Ne Zha (2019)

 Ne Zha is a Chinese animated film in which the protagonist is a small child. He doesn’t look small, but he is. Ne Zha is an evil child having been fused with the Demon Pearl at birth. Attempts to keep him locked at home usually fail and chaos ensues in the nearby village. The film is currently streaming on Netflix. It was a film I had never heard of, but I’m ultimately glad I watched it.

The animation is gorgeous. There are beautiful sequences featuring fire and water and it’s breathtaking to watch. The protagonist is unusual for an animated film, but it makes him all the more interesting.

Ne Zha is actually two years old, but looks older presumably due to the Demon Pearl’s influence. He’s got permanently bags under his eyes, the creepiest smile and the insignia of the pearl on his forehead. He’s a troublemaker and despite all the trouble he’s caused, you sympathize with him because none of it is his fault.

His parents Lord Li and Lady Yin lie to their son and tell him he’s actually fused with the Spirit Pearl. The creature fused with the Demon Pearl is fated to die at the age of three after a lightning strike and the parents want their son to live as happy a life as possible until then. Ne Zha’s childhood is filled with loneliness and manipulations as he’s made to live without the company of others and with the lies he’s told. Despite his malevolence, Ne Zha is endearing. He can’t help being evil and all he wants more than anything is a friend.

The main message of the film is that you alone are responsible for your fate. Ne Zha is being influenced by a whole slew of people including the spirits responsible for his fusion and his friend Ao Bing.

There’s a lot going on in this film and it all happens rather quickly. The best moments of the film occur when things slow down and we can truly appreciate the action of the film even if it is as silly as a battle with a water troll.

“Ne Zha” is fun. There is a lot thrown at you at once. The beginning is a balancing act of reading the subtitles and trying to process all the information given. Stick with it, though. It’s worth it.

The Witches (1990)

 

The Witches is a film I had grown up hearing about, but never actually watched. Orlando wanted to rewatch it, having seen it as a kid, and so I finally watched it for the first time in my life. I think my brother saw this film as a kid and I don’t know if he was scared of it so we never watched it again growing up, or if there was some other reason, but honestly this film was mediocre so I don’t think I would have liked it as a kid anyway. The film is based on a book by Roald Dahl and there are some images that probably scared some kids back in the day. The basic premise of The Witches is a small boy needs to stop the witches from turning every child in England into a mouse. 

I was pleasantly surprised to see that this was a Jim Henson production. Henson, is of course, involved in the puppetry aspect of the film. The film itself left me confused as the credits started rolling.

The film opens with a grandma (Mai Zetterling) telling her grandson Luke (Jasen Fisher) a bedtime story about the witches she encountered as a kid and how her friend went missing by their hand. The witches live all around and no one notices their existence as the only way to tell them apart is by noticing a purple glow coming from their eyes. They hate kids and want to rid the world of them. After his parents die, Luke begins to live with his grandmother and it is at her home that he has his first encounter with a witch. After the grandmother has diabetes related health issues, she and Luke head to the seaside for fresh air. The hotel they’re staying at happens to be the sight of the witches’ convention led by the Grand High Witch (Anjelica Huston). The witches are planning to fill chocolate bars with a potion that turns children into mice so that they can then be killed.

Luke overhears the plan and, unable to escape, is captured by the witches and turned into a mouse. He’s able to talk and for the rest of the film, he and his grandmother try to stop the plan. Another boy Bruno (Charlie Potter) was turned into a mouse before Luke, but isn’t much help. Of course Bruno’s parents don’t believe he’s been turned into a mouse until he talks to them. The hotel manager (Rowan Atkinson) is also determined to kill the mice as he has received complaints about them. Luke manages to use the potion against the witches turning them into mice, and eventually a good witch turns Luke back into a boy.

The Witches is a relatively slow film. There’s nothing inherently wrong with slow films, but honestly not much happens. The stakes don’t seem to be very high despite the opposite being true. The film lets us know in this manner that our protagonists are going to succeed in their endeavors. There are silly moments that balance out the creepy witch looks. Rowan Atkinson is funny as is expected. Anjelica Huston is also great as the Grand High Witch.

The effects when the witches take of their masks is actually pretty cool. They manage to make the witches so hideous and in spite of when this film was made, the effects of removing their face masks is quite convincing. I give so much credit to the special effects team because those hideous faces still hold up after all these years. 

I’m not sure if I’ll watch the remake of this film. Maybe I will as this original film left me with questions. I asked Orlando to clarify some of the confusing aspects and he honestly couldn’t answer them. It’s not a bad film, but it’s not exciting and ultimately filled with loose ends.

The Lovebirds (2020)

 

Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (2018)

 3.5 Stars 

PG, 90 minutes

I haven't seen the first Goosebumps film. Orlando saw it and for one reason or another was never able to take me to see it in theaters, and it is not included in any of the streaming services. Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween was the only option I had.

As an avid reader of the Goosebumps series when I was younger, I wasn't sure what to expect as the premise, but it's simple enough. R.L Stine's unfinished manuscripts are able to come to life if unlocked. 

The sequel doesn't star any of the original actors and instead follows Sonny (Jeremy Ray Taylor), a middle school science enthusiast. 

I thought the film was fun. The escaped monsters are led by the always creepy Slappy the ventriloquist dummy (Mick Wingert). 

Sonny and his best friend Sam (Caleel Harris) are called to an abandoned house to pick up some junk. Here they discover and unpublished Stine manuscript as well as Slappy and unwittingly bring both to life. Sonny, Sam and Sonny's older sister Sarah (Madison Iseman) now have to find a way to put everything back in the book to save their small town. 

Slappy wants a family and when Sonny and Sarah start to look for ways to put him back in the manuscript, Slappy decides to bring everything Halloween related to life. More than a family Slappy wants a mother and he kidnaps Sonny and Sarah's mother (Wendi McClendon-Covey) and makes her his ventriloquist mother.

The climax of the film is admittedly simple to solve and you never feel as though anyone in the town or in the immediate family is ever in danger. 

Jack Black is the only original cast member to return as R.L. Stine himself, but he is not in the film for long nor does he do anything to help the protagonists. The main cast members do their best, but at times do across as a little over the top. 

Still, Haunted Halloween was fun and it kept me entertained for the duration of the film. 

If anything it makes me want to watch the first film even more. It did its job though, and put me in the spooky spirit.

All About Nina (2018)

 

• Title: All About Nina
• Written and directed by: Eva Vives
• Starring: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Common and Beau Bridges
• Run time: 97 minutes

3.5 stars ✨ 

This movie came out two years ago and it feels as relevant as ever. “All About Nina” stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead as the titular Nina, a comedian who uses a major comedy audition in Los Angeles to escape her abusive New York boyfriend. Nina is an imperfect protagonist who, despite her screw ups, you hope succeeds. Eva Vives’ script and direction shows an unglamorous side of Los Angeles to perfectly reflect Nina’s struggles. Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Common work great together, even if their relationship is a little too convenient.

Howard (2018)

 

https://voca.ro/1fI7QFk6Y0MT

Winchester (2018)

The Winchester mansion in San Jose, California is a real place, built in the early 20th century by Sarah Winchester. It’s a massive place with doors that lead nowhere and hundreds of rooms all built to keep any spirits killed by the Winchester rifle at bay. I felt as though the film wanted to make some sort of commentary about gun violence, but decided at the last minute to become a standard horror film full of jump scares. The movie stars Helen Mirren and Jason Clarke and it’s easy to spot the scares a mile away.