Alive and kicking: 7 Films

For the past month, my blog has been the perfect model of Super Neglection of Film Blog, unfortunately. I have been busy with life, which has been unfairly dominated by the multiple horrors of a new school year. It has only been a month and I'm already nerd-failing Pre-Calculus. Really. But enough of teen angst, let's talk movies.

I have seen seven movies since my last review of all three versions of Little Women. Seven. I'm pathetic, I know. My weekends are now not only dominated by school work, but also volunteer work at the library. I'm kind of on a path to be a (lol) librarian. I mean, I have to pretend to get somewhere in life and library science seems, well, not too bad.

Anyway, about all the films I've seen since my last post. Behold, incoherence!

- The problem I have with Princess Mononoke is that it is practically Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind all over again. I really, really, REALLY like Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (thanks to J.D.'s recommendation--and surprisingly, it's pretty much my BFF's favorite Miyazaki film). Princess Mononoke is just a better-animated version (no, that's an understatement--the animation in Mononoke is insanely spectacular) of Nausicaa, with different characters. Both films have a strong environmental message and the way the message is executed feels so...similar. I understand environmentalism is a theme that Miyazaki often explores in his films, but he could have created a brand-new story. I mean, Miyazaki is so extraordinarily imaginative (duh) that any striking similarities between his films would result in some minor disappointment. I expected something new from the filmmaker. But even Miyazaki's lesser films are true works of art--and that is the case for Princess Mononoke.

- Newsies is awesome in a sort of, "Lol, it's a Disney musical directed by the director of High School Musical and it stars Batman" kind of way. But seriously, I love the songs. "Seize the Day" is my favorite. Not the best family film, but I like it a whole lot. And I'm in love with the soundtrack. How can you possibly NOT love Alan Menken?

- Okay, am I really the only person out there that did NOT know the "twist" in Psycho? Hitchcock is the man when it comes to slow revelations. I'm sort of like a filmmaker's ideal audience: Ignorant and guillable. I don't force myself to think ahead when I watch a movie. I just kind of sit there and enjoy the ride. But I love Psycho. It is probably my favorite Hitchcock film right now. For someone who loves fascinating fictional characters, Norman Bates is practically my obsession right now. I love the way Anthony Perkins portrays him. At first, Norman just appears charming, shy, and rather lovable. Perhaps that is his true nature. I don't know. I'm still waiting for Shawn's take on the character in his Hitchcock Marathon. All I know is that Perkins humanizes a character that has been so often villified in pop culture. But that shower scene is still badass.

- My thoughts on Amazing Grace is kind of "meh." It's okay, I guess. My mom wanted to see it because her sister said it was a great movie. The performances are decent, but it is kind of boring on the most part.

- Enchanted is really all about Amy Adams's performance. I love it more than Marion Cotillard's in La Vie En Rose and Ellen Page's in Juno. I smiled all the way through the movie, mainly because of Adams's fantastic performance. It is predictable and silly, but lots of fun. The story is, well, amazingly imaginative. I just thought, "Why didn't I come up with this story?" I also really like James Marsden in the prince charming role and--surprise, surprise--I actually really love Patrick Dempsey as the single father/divorce lawyer/possible love interest (c'mon, that is NOT a spoiler). I was really impressed by his performance, considering I've only seen him in the first two seasons of "Grey's Anatomy." The part where Dempsey begs Adams to not sing is just a little piece of comedy heaven.

- Charlie Bartlett has several entertaining aspects: It is a fairly intelligent teen comedy and a fairly decent coming-of-age story. Robert Downey Jr. and Hope Davis both give amusing performances. I kind of like the film...but I kind of don't. There are some things I didn't really care about, such as the central romance of the film. I didn't really sympathize with the Charlie Bartlett character. Plus, I didn't find the film to be very funny either. The film had trouble finding a balance between comedy and drama. I guess it tried to be too many things at once that I ended up not caring about any of the things they wanted me to care about. And honestly, it felt like a slight rip-off of Rushmore.

- I loved the first Anne of the Green Gables. The sequel, appropriately titled, Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel, is well, has several melodramatic and dull moments, but all in all, it's all about Megan Follows' lovely, enthusiastic performance as Anne Shirley. It's a touching coming-of-age story about finding a place to truly (cheesey moment) belong. I realize that Kevin Sullivan totally raped L.M. Montgomery's books to make his Anne sequels, but I kind of like his more epic take on the stories.

