Reviews

Boy & The World is a film about a young boy who goes on a journey to find his father in the big city. Along the way, he sees many things, and meets many people. This is the most basic description of what I consider to be one of the best animated films ever made. Let's dig in.

First of all, for a film marketed towards children, it can be quite challenging in different ways. One way is in what it is as a film. The fact that it has absolutely no dialogue and is driven by music and visuals alone is very daring. Another way is in some of the subjects it tackles. This includes things such as the negative influence of industry, the oppression of art and creativity, and the underwhelming reality of adulthood.

I mentioned that the film ditches all talking, instead going for visual and musical storytelling. So does it achieve this goal? Yes. Oh my god yes. Every image that this film throws at you is absolutely gorgeous and full of things to look at. The music is absolutely beautiful, and I'm not lying when I say that I found myself getting chills well an often due to the music. These two factors are what propels the movie and turns it into the great experience it is.

Now let's talk about the overall effect. It was unbelievably effective for me. This is the only film that ever made me weep. I urge any movie fan, or any fan of animated films, to watch this. It is a brilliant experience, and it touches on every emotion I can think of. Happiness, sadness, humor, love, and many more that aren't coming to mind. Go. GO. WATCH IT NOW.

Once upon a time, I felt like watching a movie. I was in the mood for horror, yet I couldn't think of anything I was particularly itching to see. I began to browse the web for suggestions, and stumbled upon a film I had never heard of before. I went to my local movie rental store, rented it, and went home to watch it. What I witnessed was one of the most unexpectedly enjoyable films I ever had the joy of experiencing. That film was Murder Party.

Murder Party is the story of a loser named Chris who finds a card on the ground that invites whoever finds it to a Halloween celebration. Since he has nothing else to do that night, he decides to throw a costume together and attend. He soon finds out that he has made a dire mistake, putting his fate in the hands of murderous college students who want to kill him as art.

What's simply wonderful about this film is how they manage Horror-Comedy. Most films in that sub-genre, such as Evil Dead II or Dead Alive (both great), derive humor from the insane and ridiculous special effects and scenarios they can pull off. While some of that is present in Murder Party, the film mostly relies on the distinct weirdness of each character and their motivations. It's an interesting spin on the formula. The insanity really comes in later in the story, but telling why would be a spoiler.

Overall, this is an extremely impressive film. Not only due to the fact that it was made independently and that it technically had no budget, but also because the filmmakers brushed the limitations aside and created a thoroughly fun and enjoyable experience by focusing on the writing, directing, and acting more so than the effects. It's goofy. It's tense. It's Murder Party.

If I was to summarize this film with one word, that word would be "Shocking". It's just so shocking in so many ways. It's shocking how little knowledge or respect for the original film any of the writers had, it's shocking how annoying some of the characters are, it's shocking how weird it can get, it's shocking how much nothing happens, it's shocking that it was green-lit, it's shocking that it had a budget higher than 50 cents, it's shocking that actors from the original film actually appear in it, and it's shocking that it even exists.

Despite all of this, I find it to be absolutely glorious.

It's so unbelievably ludicrous, that I was able to extract huge amounts of enjoyment out of it. It's so obvious that the people who made this had no idea what the hell they were doing. It feels as if someone threw a group of elderly idiots into a room, handed them one of the biggest franchises in the world, and told them to make a Christmas movie out of it. Actually, I think that's exactly what they did. I personally wouldn't be surprised. Anyway, this whole thing works just because of how obvious it is that the people involved had no clue what a Star Wars was. It's like watching a sixth grader try to describe how sex works. They think they know what they're talking about, but they're so far off that you're somewhat charmed. That's what the Star Wars Holiday Special did for me. I was charmed by how little it understood its source material, and I was charmed by how little it understood how movies are supposed to work.

Does this movie suck? Yes. Is it enjoyable? I would say yes. Grab some friends, turn your brain off, and prepare for one of the world's greatest film franchises to be assaulted before your very eyes. It's a wild ride, and I recommend it.

I like to think of this as a completely unexpected film. Everything about it was unexpected. Adam Sandler starring in a dramatic film? Paul Thomas Anderson making a somewhat charming movie that's less than two hours long? I don't think anybody could have seen this coming. Although many fans of Adam Sandler were disappointed by the tone and direction this film takes, I absolutely fell in love with it. I'm going to try and keep this spoiler free.

The Acting

I was blown away by Adam Sandler's performance, as it's completely different from anything else he's been in. There's something unbelievably honest about his acting. It makes me think that maybe he doesn't like constantly starring in movies like Pixels and Jack & Jill. I'd personally love to see him in another serious or dramatic film like this. The pain and loneliness of the main character is so believable. I was extremely impressed, as you can probably tell.

The Writing and Directing

I applaud Paul Thomas Anderson for writing dialogue that feels so unbelievably natural. I found it very easy to lose myself in this film due to the fact that everything sounded like something I would hear in real life. Also, all of the scenarios, though occasionally weird, seemed like the type of things that could happen to anybody. I had no issue believing that what I saw was actually happening. I immediately fell in love with the characters. Sure, that's partially due to the actors, but it's very much due to the writer for giving them such charming and compelling dialogue. The writing is so good, in fact, that he was able to develop the characters by simply showing you their lives. It's quite brilliant if you ask me.

The Cinematography

This is what pulls the whole thing together in my opinion. If it weren't for how graceful and perfect the cinematography was, this would be a lot less pleasant to look at. How long some shots end up being, and how much fun it is to look at this shots is brilliant. It's difficult to explain, you really must see it to believe it. I know it seems weird to praise a film's writing and acting, and then go and say that the cinematography is one of the main elements in making it good, but just remember that film is a visual medium. If it isn't interesting to look at, it might as well just be a book.

Overall, I found Punch-Drunk Love to be an absolutely amazing film. It falls right between dark and light, making for an occasionally heavy, yet occasionally easy to take ride that most people should be able to enjoy. Give it a watch, you shouldn't be disappointed.

Before beginning my thoughts, I have to commend the creators of the film for thinking of such a wonderful idea for a horror comedy. Teachers having to fight off zombified children in an elementary school? Needless to say, I was sold as soon as I read the plot summary. Now, since this was a horror comedy film, I'll be reviewing each of those components individually.

The Comedy:

This was undoubtedly the best thing about the film. I was very pleased with how funny it was. Children are portrayed in a surprisingly hilarious way in the film, just with how mean-spirited and foul- mouthed they are. It's quite shocking in a good way. The delivery of the actors was great. Elijah Wood and Rainn Wilson immediately come to mind as standouts. Overall, the way that they showed average everyday teachers reacting to an undead uprising at their workplace was extremely humorous.

The Horror:

In my opinion, this is unfortunately where the film falls flat. There a couple very creepy scenes (there is one including a car that is absolutely brilliant), but my main issue with it was how they would use too many camera tricks to hide the fact that they were hitting zombies, such as using wild shaky cam or cutting to a different shot right as someone gets hit. It almost felt like they were trying to hide the fact that they had no gore effects. Other than that, though, the horror is okay.

Overall, I'd recommend this one. Even though the horror didn't do it for me, the comedy more than makes up for it. Also, I've read many reviews in which people thought the horror was fantastic, so maybe it's just my personal taste getting in the way of my enjoyment. Give this one a watch, it's pretty darn good.