BRIDESMAIDS (2011) dir. Paul Feig

“I think setting the tone is super important. Being that advocate for everyone else. You know, I think when we have production meetings, up until the point where Sam and I became producers, every single department was represented except for actors... One of the most important things is that kind of having a seat at the table when scripts are being developed earlier on... It’s been such a great thing that we’ve had that sort of access and being able to put that input in as well.”

Elemental (2023)

This is a Movie Health Community evaluation. It is intended to inform people of potential health hazards in movies and does not reflect the quality of the film itself. The information presented here has not been reviewed by any medical professionals.

Elemental has a scene taking place at a sporting event that has very mild and sporadic camera flashes in the stands, similar to a real sporting event.

The camera follows some action at high speeds, but all of the camera work is either stationary or very smooth.

Flashing Lights: 1/10. Motion Sickness: 2/10.

TRIGGER WARNING: This film depicts openly hostile and discriminatory attitudes among the public.

NOTE: The short film preceding theatrical showings of this film, Carl's Date, has no cause for concern with flashing lights or motion sickness, and no mental health triggers beyond the tragic backstory for Carl Fredricksen from Up.

NOTE: Our evaluation of The Flash is now available on our Patreon page at Patreon.com/MovieHealth, and will be available on this page tomorrow.

Image ID: A promotional poster for Elemental

Elemental (2023)

The worst thing you can say about Elemental is that it isn’t as wildly original as some of Pixar’s other outings. Although the plot is set in a city of fire, water, earth and air "people", it’s not REALLY about this world of anthropomorphic elements and the story told is not all that dissimilar from Zootopia, among others. This doesn’t make Elemental any less gorgeous or unexpectedly romantic.

In Element City, the fiery Bernie (Ronnie del Carmen) and Cinder (Shila Ommi) own a convenience store they hope to pass to their daughter, Ember (Leah Lewis), after they retire. When a pipe in their basement bursts, a water element health inspector named Wade Ripple (Mamoudou Athie) files a report. Now, Ember has less than a week to figure out why the pipes in Firetown still contain water or the Fireplace will be shut down.

I hadn’t seen many trailers for Elemental and expected what we usually see from Pixar: comedies with some action and drama. Elemental is a romantic drama with a few elements of comedy sprinkled in. As I watched the film and saw Ember and Wade grow closer (the ultimate “opposites attract”), I wondered if the children in the audience would grow bored. None of them did. The screenplay by John Hoberg, KaLiktkel and Brenda Hsueh (director Peter Sohn also contributed to the story) strikes the perfect balance. There’s a little bit of danger to make the stakes feel real, visual gags that come from the characters designs, many emotional developments (there's a chance you'll cry) and a strong romance tying it all together. You know your lovey-lovey movie is doing something right when the audience is on the edge of their seat, waiting for that first kiss.

Elemental is also a story of immigrants making their place in a society full of people who are different from them. You can see why I compared it to Zootopia earlier. Like the 2016 film, this one makes its point/make you think without beating you over the head thanks to its fantasy elements. You can see why Ember and her family might be turned away from a botanical garden. They’re made of flames... but why wasn’t the building designed with their special needs in mind? Why are so many things in Element City inconvenient or even potentially deadly for them? If that doesn’t resonate with you - which would be hard; the film does an excellent job getting you to understand Ember - her story about living up to her parent’s expectations and wondering if their dreams are the same thing as hers will.

Pixar has always pushed the art of computer-generated animation forward. What’s particularly noteworthy about Elemental is that the fire people we see aren't simply emulating what real-life flames look like. The animators made the decision to give the film more personality by choosing to do their own thing when bringing Ember and her kin to life. Then there’s her match, Wade. He's a completely translucent character, which can't have been easy, but you'd never guess it. Elemental offers a lot in terms of the character designs and also in the various products sold in the shop, the posters and advertisements in the background, and the many, many puns found on billboards and signs. You can see a bunch of them during the end credits, along with a rather touching tribute at the very end, so I’d encourage you to stick around for that.

