Author Archives: sgliput

Guys and Dolls (1955)

17 Wednesday Apr 2024

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(For Day 17 of NaPoWriMo, the prompt was for a poem inspired by a piece of music and sharing its title. But being rather late and tired, I instead decided to honor International Haiku Poetry Day and keep this entry short.)

Bets and debts galore
Wring romance from selfishness.
Gambling pays off.
________________________

MPA rating:  Approved (should be PG)

Out of the many many musicals from the Golden Age of Hollywood, there are a select few that became institutions in my house growing up, the likes of The Music Man, Singin’ in the Rain, and The Wizard of Oz. As I work on my own musical project, I read a book recently about the merits of various musical productions, and the author had tremendous respect for Guys and Dolls, Frank Loesser’s ‘50s-streetwise adaptation of two Damon Runyon short stories. It was a show/film I had never bothered to seek out, at least until his glowing recommendation.

The plot focuses on two couples, gamblers Nathan Detroit (Frank Sinatra) and Sky Masterson (Marlon Brando) and their would-be lady loves, nightclub singer Miss Adelaide (Vivian Blaine, reprising her stage role) and evangelist Sergeant Sarah Brown (Jean Simmons). Evading his fiancee’s marriage hopes and trying to scrape together enough money for a secret craps game venue, Detroit bets Masterson that he can’t woo the self-righteous Sarah Brown into a Cuban dinner date, even as she struggles to save her urban mission from closure. Naturally, none of the plans go quite as anticipated.

The book I read praised Guys and Dolls as theatrical plotting at its best, with composer Frank Loesser and book writers Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows masterfully weaving two storylines that depended on each other for resolution. With its idiosyncratic dialogue and shifting focus, I can see the reason for the veneration on a technical level, but I do think the two stories aren’t equally interesting. While Sinatra nails the crooning as expected (his character given more singing opportunities than on stage, I understand), I didn’t really care about his plight of scheduling a gambling venue while being a commitment-fearing jerk toward his long-suffering lover Adelaide (whose voice is also rather grating).

I much preferred the parallel story of Sky Masterson and Sarah Brown. I hadn’t seen Brando in a romantic role before, much less singing, but he had quite the swagger back then, and Simmons is wonderful as the priggish believer who gradually lets her hair down a little. Their banter and romance are the best part of the film, along with Loesser’s array of classic showtunes like “Luck Be a Lady,” “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat,” and the title song. I think I’ve developed a soft spot for Sarah’s “If I Were a Bell” especially. Yet despite its good points, Guys and Dolls suffers from being overlong and only half-interesting, weakened further by an oddly rushed ending. It’s a bona fide classic, but some parts are more classic than others.

Best line: (Detroit, urging his friend to speak at the mission) “Southstreet, give your testimony.”   (Benny Southstreet) “I plead the fifth commandment.”

Ranking:  List Runner-Up

© 2024 S.G. Liput
792 Followers and Counting

A Man Called Otto (2022)

16 Tuesday Apr 2024

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(For Day 16 of NaPoWriMo, the prompt was for a close description of an object or place that ends with a surprising or seemingly unrelated line.)

There’s a woman ‘cross the way
Who halloos me every day,
Says she hopes I’m feeling better than I did the day before.
There’s a jogger every morning,
Even when it’s dark and storming,
Who declares a strong routine can win a footrace or a war.

There’s a kid who hates his chores
Throwing papers at our doors,
But he stops to extricate them if they land within a bush.
There’s a neighbor, just moved in,
Treats me like her next of kin,
And she has a way of knowing when to give a gentle push.

There’s a lady who cajoles
Me to try her casseroles,
Verifying if I’m sensitive to dairy, wheat, or nuts.

What idiots….
____________________

MPA rating:  PG-13

Tom Hanks had his heyday back in the 1990s, but his more recent films don’t seem to get the attention they deserve. Bridge of Spies, Greyhound, and News of the World were all outstanding roles for him, but I feel like his always reliable performances rarely get critical love, notwithstanding his Oscar-nominated supporting role in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Whatever character he embodies, audiences are used to seeing Tom Hanks as a nice and honorable guy, so it was a bit of a departure for him to play the crotchety Otto Andersen in this remake of the Swedish dramedy A Man Called Ove.

