Cars 3 (2017)

Tags

Animation, Comedy, Drama, Family, Pixar, Sports

The world will see you as they choose,
No matter how they may deny.
They see exteriors so well
It takes hard work to break that shell,
To prove you’re more than meets the eye
And pay the greater dues.

The world’s opinions can infect
And sap the will to prove them wrong.
You balk on whether to begin,
But those who don’t will never win.
To everyone such doubts belong,
So prove them incorrect.
_________________

MPAA rating: G

I’m sure many, like me, approached Pixar’s third Cars movie with some hesitance, unsure if it was being made as a more fitting end for the series than Cars 2 or because Disney and Pixar were just trying to cash in on one of their most profitable (and least loved) franchises. While I still wasn’t sure through the first half of the movie, I’m glad to say it’s the former. Cars 3 is far more like the original than the over-the-top sequel, returning its sights to Lightning McQueen and the racing world and totally ignoring all the spy stuff of its immediate predecessor. Thankfully, Mater is once again a mere side character too.

Early on, we’re treated to a montage of Lightning’s time in the sun as a racing champ. After years on top, though, he’s suddenly outclassed by newcomer Jackson Storm (Armie Hammer), and much as Lightning overshadowed the King in the first film, analysts and fans are suddenly enamored with Storm’s ascent and scientifically proven training. After pushing himself too far, Lightning faces a career crisis when his contract is sold to a new owner named Sterling (Nathan Fillion, who I’m glad is still finding work), and his future in racing comes down to raw performance and perhaps a new way to train with motivational coach Cruz Ramirez (Cristela Alonzo).

I will say this felt like one of Pixar’s more uneven films, making me wonder at times whether it was more like the first or the second Cars in terms of story quality and character interactions. There were times in the first half when things just felt “off” for a Pixar film, like when Bonnie Hunt’s Sally encourages Lightning in highly generic fashion, and some of the new characters take some time to get used to them.

Yet as the story develops, Cars 3 grows into a worthy conclusion for the series. It’s also a fitting farewell to two members of the original voice cast who have since died, Paul Newman as Doc Hudson and Tom Magliozzi of “Car Talk” fame as one of Lightning’s Rust-eze sponsors, both of whom are sort of resurrected via pre-recorded audio, which is underused but still touching. All of the other cast members (save for George Carlin) return as well, except for Michael Keaton as Chick Hicks, replaced by the very different-sounding Bob Peterson.

Lightning’s story is all about whether he’ll give up and ride on his fame or risk damaging his reputation by striving further than he is able, a strong yet subtle conflict with real-world parallels, such as tennis player Roger Federer for example. (My VC and I love him and have debated whether he should quit while he’s ahead, yet he keeps on eking out wins.) Lightning’s main goal is to be able to choose when he quits rather than being forced out of the game as Doc was. Yet by being constantly called a “legend,” he sees that everyone considers him past his prime, and Cruz makes it very clear that she considers him old as dirt.

Despite her initial presumptions, though, Cruz becomes something that Lightning has never had before, a protégé, one who has offered so much support to others through training that she’s never kept any of that confidence for herself. The fact that she is played by a Latina woman is no coincidence either, and she becomes a fine example for minority underdogs daring to be taken seriously. The dynamic between Lightning and Cruz isn’t without its bumps, but how it plays out by the end is a clever realization of both of their goals and a perfect way of bringing Lightning’s character full circle.

As I said, except for maybe a couple racers, Cars 3 essentially ignores Cars 2 altogether, with not a single mention of the spy plot and even casting off key details. For instance, Cars 2 mentioned that the Piston Cup had been renamed in Doc’s honor, but here it’s the Piston Cup again. Plus, I noticed a scene in my recent viewing of Cars 2 where Lightning had product endorsements and plenty of merchandise, making me wonder why he is now so reluctant to “cash in” as a brand. Personally, I think Cars 2 was all a dream or one of Mater’s tall tales because Cars 3 stays as relatively grounded as the first film and thus is a far better continuation of its story. Despite a rocky start, Cars 3 turns out to be a superior sequel than the cash grab it might have been, raising Pixar’s animation quality even higher and providing a satisfying end to the trilogy. At least until they come up with a Cars 4. Please, Pixar, this franchise is one case where you should quit while you’re ahead.

Best line: (Smokey, Doc’s former crew chief) “You’ll never be the racer you once were. You can’t turn back the clock, kid. But you can wind it up again.”

 

Rank: List-Worthy (joining the first Cars)

 

© 2017 S.G. Liput
511 Followers and Counting

 

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Cars 2 (2011)

Tags

Action, Animation, Comedy, Family, Pixar, Sports, Thriller

Imagine a world of living cars,
With windshields for eyes and mouths in their grills.
Now picture that some are elite racing stars,
And some are so junky, they’re fit for landfills.

Okay, so you got it? That’s good. Picture now
One racecar is cocky and needs a good lesson.
He’s stuck in a small town, which helps him somehow
Find more happiness than what he had success in.

You with me? All right, after that, visualize
A worldwide grand prix and an evil car plot,
And British car spies to take on the bad guys
And a tow truck that helps doing what he ought not
And maybe explosions and one car that flies.
The racecar’s there too, as a mere afterthought.

Wait, where are you going? No need to be cruel.
It may not be perfect, but it will look cool!
___________________

MPAA rating: G (PG would probably be better, since cars are actually killed in this one)

Before I review Cars 3, I thought I should get to the one Pixar film I haven’t covered yet, the black sheep of the Cars franchise and Pixar in general, Cars 2. Up until 2011, it seemed that Pixar could do no wrong, which I can say as someone who still greatly enjoys the first Cars, even if it is a rip-off of Doc Hollywood. Yet the first non-Toy Story sequel in Pixar’s lineup proved to be quite the mixed bag; it remains the only Pixar movie to have a “Rotten” score of 39% on Rotten Tomatoes. It follows Lightning McQueen on a worldwide racing grand prix, which is threatened (and overshadowed) by an evil cabal of lemon cars that only British secret agents and Mater can prevent from fulfilling their heinous plot. Whereas other Pixar films utilize inspiration to tell charming and relatable stories, Cars 2 is inspiration run amok and not really in a good way.

