Tag Archives: Action

Cloak and Dagger (1984)

16 Wednesday Apr 2014

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Young Davey Osborne loves computer games,
Especially the exploits of Jack Flack,
A superspy who’s known by many names.
 
While on a “secret” escapade with Jack,
His own imagined friend who looks like Dad,
The boy observes a murderous attack.
 
The cops assume that Davey might be mad;
His mother died, and games are his escape.
Not even Davey’s father trusts the lad.
 
He gives his gamer friend Morris a tape,
A Cloak and Dagger game the victim gave
Him right before he got into this scrape.
 
This game is what the secret villains crave.
They kidnap Davey’s younger playmate Kim,
And urge a trade before they dig her grave.
 
He rescues her, but Morris, on a whim,
Finds hidden plans that cost the man his life,
And Davey learns the villain Rice shot him.
 
Rice has the cartridge, which could kindle strife,
But Davey manages to get the game,
Thanks to a helpful old man and his wife.
 
When Dave sees Rice and is chased by the same,
Jack’s help provokes the armed young boy to fire,
And Davey, sick of games, gives Jack the blame.
 
Once Jack fades out, unneeded like times prior,
The boy pursues the bad guys to their plane
And ends up as a hostage, not a liar.
 
His father joins him, as the spies ordain,
And helps to get him out ere things go bad.
A hidden bomb kills those spies that remain,
 
And Davey doesn’t need Jack Flack, just Dad.
_______________________
 

Cloak and Dagger is a film I fondly remember watching and loving every minute of as a child. Henry Thomas (in one of his few good roles after playing Elliott in E.T.) is highly believable as the imaginative but overwhelmed Davey, and Dabney Coleman turns in a great dual performance as both Davey’s father and his more dashing counterpart Jack Flack.

Jack’s invisible advice to Davey, totally unseen by everyone else, is reminiscent of similar themes in films such as Harvey and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, and such imperceptible characters have been used since in other movies like Heart and Souls and Ghost Town. Yet, unlike most of these, Jack Flack is not a ghost but an imaginary friend that may not be imaginary. His sometimes physical assistance for Davey and his direct intervention near the end open the possibility that he was real, a theory heightened by his mention of Davey’s father outgrowing him too. While the film doesn’t go into this, I tend to think that Jack is the living embodiment of various children’s imaginations, assigned to certain kids until they “stop believing.” This seems very similar to the likewise age-and-belief-restricted status of fairies in Nickelodeon’s show Fairly OddParents. If Jack was alive, I do wonder what became of him; perhaps he went to live at Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends. 🙂

The sight of those old computers and Atari game cartridges certainly dates the film overall, but the movie itself is enjoyably tense and intricate in its tribute to espionage and covert missions. A big reveal (which I won’t divulge) really took me by surprise, and the end is sure to keep anyone on the edge of their seat. Though several people are killed, the film manages to be mostly family friendly, with gunshots obviously muted and most deaths being bloodless or off-screen. Plus, the filmmakers must have been trying to appeal to younger audiences as well since they threw in hardly any language, which I applaud.

While these elements may have been used in earlier films I haven’t seen, I did think certain scenes may have inspired other spy films. For instance, Davey’s insistence about a murder that is cleaned up before authorities can find any evidence was reused in Whoopi Goldberg’s Jumpin’ Jack Flash two years later, and the part in which a wounded man fleeing bad guys bestows something important on the nearest unsuspecting bystander is akin to a similar scene in 1987’s Innerspace.

Part of a 1980s video-game trend that also included Tron, WarGames, and The Last Starfighter, Cloak and Dagger is a twisting spy film that can appeal to adults and children alike, combining intrigue, action, and a good moral (see below) into a highly entertaining adventure.

Best line: (Davey’s father Hal) “Heroes don’t just shoot bad guys. They put supper on the table, they fix bicycles, they do—they do boring things, real things, not make-believe. And you’ll understand that when you get a little bit older.”

 
Artistry: 5
Characters/Actors: 7
Entertainment: 9
Visual Effects: 5
Originality: 7
Watchability: 8
Other (I just like other films more): -6
 
TOTAL: 35 out of 60
 

Next: #264 – Amazing Grace

© 2014 S. G. Liput

 

100th Poem! The Hunt for Red October (1990)

15 Tuesday Apr 2014

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Jack Ryan, a writer on tactics of war,
Gets word of a threat that he needs to explore.
He flies to his CIA boss to expound
On a new Russian sub of which photos were found.
 
More research reveals that the foe could arrive
Off the coast unbeknownst to us, due to a drive,
A unique “caterpillar” that keeps the sub quiet,
And government leaders are disheartened by it.
 
The captain named Ramius may be en route
To bomb us and trigger a worldwide dispute,
But analyst Ryan has come to suspect
That the great Marko Ramius wants to defect.
 
Indeed, Marko leaked to Moscow in a letter
That the sub Red October will go someplace better.
Though Ramius’ officers want to leave too,
They’re not necessarily sure of the crew.
 
So Russia’s fleet frantically searches the sea
For a trace of this sub they built so secretly,
But the USS Dallas is solo in knowing
Or having a clue where this covert sub’s going.
 
Meanwhile, ol’ Ramius soon is quite sure
That a sailor on board is a spy saboteur,
So his officers fake a bad nuclear leak
That gets the whole crew off, a clever technique.
 
When Ryan realizes the Dallas’s status,
He’s dropped from a chopper with some apparatus.
The Dallas’s crew helps to bring Jack aboard,
And Ryan soon proves that he won’t be ignored.
 
Though Captain Mancuso, still hot in pursuit,
Has orders to find Red October and shoot,
He listens to Ryan, who says they must talk,
And both steer a rescue sub over to dock.
 
