Isle Of Dogs (2018)

There are films that I had wished I was able to see when they were released in theaters, but circumstances in life sometimes get in the way of doing so. The film that I chose for today is one of those films that I wished I had for how amazing of a job that writer and director Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenenbaums) does with his films and so I chose his last film Isle Of Dogs as my film of choice. In the country of Japan, a royal family was sick of how much the dog population had grown in the country so they attempted to eradicate the country of them only to fail. Centuries later, the mayor Kobayashi (Kunichi Nomura) from the same clan that failed is successful as the dog flu runs rampant in Japan so he banishes them to Trash Island where they'll have to fend for themselves. That is until his 12 year old nephew Atari (Koyu Rankin) decides to go looking for his once loyal sidekick Spot. The film also stars Edward Norton (The Illusionist) as Rex, Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) as Chief, Bob Balaban (Gosford Park) as King, Jeff Goldblum (Mortdecai) as Duke, Bill Murray (Ghostbusters) as Boss, Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird) as Tracey Walker, Frances McDormand (Primal Fear) as Interpreter Nelson,  Scarlett Johansson (Jojo Rabbit) as Nutmeg, F. Murray Abraham (Last Action Hero) as Jupiter, Fisher Stevens (Short Circuit) as Scraps, Liev Schreiber (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) as Spots, and Tilda Swinton (Okja) as Oracle.

There are just way too many names to list in this film that helped out like Yoko Ono, Harvey Keitel (The Irishman), Angelica Huston, Ken Watanabe (Inception), and Courtney B. Vance (Dangerous Minds) to name a few that helped make this a great film. It's old school stop motion animation, but they did such a great job with it that you barely notice. This was also a film that featured an all star cast of the whose who of Wes Anderson films of the past and they did an excellent job in the film especially Edward Norton and Bryan Cranston whose interactions were comedy gold as they couldn't agree with each other as to who was leader of the pack. Besides the touching subject matter of never forgetting who man's best friend is, the film had a rather political spin to it or at least you can make it seem that way if you choose to. They alienate a species because of the fat that they develop a virus that is affecting everyone and in a major political move they segregate them to an island to fend for themselves. Nonetheless, it was an excellent film in my opinion as it explored the lost art of stop motion animation that Wes Anderson pulled off for this film and it had all of the suspense that you needed to keep you on your toes. So, I definitely recommend the film to any one that enjoys these types of films and Wes Anderson films. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.

Jojo Rabbit (2019)

Out of all the films that were up for Oscars this year, the one film I was very curious about was one that was directed by the amazingly funny Taika Waititi (What We Do In The Shadows) and he also wrote and co-starred in Jojo Rabbit which is based off of the book Caging Skies by Christine Leunens. The film stars Roman Griffin Davis in his very first role as Jojo, a boy who desperately wants to be in the Hitler Youth during World War II to impress both the real and imaginary friend form of Adolf Hitler (played by Waititi). Unfortunately for him, an accident at the Hitler Youth getaway leaves him crippled, scared, and only able to do whatever the post office needs him to do. One day Jojo discovers that his mother has been allowing a Jewish girl by the name of Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie) to live in their house and now Jojo has a new purpose in life and that is learn everything he can about Jewish people to gain an advantage, but that may not prove to be easy. The film also stars Scarlett Johansson (Avengers) as Rosie, Sam Rockwell (Seven Psychopaths) as Captain Klenzendorf, Rebel Wilson (Bridesmaids) as Fraulein Rahm, Alfie Allen (John Wick) as Finkel,  Stephen Merchant (Good Boys) as Deertz, Archie Yates as Yorki, and Luke Brandon Field (Blackwood) as Christoph.

One thing is definitely for sure and that is you have to give it up for original material because even though it's adapted from a book, it's still felt fresh and new. Taika Waititi is proving to be a hot commodity in Hollywood and he definitely brings the laughs with this one, but one thing that he does well is he adds the heart to the story. This is a great coming of age story for Jojo Rabbit who is all gung ho about being in the Hitler Youth in the beginning, but by the time we get to the end he has grown up and realized that the world needs more love. The one thing that I loved is that the film did not glorify the Nazi party at all, if anything they made them look stupid and ridiculous which is what they were in the first place. Waititi also does a great job of making Adolf Hitler look like a complete moron in this satirical version of him. One of the things I liked about the film is Scarlet Johansson who is this strong woman that believes the war is stupid and that Germany was wrong, but she plays both sides of the fence to survive and to try and save her son from the wrong ideology. It's a very sweet story that ends rather sadly only to come back again with a happy ending. I loved the cinematography in the film and how they were able to capture those times well and the acting was top notch from just about everyone. If you have not seen this film yet, then do yourself a favor and go watch it now. You will definitely not regret it which is why Ia m giving it an A- for a final grade.