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SIFF is in full swing. Just finished up reading The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert and this echoes her warnings about the Antropocene Era and the human ability to shape the world.

 

 

A fascinating, quiet, detailed examination of competing goals shape how we treat each other. Especially enjoyed Jason Segel's performance, but the dynamic between Jesse Eisenburg and himself works so well because of Jesse's portrayal of a "normal writer." 

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Teeth-gratingly formulaic, odd music choices, and poorly paced. A pity, as the location certainly deserved better.

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Been a good week for movies.

 

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Plenty of reviews out there. I happily agree that this is a return to what Pixar does best.

 

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Succeeded as a comedy (credit for that goes to the writers, as with most American comedy). Rocky is passable. Soundtrack could have gone for deeper cuts but the emotional pull of music anyone with a casual interest in hip hop would know is no surprise considering. No desire to forgive its synthetic "meme" montage nor its use of "hacking" (jfc stop with this shit. It isn't cinematic and it's lazy writing).

 

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Cue zero people surprised that I thoroughly enjoyed this.

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Please go see this...so disappointing to have one other person with me in the theater today. This is a thorough examination of the evolution of the business/commercialization of hip hop fashion and who profited from that commercialization. The glaring omissions with regard to legendary individual dressers only serve to remind you how easy it is for someone else to profit off of you. Also features excellent discussion of how, when it comes down to it, class is the most insidious force in the world of fashion and psychology of consumption.

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Ghibli does it again is almost all that needs to be said at this point. When Marnie Was There retains the signature animation style of the legendary company while treading new emotional ground for the studio. Time conflicts lead to seeing the English dub rather than the subbed version (as with Kaguya, often a mistake). So much is lost in translation, and ends up making discussion of emotions in the English script particularly cringe-worthy. However, the English credits song was both beautiful and fit the film.

 

Animation highlights: anything slice of life Ghibli does so well. They make cutting tomatoes (literally slicing life, oh ho ho) so geometrically pleasant its uncanny. Self-referential sketcher (protagonist) and painter (pivotal side character) are fun to watch, because you are watching animators animate the movements used in part to create the film. Characters row boats across the water with perfect form. There's a huge storm at one point and Ghibli has always made nature and its dangers larger than life and all the more exciting for having done so.

 

Movie Mechanics: Focuses on the internal journey of the protagonist, which remains difficult in cinema when you choose not to adopt a visual metaphor (ie. Inside Out). When Marnie Was There adopts one fairly early in, but late enough that it has to rely on movie shorthand that contradicts the films intentions (ie. character speaks aloud negative emotions because we've eliminated facial expressions because of her emotional state, making her voicing these emotions aloud even more unbelievable).

 

Recurring themes: a manifesto of Ghibli itself: when you choose to preserve something you love (be that a person, place, or thing), that choice rewards you. But it is its ability to open conversation with others across the chasm of time that is its greatest power and reward. Besides this, adolescent/artist's journey to accept who you are, where you come from, and the nature of your own personal blessings and curses. Acceptance of that paradox that they are both the road and the barrier to your future.

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