Edgar Wright may be my favourite director, but there's definitely a part of me that realizes he's also a bit of an acquired taste - especially with off-the-wall movies like 'The World's End' and 'Scott Pilgrim'. That's why, when introducing people to Edgar Wright, there tends to be two movies I feel bridge the gap very nicely between what a general audience likes, and what Edgar Wright fans look for - 'Hot Fuzz', and the more recent 'Baby Driver'. This one tells of a getaway driver, going by the name "Baby" (Ansel Elgort). As a child, he was in a terrible car accident, leaving his parents dead, and him with tinnitus. He now finds that music centers him better than anything else, and he uses it in his day-to-day, which includes his life of crime. He drives for varying crews for different jobs, all assembled and drawn up by Doc (Kevin Spacey - who was only just "cancelled" when this came out); a criminal mastermind who Baby once tried robbing, stealing a car full of stolen goods. Doc caught him, but was impressed with his driving skills on the getaway, so recruited him for compensation instead of harming him in any way. In the meantime, Baby cares for his deaf foster father, Joseph (CJ Jones), and experiments with music by recording conversation snippets and editing them into music mixes for him to listen to. One day, at a diner he meets a girl named Deborah (Lily James), whom he soon starts dating, as he plans to quit his life of crime after one final score that pays off his debt. However, Doc shows up to interrupt their first date with the offer of joining a post office heist, threatening to hurt Joseph and Deborah if he refuses. Needless to say, he reluctantly agrees, but soon finds himself in hot water when the next mission with Buddy (Jon Hamm), his wife, Darling (Eiza González) and the trigger-happy Bats (Jamie Foxx) goes awry. Without unfolding the whole movie, it essentially becomes a matter of Baby wanting to escape his life of crime, and begin a potential life with Deborah, but being held back with threats, as Doc plain and simply needs him for his line of work. It's not entirely original in its overall story, but the way it's executed is unique, and really sets a particular mood for the film. It's another fine example of how well Wright's films are edited, so huge credit to Jonathan Amos and Paul Machliss, who have both worked on Wright films. What's further enjoyable about this is, of course, the soundtrack, featuring quite a lot of catchy stuff by quite a lot of indie artists. It adds to the feeling of everything when you hear certain music along with chase scenes that involve no CG, and don't have that 'F&F' ridiculousness to them. Everything you need to know about this movie is given to you through the opening credits and first few minutes of film. Personally, I find this to be one of Wright's best films for a general audience, as most people I show this to like it, whereas 'Hot Fuzz' can be a bit of a miss with some (often surprisingly). If you haven't seen this, and like a movie with good car chase material and good music, I highly recommend checking it out!
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Those who know me well know that this is definitely one of my all-time favourite movies. I haven't actually watched it in a couple of years though, so when I set it up for this time around, I wondered if it would hold up for me. Thankfully, for yours truly, the answer is an enthusiastic "yes". But I will suggest that while I can highly recommend this one to the right people, it will not be for everyone. For those who are unfamiliar, Scott (Michael Cera) is a young man living in Toronto, Canada, with his cool, gay roommate, Wallace Wells (Kieran Culkin). Scott dates a 17-year-old named Knives Chau (Ellen Wong), and plays in a band called Sex Bob-Omb with friends Steven Stills (Mark Webber), Young Neil (Johnny Simmons) and Kim Pine (Alison Pill). Scott dates Knives largely for the simplicity of it all, but his friends and sister, Stacey (Anna Kendrick) can see that he's clearly stringing her along for his own convenience. One day, however, Scott meets the literal girl of his dreams, Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), which complicates things. Not only does he need to break it off with Knives in order to pursue something more real, but all of Scott's woman issues interfere with his band's success. But of course, that's not even the worst of it. In order for Scott to date Ramona, he must fight and defeat Ramona's seven "evil exes"; mystical hipster, Matthew Patel (Satya Bhabha), movie star Lucas Lee (Chris Evans), successful band member, Todd Ingram (Brandon Routh), experimental-phase partner, Roxy Richter (Mae Whitman), the incredible Katayanagi Twins (Keita Saitou and Shôta Saitô) and club owner, and Scott's biggest threat, Gideon Graves (Jason Schwartzman). His journey is generally about needing to be better than everyone before him in order to win Ramona's heart. However, things are also personal, as a lot of it is about Scott overcoming his own insecurities as well. The story here is simple enough, but there is a lot about the way it's