The Materialists: this is a new movie from writer and director Celine Song. Earlier she had brought forward the really good Past Lives which described a couple who over the years had their relationship change. She writes about real people, fully formed with flaws and backgrounds. The relationships are relatable for those in the audience with a few under their belts. Starring Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans and the ever-present Pablo Pascal. For me, this was not the typical romantic-comedy. It was more real than that, exploring deeper and more serious issues.
The story revolves around Johnson who is a matchmaker in NYC. She is single, but active in finding her clients a romantic relationship. She has a pool of people to draw from. We are introduced to a few of her clients. We learn that she has a knack for this work, but nothing else that she had tried. She has life experience and brings it forward to her job and assessment of potential matches. For many of these she regards the match as a business deal and the “math has to add up”. She had her own personal long term relationship with Evans that didn’t work out and she believes that she needs to be with someone “rich”. At a wedding she accidentally meets up with Evans, a struggling wanna-be actor. At the same wedding, she is approached by Pedro Pascal, the brother of the groom who she regards and explains is a “unicorn”. Pascal is interested in her, although she tries to explain that the math doesn’t add up for them. He convinces her otherwise. Things happen. Of these things there are some real world challenges which makes Johnson to question what she is doing. Dating may just be dating but in this day and age it can have some real risks and not just to your heart or self-esteem. This isn’t the typical rom-com and I wasn’t sure just how dark it decided to go. Viewers will have to see for themselves. Matters of the heart are complex, and finding the right partner is not an easy journey. This movie ably addresses a few of the challenges while still providing some humour which can show how ridiculous it can all be as well. Worth the viewing.
How To Train Your Dragon(animated): the “live” version of this has been newly released into the theatres. I had not seen the original animated cartoon from 2010 and decided to watch over a recent flight this week. I was pleasantly surprised by this story however formulaic it can appear on the surface.
In the story, set on a mythical island with Vikings populating it (although strangely the Vikings sound more Scottish than Nordic but never mind) there is a long held problem with dragons of all shapes, sizes and abilities which steal from the Vikings. The Vikings then are forced to slay the dragons for self preservation. Those who slay best are valued the most by the people. Canadian Jay Barushel voices Hiccup who is the son of the fearless leader of the island. He slays dragons easily. Meanwhile, Hiccup not only doesn’t resemble his tribe physically, but he doesn’t have the killer instinct. As a teenager he is coming of age and teased by his fellow teens but also doesn’t have a terrific relationship with Dad. Hiccup is a reader and investigates his environment all the while working as an apprentice to the local blacksmith. Hiccup is good with this. He notices young women his age but knows that they have no time for him. The village gets attacked by dragons and Hiccup decides to try and use a new weapon against the attackers. He thinks he succeeds but is unsure. He needs to investigate. I won’t share further details except to say that the results are not as predicable as you might expect. Yes Hiccup gains the trust of his father and townspeople, but he also helps out a dragon (and thus the name of the movie). I will say that the dragon teaches Hiccup too. The dragon is named Toothless, and has his own journey. This is a “kids’ movie” that works on an adult level. It is a good story and the animation is well done. But more importantly the audience cares about awkward Hiccup and cheers for him and the dragon. In this story there is a great deal of growth all around and in ways that were not obvious. I will likely need to see the updated live version to see how it compares. This was worth my time.
Mondays With Robbie 