I'm kind of fascinated by the Jonas Brothers right now. Not in a, "Wow, they're hawt and their music rox" kind of way, but I just love memorizing random facts about them. I've watched tons of their music videos for no particular reason and a lot of the videos are really, really funny. In their "S.O.S" music video I love the part where Kevin Jonas gets so pissed at a text message he receives that he throws his entire cell phone away. Okay, nobody needed to know that. Anyway...

I hope you're all doing well. I've been trying my best to keep up with all of my favorite film blogs. Even though I rarely comment, trust me, I lurk.

Five Links Friday (#1)

Five Links Friday is a new thing here at BISTF. I wanted to do something that I could update weekly, like Valley Dreaming's Monday Movie Meltdown, Blog Cabins' Thank God It's The Day New Movies Are Released, or StinkyLulu's Supporting Actress Sundays. So the deal is, I share five links and provide some (hopefully) brief commentary on the subject. The links could be an awesome blog entry I stumbled upon, an amusing video, a catchy song, an interesting article I found, etc. It's a lot like show-and-tell, just with a lot of text.

So here it goes...

1. Batman on Film - "Let's talk sequel"

Jett of Batman On Film wrote an excellent article about the future of the current Batman series. Like me and many others, Jett wants another Batman film directed by Christopher Nolan, the vision behind Batman Begins and the most recent box-office and critical champion, The Dark Knight. Nolan's participation in the next Batman film is pivotal--and so is the material itself. After the overwhelmingly positive response The Dark Knight has received, how is any sequel ever going to top that?

David S. Goyer (screenwriter for Batman Begins) said he has a theme and villain in mind. Gary Oldman also suggested The Riddler as a villain in several interviews and I think he would make a terrific Riddler if he wasn't already Jim Gordon. But it has been mentioned repetitvely that at this point, the filmmakers aren't interested in doing well-known villains. I guess that crosses out The Riddler, The Penguin, and Catwoman.

But yet, I'm yearning to see Selina Kyle/Catwoman in Nolan's Batman universe. Now with Rachel Dawes out of the picture (Maggie Gyllenhaal will be missed--at least by me), it's almost a rule that every superhero on film needs a love interest. I know Batman has an insane amount of love interests from the comics, but Selina Kyle/Catwoman is an iconic character who is more than just "Batman's girlfriend." Her cat burgular/socialite character in the comics fits the Gotham City Nolan created almost too perfectly.

I wouldn't be surprised if they changed their minds to go with Catwoman after all. There have been some very talented and gorgeous actresses (i.e. Angelina Jolie, Emily Blunt, Eva Green, Kate Beckinsale) suggested for the Catwoman role, but I want someone entirely from left field. I want to see Winona Ryder (who was great with Bale in 1994's Little Women), or--this is an out-of-this-world suggestion, but I actually think Zooey Deschanel might make an interesting Catwoman, despite the fact that she's a little too adorable. Honestly, if Gyllenhaal was not cast as Rachel, she would have been my top choice for Catwoman. No, really--I, for one, find her incredibly sexy.

Then again, Michael Keaton and Michelle Pfeiffer were electrifying together in Batman Returns. If they want to do a convincing Bruce Wayne/Batman-Selina Kyle/Catwoman relationship this time around, Keaton and Pfeiffer will be hard to beat.

But Catwoman won't be able to carry all the troubles of Gotham on her own. If Batman ever needed a shrink, it would be now. What makes Hugo Strange a probable choice is that he isn't as popular as The Riddler or The Penguin, but he does fit into this reincarnation of Gotham like a glove. My personal casting suggestions are Jackie Earle Haley and Ben Kingsley.

So I'm interested to hear your take on the inevitable third Batman film. Villains? The plot? Rumors you've heard? Just anything, really.

2. The Editing Room - "Abridged Script for Superman Returns"

The Editing Room is one of my favorite new web discoveries from the past few months. It is a collection of hilarious abridged film movie scripts written by the very talented, Rod Hilton. Several of my favorites are the abridged scripts for the Harry Potter movies and undeserving Best Picture winner, Crash.

