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Psycho (1960)

29 Wednesday Jan 2014

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Marion Crane is in love with a man
But has not the money to wed her dear Sam.
So, after a tryst, she endeavors to scram
 
With 40K trusted to her by her boss.
She leaves town before he’s aware of the loss.
While driving, her mind starts to worry and toss.
Her guilt soon becomes an unbearable cross,
 
So she stops for the night at the old Bates Motel.
The young Norman Bates, who can scare or compel,
Checks Marion in to the lodging from hell.
They chat, and he shows her her quarters as well.
 
He tells her his mother is mentally ill.
That night, in the shower, Miss Crane’s cries are shrill
As a figure appears with a knife meant to kill.
When Norman arrives, Miss Crane’s body is still.
 
So both her and her car, Norman sinks in a lake.
Soon, Marion’s sought for her stolen loot’s sake.
Sam and Lila, her sister, think there’s a mistake;
It’s hard to believe she would lie, steal, or take,
 
So she’s being searched for by the sleuth Arbogast.
He finds the motel, where he thinks she was last,
And Norman is spooked by the questions he’s asked.
It seems that he feels he is being harassed.
 
The detective sneaks into Bates’ home, but is slain.
Then Lila and Sam, who grow close in their pain,
Go also in search of poor Marion Crane.
While Sam distracts Norman, who seems less than sane,
 
Young Lila goes into Bates’ house with aplomb.
The tension builds up like a volatile bomb.
She goes in the basement and loses her calm
When she locates the dead corpse of Norman Bates’ mom!
 
Then Bates, dressed as mother, attacks with a knife,
But, lucky for her, valiant Sam saves her life.
A doctor tells them Norman’s internal strife,
 
The death of his mother, which Norman had done,
The messed-up relationship of mom and son,
 
Caused Norman to take on her psyche and traits
And murder, believing he was Norma Bates.
But, now that he’s stopped, an asylum awaits.
___________________
 

Psycho was the new height of violence and shock value when it was released in 1960. While the “surprise” ending is almost as well-known and unsurprising as Darth Vader’s I-am-your-father revelation, this Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece is still as creepy as ever, and the shower scene still just as traumatic.

I haven’t seen many Hitchcock movies, and what I have seen (Notorious, North by Northwest) hasn’t really impressed me. Yet Psycho is not a mostly boring spy yarn but the original slasher film, which, unlike more recent examples, is restrained enough in its violence to still be watchable. Buoyed by unique camera shots that cleverly hide Norman’s schizophrenic secret and an amazingly evil performance by Anthony Perkins, Psycho manages to retain Hitchcock’s artistic touch while still delivering the horrors in which he so reveled. What is it about playing psychopathic killers that brings out the best in an actor, from Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs to Kathy Bates in Misery? Whatever it is, Perkins is certainly the best part of the whole movie.

Best line: (Norman, while in custody at the very end) “I’ll just sit here and be quiet, just in case they do… suspect me. They’re probably watching me. Well, let them. Let them see what kind of a person I am. I’m not even going to swat that fly. I hope they are watching… they’ll see. They’ll see and they’ll know, and they’ll say, “Why, she wouldn’t even harm a fly…” (one of the best evil grins ever)

Artistry: 7
Characters/Actors: 9
Entertainment: 4
Visual Effects: N/A
Originality: 6
Watchability: 3
 
TOTAL: 29 out of 60
 

Tomorrow: #336: The Perfect Storm

© 2014 S. G. Liput

Summer Wars (2009)

28 Tuesday Jan 2014

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On an Earth where an internet world known as OZ
Is used universally by the whole globe,
Each nation and person enjoys an account,
Including a man who controls a space probe.
 
But more on that later; right now, there’s a boy
In high school named Kenji, a timid math whiz,
Who visits the home of the great Jinnouchis
Because of one Natsuki, a classmate of his.
 
Her own great-grandmother’s about to turn ninety,
And so she’s devised a duplicitous ruse.
Her family thinks Kenji is her fiancée.
When she begs him to lie, Kenji cannot refuse.
 
He plays along with her and warily meets
Her quirky, extended, and loud family.
He’s quite overwhelmed, but at night he receives
A code-bearing e-mail and solves it deftly.
 
The next day, the news has him labeled a hacker;
They say that he broke into OZ’s mainframe.
When the family also sees through Natsuki’s lie,
They’re quick to reprove and give Kenji the blame.
 
But Kenji’s the prey of identity fraud;
A program of sorts has hijacked his account.
In the digital world, it reveals itself as
A renegade A.I. they cannot surmount.
 
Since everything, traffic lights, e-mail, and such,
Is routed through OZ, which was once thought secure,
The havoc the A.I. commits in that world
Reflects in our own planet’s infrastructure.
 
The A.I., called Love Machine, steals many more,
Several million accounts, and it gets ever stronger.
The Jinnouchi family tries to ignore
Its effects, but quite soon they cannot any longer.
 
