#willi recommends

[willibeest]

RECOMMENDATION OF THE HOUR (12/2024)

Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure. Directed by Richard Williams, performance by Didi Conn and Mark Baker, restored by Helge Bernhardt and Garrett Gilchrist, 1977.

Watch it, sister! This is no girl's movie.

Two charming ragdolls leave their nursery to rescue an abducted friend. Flawlessly blends live-action with gorgeous, fluid animation. Musical numbers are composed by the same guy who did the songs from Sesame Street. The result is an adventure that's warm and cozy while going to some unsettling places. I can't imagine an adaptation of these characters being any better than this.

One thing I noticed from watching the intro was the characters were mainly animated by one or two people each. I don't know how often a movie takes this route, but the result is an incredibly diverse troupe of toys with their own distinct way of moving, and it stuns without ceasing. After watching the movie, I can imagine how meticulous the job must have been.

Honorable mentions:

Will & Harper - Josh Greenbaum

The 9th Movie - Joel Haver

Bird Box - Susanne Bier

[willibeest]

RECOMMENDATION OF THE HOUR (04/2024)

Hundreds of Beavers. Directed by Mike Cheslik, performance by who knows how many beavers, SRH, 2024.

Everyone was talking their heads off about it. I had to check it out, and it delivered in every single way.

Hundreds of Beavers really does feel like something Charlie Chaplin would have made if he knew After Effects. It's proof that slapstick is a timeless art, and that modern advances in technology can allow slapstick to transcend beyond just a few styles.

The movie is a feature-length silent cartoon, featuring the chronicles of a man gaining more hunting experience with limited resources. During the first few minutes alone, I was hit with visual gags at an astonishing pace. It's hard for me to describe what to expect without parroting what other people say.

Everybody simply needs to watch it at least once.

Honorable mentions:

Steak - Quentin Dupieux

Detective Heart of America: The Final Freedom - Jason Steele

[willibeest]

RECOMMENDATION OF THE HOUR (08/2024)

It Just Takes Time. Directed by Joel Haver, 2024.

As August got closer to finishing, I was worried about what my monthly recommendation would look like, and that was because barely any of the movies I watched that month were notably good... ...but before I could lose all hope, Joel Haver uploaded to YouTube and saved the day. Haver's fifth feature in the span of a single year, It Just Takes Time is a very poignant slice of life. It's nothing crazy ambitious, but it's a well-crafted glimpse into the feeling of recollecting times gone past. Reuniting with a place, or a friend, or a hobby is such a beautiful thing, and the warmth is communicated well in this piece.

Honorable mentions:

American Psycho - Mary Harron

Blood Simple - Joel Coen

Migration - Benjamin Renner

[willibeest]

RECOMMENDATION OF THE HOUR (10/2024)

Playtime. Directed by Jacques Tati, SN Prodis, 1967.

The presentation of this movie is one of the most unique things I've seen. It's the only one I've found which consists entirely of establishing shots. While one person is talking from a distance, you've got other visual gags happening in the foreground. It's like you're watching the characters from a security camera, and when they move off-screen, you switch to the next angle.

I have to watch this movie again. I know I've missed a bajillion things while trying to navigate this movie. At this point, there should be a companion book that gives you a checklist of things to find.

Honorable mentions:

Porco Rosso - Hayao Miyazaki

The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and The Horse - Peter Baynton & Charlie Mackesy

ParaNorman - Sam Fell & Chris Butler

Robots (2005) - Chris Wedge

[willibeest]

RECOMMENDATION OF THE HOUR (03/2024)

Wolfwalkers. Directed by Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart, Cartoon Saloon, 2020.

My first encounter with Cartoon Saloon's bold vision was a couple years ago when my family borrowed The Secret of Kells. It was during a phase where my father was starting to become interested in the more low-key animated movies. Think Isle of Dogs, Ernest & Celestine, and so on.

I was very pleased to see Cartoon Saloon's geometric fairytale world return once more in Wolfwalkers, a story about two girls whose spirits take the form of wolves during the night. The movie takes place in a town which does not take kindly to wolves, which is an issue when one of the inhabitants is secretly friends with a wolfwalker.

I think there's merit in a movie where the visual language doesn't get in the way of its emotional value. Wolfwalkers does this well. Amid the stunning colors and shapes this movie has to offer, I also feel sympathy for characters like Mebh who are misunderstood.

Honorable mentions:

Finch - Miguel Sapochnik

Herbie Rides Again - Robert Stevenson

The Hero’s Journey aka My Life aka The Caleb Johnston Story (I’m Caleb) - Joel Haver

[willibeest]

RECOMMENDATION OF THE HOUR (07/2024)

The Imaginary. Directed by Yoshiyuki Momose, performance by Kokoro Terada, Studio Ponoc, 2023.

I heard the dude from The Office was working on a movie just like this one, but for some reason it didn't catch my eye like this one did.

Would you believe me if I said The Imaginary is the first Japanese animated feature I ever watched? I grew up in an era where studios like Ghibli were heralded as some of the greatest visionaries, and yet I never had the privilege to watch any of them. When I learned this movie was directed by a certified Ghibli alum, I knew I had to give this one a shot.

The Imaginary is a story about Rudger, a young boy who's the imaginary friend of an elementary school girl. He's still able to exist while the girl is away from him, but nobody else is able to see him. What happens, however, when an imaginary friend can't be imagined anymore?

I'm sure it's safe to assume this movie isn't as remarkable as some of the other masterpieces that came before it, but I was still floored by how beautiful it was. The warm colors, the expressive movements, and the wacky characters were enough to make me happy. However, this movie doesn't hold back from getting heavy when it needs to be. The Imaginary was still able to make me want to tear up.

Honorable mentions:

Close Encounters of the Third Kind - Steven Spielberg

Jaws - Steven Spielberg

Inception - Christopher Nolan

Burn After Reading - Joel and Ethan Coen

[willibeest]

RECOMMENDATION OF THE HOUR (09/2024)

Robot Dreams. Directed by Pablo Berger, Wild Bunch, 2023.

This one looks very simple at first. It’s a cute movie about a dog bonding with his robot friend in New York City. It’s got emotional value, and it’s got that feel-good vibe you’d look for in a casual flick.

…but this movie resonates with me more than that. There was a time when I lost track of an old friend for who knows how long, and this movie made me feel seen. My younger self would’ve loved this movie like crazy.

Honorable mentions:

My Neighbor Totoro - Hayao Miyazaki

Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit - Nick Park

Hiccups - Joel Haver

Thelma (2024) - Josh Margolin

[willibeest]

RECOMMENDATION OF THE HOUR (02/2024)

Nimona. Directed by Nick Bruno and Troy Quane, performance by Chloë Grace Moretz, Netflix, 2023.

A town can have a vast, medieval history, but why do they have to make it their whole personality, am I right?

With brilliant worldbuilding and a vibrant, chaotic character, Netflix's adaptation of ND Stevenson's Nimona is one of those heartwarming movie success stories that you just don't hear about today. Its production history was very shaky, but it finally was embraced by loving hands and released to much-deserved praise.

I watched Nimona with no prior context when Netflix sneakily uploaded it to their YouTube channel, and I was thoroughly impressed by how they didn't hold back on the allegory. Nimona has a desire to express herself freely by shapeshifting, but it's seen negatively by the people in town. Sometimes it's shown in a more gentle, comedic manner, but other times the conflict cuts deep into the soul.

This is a movie that desperately needed to come out, and I'm so glad it finally did.

Honorable mentions:

Office Space - Mike Judge

Bedknobs and Broomsticks - Robert Stevenson