Movie Review: Ask Me to Dance

 

Michael's Movie Grade: F

A horrible excuse for a romcom. 

This is a perfect example of a tired and cliché romcom simply going through the motions. Not only does the film follow so many clichés that are common to these types of movies, but it handles them in such a bland and boring way that it is hard to care about a thing that happens. The characters all have very little personality outside of a few traits that are needed to move the story forward. There is never one moment where any of them feel real and this makes it hard to care about them at all. The humor is simply horrible here. This tries to be a bit wackier than your average romcom, but unfortunately there is hardly a laugh to be found among the many supposedly comedic moments. Most of them try way to hard and simply come off as annoying. There were many jokes here that made me simply want to walk out of the theater. Yet these terrible comedy moments just kept coming and each was less funny than the last. 

This movie tries to follow the Sleepless in Seatle formula of having the couple not meet for most of the film. Unfortunately this does not work here the way it did in that movie. The ways they keep barely missing each other feels very forced and stupid, often making the movie stretch one's suspension of disbelief too far.  

Just avoid this movie. 

Movie Review: Signs of Love

 

Michael's Movie Grade: A-

A beautiful and moving film. 

Despite the title is movie is so much more than your typical romantic comedy. This is a beautifully powerful and often heartbreaking character study. Our main character is a drug dealer but does not view himself as a bad person. The way he sees things is that he doesn't make anybody take his drugs, so he has no responsibility for what happens to them. Yet when he falls in love with a beautiful woman (both inside and out), he doesn't feel worthy of her in any way. What I love about this film is that the charter is never shown to be a completely good person or a completely bad person. He is just a person, with a great share of faults but also some real good in him as well. This movie makes the character feel likable and relatable, while never shying away from darkness of his actions. This is not to say that the romance is anything less than fantastic though. There is a wonderful chemistry between these two characters and the two actors (Zoë Bleu Sidel, Hopper Penn). You truly grow to care about this relationship and hope that everything ends up happy for both of them. I also love how her being deaf, is never the focus of the film. They have a beautiful relationship and that one can hear and one can't has very little effect on their relationship. This is not the only major relationship in the film though. There is also the relationship between the main character and his drug addicted dad. There is a very complex relationship between the two that is quite well realized and can range from hostile to touching while always feeling completely real. This movie may deal with darker subject matter than you might except from the title, but it does this beautifully. There is no sugarcoating of these moments and some of them are so emotional that they can be hard to watch. Yet this movie balances these darker moments with moments of joy and great humor. It does this perfectly without ever feeling forced.  

This is the feature film debut for director and writer Clarence Fuller, who has directed some short films as well as music videos (for such artists as JoJo, Azealia Banks, Cosmic Gate, Rixton and Pharell). I hope he continues to make feature films as great as this one in the future. 

Simply a must see. 

Some Must See Movies From the 2010's

With the 2010's coming to a close, I feel it is only appropriate to look back on some of the great movies of this decade. This post will not be a best of list. Rather this is simply me listing some movies from this decade that I really enjoyed.

The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013, Japan). In my mind this is one of Studio Ghibli's best films and deserves to be mentioned with Spirited Away (2001) and Grave of the Fireflies (1988). This movie is a deceptively simple fairy tale that works on multiple levels. It can be enjoyed simply as a very charming fairy tale or a highly intelligent commentary on how our world defines happiness. The animation is incredible and with films like this, it is easy to wish hand drawn animation could still be the norm. I love how the animation will change to fit the emotional mood of the moment, while never feeling abrupt or distracting. The ending makes me tear up every time.

Lean on Pete (2018, U.S.A.). This is easily one of the most emotionally powerful movies of recent years. Yet this movie never slides into forced sentimentality. That is because this movie is an open and honest depiction of how harsh the world can be, but also the beauty that can be found in other moments. With the lack of warmth in our main character's life it is impossible not to understand or relate to his deep connection with the horse he works with. This movie never follows a conventional path and you will never know what we happen next, but be sure whatever does will hit your emotions hard. Be prepared to cry when you see this movie.

