and full of shoddy direction, but I appreciate David Ayer for his otherwise flawed commitment. The film is the cinematic equivalent of cherry-colored, vape smoke-engulfed Big Mac, a neat idea doomed to fail but somehow has me entranced by its poor design. To that end, I'm still not convinced to give this movie any higher than a 3. But for the first time, I'm inclined to establish a Guilty Pleasure Rating, which I'll be giving it a 7. Some will love this movie, others will hate it, but I'm treading on both paths for now. Take that for what its worth. 

Rating: 3/10

Guilty Pleasure Rating: 7/10

PS: Say hello to your new ringtone!!