Category Archives: Poetry

The Incredibles 2 (2018)

08 Sunday Jul 2018

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Incredible is a subjective term,
As critics and colleges can confirm.
One man’s amazing and top-of-the-class
Is another’s mundane because people, alas,
See things either clearly or through rosy glass.

Incredible is a desirable word,
So rarely deserved yet so commonly heard.
At times, there’s consensus for some shining star,
But mostly we just must agree on the bar
And how we compare them decides what they are.
___________________

MPAA rating: PG

Of all the studios churning out long-awaited sequels, Pixar has arguably the best track record. Whether it’s Monsters University, Finding Dory, or Toy Story 3 (I mean 4), the decade-waiting sequelization of their canon is well underway and, with the exception of Cars 2, has turned out surprisingly well. (They’re all weaker than the originals, but they’re by no means bad, except Cars 2.) Yet strangely, Pixar has made fans wait longest for the follow-up to the one film in their oeuvre that was actively crying out for a sequel, namely The Incredibles. Perhaps due to the influx of superhero franchises since 2003, director Brad Bird finally delivered, and I’d say the fourteen-year wait was worth it.

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Picking up immediately where the first film left off, The Incredibles 2 reminds us that, even after saving the world from Syndrome, the Parr family still have to deal with the fact that superheroing is illegal. After their battle with the Underminer goes south, Mr. and Mrs. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson and Holly Hunter) and Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson) are approached by millionaire entrepreneurs Winston (Bob Odenkirk) and Evelyn Deavor (Catherine Keener), a brother and sister team who are actively trying to bring supers back into the spotlight. Due to her less destructive abilities, Elastigirl is the new face of their law-bending campaign, and while Bob deals with the headaches of parenting at home, Helen faces off with a mind-controlling villain called the Screenslaver.

There are certain elements borrowed from the previous film, such as the family disagreements on how to handle hiding their powers, and if you suspect their new benefactors aren’t entirely on the up-and-up, you’d be somewhat right. Yet The Incredibles 2 does an excellent job at differentiating itself from the first and from other superhero films in general. Chief among the differences is the inclusion of other supers joining the crusade for superhero legality, and their presence allows for added creativity in the battles and actual super-vs.-super fights rather than the repeated super-vs.-robot fight of the first. Anyone who wanted more Elastigirl and Frozone shouldn’t be disappointed, and while Bob seemed sidelined by suppressed egotism and Mr. Mom franticness, it wasn’t as bad as the trailers implied. Ultimately, even with some mature themes being broached, this is still a film for and about families, with Bob’s first-hand struggles with superpowered child-rearing offering a nice counterpoint to the more action-packed beats with his wife.

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One thing that seemed like a retroactive change is that the Parrs apparently didn’t see baby Jack-Jack use his powers at the end of the first film, allowing for all of them to be surprised again by his multifaceted abilities. Jack-Jack even steals the show at times, whether he’s paired with an ornery raccoon or fashionista Edna Mode (Brad Bird). Likewise, Violet (Sarah Vowell) and Dash (Huck Milner, seamlessly replacing Spencer Fox) get their fair share of screen time, especially after the villain is revealed. Speaking of which, the Screenslaver may not have as compelling a backstory as Syndrome, but the philosophy spouted by the shadowy figure has a point in denouncing people’s reliance on computer/TV screens and lack of responsibility. It’s the kind of motivation that works well for a supervillain, bearing a kernel of truth but taken to a malevolent extreme, which actually offers a legitimate threat against the supers.

I’ll be honest: I intentionally had very low expectations for The Incredibles 2. Others I know have said they had enormous hopes for it, but when you’re dealing with a film as awesome as the first Incredibles, it’s going to be hard to match. Perhaps that’s why I enjoyed it so much compared with one of my disappointed coworkers, who likely had too many preconceived notions of what the perfect sequel should be, not unlike Star Wars fans of late. Yes, The Incredibles 2 doesn’t quite reach the heights of its predecessor: It lacks the meaningful character arcs of the first film, its villain mystery is semi-predictable, and it raises more thematic questions about right, wrong, and responsibility than it even tries to answer. Yet it was so enjoyable to spend time with these characters again that I didn’t mind, and it still stands head-and-shoulders above the majority of animated films nowadays.

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I think I’d go so far as to call it the best Pixar sequel since Toy Story 2, at least in recapturing the spirit of the original. The action scenes are as cool and polished as anything in the MCU, and Michael Giacchino’s bombastic score is still the perfect complement to its comic book world. It’s not above some complaints, but if you compare The Incredibles 2 to Cars 2 rather than the first Incredibles, I think you’ll agree it’s an “incredible” sequel. Pixar does it again!

Best line: (Edna) “Done properly, parenting is a heroic act. [Glares at Bob’s exhaustion] “Done properly.”

