Anomalisa (2015) or, Depressed Adult Male

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Lead character Michael Stone looks himself in the mirror dejectedly on this poster for Duke Johnson and Charlie Kaufman's Anomalisa

Our protagonist Michael is a guru for the service industry and comes to Cincinnati to give a lecture but finds himself in a mentally disturbed state.

Anomalisa is an existential romance-drama written by Charlie Kaufman (Synecdoche, New York (2008)), based on his same-titled 2005 play, and co-directed by Kaufman and Duke Johnson (Mary Shelley's Frankenhole (2010-12)). It is made in fascinating, almost masochistically time-consuming stop-motion animation, which is carried out in very detailed and vivid fashion.
The story of Anomalisa is relentlessly downbeat; the theme of alienation dominates everything; the lighting, Michael's sudden infatuation with Lisa, a woman he meets in the hotel, and the day after. It takes place in a dispiriting tone of near futility in any kind of human relation, which is the feeling that encapsulates the overall very melancholic Anomalisa. It doesn't indicate that Kaufman has gotten any better, or lighter, mentally speaking.
Ultimately a question of temperament, taste and tolerance will decide whether you'll love Anomalisa to death or mostly shrug it off like a miserable cold, as was the way I more or less felt about it.

Related posts:

Charlie Kaufman: 2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]

2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
Adaptation (2002) or, Charlie Kaufman's Fictional Life (writer)
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002) or, The Gong Show Killer (writer)
Being John Malkovich (1999) - Jonze, Kaufman and Malkovich's great triumph (writer)

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 8 mil. $
Box office: 5.6 mil. $
= Huge flop
[Anomalisa premiered 4 September (Telluride Film Festival, USA) and runs 90 minutes. In the play, David Thewlis, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Tom Noonan also played the parts and sat on different parts of the stage and didn't move, only interacting through dialog. The film version should be identical, only different in terms of its media and that the action actually takes place. The film started as a short film that got off as a Kickstarter campaign that gathered 400k $, enabling funding for it as a feature to come together. The puppets were created with a 3D printer, and production lasted for two years. Paramount bought the worldwide distribution rights after the film's Toronto screening. It opened #34 in 4 theaters to a 135k $ first weekend in North America, where it peaked #18 in 573 theaters and grossed 3.7 mil. $ (66.1 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 321k $ (5.7 %) and France with 167k $ (3 %). The film was nominated for the Best Animation Oscar as the first R-rated animation to ever achieve this, but lost to masterpiece Inside Out. It was also nominated for a Golden Globe, 4 Independent Spirit Awards, and was the first animation to win the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice International Film Festival. Anomalisa is certified fresh at 92 % with a 8.4/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Anomalisa?

The Adventures of Tintin/The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (2011) - Affinities for Tintin, earlier Spielberg and film will decide your experience of this 3D mo-cap adventure

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The contours of the well-known cartoon characters stand out on this adventurous poster for Steven Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin

Tintin buys a model ship at a market, which is instantly coveted by the sinister, reckless Ivan Sakharine. Our young journalist hero and his dog Snowy will get to the bottom of the mystery!

The Adventures of Tintin is written by Steven Moffat (Coupling (2000-04)), Edgar Wright (Baby Driver (2017)) and Joe Cornish (Ant-Man (2015)), based on Belgian artist Hergé's (Fred and Mile (1931)) Tintin comics The Crab with the Golden Claws (1941), The Secret of the Unicorn  (1943) and Red Rackham's Treasure (1944), and directed by Ohioan master filmmaker Steven Spielberg (Hook (1991)).
The film is made as a motion capture animation, which means that actors have acted in special suits and had their performances captured for use for animators, who have created the characters and film with inspiration from these performances.
The film moves a bit too fast for us to really fathom the logic behind the fantastic plot; the filmmakers have focused too much on the incredible action sequences to enable this. Some of these, however, are rousing, funny and impressive, - with a 'camera' that leads one more to think of video games than films. - But they are allowed to drown out some of the stage that should have been used for storytelling.
Best in the film is, without a doubt, Captain Haddock whom Andy Serkis (War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)) gives fine life and his wonderful voice. The other characters are brought to life with varying degrees of luck, - some simply seem to lack just that; life. I couldn't help but miss Tintin actor Jamie Bell's (Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (2017)) real physical presence.
Some older audiences will not be able to watch The Adventures of Tintin without dreaming themselves back to the good old days of Indiana Jones (the memorable first three films were made by Spielberg in 1981, 1984 and 1989), as the movie icon Spielberg really walks the opposite, modern CGI plank all out here. The Adventures of Tintin is a mixed experience.

