I have always had a soft spot for animated films. Maybe as a Boomer, I was strongly influenced by the ubiquitous Looney Tunes and Hanna-Barbara product that I was exposed to. When I looked back on my top ten lists from the fifteen years I have been writing on this blog, I saw animated films on a regular basis. There were years when I had as many as three animated films in my top ten, and one year, an animated movie was my favorite of the year. This has not been the case in the last couple of years. I'm not sure if I just missed great films, or if the animated movies I did see, were not hitting with the same impact.
The director of "The Wild Robot" is Chris Sanders, who made one of those films that may top a decade list of animated movies, "How to Train Your Dragon". This heritage gave me a lot of hope, and along with the images I'd seen from the film, I had pretty high expectations. For the most part those expectations are met. This film manages to find a warm beating heart in a mechanical device, without the presence of any human characters. It does rely on anthropomorphic animals, but most animated films do that so it is not really a criticism. "Roz" is a robot, improperly delivered to a wilderness island, and she attempts to fulfill her programming by accomplishing an assigned task and then returning to the manufacturer. The technical difficulty of getting a signal to be returned is a slight artifice that allows for some drama in the third act, but it is in the task programming that the story really takes place.
With a robot as your main character, you might expect to be detached emotionally from the story, but as we have seen with "Wall-E" and the Star Wars films, robots develop when they interact with others, and Roz get to interact with the wildlife which inhabits the island. The two characters that are most important to our robot are "Fink" a fox that is initially an antagonist, but ultimately becomes a confidant and mentor/friend to Roz. If there is one reservation I have about the film, it is with the lack of resolution to "Fink's" fox coat. The otters and geese in the film have authentic detail, but throughout much of the film, Fink looks like a cartoon from an inexpensive kids cartoon. I know sanders can do better because his previous feature was "Call of the Wild" in which a CGI dog was the star and was very convincing. The visual criticism aside, the rapport between Roz, voiced by Lupita Nyong'o and Fink, played by Pedro Pascal, is really very effective. The third leg to the emotional tripod of the film, is a gosling that Roz assumes responsibility for, that Roz names "Brightbill". The A plot centers around the three of them, trying to get Brightbill ready for migration off the island.
The B storyline involves the other wildlife on the island. The animals are at first frightened of Roz, and downright hostile at times. The racoons do their best to dismantle Roz, and the bear on the island would happily assist them. The most amusing character in the film is the possum mother, "Pinktail" who sees that Roz is not really a threat and begins to help Roz have a purpose. Catherine O'Hara voices the wise and not overly maternal Pinktail. Her interactions with the brood that clings to her are hysterical and will keep you chuckling for the whole film. Other animals in the story include the Bear I have already mentioned, and a wise older goose who is willing to take Brightbill under his wing for the migration. Bill Nighy gets some moments of warmth voicing this sage fowl named "Longneck".
In the third act of the film, the C plot becomes the main plot. Returning Roz to the manufacturer feels like a tacked on threat that is exaggerated to create a sense of jeopardy. Another robot becomes the antagonist and we get a replay of the battle at the end of "Return of the Jedi". It is visually superb but feels a little inconsistent with the rest of the story. The situation however allows Roz to reemerge as the hero of the film, assisted by the other legs of the tripod. It is a satisfying sequence, even if it belongs to a different story.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed "The Wild Robot". It is strong enough to make an end of the year list, but it does not reach the heights of Sanders "How to Train Your Dragon".
It would not be possible to write about this movie without the context in which I saw it. The world has changed so much in the last ten years, many of those changes are subtle and may go unnoticed by some people. I however, have noticed. I notice that theaters are often empty when new films are playing, that films which have some serious issue to discuss get ignored off of the screens that they manage to play on when they do get a release. I have noticed that it is a disparaging phrase to say "Your Dad will like it." In the last couple of years, there have been a few films I was lucky to catch in a theater, which almost certainly would have earned that back handed compliment, films like "The Covenant", "The Greatest Beer Run Ever" and "Fly Me to the Moon". These were films aimed at an mature audience, and they were lucky to get any screen time in a theater. While they are of varying quality, they deserved the time I was willing to give them, and they earned a lot more respect than some films which have been huge box office successes, but which are barely real stories or movies. Whenever I have written about them, I have made an effort to give them serious thought (even when they don't deserve it, I'm looking at you "Barbie"). When I see a movie like "Juror #2" being dismissed as "Your Dad's new favorite movie", it frustrates me. Even when those are complimentary due to the old fashioned quality of a film, it sends a message to potential viewers that there is something here that is not for them.