 

Rank: List-Worthy (joining the first film)

 

© 2018 S.G. Liput
585 Followers and Counting

 

2018 Blindspot Pick #6: Some Like It Hot (1959)

06 Friday Jul 2018

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What do soup and summer days
And bedtime milk and big buffets
Have in common with your tea
And pie and wind and panini
And thoughts about celebrities
And temps for different types of skis?

Have you thought of it or not?
Yes, that’s right! Some like them hot.
Some also like them cold, and so
Which one are you, I’d like to know?
_______________________

MPAA rating: PG

Well, I’m still trying to catch up on my Blindspots, and since it’s been hot as blazes outside lately, Some Like It Hot seemed like a good choice for my next review. (For the record, I do not like it hot. I can’t wait for fall.) This is one of those classics among classics that it just seemed more and more wrong that I, as a movie lover, hadn’t seen it yet, which is exactly what this Blindspot series is for anyway. Now that I’ve seen it, I can recognize its special place in the pantheon of comedy, but there have been plenty of funnier movies since.

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I don’t mean to badmouth a classic, since that is what Some Like It Hot is. Starting out more like a gangster movie than a comedy, the film follows the misadventures of two musicians Joe (Tony Curtis) and Jerry (Jack Lemmon), who keep finding themselves at the wrong place at the wrong time. When they happen to witness a mob massacre by the vengeful “Spats” Colombo (George Raft), they escape Chicago by dressing as women, calling themselves Josephine and Daphne, and joining an all-girl band on their way to Miami. Of course, things get inevitably complicated when Joe becomes attracted to fellow bandmate Sugar (Marilyn Monroe) and a millionaire (Joe E. Brown) improbably falls for Jerry.

I guess crossdressing is just inherently funny, at least in the movies. That’s what the AFI seems to think, placing Some Like It Hot at #1 on their list of top 100 comedies, with Tootsie right behind at #2. (Incidentally, Mrs. Doubtfire is at #67, and I love that one more than either of the others.) While Some Like It Hot had me consistently amused, especially once Curtis and Lemmon donned their feminine alter egos, I find it laughable that this would be considered the best comedy ever made, much less one of the greatest films overall.

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Certainly, there are elements I can tell have influenced comedies since, such as Joe’s rush to change between his male and female clothes, much as Robin Williams did 34 years later. However, Joe does this in order to fool Sugar into believing he’s her wealthy dream man, which begs the question of how he thought he could get away with such a ploy in any lasting way, and his dishonesty not only makes the runtime a bit too long but is also blithely ignored when the truth comes to light, in contrast to the collective shock at the end of Tootsie or Mrs. Doubtfire. Lemmon, on the other hand, gets the best comedic scenes, sometimes struggling with his “femininity,” while other times losing himself in character.

As shameful as it is for a cinephile to admit, this is actually the first comedy I’ve seen of director Billy Wilder (I’ve at least watched his The Spirit of St. Louis) and the first film starring Marilyn Monroe. Wilder’s direction is beyond reproach, and he includes a few clever cinematic touches, like the repeated shots of “Spats” Colombo’s shoes to portend the approach of danger. Monroe had a greater challenge, though, since I had always associated her with her short-breathed, dumb blonde persona (which my VC can’t stand, for the record), but I was pleasantly surprised by her and her musical moments. Despite being a gold digger, her portrayal of Sugar was hardly one-note, even expressing weariness at her own “dumb blonde” proclivities, and I’m now much more interested than before in exploring her other iconic roles.

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While I wouldn’t call Some Like It Hot the amazing movie it is commonly considered, it was still a good one and worthy to be called a classic. I finally got to understand the context for many familiar clips, such as the famous last line and that grating “poo poo pee doo” song parodied so perfectly by Ginger on Gilligan’s Island. So, complaints aside, I’d call this a successful and long overdue Blindspot pick. By the way, did you know it’s based off a 1935 French film called Fanfare of Love? I guess that’s another film I’ll have to check out for comparison’s sake some day.

Best line: (Sugar) “Water polo? Isn’t that terribly dangerous?”   (Joe, pretending to be rich) “I’ll say. I had two ponies drowned under me.”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2018 S.G. Liput
584 Followers and Counting

 

Midway (1976)

04 Wednesday Jul 2018

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History tells us when battles were fought
And whether they meant more than others or not,
But those who once knew them
And had to live through them
Experienced more than the lessons now taught.

A few passive words on a page about war,
Discussing the facts of who died and what for,
Are hardly precise
To recount sacrifice
Or the bloody-badged heroes on some foreign shore.

