I watched two more movies over last night/this afternoon. Mini reviews:

Rock & Rule (imdb):
I’m a big fan of ‘adult animation’, a term I’d like to clarify as meaning films like Fritz the Cat, Heavy Metal, Fire & Ice, etc. In other words, I mean animation made for an adult audience (such as the filmography of Ralph Bakshi), not hentai or animated sex made for losers. That said, Rock & Rule is a worthy addition to the canon that includes the aforementioned titles and features a legitimately rockin’ soundtrack courtesy of Cheap Trick, Lou Reed, Debbie Harry, and Iggy Pop, most of whom, it should be noted, I’m not really a fan of otherwise. It’s a bit more lighthearted than the movies I named above, but still has a great look and a reasonably entertaining sci-fi influenced storyline about a band trying to rescue one of their singers from the grip of an evil David Bowie-esque villain attempting to use her to summon a demon at one of his sold-out concerts. Sure, it’s a little convoluted, but it’s fun for what it is, and I would much rather watch this type of animation than the largely soulless 3D flicks Dreamworks and the like crank out.

The Fall (imdb):
Easily the most beautiful movie I’ve seen all year from a visual standpoint, and the plot isn’t bad, either, escaping criticisms of style over substance. Framed as a ’story-within-a-story’ (think Princess Bride), The Fall is about a young girl in a hospital in 1920s Los Angeles who befriends a shady injured stuntman who invents an epic episodic story to befriend and trick the girl into fetching him medicine. There is no shortage of beautiful cinematography and symbolism for anyone willing to devote some time into demystifying it. The fairy tale ends up being somewhat dark, but doesn’t reach Pan’s Labyrinth levels of darkness and should be satisfying for viewers of all ages. I’m a little unsure why it got an R rating, as it doesn’t dwell on anything that might hint at such a rating, though there is some violence and talk of suicide. Typically, flamboyant isn’t a word I would drop as a compliment, but this movie definitely warrants it as praise. The acting is excellent in The Fall as well, with the young lead actress delivering a performance that should earn her much attention from casting directors.