 When it comes to "feel-good" films, this is a title that's at the top of my list, and has been for quite a long time now. And yes, part of that is, predictably, nostalgia. But there's so much more to this than just a movie I love from my past. This is one of those movies I like to put on if I need cheering up, if I need inspiration, or often, if I'm simply bored. Of course, the presence of John Candy always helps because you simply can't not like that guy.
As sunny winter approaches in beautiful Jamaica, a sprinter named Derice Bannock (Leon) is in the training process to qualify for the 100 meter race in the 1988 Summer Olympics. During the qualifying sprint, he, and fellow athlete Yul Brenner (Malik Yoba) are tripped when a young runner named Junior Bevil (Rawle D. Lewis) falls during the race. This disqualifies all three of them. But when Derice vents to President of the Jamaica Olympic Association, Barrington Coolidge (Winston Stona), he picks up on a potential chance to qualify for the '88 winter Olympics, if only he can get disgraced ex-coach Irving Blitzer (Candy) on board. With the help of his best friend, Jamaican push cart derby champion, Sanka Coffie (Doug E. Doug), they seek the help of Irving, who they learn lives on the island. At first, Irv is reluctant, but nevertheless arranges a meeting for any Jamaican athletes who wish to become the first Jamaican Bobsled Team. Soon, Derice, Sanka, Yul and Junior end up being the necessary team of four. The rest of the story does play out pretty much as one might expect, with a couple of differences - this inspires in ways far beyond being good at sports, and the way the film ends, without going into too much detail, is actually quite refreshing. What I do love about this one though is a bit of a list. I'm not gonna say it's the "perfect movie" or anything, but there's a certain something about it. There is a short list of movies that I have in mind that, when they end, I am left with a sense of warmth and happiness. Some of these (just personally) include 'Soul' and 'Love, Actually'. Usually there's something that stands out significantly about it on a personal level. 'Cool Runnings' does it with each of its characters, who match this thing I like to call the "Formula of Four" (and to be fair, credit goes to "Cracked - After Hours" for that one.) Concerning the "Formula of Four", basically it's a concept we've seen in a lot of different things like 'Ghostbusters' and 'Ninja Turtles'. You have a leader, or heart - a sort of lawful good character (Derice); you have the comedy relief (Sanka); you have the brain, or the little guy (Junior); and finally, you have the "other guy" - often a hot-head of sorts, but also often just the cool one in the group, or sometimes even "the audience" (Yul). For me, especially in re-watches of it, I try to take into account the subtle lessons these guys learn along the way. The big one is simply "don't give up", but there's more in here like "follow your dreams" and "stand up to your parents once in a while". This one is a timeless classic, almost guaranteed to leave you with a smile on your face. It should also be pointed out that a big part of this has to do with the Jamaican team being ridiculed for trying something they couldn't possibly be familiar with. They were further ridiculed for... let's just say other things... and quite honestly, John Candy delivers one of my favourite lines here, addressing the issue. As much as I watch this for laughs and a good time, I should also note that there's a few things here and there that need to be seen and heard today. This is a lot of fun to watch, sure, but I daresay it's also somewhat important in today's society. And honestly, that goes for more than just the racial issues the film addresses.
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 Going back to the days of my childhood, I was one kid who would happily sit down and watch any 'Peanuts' specials TV would have to offer. While 'Great Pumpkin' and 'Charlie Brown Christmas' are titles everyone's familiar with, I was a bit deeper with things like 'Race for your Life, Charlie Brown', and even a really deep one called 'Why, Charlie Brown, Why?' involving a new girl in town who has to deal with Leukemia.
When it came to a 2015 movie adaptation of something as retro as 'Peanuts', of course, I feared the worst. The typical tends to be one of two painfully repetitive tropes (sometimes both). On one hand, they might try to "update" things as to what the studio thinks is "cool" - see 'Alvin and the Chipmunks'. On the other, you might get a fish out of water story involving fantasy characters in our world - see 'Smurfs'. But thankfully, the trailer for this ended up showing basically none of that. The only thing that has really changed here is the CG animated style. But what's truly amazing about it is that it's perhaps the most basic storyline Charlie Brown has ever really been through. The film opens with a bit of 'Peanuts' fan service. It opens in wintertime where we see the kids skating, and we see all of our favourites sort of doing their things. But then Charlie Brown (Noah Schnapp) enters the scene, trying to fly a kite while it's snowing, crashing into a tree, and the kid couldn't be introduced in a much better way. The rest of the gang gets distracted by a moving van that happens to be right across the street from Charlie Brown's house. Enter "The Little Red-Haired Girl" (Francesca Capaldi); the girl he ends up having an everlasting crush on. He wants to talk to her, but he's ultimately too shy, thinking she's something potentially too good for him. So the basic plot of the movie is simply Charlie Brown trying to do what it takes in order to win the Little Red-Haired Girl's heart. She has been a mainstay in 'Peanuts' for decades now, and this is sort of a more positive take on his feelings for her. Charlie Brown has to learn a lot about himself throughout the process here as well, whereas, in older specials, things were much more simplified and you just had a nervous boy with a crush. His faithful dog, Snoopy (the one and only Bill Melendez) helps him along the way as well, but he's got his own story going on with the origins of his ongoing battle with the Red Baron. In many ways, especially between the Red-Haired Girl and the Red Baron, this movie provides perhaps the best way to introduce the Peanuts gang to today's youth. On a personal level, I really, thoroughly enjoy this movie. While its most definite aim is at kids, there is something about the overall simplicity of it that I can't help but admire. It's incredibly respectful to the work of Charles Schulz, and does nothing to try to "make it hip". It was as though the creators watched every 'Peanuts' special and said "nothing that goes beyond any of this!" A good example is the fact that throughout the film, we see the kids using their home phones, still attached to their cords, and there's no sign of cell phone technology. Details like that really make things fit what 'Peanuts' is supposed to be. I truly admire the fact that they stayed true to Schulz's work. This has become one of my go-to movies for times of feeling blue, or inadequate. It's a bit nostalgic, considering it reflects a lot of those old 'Peanuts' TV specials. But more importantly, and as cheesy as it might sound, it just provides this ray of sunshine to the day. This is one of those nice little slice of life movies, it shows kids just being kids, it goes to no extremes with anything, and it just plain feels like 'Peanuts' should. This is one of those movies I can openly recommend to anyone. There's really nothing bad I can say about it. More than anything else, it's that final message the film has that some people could use sometimes. Otherwise, it's just a nice, warm throwback to those good old 'Peanuts' specials we all remember and love.  Just getting a little something out of the way first, it looks as though I'm definitely an odd man out on this movie. I actually kind of love it, but if I'm being completely honest, this could have qualified as a "Film Negative" (also known as my "Bad Movie Reviews") based on my guidelines, and its Rotten Tomato average of a mere 32.5%. The main reason seems simple enough in that it's a John Hughes film that follows his own 'Home Alone' formula far too closely.
