The Lunchbox (2013) - The withheld, sad, overrated Mumbai correspondence romance

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An information-packed modern specialty release poster for Ritesh Batra's The Lunchbox

An unfulfilled housewife in Mumbai one day gets her husband's lunchbox delivered to the wrong man, an equally unfulfilled accountant. Her husband doesn't notice the mix-up and doesn't appreciate his wife, who ventures forth on a correspondence with the accountant stranger, who values her.

The Lunchbox is written and directed by debuting Ritesh Batra (Our Souls at Night (2017)) with Vasan Bala (Peddlers (2012)) supplying some dialog. Despite the marketing, which indicates a bubbly romance, The Lunchbox is mostly quite sad SPOILER and actually never really develops into a regular romance, - only perhaps after its ending, - because the accountant decides to hold back, when he meets the younger woman who has been sending him lunchboxes and letters.
Despite fine observations and humanity, the film stands a bit too still and appears somewhat as an overlong short film more than a full-bodied feature. Weighing up are keen insights into social and societal dynamics in Batra's birth city Mumbai and in India on the whole, as well as some amusing episodes.

Related post:

Ritesh Batra: 2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED V]

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 3.1 mil. $
Box office: 17.24 mil. $
= Huge hit (returned 5.56 times its cost)
[The Lunchbox premiered 19 May (Cannes Film Festival, France, critics' week section) and runs 105 minutes. Batra started the project in 2007. 15 companies were involved with the funding and creating of the film. The actors reportedly rehearsed together prior to filming for 6 months, which seems a dubious fact. Shooting took place in 29 days in 2012 in Mumbai, India. The film opened #53 to a 44k $ first weekend in 3 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #18 and in 165 cinemas, grossing 4.2 mil. $ (24.4 % of the total gross) during its long 29-week release there. It was the year's 3rd highest-grossing Indian film outside of India. It was nominated for a BAFTA, won 2/3 Asian Film award nominations and several other honors. Controversy arose when the Film Federation of India chose another film as its Oscar entry of the year over The Lunchbox, namely The Good Road. Batra returned with Masterchef (2014, short) and theatrically with The Sense of an Ending (2017). Irrfan Khan (Jurassic World (2015)) returned in Meridian Lines (2013), Nimrat Kaur (Peddlers (2012)) in 3 shorts, Homeland (2014, TV-series) and theatrically in Airlift (2016). The Lunchbox is certified fresh at 96 % with a 7.7/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Lunchbox?

Sausage Party (2016) - One outrageous, funny, horny adult animation

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An appropriately outrageous, funny poster for Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon's Sausage Party 

 

Sausage Party is the first R-rated CGI-animated movie, described as a spoof on Pixar movies by some, it is a furiously horny raunch-comedy. It is writen by Seth Rogen (Superbad (2007)), Evan Goldberg (The Night Before (2015)), Kyle Hunter (The Night Before) and Ariel Shaffir (The Night Before), with Jonah Hill (21 Jump Street (2012)) contributing story elements, and directed by Greg Tiernan (Thomas & Friends: Sticky Situations (2012)) and Conrad Vernon (Shrek 2 (2004)).

Frank, a sausage who is in love with a bun named Brenda, has high hopes of the divine afterlife outside the store which are to be fulfilled on 'red-white-and-blue day' (4th of July). But new intelligence rocks the food items' firm belief in a great beyond...

Sausage Party deals with more real content than most audiences probably expect: SPOILER Namely the idea of a divine afterlife, - and in doing so staunchly reproving and rejecting all religions, which isn't my cup of tea, but at least it's done with a lot of humor here. SPOILER And on its ambitious path, it also attempts to solve the Israel-Palestine conflict and reproves reactionary, Islamic politics!

 

 

But don't kid yourself: While doing these seemingly serious things, Sausage Party delivers enough f-bombs and more finessed sexual references to satisfy even the most vulgar teen or adult. It really is outrageous SPOILER and, of course, all culminates in a joyous, funny, exhilarating food orgy. - Literally. The film also references countless movies and celebrities.

