Eagerly anticipating this week ... (5-24)

Eagerly anticipating this week ... (5-24)
Alex Garland's Civil War (2024)

8/31/2016

Finding Dory (2016) - An endearing, funny and touching family adventure



+ Best Sequel of the Year + Best Family Movie of the Year + Best Blockbuster of the Year

The exciting, wildly invitational poster for Andrew Stanton and Angus MacLane's Finding Dory

Finding Dory is the sequel to masterpiece Finding Nemo (2003). It is written by returning Massachusetts-born master co-writer/co-director Andrew Stanton (A Bug's Life (1998)) and Victoria Strouse (New Best Friend (2002)), and directed by Stanton and Angus MacLane (Burn-E (2008), short).

After getting Nemo back to his father Marlin, blue amnesiac fish Dory begins to recollect her own parents, whom she herself got lost from years ago. Without the initial assistance of Nemo and Marlin, she heads out on a new quest to find them.

The scope of the adventure can't but feel smaller and less novel here than in the first film, which went through several incredible ocean sequences before ending in a fantastic section set in a tank in a dentist's office in Sydney, Australia. The storytellers make an auspicious and smart turn in Finding Dory by getting the story pretty quickly out of the familiar endlessness of oceans and setting it firmly within a much smaller setting, a public aquarium in California.




Stanton and Co. manage to make another fun-filled adventure work here. Any fan of Ellen DeGeneres (Ellen (1994-98)) will enjoy her empathetic, excellent voicing as Dory, a fish whose forgetfulness would likely be annoying if performed by a less endearing actor. Ed O'Neill (Modern Family (2009-16)) is good as the voice of the biggest new character, disheartened octopus Hank, and other fun star turns, of which there are too many to notice and fully appreciate in just one viewing, include Idris Elba (The Jungle Book (2016)) and Dominic West (Pride (2014)) as two sea lions. Two more lovable characters are the whale shark and the beluga whale that Dory befriends in the aquarium.
The animation is great as expected, and the 3D dimension never gets the driver's seat: Story is king, which is just as it should be. My only negative note on the animation is the design of Dory as a baby fish, in which she has grotesquely oversized eyes. Anyone with some knowledge of character animation knows the importance and power of characters' eyes, which is why they are usually oversized, but this level of oversizing seems unnecessary overkill; - plus we know that Pixar's skilled animators can make us feel for characters even if they have less oversized eyes. So a small burp to that.
There's some darkness before the funny and awesome conclusion of the over-all wonderful film, a solid sequel that doesn't lessen the strength of the original but also never comes near to it.
The film is accompanied by Alan Barillaro's short Piper, his first effort as writer-director, a sweet, incredibly vividly animated story of a little bird's learning to find its own food.

Related posts:

Andrew Stanton: 2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2016 in films - according to Film Excess
2012 in films - according to Film Excess
John Carter (2012) - Bloated Mars-nonsense yawner








 
Watch an official trailer for the film here

Cost: 200 mil. $
Box office: 930.9 mil. $ and counting
= Big hit
[Finding Dory premiered June 8 (El Capitan Theatre, Hollywood) and runs 97 minutes. Disney initially planned to make a sequel without the involvement of Pixar, after their purchase of the company, at their Circle 7 Animation, - which however never produced any films before it was closed again in 2006. Stanton was not interested in a sequel for many years, but after his mega-flop John Carter (2012), he developed a script with Strouse and got the very enthusiastic DeGeneres involved. Documentary Blackfish (2013) resulted in some changes to the script and its SeaWorld-like setting. The film opened #1 to a 135 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it dropped pretty slowly week-to-week, keeping in first place for 4 weeks before dropping to #3, then #4 and then out of the top 5. It has so far grossed 479.7 mil. $ in North America. It is the 4th highest-grossing movie worldwide of the year at the moment, and in North America, it is the highest-grossing film of the year and the highest-grossing animated movie of all time. It has yet to open in Italy, Austria and Germany and so is likely to cross the 1 bil. $ mark before finishing theatrically. Finding Dory is certified fresh at 94 % with a 7.7 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Finding Dory?

