August 11, 2009

Mini Review Capsules

Winter Passing (2005, Adam Rapp)
Decent flick, up until the ending, which destroys it. One of the few times a film has actually angered me. The only really good thing about the film was the excellent chemistry between Deschanel and Ferrell. The fact that Reese and Corbit did not end up together really pissed me off. Is the viewer supposed to be happy that Reese went back to her miserable New York existence? Deschanel and Ferrell are great, Ferrell especially. Ed Harris is decent, and the cinematography is good, but the screenplay is bad, and the ending just absolutely ruins it. Clearly, this was not screened for test audiences. Perhaps the ending was writer/director Adam Rapp's lame idea of being 'original' or 'innovative', but it just irritated the hell out of me. 4/10

The Tigger Movie (2000, Jun Falkenstein)

I have been known to state the highly unpopular opinion that The Tigger Movie is a masterpiece and one of the greatest animated films ever made, though in the back of my mind I thought that might be nostalgia speaking. After buying the 10th Anniversary DVD (which really is a year too early) and watching the film for the first time in years, I see that my opinion was not clouded by childhood memories after all. This is an outstanding film.

The animation, though something of an afterthought and more low-key than most Disney theatrical releases, serves the film quite well. The snow scenes in particular are nice. The film is charming and moving without being overly sentimental and sappy. The film's original songs are brilliantly composed by the Sherman Brothers, who are perhaps the greatest songwriters in Disney history. Every single song here is great, with my favorite being the show-stopping "Round My Family Tree", which is filled to the brim with subtle pop culture gags for adults, such as a hilarious homage to the 1930s Golddiggers musicals. The film's characters are all very likable, and the live-action opening perfectly conveys the tone for what is to come. The Tigger Movie stays true to the previous Pooh cartoons and chooses to rely on 'Pooh humor' instead of the 'poo humor' that saturates nearly every other kid's flick on the market. I believe Walt Disney would be very proud to have his name on this one. 10/10

Videodrome (1983, David Cronenberg)

Long live the new flesh! 10/10

Fargo (1996, Joel Coen)

I've reviewed this one before, so I'll just say that it is now my #5 of all time. Eat your heart out, Eraserhead. 10/10

Heavy Traffic (1973, Ralph Bakshi)

I think I liked it a lot, but I don't know, because I'm not really sure what the hell I just watched. Can someone explain this film? WTF/10

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