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Oscars 2023 Review: Best Animated Feature Nominees

8 March 20249 March 2024Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

This year makes it the first year I had the luck to see all five nominees for the Best Animated Feature. A lot of good films. Most are family-oriented but some have some adult appeal. Three are American made with one from Japan and one from Spain. Here are my reviews of the Best Animated Feature nominees:

The Boy And The Heron

Anime may or may not be to your liking. but Hayao Miyazaki makes anime films worth liking. If you’re familiar with Miyazaki, his film Spirited Away won the very second Oscar in this category. This film is his fourth film to be nominated in this category and his first in ten years when he went into retirement.

Here he ends his retirement to return with a story about a boy who lost his mother during World War II and doesn’t know how to deal with a new stepmother, an upcoming baby brother and a new school. He thinks he can fake a rock attack from a school bully to get out of his problem but a mystic heron who speaks to him has clues to how he can encounter his mother.

In many ways, this story is quite similar to Spirited Away. The path the boy Mahito takes is very similar to the labyrinth Chihiro in Spirited Away took. Both children begin the story as they face a difficult change in their life. Both children find a place that takes them to a supernatural world which they would find themselves imprisoned in and facing obstacles. Both would see imagery of beings that represent their parents or parent. In Mahito’s case, he’s led to an underground world led by a Heron and then to an image of who he thinks is his deceased moth, only to learn she’s made of water. It’s as Mahito learns he has to fight his way out of the society of parakeets that he’s able to come across his long lost mother, although she comes across as a different image.

Once again, Miyazaki succeeds in creating a world that is mystical, frightening and colorful. His films are known for capturing people’s imagination with mesmerizing imagery and dazzling colors. He’s one of few who know how to continue to innovate with 2D animation. His use of animal characters to represent the demons the child is trying to fight is present again here. With this film, it’s a human living inside a heron that is the one to guide Mahito with the ability to resolve with his new mother, fight his way out of the kingdom of parakeets and and meet his mother. The film shows Miyazaki’s magic is not lost. In fact it’s very active even after almost ten years of retirement. Miyazaki and Studio Ghjibli do it again!

This film has had a lot of awards buzz. For all the buzz in winning the Best Animated Feature Oscar, it’s seen by many as a rivalry between this film and Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse as the two most likely to win. This film has won the Golden Globe and the BAFTA. It also finished second at the Toronto Film Festival’s People’s Choice award, won many critics circle awards and was nominated for seven Annie Awards winning two. Although the Spider-Verse film, which I will review later, has more awards, this film’s big wins show it can upset.

The Boy And The Heron is one of the few animated films this year that can impress older viewers. It has what it takes to help the audience escape into a hugely imaginative world.

Elemental

In the 21st Century, it’s the team of Disney/Pixar who has delivered the most in animated films. Their films have won this category eleven times in seventeen previous nominations. They’ve done a lot to reshape the way animated films are done starting with 1995’s Toy Story. Their impact has been noticed by how other film companies do their films. So much so, Disney/Pixar is no longer alone at the top. Now they have rivalry from Walt Disney Studios whom have experienced a 3D renaissance with their films, DreamWorks Animation who pioneered Shrek, Sony Pictures Animation, Laika Studios and Netflix Animation.

I hate to complain to those that like this film, but it’s one Disney/Pixar film that isn’t all that innovative. We’ve seen their magic with toys in the Toy Story movies, insects in A Bug’s Life, monsters with Monsters Inc., fish in Finding Nemo, feelings in Inside Out and souls in Soul. Their past films have even been nominated for the Best Pictures Oscar. Here, I get the sense I’ve seen this before. It’s a case of the four natural elements of the earth trying to co-exist but those belonging to the fire element are most shunned and she falls in love with a water man. Something tells me I’ve seen better and more innovative from Pixar.

Despite this feeling like something common of expected from Pixar, it does keep Pixar’s reputation for quality and perfection in animation intact. Once again, we see Pixar deliver quality images without a glitch. Not even the appearance of the characters has an image of something out of place. On the topic of animation, Pixar again succeeds in taking the viewer to an incredible universe. Element City is a sight to behold and a world to mesmerize audiences, just like the worlds in their previous films have done. Also the story itself is another case of how Pixar can take a serious issue and turn it into a film enlightening for the whole family. Here, it’s the theme of systemic racism and xenophobia. It’s an intense topic but this film succeeds in sending a positive message about overcoming prejudices.

It’s interesting with the awards clout this year. In almost every type of awards with the Best Animated Feature category, this film has not won but found itself a nominee or finishing second or third. The big shocker was at the Annie Awards. They earned six nominations at that awards but not Best Feature!

Elemental offers nothing really original or innovative for a Disney/Pixar film. It does, however, still keep alive Pixar’s reputation for delivering top notch animation, dazzling effects, and a good story. Pixar keeps on delivering!

Nimona

This is a unique story of how a defamed knight is rescued by a troubled shapeshifter girl who is just the friend he needs. This is one story that will catch you off guard as two unlikely people become the best of friends and what each other need to overcome their biggest obstacles. For Ballister, it’s to get his reputation, his freedom and his honor back. For Nimona, it’s the false image of her being seen as a monster: an image going back 1,000 years ago and bestowed by Gloreth. Both have social alienation in common. One is looked upon as a monster. The other is regarded with contempt for being a commoner trying to be a knight.

