Category Archives: Writing

Your Name (2016)

22 Tuesday Nov 2016

Posted by in Movies, Poetry, Reviews, Writing

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

, , , , ,

 

See the source image

If someday I should forget you
Or the moment that I met you,
I hope, easing your regret, you
Know, although you fade
In memory, your soul and mine
Are too attached to disentwine.
You are the one for whom I’ll pine
Till all the world’s unmade.
__________________

MPAA rating: Not rated yet (should be PG, maybe PG-13)

I’ve been awaiting Makoto Shinkai’s next feature film for some time now, and it seems that his latest movie has finally earned him acclaim and notice outside of anime fan circles. Kimi No Na Wa, or Your Name, is being heralded as proof of Shinkai coming into his own as “the new Hayao Miyazaki,” and this his fifth feature film has been hugely successful in Japan, where it is currently the seventh highest-grossing film ever.

Honestly, I’m just thrilled that I was able to see Your Name so soon after its release (as opposed to waiting perhaps a year for the DVD), but the fact that it is such a winner for writer/director Shinkai makes it even better. I’ve had a rocky regard for his past films, which are always visually beautiful and emotional but range from confusing (The Place Promised in Our Early Days) to depressing (5 Centimeters Per Second) to absolutely wondrous (Children Who Chase Lost Voices). I can’t say Your Name is the faultless masterpiece that many reviewers are making it out to be, but it’s an enchanting and praiseworthy fantasy drama that seems like the culmination of all that his less successful films tried to be.

Image result for kimi no na wa

On the surface, Your Name is a body-swap comedy between a city boy named Taki in Tokyo and a country girl named Mitsuha. Sick of her provincial surroundings and embarrassed by her feminine duties at her grandmother’s Shinto shrine, Mitsuha wishes she could be a handsome boy in Tokyo in her next life, a fancy that soon becomes reality. At random times, the two wake up in each other’s bodies and awkwardly try to live each other’s lives until they can get back to their own the next day. Their memories of the other-body experiences remain hazy afterward, like a dream, but the reactions of their friends and family make it clear that the switch is indeed real. Through notes, advice, and complaints left for each other, they get to know each other on a deeper level than most, while having a key element of any relationship—face-to-face contact—just out of reach.

Based on the trailers, one might think the body-swap humor was the main point of the film, but it actually makes up only the first third, with the rest of the film taking a far deeper and more meaningful course. Had the film remained like the first forty minutes, it would have been a somewhat fun and strange if unremarkable story, but as long as the tonal shift doesn’t bother viewers, it’s the final hour that explains Your Name’s popular acclaim, going off in unexpected and poignant directions. While publicity shots like the one below suggest that Taki and Mitsuha have greater contact, they’re separated by more than distance for the majority of the film. When they do have fleeting connections, it’s the stuff of cosmic, tragic romance, which brings people like me close to tears, even if I don’t quite get there.

Image result for kimi no na wa

Your Name does stumble on occasion, particularly when Shinkai indulges in repeated music video-like montages, like the one at the end of 5 Centimeters Per Second. The J-pop contributions of the band Radwimps actually complement the film well, but the montages sometimes give the film a rushed quality that could have been improved. The non-linear storyline also leaves the significance of some scenes in doubt, especially at the beginning… that is, until the importance of certain flashbacks becomes clearer. I would highly recommend seeing the film more than once, since the layers of its plot are better appreciated when viewed with the whole picture.

Other traces of Shinkai’s past work actually improve on his portfolio. Like The Place Promised in Our Early Days, there are a boy and girl’s sci-fi-ish separation and the threat of massive destruction, while the presence of a comet streaking across the sky brings to mind the space probe of 5 cm. One moment toward the end was even straight out of the unsatisfying conclusion of 5 Centimeters Per Second, prompting me to say “No, don’t you dare end it like that!” Luckily, it didn’t. I also appreciated a neat little cameo for a character from Shinkai’s previous film The Garden of Words.

Your Name is as beautifully animated a film as any I’ve seen in recent memory, with Shinkai’s usual attention to detail for light and shadow being exemplified. A sojourn to an expansive crater out in the countryside is especially memorable, with some gorgeous fall colors on display. Details abound, both in the scenery and the story, and attention is paid to fleshing out not only Taki and Mitsuha but also their friends and family members, making for a comprehensively touching film.

Image result for kimi no na wa

There’s so much to admire in Your Name, from the intricate but engaging plot to the moments of visual beauty, that few should mind its weaknesses, such as the quasi-spiritual “explanation” for the body swap itself. It has a good chance at snagging a Best Animated Feature nomination at the Oscars, which would make it the first non-Studio Ghibli anime film to do so, and even if I suspect Zootopia is the favored winner, Your Name would also be deserving. I still consider Children Who Chase Lost Voices to be Shinkai’s unsung masterpiece, but films like it and Your Name are what might make him a household name one of these days.

Best line: (Mitsuha’s grandmother, to Mitsuha/Taki) “Treasure the experience. Dreams fade away after you wake up.”

