Monthly Archives: October 2017

Predator (1987)

10 Tuesday Oct 2017

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Can you feel the eyes upon you,
Every move within their sight?
Where they are you cannot know
Regardless if it’s day or night.
Vainly, you attempt to flee
Or foolishly prepare to fight.

It awaits the perfect moment,
Preying on your fear’s last thread.
Though some fail to see the danger,
Blood is ready to be shed.
Once you know you’re being hunted,
You’re already good as dead.
_________________

MPAA rating: R (for much violence and language)

Predator is about a bunch of elite commandos, led by the Terminator himself, fighting an alien hunter in the Central American jungle. And I thought Sylvester Stallone arm-wrestling was macho! This Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle supposedly stands alongside the Alien movies as a great sci-fi actioner (thanks in part to the whole Alien vs. Predator spinoff), and while it definitely nails the action part, it’s certainly not on the level of the first two Alien films.

This is a prime example of a film in which the plot serves the action rather than the other way around. The storyline is as thin as it gets, with Schwarzenegger’s “Dutch” Schaefer sent on a rescue mission with his team of professional soldiers (Bill Duke, Jesse Ventura, future writer/director Shane Black, who will be helming another sequel due out next year), joined by Carl Weathers as former friend and CIA agent George Dillon. After an assault on the local guerrillas reveals they were misled as to their true mission, the soldiers head back, only to be picked off by an invisible alien poacher. As I said, the plot serves the action, and so do the simple but enjoyable enough characters, all of whom are oozing testosterone with lines like “I ain’t got time to bleed.” (Spoiler: He finds the time.)

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You don’t watch a movie like Predator for the narrative or any complex themes. It’s a turn-your-brain-off-and-watch-the-explosions kind of movie and an entertaining and not too dumb one at that. There’s not much horror to the ugly, cloaked alien himself (who feels a lot like a relative of the Hirogen hunters from Star Trek: Voyager), but he’s an intimidating and well-armed antagonist, especially from how easily he takes down most of the group, though he also seems to have some kind of honor code for worthy prey. My VC felt that the reveal of its face was rather a letdown, but it was followed by a fight and an explosion so I can’t complain too much. A solid sci-fi actioner, Predator is perhaps not what I’d consider “great,” but it’s machismo-fueled entertainment that still excites thirty years later.

Best line: (Dutch, adhering to the Batman school of alien killing) “If it bleeds, we can kill it.”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2017 S.G. Liput
516 Followers and Counting

 

The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958)

08 Sunday Oct 2017

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Some may wish five happinesses
On both traveler and friend:
The hope for wealth from their successes,
And a long life ere the end.

Third, may good health cause increase,
And virtue fortify your soul,
And lastly, may you die in peace,
Having met your every goal.

Though five would fill most purposes,
A sixth and final happiness
I wish to all, but what it is
Is up to each of us to guess.
____________________

MPAA rating: PG

Ingrid Bergman is one movie star who hasn’t been much on my classic film radar, aside from Casablanca and Gaslight (which are great). To remedy that, I decided to check out one of her later roles in the semi-epic The Inn of the Sixth Happiness, in which she plays Gladys Aylward, a real-life missionary to China who rose to fame with her humanitarian efforts during the Sino-Japanese War of the 1930s.

I call it a semi-epic because, though it doesn’t quite boast the sweeping storytelling of Ben-Hur or Doctor Zhivago, there’s enough of it in Aylward’s decades-long mission that the magnitude of her story rises above others of its day. At the beginning, Aylward displays an indomitable passion for China, feeling it is where God has called her for His purposes, and at her own expense and peril, she journeys there to join an already established missionary (Athene Seyler). There in Yang Cheng, they open an inn for travelers, whose hunger for stories they plan to meet with the Bible, but many difficulties stand in the way, from uncooperative leaders to the obvious language barrier. And even when she earns the trust and love of the people, Aylward’s commitment to China also puts her in harm’s way when the Japanese invade in the years leading up to World War II, and she takes it upon herself to lead a hundred orphans to safety.

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While The Inn of the Sixth Happiness doesn’t quite make my List, it’s the kind of film that might have if I’d seen it long ago and built it up in my head as a classic. (That is how it works sometimes.) There’s much to love about it, not least of all is Bergman’s performance as Aylward. Even if she looks and sounds nothing like the woman she’s playing (just one of the film’s many historical liberties), she certainly captures her commitment and love for the Chinese people. Like Mother Teresa, she goes to serve as both servant and example rather than force conversion on the people. She doesn’t merely go to China for a couple years to fulfill a duty; instead, she immerses herself in the land and culture, even becoming a Chinese citizen, and dedicates her entire life to her mission of love and social reform. It is this kind of Christian commitment that is most persuasive, and when she does find success and respect in the eyes of both the Chinese and her fellow missionaries, it’s immensely satisfying and touching. I’ve even heard reports that playing such a godly woman led Ingrid Bergman to become a Christian.