Cars established the world of sentient automobiles that has become Pixar’s biggest cash cow, and despite the outlandishness of its surface concept, the actual events of the plot were fairly down-to-earth, urging racing hotshot Lightning McQueen to slow down and enjoy the ride. By incorporating international espionage and globe-hopping plots into its world, Cars 2 is like director John Lasseter’s personal fan fiction, saying instead to speed up and enjoy the ride. The world of living cars takes a certain amount of suspension of disbelief to not ask questions like “Who builds the cars?” or “How do they do things that require hands and manual dexterity?” I was able to put such issues aside for the first film, but with James Bond-style gadgets and visits to different countries and car ethnicities, the suspension of disbelief is seriously strained here.

And that’s on top of its other issues. While Lightning and all the other characters from the first film are still present (minus Paul Newman’s Doc Hudson, who is implied to have passed away), Cars 2 puts Mater front and center. I enjoyed Larry the Cable Guy’s bumpkin tow truck in the first film as another humorous member of Radiator Springs, all of whose inhabitants served as a good-natured contrast to Lightning and his crowd. Yet there’s such a thing as too much Mater, and his oblivious ineptitude grows grating when it becomes the main course, particularly as moments of mistaken identity pile up to make the British spies assume Mater is an American secret agent. I could tell Mater’s character here would be overbearing early on, when he spends the whole day with Lightning and then acts all sullen and gloomy when Lightning wants to spend some alone time with his girlfriend.

Worse still is how Mater’s character is tied into the film’s message of not condemning one’s friends for who they are or wishing them to change. Such a moral could be good and worthwhile, but it just doesn’t work when applied to Mater, who consistently acts like a fool in public and causes Lightning to lose a race. When Lightning gets upset, he’s justified in being upset, yet he’s the one who eventually apologizes. The film doesn’t seem to recognize the difference between changing who you are and behaving properly in different circumstances. Mater even comes to realize how he looks to other people, but despite his feeling bad, it doesn’t really lead to any insight or change on his part.

Add to all that smaller problems, like the light political jab of making “big oil” the bad guys and hailing alternative fuel as the greatest of breakthroughs. Plus, there are numerous scenes that just feel rushed and poorly written, especially toward the end, like the sudden confirmation of Mater having a “girlfriend” or Lightning totally misconstruing Mater’s warnings while simultaneously forgetting that he’s right in the middle of a race.

So much negativity, but I don’t mean to bash Cars 2 like some low-rent DreamWorks movie. There’s still fantastic animation and ample imagination and humor on display, even if a lot of it consists of car-related puns. I may object to the secret agent plotline on a logical level, but it still offers some genuinely fun action sequences and eye-candy explosions. Michael Caine and Emily Mortimer are perfectly cast as the British spy cars who manage to mistake Mater for an undercover agent, and there’s cartoony amusement to be had, though the James Bond-ish elements make me hope that The Incredibles 2 works better than Cars 2 since they at least fit well into that superhero world. In conclusion, Cars 2 may not be good Pixar, but it still entertains if you don’t think about it too much. In fact, it’s probably more entertaining the less you think about it.

Best line: (Finn, played by Caine) “I never properly introduced myself: Finn McMissile, British Intelligence.”   (Mater) “Tow Mater, average intelligence.”

 

Rank: Honorable Mention

 

© 2017 S.G. Liput
509 Followers and Counting

 

Cartoon Comparison / 2017 Blindspot Pick #9: Hear Me (2009) / A Silent Voice (2016)

Tags

Animation, Anime, Cartoon Comparisons, Comedy, Drama, Foreign, Romance

Whispered rumors, mocking humor,
Overhearing words of spite,
Talk of blame and guilt and shame,
Made all the worse because they’re right—
Oh, to shut such voices out,
Unkindness barely out of sight.

Those with ears, now let them hear,
But if they can’t, do words turn rude?
Is absence of respect and love
The norm when barriers are viewed?
Perhaps it’s best the deaf don’t hear
Unkindness at such amplitude.

Those who fear the scorn they hear
May hide in deafness self-imposed,
Just as those who never chose
Their handicap can feel exposed.
Yet all who rise must recognize
Life’s eyes and ears should not be closed.
______________________

MPAA rating for Hear Me: Not Rated (should be PG)
MPAA rating for A Silent Voice: Not Rated (could be PG but probably PG-13)

In honor of  September being Deaf Awareness Month, I thought it appropriate to combine my monthly Blindspot Hear Me as a Cartoon Comparison with the anime film A Silent Voice, both of which are about a relationship between a boy and a young deaf girl. I thought to combine their reviews before I’d even seen them, but now that I have, the truth is that they’ve got far more differences than similarities. Hear Me is a Taiwanese romantic comedy with the unique distinction of being mostly in sign language, while A Silent Voice is a poignant tale of a bully’s emotional journey toward forgiveness, with romance staying on the back burner. (I thought they were both Japanese until I saw Hear Me was from Taiwan.) Yet both do address issues of deaf people and how others relate to them.

