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Barbie – Movie Review

Hello film fans, it’s Slick Dungeon and I am here to review one of the most Oscar nominated and absolute pinkest of movies this year, Barbie! The movie was nominated for eight Oscars this year and has absolutely blown away the box office by making over $1 Billion bucks globally. There will be spoilers here and I’m going to do an in depth review on the background, controversies (what?) and the awards. So, if you are one of the few people on the planet who has not yet seen Barbie and you don’t want spoilers, hop in your Barbie Corvette, head to somewhere you can see the movie and drive on back here to read the review after.

BAckground

This is a bit odd to me but to do this film full credit I have to touch on the background of it first. Everyone knows Mattel sells a doll called Barbie. At the time those dolls came out, they were a bit revolutionary because it was one of the first times (if not the first) that dolls meant for little girls to play with were molded into the shape of an adult instead of a baby. Some people loved this and others thought it was the death of the traditional family for some reason because, uh, I guess kids could choose what kind of toy they wanted?

Either way, Barbie was a huge success and went on to sell tons and tons of dolls. It’s one of the most popular toys on the market still today. This means most kids in the world have seen, owned, or at least played with a Barbie in their lifetime.

Mattel wanted to capitalize on the popularity of the brand so they thought it would be a good idea to make a movie about the toy. There have been successful films like this before, just take a look at the Lego movie.

To pull it off, Mattel hired a woman who has had a run of successful films to helm this one. I’m talking, of course, about Greta Gerwig who has made some major critical hits with Ladybird and Little Women.

Mattel went into the movie with a pretty strong hand for a few reasons. One, there were already huge fans of Barbie so it had a guaranteed audience. Two, they used a filmmaker who, whether you like her other work or not, is a good filmmaker. Three, they hired some extremely popular actors for the film, including Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Kate McKinnon, Simu Liu, and America Ferrera.

But not a lot of people expected what happened in the real world with this movie. It premiered at the same time the other most Oscar nominated film of the year, Oppenheimer did.

It had literally been years, if not decades since two films wildly different in genre and both made with huge stars and competent directors were out at the same time. Audiences really took to this because for the first time in a long time they could see two different kinds of movies on the same weekend, or even same day and have a good time at both. Thus, the Barbenheimer phenomenon grew, boosting an already strong box office into the stratosphere for both movies.

Very rare for the Oscars nowadays is to have movies that were huge hits also be nominated for the awards. This year we got two such films and there are several categories where Barbie or Oppenheimer are the odds on favorites to win.

But, there has been something really weird that happened with this film. It has been mired in controversy. Yeah, somehow the pink plastic musical comedy seems to scare some people for some reason. And there is another layer of controversy surrounding the Oscar nominations that was also, well, controversial.

We’ll get into the controversies a little later in the review but first, what was the movie about? Was it any good? Does it deserve all the accolades and the smaller pockets of hate it has gotten? Let’s get into it. Spoilers follow.

What’s it ABout?

The film starts with an homage to the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. Barbie is actually filled with a ton of homages to lots of great films but this one is noticeable to almost any film goer. Girls are sitting around a monolith, playing with, you guessed it, baby dolls. We have a narrator explaining to us the background of the Barbie brand as these girls are suddenly given a new toy to play with.

We then switch to Barbieland where stereotypical Barbie, played by Margot Robbie, and all her fellow Barbies believe that because of them, all injustice towards women has been solved. We get to see a typical day in the life of this Barbie and there are a bunch of toy related in-jokes here. Barbie showers with no water, drinks from empty cups and waves to all her fellow Barbies.

We also see a typical day in the life of the nearly forgotten, Ken. See, along with Barbie dolls, Ken dolls have been produced but they are far less popular than any version of Barbie. Don’t get me wrong, they sell plenty of Kens just not as many as they do Barbies. The movie plays with this a bit by making it that Ken can only have a good day if he is acknowledged by Barbie.

Ken tries to impress Barbie by hopping into the plastic ocean on his surfboard but he injures himself. As Barbie consoles him, he explains that his job is hard. He’s not a surfer. He’s not a lifeguard either. No, his job is literally beach. For those who didn’t find that funny, first I don’t know how you couldn’t find the humor here but let me explain the joke in case you are not so familiar with Barbie and Ken. See, there are tons of different kinds of Barbies. There’s Nurse Barbie, Astronaut Barbie, Olympian Barbie, etc. But there are only a few kinds of Kens. One of the variations is Beach Ken. So, Ken, thinks Beach is his job.

Barbie is having a party and we get another homage, this time to Saturday Night Fever. At this party Ken (Ryan Gosling) is shown up by Ken (Simu Liu) who has a bit of a rivalry going.

The party comes to a screeching halt because Stereotypical Barbie asks the group if they ever think about dying. Apparently a bit of the real world is seeping into Barbieland.

Ken asks Barbie if he can go over to her house that night to, well, he’s not sure what exactly, he just knows he’s supposed to because he is ostensibly her boyfriend. But she’s having a girl’s night like she does every night.

The next day things have changed for Stereotypical Barbie. She’s got bad breath, her milk has expired, and she falls down, all while the background music is happily narrating this. Barbie even falls because her feet are on the ground, not pointed like you see in the Barbie dolls. Something has to be done.

Stereotypical Barbie goes to see Weird Barbie. We all know Weird Barbie even if we never owned a Barbie. It’s the one that got played with too much, some kid maybe drew on her, or her hair was cut with scissors or whatever. In Barbieland this apparently changes you so you have a glimpse into the real world.

Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon) offers Barbie a Matrix style choice in our next film homage. She can either stay in Barbieland or she can go to the real world to try to solve the problem. Stereotypical Barbie has to find the girl who is playing with her. In hilarious fashion, Stereotypical Barbie wants to choose to just stay where she is in a reversal of the role Neo plays in the Matrix.

Barbie has a send off from all the other Barbies who are expecting her to find a perfect world full of strong women where everything is fixed because girls play with Barbie dolls.

Ken (Gosling) has stowed away in Barbie’s convertible because he doesn’t want to look uncool to Ken (Liu). And he figures he can help in case there is beach and Barbie might need someone who is a professional in that.

They then do a silly montage of transportation methods to get Barbie to the real world featuring a bunch of real Ken and Barbie sets. Fortunately, Ken has brought his rollerblades and the two make it into the real world. They stand out like sore thumbs in their colorful roller blade outfits and Barbie is immediately objectified while Ken seems to be admired.

Barbie and Ken are arrested when Barbie hits a guy after he has come up and spanked her. They get arrested again when they steal some western clothes that look very much like a Barbie set.

Barbie gets annoyed with Ken and sends him off on a walk by himself. For the first time, Ken, experiences something he is not used to. He’s not ignored by the majority of the world. In fact, it seems like there are a lot of men in charge of a lot of things in the real world, unlike in Barbieland.

At the Mattel headquarters the CEO of Mattel (Will Ferrel) finds out that a Barbie has escaped from Barbieland into the real world. The CEO demands they capture Barbie and Ken to send them back to where they came from.

