Catching Up

Hey everybody! As you all know, I’ve recently taken a few months off of reviewing. I want to get back into the swing of things, but I figured I’d give you an update of all the films I may have reviewed otherwise but didn’t because of my hiatus. Going back to December, I’ll give a brief blurb about all of them just to bring everyone up to speed.

Over the Moon

I was feeling particularly down around the time I watched this one, and if I’m being honest, it’s nothing special, but I really enjoyed it nonetheless. Over the Moon is a fairly generic coming of age story about grief told through a fairy tale lens, but it has a slightly above-average amount of art, and in general these kinds of films just really strike a chord with me. The songs are fun, the animation is beautiful, the Chinese mythology is fresh and overall the story is fun and resonant, even if it’s the sort of thing we’ve seen before.

Wonder Woman 1984

Despite its pre-release hype, Wonder Woman 1984 has been both critically and commercially panned since its release, and I can definitely see why. The story is absurd and nonsensical and yet at the same time painfully boring and generic. I don’t hate it like a lot of others, though, simply for how entertaining its second half is in regards to how utterly bonkers things get. It’s sort of an ironic good time if you get through the slog of the first half. I mean, where else will you see a Ronald Reagan knock-off looking directly into the camera while screaming about needing more nukes to bomb the Russians?

Soul

I haven’t exactly been off of the Pixar train – Inside Out, Coco, and even Onward were all films I greatly enjoyed – but their last decade has been incredibly inconsistent, to say the least. Soul may not be their best film, but it’s definitely a return to creative form, proving that the Pixar formula is still capable of producing something really special. Soul is a beautiful portrait of life with some of the studios’ most well developed characters and entrancing moments to date, and it has a message that everyone needs to hear.

Sound of Metal

I’ll admit, this one was difficult to get through. It was one of the most profoundly moving films of 2020, with one of the most powerful performances and a truly empathetic look at the deaf community. But the immersive and innovative ways the film experiments with sound design to put you in its protagonist’s shoes make the first half of the film feel almost like a horror film. It’s never anything less than humanizing and empathetic, though, and it culminates in one of the most powerful statements on radical acceptance I’ve ever seen.

Hero

A small YouTube documentary I wanted to include because of my previous reviews of this filmmaking team’s work; Ash Coyote’s Hero isn’t as memorable or engaging as her previous work The Fandom (it’s also half the length), but it is a cute and heartwarming story that speaks to the level of dedication fursuit makers and performers have for their craft.

Little Girl

My favorite documentary of 2021 so far (though I’ve only seen two) is Little Girl, a stunningly tender and empathetic portrayal of transgender youth and the families that care for them. It follows Sasha, a real life transgender girl who is 8 years old and is socially transitioning with the help of her family, who fight for her acceptance into her elementary school. It’s an incredible and emotionally moving portrait of family and acceptance and self-authenticity that everyone should watch.

Run Hide Fight

Run Hide Fight is an absolutely abhorrent film I could only get 26 minutes into before I turned it off. From the many summaries and reviews I’ve seen, it doesn’t get any better as it goes along, though you may wish to take my word with a grain of salt anyway. It takes a horrifically heavy subject matter and waters it down to a dollar bin Die Hard knock-off full of shallow political commentary that is as disposable as everything else. It’s tasteless and just plain boring.

Sundance 2021 Movies

I’m publishing a (admittedly belated) YouTube video on these films shortly, but at Sundance this year I saw Censor, Cryptozoo, Knocking, Playing With Sharks, Prisoners of the Ghostland, and Marvelous and the Black Hole.

Promising Young Woman

After Sound of Metal, this is probably my favorite on this list. Promising Young Woman could have easily been a “sexy” exploitation thriller or even slasher film, but what it is ended up getting under my skin far more; a psychological expose that combines both a character study of a woman dealing with severe trauma and a riveting and merciless refutation of anything and everything rape culture in our society. This made me question even some of the smallest negative behaviors I’ve ever had around women, both in my times before and after transitioning, and it’s ending, while controversial, has only cemented its status as living rent free in my subconscious.

Earwig and the Witch

When it was first announced that Studio Ghibli was making a 3D animated film, people were… not enthused. I actually defended them pretty early on, and I stand by my statement that them innovating on their style and trying new things isn’t bad. In this case, however, I was proven wrong; Earwig and the Witch is a boring, soulless, plastic and completely pointless film in every way. Easily the worst film from the studio that I’ve seen.

Willy’s Wonderland

Generic, nearly devoid of good scares and rather ugly looking, Willy’s Wonderland would be completely disposable if it weren’t for one thing that completely saves it; one of Nicolas Cage’s best performances. His entirely wordless (and contextless) presence in this film grounds it entirely and turns it into a wildly entertaining ride from start to finish.

PG: Psycho Goreman

Stylish and equal parts hilarious and heartwarming, Psycho Goreman is an endlessly fun and endearing genre film that is admittedly incredibly niche but fully memorable, from its wonderful costume design and campy mythology to its central characters and performances.

I know the reviews here were far from in depth, but I really just wanted to give an overview of what I’ve been watching. I look forward to writing more reviews for you in the future, and see you next time!