 

Rank: List-Worthy

 

© 2016 S.G. Liput
424 Followers and Counting

 

The Man Who Never Was (1956)

18 Friday Nov 2016

Posted by in Movies, Poetry, Reviews, Writing

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, ,

Image result for the man who never was

 

I dreamed a man deprived of soul
Had drifted to the shore.
He waited, though I did not know
What he was waiting for.

At last, a passerby took note,
And, soon borne by a crowd,
The body seemed within my dream
To be uniquely proud.

The passive face had made its way
From sea to land to grave,
And none could tell this empty shell
Had come more lives to save.

I wouldn’t know myself, except,
I saw his soul, which wore
A knowing glance, pleased with the chance
To be worth waiting for.
______________________

MPAA rating: G

Hollywood loves to find those fascinating true-life stories, especially if they involve war, Nazis, and spies, and The Man Who Never Was proves that was the case even back in the 1950s. Based off a novel written by Ewen Montagu, who headed the World War II operation that occurred only thirteen years before the film’s release, The Man Who Never Was details the British plan to convince the Axis Powers that the Allies would invade Greece rather than Sicily, a plan that involved an anonymous dead body and fake intelligence reports.

After a half-serious suggestion from his assistant (Robert Flemyng), Navy Lieutenant Commander Ewen Montagu (Clifton Webb) ponders how to possibly divert German forces from Sicily, where the Allies will invade within months. He decides that the enemy could be misled by a dead body found with false documents but only if the ruse is convincing enough. It seems like a straightforward plan and one that had actually been used in the past, but the film presents this Operation Mincemeat as quite a tricky challenge, as Montagu and his team ensure that every detail is thoroughly persuasive in crafting the persona of “Major William Martin.” Nothing is taken for granted, from the signatures of real generals endorsing the fake letters to the everyday contents of the man’s pockets, which must appear to reflect Martin’s habits and even his love life. And of course, there’s the sticky task of cajoling the family of the recently deceased to release his body for an unspecified undertaking for the greater good.

Image result for the man who never was 1956

In many ways, I doubt The Man Who Never Was could have been made nowadays, at least in its original form. The military strategies are never dull, but there’s no wow factor that would make this a blockbuster. It fascinates with its procedural shrewdness and attention to detail. Even when the mostly true story embellishes with a Nazi spy (Stephen Boyd, three years before playing Messala in Ben-Hur) sent to London to verify Martin’s identity, his tactics are subtle, and the climax is a rare example of the best course of action being no action at all. As Montagu says with a well-placed poem quote from Milton, “They also serve who only stand and wait.”

The only element that keeps this film from being List-Worthy in my opinion is Gloria Grahame, who plays the lover of a real soldier while doubling as William Martin’s fake fiancée. In a film where every other performance is kept earnest and believable, Grahame’s emotional histrionics feel out of place, even if they do play a role in the plot. Plus, her face seemed strangely shiny in all of her scenes, though that’s a personal quibble on my part.

As realistic spy stories go, The Man Who Never Was is an understated gem, with a well-deserved 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. While it appears several details fall short of historical accuracy, it’s a thoughtful and well-acted procedural sure to please those in search of neglected tales from World War II.

Best line: (Admiral Cross, after hearing the plan) “It’s the most outrageous, disgusting, preposterous, not to say barbaric idea I’ve ever heard, but work out full details and get back to me in the morning!”   (Montagu) “Thank you, sir!”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2016 S.G. Liput
422 Followers and Counting

 

VC Pick: Escape from New York (1981)

15 Tuesday Nov 2016

Posted by in Movies, Poetry, Reviews, Writing

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, ,

Image result for escape from new york

 

In a world
Where the prisons are cities walled in,
Realms of wrongdoing and centers of sin,
Where breakers of laws have a death wish when caught,
Thrown in with the worst of a dangerous lot…

In this world
When the President’s stranded inside,
Held captive by villains who know how to hide,
One man and his eyepatch must enter this strife
To rescue this hostage…and save his own life!
_________________

MPAA rating: R

The ‘80s was a decade full of cheesy action movies that were forgivably, entertainingly so, but there are different categories of action cheese. Take The Running Man, for instance. Its dystopian world of reality show violence run amok could have been kept on a serious level, but Arnold Schwarzenegger reveled in terrible one-liners that kept the dark plot as tongue-in-cheek as possible. John Carpenter’s Escape from New York, on the other hand, bears a different kind of shabby grit that may have preposterous elements but at least takes itself seriously.

Surely the best thing about Escape from New York is its iconic main character. Kurt Russell as the eye-patched prisoner Snake Plissken is the embodiment of the tough-guy anti-hero, a self-interested mercenary with an attitude. When he’s injected with an explosive on a timer and tasked by gruff police chief Bob Hauk (Lee Van Cleef) with rescuing the captured President (Donald Pleasence), Plissken must venture into the walled-in prison that is New York City to recover his target before time runs out. The distant dystopia of 1997 (I must have blinked and missed it) seems to include more than a little source material for The Purge series, full of shadowy alleyways and sewers full of crazies, at least as far as the film depicts, not showing anything of the world outside the lawless prison-city. It’s not all gloom, though; the film does have its own sense of humor, but it’s a bit more low-key than cheesy one-liners, like how everyone comments that they thought Snake was dead or when Snake takes shelter from roaming loonies in Chock Full O’Nuts.

