juushika

Road to El Dorado, film, 2000, dir. Eric Bergeron, Don Paul
The plot is trite and unremarkable, and it slowly takes over the film, trying its best to squeeze the life from it. But what life! Under the predictability is a fantastic humor which is reminiscent of The Emperor's New Groove, blatantly quirky and self-aware, as gleeful as an awful pun. I thought it was hilarious, although the film is otherwise unsuccessful—still well worth watching if this is your sense of humor, too.

Frozen, film, 2013, dir. Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
What can I say that hasn't been said? Let It Go is the only great song, despite the content of Do You Want to Build a Snowman; the actual events of plot are hardly memorable; the humor is surprisingly successful. But that a story about the relationship between two sisters is redefining the future of Disney movies is amazing. I've seen talk about Elsa as the first Disney princess with a mental illness, and I appreciate this reading/representation but also take issue with it because Elsa finds a concrete and complete cure—which makes this an inaccurate and even toxic metaphor. I'm glad that Frozen exists, but parts of it hit close to home in ways that made it painful to watch, and I probably won't return to it.

Once Upon a Time, season 3, 2013-14
This show continues apace. The Peter Pan arc is one of my favorites so far, because Pan's characterization and Robbie Kay's acting create an intriguing capricious Pan that I find quite convincing, and the character development through this arc lingers in the morally gray. But as always, the show is underplotted and overwritten, and the end of the Pan arc is an unconvincing mess. The Wicked Witch arc is absolutely unremarkable, except that Hook continues to be the best of the cast. OUaT is always an exercise in disappointment, creativity meeting failed potential, engaging aesthetic meeting awful hair and makeup, good characters fouled by horrible writing, but I watch it anyway.

Orphan Black, season 1-2, 2013-2014
It took me a while to figure out if I found Orphan Black problematic and to my surprise, I don't. You can hardly blame me for my confusion, because it's uncommon to see good media about women's bodily and reproductive autonomy. Orphan Black is frequently uncomfortable to watch (and not always for the right reasons: the slew of suspense and action is exhausting) but it's necessary, it's sci-fi done right, it uses the speculative not to exploit but to explore anxiety around women's bodies and identities. And goddamn, but Tatiana Maslany can act—her near flawless performance and the specular clone effects make the show utterly convincing. Not flawless, but one of the best things I've seen in a long time.

Elementary, season 1-2, 2012-2014
The first Sherlock Holmes retelling I've encountered that focuses on the respect that Holmes has for Watson—something I didn't know I needed until Elementary gave it to me. Not all of the show's non-normative casting choices are actually that revolutionary, but there's a palpable sense of thoughtful intent in Elementary. The resulting effort is one of the only respectful and effective portrayals of addiction that I've ever seen and a core relationship fueled by mutual admiration, which is, frankly, a breath of fresh air, generally but for Sherlock Holmes retelling in particular. The amount that the show does right makes me forgive its other insubstantialities.

Oculus, film, 2014, dir. Make Flanagan
Surprisingly solid. In the eternal battle between suspense and payout, Oculus errs toward showing too much of the monster—and the ghosts just aren't that scary. But premise is phenomenally executed, especially in the editing: the cuts between contradicting, subjective realities are disorientating and effectively tense. It's not a particularly complex film, but that means it avoids a cheap twist ending and instead provides a punchy, taut story. Gillan's acting is a fantastic finishing touch (although her hair styling leaves something to be desired). Oculus isn't superb, but it's solidly enjoyable.

Hemlock Grove, season 2, 2014
The first few episodes suffer as the show tries desperately to return to status quo, undoing much of the end of the first season; the plot also has a shaky, piecemeal start. The middle gains momentum, but the end wavers—some plot threads end too predictably, too many dangle, and the effect feels rushed. Season two has a sense of sequelitis—the violence in particular is cranked up to ridiculous levels—but provides welcome more of the same: the show's strengths are its indulgent supernatural elements, which appear in droves, and its characters, who have even more complex interpersonal relationships this time around (hey, a poly relationship!). An uneven effort, but I liked season one and was happy to have season two—Hemlock Grove is about aesthetic and indulgence, and need not be particularly refined to be enjoyable.

Hard Candy, film, 2005, dir. David Slade
A teenage girl preys on an older man and suspected pedophile. Hard Candy is overlong and has far too many denouements, putting a strain on the small cast and wearing its tension thin. But in all other ways, it's strong if imperfect. Its commentary is more than blatant but Page delivers it with aplomb, and the story is just on the right side of a rape revenge plot, aggressively vengeful but refusing to sensationalize the rape itself—in fact there's almost no presence of a male gaze, and so rather than exploitative it feels just—but also aggressive and circumspect. This would be significantly better if it were shorter and/or more diverse, but I still adored it.

Snow White and the Huntsman, film, 2012, dir. Rupert Sanders
A retelling of the fairy tale that sends Snow White to battle. The first third of this film is phenomenal, recasting Snow White's beauty in moral and emotional terms and contrasting it with the Queen's reliance on physical beauty, directly addressing how the fairy tale and the women within it value beauty, and why it creates conflict between them. Later hallmark aspects of the fairy tale—the dwarves, the apple—lack both creativity and commentary; the Huntsman fairs somewhat better. But on the whole, as the plot progresses it grows Hollywood-predictable and the rest of the film is just adequate, although the aesthetic is indulgent and the casting is strong. As a film, somewhat underwhelming; as a retelling, spotty—but what it does well is, however heavy-handed, fantastic to see.

Byzantium, film, 2012, dir. Neil Jordan
For the first time in their long lives, the relationship between a mother/daughter pair of vampires begins to unravel. Despite some questionable aspects—the "sixteen forever" protagonist, a willingness to conflate women/power/vampirism/sensuality/prostitution—and an unevenness of tone, sometimes too quiet but also prone to excessive action scenes, Byzantium is on the whole a compelling and intensely engaged addition to its genre, exploring the isolation and power of a vampire, their search for companionship and desire to be known, their potential for danger, and how that danger intersects gender. These themes can grow heavy-handed but that they are so proactive and robust is honestly amazing. An inconsistent but lovely film.