Half and Half? Maybe 1/4
A friend of mine sent me this movie and just said "watch this movie," I didn't get a title, nor did I have any idea what this movie was about:
- I'm having such a hard time catching up with the images in this movie.. What am I looking at? I can't tell backdrop from "person;" what exactly is going on?
- Wow, this dialogue (between the male and female char) is really cheesy. This movie is really disturbing. Hmm, I wonder if this is how people felt about Planet Terror.
- The voice of the towel guy and doll boy are so unnatural and weird (like this film,) I mistake them for a siren or a baby crying in the background. In fact, a lot of the sounds are much like that a baby would make. But I'm not on drugs...
About 40 minutes into it I fall asleep. Yes I was watching it at night time, with the lights off, in bed.
I decided to watch it a second time, in the daytime, sitting up, and giving it 100% of my attention. I also read a synopsis, so I could know wtf was going on or at least have a better guess at what MIGHT be going on.
- Ok... at least the first 40 minutes makes sense. Rephrased: At least the first 40 minutes are coherent.
-/+ This fantasy world is intriguing. It's so different than anything I could ever imagine that I'm having a hard time fathoming the world which these characters are sporadically moving through. I wish this movie would spend less time having telepathic exchange between characters and more time pulling the watcher inside of that bizarre universe.
- If Sid from Toy Story grew up playing Nintendo and watching Reboot, Robot Chicken, and Aqua Teen Hunger Force, he would have made this film...
+ I like the animation though the clouds moving on strings is a bit overused. I really like how it shifts between different animation styles and I wonder if I should watch this while frying or if this movie is too dark for a pleasant trip. I like the blood. Especially when it's a bunch of red cubes. Also enjoyed how the evil guy's mouth moved/ticked when he laughed, though that is a little cliché as well.
-/+ This little doll boy is sickeningly adorable. So is the sidekick formerly known as towel guy who now actively transforms into something like Cousin It with an animated face drawn on it, sometimes in the shape of a shield...
- This music is so Aqua Teen Hunger Force. So is this "dynamic duo."
-/+ This movie is kind of funny. In a weird way. The childish behavior and frustrations of the sidekick as well as the temper tantrum from doll boy. It's even kind of funny how doll boy gets killed.
I think the lack of dialogue and/or understanding of who these characters *are* made me care less for his death. Ironically the female character who just met him and knew even less about him than I did, acted as though she lost her best friend. Who was she, anyway? An ex-stripper? Ex-porn star? Ex-prostitute?
50 minutes into it I fell asleep for a second time. Granted, by that time it was starting to get dark and I'll admit I moved onto the bed to relax a little. But this movie explains so little in nearly an hour, how could I possibly stay enthralled?
The animation alone was interesting enough to keep my eyes watching but the lack of dialogue made me feel as though this were a new attempt at a silent movie. The only female character was incredibly weak both physically and mentally, and kind of makes me feel like the director has never had a serious girlfriend, does not respect his mother, and/or is gay. I like to call the evil guy Shiny Drag-Queen. I think he pretty much represented what the director thought of his work-- haunting, sparkly, nice to look at, campy, and doing whatever the *beep* it feels like...
Who is the little boy? Are those other little doll characters his parents or his orphan friends? Why are they all part of this "M" cult?
Personally, my reaction is similar to Cloverfield, only the few times I COULD understand what was going on I wasn't thinking "THIS IS STUPID"-- I was mainly admiring the aesthetics. I think if this movie hadn't been as artsy as it was, I probably would've hated it. All I know is that I will not watch this movie again; if I can't make it through twice, it just isn't happening.
And yes, I really did just write a review on half the movie.