Image result for escape from new york cabbie

Of course, as an action movie, the dingy urban setting is only the backdrop for Plissken’s exploits, with a car chase through enemy territory being the standout thrill. The personalities he encounters along the way may be underdeveloped, but their actors make memorable characters out of them, from Ernest Borgnine’s amicable Cabbie to Harry Dean Stanton’s calculating Brain to Isaac Hayes’s menacing Duke. The budget and limited special effects are felt in certain scenes, such as only showing the President’s plane crash through some radar animation, but the film and its hero thrive on aggressive moxie that makes the most of their resources.

A world-building action movie with more atmosphere than pyrotechnics, Escape from New York is among John Carpenter’s best cult classics. It may not be one of my favorite action movies, but I see why it’s popular with my VC and many others. While I suspect it is inevitable, something in me hopes that it never gets a remake.

Best line: (Bob Hauk, who sends Snake in) “You going to kill me, Snake?”   (Snake) “Not now, I’m too tired. [pause] Maybe later.”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2016 S.G. Liput
422 Followers and Counting

 

Suicide Squad (2016)

11 Friday Nov 2016

Posted by in Movies, Poetry, Reviews, Writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

Image result for suicide squad film

 

Evil is as evil does,
And evil doesn’t mind because
While good is following the rules,
The baddies laugh them off as fools.

To be a nut or psychopath,
You dwell in envy, greed, and wrath
And do your best to put the pest
Of conscience finally to rest.

Despite the evil laugh and smirk,
A qualm or two may be at work.
Though hearts of darkness look askance,
Perhaps the good just needs a chance.
_________________

MPAA rating: PG-13

Suicide Squad proves that an awesome trailer does not always mean an awesome movie. Like many, I was disappointed with the dreary excesses of Batman v. Superman and had real hope that Suicide Squad would be a much-needed dose of cheeky fun for the DC Extended Universe. While it could be seen that way, the packaging leaves much to be desired. Suicide Squad continues the DC trend of jamming as many plots and characters as possible into a feature-length film and never reaching the full potential of any of them. I keep coming back to what one of my coworkers said after watching it. As a DC purist, she excitedly announced, “That movie was… [I expected descriptors like “awesome,” “thrilling,” “hilarious,” but no, she said] …not bad.” Okay, I’ll give her that.

Suicide Squad is DC’s version of The Dirty Dozen. Ruthless government official Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) decides to recruit the most skilled prisoners of Belle Reve Prison as an insurance policy against rogue metahuman threats, one of which crops up from her own meddling with supernatural beings. I have to admit that it’s a talented cast they’ve assembled here. Will Smith as gunmeister Deadshot could be considered the heart of the team, with his concern for his young daughter, and Smith’s natural likability makes him the most sympathetic of the group, along with Jay Hernandez’s fire-wielding Diablo. Margot Robbie gets all of the attention as bat-crazy Joker groupie Harley Quinn, while Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Lost alert!) and Jai Courtney can’t quite represent Killer Croc and Captain Boomerang as more than one-note characters with some occasional comic relief. And that’s not even mentioning team chaperone Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), his dark-sided lover June Moone/Enchantress (Cara Delevingne), his sword-swinging bodyguard Katana (Karen Fukuhara), and one other member of the Squad who is given such little attention that he might as well have “REDSHIRT” taped to his back. Oh, and wasn’t the Joker in this too?

Image result for suicide squad film diablo

Let’s be honest: this is DC trying to do what Marvel did with Guardians of the Galaxy, teaming up purported baddies as a ragtag fighting force that falls somewhere in between the definitions of “hero” and “anti-hero.” Guardians succeeded with that middle ground, thanks to the fact that one was repentant, one was driven by grief until a moment of realization, and the other three weren’t all that bad at heart, but Suicide Squad stumbles by giving us actual villains without much in the way of reform. This commitment to anti-heroism leaves the audience grasping for someone to root for. Every time you start sympathizing with a character, you’re reminded that they’re an unrepentant psychopath or a brutal enforcer, and that’s supposedly okay? Waller herself is no better than her minions, willing to kill her subordinates without a second glance or any repercussions.

The tone and look of the film also fall short of the mark. The special effects are top-of-the-line, but the editing and visual aesthetic are frequently choppy and muddled. What was intended as gritty, fun, and irreverent turns out to be loud, garish, and confusing. Perhaps the latest version of the Joker exemplifies the film’s unsavory aspects. Jared Leto is not a bad actor, but as the Joker, he’s no Heath Ledger or Jack Nicholson. Instead of the maniacal jokester we’ve come to expect, he’s basically a gaudy gangster whose craziness fails to stand out from that of the other characters. While some have complained about his limited screen time, I didn’t mind.