But after watching the terribly stupid Superman Returns a few days ago, I checked out what kind of script The Editing Room had cooked up for that movie. The abridged Superman Returns script is full of brilliance and everything that is said in the script are just too true.

Superman Returns just sucks. I've never been a huge Superman fan. I watched the Superman cartoons as a kid, the TV show Smallville, and Superman: The Movie and found the character unebelievably boring. Perhaps Superman doesn't necessarily have every imaginable superpower, but he sure has the majority of the top ten most desireable superpowers ever. The only things he doesn't have is a peace of mind since Lex Luthor's always around and a normal life with ladylove, Lois Lane. I also hate the Superman costume.

I tried to watch Superman Returns with an open mind, but Bryan Singer's film simply emphasized everything I didn't like about The Man of Steel. It doesn't help that the silly script doesn't give its title characters much lines. Brandon Routh plays Superman and Clark Kent with little charm or allure and I bet the only reason that he got the role was because he resembles Christopher Reeve, minus the acting chops. Routh just delivers a boring performance with already underwritten material.

Then there is the fantastic Kevin Spacey, who can spin yarn into gold like no other actor out there. As much menace and intimidating qualities Spacey tries to inject into Lex Luthor, whatever on paper just solidified him a weak villain. Lex Luthor also has a lame sidekick, Kitty Kowalski, who is played by the usually talented but ultimately disappointing Parker Posey. I believe Spacey does his best and has some fun with the material, but how could he beat the great Gene Hackman from the 1976 original when Hackman had nuclear missiles and Spacey only has real estate? Usually, in superhero movies, the villain carries the film along.

But how exactly is the audience supposed to care about some inane idea about the U.S. sinking and a development of a new crystal-formed island when nobody--not even the hero of the story--senses it as a threat until the last half-hour of the film? Keep in mind, this movie is 2 hours and 29 minutes long and the majority of those seconds kind of glazed past my eyes like a huge, unnecessary void. The "showdown" (if I can even describe it as such) between Lex Luthor and Superman must be one of the most anti-climatic hero-villain showdown scenes I've ever witnessed in my life.

There are a couple of thankless supporting performances, namely by Kate Bosworth. Bosworth as Lois Lane? The Razzies nominated Katie Holmes in her somewhat-terrible, somewhat-mediocre performance in Batman Begins, but not Bosworth for her amazingly atrocious portrayal of a supposedly intelligent Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter? I can't think of a performance more bland or a role more miscast (maybe with the exception of Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon in The Da Vinci Code), but seriously--are we really supposed to believe that Bosworth is Lois Lane, after Margot Kidder's wonderful portrayal in the original film?

This time around, Lois has a new boyfriend in the form of James Marsden's Richard White (masterfully nicknamed "Cyclops" as a reference to Marsden's X-Men role in The Editing Room's abridged script). Richard thinks he is the father of the son he and Lois are raising together. Boy, is he in for a surprise someday. But I really like Marsden in the role and it doesn't hurt that he's a pretty good-looking guy.

Superman Returns has fantastic visual effects, but they all seem obligatory and unengaging. There is a major action sequence in the first hour of the film that looked cool as a film promo but when seen in the context of the film, it lacks the excitement of what the superhero genre is all about. The Editing Room's script captures the dullness and stupidity of Superman Returns much better than my short review. I know I gave this film a 5.5/10, but it's mostly because I found some of the scenes unintentionally funny and strangely enjoyable. Plus, it is technically a well-made film with a terrible script and a weak director.

But is it wrong for me to dislike a film so much, yet realize the tremendous potential a sequel may have? There is a lot of unfinished business left and if they hire the right writers, a sequel might work. I'm not saying I'll be first in line for Superman Returns 2, but I'm just saying that it's an idea that I'm surprisingly not against.

3. Youtube Video - "Castle in the Sky/Kiki's Delivery Service AMV set to Breaking Free"

So enough about superheroes. Let's talk anime.

I've been having a bit of a Hayao Miyzaki film festival these days at my house, ever since I saw J.D.'s favorite, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.

