Thursday 14 January 2010

Mini Reviews - Stop-Motion

‘Mary and Max’

Who would of thought that this little film about two pen pals, one a lonely little 8 year old girl in Melbourne Australia, and a 44 year old New York man suffering from asperges symdrome by Australian film maker Adam Elliot would end up resonating with such honest emotion.

His sharp take on the world of misfits and the wonderful character design make this one of the must see films of the year. I have not laughed so much at any film so far this year. The wit on display is nearly out shone by the depth of feeling.

Such a sad thing this will probably not be one of the five best picture nominees for this years Oscar, simply because not enough people have seen it.


Grade - A-






‘The Fantastic Mr Fox’

What a wonderful year it has been for animated films, especially stop-motion animated films. This film by Wes Anderson i s no exception. Witty, weird and wonderful (even if you do wish the central character would be smacked down a peg or two) with some of the most humorous and visually striking set design to be seen all year.

Such a shame that animated films still have such a long way to go before they would ever be considered for some of the more artistic awards (Art Direction, Cinematography, ect) because this film makes a very good case for that.

Grade - A-

2 comments:

S said...

I loved Mary and Max and would vote for it in a second over UP(which I also loved, don't get me wrong).

I cried buckets at the end of M&M, much more affecting than the lauded opening montage (still, quite brillant) of UP.

Easily one of my Top Ten of 2009.

Passport Stamps said...

Wow! Mr. Parsons, I'm surprised to see two "A" grades. You are usually a very touch graders. I haven't watched any of these movies but I'll be checking them out. Very excited to see Fantastic Mr. Fox