It’s also about a villain who will do whatever she can to control things and make things their way. She doesn’t want a commoner like Ballister as a knight while the queen is willing to break down that barrier. So she secretly gives Ballister the sword that will kill the queen. She also tries to keep the myth of Nimona being the black monster alive to all those in the town. Just as the truth is revealed, the Director won’t quit and will deliver one last seize of power.

Just like Elemental is great at creating Element City, Nimona does a great job in creating the kingdom. It’s a town that mixes in the tradition of knighthood with the technology of the modern world and the common imagery of future worlds. It’s also a place that will capture your imagination as you watch.

This is a story that’s great and entertaining. This is the third film from Big Sky Studios to be nominated in this category. This is also the third straight year an animated film shown on Netflix is a nominee in this category. Seems like Netflix has become a challenger for top animated films. Last year, they delivered the winner: Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio. Looks like Disney and DreamWorks have a future threat on their heels!

Nimona is an excellent enjoyable animated film. It offers a unique story that will have you laughing, dazzled and entertained.

Robot Dreams

Usually in this category, it’s common to have an independent nominee or two. This year, the independent nominee is the French/Spanish film Robot Dreams. It’s worth checking out if you are up for something different.

This is a charming two-dimensional story of a lonely dog in New York who’s lonely. He decides to buy a robot to be that friend. It works that summer as the two have a great time after great time. Then the robot is stuck in the beach and the beach doesn’t open until June 1st. During that whole time, the dog patiently waits while trying to make new friends. The robot still lies on the beach with colorful dreams and hopes of reuniting again. Then things take a turn for the shocking come spring. This leads to the happy ending you didn’t expect with the Earth, Wind and Fire song “September” reminding them both they’ll still be together one way or another.

This is not the first time an animated film without dialogue has been nominated in this category. This is one film that relies on facial expressions, body language, and the various images and sounds to tell its story. It does an entertaining job, especially in the various scenes it has and the switches from dreams to reality. The addition of music also adds a boost to the film.

This is a great creation from Spanish writer/director Pablo Berger. For this film, he hired French animation director Benoit Feroumont whose works include The Triplets Of Bellville and The Secret Of Kells. It’s a fun story that turns New York to look like Zootopia. The film is full of humor, a good mix of original music and past hits, of a few sad moments and even a couple of shockers. You might think you won’t like a story with no dialogue but it works from start to finish. Not a boring moment.

Robot Dreams is the independent threat in this category. It’s a fun story of friendship, the long wait, an unexpected change and a different kind of happy ending.

Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse

Five years after the first movie, the Spider-Verse is back! Once again, Miles Morales is the central Spider-Man. This time, there’s a Spider-woman in his life named Gwen Stacey who’s also a teenager like him. While the first Spider-Verse film was more comedic, this film was more dramatic. It’s not just the villains they have to fight, but they also rival each other. Animosity between the Spider-people start and disunity and even Gwen’s expulsion happened. Meanwhile Miles and Miguel become enemies.

This is not a story of a beginning, middle and an end. This is a beginning, middle and a cliffhanger obviously to set up for the third Spider-Verse movie. The film can get confusing as there are so many Spider-men and Spider-women and they don’t all meet. The film does its best to keep it all intact and keep us the viewer understanding the story

For me, the highlight of the film has to be the mix of various styles of animation. When I go see an animated film, a great animated film is not just about the story. It’s also about animation that dazzles the eyes. Writers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller learned some new animation styles after working in The Mitchell’s vs. The Machines. Lord and Miller along with the direction team made a smart move when they decided to have a different artist do each different universe. Six different animation styles were used in this film. They all make for a delight to watch as the story progresses over time.

The awards buzz has been quite something for this film. I mentioned during The Boy And The Heron that this is their biggest rival. For the Animated Feature category, Spider-verse has won the Critics Choice award, the Producers Guild Award and the Annie Award as well as the six other Annie categories it was nominated in. It has won numerous critics circle awards and their sound mixing and visual effects have won awards of their own competing against many live-action films. It has a good chance of winning the Oscar here but I know in this category, they’re not too friendly to sequels. And the first Spider-verse film won in 2018.

Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse keeps the excitement from the first Spider-Verse movie alive. It also has its own drama and a new batch of dazzling animation styles, and a cliffhanger that makes us hungry for the next Spider-Verse film!

And there you go. My look at the films nominated in the Best Animated Feature category. I saved my Should Win and Will Win picks for my blog of Oscar predictions tomorrow.

2023 Oscars Short Films Review: Animation

26 February 202427 February 2024Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

It’s interesting with seeing the reels of the shorts films, the Animation nominees are often the ones with the least total running time. They go by so fast, the shorts.tv reel add in a couple of other shortlisted films that got their honorable mention.

Anyways without further chit-chat, here are my reviews of the nominated animated shorts:

Letter To A Pig (dir. Tai Kantor) – The story begins telling of a boy hiding in a pig sty from Nazis who seek to put him in a concentration camp. The Nazis can’t find him. Fast-forward many decades later. The man tells his story to school students on Holocaust Memorial Day. He tells of how he credits the pigs in the pig sty for saving his life. He even wrote a letter to the pig. As he reads it aloud, one boy gives a taunting “oink,” while a female student listens intensely. As she engages herself in the story, she imagines herself and her classmates coming across a giant almost monstrous pig and them holding him prisoner in a trap. As they hold the pig prisoner, she can feel her nose metamorphose into a pig snout. Soon she feels sympathy for the pig and lets the pig go. As the pig is set free, he shrinks into a piglet and she hugs him.

