#taika working with children is always a delight

[motsimages]

Children are often a plot device, with tropes like Child in the refrigerator or Child in distress. And often Marvel forgets that their movies are actually watched by parents *and* their children. Not in Love and Thunder.

We are given those two tropes but then, the children are given voice (in the form of Axl, but some other kids too), encouragement and quite literally the power to fight. They are allowed to say "we are scared" and "we are children". When the big bad comes to speak to them, he is just menacing but never touches them, never even comes close (he did have a daughter their age after all).

And they fight the way children fight, some aggressively and more hero-like, but some like princesses and faeries. It makes adults smile but what would it feel to be the kind of little girl who likes princesses to see yourself defeating a big bad by being a playful princess?

It is heartwarming and funny to see how a child uses their teddy bear as a weapon because we all know teddy bears protect us when we sleep and make us feel safe in unknown environments, but isn't it the same Thor does with his weapons?

It is an ongoing joke about Mjolnir and Stormbreaker that he speaks to them, treats them as people (and they actually react too, they have opinions), but isn't it the same thing children do with their favourite toys? Don't you speak with your doll? Doesn't it feel like she can understand you? The teddy bear scene would be mocking childhood innocence if it weren't for all the times Thor feels deeply about his toys (and well, if they didn't give it powers).

It is a movie for children, with teachings for children. It also shows you that you can be loved and accepted no matter what. Even the child in the refrigerator lives and has someone who cares about her.

And sure, there is mention of an orgy but any child invested in Greek Mythology has read worse (specially coming from Zeus).

So yes, making children a part of it all is my favourite thing about this movie. Only because of this, I think it's superior to many others despite its many flaws.

#thor love and thunder #thor love and thunder spoilers #love and thunder #thor 4 #mcu #taika waititi #taika working with children is always a delight

[thefilmfatale]

Jojo Rabbit (2019)

Who says you can't laugh about the Holocaust? Certainly not Taika Waititi.

The Hunt for the Wilderpeople director’s latest film Jojo Rabbit, set in Nazi Germany with a fanatical Hitler youth at its center, is uproarious, funny, and anything but glib. The story follows 10-year-old Jojo Betzler (played by the effortlessly charismatic and magnetic Roman Griffin Davis), who idolizes Adolf Hitler so much that Hitler (played by Waititi) has become his imaginary friend, popping up like a proverbial devil-on-one’s-shoulder during random moments of turmoil to comfort and counsel our budding young Nazi. 

Jojo’s dedication to the cause is unwavering. Thanks to some imaginative Nazi propaganda, Jojo is convinced that his purpose is to exterminate Jews, whom he envisions as winged creatures that eat children and hoard anything shiny. Alas, after playing cavalier with a grenade at Hitler youth camp, Jojo suffers an accident that renders him unfit to keep training with the other children, including his best friend Yorki (played by the adorably precocious Archie Yates). He’s promptly sent home, where his angst grows due to being isolated from his Jew-hating peers. To add insult to injury, he discovers that his mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) has been hiding a Jewish girl in their home. Outraged and beside himself with indignation, Jojo hatches a plan to get rid of the Jewish girl, seizing it as an opportunity to prove himself as a true Nazi believer to his peers. 

Jojo embarks on quite the character arc, and Waititi once again proves that he is a masterful director when it comes to working with children. His ability to elicit the purest, most delightful performances from child actors is amazing (just as he did in Hunt for the Wilderpeople), and the audience swiftly finds themselves endeared to Jojo and the rest of the cast. Performances from everyone were delightful, with Waititi allowing each actor (such as Johansson, Sam Rockwell, and Rebel Wilson) to bring their signature flairs to their characters. While the film is approached mostly as a period piece from an aesthetic standpoint (with costumes, set design, and color palettes largely faithful to the period), Waititi’s deliberate choices in making it anachronistic serve two purposes: to punctuate the satire, and to help make what should be a very sobering subject matter more approachable.   

The story, a loose adaptation of the book Caging Skies by Christine Leunens, while quirky and sweet certainly doesn't shy away from the real horrors of the holocaust. It’s a tightrope walk to juggle humor and atrocity, but Waititi makes it seem natural. He also knows precisely how to tug at heartstrings without being melodramatic. Jojo Rabbit’s triumph is ultimately in its ability to treat the topic of ideological extremism with the ridicule it so often deserves while at the same time provoking interesting questions about why people get sucked into blindly following charismatic demagogues, entrenching themselves in hate-filled cults, and spouting toxic ideologies. The best part? Waititi does this with so much thoughtfulness and nuance, all while serving up an entertaining, poignant story. 