Otto is a man with little patience for anything that annoys him, and more things annoy him than don’t. A cynical widower, Otto patrols his row of apartments each day, barely tolerating his neighbors, and as he retires from his factory job, he has little to live for except planning his own suicide. That is until a friendly Hispanic family (Maria Treviño, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) moves in across the street, adding to Otto’s list of nuisances and conspiring with fate to foil his self-destructive plans.

Obviously, it’s a fine line when a film combines suicide with comedy. Some like Better Off Dead take the screwball route, whereas A Man Called Otto walks it tactfully, putting the proper weight to the scenes of Otto’s self-harm and keeping the humor of their repeated failure subtle. Hanks is a perfect curmudgeon here, yet his good nature comes out when needed, exemplifying how we don’t need to necessarily like someone or the world at large in order to act decently toward them. Treviño also does an excellent job as his pregnant neighbor Marisol intruding on his solitude and offering him something beyond his own grief. From its droll yet still likable main character to its tearjerking moments, A Man Called Otto is a winner of an American adaptation that makes me curious to see the Swedish original.

Best line: (Otto, teaching Marisol to drive) “You have given birth to two children. Soon it will be three. You have come here from a country very far away. You learned a new language, you got yourself an education and a nitwit husband, and you are holding that family together. You will have no problem learning how to drive. My God, the world is full of complete idiots who have managed to figure it out, and you are not a complete idiot. So, clutch, shift, gas, drive.”

Rank:  List Runner-Up (may go up with a rewatch)

© 2024 S.G. Liput
792 Followers and Counting

Cabrini (2024)

15 Monday Apr 2024

Posted by in Christian, Movies, NaPoWriMo, Poetry, Reviews, Writing

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(For Day 15 of NaPoWriMo, the prompt was to write a poem inspired by the world of postage stamps. After looking around, I found that both Italy and the Vatican had issued stamps in honor of St. Frances Cabrini, a perfect tie-in for this inspiring film.)

How do you earn a statue,
Your face on a coin or a stamp?
Must you be
A celebrity,
An artist,
The smartest,
The latest
And greatest,
A leader,
Succeeder,
A vatic mindreader,
A champ?

Those are one way to be famous,
But somehow I’d rather prefer
To be more
Of an open door,
Be caring,
Forbearing,
Committed,
Quick-witted,
Be tender,
A mender,
And never surrender
Like her.
__________________________

MPA rating:  PG-13

I remember watching Christian films in the 2000s, usually direct-to-DVD affairs with overly preachy messaging and by-the-numbers plots of inspiration or admonishment. While Hollywood used to cater some of its offerings to audiences of faith (Ben-Hur, The Prince of Egypt), it seemed that their level of quality was out of reach, but not so anymore. Alejandro Gómez Monteverde was the first to turn the tide of faith-based filmmaking with his directorial debut Bella 18 years ago and now, working with Angel Studios, has raised the bar further with last year’s Sound of Freedom and his latest film Cabrini.

Released appropriately on International Women’s Day, the film is based on the life of Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini, the first American citizen to be canonized by the Catholic Church. Though plagued by tuberculosis, this humble Italian nun (played by the excellent Cristiana Dell’Anna) had a passion to serve overseas and, in 1889, was sent by the Pope (Giancarlo Giannini) to help the Italian immigrants in the slums of New York City. With limited support from the local archbishop (David Morse) and rampant racism directed toward the Italian population, she proved to be remarkably resourceful in establishing an orphanage, a hospital, and an example of resilience for all.

Hagiographic biopics about saints are hardly new, like for St. Bernadette (The Song of Bernadette), St. Joan of Arc (The Passion of Joan of Arc), or St. Joseph of Cupertino (The Reluctant Saint), but they’re increasingly rare in modern times. With striking cinematography and a realistically sober portrayal of 1800s immigrant hardship, Cabrini proves to be a praiseworthy production across the board. Seasoned actors like Giannini, Morse, and John Lithgow add gravitas to the casting, and Dell’Anna is outstanding as the lead, bristling at the repeated urgings to “stay where you belong” and pressing forward through faith and ingenuity. She represents the best kind of feminism, one that refuses to wilt under men’s underestimation and rises to serve others.