I’ll start with my Blindspot pick Hear Me, which intrigued me when I heard it was mostly in sign language. That probably won’t please anyone who doesn’t enjoy subtitles, but it makes for some very unique conversations, some of them quite dramatic yet communicated with only hands and facial expression rather than voice. Eddie Peng (who just appeared this year in The Great Wall) plays Tian Kuo, a delivery boy for his parents’ restaurant, who meets a girl named Yang Yang (Ivy Chen) at the public pool while her sister trains for the Deaflympics. Since he knows sign language, he freely converses with her over time, and their relationship goes through some familiar highs and lows, with deafness as a potential complication for their future together.

Let me just say that Hear Me has abundant charm, thanks largely to Eddie Peng, whose goofy, lovestruck antics and faces shine through even without words. There is dialogue too, in Chinese, mainly for the humorous exchanges between Tian Kuo and his bossy mother, but sign language and relative quiet are the rule rather than the exception here. The romance is also refreshingly wholesome, with the most suggestive moment just Tian Kuo seeing Yang Yang’s feet while she’s changing, which gives him a nosebleed. (It’s funny, I’ve seen that happen in anime, but this suggests that it’s something that actually happens to Asian people when they get excited.)

Hear Me actually focuses on the dual relationships of Tian Kuo and Yang Yang, as well as Yang Yang and her deaf sister Xiao Peng (Yanxi Chen). After Tian Kuo offends his crush by disrespecting her meager income, his efforts to win her back may bring to mind John Cusack’s desperation in Say Anything, just instead of holding a boom box outside of her window, he dresses as a tree and gives her a coin bank shaped like a bird. Really similar, see? The humor comes from Tian Kuo’s side, while Yang Yang and her sister face more dramatic issues, like craving independence despite being deaf. Yang Yang earns all the money, while her sister focuses on competing as a swimmer, but when her performance suffers, Xiao Peng comes to regret and resent her own dependence on her sister, climaxing in an all-hand heart-to-heart between them.

Hear Me makes the most of its unique sign-language dialogue, which serves the story rather than being just a gimmick. I liked how a misunderstanding was cleverly prolonged, as well as the few reminders of Yang Yang’s Christianity, since her absent father is said to be a missionary to Africa. It may not be a laugh riot, but there were definitely funny moments, especially a hilariously awkward scene where Tian Kuo’s parents sing his praises to his girlfriend. The central relationship also featured several of those heartwarmingly romantic moments that made Hear Me a pleasure to watch.

Now for A Silent Voice, or as its Japanese title Koe no Katachi translates, The Shape of Voice. While it received many accolades, A Silent Voice suffered somewhat from bad timing, being released just a month after last year’s mega-hit Your Name in Japan. (Incidentally, both were nominated for Japan’s Best Animated Feature Academy Award, but neither one won. That honor went to In This Corner of the World, which I’ll get to at some point.)  Whereas Hear Me was a romantic comedy with some moments of drama, A Silent Voice is much more dramatic in its young-adult setting and is bound to make sensitive viewers reach for the tissues more than once.

The film starts with the carefree elementary school life of Shōya Ishida, who is dumbfounded at the arrival of a new student, a girl named Shoko Nishimiya who reveals through writing in her notebook that she cannot hear. While the other students are civil enough at first, the situation quickly devolves into bullying, led by Ishida. These scenes remind you how cruel kids can be and easily make your heart break for Nishimiya, who endures it all with quiet patience, still thinking the best of her classmates. When she finally is forced to change schools, the blame for her departure quickly falls on Ishida, and he takes her place as the class scapegoat and bully target. Fast forward several years to Ishida in high school, and his marginalization has only deepened, even making him consider suicide, until he tries to seek out Nishimiya and make amends.

A Silent Voice makes the uncommon choice of first portraying its main character as a bully, the kind whose maliciousness seems normal to them but traumatic to their target. Yet the same person we dislike from the outset grows into a source of sympathy as he tries desperately to put that childish cruelty behind him. I loved the creative choice of placing X’s over the faces of his fellow classmates, marking them as people he has no chance or desire of knowing, as literal “unfriends.” These X’s become a brilliant way of visualizing Ishida’s mental state and his chances of relationships with others; when he lets his guard down, actually noticing and treating someone else as a person or vice versa, the X falls from their face and allows him a chance at a friend.

The relationship between Ishida and Nishimiya is touching on multiple levels. They’re both broken people with agonizingly low self-esteems, Ishida because he considers his past offenses unforgivable, Nishimiya because she blames herself for any trouble around her and believes she somehow deserves it, always apologizing for everything. It’s amazing how easily she seems to accept Ishida after what he did, but it’s the mere effort of communicating with her that she values most. Also perceptive are their interactions with the friends they make and how they respond to the bullying: one girl still sees Nishimiya as insincere and worthy of her harassment, while another views herself as completely innocent, even though she watched Nishimiya’s persecution and did nothing. These bullying themes and Ishida himself meant much to me because I too have been on both sides; I was picked on by an older classmate for a time and I did the same myself, something I still regret despite it happening only once. Ishida doesn’t approach Nishimiya with any set goals of how to make it up to her, but he tries to build the relationships he once helped destroy, something any repentant bully would wish they could do as well.

Kyoto Animation has a reputation for excellence, from the popular Haruhi Suzumiya franchise to the highly anticipated Violet Evergarden, and A Silent Voice is proof of the studio’s talents. The animation is painterly with its luminous, pastel palette, and, even if some of the artsy editing makes it unclear at first what just happened in the nonlinear storyline, it looks gorgeous throughout. The abundant use of symbolism and some ambiguous scenes (like the very first and last shots) also make it a film worth analyzing and hearing others analyze. I still consider Your Name the best anime of last year, but A Silent Voice is quite simply a beautiful film that wears its emotions on its sleeve. Anytime it threatens to dip into teen melodrama, it’s revived by a sweet moment or heart-tugging conversation. I laughed out loud twice, I actually cried “No!” at one harrowing part, and the final scene gives me tearful chills every time I see it.