Looking: The Movie (2016, TV movie) - A premature but lovely, optimistic goodbye



+ Best TV Movie of the Year + Best San Francisco Title of the Year

The neat, very California-colored poster for Andrew Haigh's Looking: The Movie

Looking: The Movie is the TV movie conclusion to the great HBO Looking TV-series in two seasons, created by great filmmaker Andrew Haigh (Weekend (2011)) and Michael Lannan (Looking (2014-15), writer). They have co-written the script, and Haigh has directed it.

Patrick returns to San Francisco after a 9-month relocation to Denver, near his birthplace, for the wedding of Augustín and Eddie, catching up with old friends and lovers and contemplating where his future ought to be.

Jonathan Groff (Frozen (2013)) is back as our sensitive, recognizable protagonist Patrick, surrounded by lovely friends Dom (Murray Bartlett (Stubborn (2015))), Doris (Lauren Weedman (Rainbow Time (2016))) and Augustín (Frankie J. Alvarez (Madam Secretary (2015), TV-series)), - the latter probably being the one who has changed the most in the course of Looking.
Also reappearing are Russell Tovey (The Night Manager (2016), TV miniseries), who makes an emotional and touching return as Kevin, and hunky Raúl Castillo (Sweets (2015)), very well-acting and sweet as Richie once again. Tyne Daly (Judging Amy (1999-05)) makes a welcome appearance as a Justice of the Peace; Chris Perfetti (The Night Of (2016), TV miniseries) is good as the unbearable Brady, and Daniel Franzese (Killer Pad (2008)) is charming as Eddie.




Looking: The Movie focuses on tying up all of its stories in a nice way and showing us the directions that they might be heading from here. The coming-back-home-and-meeting-everyone-once-more premise works well in this respect, but it doesn't make the TV movie conclusion stand out as the most innovative in Looking's history. - Nearly no new characters are introduced.
What we do get is more of our beloved 'friends' and a central focus on Patrick, which comes to an appropriately melodramatic highpoint, which I rather enjoyed.
I am still sad and disappointed - mainly aimed at the public for its lack of interest - that Looking got canceled and ends like this. I think it could definitely have lasted several more great seasons on TV, and this bitterness can't stay completely out of my review here.
But damn it if the movie doesn't try its best. It's warm, enthusiastically acted, uplifting and optimistic, a rare piece of contemporary drama and a soft present the LGBT community and the rest of the world should have embraced more during its TV run.

Related posts:

Andrew Haigh:
2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2016 in films - according to Film Excess
Looking - season 2 (2015) - Patrick, Dom, Augustín and Co. reach the height of their potential
Looking - season 1 (2014) - Look for something real with your new Frisco friends

2011 in films - according to Film Excess 
Weekend (2011) or, The Nottingham Romance Blues





Watch a trailer for the movie here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: None - TV movie
= Unknown
[Looking: The Movie premiered June 2 (Frameline FIlm Festival) and runs 85 minutes. It was shot in San Francisco. At the July TV premiere on HBO, the ratings were 0.28 mil. North Americans, which is very far from impressive, - however, many have shifted to streaming now, which is unaccounted for here and may well counted be in the millions. Looking: The Movie is fresh at 87 % with a 6.6 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Looking: The Movie?

8/29/2016

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

The 10 best films of the year:



1. Inception - Christopher Nolan + Best Science Fiction Movie of the Year + Best American Movie of the Year



2. The King's Speech - Tom Hooper + Best English Movie of the Year + Best Historical Movie of the Year



3. The Extra Man - Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini + Best New York Movie of the Year + Best Comeback Actor of the Year: Kevin Kline



4. Virginia/What's Wrong with Virginia - Dustin Lance Black + Most Underappreciated Movie of the Year



5. Faster - George Tillman Jr. + Best Car Movie of the Year



6. The Ghost Writer/The Ghost - Roman Polanski + Best Thriller of the Year


7. Rabbit Hole - John Cameron Mitchell + Best Drama of the Year


8. R/R: Hit First, Hit Hardest - Tobias Lindholm and Michael Noer + Best Prison Movie of the Year



9. Heartbeats/Les Amours Imaginaires - Xavier Dolan + Best Canadian movie of the Year + Best Youth Movie of the Year + Sexiest Movie of the Year


10. MacGruber - Jorma Taccone + Best Spoof Movie of the Year

Other great films and TV-series of the year: (in alphabetical order)