This is an impressive story. It’s a story of a man who tells how a sty of pigs — animals he had been taught his whole life to regard as filthy and disgusting — helped spare him from dying in the Holocaust. As the young girl hears the story, she reflects on her own feelings of human hatred directed towards a pig in her mind and how she develops sympathy soon after and learns to love the pig. The story has its themes of collective trauma, fear and identity. It’s done in an impressive style that consists of a mix of 2D pencil drawings with minor colorization and mixing it with live-action images. The film is as much about the imagery as it is about the story. That’s why I give it my Will Win pick.

Ninety-Five Senses (dirs. Jared and Jerusha Hess) – The story begins with a man telling his views of human senses and colorful images about from the words he tells. At first you get the impression, this man is friendly. Then you hear his story. This man is on death row having his last meal. The capital offence he committed was arson of a repair shop he was fired from. He loved the jobs, but couldn’t handle being fired. He responded by setting it ablaze, forgetting the shop was also a house where the family lived above. As he anticipates his last meal, he looks over his past with regret, but also a sign of hope in the afterlife. He even has an outlook of how all once a person died, each of the five senses fade in their own way one by one. After a life of only five senses, he looks forward to the 95 senses in the afterlife.

It’s very rare you hear a story of a man awaiting execution to be told with a light-hearted spirit or even with some optimism. Never mind including humor. The man, voiced by Tim Blake Nelson, does a great job in telling his story without it becoming a common “Sob Story” you’d expect from a Death Row inmate. The story comes with some surprises for those who watch, like you wonder how a man that sounds so friendly would end up on Death Row. The film even ends on a humorous note. The story not only tells of the incident and of his observations and hope, but it does so in including in all five of the human senses. The story is told through six different animation styles and a multitude of colors that’s a delight to watch, despite the dark subject matter.

Our Uniform (dir. Yegane Moghaddam) – This film is where Yegane tells her story of growing up as a girl in Iran right after the Islamic Revolution. She talks of how the female teachers taught the girls to shout anti-American, anti-Israel and anti-UK messages on a daily basis. She talks of the uniform she was required to wear at school and of how the women there were firm in how all girls should wear their clothes in a proper manner and have all their hair hidden in a hijab. She talks of the difficulty she had in the hijab covering her hair that was longer than the hijab cloth, which got on the women’s nerves. She reflects on how growing up, she was taught under the new revolution to feel like she was inferior to men or below men.

No question this is a film of how a girl was indoctrinated with sexism not simply at a school, but from a system implemented by the ruling regime. The theme of the story is to do about clothing and the strict religious regulations of how girls should wear their clothing according to the new regime. The story is told with stop-motion imagery using clothes or fabrics of the clothes she wore as a child. The images drawn or painted on the clothes as well as the stop-motion movements of the clothes do a great job of telling her story. The use of clothing in the animation of telling the story is vital since clothing has a lot to do with what life was like under the regime. It makes the images as vital to the story as Yegane’s retelling. Hiding all your hair in a hijab and wearing a dress that covered everything was the new law in Iran and the film shows it in a unique way.

Pachyderme (dir. Stephanie Clement) – A woman retells her story of how as a young girl, she would often stay at the cabin of her grandparents. Her grandfather’s stern manner leaves her with a feel of fear and discomfort. The cabin was located by a lake. The cabin bedroom she sleeps in has a displayed elephant tusk the grandfather names “Pachyderme,” pointing in its direction in the hall. The room would give the girl and eerie sense about it through the wood imagery and the creaking of the boards. Even though the grandparents would say there’s nothing to fear, she felt there were monsters to take her. She goes to a lake where a woman had drowned some time earlier and feels spirits drawing her to its depths. Some time later, the grandfather dies and Pachyderme is split in two. As she returns to the cabin following her grandmother’s death, she takes both pieces of Pachyderme to the lake to bury it in the water. One of the two pieces is not completely immersed.

This film has to be the darkest of the five. In reading articles about it, it deals with the subject of incest. Incest itself is disturbing enough for audiences so it makes sense that it’s told through subtle imagery and storytelling that hides the actual facts. The theme of how she regards her grandfather as a monster and how it’s represented in Pachyderme adds to the storytelling, including the burial at sea. The ending where she attempts to bury the two pieces of Pachyderme in the water remind us she can bury a horrific memory like her grandfather’s terrible ways, but the small piece sticking out reminds us the bad memory can’t completely be buried. The imagery of the story is told through 2D images that appear as common images one would remember from storybooks they read. Possibly the monster that is her grandfather is epitomized through the common images of monsters we read in our children’s books of the past. It’s charming in its imagery as it is disturbing to see and listen to the harrowing story.

