Category Archives: Poetry

Monsters University (2013)

03 Wednesday Aug 2016

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“When I was in college,” the old monster said,
“We didn’t use laughter but screaming instead
To power our civilization, and so
Each monster who scared was a public hero.

“And where did they go hone their scaring art,
To learn how to quicken a young child’s heart,
To grasp the best method of siphoning screams
While working alone or together as teams?

“Where did they practice their skulking and creeping
And sneaking for when their young target is sleeping
So when the time’s right for the roaring and leaping,
They know that it’s just the right scream that they’re reaping?

“Where did they go? But of course, you all know.
The campus of MU, where scarers went pro.
Those were the days,” sighed the monster named Ed.
“Yeah, what he said,” said his own second head.
____________________

MPAA rating: G

After the disappointment of Cars 2, I was wary of any further Pixar sequels, or prequels in the case of Monsters University, a recounting of Mike and Sully’s wild college days and how they became friends. Even though I enjoy Monsters, Inc., I skipped its prequel at the theater, and the college concept didn’t give me much desire to see it. When I finally did, I was pleasantly surprised. Of course, it’s Pixar. Shame on me for doubting Pixar. It may not be their very best, but it’s a rare spinoff film that surprisingly holds its own with the original. My VC, who isn’t too fond of the original, actually loved Monsters University more.

Monsters, Inc. ended with a more or less satisfying conclusion so I see why they opted for a prequel. First, we go all the way back to an elementary field trip where little Mike gets to visit the scare floor from the first film, reinforcing his hero worship and attracting him to MU, Monsters University, the premier place for the next generation of scarers. When he finally arrives to the colorful campus, there’s a pleasant wink-wink of nostalgia with the arrival of Randall and Sully; we know that Randall will end up the bad guy and Sully the devoted friend, but seeing them in opposite roles that change over time is both intriguing and entertaining. Friendships aren’t always as straightforward as “Hi, let’s be friends” and neither are enemyships (yes, it’s a fake word), and Monsters University develops both in believably gradual fashion.

Mike and Sully are polar opposites, it seems. Mike is the underdog, forced to study hard to keep up with the more natural scarers, while Sully is the carefree frat boy content to coast on his family name and obvious talent. After a disastrous run-in with Dean Hardscrabble (Helen Mirren), the two are thrust together to reclaim their place at the school, which entails joining a loser fraternity called Oozma Kappa and competing in an intramural scaring competition.

Rarely does Pixar aim for the predictable, and this is no exception. Honestly, I highly doubt that the unexpected climax would have been the same had Dreamworks been in charge of production. All manner of animated and family films contain the message of believing in yourself and achieving your dreams with enough effort, and while Monsters University does too, there’s also the rare suggestion that not all dreams are feasible if your true talents lie elsewhere. In addition, it ignores the unspoken assumption that doing something good or impressive somehow washes away past transgressions; that’s a fairly common problem with many films (like how Captain Kirk from Star Trek has been in danger of court-martial more than once but always redeems himself with his heroics), and Monsters University doesn’t fall into it, making the result more realistic in the process.

I don’t know why I assumed Monsters University would be inferior. Perhaps the collegiate setting just didn’t interest me at the time, but it actually provided quite a bit of humor, from the various scaring studies to the madcap fraternity sports. Characters as lovable as Mike and Sully should only be revisited with a worthwhile story, and Pixar succeeded in that. It’s not a game-changer in animation like some of their best films, but it’s second-tier Pixar rather than third-tier. Compared with many of the animated movies out there, that’s certainly good enough for me.

Best line: (Art, mentioning his strengths) “I’ve got a third arm. Not with me, of course.”

 

Rank: List-Worthy (joining Monsters, Inc.)

 

© 2016 S. G. Liput
400 Followers and Counting

 

Version Variations: Adventures in Babysitting (1987, 2016)

27 Wednesday Jul 2016

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A night on the town can be thrilling or fun,
When you know what you’re doing and not on the run,
But if you’re unprepared for the city at night,
I’d highly advise that you do as I write.

Don’t chitchat with strangers or pull someone’s leg,
Unless you need money, in which case just beg.
Do not leave your car, unless you have no choice;
Don’t take a stage unless you have a good voice.

Don’t steal magazines or pet cats you can’t see
And try to avoid any known felony.
And whatever you do in your probable mess,
Don’t bring kids along, unless you like stress.
__________________________

MPAA rating for 1987 version: PG-13
Rating for 2016 version: G

Adventures in Babysitting is one of those movies that could have well been on my original list, but it took a more recent viewing to remind me of this fun ’80s classic and convince me to add it to my list, which I updated all the way back at the beginning of the year. I do want to review all the films I added last year, and the recent Disney Channel remake gave me the perfect opportunity to revisit this one as a Version Variation.