I found it a tad odd that the name of Jesus is never invoked, but I assume this was for the sake of catering to as wide an audience as possible. And with universal themes about kindness, perseverance, and the immigrant experience, Cabrini certainly feels like the kind of film that would appeal to any fan of historical drama, not just Christians or Catholics. I would like to think it deserves even Oscar consideration for Dell’Anna, Morse, and the cinematography, though I doubt the Academy would abide that. There will always be naysayers, but Cabrini exceeds the common pitfalls of faith-based cinema, and I would love for more films of its kind to flourish.

Best line: (Mother Cabrini) “We can serve our weakness or we can serve our purpose. Not both.”

Rank:  List-Worthy

© 2024 S.G. Liput
792 Followers and Counting

Long Way North (2015)

14 Sunday Apr 2024

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(For Day 14 of NaPoWriMo, the prompt was for a poem of at least ten lines featuring anaphora, or starting each line with the same word. Such repetition is a good way of setting the rhythm, and the word “north” seemed only appropriate for this animated journey.)

North – the direction I’m going.
North to the ends of the earth.
North where the blizzard is blowing.
North to prove my own worth.

North where the polar bear shivers.
North where all hotheads are cooled.
North where aurora-light quivers.
North where the sky is bejeweled.

North where the sea is unstable.
North where the glacier ice looms.
North where presumption is fatal.
North where the icebergs are tombs.

North where the sun is unblinking.
North where the ocean is heaving.
North has my wiser side thinking…
North – the direction I’m leaving
For home.
_________________________

MPA rating:  PG

Unless the Academy happens to nominate one for Best Animated Feature (i.e., Persepolis, Ernest and Celestine, I Lost My Body, last year’s Robot Dreams), most people are probably unaware of animated films from overseas. Anime has its built-in fanbase, but there are plenty of low-profile international cartoons out there worth attention. Long Way North, a French-Danish production from director Rémi Chaye, is a prime example.

In 1882, young Russian aristocrat Sasha (Christa Théret) idolizes her explorer grandfather, who disappeared on a voyage to the North Pole, and while all the search parties have come up empty, she believes she knows how to locate his specially designed ship. Leaving her life of comfort and social expectations, she makes her way north, intent on convincing a crew to take her into the harsh and forbidding Arctic Circle.

Long Way North has a simple plot with little in the characterization that hasn’t been seen before, but the film executes its story flawlessly. Sasha is an admirable protagonist, able to prove her mettle alongside the hardened sailors while also receiving a Captains Courageous-style eye-opening to the harsh realities of the laboring class. The lineless animation style has a gorgeous simplicity to its colors and shadows, and I loved the true-to-life depictions of breaking through ice floes while navigating the half-frozen ocean. Long Way North may not stand out next to the big dogs of animation, but it’s a lovingly crafted indie adventure.

Rank:  List Runner-Up

© 2024 S.G. Liput
792 Followers and Counting

Dune: Part Two (2024)

14 Sunday Apr 2024

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(For Day 13 of NaPoWriMo, the prompt was both general and specific, a poem playing with rhyme and based on a “word bank” of various types of words. Taking inspiration from this recent sequel, my words included “glare,” “rumble,” “parched,” “reek,” “worm,” “divine,” and “save,” and I tried out an alternating rhyme scheme I found rather challenging. It’s imperfect but maybe that’s for the best.)

From space, the occupiers came
To reap what they had never sown,
Their every footfall laying claim
And conquering an empty throne.
Or so they thought and sought to tame
This planet, stark and harsh and parched,
But everywhere the jackboot trod,
The sands would cover where they marched.
Awaiting their crusading god,
The natives hid from wanton force.
Invaders rarely spare the rod
Nor care enough to alter course
Nor wait for saviors come to save,
And so they spread their tyrant reek
And swept the desert like a wave,
A deadly game of hide and seek.
Wherever eye could bear the glare,
They flaunted strength upon the weak
Who lived off prophecy and prayer.

