Register  |  Sign In
View unanswered posts | View active topics It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 9:28 pm



Reply to topic  [ 24 posts ] 
 Kubo and the Two Strings 

Rate this film:
A 55%  55%  [ 6 ]
B 36%  36%  [ 4 ]
C 9%  9%  [ 1 ]
D 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
F 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
Total votes : 11

 Kubo and the Two Strings 
Author Message
Pure Phase
User avatar

Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:33 am
Posts: 34865
Location: Maryland
Post Kubo and the Two Strings
Image

Quote:
Kubo and the Two Strings (or just Kubo for short) is an American 3D stop-motion fantasy action adventure film produced by Laika for Focus Features. It is being directed by Travis Knight and written by Marc Haimes and Chris Butler. The film stars the voices of Charlize Theron, Art Parkinson, Ralph Fiennes, Rooney Mara, George Takei, and Matthew McConaughey. The film is scheduled to be released on August 19, 2016.

_________________
ImageImageImage

1. The Lost City of Z - 2. A Cure for Wellness - 3. Phantom Thread - 4. T2 Trainspotting - 5. Detroit - 6. Good Time - 7. The Beguiled - 8. The Florida Project - 9. Logan and 10. Molly's Game


Tue Aug 16, 2016 1:10 am
Profile
Rachel McAdams Fan
User avatar

Joined: Sat Oct 23, 2004 11:13 am
Posts: 14544
Location: LA / NYC
Post Re: Kubo and the Two Strings
This is the best animated movie of the year so far. It's easily one of the most gorgeous animated films I've ever seen, with some truly unforgettable imagery and stunning character work. Every shot is a piece of art. It's also incredibly imaginative and original - all of the major setpieces were as exciting as anything in a summer blockbuster. It also tackles some very heavy and mature themes about death and honoring the generations that came before us - it ends on a brave and incredibly ambiguous note too that I found beautiful. The vocal work is top-notch across the board with the A-list ensemble perfectly embodying their characters and their celebrity never distracting from it. I think all ages will get something out of this movie. It's truly a treat. A


Wed Aug 17, 2016 10:10 pm
Profile YIM
Wallflower
User avatar

Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2004 4:53 am
Posts: 34875
Location: Minnesota
Post Re: Kubo and the Two Strings
You may have convinced me to see this. I really didn't have much interest. The trailers did nothing for me. But I might give it a chance after all.


Thu Aug 18, 2016 3:00 am
Profile
Rachel McAdams Fan
User avatar

Joined: Sat Oct 23, 2004 11:13 am
Posts: 14544
Location: LA / NYC
Post Re: Kubo and the Two Strings
I'm sure you'll enjoy it. It's maybe the most original film of the summer. I LOVED the whole sequence on the water with the eyes.


Thu Aug 18, 2016 8:57 am
Profile YIM
Hold the door!

Joined: Sun Jun 01, 2014 10:26 pm
Posts: 20302
Location: Where they shot Knock at the Cabin
Post Re: Kubo and the Two Strings
thompsoncory wrote:
It's maybe the most original film of the summer.


That wouldn't be hard, lol.

I loved Coraline, but Paranorman and the Boxtrolls were boring. If this is that good, it's a pleasant surprise for me.


Thu Aug 18, 2016 9:32 am
Profile
Wallflower
User avatar

Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2004 4:53 am
Posts: 34875
Location: Minnesota
Post Re: Kubo and the Two Strings
I loved ParaNorman, liked Coraline, and disliked Boxtrolls. ParaNorman is really fun if you're a horror fan.


Thu Aug 18, 2016 1:39 pm
Profile
You must have big rats
User avatar

Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 4:28 pm
Posts: 92093
Location: Bonn, Germany
Post Re: Kubo and the Two Strings
Laika can do no wrong, in my eyes.

_________________
The greatest thing on earth is to love and to be loved in return!

Image


Thu Aug 18, 2016 2:59 pm
Profile WWW
Keeping it Light
User avatar

Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2015 8:06 am
Posts: 11185
Location: Bright Falls
Post Re: Kubo and the Two Strings
I plan for this to be the first Laika film I'll see.


