robotnic.co

Review: A Town Called Panic

by //

You haven’t lived until you’ve seen a plastic donkey play drums. With the frenetic energy of an ADHD kid’s E-number induced hyperactivity, A Town Called Panic catapults you into a fantastical stop-motion world where horses drive cars, teach music, and remove their shoes before going to bed.
Written and directed by Belgian filmmakers Stéphanie Aubier and Vincent Patar, it’s stop-motion at its quickest, funniest, and most wacky, made all the more whimsical by its presentation in manic French. Following the adventures of Cowboy and Indien after forgetting to buy Horse a birthday present, it’s a surreal adventure of misplaced orders, thievery, and giant mechanical penguins.

With beautifully vivid colours and inexhaustibly creative execution, the set pieces are a marvel, but there’s so much going on that it’s difficult to stop and appreciate them.

Fun and quirky, A Town Called Panic is must for fans of I Am Not an Animal and Toy Story’s plastic soldiers. If you like Aardman, you’ll love this.

Review: The Kids Are All Right

by //

Los Angeles goes all-out new age in Lisa Cholodenko’s queer comedy-drama The Kids Are All Right. Starring Annette Bening and Julianne Moore as lesbian couple Nic and Jules, the film explores their family life with teen kids Joni (as in Joni Mitchell, Mia Wasikowska fresh from Wonderland), a whip-smart yet uptight scientist like Nic, and Laser (Josh Hutcherson) the “sensitive jock”. Laser asks Joni to find their biological father Paul (Mark Ruffalo) and a relationship between the organic farmer-cum-restauranteur and his new-found children quickly develops, shifting the family dynamics.

Ruffalo plays to type well without appearing two-dimensional, all the while encouraging real growth of character without the touchy-feely nonsense at home. While their language often detracts from the message, The Kids are All Right is a well-written drama and deferential take on gay relationships. Bening’s controlling streak and unwillingness to connect with Paul pushes her to the outer boundaries of the family, making her a hard-faced villain for much of the picture. Meanwhile Moore reels it in as the insecure Jules, whose missteps and atonement echo throughout the tone of the film.

Though it is by no means groundbreaking, the colourful photography and personalities combined with excellent performances lend it a fresh, authentic feel.

The Kids Are All Right is released in UK cinemas on Friday 29 October.

Donkeys Finds a Home in Scottish Cinemas

by //

Donkeys, the follow-up to Andrea Arnold’s BAFTA winning Red Road had its World Premiere at Edinburgh International Film Festival this June.

The second feature from the Advance Party Project – a Scottish-Danish collaboration with Lars Von Trier’s Zentropa – stars James Cosmo, Brian Pettifer, Martin Compston, and Kate Dickie. The tangled tale of friendship, forgiveness, and deep-seated family secrets enjoyed its initial release at Glasgow Film Theatre last week.

Befitting its Scottish setting, public screenings begin next week at the Filmhouse Cinema from Monday 1 to Thursday 4 November. Sigma films announced earlier this week that Donkeys will also screen for one week at Glasgow Cineworld from Friday 29 October to Thursday 4 November. All of this is possible thanks to the Digital Screen Network initiative set up by the former UK Film Council to give smaller films a chance to spotlight amongst the Hollywood bigwigs.

Donkeys is also rounding up film and media students, with rumblings on their Facebook page about a ‘Donkey Work’ Competition. So far all we know is that winners will spend a day on set with Citadel – Sigma’s new film – from November 21. Check out the Donkeys Facebook page for updates.

I hope if you’re in Edinburgh or Glasgow you’ll get a chance to see it! I’ll be catching it at the Cineworld and will report back with a review.