Barbie, meanwhile, does find the girl who has played with her. This is Sasha who, once she understands who Barbie is, criticizes her for unrealistic beauty standards which is the last thing Barbie was expecting to hear. Barbie also meets Sasha’s mother, Gloria. Gloria actually works for Mattel and Barbie is having her existential crisis because Gloria has been playing with Barbie.

Eventually the Mattel executives do get Barbie and they want to put her back in her box so she can be remanufactured and go back to how she was. But Barbie wants to help Sasha and Gloria mend their somewhat rocky relationship. The three escape and head back to Barbieland.

Meanwhile, Ken is learning about patriarchy. He starts to realize there could be more to his life so he decides to go back to Barbieland before Barbie can return. Ken brings the worst of patriarchal ideals back with him and forces Barbies to be agreeable girlfriends, wives and maids.

Barbie finally returns to find her world changed and the Barbies are now essentially forgotten about in the way the Kens had been before. Barbie feels dejected and depressed but Gloria gives her a speech about society’s conflicting expectations of women and Barbie is reenergized.

With the help of Gloria, Weird Barbie, and a doll almost no one remembers, Alan, they are able to trick the Kens into infighting and regain power. But Barbie has learned that she too is guilty of objectifying and ignoring Ken. So, rather than have a patriarchy or matriarchy, they strive for a more equitable system for Kens, Barbies, and even the oddballs like Weird Barbie and Alan.

Ken and Barbie apologize to each other. Ken doesn’t know who he is without Barbie but Barbie encourages him to find his own autonomy.

Barbie decides to go to the real world and become an actual woman.

Throughout the film, there is incredible production and set design, the music is near genius with huge stars like Lizzo, Dua Lipa, and Billie Eilish contributing. The plot is pretty silly but in a fun way. The acting is good here with Robbie and Gosling really diving into their roles and the supporting cast nails being plastic toys at all turns.

The film is undeniably a good time. Yet for all of its merits there were controversies here. Let’s get into that for a minute.

The ControversIES

There are actually quite a few controversies associated with this movie. Some are utterly ridiculous and some have some potentially valid points. I’m going to start here with the controversies not surrounding the Oscars themselves and leave that for a later section.

One controversy is only of concern in China and to some of its allies. This concerns where a dash line is drawn on a map which defines where the South China Sea is. This is not the kind of blog where we can get too much into that. Other movies have been banned in China for having maps like this one so it’s not unheard of. While this can be of concern on the world stage and when it comes to drawing maps people use every day, political leaders may need to weigh in on that. But for a map shown for a few seconds in a movie, it’s a bit silly to care about. But it’s not the most ridiculous of the controversies here.

Next up is the accusation that this film is too political because it is too “woke” or too feminist. I suspect the fact the word patriarchy is used several times in the film is what drove people to get all up in arms here. But for a moment, let’s get into what the issues are. People on the far right politically have said this film is too “woke.” I have to say, almost no one on the right is able to give a definition of the word so I find it hard to give this argument any credence. The definition seems to be really flexible as anything from M&M’s to eating ice cream can seemingly be “woke.” If by “woke” people mean Barbie has an agenda, they are right there is an agenda but it’s not the one they are talking about. I’ll tell you what the agenda is in a minute.

Let’s talk about the argument that this is too feminist. Again, I think this is triggering people just because the word patriarchy is used in the movie. But what exactly is it to be feminist anyway? Let’s just look at the Oxford English Dictionary to define it. According to the dictionary feminist as a noun means, “an advocate of women’s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes; a person who supports feminism.” And as an adjective means, “relating to or supporting feminism; advocating women’s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes.”

So, this means to be feminist is to support the equality of the sexes, not the superiority of any sex. The way the Barbies treat the Kens in Barbieland is just as non-feminist as the way the Kens treat the Barbies later in the movie. If you think people should all be treated with the same kindness, dignity, humanity and respect that they deserve based on the fact they are human and judged for their actions not for their inherent traits, congratulations, you are also a feminist.

Barbie is not too feminist considering the fact, both men and women here are mistreated at varying points in the movie and add this to the fact that this argument misses the entire agenda of the film.

Yes, there is an agenda here. You want to know what it is? It’s pretty obvious in case you weren’t paying attention but I’ll spell it out. Barbie is made to make people feel nostalgic and good about Barbies so that… they sell more Barbies!!! Yep, that’s the big, nefarious secret here. This movie is made to sell toys that were already selling. It’s about as pro capitalist as you can possibly get with a film.

There’s also a few places in the world that don’t like this movie because they feel it promotes an LGBTQ+ agenda of some kind because, um, I guess because there are some cast members here who belong to that community in some way or another? But again, the agenda is not pushing anything LGBTQ+ (and in fact Stereotypical Barbie sure seems to be as stereotypical about her sexuality as it gets), it’s to make money for Mattel full stop.

The last of the most ridiculous controversies here is that some people think this movie is too grown up for seven and eight year old kids (especially girls) because it uses words like genitals, vagina, and patriarchy. Welp, I guess you’ve got valid criticism here… if this was made for seven and eight year old girls which it is not. Check the f–ing rating! It’s rated PG-13 and if you take your under thirteen year old to it without prescreening it to find that it has words that aren’t even censored on television, well, that’s kinda on you isn’t it? In fact, Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 has a ton more swearing than Barbie yet a lot of the parents complaining about this movie took their kid to that one, so I have to say, I don’t have much sympathy for these people.

Anyway, most of these controversies are silly to the point of being stupid but it’s hard to place this movie in full context without at least mentioning some of the weird backlash here. I’ll mostly get off my soapbox here but there is one more controversy I will cover after I talk about the award categories this one is up for this year in the Oscars.

The awards

Barbie is up for a heck of a lot of awards for a movie about a toy. It’s landed nods in seven different categories and I’ll go through each one and tell you if I think it is going to win or not.

Supporting Actor

Ryan Gosling for his portrayal of Beach Ken is up for this one. I bet with Gosling’s long list of notable acting credits in critically acclaimed films, he wouldn’t have guessed playing a Ken doll would land him back at the Oscars. It’ll be really odd if he wins for that while having lost for La La Land but such is Hollywood. Anyway, Gosling is up against huge competition here. He’s facing off against Sterling K. Brown for American Fiction, Rober De Niro for Killers of the Flower Moon, Robert Downey Jr. for Oppenheimer, and Mark Ruffalo for Poor Things. If I was a betting man (which I am not so don’t bet based on my predictions) I would bet Robert Downey Jr. is the most likely to win but with Robert De Niro as a really close second.

Best Supporting Actress

America Ferrera is up for her role as Gloria, the human woman and mother who helps Barbie in both the real world and Barbieland. Again, the competition here is fierce. Ferrera is up against Emily Blunt for Oppenheimer, Danielle Brooks for The Color Purple, Jodie Foster for Nyad and Da’vine Joy Randolph for The Holdovers. While these are all notable actresses in notable roles, Danielle Brooks really knocked it out of the park with The Color Purple in her portrayal of Sofia so she’s my prediction to win here.