Strong supporting roles are filled by Curt Jurgens as a half-Chinese colonel and love interest and Robert Donat (his last film role before his death) as the local mandarin of Yang Cheng. Of course, neither actor is Chinese, leading to retroactive criticisms of the film for whitewashing, but they both are excellent still, especially Donat, and they’re not at all insulting like Mickey Rooney’s caricature in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Plus, the vast majority of the cast are still played by Chinese actors, including many children from a Chinese community in Liverpool. Especially affecting is the commitment of Aylward’s two Chinese helpers who assist her along the way, as well as an emotional scene between Aylward and one of her adopted Chinese daughters.

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It’s not without its flaws, from an overlong runtime to some loose ends that are left unresolved by the end. Plus, it’s up to each viewer how much the historical changes bother you; Aylward herself wasn’t a fan of the film’s depiction of her or Curt Jurgens’ character. Yet the mountainous setting adds a good deal of authenticity to Aylward’s travails, aided by terrific cinematography, and even if director Mark Robson was the only member of the production to earn an Oscar nomination, the quality of the performances and overall film seem deserving of far more. The Inn of the Sixth Happiness isn’t strongly evangelical, still being a Hollywood production, but the faith of its subject is unmistakable and inspiring.

Best line: (Aylward) “You have to interfere with what you feel is wrong, if you hope to make it right.”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2017 S.G. Liput
514 Followers and Counting

 

Dunkirk (2017)

06 Friday Oct 2017

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In desperate times, the desperate strive
To conquer odds and just survive,
A second, minute, hour away
To die or live another day.

Is this success, to scrape on through,
To call retreat as foes pursue?
Is it defeat to slip away
To live and fight another day?
_____________________

MPAA rating: PG-13

Dunkirk was one of my most anticipated movies this year, and Christopher Nolan delivered. And what he delivered is a war movie unlike any other, one that uses his penchant for time manipulation in order to provide a comprehensive and visceral glance at the Dunkirk evacuation, which until now wasn’t nearly as known as it should have been.

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Minimally explained by a couple words on the screen, the film takes place in three different time frames: a week for the soldiers stranded on Dunkirk’s beaches as they desperately seek rescue, a day for a small civilian vessel on its way across the English Channel to help, and an hour for a lone RAF pilot (Tom Hardy) as he defends evacuees from German bombers. The movie bounces around between time frames so frequently that it’s easy to confuse the chronology of events that play out faster in one timeline than another, but it also becomes a sort of epic puzzle as the three stories converge toward the end.

Dunkirk is far from a head trip, though; it’s a non-stop adrenaline rush. From the first moments where silence is shattered by sudden gunfire, the nerves are constantly put on edge. I wouldn’t doubt that Dunkirk is a shoo-in for technical Oscars, like Sound Editing: augmented by Hans Zimmer’s escalating score, the gunshots and the blaring drone of incoming bombers are deafening (my theater had excellent speakers), lending the audience a taste of the shell shock felt by the soldiers of Dunkirk.

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It’s amazing how relentless the suspense is across all three stories. Hardy’s midair dogfights are thrillingly authentic, especially with the knowledge that real period planes were used rather than CGI re-creations, while Mark Rylance embodies civilian determination as the skipper of the small boat Moonstone, offering brave wisdom while dealing with a panicky survivor (Cillian Murphy). The most unnerving scenes go to the British young men on Dunkirk’s stark, wind-swept beaches, particularly Fionn Whitehead as our touchstone in that time frame. We barely get to know any of the soldiers, which also include Aneurin Barnard and a quite solid Harry Styles, but their desperation is palpable as they search for any boat in the storm. One scene of a torpedo attack is a whirl of watery chaos; not since Titanic has a ship sinking been so riveting.

On technical merit, the film is practically flawless, but there were a few things that held it back from total perfection, for me at least. Aside from the potential confusion of the three time frames, I suppose I prefer war movies to have a bit more character development. I never really learned any of the characters’ names or backgrounds, and the beach-bound soldiers have precious little to say to each other, although I’m sure it was likely intentional to focus more on their immediate actions rather than backstory and dialogue. A few moments also left me confused as to people’s reasoning, like when soldiers on an endangered boat insist that someone should get off or when one character seems to choose capture by the enemy over joining the evacuation. One tiny bit of improved editing might also have better shown that a waterlogged boat was actually at sea rather than just surrounded by the incoming tide. Plus, Nolan’s focus for the film was clearly the desperation of everyone involved, and while heroism has its triumphant moments, the desperation tends to overwhelm it and leave little room for any religious aspect of the story, like the day of prayer in Britain beforehand or the miraculous storm that kept the German army at bay.

