VC Pick: Dirty Dancing (1987)

Tags

Drama, Musical, Romance, VC Pick

Innocence, it might be said,
Lasts only till our first romance.
When youthful hearts begin to dance
And steal more than a passing glance
And seize (they think) their only chance
Without a thought to circumstance,
Naiveté is shed,
Adulthood in its stead.

For whether it concludes in shame
Or love that lasts a lifetime still,
A heart that’s met another’s will
And tried a second heart to fill
And felt the pain and seized the thrill
Of deeper love, for good or ill,
Will never be the same
As when their first love came.
___________________

MPAA rating: PG-13

Sometimes a movie is so iconic that you feel like you’ve seen it even when you’ve only seen the highlights. Dirty Dancing fits that mold because, although I’ve seen every dance scene and the entire ending before, I hadn’t watched it all the way through, despite my VC’s persistence. Now that I finally have… well, I was just fine with the highlights.

Before I anger any of its many ardent fans, it’s not that I disliked Dirty Dancing; it’s just that I’d already seen all the best parts. Maybe if I’d seen those classic moments as part of the whole for the first time, I’d appreciate the whole more. As it was, my viewing was essentially to fill in the gaps. I got to see how exactly “Baby” (lovely Jennifer Grey) arrived on vacation at the distinguished Kellerman’s mountain resort in 1963. I got to find out how she first met the ruggedly handsome dance instructor Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze). And of course, I got to enjoy the cheesy but romantic quotes and the dance numbers so classic they’re still being parodied to death (like in this recent Super Bowl ad—priceless!).

But there were also things that detracted along the way, like the fact that the whole reason Baby and Johnny perform together is so she can cover for his other partner Penny (Cynthia Rhodes) who gets an abortion. The distress of her botched abortion is done tastefully enough, but what really bugged me is how Baby starts her sexual relationship with Johnny right afterward. She doesn’t know him that well at this point, and Penny literally just told her that the one who got her pregnant seemed different and true before he abandoned her. I know infatuation can be both strong and stupid, but the way Baby dives in without considering that the same thing could happen to her felt downright foolish.

Of course, lucky for her, Johnny is a good guy, or at least trying to be better, and Grey and Swayze have such chemistry together that I can see why a lot of female viewers wouldn’t give it a second thought. Sort of like how the final dance number, set to the Oscar-winning “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” is so timelessly satisfying that no one minds how hastily and conveniently everything wraps up with a little bow. With its dance-fueled passion and exceptional soundtrack of ‘60s hits and two original songs, it’s easy to see why Dirty Dancing is popular. For me, though, the highlights are better than the whole.

Best line: (Baby) “Me? I’m scared of everything. I’m scared of what I saw, I’m scared of what I did, of who I am, and most of all I’m scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I’m with you.”

 

Rank:  Honorable Mention

 

© 2018 S.G. Liput
538 Followers and Counting

 

Coco (2017)

Tags

Animation, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Musical, Pixar

Everybody, young and old,
Desires that their life be told
One day with fondness in past tense.
We think that we must spread our name
And earn our quarter hour of fame
To be remembered decades hence.

We need not awe the world so vain
When others close at hand remain
For us to serve and love instead.
The world may never know, it’s true,
How you have lived, but those who do
Are those who matter once we’re dead.
___________________

MPAA rating: PG

It’s nice to know that in a pretty lackluster year for American animation, Pixar can still come through. Coco was undoubtedly a risky film for the famous studio, their first musical and one delving into another country’s culture as none of their past movies have. Even dicier, it threatened to be one of Pixar’s least original stories, coming three years after The Book of Life already did the whole Day of the Dead theme in animation. Yet Pixar not only beat the odds but hit them out of the park. (Am I mixing my idioms? Anyway….)

Starting with a prologue explaining why the Rivera family has hated music for generations, Coco introduces us to Miguel Rivera (Anthony Gonzalez) and his extended family of shoemakers, including his rocking chair-bound great-grandmother Coco. Although his Abuelita (grandmother) forbids music of any kind, Miguel is an unashamed fan, particularly of the dead superstar Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt). While the rest of his family celebrates the traditional Mexican holiday of Día de Muertos or the Day of the Dead, the one day their dead relatives can visit them, Miguel’s passion for music accidentally transfers him to the Land of the Dead, and, if he doesn’t want to become a skeleton himself, he must find a way back before the end of the day, accompanied by a misfit named Héctor (Gael García Bernal).

