ThurstonHunger

The story may melt as well, but if you would like to see a stop-motion tour-de-force, that flickers and echoes in your imagination afterwards like a grim lullaby - check out this non-linear release.

Watched this a few years ago, but re-watched recently as it was one of the newer films on my son's syllabus for surreal films. Not sure if he's seen it yet..

The film does have an art-project feel. The dueling directors in the bonus interview talk about the beauty of trash as well as the fact that their stop-motion filming has a loose skeleton, that can vary as they go.

So the film, while sort of one long shot is non-linear. There is some initial explication, about a German colony in Chile...another reviewer dug into that more here. Well worth a read.

Without knowing that history, the film does seem like a morphing fairy tale (the three little pigs is hard to think about, even if the numbering is off). Paper mache constructions, sliding painting and surging pools of black. The flicker fest of the film can be a little hypnagogic, I re-watched this in two installments, since the first attempt was pushing me away from the dreams on screens and into my own dreams.

The stop-motion style here kept feeling like cancer to me, and I felt that cancer or decay was embodied in the wolf. And then the directors could see mankind as a sort of cancer upon the earth, casting trash everywhere that then the filmmakers want to transmute to beauty via the order of a film? There is a consuming hunger too in the latter half that made me think of cancer.

Or maybe the story is just a cautionary tale of the young girl shirking her responsibilities....and then running away from repercussions into worse and worse trouble.

Or perhaps the fascist review on this site is on the mark. Especially the pig to dark-eyed/dark-haired beings to Aryan types.

I think mostly the film-makers like their process, in a way not far off the realms of Phil Tippet's "Mad God." This artful presentation is more joyful than Tippet's trip, but to be clear not without a bitter bile leaking out again and again.

If you are looking for something creative, especially if you admire the dedication of stop-motion makers, step into the Wolf House.

...My Old Ass.

Simple timeless message, gets repackaged with cool queer gen Z-ers on a mushroom laced farewell to high school. Filmed on an idyllic Canadian island with a cranberry farming family.

Those cranberries are about as tart as the often treacly film gets. Aubrey Plaza does squeeze in some less organic tart tips from the future, one I had to look up dealt with Penelope Disick and a transcendental retreat. Apparently there is a Kardashian connection.

Speaking of retreats, the idea of *self* help gets a very literal application here.

Ebenezer Scrooge had his ghosts, the main character here Elliot present and future communicate more in line with the gen Z motif - chatting across time via their smarter than the average smart phone. I wonder if any of the Criswell phoned-in predictions were ad-libbed by Aubrey.

Plaza fans might have already seen some of her better on-screen minutes in the previews. Her first in-the-flesh appearance happens early on in the film, and is pretty enjoyable alongside her younger self aka Maisy Stella.

To be clear, Stella is (in) the film much more than Plaza.

Apparently Stella's been acting since she was nine, which is a little sad to my personal old ass. But she was convincing as a "regular" (whatever that means) teen - filled with confusion, self-involvement and amorphous dreams.

The seen where two young lovers mention how they like looking at each other's faces - an update on the time-honored romance-in-the-rain was charming. Also touching the interaction between young Elliot and her Mom.

It's hard to avoid a wistful weight in these sort of movies, and perhaps in general for aging teenagers in real and reel life. Plaza's character and personal experience might be uniquely aligned here.

Aging can be a funny feeling, and like this film, not so much hah-hah funny - but still worth savoring.

These days I find myself sort of rooting for people, even in non-sports environments. I sort of felt that way during this special.

It could be that I'm just the target audience for these "I'm a parent but I'm still funny" standups, actually I'm a bit past that expiration date. It could be that during the pandemic comedians spent waaaay too much time with their kids. Actually I'd argue that hosting a late night show hurts comedians much more, and could call all the Jimmy's to the stand to testify.

Maybe it could be as Seth points out, he needs to find a way to pay for future college expenses (and let's be clear, I'm assuming his young un's will need personal gamelan instruction and a nanny fluent in Klingon, neither of which grows on trees). There's the old cliche, insanity is hereditary you get it from your kids. Maybe there's some modern corollary where you need your kids to help prepay for their exorbitant future. Never mind your tax dollars for a future UBI?

Cool that it was produced by Neal Brennan, I enjoyed Neal's most recent stand-up a lot more, and you might too. Pretty sure Neal was denied a breeding card by the government - so he should be safe for a while.

Is there a youtube video essay on how different stand-up comics use their bodies for gags. Seth liked his parade of privilege walk, and I thought his "looking on the floor" bit was well done. Recently we saw Jerry Seinfeld and going in I thought maybe he was just a straight standing up dude, but was wrong. Ali Wong, whole lotta body going on in her special. Tom Papa mostly lets his eyes carry the load in his recent (a bit sharper take on parenting, granted his nest is emptying out, and Myers still feathering).