Costume Design

It’s surprisingly hard to make good costumes and to make them look like they walked out of the packaging of a Barbie box must have been extremely difficult. The costumes here are perfect for the film and the contrast between the Barbie and Ken outfits and the people wearing clothes in the real world works exceedingly well. I do think Barbie has a solid shot here but again there is a lot of competition. Napoleon, Killers of the Flower Moon, Oppenheimer and Poor Things are also up for the award. Most of these are period pieces in one way or another and those tend to do well in the costume category. I’ve heard great things about the costumes in Poor Things in particular (I haven’t watched it just yet though). For this reason, I think this category is truly a toss up. Barbie could definitely win but any of these films getting this award would be well deserved.

Music (Original Song)

Barbie has been nominated twice in the same category here, thus potentially splitting the vote on itself. The two songs nominated are I’m Just Ken and What Was I Made For? The first one is performed by Ryan Gosling himself and the second was made by Billie Eilish. I’m Just Ken is a really funny song that fits the tone of the film perfectly and I think anyone who has ever experienced unrequited love (man, woman or anyone else) can relate to it. While Billie Eilish is really good at getting critical acclaim for her music so What Was I Made For? has a real shot of winning. Between the two, my preference is for I’m Just Ken but everyone has their own tastes in music so it’s totally valid if you prefer the Billy Eilish jam. But, in this category there are a couple of things going on. First, Dianne Warren is yet again up for an Oscar and she has yet to win one other than the Academy Honorary Award which acknowledges a career rather than a single song or soundtrack. This means Warren might get one here just because she is so overdue for one. Her song is The Fire Inside from Flamin’ Hot. Second, Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People) from Killers of the Flower Moon is up for the award. This is an Osage language song and is simply beautiful and it recognizes a culture often ignored (or sometimes demonized) in Hollywood films. Finally, It Never Went Away from American Symphony written and performed by John Batiste is up for the award. Batiste is a straight up musical genius and in my opinion, he has the most valid claim to this award. I predict he will win unless I’m Just Ken sneaks away with it.

Best Picture

Alright, this is a little tough at this time for me to fully predict because I have not yet seen all of these movies (I will be this week so please watch for more reviews). But I am going to say it now. While Barbie was a good film and wildly entertaining (I laughed harder here than I have in a theater in a long time) it was not the best film of the year. I believe this is going to go to Oppenheimer hands down but we’ll see.

Production Design

Oh come on, just give this one to Barbie already. While this category does have some notable films including Killers of the Flower Moon, Oppenheimer, Napoleon, and Poor Things, only Barbie used so much pink paint that they sold out of the color in the UK. They literally created a whole Barbieland and nailed it perfectly. The production design in this film is straight up out of this world good and while the other films deserve their nominations, Barbie just kills in this department.

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

It’s a little weird to think the screenplay here was adapted but I suppose it was for a couple reasons. It is based on an existing property and Greta Gerwig used a few sources as inspiration so in a way you can say this is adapted. The screenplay is smart, funny, and really really good at selling Barbies. But is it good enough to win the Oscar? I say no. Gerwig’s screenplay is up against the screenplays for American Fiction, Oppenheimer, Poor Things, and The Zone of Interest. This is a tough category to call and I’m not sure yet which one I think will win but I think there is a strong case to be made that Barbie will not win here. There’s just too much strong competition and when you get down to it, Barbie is just about a doll.

Those are my predictions for the film but I could absolutely be way off base here.

The Other Controversy

Now that we’ve gone through the categories I have to mention what might be the actual, valid criticism surrounding Barbie. It’s notable that while Gosling was nominated for his role as Ken, Margot Robbie was snubbed for her role as Barbie and Greta Gerwig was snubbed in the Best Director category. It’s almost as if the Academy Awards took a look at the movie and took away all the wrong lessons here. Gosling himself was pretty disappointed the two women didn’t get the nods and I think this is a fair point. But, both Robbie and Gerwig are going to be fine. Robbie has already received accolades for several of her performances and Gerwig has gathered a few herself. Plus, they all now can claim they were responsible for a billion dollar film, so it’s not like they won’t be hurting for work. Still, it does seem like a pretty rude snub.

In Conclusion

If you have a sense of humor, are of the appropriate age, and can enjoy a good musical with incredible set design, you really can’t go wrong with Barbie. It was one of the best films of the year and absolutely deserves to win in some of the categories it was nominated for. I don’t think it is the best picture of the year but it sure is one of the top few. And if the box office is anything to go by, I am far, far from alone here. So, if you can, go enjoy the film because it’s pretty much pure fun.

Pinkly yours,

Slick Dungeon

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Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One – Movie Review

Hey film fans, Slick Dungeon here back to review yet another Oscar nominated film. This time I am reviewing the seventh film in the Mission Impossible series starring Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, and Simon Pegg. This movie has been nominated for Best Sound and Best Visual Effects. There will be spoilers for this film (but if you’ve seen any Mission Impossible movie you already know what the basic beats are here) so be forewarned before you read the review. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to go watch the movie and then come on back here to read the review.

What’s it About?

The movie starts out just a little bit differently than most of the MI films in that we start in a Russian submarine. The sub is testing an advanced AI and things go wrong. The sub is targeted and destroyed by the AI. There is no reveal of Ethan Hunt here and there’s not even a high-flying, death-defying stunt for Tom Cruise. This sets up for the film to be a bit more mysterious than some of the past entries.

We then do catch up with our hero in the Arabian Desert where he gets a key from Lisa Faust, an ex MI6 agent. Faust also fakes her own death.

Okay, so I could go on with this plot, and give you all the intricate details. However, it gets down to this. There are two keys that unlock something. It’s something really powerful and the AI from the beginning of the movie has something to do with it. In typical fashion. Ethan Hunt needs to gather the pieces before other interested and deadly parties get ahold of it. To do this, he assembles his usual team (or in this case they really assemble around him without being asked). Along the way he meets some new people, sure to become cast members in the next film, he does some insane stunts, including driving a motorcycle off the Alps and parachuting down onto a moving train. There are shootouts, car chases, flirtations, bad guy monologues, mask reveals and the whole bit.

To go through the whole thing in intricate detail would be kind of pointless because either you are a super fan and already know all this stuff, you are a casual fan and would have to rewatch six films before this one totally makes sense, or you don’t care and there’s not much point in catching you up.

What this film gets down to is it is a fun, fast paced, action adventure film where the main character has to get a thing before other people get a thing so they can unlock another thing.

While I absolutely enjoyed the experience of watching the film, it is still nothing more than a bunch of characters chasing a McGuffin until the movie ends on a cliffhanger.

The Awards

Plot aside, the film is nominated for best sound and best visual effects. I will say the visual effects are impressive here and it’s hard to tell when the film uses CGI over practical effects because they tend to use those to enhance rather than replace visuals. The stunts look spectacular, as always in these films, and are exciting to watch.

The sound is loud and conveys to the viewer the information needed. I’m sure it is difficult to figure out just how certain things would sound in the movie and make them work. But, the sound isn’t really central in any way to the story of the movie, other than to help us understand what is happening on screen. It’s not really played with or used in a way we have not seen before in film. (I guess I should say heard rather than seen but you know what I mean).

I have strong doubts this film will win in either category it is up for considering the competition. For visual effects, I think it is going to lose to The Creator and in the sound category I think Oppenheimer or Maestro will beat it out.