Released by Disney’s Touchstone label, the original Adventures in Babysitting from 1987 was the first lead role for Elizabeth Shue, who plays Chris the babysitter, and I dare say it wasn’t just Keith Coogan’s Brad who had a crush on her. Singing along to “Then He Kissed Me” in the opening credits, she’s the ideal girl next door, soon thrust into extraordinary circumstances when her friend Brenda (Penelope Ann Miller) begs for rescue from an ill-conceived attempt at running away. Forced to bring Brad, his sister Sara (Maia Brewton), and his friend Daryl (Anthony Rapp) along for the ride, Chris holds herself and her under-age entourage together surprisingly well as they ramble from one Chicago danger to the next.

A coworker of mine told me she doesn’t see what makes Adventures in Babysitting a classic, but while it isn’t on the level of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, it’s a film in which individual moments outshine the whole. There’s the scary hook story and its unexpected punchline, the gang confrontation on the L train, the tense climax high on a skyscraper, and the disarming payoff for Sara’s obsession with Thor, long before anyone thought Marvel would give him his own movie. (It’s still hard to believe that hunky mechanic was Vincent D’Onofrio, you know, the scuzzy bad guy in both Men in Black and Jurassic World. No wonder he’s known as a chameleon.) And of course, the film’s high point is its impromptu musical number where Chris and the kids sing their own babysitting blues on stage. Even if you don’t see the film as a classic, that scene certainly is. Through all their risky ordeals, the easily likable main characters ensure Adventures in Babysitting is likewise easy to enjoy.

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As for the remake…. Perhaps to capitalize on the boom in ’80s nostalgia and to give its 100th Disney Channel Original Movie some name recognition, Disney decided to give Adventures in Babysitting a kiddie makeover this year, and the results were mixed to say the least. The film features Disney Channel stars such as Sabrina Carpenter from Girl Meets World, Sofia Carson from Descendants, and Kevin Quinn from Bunk’d, and like their shows, it’s a juvenile mix of humor and heart that will appeal far more to tweens than to anyone much older. I used to watch and enjoy Disney Channel Original Movies while growing up (I still love the High School Musical series), but having drifted away from DCOMs and now watching this one, my older self can’t help but wonder if the quality has gone down or my perceptions have simply matured. Maybe both.

Either way, this new Adventures in Babysitting comes up way short of the original even as it seemingly tries to outdo it. Instead of one babysitter, we get two, one a deeply responsible good girl (Carpenter) and the other an unreliable sitter-impersonator (Carson). Instead of three kids, we get five from two different families, ranging from an aspiring chef to a would-be fashionista. Instead of a car-stealing ring with genuine danger implied, we get a couple of bumbling smugglers doing something illegal with a spray-painted ferret.

Yet for all its changes, it’s still recognizably the same general story, hitting the same beats and notable scenes, yet mirroring my main complaint about Maleficent, every scene from the original that they try to recreate is consistently worse. Most atrocious of all is the “musical number,” which has morphed from a blues anthem to a rap battle with dreadful lyrics like “we ain’t no quitters; we’re the babysitters.” It’s enough to make me gag.

Image result for adventures in babysitting 2016

Yet even with all the ways the newer version of Adventures in Babysitting falls short of the original, it’s hard to totally disparage. It’s likely far more engaging to its target age group than to me and, for them, probably captures some of the same fun that ’80s kids felt in 1987. For the most part, it’s decent; perhaps someone someday might consider it a classic, but I doubt it. The most the remake has going for it is its kid-friendliness (i.e., “Don’t mess with the babysitter!” as opposed to the original version), since the original was more intended for teens and up with its occasional language and talk of Playboy. If it has to exist, I suppose the latest version of Adventures in Babysitting can act as an introduction to younger audiences before they see the far better original. Now enough already with the lackluster remakes!

Best line (from the original): (Brad) “Where we gonna get 50 bucks?”   (Sarah) “We could sell Daryl. You think?”

 

Rank for 1987 version: List-Worthy
Rank for 2016 version: Dishonorable Mention

 

© 2016 S. G. Liput
399 Followers and Counting

 

Bottom-Dweller: Seize the Day (1986)

22 Friday Jul 2016

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“Seize the day,” the proverbs say,
But what if, trying to obey,
You find your hope
A slippery slope
That lets potential slip away.

Some days are high, while others die
In grief no matter how you try.
Your only hope
Those days, to cope,
Is that the next may dry your eye.

(If you don’t like this woeful rhyme,
You’ll find this film a waste of time.)
________________

MPAA Rating: Unrated (should be PG-13)

I’d almost forgotten about my Bottom-Dwellers, six films I personally loathe and wouldn’t mind forgetting entirely. Though I still have two left to excoriate eventually, it took the arrival of a seventh to get me to return to a truly negative review. This latest Bottom-Dweller worth despising is 1986’s Seize the Day, an early dramatic turn for Robin Williams before he made that line famous in Dead Poets Society. It was the presence of Williams that got me curious to see it, but even if he does well with the material, said material is not nearly worth his talent.