It’s hell, they say; so, we imagine the worst
From comfortable couches, no terror, no thirst,
So free to be blind
That we must be reminded
That freedom must be paid in sacrifice first.
________________________

MPAA rating: PG (PG-13 would be better due to frequent profanity)

I couldn’t let July 4th pass without reviewing a patriotic war movie, and since I’d seen it once a long time ago, Midway seemed ripe for a rewatch. One of the last big war films of yesteryear, Midway distinguishes itself less in the story department than in its in-depth overview of the battle and its sprawling cast of famous faces.

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If you’re looking for some gritty war story with non-stop explosions, this isn’t the film for you. Midway is far more interested in the build-up and strategy of the battle and spends most of its 132-minute runtime on the set-up. Certainly by the end, there are scout planes being sacrificed and battleships defending themselves with barrages of skyward gunfire, but we also get to see how the Americans deciphered Midway as the coded Japanese target, how unexpected illnesses and bad luck brought certain players to the fore, and how each side endeavored to figure out the others’ movements before it was too late. All the background information isn’t exactly boring, but it can get a bit dry…yeah, that’s the word. Yet what it lacks in dynamic entertainment, it makes up for in the sense of getting a comprehensive reenactment of how events played out at a time when the American forces were still on the defensive and sorely in need of a victory.

Midway’s greatest strength is its multitude of familiar actors. Just reading the cast list is a who’s who of both big-name stars of the time and some stars to be: Charlton Heston as Captain Garth and the de facto main character, Henry Fonda as Admiral Nimitz, Robert Mitchum as Vice Admiral Halsey, Hal Holbrook, James Coburn, Glenn Ford, Cliff Robertson, Glenn Corbett, Robert Wagner, Erik Estrada, Tom Selleck, and Dabney Coleman (five years before starring with Henry Fonda again in On Golden Pond). That’s not to say all of them get much time to shine in their cameos; I’m not sure Robert Wagner even spoke at all, but it’s always fun to try and pick out someone you might recognize. Of course, not being as familiar with TV of the ‘60s and ‘70s as my mom or grandfather (who loved this movie), I’m no doubt missing out on the full “look-it’s-so-and-so” experience.

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In addition to all the western actors is a collection of pretty much every actor of Japanese descent known to American audiences back then (except Mako; where the heck was Mako?), most notably Toshiro Mifune of Rashomon and Seven Samurai fame as Admiral Yamamoto, whose voice was oddly dubbed by Paul Frees. There’s also James Shigeta of Die Hard, Pat Morita of The Karate Kid, Robert Ito of Quincy, M.E., and quite a few others I’m sure I’ve seen on M*A*S*H before. Unlike modern war movie trends, all the Japanese characters speak convenient English, but there’s no effort to demonize them beyond some references to Pearl Harbor. They are simply the opposing side in this life-and-death game of Battleship. Questions of prejudice are raised with the romance of Edward Albert as Heston’s son who falls in love with a Japanese girl (Christina Kokubo), but that story doesn’t get much closure by the end and is present simply to add some human interest to the film.

It’s interesting to note that, despite being a box office hit, Midway is something of a black sheep among war classics, largely because it borrowed many scenes from other films, perhaps to save money on a budget that likely went to casting its prestigious stars. The graininess of certain shots clearly marks them as actual footage, but many of the actual battle scenes are from films like Tora! Tora! Tora!, Away All Boats, and Battle for Britain (at least according to Wikipedia), which now makes me curious to see all those films and spot what was borrowed. Even if its parts were cobbled together to some extent, Midway thrives on its star power and paints both a broad and detailed picture of a decisive World War II battle.

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On this 4th of July, whether you celebrate it or not, I want to wish all my readers, both foreign and domestic, a Happy Independence Day! Let freedom ring!

Best line: (Admiral Nimitz, after the battle) “It doesn’t make any sense; Admiral Yamamoto had everything going for him: power, experience, confidence. Were we better than the Japanese or just luckier?”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2018 S.G. Liput
584 Followers and Counting

 

A Quiet Place (2018)

29 Friday Jun 2018

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Stop, do you hear that? I do, but do they?
The runaway rhythm of hearts in dismay,
It pounds ever harder and makes the rib cage
A tight echo chamber, a tremulous gauge
Of the worry of war that no man wished to wage.

Hide each hollow creak and conceal every crunch
From our foolhardy feet or an indiscreet lunch.
Outlasting this long is no right to survive
When one simple slip-up that fate can contrive
Might cut your luck short when the sentries arrive.

Each whisper so slight from beneath our caught breath
Resounds with regret as it promises death.
Escaping means nothing, nor hiding from view,
When stubbing your toe puts a target on you.
Stop, do you hear that? I fear that they do.
_______________________

MPAA rating: PG-13

Faithful readers may know that I have very particular tastes when it comes to horror movies. Generally, the more blood there is, the less likely I’ll enjoy it, because I’d much rather be creeped out by atmosphere and implication than by ever more nauseating murders. That’s why A Quiet Place caught my interest, and indeed it is exactly the kind of scary movie for me, the kind that plays with your nerves rather than your stomach and even gets you to care about the characters in danger.