Going into these two movies, I really expected them both to be List Runners-Up, as so many movies I’ve seen recently have been. On its own, Hear Me probably would be a Runner-Up, but A Silent Voice earns its way onto my List and gives me an excuse to add Hear Me as a tie. Both approach their deaf subjects with great sensitivity, stressing that they are relatable people in search of the same relationships we all crave. Hear Me had far more sign language than A Silent Voice, which didn’t really bother to translate with subtitles when it was used, but both are excellent features for Deaf Awareness Month and are well worth seeing any other month, for that matter.

Best line from Hear Me: (Tian Kuo’s father, of his mother) “She’s got a knife for a mouth and tofu for a heart.”

Best line from A Silent Voice: (Kawai, a sort-of friend) “Everyone suffers in their life. But it’s like that for everyone, right? So you have to love the bad parts of yourself too and move forward.”

 

Rank for both: List-Worthy (tie)

 

© 2017 S.G. Liput
507 Followers and Counting

 

September Morning (2017)

Tags

Comedy, Drama, Triple A

Where were you when the towers fell,
When a nation was numbed by an unforeseen hell?
What hollow activities padded the day,
As newscasters had the same horrors to play,
The same videos, the same headlines to tell?
And wasn’t “tomorrow” new cause for dismay?

Yet here we are, many years past the threat,
Still filled with the grief that once shocked and upset.
New courage since then, we’ve been forced to adopt.
We all may recall the day normal life stopped,
But let not the sadness cause us to forget
The day it began again, day for night swapped.
___________________

MPAA rating: Not Rated (should be R, for language)

The last two years, I’ve commemorated the anniversary of 9/11 by watching movie re-creations, letting United 93 and World Trade Center remind me of the tragic power of that horrific day. This year, though, I had the privilege of attending a free local screening of a small independent film called September Morning, a 9/11 film that never shows the planes or the smoking towers, instead dramatizing how average Americans far from New York, specifically a group of college students, reacted to the day that changed America.

Filmed over thirteen days and set completely in a small dorm room, September Morning takes place during the night of September 11 into September 12, after everyone was sick of the repeated news stories, sick of the fear and uncertainty, “tired of watching history being made.” The five college freshmen who spend that difficult night together include jocular Eric (Troy Doherty), promiscuous Lynz (Katherine C. Hughes), pessimistic Justin (Michael Grant), reserved Shelly (Taylor Rose), and vengeful ROTC cadet “Dish” Fisher (Patrick Cage II), who gather for pizza, beer, cigarettes, and conversation to distract from the oppressive melancholy that ruled the day. Each of those adjectives I assigned them are very general, as all of them fit those descriptions at some point, never coming off as stereotypes or anything less than genuine. The film doesn’t suffer one bit from its independent status, since every one of the actors is beyond reproach, with skillful direction to match from first-time writer-director Ryan Frost, who based the film off his own experiences as a freshman at the University of Richmond in September of 2001. Based on this film, I’d say every one of these talents is a name to watch, if only they would get the right notice.

The banter of the newfound college friends is heartfelt and sometimes funny, though rarely in a laugh-out-loud sort of way, but the shadow of 9/11 hangs over everything. Throughout the film are discussions and even silent reminders of the events of the previous day, offering much insight into how people felt at the time. When someone suggests watching a movie, Justin objects that whatever they see will be stigmatized to remind them of this time, just as anything showing the Twin Towers bears a solemn memory. The mood changes drastically when someone mentions planes or Arabs.  Shelly voices her hesitation at having a good time with friends after seeing people jump from burning buildings. There’s a debate about how people can pray and believe in God at times like this, with two characters sticking with Jesus while Justin argues for cynicism.

In many ways, September Morning struck me as The Breakfast Club for a new generation, simply set in college rather than high school. The whole film is basically a five-way conversation about these young people’s joys, fears, insecurities, and anger, simply with 9/11 as the context and trigger of these volatile emotions. There’s even an antagonistic authority figure in Michael Liu’s resident assistant, who criticizes the group’s self-medicating attitude and is summarily resented. As with The Breakfast Club, it’s easy to relate to these characters, and everyone is bound to see themselves in one or several of them at some point.

My main problem with September Morning is the language, with a surfeit of casual F-words surpassing anything in The Breakfast Club. In addition, the sexual conversations get uncomfortably graphic at times, even if nothing is shown. The frequent obscenities sadly make it a film I wouldn’t watch often, taking away from the otherwise impressive acting and thoughtful dialogue. (“Maybe fate is just a series of events that lead people to the same place.”) The lighthearted scenes often leaned too crude, but when the serious moments came, they rang true, particularly a brilliant exchange with the pizza delivery man (Max Gail, known to older viewers as “Wojo” on Barney Miller), whose age and experience help the young people put the traumatic day in perspective.

As with Life, Animated, I actually got to take part in a Q & A after the screening, this time with writer-director Ryan Frost, and he expressed his desire to memorialize how it felt on September 11 and 12 for the average American, especially since most college students will soon be part of a generation that doesn’t even remember 9/11. Even with the unnecessary profanity, September Morning succeeds as an encapsulation of those feelings and makes a point of contrasting the anger and despair with the kindness and encouragement that 9/12 instilled in people. As I left the theater with its flag flying at half-mast yesterday, the memory of the grief was lightened by the knowledge that, as hard and complex as it is, life does go on.

Best funny line: (Eric) “We’re all white people from the suburbs.”   (Dish, who’s black) “Excuse me?”   (Eric) “Oh, sorry, Justin’s Jewish.”