On board Red October, Jack hunts down the spy
Before he can blow the whole vessel sky high.
A Russian sub also attempts to destroy
The renegade craft that has left its employ.
 
October’s maneuvering with not a flub
Diverts the torpedo to hit the bad sub.
The Russians believe that October was hit,
So Marko and Jack can relax for a bit.
______________________
 

I’ll be honest that I have not seen any of the other movies featuring Jack Ryan, Tom Clancy’s less-glamorous answer to James Bond, so I have no idea how successfully Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, or the recent Chris Pine have carried on the role that Alec Baldwin began in The Hunt for Red October. My VC, however, loves Red October with a passion and considers it to be the best role of Baldwin’s career; Rotten Tomatoes also indicates that it was the best of the Jack Ryan adaptations, with a significantly higher 95%.

It’s a taut thriller to be sure, though it does take a while for events to heat up. Much of the first hour is spent with guesswork about what the sub is, where Ramius is going, and what his intentions might be. Some cool underwater effects highlight the midsection, but once Ryan gets aboard the Dallas, things really get good. The finale featuring a sub battle and Ryan’s confrontation with the spy simultaneously is among the most gripping climaxes of any thriller.

There are also quite a few recognizable names I had forgotten in the credits. Aside from Baldwin and a brief cameo by Gates McFadden (Dr. Crusher from Star Trek: The Next Generation), we have Scott Glenn (The Right Stuff, The Silence of the Lambs)as Captain Mancuso of the Dallas; Jeffrey Jones (Principal Rooney in Ferris Bueller) as a bearded sub expert; James Earl Jones (Darth Vader) as Ryan’s boss; Tim Curry, Stellan Skarsgard, and Sam Neill as Russians with varying loyalties; and the ever-distinguished Sean Connery as Captain Ramius. Connery bestows a unique dignity to all of his films, proving himself a thespian of the highest order. Plus, my VC loves the scene in which he eats with his officers, claiming that he has “chewable lips,” which she read in a magazine some years ago. Women.

While many were skeptical how well the convoluted Clancy novel would fare on the big screen, The Hunt for Red October surpassed expectations and even won an Academy Award for Best Sound Editing. It certainly deserves a place on my list and any list of great political thrillers.

P.S. Today I am celebrating my 100th poem in this year-long challenge!!!!!!!!! While I’m a tad behind, I plan to catch up somewhere along the line. Thank you to all of you who have liked and followed my blog along the way, and I ask that you continue to push that “like” button whenever you can. Every “like” fills me with satisfaction that I’m doing something right anyway. Feel free to comment as well about any movies you enjoy or if you disagree with anything on my list so far. Here’s to the next 265!

Best line: (National Security Advisor Jeffrey Pelt, when the Russian ambassador says that they have lost contact with the sub sent to destroy Red October) “Andrei, you’ve lost another submarine?” (And he’s eating jelly beans!)

 
Artistry: 7
Characters/Actors: 8
Entertainment: 7
Visual Effects: 7
Originality: 7
Watchability: 6
Other (language): -7
 

TOTAL: 35 out of 60

 

Next: #265 – Cloak and Dagger (1984)

© 2014 S. G. Liput

 

#270: Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)

11 Friday Apr 2014

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In 1914, Milo Thatch
Has got a hare-brained scheme to hatch,
A trip to find an ancient book
To reach Atlantis, but the hook
Is none will pay him to dispatch
A team to reach this awesome catch.
 
But, led by one Helga Sinclair,
Thatch meets a quirky millionaire,
Who lost a very costly bet
To his granddad. To pay the debt,
He’s funded Milo’s whole affair
To find Atlantis deep somewhere.
 
Aboard the great sub (quite a feat),
The linguist has a chance to meet
Commander Rourke, who heads the mission;
Vinny, who likes demolition;
Mole, a burrower; and Sweet,
The kindly doctor for the fleet.
 
Deep underwater, soon they find
A monster that comes from behind.
This huge Leviathan attacks;
The sub is wrecked, but they make tracks
And reach a cave that is designed
To reach Atlantis, once it’s mined.
 
Once more is said of those with names,
Strange fireflies burst into flames.
The fire spreads; to flee from it,
They find an old volcano’s pit.
From there, within a couple frames,
They reach the truth of Milo’s claims.
 
They’re welcomed to Atlantis by
The Princess Kida, who’s not shy.
Impressed at what Milo can read,
She takes him to a sunken screed
That notes a crystal power supply,
But Rourke butts in as our bad guy.
 
He and the crew start acting rash;
They’ll sell the crystal just for cash.
Once Rourke has hurt Atlantis’ king,
He still locates that crystal thing.
It bonds with Kida in a flash,
And giant stones fall with a splash.
 
They pack up Kida to depart,
But Milo’s pleas to have a heart
Create misgivings in the many;
Rourke and Sinclair haven’t any.
Before the city falls apart,
They must bring Kida back, to start.
 
Thatch leads a team of those who stayed
On flying fish ships, unafraid.
They battle Rourke, who’ll get out soon
If he escapes in his balloon.
When Thatch flies in to Kida’s aid,
Rourke’s killed by his propeller blade.
 
That same volcano starts to wake,
So all our heroes make a break.
When Kida’s back, she forms a shield,
And soon the lava has congealed.
The crystal, which can give and take,
Lets Kida go for Milo’s sake.
 
