Gorgeous! Absolutely gorgeous animation, with a moving story to go with it.
I was a bit put off when first watching the film because the animation of the animals is so much simpler than the incredible backgrounds. However, as I got deeper into the movie that became irrelevant, as it was clear that, although subtle, the simpler drawings were fully capable of expressing the characters of the animals.
— by WILLIAM STERR — Shortcuts are not always the best idea. Just ask Cass Anderson. She was driving home late one raining evening, taking an isolated shortcut called Blackwater Lane. After nearly being run off the road by a truck, she saw a car parked by the side of the road. She stopped, and, […][...]
— by BEV QUESTAD — The last I heard, the Wicked Witch of the West (WWW) died after Dorothy, stuck in the Land of Oz, threw water on her and she melted. Dorothy, frustratingly stuck in Oz, ended up clicking her ruby red shoes and magically returning home to Kansas with her faithful dog, Toto. […][...]
— by BEV QUESTAD — A group of robots end up crash-landing. One survives and, like Robinson Crusoe or the Swiss Family Robinson, must contend with the natural world of an uninhabited (by humans), untamed jungle/forest wilderness. However, since the robot, Roz, does not need to eat and gains power from light, she’s quite the […][...]
— by BEV QUESTAD — My 47-year-old long-haired musician-adventurist son, James T, asked me to take him to “A Complete Unknown” on Christmas Day. Dylan represents my generation, but James claims him too. Four days prior, his band was rockin’ out with the crowd joining in, “Any day now, any day now, I shall be […][...]
— by WILLIAM STERR — Mexican drug cartel bosses are known for their savagery, their secrecy and their short lives. One of the worst was Juan “Little Hands” El Monte, brutal leader of the largest drug trafficking gang in the nation. Unknown to even his closest associate, Juan had a special secret he had held […][...]
— by WILLIAM STERR — A vicious winter. An isolated Icelandic fishing outpost, in danger of starvation due to a poor catch. The foundering of a sailing ship whose survivors would put an impossible burden on the already hungry fishermen. And the decision by Eva (Odessa Young – “Shirley”), the owner of the outpost, to […][...]
— by BEV QUESTAD — The return of the treasures, the murmuring of the spirits and the new thinking of the people receiving the restitution make this documentary, in the top fifteen 2025 Oscar list, an eye-opener. We see an elegant dinner cruise on the electric ripples of the Seine long after sunset. The sophisticated […][...]
— by BEV QUESTAD — Secretly filmed in Iran, a dire intermix of state and religion is the threatening backdrop of the film’s story as well as the true-life, nerve-wracking environment for the film crew. Once a state is regarded as a manifestation of God’s will, laws, rules, and regulations become immutable mandates from God. […][...]