Beasts Of The Southern Wild: mini review

I saw a short clip of this film in a fan-made music-video on youtube and I instantly wanted to watch the whole movie.It follows the story of a young girl in an isolated fishing community in Louisiana. The area is known to the locals as The Bathtub and is under threat of destruction due to soil erosion. The girl's name is Hushpuppy,a  bright 6 year old living in squalid conditions with her father, her mother's absence is mentioned throughout but never explained. 
On paper, the film sounds very bleak and depressing, and could have been, in the wrong hands; but the film is hopeful and sweet without ever being sentimental or insulting to the audience,The acting performances were absolutely perfect, I learned afterwards that the young lead actress Quvenzhané Wallis was nominated for an academy award for her performance, at eight years old she is the youngest actress in history to achieve that and in all honesty, she deserved it. The plot moves along at a nice pace and mainly concerns Hushpuppy and her father's concerns and optimism respectively, about the possibility of their home being flooded.
They live as Swamp Folk, off the grid and outside of society. There is a scene where Hushpuppy's teacher speaks about the polar icecaps melting and the giant, prehistoric beasts frozen within them known as Aurochs. In Hushpuppy's mind, the Auroch's become a symbol for destructive change and she envisions them at certain key points throughout the film. She also equates the melting ice with the inevitable flooding of her community.
 One of the most beautiful scenes I have ever seen on film depicted a festival by the community involving lots of fireworks and sparklers. It was so beautifully filmed it took my breath away. The cinematography and direction is absolutely outstanding and the film is a truly unique look into the lives of people who are for the most part ignored by the rest of the modern world,. These communities still exist in Louisiana and several of them really are under threat from erosion, so although the characters aren't based on particular individuals, they still represent real people living today.

I recommend this film to anyone looking for a unique, beautiful and absorbing look into the lives of a people who are normally forgotten and ignored, people who's way of life is not in tune or compatible with the fast-moving modern world.

Chappie: mini review

Chappie was an entertaining flick. Some very dodgy writing in places and very questionable character motivations but the film's huge heart overcame those shortcomings Yolandi and Chappie are the heart and soul of the movie, the rest of the characters are somewhat unlikeable. Great special effects, mostly good acting but poor Sigourney Weaver and Hugh Jackman had very little to work with. The action sequences were really cool and well directed. Once I started thinking of it as a live-action cartoon or comic book it became a lot more enjoyable.Leave your brain at the door but maybe bring some tissue, basically.

The main problem lies in some of the characters. Hugh Jackman plays a paper-thin villain with no real motivation to do the things he does other than the vague and kind of absurd suggestion that he is extremely religious.Sigourney Weaver simply has nothing to do, her character is the CEO of a military arms company and has about five lines of dialogue which are of no consequence to the script or overall story, I think we're supposed to dislike her character but she does nothing to warrant it. Chappie's creator comes across a little strange, there is no backstory about his motivations to create an artificial intelligence he just sort of does it, and somewhat irresponsibly despite the ethical dilemmas such a thing would create.  The gang who Chappie meets are fairly detestable people with the exception of Yolandi, Chappie's eventual matriarch. The gang-leader Ninja is a good performence by Watkin Tudor Jones, but it's hard to like the character being that he comes across as a cold, calculated murderer who wants to corrupt Chappie for his own ends, the movie tries to redeem him by the end but it's too sudden, too  little  and too late.Yolandi works as a counterpoint to Ninja, seeing Chappie as a small child and nurturing him with love and compassion rather than trying to make him join in criminal activities. There is a subplot established about the gang needing to raise money but it feels rather contrived and doesn't have much of a pay-off, unfortunately this subplot is a springboard for most of the main story elements so the structure of the plot becomes shaky.

The film's strengths lie in its beautiful cinematography,amazing special effects, unusual setting and Chappie himself. The robot design is clever enough to make him seem vulnerable and cute in one moment and menacing and powerful the next. You will really be on his side and empathize with his struggles. The set-designs are also brilliant and there are some amazing location shots around Joburg that will remind people of District 9, Fans of Di Antwoord will recognize a lot of the imagery and graffiti used in the background of the gang's hideout, some of which is inspired by the brilliant South African photographer Roger Ballen. The film's visual style is as beautiful as it is distinctive.

Overall I could only recommend this movie to Sci-Fi and action movie fans. Teenage audiences will probably enjoy the film a lot too. The film checks enough boxes to be worthwhile for genre fans but perhaps casual viewers will be less enthused.  I have to mention Short Circuit and Robocop because there are elements of both of these movies present. There is even a scene where Chappie has a disastrous encounter with a group of thugs that was almost the same as a scene in Short Circuit, probably a coincidence but wotrh noting either way.