06. INSIDE OUT – Pixar has always had a knack for getting into their characters heads. With INSIDE OUT, they decided to take a more literal approach to this talent. As Riley (Kaitlyn Dias) struggles with moving to a new town and feeling alienated from her surroundings, we follow the internal struggle between Joy (Amy Poehler) and Sadness (Phyllis Smith) as her other emotions try to keep things moving. It’s of course symbolic of that age where the innocence and joyfulness of childhood is replaced by the realization that life is not always worth celebrating and it’s how we balance our emotions that keep us going.
After stumbling with the forgettable MONSTERS UNIVERSITY, Pixar returns with their best film since UP. The film is basically an updating of HERMAN’S HEAD, but Pixar makes it their own animal. Their imaginative streak continues as we are taken through Riley’s colorful mental landscape. And unlike the CARS and MONSTERS INC. follow-ups, there is plenty to be enjoyed by adults as the film indulges in some literally cerebral humor. It also punches the viewer right in the heart by making us care for the Riley character and cry for an imaginary friend.
05. HE NEVER DIED – A man lives alone in a rundown apartment, deliberately though not cruelly using those around him to maintain his existence. Oh yeah, and then there are some of his stranger attributes. For instance, he seemingly can’t be killed by any natural or unnatural means, he’s been alive for a very long time and he hears voices that only seem to die down when he eats raw meat. When a long, lost daughter tries to get to know him, he finds the both of them at the mercy of some seriously shady characters.
I’ve been a fan of Henry Rollins for some time, from his music to his writing to his spoken word. So, the novelty of seeing him take the lead role in a horror-tinged Canadian indie was too much to pass up. Still, I wasn’t prepared for how engrossed I was in every second of HE NEVER DIED. Rollins has always joked out how he’s not an actor but people have put him in their projects anyway. It’s been evident for some time that Rollins has been selling himself short and this is the film that finally delivers on a lot of the potential we’ve been seeing for decades.
HE NEVER DIED is funny and suspenseful. It’s a film that almost defies classification. Oh, and if you can help it, avoid the trailer. Just go on in cold.
04. ROOM – When she was a teenager, Mia (Brie Larson) was abducted and forced to live in a small room as her kidnappers’ sex slave. Over the years, the abuse continues amid a sense of inevitable yet cruel mundanity. The one thing that keeps Mia sane is the son (Jacob Tremblay) that was born out of her situation, a son who has no knowledge of the outside world.
As far as pure dramas go, ROOM is the year’s best film to earn real Oscar recognition. The film starts out on a horribly disturbing note and yet isn’t content to leave it there. The film follows Mia as she finally works up the courage to escape from her never-ending cycle of abuse. Even then, ROOM is only getting started, noting that sometimes a prison isn’t only defined by the walls that confine you.
Larson follows up her great performance in SHORT TERM 12 with what is her best work so far. Tremblay, acting as the film’s perspective, is a real find. No pandering or cheap sentimentality here, ROOM is the genuine article.
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