Movies You've Seen Recently | Q1 2025 Entertainment - OT (2025)

Messofanego

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Oct 25, 2017
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  • Oct 29, 2024
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"I don't have the programming to be a mother."
"You never do. You make it up."

Movies You've Seen Recently | Q1 2025 Entertainment - OT (2)


The Wild Robot
Sentimental and funny film about the relationship between a robot mommy and a (not-ryan) gosling and creating found families, with some fun survivalist segments in the first half. There is also the main theme about free will vs destiny, such as the robot and animals having to break their "programming" to become a community. The painterly art direction is amazing, more akin to moving concept art, so it's visually pleasing throughout. The robot learning to talk to the animals, fix herself back up, develop trust, crawl up a cliff like a crab, or settle interpersonal conflicts between the animals is easily engrossing. Most of the characters in the wild are well-written, but Matt Berry as the beaver steals the show as the curmudgeon oldhead of the forest ("Are you dying? Expire somewhere downstream"). The possums bring out some dark comedy, and the film isn't afraid to go dark in places, such as Brightbill being orphaned inadvertently, how nature can be brutal between animals, or about bereavement and even one blink-and-miss moment features a decapitated bird head. This isn't edgy but just not quite the Disney-fied view of talking animals all getting together in harmony. My wife was surprised this was written by a man (although I think women helped with the story such as Heidi Jo Gilbert), as she commented that they nailed motherhood and I particularly liked the conflict resolution and empathy building when Brightbill is essentially in his teenage phase. There are some lines that hit like a ton of bricks like when the reluctant dad fox says, "When you grow up without something, you spend a lot of time thinking about it". There is one moment where me and my wife teared up when the robot says what is potentially the final goodbye to her son, and our 3yo daughter found it to be emotionally involving too. The plot is predictable at times, particularly towards the last act, and the robot antagonists are forgettable, but it also helps drive the connection between all the characters and makes for a very heartwarming ending.

Movies You've Seen Recently | Q1 2025 Entertainment - OT (3)


The Room Next Door
Red Herrings: The Film. You're waiting for dramatic twists, lies, secrets, and a thriller (even the poster reminds of Bergman's Persona) as Ingrid struggles with cancer-stricken Martha's desire for euthanasia but it subverts to be more of a radically honest melodrama about two old friends reconnecting for one last time. Julianne Moore and melodrama just works so well with her acting style. Right after Todd Haynes' exceptional May December, Julianne as Ingrid plays the less anxious person of the duo, opposite to Tilda Swinton's more moody and determined Martha. The film even brings in Tilda Swinton's more androgenous style into her profession as a war reporter who had to be like the boys and maybe missed the maternal touch when she had a child. I still find it hard to believe her character is fully straight! Having not seen many Almodovar's films, I was struck with the bold saturated colours in costume and production design, and they're as big a character as the duo. Green, yellow, and red become in line with the moods of the scenes and characters. It's a gorgeous film that deserves to be seen in cinemas. The orchestral music by Alberto Iglesias throughout the film is another character, perfectly establishing the melodrama.

To borrow a line from the film, the symmetry struck me with the gesture of having Tilda Swinton also playing her character's daughter (and she is an agent for classical music, while the film has an orchestral score itself) and then also having Ingrid deal with death right after publishing a book about the topic. The film is opening a frank and curious conversation about death, not just about euthanasia being a more dignified death than suffering and losing all personality, but also the potential death of the planet due to climate change brought on by neoliberalism and the rise of the far right being in lockstep. The latter is slightly clunky in its presentation by John Turturro's Damian and isn't explored past the one conversation, but it's in line with the theme of elegy. Art such as Edward Hopper's paintings, James Joyce's The Dead, and poems are far more intertwined with the theming throughout the film. It's an empathic film about friendship, death, art, and acceptance. Now I need to see some more Douglas Sirk and Almodovar films!

Movies You've Seen Recently | Q1 2025 Entertainment - OT (2025)

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