Lost, but 63rdward!

So Super Smash Bros. For 3DS was released in the meantime without comics. Yeah, that’ll do as an off-topic intro to this week’s movie log. I got it in digital form, played it a good while, unlocked all the available characters. What do I think about it? Well…

 The game itself is pretty tight. Controls well, it’s got a hectic but manageable pace. I’m maining Pac-Man, but I’m also leaning towards Bowser every now and then. What else is there to say about it? It’s Smash – a game series that not only came up a new genre, but it’s the only good, worthwhile game in that genre. There’s Smash and then there’s the rest.

 However, just a week and a half later, I feel like I’m done with the game right now. I’ve still got some things to unlock – stages, costumes, … bonus modifiers, I think… but I feel like I’m done enough mileage with the game. I don’t know, I feel like it’s something like Mario Kart. Not a bad game by any means, but one that makes itself abundantly clear when you’re done with it. You’ve mastered your tracks, you constantly get the first place, there’s nothing more to gain from it other than competition with friends. I’m not saying I’ve mastered all the characters here – let alone Pac-Man, or hell, even finished the game with every single character at the highest difficulty setting –, but I feel like that was fun, and from now on playing it by myself it’s gonna be a bit of rinse and repeat with different characters.

 Part of this problem comes from the content found in the game. It feels kinda lacking. I don’t know, maybe something like a Subspace Emissary (a.k.a. a story mode) would’ve been fine here. SmashRun sort of serves a similar purpose, but it never feels like a experience weighty enough to be satisfying. It’s something you play once or twice and you move on. It feels anonymous.

 But other fighting games don’t even bother with a story mode or extra content like Smash, so what’s wrong here? Well, I like other fighting games better. I’m a traditionalist, I like my big-ass sprites with the lifebars and occasional super-meters. Still, the mechanics here are excellent – it just works. But it should work better, with far more content on the Wii U.

 I liked it, but I’m not in love with it. It was a fling that I’ll cherish and revisit every now and then. Alright, so what do we got this time?

First up is Kei’ichi Sato’s Seint Seiya: Legend of Sanctuary. A reimagening of the original anime series by Masami Kurumada, it tells the stories and struggles of “Saint” warriors who fight dressed in armor based on constellation mythologies, all to protect or kill Saori Kido, the current incarnation of Athena. Seiya’s the leader of the good guys here, and he’s donning the Pegasus Bronze Cloth. And I don’t know what I’m telling you all this, if you’re coming from either Tumblr or deviantArt, you already know what’s going on here.

 I grew up with this series as a kid. It was pretty violent, and that’s all I needed to like it. But now that I think about it, the series was respectfully literal and solemn in its treatment of Greek mythology. The heroes must save Athena from a cursed arrow, and they have only until midnight to get to the top of the mountain and cast a moonlight reflection with a mirror on her to save her, but they’ll have to deal with 12 golden saints, all of them immensely strong – some of them are even godlike, no less, if they’re not gods themselves like Ares, Ades and Poseidon. Sounds like the adventures of Hercules, no less.

 I don’t think that mighty and heroic status is ever reached here. I could go on for ages about what’s changed and what’s preserved from the source, but I’m not that big of a fan nowadays. I can’t get angry about adaption and reinterpretation. But speaking as a Chilean – or rather, as someone who lives in Chile, where Saint Seiya hasn’t been a thing for over a decade now, I just wonder what’s the point of having this movie at our local cinemas. The tone and the looks are clearly for a younger generation, looking like a bishie hybrid of Iron Man and the more recent Final Fantasy videogames, yet the only audience this movie could ever get are grown-ups like me that saw the original series when they were young. From a Chilean perspective, this movie was a non-starter. The intended audience was non-existing, and the real audience had nothing going on here.

 Yes there is a musical number, and yeah, some characters and actions are changed to the point of nonsense. Some of them literally only appear to die, while others are shoved under the rug, only mentioned so fans could check them off their list. But no matter if it’s a Saint Seiya film or a brand new idea, it’s an incompetent, nonsense movie. It’ll make you mad if you’re a fan of the series, and it’ll leave you far, far behind if you’re not, with its penchant for references and quips.

