NATCHA ON FILM — Have nothing to do this Christmas Eve? You could take a trip down to the theaters and watch this year’s family Christmas film “Love The Coopers.” Meanwhile a terrible adaptation of the monster-themed book series “Goosebumps” still brings nostalgia to fans, while documentary “Iris” about a 93-year-old fashion maven inspires young fashion designers. Also out this week is animation “The Boy And The Beast,” which is unsurprisingly about a boy and a beast. Lastly, “Kyushu The Movie” follows two Thai musicians in their journey in Kyushu and their attempt to become famous.
Love The Coopers
Every year there’s always a variation of a comedy film involving Christmas and a dysfunctional family. Well, here’s this year’s.
“Love The Coopers” takes place when four generations of the Cooper family come together for their annual Christmas Eve celebration. A bunch of unexpected guests and unlikely events cause the Coopers’ perfect Christmas night to turn upside down. Through thick and thin, these downfalls leads to them to rebonding with distant relatives, just in time for the holidays.
Just from the look of it, this Christmas film doesn’t really look that special at all, as I’m sure we’ve all seen these kinds of films before.
Goosebumps
When I was growing up, I remember reading R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and actually enjoying them for a while, but this new film looks like a terrible adaptation of the books.
“Goosebumps” begins with a young teenager, Zach Cooper, who is unhappy about moving to a new town, but he soon gets over it when he meets the girl next door, Hannah, R.L. Stine’s daughter. Zach learns that Stine’s strange behavior is a result of him being a prisoner of his own imagination and that the monsters that he wrote about in his books are actually real, kept within the original manuscripts of the book. Curious about some mysterious noises coming from Stine’s house, Zach wanders in and unleashes the monsters locked within the books. It’s now up to Zach, Hannah, Stine, and Zach’s friend Champ to capture these monsters that have been let loose and are causing havoc on the town.
I feel like this adaptation of Goosebumps has a similar story to “Night At The Museum” as it has a similar concept, but is told in a slightly different way.
Iris
With just about every teenage girl dreaming of having their own fashion line, this film is perfect for aspiring fashionistas.
“Iris” is a documentary about the quick-witted, flamboyantly dressed 93-year-old fashion maven Iris Apfel. The documentary is not only a fashion film but also about creativity and how the aging Iris continues to be an inspiration for many fashion designers. Despite living a fabulous life, Apfel still strives to use the values and work ethics she gained growing up in middle-class New York’s Queens during the Great Depression.
The documentary looks decent and could be interesting for viewers crazy about fashion.
The Boy and the Beast
So apparently the director and writer of this film, Mamoru Hosoda, was turned down for a job from Japanese animation powerhouse Studio Ghibli because Miyazaki, the director responsible for classic animations like “Spirited Away” and “My Neighbor Totoro,” felt that Hosoda was too talented for his studio.
“The Boy And The Beast” is about a young boy named Kyuta living in Tokyo’s Shibuya and a lonesome beast named Kumatetsu, who lives in the imaginary land Jutengai. During Kyuta’s exploration into the imaginary world he meets Kumatetsu on his way back to the real world. This encounter leads them to go on several adventures in Jutengai and eventually leads to Kyuta becoming Kumatetsu’s apprentice.
I feel like the animation of the film doesn’t look too great but hopefully the story of the movie is better.
Kyushu The Movie
This film takes a different approach to the other films this week as this one is based in reality and seems like it could be more of a reality show than a movie.
“Kyushu the Movie” features two stylistically different musicians coming together to form the band SanQ. This movie documents their lives in Kyushu for thirty days as they go to seven different provinces with just 999 yen (THB 299). The film not only portrays their hardship in their attempts to make it big in Japan, but also their struggles in trying to find food and shelter during their trip.
I like the idea that this film is reality-based but the fact that the musicians only went on their trip with 999 yen makes it seem a bit unrealistic.