Warner Brothers has made it clear that they feel the same way about this film. It is not for you. The have given it the most token of releases. It is on thirty-five screens around the country. As far as I can tell, in the state of Texas, where I live, it is on one screen in Dallas. Texas with thirty plus million residents, the second most populous state in the country, has one theater showing "Juror #2", the latest film from cinema treasure Clint Eastwood. I saw some spin on one entertainment site suggesting that this was a limited release because the film would only open in the single digits and that Warner Brothers did not want Eastwood to be embarrassed by a flop. If you believe that, let me tell you about the golden opportunity to invest in property in California City. Also I have a bridge you might like to buy in the New York area.
I had to drive two hundred miles one way to see the movie in a theater opening weekend. That is three hours on the Interstate from Austin to Dallas. After the movie, I had the same three hour trip back. I can't say I would always make a trip like that to see a Clint Eastwood project, after all I skipped "J. Edgar", "Hereafter" and "15:17 to Paris" completely. Yet the disrespect that Warner Brothers has shown one of their most productive and creative collaborators was so offensive to me, I felt compelled to make the effort. Oh, and I am glad I did.
"Juror #2" is a thoughtful story about responsibility and justice. Nicolas Hoult stars as Justin Kemp, a man who has turned his life around and found sobriety, but who has been tested by brutal circumstances. He is committed to doing the right thing, but is faced with another test and it is one that has severe consequences for others. As we follow his story, we can easily identify with his dilemma. He knows the truth in a criminal case that he is serving on a jury for, but revealing that truth would be devastating to him personally but also to the two people who will be depending on him in the future. What is the right thing to do, where does justice come in? Justin is also not the only one wrestling with these issues.
Maybe people will see this as an old fashioned movie because it feels like an update of "12 Angry Men". Courtroom dramas lack the fireworks of an action film or comic book movie, but they offer drama that can be completely compelling if told properly, and Eastwood and his team are doing that here. Screenwriter Johnathan Abrams, has constructed a plausible if unlikely scenario, for our central characters to confront. What is even more plausible is the dynamic in the jury room. We don't get the same kind of character detail for most of the jurors that we did in "12 Angry Men", but we do get enough of their attitudes and opinions to understand the arguments that will ensue. Marcus and Yolonda are the two jurors that resist the direction that Justin tries to lead the jury in. They challenge his rationale for hesitating to quickly render a guilty verdict. We know that Justin is motivated both by seeing justice done and self preservation, but his strategies are exactly the temperate thinking that one would hope a jury would engage in before deciding a man's fate.
There are complications in the process however, and Harold, played by J.K. Simmons , is both an ally to Justin's cause and a threat to him. So another set of ethical questions get raised in the story. I said earlier, that Justin and the jurors are not the only ones wrestling with these questions. Both the prosecutor and the public defender have serious moral conflicts that they face. The prosecutor is played by Toni Collette, who in an interesting side note, played Hoult's mother twenty years ago in the film "About a Boy". Faith Killebrew is being tested in a manner similar to that of Justin. One of the eternal issues in our justice system is the conflict over winning a case versus doing the right thing. Prosecutor Faith begins to doubt the validity of her own case. I try to avoid spoilers in these posts, so I will not provide any more details here, but let it be said that the resolution of the film does not leave anyone looking like a moral giant.
As usual, a Clint Eastwood film is polished and the craft in making it its impeccable. Director of photography Yves Bélanger, has worked with Eastwood before, and the film looks terrific in the courtroom scenes but even better when we get some exterior sequences. The dramatic moment that creates the whole plot is clear enough for us to understand what happened and still believe that Justin was uncertain of what took place. Clint skipped composing a jazz inflected score as he has done on some of his other projects, instead Mark Mancia provides a sparse set of musical elements that underscore moments in the film without drawing attention to itself. Longtime editor Joel Cox has done all of Eastwood's films since "The Outlaw Josey Wales" , he seems to understand perfectly the deliberate style that Eastwood wants. The movie moves at a pace that is efficient but not rushed. The visualizations of the big moments are not frantic and they play out as thoughtful narratives as a result. Cox is working with David Cox on this film, I'm not sure if they are related.
Finally I want to take note of the performances. Nicolas Hoult has to hold the film together as a good man conflicted by a bad situation. We can see anguish underneath some of the choices that Justin is making in the film. There is also palpable fear registering as he confronts one of his fellow jurors over the decision they must make. Toni Collette starts the film with a slight Southern accent, the film is set in Georgia after all, but I don't think she was as committed to it in the later parts of the film. Outside of the accent issue however, her performance is strong, registering doubt and resignation at the right moments. Chris Messina plays public defender Eric Resnick, who convinces us that he is convinced of his clients innocence. He has a light touch with the guilt trips that he imposes on Collette's character, which seems to reflect the professional relationship the two of them were likely to have.
