renogade

So I go on Netflix and come across a movie called Unicorn Store. 'that sounds cute' (I thought to myself) 'let me just check IMDB really quick to see the score'. From then on I get bombarded with negative reviews, half of which seem to be more focused on Captain Marvel then this film. But whatever, I put that aside, because whatever bias I may or may not have towards Captain Marvel, I want to judge this film on its own.

So in short I saw the whole film and I liked it. For me is wasn't the kind of comedy that made me slap my knee because I was bursting out laughing so hard (except kinda on two occasions), this is the kind of humor that made me do a double take on what weird things a characters just said, snickering a bit in disbelief. To be fair, it's kinda a weird movie.

We follow Kit, a peculiar individual to say the least, as she is pressured into adult life whilst also receiving a task that can make one of her childhood dreams come true(You can guess from the title what that is). Now with the adulthood element the film offers a 'fish out of water' scenario for Kit, because as her name suggests, expect to see a kid in Brie Larson's performance. Most comedies star someone who doesn't want to grow up, but they're better described as immature, whereas Kit is a full-grown child. Personally I found this pretty refreshing. Brie Larson plays the role really well with such a childlike wonder and stubbornness for everything. And with naive curiosity she often asks weird questions or goes off topic because of her attention span. I found most of the other characters working really well with her, providing a bit of reality in what would otherwise be a child's fantasy.

The movie does have it's problems though. I found the middle part to be dragging a bit too much, as all the little plot points are slowly prepared for Kit's work and dream quest. And to be fair I really didn't enjoy the business plotline with Gary that much. That one fell a bit flat in characters and plot importance, providing also some of the lesser comedic moments in the film.

But it does pick up again for the third act, which was I really liked. It's the act where everything begins to clash between characters and where the film begins to pack a punch in the emotional department. The comedy is at it's best, providing possibly the film's most memorable moments, and delivers a satisfying ending to the story.

In technical aspects the movie is fine. The direction and cinematography work well, but aren't much to write home about. The production design in The Store was pretty good, otherwise also just fine. The music fits pretty well with the tone. The film kinda has a minimalistic feel to it in technical regards, to be honest.

But to wrap it up, I liked this movie. It's not perfect, but it's a fun watch with some nice little life lessons wrapped up in it. Kit's developing friendship with Mamoudou Athie especially I found really endearing. Samuel L. Jackson is gloriously weird and the parents amusingly dry. I recommend watching it for yourself. It's definitely worth checking out sometime. And hopefully I don't get lynched for liking Brie Larson :)

Of course 4 is a pretty low score for a movie, but I do have my scientific reasons for ranking it so low. I will discuss the characters in this movie without spoiling anything, so don't worry. Now hold on to your hats. It's story time.

Normally when I really like a movie I don't tell about the experience of me seeing it. When hearing people telling me about the great things in a movie, I'm all on board. Great cast, music, director and plot you tell me? Yeah sure, let's watch it.

So imagine my surprise when I saw this movie, with all these factors included, and really disliked it.

Babel is one of the most unique movies I've ever seen, but still lacks in normal places. In the movie we are introduced to 4 stories all in different parts around the world with different cultures. Having heard of the story of The Tower of Babel about a million times in school during art class, I found myself interested in the fact that miscommunication and clashing cultures were gonna be in a high rated movie that I've never heard of.

The movie starts out promising, with some familiar faces and some pretty imagery. But just when I'm interested, the movie shifts from place and perspective to another character.

It's easy to come up with a rating for a movie. With 4 stories, they all need to be great to get a 10, but let's be honest, you know it isn't going down that way.

The story of Brad and Blanchett is pretty interesting through the whole movie, because there is an essence of urgency and emotions in it.

The story of Brad's Mexico Maid is already lacking in any of the factors that had me interested. Her story feels really random, dragged out, unnecessary and of course: boring. I didn't care for this stupid character or the random people around her.

Then there is the story of the Boys who started all this mess. Their story is also interesting to watch, because it brings the whole 'conflict with cultures' element of the movie back, like with Pitt and Blacnhett's story. Sadly this story isn't really present that much, the characters are kinda annoying and is also dragged out. As in, 'when things get's interesting, we're greeted to a random part of the deaf girl'

And now of course we got to talk about the deaf girl. Without a doubt the worst story in the movie because it's the most worthless.

At least Mexico Maid (It's just a maid from Mexico, did't mean anything mean spirited) had a relation with Brad Pitt's kids in the movie, while the deaf girl does not. Her ''Story'' is, and I'm not joking, that she and her friends go out for a day. And she wants to have sex. Which is impossible, because everybody thinks she's a freak, because she's deaf? Yes, we have a couple and two random kids with good stories, a boring story of the maid and a story about getting laid in Japan. I thought it started kinda interesting, but the story of deaf girl has no substance in it. at all. Her connection to the main story is so laughable, it's atrocious.

So to let's go the scoreboard. IF the movie did everything perfect, it'd be a 10 But that's 1/4 of the movie with one random, stupid story So it's already a 7,5. Then we have Mexico Maid's story that drags along like legless horse, with only two kids to care about. So + for the kids, minus the rest. The movie is already a 5,5 Still meh, right? Story about the kids is average. Really drags sometimes. so... 1,5? That's one point off of Gryffindor. So the movie is a 4,5? Nope The ending isn't fulfilling at all. It just ends. Kinda disappointing.

With that being said. The movie has good visuals, good music and only two good stories in its 2:23 hour run time.

Worth it? Nah I'd skip this if I were you. But if you got enjoyment out of this movie, that's great. I'm just a bitter guy with an opinion. So check the movie out if you're curious, but be prepared.