On the DVD case, Seize the Day is hailed as the only adaptation of respected author Saul Bellow’s works, and it doesn’t induce me to seek out the novel at all. Williams plays Tommy Wilhelm, a struggling salesman whose years of hard work for the same company resulted in his bitter unemployment. Having left his wife, he must pay alimony, even though she refuses to grant him a divorce, for which his girlfriend (Glenne Headly) is growing impatient. Tommy travels to the city, only to find a dearth of well-paying jobs, a reminder of how disdainful and unloving his father is (Joseph Wiseman), and a slight chance at pay dirt with the stock market advice of a poker buddy called Dr. Tamkin (Jerry Stiller). Things start out bad and then get worse and worse and worse, and then it ends.

I’m not necessarily opposed to depressing movies, but there’s usually some redeeming factor. Grave of the Fireflies makes me cry every time, but there are moments of light and sweetness sprinkled throughout. The Italian classic Bicycle Thieves is another example of a “worse and worse and then it ends” kind of movie, but at least there’s a potent social commentary at its heart. Seize the Day has nothing to recommend it, except Williams’ fine acting that makes you genuinely pity this poor man as his life is stamped into the dust of an uncaring world.

I suppose you could read a warning into it, like “Never fall for a con artist who eats like a pig,” but any lesson to be had pales next to just how pathetic Tommy becomes. Perhaps the point was for him to face up to his mistakes in life (not taking his father’s career advice, leaving his vindictive wife), but so much cold callousness piles on him that all he and the audience want is a tiny bit of relief that never comes. The author described Seize the Day almost as a dark comedy, but certainly nothing seems funny at the time. The closest thing to gallows humor is the final scene (which I’ll spoil since no one should waste their time on this movie), in which Tommy finds a funeral and uses the opportune setting to break down sobbing at his shattered hopes. And then it ends. Bad days happen; I had one just yesterday (which might explain why I’m going all medieval on this movie), but there are few things less appealing than watching someone else’s day and/or life ruined.

I’ve never read Saul Bellow’s novels, but if Seize the Day is any indication, it’s no wonder why others haven’t been adapted to film. As an old HBO movie, the quality of the filmmaking is also shabby, with choppy editing and uninspired direction. But beyond such practical complaints, Seize the Day is an oppressively bleak and dismal contrast to the American dream, a story whose only goal seems to be driving its main character to suicide, and considering what became of its star, this film’s purpose of hopelessness is in retroactive bad taste. Williams’ first scene in the film is of him giving another driver the finger, a sentiment also deserved by the film itself.

Best line: (a man in an elevator) “The truth is one parent can support ten children, but ten children can’t support one parent.”

 

Rank: Bottom-Dweller

 

© 2016 S. G. Liput
399 Followers and Counting

 

Paper Towns (2015)

21 Thursday Jul 2016

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A paper town stands as a dot on a map,
The mapmaker’s special distinguishing mark
To make it his own and to fool any sap
Who happens to visit the place on a lark.

You may well have hopes for that fake little dot,
Which only arrival can fully repeal.
When maps are affirmed by a town that is not,
The rest of the dots become all the more real.
_____________________

MPAA rating: PG-13

After John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars was translated into such a successful young-adult film in 2014, the same studio heads apparently hoped that lightning could strike again with a second Green adaptation, this time Paper Towns. Since Paper Towns was written in 2008 without all the hype of Fault in Our Stars, the film version was an understandably lesser release, and mixed reviews didn’t help. And yet…I enjoyed it a lot, perhaps not more than Fault but on something of a more personal level.

After playing Gus’s friend going blind in Fault, Nat Wolff steps up to lead character status as Quentin Jacobsen, or Q, one of those awkward, easily relatable high-schoolers that tend to be YA protagonists. As a kid, he befriended his adventurous neighbor Margo Roth Spiegelman (Cara Delevingne), but as the years passed, he settled into mundane normalcy while she became an ever more reckless local legend. His crush on Margo doesn’t diminish with their lack of contact, though, and when she unexpectedly asks for his assistance on a daring night of revenge, he tags along with sheepish compliance and has one of the best nights of his life. And then she vanishes, apparently to satisfy her wanderlust, but Q finds clues to her whereabouts and feels compelled to follow her.