In Conclusion

If you like fun action films, this is a good one to watch, albeit a bit on the long side. If you haven’t ever watched a Mission Impossible film, this is absolutely the worst one to start with. If you are a casual fan of these movies, you’ll have a good time but occasionally find yourself trying to remember who a character from several films ago is.

It’s not a bad film at all, there is some great stuff to look at and hear. But, I just don’t think it’s actually Oscar worthy this year.

Impossibly yours,

Slick Dungeon

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The Boy and the Heron – Movie Review

Hello film fans! Slick Dungeon here, back to review another Oscar nominated film. This time we are diving into the latest animated film by the always absolutely brilliant animation company Studio Ghibli. The Boy and the Heron is nominated for Best Animated Feature Film this year. Before you read on, do be warned there will be spoilers. If you don’t enjoy that, take yourself to the mystical world where you can watch animated films, maybe stack some wooden blocks, and then come on back here to read the review!

What’s it About?

It is World War II and a young boy named, Mahito Maki, loses his mother Hisako in a fire at a hospital. Mahito’s father, Soichi marries Natsuko, HIsako’s sister. Soichi owns a munitions factory so he decides to move his little family to his rural estate. At first, Mahito is fairly cold to his aunt, both missing his mother, and overwhelmed by the major change in his life. At the new home, there is a mysterious tower. Some years ago, Natsuko’s granduncle was the architect who built the tower but he disappeared long ago.

One day, while Mahito is recovering from an injury, he spots a heron who leads him to the tower. The heron turns out to be more than he seems as he starts to speak and transform into a half-man half-bird creature. Mahito is nearly taken by a swarm of of toads but he is saved by Natsuko who fires an arrow at the frogs. Mahito takes this arrow, and a feather he gets from the heron, and makes his own arrow with that feather. This arrow gains true aim, meaning it cannot miss its target.

Later, an ill Natsuko disappears into the forest. Mahito and an elderly maid named Kiriko go to find Natsuko and end up at the strange tower. Mahito is beckoned inside and sees what he thinks is a vision of his mother. This was a trick designed by the heron. Mahito figures this out and shoots an arrow at the heron, breaking a part of its beak and further revealing the bird-man. A wizard comes out of nowhere and instructs the heron to take Mahito and guide him. Mahito, the heron, and Kiriko sink through the floor into another world.

In this world, Mahito sees wonders, faces dangers, and confronts strange creatures he could never have imagined. Strangely, he is rescued by Kiriko, who is years younger than she was in our world. The pair try to survive and they meet a woman named Himi who protects Mahito from a dangerous group of pelicans who are trying to eat small, strange creatures called Warawara.

More strange and magical incidents continue in the film until Mahito ends up meeting the wizard who turns out to be Natsuko’s grand uncle and he realizes that Himi is his birth mother, just much younger. Mahito is given the chance to reshape this magical world with a set of wooden blocks. But Mahito decides not to because the blocks are infused with malice. He is then offered his own set of blocks to create a world from scratch. He also declines to do this, saying he has malice in his own heart and must embrace those who love him first.

Eventually, he is able to get back to our own reality where he is surrounded by Natsuko, his father and Kiriko, all who love and care for him, even though his birth mother has passed away.

Even writing down the plot as I did above leaves a lot out of the story. It’s a tale of magical realism that has shades of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Alice in Wonderland. At the same time, it is paced and animated in the way only Studio Ghibli under the direction of the brilliant Hayao Miyazaki can achieve. In other words, as with most of Miyazaki’s films, it is an utter masterpiece.

It’s very slow by American animation standards and the plot can be hard to grasp even as you are watching it. This is more of a difference in animated culture than any kind of criticism of the film.

There are achingly adorable creatures in this movie and lots of mystical storytelling. And as usual it begins in reality but transports characters to another world where they can learn something about themselves before being returned a changed, and usually better person.

The soundtrack is composed by Miyazaki’s long time collaborator Joe Hisaishi who is uniquely qualified to pair the mystical vision of what we see on film with a score just as capable of transporting the imagination.

Once again, Studio Ghibli has truly delivered a masterpiece that reaches across cultural bounds to both Japanes and American audiences in the way only they can.

The Awards

On any other year, if Miyazaki was making this film, I would say The Boy and the Heron was an absolute lock for Best Animated Feature. He may still earn the award since this is likely to be his last animated film of his lifetime. The animation is incredible, with the hand drawn look but still using CGI in some scenes and backgrounds to make the storytelling work. I don’t think this is necessarily the best animated film by Studio Ghibli but that’s like saying you don’t know which is the most stylish slam dunk of Michael Jordan’s. In other words, they are all too amazing to really pick favorites.

However, there was another animated film out this year which was the most innovative animated film I have seen perhaps since I first saw a Studio Ghible film. Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse has innovation in every second of it, if not in every frame of it.

If Spider-man does not win here, I guarantee you this award will go to The Boy and the Heron, if not to acknowledge the work of this film, then simply to acknowledge the body of work by Miyazaki with Studio Ghibli. (Guarantee not a real guarantee, please don’t make bets based on my predictions)

On most years I am hoping for the Studio Ghibli film to win. And while I would be perfectly fine with it winning this year, I don’t think it is actually the best animated feature length film of the year, despite it still being an actual masterpiece.

In Conclusion

If you have not seen The Boy and the Heron, do so as soon as you can. It’s a unique film made by a storytelling master who has already caught the imaginations of millions of people. Because Miyazaki was a creator with such brilliance, you can expect more brilliance in animation as those who come up after him try to emulate and surpass him. Do be warned that the pacing is slow for American audiences but don’t let that stop you from watching the film. If nothing else this film has significance because it is quite likely to be the last of Miyazaki animated films.

Animatedly yours,

Slick Dungeon

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Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 – Movie Review

Hey film fans, it’s Slick Dungeon! I’m back to review yet another Oscar nominated film. This time we are taking a look at Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3. Wait what? That’s right, the 32nd film in the MCU has been nominated for an Oscar. It’s up for Best Visual Effects. Be warned there will be spoilers for the movie below so if you have not seen it, head on over to a Terran theater, see the film and come on back here to read the review.

What’s it About?

If you are an MCU fan, you probably know who the Guardians of the Galaxy are. But just in case you are not familiar with them, they are a ragtag group of outlaws and misfits trying to make their way in the galaxy and often find themselves confronted by maniacal villains looking to destroy the galaxy in one way or another. They are led by Peter Quill, aka Starlord who is a human from Earth. There is way too much background here for me to get into a deep dive of even just the first two films in the series but you can just consider this to be a science fiction, action, comedy thriller type of film.

I most definitely don’t recommend watching this one without watching at least the first two films in the series. And if you really want to know what is going on you have to watch a substantial chunk of the MCU, including at least two Avengers films.

For the third film in a series I didn’t expect this to cover much new territory. There is, of course, a bad guy who has to be stopped. But the film gets surprisingly emotional when it comes to the background of one of the key team members, Rocket Raccoon. It’s an impressive feat to see James Gunn pull off an emotionally compelling story about a raccoon with a machine gun. In fact, I was not the only Marvel fan to tear up just a bit during the film as we see Rocket both make and loss some dear friends.

