My Own Little World

As I have become an adult, the first Incredibles movie has grown on me quite a lot. I began to realize how deep-seated its themes are and how many mature issues it tackles for an animated film; there is something special about how animated films like this can allow one’s guard to drop and communicate some heavy messages to the non-children in the room. A sequel has seemed like a pipe dream for so long that I was almost in disbelief when the announcement was made that Incredibles 2 was entering production and would be released in 2018. I think it is safe to assume that few people were nervous about this film ruining its predecessor; Pixar has done a highly serviceable job with its most beloved properties’ long-awaited sequels ( Toy Story 3 and Finding Dory being prime examples), and the return of nearly every component involved in the original eased my mind that much more. I wanted to see the return of that impeccable family dynamic that was often more enticing than the acti...

If A Quiet Place has taught me anything, it is the importance of good sound design. This is a highly effective horror film for a lot of reasons, but the way it uses sound to its advantage creates such a tense atmosphere that I won’t be forgetting soon. It is almost entirely silent with few portions of spoken dialogue. The production team tried to make very little noise so that every on-camera sound could be amplified in post-production, and it paid off. Because the suddenly loud noises are so loud and because we know that the creatures in the film are only attracted by these kinds of sudden noises, every time those sounds occur the tension instantly goes up. It is a perfect setup for a lot of good jump scares, but it also lends itself to the character development. One of the children of the family focused on is deaf, and when the film is from her perspective all the on-set sound goes away, giving us some very suspenseful and even emotional moments. In fact, A Quiet Place ...

If I’m being honest, I really want the Christian film industry to succeed. I want it to be good art that families can feel comfortable seeing in a theater. I want it to have good messages for Christians in the world today, and I want these films to do well and gain respect outside of the American evangelical sphere. There haven’t been many films of this genre, though, that have risen above one of two categories – borderline sermon or borderline propaganda – and the typical lack of production quality behind these films means that I cannot in good conscience say they are good movies either. If I’m being honest, though, I also must admit that I Can Only Imagine is one of the better Christian films of the last several years. It does a surprisingly good job proving that its story – the life of Bart Millard and how his journey led him to write the titular song – can make an emotionally compelling film, which considering how unnecessary the film seems at its outset is quite a feat. ...

It takes a lot to make me cry. It’s not that I don’t have emotions; I just don’t show them through crying. I’ve seriously cried in public only a handful of times in my memory, and I have never cried while watching a movie. Well. Frick you Pixar. You finally did it. You made me cry while I was watching Coco . In all seriousness, Pixar has done a very good job with making me feel emotion at the movies, but  Coco went to a whole other level. It does have some of the best computer animation I have ever seen (more on that later), but it’s the emotional component that makes Coco the great film it is.  A big part of this is due to the story’s depiction of Mexican culture. Coco gives the celebration of the Day of the Dead and the culture’s value of family so much justice that it made me think often about what my own family, both living and deceased, would think of the decisions I have made in my life. By the movie’s climax – one of the many examples of the power of...

There are some films that just look like they won’t be artistic. One of the usual culprits for this is the inspirational family drama: movies like The Blind Side , as good as they are in their acting and ability to wave their emotional wands to cast a spell over their audience, they lack any unique flair when it comes to their direction and perspective. I was expecting the same out of Wonder , which follows a child with Treacher Collins syndrome struggling to fit into a normal school environment. Treacher Collins involves a lot of physical disabilities and hardships, including significantly altered facial features, that would undoubtedly make entrance into middle school (the period addressed by Wonder ) so much harder than it would be otherwise…and it’s not like it was easy to begin with. Basically, I thought this movie would bank on sympathy for Augie, the central character. Instead, Wonder tells Augie’s story from countless perspectives, and it really works in its favor. ...

I was practically raised on Disney animated films. I watched ones like Aladdin , The Lion King , and Beauty and the Beast growing up, and recently I've rediscovered how magical they can actually be thanks to my girlfriend and I watching them all the time. Their (mostly) timeless scores get stuck in my head so easily, and the stories, despite their target audience of children, seem to have a transcendent nature and punch way above their age bracket. However, as of late Disney has had a little trouble finding its animated musical mojo.  Yes, recent films like Tangled and Frozen have begun to turn this trend around, but forgettable films like Brother Bear and Home on the Range  still are a large blemish in the Disney catalog. To some extent, the name "Disney" in front of a film lost some of its magnitude and power. Meanwhile, studios like Pixar and DreamWorks have come alongside (and in some cases, jumped ahead of) Disney in the race for kids' attention spans....

If you're around my age, there's a pretty good chance that  Finding Nemo  was a part of your childhood, and there's also a good chance that you really enjoyed it both then and now. It is an incredibly heartfelt and emotionally rich story that just happens to be incredibly well-animated. It also stands quite well on its own. So, naturally, when Disney announced that they were making a sequel entitled Finding Dory , I was more than a little skeptical of how they were going to proceed. Finding Nemo  to me was so self-contained that there wasn't much of anywhere to go with the story. I mean, I know that Pixar has done some good work with sequels before, but they've also misfired big time (anybody else remember Cars 2  or Monsters University ?). Thankfully, Finding Dory  definitely fits into the better half of Pixar's filmography. It is surprisingly engaging and a natural progression of the first film's story, and also has some of the best animation Pixar h...

Well, one more week has passed on the Olivet campus here in Bourbonnais, Illinois, and I have a few more observations about college life. This week, I'm going to give some tips about staying in touch with home while also being heavily involved in campus life: Whatever you do, stay in touch with your family.  No, you don't have to call them everyday, even if they'd like you to. However, even if you only call once a week, they'll appreciate it a ton. Besides, it can be nice to see how things are going at home. Make sure you set aside time to call home, and respond to any texts you get. Don't shun your family. And especially... Don't let the first thing that tells them how you're doing be your blog.  Oops. Didn't do a great job here. Sorry Mom.  Keep in touch with at least a few good friends from high school.  I haven't done a great job of this yet, mostly because there's an asterisk to this one: don't get stuck with doing so. If you spen...