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I quite agree with the consensus that Dunkirk is one of the great war movies of all time, and its beach setting makes comparisons to Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan inevitable. While I think Saving Private Ryan is a better film overall, I will say that I appreciated Dunkirk’s comparative restraint. There are no severed limbs or sprays of blood, and the intensity of the war scenes is not diminished one bit. Yet perhaps that’s due to a difference in directorial intention. I loved Nolan’s explanation he gave in an interview, stating that Saving Private Ryan showed the horror of war with scenes to make you want to turn away, while Nolan wanted to make a film of suspense that “you can’t take your eyes off.” In that, he succeeded, and even if it’s not quite perfect, even if I still consider Inception Nolan’s best work, Dunkirk is a brilliantly executed, well-acted, edge-of-your-seat piece of immersive history.

Best line: (Rylance’s Mr. Dawson) “He’s shell-shocked, George. He’s not himself. He might never be himself again.”

 

Rank: List-Worthy

 

© 2017 S.G. Liput
514 Followers and Counting

 

My Top Twelve Pixar Movies

04 Wednesday Oct 2017

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I’ve loved growing up with Pixar movies. No other American animation studio has had such consistently marvelous output over the years and revolutionized the medium as strongly. Pixar pioneered CGI animation, and now that seems to be all U.S. studios care to work with anymore. Yet DreamWorks and Blue Sky and the rest can’t compare with the original masters, and even if Pixar’s more recent films have been overshadowed by the resurgence of Disney, Pixar is in such a class of its own that even its lesser films are better than most cartoons.

Now that I’ve reviewed all of Pixar’s films through Cars 3 (and eagerly await Coco in November), it seemed like the right time to finally count down my favorites list. Feel free to tell me which Pixar classic you prefer, and let’s hope there will be plenty more in the future.

 

  1. Monsters University (2013)

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After the disappointment of Cars 2, this is one Pixar sequel that I skipped entirely, not seeing much potential in its college frat storyline, but it was quite a pleasant surprise. Replete with colorful gags and throwbacks to Monsters, Inc., Monsters University proved to be a highly entertaining prequel that balanced its “dream big” message with sensitive practicality. Plus, it was just fun hearing John Goodman and Billy Crystal as younger versions of Sully and Mike.

 

  1. A Bug’s Life (1998)

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Let the record show: A Bug’s Life is better than Antz. There, I said it. Even if it’s clearly based on Seven Samurai (which I know now but I didn’t in elementary school), A Bug’s Life was and is still great fun. Following Toy Story, it confirmed that Pixar excels at animated ensembles full of diverse personalities. Kevin Spacey is an ideal villain as Hopper, and I saw this movie so early in my life and many times since that I can picture practically every scene in my head.

 

  1. Cars (2006)

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Again, the plot of Cars may be a rip-off of Doc Hollywood, but I love that movie so why wouldn’t I love Cars too? Pixar’s automotive world is just believable enough to still be relatable, and there’s nothing like seeing an arrogant hotshot brought down a peg to learn the value of small-town life. Another great voice cast (Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, Larry the Cable Guy) adds to the fun as well.

 

  1. Toy Story 3 (2010)

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I really wish Pixar didn’t have a Toy Story 4 in production because they ended this trilogy as perfectly as I can imagine. Building on the previous films’ concerns over Andy getting older and abandoning them, Toy Story 3 addresses that insecurity head-on with a prison-like daycare, a despotic teddy bear, and a frighteningly dark climax. The very end, though, is a tear-jerking beauty of a conclusion that doesn’t really need any more sequelizing.

 

  1. Up (2009)

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I think everyone agrees that the first twelve minutes of Up are some of the finest scenes Pixar (and animation in general) has to offer. From those lofty heights, the increasingly absurd and high-flying adventures of a crotchety old man and a young Wilderness Explorer in a balloon-floated house balance both goofy fun and heart-tugging emotion. For a movie with such a short title, Up is bound to be a long-lasting classic.

 

  1. Monsters, Inc. (2001)

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Pixar surely knows how to create memorable pairs: Woody and Buzz, Marlin and Dory, Carl and Russell, and of course, Sully and Mike. This imagination-packed buddy movie about monsters who power their world by harvesting the screams of human children still makes me chuckle and marvel at the door vault scene, and Billy Crystal and John Goodman have rarely been so perfectly cast.

 

  1. Inside Out (2015)

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After a few lackluster entries (Cars 2, Brave), Pixar returned to form marvelously with a peek inside the brain of a young girl named Riley, introducing us to the five personified emotions that rule her mental state (and everyone else’s, for that matter).  With a suitably emotional storyline that mixes Joy and Sadness and stunning visuals that changed how we viewed our own inner workings, it showed that Pixar’s best days aren’t necessarily behind them.

