‘Inside Out 2,’ Anxiety Boogaloo

June 14, 2024

jmunney Cinema, Movie Reviews , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

You put the Inside Out, you put the Outside In (CREDIT: Pixar/Screenshot)

Starring: Amy Poehler, Maya Hawke, Phyllis Smith, Kensington Tallman, Tony Hale, Lewis Black, Liza Lapira, Ayo Edebiri, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Paul Walter Hauser, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan, Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green, Grace Lu, Yong Yea, Yvette Nicole Brown, Ron Funches, James Austin Johnson, Steve Purcell, Dave Goelz, Kirk Thatcher, Frank Oz, Paula Pell, June Squibb, Pete Docter

Director: Kelsey Mann

Running Time: 96 Minutes

Rating: PG

Release Date: June 14, 2024 (Theaters)

I often like to ask if the movies that I watch make me want to be what they are. But of course, what Inside Out and Inside Out 2 posit is that, we are all already inside out. How twisted! Just like Pouchy – what a dynamite addition. Speaking of new characters, I’m already nostalgic for Nostalgia. Damn, that anxiety attack was exhilarating. Don’t spin around with a baseball bat for a dizzy race right before watching this movie!

Grade: 4001 Insides out of 5000 Outs

‘Soul’ is Pretty Dang Soulful

December 30, 2020

jmunney Cinema, Movie Reviews , , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

Soul (CREDIT: Pixar/YouTube Screenshot)

Starring: Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Graham Norton, Rachel House, Alice Braga, Richard Ayoade, Phylicia Rashad, Donnell Rawlings, Angela Bassett, Questlove

Directors: Pete Docter and Kemp Powers

Running Time: 106 Minutes

Rating: PG

Release Date: December 25, 2020 (Disney+)

Graham Norton as a hippie sign waver? I wasn’t expecting that. I like it!

I’m going to go ahead and whip out the “Does this movie make me want to do what it’s about?” type of review. So here goes: does Soul make me want to have a soul? Very much so! I may already have one, but if I don’t … I’d like one! Also relevant: when I’m listening and/or singing along to soul music, that’s pretty dang invigorating as well. (Soul features more jazz than soul, but soul and jazz are often in conversation with each other.)

It’s ultimately a religio-philosophical matter whether or not an inner essence exists, and what it should be called, and how it should be defined. Which is all to say, we probably can’t fully ever know all there is to know about the soul. This film is part of that inquiry, and if its inquiring essence resonates with anybody, then it might just be worth incorporating its ideas into our personal philosophies. Soul posits that our purpose isn’t what we’re passionate about, but how we’re passionate. That’s pretty damn life-affirming from my vantage point.

Grade: 4 out of 5 Jerrys (and 1 out of 5 Terrys)