But even worms will one day turn
When hatred hounds the hot and humble.
Can you feel their rancor burn,
Sense immense commencing rumble
Of the conquered, quick to learn
The ways by which a war is waged?
Plunderers, your plunder’s mine,
I’m the one at whom you’ve raged,
One who broke your sandy line,
Tore your plan for us to shreds.
Believe it human or divine,
I bring justice on your heads.
____________________________

MPA rating:  PG-13

As a huge fan of science fiction, I should love Dune. I rewatched Part One of Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of the famed Frank Herbert novel, and I was struck a few times by the thought “Maybe I ought to add this to my list of favorites.” The sheer magnitude and impeccable quality of the Dune universe is a marvel to behold, yet for some reason, the story still doesn’t fully connect with me. I was hopeful that Part Two might change that, providing a fitting conclusion to the epic journey of Paul Atreides.

Picking up directly where Part One ended, Paul (Timothee Chalamet) and his Bene Gesserit mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) are taken in by the desert-dwelling Fremen after the Atreides have been wiped out by a Harkonnen ambush. Soon, rumors spread through the Fremen that Paul might be the Lisan al Gaib, the promised messiah destined to lead them to prosperity and freedom, rumors lent credence by how easily Paul adapts to their lifestyle and the riding of the giant sandworms. As he falls in love with Fremen warrior Chani (Zendaya, finally getting more screentime), Paul must grapple with whether or not to embrace the mantle of messiah, if only to take revenge on the Harkonnens.

From Arrival to Blade Runner 2049, Denis Villeneuve has truly distinguished himself as the king of serious sci-fi and one of the finest directors working today. Dune: Part Two is further proof of his talents, continuing the same high quality of Part One and delving deeply into its themes of predestination, Machiavellian control, and religious fervor, which were mostly lost in translation in the 1984 David Lynch adaptation of Dune. (My VC is still very fond of that one for some reason.) That film presented Paul as the actual Fremen messiah, no questions asked, while Villeneuve’s version casts doubt by exploring how the Bene Gesserit have been manipulating such savior myths for centuries, now pushed onto Paul by his mother and unborn telepathic sister. It was interesting how the psychotic Harkonnen champion Feyd-Rautha (an unrecognizable Austin Butler) was shown to be part of these machinations, and quite a few details of the storyline and politics were definitely lost on me in the 1984 film’s speedrun through the plot while being properly fleshed out here and even diverging by the end.

There’s absolutely a place for Dune in the annals of top-tier sci-fi, but for all its deep world-building and desert spectacle, I still admire it more than I actually like the story. With Paul as its potential false prophet protagonist, it’s a subversion of the typical hero’s journey that leaves no one happy by the end, though I am still intrigued to see what the planned third film adapting Dune: Messiah would do, since I’m not at all familiar with what lies beyond the first book. With Oscar-worthy production values, excellent acting, battle scenes on a grand scale, and an ending that gives more finality than Part One while also leaving the door wide open for more, Dune: Part Two stands apart and above any recent film vying for the descriptor of “epic” and delivers exactly what its fans would want. I want to love it more and perhaps I will with time, but I can certainly praise its merits all the same.

Best line: (Paul Atreides) “He who can destroy the thing has the real control of it.”

Rank:  List Runner-Up

© 2024 S.G. Liput
792 Followers and Counting

Django Unchained (2012)

12 Friday Apr 2024

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(For Day 12 of NaPoWriMo, the prompt was for a poem related to a tall tale, so I borrowed a certain larger-than-life character from Tarantino.)

Now hear the tale of Django, who was once a lowly slave,
But given chance and some romance, he rose as from a grave.

His finger was born itchy, and his bullets ne’er ran dry,
And eye for eye meant nothing once his foe could not reply.

The white folks watched their words whenever Django wandered free,
And when an N was uttered, they were dead before the G.

