Coco reviews

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The Original BJ
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Re: Coco reviews

Post by The Original BJ »

I also think Coco is pretty winning, though I do think Pixar is now at a point where their films don't necessarily feel like the Events that they did in that great run a decade ago. I think part of this just has to do with their increasing reliance on sequels -- Cars 3 honestly felt like a direct-to-video feature -- but I also think we've gotten so used to the elements of the Pixar story formula, that even some of the stronger recent entries (like Coco) can feel a little hemmed in by template. (Which is to say, I was a little bit ahead of the story before the big reveal, simply because it felt like we were arriving at "insert twist here" time.)

Still, it's such a lively, spirited thing -- I saw it twice in two days and was just as engaged the second time -- one has to salute its triumphs, among them the genuinely dazzling visual design, as well as the detailed portrait of Mexican culture and folklore, both of which give the film a real feeling of freshness and authenticity. And the ending, of course, is obviously moving -- as with the finale of Toy Story 3, I knew exactly what was about to happen in the climax, and no amount of resistance was able to prevent me from sobbing through it.

As I said in the other thread, I assume this takes the Oscar for Animated Feature in a walk. And "Remember Me" is presumably an Original Song nominee -- it's a fairly simple song, but it's performed so many times throughout the movie, it's easy to leave the theater humming it, and its function in the film's most emotional scene makes it doubly memorable.
Mister Tee
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Re: Coco reviews

Post by Mister Tee »

Coco is B+ PIXAR -- not up at the WAll-E/Toy Story level, but considerably better than I'd expected.

It didn't start out promisingly: during the opening 15 minutes, I had that sinking feeling I could scope out everything that was gong to happen over the remaining run-time. But then two things happened: first, the relocation to the Land of the Dead brought such eye-popping visuals -- in both settings and characters -- that my level of interest substantially increased; and second, the film took several narrative/character turns I hadn't anticipated -- the film ended up having a far more clever plot than had seemed likely at the start. The story also achieved decent emotional power in the final reel, which is always a plus.

It's not like everything is wholly fresh. The basic premise draws a bit from The Corpse Bride; some of the design in the early Land of the Dead scenes recall Hugo fairly strongly; and there's even a nod to A Face in the Crowd. But, on the whole, the film manages ts elements to satisfy at a pretty high level; I'm not surprised by its success with critics' awards.
Mister Tee
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Coco reviews

Post by Mister Tee »

This latest from Pixar is pretty much the only mainstream candidate for Animated Feature this year. These reviews -- shall we say -- differ on how meritorious it is.

http://variety.com/2017/film/reviews/co ... 202595605/

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review ... ew-1050825

https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/coc ... 36.article
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