A few days ago, I gushed about the lighthearted loveliness of Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service. So far, Kiki's Delivery Serivce and Castle in the Sky are my two favorite Miyazaki films. I was quite ecstatic to discover a Youtube AMV of both films with music provided by--yep, you guessed it: High School Musical. But it's "Breaking Free," one of the not-so-terrible songs from the High School Musical soundtrack! You all know how I feel about High School Musical: I kind of hate it, yet I can't keep my eyes away. In fact, I think I hate it so much that I'm starting to love it. Truthfully, it's my ultimate guilty pleasure.

Some people on the comments section act like it's a travesty to have great art like Miyazaki's be combined with a song from an over-commercialized Disney TV movie, but hey--the song and images fit, right? Personally, I dig this video so I might as well share it.

4. EW - "Obama vs. McCain: The Great Presidential Pop-Culture Debate"

I was obsessed with CNN before my crappy cable wouldn't allow me to watch it anymore. I don't know the deep ends of politics or any of the technical terms, but it is something that always interested me to some extent. I don't support any major political party nor do I have a definite belief on how people should run my country. I guess I'm pretty much clueless when it comes to my personal opinion regarding politics, but that doesn't keep me away from checking CNN.com and watching the news almost everyday for fun.

Anyway, I found this amusing little piece from "Entertainment Weekly's" website with presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and John McCain discussing their favorites in the world of pop culture. I'm not partial to either presidential candidate (and I don't have to be, since I can't even vote in the upcoming election), but I have to admit, McCain certainly has better taste, although many preferred Obama's picks.

Care free to weigh in about which candidate has the better taste in pop culture? Or want to share who you're supporting in the upcoming election? Feel free to do so in the comments section. I'm in the mood for some political sound bites.

5. EW - "Jonas Brothers eye a return to Camp Rock"

I first saw this piece of news on Fataculture and it had me grinning from ear to ear, mainly because I knew a sequel to Camp Rock was inevitable. Am I looking forward to it? Not really. Camp Rock isn't as fun as High School Musical, but I guess that depends what your definition of "fun" is. I guess some songs from Camp Rock are kind of catchy and Demi Lovato has a nice enough smile to carry her role, but it didn't leave me dying for a sequel.

The real reason that I posted this article is because I thought it was kind of funny. This part made me really made me laugh:

A Disney Channel spokeswoman confirms that a sequel is in development, and that the [Jonas] brothers would like to premiere the movie in Central Park, where they'd serve pizza from their favorite New York restaurant.

I love how there isn't really a legitimate shooting script yet and they already know where they're having the film's premiere and what they want to do at the premiere.

-------------------

I promise you that my commentary will be much more brief next time. (I really, really type too much.)

She's soaring.

Kiki's Delivery Service (Majo no Takkyūbin) | rel. 1989/Disney re-rel. 1998 | dir. Hayao Miyazaki

I think I may be in love. After seeing Kiki's Delivery Service, it left a goofy smile on my face and that smile just won't go away.

Short Review

Hayao Miyazaki's gorgeously animated masterpiece, Kiki's Delivery Service is about a young witch-in-training, Kiki, who must leave her tiny village at thirteen to pursue an independent life as a witch. Kiki, along with her broomstick and wise-cracking black cat, Jiji, finds a lovely seaside city to reside in. With the help of Osono, a local and very pregnant baker, she discovers a cozy place to settle. Kiki cooks up an idea to run a local delivery service and befriends several eccentric characters in the city. In her various adventures, Kiki catches the eye of a teenage aviation nerd who takes an interest in Kiki's flying abilities (and later Kiki herself) and Ursula, a young artist.

I love pretty much everything about this film. From beginning to end, it is a lighthearted feel-good fest with a bunch of enchantingly lovable characters. Without being too blatantly preachy, the film is about fitting in, growing up, finding yourself, and utilizing your abilities for the greater good. Many of the things Kiki experiences what most people (like myself) go through in their lives, especially during their teenage years. Miyazaki's creation of the seaside city is full of vivid details and crackling energy. Kiki's Delivery Service is often touching and completely hilarious on a very human level. Kiki may be a witch, but the fact that she doesn't have a ridiculous amount of magical powers make the coming-of-age journey all the more magical.

The Disney re-release (which my entire review is based on) has some terrific voice work by Kirsten Dunst, Matthew Lawrence, Phil Hartman, Janeane Garofalo, Tress MacNeille, and Debbie Reynolds.

