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Anomalisa, a review by Danae Cassandra

Film #4 of Scavenger Hunt #22
Task #27: Watch a film set in Ohio (the 17th US state)



Anomalisa
Year of Release: 2015
Directed By: Charlie Kaufman, Duke Johnson
Starring: David Thewlis, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Noonan

Overview:Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Being John Malkovich comes a riveting new "MASTERPIECE." Michael Stone - husband, father and noted author - travels to Cincinnati to speak at a customer service conference. But once he's separated from the routine of his daily life, a chance encounter helps him to realize just what, and whom, he's been missing. Love, laughter and loneliness align in a "STAGGERINGLY INVENTIVE" stop-motion work of art from directors Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson.

My Thoughts:
Anomalisa is the story of a man's single night stay in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is worn down by depression, which makes all of the mundane parts of life excruciating. Everyone speaks with the same voice and he subconsciously views himself as a robot. He is going through the motions of life. He yearns for something special, some connection, some spark to bring life to his existence. Yet when he finds it, once the novelty wears off he begins to cycle back down.

This is a really well done piece of stop-motion, unusual in its adult subjects and audience, unusual in its unlikeable main character. Michael isn't a good person, and though we're invited to know his feelings we're never given an understanding of what has brought him to where he is, so we're never invited to truly empathize with him. Yet it's still an interesting study of how people relate to one another, and how connections form and die.

This is a good film, and I enjoyed it, but I'd recommend it only to fans of art films, however, since I'm not sure how much mainstream film fans would enjoy this.

Bechdel Test: Fail
Mako Mori Test: Fail

Overall: 3.5/5

(From Scavenger Hunt #22 on January 7th, 2017)

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, a review by DJ Doena

Harrison Ford    ...    Indiana Jones
Cate Blanchett   ...    Irina Spalko
Karen Allen   ...    Marion Ravenwood
Shia LaBeouf   ...    Mutt Williams
Ray Winstone   ...    'Mac' George Michale
John Hurt   ...    Professor Oxley

Synopsis: 20 years have past, the Nazis are gone and Marcus Brody and Henry Jones, Sr. have died. But now there are Russians and they want to discover the secrets that are behind some mysteriously formed yet perfectly carved crystal skulls. And Indy is right in the middle of it. This time the treasure hunt leads to South America, in the Amazon River region and back to the time of the spanish conquistadores. And Indy is not alone. He's accompanied by his friend Professor Oxley, his former companion Marion - and someone he didn't expect.

My Opinion: I don't have anything against the chosen subject - this time aliens. I mean, c'mon, we've seen the Ark of the Covenant and even the Holy Grail and they've done miraculous things. So why not aliens. It was a very good movie; still I didn't enjoy it as much as its predecessors. It lacked a bit of the charm of the previous movies and there were too many over the top elements in it. For example Indy's survival of a nuclear explosion in a refrigerator that was blasted through the desert, or their triple fall down a waterfall.
My favourite of the series still remains Last Crusade.

(From DJ Doena's movie watchings 2009 on June 18th, 2009)

Pete's Pilots, a review by addicted2dvd

Millennium
Retired serial-profiler Frank Black has moved his family to Seattle to escape the violence and horror he dealt with while working for the FBI in Washington, D.C. Although his uncanny and often unsetting ability to see into the twisted minds of serial killers has caused him much inner torment, Black knows his "gift" can still be used to help protect and save others. For that reason he has joined the Millennium Group, a team of ex-law enforcement experts dedicated to fighting against the ever-growing forces of evil and darkness in the world.

Pilot
Frank hunts for a murderer trying to fulfill an apocalyptic prophercy and discovers that his own past has followed him and his family to there new home in Seattle.

My Thoughts:
This is a great series starring Lance Henriksen. The pilot episode sets up the series well. After watching the pilot episode I fell like I could watch entire series again. But I think I better put that one off a while.

My Rating:

(From Pete's Pilots on April 20th, 2010)