done that may be confusing to some. For example, Ramona talking about the subspace highway that runs through Scott's head... I mean, are you lost yet? But the key thing to note about this movie is its overall style. This (as well as the graphic novels it's based on) is stylized as though someone took comic book superheroes, 80s video games and anime, and threw it all into a blender. And the style of this movie is one of the biggest selling points in my opinion. This is something that has been referred to as one of the best video game movies of all time, but it's not based on a video game at all (although, there is a great 'Double Dragon'-style beat 'em up game out there). But the film is loaded with all sorts of old school video game sound effects one may recognize (especially in my age range), has a lot of comic-like aspects to it, like text that runs across the screen, and a lot of the fight scenes are quite anime-like. It goes to unrealistic extremes on purpose, and things get super fun. On top of everything, at this point I see this one as a bit of a time capsule. Released in 2010, I was 27, going on 28, so felt like I was still somewhat in the appropriate age group (everyone in the movie is in their 20s, except Knives) for its target audience. I also live very close to Toronto, so there's a certain sense of Canadian pride I have about that part. Wright pulled no punches, either - the whole thing is filmed in town, AND includes landmarks that are in the comics. I will admit that I wonder how well this will hold up for other fans who haven't seen it in quite some time. It was awesome for the time, but sadly outdone that weekend by 'Eat, Pray, Love', and 'The Expendables', which both cover a lot of ground for their respective target audiences. However, being a fan of the graphic novels (recommended to me by an estranged friend who I will nevertheless thank here), I saw it three times in theaters, and still consider it one of the best done adaptations of anything out there. People are bound to disagree, but this is one I hold close to my heart, and highly recommend to anyone with an open mind. Wrapping up the Cornetto Trilogy, and representing mint chip is Edgar Wright's sci-fi flick, 'The World's End' (by the way, I forgot to mention 'Hot Fuzz' representing vanilla). When I first checked this out, I considered it Wright's weakest work, even though I still really enjoyed it. However, it has grown on me significantly over the years as perhaps the most relatable of all three movies. The film starts out describing a pub crawl that took place in lead character Gary King's (Simon Pegg) youth. He and his four companions, Andy Knightley (Nick Frost), Steven Prince (Paddy Considine) Oliver Chamberlain (Martin Freeman), and Peter Page (Eddie Marsan) attempt the "Golden Mile" after the last day of high school - 12 pubs, 12 pints, and the sun rising on one of the greatest nights ever... that was incomplete, as they missed several pubs. Years later, Gary wants to recreate that night, so gathers all of his old friends who have since moved on with their lives - Andy even having had fallen out with Gary quite significantly. Long story short, they do all agree to head back into their old town to try that Golden Mile again. But upon reaching town, it seems that things have changed quite a bit. Before they know it, the group finds itself in the midst of what seems to be a robot (but maybe don't use that word) invasion, and things go bizarrely off the wall. But, if you do pay close attention and follow along, there's something deeper to this movie than meets the eye. On a personal level, it's easy for me to relate to Gary in that he really wants to recreate an awesome night he once lived in his past. I have tried that a few times with trips, parties, etc. But the important takeaway from this is that the lightning in a bottle that you caught on those particular awesome nights will never really be recaptured the way you remember. The simple reason is that the first time you do something cool is often the best experience you have with it because it's something new. The really important thing is that the friends you make along the way are still around, hopefully to one day be there to dethrone that awesome night you're trying to recreate with something even better. This is also one of Wright's best films for his various formulas. For one, he puts a lot of imagination behind his work, and this is probably his most imaginative film on his resume. It's an interesting combination of "what the hell did I just see?" and "actually that makes a lot of sense". But I would beg any viewer to throw any sense of reality out the window, because some things about this make no damn sense. The biggest one being Gary NEEDING to finish a pint for each pub, which leads to things like him drinking while fighting - although it's actually pretty funny. This film reminds me a lot of my friends an I and our nights out together in our youth. We weren't exactly pub crawlers, but we really enjoyed the pool hall, and would tend to grab a couple of brews while there - this is just out of high school and barely drinking age (19 