Red Sun (1971).

Review #2564: Red Sun.

Cast: 

Charles Bronson (Link Stuart), Ursula Andress (Cristina), Toshirō Mifune (Kuroda Jubei), Alain Delon (Gauche), Capucine (Pepita), Barta Barri (Paco), Lee Burton (Mace), Anthony Dawson (Hyatt), Gianni Medici (Miguel), George W. Lycan (Sheriff Stone), Luc Merenda (Chato), and Tetsu Nakamura (the Japanese Ambassador) Directed by Terence Young (#150 - Dr. No, #278 - From Russia with Love, #335 - Thunderball, #1763 - Inchon)

Review: 

Yes, there are some movies that do slip by the radar despite having a few big names around the sun. Apparently, the film had been in development since 1968, complete with Toshiro Mifune being tapped early but the idea of having Clint Eastwood as a co-star eventually fizzled. Instead, in perhaps amusing irony, you've got Charles Bronson (one of the stars of The Magnificent Seven, the remake of Seven Samurai) co-starring with Mifune. Laird Koenig wrote the story for the film before a handful of screenwriters came in with Denne Bart Petitclerc (in his first screenplay after writing for TV and fresh off the one season run of creating Then Came Bronson [1969-70]), William Roberts (coincidentally a writer on the Seven film), and Lawrence Roman for what became a French-Italian-Spain production (i.e. filming in Spain and plenty of worldly companies producing the venture, which actually was supposed to be a Warner Bros.-Seven Arts movie). It was the second of three movies that Young made back-to-back with Bronson (a favorite of making movies in Europe that he once stated were thought to be foreign by Americans and American by the Japanese) with Cold Sweat (1970) and The Valachi Papers (1972) being the others (each with varying levels of involvement from French-Italian companies). Incidentally, Mifune learned his lines phonetically, as he did for roles in English (which, well, he didn't know the language, and this isn't even getting into movies where he is dubbed like with Midway [1976]). It didn't exactly become a widely well-known hit, although Mifune's presence apparently got it a couple of attendance records in the run in Japan. Apparently, Quentin Tarantino noted his appreciation of the film on at least one occasion.

 

The term "Spaghetti Western" referred to Westerns produced in Europe that were mostly made in either Italy or Spain. Here lies the setting in 1870, a couple of years after the first Japanese ambassadors arrived in America and yet there are perilous times ahead on a journey through the West through railroads and outlaws. You get an "East meets West" type of buddy movie that makes for an unwieldy but serviceable time to sit through at least once. By the first 25 minutes of its 112-minute runtime, you get the setup that appeals to the most ridiculous of time limits: if the duo fails to recover a gold-handled tachi in one week for the ambassador, the bodyguard and the ambassador will actually commit harakiri (ritualistic suicide*). Heck, by the time 40 minutes are gone, you already got a brief goofy fight to make light of Bronson trying to "fight" Mifune. In that sense, Bronson probably benefits from a clash of macho-ness with Mifune where he seems to not aim for the usual dry self in the "shoot-and-slash" pace of action. Sure, he still is outdone by Mifune in the type of presence that comes with basically commanding the screen without having to say much, but I think you get the appeal that each bring in learning what really matters in "honor". Honestly, the film needed a bit more from Andress and others, because it really is a road film with Bronson & Mifune and Delon basically sucks out the rest of the energy even with the limited time basically being a mustache-twirler type of adversary. The sequence near the climax where they have to confront Comanches does veer into a few cliches, but at least the movie finds a way to close itself out with a mostly deserving finish (predictable, sure, but familiar fun is still fun). The landscape may seem familiar, and the carnage may be inevitable (dynamite, train robberies, and double-crosses), but that's part of the fun if you buy what Young and company is selling for flim-flam charm. As a whole, it isn't a great movie by any means, but it has a few entertaining moments with a dynamite enough duo with Bronson and Mifune leading the way to make it a curious recommendation for those who like oddball type of Westerns.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Song of the day!

Come one, come all, be ready for another month-long celebration in August on Movie Night with...Acknowledged in August Again

*Seppuku, harakiri, you get the idea.

Shin Godzilla.

Review #2563: Shin Godzilla.

Cast: 

Hiroki Hasegawa (Rando Yaguchi), Yutaka Takenouchi (Hideki Akasaka), Satomi Ishihara (Kayoko Ann Patterson), Ren Ōsugi (Prime Minister Seiji Okochi), Akira Emoto (Ryuta Azuma), Kengo Kôra (Yusuke Shimura, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary), Mikako Ichikawa (Hiromi Ogashira, Deputy Director), Jun Kunimura (Masao Zaizen, Integrated Chief of Staff), Pierre Taki (Saigo, Combat Leader), Kyūsaku Shimada (Katayama, Minister of Foreign Affairs), Ken Mitsuishi (Kozuka, Governor of Tokyo), Shingo Tsurumi (Yajima, Joint Staff Deputy), Kimiko Yo (Reiko Hanamori, Defense Minister), Takumi Saitō (Ikeda, Tank Captain), Takashi Fujiki (Tokyo Lieutenant Governor), Yû Kamio (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), with Suzuki Matsuo (Journalist), Takahiro Miura (Journalist) and Mansai Nomura (Godzilla, motion capture) Directed by Hideaki Anno (#2344 - The End of Evangelion) and Shinji Higuchi.

Review: 

"In the world of fantastical scifi, Godzilla isn’t just an embodiment of hopes and dreams, but a caricature of reality–almost a kind of satirical reflection of the world. Painting present-day Japan in that light is something of a crazy experiment." - Hideaki Anno

"Shin Godzilla is a very different kind of Godzilla movie to its predecessors. So I was bracing for the movie-going audience to say, "Oh, this isn't Godzilla." But they were surprisingly very receptive to what we were trying to do.  They also fully picked up the the intent and nuance I tried to pour into the film." - Shinji Higuchi

Once upon a time, the Godzilla movies were on ice. Godzilla: Final Wars, released in 2004, was the sixth and final movie released by Toho in their third phase of making the films (which is basically split into eras of their emperor with "Shōwa", "Heisei" or, "Godzilla [1998] sucked, let's make movies again" or, uh, "Reiwa, otherwise known as "Godzilla [2014] rocked, let's make movies again"). So, with the success of the 2014 American rendition, Toho moved quickly to announce the resurgence of the series being in production (one with a title that basically can be construed as "new", "true", or "god", as opposed to, say, "Godzilla Resurgence"). The film was directed by Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi, who had worked together on Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, both renditions of Neon Genesis Evangelion, along with Love & Pop (1998)*; Higuchi served as VFX director while Anno served as co-editor and writer for the movie, which drew inspiration from the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. The effect for Godzilla was done with computer-generated imagery that saw motion capture utilized (after debating using a puppet). Released in Japan on July 29, 2016, the movie was a considerable success and a few months later it even got a release in America, the first one for the series since Godzilla 2000 [1999]. Due to the contract signed by Toho and Legendary Entertainment, the next live-action Godzilla movie could not be produced until at least 2020; it couldn't stop them from doing animated films, which is where the animated trilogy (Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters [2017], Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle [2018], Godzilla: The Planet Eater [2018]) comes in before Godzilla Minus One came around in 2023.

I wonder how this would've felt in 2016, with a 19-year-old* me, one who had only seen the 1954 movie and the 2014 American film at the time, I really do. Maybe I would've got a big kick out seeing it in a theater in the same way that Godzilla Minus One rocked my imagination years later. But this is 2026, I'm nearly 30, and at the end of the day, this is just an okay Godzilla movie that is not nearly as interesting as it believes itself to be for the approach that they aimed for.  This isn't even a complaint about what I wanted the movie to be, this is merely just me believing that things really haven't changed that much from the sequences in 1960s Godzilla movies in conference table discussion. Sure, the camera angles are sometimes neat, and there are little moments to chuckle with amidst the endless displays of who is who. But at a certain point, you can imagine someone watching the film at home (not in theaters, heaven forbid yelling there) and going, "who cares?" I suppose there is a bit of imagination need to believe there was something in their lives besides the minutiae of conference rooms just like with the older ones; I'll give it the pass that the entertainment value mostly overrides the middling characters.² Would the movie be higher on the supposed "bleak scale" some people label it, if, say, the National Diet had been vaporized? (I had a feeling that one of the Godzilla films of the past few decades had a different type of ending, and what do you know, Godzilla 2000 ends with Godzilla going through Tokyo). Going through conference rooms may be exciting to you in hearing what someone might do in the event of a disaster (do you also love doing your taxes?), but being outside feels freer for a movie. The atomic breath sequence is fun not only because it dispenses with one piece of the "who cares?" puzzle but also because, wait for it, it involves Godzilla being cool as hell in destruction. Sure, some folks probably loved it for being, say, complimentary of the Self-Defense Forces, but the real attraction is what you see of its monster, the eventual method of containment (face it, you know no matter what, the movie will not end like Terminator 3) and then, maybe remembering the face of one of the people in the movie. It really is a movie of adaptability: Godzilla adapts into multiple forms (some of them are pretty neat, arguably), the politicians either have to adapt for their country's sake or die (with or without the American government looming) and you either adapt to the film's rhythm for two hours or fall by the wayside.

There are moments with Hasegawa that does invite curiosity in juggling ambition and, well, actually being clever enough to listen and also lead people around him. In theory, the best one to tag along in the discussion part of the film (i.e., stuck in a room with nerds rather than political nerds*) is Ichikawa, mainly because they sound incisive...sure is a shame they only pop up here and there. Apparently, Ishihara felt the pressure in having to deal with the amount of lines in English (as one does when playing an American senior official) that ends up as pretty jarring (reading subtitles is one thing, imagine if you suddenly hear English all of a sudden) when compared to everyone else in vague nature anyway. Arguably, Minus One and this movie share a handful of aspects: both involve a fresh take involving the nature of man when confronting a great threat (bureaucrats in one circle, folks coming off the end of a war in another), both set themselves apart as a fresh reboot that doesn't involve introducing a second monster (the only other non-monster mash Godzilla movie in the last few decades was The Return of Godzilla back in 1984, although that one acted as a "direct sequel" to the first film), and both involve an ending inviting the possibility of a follow-up emergence(^). I felt like I cared more about what I saw in Minus One than what happened with this movie (the milage may vary when it comes to that 2014 American one), but I feel like I should be fairer to the 2016 movie for basically accomplishing its goal of a distinct take on a creature and government going in tandem in adaptability. As a whole, Shin Godzilla is basically fine, surely inspiring curiosity for its place within modern renditions of monster movies from the people that like its pacing and ones who don't have as much fun with it. At a certain point, I had to realize, yeah, this movie did achieve the goals set out on the scale and ambition required in a Japanese movie. Regardless, it has enough entertainment value worth recommending at least once for a movie that is now ten years old.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Song of the day!

*Incidentally, Anno wrote Higuchi's Shin Ultraman (2022) and later wrote and directed Shin Kamen Rider (2023).

*December birthdays stay undefeated.

²People love giving the Legendary Pictures Godzilla movies shit for their middling characterization in the face of monster mashes, which to me is funny as hell because brother, what do you think I'm here for in a theater? At a certain point for some movies, the line between "I wanted to see X in the movie" and "I wanted to be interested in the movie" collapses for some movies.

*People who are nerdy about politics are the biggest dweebs imaginable, change my mind. At least the guys who are weird about the lore of movies keep it roughly on the level. 

[^] Higuchi did mention a few small parallels with The Return of Godzilla - SHIN GODZILLA Interview with Shinji Higuchi, Discussing THE RETURN OF GODZILLA and SHIN GODZILLA's Shocking Finale - Daily Dead

Oddly, both also have an available version where you can see the movie in black and white. Also, good god, imagine a Shin Godzilla sequel that has actually *not* focus on the bureaucracy for a moment and actually care about people in the city? The horror! It almost feels like the reverse of my slight bone to pick with Evangelion: at a certain point, I did roll my eyes at Shinji's inner life and wanted to aim my eyes anywhere else. Specifically, Misato. 

In fairness to 2014 Godzilla, I remember loving it a bit back then and slightly less the next time I saw it over five years later because, hey, why the hell would you kill off Bryan Cranston's character? 12 years later, you really can ask: Who cares about (or remembers) Aaron Taylor-Johnson's character? 

Obligatory link, i.e. the only review of the movie I ever watched of the film (also, we love old Cinemassacre)

For the purposes of having a reference of previous Godzilla movies, inquire here: 

The original 1954 classic and its decent 1955 sequel

King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) - Godzilla fights King Kong to a relative draw.

Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964) - Mothra joins the mash!

Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964) - A monster so important it made the title

Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965) - Nick Adams in: Spaceman's Adventure

Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966) - Terrorists, lobsters, and more.

Son of Godzilla (1967) - A real family drama

Destroy All Monsters (1968) - Mash like it's 1999 in Monsterland

All Monsters Attack (1969) - Children and Minilla have to fight their own battles instead of Godzilla

Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971) - Trippy environmentally hip fun for the whole family

Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972) - Godzilla towers and a clip show all in one

Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973) - The one with Jet Jaguar the robot with a theme song.

I'll get to the ones from Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974) to Godzilla Final Wars (2004) eventually. Have fun!

Funeral in Berlin.

Review #2562: Funeral in Berlin.

Cast: 
Michael Caine (Harry Palmer), Paul Hubschmid (Johnny Vulkan/Paul Louis Broum), Oskar Homolka (Colonel Stok), Eva Renzi (Samantha Steel), Guy Doleman (Colonel Ross), Hugh Burden (Hallam), Heinz Schubert (Aaron Levine), Wolfgang Völz (Werner), Thomas Holtzmann (Reinhardt), Sarah Brackett (Babcock), Günter Meisner (Otto Kreutzman), and Herbert Fux (Artur) Directed by Guy Hamilton  (#280 - Diamonds Are Forever, #289 - The Man with the Golden Gun, #291 - Goldfinger, #293 - Live and Let Die, #612 - The Devil's Disciple, #2019 - The Ringer [1952])

Review: 

Yes, I suppose it makes sense that Guy Hamilton would be brought in to do work on a Harry Saltzman production with Funeral in Berlin (as based on the Len Deighton book of the same name), which was released the year after the success of The Ipcress File (1965), which Sidney J. Furie had managed to craft a pretty decent spy movie. And yet, Salesman apparently didn't like what Furie did to the point where he went with a familiar face to deliver another Palmer movie. In his 1993 autobiography, Caine described the movie as one where he doubted that the filmmakers managed to capture the "special atmosphere" of the city of Berlin, stating that Hamilton seemed more at home with the Bond movies (hey, I think Goldfinger was the best of the first few of the movies, at least until say, 1969) rather than the "gritty realism" attempted with the Palmer movies*. From 1964 to 1974, Hamilton worked with Saltzman on six films (The Party's Over, released in 1965, was the lone exception of that time period). Interestingly, Hamilton actually had served in a secret unit of the 15th Motor Gunboat Flotilla that brought over agents into France and send down pilots back to England in the second World War (for which he went through certain danger on one occasion) The screenplay was written by Evan Jones, who previously had adapted works into film with The Damned (1962) and Modesty Blaise (1966). The third and final feature film with Caine as Palmer came out with Billion Dollar Brain (as directed by Ken Russell) the following year.

There are aspects that are pretty interesting in dry charm, at least. Sure, it has pretty evident charms and flaws, but it is fairly likable with Caine at the helm with a locale in Berlin that at least seems like a useful capsule for its time. Undeniably, the movie is plagued by basically being a cipher in actually getting to the point of the "intrigue", because it muddles itself for 102 minutes with only a moderately interesting supporting cast and motivations that just aren't as sleek or as icily effective from before. So, what's it all about? Well, through a bit of loitering in the streets of Berlin, one sees an array of not-quite defections, Israeli agents* on a trail, and a motivation to keep some things buried from the light (the title here refers to the would-be smuggling scheme: getting out of East Berlin in a coffin). Caine coasts with the irreverent mannerism of coasting through the machinations of people who all look to get one over another (as if the spy game really is just a game of cons). This was the international debut for Renzi (cast over Anjanette Comer, apparently), who had one other film credit (Playgirl [1966]) to her name, but apparently she was dubbed. So it goes, I guess, because she basically drifts through the film anyway*. Homolka might actually be the most interesting presence in the exuberant, seasoned presence (sure, it's not his story, but, well...). Hubschmid is probably the bigger cipher of the film, trying to be elusive to hide the movie eventually getting to the point (Germans) that is only mildly interesting when paired with Caine. The movie sometimes is interesting with its locale and the bleak scenarios that creep around the corner for a feel that you just wish was a bit tighter with its globe-trot in Berlin. You just want a little more energy amidst the gloom, as one basically drifts through it all. However, if you prefer to see what a spy movie from Hamilton looked like that wasn't merely James Bond, this might be up your alley.

 

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Song of the day!

*Caine also noted in one instance that they were filming near the Wall on a sunny day and border guards with nothing better to do shone mirrors in the lenses that led to the filmmakers moving somewhere else.

*Israeli agent, you say? Don't worry, I don't think I would say anything that would get someone to whine about anti-semitism. Free Palestine?

*Comer married Hubschmid the following year but didn't exactly take off as an actress, even rejecting a role in You Only Live Twice.

The Odyssey (2026).

Review #2561: The Odyssey (2026).

Cast: 
Matt Damon (Odysseus), Tom Holland (Telemachus), Anne Hathaway (Penelope), Robert Pattinson (Antinous), Lupita Nyong'o (Helen of Troy / Clytemnestra), Samantha Morton (Circe), John Leguizamo (Eumaeus), Zendaya (Athena), Charlize Theron (Calypso), Jon Bernthal (Menelaus), Himesh Patel (Eurylochus), Bill Irwin (Polyphemus), Elliot Page (Sinon), Benny Safdie (Agamemnon), with Corey Hawkins (Polybus), Niko Nicotera (Peisander), Elyes Gabel (Elatus), Iddo Goldberg (Amphimedon), Jamie Harris (Agelus), Mia Goth and Logan Marshall-Green (Melantho and Melanthius), Ryan Hurst (Mentor), and James Remar (Tiresias) 

Directed by Christopher Nolan (#054 - The Dark Knight, #055 - Inception, #062 - Batman Begins, #980 - Dunkirk , #1562 - The Dark Knight Rises, #1618 - Tenet, #2050 - Oppenheimer, #2322 - Interstellar)

Review: 

"Tell me, O muse, of that ingenious hero who travelled far and wide after he had sacked the famous town of Troy. Many cities did he visit, and many were the nations with whose manners and customs he was acquainted; moreover he suffered much by sea while trying to save his own life and bring his men safely home; but do what he might he could not save his men, for they perished through their own sheer folly in eating the cattle of the Sun-god Hyperion; so the god prevented them from ever reaching home. Tell me, too, about all these things, O daughter of Jove, from whatsoever source you may know them."

Once upon a time, there were old tales that people decided to freewheel their own interpretation to communicate to the masses (such as say, Samuel Butler, who stated a theory, whether 100 percent seriously or not, that the Odyssey was written by a Sicilian woman). As the seasons changed and the technology grew larger, you could see and hear other freewheeling interpretations of tales on a screen perhaps unfathomable to a person dated in antiquity. Some folks probably read the Odyssey in their youth or maybe read it online (the link I noted above is a centuries old public domain translation, which used the Latinized name of Ulysses), or maybe heard about it from other certain oral traditions (hey, Arthur was an institution for some kids), or with James Joyce's Ulysses, or, well, you get the idea. Various productions had been done of the work, with most being in Italy, such as the film Ulysses [1954] (a Dino De Laurentiis production with Kirk Douglas and others), the 1968 miniseries (known in its native country as L'Odissea), looser adaptations such as O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), and recent ones such as The Return (2024), which started with no mythic beings or Gods with Odysseus back in Ithaca. Christopher Nolan wanted to be the guy to direct a movie that had never really been done for a large-scale production with the Odyssey, and it should be noted that he had been once tapped to direct Troy (2004), which had been loosely based on the Iliad. He wanted to tell it "in a fresh and modern way", which to him read differently from his perspective of middle age that he felt he has been telling in his films for years, simultaneously calling it a "family story, a love story, a revenge story, a war story, a coming-of-age story... a very strong foundational text". There were various inspirations that Nolan listed prior to the release, ranging from the various translations of the Odyssey (such as the Emily Wilson 2017 translation), the visual style and atmospheric tone of Kurosawa's Ran (1985) and the mythology-inspired films worked on by Ray Harryhausen such as Jason and the Argonauts (1963). It was shot entirely with IMAX film cameras, the first of its kind in a movie that already sounds like a crowd favorite*.

In a time of "apparent magic", yes, you basically get a tale of original sin. It basically is a grounded take of the sword and sandal epic with an earthy feel that feels more psychological than mythological. In some ways, it might seem bloated at 173 minutes, but actually it often feels more like a breeze to sift through as it dwells through the divide of a lead that wavers between an everyman and a superhero. The veterans of his campaigns walk the shore in life and death because only one man will end up by divine will back home and yet he still thinks defiance is the way to go. Men from the sea attack and all around a kingdom, the law of Zeus (okay, xenia) is not being abided by while others go on about a face, a fleet, and tricks to break away and burn Troy screaming to the ground. Amidst the prophets, giants, and nymphs is a story of a man realizing what his actual place is among the crumbling of foundation and realizing that what you want most may very well be what you already had (okay that came from a bit about the Sirens, but in fairness, what is a man if not one with the hubris to listen to them knowing they will survive anyway). It jumps around in the narrative with a type of curious enthusiasm that has a few moments that really do spark me to go "cool", namely with the Laestrygonian sequence (the giants clad in armor), complete with camera tricks (hey, the cyclops [Polyphemus] is cool to see too, and the witch realization is also darkly amusing, but still). Of course, the underworld sequence might be the real showstopper in seeing the true price of years spent getting on and trying to leave one particular blood-stained beach (and one horse*).

For all of the stuff I say about the movie, it really is one to look upon familiar faces and find a few fun moments in Damon leading the way in the unraveling of civilization, at least if you go with someone having enough hubris to believe that they really are the, shall we say, Oppenheimer of their times. Basically, you have a complicated hero that you know is going to reach some type of home (his kingdom, wife with the stature of Hathaway, however you want to interpret it) but not necessarily will be a better man for it, and in that sense, Damon makes for a curious cipher that either grows with you or just withers away in elusiveness, and I found it was a case of the former most of the time, which I suppose is helpful when talking about the wavering road of hero or fool. Some could contend that Holland might be easy to gloss over amidst the seasoned presences around him. Well, that's a bit silly to me, mainly because that's the whole point: this is a foolish young prince that is between a rock and a hard place: old enough to maybe take on actual responsibilities but not in the position to actually rise from "son of Odysseus" (to a certain point, anyway). In that sense, Holland does pretty well with showing the vulnerability of being out of one's depth, of literally being a face in a long crowd, especially when contending with the likes of Leguizamo, who really does sink into his role with weary curiosity.  Pattinson and Morton each sell the moments that they take part in more so than the mostly okay times encountering Theron or Nyong', with Pattinson in particular seemingly having plenty of fun in towering overconfidence (as one does when citing a James Woods character* as inspiration). I just wish the film stuck the ending better, because amidst a flourish of inevitable "hey, the man of the house is among us" realization is a finish of trying to sell the closing of the loop of a man who can't really go "home" (as one does when fiddling with the ending of the original tale in, what, divine intervention?) that just...sits there as an ending more than anything. As a whole, making The Odyssey was a task that required a director willing to stamp their own interpretation on what is so special about a long trek back home in a time of myths and monsters, and I think Nolan made a pretty good rendition worth viewing on the best screen possible. It's not a great movie, but being a pretty good time is just as useful for me anyway.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Song of the day!

*Any thoughts about the casting of say, Nyong'o or Page? Yeah, conservative grifters whining about it can either watch the movie for themselves or piss off. The movie is full of Greek characters, do we care if most of them are played by Americans or Brits? No? 

*Or the dog reunion, because, hey.

*Not to be confused with the current James Woods

*It's a hard 8/10 in that I would rather go 8/10 for a movie that teeters at 8.5 rather than having subsequent regret in giving a 9/10.

You're a Big Boy Now.

Review #2560: You're a Big Boy Now.

Cast: 

Elizabeth Hartman (Barbara Darling), Peter Kastner (Bernard Chanticleer), Geraldine Page (Margery Chanticleer), Rip Torn (I.H. Chanticleer), Tony Bill (Raef del Grado), Julie Harris (Miss Nora Thing), Karen Black (Amy Partlett), Dolph Sweet (Patrolman Francis Graf), Michael Dunn (Richard Mudd), and Michael O'Sullivan (Kurt Doughty) Directed by Francis Ford Coppola (#592 - Dementia 13, #1139 - Supernova, #1460 - Apocalypse Now, #1469 - The Outsiders, #1502 - Bram Stoker's Dracula)

Review:

"You're a Big Boy Now is a flashy movie to some extent. I have since been more subtle than that. But flashy films do attract attention, and that was what I wanted to do when I was making my first film for a studio."

Maybe I haven't been fair to Francis Ford Coppola. The story goes that Coppola wrote a screenplay when working for Seven Arts that was a different take on the "coming of age" movie that was based on the David Benedictus novel You're a Big Boy Now. Coppola had the novel brought to his attention by Tony Bill (incidentally, he wanted to play the lead but also suggested Peter Kastner, because of what he saw in Nobody Waved Good-bye [1964]). He optioned the novel and changed the setting from London to New York City (going from shoe clerk to library assistant) while at the same time working with Gore Vidal on the screenplay for Is Paris Burning? [1966]. Seven Arts, asserting that Coppola's writing of the script on their time meant that they owned it, eventually came to a deal with him that would pay Coppola $8,000 to direct with a 29-day shooting schedule; he used the resulting movie as his thesis at UCLA for his Master of Fine Arts degree. Made on a budget that eventually rose to around $1 million around various locations in New York, the film was not a major success at the time, although it apparently broke even when it was sold to television.* Coppola worked with Warner Bros.-Seven Arts for his next two films with Finian's Rainbow (1968) and The Rain People (1969).

I could not help but think about The Gr-no, wait, not really. Actually, I couldn't get Dementia 13 out of my head when I thought about Coppola and the youthful energy of trying to make a go at filmmaking on a tight schedule and why it felt so much more interesting in that film than with this brash, messy, and altogether curious studio movie. And I then guess someone would compare it to The Graduate, which also was a coming-of-age movie with a young man and the alienation of his parents' generation that was released the following year*. And then I think about the lead character and wonder to myself: why do I hate this little bastard at times? Yes, there are a few hang-ups that actually do prove amusing, but there were almost as many times where I felt the strange desire to wish that Mr. Chanticleer took a nice smack upside on the head, funny as he might be. But you can at least say it is curious enough to free-form its way through an odyssey of someone learning to get a clue in the swinging era of what 1966 surely looked like (complete with peep shows, oddly placed signs*, and, well, pretzels). Amidst the consternation that one might have for some of these ridiculously repressed people, filled with frustrations at times, is an array of interesting performances. Sentimentally, Torn is the one I spring to first (much like oldie songs, I don't have many new favorites), and he actually is pretty funny here as a befuddled parent who thinks they know best in running their son basically like they were a business, complete with their varied responses to the women around them (staid wives, or messing around in a vault with odd books, you get the idea). The journey to get to the inevitable is fairly tolerable in seeing some of the hang-ups play out on screen, whether that involves a man-hating Hartman (to a point*) or the obvious cool loyalty in Black (making her screen debut) or Page in a role that probably could be defined as an amusing "shrew". At least it ends with a chase scene to help crash things down to some sort of reality (namely realizing what really matters between odd duck family and friends). You get a few interesting camera tricks, a few interesting moments looking at a New York movie with a worthy enough soundtrack involving the Lovin' Spoonful. As a whole, it is a strange little time capsule of an older time filled with a few interesting visuals, here-and-there jokes and a general vibe fit for hang-ups and hanger-ons that might be up your alley.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Song of the day!

*I'll be honest, I haven't thought about The Graduate much since I saw it exactly one time...12 years ago. Strange that I didn't feel like strangling Dustin Hoffman's character nearly as much as the one presented here. 

*I couldn't find a direct source, but Coppola stated that his film was definitely influenced by Richard Lester's A Hard Day's Night (1964), as opposed to The Knack... and How to Get It (1965), which was released a few months before Big Boy. Of course, I wish for a direct quote because Coppola also apparently said he hated the movie.

*One sign has the N-word in it that naturally the lead character reads out loud, and no the word is not naive.

*Also, this may come as a surprise, but the Hartman character is depicted as a man-hating narcissist that was shaped by their molestation as a youth that saw them get revenge in a way that totally makes sense: stealing his wooden leg!

Redux: Aliens.

Redux Review #574: Aliens.

Cast: 

Sigourney Weaver (Ellen Ripley), Michael Biehn (Dwayne Hicks), Paul Reiser (Carter J. Burke), Lance Henriksen (Bishop), Carrie Henn (Rebecca "Newt" Jorden), Bill Paxton (Private Hudson), William Hope (Lieutenant Gorman), Jenette Goldstein (Private Vasquez), Al Matthews (Sergeant Apone), Mark Rolston (Private Drake), Ricco Ross (Private Frost), Colette Hiller (Corporal Ferro), Daniel Kash (Private Spunkmeyer), Cynthia Dale Scott (Corporal Dietrich), Tip Tipping (Private Crowe), Trevor Steedman (Private Wierzbowski), and Paul Maxwell (Van Leuwen) Directed by James Cameron (#001 - Terminator 2: Judgement Day, #063 - The Terminator, #388 - Avatar)

Review: 

“What I remember about that night is not my reaction to the movie [Alien] but my reaction to the audience. I thought to myself, ‘If I can do that, if I can even come close to doing that,,," - James Cameron (1986)

You might remember that Alien (1979) was originally devised by Dan O'Bannon into subsequent collaboration with Ronald Shusett (pitched as "Jaws in space") that had further influence from David Giler and Walter Hill (it was they who came up with the android character of Ash) and, well, all the folks leading right down to Ridley Scott (and, well, maybe a little bit of positive executive influence, because they groused at Scott's original ending idea). Between the inspiration of films such as The Thing from Another World [1951] in O'Bannon and Shusett's screenplay, the creature design by H. R. Giger* to Scott's drive to make "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre of science fiction" resulted in a movie where terror inflicted the average Joes in space and, well, was pretty damn cool. After years of 20th Century Fox refusing to go along with actually making a sequel (which namely involved trying to screw over the producers in declaring the movie a financial loss), it eventually started development around 1983, and a search for writers led to curiosity over James Cameron's The Terminator script. Cameron (who once described the original as "almost the perfect movie") was hired to do a treatment that had advice from David Giler and Walter Hill that basically honed down to "Ripley and soldiers", which he submitted after three days of writing in the fall of 1983, although it didn't generate true interest (the studio thought it was just filled with horror) until after the release of The Terminator (in turn, Cameron, who didn't expect the movie to be a hit, had worked on an Alien script in his free time*²). Cameron, Giler, and Hill were each credited for the story.  The movie was released at 137 minutes due to an array of cuts that actually could've been a bit more substantial if Fox had gotten their way to make it barely over two hours. Nowadays, you can see the Director's Cut, which is 157 minutes long (with differences being noted here alongside cut scenes that aren't in either version). On July 18, 1986, the movie was released in theaters to tremendous success (plus, Scott seemed to have liked it). The movie was such a hit that 20th Century Fox was really interested in doing a third movie with no hesitation, although delays (namely in not being able to actually settle on a finished script*) resulted in it being released in 1992 that was thought to be considerably inferior to the previous two films and hated by its own director.

If the first film was akin to a fright house, the second film really does merit the comparison (made by Cameron) of aiming to be a roller-coaster ride, and yes, I did this re-review mainly to assert how damn great it is, mainly because the first time I reviewed it, I barely gave any type of insight the first time around in 2014, which basically saw wonderful interactions, a mood shift from "bravado to outright fear" and really good effects. But honestly, the obvious shining point of what basically became the be-all and end-all of the series is with Weaver. Cameron and company wanted Weaver from the jump, with no studio reluctance getting in the way (yes, the studio that was sued by producers into financing the development of the film thought saving money on a cheaper star was a good idea). The first film saw her slowly but surely take charge in the presence of all-encompassing terror that we all could see in ourselves. After confronting the terror of people breaking down in front of them (figuratively or literally) and being trapped in nothingness only to find a world colder than when she left it, Weaver proves up to the challenge of making this character a true wonder in take-charge charm with vulnerability that we still hold up as an icon that Weaver described as an "everyperson". She is trapped in the hell of what she experienced and the idea that of being right in the present of the worst possible thing: being on another crew considered expendable. With the director's cut reminding you of just what she lost the first time around (because again, you only see that photo in that version), it makes the journey back from isolation with Henn all the more rewarding. And then of course there is the wonderful interactions with such a confident supporting cast that view themselves as on the road to conquest with such gallantry only to find themselves in a mirroring of the Vietnam War. Sure, Biehn is tremendously entertaining (cast after James Remar backed out), but it really is the credit of Paxton and Goldstein* to really sell the journey through hell and back (to a point, anyway) with kickass enthusiasm. Rounding out as the odd-man is with Reiser, who actually does prove exquisite in showing that comedians really can play a scummy toad and make it look so easy. Doubly so for Henn and her brave performance filled with soulful qualities (incidentally, she became a teacher) and Henriksen as an android that really is just one of the guys (which he once said basically meant playing him as an innocent). Yes, the movie looks great with what is seen and what isn't seen from the miniatures/wires, and yes, the James Horner music is worthwhile to hear*, but it really does all come down to how much we end up loving to see these characters go through the ride with us (this can be as something as small as seeing Hope's pencil-neck character try to tell the squad to not use a particular weapon - that's an easy one to say "been there, done that") in chaos. If Alien strikes at the terror of being trapped in a place with little escape, Aliens strikes at the terror of actually having something to lose besides the soul. 

 

It's interesting to compare this film to say, the "crowd-pleaser" aim from the most modern film of the series with Alien: Romulus (2024), which aimed to go for "wonder and terror" feel in being set between the two great movies that mostly reminded me of how hard it is to really make a worthwhile ride that isn't merely derivative (to say nothing of one particular reference from Aliens that comes out in Romulus). Jokingly or not, I said that Aliens was better than Alien by a "Xenomorph egg". I have to believe in my heart of hearts that this statement holds water today, but I do admit that I have made it a habit to watch Alien each night of May 25. It's interesting that both movies basically end in the same manner: expelling the final creature into space before Ripley enters stasis for a return to Earth. At any rate, Alien, Aliens, you can't go wrong with the entertainment presented in the terrors of beasts that comes from dark corridors, beasts of acid, and the showing of what it really means to be alive. It was timeless before being a 40-year-old movie, that much is for sure. It is self-contained show of excellence from Cameron and company that stands on its own. 

Overall, I give it 10 out of 10 stars.

Theme of the day

*I should give full credit to the list of people who won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for Alien: H. R. Giger, Carlo Rambaldi, Brian Johnson, Nick Allder, and Dennis Ayling. There are further inspirations listed that would clog up the opening paragraph: Planet of the Vampires (1965) - specifically the giant skeleton, It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958), Clifford D. Simak's short story "Junkyard", Star Wars (1977) specifically in Scott's aim to be its "antithesis", the aesthetic of illustrator Moebius and possibly even H. P. Lovecraft (Giger found the initial storyline to be in the vein of the famed writer and listed him as one of his greatest sources of inspiration.). By the way, did you know that Scott...wanted Ridley to die at the end of Alien? No, really.

*² It should be noted that Cameron had done a spec script in 1980 (as seen with the link here: The Risk Always Lives: Words to Live by On the Set of James Cameron’s ‘Aliens’ • Cinephilia & Beyond) that dealt with trying to keep a young creature alive that dealt with a mother queen type creature and a climax with a power-loader. Incidentally, Cameron wrote a draft for Rambo: First Blood Part II around the same time as the Alien II script.