For Granny, their matriarch who’s tough as nails,
Insists it’s a war that they all have to fight,
But, because OZ is down, they all realize too late
That she died of a heart attack late in the night.
 
The women want only to prep for her wake,
While the men crave revenge, so they work separately.
They move a plan forward to trap Love Machine,
But, because of a stupid mistake, it gets free.
 
Defeating King Kazma, an OZ fighting champ
Who belongs to a kid in the Jinnouchi clan,
The A.I. takes hold of a certain account
Controlling the space probe, as part of a plan.
 
It targets a nuclear power plant with it,
And starts a countdown for the terrible boom.
They have just two hours to get the account
That controls the space probe, or it means certain doom.
 
With the help of an uncle who made Love Machine
And whose claims of his innocence keep falling flat,
It’s Natsuki who challenges it to a match
Of Koi-Koi, a card game that she is good at.
 
By wagering OZ accounts, little by little,
They quickly win back all that Love Machine stole.
While failing the game though, it targets the probe
On the family’s home before losing control!
 
In the final few seconds, with math as his aid,
Young Kenji succeeds in diverting its course.
It misses (just barely), but, saving the day,
Kenji’s now a boyfriend that they all can endorse.
 
With Love Machine squelched and no longer a danger,
The uncle confesses and takes the results.
And, though they’ve lost Granny, they’re glad to have Kenji
As part of their home, so the family exults.
_____________________
 

Summer Wars is a Japanese animated movie that manages to be funny, sad, and exciting in a way that few anime films are, in my opinion. The best parts of the movie feature its wonderful endorsement of family, particularly forgiveness and facing the hard times together. Granny’s posthumous note to her relatives is particularly poignant and eloquent. While I didn’t know most of the Jinnouchis’ names by the end, the filmmakers did an excellent job at giving most of them a unique personality, much like in Meet the Robinsons.

Also fascinating is the film’s indictment of relying too much on technology. It is stated that usage of OZ is as pervasive as cell phone ownership, and people tend to use their accounts for business purposes, thinking that their information and identity are safe. The scenes where Love Machine does seemingly simple things in OZ, such as knocking over some dominoes, producing real-world havoc ranging from faulty fire alarms to confounding traffic, were particularly insightful. With Facebook, Twitter, and the like being so ubiquitous, the concept of OZ and its misuse seems very plausible. Also, the Madhouse animation, while not up to Studio Ghibli standards, is much improved over that of Millennium Actress eight years earlier.

However, there are two things that really bug me about Summer Wars. First of all, there is some adult content, including several (mostly light) obscenities and some scenes of near nudity. Also, I particularly don’t appreciate America being cast as the bad guy, since it is said the United States Department of Defense bought Love Machine from the uncle and were testing its abilities on OZ before the A.I. got out of hand. While I’m not saying such a thing couldn’t happen, the film paints the U.S. as being foolish and incompetent.

Despite these shortcomings, Summer Wars is very entertaining. Though a few moments in OZ devolve into something reminiscent of a Saturday morning cartoon (such as Digimon), it is nonetheless thought-provoking while also fusing fun and the importance of family.

Best line: (to Kenji, after he’s accused of hacking OZ) “Please tell me you didn’t break the Internet.”

 

Artistry: 5
Characters/Actors: 6
Entertainment: 7
Visual Effects: 6
Originality: 4
Watchability: 5
Other (adult content and anti-American subplot): -5
 
TOTAL: 28 out of 60
 

Tomorrow: #337: Psycho

© 2014 S. G. Liput

 

Gaslight (1944)

27 Monday Jan 2014

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In the foggy and dark London air,
There’s a horror at 9 Thornton Square:
A singer’s been strangled;
Her things are all tangled,
Yet all her possessions are there.
 
Her niece is one Paula Alquist,
Who is escorted out in the mist.
She is taken to dwell
And learn opera as well
With a maestro who’s glad to assist.
 
She meets Gregory, who composes.
Though a stranger, he quickly proposes,
He’s French; what’s to check?
So she says, what the heck?
She needs loving, so why oppose his.
 
By an obvious rule that’s unwritten,
One will do anything when she’s smitten.
When Greg says he would care
For a house in a square,
They choose Paula’s aunt’s home in Great Britain.
 
They lock her aunt’s things all upstairs,
So that she won’t be subject to scares
From that night long ago,
But it seems, even so,
Paula’s edgy, yet nobody cares.
 
She’s forgetful, which Greg’s quick to mention,
So often it raises her tension.
Her own husband claims
That she steals picture frames,
And his charges cause her apprehension.
 
At night, while her husband is out,
She hears somebody walking about
Upstairs; the lights fade,
And it isn’t the maid,
So her sanity now is in doubt.
 
