Jan 22 - Jan 28
Elemental, Nimona, Red Rose, The Zone of Interest
- Elemental [2023] - 69
Nominated for “Best Animated Feature”, I’d remembered seeing ads for Elemental and immediately passing it off as something that looked bland, tried, and uninspired. Turns out, I was mostly right. The animation looks good at times but fairly cheap and a little uncanny in others, the story itself is great overall, but has some truly terrible execution, and none of the characters are particularly interesting beyond their one quirk. This is a movie for people that care about effort and overall goal rather than journey, details, or plot; and I think they will find a lot of enjoyment here. My biggest issue was that the conflicts which catalyzed almost every piece of Elemental either didn’t make sense, contradicted themselves, or existed solely and entirely so that there was an excuse for the story to continue/ happen at all. While this has some great moments and funny characters, it has an equal amount of frustrating contrivances, meaningless obstacles, and an overall forgettable series of events.
- Nimona [2023] - 82
Also nominated for the animated feature Oscar, Nimona was significantly better than Elemental in every way. I’d best describe the world of Nimona as cyber-punk-fantasy and, while the titular character herself can be a lot to swallow, you’re sure to fall in love with her and the rest of this package by the end. Similar to Blue Eye Samurai, Nimona’s animation style may be hit or miss for you, but I found it largely charming here. While this film does center around characters and a world written for teenagers, the story itself is powerful, moving, and profound… though almost entirely obvious and told before. Not everything needs to be new and fresh though, and the fantastical visuals and enchanting Nimona herself carry this film’s more childish aspects a very long way.
It’s still not going to beat Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, but I’m glad to see it get the nod.
- Red Rose [2022] - 62
Red Rose is the perfect example of what drives me crazy about TV, and another in a long list of things I’ve recommended to people halfway through, then regretted. With some truly excellent character and relationship writing, Red Rose comes out the gate extremely strong with displays of nuance present in books moreso than typical film. People are subtle, things are revealed to the viewer in ways that make sense for the people living in this world, and nobody says or does things simply for the sake of the plot. It’s all very refreshing… but it all also goes very wrong. Teenagers clicking random links and downloading unknown files on their smartphones, nonsensical and boring extensions of the plot, and an overall lackluster conclusion take the extremely tactful and masterfully executed themes of loss, grief, and the impacts of suicide within Red Rose’s runtime, and flush them all away into something more forgettable than most. But, what can you expect from the creators of The Haunting of Bly Manor?
- The Zone of Interest [2023] - 95
Director, Sound, Picture, International Film, Adapted Screenplay: these are the Oscars The Zone of Interest is nominated for… and also likely to win. While I have some artistic qualms that I think may keep it from either Director or Adapted, it is an extremely strong contender for each award and sure to win at least one. This is a film that, like my #1 watch of 2023, Aftersun, effectively rewrites the storytelling language of cinema into something wholly unique. The Zone of Interest is a horrifying film without ever assaulting the viewer or making them look at something outright graphic or supernaturally disturbing, and may be one of the heaviest PG-13 films ever made — which is not a qualifier of “within the PG-13 space”, but an accolade of “within film as a whole”. This is not one to let pass you by or to watch when you’re not going to sit and absorb it.
The Zone of Interest is not only a filmmaking feat, but a masterpiece of WWII cinema, and something everyone involved should be proud of.
