issue 14 // volume 44

 

 

This year in animated films

> A review of Sole of 2017's animated miele

 

Jerrison Oracion
Senior Columnist

 

017 has been an amazing year for
animated films. There were films that
had great stories, beautiful imagery, and
brilliant soundtracks. However, there
were also films that were not great and did
not wow as much as they were promoted
to. Some of the animated films this year
only came out in limited release, so a lot
of people may not have seen them yet.

The year began with not a lot of
movies in this genre being released.
In February we had The Lego Batman
Movie, which is funny and looks
interesting, although I couldn't watch it
because I haven't seen The Lego Movie
yet. Also, Ballerina was released, and
it has a Canadian connection because
the producers worked with a ballet

company in Quebec to make the ballet
scenes in the film. Go see it because
Mission’s Carly Rae Jepsen is in it.

The following month, The Boss Baby
was released with Alec Baldwin saying a
lot of vulgar things as Boss Baby, and it
appealed to adults despite being a children’s
film. Then, more animated films started to
be released with Smurfs: The Lost Village in
April, which did not have anyone from the
first two films in The Smurfs film series.

After that, the highest grossing film
in Japan, your name., came to North
America in a limited release. The opening
titles of the film look like the opening
titles of a TV show. It has beautiful images
and the time-lapse scenes are like the
opening titles of House of Cards. The
editing in the film has aspects that |
haven't seen before in an anime film, so
director Makoto Shinkai would be part
of what I would describe as the Anime

New Wave. The film’s soundtrack made
by RADWIMPS is in English and has
the essence of Japanese rock music.
Another limited release film, My
Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea, is
an indie film as well as an animated film.
In June, there was Captain Underpants:
The First Epic Movie, which stays true to
the book series that inspired it: It shows
that the arts are important, and it has the
comedy of Dav Pilkey. Next, there were
two third installments in series. Cars 3
was good, but it did not wow me as much
because it focuses on Cruz Ramirez, which
causes the film to talk about feminism
and makes Lighting McQueen and the
other male race cars sexist. The other
third film is Despicable Me 3, which is very
funny and has a lot of 1980s jokes in it.
The next few months had a lot
of bad animated films including The
Emoji Movie, The Nut Job 2: Nutty by

Promotional image for ‘My Entire Highschool is Sinking

arts // no. 9

into the Sea’

   

Nature, The Lego Ninjago Movie, and
The Star. There was also My Little Pony:
The Movie if you are into that series.

Recently, we saw the release of Coco,
which is musically entertaining, explores
Mexican culture, and has a spectacular
image of the Land of the Dead. Before
the film is shown, they show the Frozen
short film Olaf’s Frozen Adventure,
which is pretty much Frozen 2 in 20
minutes, and the song in the end of it will
probably be the holiday hit of this year.

There are still two notable animated
films to be released this year: The
Breadwinner, which is based on the
bestselling book, and Ferdinand.

Some of the animated films this
year are brilliant, and with the Academy
Awards race about to begin, the three
films that could be nominated for Best
Animated Feature next year are your
name., Coco, and The Breadwinner.

The best non-traditional Christmas songs

> What to play when you're sick of ‘Jingle Bells’

Duncan Fingarson
Senior Columnist

 

Christmas songs are a holiday staple.
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, we've pretty
much all heard them. They play at
the mall, on the radio, and on CDs at
family gatherings. There is a wealth of
songs, however, that get basically no
air time at the holidays despite being
about the holidays. Here are five of
my personal favourites, from a variety
of sources. Without further ado, and
in no particular order, I present:

“Christmas at Ground

Zero,” by Weird Al

Originally released back in the 80s, this
song has nothing to do with the more
recent “ground zero” attributed to the

World Trade Center attack. Instead it’s
about imminent nuclear war, which
was a much more pressing concern at
the time. The song is a bouncy, cheery
track about setting up for Christmas
while being simultaneously nuked.

“Fishmen,” by the H.P.

Lovecraft Historical Society

This song isn’t technically about
Christmas, but it is set to the tune

of “It’s beginning to look a lot like
Christmas,” and that’s good enough in
my books. Released as part of a series
of Lovecraft-themed Christmas song
parodies, “Fishmen” is my favourite of
the lot, although some of the others
are pretty good as well. Put a little
cosmic horror in your Christmas.

