Special Halloween Review: The Book of Life.

Happy Halloween, everyone! Well, considering it’s that time of year again when everyone likes to break out nostalgic annual classics, and turn their attention to new yearly offerings, a few days ago, I lent my attention to The Book of Life (You didn’t think I’d see something torturous like Annabelle or Quija, did you?), the new animated feature from Reel FX Animation Studios. That very name may leave a sour aftertaste to many a viewer, considering that they were behind last year’s critical failure Free Birds (which I have actively avoided). However, with a different creative team behind it, including Guillermo del Toro as a producer, The Book of Life is a generally fantastic film, and one of the year’s most dazzling treats.

Gone Girl movie review. (Spoilers!)

David Fincher is often regarded as one of the finest auteurs of our generation, having been responsible for some truly dark and twisted films such as Se7en, Zodiac, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. So, when it was announced that his latest film would be an adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s novel Gone Girl, everyone was at once skeptical and intrigued.

I consider the book to be one of my favorites of all time. A scathing examination of romanticism and media manipulation, the book lends itself perfectly to Fincher’s stylistics. Much buzz and anticipation has been spreading for this film, and let me just say this. If you’re a fan of Fincher or of the original book, you likely won’t be disappointed. If not, results may vary. From a personal standpoint, I consider this to be as perfect an adaptation to such a great book as I could ever have hoped. Few films this year have been nearly as gripping as this one.

However, this is a tough film to talk about without diving into major spoiler territory. So because of this, if you have not read the book, or seen the film, I’ll leave you with my thoughts that it is a fantastic addition to David Fincher’s filmography, because for the purposes of this review, everything beyond this point will be spoiling huge chunks of the story.

With that said, let’s begin…