War Is Over! Inspired By The Music Of John And Yoko (dir. Dave Mullins) – The film starts in a battlefield of war. One soldier has a chess set where he appears to play by himself. After he makes his move, he writes his move on a piece of paper and attaches it to the leg of a messenger bird. The bird flies to “enemy territory” and gives the message to an “enemy” soldier who also has a chessboard and looks like he’s playing by himself. After he makes his move, he writes his move to a message for the messenger bird to deliver. Over time, the intrigue grows with the soldiers on both camps. As the bird delivers message after message, the anticipation on what the next move will be or who will win appears to quell the enmity between both sides. Then checkmate! But the sergeant is disgusted by what he sees. He reminds the camp they’re enemies and the battle must begin now. The soldiers on both sides line up with bayonets and all ready to do battle against the “enemy.” The battle begins and bloodshed ensues. On the field one soldier notices the messenger bird is shot dead. Just as the two soldiers from the chess game confront each other, it’s there from a message that slips out that one realizes the other is his chess rival. They drop their guns. All drop their guns when they see the written message “War Is Over.”

This is a creative story Dave Mullins directs and co-wrote with Sean Ono Lennon and Brad Booker produces through the inspiration of John Lennon’s legendary Christmas song and the message “War is over if you want it.” The one 3D-computer animated film nominated in this category this year, this is a film with a montage appearing to have a World War I setting and sends a message that still matters today. There may be a winner in a chess game but there are no winners in war. The scene where all the soldiers are intrigued and excited by a chess game against a player from the “enemy” side sends the message that enmity is something war creates and provokes, and is often unnecessary. The ending where the bloody battle is instantly ended with the written message “War Is Over” also sends a message of how many battles are in vain. The story first seems to be a story that’s either cute or “fluffy,” but the ending of the bloody battle with “Merry Christmas (War Is Over)” sends a significant message that is as important today as it was when John and Yoko recorded it back then. That’s why I give it my Should Win pick.

And there you have it. That’s my review of the five films nominated for Best Animated Short Film. Interesting that in a time where animated features appear to be dominated by 3D computer animation, only one of the five nominated films is such. That’s what I like best about this category. It opens itself up to various styles of animation, rather than going with one that’s all the rage.

Oscars 2018 Best Picture Review: A Star Is Born

10 February 2019Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

Right now we seem to have a lot of reboots in terms of entertainment. Reboots of TV series, reboots in music and reboots in movies too. A Star Is Born is a reboot of a film done three times before, but does it translate for the present?

I know I mentioned about a lot of reboots happening in my introduction. There are a lot of successful reboots right now, but there have also been some reboots that flopped too. What makes a successful reboot isn’t just rehashing something people loved in the past. It also involves making it relevant to the present and also have the ability to both please fans of the past materials and win over new fans. One of the best cinematic examples of a reboot is last year’s It. The cinematic version of It worked last year because of two smart choices. The first being it would divide 28 years earlier to the time of the plot in two separate films. The second being the childhood part of the story would be set in 1989 and the adulthood part of the story to be set in the present, unlike setting the childhood part in 1958 and the adulthood part in 1986 as in the novel and the miniseries.

Moving onto A Star Is Born, we’re dealing with a film that has been done three times before. The first being in 1937 starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March, the second being in 1954 starring Judy Garland and James Mason, and the third being in 1976 starring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. For Bradley Cooper to take on the project and turn it into something winning for the present, he had to make a lot of choices.

Some elements would be very similar to what was done in films past, while some elements would have to be new and relevant and believable for the present. There were a lot of elements of all three past editions that worked very well such as a singer struggling to make it, the wash-up who discovers her and promotes her to greatness and even loves her, and the man encountering a substance problem which hurts his marriage and ultimately takes his life.

There were some elements from the separate films that he had to include. For example 1937 and 1954 were about an actress trying to make it and a washed-up actor promoting her and loving here. 1976 was about singers for the first time. The choice to have singers and in the field of country music as in 1976 worked well for the film. I will focus more on that later. Also the tribute Ally gave to Judy Garland was a subtle reminder in the film of the most famous version of the story.

Then there were the more complicated choices. First off, Bradley Cooper may have proven himself as an actor, but not as a singer or a director in the past. Bradley had to give himself the practice and even have the duet scene done in front of a live crowd. Sometimes only the real thing can work. Secondly, there were two factors involving Lady gaga. One factor was she had limited acting experience with her biggest previous role being her minor role in Sin City: A Dame To Kill For. The other factor was to present Gaga as a country singer. We all know her as the modern flamboyant pop icon and most of us could not see her as a country star. Even seeing Gaga portray Ally as a common pop star later on was challenging because of her ‘grand diva’ image. However Gaga made it work and came off as a very believable country singer. Her songs from the film have also won her fans over too. Thirdly is the chemistry between the two. The two had to come across not just as two singers but as a couple in love. The chemistry between Jackson and Ally worked excellently and made for a believable story. Star power can only go so far. They have to make it work on screen and they did it. Fourthly is the music. In order to make this version of A Star Is Born about two contemporary singers, the reboot had to have original songs that fit the film and fit the genres of country of pop, whatever genre was needed in what scene. The songs fit the film to a tee and proved to be winners off the screen too as Shallow and I’ll Never Love Again have charted.