Though most died in this enterprise,
We still have all the named good guys.
While Milo stays, his friends return,
Concealing what their group did learn.
The crystal on which life relies
Now floats above Atlantis’ skies.
­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­_____________________
 

Atlantis: The Lost Empire is an outlier among Disney movies. It has no princesses, no musical numbers, and no cute and funny animal sidekicks. Mole doesn’t count. It also has a different kind of animation, more angular and intentionally reminiscent of old pulp magazine tales. While there’s much humor throughout, Atlantis is more mature than most Disney films, with hundreds of people dying, albeit off-screen. This large number of redshirts makes it almost funny that only the good characters with names end up living.

The characters are actually what attracted the most criticism when Atlantis was released. The film is like Indiana Jones crossed with a caper film, and the latter’s habit of collecting a team of uniquely skilled individuals for the mission is well utilized. While I personally like all the characters, it’s true that most of their backstories, if any, are glossed over so quickly that any development is relegated to humorous character moments, like Cookie’s grease-based cooking or Dr. Sweet’s chiropractic assistance for Milo’s neck. The voice acting, though, is spot-on, with Michael J. Fox as Milo, James Garner as Rourke, Don Novello (“Fr. Guido Sarducci”) as Vinny, Phil Morris as Sweet (Disney’s first animated African American character), and Corey Burton as Mole being the stand-outs.

Watching it again, I was reminded of other films, particularly Prometheus. The scene in which Milo gives a presentation about their mission’s goal to the unimpressed crew, which was commissioned by an eccentric millionaire, is suspiciously similar to the same scene in the much later Ridley Scott film. As for the action scenes, they are extremely well-done, if implausible at times, and critic Roger Ebert wrote that the finale “stands by itself as one of the great animated action sequences.”

The main issue for me is the whole “explanation” for Atlantis itself. The advanced power source Milo seeks turns out to be a sentient New Age-y crystal thing that protected Atlantis against the flood, which its misuse supposedly caused. Using this New Age crystal as the film’s MacGuffin is just not as successful as, say, the Biblical ones of the first and third Indiana Jones movies.

There are many unanswered questions. Where did it come from? If it’s sentient, why would it allow itself to be misused so terribly? Why did it give Kida back but not her mother? On top of these questions, there are others. The crystal was under Atlantis, which was underground, so what provided daylight? Even if Atlantean was the root of every language, how could they speak perfect English, having not been exposed to its modern development? If Atlantis sank 10,000 years ago, how did Plato know about it?

Despite these problems, Atlantis: The Lost Empire was an entertaining new direction for Disney that sadly didn’t deliver as executives had hoped. It remains a cult classic and a worthy addition to my list.

Best line: (Packard, over the intercom, like something from MASH) “Attention: Tonight’s supper will be baked beans. Musical program to follow.”

 
Artistry: 5
Characters/Actors: 7
Entertainment: 8
Visual Effects: 8
Originality: 6
Watchability: 8
Other (New Age themes) -8
 
TOTAL: 34 out of 60
 

Next: #269 – The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

© 2014 S. G. Liput

 

The Rocketeer (1991)

10 Thursday Apr 2014

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The year is 1938.
An L.A. airfield sees
The handsome pilot Cliff Secord
Take off into the breeze.
 
But down below two thieving thugs
Are fleeing from the feds.
They try protecting what they stole
As lead flies round their heads.
 
When Cliff’s new plane is shot and wrecked,
The feds simply maintain
The gear was trashed, but rather it was
Hidden in a plane.
 
Then Cliff and his pal Peevy learn
What every viewer knows:
They find that it’s a jet pack, which
Might solve their money woes.
 
An air show headed for a crash
Prompts Cliff to join the fray
By strapping on the rocket pack
To bravely save the day.
 
But Neville Sinclair, an acting star,
Desires that rocket pack
And tells his gangster henchmen to
Directly bring it back.
 
Unsure that they can do it,
Sinclair calls one of his staff
Named Lothar, who is very skilled
At folding men in half.
 
But Sinclair learns Cliff has the pack,
And, skilled at being fake,
He starts to woo Cliff’s girlfriend,
The most lovely Jenny Blake.
 
The FBI and Lothar start
To close in on the pair,
Who flee with their new rocket pack,
Which Peevy can repair.
 
While Cliff enjoys the jet pack,
Being dubbed the Rocketeer,
His friend insists the risks demand
They get it out of here.
 
Confronted by the mobster gang,
Cliff’s friends defend their chum.
He flies off with a bullet hole
Patched up with chewing gum.
 
He reaches Jenny, on a date
With ever suave Sinclair,
And warns her to escape posthaste
Before the mob gets there.
 
Cliff’s almost trapped but breaks away,
Yet Jenny’s caught nearby.
When she awakes, she’s shocked to learn
Sinclair’s a Nazi spy.
 
The feds take Cliff to Howard Hughes,
Who built the rocket pack,
But Cliff says he must save his girl
Before he gives it back.
 
The planned exchange, the girl for it,
Becomes an odd affair.
The gangsters dislike Nazi spies
And turn against Sinclair.
 
A shootout ends up with Sinclair
And Lothar in a blimp,
With Jenny as their captive still,
But Cliff Secord’s no wimp.
 
He flies aboard yet gives Sinclair
The rocket for his dame.
When Cliff takes off the chewing gum,
Sinclair bursts into flame.
 
The airship quickly burns away,
Erasing Sinclair’s crime,
But Hughes and Peevy hover in
To save them just in time.
 
Since Cliff and Jenny are both safe,
Hughes gives a new plane back,
And Peevy plans perhaps to build
Another rocket pack.
____________________
 

The Rocketeer is unique among superhero movies because it is also a period piece, complete with vintage art and antique cars and planes. Indeed, the only similarly retro superhero film I know of is the much more recent Captain America: The First Avenger, which coincidentally enough shares the same director, Joe Johnston. Basing the characters and several scenes off of The Rocketeer comic book, Johnston (who must like rockets, having also directed October Sky) managed to weave together the nostalgia of the 1930s with some interesting action scenes and a surprisingly complex plotline. The motives of Neville Sinclair, played by the ever sophisticated Timothy Dalton, are not immediately evident, and the final reveal does come somewhat as a surprise. The final showdown with the awesome destruction of the dirigible is the best set piece of them all, and the last action scene is truly breathtaking.

