Movie Review - Kubo and the Two Strings

Kubo and the Two Strings

Starring: Art Parkinson, Charlize Theron, Matthew McConaughey, Ralph Fiennes, George Takei, Rooney Mara, Brenda Vaccaro, and more.

Directed by: Travis Knight Screenplay by: Marc Haimes and Chris Butler Story by: Shannon Tindle and Marc Haimes Cinematography by: Frank Passingham Music by: Dario Marianelli

Premise: Kubo enjoys telling stories. It lets him connect to others and also to his ailing mother. In her lucid moments, she's warned him time and again never to be out after dark. That those who took his eye as a baby will be able to find him and take his other eye as well. Despite his intentions to do as he's been told, Kubo doesn't make it back in time one day. His mother's otherworldly sisters catch his scent. Now he has no choice but to run and try to find the fabled mystic armor pieces in his stories to save try to himself. (Rated PG)

Review:

1) Voice Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Art Parkinson is adorable as Kubo. His emotions come across very well. Charlize Theron as the reserved Monkey was also a lot of fun. Matthew McConaughey does a great job as the cursed samurai Beetle. Brenda Vaccaro and George Takei add a nice, amusing backdrop for Kubo's normal days at the village. 

2) Artwork/Animation - Total Thumbs Up: Laika does amazing stop motion films. "Kubo and the Two Strings" is another fine addition to their gorgeous repertoire of work. The use of paper and moving origami was inspired. A neat new tactile and visual realm to explore. Gorgeous! 

Amazing visuals appear throughout the film. The giant waves at the beginning were amazing. And though he is but a bit of paper, the origami samurai is totally awesome. It adds a neat non-verbal character to the mix. (All the stories told via moving origami were so cool!)

Loved how Hanzo looked like Toshiro Mifune. (The Moon King looks like Peter Cushing! Nice choice! heh heh)

3) Plot/Story - Neutral: As amazing as the stop motion animation is, the plot overall was a major letdown. They do a lot of build up on the importance and power of the sword and armor. But when they get them, the three objects are actually pretty useless. Yet these pieces were supposedly the main driving force for two sets of events! As powerless as the objects turned out to be, the importance placed on them made no sense. :( 

Some of Monkey's attitudes don't jyve later when we find out one of the reveals. Also, though the Japanese believe in spirits and magic, it seemed out of place that the villagers didn't make more of Kubo's super unusual skills. (Aside from loving his storytelling that is.)

Old Japanese stories are usually tragic. This one definitely continues the trend as well, but then they try to cheat and fool the audience into a supposed "happy ending". But it isn't... *sigh*

Several themes are explored - the meaning of humanity, of family, treasuring the little things, light and darkness, ying and yang. There are a few minor surprises. One of which made some of the earlier sections of the film not make sense. Oh well...

4) Music - Total Thumbs Up: Dario Marianelli's score was lovely. Lots of string music with a marked oriental feel. Nice!

Conclusion: Kubo and the Two Strings is an amazing piece of animation. Unfortunately, the story itself wasn't of the same caliber. Gorgeous work though.

Rating: 3 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission) 

Movie Review - The Boxtrolls

The Boxtrolls

Starring: Ben Kingsley, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Elle Fanning, Jared Harris, Nick Frost, Richard Ayoade, Tracy Morgan, Dee Bradley Baker, Steve Blum, Simon Pegg, and more.

Directed by: Graham Annable and Anthony Stacchi Screenplay by: Irena Brignull and Adam Pava Based on the Novel by: Alan Snow  Music by: Dario Marianelli

Premise: Eggs, a young boy raised by Boxtrolls, encounters a girl as he tries to find his kidnapped friend, Fish. But, Winnie is not the only thing he discover while up in the human world, he also finds out that lies are being told about those who raised him. That the town believes Boxtrolls to be evil and must be eradicated. (Rated PG)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Ben Kingsley made a fun Archibald Snatcher, especially when eating cheese. Isaac Hempstead was adorable as Eggs. Elle Fanning as Winnie was a total hoot. Not your typical girl that one. Nice! Nick Frost, Richard Ayoade, and Tracy Morgan added a lot of depth to the film and were a lot of fun as Snatcher's stooges.

2) Artwork/Animation - Total Thumbs Up: Laika just gets better and better. Their combination of physical sets, poseable characters, CGI, and blending of other effects just make for truly spectacular and fun visuals.

