Isle of Dogs

Started by jenkins, September 21, 2017, 10:45:04 AM

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

jenkins


Drenk

Ascension.

Sleepless

Apologies if this sounds sarcastic (I read it back and it sounded sarcastic to me, but it isn't at all):

Yeah, this looks really unique. Like something completely different from anything else. Excited.
He held on. The dolphin and all the rest of its pod turned and swam out to sea, and still he held on. This is it, he thought. Then he remembered that they were air-breathers too. It was going to be all right.

ono


jenkins

i'm looking forward to this more than any other movie about to come out. that's related to me not knowing what movies are about to come out.

but also i wasn't quite a fan of Fantastic Mr. Fox, which i saw once, when it came out. so i have to recalibrate myself before i see this. i have to figure out how i can appreciate this movie, and figuring that out can even some day allow me to like Fantastic Mr. Fox more maybe, or at least watch it again and see what happens.

i "vastly" prefer Synecdoche, New York to Anomalisa. i "vastly" prefer every other Wes Anderson movie to Fantastic Mr. Fox, including my least favorite (which i can't think of right now). i don't know if that will change, but i always want to get better at liking the things i don't like.

this is an oldish clip that probably everyone has seen. it's the dogs being interviewed as actors. i think it's well made and i like it a little, it doesn't quite help me. people are free to tell me how much they like Fantastic Mr. Fox and how i'm crazy.


csage97

Thought I commented on this thread before, but I guess not. I'm excited for this one. I have the feeling that I like the movie before I've even seen it, somehow. Animated dogs and Wes Anderson? Yup. Going to love it.

Some reviews are out now and they're all really positive. It seems accessible with gags and stuff on the surface. I saw one review that said you can enjoy it on a surface level if you're just looking for a fun movie to see at the theatre, but can also enjoy it if you're seeking more depth, as it ...


*possible thematic/interpretation spoilers*

has lots of relevance to the topic of xenophobia.

*end possible spoilers


Anyway, @jenkins, maybe if you can try to access it on a level that works for you -- whether you're looking for lighthearted fun, more depth, or both, etc. -- the film, if it's good, will meet you there and offer up something for you.

jenkins

i'm going to isolate the idea of this animation. i'm going to have that idea separate from my idea of Wes Anderson the live action director. as if there is only one Wes Anderson: the animator. because if there was just Wes Anderson the animator i'd like that person more than this person who is both. so i'm going to isolate the animator in order to like this movie as much as i can.

samsong

this is really, really, really good.  it's been a while since i've seen the grand budapest hotel and i remember appreciating it more as i thought back on it.  going to revisit that one soon after how much i enjoyed this one, but based on initial reaction, isle of dogs is his best since the royal tenenbaums and belongs on the tier just below his first three movies, which by my estimation will always be the best work he'll ever do.  i'd love for him to prove me wrong.

jenkins

based on what you said it might've been that you had low enough expectations to let yourself become surprised, which is a good strategy. i have that from an animation perspective but not a Wes Anderson perspective. calling his first three his best sounds outrageous to me. i'm kind of over Isle of Dogs for reasons that are difficult to explain and not grounded in objective reality.

polkablues

Quote from: jenkins on April 01, 2018, 02:49:32 PM
based on what you said it might've been that you had low enough expectations to let yourself become surprised, which is a good strategy.

Or maybe he actually just liked it.
My house, my rules, my coffee

jenkins

unrelated to any context and in a state of purity is the best, though he did mention a context.

csage97

I saw this the other night. I enjoyed it on the whole. I don't have any major gripes with it; it was fun, funny, you can make multiple interpretations about it, and it was technically very good. I applaud the long list of animators and model designers for the sheer craft that must have gone into creating all the character models and sets.

Of course, there's some (in my opinion, annoying) controversy over the film in the media right now, namely about "cultural appropriation," which is pretty laughable considering Japan has a history of imperialism and colonialism, and is a major economic, technology, and cultural player on the world scale. Without getting into it too much, I'll say that it's one thing to be able to have fun with another culture, and it's OK to poke fun at differences as long as respect and appreciation for the positive aspects of another culture are maintained, just as it's OK to laugh at oneself and your own culture. It's about perspective and acceptance. I can't help but interpret the Tracy character as a sort tongue-in-cheek thing about white privileged people, although I'm not sure this was the writers' intention. One of my criticisms about the film is that some of the philosophical and moral aspects, whatever you want to call them (I don't really like using the word "moral"), seemed kind of general and vague in a bit of an underdeveloped sense, and not really thought out enough to be presented in the way they were. Anyway, I've already said too much about this topic, and I don't the film is to be taken too heavily on these aspects, so maybe the general-ish approach from the film is fine and can at least provoke some further thought in the audience. It was an overall well-done and enjoyable movie.

tpfkabi

Quote from: samsong on April 01, 2018, 02:55:58 AM
on the tier just below his first three movies, which by my estimation will always be the best work he'll ever do.  i'd love for him to prove me wrong.

I love The Life Aquatic. Owen didn't co-write, but did star.
Has any interviewer asked either one of them if they will ever write together again, or why they haven't written together in all these years?

Wow, I didn't realize that Owen has not had a Writer credit since Royal T's. Woooowww.
Dude gets an Oscar nom and just quits the game. Dang, son.
I am Torgo. I take care of the place while the Master is away.