Truly Dreadful Film

Sorry, this movie sucks

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

It delivers some absolutely enchanting stop-motion visuals and the warmth between main-characters Monkey, Kubo and Beetle is enough to melt hearts. However, for me, it was far too predictable and somewhat failed to meet the hype.

Movie Review: "Kubo And The Two Strings" (2016)Director Travis Knight coming from a long line from hand-made stop-motion animation work, utilizes great patience and a golden eye for detail in this outstanding animation movie, which deserved a greater audience.Actress Charlize Theron, given voice the main-character-guiding "Monkey", sharing great beats in Japanese anime-entertaining décor as supporting vocal guests range from supreme actors Matthew McConaughey, Rooney Mara as vicious, action beat playing characters of the "Sisters" and Ralph Fiennes as leading title-given "Kubo", vocally played by talented Art Parkinson has solid beats, carrying this beautiful animated motion picture together with Charlize Theron.Another screenplay originally-received by screenwriter Marc Haimes alongside gifted co-writers, making director Travis Knight shine as the filmmaker is about to present his first live-action feature with an "Transformers" spin-off "Bumblebee" in December 2018 for Paramount Pictures.FAZIT: Picture approved (pretty)Cinemajesty Entertainments 2018

Kubo and the Two Strings is Travis Knight's animated stop-motion fantasy adventure film set in a feudal Japan voiced by a coterie of prominent actors. The overall effort is disappointing as so much excellent work went into the visual side of the film but little into the dialogue which can best be described as sophomoric and simply not funny. Don't plan on taking your kids to see this as the story as it has an undercurrent of nasty characters who might be a little too scary for children. When we're first introduced to Kubo (Art Parkinson), the young protagonist, he already has had his eye plucked out by his evil grandfather ("The Moon King" voiced by Ralph Fiennes) and his two aunts (a Japanese variation on the bad witches from the "Wizard of Oz") who are out to kill his mother, Sariatu (Charlize Theron) who was cast out by the family after marrying Kubo's now missing dad, Hanzo. Soon enough, the aunts (i.e. the witches) kill Kubo's mother and Kubo learns he must find three talismans to assist him in eventually defeating his grandfather. They include armor, a sword and a breastplate. Just as in the Wizard of Oz, Kubo is assisted by three characters who protect him from the wrath of his aunts. First there's "little Hanzo," Kubo's own Origami creation, who resembles his father, a Samurai warrior, along with a Monkey who comes to life from Kubo's monkey amulet given to him by his mother (the monkey is also voiced by Theron) as well as a Beetle/man hybrid (Matthew McConaughey). It's soon revealed that the Monkey and the Beetle are manifestations of Kubo's parents but hardly approximate their grandeur. The Monkey's lines in particular are quite grating, as she spends most of her time insulting the Beetle, who comes off as foolish and ineffectual. Nonetheless, the two manage in the end to sacrifice themselves and kill the aunts, so that Kubo can have his final confrontation with the evil grandfather. As I mentioned at the beginning, a great deal of thought went into animating this enterprise and most of it is quite impressive. However, when it comes to the animation of the grandfather's spirit (which takes the form of an ordinary dragon), one must conclude that the film's animators could have created a more interesting and compelling (final) monster/adversary for little Kubo. The ending is at least appropriate as Kubo uses the strings from his Shamisen (banjo-like instrument), culled from his mother's hair, which enables him to neutralize his grandfather's powers and transform him to a feeble old man, on whom the villagers (from Kubo's nearby town), take pity. Despite the impressive animation, the film's inappropriate comic tone undermines the filmmaker's serious intent, and relegates the overall effort as a lame attempt that patronizes the adult audience while at the same token, ends up scaring its base of young children.

The story is a cosmic myth. Kubo and his mother escape and hide from her sisters and father who took his eye. They live in a cave and do not go out at night. Kubo is a street performer who utilizes magic and origami to tell long tales. With an ailing mother, Kubo wonders out and the epic story begins as a quest for a sword, shield, and helmet. His companions are a monkey and a beetle. I found the story to be delightful and funny. Charlize Theron as Monkey and Matthew McConaughey as Beetle did great character voices with well written lines.