The Foxy Film Fan

Like many others, I was introduced to Taika Waititi through his satirical vampire comedy What We Do in the Shadows  (written and directed alongside costar Jemaine Clement). It was funny enough for me to seek out and watch his heartfelt Hunt for the Wilderpeople starring Sam Neill. I even enjoyed and rewatched Thor: Ragnarok . So, I like Waititi's work, I like his style which emulates Wes Anderson but aspires to much more than settling for the wit and charm of Anderson's work. Waititi's Jojo Rabbit  doesn't just aim to tell a story, it aims to communicate the way a horrific ideology can spread like a wildfire through children. In some instances Jojo Rabbit  gives you emotional whiplash. One moment you're accompanying our clever child protagonist on his adventures around Berlin, and the next you're faced with the horrors of war as a civilian in Nazi Germany. However, this whiplash is crucial to truly understanding how the joy of the privileged in Berlin could...

Why Him? (2016) Perhaps my first mistake with the new comedy Why Him? was going into it with any sort of expectations at all. I've been a fan of Bryan Cranston ever since seeing him as the goofy father in Malcolm in the Middle  and I've always admired his abilities as a serious actor and as a comedic one. Bearing that in mind, I suppose I unintentionally found myself with moderately high expectations when going into this movie. Not necessarily high expectations, but certainly not expectations that were as low as they probably should have been. First and foremost, allow me to offer this piece of advice: if you laughed during the trailer you will probably laugh during the movie, most likely at the scenes you laughed at during the trailer, because those are essentially all of the big comedic moments of the film. If you didn't laugh during the trailer, then you're simply going to find yourself bored and wondering why you thought seeing this movie was a good idea. T...

A Christmas Story (1983) The majority of films centered around the holiday season also effectively work to draw forth feelings of nostalgia. Traditionally this nostalgia is related to the holiday season and the imagery which one typically can expect to see during Christmas time. However, in the case of A Christmas Story  the nostalgia is not relating to Christmas, but rather to a much more broad and relatable occurrence which even those who dod not celebrate traditional American Christmases will relate to - growing up. Despite its title and the fact that the events in the films plot all take place around the holiday season, it is the occurrences and instances of familiar childhood events that brings this film its charm. Take for example the terror of accidentally swearing in front of a parent, but amplify it to the point where the parent begins shrieking in absolute terror and disbelief when they hear the word you uttered. A Christmas Story  is more of a series of child...

50 First Dates (2004) Like so many other women before me, I too have fallen victim to swooning over the occasional movie which falls under the blanket term of 'romantic comedy'. I've sighed as the two unlikely love interests find passion and some strange mutilated version of true love based mostly on the fact that the script said these two characters must fall in love with one another, so that's exactly what they're going to end up doing. While there are exceptions to the rule, these films have the tendency to all follow the same exact formula time and time again, and on top of being lazy filmmaking it also depicts a rather unhealthy foundation for any sort of relationship (be it platonic or romantic). For some reason, the two protagonists must always begin their story hating one another. Their distaste for each other could range from one-sided affection (varying from a light crush to obsessive pining which the other ignores) to absolute loathing (as seen i...

The Holiday (2006) The romantic comedy genre is one which has been completely overrun with the same tropes repeated again and again, but once in a while a particularly unique movie comes along to break free from those cliches and reveals itself to be something original and heartwarming; The Holiday  is one of these films. Unlike other traditional romantic comedies, The Holiday  uses a simple plot to smoothly transition between the love lives of two very different women. Two women, depressed with the mundane nature of their lives, seek out the opportunity to temporarily spend the holiday season in another home, one in London and the other in Los Angeles. These two women trade places, and in the process find love. Admittedly, were the plot placed in the hands of another cast it would have fallen flat, but with a cast as talented as Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jack Black, and Jude Law, it's hardly difficult to see why the film is such an extraordinary tale of romance. Th...

Tony Hinchcliffe: One Shot (2016) Tony Hinchcliffe's new Netflix comedy special is simultaneously a strange sort of experimental art piece which examines the strange artificial nature of other comedy specials. Rather than being shot from an audience perspective with occasional close zooms and frequent cuts to other shots, it is filmed in one long take. However, unlike a video from a comedy club on YouTube, the camera is just as much a part of the show as Hinchcliffe himself. It breathes and acts as a living person, moving fluidly around him at a close and personal perspective, giving you the odd sensation that you're on stage with him, circling him and watching him closely as he performs his show. One can't help but wonder how the audience felt, watching the camera man on stage with Hinchcliffe, circling him at such a close proximity and occasionally stopping directly in front of him. The comedy club which One Shot  was filmed in already appeared to be rather dark...

Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) Movies centering around Halloween and Christmas are commonplace; movies centered around Thanksgiving, on the other hand, are a rarity. Planes, Trains and Automobiles  is a comedy by beloved director John Hughes who's always had a penchant for delicately combining sincerely sentimental with outrageously funny, and this film is no exception. Steve Martin plays the role of the uptight office worker who's just trying to make it home on time for Thanksgiving, and John Candy is the unlikely friend who joins him along for the ride. John Candy masters the role of the obnoxious sweetheart, who's blissfully unaware of just how painfully annoying he can be, while Steve Martin is the perfect opposing irritable travel companion. Their chemistry is undeniable, and the comedic timing in this film is hysterical. Planes, Trains and Automobiles  also succeeds in a way which many comedies fall flat. It is genuine in its emotional scenes, albeit a...

The Edge of Seventeen (2016) For years, audiences have suffered through the dreaded coming of age story, in which we watch some angsty blank slate of a teenage boy or a preppy bubbly girl (whose only flaw is her clumsiness and uncanny knack for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time) struggle through an awkward crush before finally getting a date with the object of their affection. While each movie set in high school tries to offer something new and edgy, they rarely ever follow through and join the sea of low-budget films about awkward kids (who aren't really that awkward, and are usually good looking enough to be the popular kid in school) trying to find their place in a high school full of twenty year olds. Then The Edge of Seventeen  came along. The Edge of Seventeen offers a simple plot, which would have been easy to ruin were it placed in the hands of a less competent director. Nadine is a high school junior who has only one friend, but when that one friend falls in...

Harrison Feldman and  Bethany Whitmore in Girl Asleep (2015) Girl Asleep  is simultaneously two movies; one is fantastic, the other is absolutely terrible.  As the name implies, a large portion of the film is entirely comprised of one lengthy dream sequence (because short dream sequences aren't obnoxious enough, right?), and it simply doesn't work, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Girl Asleep  is, at first, a charming little independent film about fourteen year old Greta Driscoll, a shy girl who is dreading life at a new school after moving with her eccentric and often times overbearing parents. There, she meets Elliott, an odd but friendly and promising new friend, who seems ecstatic at the notion of befriending the new girl in school. Initially, Girl Asleep  comes across as something which may have been made by the likes of Wes Anderson. It has a clear and crisp visual style, with bright colors, odd and unique mapped out camera shots which are stationary...