She feels like her house is a trap.
Greg thinks that she’s ready to snap.
Paula isn’t consoled,
For Greg’s callous and cold,
And he only makes her feel like crap.
 
But one Brian, who’s from Scotland Yard,
Takes notice that Greg acts so hard.
His investigation
Leads to accusation,
And Brian becomes Paula’s guard.
 
He proves that she still has her brain
And that Greg is the cause of her strain.
His rebukes and his claims
Were a bunch of mind games,
In the hopes he would drive her insane.
 
Their marriage was only a tool,
All his tactics and being so cruel.
When the lights seemed to dim,
It was really just him,
In the attic in search of a jewel.
 
For Gregory is Sergis Bauer,
Who killed Paula’s aunt with his power.
He wanted her gems,
But he couldn’t find them
So has searched for them many an hour.
 
That night, though, he meets with success.
They were hidden, sewn onto a dress.
But he’s caught by police,
And his wife finds release
Now that he cannot cause her distress.
___________________
 

Gaslight is an old black-and-white film that earned seven Oscar nominations when it was released in 1944, winning two. A remake of a much lesser-known 1940 British movie, it is clearly based off a play with nearly every character converging at the very end. Like 12 Angry Men, most of the action happens in limited spaces, mainly a few lovely Victorian rooms, with only a couple outside scenes added to relieve the claustrophobia. In some ways, Gaslight angers me much like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington did, because Gregory gets away with his constant manipulation of his wife throughout most of the film. It isn’t until the final act that his deception is fully revealed, but, unlike the sudden happy ending of Mr. Smith, Paula is able to get back at her evil husband with some mind games of her own, creating a satisfying serves-you-right kind of ending.

Ingrid Bergman is excellent as her character’s sanity is slowly chipped away, and she definitely deserved her Oscar win. Charles Boyer is sinister, but his malevolence is a bit too obvious due to his mannerisms and coldness. Also, while the film features Angela Lansbury in her first role, I must say that her presence throughout adds little to the film and seemed unnecessary overall. Despite some flaws, such as Joseph Cotton’s lacking a British accent and a laughable scene in which the cameraman is clearly seen reflected in a window, Gaslight is nonetheless a classic mystery.

Best line: (Paula, when she taunts Gregory at the end) “How can a mad woman help her husband to escape?”

 

Artistry: 7
Characters/Actors: 7
Entertainment: 4
Visual Effects: N/A
Originality: 6
Watchability: 4
 
TOTAL: 28 out of 60
 

Tomorrow: #338: Summer Wars

© 2014 S. G. Liput

 

#340: Flightplan (2005)

26 Sunday Jan 2014

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Kyle Pratt is a widow, disturbed and aloof.
Poor David, her husband, just fell off a roof.
Just leaving her job as an airplane designer,
She’s bringing his body home on an airliner,
Along with young Julia, her six-year-old daughter.
When Julia strolls off, Kyle’s able to spot her,
But now she’s on edge from the worry and strain.
Both Julia and Kyle are the first on the plane.
 
Miss Pratt falls asleep with her daughter nearby,
But when she wakes up, flying high in the sky,
Her Julia is gone so she searches around,
But, alas, her young girl is nowhere to be found!
She starts getting frantic, as would any mom,
So Gene Carson, air marshal, makes her keep calm.
There’s no sign that Julia was ever on board,
Nobody remembers her; Miss Pratt is floored.
 
They say Julia died with her father as well,
That he took her with him when he somehow “fell.”
Kyle’s panicked conduct and the loss that she’s had
Make the crew and the passengers think she’s gone mad.
Miss Pratt starts to doubt her own sanity too,
But evidence shows her story is true.
She takes drastic action to search the ship’s hold,
But she’s caught, and it’s clear she cannot be controlled.
 
They soon land, but Carson persuades Captain Rich
That Miss Pratt’s a bomber with hand on the switch.
He says she wants money, which Rich wires in.
Thus Carson’s the bad guy and always had been.
He kidnapped poor Julia amid all those folks
And a stewardess helped him to pull off the hoax.
When the whole plane is emptied, they play cat and mouse,
And Carson admits that he killed Kyle’s spouse.
 
Miss Pratt knows the plane, all the rooms, electronics,
And at last locates Julia, drugged, in Avionics.
She hides in a hatch, having gotten the trigger,
And blows Carson up (the blast could have been bigger).
With Julia again, she has proof that she’s sane
And innocent too, though she did wreck the plane.
Thus, Julia and Kyle will no longer fly:
They now prefer driving instead (wonder why).
___________________
 

Flightplan, while not Jodie Foster’s most successful movie, has a great performance from her as a grieving mother who questions her own sanity. As the director stated was his intention, the movie starts slow and gets increasingly intense as Kyle’s panic rises and the villain is revealed. The initial secrecy surrounding the villain is also done quite well with several people potentially in on it, from seemingly unsympathetic stewardesses to Arab passengers all being suspected and eventually vindicated. Peter Sarsgaard is also cool and calculating as Carson, whose apparent nonchalance at first evolves into devious cunning.

