By Roger Costa
MY LIFE AS A ZUCCHINI
A lonely boy is sent to an orphanage after his mother accidentally dies and there he meets and shares stories of survival with other abandoned children. In an impressive lively stop-motion animation technique that creates an immediate fascination and attachment to the protagonist and the other abandoned children he meets at the facility, first-time feature-length Swiss director Claude Barras blends tragedy, dark humor and eccentricism in seductive style, to address the devastating issue of families being set apart, lacking love for different reasons, and the power of overcoming the obstacles. Nominated for the 2017 Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film, MY LIFE AS A ZUCCHINI is a delicate, funny and moving story about the need of reconciliation and stability for families, and specially for children. (Opens Friday in NYC and Los Angeles)
THE GREAT WALL
Matt Damon stars in director Zhang Yimou’s latest epic adventure, a graphic warrior tale with computer-generated evil creatures that looks like a mix of a dinosaur and a monster from the Alien saga. It’s hard to swallow this shallow Chinese-medieval over-crowded dispute as much as it is embarrassing that Mr. Yimou, one of the most accomplished Chinese directors had drastically chosen to invest his talent in this flop. He started as a sensitive master conquering the art house circuit with masterpieces about feminine oppression such as “Raise of the Red Lantern” and “The Story of Qiu Ju”, then engaged his focus into warrior epics, gaining international success as well as awards with “House of Flying Daggers” and “Curse of the Golden Flower”. This big budget, super well-produced spectacle is perhaps one of this year’s worst investment, as it had cost $150 million and only cashed in $18 its first weekend. Seen by some activists as a Trump-propaganda, which is totally out of question, the title comes from the fortress where the soldiers gather to combat the enemy. The story follows two soldiers (Matt Damon and Chilean actor Pedro Pascal) caught up in the middle of a battle between Chinese warriors and famine, highly angry gigantic creatures, in order to keep them out of reach, as they quickly reproduce, the soldiers built ‘the great wall’ giving them time to exterminate the trespassers. Yimou creates a dazzling, visually stunning experience, using very elegant and sophisticated colors, angles and techniques proving his stylish attributes. But that doesn’t save the film from sinking into boredom and absurd, as the it lacks enthusiasm in the performances, as well as in the awkward and unsolved video game structure. Perhaps the mistake was relying on the appeal of the technology-generated monsters. They don’t convince either.
FIST FIGHT
This over-saturated dirty, pervasive comedy directed by newcomer Richie Keen is pure poison. On the last day of school, two teachers set up a fight, but one of them isn’t brave enough to face the other and cowardly tries to avoid the beating. Just the premise is already a shameful situation, but the mess goes much further. The film, completely generating attention among youngsters, is a very dangerous vehicle of influence for all sort of misbehavior, from cheating on family, school, lacking respect, stating distorted conceptions of moral, to pedophilia and abuse and popularity of synthetic drugs such as meth and molly. If the future of comedy is this, there should be another word to describe the genre, as it is becoming trash and trashier. Charlie Day plays the decent English-teacher, caught up in a dilemma in order not to lose his job, and Ice Cube plays the angry teacher whom everyone’s scared of, as he constantly breaks things off around school. Despite both actors deliver what’s needed in their characters, fear and determination, self control and explosive anger, the film feels like a fake, unnecessary, uninvited joke.
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