 It’s a waste of decent CGI. Don’t.

Up next is James Gray’s The Immigrant, a movie I should’ve seen WAY earlier in the year. One of my favorite film critics gave it a glowing review back in Cannes 2013 and later he mentioned it as one of his favorite films of the year. And now I’m just checking out how great is, nearly a year and a half later. So what is it about?

 Escaping from the horrors of WWI, Ewa and her sister Magda arrive in New York hoping to start anew with their already-residing-there aunt and uncle. However, they get separated from each other because Magda has polio and she can’t leave Ellis Island. Hoping to buy her sister medication and a quick recovery, Ewa agrees to work for a local pimp who got her out charmed by her looks. A relationship already complicated between them will turn physical when his magician, romantic cousin arrives and fancies her too.

 On the surface, this looks like like a run-of-the-mill period film, but what the plot hides is the tremendous sense of individuality and motivation behind each character. Ewa, a fantastic Marion Cotillard, will try everything she can to get her sister back – there’s no return for them, it’s here or nothing. Her pimp Bruno, played by Joaquin Phoenix, will keep a tight leash on her but he’ll let her roam around protected and cared for. She’s something special to him – but money must come from somewhere. And his cousin Emil, played by Jeremy Renner, is pleasant and entertaining, but he’s willing to go the extra mile to get her – he’ll declare his love to her whereas Bruno won’t.

 It’s a fantastic film with deep, passionate performances, but what I like the most from here is that for a romance, this movie feels heartless. I’m not talking about it being cruel or hateful. I’m talking about every character saying what they have to say, doing what they have to do, in order to get by and see their goals met. There are no victims here, only ambitions. Even if the words hurt, they’ll say them not to cheat or steal from someone, but to tell an unavoidable truth. It’s never too heavy with the period framing to feel isolating, and it’s never too dark to let violence and explicitness take the wheel. It’s a maturely balanced film I can’t believe I didn’t check out earlier. Do yourself a favor and check it out.

Wes Ball’s The Maze Runner! A bunch of kids find themselves for no discernible reason in the middle of a gigantic, deadly maze. They don’t remember anything but their names. Still, though they’ve lost a handful, they’ve grown into a small, tight society with roles and protocols. Nevertheless, Thomas, the latest kid to arrive, will stir things up, leading up to a plan that will hopefully let them out of the maze, and/or answer why were they sent there in the first place.

 Didn’t like this one. It’s LOST for kids. It’s a mystery inside an enigma covered by riddles. It’s exasperatingly inconclusive. Nothing leads anywhere – and spoiler alert: not even the ending will do much for you here. It’s all setting up for, get this: phase two. Everything you’ll see here is a prologue for something else, and I wonder why couldn’t give us something here? What is there to gain from being this diffuse and aimless? What if there is no Maze Runner 2 for whatever reason – why would you need a Maze Runner 2 to justify your first movie in the first place?

 But hey. If you liked LOST, maybe you’ll find something to enjoy here. If I’m honest, I think the idea’s quite intriguing – yeah, I got myself caught on it despite everything. However, it’s the lack of any solid, tangible conclusion here what’s a serious turn off here. Just give me one thing I can look forward to. One answer that’ll be my north star when I get to the other side. Alas, nothing. This might as well be called “To Be Continued: The Movie, Part I”.

 Anyways…

Stop motion masters Laika are back with Graham Annable and Anthony Stacchi’s The Boxtrolls. This time around they’re telling the story of a city where boxtrolls (trolls wearing boxes) roam at night and under the streets, panicking the human population. But they’re far nicer than what they give them credit for, as they’ve adopted, raised and cared for a human boy with love. But a long gestating plan will put the Boxtrolls in trouble, and it’ll be up to this one kid to not just save them, but redeem them.