up here in Canada, baby!) But it also does a good job at making me take a look at myself, and that's one of the reasons I love Wright's work - it'll do that. No matter what movie he's made, I'm willing to bet if one went through them all, they'd find something/someone to relate to. Anyway, this completes Wright's famous Cornetto trilogy, which remains my all-time fave trilogy (yes, even above the original 'Star Wars'). There is something about Wright that speaks to me, and probably always will. He's loaded with imaginative ideas, plays to his audience while getting positive critical reviews, never sells out (he dropped out of directing 'Ant-Man', a freakin' Marvel movie, due to creative differences - though he still gets writing credit), and he stays far away from anything typical. if you wanna see Wright at his most bizarre, definitely check this one out! The truth of the matter is, when it comes to the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy, I'm not entirely sure which would be the one I'd deem to be my favourite of the bunch. However, I would probably argue that 'Hot Fuzz' is the overall best-done. 'Shaun of the Dead' does still play on fairly typical zombie horror elements, 'The World's End' takes a particular appreciation for Wright's imagination, but this - this is just all sorts of brilliance in its execution. What I love about it is that it seems to cover all grounds of action movies, while on the surface basically being a farce on police action movies. But really, you get the buddy cop movie, you get the creepy murder mystery, you get the Brit-com ensemble of colourful characters at the precinct, and you get the over-the top Michael Bay-like action flick. The film centers on Police Constable Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg); a highly skilled, high-ranking officer in the London PD. He is promoted to Sergeant, but due to him making everyone else look bad, he is reassigned to the small village of Sandford, Gloucestershire. Here, he meets his team of laugh-inducing fellow "policeman officers"; his new supervisor, Inspector Frank Butterman (Jim Broadbent), his new partner and Frank's son, PC Danny (Nick Frost), the "Andy's" (Paddy Considine and Rafe Spall), Sergeant Tony Fisher (Kevin Eldon), PC Doris Thatcher (Olivia Colman) PC Bob Walker (Karl Johnson), Sergeant Turner (Bill Bailey) and their K9 Dog, Saxon (Sampson). Sanford is largely considered "perfect", winning "Village of the Year" several years in a row. On the surface, things seem entirely peaceful, but there's definitely something off about some of the other villagers. While Angel can't seem to "switch off", and slowly starts noticing sinister things unfold, the rest of the police force is relatively ignorant, suggesting accidents happen. While the rest of the precinct are a little less apt to do their job, Angel tries his best to convince Frank that crimes are happening right under their noses. The film's three acts are relatively separate from each other in more ways than one. The first act probably has the most laughs, and acts very much as a buddy cop comedy with Angel playing the "fish out of water". The second act darkens the humour, and things take a more mysterious turn once Angel starts to really click in on something going wrong in town. The third, and probably best act, is the result of Danny showing Angel a couple of balls-to-the-wall action flicks; specifically 'Point Break' and 'Bad Boys II', so the film takes the humour to more of a farce on those hardcore action movies we love so much. It could be argued that this is a film that basically has everything. It even features a scattering of well-known British faces, such as Timothy Dalton as Simon Skinner, owner of the local supermarket, and Martin Freeman and Bill Nighy as Angel's superiors in London. I would have to say that as far as all of Edgar Wright's movies go, this is probably the one I'd recommend to anyone who wants to see what Edgar Wright's style is all about. He does a tremendous job as set-ups and call-backs through his movies, and this may be the best example of it. On top of that though, just take everything I mentioned about this movie before into consideration. It's arguably one of the most fun movies out there (at least in my humble opinion). With the release of Edgar Wright's latest film, 'Last Night in Soho', I thought this would be a good opportunity to focus on my all-time favourite director with a few re-writes. We kick things off with what put his name on the map in the first place, 'Shaun of the Dead'. Even at the time of its release, it developed a bit more of a cult following, and shockingly enough, I was actually iffy about checking it out. A part of me thought it looked kind of dumb, and I ended up passing on it. Eventually, I managed to rent it after its video release, and immediately fell in love with it. This is a film that I HAVE to show anyone who hasn't seen it yet, because it's just that awesome. It's one of Wright's films that does a good job of speaking to the masses as it's both a zombie survival movie (released in 2004, just a month after 'Dawn of the Dead'), and a "regular