Related posts:

Steven Spielberg: War Horse (2011) - Spielberg visits WWI with problematic horse drama Super 8 (2011) - Abrams' nostalgic family crowdpleaser (producer)
Band of Brothers - TV mini-series (2001) - WWII-sacrifice and -comradeship portrayed with skill and integrity (producer)
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) - A robot fairy tale with both heart and mind
Amistad (1997) or, Must... Free... Slaves! 
Empire of the Sun (1987) - Spielberg's grand production of boy-in-China-during-WWII is a misfire
Twilight Zone The Movie (1983) - Fear takes many forms in tragedy-struck anthology
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) - Spielberg's greatest accomplishment
1941 (1979) - Spielberg's bizarre 'comedy spectacular' sinks like a rock  
Top 10: Best car chases in movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
Duel (1971) - Spielberg's truck terror is ideal afternoon fare

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 135 mil. $
Box office: 373.9 mil. $
= Box office success
[The Adventures of Tintin premiered 23 October (Brussels, Belgium and Paris, France) and runs 107 minutes. Spielberg discovered Tintin and Hergé during his making Raiders of the Last Ark (1981), the first Indiana Jones movie. Hergé also became a Spielberg fan and wanted him to get the film rights but passed away before the two had met. Jack Nicholson and Roman Polanski were in talks to make Tintin movies in the following years, before Spielberg announced an animated Tintin film and partnered with fellow Tintin fan Peter Jackson (who acted as one of the first film's producers) on a mo-cap (motion capture) version, the first film to be directed by Spielberg, the second by Jackson and a possible third film co-directed by the two. Filming took place from January - March 2009 in New Zealand. The film opened #5, behind Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (the only other new release in the top 5) and Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, to a disappointing 9.7 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it earned more in the following week but left the top 5 and ended up grossing a slight 77.5 mil. $ (20.7 %), undoubtedly influenced by Americans' lesser familiarity with the Hergé source material than, especially, Europeans. The film's 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were France with 53.9 mil. $ (14.4 %) and the UK with 25.9 mil. $ (6.9 %). The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Score (John Williams, who was also nominated for Spielberg's other 2011 disappointment, War Horse), which it lost to Ludovic Bource for The Artist. It also won a Golden Globe, was nominated for two BAFTAs, a Grammy and many other honors. The sequel plans have sat on the backburner since the good but not impressive performance of Spielberg's first film. The Adventures of Tintin is certified fresh at 75 % with a 7/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Adventures of Tintin?

As Above, So Below (2014) - Below Paris lies terror in the Dowdle brothers' flawed but effective horror adventure mockumentary

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+ Best Mockumentary of the Year 
+ Best Paris Movie of the Year

Paris' Eiffel Tower is upside down on a mass of skulls on this curiosity-sparking poster for John Erick Dowdle's As Above, So Below

A highly educated and adventure-seeking female daredevil follows clues from a recent find in Iran on her deceased father's quest for the philosopher's stone to Paris, where she convinces a small group of fellow young people to join her search in the city's ancient catacombs.

