Tag Archives: Action

200th Post! The Dark Knight Trilogy

27 Sunday Jul 2014

Posted by in Movies, Poetry, Reviews, Writing

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , ,

(This one is long and detailed; major spoiler alert)
 
When Bruce Wayne was a child, he fell down a chilly well,
And bats flew all around him, sparking panic and nightmares.
His father came to rescue him, explaining why he fell,
To learn to rise again as one of Gotham’s billionaires.
 
An opera they attended scared him, prompting them outside,
Where Chill, a desperate thug, shot both his parents but was caught.
Years later, one Falcone, a crime boss whom Chill defied
Had Chill killed, beating Bruce, who wanted justice done (he thought).
 
Bruce spoke with smug Falcone, who said Wayne did not “get” crime,
So Bruce departed secretly and lived like felons do.
But now Ducard gives Bruce a better outlet for his time,
To train with Ra’s al Ghul and battle fears he must subdue.
 
Bruce conquers guilt and fear of bats thanks to Ducard’s routine,
Excelling as a ninja on the Eastern mountainside,
But when he learns this League of Shadows wishes Gotham clean,
To purify by killing, he resists his former guide.
 
He fights the master Ra’s al Ghul, who’s killed within a fire,
But Bruce saves Ducard’s life and leaves him with a man to stay.
Then Wayne returns to Gotham, for his training helped inspire
A plan to battle evil in a much less lethal way.
 
He finds beneath his parents’ mansion bat-infested caves,
Which he at once remodels as his base of operations,
And Lucius Fox provides, in case some sinner misbehaves,
A hard, protective suit, as well as more high-tech donations.
 
At last, the Batman’s ready to contend with Gotham’s scum
And captures smuggled drugs, as well as old mob boss Falcone.
But there’s one Dr. Jonathan Crane who frequently has come
To court to plead insanity for every gangster crony.
 
He does this through a gas that makes the men hallucinate
And brings to life horrific fears that turn them all insane.
When Batman gets a breath of it, it almost is too late,
But Lucius and the faithful butler Alfred rescue Wayne.
 
With Fox’s antidote, Bruce tries to figure Crane’s designs,
But his old girlfriend Rachel beats him to it, though unwise.
She sees fear poison’s being dumped in Gotham’s water lines,
And Rachel gets some gas herself and nears her own demise.
 
But Batman gets her out of there with Sergeant Gordon’s aid
And drives a bit destructively to save her life in time.
He gives her extra antidote so that more can be made,
But Alfred’s getting troubled at how Bruce is fighting crime.
 
At Bruce’s birthday party, he comes quickly face to face
With old Ducard, who wants revenge, for he is Ra’s al Ghul.
Al Ghul burns down the house and has a city to erase,
Which he intends to do with his most recent stolen tool.
 
A microwave emitter taken from Wayne Enterprises
Ra’s uses to evaporate the city’s water store,
Releasing all the gas so when the populace arises,
Their terror will destroy each other in an inner war.
 
As chaos reigns and convicts run amok out on the street,
The Batman chases Ra’s upon an elevated train.
While Gordon takes the Batmobile and blasts the train’s supports,*
Bruce battles with his mentor, whom he saved before in vain.
 
Yet Batman flies away this time and leaves al Ghul to crash,
Averting more destruction had the train continued on.
The city’s saved (to some extent), but still there’s human trash,
For many criminals, like Crane, escaped and now are gone.
 
As Bruce rebuilds his mansion, fortifying the foundation,
Where no one knows his secret, save his butler and girlfriend,
A Joker has arisen, product of an escalation
That threatens Gotham City, but the Batman will defend.
______________________
 
The Joker’s on the rampage, stealing money from the mob,
A homicidal maniac who’s letting chaos reign,
But DA Harvey Dent is Gotham’s white knight for the job.
He’s fighting crime in ways that are respected by Bruce Wayne.
 
For Batman’s done his service, but he’d rather allow Dent
To prosecute the legal way with no need for a mask.
Dent’s also drawn in Rachel, causing Bruce to still lament,
But he and Gordon let Dent join them in their secret task.
 
A Chinese businessman named Lau is working with mob bosses,
Protecting all their money by escaping to Hong Kong,
But Batman has no jurisdiction and recoups his losses
By spiriting Lau back to Gotham, where he’ll play along.
 
The mob is desperate for some help and turns then to the Joker
To rid the town of Batman lest more obstacles occur.
The Joker then fills his new role as Gotham’s power broker,
By killing both a judge and the police commissioner.
 
He tries to take out Dent as well and Rachel by extension,
But Batman saves them both but lets the Joker get away.
When Gotham’s mayor’s targeted, the center of attention,
Lieutenant Gordon saves him but is killed to Dent’s dismay.
 
The Joker says that more will die if Batman doesn’t act,
Revealing who he really is, and Bruce is tempted to,
But Dent comes out and claims that he’s the hooded man in fact
And gets himself arrested, even though it isn’t true.
 
When Dent is off to prison, Joker follows for the kill,
But Batman saves the DA (though the Batmobile is toast).
He stops the Joker cold, and Gordon comes back for a thrill
To catch the laughing nutcase as a very living ghost.
 
They’re glad that he’s in custody, but he seems self-composed.
It seems that Dent and Rachel Dawes have somehow disappeared.
The Batman pounds the Joker for their place to be disclosed,
But Joker poses him a choice, the worst that he has feared.
 
For he can rescue only one before they blow sky high
And tries to go for Rachel, but he ends up saving Dent.
Police are too late saving her, and she’s the one to die,
And half of Harvey’s face is burned, which he comes to resent.
 
The Joker also got away with Lau in his possession.
When one of Wayne’s employees claims he knows who Batman is,
The Joker threatens hospitals to stimulate aggression
And get the town to kill this man and this secret of his.
 
When Bruce and Gordon save his life, a hospital is blown,
But not before the Joker frees a crazed and vengeful Dent.
The DA targets crooked cops and gangsters to atone
And lets a coin toss choose their fates to punish and torment.
 
The Joker next takes aim at ferries and the people’s will.
With criminals on one and all civilians on the other,
He gives them each a detonator for the other’s kill
And plans to kill them both if they do not blow up their brother.
 
The Batman fights his henchmen, who are not quite what they seem,
Confronting Joker high above the scene of anxious stress.
The people on the ferry don’t give in to Joker’s scheme,
And Batman hangs him up to dry but will not kill the pest.
 
He next goes after Harvey, who has Gordon’s wife and son
And plans to take revenge on those who didn’t kill his love.
They try to reason with him, but his mind is too far gone,
And Batman tackles Two-Face, who then falls from high above.
 
With Dent, the city’s shining hope, now made a villain, dead,
The Batman says he’ll bear his crimes to let the city cope.
As Gordon praises Harvey, lying as the Batman said,
Bruce Wayne retires cape and cowl, preserving Gotham’s hope.
______________________
 
Eight years have passed since Harvey Dent met his untimely end,
And in his name, the city’s cleaned itself from filth and crime.
Yet evil still is brewing, though the city’s on the mend,
And masked guerilla Bane waits underground to bide his time.
 
The Batman’s still retired, since he took the rap for Dent,
And Bruce Wayne is less agile, not the man he was before.
He meets a fair cat burglar, robbing him at an event,
But this Selina Kyle seems to covet something more.
 
She sells Wayne’s fingerprints in hopes of getting a device
To wipe her from all databases, granting a clean slate.
The deal turns sour when the buyer will not pay her price,
And when police come, Gordon’s caught by Bane, who lies in wait.
 
Though Gordon flees and is discovered by policeman Blake,
Bane finds a note revealing Gordon’s Dent-exalting lie.
The fiend attacks the stock market to wipe out Bruce’s stake,
And Batman un-retires to arrest a lone bad guy.
 