The hooded ones who lived off fear, of Django were afraid;
And if a hundred gathered, ninety-nine would flee for aid.

They tried to hang him once, believing numbers were the key,
But Django fought and with one shot, felled them and then the tree.

He was villain to the villains; he was vengeance none would dare.
His story isn’t history, but Django wouldn’t care.
_________________________

MPA rating:  R (for very good reason)

This was definitely out of character for me. While I did previously review Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (because it was part of a 2019 Best Picture nominee marathon at Regal), I generally steer clear of Quentin Tarantino movies. His reputation for gratuitous violence and profanity is the kind of indulgence I prefer to avoid, but Django Unchained happened to come on TV at least somewhat “cut,” so I opted to give it a chance.

Set in the antebellum South and taking its hero’s name from the 1966 spaghetti western Django, the film follows its own Django (Jamie Foxx) as he grows from slave to avenger, thanks to the colorful intervention of Dr. King Schultz (Oscar-winning Christoph Waltz), a bounty hunter who trains him in the ways of killing bad guys for money. After some success at doling out bloody justice, the duo set their sights on the despicable Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio), a gleeful plantation owner holding Django’s wife Broomhilda (Kerry Washington) and unlikely to part with her easily.

First, the good stuff. It’s obvious from his first scene why Waltz won his second Best Supporting Actor Oscar (following his previous win for Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds); Schultz boasts an undeniable charisma and charm to match his ruthlessness, and Waltz embodies the silver-tongued mercenary to a T. It’s a perfect case of a fine actor distinguished further by great dialogue, and, while Foxx and DiCaprio are also pitch perfect in their roles, the scenes that shine most are their interactions with Waltz. I can also appreciate Tarantino’s skill as director and storyteller, blending western and blaxploitation tropes into a compelling tale with an iconically anachronistic soundtrack.

Yet every R-rated movie for me is a balancing act between the laudable and the hard-to-watch, and which side has more weight by the end determines my opinion of it. Despite its good points, Django Unchained is excessive in multiple ways, from the cruelty of its slaveholders to the almost cartoonish amount of blood sprayed in the shootouts. (Watching on TV, I was spared the non-stop N-words and some brief nudity, but it certainly didn’t feel like a “cut” movie by most standards.)

Tarantino’s MO seems to be taking already hateful figures, whether Nazis, slaveholders, or the Manson family, and tweaking history to allow the heroes to slaughter their caricatures en masse with justifiable vengeance. Racism is terrible so why feel bad when Django shoots an unarmed woman? I get that it’s intended to be some form of catharsis, but it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth to make gory violence something cheer-worthy. The film was rightly controversial upon release as well, so even mainstream critics took some issue with its excesses. I suppose you could call it a mixed bag: entertaining and off-putting, well-made and ill-advised, impressive and nasty. I assume that was Tarantino’s intent, but, despite some masterful scenes, it’s not something I’m likely to revisit.

Best line: (Calvin Candie, after being given an exorbitant offer) “Gentlemen, you had my curiosity; now you have my attention.”

Rank:  Dishonorable Mention

© 2024 S.G. Liput
792 Followers and Counting

Last Night in Soho (2021)

11 Thursday Apr 2024

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(For Day 11 of NaPoWriMo, the prompt was for a monostich, or one-line poem, which often relies on its title for full context. I figured this laconic form could lend itself to some creepiness.)

Ignorance Is Bliss

I try not to think that, wherever I am, somebody has died there.

_________________________

MPA rating:  R (for language, sex, and bloody violence, more of a medium-level R)

I consider myself picky when it comes to the horror genre, and the hackneyed slashers or gorefests have little interest for me. But every now and then a scary movie stands out by breaking the mold with its superior quality. Last Night in Soho may have been a disappointment at the box office, thanks mainly to COVID, but Edgar Wright’s psychological timebender has a special blend of cast and craft that deserved far better.

