MRMOVIESETC
REVIEWS:
“The Biggest Little
Farm” (2019)
“The Biggest Little Farm” is a true story about a
newlywed couple, John & Molly Chester, whom aspire to create their own
thriving farm in California full of fresh produce and livestock. What makes
their vision far more unique than other typical farms that do that same sort of
stuff is they want their farm to have a full ecological balance that not only
meets their needs, but can also be a thriving haven for wildlife; in other
words – Nants’ Ingonyama – the land
gives sustenance to life and life gives back to the land as a continuous
sustaining process. The biggest challenge, of course, is learning to create
that balance without intervening and harming any pests by use of chemical or
weapon.
The documentary chronicles the Chester’s farm over a
seven-year time span, which is admittedly a lot to cover in a short ninety
minute film. Be that as it may, the whole thing is pretty awesome! Not just the
story, though that is impressive without question, but just the footage of the
trials and triumphs over hurdle after hurdle is both breathtaking and thought-provoking.
Some of the shots obviously looked like they were done on either a cell phone
or lo-fi camera, but the ones that clearly were professional grade and show all
the creatures in their habitats created by this farm - it’s nothing short of
gorgeous. This is made more significant by the fact that, since nobody in this
film is an actor, most the verbal communication is done by voiceover work, and thus opens the door to up-close and sprawling images to really help the viewer
absorb everything in a visually satisfying way.
The only real complaint I have with any of it is the fact
that part of this whole mission was predicated on Molly & John providing a
forever home for their beloved dog, Todd; a rescue from a house that was overrun by
dogs due to hoarding. It’s a nit picky thing, but they wanted to give Todd wide
open spaces to roam, which is great, but after that initial introduction, Todd
never shows up again until the very end and the documentary is concluded with a
narration of promises kept. Again, it’s hardly anything to complain about, but
it seems like he should have been in the film more as a sort of spiritual symbol.
Ok, maybe one more. Maybe Molly & John were
incredibly patient, understanding people, but in seven years’ worth of footage,
there wasn’t a single argument between the two.
I mean, c’mon, there should have at least been one “I can’t believe you
talked me into this! I should have married that high-dollar stripper in Vegas
when I had the chance. At least then I wouldn’t be broke with swine afterbirth
all over me!”
I’m (mostly) kidding. But you have to admit, that would
have been funny as Hell.
Other than that, this is a fun little documentary that is
entertaining, inspiring, and educational as an example that more people should
follow. Unfortunately, we suck as a species, so that will never happen until
society collapses and we have no choice.
Definitely check this one out!
“The Biggest Little Farm”: 8.5/10
“The Secret Life
of Pets 2” (2019)
Holy shih tzu – it didn’t suck!
***
All I can really tell you from my first and only viewing
of the original “Secret Life of Pets” is how much I remember hating it. I’m
pretty sure my review of it that is still out there somewhere will back that
up. The only good parts were from the trailer, it was staggeringly void of any
soul, and Kevin Hart’s bunny antagonist thing was ear-piercingly annoying.
Considering the fact that, up until that point, I had been a defender of
Illumination Studios and its filmography, I was basically astonished and
confused on how they managed to lay such an egg as rotten as that.
Yet, here I am, so clearly I didn’t learn my lesson. The
trailer for “Pets 2” suckered my intrigue just as thoroughly as the first, and I
didn’t try too hard to fight it. Thank Zeus this sequel, by rare odds, is a
mile ahead of the first one in virtually every way. That’s not to say it’s
anything transcendent or remotely holds a candle to its animated competition;
in fact, when boiled down, it’s rather pointless and survives only on pet puns
and sight gags, but at least they managed to do it better this time. Hell, dare
I say, I was laughing my ass off a couple of times.
When I say “pointless”, it is not an exaggeration. There’s
literally three mini-plots going on throughout the course of the entire film
that loosely tie together at the very end for the sake of saying “facing your
fears is important”. I guess in order to get that realization we had to see a
dog pretend to be a cat in order to save the favorite toy of Max (Patton
Oswalt) from an apartment full cats (hoarding is a theme in this Rapid Fire),
while Max and his buddy Duke (Eric Stonestreet) are off on a family trip to a
farm where Max meets his would-be mentor, Rooster (Harrison Ford – yes,
really), and also Snowball (Kevin Hart) has a completely separate random-ass
thing where he joins Daisy (Tiffany Haddish), whom employs him to save a tiger
cub from a shockingly-sadistic-for-a-kids-movie circus owner/trainer.
Make sense?
Well, it doesn’t really matter because the whole thing
goes by so fast you will hardly notice. Plus, the kids in the room will be
entertained and I assume that’s the whole point.
The first “Pets” didn’t leave much longing for a sequel,
even if it had been good, and clearly the idea well wasn’t that deep with a clear
lack of a story to tell here. Still, I feel glad that this sequel was made to
bleach out the first’s stain on the underwear of Illumination.
“The Secret Life of Pets 2”: 7/10
“Rocketman” (2019)
Alright whoever is making the David Bowie movie - no
pressure! Hollywood saw Freddie Mercury and raised us an Elton John biopic that
I would argue is not only more entertaining than “Bohemian Rhapsody”, but
definitely wins in the creativity department as well. Ziggy Stardust is going
to have a bit of a mountain to climb to be King of Hollywood’s new fascination
with rockstars.
It’s a good problem to have.
***
“Can you hear me, Major Tom?...Can you hear me, Major Tom?”
Shit, maybe not. Now it’s stuck in my head.
***
Ok, all kidding aside, all three legends were legendary
for their own very different reasons. No matter how you slice it, no single
feature length film will have the ability to capture the full essence of
personalities as huge as Freddie Mercury, David Bowie, and with “Rocketman”,
Elton John.
“Bohemian Rhapsody” did a lot of things well, some others
not as well, though it survived the day thanks to a monster performance from Rami
Malek. Taron Egerton as the titular Rocketman also channeled Elton’s
immortality for one Hell of a show-robbing display of drama and radiance. What
additionally gave this film a leg up over “Rhapsody” was how it was presented
more as a “fantasy based on a true story” by using Elton’s songs as a means to
tie scenes and various plot points together instead of the tunes merely
existing as a byproduct.
By the way, if “Rocketman” doesn’t at least get an Oscar
nod for Best Costume Design, there’s more wrong with the Academy than we
originally thought. From what I can tell, Elton John did not consult on this
film much at all, aside from telling Egerton not to try and mimic him
perfectly, so to see all of his out-of-this-world concert threads done so
flawlessly deserves a little credit.
Like I said in the beginning, the passage of time is
always going to be a flaw with films like these, and “Rocketman” is no
exception. The timeline here covers about two decades of Elton – from his start
to his pinnacle – so the pacing doesn’t often stop to catch its breath. Keeping
in mind this was written to capture Elton’s struggles in his personal life - from
disinterested parents as a child to rampant drug abuse and toxic relationships
- none of that truly gets a chance to set in before it is off to the next
thing. Then again, given his life in the fast lane, I suppose that makes sense
in its own way.
It’s kind of difficult to go into much detail without the
intention of writing a short novel. “Rocketman” is an experience much like the
man it’s based on. If you’re a fan of Elton John already, you’re likely going
to get a big kick out of this and want to sing along to every dance number.
Give this one a look; it turned out rather well.
“Rocketman”: 8/10
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