The film begins several months into an apocalyptic proliferation of monsters who detect their prey by sound and who have effectively ended civilization as we know it, leaving the unnamed Abbott family to scavenge supplies and survive in silence. Over a year later, they’ve built a fairly stable and silent life in their monster-prepared country home, complete with warning lights and trails of sand to soften their footsteps. The father Lee (director John Krasinski) does his best to prepare both his deaf daughter (Millicent Simmonds of Wonderstruck) with hearing aids and his son (Noah Jupe) with survival experience, while mother Evelyn (Emily Blunt, Krasinski’s real wife) tries to make their precarious existence as livable as possible. Yet in films of this type, half the tension is waiting for something to go wrong, and even if those with little patience may be a tad bored by the wordless beginning, they only need wait for the shoe to drop…noisily.

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As far as the plot itself, it’s honestly nothing I haven’t seen before. That’s because it is literally a combination of 2002’s Signs (mysterious creatures with a hidden weakness, two kids in danger, a cornfield) and 2015’s Hidden (a genuinely lovable and caring family living in fear of being discovered if they’re too loud). Luckily, I love both Signs and Hidden, and even if I could write a whole post on how similar A Quiet Place is to them, its combination is different enough to be worthwhile and adeptly made enough to make it far scarier than either earlier film.

Krasinski certainly has an eye for tension, and the sound design heightens the threat of even everyday items. Sometimes, you see the potential scream a mile away (one scene is particularly painful to watch), while others sneak up on you. Yes, there are plenty of effective jump scares, and keeping the creatures out of sight until late in the film adds to their mystery and threat. The fact that Evelyn is pregnant also contributes to the inevitability of sound, and with so much of the film lacking dialogue, the sounds that do attract the creatures are potently jarring for the audience as well.

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Every performance is outstanding in its fear, grief, and familial love, with Krasinski and Simmonds (who is actually deaf) being the stand-outs. Even relying on sign language, they’re entirely believable as a close family, the kind that says grace together before meals, albeit haunted by the trauma of their situation, and their resourcefulness proves quite clever when dangerous situations arise. I kept wondering why they wouldn’t close doors to keep the creatures out, but then I remembered that a closing door would only cause more noise. Some may wonder how they could have built some of their safety measures without making sound (they’re shown to have canned much of their food, and the electricity must run off a noise-making generator), but if you can ignore those niggling critiques, A Quiet Place is the latest proof that an intensely scary movie depends more on the craft behind it than the body count.

Best line (out of not many): (Evelyn, to Lee) “Who are we if we can’t protect them? We have to protect them.”

 

Rank: List-Worthy (tied with Hidden)

 

© 2018 S.G. Liput
582 Followers and Counting

 

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

21 Thursday Jun 2018

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There once was a rogue on the run
Who liked to shoot first with his gun.
He’d often cheat death
Without catching his breath
And make every danger seem fun.

The hand of a princess he won.
Have you heard of the famed Kessel Run?
You may know he’s tough,
But you don’t know enough
Till you see how his tale had begun.
___________________

MPAA rating: PG-13

Of all the opinions swirling around Solo: A Star Wars Story, there’s one thing everyone seems to agree on: It’s not a bad movie. That’s more generous than a lot of films get, but that seems to be the basis around which many are building their views. They may embrace it as a prequel done right or poke every imaginable hole in its plot and execution, but one thing’s for sure: It’s not a bad movie. I’ll go a bit farther than that, though. Solo: A Star Wars Story is a good movie.

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Solo had the unenviable task of recasting one of the most iconic roles in cinematic history, and no matter who they picked for Han Solo, there’s only one Harrison Ford. That being said, Alden Ehrenreich holds his own as a younger and scrappier Han, not quite looking the part, not quite nailing Ford’s mannerisms as well as I’d like, but he still works as a believable version of the beloved rogue. Likewise, Donald Glover slips smoothly into Billy Dee Williams’ debonair shoes, and Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca is, well, the same Chewbacca we’ve always known, one of the perks of playing an alien in a full-body suit. The recasting isn’t quite a slam dunk like J.J. Abrams’ rebooted Star Trek cast, which was arguably a harder sell, but it comes close enough

Joining these familiar faces/characters are a host of other rogues, from Paul Bettany’s scarred crime lord, to Woody Harrelson’s smuggler and grudging mentor, to a group of Cloud Riders led by a masked pirate dressed suspiciously like Hiccup’s mother in How to Train Your Dragon 2. The title of best addition, though, goes to the always beautiful Emilia Clarke as Han’s childhood friend and love interest Qi’ra, whose three-year separation from him among villains leaves you constantly questioning what exactly her role and intentions are. Many of the characters don’t stick around long enough to leave much of an impression, often just to put more focus on Han, but they do their parts admirably. Oh, and I suppose some mention is deserved by Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s irascible droid L3-37, whose strident calls for droid equality shed a different light on the sentience and rights of robots in the Star Wars universe (and an odd, though unconfirmed implication of Lando’s romantic tastes). It’s funny how “sarcastic” describes most of the named droids of Star Wars, and she’s no exception, though I preferred K-2SO in Rogue One.

