Zoom (2015)

I wanted to but couldn't!

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

I have just seen this for the first time and I've haven't been this delighted with any movie for a very, very long time.If you're a writer, illustrator, screen writer, film maker, artist and Bowie fan, which I am, you're going to love this. I usually feel like I'm not the target audience, but for this one it was so bang on, I am wondering whether I just imagined it as a movie tailor made for me. Top marks to the writers and director, they got together and created something truly delightful. A bright star among the usual cliches, handled with a wonderfully light touch and real intelligence. Absolutely loved it.

If you're wondering how is it possible that this movie is so good and yet you have missed it, the reason is two-fold. One, it's a Canadian movie. Second, it is smarter than it is commercial, something that, ironically, is being touched on in the film.The idea is quite fresh: this Brazilian model is writing a book about a girl that works in a sex doll factory and who is writing a comic about the man of her dreams who is a famous director directing the movie in which the lead character is the Brazilian model. The whole plot is a metaphor on the toxic loop in which we live our lives.The individual stories were interesting enough, each touching on human vanity. Motifs like the role of the woman in society, our obsession with looking different from what we are, whether it is about the size of tits or penis or whether we are perfectly attractive and resent being seen as sex objects, and how the things we do in life come back to haunt us are everywhere.I did like the film a lot because it was self referential while zooming in on the viewer and their own effect on themselves and everybody else. I recommend it highly.

Spoiler-light. An artist draws a comic book about a film director; the director makes a movie about a novelist; the novelist writes a book about the artist. The movie shifts back and forth between the three stories, with none of the characters aware that they're directly affecting someone else's life. The artist (Alison Pill) works in a factory assembling sex dolls, which only strengthens her desire to have larger breasts. The director (Gael García Bernal) finds himself at odds with producers... and his own body. The novelist (Mariana Ximenes) dumps her boyfriend and gives up her modeling career to pursue her dream of writing.If you can wrap your brain around the strange narrative (and don't mind the sight of bare breasts, which the actual director seemed rather preoccupied with), this movie's thoroughly entertaining. Without question, the standout segment is the artist's, which kicks off the film and forms the backbone. The movie hangs firmly on Allison Pill's shoulders, and she exudes a lovable charm which engages you as her situation goes from kind of odd to downright bizarre. The director's segment ranks a distant second, but the entire thing is rotoscoped (filmed and then animated) which gives it a surreal beauty. The weakest link is the novelist's portion, though it certainly isn't the fault of any of the actors - the problem is that this third vignette is entirely devoid of the overt humor which pervades the other two stories.It's sort of a shame that there IS a weak link here, because this film is completely unique and has so much going for it. It's not perfect but it's one of those movies where it feels like everyone involved was pouring their heart into it, so the result is kinda magical. The performances are excellent across the board, the animation has a wonderful hand-drawn feel to it, the cinematography is exquisite, the music perfectly accompanies the visuals, it's well-paced and feels like a much bigger-budget film than it actually is. And then there's that ending. I literally had a big, dumb grin on my face all throughout the climax... though I recognize that what so greatly amused me could easily be off-putting to others.The bottom line is that if you're the type who prefers offbeat indies to cookie-cutter Hollywood crapfests, there's a good chance that you'll love Zoom.

Alison Pil is a hoot.Very creative. Mixing animation with real life and a movie. Took me a minute to wrap my head around it but then I was off on such a wonderful ride.The narrative moves forward quickly but you won't get lost. The music is delightful and energetic, and the doll factory is amazing.The special order guy from Buffalo is definitely creepy, but you'll love him, and you'll really love how changing one story makes changes in the other two at the same time.Definitely an unusual piece of movie making and well worth your time.