Quick Movie Review: Vol 29

Ponyo (2008)

It get’s to the point sometimes where I get worried about watching a movie. The sheer love that people have for movies makes me wonder if I’ll have the same reaction. Ponyo is such a movie. The amount of times I’ve heard people say that if you don’t love Ponyo then your soul is dead, is reaching into the triple digits. Coming from Hayao Miyazaki, a man who creates fantastical worlds with a lot of heart, I can see why people might fall in love with his work.

Visually the movie is beautiful, the animation work is outstanding and I love the how the ocean and its many creatures are visualized. Ponyo herself is a very cute creation and fits into both the human and ocean world. However this is a far from perfect film, while the plot itself is good enough to hang a beautiful relationship of a young boy and girl, there just seems to be something lacking. Unlike maybe his earlier works things seem more scattered. Still this is a great film to watch with the family, and while some inconsistencies it has happiness pouring from it.

Snowtown (2011)

A depressing story, based on true events where a16 year-old Jamie falls in with his mother's new boyfriend and his crowd of self-appointed neighborhood watchmen, a relationship that leads to a spree of torture and murder. While this movie is brilliant, it’s definitely a hard watch considering the source material. It’s weird how a movie like this can get under the skin easier than a horror movie modelled on similar themes. Maybe it’s the fact that a horror movie is trying to scare you, while a movie like this is just reporting the incidents, so the horror is more grounded in reality.

Adding to the realism of the movie is the fact that the actors are local talent so they are very aware of what happened. Yet again it gives a realism that adds to the disturbing elements of the movie. This movie is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, and in fact the entire movie seems to be carrying the scars of the incident in such a way that it’s hard not to turn away. If you’re up for a challenging but great film then go ahead and give this a watch, otherwise maybe move on.

Growth (2010)

There are some great ideas in this movie. Parasites used as a form of evolution, not only does it lend it self to some great horror moments, but it can lead to some interesting themes. However a great idea needs to be capitalised on and Growth drops the ball big time. Maybe for the first thirty or so minutes I thought that this movie was really going to be a gem, however there is a turn that just destroys any momentum.

There are essences of a superhero origin story, body horror, tortured soul, mad science, and other movies. Growth never really knows what it wants to be, it under uses some characters, also it doesn’t seem to be able to focus on who the main lead of the movie is. It is also hurt when story elements are introduced very late in the game. It is a big shame as there was something here, but at the end of the day Growth is just another straight to DVD horror movie that doesn’t do much at all.