Luca

Luca
Di Posting Oleh : Admin (Admin)
Kategori : 2021 animiated comedy Disney family Jack Dylan Grazer Jacob Tremblay Jim Gaffigan Luca Maya Rudolph Pixar review Stream thousands of movies and TV shows free INCINEMAX

***DISCLAIMER*** The following review is entirely my opinion. If you comment (which I encourage you to do) be respectful. If you don't agree with my opinion (or other commenters), that's fine. To each their own. These reviews are not meant to be statements of facts or endorsements, I am just sharing my opinions and my perspective when watching the film and is not meant to reflect how these films should be viewed. Finally, the reviews are given on a scale of 0-5. 0, of course, being unwatchable. 1, being terrible. 2, being not great. 3, being okay. 4, being great and 5, being epic! And if you enjoy these reviews feel free to share them and follow the blog or follow me on Twitter (@RevRonster) for links to my reviews and the occasional live-Tweet session of the movie I'm watching!  Silenzio, Bruno!

Luca – 4 out of 5

Once I hear that Disney and Pixar are making a movie, I’m pretty much all-in right away.  Rarely (almost never) has Pixar and their works steered me wrong and I always find moving and fun features.  Due to the pandemic, their latest; Luca, wasn’t able to hit the theaters and Disney released it on Disney+.  With it so readily and easily available to me, I decided to check it out and found another awesome feature from Pixar.

This movie has, arguably, one of the best spit takes ever.

I can relate to Luca right here.  Really, aren't
we all just herding fish and dreaming of
something more?

Off the coast of the small Italian city of Portorosso, Luca Paguro (Jacob Tremblay) is a teenage sea creature living with his parents; Daniela (Maya Rudolph) and Lorenzo (Jim Gaffigan), and his grandmother; Paguro (Sandy Martin).  His parents restrict him from ever going near the surface because they say it is dangerous and that leaves Luca dreaming of something more and being bored with the place he finds himself in.  One day, Luca comes across another young sea creature named Alberto (Jack Dylan Grazer) and he shows Luca that it is not only possible to go to the surface but, when they are dry, they appear as humans.  While sneaking off to hang out on the surface, Luca and Alberto dream of one day owning a Vespa so they can see the world.  This convinces them to visit the city.  Once there, they befriend a young girl named Guilia (Emma Berman) and they decide to enter the city’s Triathlon.  With the money they win, they can buy a Vespa, but the only problem is the town’s bully; Ercole Visconti (Saverio Raimondo), and he is a multi-winner of the Triathlon.  Meanwhile, Luca’s parents go looking for him because, if he gets wet, it will reveal to the city that he is a sea creature…and the town has a deep fear of these creatures and think they are monsters.

At one point, Ercole sits down and says, "Who wants to watch me eat this
big sandwich?" and I've never related to a Pixar antagonist more.

Pixar is always out there delivering stories that are easily relatable, fun, and emotional at the same time.  They have this incredible way of dissecting and examining emotions and the human experience in ways that never feel overtly obvious and are incredibly beautiful.  In the case of Luca, the story revolves around a young boy who longs for more (who can’t relate to thinking there is something better out there) and ends up finding a friend who opens him up to a whole new world (reference to Ariel not intended).  However, for the boys to experience the world, they need to hide who they are and pass as everyone else…and that definitely speaks to a very specific demographic.

Look at Alberto's hair.  It somehow maintains that lift when he leaves
the water.

First, it is learning to walk and then...
then they strut!

While the director states it wasn’t the film’s intention, there is no denying that members of the LGBTQIA+ can easily relate to the story of Luca.  In a society that acts like cisgender heterosexual people are the “norm” or “standard,” members of the queer community have had to often pretend to be what they are not—like how Luca and Alberto are pretending to be humans when they are sea people.  If they were to reveal themselves, they risk injury and death…just like many gay and transgender individuals now and in the past.  However, even if you aren’t a member of this community, there are always aspects of society where we need to pretend to be who we are not in order to stop ridicule, judgement, or even being ostracized.  I guess what I am saying is that Luca is an incredibly versatile story that literally anyone watching can relate to and sympathize with…and it is so endearing, heartwarming and sweet!

Wooo!  Heartwarming and sweet!

He wants to be where the people are.
This Ariel reference was intended.

So, Luca has a great story, but it didn’t stop there.  Like all Pixar features, the animation and designs look incredible.  The way the characters look had a very distinct quality to them, and they almost reminded me of the way a lot of stop-motion animated films make their characters look—especially the way the eyes and hair is rendered on the characters.  Also, this film has some amazing water effects and underwater locations.  The water looked and moved so realistically and the small glimpses we get of Luca’s underwater world were so gorgeous.  And, speaking of gorgeous, there are some really creative and beautiful dream sequences in this movie.

Luca has these cool, whimsical dreams and I'm here having nightmares
about showing up for a test I didn't study for and I'm in class in my
underpants.

"My wife!"

Finally, Luca has some terrific talent bringing the characters to life.  Jacob Tremblay perfectly encapsulates the character of Luca and his evolution from bored kid to someone finding himself in this bright, shiny new world.  Jack Dylan Grazer has that fun, boisterous attitude as Alberto and is incredibly entertaining despite the fact that Alberto might not know as much as he likes to claim to.  The rest of the cast all do an amazing job of bringing the rest of the world to life.  Whether it is the energy of Emma Berman as Giulia or the overly protective nature of Maya Rudolph as Luca’s mom (Rudolph is a treasure, just saying) or the slightly absentmindedness of Jim Gaffigan as Luca’s dad or the arrogant and antagonistic nature of Saverio Raimondo as Ercole, the whole cast really makes this world lively and fun.  My only complaint is that Sacha Baron Cohen is in the film and his character has an extremely small role, so we don’t get much of this very talented man.

I'm happy anytime Maya Rudolph shows up.

Luca is just another example of the great storytelling and animation from Pixar.  The tale is easily relatable and has a lot of subtle nuance to it that makes it really engaging but also doesn’t come off pretentious or preachy.  The animation and designs look absolutely fantastic.  And, most of all, the feature is just fun and moving.  It has some great and good natured humor to it, and it explores emotional situations in ways that Pixar continues to prove why they are the best at doing this.  Overall, just a terrific, funny, and absolutely sweet movie.