The acting is serviceable at best. While Billy Campbell as Cliff Secord, Jennifer Connolly as Jenny Blake, and Alan Arkin as Peevy do a decent job, the characters themselves are rather forgettable and don’t really measure up to those in Marvel’s films. That being said, (Lost alert!) I loved seeing Terry O’Quinn as Howard Hughes, having seen him as John Locke in all six seasons of Lost. Typical of comic book films, Dalton as the villain is the most memorable of the cast.

As with some other recent movies on my list, the pacing is a tad slow. Heck, Cliff doesn’t actually take off with the jet pack until 41 minutes into the film! The sheer number of characters also makes the plot hard to follow at times. I nevertheless applaud Disney for not filling the movie with unnecessary language or violence; their absence made it much more enjoyable to watch. While it certainly isn’t among the very best superhero movies, The Rocketeer has enough action, humorous moments and lines, and singular nostalgia for the old pulp serials of yesteryear to deserve a place on my list.

Best line: (Cliff, putting on his rather silly-looking helmet) “How do I look?” (Peevy) “Like a hood ornament.”

 
Artistry: 6
Characters/Actors: 4
Entertainment: 7
Visual Effects: 7
Originality: 7
Watchability: 7
Other (pacing): -4
 
TOTAL: 34 out of 60
 

Next: #270: Atlantis: The Lost Empire

© 2014 S. G. Liput

 

U. S. Marshals (1998)

09 Wednesday Apr 2014

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When Mark gets in an accident,
His arm is hurt to some extent.
Police find that he had a gun
And is a killer on the run.
He must have killed two agents since
He has the culprit’s fingerprints.
 
Arrested and put on a plane
Of criminals (there is no train),
At last Mark’s captured by his past,
That is, till problems happen fast.
A shot at Mark flies past its goal
And opens up a gaping hole.
 
The pilots land, or rather crash
The plane, which settles with a splash.
As U.S. Marshal Sam Gerard
Removes the convicts under guard,
Mark sees his chance and swims away
Amid the messy disarray.
 
We know, as Richard Kimble lives,
That Sam Gerard loves fugitives.
Because he doesn’t have a choice,
He’s joined by Special Agent Royce
To find Mark quickly on a romp
Through some Louisiana swamp.
 
Gerard confronts their target guy,
Who doesn’t kill him (wonder why?),
But Mark escapes to New York City,
Where he soon is sitting pretty,
Spying on a diplomat
From China he is angry at.
 
Gerard and company explore
What Mark is being hounded for,
And soon they think that Mark’s offense
Just may have been in self-defense.
Though as a mole this man is blamed,
Sam thinks perhaps that he was framed.
 
A cemetery visit ends
With Mark pursued by Sam and friends.
When he’s alone with Mark, Royce shoots
A member of Gerard’s recruits.
Royce blames his death on Mark, their prey,
Who hops a train to get away.
 
When fleeing Mark makes one small slip,
Gerard tracks him back to a ship.
Sam nearly kills the fugitive
In vengeance, but he lets him live.
A shot from Royce, though, injures Mark
Before the ship can disembark.
 
As Mark recovers, caught, in bed,
Royce sneaks in his room to kill him dead,
But Sam prevents the agent’s goal;
He knows Royce is the secret mole.
Sam shoots Royce down with deadly aim,
And Mark is freed and cleared of blame.
____________________
 

While not as good as the original The Fugitive from 1993, U. S. Marshals is a worthy follow-up with some great action set pieces. Tommy Lee Jones’s Samuel Gerard is as lovably stoic as ever, and it was interesting to see Robert Downey, Jr. as the villain Royce, in light of his more recent heroic roles in Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes. Wesley Snipes as Mark Warren/Roberts/Sheridan does his best as the new fugitive, and the question of whether he’s guilty or not keeps the audience guessing, though following in the footsteps of Harrison Ford as Richard Kimble, Snipes lacks something. Irene Jacob as Marie, his girlfriend who helps him, does a credible job too, but ultimately the movie is called U. S. Marshals for a reason: Sam and his crew are the stars.

Unlike many of the recent films on my list, U. S. Marshals was not universally lauded by critics upon its release. Many felt it lacked character development, while others thought the plot was unnecessarily tortuous. One even claimed that he and any smart person could have seen the death of one of Sam’s men from a mile away, but the event truly came out of nowhere for me and heightened the tension and Sam’s resolve to catch this guy. Plus, the audience may suspect Royce for something at that point, but who could have foreseen that kind of betrayal happening so quickly? Yes, the plot is so convoluted that I probably couldn’t repeat what Mark was accused of and who accused him and why, and I was honestly lost during a mid-film sequence where Mark is incognito, but the film’s good points mostly make up for these faults.

The opening plane crash, which I tend to think inspired a similar-looking one in World War Z, is truly spectacular, one of the best and biggest-looking set pieces in which Tommy Lee Jones hangs upside down. Mark’s daring swing from a building to a nearby moving train also has that wow factor that other hero-on-the-run films often lack, like the Bourne films (they’re good but repetitive, and the car chase at the end of The Bourne Supremacy was the only scene that actually stuck out as impressive). As for the end, it’s not nearly as tense as that of The Fugitive and seems rather small for the climax of the whole movie.

