If the mystical plot and flat villain don’t shine as much as the first 2, the incredibly stylized and thrilling visuals more than make up for it.
The plot isn’t as spry or epic as part 1, but the villain is amazing and visuals are stunning, with a truly epic conclusion.
They’re not much, but I still love these little pseudo-animated “live storybooks.” My daughter actually fell asleep to this one!
You find the weirdest stuff on Amazon prime, but I’m all about the subgenre of barely-animated living storybooks, barebones though they are as “films.”
My daughters and I are pretty into Leo Lionni, an influential and accomplished picture book author-artist, even though his art definitely surpasses his storytelling instincts.
Lynn Shelton crafts some likeable characters and situations, but something about them just doesn’t quite land for me. The ending is too kind, and the character dynamics not fully thought through.
A phenomenally fun, stylish adventure with great Jack Black lead. The gags are a bit too repetitive, but the world building is amazing
Great acting by all three leads and compelling drama, but the ending is distractingly pat and gentle.
Mumblecore patient zero, prototyping all the charm of the subgenre (a rich emotional texture conveyed through subtext of meandering, often improvised dialogue), all its off-putting traits (not much of a plot; characters of dubious likeability; threadbare production values), and its blunt naturalism. Honestly, it feels so pure and original in its vision of older-millennial young adulthood ennui in a way that plenty later in the genre feel phoned in. Aesthetically uncompromising and anchored by Kate Dollenmayer’s excellent performance, Funny Ha Ha kicked mumblecore off right.
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The Apartment (1960)
I adore Shirley MacLaine, so much of the writing, and the production. Sad holiday vibes are some of the best on film. I really felt a bit of a stumble in the dark middle act twist, which is dramatically intriguing but narratively a momentum-killer for the screwball pace the film had built. So I’m just a bit ambivalent, but still enraptured. On a rewatch maybe this is a Masterpiece candidate.
Epitomizes the strengths and weaknesses of Swanberg’s approach. Jake Johnson and Rosemarie DeWitt are excellent, and extract so much character and emotional heft from a lightweight plot. But if you care about story as anything beyond metaphor, you will be so frustrated about every thread, but especially the big hole they’re digging. “When are they going to get to the fireworks factory!?”
Check out that cast though: Brie Larson! Anna Kendrick! Orlando Bloom! Sam Rockwell! Holy shit!