Image result for suicide squad film joker

It wasn’t my intention for this to be an entirely negative review. Suicide Squad is not without its strengths; they’re just buried in the mountain of plot that the filmmakers couldn’t bear to part with. While Deadshot and Harley Quinn have received most of the acclaim, I preferred some of the less developed characters. Diablo’s remorse for his past misdeeds made him the most admirable of the group, coupled with some cool powers, and I would have liked to have seen more of Katana and her soul-capturing sword. One moment of hallucinations revealed the positive dreams that even villains have, and I wish they could have built on that source of sympathy. Flashbacks aside, the plot actually made for a decently paced action movie, even if it yielded to the familiar overblown climax toward the end. And though there was nothing laugh-out-loud, I suppose I appreciate the fact that Suicide Squad wasn’t afraid to chuckle at itself. Plus, it at least didn’t have any obviously stupid twist like Batman v. Superman.

I wanted to enjoy Suicide Squad more than I did, but while my respect for many films often increases with time and thought, this one has actually lessened in my estimation the more I think of it. It’s not terrible, just muddy and flawed. DC may still be a powerhouse moneymaker, but if they can’t churn out a better superhero movie soon, they won’t have the longevity of Marvel. Wonder Woman looks pretty darn good at this point, and I just hope that the trailer is actually a good representation next time.

Best line: (Griggs, a petty prison guard afraid of Deadshot) “Ames, If this man shoots me, I want you to kill him, and I want you to go clear my browser history.”

 

Rank: Honorable Mention (only because I’d probably see it again)

 

© 2016 S.G. Liput
421 Followers and Counting

 

Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)

09 Wednesday Nov 2016

Posted by in Movies, Poetry, Reviews, Writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

Image result for kubo and the two strings 2016

 

In ages long past, a boy dazzled his town
With music and magic and tales of renown,
With legends and stories he conjured and staged
As fierce paper battles and paper wars waged.

His paper-fold figures delighted the folk,
Who sang the boy’s praises before the spell broke,
But no one would guess that the sagas he spun
Held echoes of truth for this samurai’s son.

The rush of a rousing adventure well-told
Can wither as soon as the papers unfold,
But when real adventure emerges from lore,
The tales and their memories mean a bit more.
________________

MPAA rating: PG

I had the pleasure of seeing Kubo and the Two Strings as a sort-of double feature with Suicide Squad, and as the reviews of the latter would suggest, Kubo was easily the better film. In fact, I believe it has surpassed Chicken Run as my favorite stop-motion animated film, and mainly because it did something no other stop-motion movie has. The jerky movements or macabre aesthetic of past such films have defined the medium for years, but for the first time, Kubo made me forget I was watching stop motion. That makes it not only a visually incredible adventure with an imaginative story to boot, but a new high-point of achievement that Laika Entertainment can claim in their chosen field.

Kubo and the Two Strings is a heroic adventure influenced by ancient Japanese myth. Young Kubo (Art Parkinson) has been brought up in a seaside cave by his mother, who tells tales of how she saved him from her father, the Moon King, in an escape that cost Kubo one of his eyes and left her in a faltering mental state. Despite her warnings not to stay out after dark, one mistake leads to them being discovered by her menacing sisters (Rooney Mara), and, joined by a protective Monkey (Charlize Theron) and a dim-witted Beetle (Matthew McConaughey), Kubo is launched on a mystical quest to find his father’s lost armor, his only hope of survival.

Of course, the film’s most immediately remarkable trait is its animation. For once, Laika’s animation isn’t set on the creepy or grotesque, leaving such weirdness to only a few unnerving threats along Kubo’s journey (such as a preoccupation with eyes, also seen in Coraline). The freedom of the camera to capture all kinds of angles and both sweeping vistas and carefully crafted details sets the animation bar so high that only Laika will probably be able to outdo themselves in the future.

Image result for kubo and the two strings 2016

Despite the eerie effect that usually accompanies stop motion, Kubo and the Two Strings succeeds in balancing a variety of tones, from light and humorous during Beetle’s introduction to poignant during the mother’s backstory to absolutely wondrous when Kubo unleashes his magical shamisen (Japanese banjo) that controls origami puppets for his live performances. The plot may veer into some odd territory as it progresses, but Kubo and the Two Strings is aware of it, even encouraging viewers to hang with it in Kubo’s opening address. In doing so, the audience is taken on a dazzling ride with some darker-than-usual plot directions.

Alas, Kubo is not without some faults. Kubo admits to not being very good at ending his stories, and the filmmakers mirror that shortcoming to some extent. The final confrontation between Kubo and the Moon King is a bit randomly overblown with sentiment, and the resolution feels strange and manipulative, especially considering the importance the film places on memories. In a way, I see what the filmmakers were attempting, but they weren’t wholly successful. In addition, describing the Moon King as a celestial ruler of cold perfection might be seen as a criticism of God, but its basis in myth softens that objection, especially if compared with the cold “perfection” of other villains, like the Borg in Star Trek. Nevertheless, these complaints don’t ruin an otherwise outstanding film, and even if the ending could have been improved, I liked how the seemingly awkward title was given touching significance.

In an age of remakes and constant adaptations, Kubo stands out first and foremost as a work of pure originality. Animated films like The Secret Life of Pets are content to borrow other movies’ plot elements wholesale, but the folks at Laika have crafted something unique and presented audiences with sights they’ve never seen before. In a perfect world, that’s what a great film should do.

