The Lobster (2015)

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
Written by Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthymis Filippou
Starring Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Léa Seydoux and John C. Reilly

In a dystopian near future, single people, according to the laws of The City, are taken to The Hotel, where they are obliged to find a romantic partner in forty-five days or are transformed into beasts and sent off into the woods.

If there was an academy award category for weirdest movie of the year, I can't think of any other movie that would top this one. Despite taking place in a rather unbelievable world, there is something rather familiar in the way characters interact with each other, all struggling to find love. The only difference is that the stakes are much higher in this universe.

In a way, it is an extreme exaggeration of how society views single people. Viewed as outcasts, citizens without partners are banished from the rest of the world and forced to find love within a tight timeline. The pressures of having "a normal life" are magnified tenfold when the threat of becoming an animal are thrown into play.

On the other end of the spectrum, when in a group of loners, the same prejudices are projected onto the idea of love and intimacy and any displays of such are punished just as harshly. It is a complex world in which there is little hope for happiness.

For such a random and uncomfortable film, it had a surprising amount to say about societies views on how others live their lives. This is for certain, not a film for everyone. It is aggressively outlandish and is performed as if it took place on another planet. But under that veil of deceit is an incredibly human story.

My Rating: 8/10

Rubber (2010)

Written and Directed by Quentin Dupieux

Starring Stephen Spinella, Jack Plotnick, Wings Hauser and Roxane Mesquida

As film spectators watch, a killer car tire comes to life in a desert dump site. It soon discovers it's telekinetic ability to make small animals and people's heads explode. Going on a rampage, the people running the show soon find themselves in over their heads when things don't go exactly as they planned.

What I like about this movie is the meta mindset it establishes from the first line of dialogue. Some scenarios or decisions in movies are for simply no reason. So why can't an entire movie be made for no reason at all? The filmmakers made it for the hell of it and they didn't try to hide it.

As an employee of a movie theater, the commentary by the spectators was hilarious. There were situations and exchanges between some of them that is very true to real life movie goers. This made for hilarious moments.

What I didn't like about the movie is that it felt like a joke that lasted too long. Even at it's short 82 minute running time, it overstayed it's welcome by about 50 minutes. Had this been a short film (or at least shorter than it already is), it could have been much better.

The filmmakers knew exactly what this movie was-- a nonsensical absurdist comedy/horror movie that isn't meant to be taken seriously. It just could have been better and I mean that sincerely. It had potential and would have achieved that had it been half of it's running time.

My Rating: 5/10

The Last of the Mohicans (1992)

Directed by Michael Mann
Written by Michael Mann and Christopher Crowe, adapted from the 1936 Philip Dunne screenplay by John L. Balderston, Paul Perez and Daniel Moore, based on the novel by John Fenimore Cooper
Starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeleine Stowe, Russell Means and Eric Schweig

When rugged frontiersman Hawkeye saves the Munro sisters - two newly arrived English settlers - from a Huron ambush, he and his adoptive father and brother end up in the midst of a battle between the British and the French for control of the American colonies.

Unequivocally epic and with an impressively large scale, this film does a great job at creating the world of the American frontier in 1757. It is believable right off the bat with the rural setting and the beautiful wilderness that the characters trek through.

Though it is expected for Daniel Day-Lewis to wow with his performance in no matter what movie he is in, I regret to say this is his least impressive performance that I've seen to date. That's not to say that he is bad. And I am not entirely convinced that it is his fault. The character seemed a bit dry and left much to be desired.

The story and writing provided us with many melodramatic moments you would expect to see only in a soap opera. But it felt more like a directing and editing problem than it did the performances of the actors involved.

Director Michael Mann has similar problems with most of his films. At times it feels he cares too much about the imagery and the immersive scale of the setting than he does the performances, which ultimately hurts the overall quality of the project.

Though the performances really worked against the enveloping cinematography, it is irrefutable that this is a good movie. Not as great as I would have hoped it would be. But it is certainly an impressive movie with many positive qualities. There is a reason many consider this a classic.

My Rating: 7/10

Ernest & Celestine (2012)

Directed by Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar and Benjamin Renner
Written by Daniel Pennace, based on the book by Gabrielle Vincent
Starring Forest Whitaker, Mackenzie Foy, Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally (English version)

The unlikely story of a bear, Ernest, and a young mouse named Celestine who become friends despite the prejudices forced upon them by their individual communities.

Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, this French-produced film is a beautifully drawn family film with timeless themes, with a not-so-subtle message about the dangers of prejudices. It delivers a wonderful story about the two unlikeliest of friends.

Watching the story unfold, it became increasingly clear why all of the American A-listers attached to this movie agreed to be a part of it, despite the limited budget and release. With spectacular watercolor paintings that come to life, it is certainly an animated film like few others.

While it is obvious why computer animation has become the standard within the film industry, it is hard not to regret that fact when watching films such as this. There is this great sense of respect toward the artists who animated the movie, as there tends to be with other, less popular medias of animation such as stop-motion. It gives the entire movie a character that is missing from many of today’s computer animated films.

The fact that stop-motion films are still being made is wonderfully refreshing, and I feel that we, as an audience, have an obligation to see them to keep them from becoming extinct. It is impossible not to appreciate what these animators do.

My Rating: 8/10

Micmacs (2009)

Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Written by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Guillaume Laurant
Starring Dany Boon, André Dussollier, Yolande Moreau and Dominique Pinon

A man who lost everything after who suffered a brain injury from a stray bullet that hit him in the head is given a new life by a group of eccentrics who live in the junk yard. Together, they help him devise a plan to seek revenge on the weapons manufacturers who made the bullet as well as the landmine that killed his father when he was a child.

A not-so-subtle criticism of the weapons dealing industry, this film is a humorous and beautiful portrayal of how wars and violence can affect the lives of anyone. The characters, all of whom have had either emotional or physical scarring from some sort of weapon, create this brilliant plan to bring down two arms manufacturers without violence. It is definitely a revenge film unlike no other.

It kind of felt like "The Borrowers" but for adults. The way they would build things to fit their needs and would utilize the most random parts for their amusement, I cannot think of another film to compare it too. It is just so outlandish that I feel Tim Burton would even be impressed by it.

I want my own personal orchestra to follow me around!

"Micmacs" is a rare film that has strong political tones that are highlighted by the humorous way the story is told through the film makers. It's not often that a film will make a point without shoving it down your throat for the entire running time of the movie. But this one achieves in taking a stand without having you roll your eyes.

My Rating: 9/10