This movie forces us to think on moral issues surrounding the way the justice system works. As most of us are aware, it is often an ugly process that emphasizes technical fidelity to the rules rather than finding a just result. The current internet outrage over the State of New York, seizing a squirrel and a racoon and destroying them, is an example of the same kinds of power issues this film presents. Regardless of who wins, everyone who wrestles with a pig ends up covered in muck. It's too bad that Warner Brothers decides that they wanted to tussle with film fans. So far Clint has stayed out of the marketing muck, and has stuck to drawing us a picture of the imperfections in all of us.
A year ago we went to a performance of the Austin Symphony Orchestra performing the score for the original "Star Wars" with the film being presented on the screen above the orchestra. I've attended several concerts using this approach including screenings of "The Godfather" and "Jaws". As long as the movie is compelling, it is hard to go wrong. Another thing that makes it hard to go wrong is performing the music of film maestro John Williams. "The Empire Strikes Back" is the original sequel to the continuing Star Wars franchise and it is especially vibrant when it comes to the music.
The heroes themes in the original film are the motifs that make that film so memorable. "The Empire Strikes Back" does not exactly subvert the importance of heroes, but it does make the theme of the main villain the most iconic piece of music from the film series next to the main theme. "The Imperial March" that accompanies Darth Vader through most of this film is found in commercials, at football games and being hummed by kids and adults, the same way the theme from "Jaws" is. It is an easily identifiable music riff which indicates the presence of the bad guys or something ominous happening.
Live music always makes the score feel more rich and full. Watching the violin bows sawing up and down or hearing the horns strike that right note are thrilling experiences. Even when you might be transfixed by the screen, an orchestra cannot be ignored when it is right there with you. The Austin Symphony is full and accomplished at playing these scores. The arrangements seem to give the individual instruments enough room to shine even in an ensemble performance.
I suspect that we will be getting "The Return of the Jedi" next year in the pop series that we subscribe to. That would be perfectly fine to me. However, instead of moving on to the prequel Star Wars Movies after that, I think a change up by covering Indiana Jones would be completely rad.
I fell behind this week, had six films to catch up with. After writing about two of them, I thought it was time for a change of pace. I went to a Friday Double Feature and a Sunday Double feature at the Paramount Theater here in Austin Texas. The programming had some horror themes, I especially liked the idea of "the fun ones". So here is my video commentary on the four films.
Friday Nights they'll be Dressed to Kill, down at the Paramount.
The drinks will flow and the blood will spill.
These two were horror adjacent films but still fit the "fun" description. Looking forward to a NYC trip next year to catch the musical stage version of
"Death Becomes Her". If it doesn't open with "Songbird" I will be befuddled.
This is one of those films that I hope I’ll be able to draft tomorrow on my Lancaster show. We are having a draft of horror films made and released prior to 1973. Rosemary’s Baby from 1968 not only fulfills the requirement okay in the appropriate time, but also being a truly creepy horror film, and one that is extremely well made. It was produced surprisingly, by William Castle, who was Notorious for making the budget gimmick horror films, like The Tingler, 13 Ghosts, and the House on Haunted Hill. He snapped up the rights to make the movie, by buying a book for adaptation before anyone else could get to it. Unfortunately for him, he spent all of his money buying the rights, and had none left to make the movie, which forced him to seek financing, and resulted in a studio-based film, and the studio insisted on hiring their own director. Roman Polanski is notorious nowadays, but at the time he was one of the hot directors in Europe, and this is a movie that put him in the top ranks.
The film is a very literal story about the birth of Satan’s child. You can struggle to look for metaphor or allegory here, but when it comes to the main plot line, Satan rapes a young woman and she is forced to carry out a pregnancy it is going to result in the birth of what is likely to be the Antichrist. This movie came out 5 years before The Exorcist, and 8 years before The Omen. It has very few horror effects, there is one death on screen, and a couple that are implied which take place off screen. The makeup in the film is not full of Prosthetics and goo with blood, there’s only a hint of the devil’s actual appearance with some close-ups on demonic eyes. Most of the makeup involves showing star Mia Farrow as becoming somewhat emaciated in the early stages of her pregnancy. Instead of glowing like a pregnant woman would she seems to be disappearing, pound by pound.