It’s true that Coco isn’t the most exceptionally original film in Pixar’s canon. It not only reuses some elements of The Book of Life (skeletons in the Land of the Dead, musical aspirations suppressed by the family business) but will certainly remind some of Ratatouille in the way its talented protagonist dreams of emulating his dead idol against the wishes of his stern family. There are echoes of Up as well, but that might go into spoiler territory. Yet from these all too familiar ingredients, Coco still finds ways to enchant, impress, and touch in ways we haven’t seen before.

For one thing, Pixar continues to reach new heights in the quality of their CGI animation. From the semi-2D prologue told through traditional Mexican paper cuttings (papel picado) to the glory of the Land of the Dead’s fantasy metropolis and its bridge of marigold petals, the level of detail on display is spectacular. I saw Coco with my dad, and it seemed like I heard him whisper “Wow” every ten minutes or so.

Simply put, the animation is flawless, but I was glad to see that the same effort went into the story. It undoubtedly captures the traditions and culture of Mexico (it’s now the highest grossing film there), from its exclusively Hispanic cast to the exuberant gritos (the equivalent of a yahoo) to the particulars of celebrating Día de Muertos, yet it backs up that cultural specificity with themes that are universal, especially familial love and devotion. Strengthened by the Oscar-nominated song “Remember Me,” the emotions run deep toward the end, and although Pixar didn’t bring me to tears this time, I can easily see why many viewers’ hearts have melted, especially those who have lost family members.

There are a few points to maybe not object to but at least mention, which run a bit deeper than a  bizarre moment or two. Despite Mexico’s Catholic heritage, Día de Muertos does include pagan and mythological elements, and its concept of the afterlife isn’t exactly a Christian one. Despite the laudable lesson in both Coco and The Book of Life of remembering those who have died, I don’t believe that their existence in the afterlife is dependent on our memory. It’s a concept that works well for the story and its fantasy aspects but one that parents should probably discuss with their kids afterward.

That being said, Coco is still a triumph for Pixar, from its funny and poignant moments to its catchy soundtrack (I loved the final song especially). Its twists and turns may be guessable or not, but they do leave an impact. In typical Pixar fashion, it also appeals to kids and adults on different levels. Kids can root for Miguel’s love for music, but as they get older, they might pick up more on how an excess of that passion is problematic, putting him in more danger than was necessary. This may not have been intentional, but a couple parts even seemed to comment on the whole Confederate statue debate, offering a little support for both sides of the argument. Or maybe I’m just reading into it, but the point is that you don’t find such subtlety and food for thought in the majority of Western animation. It’s easily better than The Book of Life, and I’ll probably have to update my Top Twelve Pixar Movies now. As much as I’m still miffed at the Academy for spurning A Silent Voice for a Best Animated Feature nomination, I must admit that even if they had, Coco deserves to win.

Best line: (Miguel) “Although you may never forgive him, you should never forget him!”

 

Rank: List-Worthy

 

© 2018 S.G. Liput
538 Followers and Counting

 

2018 Blindspot Pick #2: Yi Yi (2000)

Tags

Drama, Foreign, Romance

What is life
But fate’s plaything,
Where some men die while others cling
To watch new youths discover truths
They could have learned from listening?

What is life
But joy in wait,
A chance to show the few who hate
That love profound can still surround
If one will only demonstrate?

What is life
But one big slog
Reminding you you’re just a cog
In systems built to cover guilt
And stoke the nearest demagogue?

What is life
But bittersweet
In every breath and each heartbeat,
As memories refuse to freeze,
A former friend in full retreat?

What is life
But grief, concerns,
And happiness all taking turns?
Each person braves their own such waves
Until at last each human learns
What is life.
____________________

MPAA rating: Not Rated (the number of F-words in the subtitles and fleeting nudity might warrant an R, but it’s really more of a PG-13)

Finally, a critically acclaimed “masterpiece” of world cinema that doesn’t require the quotation marks! In my limited forays into international filmmaking, I’ve found that just because critics laud a movie, that doesn’t mean it will actually be any good (for example, The Assassin *shudder*). In addition to celebrating the Chinese New Year with a Chinese movie, I added Yi Yi to my list of Blindspots this year because I was curious to see whether it deserved its renown as “one of the major films of the 21^st century” and “the third most acclaimed film of the 21^st century among critics,” according to Wikipedia. Thankfully, it does, and even if it’s not destined to be among my personal favorites, I am 100% behind its status as one of the all-time greats.

Translated as A One and a Two…, but more literally as One One or One by One, Yi Yi is hard to describe in a way that doesn’t make it sound incredibly dull, since it’s about the everyday life of the Jian family of Taipei and runs for 2 hours and 53 minutes.  Yet, I was surprised at how engaging a three-hour movie about everyday life could be, thanks largely to a deep and insightful script from writer/director Edward Yang and several diverse characters that are relatable on multiple levels.

The Jians include the father NJ (famed director Wu Nien-jen), who must deal with both a high-risk business deal and an unexpected run-in with a former lover; the mother Min-Min (Elaine Jin), who suffers a midlife crisis; their teenage daughter Ting-Ting (Kelly Lee), who enters a love triangle with her best friend; their young son Yang-Yang (Jonathan Chang), who gets bullied at school; and the perpetually unlucky brother-in-law A-Di, who gets caught between two strong-willed women. It’s a film of both broad plot strokes (NJ’s self-doubt and potential affair, A-Di’s money troubles) and more minor vignettes (Yang-Yang’s photography, the birth of A-Di’s son) that nonetheless feel vital in getting to know the large cast.

The grandmother of the family is only briefly active at the beginning, spending most of the film in a coma and serving as an ingenious sounding board for her family, who are told to talk to her in hope of her recovery. Those who sit by her bedside bare their inner doubts more fully than anywhere else, such as Ting-Ting’s guilt over whether she’s to blame for her grandmother’s condition, and NJ even compares it to prayer, not knowing for sure how much the listener is hearing.

Despite its apparent simplicity, Edward Yang’s direction is also worth praising, not only in its composition but in its economy. Scenes are kept wide with very few close-ups. Long extended takes are the rule, with no scene or edit being wasted, yet the camera is fairly static. It doesn’t follow the characters around but allows events to play out off-screen, often letting us see part of what’s happening through reflections in windows and mirrors, which provides both visual interest and a strong sense of place.

Even masterpieces can have room for improvement, though, and Yi Yi is no different. While its mundaneness is part of its charm, the pacing does lag several times, and there are many scenes that could have been trimmed to shave off perhaps a half hour from the runtime. It takes an investment of time and patience to sit through, yet I can say it’s a rewarding experience, even if its full power is only half understood when the credits roll. There are highs and lows, joys and sorrows, laughter and tears, both a marriage and a funeral, history repeating itself and wisdom coming from the mouth of babes. The film is mostly warm and gentle, never judging the characters and their flaws, yet the wisdom of right decisions shines against the foolish passion of mistakes. I don’t know that I’ll make the time to watch it again, but it will still live in my mind as a genuinely great film.

Best line: (Fatty, Ting-Ting’s boyfriend) “Life is a mixture of sad and happy things. Movies are so lifelike; that’s why we love them.”
(Ting Ting) “Then who needs movies? Just stay home and live life!”
(Fatty) “My uncle says ‘we live three times as long since man invented movies.’”
(Ting Ting) “How can that be?”
(Fatty) “It means movies give us twice what we get from daily life. For example, murder—we never killed anyone, but we all know what it’s like to kill. That’s what we get from the movies…. It’s only one example; there are other things. Like he also said, ‘There’s no cloud, no tree that isn’t beautiful, so we should be too.’”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2018 S.G. Liput
537 Followers and Counting

 

Labyrinth (1986)

Tags

Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Musical

Turn left and right, then left again,
Through passageways unknown to men,
Escorted by the walls so wide
That hedge your path on either side.

It’s left again, or was it right?
Dead ends about, despite foresight,
And going forth and going back
Will likely both lead you off-track.