Apart from that, however, there's a fair amount of low-brow toilet humour, and to be fair, I'm not the biggest fan either. But I feel like there's much more to like about it, and it's pretty easy for me to see past this movie's flaws and see its charm. For starters, from my perspective, following a 'Home Alone' formula is something I feel lends itself to 'Dennis the Menace'. I get that it's Hughes repeating himself, and it's hard to overlook that criticism in a way. But in another way, personally, I feel that formula just works for something like 'Dennis the Menace'. I grew up with the 1986 cartoon series, and I felt like they more or less nailed it when I saw it. The film features everyone's favourite pre-Bart Simpson trouble-maker, Dennis Mitchell (Mason Gamble), an ongoing source of curiosity and mischief, namely to Mr. George Wilson (Walter Matthau), his next-door neighbour. While Dennis is out of school for the summer, his parents, Henry and Alice (Robert Stanton and Lea Thompson, respectively) each have to work, leaving Dennis and his best friend Joey (Kellen Hathaway) to stay at the Wade's house, where a bossy girl named Margaret (Amy Sakasitz) lives, and neither boy looks forward to seeing her. However, the trio do find an abandoned treehouse in the woods they decide to fix up and make their own. Soon, the Mitchells have to both leave town on business and need a place for Dennis to stay, which leads to Dennis staying right next door with Mr. Wilson and his wife, the ever so sweet Martha (Joan Plowright). In the meantime, a dark figure rolls into town by the name of Swtchblade Sam (Christopher Lloyd), thieving throughout the neighbourhood and, admittedly, providing a pretty disturbing figure. This guy could be Harry and Marv's boss from 'Home Alone', if they ever had one. He's creepy to look at, but has this odd smoothness about him all while acting quite animalistic at the same time. Of course, as one can easily predict, he will have to face off against Dennis at some point. Anyway, perhaps it's a bit low-brow, perhaps a bit formulaic, and perhaps predictable. But there are some sweet moments here, namely involving Mr. and Mrs. Wilson. There's a nice moment here where Mrs. Wilson recites a poem for Dennis she remembers from her mother, and it leads to a discussion about missing out on having children. It's funny, I would consider up a quintessential "granfather/grandson" movie (in other words, it speaks to each extreme generation more than the middle) and I might say this is right there with it. Grandparents can relate to the Wilsons, and kids can relate to Dennis. I think that's where I find the real charm of the movie. It's something I feel I could have shared with my grandparents and they would have had as much fun as I did. I'd also like to point out that this does not follow the age-old formula of a kid being upset with their parents for having to work all the time. Short of a brief discussion in a car ride between Dennis and Alice, there's nothing to it. Dennis just goes with the flow, and it's not really brought up. I also love the way he's got these kids talking; the conversation they have about where babies come from is actually pretty funny. There are some comments about what it means to be a boy or a girl that might not sit too well with some, but I beg you to consider that these are established 5-year-old kids who simply don't know any better. I'm sorry, but when kids don't know what they're saying, I think it's a great source of comedy. And this is was Hughes was an expert at - he understood how kids thought, be they teens or adolescents. If you've seen it, and your mind is made up on it being a bad movie, I'm not here to try to convince you otherwise. As I said, I'm an odd man out on this one. But at the same time, I did want to say my piece in defence of the film, seeing as it falls under the category of "movies I like that others hate". Over the years, this has actually become a bit of a comfort food movie for me, and the warm suburban summer atmosphere it has really helps with that. This is a movie that reminds me what it was to be a kid, and really reflects childhood innocence much more than it does destruction of any kind, as one might expect. It manages to hold a place in my heart, despite the negativity towards it, and I might even recommend checking it out with a new perspective if you ever have the inkling to do so.  For the month of March, I thought I'd take a look at the material of classic animator, Don Bluth, and some of his best and highest recommended material from yours truly. With that said, I have to be honest when I say this is also a re-watch for me with a lot of these titles, after spending at least a good decade in the back of my mind. We start this all off with a true classic; 1982's 'The Secret of NIMH'.