Top accolades go to Bradley Cooper. The reboot was originally intended in 2011 to be directed by Clint Eastwood and have Beyonce as the lead. Beyonce’s pregnancy interfered with the story and it lead to four years of chaos with both Beyonce and Eastwood eventually leaving the project. Cooper picked it up, joined co-writer Will Fetters, and saw it as his chance for his directorial debut. He was first trying to get Beyonce to agree to the project, but it was decided in 2016 that Lady Gaga would be the lead. This proves to be a success in acting, directing, co-writing with Fetters and Eric Roth, and co-producing. The story comes across as relevant and believable to the current times and winning with the public once again.

It’s not just Cooper. Lady Gaga comes off excellent in what is her first lead role. We all know how Lady Gaga can really go into a character as seen in her on-stage performances and her music videos. However this was her first major acting role and singers are a bit of a gamble in terms of casting them as actors in movies; they’re either sink or swim. Sure, she knows how to sing, but the challenge was for her to handle a lead role. She handled the role of Ally with believability from start to finish. Even with the singing, Gaga showed she can sing country very well and also make for a believable common pop star. The film is as much Gaga’s triumph as it is Cooper’s.

There’s also more winning performances than just Cooper and Gaga. There’s also veteran actor Sam Elliott not just coming across as a believable cowboy half-brother in Bobby, but also stealing each scene he was in. That’s what makes a winning supporting actor. Andrew Dice Clay is not only good as Ally’s father Lorenzo, but is unrecognizable! Rafi Gavron also comes across well as Ally’s manager who has an axe to grind with Jackson. He did a good job in making Rez hateable. Dave Chappelle and Anthony Ramos were also very good in their supporting roles, despite having roles that weren’t that challenging or lacked screen time.

A Star Is Born goes beyond being a simple reboot. The story is made relevant to the times, the actors deliver a believable story and a love with chemistry, and the music is winning. This is not just another reboot. This is a reboot that works big-time!

Movie Review: Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2

5 May 20176 May 2017Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment

gallery-1486477910-guardians-of-the-galaxy-vol-2-team — The Guardians are back, even with a Baby Groot, in *Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2*.

We first met the Guardians Of The Galaxy back in 2014. The Guardians are back in Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 2. But do they have what it takes to deliver this time?

Back when the first Guardians Of The Galaxy came to the big screen, most people have not heard of them. This was a chance for Marvel to introduce them to the world. It was a unique mix of quirky characters, both virtual and live, loads of action, and a mix of both music and humor that made it a hit with families and superhero movie fans alike. The movie became the third-highest grossing movie of 2014 and turned the Guardians into household names. In fact “I am Groot,” became the top movie line of that year.

This time around is about bringing about the sequel. Most of you already know my feeling of Hollywood sequels in my review of Furious 7. However sequels can either propel a movie franchise further or sink it. Sequels are hit and miss. I’ve seen so many sequels where they simply rehash the formula of the first movie plot-for-plot, moment-for-moment. That’s why I’m mostly turned off sequels. That’s also often all one needs to do to end a franchise. Nevertheless there are a good number of sequels or second-movies that do differ a lot from the original. That’s often the better idea but even that’s a gamble. One example is the second and third film of The Matrix. It was too different from the original film that blew audiences away in 1999 and they disappointed fans.

This sequel for Guardians takes the chance of being very different from the first film. One can already notice the differences here: animosity between the members, the stormy family relations of Peter and his father and Gamora and her sister, the people of the various galaxies going against each other and all galaxies being threatened by Ego. I appreciate them creating a scenario different from the original. Nevertheless there were some things from the original that they had to bring back into the sequel like the humorous tones in various scenes, the unique and sometimes crazy personalities of each of the Guardians, and of course the use of 70’s songs in the many scenes. It was all a case of making the right choices of what to include from the first and what to change up. I feel they made a lot of the right choices here.

Another difference I noticed in Volume 2 is that there are a lot more ‘salty’ and ‘spicy’ things in the film. For example, I noticed there was more swearing included and a lot more lewd talk. There were even scenes hinting towards sex or even showing suggestive situations like a stripper bar in another galaxy. Sometimes I think ever since Deadpool shook things up in the world of superhero movies, directors are less afraid of including risque stuff even if they know children will be watching. However unlike Deadpool, the film knows it’s supposed to be a superhero movie and the theme of heroes and the values they stand for and fight for is definitely not forsaken. Whether it’s okay for parents to take their children to see it or not is completely the parents’ call. I’d say it’s best for 11 and older.

James Gunn again delivers as a director and a writer in this sequel. He takes some of the first, some new ideas, and some racy choices and turns it into a movie that works. Chris Pratt delivers again as Peter and Kurt Russell does a very good job in playing a deceptive villain. Zoe Saldana again proves why she’s the top actress in sci-fi movies with her performance as Gamora. Dave Bautista was hilarious as Drax as was Bradley Cooper as Rocket. Michael Rooker was also good as Nebula. Baby Groot had a lot of funny moments but there are times I felt in retrospect that he went too much on the ‘cutesy’ side. Michael Rooker was also good as Yondu. The two newcomers–Karen Gillan as Nebula and Pom Klementieff–were good in their roles even if Mantis did come across as too weird or ditzy. Judianna Makofsky did a very good job in designing the costumes to fit the story, Tyler Bates delivers a fitting score to the film, and the visual effects team with hundreds of credits again delivered effects to make the action and drama that more exciting.