After the dramatic pre-credit sequence in Iran, a big chunk of time is used on building up the story and the lead heroine's character: She sounds a bit like Indiana Jones but is deadly serious and too insane in her ideas to be relatable. She reunites with her friend Ben Feldman (Silicon Valley (2014-17)), who is easy on the eyes as more careful George.
The film's mix of mockumentary style, which usually clears out some of the feelings of the unreality of fiction, with wild adventure elements, (as when George makes a giant bell in the city chime after 300 years of silence), is fun and intriguing. - You just need to be game for swallowing a good dose of mumbo jumbo and sudden realizations that seem to come to our friends out of the blue.
SPOILER Members of the group die just as you would expect, - among them the black member, which makes As Above, So Below live up to the tired, old cliché that dictates that black people always die in mainstream horror films.
But the eerie catacomb adventure is both impressively made, - shot in the actual Paris catacombs, - and undeniably frightening, - especially if you believe (if just slightly) in hell.
As Above, So Below is written by brothers Drew Dowdle and co-writer-director John Erick Dowdle (Quarantine (2008)). It is a bit as if The Descent (2005), The Blair Witch Project (1999) and Chernobyl Diaries (2012) met with Indiana Jones and had a baby. It is original and brave, and though it tries more than it can fulfill, it is definitely worth seeing.

Related posts:

2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III] 

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 5 mil. $
Box office: 41.8 mil. $
= Mega-hit
[As Above, So Below premiered 19 August (Cambodia) and runs 93 minutes. Filming took place on location in Paris, France, including in the real catacombs, which was a very difficult place to shoot. Feldman suffers from claustrophobia and had to take breaks to cope with the anxiety-provoking set. The film opened #4, behind holdover hits Guardians of the Galaxy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and If I Stay, to an 8.4 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it left the top 5 in its second week and grossed 21.3 mil. $ (50.6 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Germany with 3.3 mil. $ (7.9 %) and Russia with 1.6 mil. $ (3.8 %). The Dowdle brothers has since made No Escape (2015) and are now busy with the Waco TV-movie coming out in 2018, starring Taylor Kitsch and Michael Shannon. As Above, So Below is rotten at 25 % with a 4.4/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of As Above, So Below?

Armadillo (2010, documentary) - Metz's transfixing, powerful Afghanistan War portrayal

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1 Film Excess nomination:


Best Documentary: Janus Metz (lost to José Padilha for Secrets of the Tribe)


+ Best War Movie of the Year
 

The human heart merged with a hand-grenade is at the center of this striking poster for Janus Metz's Armadillo

We meet some of the guys that make up the Danish army's Afghanistan Team 7, as they are heading to the Danish base in Helmand in South-Afghanistan to win the hearts of the people there and kill Taliban enemies.

Armadillo is an outstanding war documentary, which has added value for Danes, as watching it for a Dane is almost like flying down to the war and experiencing it with our brothers, sons and grandsons. It is also a tough reckoning for Danes especially, as the film encapsulates part of the change our nation has gone through in the post-9/11 world.
Feature-debuting director Janus Metz (Borg vs McEnroe (2017)) and his photographer Lars Skree capture the soldiers in impressively intimate moments as the adrenaline-hungry big boys that they were, and then we witness how the gravity of the war changes them. The film also portrays real war engagement, which is obviously shot at the risk of death.
Armadillo is a deeply moving and strong film of good forces at work in a hopeless war, and maybe the year's best documentary. Kasper Torsting (Ø (2016, miniseries)) contributed idea elements.

Related posts:

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

 Metz talks to Empire Magazine about the film here

Cost: Estimated 1.5 mil. $
Box office: 2 mil. $
= Some uncertainty (but looks like a big flop theatrically)
[Armadillo premiered 16 May (Cannes) and runs 101 minutes. Filming took place in Denmark and Helmand, Afghanistan. The film opened #1 in its native Denmark, where 118k paid admission to it. It opened #84 to a 3k $ first weekend in 1 theater in North America, where it grossed 14k $ (0.7 % of the total gross). The film's biggest market by far was Denmark with 1.5 mil. $ (75 %), and the 2nd and 3rd biggest were Norway with 391k $ (19.6 %) and France with 44k $ (2.2 %). The film was nominated for a European Film Award, won the Critics Week Grand Prize in Cannes, 3 Bodil Awards (Danish critics' award), 2 Robert Awards (Danish Oscar) as well as other honors. Metz has left documentaries with his second feature, period tennis drama Borg vs McEnroe. Armadillo is certified fresh at 90 % with a 7.6 /10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Armadillo?

