Reviews by:
@the_owlseyes
@dylanandhismovies
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Curiosity and knowledge are the best things of our species. One abates with time and the other, in theory, should rise with it. When we're younger we have one of them and viceversa when we're older, if we aren't able to find the right balance. There's a period when we get to decide what we're going to be. If our parents don't let us explore the world around, because they aren't confident about their education, we're going to be frightened, ignorant grown up with a complex of inferiority and a lot of self indulgence and arrogance. If they're able to let us wander and find our way, we're going to be balanced and humble people who are able to put ourselves in discussion. It isn't just about our faily but also our relaity could influence us. A reality which doesn't accept us for what we're can alienate us and feel out of place. It's hard to be teens and kids. So much to do and explore with a lot of limits.
Maybe we should reconsider our assumptions about curiosity, fantasy and knowledge.
PLOT
"On the Italian Riviera, an unlikely but strong friendship grows between a human being and a sea monster disguised as a human" or "Two cultures clash and bridges are created".
SCRIPT
It isn't an original story and it's full of cliches and boring tropes but the characters are well written and have interesting archs. The themes are relevant but a bit trite: immigration, inclusiveness, freedom, autonomy, growing up and parenting. I think that the protagonist is enjoyable and a lot of kids could empathize for him. The relationship between him and his friend is good but flawed, which makes the climax a bit badand anticlimatic. The rules of this world are sometimes inconsistent and unclear and the implications are a bit underplayed.
The villain is just there as an obstacle and is one dimensional. I don't like the fact that he's evil just for the sake of it. Pretty forgettable. This cripples the movie because it fells like an aimless movie without a real sense of threat, tension or urgency.
It isn't a bad movie but this script is forgettable and heavily flawed. I don't like it because it's just a boring, unimaginative kids flick.
Script: 5/10
ACTING
The voice acting works even though it isn't the best I've ever heard. Jacob Tremblay and Jack Dylan Grazer do a good job but it isn't enough to say that's impressive. The other actors, especially Maya Rudolph, deliver a good performance and I like the fact that I could say the same about italian voice actors. But, after all, it's just another movie with mediocre and stale acting.
Acting: 6/10
PHOTOGRAPHY
This movie is pretty bright and there're some wonderful shots but most of the time the light is flat and boring and colours don't have any symbolic menaning. I like some shots of the sea and PortoRosso, which is a clear nod to Porco Rosso. I don't have a lot to say about it because it's average and doesn't offer anything interesting to talk about.
Photography: 6/10
EDITING
It isn't particularly remarkable. I like how slom motion is being used but this movie isn't characterized by an impressive editing. Fast cuts are used in a comedic way but it isn't something new. It works but it's hard to remember this movie for its editing. At least it isn't as bad.
Editing: 6/10
SPECIAL EFFECTS
These're good but it's the usual Disney-Pixar animation. I like the mutation's animation but overall I don't think that's amazing. The monsters design is good but it's forgettable. I don't find the cgi interesting here because it doesn't take risks and this style is becoming a bit repetitive.
Special Effects: 6/10
SOUNDTRACK
I like the inclusion of 50s Italian music, which gives the movie an identity but the instrumental part is pretty forgettable. Music doesn't have a relevant role in the movie and it's more like background noise.
Soundtrack: 6/10
COSTUMES
50s clothes and style, nothing more. I like that the movie pays homage to the Italian 1950s but it's all about that. Costumes don't influence the plot and it's ok like that.
Costumes: 6/10
CONCLUSION
Script: 5/10
Acting: 6/10
Photography: 6/10
Editing: 6/10
Special Effects: 6/10
Soundtrack: 6/10
Costumes: 6/10
AVERAGE: 5,85
A good movie with a lot of flaws which isn't the best animated movie I've ever seen but it's enjoyable. I don't find it particularly exceptional and I think that seeing it isn't necessary, because the plot is ordinary and the script isn't the best you can expect. You can watch it but you'll have to lower your expectations.
Director: Enrico Casarosa
Screenplay: Enrico Casarosa, Jesse Andrews
Cast: Jacob Tremblay, Jack Dylan Grazer, Emma Berman, Saverio Raimondo, Maya Rudolph, Marco Barricelli, Jim Gaffigan, Peter Sohn, Lorenzo Crisci, Marina Massironi, Sandy Martin
Soundtrack: Dan Romer
Cinematography: David Juan Bianchi, Kim White
Running Time: 101 minutes
Budget: $5 million
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I want to preface and say that Luca was apart of my top 12 most anticipated movies this year. I was hoping for a deep tale of friendship set in a beautiful part of Italy. What I got, really disappointed me. Pixar’s Soul was my favourite movie from last year; it surprised me by going that deep into death and purpose. Luca, in my opinion, is surface level on almost every account. I genuinely think that it’s only highlights are its fresh art style and animation, and some of the highlights within the score. I could tell that a lot of care was taken into making a warm and welcoming Italian setting. Director Enrico Casarosa puts a lot of love into the atmosphere of the world, but what is ultimately lacking from Luca is purpose. It feels like it wants to be a challenging story about friendship (or even love), but it devolves into this weird story about winning some Italian triathlon, with the former idea sprinkled on here and there. It’s the definition of safe. You know you have the literal “fish out of water” story, you have the friends fighting before the climax, the generic villain who has zero motivations (and is a dick just because), and a lot more stupidly safe choices.
Now I’m not really bothered that the majority of the main cast isn’t Italian, but what does bother me is that the only major character voiced by an Italian is the villain. It’s probably just a coincidence, but it felt very weird to me. And despite me not being that bothered by the lack of Italian voices, y’know it would’ve been a lot more authentic and immersive. Sort of like how Moana casted Auli’i Carvahlo in that titular role. And maybe if Jacob Tremblay and Jack Dylan Grazer put in substantial vocal performances, I wouldn’t be bothered… but it wasn’t really special.
It sort of feels like Pixar just said, “hey so we just made a pretty challenging movie in Soul… so let’s do the exact opposite and make it extremely safe.” I think the only moment that breaks free of that moment is the exchange between Luca and Alberto at the very end. It ends the movie on a relatively high note without making a big deal about it. Although the resolution of the conflict with Ercole was really stupid. It kind of just ends and they’re like “it doesn’t matter that they’re fish people even though we literally try and hunt them, because they won the race.” It quite literally felt like they were solving sea racism. Just beat the land people in a race and then they’ll stop hating you. Maybe I’m out of touch here, but it felt very forced and inorganic.
I really love the art style here. It did bring a lot of warm, summertime feelings. It’s smooth, but it also tried to be ambitious at points throughout the movie. I love how it looked when the fish would transition to and from their natural look. They did a great job of setting up the look of the world, and I commend them for that. But my problems lay heavily within the progression of the story and the boring characters. It’s a pretty quick film, about 86 minutes before the credits, and it definitely wasn’t a gruelling watch, but I was pretty bored. There are some cute and funny moments here and there, with a great moment at the very end… but it was not enough to charm me into liking it. It definitely isn’t Pixar’s worst movie, but it’s probably within the bottom five or six. I hope their future projects try to be a bit more daring and exploratory. For now I’m gonna give Luca a 5.5/10. And that’s probably a bit too generous, but I did appreciate the animators work and the film’s composer Dan Romer’s work. Have you seen Luca? If so, what’d you think?
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