My Streaming Extravaganza!

Whenever I’m low on ideas, I look at Trends on Twitter. Whenever that fails, I play video games and watch movies. Fortunately, I stumbled upon three interesting and (mostly) great movies, so I’ll discuss them! You ready? And yes, there’ll be spoilers.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

I’ll start with the first movie I watched. And what a movie it was! The Knives Out franchise is becoming one of the more interesting film properties, with both entries so far being goofy mysteries while also commenting on wealth and privilege. If Knives Out’s takeaway was that money makes people shady, then its sequel is about power and fame doing the same. In both cases, it takes outside influences, an everywoman and a detective, to expose that.

So how does this movie execute it? With a bait-and-switch halfway through. If the first movie was about a DACA maid expunging her guilt over the death of her employer, then this movie’s about the twin sister of a celebrity trying to avenge her murder. It’s hard outdoing the wackiness started several years ago, but it did that! Big props!

Everyone here’s great. Despite taking on more stock archetypes than its predecessor, it still retains the humanity of each one. It’s easy to have a Men’s Rights Activist, a Kardashian knock-off and a politician in the same movie and make them over-the-top, but Rian Johnson’s smart enough to avoid that. He recognizes that even vile characters need sympathy.

And give him credit, he pulls it off! Maybe it’s not as streamlined as I’d hoped, but that’s nitpicking given that Johnson recreated lightning in a bottle. If special note goes to anyone, however, it’s Janelle Monáe. She has the unforgiving task of playing two different characters, sometimes in the same scene, and she pulls it off. Not since Superman via Christopher Reeve has a subtle change in demeanour meant so much, but wow!

The story’s also quite engaging. I like how it calls out the absurdities of the upper-class, like its prequel did. Except the critique is more specific now, taking jabs at the Elon Musks of the world. It’s not like the movie’s subtle about it. There are parallels to Musk with the film’s antagonist, including taking other people’s ideas and making his followers believe he was the real genius. Perhaps it’s too on-the-nose, but given real life recently…

Either way, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’s another winner in the tales of Detective Benoit Blanc. It’s not quite as good as its predecessor, and it lacks the initial novelty, but it compensates for its shortcomings by utilizing what makes these movies compelling: misdirection for social commentary. I appreciate how the movie ends with a, quite literal, display of fireworks. It’s funny and satisfying simultaneously. Check it out.

Pinocchio

On the flip side, there’s Guillermo del Toro. Del Toro’s filmography is dubbed hit-or-miss, yet always interesting. I don’t like everything he’s done, I wasn’t a fan of Pacific Rim, but I agree. And Pinocchio, his first foray into animation, is both a hit and interesting. It really is. It might even be one of his best movies.

I’ll discuss the elephant in the room now: no, this isn’t similar to the Disney classic. It has familiar plot beats, like Pinocchio joining the circus, but moments like Lampwick’s transformation into a donkey are absent. Despite the comparisons, this movie goes for a darker, more contemporary vibe. I think it’s good that del Toro released this on Netflix, as Disney wouldn’t do something this brazen!

How’s the movie? Aside from the song choices being, unfortunately, uninspired, it’s great! I like how it takes full advantage of stop-motion to challenge what it means to be real or fake. Geppetto’s entire arc is learning to cope with the loss of his son, and him warming to Pinocchio is where the movie’s heart is. Let’s be clear, this is Geppetto’s story. Pinocchio’s the main character, but it’s Geppetto who develops.

That’s not to shade everyone else. The standout is Ewan McGregor as Sebastian J. Cricket, who serves as Pinocchio’s conscience. He’s not as important as Jiminy Cricket was in the Disney version, but he steals the show anyway. Even more than Christoph Waltz as the ringmaster, a hard feat given Waltz’s repertoire. But he does!

The movie’s murky colour palate vibes with the story too. That’s not to say there isn’t levity, but most of it’s a sad and bitter commentary on Italian Fascism and the cost of war. Remember how I mentioned that Lampwick becoming a donkey isn’t present here? His counterpart, Candlewick, has a moment where he confronts his Fascist father at a child soldier recruitment facility, right before it’s blown up by an enemy bomb. It might lack the nightmare fuel of the Disney film, but this is darker thematically!

Really, this is one of the darkest children’s films I’ve seen. Is it for everyone? Probably not. Is it worth a recommendation anyway? Yes. Besides, del Toro collaborated with The Jim Henson Company. And it’s not rushed, like many stop-motion animated movies are.

Strange World

If Disney’s your cup of tea, or you want something lighter, I also watched Strange World. I was turned off initially by the mixed reception, and watching it on Disney+…I see why. It’s not terrible, it’s quite enjoyable, but it suffers from the same issue that many early-2000’s Disney movies did: trying to ape Studio Ghibli’s in-house style. More specifically, it’s going for a Hayao Miyazaki adventure like Castle in the Sky and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. It doesn’t fully work.

But let’s focus on the positives now. I really like how this movie’s unashamed to be a cartoon serial. It opens and closes with a comic book, which is fitting for the tone. It’s goofy, it’s silly and it’s creative. And it also has a lot of heart.

The movie also has several tense moments. I especially like the climax, with everything culminating in a heart-pumping finale. It helps that the movie’s message of living in harmony with your environment is established with hints throughout. By the time it’s revealed that everyone’s inside a living organism, I buy it because of what I’ve seen prior. That’s difficult with something this absurd.

I appreciate the movie tackling deadbeat parenting. Jaeger Clade’s a stubborn man and a “bad father”, but he’s not a bad person. He’s so dedicated to his passion that he’s ignored everyone around him, including his son. And I like how that trickles down to how Searcher Clade treats his own son, being a supportive father while not giving him space. The parallels are obvious, and at times humorous.

The music’s really good. Henry Jackman’s taken flak for unmemorable scores in Marvel movies, but he shines with Disney and Strange World’s no exception. I especially like the jingle for the Clades, which sounds like superhero song. It’s corny, but it’s fitting too. The rest of the music’s sheer ambience, but that song’s worth buying the album for. Really!

Unfortunately, this movie suffers from aping Studio Ghibli’s aesthetics. Aside from the scene transitions being off-putting, it wants to be whimsical and leave you asking questions, but that distracts from the narrative. Even the narrative’s lopsided, with revelations coming out of left-field and not meshing with what came before. The climax also introduces a surprise antagonist before rescinding it, which is jarring. And the final shot leaves much to be desired.

It a shame because, obvious “first openly gay character” cliché aside, this movie has many firsts for Disney. Like having the first biracial character in a prominent role. And having a disabled dog in a prominent role. And having the deadbeat dad not be entirely irredeemable. Even Jake Gyllenhaal disguising his voice to sound like Paul Rudd was a first, as weird as that is! Strange World has several firsts for Disney, and it’s unfortunate that they’re not complimented by the film’s problems. So while it’s worth seeing, it’s not a must-watch.

*****

That about does it! Thanks for sticking by what’ll be my final piece of 2022, and I’ll see you soon!