benji

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008) poster — Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

★★★★

The Wild Robot (2024) poster — The Wild Robot

This post is my entry for this months IndieWeb Movie Club hosted by Mark Sutherland. Sometime in 2008, I bought a Nintendo DS Lite. I don't remember what games I bought for it when I first got it, but one of the games I got soon after was Professor Layton and the Curious Village. The Professor Layton series are puzzle point-and-click adventure games with a really fun story, characters, and music. There was a lot that drew me to the series but one of the things I liked the most was how unique the art was. I remember looking into it at the time and some of the media with similar art styles that were brought to my attention were the comics The Adventures of Tintin and Le bibendum céleste as well as this film. For whatever reason, I didn't watch this film at that time. I'm kinda happy I didn't as I don't think I would've appreciated it then as much as I did now. There's a lot of ways to read this movie, but I was very pulled in by just how loving and caring the grandmother character, Madame Souza, was. Raising a kid is hard work, but putting the love and dedication in trying to find ways to cheer them up, or paying attention to what little reactions they have to their interests goes a long way. It doesn't end there as she also helps him with his training, inventing all sorts of interesting contraptions to make sure he's the best athlete he can be, as well as going along with him for the actual competitions. And once he gets kidnapped, she goes to incredible lengths to get him back. Everything that happened post-kidnapping was like four movies rolled into one. I don't think I can even do it justice by explaining it so I'll just skip to the end. It is amazing that the films runtime is only 81 mins though. The last scene was a little heartbreaking because we see a much older Champion as he calls out to let his grandmother know the film has ended. I believe we are meant to take this as he's old and alone now. I choose to believe that it's not that much further into the future and that he's calling out to her in a different room. I started writing some notes for this post as the credits rolled and was surprised to find out there was a post-credits scene. I'm not sure if this was available for all depending on which version of the film you caught, and it's just a quick second, but it's a funny callback joke which this film does so well so it's worth a watch. I think this is a brilliant film which has to be watched to be fully appreciated. It probably needs a few rewatches to catch all the little details scattered throughout the film. But if you watch one thing, here's a short clip of one of my favorite scenes from the movie. It shows the first look we get as we enter the city of Belleville, about 30 mins into the film. Pan shot of Belleville Thanks Mark for choosing this movie.

Jodorowsky's Dune (2013) poster — Jodorowsky's Dune

This post is my entry for IndieWeb Movie Club #003. This movie is so interesting as I've probably watched it more as clips and references in all other sorts of media than actually sat down to watch it. I think this is the only time I've actually sat down and chosen it to watch, rather than it just playing on TV. I had a hard time not thinking about the plot of Wicked and how all those pieces fit together. It helps to give the Wicked Witch of the West more background as in this film she's just a "bad witch". For me, Wicked is canon. I'm keeping to my same format for this one since it's so late in the month, but I might switch to something different for the next one. First viewing: I remember it was playing on TV and I actually sat down to watch the whole thing in early 2007. Watch count: 2 times all the way through. Hundreds of times if we count every single time I've seen it in parts. Favorite quote: As Coroner I must aver, I thoroughly examined her, and she's not only merely dead, she's really most sincerely dead. Favorite scene: The obvious one is when Dorothy walks out the door in to Oz and the screen just fills with color. Yeah, there's something technologically amazing about this but the thing that stands out to me the most is the complexity of that set. There's so much detail that went in to every piece, prop, and costume. This still happens but in a much more naturalistic way so as to not see the seams. But the seams are good. Prop I wish I had: The Scarecrow's diploma. Just because out of all of the things the Lion, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Man get, this one is the silliest to me. Best boy*: Terry who plays Toto. She's my favorite. At close to 100 years, this film is unlike anything else. Yes, there's brilliance on screen but just as important, or even more so, is the horrible conditions and treatment people were subjected to in the making of this film. I don't think the extent of health complications potentially caused by the filming of this can even be documented. Toxic paint, asbestos snow, diets, and drugs is just a few of them and that's just for physical health. The list is extensive and Craig already has discussed some of them so I encourage you to check it out. I also really enjoyed this video essay by Kaz Rowe where they discuss a lot of these topics too. I'd be curious to read more about this era of Hollywood and what all had to go down to get the rules and safeguards to protect all people involved. It's still not perfect as there are several cases in recent years of more people harmed by those in power, but the egregiousness of that time is something I hope has long gone. Still, this movie's legacy will probably go on longer than any of us and audiences that are not even born yet will continue to experience it. One thing I found interesting is that there is a direct yet subtle theme that connects all entries in the IndieWeb Movie Club so far (see #001 and #002). All of these movies have so far contained a message about the importance of friendship and/or found family. Because you don't always have to do things alone.