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I’ll admit that Solo didn’t have the same hype for me that past Star Wars films had, perhaps because it’s been only six months since The Last Jedi, perhaps because the marketing made it seem like the least Star Wars-y movie yet, perhaps because of the publicized difficulties behind the scenes that replaced directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller with the ever-reliable Ron Howard. Yet anyone going in with low expectations is bound to have a good time, whether you want a series of well-fashioned heist scenarios and action set pieces or a geeky exploration of Han’s origins, complete with the Millennium Falcon, the Kessel Run, those golden dice I never knew about till Last Jedi, and how he first met Chewie and Lando. I do wonder what Lord and Miller’s version would have looked like, but my VC and I agreed that, even with its changes in casting and a poorly lit visual tone, this still felt like Star Wars, which is the least we fans can hope for as Disney continues to churn out sequels, prequels, and in-betweenquels.

I’m still not entirely sure whether I consider Solo and Rogue One to be 100% canon, even if they may be “officially.” With no George Lucas, Jedi, or Skywalkers involved, they’re more like big-budget fan fiction, and I’m okay with that. To my mind, there has still not been a bad Star Wars movie, and I like how new directors and storytellers have added their own distinctive style to the most recent installments while preserving what made this world so compelling from the start. These Star Wars Stories have managed to surprise me both in quality and narrative. (Solo has a late revelation that I’m surprised isn’t getting more buzz, though maybe that’s because I haven’t seen Star Wars: Rebels. I don’t think this film will be the one-off that Rogue One was, though its box office performance leaves some doubt on a sequel.) Whether it’s real Star Wars or just someone else’s version of it, it’s still darn entertaining and decidedly not bad.

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Best line: (Lando, to Han) “I hate you.”   (Han) “I know.”

 

Rank: List-Worthy (joining Rogue One)

 

© 2018 S.G. Liput
582 Followers and Counting

 

2018 Blindspot Pick #5: Sunshine (2007)

18 Monday Jun 2018

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Some say because mankind began,
Someday we’ll meet our end.
It’s borrowed time we spend.

Now centuries or more before
That fateful day arrives,
We fear for future lives.

We doubt if such is simply fate.
Should we rage if we could
If that good night be good?

Inevitable it may be,
Yet life is valued right
By how its owners fight.

Is saving life postponing death?
Then may death hesitate,
However short the wait.
___________________

MPAA rating: R (for language and some violence)

I’m a little embarrassed to have fallen behind on my Blindspot series this year, only now getting to May’s pick. Though, in my defense, I have been busy graduating and looking for a new job in web design, so I think that’s a reasonable excuse. Oh, and I discovered a funny little show called Parks and Recreation, which has kind of distracted me from my typical movie-watching schedule. Even so, I’m trying to catch up this month, and Sunshine made for a welcome return to my Blindspot picks.

I was familiar with Sunshine’s music long before I had any intention of watching it, even placing it at #49 on my list of Top 50 Movie Scores. Much of the electronica from composer John Murphy and the band Underworld is complementary for a sci-fi film but unmemorable, yet “Adagio in D Minor” is an immortal cinematic track as far as I’m concerned, serving to heighten the emotion of two visually striking scenes.

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There’s more than the score, though, to make Sunshine worth watching, not least of which is the diverse and recognizable cast, all astronauts aboard the Icarus II on a mission to save mankind by reigniting the sun with a giant bomb.  Cillian Murphy seems to be the lead as Robert Capa, a physicist in charge of the actual payload, while the rest of the crew include Michelle Yeoh, Benedict Wong, Rose Byrne, Cliff Curtis, Troy Garity, Hiroyuki Sanada (Lost alert!), and Chris Evans, who was between superhero roles at the time. Actually, it’s telling that five of those actors have made their way into superhero movies, and wait(!) Hiroyuki Sanada is supposedly cast in the next Avengers movie so it’s probably only a matter of time before Garity and Curtis make the leap too. The characters aren’t much more developed than the crew of the Nostromo in Alien (which wasn’t much when you think about it), but the actors do well in giving them distinct personalities and methods, though it was odd to learn that a lot of background information on each one was thought up yet intentionally left out.