By the end of Jojo Rabbit, you’re not raising your pitchforks screaming about the injustice of the Holocaust—that would be rather trite. Instead, you’re reminded that humans are complex, multi-dimensional, and capable of both immense kindness and unbridled terror. It’s a celebration of people’s capacity to change their minds. More importantly, it’s a reminder of the beauty of comedy and how laughter can be the best medicine during turbulent times. 

(More—including spoilers—under the cut)

What I love most about Jojo Rabbit is the depth of each character and how there’s so much to dissect and unpack for each one. Beginning with Jojo—we learn that not only is his father far away, in danger, fighting somewhere on the frontlines, but that he also lost his older sister Inge. We’re never told in full detail what happened to her, but the main takeaway is that her death, coupled by the absence of Jojo’s father, were tragedies that may have propelled Jojo to seek out the philosophy of the Third Reich. It’s not uncommon for young fanatics to get swept into hate groups when they are at their lowest points. When you’re angry or feeling helpless and lonely, it’s easy to externalize your pain and find someone to blame, whether it’s an entire gender, people of certain ethnicities, or members of a different political party. It’s simpler, you see, instead of owning one’s problems and acknowledging that the world doesn’t revolve around you. By making boogeymen out of people who are easy targets, we assert control over the senseless things that happen in our lives. It’s a way to feel powerful.

When you’re young, there are so many things that are out of your control. You’re caught in this torrent of everyone else’s decisions—your parents, school, your peers, society at large—and you’re looking around, flailing and hyperaware, that you’re living what is supposed to be your life and yet there seems so very little that you have ownership of. That's Jojo’s story. Not only is he caught in the middle of a war, but he’s grappling with some seriously heavy shit: an absentee father, a dead sister, a craving for acceptance from his peer group and, ultimately, a longing for connection that is rooted in positivity rather that hate. 

At first that connection seems to be cultivated by his mother, Rosie, who is literally and figuratively the most vibrant character in the film. From her bold, striking fashion sense and rouged lips to her joie de vivre, Rosie is, to quote Mulan, a flower that blooms in adversity. Even during the bleakest of times, she finds ways to uplift her son, whom she can tell is hurting. Her bursts of energy, her ability to find excitement and enthusiasm even in the most mundane of things, her rally to dance in the face of tragedy—all were reminders that dwelling on hatred and sorrow, while easy and sometimes necessary, is a crutch in a balm’s disguise. We must always forge ahead and seek hope when all feels lost, like “staring a tiger in the eyes”, as Rosie would say. That’s why, despite the risks of being caught by the Gestapo, she housed a Jewish girl in her home. In some small way, she was doing her part in the resistance against a hateful movement. While Rosie says she’s never stared a tiger in the eyes, her act of defiance came at great risk to herself, and that’s true courage.

In one of the most heartbreaking scenes in the film, Jojo is wandering the streets when he notices a bright, blue butterfly fluttering against the backdrop of hate-filled propaganda smattered on the city walls. He chases it wistfully and accidentally stumbles on the gallows in the middle of the town square. All the audience sees, hanging from the gallows, is a pair of legs with bright-colored shoes, and our hearts immediately sink. It’s Rosie. Waititi leads up to this shocking moment during a previous scene, while Jojo and Rosie are hanging out by a river. Rosie makes fun of Jojo for still being unable to tie his own shoes. She’s skipping gleefully on top of a concrete wall, with the camera trained low at Jojo’s eye-level, so the audience sees a shot of her shoes as she taps into a merry little dance. Waititi counts on viewers remembering this quiet scene to make what follows truly devastating. The effect is quite heart-stopping, and it’s impossible to want to reach out and give poor Jojo a hug as he cries out and wraps his arms around his dead mother’s feet. It’s then that Waititi makes his message known: Yes, there’s plenty to make light of in the world, but you can do this while also acknowledging that there’s plenty of darkness. It’s an impressive balancing act, and Waititi does it with so much wonderful exuberance and earnestness that it’s tough not to commend.

