2019 Blindspot Pick #7: Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise (1987)

Tags

Animation, Anime, Drama, Sci-fi

The depths of space have tempted man
For years while holding him at bay
Through distance, death, and lack of breath,
Insisting that we humans stay.

But mankind rarely takes a hint,
For us, a challenge is a lure,
Inviting us to sojourn thus
And learn how far we can endure.
___________________

MPAA rating: Unrated (an attempted rape scene probably would make it R, but otherwise, it’s an easy PG-13)

Unless you’re a diehard anime fan, you probably read the title of this movie and said, “What the heck is that?” Well, now that I’ve seen most of the mainstream films anime has to offer, I’m now seeking out the obscure, and I was surprised at the glowing reviews this unknown film has gotten since its 1987 release, growing into an apparent classic of the medium with 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. (Imagine my surprise when Netflix didn’t have it, but my local library did.) Royal Space Force is a hard film to categorize, but it’s undoubtedly well-made with unexpected thematic depth.

Imagine an anime mixture of The Right Stuff and Contact, and you’ve got Royal Space Force, the title referring to the poorly organized space program of the fictional country of Honnêamise. (Hun-ee-a-meece? Honey-mice? I don’t know how it’s pronounced since I don’t recall the name ever being spoken.) While no one takes the program seriously with its poor management and frequent failures, a slacker recruit named Shirotsugh Lhadatt finds a new passion and ambition for the project after a run-in with a young female evangelist named Riquinni. Despite the innate dangers of this unprecedented venture, including hostilities from a rival nation, Lhadatt literally shoots for the stars in a quest for peace and meaning.

Beyond the plot or characters, what makes Royal Space Force really unique is its comprehensive world-building. It’s not quite straight fantasy or science fiction: there are a couple futuristic machines and some unique animals, but otherwise there aren’t many fantastical elements to the setting. It’s just different, a vision of what our world might have looked like during the Space Race if history had taken a different route. Windows slide downwards; plane propellers spin on the tail of the plane; currency is made up of small needle-shaped pins instead of coins. The architecture of the cities is ornate yet believable, often a mish-mash of cultural styles that create something new. I would watch it again just to appreciate the imagination on display, the fashioning of an alter-earth with creativity sadly lacking in so many other animated films.

As someone with direct family ties to the space program, I was also intrigued at how this film would approach its version. The filmmakers went to NASA to study space flight, and their efforts at authenticity mix surprisingly well with the otherworldly setting. The training contraptions for preparing Lhadatt for his mission are more slapdash and home-made than NASA’s, but their crudeness highlights how big of a scientific leap space travel is for this world, as it was for our own. And by the time the launch day comes amid self-doubt and international turmoil, the event has a similar gravitas and grandeur as the real thing.

Another unique aspect of this film was the role of religion. Riquinni’s faith is clearly a fictional one based off a couple stories mentioned, but her discussions of God and nightly dispersal of tracts are clearly an analog to Evangelical Christianity. And unlike Contact, which annoyed me by pitting faith and science against each other as if they were antithetical, Royal Space Force depicts faith as a positive influence, encouraging Lhadatt to believe he is part of something bigger than himself and push toward a brighter future. There have been plenty of anime with Christian elements and themes, but this movie climaxes with a sincere and moving prayer that is one of the most explicit declarations of faith I’ve seen in animation.

While it’s a significant achievement in the medium, Royal Space Force does suffer somewhat from a deliberate pace and not quite enough resolution by the end. It’s not boring and has a few thrilling sections, but you shouldn’t expect constant humor or action from its grounded drama. The biggest problem is a scene of attempted rape that saps a lot of the sympathy for Lhadatt, even if he seems repentant later, and also serves no other purpose than to put the film into “mature” territory. The scene was cut in its video release, and it would have been better if the initial editors had done the same.