Thu Aug 18, 2016 8:27 pm
Profile
Pure Phase
User avatar

Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:33 am
Posts: 34865
Location: Maryland
Post Re: Kubo and the Two Strings
Kubo and the Two Strings is another wondrous stop-motion fantasy by the creative geniuses behind Coraline and ParaNorman. With due respect to Pixar, Studio Ghibli, etc., the Portland, Oregon-based LAIKA is my favorite animation studio active today. Set in a psychedelic vision of ancient Japan, their new picture turns on a one-eyed child, voiced by 14-year-old Art Parkinson, with a tragic history—he is the son of a dead samurai—and his epic quest to defeat his malevolent grandfather, a supernatural entity known as the Moon King (Ralph Fiennes) who hopes to claim the other eye. Parts of this film, the directorial debut of Travis Knight (the company's president and CEO), may sound rote on paper—a quest to retrieve magical objects before facing a major antagonist, scene-stealing animal sidekicks—but the viewing experience is anything but, full as it is of sweeping, handcrafted, fantastic imagery (a ship made of autumn leaves, an underwater chasm populated by monstrous floating eyeballs) and truly touching moments exploring death and memory with a rare ambiguity and gravitas. Charlize Theron and Matthew McConaughey deliver tremendous vocal performances as, respectively, an anthropomorphized macaque and stag beetle who join the protagonist on his journey. The former exudes the same type of maternal intensity she brought to her instantly iconic role in Mad Max: Fury Road while the latter is given (and savors) the funniest lines.

A-

Oh, and I love the end-credits cover of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" by Regina Spektor. So atmospheric and full of feeling. Instantly one of my favorite Beatles covers of all-time.

_________________
ImageImageImage

1. The Lost City of Z - 2. A Cure for Wellness - 3. Phantom Thread - 4. T2 Trainspotting - 5. Detroit - 6. Good Time - 7. The Beguiled - 8. The Florida Project - 9. Logan and 10. Molly's Game


Thu Aug 18, 2016 10:52 pm
Profile
Pure Phase
User avatar

Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:33 am
Posts: 34865
Location: Maryland
Post Re: Kubo and the Two Strings
My only semi-substantial beef: the Fiennes character is a bit underwhelming after such a surplus of excitement and imagination. His witch daughters are way more intimidating and hypnotic.

_________________
ImageImageImage

1. The Lost City of Z - 2. A Cure for Wellness - 3. Phantom Thread - 4. T2 Trainspotting - 5. Detroit - 6. Good Time - 7. The Beguiled - 8. The Florida Project - 9. Logan and 10. Molly's Game


Thu Aug 18, 2016 11:14 pm
Profile
Rachel McAdams Fan
User avatar

Joined: Sat Oct 23, 2004 11:13 am
Posts: 14544
Location: LA / NYC
Post Re: Kubo and the Two Strings
I loved Rooney Mara's vocal work.

The ending of this movie is so heartbreaking and beautiful. Can't stop thinking about it.


Thu Aug 18, 2016 11:20 pm
Profile YIM
Forum General
User avatar

Joined: Fri Jun 24, 2005 11:11 pm
Posts: 7172
Location: Wisconsin
Post Re: Kubo and the Two Strings
David wrote:
My only semi-substantial beef: the Fiennes character is a bit underwhelming after such a surplus of excitement and imagination. His witch daughters are way more intimidating and hypnotic.


I know what you mean, but it didn't really impact how much I loved the movie.


Fri Aug 19, 2016 6:50 am
Profile WWW
Don't Dream It, Be It
User avatar

Joined: Wed Aug 02, 2006 12:45 pm
Posts: 37152
Location: The Graveyard
Post Re: Kubo and the Two Strings
A beautiful film; undeniably. A-. I'd say it's my favorite film of the year so far.

The animation is wonderful; the best that's come out of Laika to date, in my opinion. The story is well-told and flows seamlessly, helped with the support of an excellent vocal cast across the board and an appropriate atmospheric score by Dario Marianelli. Western audiences are incredibly lucky that a studio as talented as Laika is producing animated films with such imagery, and well-crafted storytelling for them to not simply "enjoy", or "watch", or have "fun" seeing, but to experience and appreciate.