It is one of the more entertaining films of the later MCU phase, although it still has spots of trouble where it could be more compelling to the viewer.

Like pretty much any MCU film, the good guys defeat the bad guys after a bit of misunderstanding and some teamwork. There are quippy one liners, lots of striking visual effects, and the hint of a romance or two.

The Awards

While this is all standard fare for Marvel, this film was never going to be nominated for best picture, screenplay, or acting. This is not the type of film that wins prestige awards. But, it is the type of film that could win an award for visual effects. The films in this category and those nominated for best sound tend have the largest audience appeal, and I will also admit, tend to be the ones I like the most.

But does Guardians of the Galaxy have enough here to win the category? I don’t think so. While the film is better than the third movie in a superhero story has any right to be, and the effects are fairly stunning, this film is just not quite up to the quality of competing films. It is up against The Creator which is my bet to win on visual effects, Godzilla Minus One which pulled off the nearly impossible feat of making a Godzilla film relevant again, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1 which has incredibly good stunt work and Napoleon which is a sweeping epic full of intricate detail.

In Conclusion

I recommend this movie to those who are familiar with Guardians of the Galaxy and enjoy a good superhero romp with a bit of a story to it. But, if you are already over superhero films, or you haven’t even started in on the MCU somehow, there is no need to rush out to see this. It’s fine. The story is fun and it is nice to see a competent film in the later MCU phases but it’s ultimately skippable if you are not that interested.

Galactically yours,

Slick Dungeon

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May December – Movie Review

Hello film fans! It’s Slick Dungeon and I am back to review another film nominated for an Oscar this year. This time I watched the unsettling and darkly comedic film May December which is nominated for Best Original Screenplay. Trigger warning here that this film deals with very adult issues and could be unsettling for those who have suffered any type of sexual trauma. Please be aware of that before you watch this film or read this review. There will be spoilers for this movie as well so if that sort of thing is an issue for you, make sure you go watch the film before reading the review below.

What’s it About?

While this film is not a biopic or technically based on a true story, the premise is one that seems like it is ripped from the tabloids. Years ago there was a famous case where a female teacher had, we’ll call them relations, with a thirteen year old boy, which is without a doubt a crime. Fast forward years later and the woman has given birth while in prison, has done her sentence, and the woman and man who are now both of legal age are married and living their lives. This film takes that premise and adds another layer to it. An actress who is set to portray the woman from the incident is visiting so she can understand her source material.

In the movie, Julianne Moore plays the wife in question. Natalie Portman plays an actress who wants to get deep in her role. Not a stretch for Natalie Portman, not that this makes her performance any less good, it’s just obviously familiar territory for her. Julianne Moore’s character has a life that is relatively stable. Her kids are about to graduate high school and go off to college. And her husband, while young, very young, is seemingly committed to her.

But the visit by the actress puts a strain on the relationship as issues from the past emerge once again. Neighbors, friends, and family are scandalized once more and know they will be again when the movie comes out, and things just generally become more difficult. In the midst of this, Natalie Portman’s character is trying her hardest to get in the head of the woman she is portraying while also trying to get the real story behind what happened. She’s subtle and manipulative of everyone around her but it’s ambiguous in the end as to who was truly using who in the movie.

While this is supposed to be darkly comedic, I didn’t realize that while watching. I guess there are parts you could find comedy in but the situation is so disturbing it’s hard to wrap my head around any of it being played for any kind of laughs.

So far, out of the films I have watched for the Oscars, this is the one I would most recommend skipping, not just because of the trauma aspect to it. It’s fairly slow paced and dull. But, Moore and Portman, as usual put in solid performances and newcomer Charles Melton also shines with a subtle but intriguing character.

The Award

I will say the screenplay here is original and there is one thing it does quite well. It gives us every perspective possible. There are no good or bad guys here, everyone is multidimensional and complex. But I still keep coming back to the fact that having sex with a minor is a crime, even if years later the couple is still together. So, while I understand the perspective shown of Julianne Moore’s character, I can never find where we should think to forgive her.

Natalie Portman’s character is not all innocent either as she seems to enjoy stirring up a bit of trouble as long as it gets her what she wants. And she does the one thing she knows could ruin the relationship between the wife she is portraying and her husband and seemingly has utterly zero regrets about it.

It is a film that you will still think about after if you watch it. Personally, i don’t think this film has enough here to take home the Oscar. It’s up against The Holdovers, Maestro, Past Lives, The Holdovers and Anatomy of a Fall. Every one of those has had more momentum in awards season than this one so this is a long shot.

In Conclusion

There are a lot of movies in the Oscar categories this year and while I recommend most of them, unless you are a huge fan of Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, or Todd Haynes as the filmmaker, you’re probably okay to skip this one. There is good writing here, no doubt, and the characters feel real and fleshed out, but it’s such an uncomfortable watch, without much payoff to it, that it may not be worth your time.

Skippably yours,

Slick Dungeon

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Oscar Nominated Documentary Shorts – Movie Review

Hey film fans, Slick Dungeon here! I am back on my quest to review every film nominated for an Oscar and review it. This time I am reviewing a bunch of movies all at once as I go through the nominations for Best Documentary Short Film. Here’s the thing about these. I almost hate to review these because each and every one of them took a great effort and a massive amount of time for the film makers. All of them talk about something that is either important to life or our society in general. So, to say that one is better than another in a category where there are not Hollywood stars, the films were made from the passion of the filmmakers, and each covers an important topic is almost impossible. I absolutely recommend you watch each and every one of these films. You can find all of them streaming for free somewhere so it doesn’t cost you anything but time. But, in the end, one of these has to win over the others. Therefore, I will do my best to let you know about each film and then I will give you my guess as to which one will win. Do be warned there are spoilers for all of these so if you haven’t seen them go watch first and come back here to read the review. (You should watch them anyway even if you just go ahead and read the review)

The ABC’s of Book Banning

There has been a lot of debate in America about books lately. There is a group of people who tends to want to restrict access to reading material based on a variety of factors, especially in the public school and public library systems. This makes obtaining appropriate reading material difficult for a large group of children. This film specifically takes a look at Florida, one of the states most notorious for denying reading material to kids based on LGBTQ issues and topics discussing race in history. What this film dares to do is to hear from the children who are affected. We see several kids of varying ages talk about what reading means to them and how confusing it is to them that books are missing from the libraries. Anyone thinking this is a topic that doesn’t matter should watch this film and rethink their stance. Allowing kids access to reading materials is vital to the future generations and a small group of people deciding what other people’s children can read is unjust. You can see this clearly when one of the kids talks about how she cried all day the day her library pulled most of their books down. The film does a good job of covering the perspective of the children but it perhaps could have used a little bit more buildup of the context of what has already happened here.