Viewers notice that the more Jojo focuses on the positive things in his life—his mother, his new Jewish friend Elsa—the less we see of his imaginary friend Hitler. And this is a deliberate choice by Waititi to prove a point: when you are consumed with hate, you’ll want to constantly keep feeding it because it’s comfortable and easy. As humans, we have a biological negative bias that we rely on as a means of survival. The very idea of entropy exists as a reminder that it takes more work to put things in order, to be good, to rise above, than for things to decay and distort and devolve. The more you fill your life with things that bring you joy, fulfillment, and contentment, the less you’ll rely on poisonous literature and toxic people. While this isn't exactly an epiphany for most of us, one may applaud Waititi for the inventive way he delivers this message.  

Another delightful character who, on the surface, seemed to be solely there for comedic effect, was Sam Rockwell’s Captain Klenzendorf, who’s tasked with whipping up these little rascals into Nazi-fighting shape. From the very get go, we sense that this man’s commitment to the Nazi cause is entirely for appearances’ sake. From his clandestine romance with his right-hand man (played by Games of Thrones’ Alfie Allen) to his soft spot for Jojo, the audience is led to believe that this man is merely pretending to be a hard-ass because that’s what you were expected to do, else be accused of treason to your nation. One could assume his affection for Jojo had something to do with being able to sympathize with the young boy after Jojo is relegated to doing simple jobs due to his injury (Klenzendorf claims he was benched from the frontlines because of an injury that led to him having a dead eye). But it’s toward the end of the film where we fully realize the totality of his character. In an earlier scene, Jojo is bullied by some older boys into killing a rabbit. They jeer at him as he wrestles with the decision to kill an innocent animal. He’s torn between wanting desperately to ingratiate himself into his peer group and staying true to the part of himself that’s kind, pure, innocent, and staunchly against needless violence. The music builds as we lean forward in our seats waiting to see what Jojo does. He decides on an act of mercy at his own expense, releasing the bunny and yelling at it to flee from danger. Unfortunately, before it has a chance to escape, the bunny is snatched up by one of the older boys, who wrings its neck in front of all the young boys to see. 

At first this seems like a scene that’s simply supposed to be an obnoxious display of bravado. But Waititi calls back to this scene towards the end of the film twice. Klenzendorf arrives at the Betzler household when it is being searched and ransacked by the Gestapo, who suspect Rosie has been aiding Jews. Jojo is terrified, not just to be discovered as traitors by the Gestapo but for Elsa’s (the Jewish girl they have been hiding who has now become his friend) safety. To get ahead of the situation, Elsa emerges from her hiding place and pretends to be Jojo’s dead sister Inge. When the Gestapo demand her paperwork, she shows them Inge’s old ID card. Klenzendorf immediately intercedes, grabs the ID from her hand and demands that she variate her identity by stating her birthday. Elsa stammers in response. “Correct,” Klenzendorf confirms flatly. The Gestapo consider this acceptable and vacate the premises, none the wiser. We discover immediately that Elsa had actually given the wrong birthdate, and Klenzendorf could have outed her right then, but decided not to. He was helping the bunny escape.

In another scene, when the Allied troops march into Germany and start rounding up all the Nazi soldiers, Jojo (who has a Nazi officer’s jacket on) is mistaken for one of them. He runs into Captain Klenzendorf, who creates a commotion by wrenching the Nazi jacket off of Jojo’s back and pushing him away, telling him to flee while yelling at him for being a dirty Jew so the Allies don’t execute him. It was an act of sacrifice from a man who recognized himself in the young boy. Klenzendorf saw Jojo’s gentleness and purity of heart and knew this kid needed to live. He released the bunny, stared a tiger squarely in the eyes—at the expense of his own life.

Jojo Rabbit, while certainly laugh-out-loud funny and full of amusement, is a moving story about heroism from a group of people who rarely ever get acknowledgment for their acts of bravery. These were Germans who defied their Führer and their Aryan brotherhood at great risk to their own lives. While these acts will never erase the horrors of the Holocaust, it’s a reminder that people are complicated creatures, capable of miraculous acts of mercy and horrific deeds of violence. It implores us to think about how some of the people that get caught up in hate groups are hurting deeply and just looking for something to blame their pain on. It definitely doesn’t excuse their actions or the bile they oftentimes spew, but it merely reminds us that behind every caricature is a human being in pain. 

Even if you see Jojo Rabbit and don’t think it’s that deep—you may say “Starr, it’s just a comedy about stupid Nazis, it’s not even a true story”. What is true about it is that we live in a world of grey, and while it may be simpler to put people in buckets of black and white, hero and villain, good and bad, more often than not we are all just hurting in some way. What’s true about it is that we have more in common than we have differences and ultimately, everyone regardless of race, creed, sexual orientation, craves the same thing: freedom; Freedom from the burdens that we carry on our shoulders, from dead loved ones to strife and war. Freedom from the fear of persecution for being who we are. The freedom to wear whatever we want, screw whomever we want, and to dance like no one’s looking. 

