"Strange World" Review (Spoilers)
Dec. 25th, 2022 01:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
matt_zimmerAlso reviews for a Sonic The Hedgehog short, 2 Minions Mini-Movies, and the novel Cycle Of The Werewolf.
Strange World
That was nice. That might sound from some critics like damning with faint praise. And no lie. The movie isn't fantastic. But nice movies are a rarity in 2022. I approve of them existing, whether they are fantastic or not.
So here is the situation as it stands. That was a solid movie. I won't even say VERY solid. It was "good enough". Better than what Pixar has been doing lately, and MUCH better than Lightyear. And the film has been a lightning rod for criticism not just due to the poor box office performance, but for rightwing backlash to its diversity and inclusion of same sex relationships. And I'm wary of pushing back against that politically. My concern is if it negatively effects the movie or not. And it of course does not. But I am also mindful that as the most diverse Walt Disney Studios movie ever some people will believe (not without reason) it had an obligation to be amazing and groundbreaking in both story and pathos. And while I understand the need for people rooting for diversity to want material engaging in it to be as high a quality as possible, I think that mindset is wrong-headed.
A diverse and LGBT-friendly kids movie has the absolute right to merely be okay. It is under absolutely NO obligation to knock people's socks off. I think people decided that because this movie is well, NOT a groundbreaking story or idea, to pile on, and accuse it of being nothing special.
In my opinion it doesn't have to be. I think the reason it upset so many people is because it portrayed those relationships as normal, happy, and healthy. And the way you know respect for diversity and gender equality has really seeped into society's consciousness is when so-so projects start portraying that as normal and no big deal. People were threatened by this movie for refusing to make the things it portrayed controversial. There is nobody ragging on Ethan for liking a boy and the race differences of Searcher and Meridian are not commented on once. The fact that the movie just portrays all this as a given and woven into the fabric of this society WHILE merely being pretty good is a far bigger threat to bigoted orthodoxy than if the movie had been both bold and amazing. It's the NORMALCY the happy family is treated with in a average, not-great movie which is what many people perceived as dangerous. And let me blunt. Bigots are RIGHT to be threatened by that. Pop culture making AVERAGE kiddie flicks with gay characters and interracial couples? I see entirely why the knives were out.
This movie got a LOT of crap for not being amazing. Me? I think the fact that it's quality is middling is very encouraging to me as far as diversity in media goes. The fact that it's in the background and no big deal is why people were so upset. And I'm very glad they were and I hope more average movies like this come out and normalize loving relationships and diverse families.
I haven't really delved deep into the movie itself. I think the only real scene I loved was Searcher and his dad on the deck as he grumbles and tries to explain why he didn't try harder to get home. I also like and appreciate the fact that we are given no context as to when this adventure takes place, on what planet, what happened to Earth, or even if the humans from this reality are FROM there. It all feels very sci-fi pulp for that reason and adds an element of unsolved mystery as well.
Is the Turtle Maturin? Is it a Stephen King Dark Tower reference? Wouldn't shock me.
Certain critics of the movie will call it dangerous propaganda on one hand while claiming it's a boring, lukewarm snooze on the other, not realizing it can't be both. I think it's a lukewarm movie, but for those silly, wrong critics, I would guess its normalcy is the most dangerous thing about it. ***1/2.
Sonic Drone Home
My problem is while the actress they got to do Tails sounds sort of like Colleen O'Shaughnessey, Fred Tatasciore sounds nothing like Idris Elba. Took me out of things a bit. **1/2.
Post Modern Minion
Bill Watterson once opined that the trick of modern art is realizing who is putting on who and I see a great deal of that notion in this fun short. ****.
Minions And Monsters
The animation is gorgeous in this one. And the Minions are a adorable as ever. ***1/2.
Cycle Of The Werewolf by Stephen King
I don't know. This specific King story feel a bit CONSTRAINED in a way little of the rest of his stuff does. He had to keep the action to one night a month. The chapters are short because it's an illustrated book (and Bernie Wrightson does a fabulous job at that). The present tense narration is something King goes back to later in Black House and Mr. Mercedes, but it feel less immediate here, and more amateurish instead.
And while I like the boy hero of wheelchair-bound Marty Coslow, none of the other characters in the book are particularly likable or memorable. Although Reverend Lowe is a pretty good villain.
What surprised me most about this book being so underwhelming when I first read it a couple of years ago is that I believe the movie adaptation Silver Bullet is pretty great. Few movies based on King's work are better than the actual work outside of maybe The Shawshank Redemption, Stand By Me, and okay, Christine. But I dug Silver Bullet and yawned at this.
Of course I saw Silver Bullet years ago, and who knows if I'd still like it? But the Lowe reveal in that movie was WAY cooler.
King acknowledges in the afterward he fudged the timeline of the lunar cycle. The thing is just because he acknowledges that mistake, doesn't make it an all right or forgivable mistake, intentional or not. Sometimes in fiction, a writer pointing out the error themselves makes you forgive it a little. Instead it seems to me here a case of King knowing better and simply admitting his laziness, (which isn't admirable at all).