Another Year - Mike Leigh + Best Dramedy of the Year



Biutiful - Alejandro Gonzáles Iñárritu + Best Spanish Movie of the Year



Black Swan - Darren Aronofsky + Best Dance Movie of the Year



Blue Valentine - Derek Cianfrance + Best Love Story of the Year + Sexiest Screen Couple of the Year: Ryan Gosling & Michelle Williams



Boardwalk Empire - season 1 - Terence Winter (creator) + Best New TV-series of the Year + Best Shooting Star Actor: Michael Pitt



Cyrus - Jay and Mark Duplass + Best Independent Movie of the Year



Date Night - Shawn Levy + Best Comedy of the Year



Everything Must Go - Dan Rush + Best Adaptation of the Year


The Expendables - Sylvester Stallone + Best Action Movie of the Year + Best Ensemble of the Year



GasLand - Josh Fox + Best Documentary of the Year



Happy People: A Year in the Taiga - Werner Herzog and Dmitry Vasyukov



Howl - Bob Eppstein and Jeffrey Friedman + Best Art Film of the Year + Best Poster of the Year



Jew Suss: Rise and Fall/Jud Süss – Film ohne Gewissen - Oskar Roehler + Best German Movie of the Year



The Kids Are All Right - Lisa Chodolenko + Best LGBT Movie of the Year + Best Shooting Star Actress of the Year: Mia Wasikowska



Klown/Klovn - The Movie - Mikkel Nørgaard + Best Danish Movie of the Year


Mad Men - season 4 - Matthew Weiner (creator) + Best TV-series of the Year


Megamind - Tom McGrath + Best Family Movie of the Year

Good films of the year: (in alphabetical order)



Alice in Wonderland - Tim Burton + Best Blockbuster of the Year + Best Shooting Star Actress of the Year: Mia Wasikowska



 Animal Kingdom - David Michôd + Best Australian Movie of the Year



Burlesque - Steve Antin + Best Music Movie of the Year + Best Comeback Actress of the Year: Cher



Clash of the Titans - Louis Leterrier + Best Peplum Movie of the Year



The Debt - John Madden



Despicable Me - Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud + Best New Franchise of the Year



Dinner for Schmucks/Dinner with Schmucks - Jay Roach + Best Remake of the Year



Don't Be Afraid of the Dark - Troy Nixen



Dream Home/維多利亞壹號/维多利亚壹号 (Wai Dor Lei Ah Yut Ho) - Ho-Cheung Pang + Best Hong Kong Movie of the Year + Best Gore Movie of the Year + Craziest Movie of the Year



Due Date - Todd Phillips



Fair Game - Doug Liman + Best Political Movie of the Year



The Fighter - David O. Russell + Best Boxing Movie of the Year



Greenberg - Noah Baumbach + Best Los Angeles Movie of the Year



 How to Train Your Dragon - Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders + Best 3D Movie of the Year



I Saw the Devil/악마를 보았다/惡魔를 보았다 (Agmareul boatda)  - Kim Jee-Woon + Best Korean Movie of the Year + Best Revenge Movie of the Year + Most Violent Movie of the Year



I Spit on Your Grave - Steven R. Monroe + Best Rape-and-Revenge Movie of the Year



In a Better World/Hævnen - Susanne Bier



Insidious - James Wan + Best Horror Movie of the Year + Best Mega-hit of the Year



Iron Man 2 - Jon Favreau + Best Superhero Movie of the Year


Monsters - Gareth Edwards + Best Monster Movie of the Year + Best Debut Movie of the Year + Best Low-Budget Movie of the Year



Morning Glory - Roger Mitchell


 Norwegian Wood/ノルウェイの森 (Noruwei no mori) - Tran Anh Hung + Best Japanese Movie of the Year


Piranha 3D - Alexandre Aja + Best Sexploitation Movie of the Year


Predators - Nimród Antal



Robin Hood - Ridley Scott + Most Expensive Flop of the Year

The 10 worst films of the year:


1. Paranormal Activity 2 - Tod Williams



2. Legion - Scott Stewart
 

3. The Crazies  - Breck Eisner + Worst Poster of the Year



4. The Killer Inside Me - Michael Winterbottom



5. I'm Still Here - Casey Affleck



6. Incendies - Denis Villeneuve + Most Overrated Movie of the Year



7. Gulliver's Travels - Rob Letterman



8. A Nightmare on Elm Street - Samuel Bayer



9. Le Quattro Volte - Michaelangelo Frammartino



10. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 - David Yates

Other mediocre or poor movies of the year: (in alphabetical order)