Mia Farrow gives on heroic performance as Rosemary, loving wife of a struggling New York actor, who is befriended by some oddballs in the somewhat sketchy apartment building she and her husband have taken up Residence in. Early acquaintance, when Rosemary has met in the laundry room basement, ends up dead and that is the most gruesome scene in the film. The young woman was staying with the older couple who lives next door to Rosemary and her husband. And it seemed that they were helping her recover from a sordid life of drug use and promiscuity. We never really learn why she died, but it is strongly suggested that the appearance of Rosemary suddenly was a opportunity that was a lot more promising for the coven of witches that occupy the building. Yes that’s right, I said witches.
The older couple next door, take up a particular interest in Rosemary and her husband, and begin to insert themselves into the young couples lives. To some degree Rosemary is happy to have some company, but she does seem to recognize that her husband is taken an unhealthy interest in their neighbors life story. He frequently spends time with the older couple, well Rosemary tries to maintain some distance. Rosemary’s husband is played by the great John Cassavetes, and at times he is a solicitous husband, but at other times he’s an insensitive prick. He and rosemary seem sexually compatible and happy, but he struggles with career uncertainty, and the fear that comes from where your next job is going to be coming from. Things get a little desperate when he loses a part in a play that could have brought him some much-needed attention. Like Cassavetes himself, the actor resents having to work for money, particularly in television commercials. His luck suddenly changes when tragedy strikes the actor who had been cast in the role that he was up for, and the part defaults to him.
This is all my way up set up, because this is really a character based film more than a plot based movie. Rosemary is driven to preserve her marriage in the face of the economic uncertainty that the two of them are confronted by. She also is in the process of nesting, and the desire for a child feels very natural at this point in their relationship. Once it is discovered that Rosemary is pregnant, the old couple next door begins to offer assistance. Ruth Gordon is an eccentric woman who has what appear to be friendly intentions, and some odd cooking skills. Her husband insists that Rosemary see the obstetrician that he is friends with. So the story focuses on this vulnerable young woman, being prayed upon with affection by her husband and Neighbors, and she doesn’t realize how much she is being manipulated. The doctor she sees is played by Ralph Bellamy, and he seems the picture of a wise and comforting older doctor, full of credibility. He needs all of that credibility because he keeps dismissing the problems the Rosemary is facing in her pregnancy. It’s hard for us to imagine the pregnant woman will allow her health to deteriorate the way it did in the early stages of the pregnancy, without seeking some substantial Medical advice. The assurances of her doctor only carry weight because of his reputation. It takes the intervention of some of her younger friends to convince her that she needs to see the original doctor she visited with in order to get a second opinion. Conveniently at that point the negative symptoms she’s experiencing cease, and it seems that the doctor was right all along, which reinforces The credibility he had originally.
The whole movie is about atmosphere, and the old apartment building that’s a couple moves into is full of it before we even meet the characters that fill it up. There’s a long sense of dread in the last third of the film, but they’re also some comical moments with the witches coven struggling to deal with playing nursemaid to hell spawn. Mia farrow’s expression when she finally gets a chance to see her baby is one that is perfectly horrifying, and ultimately maternal which is the real horrific twist in the film. Roman Polanski Maybe a horrible human being but he was a hell of a director, and as noted in another film, this movie made him the biggest director in the world at the time.
This film is already dead in the water as far as box office is concerned. What is not yet dead are the criticisms of the movie. People have had the long knives out for this film and are taking delight in killing it with negative opinions. Well here is a surprise for all of you, I actually quite enjoyed the film and don't find it a failure at all.
"Joker" 2019 was a divisive film as well, but it had enough enthusiasm to generate big box office and awards. Joaquin Phoenix gave a great performance and he has followed up with another solid take on Arthur Fleck, AKA Joker. I'm sure I'm not the first to notice it but it is "Joker" not The Joker. The lack of the definite article is not a mistake. The character is being distinguished by the absence of the article, in spite of all the trappings that put the film in the Batman Universe. Harvey Dent may be the prosecutor in this case, but he is not "Two Face" and the Thomas Wayne Character in the first film does not resemble the saintly benefactor of Gotham City that fathered Bruce. I have seen some online chat that Todd Phillips has betrayed his creation with this film, mostly because of it's denouncement. I think if you look closely, you will see that there is a line of thought that would transition this into a more recognizable pattern, but it will never be explored because of the failure of this film.
The musical elements are fine, I thought the mix of fantasy and reality allowed the songs to work in creating a mood or environment for the characters. Lady Gaga's Lee Quinzel is a hint of Harley Quinn, but again, distant enough that the fans of the DC Comics may be able to distinguish the characters. Her story line is a little less clear than it needs to be, and in the climax of the film her whiplashed loyalties seem confusing. Still, she sings well and looks good on screen. It was enough to keep me interested for a couple of hours.