#Jojo Rabbit #taika waititi #Scarlett Johansson #movie reviews #sam rockwell

[vaguely-concerned]

The Mandalorian episode 8 reactions

Spoilers ahoy! In short I liked it a lot and now my brain is desperately trying to process it all haha

- thank god taika waititi knows I needed us to open on two unsympathetic comedy stormtroopers after all the stress last time. (in general this episode was very funny and it needed to be because dang mando is having a Bad Day in this one) that scene did such a good job of hilariously humanizing the stromtroopers but in a way that highlights what kind of people would stay with the empire even after the fall. they’re real breathing humans but they’re also baby-punching fascists and it’s not much of a loss to anyone that IG-11 goes to town on them

- ooooh cara is from alderaan!!! that explains just how deep her hatred for the empire is. (*me thinking wistfully about bail organa, the OG good dad of the star wars universe*) also I say this all the time but she is so cool and beautiful and important and the little ‘oh uh oops’ look she threw down at the baby after blowing that droid’s head of was  p r i c e l e s s . too bad she’s staying on navarro while mando leaves :(

- FINALLY name confirmation! I’m going to have to go and fix the spelling for my fics and I don’t even care haha. also pedro pascal is so amazing at making his voice expressive jesus christ you can feel the weight of it just from the small pauses between his words (’mandalorian recruits’ = evil empire speech for ‘children’ I’m assuming so. augh) 

- cara SHIELDING HIM WITH HER OWN BODY even though he’s literally still in full armor and her beautiful buff arms are completely unprotected *elmo surrounded in flames gif (ironically)* that might actually be more non-violent physical contact than mando’s had since he was a kid (lol but also ouch). there was something almost sibling-like in the way they huddled together, im hurt 

- with that grilled flamethrower trooper baby yoda has officially committed his first unassisted murder! *drying proud tears* they grow up so... well obviously not fast in this case but you know what I mean

as usual the baby was a delight. I mean you know this I know this but it bears repeating basically forever

- you know what in one way it felt a bit too early but in another I really like how they showed mando’s face. I think it’s because that reveal isn’t witnessed by any other characters except IG-11 (who is best boy <3 but also there in the role of a medical practitioner and audience stand-in so it doesn’t count in the metaphor lol) -- it’s entirely meant for us, the audience. the whole season really has been a long journey towards specificity in his character; we open up with him being a faceless, nameless and damn near wordless figure, and then they’ve let us closer and closer to him until... now we have his name and his face both and that probably means we know him better than the vast majority of the characters in the show (which is admittedly not saying much haha). it still leaves a LOT of potential in the interpersonal dynamics within the series, but does something interesting for our view of him (and sets up an interesting possibility for a sort of tension between the two as well maybe?). 

it feels weird and too intimate but I think that’s exactly what it’s supposed to do. I’d actually been trying to put this into words before this episode -- I didn’t feel able to write fic for this show until episode 7; before that taking on his POV felt... invasive, almost? awkward? but now it feels like the show has reached a place where we get close enough that it’s starting to be possible. he’s having to become more and more real (because he has a baby he loves and who needs him now and he can’t just dissociate anymore haha)

there’s also something really beautiful if fragile in how it plays out like... for this one moment he needs to allow himself to be made vulnerable (by a droid, no less) and through that act of tremendous courage, even though it confuses and pains him, choose to live. after all he was completely free to shoot IG-11 the whole time and he didn’t. I. Hm. mhm. im trying to figure out what I mean give me a few days to write fiction about it and maybe I’ll get it lol

- the way mando disappeared into himself/seemed to be just... resigned to it all was uh. awful! absolutely awful. 

thank GOD all these people around him straight up refused to let him die, at a few points it was almost a feeling of ‘SOMEONE PLEASE GIVE ME A GRENADE TO THROW MYSELF ON I’M NOT READY TO BE FULLY ALIVE AGAIN BUT I’LL HAVE TO BE BECAUSE I HAVE A LITTLE ONE TO BE A DAD FOR’ (at a few points where it’d be natural if he was triggered he instead seems to want to give the child to someone he thinks is more suited and then a) fight (and probably die but y’know at least he’d get to shoot someone) or b) at least stay with and honor the dead. oof) 