Now at least, I can check off another Blindspot from my list, an anime film that has held my curiosity for some time now. I think anyone interested in the development of space travel and speculative fiction would find much to appreciate, and fans of animation even more so, since this feature was the first project of Studio Gainax, which went on to the fame of producing series like Neon Genesis Evangelion and Gurren Lagann. Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise may have an ungainly name, but it deserves its low-key classic status, making me wonder if the sequel that’s been rumored for years will ever get off the ground.

Best line: (Riquinni, reading from her holy book) “And you shall find that prayer is the greatest of all things, and it is also the smallest. You’ll find nothing more noble than prayer, nothing more humble.”

Rank: List Runner-Up

© 2019 S.G. Liput
645 Followers and Counting

 

I Am Mother (2019)

Tags

Drama, Sci-fi, Thriller

Mothers care,
And mothers bear
The heavy weight
Of a child’s welfare.

They guard the gate;
They mind and wait
Until that child
Can negotiate

The world so wild
And be exiled
From all that Mother
Once reconciled.
_________________

 
MPAA rating: TV-14 (aka PG-13, mainly due to heavy themes; nothing gratuitous)

It’s a good time to be a fan of science fiction, and Netflix has been supplying a steady stream of it, with I Am Mother immediately catching my eye with its trailer. One part dystopian sci-fi, one part psychological thriller, it’s a futuristic chamber piece that keeps the audience guessing as it asks whether humans or robots are the more trustworthy.

The film starts with some unknown catastrophe that prompts a robot called Mother (voiced by Rose Byrne) to activate in an underground facility and begin the development of one of thousands of embryos stored there. We then cut to 38 years later, when a girl only referred to as Daughter (Clara Rugaard) grows into a teenager with Mother as her sole teacher and companion. (And if you recognize a discrepancy between the 38-year time skip and the teenage girl, rest assured that there’s a reason.) Daughter, however, entirely trusts and helps Mother, who has warned her of radiation outside, but the arrival of an injured woman (Hilary Swank) who warns her against her robotic guardian throws everything she’s ever known in doubt.

Those who know dystopian fiction might be able to guess the most likely explanation for what’s going on (though perhaps not all of it), but I Am Mother thrives on its atmospheric uncertainty. Mother seems to be a dutiful, even tender parent to Daughter, yet sci-fi has shown us too many times that advanced robotics are rarely sympathetic to mankind. Similarly, Swank as the unnamed woman knows more of the world and shares a common humanity with Daughter, yet she’s a survivor whose motivations are similarly hazy. There are lies and accusations of lies that can’t be proven, forcing Daughter to choose who has her best interest at heart and letting themes of truth, trust, and motherhood play out as only sci-fi can.

Both Swank and Rugaard are excellent in their roles, while Byrne makes a surprisingly good female HAL, and the effects are every bit as impressive as a big budget Hollywood version of this story might have been. In many ways, it’s a coming-of-age story, one that shatters the Bechdel test while delivering a thriller that may have familiar elements but still delivers on its thought-provoking suspense. There are plenty of Netflix movies that only got there because they wouldn’t make it as a big-screen film, but I Am Mother is not one of them.

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2019 S.G. Liput
644 Followers and Counting

 

Tolkien (2019)

Tags

Biopic, Drama, History, War

A story’s source is not alone
The man who put his pen to page,
But every seed his life had sown
Within that man at every age,
His greatest fear, his cruelest pain,
His deepest love, his darkest stain:
These seeds were sown into his brain,
His heart and soul until they bore
A fruit we’d never seen before.
And so, in turn, that story’s sown
More seeds that yet remain unknown.
______________________

MPAA rating: PG-13

As a devoted fan of The Lord of the Rings, I was eagerly awaiting this biopic of J.R.R. Tolkien (played earnestly by Nicholas Hoult), hoping that it would provide some insight into the source of one of fiction’s greatest stories (and my favorite movie of all time). The acting is on point, the period setting is splendidly polished, the emotions are effectively conveyed, and yet Tolkien doesn’t do more than the minimum of what I expected.

There’s nothing particularly wrong with how Tolkien’s early life is recounted, and it actually enlightened me to quite a bit of his history. It covers his courtship of Edith Bratt (Lily Collins), his long-standing love of languages, and his friendships with three other boys who together formed the T.C.B.S., or Tea Club and Barrovian Society, a creative fraternity that clearly echoes the “Seize the day” mentality of Dead Poets Society. The film goes back and forth between these early years and his horrific time during the Battle of the Somme, where he suffers from trench fever and hallucinates fantasy figures on the battlefield.

It’s all a solid, respectable attempt at providing background for Tolkien the great author, but it also feels manufactured in how it tries to provide context for Tolkien’s works. Early scenes of his youth in bucolic Birmingham do well to remind viewers of the Shire without making it overly clear, but other references aren’t as subtle. (Though I agree with the statement from one of his friends about Wagner’s Ring Cycle that it shouldn’t take six hours to tell a story about a magic ring; it actually takes 9+ hours.) It’s only a matter of time before the T.C.B.S. is referred to as a “fellowship,” and the surreal hallucinations Tolkien has amidst the horrors of World War I serve no discernible purpose but as references to his fantasy and excuses to include some special effects. It also stumbles at times in the presentation of events, such as when Tolkien’s mother suddenly dies with no explanation at all.

I also would have liked more references to Tolkien’s Catholic faith and how it shaped his work, something which director Dome Karukoski supposedly filmed but removed due to test audience feedback. There are welcome touches, such as the inclusion of a crucifix in Tolkien’s battlefield visions, but the film definitely prefers its romantic side, as when Tolkien is told by his friend and guardian Father Francis (Colm Meaney) to stop seeing Edith until he was 21. This is true, but the film’s Tolkien later insists it was a mistake, while the real-life Tolkien said he didn’t regret the decision.

In its elegant presentation and clear fondness for its subject, Tolkien is a respectable, well-acted biopic that does most of what it sets out to do. Considering the exceptional man and story of its inspiration, though, one would hope it could have been a little more than that.

Best line: (Edith, on Tolkien’s regard for languages) “Things aren’t beautiful because of how they sound. They’re beautiful because of what they mean.”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2019 S.G. Liput
644 Followers and Counting

 

My Top Twelve Films of 2018

Tags

Lists

It may seem past the usual time for such lists, but it’s about time I posted this Top Twelve list of my favorite films from last year. Better late than never, right? After all, it’s never too late for a list. The year 2018 yielded a plethora of sequels, adaptations, and the occasional original story that made it a strong year at the cinema.

You might notice that my choices diverge from the Oscar fodder you’d expect on this kind of list, and that’s because I’ve either not seen it yet (BlacKkKlansman, Roma) or didn’t like it much (First Man, Annihilation). Nevertheless, if you see a movie you liked that isn’t here, feel free to recommend. I’m always on the lookout for hidden gems. Without further ado, let’s start the countdown, first with the runners-up and working our way up to the Top Twelve:

Leave No Trace

Creed II

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

Ben Is Back

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again

The Hate U Give

Flavors of Youth

Teen Titans Go! to the Movies

The Bookshop

Mirai

The Endless

Bohemian Rhapsody

Isle of Dogs

Next Gen

Puzzle

Psychokinesis

Skyscraper

Mortal Engines

A Star Is Born

Crazy Rich Asians

Mary Poppins Returns

Instant Family

Aquaman

Eighth Grade

Maze Runner: The Death Cure

Beautiful Boy

The Christmas Chronicles

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

The Commuter

Game Night

Black Panther

Please Stand By

12. Searching

Portraying the modern Internet experience in a movie would be hard enough, but doing so while gradually unfolding a mystery and a compelling father-daughter relationship is masterful. Starring John Cho as a dad who searches for clues online to find his missing daughter, Searching makes the most of its creative choice to show everything through a computer screen. It’s hard to imagine this concept being done better.

11. A Quiet Place

A monster movie that makes sound itself the enemy, A Quiet Place is proof of the talents of writer/director John Krasinski and his wife Emily Blunt, both playing parents who do everything they can to keep their kids safe during this soundless apocalypse. Even if its plot is a bit too similar to the criminally underrated Hidden, the tension it draws from every scene is palpably effective.

10. Solo: A Star Wars Story

I wrote in my review that most seemed to agree that Solo was “not bad,” but I stand by my belief that it deserves “good” status. It may not be the strongest Star Wars movie, but it was better than I expected, especially since it was tasked with recasting two iconic roles. These incarnations of Han Solo and Lando Calrissian are different, but the actors deliver enough swagger to make them close enough interpretations. The worst part is that the film’s underperformance probably means we’ll never get the sequel it sets up.

9. Mission: Impossible – Fallout

It was only last year that I caught up with the Mission: Impossible series, and Fallout continued the upward trend for the series that started with Mission: Impossible III. There seems to be no stopping Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt, and the action set pieces never disappoint. I was a tad disappointed with how it resolved the relationship begun in the third film, but Fallout knocked everything else out of the park.

8. Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms

This beautiful anime tearjerker deserved so much more than it got. It may have gotten a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, but it seems that anyone in charge of awards never heard of it. It couldn’t even get a nomination from the Crunchyroll Awards! This tale of a near-immortal teenage girl who adopts a human baby merges tender maternal themes and a larger fantasy plot, delivering a gut-punch of emotion that left me a sobbing puddle by the end.

7. Ralph Breaks the Internet

I loved the first Wreck-It Ralph. My VC did not, but we both agreed that Ralph Breaks the Internet is a great sequel. Between the gloriously shameless product placement of everything Disney owns and the affecting bond between Ralph and Vanellope, this movie’s foray into the highs and lows of Internet culture is both colorfully metaphorical and hugely entertaining.

6. Ant-Man and the Wasp

Speaking of hugely entertaining, Ant-Man and the Wasp brought a much smaller (pun intended) adventure to follow up the universe-shaking clash of Infinity War. It often feels more like a family comedy than a superhero actioner, but they blend so well with these characters that I left the theater happy. They don’t all have to be world-ending face-offs.

5. Green Book

I still don’t get why Green Book was such a controversial pick for Best Picture, and I’m personally glad that it grabbed the top Academy prize. Race is obviously a sticky subject at this time, but Green Book breathes a good deal of humanity into its depiction of the friendship between New York bouncer Tony “Lip” Vallelonga and black classical pianist Dr. Don Shirley. Viggo Mortenson and Mahershala Ali give outstanding performances that ring true all the way to the satisfying end.

4. The Incredibles 2

The Incredibles seemed to be the Pixar movie that most cried out for a sequel, and it only took them fourteen years. This follow-up doesn’t quite match the original, but it’s still a winning mix of familial lessons and superhero action and a welcome revisiting of everyone’s favorite super-family.

3. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

With so many cinematic versions of Spider-Man, it’s a small miracle that an animated version turned out to be one of the most original movies in recent memory. Into the Spider-Verse not only turned the Spider-Man mythology on its head by using the many versions of the character to its story’s advantage, but it represented those varied incarnations with an eye-popping blend of cutting-edge animation styles.

2. Ready Player One

Nostalgia sells these days, especially for the ‘80s, and every aspect of Ready Player One is built on nerdy nostalgia. I loved the book, and while Spielberg’s adaptation takes some liberties with the plot, it’s faithful to its spirit, loaded with Easter eggs that will appeal to geeks everywhere on different levels. The effects and action scenes are outstanding, and it’s easily one of the most entertaining movies of late.

1. Avengers: Infinity War

Any longtime reader should not be surprised by my #1. As a Marvel geek, I was right there on opening weekend to watch the beginning of the culmination of the whole MCU, and, like everyone else, I was left reeling by the gut-punch cliffhanger with which Infinity War ended. Yet that didn’t take away from the fact that it was also the biggest, most bombastic spectacle Marvel had yet delivered, and while I said then my continued appreciation would hinge on how well Endgame stuck the landing, I was thrilled and satisfied that it did. It seems so many are getting sick of superhero movies, but I’m still “marveling” at the awesomeness that Marvel has wrought.