It seems appropriate that Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 2 kicks off the 2017 Summer Movie Season. It’s a sequel that delivers the right stuff most of the time. It’s able to deliver some new magic without compromising the magic of the original and keeps one thrilled one moment, laughing another moment, and entertained throughout.

Movie Review: Foxcatcher

7 February 2015Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

John DuPont (Steve Carell) tries to be a wrestling mentor to Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum) in Foxcatcher. — John DuPont (Steve Carell) tries to be a wrestling mentor to Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum) in *Foxcatcher*.

Foxcatcher isn’t just simply an Olympic story with a tragically bizarre ending. It isn’t completely a crime story either. It’s about the people involved.

It’s 1987. Mark Schultz is an Olympic wrestling champion who’s about to do a talk at an elementary school substituting for his brother Dave who was expected to be the talker. The school gives him a small payment for his time. Dave is coach of the wrestling gym married with two small children and trainer of Mark. Although Dave tries to be a good mentor to Mark, you could tell something’s eating at him.

One day unsuspectingly, he’s greeted by John DuPont, heir to the E.I. DuPont family fortune. He offers to have Mark train at the Team Foxcatcher gym in Pennsylvania he created to promote wrestling. Mark agrees but John also wants Dave to coach. Dave turns it down because he has family commitments miles away. Despite that, Mark continues on with John coaching him even living in a DuPont guest house which John sometimes visits. The training pays off as Mark wins the World Championships later that year. John is even seen as a mentor to Mark and all the other wrestlers at Team Foxcatcher.

However something’s not right. John wants the wrestling trophies won by Team Foxcatcher to overtake one shelf of horseracing trophies his family have won over the years. Mark and John develop a friendship to the point John gets Mark to use cocaine. John even mentions his mother paid a boy to be his ‘friend’ when he was younger. His mother Jean who’s part of the DuPont legacy of horseracing is disapproving of his coaching wrestling feeling that it’s a ‘low’ sport. Then one day it happens. While Team Foxcatcher’s wrestlers take a day off to watch a Mixed Martial Arts event, John becomes furious especially when Mark insists Dave won’t join team Foxcatcher. John tells him he will get Dave by any means necessary.

Dave agrees to Team Foxcatcher where he even moves his wife and family over there. Mark however is going through self-esteem issues with the mental abusiveness of John and moves away to train for the 1988 Olympics. Just before the Olympic trials, John has his mother Jean escorted in her wheelchair to see what John has accomplished. She leaves in disgust after seeing John give his back to one of his students.

At the Olympic trials, you can tell something is bothering Mark. He loses his first match and in response cries, wrecks his room and goes on an eating binge. Dave is alarmed at discovering Mark in his condition in his hotel room and works to get him to lose weight in time for the weigh-in. As Mark competes on, he notices Dave prevent John from speaking to him. Mark wins the Olympic trials but both he and Dave notice John is absent. He returned home as his mother died. Mark lets Dave know he can’t stay with John and Team Foxcatcher after the Olympics and asks Dave to leave with him even though John created a promotional video of Team Foxcatcher with Dave asked to do a speech. Mark finishes sixth at the 1988 Olympics where he loses his last match 14-0. As he said, he leaves Team Foxcatcher for home while Dave agrees to remain training Team Foxcatcher in exchange for John giving Mark financial support.

It’s 1996. John watches the promotional video with the part of Mark’s speech about John. This would pave way to the depiction of the eventual murder. However the film ends showing what happened to Mark shortly after.

It’s funny how around Oscar time, it’s common to expect that most movies with big Oscar buzz would have some sort of political message or humanistic message. So it was quite natural for me to think that Foxcatcher might be a film with things to say about Olympic athletes or how they’re treated in the US. I don’t think it was but it did present a unique time in Olympic sport. Many older people remember that until the 80’s, you had to be a complete amateur in an Olympic sport. Even if you made a single penny off your sport, you were ineligible to compete at the Olympics. That all changed in the early 80’s when the IOC changed its constitution from allowing only ‘amateur’ athletes to allowing ‘eligible’ athletes to compete and it would be each sport’s respective federation decide who’s eligible. There were some sports like track and field, swimming and gymnastics that were the first to make the transition and the pay and sponsorship money was good albeit not the same level it is today. Wrestling was one of the sports to catch on later. In Mark’s time, wrestlers could not make a living off their sport unless you were also a coach like Dave. In fact I remember a quote from Olympic gymnast Bart Conner: “The big myth is that Olympic gold medalists can get rich off their gold medal. I know a lot of Olympic champions that are flipping burgers.” So it’s no wonder that Mark would find sponsorship from John DuPont and the state-of-the-art Team Foxcatcher wrestling gym a welcome relief.

I don’t even think it’s a statement about rich people in the United States. Sure, John was born into money as the DuPont family have a dynasty going all the way back to the 18th century. Sure, John appears to be spoiled living in the same gigantic mansion in the middle of nowhere as his parents. Sure, John has the money to make his dream of being a great wrestling coach come true. Sure, John had a sheltered childhood where he was the youngest of four and had a ‘paid friend’ during his childhood. And sure, John has a mother with a superficial attitude as made evident in her comment of wrestling being a ‘low sport.’ However I don’t feel it’s about the American rich.

