Film View #4 – The Iron Giant

It´s sad that there are films The Iron Giant that are so very underrated but luckily it seems to be getting the recognition it diserves with each passing year. It´s the first animated feature from the brainchild of Brad Bird, the man that brought us The Incredibles and newly released Ratatouille, both animated films that have been huge in the CG animation film making and are regarded to be close to perfect. The Iron Giant not far from being a perfect film, it has all that an animation film needs: A great solid scipt and story, characters that you connect emotionally with, a satisfying ending, great voice cast, no songs or dances, splendid animation and it is as much for adults as children.

The story of The Iron Giant starts when the Giant crashes on earth near a small american town in the late 50´s. The Iron Giant starts connecting with a boy, Hogarth Huges that has been raised solely by his mother. When words starts to spread around the military get´s involved and might trigger something dangerous in the giants behaviour.

It´s far from being an unwatchable film, it´s entertaining for all ages… All Ages! That is a goal that few animated films can accomplish, the whole movie feels natural and it never feels tacked on or forced at any part during the viewing. There are no moments where you might role your eyes out of an expression of sighing. It seems unfair that recent failed animated films get more recognition than this almost-forgotten classic, The Iron Giant stands the short test of time and is likely to keep doing so i the future. It is one of the 20 greatest(if not ten) animated films of all time. If you have not seen this Brad Bird production, don´t think twice about it! go rent it and buy it if you like it as much as all the other animation buffs out there.

*****

Film View #1 – Mystic River

I look up to Clint Eastwood, not only as an actor but as a marvelous director who always knows how to pull my emotional strings. He can work with actors well and get the best performance possible out of them, unlike some director´s like Tim Burton who only has actors that are great actors. The greatest director´s are the ones that work well with actors, show hints off their style and leave their mark on cinematic history. As off now Clint is leaving a large trail of great films and he has always hit his mark. This time i got to watching his 2003 film: Mystic River, many people remember it mostly for losing the Oscar to the third installment in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy. Luckily, Eastwood has had many critical hit´s since then and has earned a large amount of awards and a few Oscars.

This film tells the story of three former childhood friends who lost their friendship after a traumatizing event. 25 years later, they have all gone their separate ways but when one off their daughter´s is murdered they all start to connect to each other in a different way. The story and characters shine in their spotlight and the actors are fantastic, especially Tim Robbins and Sean Penn.  The mystery of the case holds the viewer´s interest and it leads to a conclusion that is worth your time. The character´s motivations are all understandable untill the last few minutes of the ending, the film could have ended a few minutes earlier but there is the aspect of Sean Penn´s character that is interesting enough to forgive that “second ending”.

You can spot traces off Clint Eastwood´s film style in dramas: The music, character motivations and the ending. So to the fans of Eastwood´s films that have not seen this one, put it on your must see list. Mystic River is without a doubt one of his five strongest films.

*****