I will admit that, though all the elements of Carson’s ingenious plot are basically explained, it seems that he went through quite a lot of trouble to pull off his scheme. I can’t help but think there was an easier way than killing a man, hiding a bomb in his coffin, stealing a little girl, framing an anxious mother as a terrorist, and somehow getting away with the $50 million. Also, there was some profanity, though significantly less than that other Jodie Foster movie Panic Room.

Overall, Flightplan is a taut thriller that embodies that primal fear of losing one’s child and indicts the selfish tunnel vision that the passengers displayed in not noticing Julia.

Best line: (a kid to her parent, after Julia is found) “I told you there was a little girl.”

 
Artistry: 5
Characters/Actors: 6
Entertainment: 6
Visual Effects: 4
Originality: 5
Watchability: 5
Other (language): -3
 
TOTAL: 28 out of 60
 

Tomorrow: #339: Gaslight (another movie with a woman doubting her sanity)

© 2014 S. G. Liput

Monsters vs. Aliens (2009)

25 Saturday Jan 2014

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Susan assumes that her future is bright.
Her wedding tomorrow can’t help but excite.
Her Derek, a weatherman, is a delight,
And they’re going to Paris, the City of Light.
But then her friends scare her midway through the night,
And then Derek proves that he’s not such a knight.
She’s eager for Paris, but Derek says, “No,”
He would much rather go for a job in Fresno.
 
But Susan supports him, not wanting to fight.
Despite that, the day is still going all right.
But then she gets crushed by a meteorite,
And then Susan glows and grows to a great height,
And then she gives everyone quite a bad fright
And then several SWAT teams have her in their sight.
The government drops her and takes her away,
Effectively ruining her wedding day.
 
She wakes up in some secret government base,
And meets several monsters, confined in disgrace.
The strange Missing Link, who assumes he’s an ace,
A mad scientist with a cockroach’s face,
A blob and a giant have lived in this place
For years, for they frighten the whole human race.
A General Monger explains to poor Sue
She’s a monster and now she must stay out of view.
 
A tentacled alien named Gallaxhar
Detects some Quantonium close to our star.
He sends out a robot to Earth (since it’s far),
Which freaks out the world, from Brazil to Qatar.
But Monger puts forth a suggestion bizarre:
Let monsters fight E.T. and beat out its tar.
So all of the monsters are quickly sent in,
And, main thanks to Susan, they do somehow win.
 
Now having been freed, Susan locates the man
Who loves her, but Derek’s no longer a fan.
Her growing so large was not part of his plan,
So the wedding and all he is now quick to can.
Soon Susan realizes she’s done much more than
She ever would have with Derek’s whole “plan.”
But then Gallaxhar abducts Susan (the cur!).
He wants the Quantonium, which is in her.
 
She’s drained till she’s small, like before she had grown.
Gallaxhar can now mass-produce many a clone
To conquer the earth and to make it his own.
The three smaller monsters, however, are flown
To his ship, and, to clones, all of them are unknown.
So they blend in and rescue poor Susan, who’s prone
To just getting pummeled by energized stone.
Again, height and strength the Quantonium lends,
But, this time, she wants it to rescue her friends.
 
The spaceship explodes with a wonderful blast,
And the monsters are welcomed as heroes at last.
Now Derek hopes Sue won’t remember the past
And will grant him an interview, but not so fast:
His wheedling ways she has gladly surpassed;
She prefers her new life, though it’s such a contrast.
When Paris needs saving, they all fly away,
For monsters have proved they can now save the day.
___________________
 

Monsters vs. Aliens is straight-up parody, lampooning science fiction and B-movies from the 1950s and beyond. With an outlandish plot and silly characters, it’s a film meant for moviegoers with a sense of humor. It sends up everything from Starman to The Fly to the Godzilla movies and probably several films I’ve never even seen. Despite the multitude of spoofs piling up so quickly, Monsters vs. Aliens nevertheless manages to create a decent plot with any holes safely patched with another joke.

Unfortunately, it also falls into the same trend as television cartoons like The Simpsons and The Fairly OddParents, which paint nearly every character as a jerk or an idiot. Except for Susan, almost everyone, particularly men (from the President on down), are sissies, dimwits, or pinheads who are generally unsympathetic. I know that herein lies much of the humor, but it’s a trap that other comedies often avoid.

Still, it’s definitely funny, from spoofing the constant screaming in B-movies to playing the theme to Beverly Hills Cop for the alien probe, a la Close Encounters. Also, unlike Megamind, which had few memorable scenes, several action set pieces stand out, such as the destruction of the Golden Gate Bridge and the explosion of Gallaxhar’s ship. Though the character development is lacking (compared with other Dreamworks films like Megamind), the humor shines and earns Monsters vs. Aliens a place on my list.

