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Tag: movie review

  • Puss in Boots: The Last Wish: A Colorful and Surprisingly Poignant Installment in the ‘Shrek’ Universe

    Puss in Boots: The Last Wish: A Colorful and Surprisingly Poignant Installment in the ‘Shrek’ Universe

    By Arman Saxena

    Wow, what a gorgeous film! Having seen the trailer I expected animation that was different from the usual Dreamworks style, but I did not anticipate finding myself in awe of the energetic, colorful, and expressionistic frames that populate this film. With a character like Puss in Boots, the filmmakers could have settled for being standard animated fare: a fun, engaging story that captivates children and adults alike but is ultimately forgettable in both their minds. But the visual aspects of the film are incredibly inspired, from the color changes that occur during the fight scenes (which reminded me of 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) to the pop culture references littered (sorry, I had to) throughout the film (from Terminator 2 to Dogs Playing Poker). There was clearly a lot of love and imagination put into crafting this film and as someone who loves animation, it’s always a joy to see a film that was made with such joie de vivre.

    That’s not to say that this is a perpetually joyous film. With Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) on his last life, he has to overcome his newfound fear of death, a theme that is tackled a lot more maturely than I expected from a mainstream film marketed towards children. The existentialism that permeates throughout sections of this film makes me believe that it is not too much to call it a psychological drama. Puss has always lived with this sense of immortality as a result of his nine lives and the legend of his moniker, but once he’s on his last legs he is forced to reconcile with the mistakes he has made and what truly fulfills him. And the film does not shy away from spending time with Puss’ psyche, we see him feel fear, loss, and loneliness, all made more powerful with the stark, striking colors of the animation.

    Antonio Banderas conveys all of this beautifully. Adding intonations of vulnerability into Puss’ consistently cocksure attitude, Banderas makes this the most relatable on-screen Puss so far. The supporting voice performances are also uniformly excellent though I want to highlight Wagner Moura as the film’s main villain Wolf. Moura knows how to play menacing, his best known role to American audiences being Pablo Escobar in Narcos. But here he is playing the personification of death itself and Moura imbues his character with the kind of controlled terror that makes Wolf one of the best (and most frightening) villains in recent mainstream animation. The whole rogues’ galleries of antagonists in this film are all beautifully rendered characters. From Big Jack Horner (John Mulaney, who is having the time of his life here) to the Goldilocks (Florence Pugh) and the Three Bears Crime Family (Ray Winstone, Olivia Colman, and Samson Kayo), the film does a lot thematically with its supporting cast. The film is a quick 102 minutes and it’s impressive how the filmmakers are able to flesh out so many characters in so little time (though I think Goldilocks’ motivations could have used a little bit more development). 

    Fans of the franchise will be excited to know that Kitty Softpaws (a terrific Salma Hayak) is not just a glorified cameo in this film. She’s as important to this film as she was to the last, and while their banter remains, her relationship with Puss is only more interesting this time around. The most important of this film’s new characters is Perrito (played by What We Do in the Shadows’ Harvey Guillen), a self-described therapy dog who is the film’s heart and soul. While initially somewhat annoying, Perrito becomes the film’s most endearing character, largely due to Guillen’s thoroughly sincere voice performance. He joins Puss and Kitty on their adventure, gradually affecting them in ways that provide some of the film’s most poignant and funny moments.  

    I am not saying that a lot of the film does not seem predictable or follow many of the tropes seen throughout family films, because a lot of it does. But with its wonderful visual verve, a captivating cast of well-realized characters, and seriously-explored themes that don’t muddy the film’s tone, ‘The Last Wish’ rises above those tropes to become one of the best computer-animated films of the 2020s so far.

  • “An American Pickle” review: A sweet but conflicted film that will likely still provide a fun escape during these crazy times.

    “An American Pickle” review: A sweet but conflicted film that will likely still provide a fun escape during these crazy times.

    Seth Rogen is mostly known for producing and starring in hilariously funny, but very rated-R comedies, this film is PG-13, and is probably the most family-friendly of any film in which Seth Rogen has held the lead role. This dramedy is still amusing though, however, its laugh count is not at the level many of his fans probably expect.

    The film follows a Jewish man, Herschel Greenbaum (Seth Rogen) who, when we first see him, is a ditch-digger living in a shtetl. At a market, Herschel sees a woman named Sarah (Sarah Snook) and is instantly in love, not in small part due to the fact that she has “all her teeth, both top and bottom”. He eventually woos her and they get married. After a Cossack attack on their village, the couple decides to move to America. They are met with anti-Semitism but stay positive throughout. One day, when Herschel is working in a pickle factory he is cornered by dozens of rats and falls into a vat of pickle brine as the factory closes. He is perfectly preserved for 100 years and we are given a non-explanation for how that is possible. While this works fine as a joke here, these little bouts of farcical situations continue throughout the film and clash with the film’s mostly sincere tone to create some bewildering and slightly frustrating moments later on.

    Once Herschel is out of the brine, he tries to find the only living relative he has left and he is met with his great-grandson, Ben Greenbaum (who is also played by Rogen), a coder working, as he has been for 5 years, on a app that finds how ethical a company is. These scenes are some of the more fun as the film does not dive deep into the clichéd, “man from past experiences modern world for first time scenes” and the film goes straight into the plot (which explains the fleeting 90-minute runtime). As they get to know each other, Herschel becomes increasingly disappointed in his great-grandson as he seems to have lost all ties to his Jewish heritage. As time goes on, the film turns these two men against each other as Herschel starts to become successful. This is one of film’s weak points as Ben’s malice towards Herschel is a little extreme and it is a significant shift from the lovable guy we see at first. During this cyclical sequence of Herschel gaining popularity, then being “canceled”, the film shows some satirical edge, but the satire is too safe and easy to be truly biting. Don’t get me wrong, it is a fine film that will maintain a smile on your face for most of the runtime, but it is not one of Rogen’s funnier efforts, which would be fine if it was not tonally conflicted to the point that it affects the dramatic moments.

    Directed by Brandon Trost and written by Simon Rich (based on his short story ”Sell Out”), the film steers clear from many of the storytelling clichés that litter these type of films and has moments of inspiration. The film works well as a vehicle to show Rogen’s dramatic chops as he skillfully creates two distinct characters in his dual role and at times, especially in later scenes, the film can be heartfelt as Ben works to reconcile with his past.

    In these times where there is a lack of new mainstream films, “An American Pickle” is welcome as it is a fun, likeable but flawed movie that is worth a watch, but will likely be forgotten after a few days of COVID-induced monotony.

    Score: 3/5

    This film can be seen on HBO MAX