*See, I should see Alien 3 again, mainly to bring up that Fox and company went through a litany of ideas such as: a two-part story where Biehn would be the protagonist for the third film before an epic battle for a fourth movie (no chance of getting Ridley Scott, he was busy), a William Gibson script that he once jokingly described as "Space commies hijack alien eggs—big problem in Mallworld" (this was later adapted into an audio drama), a "wooden planet" with all-male monks...before settling on a cobbled together script that wasn't even finished when filming started. Don't get me started on what happens in the introductory scene of Alien 3. What the fuck? Game over, man! Game over! Yes, even in a notes section, I managed to get that reference in.

  

*Is it really good acting if you don't recognize that Goldstein isn't actually Mexican? (enjoy an interview detailing experiences making the film - Interview with Jenette Goldstein, 1987 | Strange Shapes). Incidentally, she actually owns a bra chain store company.

*Sure, the James Horner soundtrack has a few parts that sound like, say, his stuff from Star Trek II. But who cares? Incidentally, an un-used part of the soundtrack was later used in the climax of Die Hard.

Cannonball.

Review #2559: Cannonball.

Cast: 

David Carradine (Coy "Cannonball" Buckman), Bill McKinney (Cade Redman), Veronica Hamel (Linda Maxwell), Gerrit Graham (Perman Waters), Robert Carradine (Jim Crandell), Belinda Balaski (Maryann), Mary Woronov (Sandy Harris), Diane Lee Hart (Wendy), Glynn Rubin (Ginny), James Keach (Wolf Messer), Dick Miller (Bennie Buckman), Paul Bartel (Lester Marks), Stanley Bennett Clay (Beutell Morris), Judy Canova (Sharma Capri), Archie Hahn (Zippo), and Carl Gottlieb (Terry McMillan) Directed by Paul Bartel (#955 - Eating Raoul, #2231 - Death Race 2000, #2440 - Private Parts)

Review: 

Yes, the Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash inspired quite a few movies. Once upon a time, in the 1970s, a couple of people got together and wanted to go cross-country across the United States really really fast. It was devised by car magazine writer/auto racer Brock Yates and Car and Driver editor Steve Smith that ran a couple of times in the 1970s (1971, 1972, 1975, 1979) that liked to celebrate the interstate highway and protest against traffic laws.* Various things came about involving speed limits and car rallies (One Lap of America and Gumball 3000, specifically). Believe it or not, Yates actually was planning to do a movie screenplay but was instead beaten to the punch by Samuel W. Gelfman, a producer who hired Paul Bartel and David Carradine (fresh off Death Race 2000 [1975]) to make a movie that would be distributed by Roger Corman's New World Pictures. The resulting script was cobbled together from Paul Bartel and Donald C. Simpson (this was Simpson's only credited screenplay, as the following year saw him named vice president of production at Paramount). Released in July, it was released one month before The Gumball Rally from Warner Bros. (the car race movie with Michael Sarrazin as star). Bartel later stated that while he was never interested in cars or racing, he decided loading the film with cameos and gimmicks that interested him would work out for him (which included a scene of Bartel playing the piano, naturally). The movie (which includes a gauntlet of cameos from Roger Corman to Sylvester Stallone) was not as big a success as Death Race 2000. Yates did get his screenplay made into a film, albeit with an all-star ensemble cast in Hal Needham's The Cannonball Run (1981), complete with a cameo appearance. Coincidentally, both movies had funding from Hong Kong companies: Cannonball had the involvement of Shaw Brothers Studio while The Cannonball Run had the involvement of Golden Harvest (and even the involvement of Jackie Chan as one of the stars).

It's a movie with a very macho Carradine that goes around driving through the mayhem that comes from exploding cars, mid-wit brothers, cars piling onto themselves, and good ol' scrappy fun. Sure, it does plod along at 93 minutes with an array of jokes and action set-pieces that are pretty hit and miss. But I enjoy the general enthusiasm that comes through to say that it is at least curious to sit through once, perhaps as part of a double-header with Death Race 2000 (or, to see the comparison of familiar faces, The Cannonball Run, a movie my dad surely liked enough to have on DVD). If you like Carradine and cars, this is somehow second of a sort-of-trilogy of Carradine, cars, and New World distribution. In 1978, Carradine happened to do another vehicle-related car movie with Deathsport (1978) for New World (with Allan Arkush and Nicholas Niciphor as director). It's the usual type of understated macho performance from Carradine that coasts through the experience with a few kicks and the same number of expressions as say, Clint Eastwood (in other words: fine?). McKinney and his loosely defined adversary position is at least interesting to see play off Carradine here and there, but it mostly is a film for bits and pieces of things (most significantly with Miller, the "that guy!" king). Hell, he probably is almost outshone by R.Carradine and Balaski taking the time in doing the race (which even sees them take a competitor to the hospital). It's a movie built for theatrics: guys playing country songs in a fast car will eventually go by the wayside for a stunt jump over an unfinished bridge (which is cool). Strangely enough, this and Cannonball Run share the same type of conclusion: the lead doesn't actually win the race because a last-second snafu (okay it's a bit dourer in this film as compared to the other one, but still) with its own type of punchline in bringing the wreck back home. It's a movie where you either go "cool", "eh", or "nope", pure and simple. As a whole, it certainly is a step down from Death Race 2000 (1975) in terms of entertainment with the second and last collaboration between Bartel and Carradine, but it still is worth a watch for those who like offbeat movies on the road that is sometimes funny but generally involving to see to the end.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Song of the day!

*In a movie, it's whatever, but here's an easy take: follow traffic laws. People shouldn't die because some pissant had to go 100 on a 75 or because some moron doesn't use their turn signals. 

Godzilla vs. Megalon.

Review #2558: Godzilla vs. Megalon.

Cast: 

Katsuhiko Sasaki (Inventor Goro Ibuki), Hiroyuki Kawase (Rokuro Ibuki), Yutaka Hayashi (Hiroshi Jinkawa), Robert Dunham (Emperor Antonio of Seatopia, Seatopian agent on motorcycle; Gorō Naya as Japanese voice of Antonio), Kotaro Tomita (Lead Seatopian Agent), Wolf Ohtsuki (Seatopian Agent), Gentaro Nakajima (Truck Driver), Sakyo Mikami (Truck Driver's Assistant), with Tsugutoshi Komada (Jet Jaguar), Shinji Takagi (Godzilla), Hideto Date (Megalon), and Kenpachiro Satsuma (Gigan) Directed by Jun Fukuda (#1668 - Ebirah, Horror of the Deep, #2070 - Son of Godzilla, #2525 - Godzilla vs. Gigan)

Review: 

Oh, poor Jun Fukuda. It's not easy making four Godzilla movies where the highlight is either a mediocre Son of Godzilla or one brimming with mockery amidst the use of stock footage. With this film, the 13th Godzilla movie, you've got a clash of ideas and ambitions all bubbling to the surface: All Monsters Attack (1969)'s original villain was going to be a giant mole cricket before a series of reworkings (one involving pairing it with other monsters under the command of hostile alien invaders) led to, well, a giant beetle. Now, you might wonder what the hell "Jet Jaguar" plays into it. Togo had a contest for kids in late 1972 that apparently resulted in a robot called Red Arone (apparently, it looked something like this). Shinichi Sekizawa did a few story ideas but did not have time to actually write a script, which fell to Fukuda to write the screenplay for a film that reportedly took just three weeks to shoot. As you probably would guess, extensive stock footage is utilized, whether that is films from nearly ten years ago with Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964) to others such as Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965) and Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972). In some ways, this movie has been credited as giving the perception of kaiju movies as being a bit campy or comedic, with the 1976 American release by Cinema Shares having a poster featuring Godzilla and Megalon...fighting on the World Trade Center (because if one is going to straight up "spoof" the King Kong (1976) poster, you might as well go all the way, even if it reeks of hackery). It was also featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000). It even had a primetime broadcast on NBC in 1977, albeit in a form that was cut to less than an hour. Thankfully, with the modern age, you can just watch the damn movie with subtitles like a normal person (Criterion or otherwise) *. Fukuda got one more Godzilla movie to do with Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974). 

