Inside Out

DISCLAIMER: This blog is not for profit. All images and footage used are property of their respective companies unless stated otherwise. I do not claim ownership of this material.

Inside Out

One of the best movies of 2014 was ‘The Lego Movie’ – a part of it's brilliance was that it contained all of the key ingredients in the recipe for a great animated film. It had heart, humour, brilliant animation and most of all creativity. As a medium, animation allows filmmakers to show more creativity than any other genre, due to its limitless nature. As a result, some of the greatest films of all time have been animated, with this film especially being an almost perfect example of what animation studios such as Pixar can do with a great idea.      

Inside Out has all of the aspects listed above in spades, making it not only the best animated film of the year, but possibly the best film of the year overall. Admittedly, the concept of being able to see inside someone’s head and see their emotions has been done several times before, but here it is shown in such a new and creative way that it feels almost completely original. They use that one concept to great effect, but then they keep on developing so many different aspects of their interpretation of the human mind that there is something new to surprise you in practically every scene.

The film is also very clever and witty in its humour, with several funny moments in spite of the film’s deep emotional core. It goes without saying that a movie about exploring deep and complex emotions will have several tear-jerking (TV Tropes’ wording, not mine) moments, but the happy and sad moments are so perfectly balanced that it is never depressing. This also ties in nicely with the film’s moral, which is an important message for people to learn and accept: that sadness is just as important as happiness and that bottling up or trying to block certain emotions will only lead to you becoming increasingly unhappy in the long run. It would have been so easy to make Sadness the villain, but instead they avoid this and show that it is important to have a balance of emotions, which is a far more healthy perspective.

Inside Out is also essentially about growing up and moving on and the way that it shows that it is ok to move on and replace old aspects of your personality with new ones is also a refreshing and much needed for many of the film’s young viewers.

Overall, Inside Out is a wonderfully creative and clever film that is up there with Pixar’s greatest classics.       

Boyhood

Boyhood

DISCLAIMER: This blog is not for profit. All images and footage used are property of their respective companies unless stated otherwise. I do not claim ownership of this material.

 

It is almost hard to review this film, as it is so unique – but its unique nature is ultimately what makes it work. At its core, it is simply about young boy growing up, from the ages of 6 to 18, with no major running conflict throughout, which is an unusual narrative for a mainstream film. Whilst this may sound dull at first, the lack of an ongoing battle allows the film to focus purely on the development of its characters and this works especially well considering that is was filmed over a 12 year period, with the young actors growing up on camera. This then means that the viewers form a strong emotional attachment to the film’s protagonists and this connection is then further increased by various references to popular culture, which further add to the sense of realism that permeates the film as a whole. The actors cast also help with this, as they all seem very natural in their respective roles.

At the same time, and in spite of its simple nature, the film also encourages the audience to think about deeper ideas such as the ways in which time and nature can change people, as well as further messages about living in the moment. However, this is effectively balanced out with the aforementioned simplicity of the plot, which moves on in a smooth fashion and creates a relaxed atmosphere.

                                                                                                                                                        Overall, Boyhood is a wonderful film that is well worthy of the praise it got when it was first released.