The requisite foul language is unfortunately present, as usual, but U. S. Marshals serves up thrills and some well-paced and well-edited chase scenes. It may not be the best thriller, but it’s still pretty darn exciting.

Best line: (Royce, as Sam is cuffing him) “Is this guy crazy?” (Cosmo) “No, but he’s a carrier.”

 
Artistry: 4
Characters/Actors: 6
Entertainment: 8
Visual Effects: 9
Originality: 5
Watchability: 8
Other (language): -6
 
TOTAL: 34 out of 60
 

Next: #271 – The Rocketeer

© 2014 S. G. Liput

 

Innerspace (1987)

03 Thursday Apr 2014

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Lieutenant Tuck Pendleton has a new mission:
To go on a small rabbit-themed expedition.
A skilled team of scientists miniaturizes
Both Tuck and a sub to the smallest of sizes.
 
Before they can put him in their bunny’s body,
A break-in confirms that security’s shoddy.
A doc carries Pendleton in a syringe
And flees Mr. Igoe, who makes people cringe.
 
When shot, the doc puts Tuck inside one Jack Putter,
A hypochondriacal, worrying nutter.
When Tuck contacts Jack through his eyes and his ears,
It fills Jack with all kinds of overwrought fears.
 
Escaping from Igoe, Jack follows Tuck’s lead,
In hopes that the government’s help will succeed.
But they overhear that Tuck’s air will run out
If they don’t get a chip that was stolen, no doubt.
 
They then visit Lydia, Tuck’s ex-girlfriend,
A reporter with key information to lend.
They choose to not say the location of Tuck,
But Igoe shows up, throwing Jack in a truck.
 
Jack meets Mr. Scrimshaw, who gives him a pitch
On shrinking technology making him rich.
The moving truck’s back door is somewhat ajar
So Jack swings away into Lydia’s car.
 
They find and tie up Scrimshaw’s tech-selling goon,
The Cowboy, who they learn will meet his boss soon.
To make sure their rendezvous still will take place,
Tuck somehow gives Jack the suave Cowboy’s own face.
 
The next morning, Scrimshaw almost gives the chip,
But Jack’s face reverts when he can’t get a grip.
Then Scrimshaw shrinks Igoe to launch an attack
On Tuck’s tiny sub once he joins him in Jack.
 
When Putter and Lydia fight through a man,
They shrink all the bad guys because…well, they can.
While they try to deal with a miniature foe,
Tuck’s being assaulted by Mr. Igoe.
 
With air running very low, Tuck’s almost bested,
But drops to the stomach, where Igoe’s digested.
They all hurry back to the lab with the chips
And re-enlarge Tuck and his smallest of ships.
 
With everyone safe, Tuck and Lydia marry,
And yet there’s still danger to which they’re unwary.
So Jack follows them to save each newlywed,
Not scared anymore to drive full speed ahead.
_______________________
 

Innerspace is a comedy, sci-fi, action, adventure, romance, and bizarre buddy movie all rolled into one. Joe Dante’s films are known for being quirky, to say the least, but Innerspace remains one of his most straightforwardly entertaining movies and the only one to win an Academy Award (for best Visual Effects). Dennis Quaid with his triangular grin has all his usual 1980s charisma, but it is Martin Short that steals the show as the neurotic Jack Putter. His comedic input is what makes Innerspace better than other Dennis Quaid sci-fi films like Dreamscape or Enemy Mine.

Meg Ryan’s Lydia also has some good scenes, as does Robert Picardo as the Cowboy. As a fan of Star Trek: Voyager, I get a real kick out of seeing the holographic Doctor (a much more stolid role for Picardo) smoking Cuban cigars, speaking in a foreign accent, and letting loose on the dance floor. (Nerdy trivia note: Though they didn’t really have a scene together here, Picardo and Wendy Schaal, who played Jack’s co-worker, were a couple on the Voyager episode “Real Life.” I at least thought that was cool.)

The special effects are quite well done and blow away anything from the old Fantastic Voyage. While the convoluted plot makes sense for the most part, there are a few continuity issues. Spoiler Alert (I know the whole poem is a spoiler, but I didn’t mention this): When Tuck enters Lydia’s body through a kiss with Jack, he winds up somehow in her womb to see his own child growing there; he later returns to the mouth at just the proper time for another kiss to return him to Jack. I may not know a lot about anatomy, but I don’t think the mouth and the uterus are that close to each other. Was he just wandering around aimlessly in the space between spaces? Why is Tuck’s sub the size of a fat cell at the beginning but later “large” enough to be picked up with tweezers?

Despite these minor issues and some thankfully restrained language, Innerspace is a joy ride through the human body. Tuck’s and Jack’s different perspectives on the things each of them do are priceless, and the end leaves open the possibility of a sequel that never materialized. Still, Dante and Spielberg gave us some great laughs and thrills in Innerspace.

Best line: (Tuck, speaking to Jack in his ear) “I’m right here, inside you, inside your body!” (Jack, standing up) “Oh, God! Somebody help me! I’M POSSESSED!”

 
Artistry: 5
Characters/Actors: 6
Entertainment: 9
Visual Effects: 6
Originality: 4
Watchability: 8
Other (frequent language and innuendo): -5
 
TOTAL: 33 out of 60
 

Next: #277 – The Jungle Book

© 2014 S. G. Liput

 

#280: A Bug’s Life (1998)

01 Tuesday Apr 2014

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Flik is an ant on an island of ants
With a tree rising over each head.
They spend their days harvesting grain from the plants
To keep hungry grasshoppers fed.
Considered a fool, poor Flik just wants a chance
To prove that he’s helpful instead.
 