If I'm going to be talkign about Don Bluth's best material this month, this is for sure a great place to start, as it's arguably one of his best titles. Most people I know would argue 'The Land Before Time', but for my money, this is Bluth Golden Standard. It's everything you could possibly want from a Bluth movie. It's the perfect combination of fun, dramatic, and fantastic, and even kind of dark. Although it's not without its dashes of goofy comedy, most of this is a testament to how Bluth never wanted to talk down to kids. The fact of the matter is, story-wise, this could give your average Pixar film a run for its money today. In a small world that takes place on the Fitzgibbons' farm, we meet the likes of a widowed field mouse named Mrs. Brisby (Elizabeth Hartman, in her final role) and her family of four children; Theresa (Shannen Doherty), Martin (Wil Wheaton), Cynthia (Jodi Hicks) and the ill-fallen Timothy (Ian Fried). Without understanding Timothy's illness, Mrs. Brisby seeks out the help of Mr. Ages (Arthur Malet); an old friend of her late husband, Jonathan's. Mr. Ages diagnoses Timothy with pneumonia, and warns not to move him and allow him proper rest and medicine for about three weeks. In the meantime, the farmer intends to plow the field where they reside, which means the family must find a way to move without forcing Timothy out of bed, or he risks death. Mrs. Brisby then sets out on a journey, seeking help from the Great Owl (John Carradine), a bumbling crow named Jeremy (Dom DeLuise), and a clan of rats, lead by the seemingly ancient and wise Nicodemus (Derek Jacobi) who holds an intriguing secret based on the rats' friendly relationship with the late Jonathan Brisby. This all creates a more intense and interesting subplot to the film as well, throwing us all a bit of a curveball. Being that this one is from the early 80s, one can appreciate the fact that animation was much tougher to do back then, and Bluth proves to be extremely successful with it here. I absolutely love the dream-like atmosphere that this movie provides, and it's an odd case where I wouldn't actually want to see it cleaned up with CG. There's something about the oldschool animation here that gives this movie so much of its charm, and we'll learn Bluth pulls this off in his early days. Back in the 80s and early 90s, I'd say Bluth movies were to Disney what Dreamworks is to Pixar now - it's a bit of a "lesser" brand in theory, but in reality, sometimes the stories are just as good, if not better. It was an honest to God coin-flip for us kids. I didn't really pick up on this title until much later in my life, but I'm very glad I did, and in my own way, I regret not giving it a proper chance in my early days. I was born the same year this came out, so I've been familiar with the title as far back as I can remember. Nevertheless, this totally holds up, and it's actually a great example of a family film with a strong female lead, if you're looking for one. In its own way, it provided that nostalgic factor, regardless of the fact that I saw it for the first time well into my twenties. That all comes from the style, and the memory that Don Bluth had a way of providing that escape from reality very easily. It's one of the best examples of his more dream-like stuff, and it really does take you away into a whole other world. It's Bluth fantasy at its peak.  This is one of those movies that has a personal history with yours truly. Some time in my grade 8 year, I was home with a flu that gave me a temperature of 102 (that's about 39 for those who use celsius), and a whole week off school. My Mom rented this movie for me, and I watched it so many times through that week that I consider it to count towards the collection of movies that made me appreciate fantasy altogether. I loved this movie when I was 13, but once that flu was done, I never really came back to it until now.
The story goes that on Omri's (Hal Scardino) ninth birthday, his older brother gives him an antique cupboard, which he takes a real liking to. You come to like Omri pretty quickly with how polite and kind he is, but I always kind of thought it was odd that a 9-year-old boy was so into something you might find at Pier 1 Imports He also gets a Native American figure from his best friend, the somewhat less likeable Patrick (Rishi Bhat). He's not what you'd call a bad kid, but he is honestly a bit of a brat through a lot of the film. Going back to Omri, one should probably know that he does have one extreme moment where you kind of want to reach through the screen and smack him, involving a rat in a ball. So he's not perfect either, but in reality, no rat was harmed in the making of this. Anyway, getting on with it, Omri's Mom gives him a key from her key collection that just so happens to work with the small cupboard. He puts the "Indian" inside, and locks it in for the night - really just to put something in the cupboard and test it out. He soon comes to realize that whatever plastic thing he puts in there turns real, when he opens the cupboard back up to reveal an Iroquois Native by the name of Little Bear (Litefoot). It turns out the figurine has his own personal history as well, which really adds something interesting to the whole story. The figure doesn't come to life just confused, it seems that the figure develops a sort of spirit that comes from some specific place and time. In this case, Little Bear was in the midst of the French and Indian War in the 1700s. So it's kind of neat that each toy/figure has its own backstory. Omri befriends Little Bear, and decides to keep him alive in his room as a secret, all the while learning of Little Bear's culture. Omri finds himself helping out quite a bit, giving him things like tools and weapons along with materials to build a longhouse that he miraculously hides behind his toy chest. He soon realizes, however, that bringing these characters to life isn't just playtime fun. First, he brings some other characters to life like Robocop and Darth Vader, only to scare himself with how dangerous these characters are. But soon enough, things get a bit deeper, and it's more than just his collection of action figures he has to consider. Through Little Bear, Omri actually (presumably) learns about things like death, and I'd even go so far as to say that by the end, the "playing God" lesson is taught in a way kids can really relate to it. Part of the "Playing God" lesson comes from Patrick, wanting to bring a cowboy named Boone (David Keith) to life. He succeeds, and Boone adds a bit of humor to the whole thing (humor mainly aimed at kids while using curse words). The main reason for Boone's existence is to have another small character for Little Bear to play off of, but they do a good job of keeping him somewhat interesting. Without spoiling anything, let's just say that with Boone's character, there's eventually a message of peace and understanding to be taken away from the film as well. A lot of the film's general appeal happens to be that it teaches kids quite a bit in such a small span of time, but while remaining interesting. At no time does it ever feel like a lecture, it just sort of flows from one thing to another. Director Frank Oz did a great job with things here. I tend to think that this still holds up pretty well, especially for the younger crowd. Considering the film's title (based on the book of the same name by Lynne Reid Banks), I worried this might get into that uncomfortable territory, like 'Peter Pan' did. But honestly, even this time around, it's pretty cool in teaching kids a thing or two about Native American culture - especially when you consider this particular Iroquois is played by a guy named Litefoot. This was 1995, and the filmmakers were good enough to find Litefoot for this particular role - his first role, I might add. Sadly, he'd be Nightwolf a bit later in 'Mortal Kombat: Annihilation', but it's cool that he got his foot in the door with a pretty respectable role to his own background. On this watch-through, certain things did stick out as not so great, but there was still a special something about it. I made the connection to when I was sick, and watching this through, and the answer is simple, but perhaps a bit odd. The film is, in a word, "comfortable". It generally takes place in Omri's room, and a lot of it is just Omri's interactions with Little Bear, getting to know him. I suppose, in a way, it's a good way to transport yourself back to those times you just played with your action figures and/or dolls, and were perfectly happy doing so. I would have even felt that back when I was 13, so in a way, even at the time there was something nostalgic about it. I'd consider it very much a "comfort food" movie, if only because watching it reminds me of laying on the couch, wrapped up in a blanket, and consuming some hot, chicken noodle soup.  Imagine a time when movie magic didn't consist of crazy CG special effects, amazing camera work or uncanny makeup, but existed in a sort of reality where budget barely entered into it quite as much as a great story, lovable characters, and the concept of something like Heaven without being preachy about it whatsoever. 1989's 'Field of Dreams' fits the bill perfectly, and it's easily one of the greatest feel-good films ever made.
A corn farmer from Iowa named Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) lives a happy, down to earth life with his wife, Annie (Amy Madigan) and daughter, Karen (Gaby Hoffmann). One day, while working in the field, he hears the famous words "if you build it, he will come". He takes it as a sign to build a baseball field, in the hopes that the late great "Shoeless" Joe Jackson will come back to play. The whole thing is fulfilled within the first half hour or so of the film, and like something from a dream, Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta) and seven more of the 1919 White Sox come to play, but they lack a ninth player to complete their team. Soon, the voices continue, and Ray is lead to reclusive author Terence Mann (James Earl Jones), who he hopes will help him understand the meaning of the voices that he similarly hears. For the record, I'm not the biggest sports fan in the world and know very little about whatever historical inaccuracies there are in the film. That goes double for certain characters here based on real people. But this is one of those films where inaccuracies hardly matter, because the real meaning behind the film is much deeper, and to overanalyze the facts means missing the point. But to dictate the point also means to spoil the end of the movie, so I'll just ease back, even though it's one of those spoilers that's barely a spoiler anymore. What the film does better than anything is provide its viewers with a crazy amount of magic. but does so without it being corny. It's the kind of magic you feel when you meet your favorite celebrity for the first time, or get exactly what you want and then some from a movie you were looking forward to all year, but then it blends that with pure nostalgia. I dare even say that when it comes to baseball memories, in this point in time where sports have all but disappeared, it will tug at your heartstrings even harder than it did before (if you've seen it - if not, I recommend getting on it). This movie is good enough to get three Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and its memorably dream-like score from James Horner. On top of all that, it was actually selected in 2017 to be preserved in the US National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". I dunno what else has made that list, particularly, but that does go to show how strong and timeless this story is, with an ending that is bound to bring on some waterworks.  I tend to give a lot of credit to any actor who can embrace their inner child to actually play a child, and play it well. Robin Williams tends to come to mind when he pulls it off in 'Jack' (underrated, but perhaps needs a revisit), but the only man who arguably did it better was Tom Hanks in 'Big' - an Oscar nominated performance from 1988 that has yet to be topped. He nails everything from the way he talks to his subtle mannerisms. It's very evident that Tom Hanks had a lot of fun with this role, and did his homework in some way before pulling it off.
Josh (Hanks/David Moscow) is an average boy living an average life. He hangs out with his best friend, Billy (Jared Rushton), and has a crush on a girl named Cynthia (Kimberlee M. Davis). In a line-up for a carnival ride, he attempts to try to break the ice with Cynthia, but he's told he's not tall enough for the ride. In his frustration, he wanders over to a Zoltar fortune telling machine that "grants wishes". He wishes he was "big", and the next day, he wakes up as a full-grown adult. Freaking out his own mother (Mercedes Ruehl), Josh realizes he can't go home to figure things out. Instead, he seeks Billy's help, which eventually leads them to New York City, where he can lay low until he can find another Zoltar machine to hopefully reverse his wish. This is where he finds out immediately that there's much more to the adult life than meets the eye. In killing his time, he manages to find a data entry job for the famous FAO Schwartz toy store. Here, he develops a few new relationships where his adulthood is often tested. His boss, MacMillan (Robert Loggia), sees him as the perfect man child to test the company's toys. The toy making team-leader, Paul Davenport (John Heard) has a strong dislike for him, as he seems to constantly undermine him. Finally, his coworker, Susan (Elizabeth Perkins) likes him and his open mind, but he's still 13 on the inside, and not quite in touch with those things yet. As the story unfolds, it's a great case of Josh learning a lot about what it means to be an adult, but it equally covers all of these adults and how they would typically deal with a kid's mind. MacMillan embraces it, especially as a toy store owner, Paul is obviously very annoyed by it, and Susan, though it's not quite as obvious in her situation, kinda meets it in the middle. She finds his child-like mind frustrating at times, but that frustration he causes is all part of his charm. This is perfect for any kid going through those difficult stages of puberty. I remember it well. We wanted to do what adults could do (in more ways than one), and in many ways, this is the film to show them that things aren't necessarily all they're cracked up to be. It's also a good way to show these kids that it's important to embrace your childhood while it lasts. It's a very short time in your life that you might take for granted.  Before I get into this, the format in which I credit the cast for this film is "voice/guy in suit", as each main character here has one of each, including Tatsu for whatever reason... moving on, however.
Going way back to being about 6, I was introduced to these guys through a handful of close friends. For me, it was word of mouth at school. I checked out the cartoon, was instantly hooked, and got quite the haul of Turtle toys over the next few years. It can't be explained, but there was just something about them we all loved. This particular movie is about as close as things get to the original source material. Not the cartoon, I'm talking the old, black and white comic book that made these guys dark, totally badass, and every one of them wore red bandanas, not just Raph. Instead, they were really only distinguishable by their weapons. However by the time this movie came along, the cartoon and the toys were what we were focused on. So the film combined the efforts of the comic book with the cartoon to give us kids everything we deserved. To this day, I still claim this as the end all, be all of 'TMNT' films. Okay, so basic plot - a backstory within the film tells us a brief origin of the characters, and those taking the time to read this probably already know it. Hell, you probably know it from today's material anyway. These guys never really went away or took a break. Basically, lost ooze in sewer = 1 mutant rat named Splinter (Kevin Clash) and 4 mutant turtles named after Renaissance artists, Leonardo (Brian Tochi/David Forman), Michaelangelo (Robbie Rist/Michelan Sisti), Donatello (Corey Feldman/Leif Tilden) and Raphael (Josh Pais). They find themselves up against a gang of ninja thieves known as the Foot Clan, headed by Shredder and his lackey, Tatsu (Michael McConnohie/Toshishiro Obata). These guys are going all around the city of New York, robbing it blind. Their paths cross with news reporter April O'Niel (Judith Hoag) who is doing a story on the whole situation. The turtles get involved when Raph finds her in the subway, having been attacked in an attempt to keep her lips sealed. He takes her back to their lair for recovery, but is unknowingly followed. Shit really hits the fan when their master, Splinter, is soon kidnapped by the Shredder, who holds him captive, trying to get answers from on how the turtles know how to fight like they do. April ends up helping them out, and caught in the middle of it all are one runaway teenager named Danny (Michael Turney), who's caught between helping the turtles and working for the Foot, and Casey Jones (Elias Koteas) who's kind of a random addition to everything, but makes for some decent comedy relief and is a great help in a fight. It might sound crazy, but this is one of those childhood films that I don't only love due to nostalgia, but love because it actually does tell a good story about characters I care about. You can watch this as an adult and see it as a sort of coming of age movie, as the Turtles have to learn to work as a team, have to come into their own to rescue Splinter, and have to take Splinter's teachings seriously in order to do it. While Leo and Don are doing pretty well, we do get that Mike and Raph have a bit of growing to do - Mike with his immaturity and Raph with his temper. I could always find myself empathizing with those two characters the most, especially after the bonfire scene, which I'm not ashamed to admit manages to move me when I see it these days. I mean, while it's a fun movie, one may argue "for kids", it actually does get pretty deep at points. It's not just some action movie where you see these turtles kicking ass and taking names. They take the time to get some messages across subtly, and a big part of it all is how important family is - remembering that family can also mean friends! Anyway, as I mentioned before, the 'Turtles' never really went away or took a break. They simmered down here and there, but have pretty well remained a constant in pop culture. But I can probably say with all sincerity that they were never, ever as big as they were in the late 80's and early 90's. They were everywhere back then! If the cartoon didn't give us enough (which was already an overload), the movie pretty much marked their taking over of the world (at least in my head). So, if you're a fan who hasn't taken a look at this 1990 classic, I strongly urge you to do so. Parts may be a bit dated, but everything that made this movie great is still there, and that includes the master puppetry of Jim Henson's Creature Shop when the man was still alive and kicking!  We wrap up the year of 2018 with a Screening Suggestion (save a couple of Now Playing reviews) for Christmas Day. As I type this, it's actually far past Christmas Day, sadly, but hey, keep in in your pocket for next year because this is pretty much the end all be all of classic Christmas specials out there that have withstood the test of time.
This is another 20-someodd-minute special that does everything it needs to within its running time, and is a revisit for me every single year. While I clearly stated that 'A Claymation Christmas Celebration' is my favourite Christmas Special of all time, this one is damn close - it's certainly my favourite mainstream one, without question. This Christmas Special sees Charlie Brown in a down and out funk over the holidays. Christmas is coming, magic is in the air for everyone, his friends are playing in the snow and skating, everything ought to be all good. However, Charlie is kinda stuck on what the true meaning of it all really is while others around him succumb to the overall commercialism of the holiday. Snoopy throws up a light display to try to win some cash, his little sister writes a note to Santa asking for some cash, it all just makes him depressed because the magic of it all seems to have faded. Lucy, therefore, suggests that he should get involved with the holiday by directing the Christmas play. Of course, everyone kinda just brushes him off and doesn't take his direction seriously, providing us with a sort of constant Peanuts dancing scene, and ultimately frustrating Charlie Brown to no end. Of course, when Linus takes the stage and tells us all what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown reconsiders the grand scheme things. There's more to it, involving a decrepit tree and whatnot, but I could also sit here and give you a play-by-play of the episode for what it's worth. The real takeaway from this Christmas special is that the commercialism of Christmas isn't something that's gonna go away anytime soon, but if you look hard enough, you can certainly find that Christmas magic somewhere, still. Again, this one is short and sweet, well worth the view, and holds up quite well to this day. There really is something timeless about Peanuts, and this Special is living proof.  Here's another Rankin/Bass Christmas special that's pretty much just as, if not more, popular than 'Rudolph'. Perhaps not as much controversy is drawn to this one, though, so it's pretty well skimmed over every year. People still watch and enjoy it as an annual tradition, but one must admit that its kinda been pushed to the background lately - and unnecessarily so. This is actually one of the best all-around family-friendly Christmas specials in existence. It's HARD to find anything wrong with it.
Much like 'Rudolph', as one might imagine, this is basically an unfolding of the 'Frosty' song in visual form. However, this one is far more basic in its execution, at just a 24-minute run-time, and involving just a few main characters. The whole thing starts on Christmas Eve at a school house where the kids are anxious to get out and play in the Christmas snow. Their teacher brings in a magician to try to distract and entertain the class, by the name of Professor Hinkle (Billy De Wolfe). The kids don't think much of him, and when the bell finally rings, they ditch him to go build a snowman. Hinkle's hat blows onto the new snowman's head, and "Frosty" (Jackie Vernon) - as dubbed by our main character, the young Karen (June Foray), comes to life. The special unfolds as we kinda follow it along with the way the song goes. The kids see that its getting a bit warmer, and Frosty is starting to melt, so Karen takes it upon herself to get Frosty to the North Pole, where he can stay intact forever. Meanwhile, however, Karen is suffering in the constant cold, putting Frosty in a nasty position. He needs the cold to stay alive, but its slowly making Karen very ill. Of course, this all leads to the end sequence where Santa comes in to save the day, but again, it's not just a convenient arrival on his part. He's there to give the viewers a bit of a life lesson, as well as instill the overall Christmas spirit in us all. It all moves pretty quickly, but here we have a cute, completely family-friendly and kid-friendly Christmas special that has somehow withstood the test of time. It's one of few left that you never fail to see come on TV every single year, its never been remade, and any sort of sequel it has just can't been compared to the classic. In my own way, I almost see this as the ultimate fail-safe Christmas special. Its about a snowman, there's really no religious connotations to it, so everything's safe there, and the main villain is just some dude who wants his hat back. It's in no way mean-spirited, it's short and sweet, easy for a kid to get through, and is just about bound to put a smile on your face in the end. Even if you're older, this one does a good job of re-injecting that Christmas spirit into the old blood stream. The ONLY slight problem I see with it is that its pretty dated for today's youth. But still. Everyone needs to see it at least once. It's a classic.  Let's face it. Rudolph has been the victim of a whole whack of crazy controversy lately, along with various other Christmas traditions. 'Rudolph' is too mean-spirited and even sexist, 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' is a song about being taken advantage of, and there's even been a bunch of crap going on right now about Santa "needing" to be gender-fluid (which isn't exactly as blown out of proportion as all that, thank God) - basically, the overall Christmas spirit has been shot right in the face this year, and everyone's got a problem with something. I have my own opinions on things, but for now, I'd like to throw in my two cents about the 'Rudolph' controversy.
This is a special that I've held close to my heart since I was a little kid. There were a few specials that aired on TV that were must-sees every year, and this was one of the big ones. People even forget there are two more Rankin/Bass specials like this; 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town' and 'The Little Drummer Boy', which no one ever seems to talk about these days. This pretty much translates to 'Rudolph' being the stand-out special among the three. So, what the hell is so wrong with it? Let's get into it. The basic plot is the song just being drawn out into a story. Rudolph, with his red nose, and an Elf named Hermey who wants to be a dentist, become runaways when their respective friends and family are assholes about them being so different. In their travels, they run into a prospector named Yukon Cornelius, and the three have a little adventure involving an Island of Misfit Toys, an Abonimable Snowman, and growing up via 'Lion King' style montage. It all just leads to Rudolph returning home, learning the lesson of not being able to run from your problems. I mean, spoiler alert I guess, but I have to make that my first defense. The other takeaway is that Santa sees Rudolph as just a reindeer with a birth defect, until he realizes that he can use him. Either is valid, but the point I'd like to make is that no one seems to be able to find the positives in this Christmas special anymore. Many of these "controversies", if you will, are all things that are fair debate. As a matter of fact, I agree with some of it. The primary example is that Santa, Donner (Rudolph's Dad) and even Comet, are gigantic assholes. But here's the thing, apart from maybe Santa (just because he's Santa) I never had any REAL complaints about this because, dammit, that's what this special is about! Rudolph runs away because of all the ridicule, grows up, and returns with the idea in his head that he cant's run from his problems. But that's just the beginning of the positive takeaways I get from this special. Let's talk about Clarice; the love interest doe who barely shows up throughout, but always has something good to do or say. The prime examples include her telling Rudolph that she likes him because he's different, and her and Donner's wife setting out on their own despite Donner's comment. He says "this is man's work" so they're like "oh, okay, we'll just go on our own to find Rudolph then", thus taking matters into their own hands. Clarice also has the song "There's Always Tomorrow", which was encouraging to those of us who had a lot of bad days as children. The idea of "tomorrow is another day" mostly came from her, for me. And then what about Rudolph, himself, setting out on his own so as not to endanger his friends? I suppose this could be seen as either selfish or selfless, but in my head, it's just him trying to do the right thing. Herbie also gives us the idea of following your dreams despite how ridiculous people around you might find it. I'd even say Yukon is a good example of someone who is unapologetically himself. So, at the end of the day, most of the negatives this special has recently conjured up, do have some sort of a balance to them. The problem is that people aren't looking at things right. I'll be the first to admit that there are some things I can agree with people on (Santa's still a total jerk in this), but it's blown out of proportion now. For me, that was always just a funny realization. I never, in any way thought negatively about the special itself for any reason whatsoever. For me, the positives one can take away from this actually manage to outweigh the negatives. So, think of it what you will, but this is a Christmas tradition that has lasted since the 60s. I'd say, if you do find yourself with these protesters, give it another shot after reading what I have to say. Hopefully you can find new things to like about it.  With the release of the new animated 'Grinch' movie, along with the live action remake from 2000, I thought I'd tackle the one and only old school version of 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' as the Screening Suggestion among the bunch. One, because this month I'm focused on some of the more legendary Christmas specials. But two, because dammit, this is still the best version - and I'm saying that without even giving the new one a chance. It's something I feel I can get away with, mostly because they've apparently softened him up quite a bit, which pretty much goes against everything this special was all about. But I digress, let's dive into it.