Best line: (General W. R. Monger, speaking of Area 51) “This place is an X-file, wrapped in a cover-up and deep-fried in a paranoid conspiracy.”

 
Artistry: 2
Characters/Actors: 3
Entertainment: 7
Visual Effects: 6
Originality: 5
Watchability: 5
 
TOTAL: 28 out of 60
 

Tomorrow: #340: Flightplan

© 2014 S. G. Liput

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

24 Friday Jan 2014

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Down in South America,
The new Bruce Banner stays.
The Hulk, a monster spawned by rage
And errant gamma rays,
He’s kept contained by staying calm
For over a hundred days.
 
He seeks a cure as Mr. Green
And chats with Mr. Blue,
An online pal who gives advice
On what he ought to do.
Bruce keeps his cool, until he bleeds
And bad events ensue.
 
Military adversaries,
Led by General Ross,
Are sent to apprehend poor Bruce,
But they are at a loss
When he transforms into the Hulk
And starts to grab and toss.
 
Though Bruce escapes and journeys north,
An Emil Blonsky eyed
The power of the mighty Hulk
That was concealed inside.
He wants that power for himself,
Which Ross tries to provide.
 
Bruce heads to where his girlfriend is,
A university,
And when he gets back to the states
He’s sorrowful to see
That Betty’s found another man,
Who knows psychiatry.
 
When Betty sees her Bruce, however,
She loves him once again.
Then Bruce becomes the Hulk once more
When trapped by Ross’s men.
He saves her life and takes her off
To find a rocky den.
 
When Hulk is gone and Bruce returns,
His lover aids his quest
To find a cure, and goes with him
To Mr. Blue’s address.
There Mr. Blue tries curing Bruce
And meets with some success.
 
But when Bruce sees that Mr. Blue
Desires Bruce’s power
For science, as Ross wants a weapon,
Things begin to sour.
Then Bruce is tranquilized and Blonsky
Comes to have his hour.
 
Blonsky forces Mr. Blue
To give him more mutation,
And, with the serum Ross infused,
Becomes an Abomination.
He then wreaks havoc in New York
And wants a confrontation.
 
By jumping out a plane, Bruce turns
Into the Hulk once more.
They beat each other to a pulp,
But Hulk wins with a roar.
Bruce then secludes himself again
To wait for Cap and Thor.
_________________
 

The Incredible Hulk is a reinvention, not a sequel, of Ang Lee’s 2003 version of the Marvel character Hulk. While the original film had some good points, this version is much more action-packed and makes more sense overall. With references to the comics and the old Hulk television show with Bill Bixby, The Incredible Hulk is certainly exciting, but less memorable than other Marvel movies.

The Hulk is the least interesting of the Avengers, in my opinion, whether because he talks the least or because his focus of brawn over brain does not appeal as much as other smarter heroes. The constant explosions get old after a while, especially in the big finale, and the scenes of Bruce being hunted, though thrilling, are reminiscent of the Bourne movies. Plus, the Hulk is obviously CGI throughout.

Still, it is the best Hulk movie out there so far. During this latest viewing, I noticed that Bruce Banner hardly talks at all in the first 40 minutes or so, instead conveying the plot through actions, typing, and mere looks (and turning into a giant green rage monster). This says something about Edward Norton’s skill as an actor, and, his laconic performance stands in “stark” contrast to Robert Downey, Jr.’s fast-talking charisma in Iron Man. Though I’m a fan of Mark Ruffalo’s taking over the character in The Avengers, it’s a shame that Norton didn’t get to play Banner again.

Best line: (Betty) “The subway is probably quickest.”  (Bruce) “Me in a metal tube, deep underground with hundreds of people in the most aggressive city in the world.”  (Betty) “Right. Let’s get a cab.” (which isn’t much better)

 
Artistry: 5
Characters/Actors: 6
Entertainment: 5
Visual Effects: 5
Originality: 3
Watchability: 4
 
TOTAL: 28 out of 60
 

Tomorrow: #341: Monsters vs. Aliens

© 2014 S. G. Liput

Lars and the Real Girl (2007)

23 Thursday Jan 2014

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Lars is a quiet and self-conscious guy,
An unsocial introvert, painfully shy.
He stays with his brother and sister-in-law,
But lives in the garage, where he’s quick to withdraw.
At work, he shows up but seems always distracted,
Ignoring a girl who (somehow) is attracted.
His brother Gus thinks Lars prefers loneliness,
But his wife Karen worries he’s mad or depressed.
 
Then one day, Lars shows up on Gus’s doorstep,
Displaying (for Lars) an unusual pep.
He says that a girl that he first met online
Is there from Brazil for the very first time.
She doesn’t speak English and needs a wheelchair,
But since Lars is so pleased, Gus and Karen don’t care.
It’s the first time that Lars has (at will) come to call.
They’re thrilled . . . till they see she’s a life-size sex doll.
 