When Flik inadvertently ruins the food,
The grasshoppers’ chief, who’s named Hopper,
Demands they pick double to keep them subdued,
Which he says for an ant is quite proper.
But Flik has the chutzpah to swiftly conclude
They need warriors or a crime stopper.
 
While Atta, the princess, is dubious still,
It’s a way to get rid of Flik fast.
So while they start picking, Flik leaves the anthill
To prove himself useful at last.
A nearby bug city yields little until
A “warrior” posse rolls past.
 
Flik begs them to come, for he thinks that they’re tough,
But they’re really a lame circus show.
Back home, Flik tells all that these bugs have the stuff
To make Hopper finally go.
Yet all the bugs balk when it’s made plain enough
They’re expected to battle a foe.
 
They all want to leave, but a bird intervenes,
And their actions impress the ant crowd.
Flik has an idea that’s approved by the queens,
And the warriors speak it aloud.
They all build a bird in a montage of scenes,
And, once finished, everyone’s proud.
 
They plan to scare Hopper away with the bird,
And they celebrate into the night,
But soon the shocked ant colony gets the word
That clowns are assisting their plight.
They banish both Flik and the bugs he referred,
As they lose their conviction to fight.
 
The food they collect doesn’t please Hopper’s crew,
So the grasshoppers lock down the ants,
But young Princess Dot flies to Flik, who withdrew,
And he makes a plan in advance.
The circus bugs help to distract Hopper’s view
While Flik gets their “bird” to advance.
 
The “bird” scares the foe, but Flik’s scheme is revealed,
And Hopper’s enraged at this cretin.
Yet, seeing their numbers, the ants take the field
And the grasshopper hordes are soon beaten.
In seeking revenge, Hopper’s own fate is sealed
When he finds a real bird and is eaten.
 
With the grasshoppers gone and their freedom restored,
The ants honor Flik and his friends.
The circus bugs wave, and, with extras aboard,
They leave as their wagon ascends.
And Flik at last gets a true hero’s reward,
Romance and the gladdest of ends.
_____________________
 

All of Pixar’s films are wonderful to varying degrees, and the fact that A Bug’s Life (or any film) is this low on the list doesn’t mean it’s a poor film, just one I like less than others. This insect fable is the lowest Pixar movie on my list (I’ll admit that Cars 2 wasn’t good enough to make the cut, and I haven’t yet seen Monsters University), but it remains a funny and endearing classic. While the main plot is clearly drawn from Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai and the concept is quite similar to DreamWorks’s Antz, released just a month earlier, A Bug’s Life has enough lovable characters and subtle humor to be original enough to blow Antz out of the water, though Woody Allen’s film still has its good points.

One amazing aspect of the film is its many diverse characters. There are a ladybug, a walking stick, a caterpillar, a butterfly, a praying mantis, a rhinoceros beetle, a spider, two pill bugs, a flea, two main grasshoppers, and at least seven named ants, and every one is given a distinct personality and great character moments. As many times as I’ve seen A Bug’s Life, there continue to be little details I hadn’t noticed; for instance, my VC pointed out that the awesome score would have fit well in a western, leading to observations of similarities to westerns, such as good guys being called in to stop outlaws, the desert location of Hopper’s vacation spot, and the flea’s stagecoach-like circus wagon.

The large cast of uniquely developed individuals has become typical of Pixar’s films, started by Toy Story and continued by the likes of Cars and Finding Nemo. A Bug’s Life also sticks out in my mind for the unusually gruesome death of the villain. Hopper is actually devoured alive, setting a precedent, followed by other cartoons like The Incredibles and Up, that animated bad guys can meet almost any horrific end as long as it is offscreen.

A Bug’s Life may be Pixar’s least original film and one of its least memorable, but it is still a fun adventure with lovely, though still developing CGI animation, countless laugh-out-loud insect-themed jokes, and a hilarious voice cast.

Best line: (a fly at the circus) “I only got twenty-four hours to live, and I ain’t gonna waste it here.”

VC’s best line: (waitress) “Who ordered the poo poo platter?” (Flies swarm all over it.)

 
Artistry: 5
Characters/Actors: 8
Entertainment: 8
Visual Effects: 5
Originality: 4
Watchability: 7
Other (I just like other films better): -4
 
TOTAL: 33 out of 60
 

Next: #279 – The Muppets

© 2014 S. G. Liput

 

Puss in Boots (2011)

30 Sunday Mar 2014

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This legend of the Puss in Boots,
Who some may know from Shrek,
Is of a lover and outlaw
Who’s on a lengthy trek.
 
He hears the tale of magic beans
That Jack and Jill will use
To grow and climb the famed beanstalk
And steal the Golden Goose.
 
He tries to steal them from the pair
Of outlaws. Nonetheless,
Another skillful cat with boots
Prevents him from success.
 
They fight with dancing and with swords,
But Puss is shocked to find
He fought one Kitty Softpaws, who
Can swiftly steal him blind.
 
He learns she works for Humpty Dumpty,
Quite a crooked egg,
Who wants his help to steal the beans
And isn’t shy to beg.
 
Puss then tells Kitty of his past:
The egg and he were pals,
Two orphans seeking magic beans
To boost their low morales.
 
Puss was the toast of San Ricardo,
Future looking bright,
But Humpty tricked him into helping
Rob the bank one night.
 
So Puss abandoned him to jail
And has been running since.
The two get Puss to help their plan,
Though he’s hard to convince.
 
They snatch the beans from Jack and Jill
And fly where Humpty knows
They’ll sprout into the tall beanstalk
And up, up, up it grows.
 
They find a golden gosling, plus
A giant unseen beast,
And take the goose back down to earth,
Their fortunes now increased.
 