Bruce lets Miranda Tate, a lovely woman on his board,
Take over his whole company before a rival does.
This rival’s worked with Bane, who doesn’t act nice when deplored
And plans to be more lethal than the Joker ever was.
 
Though Alfred won’t approve of Bruce’s comeback with the cape,
Wayne listens to Miss Kyle to unearth Bane and attack.
Still hoping for that clean slate, she traps him with no escape,
And Bane confronts the Batman and breaks both his will and back.
 
Bane takes him to a foreign prison, deep within a pit,
To let him watch as Gotham is destroyed (or will be soon).
Then Bane takes over Gotham with a bomb to threaten it,
Employing Batman’s weapons to enforce a foul commune.
 
He corners all policemen underground and traps them there,
While forcing quarantine of Gotham City or else BOOM.
Meanwhile, in his prison, Bruce receives some painful care
And learns that Ra’s al Ghul’s offspring escaped this pit of doom.
 
He heals and trains for several months to climb out of the jail,
And somehow gets to Gotham, where the bomb will detonate.
He teams with Blake and Gordon, who have been on that bomb’s trail,
And frees the trapped police to battle Bane, who’s captured Tate.
 
Police and convicts clash as Bruce again confronts his foe
And bests Bane and demands to know who holds the hidden trigger.
Then Tate reveals that she in fact is Talia al Ghul so
She is the mastermind who climbed out of that prison’s rigor.
 
She leaves to detonate the bomb, which Gordon barely blocked.
Selina Kyle helps Batman and brings an end to Bane.
To their dismay, the bomb’s own timer has mere minutes clocked,
And ere she passes, Talia’s sure their efforts will be vain.
 
Since Batman knows what he must do, he uses his new plane
To haul the bomb across the bay, where it explodes apart.
The city’s saved, and Gordon sees the Batman was Bruce Wayne,
Who finally is honored as a hero from the start.
 
Though Lucius Fox believed the autopilot had been broken,
He learns that Bruce had fixed it ere his solemn sacrifice.
When Alfred is abroad, he sees a wish he once had spoken,
That Bruce would be there happy (with Selina), void of vice,
And Blake (or also Robin) gains the Batcave, free of price.
_______________________
 

When Christopher Nolan began to reboot the Batman film franchise, no one knew how audacious the end result would be, a trilogy of dark, deeply layered superhero stories that transcended the camp and silliness of the original incarnations. Unlike many of the underrated films on my list, The Dark Knight trilogy had no trouble garnering effusive praise and is considered to consist of three of the best superhero films ever made. Rather than going for the humor and colorful characters (and entertainment value) of Iron Man or Spider-Man, Nolan and company created a weighty, brooding three-part storyline that takes itself wholly seriously, with the requisite glimpses of light and hope and victorious good to make it all worthwhile.

Batman Begins is quite the successful origin story, cementing all the main characters, Bruce’s reason for fighting crime, his relationship with villain Ra’s al Ghul, and the inception (insert Nolan joke) of the Batcave, Batmobile, and Bat-everything else. Unlike the obvious cramming of villains seen in Spider-Man 3, it pulls off the adroit introduction of Falcone, the Scarecrow, and Ra’s al Ghul as simply extra layers in Nolan’s trademark complex brand of filmmaking.

I can envision someone else playing Batman (I don’t know about Ben Affleck, though), but Christian Bale is the best of all of the actors so far. Gary Oldman isn’t particularly developed as Gordon other than being one of the few trustworthy cops, but he plays important roles in all three films, and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox brought some much-needed humor and scientific experience to the proceedings. Liam Neeson goes against type as the villain Ra’s al Ghul and pulls it off better than I would have expected. Katie Holmes is the least successful of the actors, but she fills the role of Rachel well enough.

After hearing about the death of Heath Ledger and the extreme evil of his character the Joker, everyone seemed to be eager to see The Dark Knight, except me. Despite the exceptional reviews, it took me awhile to finally see the film, and, to be honest, it was good but not top 10 quality, as so many have said. Heath Ledger’s Oscar-winning performance rivals the depravity of Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs, but I’m not in the habit of watching such evil for fun. I found the moral dilemmas he poses to the people of Gotham to be thought-provoking, as were the ethical ramifications of Bruce’s utilization of NSA-style spy equipment to protect the city. While Ledger made the role his own, just as Jack Nicholson did in the original 1989 Batman, I’ll always consider the best Joker to be Mark Hamill in Batman: The Animated Series, whose voice had the right balance of humor and villainous insanity. Aaron Eckhart was a much better Two-Face, though, than Tommy Lee Jones, and while his death was a tad anti-climactic, the statement about heroes living long enough to become villains was thoughtfully played out in his character. While it has its good points, The Dark Knight is the least emotionally involving (despite Rachel’s death) and my least favorite of the three films, due to its oppressively dark tone and the head-scratching ending, with Batman’s acceptance of Dent’s crimes for the sake of “hope” making little sense to me. (I will expound on that in a later post.)

Strangely, unlike the critical majority, The Dark Knight Rises is my favorite. Rather than the chaos of the Joker’s anarchic “plot,” we’re back to Batman preventing the more straightforward destruction of Gotham City, while retaining the intricacy and twists and turns of Nolan’s past films. Tom Hardy is chillingly menacing in a very different way than the Joker, again creating a much better version of the character Bane than the one in Batman and Robin. Unlike the constant shadowy cityscapes of The Dark Knight, this one also has a better balance of environments, including a daytime football stadium and a foreign prison (The Dark Knight never even visited the Batcave). Anne Hathaway is an outstanding Catwoman, and her moral ambiguity is better handled than similarly conflicted characters.

Though I’ve failed to mention him thus far, the best actor of the whole cast is Nolan favorite Michael Caine as butler Alfred Pennyworth, whose scenes hold more emotional weight than everyone else’s put together. His few scenes in The Dark Knight Rises are testaments to that. Also, (Lost alert) Nestor Carbonell, who played Richard Alpert on my favorite show, plays Gotham’s mayor, and Brett Cullen (Lost’s Goodwin) has a bit role in the third film as a kidnapped congressman.

Ignoring the dark tone of the films, the visual effects are truly impressive. From the train finale in Batman Begins to the overturned truck scene in The Dark Knight, the filmmakers created some great action sequences and explosions, while mostly avoiding the bombast of the Marvel films.

My VC had set ideas about what to expect from a Batman movie and did not care for Bruce’s aimless wandering and his ninja training that took up the beginning of Batman Begins. The first two films weren’t her cup of tea, but she at least liked the third film as well. Though she couldn’t get into Nolan’s impressive work, I admire many of his artistic touches as well, such as the pit-like prison in the third film being analogous to the well Bruce fell into as a child. Overall, The Dark Knight trilogy does not include my favorite superhero films, just as Batman isn’t my favorite superhero, but it’s a praiseworthy achievement that will be hard to top, even if further Batman films arise.

Best line: (Alfred, after young Bruce falls in the well) “Took quite a fall, didn’t we, Master Bruce?”  (Thomas Wayne) “And why do we fall, Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.”

 
Artistry: 10
Characters/Actors: 9
Entertainment: 8
Visual Effects: 10
Originality: 8
Watchability: 6
Other (dark tone, violence, language): -5
 
TOTAL: 46 out of 60
 

Next: #165 – What’s Up, Doc?

© 2014 S. G. Liput

165 Followers and Counting

 

Wreck-It Ralph (2012)

24 Thursday Jul 2014

Posted by in Movies, Poetry, Reviews, Writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

In Litwak’s Arcade, the games delight,
A quarter for a race or fight,
But kids and Litwak do not know
Where all game characters then go
When everyone is gone at night.
 
The characters treat every game
As just a job that earns them fame,
But Wreck-It Ralph wants to defy
His role as damaging bad guy
And thirty years of mud and shame.
 
Good guys, like Fix-It Felix, seem
To boast the highest self-esteem.
Ralph needs a hero’s medal now
To win some happiness somehow,
Despite how others scorn his dream.
 