Aspiring fashion designer and lover of 1960s culture Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie) moves from her grandmother’s rural home to the bustling metropolis of London, and, after having enough of college dorm life, she opts to rent a room near campus. While sleeping, Ellie finds herself seemingly transported back to the ‘60s and living the glamorous life of Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy), a singer who is wooed by her would-be manager Jack (Matt Smith). It’s literally a dream come true, yet the more Ellie delves into this vicarious other life, the more she becomes haunted by frightening visions from the past.

First off, Last Night in Soho looks fantastic, conjuring the neon-lit enchantment of 1966, and as with Wright’s previous film Baby Driver, his butter-smooth camerawork is a joy to watch. The soundtrack is likewise perfectly chosen, replete with the best of Cilla Black, James Ray, and the Kinks, immersing Ellie and the audience further into the Swinging Sixties. It’s a crying shame that the film got zero Oscar attention when its cinematography, sound, and production design could easily have stood with the best that year.

As for the story, the film is a masterclass in gradual genre shifting, as it starts out as a fantasy with wide-eyed Eloise marveling at her chance to see a decade that has fascinated her with its fashion and music. McKenzie is a perfect ingenue, further proving her talent after Leave No Trace and Jojo Rabbit, while Taylor-Joy excels as her yesteryear counterpart, also proving her singing chops by contributing to the soundtrack. The way mirrors were employed to juxtapose the two was fascinating, and I loved a dance sequence where they seamlessly trade places. Eventually, though, the scares kick in as the dream falls apart. While some of them could be trimmed, Wright nails those disturbing moments as well, putting a nightmarish filter on misogyny and abuse. And though some consider the end to fall apart, I thought it made for a unique subversion of expectation, forcing the audience to question their own sympathies.

Last Night in Soho has its brutal and uncomfortable moments, but it’s a cut above the typical scarefest, boasting more visual flair and originality than any number of slasher sequels. With its rising-star actresses and confidently elegant direction from Wright, it’s the kind of film that I hope will only grow in reputation with time.

Best line: (Ellie) “Has a woman ever died in my room?”   (Ms. Collins) “This is London. Someone has died in every room in every building and on every street corner in the city.”

Rank:  List Runner-Up

© 2024 S.G. Liput
792 Followers and Counting

Barbie (2023)

10 Wednesday Apr 2024

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(For Day 10 of NaPoWriMo, the prompt was to take inspiration from the old newspaper clippings and headlines featured on the Yesterday’s Print website. What caught my eye was from The Tennessean, Nashville, Tennessee, 11/16/1909: “Hundred years hence, women will then run the government, be rich and reign generally.” No surprise then that this film felt like a perfect fit.)

Call her a doll, call her a dame,
Call her some other undignified name,
Call her a damsel or call her a lass,
Consign her to some subservient class
At your peril.

Call him an oaf, call him a jock,
Call him a chip off the barbarous block,
Call him a wanker or call him a stud,
Pigeonhole him as a chad or a chud
At your peril.

Down with the queens and up with the kings.
Down with the gods and up with the goddess.
Always we swing to such eager extremes,
Thinking so narrow we know not how broad is
Our peril.
__________________________

MPA rating:  PG-13 (for some sexual references)

It took longer than most of the planet, but I finally got around to watching Barbie, Greta Gerwig’s billion-dollar juggernaut that made up the pinker half of the Barbenheimer craze. (I really should try to review Oppenheimer, considering I actually saw that one in the theater.) I’ve heard all manner of opinions for Barbie, some decrying it as feminist trash while others hailed it as a masterpiece of franchise reinvention that brought many female audiences to tears. Well, as a man with no former interest in the famous doll brand, I can declare that I fall squarely in the middle, considering Barbie equal parts dumb, fun, and thematically interesting.

In near-perfect casting, Margot Robbie plays Stereotypical Barbie, the blond archetype who is just one of countless Barbies ruling the life-size toy world of Barbieland, while the second-class himbo Kens mainly focus on trying to impress their Barbies of choice. Robbie’s Barbie begins having “irrepressible thoughts of death” and cellulite, real-world problems shunned by Barbieland and forcing her to seek answers in, naturally, the real world, accompanied by her eager-to-please Ken (Ryan Gosling). There, she gets help from harried mother Gloria (America Ferrera) while Ken discovers the wonders of patriarchal society and plots to change Barbieland in ways beyond their ken (pun intended).