But Jack and Jill attack that night
And leave Puss all alone.
He follows them to San Ricardo,
Where the truth’s made known.
 
It all so far was Humpty’s plan
For vengeance on his friend,
And everyone from Jack and Jill
To Kitty helped pretend.
 
While Puss in Boots is locked away,
The city celebrates,
For Humpty’s bought it with the gold
The giant goose creates.
 
The goose’s even bigger mom
Attacks, as Humpty’d planned,
But Puss convinces his old friend
To help him save the land.
 
Reuniting mom and child,
Humpty’s death’s implied.
He plummets from the city bridge,
Revealing gold inside.
 
Once San Ricardo’s safe and sound,
Puss gains respect once more.
Though wanted still, both he and Kitty
Seek their next big score.
__________________
 

The Shrek universe got a welcome addition in 2011’s Puss in Boots. It already had a number of memorable characters, such as Donkey, Fiona, Gingy, Prince Charming, and so on, but none deserved their own film like the big-eyed feline that stole the show in Shrek 2. Puss in Boots is an imaginative origin story that plays up the similarity between Puss and Antonio Banderas’s role as Zorro. The Hispanic tone makes the setting feel a little more like the real world, even though no one is surprised at talking feline outlaws or anthropomorphic eggs.

Several more interesting characters are introduced, from the conflicted Humpty Dumpty to the sultry love interest Kitty Softpaws, played by Zach Galifianakis and Salma Hayek, respectively. Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris are also memorable as the pig-loving ruthless killers Jack and Jill. The animation is also marvelous, and the story itself is much more original, intricate, and entertaining than the awful Shrek the Third. Plus, it’s very funny with a number of jokes intended for adults, including a Fight Club reference and even a drug joke.

While there’s nothing really objectionable, I can’t help but feel that the story gets a bit too weird in its imagination. The filmmakers at times fracture the fairytale to the breaking point, so to speak, turning the giant’s castle into a humongous lost world, the Golden Goose into Godzilla, Little Boy Blue into a literal blue-skinned boy, and Jack and Jill into evil hillbillies. Sometimes, the action becomes so frenetic that a blink can cause you to miss something. Still, combining Humpty Dumpty with the Goose that lays the golden eggs was inspired, even if his ultimate fate is rather open-ended.

Also, the ending is good for this film, but it’s unclear how it ties into Shrek 2. In some ways, Puss in Boots is akin to Prometheus, offering a prequel of sorts that can stand alone but doesn’t connect with the next installment quite the way we would expect. What happened to Kitty Softpaws? How did Puss end up in Far Far Away where the king found him? Perhaps DreamWorks is planning a Puss in Boots 2 to answer questions like these.

Best line: (Puss in Boots, leaving his latest conquest) “I will never forget you… Margherita.” (annoyed cat meows) “I mean, Rosa.”

 
Artistry: 5
Characters/Actors: 7
Entertainment: 7
Visual Effects: 8
Originality: 7
Watchability: 6
Other (some weirdness and unanswered questions): -7
 
TOTAL: 33 out of 60
 

Next: #282: Fireproof

© 2014 S. G. Liput

 

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)

25 Tuesday Mar 2014

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A grown John Connor roams around,
Still fearing Judgment Day,
The deaths of billions by machines
He thought he’d kept away.
 
But soon a female Terminator
Travels back through time
To kill still young resistance members
Ere they reach their prime.
 
This T-X hunts for Katherine Brewster,
A lovely local vet,
Who’s caged the drug-addicted John
Because he was a threat.
 
Meanwhile, another Terminator,
Like the one John knew,
Arrives just in the nick of time
To save her right on cue.
 
He locks up Katherine, then saves John,
Who flees with her inside.
The T-X shoots her counterpart
And steals a massive ride.
 
An epic chase ensues, which leaves
A trail of vast destruction.
The good cyborg slows down the bad,
Then gives his introduction.
 
He tells John he has been sent back
To guard Katherine, of course,
But John is now in danger from
A much more deadly force.
 
They try to tell the girl the truth,
But she is none too pleased.
They drive to Sarah Connor’s grave,
With Katherine feeling seized.
 
They pick up weapons just in time
For cops to cause delay.
And Katherine’s met by that T-X,
Who’s killed her fiancé.
 
The good cyborg saves them again
And tells what will occur.
He killed John in the future
And was reprogrammed by her.
 
For Katherine will be Connor’s wife
And second-in-command.
As Judgment Day looms very close,
She gives him a command.
 
They go where Katherine’s father works.
He’s just released Skynet.
The T-X comes to shoot him down
So he can’t stop the threat.
 
The good and villainous machines
Face off, and she prevails.
She tries to turn him bad as well
But ultimately fails.
 
Katherine and John are told to fly
To distant Crystal Peak,
Where they believe they’ll find the way
To stop this that they seek.
 
The T-X follows them again,
But their ally arrives
To mow her down and blow her up,
And neither one survives.
 
They think that they’ve found Skynet’s core
To blow it up as well,
But Crystal Peak’s a bunker that
Will shield them for a spell.
 
They realize Judgment Day could not
Be stopped; it never could.
They simply had to live through it
And fight for what is good.
____________________
 

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines seemed like an unnecessary add-on when it first came out. The filmmakers could have left well enough alone after the huge success of T2, but they had to keep milking this franchise for all it was worth, with or without James Cameron. Yet T3 is one of those sequels that is surprisingly good once you give it a try. It follows the second film’s precedent, in which Arnold Schwarzenegger returns as a reprogrammed Terminator to save John Connor once again from a more advanced cyborg. While this plotline is familiar, the filmmakers take it in some unexpected directions with well-spaced revelations throughout the movie.