The look and feel of the Boxtrolls cavern was scintillating. And the contraptions and beauty they create from human trash endearing. The cavern was even a self contained eco system, with the boxtrolls wondering above solely for scavenging purposes. (They seem to not be able to help themselves!)

I also totally loved the weird town - a steep mountain of houses and shops - a totally isolated little island. And the trolls themselves were utterly adorable.

3) Plot/Story - Total Thumbs Up: Though the commercials give it away, the film starts in such a manner as to make the audience believe there might be something evil about the Boxtrolls. Their glowing eyes and expressions alone are enough to give anyone a fright.

There are a lot of types of evil represented in this film. It was truly a lovely representation of several kinds, yet it was left entirely to the audiences' interpretation rather than getting preachy or sanctimonious. There's the evil of indifferent parents, the evil of selfishness, the evil of neglect with regards to work which affects others as well as family, the evil of assuming you're good and just rather than think about what you're actually doing and what it means.

Loved the use of red hats and white hats - a concept tying back to religious infighting amongst oriental monks in ancient times. I also enjoyed the ungirly like bloodthirstiness of Winnie. Her fascination with gore and the horrific - too funny.

The Boxtroll society was fascinating as well, all cogs of the same machine, yet individuals with different tastes and quirks.

Archibald Snatcher was a wonderful bundle of contradictions and surprises. He has a dream and it is worth any price - you won't believe what he's gone through and willing to go through for it on a personal level either. Dang!

The conversations between Mr. Trout and Mr. Pickles were brilliant. Like Snatcher, they too believed in things not necessarily true or real, yet clung to them for all they were worth.

Conclusion: "The Boxtrolls" is a very cute film with tons of unexpected depth and food for thought. The animation is great and fun. Lots of stuff for both kids and adults. And there's a super cool bit in the credits where the curtain is moved aside and the audience can see the magic behind the product as it plays. Nice!

Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)

Movie Review - ParaNorman

ParaNorman

Starring: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Tucker Albrizi, Anna Kendrick, Casey Affleck, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Leslie Mann, Jeff Garlin, Elain Stritch, Bernard Hill, Jodele Ferland, Tempest Bledssoe, John Goodman, Alex Borstein, and more...

Directed by: Chris Butler and Same Fell Written by: Chris Butler Cinematography by: Tristan Oliver Original Music by: Jon Brion

Premise: Norman can see and talk to ghosts, but his family doesn't believe him and the kids at school think he's a freak. Then he meets his reclusive uncle, who tells Norman he has a duty he has to take on - keeping the witch asleep so she won't raise the dead. Except the instructions Norman gets from him aren't complete and he's not able to figure out what to do before the dead rise from their graves! (Rated PG)

Review:

1) Voice Acting - Total Thumbs Up: All the voice actors were great. Kudos to Kodi Smit-McPhee and Tucker Albrizi for their portrayals of Norman and Neal. Yet the most fun came from some of the side actors, like Tempestt Bledsoe. Her character, Sheriff Hooper, was quite funny.


2) Artwork/Animation - Total Thumbs Up: "ParaNorman" is the work of Laika Entertainment. I'd originally thought the film was purely CGI art, but it was more than that. "ParaNorman" is actually a work of stop motion photography! Each of the puppets has an inner metal skeleton to help pose the puppet for each frame. The official website stated that just the zombies rising from the grave scene took a year to film. Dang.

Add to the great puppetry some beautifully and super detailed sets as well as added special effects, and the results are quite amazing. There were many, very well done, visual gags that added a lot of flavor to the film.


3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: While the main gist of the story was predictable, there were still several surprises in the plot. These surprises made for nice plot twists and take the story in a direction at several places that the audience will not anticipate but totally appreciate.

There was a lot of subtle humor sprinkled throughout the film. The scene with the man waiting for his chips to come out of the vending machine then seeing the zombies coming for him and his reaction to the situation was hilarious. There were also several in-jokes to give more fun to the adults. The Scooby Doo reference made me laugh out loud it was so unexpected. Homage was even given to the old black and white monster movies, the lettering styles and posters very much like those in that era. One of the sneakiest jokes was about the Puritan zombies and their seeing a poster for a witch casino, advertising all the vices they'd come to the new world to get away from. By seeing such a thing in the middle of their town, I am sure they felt cursed indeed.

Conclusion: A fun movie with plenty of fodder for the adults as well as the kids. The few gross moments will definitely give the kids a nice thrill.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Matinee Price)