Paper Towns has identifiable ingredients from other recent YA films, from The Fault in Our Stars (Green’s subtly profound dialogue, an urging to live life to the fullest) to Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (the sex-obsessed friend, the quirky family details). Whereas both of those dealt with the serious issue of cancer, Paper Towns keeps itself lighter, transitioning from enigmatic mystery to memory-making road trip, peppered with endearing character interactions. It was these small moments between the characters that left me with a smile more often than not. Q’s pals Radar and Ben are archetypal buddies, the former a slight nerd with girlfriend anxiety and the latter a swaggering goofball, but their conversations felt realistic and fun, like when they all segue into a Sean Connery accent. I do that myself sometimes! Probably my favorite moment came when a suggestion to sing leads the three to start in on the Pokémon theme song with growing exuberance. I know not everyone is into Pokémon (and I couldn’t care less about the recent Pokémon Go fad), but that original theme song is an ever appealing source of nostalgia for my generation. After all, how many people still remember the words to some show’s opening that they grew up watching? For me anyway, it was a terrific scene.

Despite the enjoyable moments, including a great little cameo, the end of the film’s journey is almost sure to disappoint the audience as much as it does the characters. It’s meant to be disappointing, and yet it still finds an uplifting message through it all. Q’s course seems analogous to that of Tom in (500) Days of Summer, keeping romantic hope alive until reality makes him recognize his target girl is someone not meant to be followed. It’s rather jarring, but the breaking of Q’s obsession helps him to see what he’s been missing and, as cliché as it may seem, to value the journey over the destination.

Paper Towns is by no means perfect or free of annoyances. I was frustrated, for instance, with how not one, but two characters bemoan how others see them when they themselves promote that very image. While the performances in Paper Towns are worthy all around, The Fault in Our Stars is probably the better film, if only for its more sober subject matter. Yet, as I said, I found myself enjoying Paper Towns more than its film predecessor, and since they’re both John Green adaptations, I don’t mind putting them on the same level in my esteem.

Best line: (Q) “What a treacherous thing to believe that a person is more than a person.”

 

Rank: List-Worthy (tied with The Fault in Our Stars)

 

© 2016 S. G. Liput
399 Followers and Counting

 

The Outsiders (1983)

15 Friday Jul 2016

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Youth are fools in their prime,
Adept at wasting time.
‘Tis not till age upsets,
They find time for regrets.
If grief will have its day
With innocence’ decay,
May fools find green and gold
Before they grow too old.
_______________

MPAA rating: PG-13

Francis Ford Coppola took a break from epics like The Godfather and Apocalypse Now with his far smaller and more personal adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders. This tragic tale of rival gangs in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is a prime example of a film that I can recognize as good without actually enjoying it. Gang movies have never been my cup of tea; I can appreciate parts of them, like the music in West Side Story, but it’s the kind of youth lifestyle I just can’t relate to in the slightest.

The best thing going for The Outsiders is the cast, a veritable who’s who of ‘80s rising stars. As friends Ponyboy Curtis and Johnny Cade, C. Thomas Howell and Ralph Macchio are two likable kids, Greasers who follow Dallas (Matt Dillon) around as the older boy hits on the prettiest girl at the drive-in (Diane Lane). Patrick Swayze and Rob Lowe join in too as Ponyboy’s elder brothers, while Emilio Estevez and even a snaggletoothed Tom Cruise show up for a few scenes. Howell, Macchio, and Dillon are the only ones to stand out, but seeing all these stars-to-be together was the film’s main pleasure.

After a lethal run-in with members of the well-to-do rival gang called the Socs (pronounced “Soashes”), Ponyboy and Johnny must hide out in an old abandoned church until tensions die down. Despite the relative lack of activity, it is this waiting that forms the high point of the film. The boys bond and read Gone with the Wind, and in a scene I included in my top twelve list of poems in movies, Ponyboy recites Robert Frost’s “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” applying its meaning to his own wish for permanence as the sunset recalls similarly staged scenes in Gone with the Wind. That grand scene is sadly fleeting as the boys must soon deal with sacrifice and gang pressures.

The rivalry between the Greasers and Socs is comparable to any gang rivalry, hinging on class warfare and revenge, but it just seems so pointless. I’m an easy-going, let’s-all-get-along kind of guy who just can’t understand the cyclical vengeance of gangs. I know that most conflicts are not easily resolved, but the small-scale scuffles on display here are the product of attitude and peer pressure and “getting even.” That’s what makes Ponyboy and Johnny so sympathetic; they’re tired of all the strife too, and though some descriptions I’ve read imply the gangs themselves are “the outsiders” of society, it’s really the two friends who stand apart from the petty rivalries into which they were more or less born and aspire to something more, something selfless.

There are glimmers of hope in The Outsiders, from the poem recitation to a scene of understanding between Ponyboy and one of the Socs, but the sad gang mentality remains. While one tragedy is given the respect it’s due, another seems like a total waste that could have been better reproved. I felt for Ponyboy and Johnny, but everyone else seemed to bring friction and violence on themselves, which is hardly something I enjoy watching.

