Brave

Brave - Dirs. Dirs. Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman & Steve Purcell (2012)

Brave marks several firsts for Pixar. It's their first period piece and their first fairy tale. It was to be the first Pixar project directed by a woman in Brenda Chapman (inspired by her relationship with her daughter) until she was replaced by Mark Andrews and Steve Purcell though she still receives credit. Brave is also the first Pixar film to feature a female protagonist in the lead role.

Set in the Scottish Highlands long ago, Brave follows the strong-willed Princess Merida (Kelly Macdonald) and her equally stubborn mother, Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson). Merida prefers to roam free and practice archery while the Queen prefers Merida be molded into a proper lady. That includes lessons in refinement and diplomacy. Now that she's come of age, tradition calls for Merida to be married off to one of the sons of the neighboring clan leaders. Merida discovers a witch (Julie Walters) deep within the forest and asks her for a spell to change her fate. Of course, it all goes wrong with Elinor being turned into a bear. It's Mother Bear, instead of Brother Bear.

You can't help but be awestruck by the beauty of the animation. Pixar has outdone themselves once more in creating a vibrant world of misty mountains, dark forests, and evergreen hilltops. Even Merida's flowing red locks seem to have a life of their own. Animators actually created new software just to render her wild mane of hair, which symbolizes Merida's thirst for freedom. The contrast between mother and daughter is never more apparent than when Merida is forced to wear a restrictive Maid Marian outfit. She slips a tuft of hair from underneath her cap in a defiant expression of identity. There's a palpable tenderness to their relationship even when Elinor is in bear form. The animators do an impressive job in making her emote strictly through paw and facial movements. The creative minds of Pixar have been behind some of the most memorable father-son relationships depicted in cinema, from Nemo and Marlin in Finding Nemo to Russell and his crotchety surrogate Mr. Fredricksen in Up. No surprise that their first exploration of maternal bonds should be as equally heartfelt.

There's plenty of humor (and naked buttocks) to be found in Brave. Much of the humor derives from the "wee devils" that are Merida's younger brothers, the triplets Hamish, Hubert, and Harris. Kelly Macdonald (who replaced Reese Witherspoon) heads up a cast of talented Scottish thespians who end an aura of authenticity. The actors include Robbie Coltrane, Kevin McKidd, Craig Ferguson, and the great Billy Connolly as Merida's father King Fergus, who lost a leg in battle against the demonic bear Mor'du.

The critical response to Brave was surprisingly mixed. Perhaps, reviewers were expecting Pixar to completely deconstruct the Disney princess genre. However, Pixar didn't need to reinvent the wheel with Brave because it is so lusciously animated and well-crafted.

Rating: *** (*****)

The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day

The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day - Dir. Troy Duffy (2009)


I highly recommend watching the documentary Overnight which chronicles the rise and fall of Boondock Saints writer/director Troy Duffy. That film and the circumstances behind the Boondock movies is far more interesting than either installment. Duffy was living the dream of every young hopeful trying to make it big in Hollywood. His first script ever was embroiled in a bidding war won by Harvey Weinstein and Miramax. Despite his lack of experience, Duffy was set to direct his screenplay for Boondock Saints. He was pimped out as the next Quentin Tarantino, his band (formed with his brother) was signed to a record deal, and Weinstein was even going to purchase the bar he worked at and allow Duffy to run it. Along the way, Duffy pissed it all away due to ego.

Duffy was eventually able to secure financing on his own to shoot Boondock where it was released in only five theaters in the entire U.S. for a week. Somehow, the movie became a huge hit on DVD, gaining a massive cult following. The film has made approximately $50 million in DVD revenue though Duffy hasn’t seen a single cent after signing over the rights as well as legal entanglements. Now, ten years after the original film, the long-in-development sequel has finally hit the big screen.

Boondock Saints starred Sean Patrick Flannery and Norman Reedus as Connor and Murphy McManus, two Irish-Catholic brothers in Boston who engage in a vigilante war against the mob. Since then, the McManus Brothers have been living a life of isolation in Ireland with their father (Billy Connolly), a deadly hitman nicknamed Il Duce. All Saints Day kicks off with the murder of a priest that is made to look like the Saints. The Brothers return to Boston to find the killer and waste more gangsters and scumbags. The Saints manage to pick up a new comic sidekick in Romeo (Clifton Collins Jr.), a Mexican with a mullet and an overzealous desire to become a Saint. There’s also Julie Benz (sporting a silly Southern accent) as FBI Agent Eunice Bloom, a forensics expert and protégé to Willem Dafoe’s character from the first film. The sequel also explores the previously-unrevealed history of Papa McManus.

While All Saints Day looks more polished and slick than the original, Duffy has obviously learned nothing new during his ten year hiatus from filmmaking. There’s no visual flair or ingenuity to any sequence in the film. The characters are paper thin and the dialogue is atrociously bad. It’s the kind of stuff a 12-year old would write after seeing Reservoir Dogs for the first time. I don’t know what was more idiotic about the picture, dressing Julie Benz up as a cowgirl for a shootout or Peter Fonda's thankless cameo as, of all things, an Italian Mafioso. Worst of all, the end leaves everything wide open for a third movie. Please, no...

Rating: *