The Barber of Little Rock

The Barber of Little Rock is about a man named Arlo Washington. He is a barber in Little Rock, Arkansas as the name implies. But he is so much more than that. Out of all of these documentaries, Washington may be the man able to claim to have made the most change in his own community. He found himself in a situation where someone was desperate and asked for a loan. Arlo, trusting in human nature and being kind to others gave the loan which was then paid back in full. This gave him the idea to revolutionize the entire banking industry in his area. Banks in America, for those who do not know, have had a long, long history of treating black Americans worse than white Americans. Washington founded a non-profit community bank which will give loans to people in desperate situations or to those who want to open a business but can’t get a loan from the regular banking system. And guess what? Almost all of the loans he gives out are paid back. It turns out that when you help people in need, they not only appreciate it, they meet their obligations. It is absolutely clear in the film that he is literally changing lives in real time and making incredible community change.

Island In Between

Island in Between is a fascinating look at the island Kinmen, which is a democratic Taiwanese island that is so close to mainland China they can see it across the water. The story of the island is told by S. Leo Chiang who has lived in Taiwan, China and the United States and gives a great narration of the Cross-Strait relations, also interweaving tales from his childhood and growing up in the three places. We even see in the documentary some of the weaponry that is necessary on Kinmen, should China decide to attack. But Chiang balances this with his experiences of meeting people in China and finding them to be just as interesting, exuberant and joyful as those in Kinmen. The film is a unique look at a unique place from a unique perspective.

The Last Repair Shop

Just as there are not enough books in schools in America, there are not enough musical instruments for children to play in the public school system. Often times, people can’t afford an instrument very easily and those instruments sometimes break. In Los Angeles there is a warehouse where only four or five people work and they keep more than 80,000 instruments in good repair. The documentary tells the story of some of the kids who play the instruments and interweaves that with the stories of the few people who work at the repair shop. It’s clear both the kids and the repair workers are absolutely devoted to music and this is a meaningful thing in their lives. They all come to it in different ways and all have compelling stories to tell. It’s a fascinating look at a niche subject which affects far more people than you would expect. And, of course, the music in it is brilliant.

NǍI NAI & WÀI PÓ

If you need a life affirming film that will lift you up and make you smile, this is the one. This is about Sean Wang’s paternal and maternal grandmothers who are the best of friends and live with one another in their later years. The film shows joyous depictions of the two of them living their lives, depending on one another, and in general, being silly, fun, and entertaining human beings. They both have a zest for life but each one has a slightly different perspective on hardships and aging. It’s a slice of life film that will stand the test of time because the exuberance of these two cannot be contained. It’s a reminder that we are all human and here on this earth together.

In Conclusion

Again, it is so hard to simply choose one film as the “best” here. If I was to pick based on production value, The Last Repair Shop wins hands down. If I was to pick based on the most meaningful content, I would have to go with The Barber of Little Rock. If I was to pick based on the most relevant issue today, I would choose The ABC’s of Book Banning. If I was to pick based on the most unique story I would pick Island in Between. And if I was to choose the one that leaves you with the best feeling in the end, I would choose NǍI NAI & WÀI PÓ.

But, here is what I think could happen in this category. While they are all worthy, I believe the ones with the best chances here are The Last Repair Shop, The Barber of Little Rock and NǍI NAI & WÀI PÓ. My preference to win is The Last Repair Shop because I think it is bringing the most meaningful impact to a large but relatively unknown problem. But I also think NǍI NAI & WÀI PÓ has the most momentum. I am predicting NǍI NAI & WÀI PÓ as the winner. As always, don’t take my guess as a better measure because I don’t have the best track record here.

Yet, whoever wins in this category, I can say with absolute certainty that they are deserving of the award.

Praisingly yours,

Slick Dungeon

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American Symphony – Movie Review

Hello film fans! Slick Dungeon here back to review another film nominated for an Oscar. This time I am diving into the documentary American Symphony which is nominated for best song. There will be spoilers for the movie below so if that sort of thing bothers you, dance your way to the film, give it a watch, and dance your way back here to read the review.

What’s it about?

From the outside it looks like John Batiste is simply on top of the world. He was the leader of Stay Human, the band that plays on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, he had been nominated for 11 Grammys, and he was getting ready to make his debut at Carnegie hall with an original symphony.

But life is more complicated than it might seem from the outside. At the same time all of this was happening, John Batiste’s wife, Suleika Jaouad, was battling leukemia.

The film documents a year in the life of the talented musician, highlighting his ups and downs, his struggles with anxiety, and the challenge of navigating through one of the busiest times of his career while also dealing with major issues in his personal life.

Through the film it is easy to see that Batiste is not only a brilliantly gifted musical artist but a genuinely caring person who is going through a lot of things all at once.

Considering the fact that Batiste has so far won 5 Grammys I don’t have to tell you that the soundtrack here is brilliant. Batiste blends traditions from New Orleans jazz with pop sounds and classical music together in a unique way making for an unmistakeable sound.

His idea is to create a symphony that could be made today with all types of musicians collaborating on it and coming together in a classical orchestra.

Despite the troubles he has in his personal life, Batiste pulls it off in incredible and stylish fashion. But the film also lets us in on Batiste’s emotions by intercutting scenes from his life with scenes from the preparation and performance of his symphony.

All in all it is an incredibly moving, and life affirming documentary.

The award

After watching this documentary, I feel that leaving off of the list for Best Documentary is a definite snub by the Academy Awards. There is a lot going on here and while there are several other good documentaries up for that category this year, not all of them are as good as this one.

But, the award this film is nominated for is Best Song. Again, not nominating this for Best Score seems like an injustice. The song in the film nominated for the award is called It Never Went Away and is created by John Batiste and Dan Wilson. To say that the song is anything other than brilliant would be wrong. Out of all the Best Song nominations, this is the most well crafted from a passionate musician who knows music. However, there is huge competition here. Batiste will have to win out over Diane Warren and Billie Eilish which is no easy feat. I would say he might get lucky with Barbie splitting the vote with two songs nominated in the category but luck would imply that this is not an incredible song. I still think due to its popularity that one of the songs from Barbie will win here but if the world was fair Batiste would win hands down. And he may. He did beat out several musicians before.

Yet even talking about who might win Best Song in the context of this film seems wrong if you have heard Batiste’s Grammy acceptance speech. In it he says, “I believe this to my core, there is no best musician, best artist, best dancer, best actor. The creative arts are subjective and they reach people at a point in their lives when they need it most. It’s like a song or an album is made and it’s almost like it has a radar to find the person when they need it the most.” This is a beautiful sentiment and after watching American Symphony I truly believe he means every word of it.

While he might not think there is a best anything, I think he truly deserves to win in the category nonetheless.

In Conclusion

If you want to see a good documentary about an interesting couple with tons of heart, heartache, joy, success, struggle and emotion, American Symphony is a fantastic choice. It’s moving and enjoyable and it simply proves there is no one else on earth like John Batiste.

Symphonically yours,

Slick Dungeon

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Society of the Snow – Movie Review

Hey there film fans, it’s me, Slick Dungeon! I’m here to review yet another Oscar nominated film. This one is Society of the Snow which is nominated for two Oscars, one for Best International Feature Film and one for Best Hair and Makeup. Fair warning here, this film was based on a real life disaster and how people survived a harrowing plane crash and being stranded on the Andes mountains for weeks in the middle of winter. In other words, all the trigger warnings because this film gets into dark, dark territory. Also, obviously, spoilers for the film follow below.