 Whereas Coraline and Paranorman got dark and nightmare-inducing with relative quickness and ease, this one’s more lighthearted and jovial. Nothing wrong there, especially considering all the rich ideas at work here: a kid raised by a tribe of monsters, only labeled as such by society. A city in which fine cheese and white top hats are major social symbols. Monsters wearing boxes, for crying out loud.

 What kind of troubles the movie is that it doesn’t really take full advantage of any of these ideas. There are too many things going on here – a forbidden friendship, a fish-out-of-the-water, a tribe of monsters, men hungry for cheese and power, conspiracies, murders, huntings, a master plan, a secret identity… so many things going on here and all they all clash against each other, stepping on each other toes so hard they’re not allowed to go far. This is a movie you could’ve taken out a couple of ideas, whichever they may be – even the Boxtrolls themselves – and it’d be better if only because of the optimization. This is not a bad story or a bad concept. It’s just a story too busy for its own good.

 If you’re into stop motion, you gotta check it out though, no question about it. But in any case, it’s their first misstep.

From Chile, we’ve got debuting director Alejandro Lagos’s Génesis Nirvana. A mother devastated by the death of her young child Génesis gets even more devastated when she learns the murderer won’t even spend time in jail – they let him go right away. With the justice system failing her, she’ll make sure he gets what’s due for him. And she’ll record the whole process, too.

 I mean, if you’re calling your kid “Génesis Nirvana” – as in, “the origin of absolute bliss” —, least you could say there’s something undeniably pretentious going on here. The movie never dives into the metaphysical, but through music-video like editing and photography it aims for depth and resonance when it only comes across as largely context-free.

 But then, the absolute, nearly innocent seriousness going on here works wonders. Mariana Loyola gives a shattered, nervous, timid, desperate performance – she’s just fantastic. Props should also go to the editing here, shifting from long, tense takes to quick-paced, cut-happy montages – that’s not a choice most would take, but here it works great, making you itchy and nervous with how quickly things escalate, to then give you a time to decompress and reflect with a very state-of-mind sequence.

 The movie’s a bit short, though, clocking at about 80 minutes, if I’m not mistaken. I previously mentioned I’m glad the French animation industry were making their movies condensed yet rich, never staying for too long yet always giving you a warm, very positive impression. Here… I can’t say it’s time badly spent, but all in all, you’ll feel a bit dry. You’ll want something more from it. Check it out to find out what I mean, but still, it’s a unique, emotionally engrossing genre-flick.

And… oh boy. Our neighbors across the Andes have come up with something. Damián Szifrón’s Wild Tales (or Relatos Salvajes, as it’s originally called). Different, non-crossing stories of rage, tragedy and payback. The violent, unforgiving payback. They’re stories about the assholes who make our lives miserably each and every day with their tiny details and hidden bullshit – but one day, it’ll be the day. The Day.

 What can I say about this movie? It’s just sensational. It’s terrifyingly funny, pushing buttons with such a bluntness you can’t help getting on these people’s side, trying to find a way you’d get away with murder in the scenarios they’ve made for themselves. Or even, how would you justify murder under these conditions. These stories are about broken minds, who were pushed so abruptly to the edge without any warning they’re willing to send everything to the everloving fucking shit.

 The performances are all… just top notch. They all convey anger and frustration in their own ways. One case in particular will shine through complete absence! They’ll be explosive, blind, unforgiving… which makes the end result all the more surprising. When the dust settles in each of these little scenarios, all of them will make a different sort of silence. Awkward silence. Total silence. Unintended silence. Satisfied silence.

 It’s a fantastic, thrilling film. Maybe these stories by themselves would’ve worked even better, but who knows. Who cares, even. The pace throughout the movie is a rollercoaster – it’s cyclical, but damn it’s a rush. If you’re having a shitty day, by all means, see this one. It’ll spiritually kick those motherfuckers who ruined your shit in the face. Even when our characters fail, you’ll feel pleased they didn’t go down alone.

That's it for now! It took me an extra day to get the log here because I couldn't access deviantArt for some reason. Anyways, best of luck!

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