He leaves his game to earn respect;
When gamers come, there’s nothing wrecked.
Their jobs and home are now in danger,
But Ralph’s off to someplace stranger,
Bent on medals to collect.
 
In Hero’s Duty, thus Ralph tries
To stay alive and win his prize,
But killer Cy-Bugs plague his route,
And one of them, alas, gets out.
It sneaks away and grows in size.
 
Their crash site is in Sugar Rush,
A racing game that’s sweet and plush.
Ralph’s medal’s taken when he meets
The brat Vanellope von Schweetz,
A hated glitch who’s kept hush-hush.
 
She purchases her right to race,
But Ralph arrives to trash the place.
When he sees how she’s shunned apart,
He helps her build her own go-cart,
But King Kandy stays on her case.
 
King Kandy sows doubt in Ralph’s mind
On whether he should be inclined
To help her win or if he should
Prevent the girl for her own good.
He breaks her heart by being kind.
 
Ralph goes back home, unsatisfied,
But learns the sneaky King had lied.
Ralph helps Vanellope come back
And race at last, but bugs attack!
King Kandy shows his evil side.
 
Vanellope can’t leave the game
Since she’s a glitch; the King’s to blame.
So Ralph attempts a sacrifice
To save the insects at a price
And wipes them out with cola flame.
 
He’s saved and is content to see
Success come to Vanellope.
Embracing duties he once hated,
Ralph’s at last appreciated,
The good “bad guy” he’s meant to be.
___________________
 

Wreck-It Ralph is an oddity among Disney movies, not a fairy tale or a traditional love story, but rather an original hero quest that creates an astonishingly detailed environment to rival the world-building prowess of Pixar. My VC considers it fluff, and at first glance a film about video game characters may seem to be just that, but Wreck-It Ralph greatly exceeded my expectations with its imaginative plot and abundant eye candy (pun intended).

In many ways, Wreck-It Ralph is an example of potential pitfalls done right. It brilliantly combines real video game characters from Pac-Man, Q*Bert, Street Fighter, Sonic the Hedgehog, Tapper, Altered Beast, and many more, similar to how Who Framed Roger Rabbit? mingled classic cartoon characters from various studios into something totally unique. Unlike the more adult-leaning Roger Rabbit, which I appreciate more than I like, Wreck-It Ralph allows these characters their cameos for the hard-core gamers to scrutinize, while making them mere accessories to the main plot of original characters, all while maintaining a (mostly) family-friendly tone.

In addition, the unsatisfying, out-of-nowhere reveal of Prince Hans in Frozen was handled so much better in this earlier film. King Kandy is already treacherous from the start; we just don’t know the extent of his villainy. The big reveal was clearly set up but still came as a surprise to me because the filmmakers deftly toyed with the possibility that the King, rather than Vanellope, was just misunderstood. The writers knew what they were doing. There are even some insightful remarks, such as Vanellope’s despised glitch being analogous to a birth defect and Ralph questioning why video games have become so violent of late.

All this doesn’t even mention the stunning animation, the astounding amount of world-building, and how the filmmakers utilized their own rules to ingenious effect. From the limitations and advantages of glitches to the behaviors of the Cy-Bugs, the imagination just keeps flowing. There’s also a plethora of sweet-themed puns in the world of Sugar Rush, a candy kingdom reminiscent of that in Adventure Time.

Plus, there’s some excellent voice work from John C. Reilly as the conflicted Ralph, Sarah Silverman as the bratty but lovable Vanellope, Jack McBrayer as the goody two-shoes Fix-It Felix, Jane Lynch as the intense Sgt. Calhoun of Hero’s Duty, and Alan Tudyk as the duplicitous King Kandy. Again, my VC doesn’t like how Ralph’s “villainy” is seen as good, but his villainhood is depicted as just a job and clearly not true evil. Thus, his position as both protagonist and “bad guy” is must less subversive than, say, The Nightmare before Christmas or Wicked. If anything, his realization that filling his necessary role is better than selfishly seeking his own glory makes the film even more unique.

Wreck-It Ralph may not have quite the same character development as other Disney films, but it’s an inventive thrill ride with a jam-packed plot that begs for repeated viewing. It also boasts not one, not two, but three songs worthy of my End Credits Song Hall of Fame, the “Sugar Rush” and “Wreck-It, Wreck-It Ralph” theme songs and Owl City’s utterly catchy “When Can I See You Again?” Many of the video game references probably flew over my head, but whether you’re a gaming fan or not, this film is just plain fun.

Best line: (Sgt. Calhoun, after seeing Felix’s fixing hammer at work) “Your face is still red; you might want to hit it with your hammer again.”

 
Artistry: 6
Characters/Actors: 7
Entertainment: 9
Visual Effects: 9
Originality: 9
Watchability: 9
Other (I like other films better): -3
 
TOTAL: 46 out of 60
 

Next: #168 – Cars

© 2014 S. G. Liput

160 Followers and Counting

 

#170 – Foul Play (1978)

23 Wednesday Jul 2014

Posted by in Movies, Poetry, Reviews, Writing

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, ,

Since Gloria Mundy, a fair divorcée
And mousy librarian, won’t often stray
And take any risks, all her friends feel it’s known
She’ll not embrace chances but end up alone.
 
While driving one day, she picks up a hitchhiker
In need of a ride, and this Scott seems to like her.
He gives her his smokes (plus a film classified)
And says he will date her that night for the ride.
 
That night at the theater where they would meet,
He warns of a dwarf and then dies in his seat,
But Gloria’s shocked when he just disappears
And tells landlord Hennessy of all her fears.
 
One night at her workplace, an albino fella
Attacks her but gets a taste of her umbrella.
With help from a pervert with love on the brain,
She gets away, wondering if she’s insane.
 
A man with a scar then attacks and upsets,
Demanding the package of Scott’s cigarettes.
The albino kills him; when cops have arrived,
The scene is all clean, and her tale seems contrived.
 
Though cop Tony Carlson likes the fruitcake,
They leave, and she’s caught. When again she’s awake,
She flees from her captors, and, jumpy as heck,
Proves to a dwarf she’s a pain in the neck.
 
At last, Tony finds evidence of her tale
And acts as her guard, and their romance sets sail.
When Gloria goes out, again she is caught,
And Tony uncovers a sinister plot.
 
The villains involved have a blackhearted hope:
They’re planning to murder the visiting Pope.
Both Tony and Hennessy rescue the lass,
But this evil purpose may still come to pass.
 
Both Tony and Gloria race across town
To reach the opera ere the curtain comes down.
Despite challenges, they arrive just in time
To stop the albino, preventing the crime.
Then up on the stage, with the pontiff safe now,
The lovers embrace, and they all take a bow.
_______________________
 

Inspired by Alfred Hitchcock thrillers, Foul Play is a near-perfect blend of action, suspense, and comedy. There’s a wine cellar scene (Notorious), a shower curtain scene (Psycho), and an abortive strangulation scene (Dial M for Murder), plus other familiar tropes, like an unsuspecting bystander drawn into a murderous conspiracy (take your pick). Most of the film actually works as a straight-faced mystery, but much humor is derived from two-sided conversations in which both people have an entirely different understanding of what’s going on. The clever script also tows the line between serious dialogue and funny one-liners.

Goldie Hawn as Gloria is hilariously scattered in her confusion of how she ended up in this mess, and Chevy Chase as Tony actually proves he had potential as a romantic lead back in the day. Burgess Meredith gets more physical than most of his other roles as a former anthropologist/black belt/ landlord. But the funniest role goes to Dudley Moore as nervous weirdo Stanley Tibbets, whose extended cameo often steals the show. This was his first introduction to American audiences and gained him the popularity that led to 10 and Arthur.

