pramsalim

People associate animation movies with Disney. They are the pioneer of animation movies, I won't take away a credit where credit is due. However, their computer animated cartoons aren't the only type of animation. Studio Ghibli with their superb hand-drawn animation has garnered quite a few followers over the course of its lifetime, they stayed true to their traditional brand of animation up until their temporary halt in 2014. One studio has embraced one of the oldest type of animation as their distinctive type of animation, which is stop-motion. That studio is Laika Entertainment, they have produced some of the most well known stop-motions in recent years. Coraline, Paranorman and The Boxtrolls are the movies that they have produced. They were decent, but I can understand why they weren't as well known as some of the Pixar movies. On 2016 however, I think they have produced their magnum opus.

Kubo and the Two Strings tells the journey of Kubo, a young boy who lives a peaceful yet mysterious life. When he accidentally summoned a vengeful spirit however, he will embark on a quest that will explain his past.This movie is a fantasy movie. However, those who watch fantasy movies and expect a tight logical sense will find no satisfaction here. The movie will suddenly throw some bizzare magic and give no explanation whatsoever about the origins of that magic. If you get trapped in trying to figure out how it happened then I'm afraid you could miss out on it's wonder. I think in order to fully immerse yourself in the world of Kubo, you just need to let go, and fantasize.

What I love most about this movie is the depth that this movie posess. It has a story that is similar to that of a fairy tale, but when a fairy tale usually tackles the theme of virtues such as honesty, friendship and perseverance, Kubo and the Two Strings tells a story about life, death and how each one brings all the more meaning to the other half. The movie treats these topics with such maturity that I certainly didn't expect from a family movie. Much like Coco, Pixar's 2017 movie, it handles such heavy topics with love and humor, making a digestable piece of cinema that could be appreciated by the whole generation and perhaps, the generations to come.

This movie has a message that really resonated with me. I often have thoughts about mortality and death in general, not because I crave for it, mind you. In fact, the concept of it is terrifying for me. I always view death as this bottomless void that isolates you with its loneliness. This movie opened my mind into a whole new perspective on death, a perspective that doesn't view it as a defeat, but rather as a happy ending.

This movie with one of the weirdest title in recent memory is getting a lot of awards lately. It didn't win the Best Picture oscar but people were putting their money on this movie. The Shape of Water won the Best Picture that night. I wasn't the biggest fan of that movie though, I thought the movie was kind of hollow. This movie, however, was a damn dynamite.

At its core, it was really about the concept of anger and hate. The main character of this movie is an aging lady, Mildred Hayes, who had her daughter murdered in a gruesome way. After the police seemed to give up on the case, she took it upon herself to use the billboard outside her house to write some things about her daughter's murder. This event led to consequences that not only affects the people around her, but also the whole town of Ebbing, Missouri.

From beginning to end, I was constantly glued to the screen. The writing was perfect, the drama was very hard-hitting as well as the dark humor that was peppered throughout the movie. Writings, however, wouldn't mean a damn thing if not performed correctly. The performances in this movie was so affecting. Veteran actors such as Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell and Woody Harrelson, all gave a very conflicted (and funny too, surprisingly) performances. Also, what I liked about this movie was that it touched on the subject of anger and eventually acceptance, but the movie never felt cheesy at all. It delivered the message while still keeping the cynicism that I think is the movie's strongest identity.

I think this is a great movie. I thought it could've won the Original Screenplay Oscar, but that didn't happen too, 'Get Out' won that Oscar. That's okay, though, I like 'Get Out'. Anyways, If you like dark comedies and drama, I think you'll love this movie.