300: Rise of an Empire (2014) - Murro's off-putting 3D bore sequel

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A bloody wave and the potent image of a sword-carrying warrior adorn this poster for Noam Murro's 300: Rise of an Empire

Greece is threatened by the evil Persians led by their God-like king Xerxes, partnered with a Greek-born Fury, so that Spartan leader Themistocles will have to venture out and strike them back.

The sequel to Zack Snyder's (Watchmen (2009)) great, visionary 300 (2006) is a colossal step down. It is written by Snyder and Kurt Johnstad (Atomic Blonde (2017)), based on Frank Miller's (What If? (1982)) unpublished graphic novel Xerxes, and directed by Noam Murro (Smart People (2008)).
The propulsive style of the original here degenerates into a bastardization of video games and porn, exceptionally vulgar and detached from reality, with a dedication to blood splatter that just exhausts the senses. 300: Rise of an Empire looks like a sequence in an action computer game, which just keeps going, and it results in a tremendously boring experience. - I, for one, would much rather play that game than watch this 3D turkey.
Hero Themistocles is played with a permanent look of constipation by Sullivan Stapleton (Kill Me Three Times (2014)), while Eva Green (The Salvation (2014)) brings passion to the role of the female empress, the Fury, who is the single bright spot in this mess. 300: Rise of an Empire is a strange creation, technically speaking, which has very little to do with film.

Related posts:

2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III] 

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 110 mil. $
Box office: 337.5 mil. $
= Box office success
[300: Rise of an Empire premiered 4 March (Hollywood) and runs 102 minutes. Filming took place in Los Angeles and in Sofia, Bulgaria from July - October 2012. The film was converted to 3D in post production. It opened #1 to a 45 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it stayed in the top 5 for another two weeks (#2-#5) and grossed 106.5 mil. $ (31.6 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Russia with 17.4 mil. $ (5.2 %) and Brazil with 17.3 mil. $ (5.1 %). Though successful commercially, the success was much smaller than that of the first film, which was a huge hit. Snyder has indicated that more sequels may be made. 300: Rise of an Empire is rotten at 43 % with a 5/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of 300: Rise of an Empire?

22 Jump Street (2014) - Lord/Miller's wobbly, vexing, overrated sequel

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The two stars look ridiculous in a veritable sea of spring-break youths on this poster for Phil Lord and Christopher Miller's 22 Jump Street

Our odd cop partner heroes of 21 Jump Street (2012) are given a new mission, which is like a copy of their last mission, only this time the drug problem is in a college instead of a high school, and once again they will have to go undercover.

22 Jump Street, which like its successful predecessor is based on the 21 Jump Street (1987-91) TV-series, makes it a meta-joke in itself that its plot is so close to the first film. The film often nearly implodes, because the filmmakers behind it also can't take their concoction seriously and stuff it with meta-jokes and references simply to keep it going.
Much of 22 Jump Street, in particular its editing, music and overall style, seems to have been created by - and for - galling teenagers with ADD. Channing Tatum (Logan Lucky (2017)) has gotten chubbier, and Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)) looks more tired than usual. Many of the scenes and jokes fall flat on their asses.
22 Jump Street seems long and a bit awkward. There are still a few fun moments, especially scenes with Jillian Bell (Idiotsitter (2014-17)) who is the funniest part of the film. It also has a funny poster sequence for future Jump Street sequels during the end credits.
22 Jump Street is written by Michael Bacall (Project X (2012)), Oren Uziel (Freaks of Nature (2015)) and Rodney Rothman (Grudge Match (2013)), with Hill contributing story elements, and directed by great directing partners Floridian Phil Lord and Washingtonian Christopher Miller (The Lego Movie (2014), both). The two have wisely moved on to other things after this.

