Frozen
Dir. Chris Buck & Jennifer Lee
The tale of Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen is one of those properties that has been kicked around the Disney animation studios for decades (since the 1940's) and finally, after some 70-odd years, they've finally cracked the code to adapting the story. With music and lyrics coming from the same team that brought Broadway hits Avenue Q and The Book of Mormon to life, and clever writing and direction from Jennifer Lee (Wreck-It Ralph), Frozen will not leave you cold (sorry I had to).
Although there are love interests in the film, the crux of the story does not revolve around a "Prince Charming," but rather on the relationship between two sisters, Anna (Kristen Bell) and Elsa (Idina Menzel). When they were children, Elsa, who has the power to create snow and freeze things, accidentally hurt her sister with her ability. Since then, in Rapunzel fashion, she was shunned from any outside activity in her room, slowly waning the sisters' bond. But as Elsa grows older and finally becomes queen, the two have a misunderstanding, resulting in a fight, leading to Elsa accidentally creating an eternal winter and running off into the mountains. It's up to Anna to go on a quest to get her back, and along the way she meets friends and sings with them (a la Wizard of Oz), including a mountain-man named Christoff and Olaf, an animate snowman with ironic dreams of the summer.
The songs, while not being quite as instantly memorable or catchy as the top-tier Disney films of the 90's (Aladdin, Lion King), are very well constructed and feel appropriate for a Broadway presentation. They always move the story along and/or develop the characters and range from hilarious ("In Summer") to powerful ("Let it Go," which is probably the showstopper of the film; Idina Menzel nails it). In Disney fashion the humor works for both kids and adults, with Kristen Bell's awkward and sincere Anna feeling very relatable, and although he only appears halfway through, Josh Gad's Olaf the Snowman practically steals the film as soon as he's introduced. It's a charming film, even if it follows the Disney formula to a T.
You'd think the decades-long stint of development hell would spell disaster out for Frozen, but it really was a fantastic film - and if the world is rotating on its right axis should be rendered a current classic in the Disney canon. It's funny, heartfelt, has an amazing musical score and soundtrack, and although it succumbs to the traditional Disney schmaltz we expect, it still ranks among their better features as of late.
Rating: B
Philomena
Dir. Stephen Frears
At the beginning Philomena, Martin Sixsmith (Steve Coogan), a journalist without a story, is presented with an option of following Philomena Lee (Judi Dench), an aging woman whose long-lost son she has been searching for for fifty-odd years. He responds something to the effect of 'human stories are small minded and bullshit.' In many ways this was sort of my attitude going into this film. I didn't necessarily think I'd care about this story, which seemed rather slight in comparison to the other year-end "Oscar-contending" films - but I, just as Martin did, was brought and sucked into this absolutely fascinating story with many layers, unraveling the truth behind Philomena's past and present. Philomena will come at you very subtly, until you realize you're holding your breath at what will happen next. It's undeniably a comedy (as its poster protests), but it's so much more than that.
I loved almost everything about this film. Coogan and Dench are the best screen pairing I can think of this year, and their relationship is incredibly sincere. The culture gap between the two birthed many genuinely funny scenes, and their developing rapport gave the latter half of the picture a lot of heartstring-pulling moments. The story goes in places you wouldn't necessarily expect (at least I didn't), and I definitely could have cried if I wanted to. Also worth noting is the brilliant score by Alexandre Desplat, whose soft, lullaby-like music strikes this perfect balance between sweetness and sadness, perfectly encapsulating the feel of the film and Dench's brilliant performance (one of the best of the year).
Other than absolutely trivial nitpicks (such as the over-use of home movie footage of the lost boy during transitions), I loved everything about this movie. It deals with themes of aging, religion, guilt, and self-discovery, all wrapped in a neat little bow by co-screenwriter Coogan with his fantastic script. Also, the cinematography, especially around Ireland and Washington DC, was stunning as well (from Fish Tank's Robbie Ryan). I would recommend this film to just about anyone.
Rating: A
Out of the Furnace
Dir. Scott Cooper
Jeff Bridges won the Academy Award in 2009 for Scott Cooper's Crazy Heart as a grizzled, down-and-out country singer - and in many ways Out of the Furnace is a logical follow-up to Cooper's first theatrical film. Russell Baze (Christian Bale), is always looking out for his baby brother Rodney (Casey Affleck), as economic times are crumbling in the old steel town of Braddock, Pennsylvania. Rodney eventually goes off to Iraq, and comes back a changed, angry man - and takes out his aggression in violent fights set up in the backwoods countryside by the violent DeGroat (Woody Harrelson), which obviously doesn't bode well.
Out of the Furnace does a great job establishing its atmosphere, and the actors are all top notch (just looking at the cast list is impressive: Bale, Harrelson, Shephard, Affleck, Whittaker, Dafoe - this may be one of the best "casts" in a film this year), but the film ended up too predictable and melodramatic to be much more than an acting showcase. It's pretty much The Deer Hunter in a more modern setting, showing the devastation of coming back from war, and turns into a kind of revenge flick. The post-war stuff in the beginning works much better in my opinion than the straightforward second portion. It's a fine film with some great moments and great performances (Harrelson in particular sticks out), but never really comes together to make something special.
Rating: C+
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