PETE'S DRAGON
Director: David Lowery
imdb
PETE'S DRAGON
Director: David Lowery
imdb
In the genre of live action Disney remakes where a kid gets lost in the woods and lives among CGI animals, this is a far better option than The Jungle Book. Good stuff!
How long has it been since a family film is this inviting, serene, and gorgeous? Not an ounce of tentpole bombast, and in its place is the leisurely pacing to let us soak in its gentle atmopshere, and get a feeling for its location and characters (including the titular dragon) fully. 'Mythic' seems almost too big a word for a film this unassuming, but its willingness to go so modest scale, that even small gestures and slight shift of stakes can evoke strong emotions and build on its story so much, makes that description seem apt anyway.
Midnight Run (1988) - 9
The Smiling Lieutenant (1931) - 8.5
The Adventures of Robinhood (1938) - 8
Sisters (1973) - 6.5
Shin Godzilla (2016) - 7.5
I hope this gets Shane Carruth a gig directing Pinocchio.
Last Five Films I've Seen (Out of 5)
The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and the Horse (Mackesy, 2022) 4.5
Puss In Boots: The Last Wish (Crawford, 2022) 4
Confess, Fletch (Mottola, 2022) 3.5
M3GAN (Johnstone, 2023) 3.5
Turning Red (Shi, 2022) 4.5
Tokyo Story (Ozu, 1953) 5
615 Film
Letterboxd
This is not very good. Very clumsy, with a poor sense of atmosphere or character dynamics. Cute dragon though, I guess.
Last 10 Movies Seen
(90+ = canonical, 80-89 = brilliant, 70-79 = strongly recommended, 60-69 = good, 50-59 = mixed, 40-49 = below average with some good points, 30-39 = poor, 20-29 = bad, 10-19 = terrible, 0-9 = soul-crushingly inept in every way)
Run (2020) 64
The Whistlers (2019) 55
Pawn (2020) 62
Matilda (1996) 37
The Town that Dreaded Sundown (1976) 61
Moby Dick (2011) 50
Soul (2020) 64
Heroic Duo (2003) 55
A Moment of Romance (1990) 61
As Tears Go By (1988) 65
Stuff at Letterboxd
Listening Habits at LastFM
This is wrong.Quoting transmogrifier (view post)
Sure why not?
STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI (Rian Johnson) - 9
STRONGER (David Gordon Green) - 6
THE DISASTER ARTIST (James Franco) - 7
THE FLORIDA PROJECT (Sean Baker) - 9
LADY BIRD (Greta Gerwig) - 8
"Hitchcock is really bad at suspense."
- Stay Puft
Counterpoint: it's not. Check and mate.
Last 10 Movies Seen
(90+ = canonical, 80-89 = brilliant, 70-79 = strongly recommended, 60-69 = good, 50-59 = mixed, 40-49 = below average with some good points, 30-39 = poor, 20-29 = bad, 10-19 = terrible, 0-9 = soul-crushingly inept in every way)
Run (2020) 64
The Whistlers (2019) 55
Pawn (2020) 62
Matilda (1996) 37
The Town that Dreaded Sundown (1976) 61
Moby Dick (2011) 50
Soul (2020) 64
Heroic Duo (2003) 55
A Moment of Romance (1990) 61
As Tears Go By (1988) 65
Stuff at Letterboxd
Listening Habits at LastFM
Narrator: There were days when Geppetto stumbled from one marionette to the next, accomplishing nothing foreign to humanity over the centuries, yet he still toiled along with the certitude of pursuing something indelible and unique. And there were other days, better days, when his poppets and carven golems, it had to be admitted, vibrated with an energy not unlike that of the animate.Quoting Ivan Drago (view post)
(kids watch in utter confusion)
Finally got around to watching this right before seeing Lowery's A Ghost Story, and yup, I definitely wish I had a lot sooner.
It made me very happy and made me cry way more than I expected, with strong moments of awe inspiring in between.
Just a wonderful movie that I wish Disney had marketed better / further away from their similar-seeming (as well as also underappreciated, though not as great) The BFG.
Last 11 things I really enjoyed:
Speed Racer (Wachowski/Wachowski, 2008)
Safe (Haynes, 1995)
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (Parker, 1999)
Beastie Boys Story (Jonze, 2020)
Bad Trip (Sakurai, 2020)
What's Up Doc? (Bogdanovich, 1972)
Diva (Beineix, 1981)
Delicatessen (Caro/Jeunet, 1991)
The Hunger (Scott, 1983)
Pineapple Express (Green, 2008)
Chungking Express (Wong, 1994)