| Image

UW Film Club Podcast #69 – A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

“You know, death is something many of us are uncomfortable speaking about on a podcast.”

There’s only one full week left in the 2020 Winter Quarter, and in this time of studying and stressing, it’s important to wind down and remind ourselves of the love in our lives that still remains in times of tension. For that reason, we’ve decided to cover the Marielle Heller directed, not-so-Fred Rogers-biopic, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood! In this episode, special guest Sam Koekoek talks about why it’s his favorite film of 2019, as well as what the film is telling us about being upfront with our emotions. As Fred Rogers himself upholds, “there is no normal life that is free from pain.” Be kind, love thy neighbor, forgive, and please listen to the wholesome 69th episode of the UW Film Club Podcast!

On this episode: Jim Saunders and Sam Koekoek

You can find us on Facebook at /UWFilmClub, and on Twitter and Instagram @FilmClubUW. Make sure to rate, comment, and subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify, and Google Play, and tune in every Monday for a new episode of the UW Film Club Podcast!

| Image

Review: ‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood’ is a Perfect Biopic but Okay Film

“Fame is a four-letter word, like ‘tape’ or ‘zoom.’”

There is a frustrating paradox at the center of Marielle Heller’s new film. It’s the type of risky feature that feels warmly conventional and at other times radical – just like the man himself. It features soft-spoken sequences that have the cacophonous effect of a foghorn, sincerely and smartly ushering in a wave of complexity about Mr. Rogers, his message, his role, and how it connects the world in a time of disconnect and conflict. But the film also is consistently a droll film at times, using its radical edge to tell a dull story of a man with daddy issues. The third feature directed by the supremely talented Marielle Heller, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, centers around Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys), an investigative journalist for Esquire, who is assigned against his will to write a profile on the famous Mr. Rogers (Tom Hanks). Lloyd, based on the real Esquire writer Tom Junod, must come to terms with conflicting elements in his life – his estranged father, his wife, his new baby, and everything in between.

Father issues are an inevitable part of cinema – for better or for worse. Just look at the best film of the year, Ad Astra, a film that combines the story of a man searching for salvation in the cosmos with a battle of toxic masculinity connected with his father. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood instead has Matthew Rhys stage intermittent panic and anger attacks with conventional rejection. Rhys, a welsh actor most notable for one of the best performances of the decade in The Americans, isn’t utilized to in his fullest compared to the former (a show that astutely lets his soft-spoken directness clash with innate primal anger). Heller initially plays the story of this man with no real interest, turning an accomplished thespian like Rhys into just another character actor who gets overshadowed by a legend (both in character and in real life). That legend is Hanks, who is so satisfying in this film, perfectly capturing the soft-spoken soul of the man at the film’s center. Hanks doesn’t go for an impressionistic appearance but one that is born out of tempo and feel. It is… remarkable. And ultimately, that’s where the film’s greatest strength lies. Heller perfectly pinpoints who Rogers was and isn’t afraid to show the tight rope that Rogers constantly walked on. He wasn’t a saint. He was a fallible man who worked profoundly hard to procure and maintain his core philosophy and ultimately his central sincere image.

Despite all of this, it isn’t until the film’s final stretch that the stark simplicity of Lloyd’s story reveals itself to be satisfying. This is a story that is directed to perfection by a woman who sees the whole picture and doesn’t get in the way of the truth. It’s a straightforward story that hatches and grows into a complex organism, one that illuminates the constant daily struggles of empathy and forgiveness. It’s a shame the interest arrives late but underneath all of the wry simplicity is a smart, soulful film that gets half of the equation right, elevated by the ethereal presence of Rogers, acting as a ghostly narrator looking over the complexities of the world and giving it a guiding voice.

3.5/5 STARS

| Image

Review: ‘Toy Story 4’ Is the Conclusion We Didn’t Know We Needed

When Pixar released Toy Story 3 in 2010, many of us, including myself, saw it as the conclusion to a long-running saga. So, to many, it came as a surprise when Disney announced in 2014 that Buzz (Tim Allen) and Woody (Tom Hanks) were returning for one more adventure. Toy Story 4 came to theaters on June 21, 2019 to prove once again that Pixar is the master of animated storytelling.

The plot this time around follows the cast of toys belonging to the young Bonnie, to whom Andy gave his toys when he left for college. Bonnie and her family, along with her toys and new favorite, Forky, head on a road trip where at a carnival, Woody encounters Bo Peep, his old love and a toy that was sold off years ago. From there, we are introduced to several new characters, as sequels tend to do, some of which are kind of hit or miss.

For one, Bo Peep (Annie Potts), who isn’t technically new but has been completely reinvented for this movie, is great. Her personality is wonderfully fun and her emotional and thematic role in the story is terrific. Giggle McDimples (Ally Maki), her diminutive cop partner, is another riotously fun character. In the same vein are Duke Caboom (Keanu Reeves), and Ducky and Bunny (Key and Peele). These characters are all delightful, in no small part due to their eccentric and smart casting. On the villainous side, however, we have Gabby Gabby (Christina Hendricks) and her posse of dummies. The former is a bit flat and her arc is a little bit cliché. The latter’s problem lies in the fact that they are genuinely unnerving. The issue here is not just that it might not make it as much of a family film, but that the tone set by these characters feels a little off compared to the rest of the movie (or even the franchise). As for the aforementioned Forky, I personally found him a bit weird as a concept (a toy that has recently gained consciousness and refuses to accept that is a bit macabre for Toy Story) but he’s definitely a good time on-screen.

Regardless of smaller gripes, each of these characters are at least at a baseline level of entertainment, made so by great vocal performances from the cast and consistently good humor throughout the movie. Additionally, the folks at Pixar certainly have no shortage of creativity when it comes to character design. With each installment they seem to keep finding different types of toys to make into characters and doing so with great success. With as big as the cast is by this point, however, it doesn’t seem like every character gets their time to shine. I don’t know what really could be done about this as it just seems to be a natural consequence of making sequels. That being said, Toy Story 4 still does as good a job as it can of giving every character as much interesting moments as possible.

The movie’s overall plot is very well written, despite some awkward pacing at a couple moments. It maintains the emotional lessons that Pixar is known for and delivers them in a way that is consistently engaging. In this regard, what I think Toy Story 4 does especially well is the structuring of its emotional tension. At the risk of very minor spoilers I’ll say that the key tension in the movie has to do with a difficult decision that must be made. This, I think, is incredibly potent. The tear-jerker of an ending comes not from simply a sad or happy circumstance, but due to the stress of making a difficult choice. In this way, Toy Story 4 ends on a naturally bittersweet note, providing a wonderful send-off to these characters. Above all else, this is what I love about this movie. In a franchise where every installment was as meaningful as the last, Toy Story 4 feels like a beautiful, satisfying conclusion to one of the best animated sagas cinema has ever seen.

4/5 STARS