There are several memorable encounters, such as the albino’s library ambush and the cruel yet humorous dwarf attack. By the end, the comedy ratchets up to some long, over-the-top sequences, like an elderly martial arts match and a thrilling, opera-laced race through the streets of LA (it’s technically not a car chase). The part with the Japanese couple in the back seat of the taxi ranks among the best comedic scenes ever.

It’s not quite perfect. The score is sometimes overly dramatic, probably to imitate a Hitchcock film, and the seemingly important film coveted by the bad guys is just ignored by the end, again most likely an intentional irony. Some unnecessary scenes could also have been cut, such as a totally pointless Scrabble game using obscenities. The labyrinthine plot contains a hole or two as well, such as why the albino didn’t kill Gloria when he repeatedly had the chance; plus, the final showdown with the albino is a tad underwhelming.

Nevertheless, Foul Play is a good film with splashes of greatness along the way. I love genre mashes as long as they’re not overly obscene, and Foul Play succeeds as both an homage and a great mystery in its own right.

Best line: (Japanese couple, near the end) “Kojak, bang, bang!” (you just have to see it)

 
Artistry: 6
Characters/Actors: 8
Entertainment: 9
Visual Effects: 7
Originality: 7
Watchability: 9
Other (language): -1
 
TOTAL: 45 out of 60
 

Next: #169 – Wreck-It Ralph

© 2014 S. G. Liput

160 Followers and Counting

 

Mulan (1998)

19 Saturday Jul 2014

Posted by in Movies, Poetry, Reviews, Writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

(Best sung to the tune of “A Girl Worth Fighting For”)
 
When the Huns invade and China is in peril
From the dark Shan-Yu who’s merciless and feral,
The threat’s appraised; an army’s raised
And every man must serve,
But a lone girl reports and proves her nerve.
 
Though Fa Mulan is quite the awkward beauty,
She won’t let her father lose his life for duty.
She impersonates the manly traits
And gallops off to war,
Hoping to save the man she’s fighting for.
 
Her ancestors send out a guarding spirit,
But who she gets is frankly nowhere near it:
The small Mushu, a dragon who
Just wants his honored shelf
And has arrived to help her prove herself.
 
The Captain Shang is tough on all the rookies
And teaches things unknown in fortune cookies.
He trains them hard as China’s guard,
And when he’s satisfied,
Mushu ensures they’ll fight to turn the tide.
 
While marching through a mountain pass while singing,
The army sees the death the Huns are bringing.
They are ambushed and nearly pushed
Right off the mountainside,
But by Mulan the victory’s supplied.
 
An avalanche destroys the Huns while riding,
But Shang soon learns the truth that Mulan’s hiding.
The laws apply, and she must die,
But Shang won’t kill Mulan.
They leave her there, her family honor gone.
 
She sees Shan-Yu and others are still living
And warns her friends, but Shang is not forgiving.
The Huns attack and plan payback
Upon the Emperor.
When Mulan calls him, Shang then follows her.
 
With female charm, they fight into the palace
And save the Emperor from Shan-Yu’s malice.
Up on the roof, the fiend goes POOF
When Mushu’s rockets shoot,
And fireworks eliminate the brute.
 
With China saved and Shan-Yu now a goner,
The Emperor grants Fa Mulan much honor.
Back home they ride with newfound pride,
And Dad and Shang agree
This lovely girl is just as she should be.
______________________
 

Ignoring the earlier-reviewed Hercules, here begins the Disney Renaissance on my list in earnest. Mulan was yet another feather in the cap of Disney’s animation department, with memorable characters, enjoyable music, and impressive animation. Inspired by the ancient Chinese poem Hua Mulan, who fought in the army in her father’s stead, the animation style emulates aspects of Chinese art, much like Hercules reflected Greek art. The filmmakers also pioneered some CGI elements to produce huge crowd scenes, such as the amazing mountain charge of the Huns.

Of the voice cast, Ming Na Wen as Mulan and Eddie Murphy as Mushu are the standouts, and James Hong and Harvey Fierstein also lend their distinctive voices to the film. (I still think of Donkey from Shrek when I hear Murphy’s voice, even though Mulan came first.) The songs are not as plentiful as in other Disney films, but they’re still outstanding. “Reflection” is beautiful (and helped start Christina Aguilera’s career), and “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” is just perfect, ranking among the best of Disney’s musical numbers.

Though the film wasn’t as successful in China, Mulan is a marvelous Disney classic that exceeds the silliness of Kung Fu Panda. With a strong female role model and humor and fun to spare, Mulan may not be my favorite of the Disney Renaissance, but it easily surpasses most of today’s animated films.

Best line: (Mushu, after roasting the Huns’ falcon) “Now, that’s what I call Mongolian barbeque.”

 
Artistry: 6
Characters/Actors: 7
Entertainment: 8
Visual Effects: 9
Originality: 7
Watchability: 8
 
TOTAL: 45 out of 60
 

Next: #173 – Rudy

© 2014 S. G. Liput

158 Followers and Counting

 

How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

18 Friday Jul 2014

Posted by in Movies, Poetry, Reviews, Writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

Hiccup is a Viking lad
Upon the isle of Berk.
He cannot seem to please his dad
With his inventive work.
 
His father Stoick only cares
For hunting dragon pests,
But Hiccup is the worst of heirs,
As everyone attests.
 
He shoots a dragon from the sky,
A Night Fury, the worst,
But when he tries to watch it die,
His feelings are reversed.
 
He lets it live; it follows suit,
And cautious friendship grows.
He names the beast Toothless to boot,
And learns what no one knows.
 
Since half the dragon’s tail was torn,
It cannot fly away,
But Hiccup crafts prosthetics worn
Around its tail each day.
 
As he is trained with fellow teens
To fight each flying creature,
Astride his pet Hiccup careens,
With practice as his teacher.
 
With inside knowledge of the brutes,
He handles them with skill
And wows his dad and the recruits
And earns the right to kill.
 
A girl named Astrid follows him
And threatens to reveal,
But Toothless scares her on a whim
Yet proves he has appeal.
 
They find the hidden dragon nest,
Ruled by a giant beast,
And Hiccup sees they act the pest
Or else become its feast.
 
So Hiccup tries to prove his point
In front of his whole town,
But Hiccup’s efforts disappoint,
And Toothless is brought down.
 
His father stubbornly insists
To find the dragon nest,
And Toothless grudgingly assists
With Stoick’s killing quest.
 
Since Hiccup knows they cannot fight
That dragon monster thing,
He and his Viking friends take flight
On dragons they’re keeping.
 
The monstrous dragon is released,
And Stoick saves Toothless.
They all engage the mammoth beast,
And Hiccup’s acts impress.
 
He taunts the beast, astride his friend,
And brings it down with flair,
But very nearly meets his end
If not for Toothless there.
 
Though injured, Hiccup quickly mends,
And witnesses with glee
Dragons and Vikings can be friends
And live in harmony.
__________________
 

After the Madagascar movies, I began to not expect much from DreamWorks. Their focus on parody made them pale in comparison to the originality of Pixar, but How to Train Your Dragon was a welcome surprise. Boasting a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s awesome in both concept and execution. Based off of Cressida Cowell’s book series, the film combines rowdy Scottish-accented Vikings with various species of the legendary flying reptiles to create something exciting, touching, and just plain cool.

Jay Baruchel brings a geeky likability to Hiccup, and Gerard Butler deepens his voice and accent to give heft to Stoick the Vast. Other roles are filled decently by America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Craig Ferguson, etc. The character I especially admire is Toothless, the Night Fury. I love how his behavior is often cat-like, and his scenes of flight are so exhilarating and beautiful that I wish I had one of my own.

As far as the story, there are some clichés, such as the overbearing, disappointed parent who doesn’t understand the more open-minded child (sounds like The Little Mermaid). The various teen stereotypes aren’t all that memorable, but their interactions in the entertaining training scenes are. There’s even the familiar he’s-dead-no-wait-never-mind cliché, though unlike other movies, Hiccup doesn’t escape completely unscathed, giving the loss more weight. Even with its action-oriented story, the film also extols inventiveness and the value of reading and, yes, open-mindedness.

