WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY: Animal Farm review: Director Andy Serkis softens George Orwell classic for family animation. “Originally conceived by George Orwell as a satirical allegory for the Russian Revolution and the subsequent struggles of the USSR under the rule of Joseph Stalin, Animal Farm’s political ire is redirected in this lively CG-animated adaptation directed by Andy Serkis. Rather than Stalinism, Serkis takes aim at greed, rapacious consumerism and corporate corruption and malfeasance. There’s also a timely dig at populist political movements.”

This isn’t the first attempt at a mirror universe Animal Farm; Roger Waters did the same thing nearly 50 years ago on Pink Floyd’s Animals: “Whereas the novella focuses on Stalinism, the album is a critique of capitalism and differs again in that the sheep eventually rise up to overpower the dogs.”

(Via, appropriately enough, Small Dead Animals.)

UPDATE:

Has anyone considered the possibility that the real issue why theaters are shutting down nationally is that no one in Hollywood outside of Tom Cruise has made an entertaining movie in like oh… I don’t know… ten years at least?” Speaking of movies ten years ago, that’s when it all started to go wrong, but few knew it at the time: