Last month saw me slow down a bit on theater visits. The
best was the first when I took in TOMORROWLAND, the latest from director Brad
Bird best known for his excellent animated features THE IRON GIANT and THE
INCREDIBLES. So far Mr. Bird shows a marked talent in live action filmmaking as
well with the best Tom Cruise Mission Impossible under his belt and now this
wonderful effort. I always have my suspicions aroused whenever Disney decides
to turn one of their amusement park attractions into a film as it smacks of
boardroom synergy BS rather than the desire to tell a good story. So I went to
see this one with a fair amount of trepidation and found myself shocked at how
much I enjoyed it. This film feels like an old fashioned Disney movie from the
1950's and 60's - and I know that by telling you that I have just lost a fair
percentage of you but please let me explain. There used to be an entire
sub-genre of family friendly movies that Disney pioneered that were very well
made, tightly scripted and fun in ways that made them perfect for kids but not
insulting to adults. This kind of cinema is pretty much the norm for animated
features these days where the idea is to get the whole family in the theater
instead of crafting flicks for the Saturday matinees. But the appeal of this
type of tale in live action has been forgotten or, more accurately, relegated to
cheap TV productions done for - ah ha! - the Disney channel.
TOMORROWLAND is a
throwback to the days when real budgets and excellent ideas were used to craft movies
that the entire family could enjoy without the winks and nods to the adults in
the audience. This movie is for everyone and is all the better for attempting
to bring back the real Disney family film of old. I've read shallow criticisms
of the film that hinge on the things that the film doesn't have such as a
romantic subplot (why would you need one in every damned story?) or that it
doesn't have a conventional villain (good intentions gone catastrophically
wrong are not interesting?) and I find
it all pathetic. TOMORROWLAND is an unabashed anti-cynical, optimistic blast of
pulse-quickening futuristic fun with a glorious heartfelt message at its core -
turn away from the darker parts of yourself and work toward a better tomorrow
or there will be no better tomorrow. To have communicated that idea while
firing laser guns, fighting robots and flying around on jetpacks is quite an
accomplishment, in my book anyway.
On the darker end of the futuristic spectrum comes EX
MACHINA which is being called one of the best of the year. I walked out of the
theater thinking this film was a solid effort that just didn't connect with me.
I was impressed with everything about it on a technical level but I felt
detached and distant from everything that happened. I was able be interested in
what was being said and done onscreen but there was no emotional connection for
me. But over the next few days I found myself unable to stop thinking about EX
MACHINA and the ideas it examines about human nature, sexuality, power and our
inability to understand what it is that makes us real to others. The more time
that has passed since I watched the film the more it has been on my mind so I
know I'm going to have to see it again soon. I suspect that a second viewing may
make me more aware of what is making the film stay in my head and might make
me think better of it overall. And by the way - Oscar Issacs is an amazing
actor!
JURASSIC WORLD is nothing more or less than remake of JURASSIC PARK
OMEN IV: THE AWAKENING
(1991)- 3 (and it limps into the 90's)
LONG LIVE ROBIN HOOD (a.k.a.
ARCHER OF FIRE) (1971)- 7
THE RAID 2 (20) - 9
(rewatch)
WORLD GONE WILD (1988)- 4
(terrible post apocalyptic tale but it has its charms)
TOMORROWLAND (2015)- 9
HELL'S ANGELS ON WHEELS (1967)-
6
BLACK BELT JONES (1974)- 7
THE DEVIL SHIP PIRATES (1963)-
7 (rewatch) (Chris Lee as a pirate!)
TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER
(1976)- 7 (rewatch)
ANNA (2014)- 8 (well done,
slightly SF mystery)
ENDGAME (1983)- 6 (Italian
post apocalyptic action)
EX MACHINA (2015) - 7
(interesting but overly detached and cold)
GODZILLA, MOTHRA AND KING GHIDORA:
GIANT MONSTERS ALL OUT ATTACK (2001)- 9 (rewatch)
KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE
(2015)- 10 (rewatch)
WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS
(1966)- 8 (wow!)