John Powell’s fantastic Celtic-influenced score heightens the excitement and the fun; it’s probably my favorite score of all of DreamWorks’ animated films. My VC doesn’t much care for the film, considering the dragons to appear too cartoonish, but I think How to Train Your Dragon is DreamWorks Animation’s best film in years. I hope to see the sequel soon.

Best line: (Gobber, to Hiccup about his father) “Now, you’re thinkin’ about this all wrong. It’s not so much what you look like, it’s what’s inside that he can’t stand.”

 
Artistry: 6
Characters/Actors: 7
Entertainment: 9
Visual Effects: 9
Originality: 6
Watchability: 8
 
TOTAL: 45 out of 60
 

Next: #174 – Mulan

© 2014 S. G. Liput

158 Followers and Counting

 

Castle in the Sky (1986)

16 Wednesday Jul 2014

Posted by in Movies, Poetry, Reviews, Writing

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

Air pirates board an airship and threaten many lives.
A girl climbs out the window and hopes that she survives.
As pirates try to grab her, she slips and falls to earth,
But she’s saved by her crystal, which has a hidden worth.
 
It floats her down to safety, where Pazu’s arms await,
An engineer’s apprentice, who wonders of her fate.
He takes her to his cottage, and when Sheeta awakes,
He tells her how she floated, the crystal as her brakes.
 
He tells her of his father, who saw a floating isle
Called Laputa, a legend he’ll find in daring style.
But Dola and her pirates arrive to claim the lass,
And they both flee as pirates continue to harass.
 
The military shows up, but Sheeta’s scared of them.
Our heroes float to safety, suspended by her gem.
Once they speak with a miner, who warns them of the same,
The girl reveals that “Laputa” is part of her full name.
 
The government abducts them, imprisoning the pair,
And Colonel Muska spells out to Sheeta why she’s there.
He shows an ancient robot, advanced technology
That Laputa holds somewhere, which she will help them free.
 
When Pazu is sent back home, he teams with Dola’s gang
To rescue Sheeta, but she is having quite a bang.
She reawakes the robot, which goes on a rampage,
And Pazu saves her just in time as giant guns engage.
 
To find the floating island, they join the pirate crew,
For Dola and her pirates are nicer than they knew.
Since Muska took her crystal, he’s on his way as well,
And both airships are threatened by storms that crash and swell.
 
Pazu and Sheeta land on a peaceful grassy plot,
Just one of many turrets that Laputa has got.
They tail a lonely robot, discovering in awe
The lofty, ancient ruins that once were Laputa.
 
But then the military arrives to plunder loot,
Though Muska’s digging deeper for things of great repute.
The agent kidnaps Sheeta, descending to the core,
And taps the castle’s power which he was looking for.
 
He names himself a royal, like Sheeta, and a king,
And massacres the army as robot hordes take wing.
As Pazu hunts for Sheeta, she with her crystal flees.
Again they find each other, but Muska’s hard to please.
 
When they are at a standoff, the kids know what to say,
A spell of great destruction, which serves to save the day.
The pirates and the children escape and reunite,
But both Pazu and Sheeta fly off within their kite.
___________________
 

When Cartoon Network decided to play several Studio Ghibli films back in 2006, I steered clear of it due to my family’s poor reaction to Spirited Away, but I recall seeing a commercial that included a scene of giant robots climbing through hallways. I had no idea from which film it was, but the scene stuck in my head. When I eventually gave anime another chance and saw Castle in the Sky, I was delighted that I not only recognized that scene but also loved the movie. Castle in the Sky is the highest movie on my list directed by famed animator Hayao Miyazaki (though not necessarily the highest Studio Ghibli film), and it is a rousing adventure that showcases Miyazaki’s brilliant imagination.

Since Studio Ghibli had not been founded by the time of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Castle in the Sky was the studio’s first official film, one that I think is much better than the more well-known Spirited Away. The hand-drawn animation is often beautiful, and certain scenes, like the impressive destruction at the end, are even spectacular. Set in a Welsh-inspired world of flying machines and steampunk inventions, the film (inspired by the floating island of Laputa in Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels) is reminiscent of an Indiana Jones story with its crystalline MacGuffin and a race between pirates and the government to find an ancient civilization of power. Though Muska is a more straightforward villain than others in his filmography, it also bears Miyazaki’s recognizable fingerprints, such as his favoring of nature over technology and his love of flight. It even includes a cameo for the squirrel-fox from Nausicaä.

In the Disney dub, James Van Der Beek and Anna Paquin are likable as Pazu and Sheeta, respectively, though Paquin’s accent fluctuates a bit. Cloris Leachman sounds like she’s having fun as the no-nonsense pirate matron Dola, and Mark Hamill lapses into his famous Joker voice as the villainous Muska. My favorite thing about the film, though, is its score. Joe Hisaishi exceeded even Nausicaä’s score with his glorious orchestral compositions. Thus, the final Japanese song “Carrying You,” which borrows the film’s best theme, is in my End Credits Song Hall of Fame. Castle in the Sky is a classic of Japanese animation that has wide appeal to Western audiences. Even my anime-despising VC had to admit that it was “pretty good.”

Best line: (Louis, a pirate) “Mom, you amaze me. How do ya know these things?”   (Dola, while eating) “Oh, well, ya can’t be a sensitive woman like me without learnin’ a few things. Sheeta and I are exactly alike: all warm and mushy and sensitive!” [burps]

 
Artistry: 7
Characters/Actors: 7
Entertainment: 9
Visual Effects: 8
Originality: 9
Watchability: 8
Other (I like other films more): -3
 
TOTAL: 45 out of 60
 

Next: #176 – Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

© 2014 S. G. Liput

157 Followers and Counting

 

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) and The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

14 Monday Jul 2014

Posted by in Movies, Poetry, Reviews, Writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

(This poem is more detailed than others; spoiler alert.)
 
Erebor was a mighty kingdom, built by dwarves with gems and gold;
Men of Dale and forest Elves bowed down before their kings of old,
But the dragon Smaug arrived to claim their treasures and their throne,
And the dwarves were scattered, dreaming of their vengeance and their home.
 
Bilbo Baggins is a Hobbit, living in his cozy hole,
Happy to avoid adventures other than a Sunday stroll.
Smoking on his doorstep one day, Bilbo has a sudden meeting
With the roaming wizard Gandalf, who discusses Bilbo’s greeting.
Bilbo soon retreats inside Bag End, not knowing what’s in store;
Soon there is a fateful knock upon the hobbit’s rounded door.
 
There upon his threshold is a large and pushy dwarf named Dwalin;
Once he shows himself inside, he’s followed by his brother Balin;
Then come Fili, brother Kili, and more dwarves, in all thirteen.
Gandalf then explains he brought them with the promise of cuisine.
Lastly, Thorin Oakenshield arrives to finalize the band;
Bilbo is displeased at this reunion, sudden and unplanned.
 
After feasting on his food, the dwarves discuss why they are there;
They plan taking back their homeland, though they’re cautioned to beware.
Gandalf promised them a burglar, and he chose Bilbo as such,
But the hobbit’s overwhelmed and not pleased with adventures much.
Bilbo claims he cannot go, so they depart to start their quest,
But he soon decides to leave and join with Thorin and the rest.
 
Not far into their adventure, they run into three large trolls
And are caught before Bilbo outsmarts their culinary goals.
Gandalf saves the company, but Radagast, a wizard brown,
Then arrives reporting there’s an evil of bygone renown.
He has been to Dol Guldur, where ancient wickedness yet grows.
Who this reborn foe could be is too disturbing to suppose.
 
