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| Courtesy of Disney-Pixar |
(Rated PG for thematic elements.)
The cast: Anthony Gonzalez, Gael Garcia Bernal, Benjamin Bratt and Alanna Ubach.
What it’s about: Young Miguel (Gonzalez) dreams of becoming a famous guitar player like his hero, Ernesto de la Cruz (Bratt). There’s just one problem: his family has banned music for generations after his great-great grandfather left his family to become a performer. Determined to prove his skills at the annual town talent show, a series of mishaps causes Miguel to become trapped in the Land of the Dead. As he tries to find a way home, he meets a charming schemer named Hector and the two set out to uncover Miguel’s family history.
The good: Pixar continues its long tradition of destroying my emotions with this powerful narrative about the importance of family and remembering your roots. Director Lee Unkrich, a crucial member of the studio’s creative team, maintains his successful track record while (with help from co-director Adrian Molina) branching out to tell stories that mainstream American audiences aren’t used to seeing on the big screen.
In the case of Coco, that means immersing viewers in the world of Mexican culture without resorting to tired clichés or stereotypes. A big part of that is making sure each character has a distinct personality – a tall order when half of the cast is comprised of skeletons.
As always, the animation is gorgeous, full of vibrant colors and unique designs. When the full cityscape of the Land of the Dead revealed itself, my jaw literally dropped. I was also fond of the film’s depiction of alibrejes, spirit animals that assist souls in the afterlife.
The film’s score, once again crafted by longtime Pixar composer Michael Giacchino, is quite strong. Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, who wrote the instant classic songs for Frozen, work their lyrical magic once again with the poignant “Remember Me.” The tune takes on new, deeper meanings each time it’s performed, which means I was a blubbering mess when it popped up one last time in the finale.
The not-so-good: Pixar definitely seems to have a template for its films at this point. If you’ve seen most of their previous work, chances are you’ll guess the twists in Coco far sooner than the movie wants you to. That doesn’t diminish the narrative’s strength, however. I picked up on a piece of misdirection and guessed the big reveal about 45 minutes before it happened, but that didn’t mean I was any less invested in the story.
Grade: A-
The Man Who Invented Christmas
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| Courtesy of Bleeker Street |
The cast: Dan Stevens, Christopher Plummer, Jonathan Pryce and Justin Edwards.
What it’s about: An inventive spin on the classic holiday tale A Christmas Carol, the story focuses on Charles Dickens (Stevens) and his journey of inspiration that led to Ebenezer Scrooge (Plummer), Tiny Tim and those fascinating spirits. The film shows how Dickens mixed real-life inspirations and conversations within his imagination to craft a narrative we still return to every holiday season.
The good: Dickens’ iconic A Christmas Carol has been retold and reinvented so many times that a new version seems pointless. (Besides, it’s tough to top Scrooged, which is still my favorite interpretation.) Still, I have to hand it to director Bharat Nalluri and screenwriter Susan Coyne (who adapted Les Standiford’s book) for crafting an origin story that’s somewhat intriguing. It’s basically Shakespeare in Love, with Scrooge and his ghosts filling in for Romeo and Juliet.
Stevens is compelling as Dickens, balancing the author’s financial worries, family drama and impish creativity in a way that makes the character seem mostly realistic. Still, the film never fully dives into what makes him tick, aside from a few quick flashbacks and scenes that show how frustrating it must be for his wife, children and servants to live with such a temperamental genius.
The film also stages Dickens’ brainstorming process in a creative way, showing the author engaged in conversation with the characters he has created in his head after finding bits of inspiration in everyday life. It could’ve been a disastrous narrative device (even here it leads to some occasional eye rolling), but it mostly works.
However, Plummer is the primary reason The Man Who Invented Christmas is worth seeing. Although he’s only in a handful of scenes, he absolutely steals the show as both Scrooge and the miserly man who inspired Dickens to create the iconic character. Hearing him rattle off bits of classic dialogue, as well as argue with his creator in a more modern tone, is a delight.
The not-so-good: As entertaining and heartwarming as certain scenes are, and despite strong work from Stevens and Plummer, The Man Who Invented Christmas fails to bring enough innovation to the genre to make yet another reinterpretation necessary. I was never bored while watching the film and I found myself smiling a few times throughout, but if I ever get the urge to hang out with Scrooge again, I’m still going to go with Bill Murray’s version. His big speech at the end sells me on his transformation every time I watch it.