- very rude of mando to make a grave for kuiil when he’s not even dead tbh. how unlike our main boy in the helmet to be impolite like that, I’m surprised 

(I had so desperately hoped IG-11 at least would survive as a sort of legacy -- a testament to his skill and kindness and wisdom :( )

- I KNEW nothing would get the armorer in her own damn forge :D:D:D she is so incredibly cool and I love her. the way she stands there unshaken despite everything like a pillar of what their culture actually is at the core. and also when she’s like ‘well of course this is your son’ and the camera cuts to baby yoda as if to say ‘as I keep telling you dad’ 

the mirror of her immovable upright certainty and mando on his knees in front of the pile of dead people’s armor -- an image which makes it feel like this is not the first time he’s been there, right?

mando not enthused at the idea of evil sorcerers tho lol I foresee some trickiness in your future my boy

- of ALL the funny references they had to make sad it had to be the self destruct D: I’ve always had a lot of feelings about droids in star wars so I’m probably going to have to process this a bit. also “I’m not sad” oh honey

- I have only a very vague knowledge about the darksaber (I couldn’t get into rebels sadly despite my love for clone wars), but I do understand that it’s taking the nazi gold comparison they’ve got going on with the beskar and dialing it up to 11, that’s apparently a Big Deal. they’ve done such a good job with gideon in setting up a bad guy who works on several levels -- he wants the thing that’s most important to mando today for what’s implied to be Not very great reasons, he’s a physical reminder of the cultural and personal trauma this series is looking at, and as a remnant of the fallen Empire he’s doing a lot of work as the specter of this sort of lawless unsettled in-between age. good stuff! 

- greef karga earned himself a big place in my heart in this one. you might be sketchier than my understanding of horse anatomy, greef, but I love you nonetheless haha. when he starts to drink nervously while they’re trying to get out of the bar & when he’s immediately doing the sales pitch on Navarro once the blaster fire dies down fdkslhfkas. and that “Or maybe he’ll take care of you” shows that there is some real concern and friendship there and it’s so sweet. 

- mando carrying the baby like he was carried safely and with love by the mandalorian in the flashback............ damn dude. and he’s an official full time dad now what a time to be alive

- obligatory flamethrower report: do I even need to say it, mando’s flame thrower. must I point out how badly you have been shown up. honestly this has just been embarrassing for us all let us speak no more of it

#star wars #the mandalorian #the mandalorian spoilers #the mandalorian episode 8

[laurasinele]

Thanks, Taika of my dreams

Couple of nights ago I had a weird dream. I am on four different psycoactive meds and my dreams have always been colourful to begin with, so weird dreams are not something extraordinary in this household of ours and our mornings usually begin like: “hey, husband, I had this crazy dream today in which Vlad Putin was an aquatic monster and we were seventies cops with horrible staches and fur coats and he tried to kill us by a river and we shot him but he didn’t died so I panicked and just switched to another tv channel and there was a riot in a fancy old theatre on our kitchen table because Jennifer Lawrence and David Tennant had stopped performing a live episode of Doctor Who to elope and live to the fullest their secret romance” (I actually dreamt that and I don’t even watch Dr. Who). But this dream I am talking about now was awfully dull. Yeah weird, but dull. Until...

Before I get to the details of my dream let me introduce you to the man on this picture. This is Taika “I do whatever the fuck I want because I don’t need your validation to know I am cool as fudge” Waititi, better known lately for directing the last instalment to Thor’s plot arch in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the colourful joy and delight full of flag waving and redemption that is Thor: Ragnarok. We, my husband and I, love Taika Waititi since we first met him a couple of years ago in What We Do In The Shadows, co directed with Jemaine Clement from Flight of the Conchords (and they both star in the movie with hilarious results). What?! You haven’t seen it?! One of the greatest fantasy comedies of our times?! Go now, I’ll wait.  

(Now that you’ve seen the movie you now that’s Taika in it as Viago, waiting for you to fulfil your task) No, but seriously, we love him. If we were tu bump into him on the street we would invite him home and feed him and make sure he is all warm and cozy and tell him what a talented, lovable huge dork he is and that we love almost anything he does. Proof is, I only got interest in Ragnarok because of him because i hated so much the other two that I couldn’t finish them and that is not something that happens to me easily, not being able to finish a movie. AND I LAUGHED MY ASS OF AND I HAD THE GREATEST TIME WATCHING THOR: RAGNAROK EVEN ON HEAVY MEDS AND WITH A DEPRESSION. Because this man knows his shit when it comes to comedy and that ain’t easy.