I should note that I watched this film, after much coaxing, with my dear Viewing Companion (VC), who was utterly against it at first. (I think Gosling’s stellar performance of “I’m Just Ken” at the Oscars might have convinced her to give it a try.) She has a very particular view of Barbie from when she was growing up, and the modern incarnation of the doll threatened to corrupt those happy memories. And while I found things to appreciate about the movie, she thought it was an altogether stupid waste of time with muddled messaging and overexaggerated acting. But at least she liked “I’m Just Ken”; that’s one thing even the haters seem to agree on.

The thing is that I don’t entirely disagree with my VC’s complaints. Barbie does have an annoyingly shallow view of the patriarchy and, despite giving voice to some downsides, seems to consider a similarly stratified matriarchy a better alternative, which may please girlbosses but is really no better. Yet the film also has fun playing with its various stereotypes and manages to mix in genuine laughs with the eyerolls, like Helen Mirren’s asides as the narrator or the awesome Pride and Prejudice joke. And while I didn’t find the cringy exaggerations of Barbieland particularly funny, I could see it appealing to other audiences’ sense of humor. I know everyone loves Gosling as Ken, but, despite his great song, I don’t really get his appeal, sorry.

While the pink production design and attention to brand detail and history deserve praise, I’m also mixed on the screenplay from Gerwig and Noah Baumbach. While it plays its excesses off for giggles, the plot is a mess, especially when Barbieland and the real world collide, not helped by the changing motivations of Will Ferrell as the CEO of Mattel (a caricature of corporatism that I’m surprised Mattel approved). Its treatment of what Barbie represents, how patriarchy shapes people, and the pros and cons of living in the real world all seems to play both sides of the argument. I loved her adaptation of Little Women, so, while some dismiss that duality as lazy writing, I have enough faith in Gerwig as a writer to believe it was all intentional to give the film more nuance than the simple narrative at its core would indicate. And the film’s climactic tearjerker scene that goes on a little too long at the end does a lot to deepen the film’s message into poignancy, despite being a drastic shift in tone.

Ultimately, Barbie is not as egregious as its detractors insist nor as innovative as its fans proclaim. It actually recycles quite a bit from The Lego Movie, complete with Will Ferrell as the real-world authority figure. While many decried the Oscar snubs of Gerwig’s direction and Robbie’s leading role, I can’t say I disagree with the Academy here, considering the competition. I will forever wish that “I’m Just Ken” had won Best Original Song over Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For,” which is also good but just not as iconic as the anthem for Kens everywhere. Barbie likely won’t become a favorite in my house, but its mixture of dumb fun and existential questions certainly left its mark on the cultural zeitgeist.

Best line: (Ruth Handler, creator of Barbie, with an absolute gem of a line) “We mothers stand still so our daughters can look back and see how far they’ve come.”

Rank:  Honorable Mention

© 2024 S.G. Liput
792 Followers and Counting

The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes (2022)

09 Tuesday Apr 2024

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(For Day 9 of NaPoWriMo, the prompt was for an ode to an everyday object. While it may not be in everyone’s house, I’m sure many have a manuscript or poems or drawings they’re too nervous to share with the world, so I addressed this irregular sonnet to them.)

You mock me, you pile of papers,
You unread manuscript, hiding in the corner.
You say “Am I not fruit of all your labors?
Am I not worth another pair of eyes?
Is it better to be a cipher than a mourner,
Lest someone dare to share or criticize?
I’ll outlive you, your fear and blushing cheeks;
I’ll wait till someone else will spy my corner
And read what you had guarded from critiques
And grieve its author’s sad, unknown demise.”
I know that’s what you’re saying as time flies,
The time that’s killing me and stalling you.
The world can’t know what’s missing till it peeks,
Until the shy apply for their debut.
____________________

MPA rating: Not Rated (should be PG for some drama but quite clean)

While not every international run can be on the level of Your Name or The Boy and the Heron, I am quite glad that smaller anime films are getting at least a limited release in American theaters, even if it takes a year to get here. The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes may have a rather cumbersome title, but it’s one of the better under-the-radar anime movies, with appealing animation and a nice short runtime to deliver its poignant themes.