Best line: (Johnny) “Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold.”

 

Rank: Honorable Mention

 

© 2016 S. G. Liput
399 Followers and Counting

 

VC Pick: Waitress (2007)

12 Tuesday Jul 2016

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A pie on a plate is worth two in the sky,
So if your life’s sucking your happiness dry
With an unloving spouse
Or a big lonely house
Or the latest annoyance you greet with a sigh,

Don’t run off and have a clandestine affair,
Not even with someone with Mal Reynolds’ hair.
Just sit yourself down
And flip over that frown
With a big piece of pie to suspend your despair.

‘Tis the good kind of guilt when you pick from the shelf
A pie (if you want; I’m a cake man myself).
__________________

MPAA rating: PG-13

After seeing Waitress recently for the first time, my VC liked it enough that she insisted I review it as one of her picks. Directed, written, and co-starring the late Adrienne Shelly and recently adapted into a Broadway musical, Waitress might have had one main draw at first glance, my VC’s beloved Nathan Fillion, but as we watched it (two nights in a row actually), its overall appeal became more apparent. It’s an unconventional love story full of wry small-town charm and a craveable passion for pie. Seriously, there’s a lot of delicious pies on display, though they make them look far easier to prepare than in reality.

Keri Russell plays Jenna, whose waitress job at a Southern pie diner is one of the only things her cloddish husband Earl (Jeremy Sisto) will let her do. He’s so needy and controlling that Jenna feels positively smothered and eager to leave him, even dreaming up pies named in his dishonor, and thus she’s none too thrilled when she discovers she’s pregnant. On her first prenatal visit to the gynecologist, in comes Nathan Fillion as Dr. Pomatter, certainly no Mal Reynolds (his character from Firefly) but a likably nervous sort, and one can see his awkward chemistry with Jenna a mile away. In a predictable version of this story, there would probably be an affair with passionate smooching and a confrontation between the men and maybe a breakup before a final tearjerking declaration of love, but Waitress only borrows a few such aspects, clinging to cynical honesty before yielding to surprising sweetness. My VC was glad they kept the passionate smooching with Fillion, though.

Films aiming for quirk don’t always come off as realistic. I love the provincial antics in Doc Hollywood, for instance, but it’s full of movie characters rather than people I might expect to find in a real Southern town. Waitress has some of the same earnest loopiness but toned down to believable levels. (Okay, that may not apply to the ridiculously love-struck date of one of Jenna’s coworkers, but hey, it’s still a comedy.) The dialogue often reaches gentle amusement rather than big laughs, not only because of the dramatic side of Jenna’s depressing life but because real life isn’t always full of zingers. Sometimes, eloquence is found in frank simplicity, such as an unexpectedly straight answer about life from Jenna’s surly boss.

Image result for waitress 2007 film

Aside from the underplayed pro-life aspect of Jenna respecting her baby’s “right to thrive” despite not really wanting it, I admired how the characters were gradually developed. Most come off rather unlikable at first, whether it be Jenna’s demanding boss or the diner’s schadenfreude-prone owner Joe (Andy Griffith). Only over time are their more sympathetic facets revealed without undercutting their prickly exteriors. Even Earl with all of his loathsome clinginess shows a few glimpses of affection that could have once convinced Jenna to marry him. In addition, an important scene toward the end speaks to the immediacy of meeting someone face to face. Jenna sees two previously unseen characters for the first time, completely changing her opinions of them and the direction of her life. While what follows isn’t the fairy tale ending that one might hope or expect, it’s sweetly realistic and mature on Jenna’s part.

By the end of Waitress, my VC and I weren’t quite sure how to feel about it, but after thought, a rewatch, and some craving for pie, we both agreed in the simplest of terms: we liked it. (Did I mention, though, that she loved watching Nathan Fillion? Women.)

Best line: (Dawn, played by Shelly, speaking of her awkward beau) “They are poems that just occur to him on the spot. Last night, he said to me, ‘Dawn, your face is a brilliant moon in my empty room. Your love is like a beating drum. Ba bum ba bum ba bum ba bum.’”