What I do feel the movie is to do about are the people. Yes, it’s a crime story but it’s also about the people. John appears to be a person who may have been belittled all his life and dreamed of being a successful wrestling coach or manager. He has written successful books on birds but wanted to become successful as a wrestling coach. This is especially hard for him since his family has a tradition of horse racing. Throughout the movie, we get a sense that he felt that something was missing in him. Even after hiring Dave as the coach, we see friction between the two as they’re both training and managing Mark. Sure, it’s common for two coaches on the same team to have disputes but the disputes make you wonder. In fact that scene where John is watching the video of himself promoting him and his gym just before the shooting may be sending the message he always felt underrespected. Maybe it was because he felt like the misfit of the family. Maybe it was because his family never knew or honored his achievements. We’ll never know. There’s no question he shows his mental illness, especially at the end, but it’s just a wonder if his inferiority complex is what caused him to shoot Dave.

The film is not just about John. It’s about Mark too. The 1984 Olympics was of him and Dave winning gold but the time since then was a struggle. Dave was able to marry, become a father and continue as an athlete by coaching at the same time. He was well to do. Mark was the one who struggled. He lived single in a shabby home, he worked a measly job, he received spare cash from school appearances, he was always living in the shadow of Dave. Even though Dave was never the type of brother that would try to make Mark feel inferior, You could tell it was bothering him in that training scene at the beginning where he gives Dave a bad hit. It was easy for him to see John’s offer as a breakthrough for him but a struggle as he was trying to create his own identity while Dave and John had coaching disputes over him. It seemed more like a threesome rather than him. Possibly even sensing Dave was becoming the apple of John’s eye rather than him. Even after his win of the World Championship, you could tell the whole thing would take a toll on him especially seeing how he had to purge himself at the Olympic trials and struggled to make the team. Eventually it did take its toll right at the Seoul Olympics with his sixth-place finish and the threesome ended there. You can easily understand why when Mark moved out, he wanted to move without turning back.

The highlight of the film was the performance of Steve Carell. In fact even his biggest fans would be surprised to see Steve looking different and acting completely different from the way they’ve always known Steve to act. He embodied John DuPont well in terms of physicality and his mental illness but he also made us feel John’s feelings of inferiority which definitely added to the film. The film also has Channing Tatum’s best acting ever. He also embodies the character of Mark well in terms of his desire to succeed and in terms of his insecurities. Although the film focuses more on the characters of Mark and John than on Dave, it’s Mark Ruffalo’s performance that gives added dimension to a person who is both a coach and a father and tries to do the right thing but ends up an unsuspecting victim in the end. Even supporting performances from Sienna Miller as Dave’s wife and Vanessa Redgrave as John’s mother were done great despite being less than what they should be.

The directing of Bennett Miller was also impressive as he focused on both the story and insight into the people involved in the story. The script by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman was also good in taking us to the right events even though it did feel slow at times. Even there, I think they were trying to make a murder story that didn’t just simply tell of the events but also give us portrayals of the characters. It’s not to say they haven’t experienced friction about it. There was a story that Mark felt the film made it look like John had a homosexual attraction to him. I didn’t notice it. Besides I later learned John was married for the first and only time at 45 and the divorce occurred just before he met Mark.

Foxcatcher is more than a murder story. It’s also a portrayal of the people involved in both their desires and their insecurities. Often it did feel more like the film was about who than what.

Montreal Shooting Reminds Canada Political Violence Rare But Likely

14 September 201216 October 2012Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment

The news shocked all of Canada. On September 4, 2012, Parti Quebecois leader Pauline Marois won the Quebec provincial election. She was to give her victory speech at the Metropolis in downtown Montreal when a masked gunman opened fire, killing a stage technician and injuring another. Marois was unharmed. It has not been determined whether this was meant to be an assassination attempt on Marois or not. Even if it was, politically-motivated assassination attempts in Canada are extremely rare. Nevertheless the shooting did remind us that such a catastrophe is very possible here in Canada.

Throughout the beginning of time, being a political leader has always been a position to put one’s life in jeopardy. The King of a country would be seen as the prime target for warring armies in the quest to conquer. A leader could even be assassinated by a person within their circle as Julius Caesar was. Even in modern day dictatorships or dictatorships of the recent past, a head of state would be prey for assassination attempts like Fidel Castro, Saddam Hussein, Salvador Allende or Anwar Sadat. The assassin would either be an person of opposition or a militarized coup.

Even in democracies assassination attempts are still common as was the failed attempt on UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1984 and the successful attempts on India’s Indira and Rajiv Gandhi in 1984 and 1991 respectively. Even countries with a reputation of being peaceful like Sweden are not immune to assassination attempts as was the case when Prime Minister Olaf Palme was shot and killed in 1986. The most famous assassination attempts in a democracy have come from the United States. Four presidents including legendary presidents like Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy have been assassinated while in office. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan was shot while in office but survived. The most recent assassination attempt on an American politician was on January 8, 2011 on Arizona US Representative Gabrielle Giffords. She survived but six others, including US District Court Judge John Roll, were killed.

Here in Canada, we’re lucky not to have a prime minister assassinated while in office. Even infamous prime ministers like Brian Mulroney lived to see his last day in office and even Stephen Harper is still alive and active during a time of Harperphobia that’s heavily promoted through the gab of liberal Canadians. The closest call was on Jean Chretien back in November 5, 1995 when a man armed with a knife broke into his home residence to stab him. Neither Jean nor his wife were hurt.