My only complaint with Kubo is that, at times, some of the humor elements fall flat and were nonessential. I understand that the film had to have some "fun, humorous" moments for marketing/financial purposes, and Laika kept them in check, but these scenes also restrain the film just enough from achieving true excellence.

And while not a criticism, Laika can't take credit for the story being original (and I doubt they are). It's clear they were inspired, quite heavily, by the Japanese folktale 'The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter'. Kubo borrows many elements from the classic tale, and basically follows along the same narrative with a different focal protagonist and some action flair throughout.

_________________
Japan Box Office

“Gods are great ... but the heart is greater. For it is from our hearts they come, and to our hearts they shall return.”
“We were like gods at the dawning of the world, & our joy was so bright we could see nothing else but the other.”
“There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.”
“You have to pretend you get an endgame. You have to carry on like you will; otherwise, you can't carry on at all.”
"Paper is dead without words / Ink idle without a poem / All the world dead without stories."


Fri Aug 19, 2016 10:46 pm
Profile WWW
Wallflower
User avatar

Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2004 4:53 am
Posts: 34875
Location: Minnesota
Post Re: Kubo and the Two Strings
I can absolutely understand where the love for this film is coming from and I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I didn't really feel an emotional connection to it like others seem to have so it didn't fully grab me. The animation is so breathtaking though and that alone makes me glad I saw it on the big screen. Very good film.

8/10 (B+)


Wed Aug 24, 2016 1:16 am
Profile
Extraordinary
User avatar

Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 12:25 am
Posts: 18843
Location: San Diego
Post Re: Kubo and the Two Strings
huh. I found this underwhelming tbh. Animation is gorgeous but the story or characters didn't grab me at all.


Tue Sep 13, 2016 12:47 am
Profile
Cream of the Crop
User avatar

Joined: Mon Jan 11, 2016 11:38 am
Posts: 2084
Post Re: Kubo and the Two Strings
Kubo and the Two Strings is beautiful... and boring. All that effort and craftsmanship to construct a spellbinding physical stop motion puppet world and they just go and throw on the typical three item quest storyline. The juvenile humor added in a foolhardy attempt to engage disintered kids brought the whole thing down another notch. If this had been tightened up by about twenty minute and told as a straight dramatic myth, it might have had a chance. *C+*

(Interesting that the whole simpleminded 'whitewashing' outrage didn't gain much traction with Kubo, despite starring Charlize Theron and Matthew McConaughey as Japanese characters, and being written by Marc Haimes and Chris Butler.)


Thu Sep 15, 2016 5:11 am
Profile
The Wall
User avatar

Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 10:50 am
Posts: 16163
Location: Croatia
Post Re: Kubo and the Two Strings
***1/2 / ***** (B-)

Visually stunning, unfortunately severely underdeveloped story wise. It's being torn between some very grown up themes and too childish ones (I assume that was added to make movie more marketable and relatable to kids, yet I think it was a mistake).

My main problem is the fact that the story gets kicked by one of the most irritating cliches in kids' movies/stories - if you don't do exactly what your parent tells you, shit will get real. I do get what they possibly tried to do - Kubo likes to hear tales as much as he likes telling them and when he heard that he could speak to his father he got desperate and "forgot" he was supposed to come home before dark, but the execution is too simple and naive for it to work.

Also was it really necessary for his mother to turn into the monkey charm? It was really a weird plot to take - kill her, bring her back just to kill her again. The same goes for his father/the bug man. Was there any real need for the bug man to be his father?

This could've been a great movie if they had more balls to make it more grown up. As is, it's a good movie, but it feels like they compromised to make it a bit more "happier" which is unfortunate.


Sat Nov 12, 2016 3:03 pm
Profile WWW
Hold the door!