I tend to enjoy the science fiction genre in general, and Sunshine had many of the ingredients I like, from intelligent problem solving in the face of disaster to a foreboding, often claustrophobic setting, plus a few creative subtleties, as when pictures of dead crewmen are momentarily glimpsed in the glare of flashlights. The script was also thought-provoking as it repeatedly put the characters in life-and-death positions in which the death option meant the death of mankind. As for the plot, it reminded me of a cross between the Firefly episode “Bushwhacked” (searching a derelict ship with a crazed danger on board) and  Alien: Covenant (picking up a distress signal that jeopardizes the mission, though Sunshine had a better reason for their following of said signal). I know some have criticized Sunshine for how the last third suddenly veers into slasher-style horror, but it didn’t seem incompatible with what came before and, if anything, strengthened the parallels to an Alien movie.

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Directed by Danny Boyle, Sunshine has a lot in its favor, which makes its fate as a box-office failure even sadder, but it’s also far from perfect. It’s hard for me to fault the grand spacefaring visuals, but there were multiple scenes where I just wasn’t sure what I was looking at, whether because of the unique design of the ship or because the scene was drowned in sunlight or shielded in darkness. This is the only Blindspot I’ve watched twice, the second time with my VC, who had the same trouble but still enjoyed it, and I did find it easier to understand on the second go once I knew what was happening. Coupled with that objection is how the “monster” of the film was kept semi-concealed, not through shadowy editing but through camera distortions that just became overused.

In addition, for a film about the potential end of humanity, there’s very little spiritual dimension to it, only reminders of man being “stardust” and some religious ramblings of a madman. I always find it weird when disaster or apocalyptic movies seem to intentionally avoid or demonize religion, since that’s where many a mind goes when death draws near, and the fact that Cillian Murphy reportedly “converted” to atheism due to this film reveals how coldly unspiritual its underpinnings are.

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Despite these qualms, Sunshine was still a sci-fi journey worth taking, buoyed by strong casting, effects, and music. You could almost say it’s a better Alien movie than most of the Alien sequels, and that’s without any aliens. While its fatalism can get heavy and its visuals require some thought to decipher, this is one more corner of science fiction I’m glad to check off the ol’ to-watch list.

Best line (showing writer Alex Garland knew his influences): (Mace) “We should split up.”   (Harvey) “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea….”   (Mace) “You’re probably right. We might get picked off one at a time by aliens.”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2018 S.G. Liput
582 Followers and Counting

 

For the Love of Spock (2016)

15 Friday Jun 2018

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Ideas are born and met with scorn
More often than embraced.
It’s hard to tell what might do well
Or else end up disgraced.

That’s why the rise of one franchise
Can be a wondrous thing
When someone’s pitch can find its niche
And gain a following.

Ideas sow seed while sponsors lead,
But icons call for skill,
For one who spans the dreams of fans
To live and prosper still.
__________________

MPAA rating: Not Rated (should be PG-13 for 2 F-words)

I don’t typically watch and review documentaries, but as a lifelong fan of Star Trek, I couldn’t pass up a celebration of Leonard Nimoy and his most iconic role. Funding through Kickstarter, For the Love of Spock  is unique in that Nimoy himself was actually involved in its production until his death in 2015, and his son Adam Nimoy not only finished the doco but turned it into a moving retrospective of his father and their rocky relationship.

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I love Spock. Who doesn’t love Spock? Whether it’s Nimoy in the original series and films or Zachary Quinto in J.J. Abrams’ reboots, the half-human, half-Vulcan science officer of the Enterprise is a both compelling and surprisingly lovable character, even with his famous emotional reserve. For the Love of Spock dives into the original man behind the ears, from his early acting days to his musical and artistic pursuits to how he and his family reacted to the sudden stardom that Mr. Spock foisted upon them.

Apart from Nimoy and his son, there are a plethora of celebrity interviews that provide commentary of Nimoy’s life, whether the experiences of co-stars like William Shatner and George Takei or the geeky influence he imparted to Neil deGrasse Tyson, Jim Parsons, and J.J. Abrams. It’s a brilliantly edited encapsulation of all that Nimoy and Spock have given popular culture and boasts the emotional resonance of the loss of a legend and some surprising stories of how that legend developed, such as the Jewish origin of Spock’s “Live long and prosper” hand gesture. (You probably can’t see, but I’m doing it right now.) Occasionally, it’s also very funny, as when it recaps Nimoy singing “The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins,” which is possibly the biggest what-the-heck moment I’ve seen all year and which I had to include below.