127 Hours
A Family/En Familie
The American
Beginners
Charlie St. Cloud
Cop Out
The Experiment
Get Him to the Greek
Hesher
Julia's Eyes/Los Ojos de Julia
Kick-Ass  + Most Tasteless Movie of the Year
Knight and Day
Meeting Spencer 
Miral 
My Soul to Take 
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
RED
Shutter Island 
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

[81 titles in total]

Commentary:

2010 was the year Christopher Nolan joined the master rank in movies with his mind-bending Inception. Tom Hooper's historical drama The King's Speech, George Tillman Jr.'s action car movie Faster and the two small-budgeted indies The Extra Man by Shari-Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini and Dustin Lance Black's awfully distributed Virginia are the year's other masterpieces found so far. - All superb films.
The top 10 also contains Roman Polanski's probably last, great thriller, The Ghost Writer, John Cameron Mitchell's fine, riveting play adaptation drama Rabbit Hole, Tobias Lindholm and Michael Noer's Danish prison movie debut R, Xavier Dolan's stylish, sexy, light Heartbeats and Jorma Taccone's hilariously funny spoof MacGruber.
The year begat new, strong franchises Despicable Me, How to Train Your Dragon and The Expendables; wonderful Allen Ginsberg-biopic Howl, new major TV-series Boardwalk Empire and many other great new titles. Asia brought us a couple of wild, crazy movies in Dream Home and I Saw the Devil. Noah Baumbach returned with wry, moody Greenberg, while James Wan scared us silly with Insidious and Gareth Edwards debuted auspiciously with the original Monsters. Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland was strange and wonderful and had audiences flocking, while Ridley Scott's Robin Hood was equally good but hopelessly  neglected by the public, - if seen up against its huge budget, - resulting in the year's costliest flop, going upwards of 150 mil. $.
Paranormal Activity 2 takes the cake as the year's worst film, an aggressively unlikable sequel, followed up by similarly dour genre mates Legion and The Crazies. Michael Winterbottom's The Killer Inside Me rocked high unpleasantness and little to redeem it on any other front. Casey Affleck - the film's star - had an all-around bad year, which he also spent involved in the 5th worst film, the unbearable, narcissistic mockumentary I'm Still Here, starring his friend Joaquin Phoenix. The worst of 2010 also includes Denis Villeneuve's acclaimed but awful Incendies, Jack Black's turn in Rob Letterman's moronic Gulliver's Travels, an insipid remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street, a vacuous Italian art movie about the seasons turning and goats, Le Quattro Volte, and finally David Yates' painfully long and brooding Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1. Bruce Willis had a small part in Sylvester Stallone's refreshing Expendables, but also headed two brain-dead duds in RED and Cop Out, as well as appearing as himself in super-dud I'm Still Here.
On the list of great directors who underwhelmed to varying degrees in 2010, we find such forces as Danny Boyle (127 Hours), Pernille Fischer Christensen (A Family), Anton Corbijn (The American), Burr Steers (Charlie St. Cloud), Nicholas Stoller (Get Him to the Greek), James Mangold (Knight and Day), Julian Schnabel (Miral), Wes Craven (My Soul to Take), Mike Newell (Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time), Martin Scorsese (Shutter Island) and David Spade (The Twilight Saga: Eclipse).
A few of the major stars who had very good years include James Franco (mediocre but highly successful 127 Hours, great Date Night and Howl), Guy Pearce (Animal Kingdom, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, The King's Speech), Steve Carell (Date Night, Dinner for Schmucks, Despicable Me) and the year's shooting star actress Mia Wasikowska (The Kids Are All Right, Alice in Wonderland).

2010 titles still on the watchlist:

Into Eternity: A Film for the Future, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, Inside Job, Tiny Furniture, Chico & Rita, Old Cats, A Cat in Paris

Previous annual lists:
  

2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]  

2014 in films - according to Film Excess
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 
2013 in films - according to Film Excess
2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2012 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2012 in films - according to Film Excess
2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2011 in films - according to Film Excess


What do you think of the 2010 lists?
What films would be on yours that are missing here?
Any 2010 title/s that I should  throw on my watchlist?

Eagerly anticipating this week ... (4-24)

Eagerly anticipating this week ... (4-24)
Niclas Bendixen's Rom (2024)