Kristanna Loken is appropriately laconic and lethal as the T-X, as is Ahh-nold, who gets some great one-liners and self-referential moments along the way. The main drawback for the second film was the human protagonists. Sarah Connor had gone nuts and her son was quite frankly a punk, but in T3, Nick Stahl fills the role of John nicely, even if he’s now a haunted drug addict on the run, and Claire Danes as Kate is my favorite of the new cast. Since no one in the film’s universe has seen the Terminator films, her reactions are priceless, from her initial shock and anger to her transformation into a robot-slaying Rambina. Her relationship with John isn’t really developed into a romance, but it’s at least set in motion with a clearly defined end.

The action and effects are outstanding, with the epic central chase being one of the best and most destructive car chases ever. The clever ways that Ahh-nold gets rid of the T-X and the myriad of explosions make it an excellent popcorn blockbuster.

Of course, there’s a good amount of unnecessary language and violence, especially when the T-X suddenly jams its arm through someone’s chest to drive a car from the back seat (bleh). The movie has its worst stumble, though, at the very end. While the first Terminator ended with tension and a looming threat and the second film had somewhat of a happy bittersweet climax, this film’s final scenes are just plain depressing. Almost the entire world is nuked by Skynet, and now the characters have nothing to look forward to except a long, painful war, plus John’s foretold demise. It’s an okay setup for another sequel (Terminator: Salvation, which I have not yet seen), but, by itself, it’s a weak end to an otherwise awesome action flick.

Best line: (John, after Kate zealously shoots down a drone) “You remind me of my mother.”

 
Artistry: 4
Characters/Actors: 6
Entertainment: 9
Visual Effects: 9
Originality: 5
Watchability: 7
Other (language, violence, and poor ending): -8
 
TOTAL: 32 out of 60
 

Next: #286: Crocodile Dundee

© 2014 S. G. Liput

 

Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)

25 Tuesday Mar 2014

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Within a brief prologue, a proud peacock prince
Turns to the dark side and kills pandas since
A goat has foretold one will bring down this Shen.
Though banished, Shen plots to return once again.
 
The fat panda Po and the Furious Five
Are doing quite well till a wolf pack arrives.
They’re gathering metal and quickly escape
While Po is distracted by some random shape.
 
The band of kung fu-ers soon learn a large town
Was captured with weapons that brought masters down.
They find there that Shen and his wolves have moved in;
A firework cannon has helped them to win.
 
They’re captured at once when the wolves all step in
But break free, destroying the peacock’s weapon.
Yet Shen has built many and shows off their power
By toppling down his own ancestral tower.
 
Our heroes get out by all working together,
But Po is disturbed by the shapes on Shen’s feather.
Small flashbacks suggest that when Shen turned bad
Was the last time that Po saw his real mom or dad.
 
His friends want him safe so they leave behind Po,
Who needs to know what happened so long ago.
When Po confronts Shen, disobeying his team,
He’s shot by Shen’s cannon and falls in a stream.
 
Surviving, he’s helped by the goat to recall
That night when so many poor pandas did fall.
His mother hid him but was murdered by Shen;
His goose “father” found and adopted him then.
 
Thus coming to terms with his turbulent past,
Po goes to stop Shen, whose strength’s growing fast.
Po battles Shen’s ships and releases the Five,
And Shen doesn’t care if his own troops survive.
 
He launches the cannon, and none can deflect it,
But Po’s inner peace helps him redirect it.
He offers this peace to his foe, standing tall,
But Shen’s thirst for vengeance begets his downfall.
 
When Po and his friends return home once they’ve won,
He tells his goose dad he’ll always be his son.
But far, far away from both Po and the Five,
The panda’s real father can sense he’s alive.
_______________________
 

Not all of DreamWorks’s films have deserved sequels. Shark Tale, Bee Movie, Monsters vs. Aliens, and Megamind certainly did not, and I personally don’t think Madagascar warranted a trilogy, plus an upcoming movie centered on the Penguins. Yet Kung Fu Panda held promise and untapped questions that could be further explored in future films, the most obvious being “Why is Po’s father a goose?”

The tragic answer to that question, which Kung Fu Panda 2 provides, gives the film much more heart than its predecessor. While the first movie had some minor awww-worthy character development surrounding Shifu’s relationship with Tai Lung and Tigress, the pathos was relegated to pretty much one scene, with the rest of the film busy with humor, action, training, worrying, lesson learning, and the like. In Kung Fu Panda 2, the emotions take center stage as an integral part of the plot and the history of both Po and Shen. I like how the Furious Five have clearly warmed up to the chubby panda, even if they remain underdeveloped as characters. Yet the scene in which Po’s mother leaves him and lures away the wolves blows away anything in the first film, and the poignant exchanges between Po and his goose father should touch anyone, whether they have a connection with adoption or not.

All that is to say that this sequel has pretty much all the same ingredients as the first one: an all-star cast, a mix of animation styles, some funny lines, awkward moments, thrilling action set pieces (I particularly love the collapse of the giant pagoda), and another great villain (gleefully voiced by Gary Oldman). But the moments of sentiment are what make it a better film, in my opinion. Here’s looking forward to Kung Fu Panda 3 (and the much closer How to Train Your Dragon 2).

Best line: (the goat soothsayer, speaking to Po and anyone with a less-than-ideal childhood) “Your story may not have such a happy beginning, but that doesn’t make you who you are. It is the rest of your story, who you choose to be.”

 
Artistry: 6
Characters/Actors: 7
Entertainment: 7
Visual Effects: 7
Originality: 6
Watchability: 6
Other (I just like other films better): -7
 
TOTAL: 32 out of 60
 

Next: #287: Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

© 2014 S. G. Liput