Train to Busan
I never thought I would get to a point where I am
writing about how tired I am of the Zombie film- it’s a fad that has
sort of hit a downward slide and overexposure is leading to burn out on
the creature as a viable threat in horror films.
So, despite rave reviews, I didn’t see much point in checking out Train
to Busan- except the reviews got louder and the raving almost became a
mantra and this year has seen a bizarre dirge in horror film-making. So
when I caught an opportunity to catch the
train, I hopped on board and figured it couldn’t be an awful ride. So
let me get to the quick of it-
On the early morning of her birthday, a young girl
is accompanied to Busan by her work-a-holic father who rarely seems to
have time to be a father. The train has several notable characters-
including an expecting husband and wife couple,
a homeless man, a high school baseball team and their friends, the COO
of a major corporation, two aging sisters, and a partridge in a pair
tree. (joke) But in all seriousness, the characters find themselves
trapped on the train when the virus breaks out and
it almost immediately begins to devour occupants of the train itself.
Our zombies are World War Z speed monkeys and they swarm with a feral
hunger. Victims don’t linger in the film- they’re turn isn’t quite the
eleven seconds of WWZ, but it doesn’t take very
long at all for the virus to take effect. And combining elements of a
disaster film with the swarming threat of the undead works as a fulcrum
in which to tell other stories- Train to Busan utilizes the threat as a
metaphor to tackle issues of parenthood, class
warfare, desperation, sacrifice, and how civilized people behave when
the threat is suddenly very real and very present. Train to Busan shares
much more in common with “The Poseidon Adventure” than it does with
“Night of the Living Dead” .
Visually, the film is absolutely stunning and
delivers some truly creepy scares. The film also takes place in the
daytime, so this is horror in the day- the light, in fact, may be a
greater danger than anything the shadows may hide. The
film plays a little with an occasional stereotype, but no one in the
film behaves in a manner that is truly nonsensical- mistakes are made
and they are organic to the story. The zombie swarms are impressive,
especially in one key moment where separate crowds
of the nasties collide and pile over like a giant wave.
8.5 out of 10.
Kubo and the Two Strings
The people responsible for Coraline and Para-Norman
(LAIKA) are back once again with this stop motion feature featuring
Charlize Theron and an almost unrecognizable Matthew McConaughey. Art
Parkinson lends his voice to the titular character,
a boy hiding from his god-like grandfather, the King of the Moon (Ralph
Fiennes). He makes his way through the world by telling stories with
his magical shamisen and an extraordinary ability with paper. “If you
must blink, do it now. Pay careful attention
to everything you see no matter how unusual it may seem. If you look
away, even for an instant, then our hero will surely perish.” These are
the opening words to the film and they are as true as they are
captivating- Kubo faces monsters, demons, and his own
uncertainty in a traditional hero quest that his him seeking the
instruments for his success.
Like LAIKA’s previous entries, this film is rich
with imagery and story. So rich that it’s hard to discuss without
spoiling a vast majority of the film- suffice to say that Kubo’s allies
include a toy monkey brought to life through magic
and a cursed samurai given the body of a beetle. Each of them is on a
quest of their own, aiding Kubo along the way in unique ways and
allowing Kubo to grow as a character and person. It’s at once
heartbreaking and uplifting. Much like Para-Norman, the film
tends to defy genre simplicity and spends less time referencing
pop-culture than many “children’s” films in this day and age. Save for
one cameo, the film relies on its own world-building for the humor and
explores a Eastern story motifs with family, loss,
tradition, and humanity.
9 out of 10.