We meet the Grinch as he stands on top of Mount Crumpit, surveying Whoville, busying themselves with the preparation of Christmas. He narrates about how much he hates the whole thing, and devises a plan to quite literally steal Christmas away from the Whos. This is achieved by taking away Christmas trees, stockings, candy, toys, food, whatever he can get his hands on that is symbolic to Christmas. Hell, he even takes the last can of Who Hash, whatever that is. The idea is to make the Whos miserable on Christmas morning - my own takeaway being that it's some sort of bitter payback for his years of loneliness and sadness. He wants these Whos to feel what he's feeling. He wants to give them a day of misery without all of their joyous noise, which is the real trigger for him. And I never needed a whole backstory to get that into my head with this 24-minute special. Basically, what we have here is a recluse, antisocial asshole. So, spoiler alert (if it can be called that, at this point in the game), the Grinch, of course, has a three-sized change of heart in the end when the Whos all come out singing, despite missing all of their stuff. This is a special that lends itself to the true magic of Christmas, in the sense that as long as love is in your heart, Christmas will always come when it's due. Nothing material can take away from the love of your family and friends. It ends on this super happy note, and the Grinch is even invited to feast with the Whos after giving everything back. This is a title that teaches kids (or at least it somewhat managed to teach me) that material possessions aren't what makes Christmas so special. An important message to get through to kids, as let's face it, kids are ALL ABOUT the presents! I know I was. While the other films probably have more interesting and thorough storylines to them, the end message is always the same (at least I'd have to imagine it didn't change for the new one), and this says everything it needs to in 24 minutes: The Grinch hates Christmas 'cause it annoys him, and he wants to take it away so the Whos can be as miserable as he is for a day. Done. While the remakes will, no doubt, hold their place in people's movie collections, there's still just no comparison. I enjoy Jim Carrey's portrayal of the Grinch, but I've found that movie has aged kinda roughly - Jim being the only thing that really saves it for me, anymore. And as far as the new one, again, why soften him up? He's supposed to be a jerk, just make him a jerk. Again, I have yet to see it, but I can't imagine it would have anything on this age-old Christmas special that has withstood the test of time incredibly well. It's just a fun time with a positive message at the end, and still holds several laughs with that undying Chuck Jones animation.  HEY YOU GUYS! So, imagine being about 10 years old. Your mom calls you up to the living room and tells you that 'The Goonies' is on TV that day. Not quite thinking right, you're imagining to yourself something like "oh, that movie I keep seeing at the video store with the creepy puppets coming out of the toilet. I've been curious about that for some time now, because the image is so silly." That's all true. I was convinced I was gonna be watching something called 'Ghoulies', and video stores totally existed!
So you sit and watch this movie unfolding before your eyes that's about a group of kids who go after a pirate treasure they only know from stories their parents told them, and all the while they're being chased by criminals, and their lives are constantly in danger. Top it off with one of the kids befriending a misunderstood creature, and something clicks in your brain that says "thank GOD this wasn't what I thought it was!" I still, to this day, have never seen 'Ghoulies', have little to no desire to, and 'The Goonies' is one of my all-time favorites that I can watch again and again, and never have it get old. It's also fun to take a look back on some of these actors before they got where they are now - namely the two lead brothers, Mikey and Bran (Sean Astin and Josh Brolin, respectively). This is also one of Corey Feldman's better roles (perhaps a focus this month?). One might also recognize Jonathan Ke Quan from 'Temple of Doom'. The film does a fantastic job of making sure that these kids are humanized and relatable, and it feels like one of those movies where anyone can see a bit of themselves in one of these characters. Also, if you're really into the whole pirate thing, this is a great classic to look back on. It's not straight up pirate stuff, but there's a whole mythology behind the treasure the Goonies are after, complete with a character one could consider Mikey's personal hero; One-Eyed Willy. It's just so neat to have a sort of bedtime story acting in the background the whole time, and it really adds to that sense of adventure, and even dread. It has no qualms about letting you know these kids are in danger the whole time. This is just a classic, through and through, and it's a fantastic family adventure. It's a little bit tough at times - not quite 'Indiana Jones' tough, but again, these kids are in perpetual danger throughout the film. However, there's nothing over-the-top going on here, and it's a lot more fun than it is scary. To this day, I'm glad to know that I have 'The Goonies' to rely on if I find myself craving nostalgia on a rainy Sunday afternoon. If you haven't seen this yet, add it to your to-do list, no matter what your age is. It's a great time!  While everyone in the world was seemingly still preoccupied with the battle of 'Frozen' vs 'Tangled', with 'Frozen' kinda crushing it because of one very annoying song, some of us went the other direction by 2014 and absorbed this movie as our escape from those "Princess Wars". This was just a straight up animated family feature about, for lack of a better term, superheroes. The last time it happened was 'The Incredibles', and we were ready to see what else Disney could pull out of their superhero box. Or at least anything but princesses for once in a few years.