Tokyo Fiancée (2014, Belgium) Possibly one of the most offbeat romantic comedies of the decade and certainly one of the most enjoyable. This movie was based off the real life romance of Amélie Nothomb. Our main character grew up in Belgium but spent her life obsessed with all things Japanese. When she moves to Japan (as a French language tutor), she falls in love with a young man obsessed with all things French. What really makes this movie stand out are Pauline Etienne's incredible performance and the breathtaking shots of Japan. Though its offbeat and often very funny sense of humor doesn't hurt either.

Marie's Story (2014, France). A very heartwarming film about a young woman who is both blind and deaf and a nun who helps change her life. The story may seem familiar but it is told so spectacularly here, you won't care. This is a quiet little movie that requires you to pay attention but rewards you extremely richly when you do.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider Verse (2018, U.S.A.). This animated feature is everything one could wish for in superhero movie. It is extremely fun, it has a great story with some depth, a fantastically original visual style and great characters. More than any other superhero movie I have ever seen this film makes it feel like a comic book come to life. This is not only one of the best animated superhero movies but one of the best superhero movies period.

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011, U.S.A.) and Captain America: The Winter Solider (2014, U.S.A.). You may love or hate the MCU. Personally I love it and these are in my mind the finest movies to come out of it. The first Captain America is a lovely done period piece that is as fun as any MCU movie has ever been. The second is a more dark and serious film set in the modern day. Both are the smartest and best written movies Marvel Studios ever put out.

Parasite (2019, Korea). I would like to say as little about this movie as possible, as it is best to go in knowing as little as possible. Only know that this is one of the finest suspense movies of recent years.

Moana (2016, U.S.A.). This movie shows Disney animation at its best. Everything is as good as it gets including the songs, the animation, the characters, the story, the action and the pure Disney magic.

Inside Out (2015, U.S.A.). This is easily my favorite Pixar movie. It has everything that is great about Pixar films with none of the faults. Like with all the best movies from this studio, I felt like I traveled to another world. The design work is so perfectly imaginative and detailed that you can easily believe the inside of our mind really looks like this. The characters are fantastic and I like that they even tried to see how far they could push Joy while still making her likable. The story is the finest and most heartfelt to ever come from Pixar and this is the only movie from the studio that has actually made me cry.

Lady Bird (2017, U.S.A.). With just her debut feature, I am willing to accept Greta Gerwig as one of the finest directors of this generation. It is hard to think of any movie in recent years more perfect than Lady Bird. While there have been many movies about young people in their late teens coming of age, I hesitate to think of one that does it as well as this film. This movie is extremely intelligent, perfectly acted and cast, very funny, extremely heartfelt and perfectly directed. If there was a movie this decade I would dare call perfect it is Lady Bird.

Ida (2014, Poland). Movies as beautiful as this come along extremely rarely. This movie is full of pure cinematic magic from beginning to end. Made in black and white, this is one of the best looking films of this decade. The cinematography is perfection, often making one wish black and white movies were still common. However this film is hardly all style and no substance. Director and Co-writer Pawel Pawlikowski revisits his childhood with this movie's story and does it in an incredibly moving and powerful way. No movie buff should go without seeing this brilliant work of art.

Feliz Año Tijuana (2018, Mexico). I came into this movie knowing nothing about it. Little did I except it would be such a moving and powerful film. This movie takes a small simple story a professor who by chance meets an old student in Tijuana at New Years, and turns it into something truly special. This is an independent movie all the way. In fact it was shot without a script, being mostly improvised over six days of shooting. This movie came and left theatres with hardly anybody noticing. However it is truly a great movie and I hope some of you will take the time to seek it out.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Some Cartoons For Saturday Morning #34

Hello my friends and welcome back for another round of classic cartoons. 

