Out Now – Good Friday 2014

The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Andrew Garfield’s version of Spider-Man is back along with his wide-eyed love interest Emma Stone. Lots of people had less than enthusiastic things to say about the first in this series but I enjoyed it, the cast are great, and if we’re really honest with ourselves the Tobey Maguire films weren’t exactly Shakespeare either. Count me in for more from Garfield and friends.

The Love Punch
This heist film starring some of Britain’s older (but not old) actors is being hailed by some as another film for grey haired fans of the silver screen but the film’s star Emma Thompson disagrees. Thompson sees this comedy as not being for the elderly but for being for everyone and I agree. Just because a comedy doesn’t star people in their twenties doesn’t mean it can’t be enjoyed by that demographic. I am a twenty-something and I love a bit of Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

We Are the Best!
Hugely enjoyable period film set in 1980s Stockholm in which three young girls start their own punk band. In my review I describe the film as being like a “warm, slightly baggy, jumper” and frankly there’s nothing better to watch on a long bank holiday weekend.

Magic Magic
Sharing a writer, director, star, and location with this year’s earlier release Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus (a film I will get round to watching any day now, promise) Magic Magic is an independent thriller set in Chile with a cast of bright young things including Michael Cera, Juno Temple, and Emily Browning. I’m curious.

Wrinkles
Traditionally animated Spanish drama about life in a retirement home. This looks quite intriguing as it tackles the issues of growing old and fearing both death and losing quality of life long before death. With a 15 certificate this is definitely not a kid’s cartoon.

The Sea
A widower returns to the seaside town he frequented in his youth as he tries to come to terms with his wife’s death. While not exactly laugh a minute this film does serve to answer the question of what Bonnie Wright has been up to since the Harry Potter films ended.

Locke
British drama comprised of nothing but Tom Hardy in a car driving home from London to Birmingham. Over the length of the film Hardy as the titular Locke takes a series of phone calls that apparently change his life as he juggles a work crisis with trouble on the home front. Something a little different and a most intriguing premise.

2 States
Indian romantic comedy about a couple from opposite cultural ends of India who fall in love but can’t get married until their families give their blessing. A 100% Indian version of Guess Who’s Coming Together.

Reaching for the Moon
“A chronicle of the tragic love affair between American poet Elizabeth Bishop and Brazilian architect Lota de Macedo Soares.” Brazilian!

East of Eden / Rebel Without a Cause / Giant
A triple bill of James Dean re-releases from 1955/1956. A gluttony of delight for any James Dean fan or an education for a James Dean virgin. Probably a hard line-up to find so head down to the BFI if you can.

Is the Animated Feature Oscar Just for Kids?

A large number of films have been submitted for the Best Animated Feature Oscar at the 2012 awards, and despite there being a good mix of family films and more adult features I can’t help but feel that only those with a child friendly approach will have any chance of taking home a statuette.

The 18 submitted films are:
Rango, Kung Fu Panda 2, Puss in Boots, Rio, Cars 2, Hoodwinked Two! Hood Vs. Evil, Gnomeo & Juliet, Mars Needs Moms, Winnie the Pooh, The Adventures of Tintin, Arthur Christmas, Happy Feet Too, Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, The Smurfs, Alois Nebel, A Cat in Paris, Chico & Rita and Wrinkles.

Amongst the list I can see two films I know to be aimed at a more mature audience, Chico & Rita with its story of love and music, and Alois Nebel the beautifully dark tale of a man haunted by the past. The latter absolutely blew me away and deserves all the awards it can get, yet I cannot imagine it getting the gong in February next year.

Looking back at the winners in the Best Animated Feature category, only established in 2001, the winners are always films for all the family. Six of the previous ten winners are for Pixar films, and I hope it isn’t too controversial to call these family films suitable for all ages. This is not a criticism as all six are excellent films, however these victories have meant that equally worthy, and perhaps less child-friendly, films such as The Illusionist and Persepolis have not got the recognition they deserve. Maybe it’s not even about being a family film but about being a fun comedy, something that animation is more synonymous with than drama.

The introduction of this category itself is thought to exclude animated films from the Best Picture category and, while certainly not against the rules for an animated film to win, has been the case so far. By giving the animated films their own category it sets them aside from live action features, almost suggesting a second place position and making them unlikely to take home the biggest award of all. This diminished ranking makes the Best Animated Feature Oscar feel like a more “fun” award and so much less likely to go to a dramatic film like Alois Nebel and more likely to go to a family comedy like Rango (which I adored too).

This is all just my personal opinion and I am more than happy to be argued against or even proven wrong in February. Animation is a true art form and deserves to be recognised as such whatever the genre the animation may be.