Orcs attack astride their wargs, and Thorin’s band is forced to flee
To Rivendell at Gandalf’s urge, though Thorin does so grudgingly.
Lord Elrond still welcomes them and offers food to every chap
And reads the hidden moon-lit letters on a valued Dwarvish map.
This provides a deadline to attain the Lonely Mountain’s height.
Gandalf meets with fellow leaders to discuss things in the night.
 
After Thorin leaves the Elven city, lest their fortunes change,
Thirteen dwarves and one small hobbit climb the Misty Mountain range.
Thunders rumble, mountains crumble, as stone giants fight and toss,
Yet the team locates a cave without a single member’s loss.
Bilbo then is tempted to return back home, for he’s no aid,
But then goblins catch the party, threatening their escapade.
Bilbo manages to flee but falls into a cavern, where
He perceives a golden ring, as well as Gollum’s lightless lair.
With his glowing dagger, Bilbo is too deadly to be harmed;
Therefore, Gollum plays a game of riddles with the hobbit armed.
After teasers back and forth, the hobbit meets with sly success
When he gives his twisted foe a question Gollum cannot guess.
 
In the meantime, Thorin’s being taunted by the goblin king,
Who intends to seal their doom, most likely with much suffering.
Gandalf suddenly appears to free them all and find a route;
Massive combat then ensues as they all battle their way out.
Bilbo finds the ring makes him invisible, but mercy shines
When he spares poor Gollum’s life and joins the dwarves outside the mines.
 
He explains why he came back because he’ll help howe’er he can,
But then they are chased into some cliff-side trees without a plan.
Thorin’s foe, a large pale orc called Azog, wants his blood at last,
And he nearly claims his life till Bilbo saves the dwarf outcast.
Gandalf calls the eagles for a rescue in the nick of time,
Thorin thanks the hobbit for his stand against the goblin slime,
And a distant dragon waits to guard his hoarded gold sublime.
___________________________
 
Trekking through the wilderness are Thorin, Bilbo, and the rest,
Fleeing from that ugly orc, who’s proving to be quite the pest.
Gandalf leads them to a house as they are hunted by a bear,
Which protects them from the goblins after giving them a scare.
Waking up, they meet their host, who was the bear, the sequent morn
And get some wary new assistance from the skin-changer Beorn.
 
Next, it’s further on to Mirkwood, site of dark affairs of late.
Gandalf says that he must leave and bids them walk the path, not straight.
As they journey through the forest, it exerts a strange effect,
And they act as if they’re drugged and soon are lost through their neglect.
After Bilbo climbs a tree and sees the Lonely Mountain near,
Giant spiders capture them and wrap them in a web of fear.
 
Bilbo frees himself in time and saves his allies with his ring,
And his dagger proves its sharpness and is christened by him Sting.
As the spiders close around them, elves appear and slay them all,
Taking all the dwarves as prisoners back to their King Thranduil’s hall.
Legolas then cages them since Thorin does not bargain well;
Kili, though, can’t help but flirt with lovely wood-elf Tauriel.
 
Bilbo, still invisible, discovers how to get them out,
Freeing them and placing them in barrels, though they have some doubt.
Soon they’re floating down a river, but before the elves step in,
They’re attacked by hordes of orcs, led by that one with pale skin.
Legolas and Tauriel assist in slaughtering a lot
As the dwarves escape through carnage, but young Kili still is shot.
 
After landing near the lake, the group encounter bargeman Bard,
Who agrees to smuggle them to Laketown for a price that’s hard.
He is less than popular among the village government,
Who consider him a rebel, sowing protest and dissent.
Though he helps the dwarves inside, their need for weapons makes them rash,
And they raid the armory but are arrested in a flash.
 
Thorin then reveals his name and earns the village’s support;
Bard, however, fears the dragon his ancestor could not thwart.
No one listens to his doubts but revel in the king’s return,
And they see the questers off without the tiniest concern.
Bofur, Oin, and Fili stay to care for Kili’s injury
And are ambushed in Bard’s house by orcs that just won’t let them be.
 
Bilbo finds the hidden keyhole in the rocky mountainside
And must go within alone to find the jewel of Erebor’s pride:
Burglaring the Arkenstone is why they brought him on this quest,
So he wanders through the giant halls, an uninvited guest.
Smaug, the great and powerful, can smell him, even with the Ring,
And speaks to him in mocking tones to learn why he is visiting.
 
Back in Laketown, Tauriel and Legolas arrive to save
Everybody from the orcs, as well as Kili from his grave.
Gandalf, meanwhile, has been busy, looking into Dol Guldur,
Where he now suspects an evil so severe he must be sure.
He stands up to Azog’s orcs but is brought low by one dark lord:
Sauron has returned in force and with a massive goblin horde.
 
In the mountain, Smaug decides to burn the burglar, guaranteed,
And though Bilbo tries the exit, he is stopped by Thorin’s greed.
All the dwarves then scatter through the lofty vaults of their king’s house,
And the dragon chases them in one huge game of cat-and-mouse.
Thorin will not die like this and chooses to have vengeance still.
Thus the dwarves light up the forge, for they’ve a dragon yet to kill.
 
After many close escapes, they fill a giant, ancient mold,
Using Smaug’s own dragon fire to produce their molten gold.
With no time for it to set, the statue that the crafters make
Melts away to gild the dragon, all (they think) for vengeance sake.
Yet this only angers Smaug, and he flies off to show his ire.
He will take revenge on Laketown, and his visit will be dire.
Bilbo watches as the dragon plans to scorch the town with fire.
_____________________
 

The Hobbit is admittedly an overblown story, at least as told by Peter Jackson. Tolkien’s story is so much simpler than The Lord of the Rings, but Jackson ratcheted up the epicness of the classic children’s story to spread over another trilogy. This is both a benefit and a liability.

On the plus side, Martin Freeman wonderfully steps into the role of Bilbo Baggins, originally played by British thespian Ian Holm. His awkward mannerisms are perfect for the role, and his moment of mercy toward Gollum rang true, something that will end up saving the world by the time of Return of the King.He is a laudable hero to follow through the adventure. Ian McKellan reprises his lovable role as Gandalf, and it is certainly enjoyable to reunite with the lovely tranquility of Hobbiton and with characters like Elrond and Galadriel, even if some have no place in this story. The action scenes are also the highlights of the films. In the first film An Unexpected Journey, there’s the gargantuan stone giant battle, the over-the-top goblin free-for-all, and the harrowing domino-tree escape, and The Desolation of Smaug has the cringe-worthy spider scene, the amusement-ride-style barrel chase, and the slam-bang confrontation with Smaug himself. These scenes exceed those in the Lord of the Rings for bombacity but sometimes threaten to take over the films.

On the negative side are mainly the characters. When I first heard that The Hobbit would be a twosome and then a trilogy, I thought Peter Jackson would use that extra time to build on each of the dwarves, get to know them, and make the audience care for them since some don’t survive the end (I’m purposefully not reminding myself who). Yet with only one more film to go, I’d say he’s failed at that. I like the handsome Fili and Kili for their bravery and daring, kindly old Balin for his prudence and affection for Bilbo, and Bofur for his comic side and for the fact I recognize James Nesbitt. Indeed, these four get the bulk of the dialogue and screen time. The others are just along for the ride, tagging along, distinguished more by the styling of their hair and beards than anything else. Heck, Bombur hasn’t spoken once through two long movies; he’s just the fat one. Repeat viewings have allowed me to notice little details and nuances that help define each character, but those do not a personality make. Also, the fact that I know everyone survives until the last movie saps the action scenes of much of their danger. As for Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield, he fills the character with grim determination, but Thorin is too serious and ultimately greedy to be truly likable. (Nonetheless, (major Lost alert!) Evangeline Lilly seems well-suited to play the wood-elf Tauriel after playing main heroine Kate on my favorite show. The love triangle is another point that’s weak, I’m afraid.)