There have only been two successful assassinations in Canadian politics. The first is Thomas D’Arcy McGee. He was both an Irish nationalist and a father of Canadian Federation. He would attack the Orange Order in his writings in the 1850’s and defended the Irish Catholic right to representation in the assembly. He was elected to the Legislative assembly of the Province Of Canada in 1858 and played a significant role in the creation of the Dominion Of Canada. Less than a year after the independence of Canada, McGee was shot to death by Patrick Whelan, an Irish Catholic and a sympathizer of the Fenians: a group of Irish Americans who wanted to take over Canada to prevent British occupancy. Whelan was hanged. McGee remains the only Canadian politician at the federal level to be assassinated.

The second successful assassination was at a provincial level and an act of terrorism. Pierre Laporte was Vice-Premier and Minister of Labour of Quebec in 1970 as Robert Bourassa was the Premier. On October 10, 1970, Laporte was kidnapped outside his home by a cell of the FLQ: A Quebec independence terrorist group. The FLQ was already regarded as a dangerous group for it had already committed seven murders, multiple mail bombings in the 60’s and bombed the Montreal Stock Exchange one year earlier. A British diplomat had been kidnapped days earlier and was still hostage. Laporte’s abduction was part of a ‘political protest’ to have ‘political prisoners’ freed. The Government of Canada under Pierre Trudeau responded with the enactment of Canada’s War Measures Act and Trudeau’s promise to punish whoever harms the two men. On October 17th, seven days after the abduction, Laporte’s body was found. The incident is remembered in Canadian history as the October Crisis. The British Diplomat was released in December and the FLQ eventually declined due to heavy police crackdown and declining public support after the assassination. Nowadays the biggest lobby for Quebec independence is through peaceful political lobbying like the Parti Quebecois.

Despite current politics in Canada being mostly peaceful, there is a chance for violence either by a cowardly person or a person with opposing viewpoints. We shouldn’t forget that Canadians have often reacted angrily to political situations in the past. We’ve had rebellions in both Lower Canada and Upper Canada before the Dominion was created. We’ve had rebellions in Manitoba in the 19th Century like the Riel Rebellion. We’ve had labor riots in various cities with the Winnipeg Riot of 1919 being the most famous.

Political violence became less admired and more looked down upon since World War II but it’s not to say it’s completely gone away. Back in the 60’s there were attacks on air force bases to protest the war. In the 80’s and 90’s, there were protests and blockades from First nations groups. Even in my city of Vancouver, there have been political riots like the G7 riot back in 1997 and various anti-Olympic protests before Vancouver 2010. There was also the G8 riot in Toronto from anarchist groups. So there’s no doubt that there’s political anger here in Canada that can turn violent.

I won’t say that the Montreal shooting was politically motivated as that has yet to be proved but I will state the facts I’ve read and know as of now. On the night of September 4th, 2012, the Parti Quebecois won the provincial election with a minority government. Party leader Pauline Marois delivered her victory speech when partway through, a masked gunman opened fire with what many thought was an AK-47. One stage technician was killed and another was injured. Marois was taken away by her bodyguards and was unharmed in the shooting. The gunman then attempted to set fire to the building with a Molotov cocktail. The shooter was quickly tackled and arrested by the police.

The victim was 48 year-old stagehand Denis Blanchette. Witnesses including Marois herself believe his actions taken that night could have prevented more fatalities. His funeral was held in a Roman Catholic church and was attended by hundreds including Marois and other political dignitaries. Police were present throughout the church. Dave Courage, the 27 year-old man who was also shot, was originally in critical condition and continues to recover in hospital. The suspect is 62 year-old Richard Henry Bain of La Conception, QC, a small town 90 miles northwest of Montreal. He faces 16 charges including first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder as well as possession of explosive material and prohibited weapons. While being placed in a police cruiser, he yelled in French “Anglos are waking up.” then in English: “It’s f***ing payback time.” Crown Prosecutor said Bain has 27 guns, all but one had been registered.

Bain is expected to reappear in court on October 11th. Despite the statement, it’s unknown whether Bain’s actions were politically motivated or the actions of a crazed man. Court trials and public reaction will define the events yet to come and could even affect the political climate in Quebec. One thing about the shooting is that it reminded Canada that political assassinations in Canada are quite possible. An extremely rare chance of happening but still likely.

WORKS CITED:

WIKIPEDIA: FLQ. Wikipedia.com. 2012. Wikimedia Foundation Inc. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FLQ>

WIKIPEDIA: October Crisis. Wikipedia.com. 2012. Wikimedia Foundation Inc. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_crisis>

WIKIPEDIA: Thomas D’Arcy McGee. Wikipedia.com. 2012. Wikimedia Foundation Inc. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_D%27Arcy_McGee>

WIKIPEDIA: 2012 Montreal shooting. Wikipedia.com. 2012. Wikimedia Foundation Inc.

< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Montreal_shooting>

Montgomery, Sue. “Shooting suspect Richard Henry Bain arraigned on 16 charges, including first-degree murder” Montreal Gazette 6 September 2012 <http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Shooting+suspect+Richard+Henry+Bain+arraigned+charges+including+first+degree+murder/7200523/story.html>