 

  1. WALL-E (2008)

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Pixar has always excelled at their wordless short films, but WALL-E was their first stab at using minimal dialogue in a feature-length film. The first half is an endearing robot love story against a post-apocalyptic backdrop, and the second half goes into the fate of the human race threatened by a rogue A.I. and their own laziness. It’s incredible how much character is lent to WALL-E and EVE by the animators and Ben Burtt’s sound effects, somehow making us care about two robots falling in love.

 

  1. Ratatouille (2007)

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A rat who wants to be a chef…. Only Pixar could pull off something like that and not let it devolve into pure silliness. With a careful eye to its Parisian setting and the culinary morsels that look good enough to eat, Pixar once again proved the superiority of its animation and provided a surprisingly mature “follow-your-dream” narrative worthy of it. Plus, look at Remy’s nose. It’s so cute!

 

  1. The Incredibles (2004)

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No matter how many movies Marvel and DC churn out, one of the best superhero movies of all time doesn’t belong to either of them. Pixar honored and poked fun at the Silver Age of superheroes with this action-packed tale of an undercover family of supers pulled into action by a vengeful villain. With its bombastic score, specialness message, and thrilling visuals, The Incredibles keeps getting better every time I see it. I sure hope the upcoming sequel doesn’t disappoint.

 

  1. TIE: Toy Story (1995) and Toy Story 2 (1999)

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Okay, I couldn’t decide! The first and second Toy Story movies are practically perfection, all the more incredible for being two of Pixar’s earliest works. True, the animation is rough by today’s high standards, but the plots and characters of both films are second to none. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen are Woody and Buzz, and their buddy dynamic is brilliantly developed with a good deal of humor and memorable side characters to play off them. The first film forced this odd couple to cooperate and become unlikely friends, while the second explored Woody’s identity as a classic toy and what it means to be “a child’s plaything.” It’s amazing that Pixar created such a fun and quotable series that simultaneously guilts its audience for abandoning their past toys. (I’m sorry, my old friends!)

 

  1. Finding Nemo (2003)

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#1 and #2 might as well be tied because Finding Nemo and Toy Story are both Pixar at its best. I’ve just always had a soft spot for fish, and at the time I first saw Finding Nemo in the theater (and cried within the first five minutes), I dreamed of being a marine biologist when I grew up. That may not have panned out, but I never get tired of Marlin’s oceanic journey, traversing the colorful and dangerous underwater world to rescue his son. It really is one of the best father-son movies, animated or not, and Dory may well be Pixar’s funniest character.

 

And here are the other Pixar films, ranked as well:

 

  1. Finding Dory (2016) – Fun to revisit Finding Nemo’s characters, even if it’s not quite as fresh.
  2. Cars 3 (2017) – Uneven at times, but ends the series on a strong note.
  3. Brave (2012) – Derivative by Pixar standards but still stunning and emotional at times.
  4. The Good Dinosaur (2015) – Lackluster for Pixar (I still don’t get the creative decision of having playdough dinos against the beautiful scenery) but still entertaining and lovely.
  5. Cars 2 (2011) – Cool action but definitely Pixar’s low point as far as story and characters.

 

Now tell me, what Pixar movie entertains or moves you the most? I just found out one of my friends shockingly doesn’t like most of their movies, not even Toy Story, so feel free to chime in with different opinions. But for the record, Pixar rules!

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Genre Grandeur – The Wages of Fear (1953) / Sorcerer (1977) – Rhyme and Reason

01 Sunday Oct 2017

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Here is my contribution to MovieRob’s September Genre Grandeur of Remade Movies. I reviewed both the classic French thriller The Wages of Fear with its American counterpart Sorcerer, comparing and contrasting them as one of my Version Variations.

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For this month’s first review for Genre Grandeur – Re-Made Movies, here’s a review of The Wages of Fear (1953) / Sorcerer (1977)) by SG of Rhyme and Reason

Thanks again to Robb of Red Bezzle for choosing this month’s genre.

Next month’s Genre has been chosen by Kira of Film and TV 101 and it is Western CrossoverMovies.

Literally any film from any genre with western elements to it; comedy/drama/musical or even thrillers or horror.

Please get me your submissions by the 25th of October by sending them to westerncrosskira@movierob.net

Try to think out of the box! Great choice Kira!

Let’s see what SG thought of these movies:

_________________________________

The Wages of Fear (1953) / Sorcerer (1977)


You don’t know what fear is, son.

You’ve felt it flicker and then fade.

But none can say they’ve fully felt

The fear that makes men’s spirits melt

Until their nerves…

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