Best line: (Kubo, at the start of his stories) “If you must blink, do it now.”

 

Rank: List-Worthy

 

© 2016 S.G. Liput
418 Followers and Counting

 

My Top Twelve Fast-Sung Songs

06 Sunday Nov 2016

Posted by in Movies, Music, Writing

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Image result for supercalifragilisticexpialidocious mary poppins

 

Who else loves fast songs? I don’t mean fast music necessarily since there are quite a few guitar solos that are anything but slow; I’m talking about lyrics that roll off a singer’s tongue faster than the Flash after an espresso. I always marvel at the practice it must have taken to learn such lyrics by heart, and I often take it as a challenge to see how well I can memorize those musical tongue twisters.

So here are my picks for the top twelve songs sung fast, based on both the relative speed at which they exit the singer’s mouth and how well I enjoy the song. (Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” for example, may be fun to learn and one of my favorites, but it’s not really that fast. “Sam” by the Meat Puppets, on the other hand, might be the fastest song I’ve heard, but its catchiness suffers.) Let’s see how fast I can list these speed demons off.

 

  1. “Got the Time” – Joe Jackson

 

Fans may prefer the Anthrax cover version, which is even more sped up, but Joe Jackson’s original is fast enough for me.
 
 

  1. “Sold” – John Michael Montgomery

 

Drawing inspiration from the auctioneer’s chatter that goes “a mile a minute,” this country single is just pure fun to sing along to and isn’t too hard to keep up with.
 
 

  1. “I Really Don’t Hate Christmas” – Phineas and Ferb

 

Disney Channel’s Phineas and Ferb had a song in every episode, and quite a few had a breakneck pace. These were the ones I most enjoyed memorizing, like “I’m Me,” “Mom, Look,” and “The History of the Tri-State Area.” The swiftest tongue-twister, though, came from the Christmas special where the evil scientist Dr. Doofenshmirtz complains about not despising Christmas. I know this song is hard to sing, and I’m impressed the voice actor kept up even with that annoying accent.
 
 

  1. “One Week” – Barenaked Ladies

 

Any number of rap songs could be faster than the ones on my list, but as a non-rap fan, this awesome, rambling song is as close as I get, thanks to the catchy tune surrounding the verbal gymnastics. By the way, I always try to incorporate a movie tie into these lists, and “One Week” has lyrics mentioning Harrison Ford in Frantic and Kurosawa’s samurai films.
 
 

  1. “Cloudburst” – Barry Manilow’s version

 

This speedy jazz favorite was also performed by Miles Davis and the Pointer Sisters, but I prefer Barry Manilow’s version, especially for how he ends the breathless tune with “I don’t believe I really sang this song!”
 
 

  1. “Nations of the World” – Animaniacs / “The New Periodic Table Song” – AsapSCIENCE

 

Remember what I said about fast songs being almost like a dare to learn them? Well, some took that idea and wrote educational songs that were made fun for kids with their zippy lyrics and familiar tunes. Animaniacs was a favorite show of mine as a kid and helped me learn the state capitals, U.S. Presidents, and nations of the world, while AsapSCIENCE is a science-focused YouTube Channel with an especially fast-paced way to learn the Periodic Table of Elements.
 
 
 

  1. “Getting Married Today” from Company – Stephen Sondheim

 

I cannot imagine the stress on the poor actresses who have had to perform this rapid-fire song from the musical Company live on stage over and over. I’ve barely been able to learn the lyrics myself, but it’s a true challenge that’s strangely satisfying when it all blurts out correctly. Sondheim, you rascal!
 
 

  1. “Goin’ Down” – The Monkees

 

This upbeat, mumbly rocker showing off Micky Dolenz’s talented tongue is probably the hastiest single from the Monkees, a dreamboat group for my mom back in the day.
 
 

  1. “Life Is a Rock” – Reunion

 

Just as “We Didn’t Start the Fire” was like a musical overview of the ‘50s through the ‘80s, Reunion’s “Life Is a Rock” is a blistering recap of pop music history, even incorporating other famous songs like Three Dog Night’s “Celebrate” and Sly and the Family Stone’s “I Want to Take You Higher.” For the record, this is my VC’s favorite fast song.
 
 

  1. “Get Out of Denver” – Bob Seger

 

One of my favorite classic rock songs, this pell-mell earworm is among Bob Seger’s very best.
 
 

  1. “The End of the World As We Know It” – R.E.M.

 

I couldn’t possibly leave this song out. R.E.M.’s oddly feel-good anthem is a go-to soundtrack for alien invasions, Mayan apocalypses, and presidential elections.
 
 

  1. “Hardware Store” – “Weird Al” Yankovic

 

You want a fast song? Well, this is it. In addition to his hilarious parodies, “Weird Al” writes some of his own songs too, including this ridiculously fast-paced paean to the local hardware store. I’m proud to say I know it by heart, except for the absurdly long list of hardware items that seems impossible to sing in one go. Supposedly this is the only song “Weird Al” refuses to sing live, and I see why.
 
 

 

Here are some runners-up as well. What other fast songs do you like?