They’re speechless and don’t know just how they should feel,
For Lars seems so earnest in thinking she’s real.
They take this Bianca with Lars, through a ruse,
To a doctor named Dagmar, and hope for good news.
Gus and Karen don’t care for the doctor’s conclusion:
She says they should play along with his delusion.
They spread the word quickly throughout the small town,
Who agree they will humor Lars when he’s around.
 
Bianca is met with both worry and shock,
But the town supports Lars, once they’ve had time to gawk.
He talks to her, walks with her, takes her on dates,
And tells everyone of her laudable traits.
But visits with Dagmar reveal Lars’s fears
Of death and of contact he’s cooped up for years.
As folks treat Bianca as if she were living,
They distance Lars from her, but Lars has misgivings.
 
His light-hearted ignorance starts then to dim,
When his childish delusion’s not centered on him.
He starts to grow close to one Margo at work,
But Bianca’s a burden he cannot yet shirk.
It’s not till she’s dying, at least in his mind,
That he finally leaves his Bianca behind.
The town that so loved Lars mourns too for his girl,
But perhaps now he’s ready to face the real world.
____________________________
 

Lars and the Real Girl is a dramedy, a comedy that’s dramatic and a drama that’s funny. It’s a quirky movie that is gentle and caring in its humor, just like the townspeople that help Lars grow out of his delusion. With the sex doll and an obvious mental illness, the plot could have so easily become disgusting and insulting, but instead it showcases some fine acting and an excellent script. Ryan Gosling is amazingly believable as Lars and plays off Bianca the doll quite convincingly. Paul Schneider as Gus and Emily Mortimer as Karen also shine, and, by the end of the movie, I could honestly say that I liked all of these characters. Though the script is full of awkward silences and hesitant answers, which make the movie feel slow overall, the dialogue seems very realistic, as if capturing real conversations. My VC thought it was rather weird and slow, but she at least appreciated it.

While the entire town is unrealistically supportive, from electing Bianca to the school board to sending an ambulance for her, their concern for Lars is admittedly sweet, though it’s unclear what he’s done to warrant such love and attention from them. I liked that Lars never used the doll sexually and respected it as he would a real woman. I also appreciate the presence of a kind and unmocked church that helps Lars and (partially) puts forth the great message of the movie: 1 Corinthians 13:11, “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” Not many films apply morals from the Bible anymore.

While Lars and the Real Girl is not as funny or as dramatic as other films, it successfully makes the audience care for the characters while enjoying a few laughs along the way.

Best line: (Gus, when Lars asks him about being a man) “You grow up when you decide to do right. Okay, and not what’s right for you, but what’s right for everybody, even when it hurts.”

 
Artistry: 6
Characters/Actors: 7
Entertainment: 4
Visual Effects: N/A
Originality: 7
Watchability: 4
 
TOTAL: 28 out of 60
 

Tomorrow: #342 – The Incredible Hulk

© 2014 S. G. Liput

Working Girl (1988)

22 Wednesday Jan 2014

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Tess McGill’s a secretary, bottom of the corporate ladder.
As she tries and fails to climb it, she gets more upset and sadder.
Sick of jobs where sleazy bosses chase her round the desk all day,
She gets a job with Katharine Parker, whom she’s happy to obey.
 
For Katharine’s nice and treats Tess well, encouraging her secretary,
Tess is so relieved to have a boss who doesn’t seem contrary.
Bringing Katharine her idea about a radio acquisition,
Tess is sure she has no reason to have any bad suspicion.
 
Then, while skiing, Katharine’s injured; she’ll be out a couple weeks.
So Tess, with Katharine’s voice recorded, practices her voice techniques,
Until she hears, from Katharine’s mouth, that Katharine stole her radio plan,
And, back at home, Tess finds another woman sleeping with her man.
 
Choosing then to take control of where her life and job are going,
Tess decides to act like Katharine’s colleague, with nobody knowing.
Using Katharine’s clothes and office, Tess avails her expertise
To pitch the thought of radio as perfect for Trask Industries.
 
She needs somebody else to help: Jack Trainer, who’s behind her plan,
Which gets Trask into media and stops a seizure from Japan.
Jack also brought Tess home one night when she had had too much to drink,
But still they work together better than that start might have one think.
 
Flattery and wedding crashing get them where they want to be,
And then – surprise! – they fall in love. But who could possibly foresee
That Katharine had been dating Jack, who says he’d rather be with Tess?
But when Miss Parker comes back home, she snatches Tess’s great success.
 
The truth is known, and Katharine (with her crutches) gets the sympathy,
But Jack decides that he believes Tess, though the others disagree.
Yet when Trask attempts to ask how each of them derived the plan,
Kate draws a blank but Tess can say, convincing them that she’s their man.
 