Best serious line: (delivery man Don) “When you get older, you tend to remember that time to time, the world goes crazy, but it doesn’t stop.”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2017 S.G. Liput
506 Followers and Counting

 

The Lego Batman Movie (2017)

Tags

Action, Animation, Comedy, Family, Superhero

(Since Lego Batman describes himself as a “heavy metal rapping machine,” I wrote this so it’s rappable. Have fun!)

When Gotham City’s threatened by the Clown Prince of Crime
And it needs a Dark Knight to save it in the nick of time,
Who you gonna call? Not a boy scout with an S,
Or a greenie with a ring or a guy who’s all wet
(Although Wonder Woman’s cool and she could maybe work, I guess),
But there’s only one hero who looks great in silhouette!

You know his name and signal, and you know he’s gonna come
Whether rogues are plotting something that’s ingenious or dumb.
Who you gonna call? Not the fastest man alive,
Or a silly bunch of villains who do not know wrong from right.
No, you need BATMAN for your franchise to thrive,
‘Cause there’s only one hero who looks cooler at night!
_______________________

MPAA rating: PG

Everybody loves Batman. Seriously, the amount of Batman love among my coworkers alone is staggering. They can enjoy Marvel movies and complain about DC, as I do, but when it comes to Batman himself, he’s always the best. I’m not quite as big a fan, so you can imagine the nerd debates we engage in. And after years of increasingly dark movies to his name, along comes The Lego Batman Movie to widen an already huge fan base, because who doesn’t love Batman humor? There’s certainly no shortage of humor in this follow-up to The Lego Movie, a film whose unexpected popularity already ensured loads of good will toward its manic superhero spin-off. As good as The Lego Movie was (and most loved it more than I), I think I enjoyed The Lego Batman Movie just a smidgen more, thanks to its irreverent parody of everyone else’s favorite superhero.

Reprising his role from The Lego Movie, Will Arnett is the same self-absorbed Batman as before, writing his own theme songs and beating bad guys while generally reveling in his own awesomeness. When he’s alone in his Batcave, though, his life of solitude is starting to get lonely, as evidenced by all the weepy romantic comedies he watches regularly (and laughs at). After the Joker (Zach Galifianakis) is offended at not being considered Batman’s #1 archenemy, his plan to win Batman’s attention forces Batman to reconsider his loner attitude, maybe with the help of Dick Grayson (Michael Cera) and new commissioner Barbara Gordon (Rosario Dawson).

As with The Lego Movie, the jokes come at a breakneck pace, with so many to react to that a rewatch is in order just to catch them all. Because of the constant gags, there’s always something to tickle your funny bone, whether it be the more ridiculous members of Batman’s rogues gallery (most played by barely used famous names) or Robin’s gung-ho geekiness or the callbacks to past Batman movies. Honestly, the denseness that keeps several people from deducing Batman’s identity, despite obvious evidence, made me think of similar stupidity surrounding Perry the Platypus in Phineas and Ferb. I do think they could have poked fun at DC’s current line-up a little more; for example, when Superman is interviewed about banishing Zod to the Phantom Zone, I would have loved it if he’d said something like, “Of course, I banished him. It’s not like I’m going to snap his neck or anything like that.” There is a nice subtle dig at Suicide Squad, though.

While The Lego Batman Movie doesn’t reference The Lego Movie or pay as much attention to keeping its Lego creations recreatable, it’s still very much Lego-inspired, with a climax that could only happen with Lego characters. Plus, despite not reeling about the multiverse like its predecessor, plenty of non-Batman characters pop up as the Joker musters the worst villains from other franchises to help him conquer Gotham. Honestly, seeing the likes of Sauron and the Kraken battling DC characters was my favorite nerdy pleasure to be had.

The Lego Batman Movie is made for Batman fans by Batman fans, so certain jokes may fly over the heads of those with only a cursory knowledge of the Caped Crusader. Yet, though I enjoyed it and found the animation well-done and creative, there’s something about its frenetic, blocky appearance that hurts my eyes looking at it for too long. There’s just so much detail that it’s hard to keep up. Even so, Batman’s growth as a hero made The Lego Batman Movie better than just a mere string of jokes, and the near-constant humor left little time to be bored or disappointed. Like its forerunner, it’s not quite as funny as it thinks it is, but it’s consistently funny and self-aware enough to please Batman fans everywhere… and maybe recruit a few new ones too. After all, he’s Batman.

Best line: (Alfred, to Batman, with accompanying flashback images) “Sir, if you don’t mind my saying, I’m a little concerned. I’ve seen you go through similar phases in 2016 and 2012 and 2008 and 2005 and 1997 and 1995 and 1992 and 1989 and that weird one in 1966. Do you want to talk about how you’re feeling right now?”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2017 S.G. Liput
506 Followers and Counting

 

Miss Congeniality (2000)

Tags

Comedy

There they all are! What beauty, what grace!
Behold the ideals of the whole human race!
They glide in their gowns and impress in each dress;
And every last round,
Swim-suited or gowned,
Is known to cause men’s hearts to beat in excess.

Some of you watching may think this all vain,
So snobbish and shallow it can’t entertain.
To all of those women so quick to complain,
You might as well tell us
You simply are jealous.
Why don’t you try wearing high heels while you reign?
___________________

MPAA rating: PG-13

I like Sandra Bullock. In fact, I have yet to find a role I haven’t liked of hers, from her Oscar-winning turn in The Blind Side to her classic action heroine in Speed. Miss Congeniality may be one of her older and more known movies, but I just now caught up with it, and yep, she’s darn likable here too, finding her humorous stride as a tomboy FBI agent pressed into the sickeningly glamorous world of beauty contests. It’s not exactly a comedy for the ages, but it’s easily enjoyed.