The walls can lie, the clues mislead,
In hopes that you may not be freed,
But when you round the final bend
And then at last you reach the end,

Perhaps you’ll find your former pen
Worth wandering through once again.
_____________________

MPAA rating: PG

You know what Jim Henson’s Labyrinth most reminds me of? The Wizard of Oz, with muppets. I’m sure I’m not the first to point out that similarity, but I never noticed it when I first saw Labyrinth years ago. The film also explicitly credits Maurice Sendak for inspiration, so Henson had some true children’s classics to draw from as he endeavored to craft one of his own. Whether it is one might be up to each viewer’s nostalgia and “inner child,” but it’s at least a cult classic for some.

In only her fourth movie role, Jennifer Connelly plays Dorothy, I mean Sarah, an imaginative fifteen-year-old who gets fed up with her annoying baby stepbrother Toby (Toby Froud) and wishes he were taken away by goblins. Naturally, she is shocked when he is actually spirited away by the Goblin King Jareth (alluringly hairy David Bowie), who challenges her to make it through his huge labyrinth to save her brother. Like The Wizard of Oz, she braves various obstacles and misadventures, while gaining three companions along the way, who manage to save her after she’s trapped in a dream, not unlike Dorothy in the field of poppies.

Bowie may have been one of the big draws for Labyrinth, but in all honesty, the real star is Henson’s puppetry. The sheer number of fancifully designed creatures is impressive, and some boast a “how did they do that?” mastery, such as Sarah’s first grudging friend Hoggle, who apparently had a dwarf in a costume but a face radio-controlled by a team of puppeteers. (When his name is misremembered as Hogwart at one point, I couldn’t help but wonder if J.K. Rowling had been taking notes.) The characters can be alternately cute and grotesque, so when baby Toby is crying surrounded by partying goblins, I doubt there was any acting required. The other part that jumps out at me is the door riddle with the two guards that either lie or tell the truth. I remember that riddle being asked at camp once, and no one could remember the answer. Heck, I’m still not sure I understand its logic. While the film’s box-office disappointment hurt Henson, he had much to be proud of here, since the puppets outshine the humans for the most part.

Attractive as all get-out, Connelly handles her interactions with them earnestly, but her early “curse” against her brother is so over-the-top, it’s hard to believe she went on to win an Oscar. Bowie, on the other hand, is suave and charismatic from start to finish and strangely fits in with the goblins better than expected. Along with the wonderfully ‘80s-sounding soundtrack, he gets to sing too, with the most memorable tune being the endlessly catchy “Magic Dance.”

I feel that Labyrinth might have been one of my fond favorites too if I’d seen it more than once when I was a kid (like The Neverending Story), since its mixture of dark fantasy and puppet silliness only worked so far watching it now as an adult. By the end of Sarah’s coming-of-age journey, though, it’s hard not to feel a bit of nostalgia as Hoggle and her friends offer to be there for her, “should you need us.” That’s exactly what childhood favorites are for, reminding you “every now and again in…life, for no reason at all” of the adventures that once so enthralled and enchanted you, even if you know they’re things of the past. Labyrinth may be uneven overall, but it’s still a triumph of puppetry skill and set design, notably a staircase maze modeled after the work of M.C. Escher. Perhaps I just need to revisit it myself a few more times for the magic to fully hit me.

Best line: (Sarah, a true teenager) “That’s not fair!”   (Jareth) “You say that so often, I wonder what your basis for comparison is?”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2018 S.G. Liput
536 Followers and Counting

 

The Big Sick (2017)

Tags

Comedy, Drama, Romance

How can you know that it’s love close at hand
And deeper romance than the rest understand
Until there is distance to feel
The pain of the parting, detachment’s demand,
The grief that goodbye makes more real?

Things taken for granted, more often than not,
Are prized more profoundly than we would have thought.
Their value is only revealed
When losing such treasures leaves lovers distraught,
Confessing what once was concealed.
___________________

MPAA rating: R (solely for language)

A happy Valentine’s Day to all, and in the spirit of love, I thought I’d review one of the best romantic comedies of recent years.

Unfortunately, I don’t know how to review The Big Sick without sounding like a complaining puritan. It’s certainly one of the best films of 2017 and one worth recommending to others, but I suppose I’ll get my objections out of the way first. (Sorry to any who disagree, but please hear me out or skip the next two paragraphs.) As much as I enjoyed it, the amount of profanity really disappointed me, despite the fact that I usually ignore it. It’s impossible to escape the F-word these days since it’s now an ingrained part of everyday speech for the apparent majority of people, and it’s no longer as offensive as it once was. Yet more than two (if I’m correct) can still give a movie an R rating, and the simple truth is that The Big Sick did not need to be R. There’s no violence or nudity, but there are stretches where every noun has to be preceded by F-ing. Why? Could they not think of some better adjective? It’s not so much offensive to me as it is annoying and not reflective of the creativity in the rest of the script.