In the end, Tess goes to work for Trask, who’s thoroughly impressed.
Dating Jack, her love life too has also been immensely blessed.
Though, at first, she thinks she’s back to cubicles and making do,
Soon she sees that she has power and an office with a view.
_____________________________
 

Working Girl is a Cinderella story set against the backdrop of the New York banking industry, but this time the damsel transforms her own life without any magical assistance. The acting and the story are outstanding, particularly the performances of Melanie Griffith as Tess, Harrison Ford as Jack, and Sigourney Weaver as Katharine. (Despite the star power and several Oscar nominations, the film only won for best song, and Ford was snubbed entirely.) The characters have humor and charm to spare, and, even with the girl power message, I, as a guy, still enjoyed it. My VC, as a chick, loved it.

I will say that the director and writer included some completely unnecessary adult content, such as language and two scenes of nudity, that detracted from the film overall and was probably thrown in there just to get the Oscar-worthy R rating. Plus, as I mentioned in my previous review for Entrapment, the story has the two leads inevitably and unimaginatively sleep together.

The best part of the whole film, in my opinion, is the Oscar-winning song “Let the River Run,” which plays at the beginning and end and definitely deserves a spot in my End Credits Song Hall of Fame. It’s incredibly lovely and inspiring, though one can’t help but sigh when the Twin Towers are shown so prominently in the opening. (The lobby scenes were even shot in the World Trade Center.) Though it could have been cleaner and the financial jargon flew way over my head, Working Girl is nevertheless a fun and very entertaining romantic comedy.

Best line: (Jack, after Tess has completely passed out from Valium and alcohol) “Would you like a nightcap?”

VC’s best line: (guy) “She took a muscle relaxant for the flight down.”  (Katharine, giddily) “Oh, let’s all have one, shall we?”

 
Artistry: 6
Characters/Actors: 8
Entertainment: 7
Visual Effects: N/A (unless you count those huge ‘80s hairdos)
Originality: 6
Watchability: 7
Other (language and nudity): -7
Other (great song): 1
 
TOTAL: 28 out of 60
 

Tomorrow: #343 – Lars and the Real Girl

© 2014 S. G. Liput

Entrapment (1999)

21 Tuesday Jan 2014

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A thief steals a painting, a priceless Rembrandt,
They climb through a window but jostle a plant.
The method they use is not lost on Gin Baker,
Who thinks “Mac” MacDougal must be the art’s taker.
This Gin works for Waverly Insurance, who
Lets Baker go find Mac to prove if it’s true.
 
She goes undercover and says she’s a thief,
But Mac isn’t prone to undoubting belief.
A pro past his prime, he is nonetheless drawn
By her plan for a theft that she wants him in on.
It may be entrapment, but Mac blackmails Gin,
And takes her to Scotland where they can begin.
 
They train for the heist of a gold Chinese mask.
It’s priceless; they don’t tell its worth so don’t ask.
And, as it’s clear nobody trusts anybody,
The facts of who’s crooked and straight become muddy.
They pilfer the mask with a smart strategy,
Contorting through lasers to leave a monkey.
 
Mac knows Gin’s a traitor and practically drowns her,
But Gin gives an offer while she starts to flounder,
A heist she’s been planning for years (what a kidder!),
And eight billion dollars makes Mac reconsider.
They go to Malaysia, which Gin rather likes;
The world’s tallest building is where they will strike.
 
Millennial eve, while the world is distracted,
Their masterful plan is discreetly enacted.
By fooling a clock, they succeed in their crime
To transfer eight billion, in just enough time.
But then one mistake takes their plan out of shape;
They go to great heights to attempt to escape.
 
Yet only Gin makes it, while Mac stays behind.
The next day, the FBI knows where to find
The wanted Gin Baker. Turns out I was wrong.
Mac was helping them catch her, the thief all along.
Yet Mac helps her flee; then she quickly comes back.
She has plans for a heist, and, for that, she needs Mac.
________________________
 

I am not a big fan of caper films, simply because I don’t care for filmmakers getting viewers to root for a criminal to succeed. I have that same reservation for Entrapment, but I can overlook it mainly due to the two leads. Catherine Zeta-Jones is attractive (to say the least) as Gin Baker, and Sean Connery is as good as ever as Mac, the aging thief who’s always one step ahead; together, they’re thick as thieves. With gadgets that would make James Bond envious, the two somewhat succeed in their heist (with only one billion dollars), but at least the rest of their loot is returned by the end. It helps that, until the end, at least one of the main characters seems to be working to bring down criminal activity.

The movie also gives a look at the intricate planning and training that goes into the perfectly timed burglaries our anti-heroes commit. While the almost titillating laser scenes, both training and the real thing, earned infamy among critics, they are fascinating to watch for the meticulous choreography, not just Zeta-Jones’ curvaceous figure. Also, though there are several potentially compromising situations, I appreciate that the two leads are never shown sleeping together, as in every other remotely romantic film.

