coming of age | the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: Beasts of the Southern Wild

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Darren

Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild is a fascinating film, and I’m not quite sure I’ve figured it out yet. It looks stunning, especially considering the relatively tiny budget, and it features two stunning lead performances from newcomers Quvenzhané Wallis and Dwight Henry. However, there’s a sense that movie lacks substance, that Zeitlin’s ethereal coming of age fantasy lacks a firm grounding necessary to convince us to embark with the young Hushpuppy on her coming of age adventure.

Lighting up the screen…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Academy Award, Bathtub, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Benh Zeitlin, coming of age, Dwight Henry, film, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Hushpuppy, Ice cap, Louisiana, Movie, New Orleans, non-review review, Quvenzhané Wallis, review, Screen Actors Guild Award, Wallis, Zeitlin | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Whip It

Posted on April 21, 2011 by Darren

Whip It is sort of an inverse version of the Billy Elliot story. In that film, a young boy horrifies his family by wanting to practice ballet. In this film, a young woman shocks her mother by becoming a roller derby celebrity. Featuring the directorial debut of Drew Barrymore, Whip It is a fairly formulaic and straightforward little coming-of-age and self-discovery movie with a quirky angle and a plucky protagonist, but it’s also rather well handled and quite charming.