Jojo Rabbit (2019)

A young boy in Hitler’s army finds out his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their home. (IMDb)

There are great moments of dark satire (see the training camp), but it’s the more intimate scenes (some funny, some poignant, some both) of developing relationships that carry the film–that of JoJo and Adolf (a quirky friendship gets ugly as JoJo grows–see Adolf’s anger in the kitchen), Elsa (McKenzie is excellent), and Rosie (see the riverside talk) respectively, and even that of Elsa and Rosie (see the cupboard convo). So the climactic battle felt out of place, but the dance after was perfect.

8/10 (Great)

 

Vice (2018)

The story of Dick Cheney, an unassuming bureaucratic Washington insider, who quietly wielded immense power as Vice President to George W. Bush, reshaping the country and the globe in ways that we still feel today. (IMDb)

Loved the creativity on display here: the quasi-documentary style with its narration, freeze frames, and media footage (both real and created), the mischievous artistic flourishes including hilarious faux-end credits and a Shakespearean dialogue. That said, it hinders the biopic angle from achieving significant character depth, and conversely, the biopic scope (30+ years) and focus (one man) prevents the political docu-drama angle from having as significant an impact as the content warrants.

7/10 (Good)