Kaoru is a high school student living in quiet grief with his abusive father, and he forms a bond with equally aloof transfer student Anzu, a budding manga artist unsure of her own talent (and inspiring the poem above). The two happen upon the fabled Urashima tunnel, which can supposedly grant a person’s greatest wish for a price. Mirroring the Urashima namesake, which is basically the equivalent of Rip Van Winkle in Japanese folklore, they discover that time passes differently inside the tunnel, where glowing trees line a watery path to their distant wish. After performing experiments on the tunnel’s strange properties, the duo must decide whether their wishes are worth giving up on their current life.

While there are plenty of films with this same romance-plus-supernatural storyline, I liked the natural progression of both, as the two main characters are actually smart about testing the temporal phenomenon, while also growing closer in the process. Though it can’t quite compare in scale or artistry, the film had some similarities to Your Name, and I suspect fans of one will also enjoy the other. It may be largely predictable, but The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes is a lovely little movie to satisfy fans of star-crossed romance.

Rank:  List Runner-Up

© 2024 S.G. Liput
792 Followers and Counting

A Million Miles Away (2023)

08 Monday Apr 2024

Posted by in Movies, NaPoWriMo, Poetry, Reviews, Writing

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(For Day 8 of NaPoWriMo, the prompt was for a poem about a relationship between two people or things that should never have met. The encounter of an aspiring astronaut with the notoriously inhospitable vacuum of space seemed like a good odd couple to serve as inspiration.)
_________________________

Hello, space! I’ve waited.

You don’t know me, but I’m a fan.
I’ve loved you from afar.
You wink your stars at every man,
But only few can follow.
I know your history, your rules,
And where your dangers are.
But I can’t claim the finest schools
Or have much pride to swallow.

You’re wonderfully indifferent
To the differences in man.
You don’t say, “It’s an immigrant!
An indigent, so kill it!”
Oh, no, you want to kill us all
Quite equally, and can.
But knowing that will neither stall
Nor stop our trespass, will it?

I’ve only ever craved a chance
To challenge you up close,
To prove that I was worth your glance,
Your open invitation.
I dreamed the scheme at which they scoffed
And begged them more than most.
While they looked down, I looked aloft
To touch a constellation.

Hello, space! I made it.
_________________________

MPA rating:  PG

Hidden Figures became the gold standard for “inspiring true story of underrepresented group excelling and beating the odds,” particularly when it came to NASA. So perhaps that’s why A Million Miles Away didn’t make much of a splash upon its Amazon Prime Video release. It’s a shame, though, because this biopic of migrant-farm-worker-turned-astronaut José Hernández provides an exemplary dose of underdog aspiration and one of Michael Peña’s finest performances.

Hernández grew up in a migrant family picking grapes, but, through the wonder of Apollo 11 footage and the encouragement of a supportive teacher, the boy turns his gaze upward to the stars. Many people are forced to wait on their dreams, and the film shows how life goes on while Hernández made gradual steps toward being the person NASA wanted – meeting his wife Adela (excellent Rosa Salazar) and opening a restaurant even as he gets pilot experience and scuba certification. With his repeated applications and rejections to NASA’s training program, it’s a testament to the power of persistence, one that anyone with yet-distant dreams can admire.

A Million Miles Away excels as both space-program biopic and touching family drama, setting José’s achievements as the culmination of the journey to a better life undertaken by so many migrant workers. With its shuttle-era time period, it also prominently features the 2003 Columbia disaster, a tragedy rarely acknowledged in NASA-themed movies. Streaming releases are easy to write off as unworthy of big-screen attention, but this underdog story is well worth your time.

Best line: (José, to his cousin) “Who better than a migrant? Somebody that knows what it’s like to dive into the unknown. Who better than that… to dare leave this planet, man?”

Rank:  List Runner-Up (might be higher after a rewatch)

© 2024 S.G. Liput
791 Followers and Counting