Of the many star voices in the film, Rogen and Kristen Wiig (Ghostbusters (2016)) as the leads do well, - although there wasn't that much Wiig-quality to Brenda, perhaps a side-effect of the lovely funny-woman's simply over-working herself these years. David Krumholtz (Hail Caesar! (2016)) is funny as Lavash, and Edward Norton (Moonrise Kingdom (2012)) stands out as Sammy, - in a good or bad way will be up to the individual viewer, - with a voice that's very recognizably shaped on Woody Allen. Salma Hayek (Frida (2002)) is also good fun as a lesbian taco.

Sausage Party is filled with amusing moments and some that are laugh-out-loud funny. The animation isn't on par with Pixar movies, (but look at the budget and go figure), and is still of impressively high quality. It is an outrageous, very funny and very horny movie, bringing to mind such flicks as Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sex *But Were Afraid to Ask (1972) and Fritz the Cat (1972). It could only come from the warped, baked minds of Goldberg and Rogen.

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 19 mil. $

Box office: 114.3 mil. $ and counting

= Huge hit

[Sausage Party premiered March 14 (SXSW Austin, Texas Festival) and runs 88 minutes. Rogen has stated that the film took 8 years to get made due to hesitance and fear in Hollywood and has said of its development: "What would it be like if our food had feelings?’ We very quickly realized that it would be fucked up." The film dodged a NC-17 rating by removing some pubic hair from one of the food characters in the film to receive its R-rating. Controversy has surrounded the film's production, as animators have allegedly been forced to work overtime without pay to complete the film on its assigned budget. A large number of animators have reportedly been removed from the credits due to complaints about this outrageous praxis, alleged to have been at the behest of co-director Tiernan. (This story seems to explain some of the reason why the film could be made for such a low budget.) The film opened #2, behind Suicide Squad, with a 34.3 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it stayed #2 for another week and remained in the top 5 for 5 weeks in total, and has to date grossed 93.9 mil. $. The film has yet to open in several important markets and so is likely to gross a good deal more still. Rogen has talked of an idea for a sequel, which is likely to materialize now. Sausage Party is certified fresh at 82 % with a 6.7 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Sausage Party?

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) - Lord and Miller debut with inspired, imaginative children's book adaptation

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+ Best Family Movie of the Year

A hunger-inducing poster for Phil Lord and Christopher Miller's Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Flint is an inventor in a little, hopeless island town in the Pacific, which is known only for its sardines. He builds a machine, which makes it rain food, but because it comes to follow the mayor's motto of 'bigger is better', it ends up causing some serious problems.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is a loose adaptation of a children's book by Judi and Ron Barrett (Animals Should Definitely Not Act Like People (1988)). At its core lies the very funny and imagination-appealing idea of it raining foods, and the film cleverly spins several poignant satirical observations over our greed, over-consumption and stupidity as a species around this premise, without ever becoming preachy or depressing. It is driven along at a high pace that may leave some adults breathless and involves many impressive, outrageous effects. Besides the truly eye-popping animation and really solid material, Cloudy also benefits greatly from a stellar voice cast headed by Bill Hader (Inside Out (2015)) and Anna Farris (Observe and Report (2009)).
It is the feature debut of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who had previously been supervising directors on the animation TV-series Clone High (2002-03) before they got this gig. They have since made it big with their hits, 21 and 22 Jump Street (2012; 2014) and The Lego Movie (2014). They are continuing with both franchises as producers and are launching several other projects at the moment, clearly bent on becoming big-shots in the movie business.

Related posts:

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller: The Lego Movie (2014) - GLue and near-robotic square-mindedness gets a kick in the head in the year's surprise family favorite

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] 

A Russian poster for the film

The cover of the children's book that Phil Lord and Christopher Miller's Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs adapts shows how little the two products have in common style-wise

Watch the trailer here

Cost: 100 mil. $
Box office: 243 mil. $
= Minor flop
[Part of Sony Pictures Animation's first slate of films, Cloudy's relatively good, although not spectacular hit status was important. A large part of the film's profits undoubtedly stem from secondary products (DVD's and merchandise). It spun a sequel, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013), which did even better (274.3 mil. $) on a significantly lower budget (78 mil. $), which is in the range of the studio's animation budgets (9 titles 2006-13, 55-110 mil. $ each).]

What do you think of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs?
If you have seen the sequel, how is it?