RIFLE RANGE BOY

The Bad Guy (2022) Director: Pierre Perifel Covalent bonds are hailed as one of Nature's strongest bonds. Nevertheless, with the correct amount of energy and the help of appropriate enzymes, it can be broken down into its basic structures. Unlike bonds cemented by DNA or the ones sanctioned by the Elements of Nature, friendship is a convenient arrangement amongst misfits who share the same mental illness. What others refer to as self-demeaning and a sheer waste of time, they find joy and purpose in life. Since nothing is cast in stone, friends make rules as they go on. They call it a 'bro code'. The code, a whimsical array of regulations that are made up as the friendship goes on, protects each other's interests and maintains zen in other concrete long-lasting relationships. In the good old days, before our digital devices filled up the void of long-haul journeys or protracted stop-overs, we actually struck up a conversation with a fellow passenger who looked charming e...

Encanto (2021) Director: Jared Bush and Byron Howard Something is unsettling about this Disney animated musical. Sure the animation, the colour, and the music are spellbinding; it is the story that makes me think. When I overanalyse the story, the more I feel it must surely be a wet dream for the proponents of the woke culture (or nightmare, depending on how you look at it). Colombians running from their motherland from atrocities (which they think were perpetrated by the US) were ushered in almost magically into a land of magic. In this magical land (the US, maybe), they were all given special powers (read special preference) to help each other in a Colombian only community. Perhaps others (non-Colombians) do not matter. The next generation all grow up expecting to have special treatment - all the siblings and their siblings. They feel entitled to be treated differently. They deserve the magic that their predecessors received, even though their circumstances were different. When these...

Love, Death & Robot  ❤️☠️🤖   (Adult Scifi Animation; 2019) Season 1-2 (2019-2021) It used to be that animation (called cartoons back in the days) were for children. It was an outlet for mindless personification of cute animals doing impossible stunts in gravity-defying postures. It was quite acceptable if a bomb explodes right in front of the character's face. It would just get off with a bandaid on its forehead. Or it could be thrown off into a mile-long deep ravine just to would crawl back up to fight in another snippet. That was entertainment back then. Those days are over. Now animation productions are of big budgets and delve into difficult life questions. No, adult content is left to manga series for the Japanese to deal with their men's fixations in wanting their sexual partners or dolls to have round big blue eyes like their favourite manga heroines. We are talking philosophy, the future of mankind and armageddon. Since much of the presentation is animated, t...

If anything happens I love you! (2020) Animated Short Film This 11-minutes short film won itself an Academy Award in the Best Short Animated film category. In a concise graphic representation, the storytellers managed to capture the essence of emotions surrounding the loss of a young child. This emotional turmoil can make or break a family unit. The gamut of blaming, what-ifs, guilt and fault finding missions would eventually lead to a brick wall among the living but definitely not bring back the dead. The death of a member of a family who has not lived his full potential, however, may invoke a myriad of responses. They say an addition to the family, especially the first-born, unites families. The sight of a newborn will make everyone all jello but strong enough to cement whatever minor frictions that may have been present in day-to-day dealings. It may make or break the bonds between the close relatives, especially parents, in the case of a young child. This short film with no dialogu...

Sita Sings the Blues (2008) Director: Nina Paley Since its first narration as way back as 7th century BCE and its additions over the centuries, it has fascinated many. The epic poem has been analysed, reanalysed and re-interpreted from so many angles. Ramayana continues to be a source of inspiration for many on Rama, the obedient son, the brother, the King, the husband, the warrior and the avatar of Vishnu Himself. This time around, this animated production looks for the epic from Sita's viewpoint, as a wife yearning for Rama's trust and acceptance. Using 1929 catchy blues songs by Annette Hanshaw as the main background score, the movie depicts a miserable Sita who yearns for Rama's love. Through no fault of her, she is accused of infidelity. Rama, the stoic king, is depicted as the cold-hearted husband who is more interested in reputation and living up the citizen's approval rather than standing up for his wife. Running parallel to the main storyline is the conte...

Inside Out ( Animation; 2015) Wow, Pixar is going cerebral now, dwelling into the realm of neuropsychology! After telling stories about toys, cars, sea creatures, bugs and monsters, there are literally playing with emotions now. Their latest offering is about the going-ons of traits in the mind, the little voices in the head that control our final action! It shows this through the eyes of an 11-year-old girl as we see her grow from a baby. Life was bliss, all about joy and learning till her parents decide to migrate from icy cold hockey loving Minnesota to sunny San Francisco. The new environment, school, friends (lack of) and the shoe box townhouse proved too much for Riley, the protagonist, to handle. We learn that the brain is controlled by 5 basic emotions - Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, and Anger. Then there is core memory which stores up thoughts for the long term. The child’s brain builds islands of personality based on her everyday learning and other life input. O...

Paprika (Anime, Japan; 2006) Since the time of Aristotle, people have been fascinated with dreams. The ability of the soul to perceive without any sensory input had drawn many theories in trying to explain this phenomenon. In an attempt to justify its existence, some philosophers had invoked the work of the Divine. It had been many a time, in various cultures, been the way the Divine Forces used to communicate with mortals. Some had taken the subliminal message or even wild dreams to heart. They would take it as a test of their faith! Sigmund Freud placed a lot of emphasis on dreams. He often rationalised dream as an expression of the inner suppressed emotions. In modern times, it tends to be looked upon as the a rebooting of the system before it starts operating again the following day. Anime, animation movies from Japan, typically from manga comics have been gaining popularity beyond the shores of its production. What started off as simple cartoon stories have now evolved int...

Frozen 2013 With so much of hype singing praises of the animated film, I thought I would give it a go. Unlike 'The Lion King' that I thoroughly enjoyed, I found this a bit of a drag. I guess I am not cut out for fairy tales. Based on Hans Christian Anderson's 'Snow Queen', this tale is a visual galore due to advancements in 3D animation. The characters are manga-like with large eyes and tiny limbs. Unlike Lion King, the side characters are annoying and lack depth in character. The reindeer and the snowman do not provide any added credence to the otherwise predictable plot. In a tundra kingdom, the elder of the two princesses (Elsa) is endowed with an ability to create ice crystals from the tip of her finger at will and with emotion. Even though initially it was quite fun to play with, she soon realised that it was a curse as it almost killed her sister, Anna. The troll king managed to resuscitate Anna but with caution that her ability must be curtailed. An...

The Illusionist 2010 This French animation film is about over the top Parisian illusionist who, after a dull performance in Paris, tries his luck in London. Not getting much of a standing ovation in a theatre there, he captures the heart of a drunken Scotsman in a private dinner. He performs high up in the Highlands on the Scotsman's invitation in a simple pub. For a short while, the going was good until a jukebox took the lime-light. A simple minded young washer lady befriends him and follows him to Edinburgh for his next gig. After a few uninspiring performances, his savings took a dip as he tried to keep his female companion happy by buying her expensive coat and shoes. The relationship is more of a father-daughter relationship due to the age disparity but this type of things you can never say, especially when no words are spoken - he sleeps on the couch, if that helps! To make ends meet, he leaves her lonely in the hotel room with only his trick rabbit for company whilst...