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As I said, I don’t often watch documentaries, but I’ve liked the few I’ve seen, with For the Love of Spock up there among the best. I use a simpler “Thumb” system for docos since they’re harder for me to compare to narrative films, but this is undoubtedly worth Two Thumbs Up. Perhaps certain periods aren’t covered in as much detail, like the original films or Nimoy’s first autobiography I Am Not Spock, but Star Trek geeks and semi-geeks alike will find plenty to enjoy.

 

Rank: Two Thumbs Up

 

© 2018 S.G. Liput
582 Followers and Counting

Psychokinesis (2018)

13 Wednesday Jun 2018

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A hero isn’t born, you know,
With all he needs to earn that rank.
All roles are blank
Until they grow.

He may have strength to break a chain
Or speed to outrun any train
Or powers to abolish pain
With snap of finger or of brain,
The likes of which man can’t contain.
But all of that would be in vain
If he viewed others with disdain.

It’s finding one worth fighting for
That makes a hero from a blank.
___________________

Rating: TV-MA (with several beatings, the content is much more PG-13, but there are a few F words in the English subtitles)

It took me longer than everyone else to jump onto the bandwagon praising Yeon Sang-ho’s South Korean zombie hit Train to Busan. One advantage to waiting was that I didn’t have to wait too long for his next live-action feature, this time tackling the superhero genre. Though not on the level of his earlier film, Psychokinesis is an enjoyable counterpoint to the big-budget Marvel movies to which we’ve become so accustomed, a decidedly smaller-scale adventure that still delivers the goods.

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The film starts out a little confusingly, segueing from an advertisement about successful young restaurateur Shin Roo-mi (Shim Eun-kyung) to a night attack on her restaurant by a group of workmen, who try to evict her and accidentally kill her mother. Soon after, we meet her absentee father Seok-heon (Ryu Seung-ryong), an oafish security guard who happens to drink from a fountain right as it’s contaminated with energy from a meteorite and discovers he has telekinetic powers. Just reading back those two sentences makes this film sound really bizarre, and maybe it is at the start, but I’m glad I gave it a chance because it somehow does work by the end. After hearing of his ex-wife’s death, Seok-heon decides to use his power to reignite his relationship with the daughter who hates him and protect her from the villainous corporate developers trying to remove her and the other tenants who refuse to leave their shops.

Like Train to Busan, Psychokinesis is just as concerned with its human characters as its genre conventions. At first, Seok-heon is hardly the type to stick up for others and tries to dissuade Roo-mi from joining the rebellious shopkeepers. Much as the inconsiderate father in Train to Busan had his conscience pricked, Seok-heon ends up second-guessing his own selfishness and aiding them with his psychic abilities. Both Ryu and Shim are quite good as an estranged father and daughter (they voiced similar estranged roles in Yeon’s previous film Seoul Station as well), and those playing the villains are gleefully evil, especially Jung Yu-mi (the pregnant woman in Train to Busan) as a beautiful, power-crazed mastermind.

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As for the superhero side of things, the effects are actually very well done, and their impact is gradually built up as Seok-heon progresses from floating lighters and ties to throwing bad guys around to almost flying. It clearly takes immense concentration for him, and his mental straining often verges on comedic. With some over-the-top reactions and simplistic motives, the film knows when to chuckle at itself and when to be serious, bolstered further by some genuinely cool superhero moments.

Psychokinesis may not be quite on the technical level of Marvel’s offerings, but with its Korean setting and surprisingly small body count, it’s a refreshingly low-profile member of an increasingly crowded genre. It’s also a sign that Yeon Sang-ho is a director worth keeping an eye on for empathetic family dynamics and quality genre fare.

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2018 S.G. Liput
579 Followers and Counting

 

All Saints (2017)

10 Sunday Jun 2018

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

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The saints whose names are still revered
Were known for how they persevered.
Some kicked and screamed; some volunteered,
But was not God’s will done?

Yet does that mean their walls and woes
Came tumbling down like Jericho’s?
No, perseverance only shows
When clouds eclipse the sun.
____________________

MPAA rating: PG

I’m a devout Christian, but I must admit that most overtly Christian movies are not very good. Some are just low quality, but even the ones I enjoy and admire (Facing the Giants, Fireproof, Miracles from Heaven) are often too sincere for their own good, preaching to the choir and sometimes irritatingly so (God’s Not Dead). The secular critics are just as often harsh with these films, and that’s why it was such a surprise when a faith-based film called All Saints managed to net a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes last year. It took me till now to see it myself, and I now see why it earned such positive buzz. Biblical films aside, it may be the best faith-based film so far.

This based-on-a-true-story movie features John Corbett as Michael Spurlock, a salesman who becomes an Episcopalian pastor and is immediately assigned to close the dying All Saints Church in Smyrna, Tennessee. With only twelve members, the church leadership have decided to sell the property, but Michael has an inspiration when a collection of Southeast Asian refugees come begging for assistance. Led by God and against everyone’s advice, he decides to try saving the church for these displaced families by using them to turn the surrounding church land into a farm and pay off the church debt.