I recognize that Elemental is not as original as it could’ve been and doesn’t quite use the natural abilities of its characters as much as it could have to make them as different from regular people as you’d think anthropomorphic water would be from you and me. Despite this, I got swept away by the romance. I get the feeling this is the sort of movie you might not know you’ve been waiting for until you’ve sat down and watched it. (Theatrical version on the big screen, June 14, 2023)

Mitch & Cam vs.lesbians 

The best metaphors retain an air of mystery about them: Why does a man wake up one morning to find he's transformed into a bug? What are the ramifications when it rains continuously in a small village for four years, eleven months, and two days? Why must it take a tragedy between a pair of star-crossed lovers to prove that love is stronger than hate?

It's this last one (referencing Shakespeare's "Romeo & Juliet," for readers not currently teaching a freshman English class), that's perhaps most closely aligned with the principles of Pixar's latest release "Elemental," uniting an unlikely pair of would-be romantic partners -- in this case, a young woman composed of fire, and a young man of water, who technically can't mix -- as a way of showing how people from different backgrounds (and compositions) can always find a way together if they truly care enough.

Paint

directed by Brit McAdams, 2023

Paint (2023) Review

I dressed up as Bob Ross at a party last year. All was well and dandy if it weren’t for another guest having shown up in exactly the same costume. I may have had the bigger fake wig, but he had the grander bushier real beard. It was truly a tragedy for the ages.

Plot: Carl Nargle, a local treasure with a soothing whisper of a voice, hosts his own painting show on Vermont public television. His art has attracted the attention of many women over the years, especially those who work at the station. However, when a new painter gets hired to revitalize the channel, Carl's own fears regarding his talents as an artist are brought to the forefront.

So unlike the poster and trailer may make one think, this is not actually a Bob Ross biopic. Yes, Owen Wilson has the signature afro perm and the soft melodic calming tone of voice, and he does indeed paint landscape paintings on a TV show, but this is not the 80′s art celebrity we know. Paint is a movie that asks what if Bob Ross weren’t a benevolent and kind hearted cultural force, but actually a womanizing and arrogant megalomaniacal prick? As such, to not tarnish the name of the original legend, the movie creates this fictional persona of Carl Nargle who shares the charming DNA to his real life counterpart, but in this case is a bit of an a-hole. So yes, this is a What If scenario, and an amusing one at that, especially with respect to the current MeToo movement, however the result doesn’t work for an entire feature length film. 

Paint is very much a Saturday Night Live sketch that has been stretched to its limits, and as soon as the novelty of a womanizing Bob Ross wares off within the first 10 minutes, the rest of the film suffers from an identity crisis, wondering what it wants to be and where it wants to go. I will say its evident that director Brit McAdams and his crew have really good intentions and try so hard to create a charming little indie movie, with the world they create reminiscent of the awkward weirdness of the likes of Twin Peaks, and the filming style inspired by the colour palettes of Wes Anderson, Richard Linklater and Woody Allen. Owen Wilson too is seriously committing to the bit, delivering the soft spoken performance of a rock-listening retro-van-driving hipster painter, and even though the character is very morally incorrect, it’s hard not to warm up to Owen Wilson. And that perm on his head is a thing of beauty! Rest of the ensemble is unfortunately stuck with very weak written unmemorable roles, with only Stephen Root managing to bring his usual signature weasel slimy antics as the head of the TV network. 

There are moments in Paint that are truly amusing, including a scene where Owen Wilson is attempting to steal newspapers from people’s front doors that has a negative article written about him whilst obeying by the highway code, or setting all his artwork on fire and then sitting in an armchair in the midst of it all smoking a pipe, or a fun little end joke about his connection to Banksy. Again, I don’t think the movie deserves the outright hate its been getting from critics online, as its by no means terrible, however for a movie about Owen Wilson playing a Bob Ross-type I feel this is a missed opportunity for what could have been a truly weird and unique comedy. Instead, it is just okay.

Overall score: 5/10

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J&B Rare Scotch Whiskey

Bridesmaids (Paul Feig, 2011)

Bridesmaids

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Elemental (2023)

Movie #1,271 • KIDZONE

Oh look it's a Pixar movie with a one-word title featuring some not-so-veiled woke-ass socio-political commentary with stunning, some might say groundbreaking animation... I'm kidding about one of those things mostly. I really did dig the look of this and the world they created. Much more style than their recent output. The story is a bit meh, but it's fine. It is somewhat insane to me that this cost $200 million dollars to make, though. Anyway, guessed it bombed pretty hard but my kids enjoyed it. I like going to the movie theater.

SCORE: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️¼

Elemental DVD (2023)

Title : Elemental

Release Year : 2023