Thick as thieves

> A review of the ‘Gentleman Bastard’ series

Bridget Ivery
Contributor

 

have recently finished reading the first

three books of Scott Lynch’s Gentleman
Bastard series, and I thoroughly enjoyed
them. Unfortunately, the fourth book
doesn’t come out until October 2018,
so I have to satisfy myself with getting
all of you hooked on them, too.

The first book in the series, The

Lies of Locke Lamora, takes place in the
fictional city of Camorr, a fantastical version
of Renaissance Venice where gangs of
thieves rule the streets and noblemen and
women live in high glass towers built by
the ancient and mysterious Eldren. The
novel follows two storylines, one telling
the early development of the titular thief

Locke Lamora as he’s introduced to the life
of a Gentleman Bastard, while the second
follows Locke and his friends, now young
adults, as the city’s underground faces peril
from the ruthless Grey King. The story
picks up speed as Locke races to outwit

the Grey King and the Camorri nobility in
an effort to save his friends and the city he
calls home, and still come out on top as he
tries to pull off a con at the same time.

Red Seas Under Red Skies is the second
book in the series. Taking place two years
after the end of the first book, Locke and
his best friend Jean are looking to make the
biggest heist of their careers. Their target:
The Sinspire of Tal Verrar, an Elderglass
tower full of gambling and luxury with a
reportedly unbreakable vault. The thieves’
past catches up with them, though, and
complications send them out to sea. Part

“Fairytale of New York,” by the Pogues
This one gets quite a lot of play in New
York, or so I’m told, but I’ve never heard
it here. It’s got a bit of a folk feel too

it, and features some unconventional
lyrics. It’s not supposed to be offensive
to anyone, but fair warning: The

lyrics in question involve Irish slang

for a lazy person. That aside, the
juxtaposition of mixed styles and the
fact that the song is a duet make it

an interesting, and good, choice.

“Christmas Time in Hell,”

by Trey Parker

This song, coming to us courtesy

of South Park, probably IS intended

to be offensive, but it’s South Park,

so nobody should be surprised by
that. The song follows Satan and the
damned as they prepare for the season
down in Hell, and is both incredibly

heist movie, part pirate adventure, this
one is a tonne of fun. Like the first book, it
skips back and forth from the past to the
present, showing how they prepare for the
heist but never quite revealing the plan.
The ending is another mad dash, as all the
plot elements come crashing together, and
it keeps you guessing right to the finish.
The third book of the Gentleman
Bastard is The Republic of Thieves. It picks
up almost immediately after Red Seas
Under Red Skies, and it follows Locke and
Jean as they enter the world of politics
in Karthain, the city of the infamous
Bondsmagi. Feared for once having
destroyed an empire, the Bondsmagi have
hired Locke and Jean to fix an election.
Much to their surprise, their rival in this
contest is another Gentleman Bastard, or I
should say Lady: Sabetha, Locke’s childhood

funny and incredibly catchy.

“Carol of the Bells,” by various artists
Who loves metal? This guy. “Carol of
the Bells” lends itself astoundingly well
to symphonic heavy metal, with a few
traditional instruments thrown in for
good measure. Orion’s Reign, Little V,
and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra have
all done versions of this Christmas
classic, and all of them are good.

Pick your favourite and rock out.

Honourable mention: The honourable
mention goes to Bob and Doug
McKenzie of the “Great White North,”
for their uniquely Canadian take

on “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”
Unfortunately, this one didn’t quite
make the list, because there is no

way to make “The Twelve Days of
Christmas” not be annoying as hell.

love, is introduced in this novel. In similar
style to the first two books, the storylines
of the present election and the characters’
pasts together run parallel, each coming
toa crescendo at about the same time.

The Republic of Thieves, which I
originally thought was the end of the
trilogy, left me craving more. Locke
and Jean, and perhaps Sabetha, will
appear in the next novel, The Thorn of
Emberlain. War has broken out in the
northern kingdoms, and the Gentlemen
Bastards hope to run a con but are soon
pulled into the fighting—and poor Locke
was never very good with a sword!

From the first chapter of The Lies
of Locke Lamora I was hooked on these
books, and I hope you will find them as
page-turningly wonderful as I have.