Wonkette Movie Night: Kubo And The Two Strings

'If you must blink, do it now.'

Kubo And The Two Strings is the kind of animated movie I love, unusual and beautiful like our last Movie Night pick, The Secret Of Kells. Kubo is stop-motion animation telling the stories of different worlds and ancient, mythical times.

I am not a student of cinema. But I am a fan. Movies are escapism, much needed for our mental health. Back in the days of the rule of Mango Mussolini, the stress of the political world and COVID made it nearly impossible for me to watch a whole movie. Like many of you, I was too distracted, too busy worrying about the possible collapse of civilization.

Then came a suggestion from Chicken ate my Ballot about doing some kind of movie thing. It was just a small group of us at first, annoying all the other non-commenters who weren’t quite sure what were doing. The first flick was The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert. The following week more people joined and soon we dominated the non-comments.

I started focusing on movies again. Two hours set aside every Saturday, to break away from the real world insanity, sit down with friends, answer some trivia and watch a fun flick.

We have WonkMovie managed by Alpaca Suitcase where you can see the monthly schedule, request movies and see the list of the past 125 Movie Night selections. I am proud to say I have watched every one of them! You can check a large database of the kinds of films Wonkers recommend, a great resource if you are looking for something to watch.

Picking the movies gets more challenging as we have already watched some of the best ones. They need to be available to stream, hopefully with a free option. I try to avoid films that are depressing, overly long, or have sexual assault content. It’s meant to be an escape, a chance to catch your breath and recharge. Movie Night should bring fun and joy. Much like a Harris/Walz rally.

Kubo And The Two Strings does that, a visual joy ride where you can surf the waves, waves that are magnificently portrayed on screen by Laika Studios. With the help of music and story telling, it visualizes the journey of a young Kubo trying to find his path in life and discover his inner magic.

Kubo And The Two Strings stars the voice talents of Charlize Theron, Art Parkinson, Matthew McConaughey, Ralph Fiennes, Rooney Mara, Brenda Vaccaro, and George Takei. Directed by Travis Knight.

Kubo And The Two Strings is available for free with ads on Pluto TV and The Roku Channel. $2.99-3.99 in the usual places.

Video contains spoilers.

Our pre-movie cartoon is Hair Love, the 2019 Academy Award winner for Best Animated Short Film. Written and directed by Matthew A. Cherry.

Movie Night has its own traditions and has become a reliable sanctuary every Saturday night. We’ve expanded to matinees on holidays and annual events like the Wonktober Frightfest — this year is our third. It’s the one time I allow myself to pick some of my favorite frightening flicks.

The 3rd Annual Wonktober Frightfest 2024

Also in October is the third Cleveland Wonkmeet on Sunday, Oct. 13, 5-7:30 p.m. in the Kensington Pub, 2260 Lee Rd., Cleveland Heights. Hosted by The Estivating Hibernian. Please RSVP by emailing her at Theestivatinghibernian@gmail.com.

I will be there! I would love to meet you lovely Wonkers, movie fans and lurkers in person.