So ends my Top Twelve Films of 2018, and thanks to anyone who bothered to read my absurdly late ranking. Now over halfway through 2019, I already have some ideas for this year’s Top Twelve, but it’s too early now. I ought to wait till at least next July. 😉

Puzzle (2018)

Tags

Drama, Romance

Gather the pieces and put them together,
Grouped by the borders, the colors, the shapes,
Every last piece is reliant on whether
You’ll strive to the end or accept sour grapes.

People and puzzles begin as mere pieces
And wait for the day they at last are complete.
The one who assembles, refusing to cease, is
The one satisfied at the end of the feat.
____________________

MPAA rating:  R (solely for intermittent profanity)

I don’t recall which post it was, but I remember saying at some point that there would inevitably be a movie for every conceivable contest out there, and sure enough, here’s one featuring a national jigsaw puzzle tournament. As someone who used to love puzzles and put together 1000-piece pictures with the best of them, I had special interest in this movie’s subject, and it turned out to be a quietly likable little film.

Kelly Macdonald (known to me as the voice of Merida in Brave, though she effortlessly sheds her Scottish accent here) plays a soft-spoken Catholic housewife named Agnes. We get an excellent, largely wordless view of her character and life as she hosts her own birthday party, preparing the cake and cleaning up herself, all with patience and an occasional sigh. Yet when she opens one of her gifts and assembles the jigsaw puzzle inside, she discovers a latent talent that is all her own, leading her to step out from the shadow of her family life and start training with the wealthy and misanthropic Robert (Irrfan Khan), a professional puzzler in need of a partner for an upcoming puzzle contest.

Puzzle’s greatest strength is its characterization. As I said, it sets up Agnes’s situation with a brilliant lack of exposition, showing rather than telling, and her demure, self-effacing nature is a sharp contrast to the eccentricities of her puzzle partner. Agnes’s husband Louie (David Denman) is also a complex figure. At times, he seems like an inconsiderate boor, expecting her to always have dinner ready and balking at any change to their normal lives, but it’s simply what he, as well as Agnes up to that point, had always known. And plenty of other scenes make it clear that he loves Agnes and is willing to change for her, just not always in the most tactful of ways. It would have been so easy to slap these characters onscreen without the nuance, but I enjoyed the character depth delivered by talented actors.

Nevertheless, I was somewhat disappointed by the direction of Agnes’ self-awakening, specifically (spoiler alert) that her relationship with Robert inevitably evolved into an affair. While I appreciated her eventual decision, I’ve always felt the same way about stories where someone turns back only after a sexual fling. Films like Witness, Ida, and this one are well-made and relatable, but it feels like the ultimate decision toward orthodoxy loses some of its power after they’ve already transgressed. On top of that, the ending here is a little too open-ended for me. Like I Am Legend, this is another case where I prefer the alternate ending to the actual one, or even better, some combination of the two.

Puzzle came close to being a favorite, but it fell just a little short. The characters were empathetic and well-written, and I certainly loved the puzzle subject matter and its message of why puzzles themselves are so appealing. I also liked its rare positive portrayal of Agnes’ Catholic faith, though I wish they could have delved further into how that faith was affected by her new sense of self. It’s an engaging indie that just might awaken (or re-awaken) the desire to assemble a puzzle of your own.

Best line: (Robert, to Agnes, whom he calls Mata) “Life’s just random. Everything’s random. My success, you here now. There’s nothing we can do to control anything. But when you complete a puzzle, when you finish it, you know that you have made all the right choices. No matter how many wrong pieces you tried to fit into a wrong place, but at the very end, everything makes one perfect picture. What other pursuits can give you that kind of perfection? Faith? Ambition? Wealth? Love? No. Not even love can do that, Mata. Not completely.”

 

Rank:  List Runner-Up

 

© 2019 S.G. Liput
643 Followers and Counting

 

Detective Pikachu (2019)

Tags

Action, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Mystery

If Pokemon really existed, as shown,
Which creature would you want to claim as your own?

A friendly Charmander with flame on its tail?
A giant Wailord? (Let’s be real: it’s a whale.)