Rating: 9.5/10

"Nice valley. Think I'll keep it."

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (Kaze no tani no Naushika) | rel. 1984/re-rel. 2005 | dir. Hayao Miyazaki

This is August's Movie of the Month at the LAMB.

Nausiccaa of the Valley of the Wind possesses all the expected animated glory of a Hayao Miyazaki film. Visually, the film is extraordinarily alive. Story-wise, the film moves slowly and wanders in a midst of a beautiful but minimalistic animated landscape. When the film finally starts its engine, the action sequences are illustrated with extreme gusto and the villain is certainly sinister, thanks to a wonderful voice-over performance.

The film takes place in the future, a thousand years after the "Seven Days of Fire," which destroyed a majority of living things. Like many stories about the future, things aren't looking up. For one, there aren't many people left on Earth.

Nausicaa, a young princess of the Valley of the Wind, is the heroine of the story. She lives in a world where insects (they are called "ohmus" in the film) and humans refuses to live peacefully with each other. Courageous, intelligent, and fiercely independent, Nausicaa is determined to avoid conflict with the insects and treat them with as much kindness and care as possible.

When an airship crashes on the Valley of the Wind and unleashes a cargo that is the God Warrior (a powerful weapon used in war a thousand years ago), the Tolmekans--led by the Tolmekan princess--is enthusiastic for its revival and hopes to utilize it as a destroyer of the toxic jungle, which has been threatening the relationship between nature and humans for much too long. To secure the God Warrior as theirs, the Tolmekan princess orders the death of Nausicaa's father, the king of the Valley of the Wind. Without a king, the Valley of the Wind places forth their trust to Nausicaa as they meet the antagonistic power of Tolmekan princess and its army.

The Tolmekan princess is voiced by Uma Thurman, who delivers an excellent voice performance. The tone of her voice is strangely charming, but every bit as devilish and menacing as a true villain should be. Do not be fooled by the character's lush beauty and gold arm--she is unsympathetic trouble. Thurman's voice work in this film deserves to be appreciated with the all-time greats--from Robin Williams in Aladdin to a more recent effort by Peter O'Toole in Ratatouille.

While Thurman was born to voice her particular part, I cannot say the same for Allison Lohman, who voiced Nausicaa. In the beginning scenes of the film, her voice comes off as awkward and rather unnatural. As the film progresses, Lohman does improve, but I do not find her voice performance convincing or charismatic enough for such an ideal, worldly heroine.

Personally, I find Nausicaa almost too ideal. She is the heroine of the story, but she never fails to be the courageous, charming, independent, likable, intelligent, adventurous, kind pacifist. The only scene in the film where she appears to be human is when she understandably mourns for her father's death.

But without giving too much away, I guess that is sort of the point of her character, right? Legends and myths can't do without those perfect beings...

What I do particularly like about the film is the relationship between Nausicaa and Asbel (voiced by Shia LaBeouf), the twin brother of the princess of Pejite (who was the girl who died in the airship crash). The relationship between Nausicaa and Asbel is the least flustered relationship in the film and I appreciated that breath of fresh air. Their scenes together are very comedic and sweet.

Like I said earlier in my review, the film develops at a very slow rate. The first half-hour showcases the magic and passion Miyazaki has for animated flying sequences. As Nausicaa flies through the air on her trusty glider with that glorious score by Joe Hisaishi, it is almost enough to satisfy the taste buds of my short attention span. The film gradually unravels itself, layer by layer. The action scenes do not appear until about the one-hour mark. But even with exciting animation that the action scenes offer, the film is not intended for young children. Not only does it develop slowly, the action scenes are actually quite violent. (But truthfully, it doesn't really beat any of the violence kids see on video game commercials.)

Despite the minor problems I seem to have with the film, I completely enjoyed it as a whole. Nausiccaa of the Valley of the Wind is colored by an environmental-friendly message, way before Al Gore made a hit documentary out of it. The climatic scene where the God Warrior comes alive is magnificent to behold, full of fury and bravura. There is such spirit juiced in every scene to carry on even the film's duller moments. Witnessing this film unfold is equal to witnessing Miyazaki's relentless passion for his work and art. Clearly, the passion shows in every scene beyond the point of avoidance. Miyazaki's fingerprints are everywhere.

Rating: 8/10