I first saw footage of the film in what else but James Rolfe's "Godzilla-a-thon" years ago (the one that briefly recapped each movie up to 2004*), so I had an inkling of what was going to come. It sure is a shame about the "camp" label, mainly because that label always seems to be used for a tired argument very now and then about movies they want to find a longwinded way of just saying "silly"*. You'll never believe this: it's an 81 minute Godzilla movie with a few silly moments, a few familiar things, fairly forgettable humans (with one exception?) and a pretty bog-standard quality that reminds you that there are better movies out there. Look. you get to see a flying two-feet karate kick from Godzilla and a goofy robot that doesn't even change its expression with Jet Jaguar, a suddenly sentient being that can grow really really tall (I'm sure there is a measurement in feet or "meters", but Movie Night does not recognize the latter). The irony is that for all the interesting visuals (the bits not from 1970, anyway), I could not find one interesting thing to say about Saskai, Kawase, or Hiyashi (you think modern Godzilla movies have dodgy human characters? Watch this movie and get back to me). They are there, they show up, they remind you that even robots have more to really say than kid actors, and so on and so forth. It is delightfully preposterous in ways that are entirely easy to see coming: dudes wearing what appear to be a toga (Dunham, complete with some chest hair) dealing with an underground kingdom that send monsters rather than negotiate (we are past the part the military not mattering) and Godzilla (don't ask about the suit, at least they tried making it seem freshly new) basically taking longer than a superhero to show up in the film. But when it does get moving, there are some amusing parts that remind you that even a bad Godzilla movie (with one Emmerich-sized exception) can at least be an amusing time. Not a movie for serious analysis or fans of good films, but if you like watching Godzilla or. monster mashes, maybe you'll have a time worth noting.

Overall, I give it 6 out of 10 stars.

(Jet Jaguar's) song of the day!

*No, I will not budge on subtitles over dubs. I didn't give a shit who was doing the English dub of, say, The Boy and the Heron, so it is either original dub or nothing. You can also bookmark this and call me an idiot if I pull a hypocritical move.

*I love the old Cinemassacre. No comment on the AVGN Movie though.

*Unrelated, probably. You can call it a conspiracy theory, but I firmly believe that a good deal of critiques of horror movies with "misogyny!" is actually just folks looking for an easy punching bag because they don't have anything better to do with their time. And there is no "campy" horror, that's just "comedy-horror", so stop it!

For the purposes of having a reference of previous Godzilla movies, inquire here: 

The original 1954 classic and its decent 1955 sequel

King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) - Godzilla fights King Kong to a relative draw.

Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964) - Mothra joins the mash!

Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964) - A monster so important it made the title

Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965) - Nick Adams in: Spaceman's Adventure

Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966) - Terrorists, lobsters, and more.

Son of Godzilla (1967) - A real family drama

Destroy All Monsters (1968) - Mash like it's 1999 in Monsterland

All Monsters Attack (1969) - Children and Minilla have to fight their own battles instead of Godzilla

Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971) - Trippy environmentally hip fun for the whole family

Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972) - Godzilla towers and a clip show all in one

Team America: World Police.

Review #2557: Team America: World Police.

Cast: 

Trey Parker (Gary Johnston/Joe Smith/Carson/Kim Jong Il/Hans Blix/Matt Damon/Tim Robbins/Sean Penn/Michael Moore/Helen Hunt/Peter Jennings/Susan Sarandon/Drunk in Bar/Liv Tyler/Janeane Garofalo/Additional voices), Matt Stone (Chris Roth/George Clooney/Danny Glover/Ethan Hawke/Martin Sheen/Additional voices), Kristen Miller (Lisa Jones), Masasa Moyo (Sarah Wong), Daran Norris (Spottswoode), Phil Hendrie (I.N.T.E.L.L.I.G.E.N.C.E./Chechen terrorist), Maurice LaMarche (Alec Baldwin), Chelsea Marguerite (French mother), Jeremy Shada (Jean Francois), Fred Tatasciore (Samuel L. Jackson), and Greg Ballora, Scott Land, Seb Hartman & Tony Urbano (Lead puppeteers) Directed by Trey Parker (#2226 - South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut)

Review: 

"It's funny when someone responds with, “Oh, well they think this is funny?” No, we just think that everything's funny. We think that “funny” is a great thing and “funny” is a great way to think about things and deal with things. People who don't have great senses of humor think that comedy is that you just think something's trite and stupid and you don't care about it. [They think] if you're laughing, it's because what you think you're laughing at is stupid — because that's about as far as their sense of humor goes. People don't realize that it can be something a lot deeper than that." - Trey Parker

Sure, let's talk about the movie with puppets and American spirit for the 4th of July. The production of South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999) was a pain in the ass for Trey Parker and Matt Stone (particularly with the ratings board), but it was a successful pain in the ass, and eventually the two of them came up with something they thought would be funny to do for a film. They landed upon the Thunderbirds (as originally created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson from 1964-1966), which they vaguely remembered watching as reruns when they were bored and found it "so expository and slow" for a show that took itself really seriously involving the Tracy family and a few vehicles (when production was rounding the corner to finish, Parker and Stone jokingly called Anderson "absolutely insane"*). Of course, it also helps to be a "send-up" of the Jerry Bruckheimer productions of the time (most notably Pearl Harbor [2001], although non-Bruckheimer films like Megaforce [1982] also proved an inspiration). Parker and Stone wrote the film with longtime writing partner Pam Brady. The Chiodo Brothers helped create the hundreds of puppet characters, with Parker and Stone soon realizing during filming that the comic tone to them came from the marionettes trying to drama rather than just having "puppets doing jokes". Trying to capture every stunt live on film and making the deadline of late September 2004 took a toll on the filmmakers, who also had to battle with the MPAA for the rating because, and I'm not kidding, a puppet sex scene (but the violence, well...), but they got the job in time for release in theaters in October, which happened to be less than four months after the live-action adaptation of Thunderbirds. 