A psychic Kadabra to bend all your spoons?
Or maybe some ghostly balloon-like Drifloons?

If you’ve a green thumb, then Sunflora earns smiles,
And Ursaring’s cute…when they’re still juveniles.

I’d love a Sandslash to dig holes with aplomb,
But perhaps you’d prefer the more handy Aipom?

A Seel or a Spheal would be (honestly) cool,
But know that for water types, you’ll need a pool.

If you need sleep, Jigglypuff’s known for its pipes,
And Eevee has options for multiple types.

Oh, come now, you must want at least one of these?
Arcanines? Kirlias? Sweet Caterpies?

What’s that? You say none of these names ring a bell?
You only know Pikachu then? Very well,
I shouldn’t be “shocked” since that mouse sure can sell.
_______________________

MPAA rating:  PG

Who would have thought that a live-action Pokémon movie would be the first film based on a video game to be deemed “Fresh” by Rotten Tomatoes, even if it is only at 67%? There was something about the trailers for this movie that strangely fascinated me. I don’t know if it was the faithfully rendered CGI pocket monsters or the casting of Ryan Reynolds as a talking Pikachu or just the inclusion of “Holding Out for a Hero,” since I love that song. But whatever it was, I had unusually high hopes for Detective Pikachu, and thankfully it did not disappoint this nostalgic fan.

While I was once an avid Pokémon player, I never played the Detective Pikachu spinoff game, so I didn’t have any preconceptions about the plot.  Justice Smith of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Paper Towns (remember the Pokémon scene?) plays Tim Goodman, a young man with no interest in Pokémon who is nonetheless drawn into a mystery involving the powerful Mewtwo, his missing father, and his dad’s mysteriously talkative Pikachu. Plotwise, it’s nothing groundbreaking, but the mystery had enough twists and turns to be engaging and even some decent heart by the end. All the actors, from Bill Nighy as a wealthy industrialist to Kathryn Newton as an intrepid reporter named Lucy, give their utmost to the sometimes hammy proceedings, but Reynolds is clearly the source of star power, making the most of the script’s funny double entendres (aside from an eye-rollingly dumb gag about climate change).

I find it funny that there was such backlash against the “creepy” look of the live-action-ish Pokémon, because the effects are top-notch. It’s not easy for creatures with otherworldly powers and body proportions to look ostensibly real, but the effects team did an excellent job at bringing the 2D characters into furry, feathery, scaly life, as well as integrating them with the actual live-action characters and action scenes. It didn’t take long to get used to the visual style, making it just one of the film’s strengths. (On a side note, I was delighted that Kygo and Rita Ora contributed the song “Carry On,” which deserves placement in my End Credits Song Hall of Fame. Boy, that list needs some updating.)

The story doesn’t dwell on the whole “gotta catch ‘em all” motif, instead setting the action in a metropolis of peaceful coexistence, not unlike Zootopia. While the creatures are commonplace and treated as both partners and near-sentient wildlife, I wish there were even more of them on display. I fell away from the franchise after Generation IV, and with the mix of newer and older Pokémon featured, I’ll admit there were several I didn’t recognize. Yet, there were also plenty of originals for us original fans, from Charizard to Psyduck to an evolving Eevee (even the original Pokémon theme song too), so I commend the filmmakers for their equitable fan service.

I doubt those with no history with the Pokémon franchise will enjoy this movie as much as I did, but there’s still enough fun and creature cuteness/coolness to appeal to everyone on some level. And if I’d seen this as a kid, I would absolutely love it to pieces! As it is, Detective Pikachu proved to be a thoroughly endearing piece of effects-heavy family fun, especially for those who were ever in its target demographic. Luckily, that includes me.

Best line: (Lucy, describing a potential lead) “Down by the docks. Rough part of town, not the sorta place you wanna visit alone at night.”   (Tim, trying to impress her) “Well, I’m actually pretty good at being alone at night.”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up (could go up with future watches)

 

© 2019 S.G. Liput
642 Followers and Counting