The interesting thing about this one was that it was an animated Marvel movie, and thus far the first and only Disney/Marvel animated film to exist on a theatrical scale. That said, this movie is NOT canon in the MCU. The creators have expressed that this is a Disney film over being a Marvel film. 'Big Hero 6' tells the story of a 14-year-old prodigy child named Hiro (Ryan Potter), who's a bit of a genius with technology, and upon seeing his brother, Tadashi's (Daniel Henney) school decides he wishes to go there. When it's discovered that someone has stolen the technology that Hiro uses to wow the school's recruiters, Hiro assembles a team of talented teens to get it back. Joining the cast here are the voice talents of T.J. Miller, Jamie Chung, Damon Wayans Jr, Genesis Rodriguez, and Scott Adsit as the real star of this movie, Baymax; a medical assistance robot that Tadashi creates with the desire to help people in need. This is just such a great movie, through and through. Without spoiling anything, I can admit that this is one of those titles that manages to engage my every emotion, and it pulled me in very quickly. The truth of the matter was this was only my second viewing of it. I somehow managed to miss this one in theaters, saw it in the summer of 2015 for the first time, and just watched it recently to see if I liked it more or less. The answer is clearly more. Although it may be more effective the first time around considering all that happens, there's something to be said about revisiting it with your love for these characters, particularly Hiro, Baymax and Tadashi. This is a title well-worth checking out without having to be a Disney or even a Marvel buff. It's good fun for the whole family, and even remains a bit tough, focusing on deeper issues to do with separation, friendship and even revenge. I'll have to see about it's watchability over the years, but there's a very solid chance this MIGHT be my all-time favorite Disney animated film... MIGHT be. Either way, it's pretty damn good.  With 'The LEGO Batman Movie' spin-off being released this February, I thought it only fitting for my first recommendation to be the movie that made it happen. A personal favorite from 2014, this is 'The LEGO Movie'!
Our story takes place in a LEGO world, where everyone is essentially "lead" by the OCTAN Corporation, and Lord Business (Will Farrell). Within this world, everyone must "follow the instructions" so that everything looks right, and the city can flow perfectly and as repetitious as Lord Business wants it. It's made out in the movie to be a sort of law. In the opening sequence, Lord Business breaks into the resting place of a powerful weapon known as the Kragle, and steals it from a wizard named Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman). We also learn of a prophecy that suggest someone known as "The Special" will come along, and find a relic called "The Piece of Resistance", which will work against the Kragle. Meanwhile, one of the construction workers of the city, and our hero, Emmet Brickowski (Chris Pratt) wakes up one morning for another day of work. The day goes pretty normally, but after hours, he sees a mysterious woman searching the job site for something. Upon inspection of the situation, Emmet finds himself falling down a hole, and finding the Piece of Resistance. After he touches it, he gets flashes of visions and finds himself in the interrogation room of Bad Cop (Liam Neeson), Lord Business' Liutenant. But the woman from the construction site breaks in, rescues Emmet, and introduces herself as Wyldstyle. Believing he is the Special, she takes him to meet Vitruvius. There, Emmett learns that Wylstyle and Vitruvius are known as "Master Builders"; characters who live in the LEGO world, but don't follow and instructions and use their imaginations to create. It's also here when Wyldstyle soon reveals to Emmet that the Kragle is a weapon that Lord Business wants to use in order to freeze the world and keep perfect order. It turns out that Emmet isn't the Master Builder they thought he was, but despite that, Vitruvius and Wylstyle (mostly Vitruvius) believe in Emmet's potential with his unique ideas. One way or another, they are determined to stop Lord Buisiness and his plan to freeze everything into "perfection". Joining the cast along the way, we run into a variety of characters. Unikitty (Alison Brie); a cat-unicorn hybrid whose all sunshine and rainbows (until she gets upset). Metal Beard (Nick Offerman); a giant pirate ship pirate character... not really sure how else to describe him. Benny, the 1980's Space Astronaut (Charlie Day). And of course, Batman, who is by far the funniest character in the movie. With that said though, this movie has a tremendous sense of humour. I'm a fan of animation, and it can usually make me laugh, but this one was pretty special for it. It's very rare that an animated film can make me laugh so much my face hurts by the end. And speaking of the end, I won't spoil it for you here, but there IS a very nice surprise ending to this whole movie. I wouldn't say it comes as a huge shock, but the underlying message is something I can totally relate to, as could anyone who loved playing with LEGO a lot growing up. By far one of the more impressive aspects of this movie is the voice acting. Not so much the flexibility of the voices as the amount of big names that show up with just one or two lines. Aside from everyone I mentioned already, we've also got Jonah Hill as Green Lantern, Will Forte as Abraham Lincoln, Channing Tatum as Superman, Shaquille O'Niel as himself, Cobie Smulders as Wonder Woman, and yes, Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian! This film also gets a few bonus points in my book, personally, because LEGO is my all-time favorite toy. This goes to the extent that I'm 34 and still collect here and there with no shame whatsoever about it. I'm what you'd refer to as an "AFOL" (Adult Fan of LEGO). It's always been something I've been rather passionate about, and if I ever have kids one day, I'd wanna pass it down. My Dad introduced me to it when I was 6 years old, and I basically just never got bored of it for the next 28 years. So, after that, one could easily guess that this was always gonna be a movie that I was gonna enjoy. But it actually ended up going above and beyond what I expected, essentially bringing me back to my childhood days of actually playing with my LEGO. I dunno how else to say it but it ended up making me very nostalgic, and nostalgia is always welcome in my world. Be it the interesting animation, the crazy amount of celebrity voice cameos, the humorous dialogue, or the overall story, I can honestly say Everything is Awesome with 'The LEGO Movie'! |
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