When tough-as-nails agent Gracie Hart is told she’s the FBI’s best option to infiltrate the terrorist-threatened Miss United States pageant (because apparently Miss America was already taken), she’s not exactly thrilled with the idea. To be quite honest, my opinion of beauty pageants has always been similar to hers, nothing but frou-frou exercises in vanity for the chronically gorgeous. Yet, in getting to know and trying to protect the other contestants, such as ditzy but earnest Miss Rhode Island (Heather Burns), she begins to recognize the more positive side of these competitions, view the other girls as people with their own hopes and dreams, and get a taste of the satisfaction that comes from advancing in such contests.

Of course, the film also pokes fun at the shallow side of pageants, typified by Michael Caine’s gleefully haughty beauty coach who sees Gracie as a lost cause. By placing rough-and-ready Gracie into this world of glitter and swimsuits, we get plenty of fish-out-of-water moments where her less feminine behavior contrasts laughably with her surroundings. I loved her explanation for tackling an audience member during one of her performances. Miss Congeniality has a little mix of everything: absurd comedy, building romance with Gracie’s partner Eric (Benjamin Bratt); a mystery concerning who is behind the pageant threat, which plays out well even if the culprit’s motivations don’t make a lot of sense. In the end, Miss Congeniality isn’t amazing at any of these plot elements, but they mix well enough for an entertaining watch that coasts on its humor and its likable leading lady.

Best line: (Victor Melling, played by Caine, to Gracie) “If I’d ever had a daughter, I imagine she might have been something like you… which is perhaps why I’ve never reproduced.”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2017 S.G. Liput
506 Followers and Counting

 

Moana (2016)

Tags

Animation, Comedy, Disney, Family, Fantasy, Musical

Out on the ocean, with sea on all sides,
The wind as your engine, the stars as your guides,
You are your own island, though roaming between
The land you called home and another unseen.

To blaze the blue courses no human has plied,
You must navigate more than tempest and tide.
To know destination and where you’ll return,
Your place in the ocean of life you must learn.
__________________

MPAA rating: PG

Most would agree that 2016 was a strong year for Disney (and animation in general), releasing two movies in the same year and both nominated for Best Animated Feature: Zootopia, which I loved, and Moana, which I wish I loved more. I’ve waited to review Moana because I wanted to see it again to see if I liked it better than my initial viewing, and I did, but not nearly as much as everyone else. While others are ranking it among Disney’s best, I’ve got it tucked in the middle of the “I like it” section, and I’m not even completely sure why.

The common complaint is that Moana recycles plot elements and the stern authoritarian father figure from The Little Mermaid, also directed by Disney veterans Ron Clements and John Musker, but that didn’t bother me much. There’s plenty else to set it apart, including the obvious subversion that King Trident wanted to keep Ariel in the sea and away from things of the land, while Moana’s father (Temuera Morrison, who played Jango Fett in Star Wars: Episode II) tries to keep her on their island of Motonui and away from the sea. Literally chosen by the sentient ocean to return the fabled Heart of Te Fiti and stop a spreading darkness, Moana (Auli’i Cravalho) sets out on her own (not unlike Mulan) to find the shapeshifting demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson) and return the Heart.

Before I get into my nitpicking, I must give credit where credit is due. The animation is a new CGI high for Disney, with special attention paid to the lush island greenery and the photorealistic water, and I don’t think any movie since Finding Nemo has contained this much stunningly animated water. It’s a technical marvel, and one more sign that Disney is handily keeping up with Pixar’s animation quality. The music is also well done, courtesy of Hamilton’s Lin Manuel-Miranda, score composer Mark Mancina, and South Pacific musician Opetaia Foa’i. I still think it’s not as memorable as past Disney soundtracks, yet most of the songs have gotten stuck in my head at some point.  My least favorite has to be the still lyrically clever “Shiny,” sung by the oddly accented crab monster Tamatoa (Jemaine Clement), but Moana’s “How Far I Go” and Maui’s “You’re Welcome” are soon-to-be-classic highlights, making me wish there were more musical numbers throughout.

I’m still trying to figure out why Moana didn’t hit me as it did so many others. I don’t think it’s the Pacific island pagan mythology, since Disney has explored other culture’s religions in the past, like the ancestors of Mulan and the spirits of Brother Bear. So what then? The best answer I can give is that I simply didn’t connect with the setting and, by extension, the story. I personally have no love for tropical islands (I used to live in Florida and moved to get away from that kind of climate), so that could be a factor, whereas I found it easy to enjoy Brother Bear since I love Alaska and its mountain scenery. Likewise, as strong as the main two characters were, I felt there was something lacking in the script, perhaps in the humor department. Moana’s repeated self-motivation got old after a while, and the reason for why the ocean chose her, a question that haunts her throughout, is somewhat glossed over in favor of stirring self-confidence. And why did the ocean, controlling itself like the water column from The Abyss, only help her at some points and not others?

As with so many of my less-than-positive reviews, I don’t want to make it sound as if I didn’t like it. I did. Moana is a solid addition to the Disney canon, boasting colorful and beautifully rendered animation and outstanding voicework. It took some time, but I really enjoyed the dynamic between Moana and Maui and how it grew along their voyage, as well as his tattoo mini-Maui. There’s much to praise, particularly in how Disney has created an admirable dark-skinned heroine and independent role model for kids, much more successfully than in The Princess and the Frog. All I can say is that it’s not one of my favorites, and I understand if people disagree with my gripes. I love Brother Bear and don’t get why some people hate it. One of the many great things about Disney’s canon is how varied it is, and for every lukewarm entry, there’s one to absolutely love. Moana does continue Disney’s streak of winners, but I thought Zootopia was better and deserved its Best Animated Feature win. But that’s just me.