The vertigo-inducing finale still keeps me and my VC on the edge of our seats, and the end is satisfying, if morally problematic. It’s a fine line that these films walk, making criminals likable to the point one wants them to prevail, but Entrapment does it well enough to warrant getting on the list.

Best line: (from Mac’s FBI contact) “Well, Mac, this looks like the end of a terrible friendship.”

VC’s best line: “Don’t use a cannon to kill a mosquito.”

 
Artistry: 5
Characters/Actors: 6
Entertainment: 6
Visual Effects: 5
Originality: 6
Watchability: 5
Other (“heroes” are criminals): -5
 
TOTAL: 28 out of 60
 

Tomorrow: #344: Working Girl

© 2014 S. G. Liput

City of Ember (2008)

20 Monday Jan 2014

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The city of Ember lies deep underground,
And all believe they’re the last humans around,
For some huge disaster that stays undefined
Has forced man below “for the good of mankind.”
This city of light bulbs can thank its creators
For granting it one of the best generators,
Supplying its power for as long as it takes,
So its citizens won’t know of mankind’s mistakes.
These Builders provide some advice, it appears,
For leaving the town after two hundred years.
They give this dear box to the city’s first mayor,
But it somehow gets lost, till it’s found by a pair
Of teens who’ve lived here since before they remember,
But suspect that perhaps it is time to leave Ember.
 
This Lina Mayfleet swaps jobs with Doon Harrow
So she can run messages through the streets narrow.
While Doon’s thoughts of working in Pipeworks are mixed,
He hopes, through his efforts, the power can be fixed.
For blackouts are frequent as lights start to flicker,
And food shortages make the citizens bicker.
Down deep in a closet, Mayfleet finds the case
And pieces together the rules put in place.
 
Both Lina and Doon, out on tunnel patrol,
Just barely escape a gargantuan mole,
And later they find that, while food’s getting rare,
The Mayor has stocked full his own secret lair.
They dig ever deeper and find that their fathers
Once tried to leave Ember (since no one else bothers),
But failed, since they didn’t know where they should go,
But, thanks to that box, Doon and Lina now know.
 
Once Lina accuses the Mayor of stealing,
He wants them arrested to hide his dark dealing.
So Lina and Doon, with her young sister Poppy,
Knowing the Builders were careful, not sloppy,
Find clues in the Pipeworks, and, with their instructions,
Review and complete their escape’s reconstruction.
Meanwhile, the mayor fears his future’s not bright,
And, back in his bunker, the mole proves him right.
 
The children, with faith as their ultimate guide,
Take the way out, which includes a flume ride.
They find the earth vacant but bright and alive,
And invite Ember up, where they once more can thrive.
____________________________
 

City of Ember, based on the novel by Jeanne DuPrau, completes the trilogy of young adult books-turned-movies here at the bottom of the list, which also includes Eragon and Inkheart. City of Ember is higher than these others because it avoids some of their obvious flaws, neither feeling too rushed nor annoying me with its departures from the source material, perhaps because I haven’t read DuPrau’s bestseller. But, even as a film on its own, it succeeds best in creating a believable world brought to life by an impressive set design. The acting is also quite good across the board with Saoirse Ronan and Harry Treadaway being quite believable as Lina and Doon, not to mention Bill Murray’s hammy performance as the mayor.

Like the two previously mentioned fantasies, City of Ember never got the sequel it deserved since neither critics nor audiences embraced it. While many referred to flaws and unanswered questions in the plot, I think the film did an excellent job at revealing (through National Treasure-style clue-finding) just enough to keep one interested while peeling more away as the characters discover things for themselves. It certainly has fewer open mysteries than Prometheus did.

The score, while less memorable than Eragon’s, is nice, but the special effects are a tad inconsistent. I thought the people of Ember were unusually apathetic, but that doesn’t necessarily surprise me, considering how many people tend to act like sheep in situations they think are out of their control. There are also some very interestingly photographed scenes, such as the initial passing down of the box and the dropping of the rock at the end. Also, did anyone think the mayor’s comeuppance was reminiscent of Paul Reiser’s end in Aliens? While the finale inexplicably has the heroes’ riding down waterfalls and yet somehow ending up aboveground, the end nevertheless had me wanting more. Many adults may write it off as kids’ fare, but City of Ember is a decent dystopian adventure that was sadly left by the wayside.

Best line: “Ours is the only light in a dark world.” (the end of Ember’s pledge of allegiance)

Artistry: 5
Characters/Actors: 5
Entertainment: 5
Visual Effects: 4
Originality: 4
Watchability: 5
 
TOTAL: 28 out of 60
 

Tomorrow: #345: Entrapment

© 2014 S. G. Liput