“Subterranean Homesick Blues” – Bob Dylan
“Johnny B. Goode” – Chuck Berry
“Johnny McEldoo” – The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem
“A Story Told” – The Count of Monte Cristo musical
“Turn to Stone” – ELO (one fast part toward the end)
“Ain’t Going Down” – Garth Brooks
“I’ve Been Everywhere” – Hank Snow
“Just Leave Everything to Me” – Hello, Dolly! (another movie reference)
“Thank God I’m a Country Boy” – John Denver
“The Auctioneer Song” – Leroy Van Dyke
“Once Was a Time I Thought” – The Mamas and the Papas
“Airegin” – Manhattan Transfer
“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” – Mary Poppins (and another)
 “Sam” – Meat Puppets
“Again” – Yui

 

Here’s a final shout-out to the original super-fast patter song from Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, the hard-to-sing “Major-General’s Song.” (It’s performed by the late, great George Rose, and yes, that’s also Kevin Kline and Linda Ronstadt in the 1983 film adaptation.)

Skyfall (2012)

04 Friday Nov 2016

Posted by in Movies, Poetry, Reviews, Writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

Image result for skyfall

 

The sins of the past are forgotten
As soon as their echoes recede.
But sins of the past
Rarely lie where they’re cast
And will often requite
What you keep out of sight.
Ever someone will keep
In mind malice to reap
To repay an unpunished misdeed.
Of that, you may be guaranteed.
_____________________

MPAA rating: PG-13

After thoroughly enjoying Daniel Craig’s first two Bond outings, I was eager to check out Skyfall, the film that so many seem to consider the best of his Bond films. Well, they’re right. In fact, despite my fondness for the campy days of Roger Moore, I think Skyfall may be the best Bond film period.

Skyfall starts out with the kind of opening at which Bond films excel, a chase, but not just a usual car chase. Between the motorcycles zooming along rooftops and a train set piece with one of Bond’s most superhero-esque moments, it’s clear that the filmmakers are going all out, especially when Bond is shown to not be untouchable after all. The adventure that follows pits Bond and M (Judi Dench) against a mysterious antagonist (cool and calculating Javier Bardem) with a special vendetta against M and incredible foresight for his vengeful plans. Also added are government man Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes) and new versions of Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) and the technology-savvy quartermaster Q (Ben Whishaw).

With an especially intelligent script and Sam Mendes taking over directing, Skyfall feels like a different animal from its predecessors. There’s a greater attention to artistry than your typical action film, elevating sequences that are already exciting to another level. One particularly superb scuffle sees Bond wrestle with a sniper in silhouette, all in one take and lit from behind by a colorful moving screen on a nearby building. My VC thought the silhouettes almost looked animated, but it was stunning and possibly my new favorite scene of any Bond film. The exotic settings and impressive action epitomize Bond’s appeal for thrill-lovers, and there’s an effort to keep things at least moderately realistic, with an amusing sideways jab at the gadget excesses of past adventures. That komodo dragon pit is straight out of Johnny Quest, though.

Image result for skyfall

The other element that sets Skyfall apart is that, after five decades and twenty-two movies, we actually get some character development for Bond himself that goes beyond grieving lost love interests or the vague hints of Casino Royale, and it even gives the title a significant part of the story as opposed to just something that sounds cool. Actually getting a glimpse of Bond’s roots makes him that much more human, which is an important factor to offset his superhuman feats and the extreme punishment he often endures. Bond’s prickly relationship with M also gets attention, questioning the hard decisions she’s made with him and past agents and adding depth to the testy but synergetic rapport they’ve established. The ending even takes a risk in incorporating a change in the status quo that had never been acknowledged in past installments of the franchise.

Skyfall may not be quite perfect, thanks to a semi-anticlimactic ending, but it’s as close as I’ve seen the franchise come, being more engaging than Casino Royale and more straightforward than Quantum of Solace. I’m still not entirely sold on Daniel Craig, but he makes the role his own here and rises to the acting challenge. Skyfall has all the ingredients one would predict in a Bond film, but it surprises by going beyond the typical suave escapades we’ve come to expect by adding vulnerability, consequences, and some profound Tennyson lines. Even if he’s not my favorite Bond, I must admit that Craig’s films are the best, with Skyfall at the head of the pack.

Best line: (Q) “Age is no guarantee of efficiency.”   (Bond) “And youth is no guarantee of innovation.”

 

Rank: List-Worthy

 

© 2016 S.G. Liput
418 Followers and Counting

 

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

31 Monday Oct 2016

Posted by in Movies, Poetry, Reviews, Writing

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

,

Image result for abbott and costello meet frankenstein

 

If Frankenstein or Dracula
Appeared and had his back to ya,
Would you be voiceless in surprise
Or too afraid to paralyze?
Perhaps you’d wake the neighborhood
With every bellow, if you could,
Or call a hotline in distress
Until they hear what you confess
And hang up on your craziness.