I don't want to over praise the film, it is not something I was passionate about. (as evidenced by this nearly two week old look at the film). I merely wanted to assure those who had an interest in seeing it that it is not the disaster that so many are claiming. There are many parts to it, particularly in the Arkham sequences, that are dramatically compelling. The trial sequence is a bit of a failure, but it does have some bright spots.
"Joker: Folie à Deux" had enough in it to entertain me, but not enough to make me think about it for long (which the original did). It is an inventive swing and a long fly ball that results in the end of the game. There, you get a baseball metaphor to satisfy your sports craving World Series fans.
Francis Ford Coppola has created his dream project, and I'm afraid for many people it will be a nightmare. Megalopolis is an ambitious film that is nearly incoherent in its first half, wait let me take out that modifier and say in a very clear way that it is incoherent in its first half. That's one of the reasons that I was hating this movie for the first hour. Unless you were up on your Marcus Aurelius and your history of the Roman Empire, you will be lost on a regular basis. But even if you've recently read extensively about those subjects, you will still be lost because Coppola does not have a narrative structure in that part of the film. It consists of characters being introduced with long passages of dialogue that sometimes mimic the words of a Roman senator or those of a Shakespearean character. For what reason we don't really know, and Coppola isn't going to tell us. All of this is happening while we are being Bedazzled by visuals that are original and startling in their conception, but are not clear in function. Meanwhile there appears to be I'm going on in the time space continuum that is not clear at all. So welcome to the film.
Having said this about the movie, I do want to adjust my opinion a little bit as we get to the second hour, where there appears to be a little bit more narrative structure. And I do mean just a little bit more. It was however enough for me latch onto the film and begin to find more redeeming elements to it than just the visuals. Coppola appears to be trying to say something about consumerism, ambition, corporate capitalism, and the traditional corruption of democratic societies. Exactly trying to say about all of these things though remains ambiguous. He has big things on his mind, but we have to Wade through his mind to figure out what it all is about, and it's a jungle in there.
As usual I'm going to forgo trying to recap the whole story for you, there are plenty of other sites online that will attempt to do that for you. I'm just going to give you my general impressions and a little bit of advice about whether or not to see the movie. I will tell you, that I hugely anticipated the film since it's Premier back in Cannes in May. The word at the time was not hopeful, with many critics suggesting that the film was a complete mess, although visually stunning. That seemed enough for me to feel that the movie might have something for me that closes out copula's career with something Worthy. I insisted on viewing this movie in an IMAX theater so I could get the visual impression that the director clearly wanted us to have. I think that was a good choice on my part. However as I watched the film, I was getting more and more depressed. Art needs to speak to you at some level, and without a narrative or characters that I cared about, this film was not reaching me. Even as an abstract piece of art it was problematic.
Once the characters began to function in a recognizable story, which involved conspiracy, subterfuge, and betrayal, I began to feel like there was something in the movie that I could understand. I was able to reinvest in the movie at that point, I guess is that there will be a lot of people who won't get to that point. Even if someone does manage to stick it out with the film, they may not be willing to forgive the incoherent mess at the first half of the movie consists of. Apologists of Art that is abstract, and not easily consumed, will certainly find ways to recommend this film to the community of Cinema fanatics that might be tempted to view the movie. More power to them. For General moviegoers though this film is going to be, not challenging but off-putting. It is deliberately obtuse, and the characters are dense, and unlikable. Frequently actors engage in cartoonish performances, certainly encouraged by director Coppola. Shia LaBeouf and Aubrey Plaza are two of the actors who seem to be working in a completely different tone and mode than everyone else in the picture. It might even be true that their performances are the true soul of this extravagant farce that has been labeled a fable. Maybe if everyone else had gone in the same direction this movie would have been a more audience friendly success.
The passage of time May reflect well on the movie, but my readers, you were looking at this contemporaneously and so I must give you fair warning. This movie is not for everyone. In fact it's probably not for most people. As a film artifact it will be interesting to look at down the road. Has a film, playing in the movie theater, to a general audience, it's simply a mess.
I'm not exactly sure why Coppola sets this movie in an imagined Roman Empire seated in the United States and headquartered in a place like New York City. Combining the Roman Empire with us hegemony seems like a interesting mix of allegories, but it also seems completely pretentious. When Adam Driver starts delivering monologue from Hamlet at the unveiling of a pitiful Casino model from his rival the mayor of New York, I started drifting. To be or not to be it needs a better answer than what this film gives us.