This is why I don’t watch much Tarantino or Scorsese, but usually R-rated films like theirs have more than just objectionable language. Here, the frequent language is the only thing that makes it R, and that annoys me because not only would I rather not hear it but it limits the audience. This is an extremely worthwhile film that I think everyone, even older kids and teenagers, could greatly appreciate, if it weren’t for the language (though that probably doesn’t stop most kids these days either). Despite what writer/star Kumail Nanjiani says, the F-word is not inherently funny, and there are plenty of good and clean rom coms that have proved how unnecessary it is.

So there, I’ve had my rant, and I will now praise The Big Sick as if the language weren’t there. Without it, the script is a brilliant balance of funny and poignant, drawing both from Kumail’s job as a stand-up comedian and from his first-hand brush with tragedy. It was written by Nanjiani and his wife Emily V. Gordon (both now nominated for Best Original Screenplay) and based off of their own experiences, with Nanjiani playing himself and Zoe Kazan as Emily. After their initial meeting at a comedy club and a series of charming dates, their romance hits a snag due to Kumail’s traditional Pakistani family, who keep trying to coax him into an arranged marriage. When things seem over between them, Emily suddenly falls ill and is placed in a medically induced coma, leaving Kumail to decide how much he really cares for her while also getting to know her worried parents Terry and Beth (Ray Romano, Holly Hunter).

I suppose the best thing about The Big Sick is its authenticity, both in its dialogue and performances, the kind that can find amusement in a 9/11 joke yet quickly acknowledge its inappropriateness. It’s easy to believe that this is based on a true story, and Kumail’s connection with Emily is entirely natural, as is the older coupling of Romano and Hunter, whom I’m glad to see getting such strong roles. I loved the way that Hunter’s dislike of Kumail (based solely on how Emily had described their break-up) slowly melted into fondness, helped along by the ever-likable Romano. Even Kumail’s comedy seemed like an honest work-in-progress, since he repeatedly has to tell people when he’s joking. The realness extends to the end as well, where things don’t wrap up as quickly and easily as one might have hoped, yet strong themes of forgiveness, faithfulness, and sincerity are fostered in more satisfying ways than one.

Perhaps it was Romano’s presence, but I couldn’t help but notice traces of Everybody Loves Raymond in Kumail’s family dynamics, particularly with his overbearing but loving mother. The Muslim family is depicted in a largely relatable and sympathetic way, contrasted no less sympathetically with Kumail’s agnosticism, and one heated conversation between Kumail and his parents feels like a talk that many traditional immigrants might have with their more free-thinking children.

So yes, I was able to look past the language and recognize The Big Sick as the outstanding film it is. I’m just sorry that others with similar objections (such as my VC) might not. I’ve overlooked such objectionable content before, which is why I’m still awarding it a List-Worthy ranking. As much as I wish it were cleaner, I can’t help but admire the total package.

Best line: (Kumail) “You’ve never talked to people about 9/11?”
(Terry) “No, what’s your, what’s your stance?”
(Kumail) “What’s my stance on 9/11? Oh, um, anti. It was a tragedy; I mean, we lost nineteen of our best guys.”
(Beth) “Huh?”
(Kumail) “That was a joke, obviously. 9/11 was a terrible tragedy. And it’s not funny to joke about it.”

 

Rank: List-Worthy

 

© 2018 S.G. Liput
536 Followers and Counting

 

Opinion Battles Year 4 Round – Most Anticipated Movie of 2018

Be sure to vote for your most anticipated movie of 2018 in Round 2 of this year’s Opinion Battles! There are so many movies this year that promise to be big hits, but which are you most looking forward to? While Infinity War has me hyped, I’m just as expectant for the pop culture geekery of Ready Player One. Thankfully, we only have to wait another month or so for it!