VC’s best line: (Jenna, writing to her unborn baby) “Dear Baby, I hope someday somebody wants to hold you for twenty minutes straight, and that’s all they do. They don’t pull away. They don’t look at your face. They don’t try to kiss you. All they do is wrap you up in their arms and hold on tight, without an ounce of selfishness to it.”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2016 S. G. Liput
394 Followers and Counting

 

Zootopia (2016)

10 Sunday Jul 2016

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To stay in good graces,
Most stay in their places,
Their happy, expected, and preordained spaces
Among their preferred and familiarized faces.
It’s fine, and it’s true,
But in some special cases,

We aren’t just contented
With life as presented
But strive to be more and to live reinvented.
Such paths can be ridiculed, feared, or resented
But that’s nothing new
When you’re unprecedented.
_________________

MPAA rating: PG
Disney has certainly been on a roll lately. Rising from the lameness of Chicken Little and The Wild, it’s been delivering consistently original CGI gems, films like Tangled, Wreck-It Ralph, Big Hero 6, and now Zootopia (also called Zootropolis in Europe, supposedly to avoid confusion with an actual zoo over there). A box-office hit on par with Frozen’s success, Zootopia takes the idea of a world of anthropomorphic mammals and fills it with a winning blend of colorful characters, outstanding animation, and a universal moral message, three prime ingredients at which Disney excels.

Judy Hopps (chipper Ginnifer Goodwin) dares to be the first bunny cop, against her family’s worry and conventional wisdom, since most police officers are rhinos or elephants or something big enough to combat crime. When she actually realizes that dream and joins the force in the multi-species metropolis of Zootopia, her naïve idealism clashes with her chief (Idris Elba) and with the con artist fox Nick Wilde (smug Jason Bateman). Soon, Judy and Nick must form an uneasy alliance to solve a slew of missing mammal cases with unseen repercussions.

Right from the start, as Judy sees the city for the first time through a train’s observation deck, there’s enough visual detail and creative imagination to rival the world-building of Pixar. There are boroughs designed as habitats, from the lush rain forest to the frigid tundra, and a plethora of animalized modern conveniences: hamster-tunnel hallways, drink elevators for giraffes, sloths at the DMV (okay, that’s an inconvenience). So many scenes are full of varied pedestrians and fast-paced activity that the backgrounds alone are worth watching. Luckily, the script never lets its humorous potential go to waste, making Zootopia the funniest Disney movie in recent memory. I especially love how Alan Tudyk has become the John Ratzenberger of Disney, to the point that he’s now getting his own gags in reference to past roles (specifically, the Duke of Weselton in Frozen).

Aside from the vibrant animation and consistent jokes, there’s a layered message to Zootopia, a familiar one of tolerance and embracing differences over prejudice, in this case between prey and predator. Some may consider it preachy or heavy-handed, and I can understand why; one misunderstanding in particular seemed overly sensitive, like many perceived offenses nowadays that aren’t really that bad when you think about it. After all, unintended “insults” are often less offensive than people’s reactions to them. Despite this, Zootopia takes its lesson seriously. The finger isn’t just wagged at insensitivity; it’s also aimed at anyone stuck in complacency or those seeking to create problems where there were none. It isn’t all negative either; Judy herself is a wholly admirable female role model, not content to live under others’ expectations but rising to her dream and urging others to do the same. Now that’s a message worth lauding!

All in all, Zootopia is a fun buddy-cop mystery that plays to Disney’s non-musical strengths, even with a few weaknesses. I could have done without an awkward scene at a nudist spa, and it’s still a bit unusual to see modernized animated animals playing with cell phone apps. There are also a few unanswered questions, such as what exactly do predators eat if they’ve evolved past their carnivorous tendencies. Ice cream? I also couldn’t help wondering where all the non-mammals were, fish, birds, reptiles, and such. “Try Everything,” the catchy theme song sung by Shakira, even mentions birds but I never saw any. Have they not become sentient, or are they perhaps enslaved by their mammal overlords? My VC says I’m overthinking this, and I hope so. (She loved the movie too, as did my parents.)

Regardless, ever since John Lasseter was put in charge, Disney Animation continues to impress and entertain with a consistency only Pixar has shown thus far. Talking animals are nothing new, but Zootopia gives them a fresh spin that hits its intended message without ever forgetting to stay amusing. Like Big Hero 6, it’s also a film for which I can easily envision sequels, and based on the talent that created this original, my hopes are high.

Best line: (Judy, calculating Nick’s income to blackmail him) “Two hundred dollars a day, three hundred sixty-five days a year since you were twelve; that’s two decades, so times twenty which is… one million four hundred sixty thousand – I think, I mean I am just a dumb bunny, but we are good at multiplying.”

 

Rank: List-Worthy

 

© 2016 S. G. Liput
393 Followers and Counting

 

Version Variations: Of Mice and Men (1939, 1992)

07 Thursday Jul 2016

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A man’s secure within his plans,
Within his mind and strength of hands.
The world he’s in, though, makes demands
That cast his hopes in doubt,
That turn his rock to shifting sands,
His promised lands to drought.