Joined: Sun Jun 01, 2014 10:26 pm
Posts: 20302
Location: Where they shot Knock at the Cabin
Post Re: Kubo and the Two Strings
Gorgeous animation. Decent characters and voice work. Good emotion. Amazing action. The story is quite slow in the middle unfortunately.
Overall, besides Coraline, I've had a hard time getting too invested in the characters of Laika. Maybe this is due to the animation style, I don't know. Everything is there on paper, but it didn't quite connect with me in the way Zootopia, Moana and Dory did.

Still an excellent film and very much worth seeing.

B+

Ranking
1. Coraline- A
2. Kubo- B+
3. Paranorman- C+
4. The Boxtrolls- D


Fri Jan 13, 2017 12:26 am
Profile
now we know
User avatar

Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2004 9:31 pm
Posts: 67000
Post 
Kubo and the Two Strings

Sublime animation to the extent where it is almost too perfect. I sat back in awe and appreciation of the rich cinematography in each frame, visually depicting a westernized interpretation of fantastical Japan. The story is straightforward, tight, and fascinatingly mystical. The score is heavy and cinematic, with Spektor's lovely "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" closing out the film. The voice performances are charming; Charlize Theron disguised, McConaughey comical, and Art Parkinson energetic. Visually, the introduction of "the sisters" is awesome and scary. There were a few things I did not like/understand, which just stopped me from warming to the film a little, such as why Kubo's grandfather, the Moon King, even needs or wants his eye balls - it's strange and makes no sense; why Kubo's mother is statuelike and unable/willing to feed herself one minute then animated and telling stories the next; and why is it called Kubo and the Two Strings (I guess that's to symbolise family and memories in the form of his mother's hair and his father's bowstring - but there's just no mention of "two strings" in the film at all). I can obviously put conclusions to all of these niggling queries. I just wish the film did a better job of introducing these aspects.

Anyway, this is the first Laika film I've seen, and I'm impressed - it's a nice little film, the sort of film that I hope my son loves. I'll probably check out ParaNorman if I get the chance.

B+

_________________

STOP UIGHUR GENOCIDE IN XINJIANG
FIGHT FOR TAIWAN INDEPENDENCE
FREE TIBET
LIBERATE HONG KONG
BOYCOTT MADE IN CHINA



Sat Jan 14, 2017 8:37 am
Profile WWW
You must have big rats
User avatar

Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 4:28 pm
Posts: 92093
Location: Bonn, Germany
Post Re: Kubo and the Two Strings
Quite possible the most most visually beautiful animated film outside of Studio Ghibli that I have ever seen.

_________________
The greatest thing on earth is to love and to be loved in return!

Image


Sun Feb 12, 2017 10:54 pm
Profile WWW
KJ's Leading Pundit
User avatar

Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 4:45 pm
Posts: 63026
Location: Tonight... YOU!
Post Re: Kubo and the Two Strings
Well this was terrific.

A

_________________
trixster wrote:
shut the fuck up zwackerm, you're out of your fucking element

trixster wrote:
chippy is correct

Rev wrote:
Fuck Trump


Fri Apr 14, 2017 7:08 pm
Profile
Angels & Demons
User avatar

Joined: Fri Feb 24, 2017 8:03 pm
Posts: 291
Post Re: Kubo and the Two Strings
B-DAY.


Sat Apr 15, 2017 3:51 am
Profile
Keeping it Light
User avatar

Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2015 8:06 am
Posts: 11185
Location: Bright Falls
Post Re: Kubo and the Two Strings
I liked Kubo, but there was also nothing more to it for me. It's all well made forming a good end product, but I felt no connection to the character and it was a bit of struggle for me to stay interested too. The animation looks quite gorgeous but it doesn't do much for me. Theron and Matthew do a fine job voice casting but not outstanding either. It goes well in the barrel with most of the other animated films I saw in 2016. It has some good and catching moments, but I found it dragging too.

B-


Sun Jun 25, 2017 12:27 pm
Profile
KJ's Leading Idiot

Joined: Thu Dec 31, 2009 8:15 pm
Posts: 36917
Post Re: Kubo and the Two Strings
Best American animated movie of that year.

9/10


Wed Jun 28, 2017 7:30 pm
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Reply to topic   [ 24 posts ] 

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 37 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
cron
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group.
Designed by STSoftware for PTF.