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What I think sets All Saints apart is that it doesn’t feel designed to appeal only to Christians by getting preachy; it’s the classic rule of “show, don’t tell.” A movie can moralize all day about how God works in mysterious ways and how good can come out of seemingly terrible situations, but it means much more when we see those lessons in action. All Saints lets the story itself illustrate that wisdom rather than rubbing viewers’ noses in it. It’s more concerned with the existing faith of the characters rather than earning converts; at one point, a volunteer describes himself as Buddhist and his two friends as “apparently nothing,” and Michael responds that “some of my best friends are nothing.” Instead of finger-wagging, there’s a challenge to Christians and nothings alike to work together, and it’s inspiring.

There are still moments where the acting and script have traces of that faith-movie weakness, but they’re largely overshadowed by strong performances from Corbett, Barry Corbin as an irascible veteran church member, and Nelson Lee as Ye Win, the representative of the Karen refugees who speaks the most English and works hard to improve their situation. The story itself is also not as predictable as it may seem; sometimes things fall into place with George Mueller-style providence, while at other times, Murphy’s law rules, which always makes people with and without faith wonder where God is and what His will might be.

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I hope it’s not odd if I point to Fall Out Boy lyrics (“Immortals”) as a good summation of the film’s major theme: “Sometimes the only payoff for having any faith is when it’s tested again and again every day.” Most of the characters are Christian and God is glorified, but there’s a real-life story of encouragement, sacrifice, and community here that I think is universal, one that earns its sincerity. Those who normally avoid “Christian movies” ought to give this one a try.

Best line: (Forrest, to Michael after a risky decision) “Did you let your stupid off the leash again?”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2018 S.G. Liput
578 Followers and Counting

 

While You Were Sleeping (1995)

07 Thursday Jun 2018

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A lot can happen while you’re sleeping
If you’re sleeping hard,
And if you’re not expecting it,
You might be caught offguard.

Your organs might be harvested
While you are unaware,
Or someone may invade your dreams
To plant an idea there.

You might awaken to a world
Infested with undead,
Or find that you’ve somnambulated
Miles from your bed.

And, though this is unlikely,
You might wake up one fine day
To find that Sandra Bullock
Has become your fiancée.
____________________

MPAA rating: PG

This is one of those movies I’ve been meaning to see for a while since it’s a favorite of certain romance lovers, and I just got around to it, partly because it sounded vaguely similar to The Big Sick (romance, coma, etc.). Well, it’s actually not very similar at all, but that’s probably best, and I also didn’t realize it’s sort of a Christmas movie. While You Were Sleeping isn’t about to go down as one of the best rom coms ever, but it’s a likable little morsel of ‘90s-era sentiment.

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Sandra Bullock plays Lucy Moderatz, one of those ‘90s romantic leads that are so winsome and pleasant that you wonder why they’re not already married. Then again, Lucy’s not sure either, instead shyly crushing on a well-dressed regular (Peter Gallagher) at her train token booth. When she unexpectedly saves him after he falls in the path of a train, she accompanies her comatose dreamboat Peter to the hospital, and a series of misunderstandings lead his family to believe she is his fiancée, with no one to dispute it. Thus, Lucy must decide how far she should play along with this unintentional fib, especially when suspected by Peter’s handsome brother Jack (Bill Pullman).

To be quite honest, I’m still not sold on Lucy’s reasoning for not telling the truth up front. She supposedly fears that the shock might harm Peter’s sensitive grandmother (Glynis John, who played the Banks matriarch in Mary Poppins thirty-one years earlier), yet I don’t see how she thought she could keep up the charade. Even so, it works well enough for rom-com purposes, including coincidences and comedic reasoning to explain away potential inconsistencies in her story. Despite the untruth, it’s easy to see why she would want to stay with Peter’s family, even apart from her chemistry with Jack, since they welcome her with open arms from her dismal single existence.

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I suppose the main thing that was missing from While You Were Sleeping was the laughs. In spite of the multitude of misunderstandings, I barely chuckled through most of it, so the script is hardly on the level of a Nora Ephron film, yet it still left me smiling with its semi-predictable romance. Almost everyone comes out with sympathy, and I liked the cast overall, from Peter Boyle to Jack Warden but especially Bullock. My VC thought it was “good, leaning toward mediocre,” but it was a better film than that, just not one that I’d consider a classic.

Best line:  (Jack) “I guess I don’t remember meeting you.”   (Lucy) “Well, that’s probably because we’ve never met.”   (Jack) “That could have something to do with it.”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2018 S.G. Liput
576 Followers and Counting