Movie Reviews - Isle of Dogs

Director: Wes Anderson
Genre: Animation/ Adventure
Runtime: 102 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bob Balaban, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Greta Gerwig, Frances McDormand, Scarlett Johansson, Harvey Keitel, F. Murray Abraham, Tilda Swinton, Yoko Ono, Ken Watanabe, Fisher Stevens, Liev Shreiber, Courtney B. Vance, Angelica Huston

Description: Set in Japan, Isle of Dogs follows a boy's odyssey in search of his lost dog.

Review: Wes Anderson is a unique filmmaker. One we can’t compare to any other filmmaker in Hollywood. He shines with his humor, mix of arthouse and commercial cinema. That last is because of all the great actors and actresses he always manages to get. Anderson already proofed with “Fantastic Mr. Fox”, that stop-motion is right up his alley. And “Isle of Dogs” is another one of his masterpieces.
All Japanese vocals are translated by a translator, computer or exchange student. This is what we see at the start of “Isle of Dogs”. The barking of the dogs is indeed English. And it’s true. A lot of Japanese. And not all is translated, but that’s not necessary. The most important tale is told by the animals.
Dogs had to fight for their position in Japan for ages. But in the fictional metropole Megasaki, the four legged friends are no longer welcome. A dog virus broke out and mayor Kobayasho orders to send all the dogs to a trash island. The dogs try to make it their own place. But their peace is disturbed when Atari, the mayor’s nephew, crashes onto the island while looking for his dog Spots.
It’s clear Wes Anderson is not a big fan of 3D. All the dogs are almost always seen in a frontal position, from the side or from above. I love his style, it has charm and it’s never too much. You are amazed by everything without losing your focus of the story.
“Isle of Dogs” is a modern fable about (literally) and underdog that tries to better the situation with unity, wit and humor. Wes Anderson has done it again!

Rating: 5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 166: Ghost World

Director: Terry Zwigoff
Genre: Drama/ Comedy
Runtime: 110 minutes
Year: 2001
Starring: Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson, Steve Buscemi, Brad Renfro, Bob Balaban, Pat Healy

Description: With only the plan of moving in together after high school, two unusually devious friends (Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson) seek direction in life. As a mere gag, they respond to a man's newspaper ad for a date, only to find it will greatly complicate their lives.

Review: “Ghost World” is the adaptation of the American comic series with the same name. The base of the story is a comic book, but this is not a standard Hollywood comic book film. This film is about friendship, adulthood and cynism.
Enid and Rebecca are friends that seek a direction in life after graduating high school. When they respond to a newspaper add, it changes their lives completely.
“Ghost World” has one strong point: humor. The humor is so cynical, dry and sarcastic, I love that. Enid is someone who knows what she wants and has her opinion ready at all times.
The acting is solid, the humor is fantastic and I love some moments. Like the man waiting on the bus or the weirdo that terrorizes a convenient store.

Rating: 4/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 11: The Monuments Men

Director: George Clooney

Genre: Drama

Runtime: 118 minutes

Year: 2014

Starring: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Hugh Bonneville, Bob Balaban

Description: An unlikely World War II platoon is tasked to rescue art masterpieces from Nazi thieves and return them to their owners.

Review: The most horrible stories about World War II have been told, but the loss of artwork during this period is an underexposed theme. For George Clooney enough reason to make a movie about it. “The Monuments Men” will be his fifth directed movie. We know Clooney best as an actor and he also takes on one of the lead roles. With him, big names like Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray and John Goodman form a dream cast.

When President Roosevelt tells curator Frank Stokes that, besides many lives, lots of famous art work were lost in the war due to the Nazis. With strong arguments Stokes manages to get permission to assemble a team of art historians, museum directors and curators to find those lost treasures. The team of seven men don’t all have experience in the army.

‘True Story’ is a wide term in Hollywood. In real life hundreds of men and women were responsible for finding the cultural heritage. This isn’t the biggest problem of “The Monuments Men”. It’s a mediocre script and that gives is us a lot of dull moments and it doesn’t have a central storyline.

The soundtrack is good, but not for this movie. It’s sounds like a comedy. It does have some comedic moments here and there though. The big amount of talent is underused. George Clooney and Matt Damon are doing a routine job and Cate Blanchett can’t really shine. Hugh Bonneville can easily keep up with his colleagues and Bill Murray’s dry humor is as always a pleasure to watch.

The cynicism works, but the rest is just mediocre. I really wanted to love this movie, for its theme and the wonderful cast, despite of all the negative reviews. But a dream cast is no guarantee for success. We still have to wait for the master piece by director George Clooney.

Rating: 2,5/ 5