Related posts:

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller: 2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
The Lego Movie (2014) - Glue and near-robotic square-mindedness gets a kick in the head in the year's surprise family favorite
21 Jump Street (2012) - Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill dish out some loud buddy cop fun
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) - Hefty-paced fun in 3D food lunacy 
 

Watch a teaser trailer for the film here

Cost: 84.5 mil. $
Box office: 331.3 mil. $
= Big hit
[22 Jump Street premiered 4 June (New York) and runs 112 minutes. Filming took place in Puerto Rico and Louisiana, including New Orleans, from September - December 2013. The film opened #1 to an excellent 57 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it stayed in the top 5 for 5 consecutive weeks (moving to #2-#2-#3-#4) and grossed a huge 191.7 mil. $ (57.9 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 31.4 mil. $ (9.5 %) and Australia with 21 mil. $ (6.3 %). The gross far exceeds the 201.5 mil. $ the first film made. The film's budget is listed as 50 mil. $ at Box Office Mojo, but a leaked final budget document lists it as the above, - and since an unreported 34.5 mil. $ tax credit seems unlikely, the final budget document's estimation is used here. Another info from the Sony leaks of 2015 concerns the series' further sequel plans, which are a film ('MiB 23'), which is to mix the Men in Black franchise with the Jump Street characters, directed by James Bobin (Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016)). With Bobin's latest major flop in mind, it is uncertain whether this strange crossover film will ever materialize. 22 Jump Street is certified fresh at 84 % with a 7/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of 22 Jump Street?

2012 (2009) or, Giant Mega-Stupid Movie!

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+ 3rd Worst Movie of the Year

A Tibetan monk looks on as an ocean suddenly engorges the Himalayan mountain peaks on this poster for Roland Emmerich's 2012

The Mayan Indians had figured it out centuries ago: Atypical solar activity makes 2012 a fateful year for planet Earth, which reacts with earthquakes, volcano eruptions and monstrous floods.

2012 has one thing going for it and one thing only: Insane CGI effects, SPOILER as when lead John Cusack's (The Paperboy (2012)) limo drives through a disintegrating Los Angeles... As incredible as this is to stare at is the ridiculous, trite and just plain stupid plot around it, which consists of inordinate amounts of screaming, wailing and obscurities.
Danny Glover (Dirty Grandpa (2016)) is the US president who wants to die. Oliver Platt (Chicago P.D. (2015-16)) is a villain because he wants to live... Chiwetel Ejifor (The Martian (2015)) has the film's perhaps dumbest role as an idealistic geologist. 2012 is just too asinine.
It is written by Harald Kloser (White House Down (2013)) and co-writer-director Roland Emmerich (Stargate (1994)).

Related posts:

Roland Emmerich: White House Down (2013) or, Duck, Mr. President!

2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]  

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 200 mil. $
Box office: 769.6 mil. $
= Big hit
[2012 premiered 11 November (9 countries) and runs 158 minutes. Emmerich has said about it that he "always wanted to do a Biblical flood movie." The 2012 doomsday theory that the film propagates is a Western concept, which draws from the Mayans and their talent for astronomy. The Mayans did not actually think the world would end in 2012. Filming took place in Las Vegas, Nevada, Los Angeles, California and in British Columbia, Canada, including in Vancouver, from July - October 2008. The film's marketing made use of a polemic Internet campaign that made people think that the world was actually going to end soon. The film opened #1 to a 65.2 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it stayed in the top 5 for another two weeks (both at #3) and grossed 166.2 mil. $ (21.6 % of the total gross). Luckily for the filmmakers, the rest of the world were more thrilled; the film's 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were China with 68.6 mil. $ (8.9 %) and France with 44 mil. $ (5.7 %). It was the 5th highest-grossing film of the year and Emmerich's second highest-grossing film, after Independence Day (1996). Roger Ebert gave it 3½/4 stars, completely opposite this review. The film was banned in North Korea, where 2012 was going to be an anniversary for the nation's founder, and several people were arrested for possessing or viewing the film there. Plans for a TV spin-off were eventually canceled. Emmerich returned with the William Shakespeare conspiracy theory movie Anonymous (2011). 2012 is rotten at 39% with a 5/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of 2012?