Films and Feelings

     Some die-hard fans of the franchise may have to correct me, but I don't remember Mario having a solid backstory. Or any backstory. I'm pretty sure he just emerged fully grown from a sewer pipe one day and started chucking turtle shells at mushrooms for fun.       I remember, for example, that Mario and Luigi are canonically brothers, yet there's little opportunity in the video games to explore anything like a relationship between them. That's domain better trod by film.       And this weekend's feature film adaptation from Illumination does succeed in carving out character, personality, and history for all the players on the board. The fact that Mario and Luigi are brothers isn't just a way to excuse their nearly identical apparel. Their relationship is the foundation for Mario's quest. Even more impressive is that the film reaches its degree of texture with its characters without cramming in exposition overload. This is one ar...

    Being a film critic is certainly one of the more savory stations in life, but it's not without its frustrations.        We are, after all, expected to craft a perfectly sound summation of a film's merits and limitations after just a single viewing of a film--and always immediately after that single viewing. This is not the ideal condition in which a discerning mind fairly or accurately appraises the worth of a text.  Art demands reflection. Reflection takes time. You catch subtle inflections upon repeat viewings that completely change your context for said film.  And yet, film reviews depend on visceral first responses, and so we critics offer up our unseasoned reactions, praying that the casualties will be minimal ...      I'm here to write about one such experience I've had with this phenomenon: my review of Mamoru Hosoda's Belle , premiering in U.S. markets in January of 2022.      Anyone who actually r...