Best lines: (Moana) “Okay, first, I am not a princess. I’m the daughter of the chief.”
(Maui) “Same difference.”
(Moana) “No.”
(Maui) “If you wear a dress and have an animal sidekick, you’re a princess.”

and

(Moana, as Tamatoa tries to take her necklace) “Don’t! That’s my gramma’s!”
(Tamatoa, the crab monster, mocking) “’That’s my gramma’s!’ I ate my Gramma! And it took a week, ’cause she was absolutely humongous.”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2017 S.G. Liput
499 Followers and Counting

 

Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016)

Tags

Action, Animation, Comedy, Dreamworks, Family, Fantasy

Between one parent and one child,
Their love is uncomplicated,
Even if they’re not related
Or may feel somehow exiled.

Will it change, their love compiled,
If a parent is located
From which they were separated
And the two are reconciled?

Some may fear they’ll be reviled
At reunions long-awaited,
Yet how can love be ever faded
Between a parent and their child?
________________

MPAA rating: PG

It may have seemed that DreamWorks was just planning to milk its past success with minimum effort when it released a third Kung Fu Panda in the usually lackluster month of January last year. However, Kung Fu Panda 3 managed to exceed expectations and end the franchise on a surprisingly solid note, building on its prequels with a satisfying conclusion.

After the final scene of Kung Fu Panda 2, where Po’s real not-dead father Li Shang (Bryan Cranston) realizes his son is alive, we get to see father and son reunite early on, only to be threatened by a new adversary named Kai (J.K. Simmons), a yak from the Spirit World who drains others’ chi energy. While Kai builds an army by turning kung fu masters into jade zombies (yes, jombies), Po (Jack Black) follows his father to his home in a distant village of pandas, where Po hopes to train but ends up enjoying the life among his own kind that he never knew.

Kung Fu Panda 3 continues the strengths and weaknesses of its predecessors, including some stellar fight choreography and animation, as well as a lack of character development for Poe’s comrades, the Furious Five, except for Tigress (Angelina Jolie). Where it excels in the character department is Po and his two fathers, adoptive goose father Mr. Ping (James Hong) and his biological father Li. I love how Mr. Ping has grown from an eyebrow-raising gag in the first film to a real source of heart for these movies. Here, he finds himself jealous of Po’s excitement at finding his father and wrestles with how to react to this new monopolizer of Po’s attention. Meanwhile, Li may seem selfish or unwise at times, but it’s easy to sympathize with both fathers. In addition, the fact that Li seeks out Po after realizing he’s alive makes his absence a whole lot more understandable than, say, the willing separation of Hiccup’s mom in How to Train Your Dragon 2.

Kung Fu Panda 3 does a lot to bring the franchise full circle, particularly in the return of the deceased Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim). True, it sidelines formerly major characters like Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) and bears similarities to the first film, but Po’s family dynamic and the Spirit World villain help it stand apart. The village full of Po’s fellow lazy pandas was also cute and endearing for the most part, where I expected it to be lame and silly. Aside from the action sequences, I especially admired one underplayed sacrifice that was easily Poe’s most heroic moment of the series.

All in all, Kung Fu Panda 3 is a worthy and funny finale for a series I didn’t expect to like when the first film was released back in 2008. DreamWorks has maintained its quality in both animation and story, creating a trilogy where it’s hard to say which of the three is the best, though I’m partial to the second movie. Why it was released in January, I don’t know, but Kung Fu Panda 3 is one of DreamWorks Animation’s stronger sequels.

Best line: (Shifu) “If you only do what you can do, you’ll never be better than what you are.”

 

Rank: List-Worthy (joining the other two)

 

© 2017 S.G. Liput
497 Followers and Counting

 

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

Tags

Action, Comedy, Sci-fi, Superhero

 

The galaxy sure has its share
Of foes waging cosmic warfare.
It’s a good thing that you
On the earth have no clue
That extinction is not all that rare.
It’s also a plus
Heroes do fight for us,
Though we earthlings are still unaware.
_______________

MPAA rating: PG-13

My regard for the first Guardians of the Galaxy makes me feel like I’m in the minority. I missed its theatrical run, and the hype was so positive that, when I finally got around to seeing it, it didn’t hit me the same as everyone else. Don’t get me wrong; I enjoyed it, but not like everyone who immediately fell in love with this offbeat surprise among Marvel’s roster. Seeing it again has helped me warm up to it more, but I still don’t quite think it’s one of the best Marvel movies ever like so many others out there do. So I approached Volume 2 from the viewpoint of a fan but not a zealous one, and I don’t think my expectations were too high. Given that opinion, I can say that I think I enjoyed Volume 2 more, at least on my first watch.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 has much of the appeal of the first film, first and foremost its diverse cast of misfits: roguish leader Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), skilled former assassin Gamora (Zoe Saldana), muscle-bound comic relief Drax (Dave Bautista), ornery tech genius Rocket the Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), and lovable tree Groot (voice-lightened Vin Diesel), who after being “destroyed” in the last movie has regrown as the cutest piece of dancing wood you’ll ever see. Their very first scene together is like a snapshot of their group appeal, combining action, humor, and a toe-tapping ‘70s song into one of the most fun opening credits scenes I can think of. From that high point, the film delves into further universe-building as the team manages to anger an alien empire, become a bounty target, and meet Peter’s absentee father Ego, a godlike entity who’s eager to reconnect with his son and looks a lot like Kurt Russell.

Between Volumes 1 and 2, I’m still not decided on which Guardians film is better, but I do recognize one advantage of Volume 2, which is directly owed to its status as a sequel. Even with all the praise you can throw at the first one, you must admit it’s a heavily stuffed caper. People criticize Spider-Man 3 and Batman v. Superman for being overstuffed with plot and characters, but Guardians of the Galaxy does the same thing, throwing together five completely unknown characters and multiple exotic alien locations, with the sole reference point for the rest of the MCU being the barely seen uber-villain Thanos. Guardians blithely sidestepped the usual issues of being so jam-packed with its highly entertaining music and sense of humor, but it’s still a lot to take in, or was upon a single viewing.