What’s it About?

In 1972 an airplane flying from Uruguay to Chile heading over the Andes mountains crashed. The flight held 45 passengers and was chartered to transport a Uruguayan rugby team to Chile. Upon impact several of the 45 people lost their lives. The plane broke apart into sections in the crash. After the initial crash there are several survivors, including the pilot but the pilot is on the brink of death. Some of the passengers try to find out where they are from the pilot but the information he gives is not clear enough to be of much use.

The injured are cared for as much as possible but some are clearly going to die. The passengers believe a rescue is inevitable and they simply need to wait a day or two until they will be found. In fact, they have good reason to believe this as they do see planes flying overhead. But days pass and no rescue comes.

At one point the passengers are able to find a radio and can receive real time news updates on it but they can’t communicate back out to the world. They hear that the search has been called off due to the extremely bad weather conditions. The passengers ration what little food they have found in suitcases and on the remains of the part of the plane they were in and try to survive.

An effort is made to try and find the tail section of the plane which the group believes is behind them because it split off on impact. But, the nights are barely survivable for even the most fit of them who are losing strength fast. They have to give up the search for the rest of the plane because it is simply impossible to climb the mountain with the gear they have.

As more people die, succumbing to injuries or the cold, the situation becomes even more desperate. There is no food, although the snow does provide water. The group is not at all equipped to make another effort to climb, no rescue is imminent, and there are no other resources to be found where they are on the mountain. The group had to decide how they will survive. The only possible source of food is found in the deceased passengers preserved in the snow. Extreme measures have to be taken and the protein that the consumption of their fellow passengers helps some of them to survive.

At the point that around 27 of the passengers are somewhat safe inside the remains of the airplane, another disaster hits. An avalanche buries them in snow. Several people do survive this impact and work to unbury their friends. Almost as soon as they do, another wave of snow impacts them and buries them a second time. Miraculously several people do survive this as well.

The group has to decide what to do and it is eventually decided that three of them will hike down the mountain, rather than up and hopefully find a source of food or make their way to another living human being. Three of them set out but one has to turn back because of an injured leg that is quickly becoming infected. Yet the expedition is a success. The two remaining hikers actually find the tail section of the plane which landing in front of the nose of the plane far down the mountain. There is a small amount of food there and even more importantly, a battery for a radio they can connect.

More days and weeks pass but they are not able to get the radio working and they decide once again to go down the mountain after the person with the injured leg succumbs to the infection. They take some supplies with them but only enough food to last for about a week. They estimate the hike into Chile would take around three weeks. The pair are confronted with the choice of either risking their own lives and continuing or turning back and waiting at the plane in the hopes rescue will resume. They decide to push on and incredibly, they do find someone.

The group gets help and the rescue efforts resume. In all, 16 out of the 45 people on board survive and are rescued by helicopter.

Throughout the film the survivors wrestle with questions of what is right and wrong, what they can do to survive, the meaning of all of this, and generally get quite philosophical.

If you are reading this and are a film lover like myself you might think this story sounds familiar, not just because it was a true story but because there was another film made about it. That is true. In 1993 a movie starring Ethan Hawke was released called Alive which recounted the same story. However, that version was a bit more fictionalized and starred Hollywood actors. Society of the Snow uses mostly newcomers to acting from Argentine and Uruguay.

Society of the Snow also treats the subject matter with greater care and respect than Alive did. For a film filled with newcomers, they sure seem like experienced actors because every moment of the film is believable.

The Awards

First off, this movie is nominated for Best International Feature Length Film. I would say this has a strong chance of winning but it has to compete with a film nominated also for Best Picture in The Zone of Interest. Still, the story is absolutely engrossing and nail biting from the moment the plane crashes until the end. It’s an extremely well made film about an impossibly difficult subject which handles the material deftly. Even if this never wins an Oscar it is well worth watching, although it is not for the feint of heart.

The other category this film might win in is Makeup and Hairstyling. Often, when we think of Makeup and Hairstyling we think about either makeup made to enhance the good looks of actors or we think about makeup used to create some horror creature that haunts our imagination. I think it’s great that Society of the Snow is up for this category because the hair looks like it came directly from a photograph from 1972 and the makeup is used to convey the more and more desperate situation the survivors find themselves in. While we know the actors portraying the characters are not starving, emaciated and sunburnt to extreme levels (at least we hope not) they sure look like they are. This is because the makeup is used in the right way here. It’s used to enhance the storytelling. But in this category, I think Society of the Snow will ultimately lose out to Poor Things or perhaps Oppenheimer.

In Conclusion

Society of the Snow may or may not win an Oscar but if you watch the film, it is going to stay with you. This is incredibly good filmmaking, acting, directing, cinematography and even makeup and hair. But, truly if you are disturbed by tragic situations and difficult events I don’t recommend you watch it. Also, if you have any fear of flying, stay as far away from this film as you possibly can because this film will make that fear much worse.

If you don’t fall into those categories and you haven’t seen this film, you should definitely watch it. It’s absolutely strong enough to be in the Best International Feature Film category and may have only missed out on the Best Picture nominations because it seems like a remake of 1993’s Alive (although it is not) and because 2023 was an exceptionally strong year for movies in general.

Snowily yours,

Slick Dungeon

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El Conde – Movie Review

Well hello there movie lovers! It’s Slick Dungeon here and I am back to review yet another Oscar nominated film from 2023. I’m talking about the film that answers the age old question of what if a Chilean dictator was actually a vampire? And what if that film was shot beautifully? Then I must be talking about the seriously odd film, El Conde. This one is a bit of a weird ride so if you haven’t seen the film yet, fly on over to see the movie and come back here to read the review.

What’s it About?

The film starts out with a voice over telling us the story of a French soldier named Claude Pinochet. This dude is a vampire and he is found out. Mobs do what they do and try to kill him but he survives. He takes on a new identity and watches the French Revolution happen. From this point forward, Claude vows to suppress any destructive revolution he can in the world.

We then fast forward to 1935 where Claude joins the Chilean army and changes his name to Augusto Pinochet. If that name sounds familiar, that is because Augusto Pinochet was the real life dictator who overthrew the socialist government of Salvador Allende in 1973. Turns out he was a vampire. In this movie both metaphorically and literally. He demands his family refer to him as “Count” and he decides to fake his own death after years of ruling Chile with an iron fist.

He moves to a remote farm with the rest of his family and starts to lose interest in life. But his family also knows they are owed an inheritance out of Pinochet’s ill gotten gains. The only problems are that Pinochet is practically immortal and he has forgotten where he hid all his treasure.

One night someone starts killing people in the town of Santiago and consuming their hearts. Augusto’s family assumes this is him, deciding to extend his immortal life even further. But, in reality this is Fyodor, a white Russian who has worked for Pinochet for years and is the only person Augusto has turned into a vampire. The family is unaware of Fyodor’s part in the murders but they know their inheritance is at risk.

This is where a nun named Carmen comes in. She is hired to find out what happened to the money and to destroy Augusto Pinochet once and for all. She uses her charms to get information out of the family about all of their terrible secrets and tries to exorcise Pinochet. But Pinochet is too strong and seduces Carmen, allowing him to turn her into a vampire.