Well, you are now acquainted with one of the most charismatic directors, writers and actors, with one of the most original and unapologetic public personas of this days. You’re welcome. 

Look at that, a happy family with the mischievous son conveniently locked away LOL

Back to my dream!

I was at the cinema and my husband and I had set up one of my friends for a date without her knowing. It was weird because the three of us were sitting apart in little clusters of movie theatre seats, four seats for each, and from where we were sitting none of use could see the screen at all but somehow (dream logic) we still were catching every detail of the movie. All the lights were on and people was talking, it was kind of a special event in which you were welcome to bring your own food and sit wherever you pleased. We were bored and my friend wanted to finish the food and leave because the movie was stressing us out. Apparently, it was about kidnapping children but I didn’t know that until that moment (the me on my dream seemed to know, though). Then, Haley Joel Osment does his entrance in a nerdy outfit and produces a blanket and a picnic basket from a backpack. Yeah, I know, dream logic, ok? Haley Joel Osment was the guy me and my husband had set my friend up with. 

So by then, the me inside the dream is ok with everything, it’s her plan after all, but the dreaming me is done with this shit and is bored af. So I decide I’m leaving and I accidentally end up inside the movie I DON’T KNOW HOW. 

And there’s my husband and my friend and Haley Joel Osment and they’re all like “this movie is bad karma we out” and suddenly I’m alone and poor Naomi Watts tells me she’s done making the freaked out mom and she begs for me to take her role so she can be the evil mom that wants my kid because her daughter died. I don’t even have kids irl life and I don’t belong in the movie and now I want to know whats happens with my friend and HJO because against all odds it looked like they liked each other?? But Naomi is so beautiful and talented and she looks so done that I say ok and I do the freaked out mom followed around the big ass suburb house full of broken toys by the evil mom aka Naomi Watts. And I was really terrified and exhausted but every now and thens we would stop and OOC chat for a while and she would compliment me on my performance, thank me for the chance or complain about sandwiches in the catering today  and I would say “But Nay, I’m only here because some psycomagical shit I didn’t event get to see the set” and she would apologise so much as if she had been unwillingly racist or something. And the we’d resume the chasing.  So, apparently, the plot of the movie was that Naomi and her husband had lost a daughter and now wanted mine (that wasn’t there at all), but during the chasing around the house two things were discovered: a skeletal child that ran away from us, thankfully, and a live one, a seven-year-old boy, naked, locked in a closet. I took the boy in my arms an resumed my race around the house but this time I was pissed because why did they wanted to steal a child if they already had one that they were neglecting? I was so pissed that I forgot to run and started walking. I heard I siren downstairs and thought it was the cops but it was an ambulance toy. it was broken and I was afraid it would catch fire, so I picked it up and switched it off, all the while carrying a sobbing, naked kid. But then the sirens resumed and there were blue and red colour in the entrance hall so I ran there and the door stormed opened and there were the Andes fro Hot Fuzz in SWAT gear and... MOTHER FLIPPIN TAIKA WAITITI IN A SIXTIES SPY POSE POINTING WITH HIS HANDS TOGETHER AND NO GUN AT ALL

He is sporting a black suit with satin lapels that looks very expensive, but he wears white tennis slippers, a black cotton t-shirt and an ugly felt pin of a flower over his chest pocket, with ridiculously small deep blue petals. I am staring at the pin when he breaks his ridiculous pose and says IN HIS VIAGO VOICE: 

“I’m the Goldblum’s daughter godfather, what happened?” (yeah, the dreaming me was also like whaaaaaaat lolololol)

“They tried to steal my daughter. I found him in a closet. The other is dead”

He took the boy while saying “I always suspected them” and he hugged him while whispering “It’s ok now” to his ear. Still in his Viago voice. Then he looked at me and he realised I’d been through hell and (dream logic) he hugged me simultaneously and told me everything was going to be alright. And I woke up. 

Now hear me out, babies, hear me out. I’ve been through a lot for this past few years and when I had that dream, I was on all day in bed 5 day streak after a faint hint of recovery that lasted barely a week and was preceded of months and months of oversleeping and only showering once in two months, medication with undesirable side effects, and well... your average depressive state. 

