Popcorn Perspectives with Danny Minton
Week of September 23, 2024
The Wild Robot
Rated PG for thematic elements and action/peril
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 98%
In Theaters
From writer/director Chris Sanders and executive producer Dean DeBlois (the team behind Lilo & Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon), comes this unique and creative story about a robot that finds itself stuck in a remote forest island after its shipping container crashes ashore. Using her processing ability to learn to communicate with the local animals, she still finds herself to be more of a threat than a friend. But when she discovers a lone goose egg, the gosling imprints on her as her mother, giving her a new objective to teach the baby to eat, swim and fly in time for his species’ annual migration. There is so much to love about this film, but first and foremost is the amazing story, full of surprises and wonderment. The tale is a surreal journey full of love, tears, and laughter, much of it being on the darker side, which should have most audiences rolling. And while the story is sweet – it’s not too sweet. It manages to show its heart while not shying away from the destructive properties of both nature and mankind. The animation itself is like moving art and a far cry from modern animated fare. It reminded me of a much more advanced version of 2008’s Bolt, which gave us an animated aesthetic rarely seen in today’s features. However they created this look, it was a real joy to take in. There’s honestly so much to love about this film and I hope it finds a way to connect to audiences. A
Rebel Ridge
Rated TV-MA
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%
Streaming on Netflix
A young man (Aaron Pierre) is traveling through small-town America when a pair of local cops step on his rights and steal his money, which was meant to bail out his cousin who was arrested for a minor marijuana possession charge. All he wants is his money back so he can bail out his cousin, but the corrupt police chief (played by Don Johnson) won’t budge and threatens his life if he proceeds to try to get his way. Little do they know that the young man is a military hand-to-hand combat specialist with the skills to win against the corrupt officers. This film has crappy little B movie written all over it, as the elements are all there to deliver a predictable and uninteresting action flick. But you quickly get the sense that that is not the case, mostly due to the fantastic performance by Pierre, which turns out to be unexpectedly refreshing. The script is also surprisingly intelligent as it goes deep into the police department’s scam, leaving few plot holes as to its basis in reality. The film comes off feeling authentic, like it is exposing a system rather than exploiting an audience’s opinions on systemic racism amongst law enforcement. I went in thinking I would be bored and walked away impressed. B+