Sunday Movie - 1pm at Cafe La Villa (BCP Center) - "Kubo and the Two Strings" (2016)

[NewsLady]

Movie starts at 1pm, and food, drinks and popcorn will be available from Cafe La Villa.  (If you like, you can bring cushions for the hard restaurant chairs, or folding/camp chairs for more comfort.)  There is no admission charge, but we ask for voluntary donations at the end of the movie to support the program and help pay for the video system. 

Movies scheduled:
January 22: Cloud Atlas (2012)
January 29: The Color of Paradise (2000)
February 5:  Chasing Ice (Documentary - 2012)

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Link to trailer for this week's movie - Kubo and the Two Strings. 

Description:  I occasionally like to watch "family films" aimed primarily at children, and the best ones have elements that please and entertain both young and old.  Last year's "Kubo and the Two Strings" - which took 10 years to complete -  is one of those films that people of all ages can enjoy.  Again, as in many of my favorite movies, some questions are left unanswered - just like real life. 

Ratings:  7.9/10 IMDb, 97% Rotten Tomatoes, 94% Google users

From the Roger Ebert website review: 

 

One of the most impressive elements of “Kubo and the Two Strings”—besides its dazzling stop-motion animation, its powerful performances and its transporting score—is the amount of credit it gives its audience, particularly its younger viewers.

The Oregon-based animation house Laika has demonstrated a delightfully dark sense of humor and a taste for twisted storytelling in its previous offerings, “Coraline,” “ParaNorman” and “The Boxtrolls.” In “Kubo and the Two Strings,” the directorial debut of Laika CEO Travis Knight, the lead character faces deadly peril from the very first moment we see him. The young Japanese boy who gives the film its title learns early on that the world can be a cruel place, that family can’t necessarily be trusted and that he’ll frequently have to function as the grown-up in the equation when his ailing mother is incapable of doing so.  

A decade in the making, “Kubo and the Two Strings” is both painstakingly detailed and epic in scope. Inspired by a multitude of Japanese art forms, it’s textured yet crisp, frighteningly dark yet radiant with bold color. It’s a classic hero’s journey full of action and adventure, but it’s also an intimate fable about love and loss, magic and memory.

Above all else, “Kubo and the Two Strings” is fittingly about storytelling and its capacity to transform and connect us. The timelessness of the film gives it an overall feeling of cinematic grace, with obvious nods to greats ranging from Kurosawa and Miyazaki to Spielberg and Lucas. The resonance of the performances from its excellent voice cast gives it an immediate emotional punch.