The film also suffers from its over-packed plot. It’s almost as if Peter Jackson forgot how to edit unnecessary scenes, for there are several. The entire Council of Rivendell slows things down too much and adds hardly anything to the plot. Other little scenes, like moments with Radagast the Brown or Legolas’s overly eager orc slaughtering, could easily have been snipped down.

Still, the visual effects are outstanding, as are the sweeping views of the New Zealand countryside. While the goblins in the first film had a strange look to them that made them more cartoonish and less real, the other creature effects are seamless, most especially Smaug, the great wyrm of the Lonely Mountain. Benedict Cumberbatch’s voice makes him so immensely menacing to match the awesome CGI, creating perhaps the best dragon on film to date. I also very much like Howard Shore’s score, and the songs from the ends of both films (Neil Finn’s “Song of the Lonely Mountain” and Ed Sheeran’s “I See Fire”) are both in my End Credits Song Hall of Fame.

The Hobbit films as a whole are a mixed bag with moments of brilliance recalling The Lord of the Rings and over-indulgent sequences of mayhem with underdeveloped dwarves. I’m glad that Jackson made The Hobbit, even if most fans of the book are not, but I do wish he had made them more streamlined and character-driven. Either way, I eagerly await The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies later this year.

Best lines: (An Unexpected Journey; Gandalf, to Galadriel) “Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I’ve found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay… small acts of kindness and love. Why Bilbo Baggins? Perhaps it is because I am afraid… and he gives me courage.”

(The Desolation of Smaug; Tauriel, to Legolas) “Are we not part of this world? Tell me, Mellon, when did we let evil become stronger than us?”

 
Artistry: 7
Characters/Actors: 7
Entertainment: 9
Visual Effects: 10
Originality: 7
Watchability: 8
Other (violence): -4
 
TOTAL: 44 out of 60
 

Next: #178 – The Terminal

© 2014 S. G. Liput

155 Followers and Counting

 

Twister (1996)

05 Saturday Jul 2014

Posted by in Movies, Poetry, Reviews, Writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

When Jo was a cute little girl,
She witnessed the wind in a whirl.
Her father was trying
To help but went flying
When deadly gusts started to swirl.
 
Grown up, she now studies the weather
Which treats a large truck like a feather.
Her split husband Bill
Used to share in her skill;
They both used to chase storms together.
 
But now he is seeking divorce,
With his new fiancée, but of course.
Melissa seems nice,
Giving carnal advice,
But Jo doesn’t rush to endorse.
 
Then Bill learns of Jo’s latest cause,
A system improving what was,
Some sensors to map
A tornado death-trap;
It’s called DOROTHY, like in Oz.
 
Bill further learns Jonas is near,
His rival who’s less than sincere.
He’s copied for free
Bill’s idea: DOROTHY.
And Bill won’t let him pioneer.
 
So while Oklahoma begins
To waken with whirligig winds,
Melissa and Bill
Tag along for a thrill
To watch as a great tempest spins.
 
The first DOROTHY has a fall,
And Bill and Jo have a close call,
But soon they’re right back
On a double storm’s track;
Melissa’s near ready to bawl.
 
The team visits Jo’s rural aunt,
Who always has dinner to grant.
While there at Aunt Meg’s,
They have great steak and eggs.
They’d all like to stay, but they can’t.
 
The next twister found jumps about,
And DOROTHY II is knocked out,
Yet Jo is obsessed
With her funnel cloud quest,
And Bill has to stop her and shout.
 
Her father’s death gave her the drive
To see twisters’ power alive.
Bill tells her somehow
They must focus on now
In order for marriage to thrive.
 
A drive-in that’s showing The Shining
Is where their team ends up reclining,
But then a storm hits
And just rips it to bits.
The whole place may need redesigning.
 
By this time, Melissa’s distraught
And leaves Bill, for things are too taut.
Bill says he’s beyond
Love for storms and his blonde,
But she clearly sees he is not.
 
When Meg’s house is hit by a twister,
They all rush right there to assist her.
Once she’s safe and sound,
Yet another comes round,
A storm with no equal or sister.
 
They modify DOROTHY’s spheres
To catch all the wind as it steers.
It fails yet again,
But they’re horrified when
Jonas dies from not heeding their fears.
 
As the mile-wide twister swirls round,
Obstructions and dangers abound.
As Bill and Jo drive,
Trying just to survive,
The right opportunity’s found.
 
They let the last DOROTHY fly,
Exulting at their latest try,
But then the cyclone
Just won’t leave them alone.
They flee to a pipe shed nearby.
 
Securing themselves tightly there,
They watch as they float in the air.
They hold as they enter
The tornado’s center,
And it dies out, leaving the pair.
Now they have much data to share.
____________________
 

Many disaster movies like The Poseidon Adventure or The Towering Inferno are blown out of proportion for the sake of the film, while others like The Impossible are more realistic but focus on catastrophes that are still rare. Tornadoes happen all the time out in the Midwest, and sometimes it takes a film like this to remind those who don’t live there of the power and devastation of these storms. That’s not to say Twister isn’t rather overblown as well, with a convenient rash of tornadoes breaking out within driving distance (which is still plausible) and tons of special effects. While it received mixed reviews overall, even critics couldn’t help but praise the effects used to bring the twisters to life and iconically fly cows across the screen (or maybe the same cow).

They may not be Oscar-worthy, but Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton pair quite well as meteorologist action heroes, and both at least seem like real people. Jami Gertz also has some memorable moments as Bill’s overwhelmed girlfriend Melissa, and Philip Seymour Hoffman and Alan Ruck are great fun as the leaders of the storm-chasing entourage. Cary Elwes skillfully drops his English accent to play Dr. Jonas Miller, preparing him for other villainous roles later on. By the way, that was Alexa Vega of Spy Kids fame playing the young Jo at the beginning. In addition (Lost alert!), there’s Jeremy Davies, who played Daniel Faraday on my favorite show. It’s a small role as one of the members of Jo’s storm team, but when I saw this film after Lost, I said “Oh, my gosh, it’s Daniel!” (He’s the one who gets up from Meg’s table to let Melissa sit down.)

The final twister is truly spectacular in its enormity, tossing around everything from houses to oil tankers, but because it’s so big and powerful, it strains credulity that no one but the bad guy got hurt. I mean seriously, with all that debris flying around, none of it hurt Bill and Jo as they were running through the heart of it? It’s one of those action movies that conveniently protects the main characters from all harm, but the scenes of destruction are believable enough to make up for that. The drive-in scene and the collapsing house scene are both edge-of-your-seat sequences so impressive that they were recreated for the theme park attraction down at Universal Studios. Twister is a whirlwind of a movie with plenty of thrills and laughs, a memorably greasy breakfast scene, and remarkable visuals that have kept me from ever wanting to move to Oklahoma. No offense.

Best line: (Melissa, on the phone during a twister) “I gotta go, Julia; we got cows!”

 
Artistry: 5
Characters/Actors: 7
Entertainment: 9
Visual Effects: 8
Originality: 7
Watchability: 10
Other (language): -3
 
TOTAL: 43 out of 60
 

Next: #187 – Frozen

© 2014 S. G. Liput

147 Followers and Counting

 

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

01 Tuesday Jul 2014

Posted by in Movies, Poetry, Reviews, Writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

Indiana Jones is back! Within a Chinese bar,
A deal involving artifacts is going well so far,
But soon he drinks a poison, and sheer chaos then ensues
As he retrieves the antidote, since he’s too good to lose.
 
By accident, he grabs a girl named Willie, who can sing,
And young Short Round drives them away, with bad guys following.
They think they’ve flown to safety, but events change in a flash
As villains parachute away and leave their plane to crash.
 
Among the Himalayas, our three heroes have one hope:
They use a blown-up raft to then toboggan down a slope.
They soon locate a village with no children and no joy,
And Indy swears to find some stones and every girl and boy.
 