Perhaps you’d try to call a friend,
Who might be quick to condescend
If you appear at your wits’ end.
Perhaps you’d flee, still shivering,
But by that time your dithering
Would let the monsters notice you
And do what monsters tend to do.
Next time don’t wait to prove it’s true.
_________________

MPAA rating: PG

Okay, one more horror review for October, if this can be classified as horror. After I covered an anthology from the ‘70s, a classic from the ‘80s, and a modern cult classic, my VC thought I should review a much older and lighthearted member of the genre.

I can’t say I’m familiar with Abbott and Costello, but I enjoyed their antagonistic pairing in the spirit of Laurel and Hardy and predating Gilligan and the Skipper. In Abbott and Costello’s case, though, the thin one is gruff and bossy (Bud Abbott), while the stout one is the absentminded goofball (Lou Costello). My VC actually had the two confused until I told her who was who and rattled her perception of the universe.

The film itself is a fairly entertaining crossover, with Abbott and Costello meeting not only Frankenstein (Glenn Strange) but also Dracula (Béla Lugosi) and the Wolf Man (Lon Chaney, Jr.). Dracula plans to transplant the brain of Wilbur Grey (Costello) into the Frankenstein Monster, while the Wolf Man, Lawrence Talbot, tries to save him in between full-moon transformations. This was actually the last appearance of Chaney as the Wolf Man, and the only other time Lugosi played Dracula other than his famous 1931 film.

The presence of the monsters is really the only thing that would classify this as a horror, since the title duo ensure there are plenty of witty one-liners and slapstick. The horror-comedy combination actually reminded me a lot of Scooby-Doo, such as how Costello would scream and mutter about seeing a monster while incredulous Abbott would arrive just as the creature disappeared. I was actually surprised at how many aspects of the film seemed to have been copied by later ones, such as a hidden revolving wall anticipating the bookcase scene in Young Frankenstein. The monster-filled climax featured Dracula and the Wolf Man fighting and was like a CGI-less version of the final battle in Van Helsing. Even the very last gag was blatantly ripped off in the final scene of last year’s Goosebumps.

If Scooby-Doo is as scary as you want to get, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is a fun little caper, the last for the original three Universal monsters. The ending isn’t very decisive, but between the title pair’s friendly bickering, the spooky Gothic sets, and the presence of classic horror legends, it’s an amusing romp even decades later.

Best line: (Abbott as Chick Young) “Get up on your feet. It’s only a dummy.”   (Costello as Wilbur Grey) “Dummy nothin’. It was smart enough to scare me.”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2016 S.G. Liput
416 Followers and Counting

 

The Babadook (2014)

30 Sunday Oct 2016

Posted by in Movies, Poetry, Reviews, Writing

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

,

Image result for the babadook

 

If it’s in a film or it’s in a book,
It might be as real as the Babadook.

Believing in fairies is darling and cute;
What is the worst they can do?
Believing in him will put him in pursuit,
And now he is after you.

You may say there’s no Babadook;
Deny it all you like.
It’s just a silly made-up book,
Until you see him strike.

The thought of him will mean he’s there,
Which means he always is.
The Babadook is everywhere,
When he decides you’re his.
____________________

MPAA rating: Not Rated (might be R for intensity and brief language, but actual content is closer to PG-13)

In the proud tradition (and bad habit) I’ve adopted of watching a scary movie alone at night (also done with The Others and The Conjuring), I decided to investigate the universally lauded Australian horror The Babadook. Like the other fright fests I mentioned, I found it to be very much my kind of horror: one with more focus on atmosphere than jumps, featuring complex relationships and psychological distress, and almost devoid of blood. But dang, is it frightening! Poltergeist is a walk in the park next to this top-hatted creature feature.

The story centers on Amelia Vanek (Essie Davis), a struggling mother still deeply grieving her husband’s death and quietly resentful of her young son Samuel (Noah Wiseman), who was born the day his father died. Samuel continually causes problems at school and obsesses over monsters he imagines himself fighting with homemade weaponry. Then comes an innocent bedtime story, where a randomly chosen pop-up book takes a swift left turn; how many books from your childhood ended with “You’re going to wish that you were dead”? After that, Sam becomes convinced the Babadook from the book is real, much to Amelia’s annoyance. When she learns that her denial makes the creature stronger, though, it begins to target her, turning her exasperation with her son into madness.

For her directorial debut, writer/director Jennifer Kent did an outstanding job with developing the mood of unease to which most horror films only aspire. With inventive camera angles and muted colors, the Vanek’s home becomes a breeding ground of anxiety, and after the picture book mentioned three knocks as the creature’s call sign, I liked how there were three knocks anytime someone was at the door, instilling worry regardless of who was really there. As I’ve said before, the most effective scares are often the simplest, and The Babadook doesn’t need set pieces or creepy dolls to freak out the audience. The most intense moment stems from the knowledge of a barely glimpsed something present, against which Amelia can only cover herself with her blanket and hope she is wrong. It’s the kind of visceral tension that hits on a child-like level. The fact that we only see flashes of the Babadook’s shape and long fingers only makes him more mysterious and frightening, a newly invented boogeyman for the ages, especially when he says his own name like some diseased Pokémon.