A plan is never set in stone,
And though the future is unknown,
Both good and ill are all our own,
As it has always been.
When sown and grown and maybe blown,
New plans must then begin.
________________

MPAA rating of 1992 version: PG-13
MPAA rating of 1939 version: Approved (should be PG)

I’m one of the few people for whom John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men was not required reading in high school. Thus, even though I had a vague notion of the plot due to its general fame, I was able to watch Gary Sinise’s 1992 adaptation without knowing how the story would actually play out. Only after that did I also investigate the original adaptation with Burgess Meredith and Lon Chaney, Jr., one of the famous 1939 classics. In order to review both with one stone, this will be the first of a new feature called Version Variations, where I’ll be contrasting two versions of the same story. (Of course, if one happens to be animated, that will still fall under Cartoon Comparisons. Can you tell I like alliteration?)

I’ll start with the remake, the personal passion project of Gary Sinise, who directed and starred as George, the Depression-era migrant worker who travels with the large but simpleminded Lenny Small (John Malkovich). George watches out for Lenny, shielding him from trouble when possible and encouraging him with promises of a ranch of their own, complete with rabbits to pet and feed. While they both work hard and make progress toward their goals, most people probably know theirs is a tragic story; circumstances are the real enemy, and sometimes the slightest of mistakes can send things spiraling out of control.

Image result for of mice and men 1992

Sinise is just as talented a director as he is an actor, displaying a steady hand for the gut-wrenching moments and an eye for detail during the lovingly recreated harvesting scenes. As well as Sinise translates the novella to the screen, most of the credit goes to Steinbeck. As works like Lifeboat and Cannery Row illustrate, he was a master at creating distinct and sympathetic characters, like the dog-loving old man Candy (Ray Walston, aka Boothby from Star Trek: The Next Generation) and the bitter black cripple Crooks (Joe Morton). In addition to swiftly developed characters, the structure of the story is perfection, with poignant foreshadowing that only becomes clear by the end. And of course, at the heart of the film are Sinise and Malkovich, giving some of the best performances of their careers, with Malkovich in particular nailing the childlike innocence that makes Lenny all the more pitiful.

As for the 1939 adaptation, which included Steinbeck’s personal involvement and approval, it’s almost identical, testifying to the faithfulness of both versions to the book. Directed by Lewis Milestone and scored by Aaron Copland, this black-and-white version features Burgess Meredith as George and the hulking Lon Chaney, Jr., of Wolf Man fame as Lenny. One thing I liked from the outset was a clear reference to the title’s source, since “of mice and men” comes from the Robert Burns poem “To a Mouse.” Much of the characterization and dialogue are the same, with one difference being the slightly altered countenance of the only female character Mae (Betty Field in the original, Sherilyn Fenn in the remake), the bored and rebellious wife of the boss’s arrogant son Curley. The 1939 Mae is more vocal and antagonistic than the 1992 version of the character, who is known only as Curley’s wife as in the book. In addition, the 1939 film lacks the frequent profanity that Sinise included, though due to the book’s reputation for censorship I suspect Sinise was a bit more faithful in that regard.

Image result for of mice and men 1939

The quality of the performances is certainly admirable, though some of the acting feels dated and overplayed. While Chaney can’t compare with Malkovich, Meredith and Sinise are equally excellent as gruff but caring George. The one role that I found even better in the original was that of Candy (Roman Bohnen), the old farmhand urged to kill his aging dog. As good as Ray Walston is in the remake, Bohnen steals his scenes with tearjerking effect, making me wonder why he wasn’t even nominated for Best Supporting Actor.

Both versions are powerful examples of adapting a classic book. Both have their strengths, yet Sinise’s version sidesteps the original’s weaknesses and wins my preference, despite the needless profanity. Perhaps it was simply because I saw the 1992 adaptation first, but it had a much greater emotional impact for me, aided by how the eventual climax wasn’t given away as quickly as in the 1939 version. Still, the original has enough dramatic power and artistry to recommend it too, such as a scene that slowly zooms backward as George walks across the barn toward the end. Neither earned any Oscars, though the 1939 version was nominated for Best Picture, Sound Recording, Musical Scoring, and Original Score. I may or may not ever read Steinbeck’s novel, but these two adaptations do his work proud.

Best line (same in both versions): (Slim, speaking of Lenny) “A guy don’t need no sense to be a nice fella.”

 

Rank for 1992 version: List-Worthy
Rank for 1939 version: List Runner-Up

 

© 2016 S. G. Liput
393 Followers and Counting

 

The Walk (2015)

29 Wednesday Jun 2016

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Spanning the gap                                                     between each tower,
Not a trap,                                                               but source of power,
Hangs a cord                                                            you pray is taut,
In which is stored                                                     your only shot.
Your heart is racing, mind is bracing for the danger you’re embracing,
It’s, you know,                                                         a dream worth chasing.
You stand so high                                                     upon the brink,
The edge of sky,                                                       the towers’ link.
The world must fade,                                                the thought of loss
Or accolade,                                                             to walk across
The peril you                                                            yourself have set
For public view                                                         and public fret.
You must not fear;                                                    you must not stumble.
Wisdom here                                                            will keep you humble.
Take a breath                                                           and tread with care;
Think not of death                                                    when in the air.
Dreams unskilled                                                      can get you killed,
Yet all are thrilled                                                     when they’re fulfilled.
________________________

