Richard Linklater delivers another slice of nostalgic Americana with his latest effort and while it's far from disposable, I admit to feeling slightly disappointed. The "boring white childhood" criticisms levied at 'Boyhood' are more appropriate here imho, as there's a lot of banal navel-gazing even as the story ultimately looks to the stars. Still, it's worth a look as a well-edited piece of speculative fiction and it hits some heartwarming coming-of-age beats.
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Turning Red 2022
'Turning Red' is another strong addition to Disney's animated canon, with a deft blend of a thematically-rich storyline that's also just plain fun. The puberty metaphor is pretty clever, enhanced by a social context that nimbly allows for its underlying critique of familial traditions. The ending isn't surprising but the journey there is told with such energy and style!
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Soul 2020
With some experimental visual concepts and philosophical themes, Soul marks a welcome departure for Pixar into more ambitious, mature work.
Though its heady nature sacrifices some of their trademark emotional power, this is truly accomplished and elegant filmmaking otherwise. Wondrous animation, lovely music and thought-provoking script. -
Ascension 2021
Was unsure about this at first, but this observational documentary won me over as it navigates the social ladder towards the "Chinese Dream." Mesmerizing footage, skillfully assembled. As we witness this society aim to compete with American levels of consumption, it'll have you wondering if this is a race to the top, or bottom?