THE WOMAN THEY ALMOST
LYNCHED (1953)- 6 (Republic western)
SUNSET (1988) - 5 (missed
opportunity)
SHADOW OF THE CAT (1961)- 7
(excellent murder story from Hammer)
JURASSIC WORLD (2015)- 5
TARZAN AND THE SLAVE GIRL (1950)-
7 (Lex Barker is a very good tarzan)
8 comments:
Strange how the guys at Video Junkie are no longer doing those "What We Watched ...(Every Month)" as a feature on their movie blog anymore,for maybe they're either burned out from doing them anymore or feel that it's been played out and see how everyone else with move blogs are practically doing similar articles.
If they burned out I can sympathize. I love blogging but having set my goal for the What I Watched posts to be commenting on what I see theatrically I feel compelled to stick with it. I seem to get interesting feedback on occasion so its not wasted time... I hope!
If it's any consolation, I wait for your What I Watched at the end of each month. Keep them coming.
Rod... Did you notice in WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS how it often (unintentionally) sounds like the Brown Gargantua is screaming "Shit! SHIT!"?
That is one crazy-fun movie.
I liked Jurassic World a lot, more than the sequels and nearly as much as the original. But the very premise of it -- a man-made park of recreated dinosaurs -- tends to limit the types of (highly commercial) stories you can tell with it. And the fact that this one plays out similarly to the first... Well, it's a re-boot as well as a sequel. But, I'm not sure how much they can stray from the "things go wrong and dinosaurs chase people" guts of the story.
When Brian Thomas and I created the Dinosaur Island comic, my thought was that we could get 4 fairly different stories for the series by concentrating on the human dramas (and setting each story in a different time period). But, basically, it's "Humans show up. Dinos chase and/or kill them. Humans escape." 'Cause with "real" dinos, that's the way such an interaction would go. (Unless you want to go with my wife's preferred: Humans show up and blow the shit out of dinos with modern weapons.) It's a Burroughs story or DC comics War that Time Forgot every time. And, really, you gotta accept that idea going in, or what's the point?
Which is not to say JW couldn't have been improved. More women characters would have been a nice start. But for what it is, I think it's excellent. (My main problem, aside from lack of women, is that the trailers -- as usual -- gave too many twists and surprises away.)
Of course, if you don't like their humans in a dinosaur park story, you can always write your own. But with the more expansive "Jurassic World" title -- perhaps those dinos will soon be moving off the island(s) and we'll get some kind of Planet of the Apes thing going.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_that_Time_Forgot
I'm aware of the War That Time Forgot comics - I have the Essentials collection of it here someplace and I agree that within the Park restrictions they have placed on themselves there really is only one story to tell - but that is the problem. They don't have any interest in telling s different tale. How about a rouge island set up by venture capitalists as a hunting preserve for rich folks? Jurassic Hunt! Imagine the possibilities! And then a group sneaks onto the island to kidnap a high government official on holiday, end up with a (possibly estranged) family member of the official and run afoul of the Dinos as they attempt to carry out their plot and still get some ransom money. Or a terrorist cell that attacks the park to capture Dinos for use against their enemies. Or maybe we see the first field tests of the attempt to weaponize Dinos. Or literally any other damned story Involving humans dealing with dinosaurs.
I don't want to have to write my own story! I don't have 300 million dollars for FX- they do! Now please put it in service of a NEW story.
OH! And Brian - Really? Is that in the English language track? I only listened to the Japanese with subtitles.
It's definitely on the English soundtrack (I've only watched the film in Japanese one time). And I made an error: It's actually the Green Gargantua -- the evil one -- who sounds like he's screaming "Shit!"
Some folks pick up on it immediately; others not at all until it's mentioned. ("Is that monster saying 'shit'?") But once heard... it cannot be unheard!
Got to mention my favorite shot in the film... When Green Gargantua hauls ass down the tarmac at the Tokyo airport and does a cannonball into the ocean. Groovy!
Perhaps sometime on the Bloody Pit show you & Troy could discuss the plusses and minuses of anthropomorphic (bipedal, man-shaped) kaiju -- like the Gargantuas, "Frankenstein" and that dog-headed man-thing whose name I can never remember!) vs. more "animal" style suit designs (such as Godzilla, Barugon, etc.). Personally, I tend to like the man-shaped monsters just a wee bit more...
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