Tag: Animation

  • Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

    Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

    My Spider-Man was the 1981 “Spider-Friends” version, complete with invented sidekicks, incomprehensible Saturday morning subplots, shoddy animation, and a little dog too (spoiler: they were all killed off by a vampire in the 2014 Spider-Verse story arc because… comics). My brother had a Mego doll and Underoos when we were kids (I had the Hulk),…

  • Loving Vincent

    Loving Vincent

    It seems like every few years there is an animated movie that knocks me off my theater seat. In my life a few of those that astounded me — due to an unusual subject, a new perspective, or an innovative methodology — are Fantasia (1940 — okay I was not alive then but I first…

  • Tower

    Tower

    Every once in a while a documentary comes along that unexpectedly stops you in your tracks. Tower is one of those. The film tells the story of the worst U.S. mass shooting by a single person in the 20th century, and the very first episode to take place at a school. It occurred on a…

  • Oscars 2017 – Who Should Win? (Part One)

    Oscars 2017 – Who Should Win? (Part One)

    The calendar may say we’re in a new year, but 2016 is alive and well for movie lovers. Our calendar runs March to March, because the year in film doesn’t end until Oscar night. The Oscars are our Super Bowl. Everything leads to the one night where movie fans across the world gather together to…

  • Moana

    Moana

    Let’s make no mistake: Walt Disney studios isn’t hurting for recognition. Not only does it have arguably the most history of any Hollywood corporation, but it’s also now home to three of Hollywood’s most reputable and financially viable universes: Star Wars, Marvel, and Disney Pixar. And yet, Disney still finds itself lacking in one key…

  • Ghostbusters / Weiner / Deadpool / Zootopia

    Ghostbusters / Weiner / Deadpool / Zootopia

    At Cinema Faith, we wish we could provide feature-length reviews for every movie that hits theaters. Unfortunately, some films fall through the cracks. Welcome to another edition of Mini-Review Roundup where we present smaller reviews of several movies at once. This month we review Ghostbusters, Weiner, Deadpool, and Zootopia.   Ghostbusters   The reaction to…

  • Life, Animated

    Life, Animated

    Almost everyone has a history with Disney animated movies, especially those of us who profess to be film junkies. We weren’t taking the likes of Stanley Kubrick and Martin Scorcese as children. Instead, we were covering our faces with blankets as Bambi and his mother ran from hunters or when Scar pushed Mufasa into a…

  • Kubo and the Two Strings

    Kubo and the Two Strings

    A one-eyed boy, a giant beetle, a samurai snow monkey and a magical shamisen with the power to manipulate paper. Now mix it together with some of the most beautiful character and set design in a family film in a long time and Kubo and the Two Strings has earned my recommendation just for its…

  • Traverse City Film Festival – Day Three

    Traverse City Film Festival – Day Three

    He’s back! Ron is thoroughly enjoying himself at the Traverse City Film Festival. Here is his report from day three. Links to day one and two are below… Day One Day Two What a beautiful day at Traverse City with moderate temperatures and a wonderful, brisk breeze coming in off Grand Traverse Bay. However, the…

  • The Boy and the Beast

    The Boy and the Beast

    American animated films tend to be formulaic slapstick. Of course this is Disney’s fault, but it’s also because we consider cartoons to be “for children,” therefore they must be easy to grasp and funny and sentimental. I would argue American animation labors under the same existential curse most adolescent entertainment does: sarcasm and narcissism disguised as a…