With the incredible success UPA cartoons had in the 1950's, many cartoon studios began to follow the lead and make animated films like UPA did. As strange as it may seem Disney too made some films in the UPA style. This meant more stylized and seemingly simpler designs, as well as more intentionally limited animation. This is in many ways the opposite of Disney's lush and extremely detailed animation. However with these few cartoons the Disney studio pulled off the UPA style fantastically. The best of these UPA inspired Disney cartoons is Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom (1953). This cartoon is also rare in that it was a sequel to an earlier Disney cartoon, Melody (1953). That film had been released in 3D. However Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom would not contain that gimmick. Instead this film would be in CinemaScope. In fact this was the first CinemaScope cartoon. This was a rare cartoon to feature Ward Kimball as a director. For those of you who don't know, Ward Kimball is one of the most important and talented Disney animators. In fact he was part of the group Walt called his Nine Old Men. Ward was one of the cartooniest of the Disney animators and his animation was often quite funny. With that in mind it should come as no surprise that this film should have such a great sense of humor. This cartoon ended up winning the Oscar for 1953, and that was certainly well deserved. This also received the 29th place in Jerry Beck's book, The 50 Greatest Cartoons. So enjoy this great cartoon.
 

Next comes an animated short film with an emphasis on the short. This is a cartoon, whose title should tell you exactly what to expect. This is Bambi Meets Godzilla (1969). No one can say it doesn't live up to that title. What simply is a one joke film has made people laugh for decades and will continue to do so. Film student Marv Newland made this film when he couldn't get the right shot of a sunrise for a live action short he was making. This film was made in only the last two weeks of his school semester, but it is better remembered than any other film made in that class. This film would receive the 38th spot in Jerry Beck's The 50 Greatest Cartoons.




Now comes a 1965 Hanna-Barbera TV cartoon starring Peter Potamus entitled Trite Flite.




Next up is an early sound cartoon with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. I admit to having quite a fondness for the Walter Lantz studio's Oswald cartoons and this one is no exception. I especially love how cartoony and rubber hose like the animation is. The gags are extremely cartoony and purely delightful. The dancing scene is certainly a highlight. So enjoy Snow Use (1929).




We end with a delightful black and white Terry Toons cartoon starring Gandy Goose and Sourpuss. Like later Hanna-Barbera cartoons, Terry Toons would some times base the voice and personality of characters on popular celebrities. Gandy Goose's voice is inspired by the comedian Ed Wynn (who animation fans will probably best know as the voice of the mad hatter in Disney's Alice in Wonderland (1951)), Sourpuss's voice was based off of another popular comedian Jimmy Durante (who animation fans might know as the narrator on Rakin-Bass' Frosty the Snowman (1969)). Gandy and Sourpuss made a great comedy pair with Gandy's silliness annoying the heck out of grumpy Sourpuss. So enjoy Tire Trouble (1942).




-Michael J. Ruhland

Movie Review: The Peanut Butter Falcon

Michael's Movie Grade: A

A good-hearted feel-good movie that never delves into cheap or forced sentimentality.

This movie offers exactly what one should want out of this type of movie. A story about three misfits on the road and finding a family in one another may sound cliché, but many similar movies just simply are not told anywhere near as well as this movie is. Each of our three main characters felt completely real to me. I felt I knew them. Not only that but I felt glad I knew them. The characters are extremely likable and just a joy to spend time with. It doesn't hurt that the three actors (Shia LeBeouf, Dakota Johnson and Zack Gottsagen) cast in the roles play their parts to perfection. Even with how great the other two are, Zack Gottsagen (in his first feature film role I might add) is a clear standout. He hits all the right notes and easily is a huge part of why his character feels so real. The script by Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwatz (both of whom also directed the film) is as human and honest, as it is feel good and heartwarming. A film that is heartwarming but also feels real is too rare these days. It is true that the script can get a little corny. However it is the good kind of corny that makes you feel happy inside opposed to the bad kind that makes you cringe. Also not hurting this film is the lovely cinematography by Nigel Bluck. There are so many shorts here that are so completely memorable and will stay in your mind long after watching the movie. The film also has many laugh out loud moments.

I also have to say as a fan of country and folk music, I loved the choice of songs used in this movie's soundtrack. It was a delight to hear such artists as Sara Watkins, Ola Belle Reed, Chance McCoy and Parker Ainsworth as I was watching this movie. Each of these songs was used very well fitting the on screen action fantastically.

If you want a feel good summer movie, you can not do better than this.

-Michael J. Ruhland