Skip to main content

BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE Featurette

#Anomalisa – Movie Review

A reimagined, sluggish, but intriguing view of one man’s descent into madness.

Review by Erika Ashley

Michael Stone is a business man, author, husband, father, inspirational speaker, adulterer, and madman. While on another business trip to promote his customer service oriented self-help book, “How May I Help You Help Them?” Michael is surrounded by the same faces and voices. Living his life in utter boredom and mundanity he attempts to rile up some kind emotion or passion by reaching out to an ex-girlfriend he wronged 10 years ago. After his first attempt of connection crashes and burns you get a sense that something might actually be wrong with Michael himself. He continues on his evening by taking advantage of a naïve fan with horribly low self-esteem, named Lisa. Michael thinks he’s found his soulmate because she is a true anomaly in his routine existence until she too fades away into the abyss of his mental disarray.



First, this film is animated. Unnecessarily animated. Anomalisa was albeit excruciatingly slow at times, still managed to throw in interesting twists but did not need to be animated in any way. The stop-motion animation was beautifully mastered and well done but confusing to the audience. When viewers watch animated or stop-motion films they tend to have a childish or light-hearted nature because they are mostly G-rated. Anomalisa is an obvious adult film with adult themes, nudity, a ton of “f-bombs,” and even a sex scene. Michael, voiced by David Thewlis, visits a sex toy shop and buys something for his young son, which is so painfully awkward by the way. This film would have been much more enjoyable as live-action, but for the effect the directors Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson were trying to portray I can understand and forgive the stop-motion puppetry.


Every face and voice in the film besides Lisa, voiced by Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Michael are literally the same, which starts out confusing. Are we the viewers crazy or is this foreshadowing? The first half of the film the audience struggles with the similarities but then it becomes apparent that we are seeing the world through Michael’s point of view. The plot-line is mystifyingly frustrating to follow because the story moves at a snail’s pace. The audience grew bored with Michael just as quickly as it was apparent how boring Michael’s life is to his own self. Even some patrons in the theater during the screening left within the first half hour of the film. The voice acting was done well mostly due to the fact that there were only three voices and everyone else in the film had the same monotone cadence that drilled home the dullness of Michael’s existence.


Besides the sluggish story and non-climactic end the real intrigue of the film was the aesthetics and beauty of the images on the screen. It was a train wreck you just cannot look away from because of the sheer graphicness, but in an awestricken stunning way. Michael and Lisa’s faces had details only a true artist could master. The artistic edge for me outweighed the perplexing story. My eyes hungered for more of the tiny details and minute movements that seamlessly blended into the next. It was astounding how captivating the animation was and so I forgive its unnecessary use because it was executed flawlessly.
This film was interesting to say the least. Would I go again or suggest others to pay movie theater price to see? Probably not. Instead I suggest you wait for it to come out for rental but do not watch it with children. Do watch it with an open mind but not high expectations.

Anomalisa has a 90 minute runtime.

Please Leave A Comment-

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Sex Tape Review: Overly Sexual, Rude, Vulgar, and Absolutely Hilarious

The raunchy Sex Tape will divide audiences and critics, but who cares? Sex Tape suggests a growing practice among loving partners: that of making a raunchy testament of their escapades for posterity. But what happens when that evidence gets seen by friends, neighbors, and even the mailman? This is the plot that pits Jay (Jason Segel) and Annie (Cameron Diaz) in an effort to secure every iPad gift Jay has given, his record company playlists being the envy of the recipients, but which has also inadvertently spread the video to every device. The reason for the act - termed in the movie as pulling "the full Lincoln " for its three-hour length - stems from the couple's non-existent social life, brought on by the constant demands of their children. The couple has a lot to lose: a burgeoning business relationship between Annie and Hank (Rob Lowe) could end if the iPad she's given to Hank exposes the video, and so the couple sets out to reclaim and wipe the incrim

New Clip & Release Date For Chaos Walking Starring Tom Holland & Daisy Ridley

In the not too distant future, Todd Hewitt ( Tom Holland ) discovers Viola ( Daisy Ridley ), a mysterious girl who crash lands on his planet, where all the women have disappeared and the men are afflicted by “the Noise” – a force that puts all their thoughts on display. In this dangerous landscape, Viola’s life is threatened – and as Todd vows to protect her, he will have to discover his own inner power and unlock the planet’s dark secrets. .   In theater & IMAX March 5th.   Discuss this with fellow SJF fans on Facebook . On Twitter, follow us at @SandwichJohnFilms Please Leave A Comment-

Half Nude Images From MAGIC MIKE. Your Welcome Ladies

Ladies here you go. Plenty of sexy photos of the cast from MAGIC MIKE . Make sure to check back, we will be hosting the advance screening in Sacramento. Mike ( Tatum ) is an entrepreneur. A man of many talents and loads of charm, he spends his days pursuing the American Dream from as many angles as he can handle: from roofing houses and detailing cars to designing furniture from his Tampa beach condo. But at night… he’s just magic. The hot headliner in an all-male revue, Magic Mike has been rocking the stage at Club Xquisite for years with his original style and over-the-top dance moves. The more the ladies love him, the more they spend, and the happier that makes club owner Dallas ( McConaughey ). "It's Raining Men" In This Magic Mike Clip-Your Welcome- See all the images after the Jump... Mike (Tatum) is an entrepreneur. A man of many talents and loads of charm, he spends his days pursuing the American Dream from as many angles as he ca