LogFAQs > #972503034

4. Jojo Rabbit (2019)
Directed by Taika Waititi
Score: 93

John: 2
Karo: 5
Vis: 6
Tangy: 9
Suprak: 9
Poke: 11
Mythiot: 11
GavsEvans: 12
Plasma: 14
Forty: 14

2. John
Thor: Love & Thunder almost made me forget for a moment how incredible Taika Waititi is when he really puts his heart into something. Jojo came out the same year as Marriage Story, which got all the Scarlett Johansson Oscar press, but for my money her appearance in Jojo Rabbit is legitimately just better. She balances trying to teach Jojo how to be a caring and compassionate person while also trying to protect him from the government and society surrounding him who would have him dead for showing those exact values. And then we see her gone for it, just by her dangling shoes. There's a moment earlier in the film where she's dancing up on a curb, which we see from the perspective of Jojo down below with only her shoes in on the top corner of the frame, and on a rewatch the shot is like a gut punch. This film is also a large part of what put Thomasin McKenzie on the map, and she's proving to be one of the best young actresses working now. But really every single actor just kills it here. Even Rebel Wilson manages to be almost tolerable.

5. Karo
The misadventures of a young boy in 1940s Germany and his imaginary friend... Hitler?
So Jojo is a good little white supremacist up until he meets a little Jewish girl hiding in the walls of his house and their odd relationship begins to change his views on the world.
It is cute and weird in the usual manner of Taika Watiti, and while it certainly isn't the best outing from the talented director, I did greatly enjoy it.

6. Vis
This was a good movie to round out my watchthrough with. Its not the funniest movie I watched for this, but that wasnt really the point. The Taika Waititi version of Adolf Hitler was the major source of comedy in the film (and Rebel Wilson for some reason), but he was just meant to represent a childlike adherence to societal normsand in this case, the society in question is Nazi Germany. But really, this movie has a lot more heart than I expected, to the point where I think this was the only movie out of the entire thirty that actually made me tear up a few times. Its just really well-done for what it is: discussing the general mindset of a child living through the Nazi rule of Germany and all of the propaganda hes been taughtonly for it to come crashing down as hes basically forced to grow up SUPER fast, both by his Hitler Youth organization, and then his familys role in hiding away a Jewish girl, and his mothers death at the hands of the regime. It all just works as a really well-written movie.

Finally, I cant end this without highlighting Sam Rockwell, who does an amazing job. You think hes just some joke character, meant to represent the misplaced machismo of Nazism, but then he gets demoted for incompetence in letting Jojo blow himself up with a grenadeand youd think this sort of thing, particularly in a comedy about Nazism, would make him an easy goof character. Yet as the film goes onhe turns out to be one of the best humans among the Nazi organization. Not only does he look out for Jojo (rather than resenting him), but he covers for Jojo and Elsa when the Gestapo comes to search the house. And when it looks like Jojo is gonna face a firing squad, Sam pulls off his Nazi jacket and spits on him to make the soldiers think Jojos not a Nazi. He saves his life, and Jojo has to watch a sort of surrogate father figure sacrifice himself for him. I think a lesser actor couldnt have threaded the needle that Sam Rockwell did, but he was my favorite character.

9. Tangy
I like Jojo Rabbit well enough. The concept is fun, while still being appropriately dark and theres some really good heart at the center of the film with the relationship formed between Jojo and Elsa. Theres also Sam Rockwell who always manages to provide an automatic boost to any movie I see him in. Despite all the positives, I cant help but feel like there was more potential with this concept and as a result, I can rank it as highly as other films in my Top 10. Everything above this manages to feel more unique and honestly more clever. That said, I do still enjoy the film as it stands.

Biggest Laugh: Probably the comedically repetitive salutes in the Gestapo scene