AFI FEST Reviews: Nine Days, Wolfwalkers, Uncle Frank
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AFI Fest has been going off and it’s honestly kind of refreshing to take in a film festival on your own time. Though I do miss hanging around the Hollywood and Highland Center, I do like being able to see a movie at any time without worrying about whether it’s sold out or not. I’ve tried to pace out the films around the myriad of other things I have going on but thought I’d write about the first few I’ve seen:
Nine Days: The first film I saw at AFI Fest was this film starring Winston Duke and Zazie Beetz. Nine Days is a movie with some very compelling elements that managed to hold my attention, but I can’t say that it did much more than that. Winston Duke is quite good as a soul who has lived who is interviewing other souls for the opportunity of life. The problems with the film start with this as Edison Oda wants to have things be vague but also doesn’t dive into the mechanics of how the decision is made or why other souls with preconceived notions/experiences about life are allowed to make said decisions. These souls flow in and out of this man’s house, sometimes eating, sometimes watching TV, but I felt unmoored rather than inquisitive about the premise. The movie is at it’s best when it relies on actors doing thing in a space to an amazing score, but the ideas didn’t make me sit forward and ponder.
Wolfwalkers: Cartoon Saloon is on a Laika level run with their films and Wolfwalkers should add to their tally of Oscar nominated animated films (they’re 3-3 so far). Wolfwalkers features some stunning animation and tells the story of a young girl who meets and subsequently becomes a wolfwalker. That’s a bad thing to be in her hostile Puritanical village, but the freedom and plight of the wolfwalkers soon become hers. Beautiful images and a wonderful score make this movie a breezy watch. The movie does get quite silly at the end with so many moments where characters could speak about their plight but don’t, but when a movie is moving like this one is, you get carried along.
Uncle Frank: Paul Bettany is really phenomenal in Uncle Frank, as the titular character who must come back home after his father died. So phenomenal in fact that he singlehandedly helps rescue the movie from some plot foolery. Alan Ball has never been a subtle filmmaker, and that’s one of his strengths, but it felt like he included elements in this movie strictly to bring up the drama rather than have the story bring about the drama. I think the movie plays a bit too modern and fast and loose with its world, but it is worth it alone for the acting.
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