This prompts the narrator to reveal who she is and take action. It turns out the narrator is the mother of Augusto Pinochet and Margaret Thatcher. (checks notes) Yep, that Margaret Thatcher. Thatcher comes to reveal the truth to Pinochet who she is and demands that he kills Carmen. But it turns out becoming a vampire was all part of Carmen’s plan to expose the corruption of the Pinochet family.

Fyodor is having none of that and he captures Carmen and burns up the extensive documentation she has of the crimes of the Pinochet family. Then, Fyodor and Augusto’s wife, Lucia try to kill Augusto. But he’s been a vampire for longer and he is able to kill both Lucia and Fyodor.

Margaret and Augusto flee and the family is left to face a group of nuns looking for anything they can find. Augusto decides to remain in the country and wait to find more leftists to destroy.

All in all, the film has a bit of magic realism to it with a bit of an insane plot. But it’s well acted and comes together well enough.

The Cinematography

Whether you like the plot or not, the film is not up for best screenplay or picture, it is up for best cinematography. This is a category that can often be confused with directing. Basically, cinematography is the totality of how a film looks. Everything you see on screen, from the lighting, to the angle of the camera, to the focus and the camera movement falls into the category of cinematography. As an audience, it’s one of those things where you might be hard pressed to explain it but you know it when you see it.

El Conde is shot in a black and white style, reminiscent of the old Universal monster movies like Dracula or Frankenstein. I’m always a sucker for a film brave enough to choose black and white and look like a monster movie. But it also plays with this trope by letting the vampires in question look like pudgy old men who don’t seen so threatening when you take a close up look at their wrinkled faces. And the story also interplays with this style by having the characters be people who we know did real and terrible things in our own reality. Just because someone looks like a pudgy old man does not mean he is not capable of great cruelty if he has access to power.

The visuals from the film stay with you long after you have seen it, which is another good sign of great cinematography. There is no doubt this film looks great and is well made. A great example of the showcasing of the cinematography is when the family is at dinner and we are able to see all the schemings and machinations of the family members. Add in scenes where vampires are flying over the city in sweeping camera motions to frame the dictator as something dangerous and above us.

The soundtrack also works well here, using mostly classical sounds to reinforce the idea of this being something like, but not quite, a true monster movie.

As far as whether or not this will win, it is at this point hard for me to say. Out of all the films in this category I have so far only seen El Conde and Oppenheimer but I hear great things about the cinematography in Poor Things and Killers of the Flower Moon so I think this will be a category with some tough competition.

In Conclusion

The acting is good in the film, the directing is competent but the cinematography is actually outstanding whether or not El Conde wins in the category. As far as a film experience, this movie won’t be for everyone. You have to be comfortable with a bit of dark humor, a bit of magic realism, an amount of gore and a pretty over the top plot to enjoy it. But it will be one of the most unique films you see this year if you watch it.

Vampirically yours,

Slick Dungeon

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Nimona – Movie Review

What’s up film fans? Slick Dungeon here once again reviewing one of the 2024 Oscar nominated films. This time I watched a movie about a girl with spirit teaming up with the most wanted man in the realm in the animated feature Nimona. This is one of the films up for Best Animated film for 2024. Be forewarned there will be spoilers in this review. If you find that sort of thing problematic, put on your armor, head over to your couch, learn what a real monster is by watching the film, and then come on back here to read the review!

What’s it About?

Nimona starts out like a classic fairy tale, with a narrator reading from a book about a kingdom in the past with a hero named Glorantha who vanquished a monster. We then fast forward a thousand years and that same kingdom is basically a medieval yet futuristic kingdom protected by an elite class of knights who prepare to fight monsters. A wall has been built around the city to keep any monsters at bay as well.

An unusual event is happening in the kingdom because for the first time a commoner is about to be knighted. This is Ballister Boldheart. He is worried about the reaction to his knighthood but his boyfriend and fellow knight Ambrosius Goldenloin reassures Ballister before the ceremony.

But at the ceremony, things go about as wrong as they can. Ballister picks up his sword which is rigged to kill the Queen. Acting quickly, Ambrosius disarms his boyfriend by, well, literally taking his arm off. Before he knows it, Ballister is a wanted fugitive, trying to hide from his fellow knights and clear his own name. He goes into hiding and crafts a prosthetic arm for himself.

The film really gets going when a shapeshifting girl named Nimona shows up and wants to be Ballister’s villainous sidekick. Ballister is still trying to clear his name, Nimona is looking for a friend, and the two basically team up to figure out what is going on.

There are plenty of fun action sequences where Nimona shapeshifts and Ballister attempts to maintain his innocence while doing things that look guilty on camera. Meanwhile, Ambrosius is torn between his loyalty to the crown and his love for Ballister.

Ballister also tries to get Nimona to stop shapeshifting and just be a regular girl. But, of course, that’s not who Nimona is and she doesn’t take kindly to being told what to do.

Throughout the film we find out that Nimona is more than what she seems until it is revealed that she is actually the monster that was banished a thousand years ago. But there is more to the story. Nimona, it would seem, is the one who was wronged for just being who she is. She was never trying to hurt anyone.

Things come to a head with both Nimona and Ballister where it looks like Ballister is the most wicked man in the realm and Nimona is about to destroy the city. But through their connection, Ballister is able to pull Nimona back from the brink of destruction and clear his own name. Thus the two of them become heroes while the real villain, the Director, who plotted everything from the beginning is exposed to the masses.

The heroes come together, Nimona is seen for who she is, Ballister is lauded for his bravery and he is able to have a life with Ambrosius. This is all done with a good amount of punk rock attitude.

The Animation

The animation is solid and it’s a neat blend of past and future which brings about a unique look for the film. The action is frenetic and satisfying and it has a killer soundtrack as well. The voice talent is strong, especially with Rhiz Ahmed as Ballister and Chloë Grace Moretz as Nimona.

While the blend of past and future is innovative, and the look of the film is unique, the animation isn’t so compelling as to be anything you haven’t seen before.

The Fun factor

The story is solid and the soundtrack is good but what makes this movie stand out is the sense of fun here. Nimona’s attitude is decidedly unconventional and it’s honestly refreshing to see that in an animated film. Even as she’s planning to do evil things, you can’t help but be on her side. And with Ballister as the foil to her attitude the whole thing just works pretty well.

It’s definitely one of the more enjoyable Oscar picks this year and is worth a watch if you enjoy animation.

In Conclusion

While Nimona has a lot going for it, and I do recommend it as a viewing experience, I don’t think this one will win the Oscar. The biggest innovation here is letting the characters be themselves in a world where most animated characters have to fit in a neat little box. The way the movie plays around with identity and the understanding of what makes a hero or a villain is nice to see. But ultimately, there were better animated films released in 2023 and Nimona would be a pretty long shot to win. Winning an award is not the only reason someone should watch a movie though. Look, if you are wanting a good time with an animated film, you could do much, much worse than Nimona. If you haven’t seen it, I do recommend it. Just don’t hold your breath expecting it to win the Oscar.

Heroically yours,

Slick Dungeon