Marching through the jungle, Willie constantly complains,
But something else scares off their guides till not a one remains.
They find an ancient palace of a quite young Indian prince,
And everyone seems civilized, though dinner makes them wince.
 
But when night falls, a man jumps Indiana from behind,
And they discover passageways they were not meant to find.
Once done with bugs and booby traps, they see the head adult
Perform a violent ritual to serve the Thugee cult.
 
They see the stolen sacred stones and plan to take them back,
But all of them are captured in a sudden sneak attack.
While Shorty is imprisoned with the other captured youth,
Our hero’s forced to drink some blood that makes him act uncouth.
 
He helps prepare poor Willie for the coming sacrifice,
Behaving like he is bewitched and just no longer nice,
But Shorty knocks him out of it, and Indy saves the day,
Then freeing Willie and the kids, who quickly run away.
 
The trio’s chased in mining carts as all the tunnels flood,
But Mola Ram, the evil priest, still has a taste for blood.
Emerging on a canyon wall, they cross a rope bridge, where
The three are cornered by the priest, his thugs, and evil glare.
 
When Indiana takes a risk to cut the bridge in two,
He takes out most of Mola’s minions, leaving just a few.
While climbing up the broken bridge, the priest opposes Jones,
Who feeds him to the crocodiles but keeps one of the stones.
 
The British come a little late but save them from the cult,
And long-lost kids return back home, where parents all exult.
The elders thank our hero for their stone with magic strong,
And Jones and Willie share a kiss (but it won’t last for long).
______________________
 

Here we have the second Indiana Jones, both the second one released and the second one on my list. Temple of Doom is one of those films that is a strange mix of ingenious inspiration and unfortunate creative choices. On the one hand, there are sequences of sheer brilliance, such as the opening scene with the gong, the mine cart chase, the spiked-ceiling booby trap, and the rope bridge standoff, all scenes that blow away most action movies and have been frequently imitated.

On the other hand, Lucas and Spielberg threw in many violent and annoying elements that detract from the film’s overall watchability. Did anyone want to see a guy get impaled by a flaming shish kebab or someone’s heart be ripped out? Is that inflatable raft scene really plausible? Kate Capshaw is lovely (Spielberg thought so too), but she’s helpless and irritating with all her whining and I-broke-a-nail prissiness. The bugs Willie must endure are a bit much but nothing compared with that bizarre dinner table. Chilled monkey brains, anyone?

Thus, it has much to criticize, while retaining much of the entertainment value of Raiders. Harrison Ford remains the quintessential action hero, yet he’s even turned into a villain, caging Willie and striking Short Round, although he is being mind-controlled at the time. Young Jonathan Ke Huy Quan is surprisingly likable as Short Round, much more so than other eager young sidekicks, like, ahem, Francis in Swiss Family Robinson. It makes me wonder what happened to his character since he never appears elsewhere, as well as Willie for that matter. Oh, that’s right, she married Spielberg instead.

Overall, Temple of Doom is an unnecessarily violent film (it helped establish the PG-13 rating) that is still quite worthy of the Indiana Jones name. Until Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, it was considered the worst of the Jones films, but it has enough merits to still exceed many lesser adventure movies. It may be a bit bumpy, but it’s one heck of a ride.

Best lines (during the booby trap scene): (Willie, after seeing two corpses) “There are two dead people in here!” (Indy, in the shrinking room) “There’s gonna be two dead people in here! Hurry!” (and Indy, a little later) “Willie, we are going to DIE!” (the way he says it is priceless)

 
Artistry: 5
Characters/Actors: 7
Entertainment: 9
Visual effects: 9
Originality: 8
Watchability: 8
Other (violence, language): -4
 
TOTAL: 42 out of 60
 

Next: #191 – Joyeux Noel

© 2014 S. G. Liput

146 Followers and Counting

 

Gravity (2013)

28 Saturday Jun 2014

Posted by in Movies, Poetry, Reviews, Writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

Three astronauts are conversing in space
As they work on the space telescope,
Till one gets a piece of debris through his face,
And the others are left without hope.
 
A medical engineer named Ryan Stone
Is sent whirling out in the void,
But Matthew Kowalski, with comforting tone,
Gets her to their shuttle (destroyed).
 
That onslaught of wreckage, an old satellite
That the Russians were unwise to blow,
Will orbit around and have them in its sight
In the next ninety minutes or so.
 
Matt calms her and tells her they’ll carefully soar
To the space station off in the distance.
Stone tells of her daughter, who died at just four,
And Matt tries to spur her persistence.
 
They make it, but Matt makes a bold sacrifice
And goes drifting away into space
To let Stone get aboard, though he gives her advice,
While she finds a way into the base.
 
As she floats through the halls, a fire breaks out,
And she narrowly gets to a pod,
A Soyuz spacecraft, which she’s happy about,
Till its chute won’t allow her abroad.
 
She tries to get loose but is hit by debris,
And she barely escapes that as well.
It shatters the station and sets the ship free,
But she’s out of fuel, she can tell.
 
She attempts giving up, but is spurred to survive
By Kowalski, or rather his ghost,
So she figures a way to (just barely) arrive
At a plummeting Chinese outpost.
 
She gets in the Shenzhou space capsule to land,
Determined to live or die trying,
She says that the ride down will truly be grand
And can’t avoid laughing and crying.
 
She tells Matt to visit in heaven her daughter,
And burns through the earth’s atmosphere.
She finally lands (just by chance?) in some water,
Thus ending her spaceflight career.
 
Her module and suit nearly cause her to drown,
But she swims to the pond’s muddy banks,
And, feeling Earth’s gravity weighing her down,
She walks off, relieved, giving thanks.
____________________
 

Gravity was the most eye-catching film of 2013 and with good reason. It is pure spectacle, full of long, continuous scenes designed to make the audience say, “How did they do that?” From the quietly tense devastation caused by the zooming debris to the seemingly simple weightlessness of the characters and everything else, Gravity is a wonder to behold.

At the heart of the Oscar-winning visual effects are the two leads, Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. Both are excellent, but I actually preferred Clooney’s performance. Bullock is certainly the star, but other actresses could have done just as well (Halle Berry, Cate Blanchett, or Julia Roberts, for example). Clooney’s smooth, reassuring voice gave his character much more personality, and I thought he was just as worthy of an Oscar nomination as Bullock.

Though it’s less than a year old, Gravity has already begun to earn a reputation as overrated, full of impressive special effects and little else. I agree to some extent, but it does offer more than just visuals. Ryan’s backstory is quite touching and emotional, as is her wish for someone to pray for her since she was never taught how.

In addition, films like Avatar and the Transformers movies were visual feasts for the eyes but were so long as to be overindulgent. Gravity is comparably short at just 91 minutes, and Oscar-winning director Alfonso Cuarón achieved much more artistry in that time than any of those films combined. The scene of Ryan floating as if in the womb and that of her rising from the water in the evolution-inspired finale (with a welcome “Thank you” sent heavenward) are two beautiful sequences that wouldn’t be found in other effects extravaganzas. The immersive, Oscar-winning score does much to build tension and emotion, especially paired with well-timed cuts to spatial silence.

My VC felt there was too much of Bullock just breathing hard, as well as annoying alarms going off, but I prefer these to the vast stretches of nothing in the similarly artistic but nowhere-near-as-entertaining 2001: A Space Odyssey. While there are similarities to other space disaster films like Marooned, WALL-E (hello, fire extinguisher!) and Apollo 13 (especially since Ed Harris played “Houston” here as well), Gravity is a film like no other, presenting seamless visuals sure to blow you away.

Best line: (Ryan Stone, in a massive understatement) “I hate space.”

 
Artistry: 10
Characters/Actors: 8
Entertainment: 7
Visual effects: 10
Originality: 5
Watchability: 6
Other (language and brief violence): -4
 
TOTAL: 42 out of 60
 

Next: #194 – Hoosiers

© 2014 S. G. Liput

144 Followers and Counting