Volume 2 has the benefit of building on everything the first film introduced without the potential confusion, like the discussion of getting the stone back from Ronin to save Xandar to give to Yondu while Colonel Mustard uses the wrench in the library. (It’s the same principle that makes me favor Marvel’s tactic of assembling the Avengers from heroes who already had stand-alone movies, as opposed to DC’s throwing together its Justice League characters and then giving them their own stories.) Here, we already know the main five, and they’re broken into two groups, which allows different relationships to develop and the secondary characters to get the much-needed development the first film couldn’t afford. Peter’s lawless adoptive father Yondu is given much more depth and backstory than his first appearance (as well as a stylish action centerpiece) and grows as both a captain among the Ravagers and in his relationship with Peter. Likewise, we get a telling look into the motivations of Gamora’s rival sister Nebula (Karen Gillan), who had little impact at all in the first movie but now actually seems relevant to the team. I also rather liked the naïve newest member, Mantis (Pom Klementieff), who gets some strange bonding moments with Drax. Kurt Russell does well too as Ego, and the uncertainty of his intentions is made clear with what I found to be a shocking reveal.

One common semi-complaint I’ve seen for Guardians 2 is that it’s a little too eager to please, coming on the heels of its surprisingly successful predecessor. I suppose that’s the case, but I felt the same way about the first film, which had several jokes that I thought were trying too hard to be funny.  Volume 2 has the same ribald sense of humor, which is still hilarious more often than not. Rocket’s sense of humor is still a little off, but Baby Groot is an adorable improvement over his adult version, and Drax in particular is a reliable hoot every time he bursts into raucous laughter, even if his original misunderstanding of metaphor has been replaced by wildly inappropriate honesty.

As a follow-up to the original lark that caught everyone off-guard, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is great fun and a winning example of a summer blockbuster, complete with laughs, awe-inspiring visuals, a surprisingly emotional conclusion, and some healthy doses of ELO and Cat Stevens, though I’ll admit I didn’t recognize most of the soundtrack. (It’s still great, but maybe not quite as memorable as the first film’s.) There are still things I would do differently, especially with some of the more off-color jokes, and I am a little bothered by the huge body count of what was meant to be one of the best scenes and by the fact that Rocket, who with Groot has his own Disney XD cartoon for kids, has to be the most sociopathic and foul-mouthed of the group. Even so, I was thoroughly entertained from the awesome opening to the tearful denouement, plus the mid-credits scenes which only the most well-versed comic fans will completely understand (I didn’t). I may be the only one who enjoyed Volume 2 more, but I think most would agree that the Guardians are better developed for their inevitable meeting with the Avengers in Infinity War. That will really be something to see!

Best line: (Drax) “There are two types of beings in the universe: those who dance, and those who do not.”   (Peter) “I get it, yes. I am a dancer, Gamora is not.”   (Drax) “You need to find a woman who’s pathetic, like you.”

 

Rank: List-Worthy (joining the first film)

 

© 2017 S.G. Liput
495 Followers and Counting

 

Harvey (1950)

Tags

Comedy, Drama, Fantasy

Imaginary friends are such
That we don’t miss them very much
And so forget the joy that comes
From pals we cannot see or touch.

The fanciful are easy to mock.
We question sanity and gawk,
But everyone needs someone else
With whom to drink and laugh and talk.

And what the “sane” perhaps don’t see
In what we call imaginary
Is something we too often miss
In our mundane reality.
__________________

MPAA rating: Not Rated (easily G)

I watched Harvey for two main reasons: (1) It’s one of those universally liked classics that all fans of film should or feel like they should see, and (2) I love Jimmy Stewart, who earned an Oscar nomination for the kind of role that doesn’t initially seem worthy of an Oscar. As Elwood P. Dowd, he’s a genial, soft-spoken alcoholic happy to while away the hours visiting the bar and inviting strangers home for dinner. The trouble is that he’s utterly sincere in his friendship with a six-foot-plus invisible rabbit by the obvious name of Harvey.

While I have been familiar with the basic concept of Harvey for years, I didn’t know what to expect from the actual storyline. My VC had seen it long ago and remembered it as vaguely weird, and that was largely my opinion through the first half, or the first two-thirds really. Dowd obliviously walks around introducing acquaintances to his large unseen pal, while his sister Veta (Oscar-winning Josephine Hull) and his niece (Victoria Horne) bemoan the damage this does to their social reputation and vow to lock him away in a sanitarium. There are plenty of comical misadventures for secondary characters that drive the plot, most of which Dowd remains heedless of, and I found myself more annoyed than amused that much of the humor relied on misunderstandings that could easily be solved by a simple turn of the head or a more careful choice of words.

Yet, the latter third of the film places Dowd’s potential “mental illness” into a wider context of fantasy vs. reality and dull normalcy vs. eccentric kindness. Whereas what came before was simply Dowd’s peculiar routine, which seemed deranged to the outside eye, Stewart gives him more depth with some simple but keenly heartfelt conversations that make the prospect of an invisible pooka more enviable than pitiable. While Hull’s busybody panic and Stewart’s sincerity make the most of a rather uninvolving beginning/middle, the end helped me see Harvey’s classic appeal. It will never be among my favorites, but, like Dowd himself, it had a gentle charm and was, above all, “pleasant.”

Best line: (Aunt Veta, to her niece) “Myrtle Mae, you have a lot to learn, and I hope you never learn it.”

 

Rank: Honorable Mention

 

© 2017 S.G. Liput
494 Followers and Counting