When I woke up from that dream after running up and down the stairs of a house full of broken but never discarded toys, protecting a daughter that wasn’t there, in a role that wasn’t mine, in a place I had no idea how I had ended up in, after saving a naked, terrified kid, after seeing another one go, Taika hugged me and told me it was alright. The very personification of Comedy and Humor came to save me and held me and told me that it was all over now. And I felt such relief when I woke up...

Thanks, Taika of my dreams. Thank you for telling me that things are starting to work like they are supposed to inside my head because I couldn’t tell. 

Also, this is very important, if someone could please draw Taika in The Pose from the end? That would be the greatest service ever done for the human race. It’s not personal. Thanks. 

#somebody thank taika on my behalf for saving me and the non skeletal child #sombody tell jeff goldblum it's not personal my brain is just random when it comes to dreams #everybody please appreciate the talented people aforementioned by their deeds not by what my shitty subcounciousness made them do #except taika because he is perfect in my dream and everybody should love him always forever #Taika Waititi #jeff goldblum #naomi watts #thor ragnarok #what we do in the shadows #viago #jemaine clement #weird dreams #creepy dream #mental health #mental illnes #medication #taika waititi apreciation #dream #dreams #haley joel osment #set up date #child kidnapping #cinema #movies #movie #thriller #mental health awareness #child abuse #the andes from hot fuzz #hot fuzz

[myhahnestopinion]

THE AARONS 2016 - Best Film

Thanks in part to a competition with a friend, I saw 79 new releases in 2016, more films than I have seen from any other year in history. While this large grouping certainly ran the gamut in quality, there were a lot of films that I greatly enjoyed. However, only a handful can receive top remarks, so these are my picks for the absolute best of a solid year for movies. Here are The Aarons for Best Film:

#10: Captain America: Civil War

The Marvel Studios films are consistently some of the most entertaining action blockbusters currently being released, and the Captain America movies have routinely stood out as the best of the pack. Civil War once again succeeds thanks to the diligent directing of the Russo Brothers, who return from the magnificent Winter Soldier, its fantastic ensemble cast, and some relevant, thought-provoking themes that are treated with surprising nuance. While the highlight of the film may be its high-octane airport brawl, a pure delight for comic book fans, Civil War also expertly builds on the now long-standing history of the MCU to deliver a powerful climax, grounded less in special effects and more in meaningful character dynamics. Plus, the film introduces two exciting new heroes into the MCU fold, including the best live-action Spider-Man to date, all adding up to make Civil War the top blockbuster of the year.

#9: Moana

As mentioned in my initial review, Moana feels like the perfect culmination of a long gestating reinvention of the Disney Princess archetype. While the film has the requisite animal sidekicks (including the hilarious Heihei), Moana has no love interest in her story, which makes her journey of self-discovery all the more impactful. The film also features absolutely gorgeous animation that uses a wide variety of vibrant colors, has a killer soundtrack of top-notch Disney tracks from composer Lin Manuel-Miranda, and contains a fantastic voice cast, comprised of both veteran actors, like the immensely likable Dwayne Johnson and Jermaine Clement, and newcomers like Auli’i Cravalho, who certainly leaves an impression. A surprisingly inspiring movie, Moana is probably the best of the recent string of great films from Walt Disney Animation Studios.

#8: Kubo and the Two Strings

Kubo and the Two Strings was largely ignored at the box office, which is a real shame consider just how much care clearly went into making it, and how amazing the final product is. The meticulously crafted stop-motion animation is a non-stop parade of awe-inspiring visual spectacle, including some extremely impressive scale in the action scenes. While Kubo could arguably deserve a spot on this list for its animation alone, its true strength comes from its moving story that, although being a children’s tale, doesn’t shy away from dark elements or exploring heavy themes like grief. The all-star voice cast is also great, specifically Matthew McConaughey as Beetle and Rooney Mara as both of the deeply unnerving Sisters. 

#7: Hunt for the Wilderpeople

It was clear that Taika Waititi was a director to watch after last year’s What We Do In The Shadows, which was number nine on my list of best films for The Aarons last year, and Hunt for the Wilderpeople just cemented his status as a comedic genius. With an unexpectedly hilarious performance from Sam Neil, who shares immense chemistry with his partner-in-crime played by the amusing Julian Dennison, Hunt for the Wilderpeople delivers plenty of hearty laughs through its dry wit. The film also look incredible, having been shot on location in the beautiful New Zealand wilderness, and is bolstered by some unexpected emotional heft. 