The artwork is cool but the prose by King is an actual misfire. **1/2.
Strange World
That was nice. That might sound from some critics like damning with faint praise. And no lie. The movie isn't fantastic. But nice movies are a rarity in 2022. I approve of them existing, whether they are fantastic or not.
So here is the situation as it stands. That was a solid movie. I won't even say VERY solid. It was "good enough". Better than what Pixar has been doing lately, and MUCH better than Lightyear. And the film has been a lightning rod for criticism not just due to the poor box office performance, but for rightwing backlash to its diversity and inclusion of same sex relationships. And I'm wary of pushing back against that politically. My concern is if it negatively effects the movie or not. And it of course does not. But I am also mindful that as the most diverse Walt Disney Studios movie ever some people will believe (not without reason) it had an obligation to be amazing and groundbreaking in both story and pathos. And while I understand the need for people rooting for diversity to want material engaging in it to be as high a quality as possible, I think that mindset is wrong-headed.
A diverse and LGBT-friendly kids movie has the absolute right to merely be okay. It is under absolutely NO obligation to knock people's socks off. I think people decided that because this movie is well, NOT a groundbreaking story or idea, to pile on, and accuse it of being nothing special.
In my opinion it doesn't have to be. I think the reason it upset so many people is because it portrayed those relationships as normal, happy, and healthy. And the way you know respect for diversity and gender equality has really seeped into society's consciousness is when so-so projects start portraying that as normal and no big deal. People were threatened by this movie for refusing to make the things it portrayed controversial. There is nobody ragging on Ethan for liking a boy and the race differences of Searcher and Meridian are not commented on once. The fact that the movie just portrays all this as a given and woven into the fabric of this society WHILE merely being pretty good is a far bigger threat to bigoted orthodoxy than if the movie had been both bold and amazing. It's the NORMALCY the happy family is treated with in a average, not-great movie which is what many people perceived as dangerous. And let me blunt. Bigots are RIGHT to be threatened by that. Pop culture making AVERAGE kiddie flicks with gay characters and interracial couples? I see entirely why the knives were out.
This movie got a LOT of crap for not being amazing. Me? I think the fact that it's quality is middling is very encouraging to me as far as diversity in media goes. The fact that it's in the background and no big deal is why people were so upset. And I'm very glad they were and I hope more average movies like this come out and normalize loving relationships and diverse families.
I haven't really delved deep into the movie itself. I think the only real scene I loved was Searcher and his dad on the deck as he grumbles and tries to explain why he didn't try harder to get home. I also like and appreciate the fact that we are given no context as to when this adventure takes place, on what planet, what happened to Earth, or even if the humans from this reality are FROM there. It all feels very sci-fi pulp for that reason and adds an element of unsolved mystery as well.
Is the Turtle Maturin? Is it a Stephen King Dark Tower reference? Wouldn't shock me.
Certain critics of the movie will call it dangerous propaganda on one hand while claiming it's a boring, lukewarm snooze on the other, not realizing it can't be both. I think it's a lukewarm movie, but for those silly, wrong critics, I would guess its normalcy is the most dangerous thing about it. ***1/2.
Sonic Drone Home
My problem is while the actress they got to do Tails sounds sort of like Colleen O'Shaughnessey, Fred Tatasciore sounds nothing like Idris Elba. Took me out of things a bit. **1/2.
Post Modern Minion
Bill Watterson once opined that the trick of modern art is realizing who is putting on who and I see a great deal of that notion in this fun short. ****.
Minions And Monsters
The animation is gorgeous in this one. And the Minions are a adorable as ever. ***1/2.
Cycle Of The Werewolf by Stephen King
I don't know. This specific King story feel a bit CONSTRAINED in a way little of the rest of his stuff does. He had to keep the action to one night a month. The chapters are short because it's an illustrated book (and Bernie Wrightson does a fabulous job at that). The present tense narration is something King goes back to later in Black House and Mr. Mercedes, but it feel less immediate here, and more amateurish instead.
And while I like the boy hero of wheelchair-bound Marty Coslow, none of the other characters in the book are particularly likable or memorable. Although Reverend Lowe is a pretty good villain.
What surprised me most about this book being so underwhelming when I first read it a couple of years ago is that I believe the movie adaptation Silver Bullet is pretty great. Few movies based on King's work are better than the actual work outside of maybe The Shawshank Redemption, Stand By Me, and okay, Christine. But I dug Silver Bullet and yawned at this.
Of course I saw Silver Bullet years ago, and who knows if I'd still like it? But the Lowe reveal in that movie was WAY cooler.
King acknowledges in the afterward he fudged the timeline of the lunar cycle. The thing is just because he acknowledges that mistake, doesn't make it an all right or forgivable mistake, intentional or not. Sometimes in fiction, a writer pointing out the error themselves makes you forgive it a little. Instead it seems to me here a case of King knowing better and simply admitting his laziness, (which isn't admirable at all).
The artwork is cool but the prose by King is an actual misfire. **1/2.