Image result for the babadook

What makes The Babadook so intriguing is its symbolic nature. While it can be enjoyed as a familiar haunted house picture, it also puts an emphasis on the mother/son dynamic. When Amelia falls under the Babadook’s influence, she lashes out at Samuel, and we’re left uncertain how much of her rage is possession and how much is simply being released for the first time from pressure and lack of sleep. Samuel may seem like an irritating problem child at first, but his initial belief in the Babadook allows him to defend his mother, prove his love for her, and convince her to banish her oppressive grief. On a more conjectural note, the Babadook might also represent the demonic spirit behind all these news stories of murder-suicides that no one seems to comprehend, and Amelia and Samuel are just the latest to fall under its influence. Either way, the resolution is far different from the usual “evil-wins-to-scare-another-day” ending that most horrors try to spin into a sequel, and it makes clear the film’s bittersweet metaphor of grief.

As much as I admired The Babadook and acknowledge it as one of the most chilling films I’ve seen, there is one aspect that I think allows The Conjuring to edge it out in my opinion. They both depict evil being confronted by familial love, and while that’s enough for the purely secular Babadook, The Conjuring also utilizes religion in its arsenal against the malevolent spirit at work. I appreciate that the dark presence is subdued in both films, but the role of Christianity tips the scales for James Wan’s film and makes its conquering of evil more convincing in my eyes. The Babadook still has a meaningful end, though, especially when taken more allegorically than literally.

Although some of the editing is a bit choppy toward the beginning, I see why The Babadook is considered a modern classic. Because of its cult following, they’ve even distributed copies of the Babadook’s disturbing storybook; who would want one of those around the house?! With an emotional backbone, intense performances, and moments of unbearable suspense, it’s got more than the usual chills and thrills and doesn’t rely on gory effects to make an impact.

Best line: (crazed Amelia, to Samuel) “I AM YOUR MOTHER!!!”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2016 S.G. Liput
415 Followers and Counting

 

The House That Dripped Blood (1971)

26 Wednesday Oct 2016

Posted by in Movies, Poetry, Reviews, Writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Image result for the house that dripped blood 1971

 

Here is the house you’re considering renting,
A beauteous country estate.
Feel free to explore, though I mustn’t forget
Some minor concerns to relate.

I’d humbly suggest to stay out of the den;
A strangling there once occurred.
And that closet is full of the clothes of a tenant
Who vanished with nary a word.

The master bedroom is a sticking point too,
We couldn’t get all the stains out.
And stay out of the basement; not one is alive
Who’s journeyed down there with a doubt.

What’s that? Oh, you think this is not the right house.
Perhaps that decision is best.
I hate to lose tenants; I’ve told you of four,
But I won’t even mention the rest.
____________________

MPAA rating: PG

Ever since I outgrew trick-or-treating, I haven’t really celebrated Halloween much, so while other bloggers have been dedicating all of October to horror films, I tend to keep my distance. However, because ‘tis the season, I’ll be reviewing three horror films leading up to Halloween. They’re from three different eras too, the first of which being the horror anthology The House That Dripped Blood. Doesn’t that sound charming?

Now with a title like The House That Dripped Blood, you might have certain expectations for this film, but honestly this has got to be one of the most blatant examples of cinematic false advertising ever. Yes, there’s a house, but throughout the whole film, there’s not one drop of blood. Not that I’m complaining since I try to steer clear of gore in general, but didn’t the producer think people might be disappointed when he replaced director Peter Duffell’s original title Death and the Maiden with the more lurid name?

As an anthology, the film is made up of four smaller stories, all involving new tenants of a foreboding country home. One involves a horror writer (Denholm Elliott) whose character seems to jump off the page; one is about a waxworks museum that lures in two men (Peter Cushing and Joss Ackland); one features Christopher Lee as a stern father who hires a teacher to look after his potentially dangerous daughter; and the last sees a horror movie star (Jon Pertwee, the third Doctor Who) obtain a vampire’s cloak. All of the stories are relatively well-told, with the first two clearly being the best for suspense, but there’s very little that this film does that has not been done better elsewhere. I don’t watch many horror films, and I could tell that.

The biggest issue I had was the focus on the house. The film’s frame story stresses the house as a constant in each tale, but the truth is that the house never seems that involved or important. The supernatural elements that cause each story often come from outside the home, making the house’s significance feel rather shoehorned in.

The House That Dripped Blood works best as a curiosity. We get to see a host of British thespians going through the horror movie motions, but elevating the material with their mere presence. The first story also felt significant as a possible partial inspiration for Stephen King’s The Shining. While the resolution goes off in a different direction, Denholm Elliott’s writer character seems to become more unhinged by the mysterious happenings in the house, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d been typing “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”

The House That Dripped Blood is nothing overtly special, with four stories that often lapse into boredom before the “horrifying” climax, but for those who prefer horror that’s tame, mildly creepy, and very British, it’s a decent enough experience.

Best line: (Paul Henderson, the famous actor) “That’s what’s wrong with the present-day horror films. There’s no realism. Not like the old ones, the great ones. Frankenstein. Phantom of the Opera. Dracula – the one with Bela Lugosi, of course, not this new fellow.”

 

Rank: Honorable Mention

 

© 2016 S.G. Liput
414 Followers and Counting