Grade: B-
Mudbound
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| Courtesy of Netflix |
(Rated R for some disturbing violence, brief language and nudity. Now streaming on Netflix.)
The cast: Carey Mulligan, Garrett Hedlund, Jason Clarke, Jonathan Banks, Mary J. Blige, Rob Morgan and Jason Mitchell.
What it’s about: Two veterans of World War II – one white (Hedlund) and one black (Mitchell) – return home to work on their farms in rural Mississippi. They come back to vastly different lives, struggling to cope with PTSD and racism in the Jim Crow-era South.
The good: It’s rare that a movie captures the feeling of reading a great novel, but Mudbound somehow pulls it off. That’s partly because it’s based on Hillary Jordan’s bestselling book, but also because director Dee Rees, who co-wrote the screenplay with Virgil Williams, is miraculously able to translate the atmospheric nature of literature, including voiceover from the perspectives of multiple narrators – a seemingly impossible task – to a medium with far different rules and objectives.
Mudbound is a difficult film to watch, but it’s a vital one, especially considering the issues it grapples with – racism, misogyny, economic anxiety, class warfare, etc. – are once more the topics of political policy and cultural debates. Of course, Rees understands that nobody wants to watch a movie that preaches or feels like homework, which is why she fills her story with compelling, multidimensional characters; aside from Banks’ venomous, racist father, no one is all good or all evil. That’s what makes their inevitable conflicts hurt so much.
There’s not a weak link in the entire cast, but the clear standouts are Mitchell and Hedlund. Blige (practically unrecognizable) is also strong, foregoing the glamour of the music world to portray a world-weary matriarch tasked with maintaining her family’s farm after her husband is injured.
The film is packed with beautiful imagery – even scenes that take place in ugly, unforgiving landscapes – thanks to Rachel Morrison’s outstanding cinematography. Simply put, Mudbound is one of the year’s best films.
The not-so-good: The final act has some unfortunate narrative issues, namely that all the characters’ plot threads intersect in ways that rely far too much on coincidence. Also, certain storylines are tied up far too neatly considering most of the movie demonstrates how difficult it is for people in this world to change their circumstances. Still, those are minor quibbles in an otherwise phenomenal piece of filmmaking.
Grade: A-
The cast: Carey Mulligan, Garrett Hedlund, Jason Clarke, Jonathan Banks, Mary J. Blige, Rob Morgan and Jason Mitchell.
What it’s about: Two veterans of World War II – one white (Hedlund) and one black (Mitchell) – return home to work on their farms in rural Mississippi. They come back to vastly different lives, struggling to cope with PTSD and racism in the Jim Crow-era South.
The good: It’s rare that a movie captures the feeling of reading a great novel, but Mudbound somehow pulls it off. That’s partly because it’s based on Hillary Jordan’s bestselling book, but also because director Dee Rees, who co-wrote the screenplay with Virgil Williams, is miraculously able to translate the atmospheric nature of literature, including voiceover from the perspectives of multiple narrators – a seemingly impossible task – to a medium with far different rules and objectives.
Mudbound is a difficult film to watch, but it’s a vital one, especially considering the issues it grapples with – racism, misogyny, economic anxiety, class warfare, etc. – are once more the topics of political policy and cultural debates. Of course, Rees understands that nobody wants to watch a movie that preaches or feels like homework, which is why she fills her story with compelling, multidimensional characters; aside from Banks’ venomous, racist father, no one is all good or all evil. That’s what makes their inevitable conflicts hurt so much.
There’s not a weak link in the entire cast, but the clear standouts are Mitchell and Hedlund. Blige (practically unrecognizable) is also strong, foregoing the glamour of the music world to portray a world-weary matriarch tasked with maintaining her family’s farm after her husband is injured.
The film is packed with beautiful imagery – even scenes that take place in ugly, unforgiving landscapes – thanks to Rachel Morrison’s outstanding cinematography. Simply put, Mudbound is one of the year’s best films.
The not-so-good: The final act has some unfortunate narrative issues, namely that all the characters’ plot threads intersect in ways that rely far too much on coincidence. Also, certain storylines are tied up far too neatly considering most of the movie demonstrates how difficult it is for people in this world to change their circumstances. Still, those are minor quibbles in an otherwise phenomenal piece of filmmaking.
Grade: A-
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