Movie Reviews 101

Opinion Battles Year 4 Round 2

Most Anticipated Movie of 2018

2018 is well underway and all our players have their own picks for what films they want to see this year, but which one is the one they want to see the most?

Next Round – Favourite Steven Spielberg Movie – Closing Date Friday 2^nd March 2018

Darren – Movie Reviews 101

Deadpool 2

Deadpool was one of my favourite superhero movies, it was loud and happy to push the limits with violence and language. We had Ryan Reynolds shining and now we want to see where he takes the character next, while I am not familiar with the source material we do get a fan favourite Cable joining the cast too.

Kim – Tranquil Dreams

Quiet Place

There are a ton of upcoming movies in 2018 that have potential to be hits however, the one that stands…

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Cartoon Comparison: Train to Busan (2016) / Seoul Station (2016)

Tags

Action, Animation, Anime, Cartoon Comparisons, Drama, Foreign, Horror, Thriller

When certain death surrounds you,
You’d be foolish not to fear,
To run and hide and save yourself
And those few you hold dear.

Yet in the face of jeopardy,
What will you sacrifice?
Your conscience and humanity?
For those too have a price.

For some, to care for more than self,
The risk may be too high,
But ask yourself how proud you’ll be
Both if and when you die.
________________________

MPAA rating for Train to Busan: Not Rated (I guess R but it’s not as bad as some)
MPAA rating for Seoul Station: Not Rated (should be R)

If someone had told me last year that the first movie I’d love in 2018 was a South Korean zombie flick, I’d never have believed it. I only half-believed all the positive buzz around Train to Busan because hey, it’s a zombie movie, and I don’t watch zombie movies. I’ve never seen Dawn of the Dead or The Walking Dead and have only really liked a precious few of that genre (World War Z, Warm Bodies). The living dead concept is intriguing, but usually it seems like an excuse for excessive gore and end-of-the-world futility. But for some reason I checked out Train to Busan, which I can now say is my favorite of the genre and honestly one of my favorite horror films period, mainly because it goes beyond its horror limitations to deliver exceptional thrills and emotional stakes worth caring about too. Since I loved Train to Busan then, I had to check out its animated prequel, if only for comparison’s sake, a prequel that reminded me exactly why I don’t typically enjoy zombie movies.

First, let’s focus on the good one. Train to Busan seems like such a simple idea: zombies on a train. It could easily have been the concept of a B-grade cheesefest, but the filmmakers went above and beyond to make it gripping. A big part of that is giving us worthwhile characters, particularly Seok-woo (Gong Yoo), a disengaged father who decides to accompany his young daughter Soo-an (Kim Su-an) as she returns to his ex-wife in Busan. There are various other passengers that quickly stand out as “survivor characters”: a man and his pregnant wife, a traumatized tramp, two high school students, and a self-serving businessman, among others. Things seem to start normally as the train sets out, but an abundance of warning signs builds the tension as a zombie outbreak engulfs the nation and the train itself. From there, it’s an all-out flight of survival with a few much-needed moments to catch one’s breath (even a disarming chuckle or two), but the suspense is ever-present. I don’t think I’ve been this tense during a movie since Dunkirk.

What’s impressive about Train to Busan is that it delivers the scares and shocks alongside an insightful character arc without sacrificing either. Seok-woo starts out as an apparent coward, fearfully closing a door in the face of someone fleeing the zombie onslaught, yet his self-first philosophy is called out in the criticisms of his daughter, while also playing out to an extreme in the uncaring actions of other passengers. The contrast between these mindsets imparts to the action some deeper themes behind it. There are sacrifices aplenty, some meaningful, some pointless, but the film seems to affirm the importance of helping others in the face of desperation rather than just oneself. To that end, the conclusion is surprisingly emotional as well, right up to the film’s anxious final moments.Since I’ve said I don’t like the gory side of zombie movies, I should address that part of it. There is blood, but Train to Busan is still greatly restrained compared with a lot of others out there. Heck, some of the commercials for Walking Dead are worse than anything in Train to Busan. A big part of that is the absence of knives and guns, which draw maximum blood while also dehumanizing the still human-like zombies. (Sorry, but all the head-shots and such bother me.) Here, baseball bats are as bad as it gets, and most of the blood comes from the initial outbreak of zombies biting people’s necks. The fact that the victims quickly “turn” also does away with the whole flesh-eating element while also making the ever-growing horde even scarier. So I was thankful that the film didn’t rely on violence for its scares. In fact, after the initial outbreak, it’s really more of a fast-paced thriller than a horror. The zombies are the running type also seen in World War Z, and there are several moments that had me going “oh my gosh” as things devolve from bad to worse, often making great use of the visual effects.