#6: Moonlight

Moonlight is one of the most elegantly poetic films ever made. The performances of the lead actors (Trevante Rhodes, Ashton Sanders, and Alex Hibbert) who portray main character Chiron at three different points in his life, are incredible when taken on their own, but, when woven together into a singular image of this man, form something profoundly magical. All the elements of film are in top form here, from the stunning cinematography, to the beautiful score, to the outstanding supporting performances by Mahershala Ali and Naomi Harris. Moonlight’s deeply moving, powerfully human story was exactly the kind of story that 2016 needed more of.

#5: Everybody Wants Some!!

Richard Linklater is quickly becoming one of my favorite directors of all time, and Everybody Wants Some!! is another excellent entry in his impressive filmography. The film’s talented young ensemble cast, including Blake Jenner, Zoey Deutch, Glen Powell, and Tyler Hoechlin, all have fantastic chemistry with one another, which helps make Everybody Wants Some!! the most irresistibly charming film of the year. The movie perfectly captures its 80s aesthetic, but what truly makes Everybody Wants Some!! one of the best films of the year is the empathetic touch of Linklater’s writing/directing. Linklater completely rescues the kind of “sports jock” humor that has grown increasingly off-putting in recent years, transforming it into a hilarious and deeply affecting movie experience.

#4: The Lobster

After hearing about The Lobster’s absurd premise, which revolves around a society where people are transformed into animals if they do not find a romantic partner in time, I knew that it would be unmissable. However, I didn’t realize just how profound the film would be, using its bizarre world to take a hilarious, poignant, and occasionally uncomfortable look at the state of modern relationships. The film boasts an impressive cast, including phenomenal work from Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, and the always reliable John C. Reilly, and, while it may not be to everyone’s liking, the film’s dark humor provides some of the funniest moments of the year.

#3: Arrival 

In a year where a lot of blockbusters disappointed, Arrival delivered one of the most thrilling and fascinating movie experiences through its low-key nature, which shunned action in favor of thought-provoking themes and a powerful humanitarian message. Reminiscent of The Day The Earth Stood Still, Arrival’s exploration of the importance of communication and value of nonviolence was especially timely in 2016, and the film’s visuals are a cavalcade of breathtaking moments. Fantastic performances, a beautiful score, Denis Villenueve’s mesmerizing directing, and a story which enthralls the audience with a sense of discovery also contribute to making Arrival exemplary sci-fi and one of 2016′s best films. 

#2: La La Land

Damien Chazelle’s absolutely stunning ode to classic film musicals was in a very close race for my number one spot, and, since I did not see it until very recently, may in fact move up to #1 if I’m given time to mull it over some more. Certainly the most technically impressive film this year, La La Land delights with multiple perfectly executed dance numbers, including an already iconic opening scene, as well as its set of catchy, dynamic songs. Co-stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone once again demonstrate their tremendous talent and chemistry with one another, sweeping the audience off their feet, right into the film’s magical, dream-like L.A. setting. A tribute to all the artists who risk everything to pursue their dreams, La La Land is a powerfully inspiring film for aspiring young talent, and its gorgeous cinematography and lovably retro set-design transforms the film into pure movie magic. La La Land is an impressive and endlessly enjoyable film that is sure to become as iconic as the classic films it emulates.

AND THE BEST FILM OF 2016 IS…

#1: The Witch

In my initial review for The Witch, I said it was not an instant horror classic. I was wrong, and I realized that when I discovered that the film’s downright petrifying ending was still seared into my brain months after I had seen the picture. The Witch is one of the most deeply unsettling movies I have ever seen. It burrows under your skin through its haunting re-imagining of a supernatural colonial history for America, where one must be ever vigilant of every animal or person’s ability to be a conduit for the Devil, and failure to do so bodes unspeakable consequences. The film is overflowing with a chilling atmosphere, due to Robert Eggers’ expert directing, which quickly transforms the woods into a claustrophobic and seemingly malevolent setting, and is rich in tension, through both the heated conflicts of the paranoid family and the film’s portrayal of an overwhelming, insuperable struggle between man and nature. Anya Taylor-Joy makes an immediate impression in her debut role, and the film perfectly captures the 17th century setting through the archaic language of its script and its magnificent costume design. The Witch, much like last year’s It Follows, is a delightfully disconcerting film experience, whose themes paint it as a twisted morality tale that will rattle the viewer to their core. Thanks to its masterful film-making, copious thematic depth, chilling score, adept acting, and the insurmountable dread conjured up by its atmosphere, The Witch is my favorite movie of the year, and one that I’m sure will continue to haunt me for a long time yet. 

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