Team America: World Police was a fair hit with audiences at the time; various filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino and Edgar Wright have called it among their favorite films of this particular generation. The biggest compliment is that the movie is clearly more entertaining than the two Thunderbirds movies. With a film that was about American optimism that basically has kept Americans looking forward regardless of how naive it all sounds. Stone and Parker clearly enjoy dealing in humor when it comes to the world that gets construed for nihilism because they favor the middle ground and what sounds funny in common sense. It just so happens that there are a few folks worth making fun of (visually/audibly) to go with a rhythm of four-letter colorful words (including a climax involving the nature of what can be construed as "collateral damage, am I right?"). It freewheels for 98 minutes on a loose plot involving looming terror, a horde of film actors guild (get it?) members and the Bruckheimer spirit of entertainment at all costs in chaos that is pretty funny for what actually gets on screen beyond (obviously) the wires. Beneath the tension (in the "I think America will win, but unless....") is a few silly moments on the side that ranges from the hang-ups of "actors" and whatever goofy stuff you spot in the staging of puppets trying to maneuver around the environment. Parker and Stone are perfectly comfortable with the voices they want to put on (Norris probably hones it in the best for the not-Jeff Tracy from) and the movie rolls along with its tongue-in-cheek ra-ra spirit that, naturally, has a rip-roaring "America" song (the one that goes "fuck yeah", yeah, yeah, yeah). You see a few neat-looking vehicles to house the puppets and staging that works with the scenarios. It ribs at wannabee global dictators and wannabee do-gooders with enough conviction in actually having fun (well, unless you're Sean Penn*). As a whole, Team America is packed with enough goofy moments in the audacity of going nuts with puppets going on an adventure ends up being a bit more than just being swears and strings. 

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Song of the day!

*Apparently, Gerry Anderson was quoted as stating "there are good, fun parts [in the film] but the language wasn't to [his] liking".

*Bro really sent them a letter being mad that Parker and Stone said there was "no shame in not voting" and closed it with "All best, and a sincere fuck you".

Independence Day: Resurgence.

Review #2556: Independence Day: Resurgence.

Cast: 

Liam Hemsworth (Jake Morrison), Jeff Goldblum (David Levinson), Bill Pullman (President Thomas J. Whitmore), Maika Monroe (Patricia Whitmore), Jessie T. Usher (Dylan Hiller), Travis Tope (Charlie Miller), William Fichtner (General Joshua T. Adams), Charlotte Gainsbourg (Dr. Catherine Marceaux), Judd Hirsch (Julius Levinson), Brent Spiner (Dr. Brackish Okun), Sela Ward (President Elizabeth Lanford), Angelababy (Rain Lao), with Joey King (Sam Blackwell), Vivica A. Fox (Dr. Jasmine Dubrow-Hiller), Robert Loggia (General William Grey), Nicolas Wright (Floyd Rosenberg), DeObia Oparei (Dikembe Umbutu), and Chin Han (Jiang Lao)

Directed by Roland Emmerich (#193 - Independence Day, #413 - The Patriot, #2161 - Godzilla [1998])

Review: 

Hey, remember Independence Day? Apparently, the impetus for the original film was a question posed to Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin when they were promoting Stargate (1994) about believing in aliens building the pyramids that saw them ask, well, what if there were "14-mile-wide spaceships covering the sky?" Sure, Mars Attacks! (1996) loomed on the calendar, but Emmerich and Devlin aimed to make their movie anyway, which saw them basically write (in three weeks) a disaster movie akin to the 70s disaster flicks such as The Towering Inferno (1974) and Meteor (1979). When it came out in July 1996 to plenty of hype and fanfare, it actually was the highest-grossing film of that year (beating out poor Mars Attacks!. which sucks because that movie was probably better in actual quality). Cool, now do you remember Independence Day: Resurgence? As early as 2001, Emmerich and Devlin thought about doing a sequel, but they had curtailed those plans the first time in 2004 because they couldn't figure out the story. By 2011, there were rumblings again about doing not one, but two sequels. Through re-writes and various drafts (mainly because of the omission of one certain actor before filming), four people were credited with the story: Emmerich, Devlin, James A. Woods, and Nicolas Wright, while James Vanderbilt was credited along with the four for the screenplay. Made on a budget of $165 million and released in June 2016, the movie was not a major hit for anyone involved, with Emmerich and Devlin both stating that there was little chance of doing a third film.

Is it a quality defense when the director says he should've stopped making the movie? As early as 2019, three years after the release of Resurgence, Emmerich stated, yes, he "should have just said no" once Will Smith wasn't going to be in the film, which happened as a result of scheduling and salary demands. It is almost amazing to have five total writers and have little to nothing come out of the characters to actually root for beyond "the bare minimum". As I remember, the characters in the original were basically cardboard, but you could at least say there was a sense of interest in seeing what was under the curtain for a surprise (which in this case was, are you shocked, alien stuff in "Area 51" and a computer virus to start the process of telling the aliens to permanently go to sleep). Corny as the movie was, you at least felt there was some semblance of dignity in depicting folks all coming together (on the 4th of July you see) and being ready to kick ass (okay, maybe non-Americans didn't go ra-ra for it, but well, "Murica, baby!"). Twenty years later, with the presentation of "world peace" and a space defense program with alien technology....there is just a weird feeling that one is watching a film with nowhere to actually go. You see the designs of the (reverse-engineered) tech and a spiffier Washington and you wonder if they really thought people would be fine looking at something that reminded them of a video game cutscene. The aliens still look at forgettable as ever, and the Sphere (the "virtual intelligence") reminds me of someone trying to make a smaller version of Gort from The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). 

The attempt at mixing in people from the original (ranging from Goldblum/Pullman/Hirsch/Spiner to basically cameos from Fox and Loggia*) with a new generation (Hemsworth, Monroe, Usher, and to a lesser extent, Topo and Angelababy) that each have had their lives shaped by one horrific week all leads to the least compelling and least interesting drama imaginable. This film feels ten years too late to actually say anything of note (once you destroy the White House, what is there left to move around for the sequel), so it instead just aims to be paid half-attention to by people on their phones. I probably care less for Goldblum than I did in the last film, and that's saying something for what was basically a wannabee Dr. Ian Malcolm in the first place, even with the addition of Gainsbourg (who ...is given nothing to do). Hemsworth and Usher might actually be competing for who achieves less with less: what the hell was Smith going to do in this film that changed the script so much to basically focus on the youth (meanwhile, Monroe, cast to replace Mae Whitman from the original, is given, wait for it, nothing to do). I can't tell who has the more unceremonious exit: Fox, who can't get off a falling building in time (after getting, what, 4 lines?) or Ward (as Madame President) goes the way of the dodo in a murky-looking scene. Probably the only people who look like they like having some work is Pullman or Spiner, and that sure says something when the latter has a scene where they gallivant around a bit in a barely contained hospital gown*. You get a few chuckles beneath basically a boring movie. For a movie that is two hours long (25 minutes shorter than the original, in one of the stranger cases when a sequel is shorter), it always seems to be two steps behind in actually going anywhere: it dangles an idea that some African war lord spent ten years fighting aliens in hand-to-hand combat, but his son is given the job of being the straight man to a middling subplot about a nerd wanting to get into combat. Hive minds and "Harvesters" and drilling to the Earth's core (with a timer) while buildings get thrown around just seems like a movie that either was postmarked "2006" or simply didn't have enthusiasm to actually make it worth looking further.  It just reeks of trying to make a franchise without actually focusing on spectacle and believing they had enough in the tank to bait people into hearing more, complete with an ending that sequel baits with probably the least amount of conviction possible. If the original film was "dumb fun" that the viewer either enjoyed or disliked with the clear flaws (dialogue, design, general Emmerich weaknesses), the sequel film manages the honor of just being dumb with middling return value for all involved. 

Overall, I give it 4 out of 10 stars.

Song of the day!

Happy 4th...

*Loggia died on December 4, 2015, six months before the film was released. At least he was cool in the first film.

*Okay, so Spiner's character is apparently gay and spends most of the action with his partner, who I guess loved giving out flowers in the hospital ward for years. Honestly, I forgot if they were partners before 1996 or if this guy just fell for a dude in a coma that had long hair.