How then does Seoul Station, from the same director Yeon Sang-ho, compare? It’s not exactly anime since it’s Korean rather than Japanese, but it has a similar visual style. I think it purports to be a prequel showing the origin of the zombie apocalypse, but it doesn’t really give any further details about the actual cause. A wounded homeless man is apparently patient zero, and while he slowly “turns,” we meet a runaway girl named Hye-sun who has a falling out with her cash-strapped and selfish boyfriend. The boyfriend is soon confronted by her father, and the two of them go in search for Hye-sun right as the city starts spiraling into zombie-infested chaos.Seoul Station has some merit to it, mainly in the strictly horror department. There are some moments of genuine terror, particularly a white-knuckle encounter with a crazy woman, so if you enjoy zombie movies for the situational tension alone, you might like it. I, however, found plenty to dislike. For one, the animation, while mostly good, has the stilted look that 3-D-ish anime hasn’t gotten past, such as the way the characters walk. In addition, the gore and foul language (subtitled) are more pronounced here than in Train to Busan, and the characters are dumber compared to the rather clever survival techniques in its live-action counterpart. For one thing, everyone seems very slow to grasp the idea of a zombie outbreak, as if they’ve never heard of a zombie before, whereas Train to Busan showed that “zombies” were exactly where people’s minds went.

Still, I could look past most of that if the ending were worthwhile, but this is one case where the ending completely ruined it for me. The film pulls out a dark twist that pounds in the whole end-of-the-world futility I mentioned earlier I didn’t like. The characters are far less sympathetic, and the end only amplifies that. I didn’t hate the movie as I was watching it, but by the end, I did. Seoul Station tries harder to focus on its themes of class warfare, which were much more subtle in Train to Busan, yet it comes off as a cheaper offshoot of a much better original.I’ve said before that I have very particular tastes when it comes to horror movies, but seeing two ostensibly similar zombie films side by side made me consider why exactly I loved one and hated the other. I can say I prefer genuine creepiness and atmosphere over gore, but in this case, I think it comes down to this (spoiler warning): I don’t like stories whose main purpose is killing off its characters. If there’s no survivor by the end, then everything that came before was pointless. If I actually care about the characters who live and die, then the end product becomes even better. That’s why Train to Busan exceeded my expectations. Clearly, I’m not about to become a fan of zombie movies in general, but I’m glad to have found one member of the genre that truly impressed me.

Best line (from Train to Busan): (Soo-an, pricking her father’s conscience) “Dad, you only care about yourself. That’s why mommy left.”

 

Rank for Train to Busan : List-Worthy
Rank for Seoul Station: Dishonorable Mention

 

© 2018 S.G. Liput
536 Followers and Counting

 

 

2018 Blindspot Pick #1: All Is Lost (2013)

Tags

Disaster, Drama

It isn’t easy to admit
That all my effort was in vain.
I’m not the type to whine and quit,
And seldom do I dare complain.
I gave my all;
I fought the squall;
I beat my chest at each downfall,
Until my lowest point was hit,
My lowest while still staying sane.

Don’t pity me, who did decide
To hold to life long as I could.
Perhaps I’ll fathom, once I’ve died,
That all this effort did no good.
But till my end
By God is penned,
With my own fate I must contend.
All is lost, yet still I tried,
As all beset by struggle should.
____________

MPAA rating: PG-13 (for brief language)

Well, I’m kicking off this year’s Blindspot series a bit late, but what’s a few days’ difference? I was nonetheless eager to see how my Blindspot picks this year would measure up to last year’s, especially since my #1 last year (Shuffle) was the first one I saw. I had high hopes for All Is Lost as well, due to its simple survival narrative that I knew would have echoes of Cast Away. Yet, while those echoes are present and the film overall is well executed, I was rather disappointed in the end product.

