Polite Society, The Flight of Dragons

- Polite Society [2023] - 64

The inaugural film for writer/ director Nida Manzoor, Polite Society has a lot of good ideas [and even a lot of good execution], but not a lot of flavor. It’s a little bit like when a recipe tells you “store-bought will be fine”, but you’ve already had the same dish with home-grown herbs and spices. There’s just… something missing. While the cinematography, costumes, and wacky characters make for a seriously beautiful film from a visual sense, the plot pops like a balloon at a tack convention halfway through its runtime… and… then… keeps… happening. Up to that point, however, Polite Society really is quite enjoyable, it just gets lost in its own rut and forgets to keep developing or moving forward; stagnating very quickly. I’ll definitely keep eyes on Manzoor, however, and will absolutely watch whatever it is she does next.

- The Flight of Dragons [1982] - 84

The rare re-watch for me, The Flight of Dragons is one of those movies that, had I seen it earlier in life, would have easily become one of my favorites and staples [it still might]. Even on a re-watch its world and characters are enchanting and fun, its animation is nostalgic and engaging, and its plot is smarter and more interesting than it really needed to be for this whole thing to work. Its weaknesses are all related to the time and space in which it was released [which is not an excuse, just an observation] while its strengths are such that, without the one or two obviously problematic elements, one could be forgiven for assuming this was a modern film, designed to appear vintage. If you haven’t seen this and love fantasy as a genre, dragons as a creature, or just find anything about children’s adventure films enchanting, The Flight of Dragons is one of the easiest recommendations I can think of.