Tag: Brad Garrett

Film Review: “Elio”

A colorful space adventure as energetic as it is fleeting

Elio and Glordon space out.

Why, oh why, does Pixar/Disney feel the need to kill off parents? Don’t worry, this fact is spoiled within the first few lines of the new Pixar film, Elio, a quick and colorful space adventure with an underlying message about self-worth. Killing off one or both of a protagonist’s parents is a common plot device in Disney films, dating back to Bambi, and including Finding Nemo, The Lion King, Frozen, Dumbo, Onward, Lilo & Stitch, and the list goes shockingly on and on. Some stories benefit from the emotional gravity of a deceased (or otherwise missing) parent(s), but in the case of Elio, plot points feel like forced emotional manipulation. Let’s ignore the parent debacle for now, because Elio remains a sci-fi adventure filled with fun alien characters and creative visual worlds, even when the story feels underbaked. Continue reading “Film Review: “Elio””

Film Review: Gloria Bell

Every now and then she gets a little bit nervous / that the best of all the years have gone by 

Gloria (Julianne Moore) frequents LA’s dance clubs looking for love.

Chilean director Sebastián Lelio peppers his new picture Gloria Bell with enough ‘70s and early ‘80s pop songs to make a Gen X’er weep, but often it’s hard to distinguish whether the songs are meant to match the film’s themes, or the other way around. But to watch Julianne Moore, as the titular Gloria, in her car, alone, singing her heart out along with Olivia Newton-John’s “A Little More Love” is to experience a sublime and intimate moment with a fully realized and utterly unique character. Scenes like these make Leilo’s reliance on musical crutches forgivable. Continue reading “Film Review: Gloria Bell“