MPAA rating: PG

Except for those who remember the headlines back in 1974, most were probably first introduced to Philippe Petit’s daring tightrope walk between the Twin Towers by 2008’s Oscar-winning documentary Man on Wire. I, however, did what anyone would do who isn’t well-versed in documentaries; I waited until Hollywood made a “real” movie about it. Luckily, Robert Zemeckis took up the project and created a film that is not only entertaining as a fact-based drama but actually makes me curious to see the “real real” story in Man on Wire.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt effortlessly adopts a French accent to play Petit from the beginning of his tightrope career to his greatest achievement. In many ways, he’s the definition of a misunderstood artist, bearing the weight of a dream that most people consider foolhardy, even his own father. We watch as he “learns the ropes” from high wire master Papa Rudy (Ben Kingsley), gains a few supporters like the lovely Annie (Charlotte Le Bon from The Hundred-Foot Journey), and draws ever closer to his ultimate dream of traversing the space between the towers of the World Trade Center, which was still under construction at the time.

Since his exploit is clearly illegal, involving much trespassing and personal risk, the lighthearted dream morphs into something of a heist, as Petit scopes out his target, meets accomplices, and memorizes careful plans that could easily go wrong. The climactic walk itself is a marvel of invisible effects work (alas, no Oscar nomination), placing Gordon-Levitt in what appears to be the most dangerous place imaginable. I happened to watch The Walk with my mom and dad on either side of me, neither of whom knew how Petit’s dream would end, and I got a huge kick out of watching their reactions. I, of course, did know and was able to watch much more calmly and chuckle as they practically went into anxious convulsions with more unrelieved tension than Petit’s tightrope. Suffice to say, the protracted finale is not for anyone even mildly afraid of heights.

The Walk is a highly enjoyable biopic that lets Petit’s dream come to fruition with pleasant fluidity, making him someone worth celebrating while acknowledging his mysterious obsession with his goal. Why does he want to walk between the towers when it’s so dangerous? To prove he can? To be the first to try? Because they can’t resist? Even though this question is asked right from the start, it’s never fully explained, but I suppose the answer isn’t far from why mountaineers climb Everest. It doesn’t make sense to us mundane folk, but the thrill and the satisfaction of accomplishment are everything to them. In recreating the Twin Towers and one man’s fascination with them, The Walk also takes on a bittersweet note in the final scene. The World Trade Center towers may no longer stand, but Petit’s dream at least lets them live on in our memory as more than just the site of tragedy.

Best line: (Barry, who works in the WTC after being told of Petit’s plans) “It’s something only a twisted, antisocial, anarchistic, pissed-off malcontent would have anything to do with…. You have your inside man!”

 

Rank: List-Worthy

 

© 2016 S. G. Liput
391 Followers and Counting

 

The Luzhin Defence (2000)

26 Sunday Jun 2016

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Bishop to knight and rook to queen,
As pawns patrol the ranks and files.
Spectators gawk as masters preen
And intellects complete their trials.

Obsession is a healthy thing
While meditating o’er a board,
But once you’ve captured every king,
You’ll find the game of life ignored.
______________

MPAA rating: PG-13

There are plenty of movies about unique contests: spelling bees, dancing competitions, even ice sculpting, and in the case of The Luzhin Defense, a chess competition. Based off a book by Vladimir Nabokov, the film shows how unexpectedly intense a seemingly “boring” game like chess can be. John Turturro plays Aleksandr Luzhin, a chess prodigy with clear mental issues. He’s a strategic genius, but years of pressure to prove his brilliance have left him fragile and antisocial. At one fateful contest in Italy, Luzhin encounters his greatest fear in his manipulative former mentor (Stuart Wilson), as well as his greatest love in Natalia Katkov (Emily Watson).

Turturro is quite good as the troubled mastermind, though his personal eccentricities and obsessive tendencies make one wonder what Watson’s character sees in him. Years before her stern motherly roles in War Horse and The Book Thief, Watson manages to outshine Turturro’s attention-grabbing oddness with a performance that sells the unlikely attraction between them and makes it that much more bittersweet. While good overall, The Luzhin Defense is ultimately a less inspiring version of A Beautiful Mind, which was to follow the next year, and I’d rather see Russell Crowe’s troubled genius any day.

Best line: (Luzhin, preparing to play his rival) “As Pushkin’s doomed duelist said, ‘Let’s start if you’re willing.’”

 

Rank: Honorable Mention

 

© 2016 S. G. Liput
390 Followers and Counting