The Book of Life
While it should be obvious by now how much I love Halloween, I have also long been enamored of Mexico’s Day of the Dead. It is not just Mexican Halloween, it is so much different (but also a little different). Day of the Dead is a celebration of remembrance for all dead loved ones. It has a festival atmosphere as candy and good food are shared with the living and with the dead. The Day of the Dead evolved an artistic motif which is well-known even here in the United States. Chief among the symbols is the sugar skull which I am sure you have seen. This movie takes a trip through the customs and legends of the Day of the Dead (with a few tweaks, of course). The movie is so pleasant to look at. The animation is CGI but it reminded me so much of movies like Kubo and The Boxtrolls. The art style just made me smile over and over. It is a tale of a love triangle threatened by supernatural forces from the realms of the dead. It is such an interesting story in the style of a folk tale of gods and mortals. It was exciting, touching, and so incredibly funny. Not surprising since it was directed by Jorge Guttierez (a man deep in the Mexican animation game) and produced by the legendary Guillermo Del Toro. I cannot recommend this one enough.
Wanted 18
The Israeli/Palestinian conflict has been going on since before I was born. The clash of cultures is one that is incredibly hard to untangle and nobody is completely innocent. This is the true story of a Palestinian town that bought eighteen cows so that they did not have to buy Israeli milk. Their town was Israeli-occupied and they had had enough. The movie is a mixed media documentary with reenactments, interviews, and animation. The animation is mostly about what the cows must have thought of being the focal point of a rebellious act. The talking cows add some humor to a pretty tense story about the Intifada/Israeli conflict. There are also some comic book-style drawings to help illustrate the story. It is a story about a town banding together as a symbol to a people who felt that they got a raw deal. It is an intensely interesting story. Now, I do not know how much is true. I also cannot tell you who is ‘right’ in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. As I said, it is a difficult knot to untangle. This movie is worth a watch, though. So often, the United States is only told the story from Israel’s side. It is easy to vilify Palestinians but the conflict is not so black and white. This was a non-violent civil disobedience that is so much more powerful than any fighting. I definitely recommend this.
A Monster in Paris
This was a strange little movie. Set in 1910, a flea is exposed to a chemical mix that makes it into a human-sized monster with a beautiful singing voice. From there, it gets mixed up with a colorful cast of characters in a Paris cabaret. The premise is strange but the characters and the music really make it work. The movie is also alive with Parisian and 1910 culture in general. References to people like Melies are always welcome. There is a lot of action, music, and a ton of great comedy. The second half is non-stop zany action which I really enjoyed after the heavier subject matter in the above movies. As I look down the list of voice actors, I do not recognize anyone (except Catherine O’Hara) but everyone was just as good as any Hollywood star. The animation was really expressive and the art style was just different enough to really set it apart from the multitudes. It was light fare but entirely enjoyable from start to finish. I definitely recommend this one as well.
Music of the Week:
-M- Matthieu Chedid – Je dis aime
Tytan – The Watcher
Bad Seed Rising – Wolves At The Door
Lil Dicky – White Crime
Diamanda Galás & John Paul Jones – Skótoseme
Weekly Updates:
– This week’s theme is “Animation from Foreign Lands”
– I started watching Arrow Season 5
– I started watching The Flash Season 3
– I started watching Supergirl Season 2
– I watched more Season 12 Supernatural
– I watched more Fairy Tail
Tags: A Monster in Paris, Channing Tatum, Diego Luna, Media Update, Ron Perlman, The Book of Life, Vanessa Paradis, Wanted 18, Zoe Saldana
Wolf of Words 
Leave a Reply