All Is Lost is notable for being essentially a one-man show, in which Robert Redford is the sole actor on screen in a straightforward survival tale of man vs. nature. Credited as “Our Man,” Redford barely speaks throughout (though there were a few more words than I was expecting), instead reacting to the various maritime dangers that plague him as a lone sailor, from destructive debris to vicious storms. It’s a credit to Redford’s acting ability that he can hold a movie completely on his own while in his seventies, and his nameless protagonist remains admirably calm through much of his travail, finding clever survival solutions others might not think of while also doing an inexplicable action now and then (like going up on deck in a storm for reasons I didn’t quite grasp).

As an acting showcase for Redford and a no-frills survival story, All is Lost delivers reasonably well, with an understated Golden Globe-winning score and convincing effects and aquatic photography to create the man’s seafaring isolation. But somehow I expected more. My VC pointed out right away that we’re given no details about Our Man, no background or reason to care about him other than that he’s in the plight he is. Again, it’s easy to point to other isolation movies for comparison: In Cast Away or Life of Pi (both favorites of mine), we get to know the main characters before they’re thrown to the elements, strengthening our sympathy because we see what they’ve lost and what brought them to their predicament. Even with an oddly vague opening voiceover, we know literally nothing about “Our Man” except his immediate circumstances; that was likely the successful intent, but it doesn’t keep me as invested as those other films.

Plus, there’s the simple fact that the film was rather boring. I probably shouldn’t have tried to watch it after a long day at work, but I stuck with it still. My Redford-loving VC, on the other hand, gave up after a half hour, despite the fact she once thought she’d be happy watching Robert Redford read the phone book. (I guess that would have more dialogue, though.) I’m sure the lack of dialogue is more realistic, but there’s a reason Tom Hanks had a volleyball to talk to in Cast Away. Wilson allowed for greater character engagement, just as Richard Parker the tiger did in Life of Pi, which also benefited from a consistent voiceover narration. They gave us a glimpse into the mindset of the human character, while Our Man’s actions don’t really reveal anything about him, even though his story is propelled by action and reaction alone. Redford evokes his growing desperation and despair, but those emotions only go so far. Without fully engaging with the character, we’re simply watching what any competent person would do in this situation, and that detachment was a bit of a letdown.

I can’t impugn Redford’s acting ability or the production values since All Is Lost does what it means to do expertly. It just wasn’t as involving as other survival stories. And it’s not solely because of the sparse dialogue either, nor the lack of character development alone. The Red Turtle held my attention with literally no dialogue at all, while Dunkirk was absolutely thrilling with hardly any character backgrounds. I guess it’s the combination of its monotonous pace and surface-only protagonist that made it feel wanting compared with more engaging films of its genre. While my VC might disagree, it’s by no means a bad film, just one I can’t see myself spending time on again.

Best line: (part of opening lines) “I’m sorry. I know that means little at this point, but I am. I tried; I think you would all agree that I tried. To be true, to be strong, to be kind, to love, to be right. But I wasn’t. And I know you knew this… in each of your ways. And I am sorry. All is lost here, except for soul and body, that is, what’s left of them, and a half day’s ration.”

 

Rank: Honorable Mention

 

© 2018 S.G. Liput
536 Followers and Counting

 

Genre Grandeur – Dead Again (1991) – Rhyme & Reason

Here’s my review of Dead Again, for MovieRob’s Genre Grandeur of Hitchcockian Films. This thriller starring and directed by Kenneth Branagh had quite the intriguing mystery, complete with a cleverly Hitchcockian twist.

MovieRob

For this month’s next review for Genre Grandeur – Hitchcockian Films, here’s a review of Dead Again (1991) by SG of Rhyme and Reason

Thanks again to Michael Eddy for choosing this month’s genre.

Next month’s Genre has been chosen by Vinnie of Vinnie H. and it is Historical True Story Films.

Please get me your submissions by the 25th of February by sending them to vinnieishistory@movierob.net

Try to think out of the box! Great choice Vinnie!

Let’s see what SG thought of this movie:

___________________________________

Dead Again (1991)

 

Many believe that you die only once,

While others contend that your consciousness hunts

For peace and fulfillment most souls rarely find

But ever will search for the peace that it wants,

Through life after life after lifetime combined,

Each one a new chance as it plays with your mind.

_________________

MPAA rating: R (mainly for language)

As well-respected…

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