Joe" story. What some people still don't entirely realize is that Wright wasn't exactly going for a farce on zombie films with this. Generally speaking, if you see a zombie film, it's a lot of military, a lot of action, there's always some ex soldier etc. He just wanted to take a bunch of regular, everyday, people and depict how they might react in a zombie scenario. And of course, as British humour goes, it gets quite creative - especially in how it ends, but that's all I'm going to say about that. That dry British humour in an extreme situation always gets me, and I feel like this is where that appreciation all started for me. The film follows Shaun (Simon Pegg), who is in the middle of a breakup with his girlfriend, Liz (Kate Ashfield). It's fairly typical - to keep it short, she wants more than he's offering. While Shaun is comforted through this by his best friend, Ed (Nick Frost), Liz confides in her flatmates, David and Dianne (Dylan Moran and Lucy Davis, respectively). The tough times are about to get even tougher though, as there is a zombie apocalypse unfolding in front of them, slowly but surely. I love the way it's handled here, as it's so eventual, and Shaun seems so oblivious to everything around him. Once Shaun and Ed realize what's going on, however, they spring into action in an attempt to rescue Liz, her flatmates, Shaun's Mom, Barbara (Penelope Wilton) and her husband, Philip (Bill Nighy). The rest of the film is pretty much all of them trying to survive the night, often resulting in some hilarity, but it does a good job of offering up some true horror and drama as well. For as much as this is a straight up comedy, it's true that it doesn't feel entirely farcical, as there are certain elements to it taken from other, more serious zombie movies. The fact that this is able to gauge different emotions is honestly impressive, since going into this, one would easily assume it's just plain goofy. 'Shaun of the Dead' is the first film in the "Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy"; each film depicting comedy blended with a certain genre as well as a certain Cornetto flavour. For those unfamiliar, a Cornetto is essentially what a Drumstick (the ice cream kind) is in North America. This one is representative of red strawberry - the red depicting horror, or more specifically, zombie horror. At the time of its release it was a sort of stand-alone cult movie, but it has since picked up through word of mouth, and gained some popularity. To this day, it is my all-time favourite zombie movie, and it will be very difficult to dethrone. To wrap up a month of Summer blockbusters, one that certainly bears mentioning is 'Jurassic Park'. It's interesting to consider the fact that CG was so brand-spanking new at the time that filmmakers were still utilizing it as not much more than really good looking special effects. The primary example predating this was probably 'Terminator 2', two years prior with the T-1000. And while 'Toy Story' was the first full-length CG film in 1995, I tend to consider 'Jurassic Park' to be what really, truly brought CG into the spotlight. While the T-1000 still looks great, this brought dinosaurs to life for us dino-obsessed kids at the time, and before this the best we could do was stop-motion. This movie had such an impact that when a contest was held to name Toronto's basketball team in '94, it was narrowed down to eleven names; two of which were dinosaur references - "T-Rex" and "Raptors". Of course, we all know what we landed on, but considering "Towers" was the runner up, it's probably a good thing. The film spawned all sorts of merchandise as well, some of which I had, including a massive colouring mural that took up about 4-6 feet of wall space. I was 10 going on 11 when this was released, so I wasn't after a lot of the toys and such. But I was still very much into it, because even then I understood that this was a ground-breaking film. Sequel after sequel would follow, but none of them to this very day can hold a torch to the awesomeness that is 'Jurassic Park'... well, except maybe the improved quality of the CG effects, but dammit, this was 1993, so for the time it looks incredible. The story of course involves wealthy industrialist John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) inviting paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and paleobotanist Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) to an island he owns, off the coast of Costa Rica - Isla Nublar. Here, he hopes to have the two experts analyse what he has created and approve his attractions for opening his park. This is influenced by the park's investors insisting on a thorough inspection to ensure the park's safety. The investors' representative lawyer, Mr. Gennaro (Martin Ferrero) comes along as well, inviting mathematician and chaos-theorist, Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum). Although the group is blown away by what Hammond has created (an interactive "zoo" that holds cloned dinosaurs as opposed to everyday animals), all manage to see the inherent danger that lies within the park. Soon, the group is sent on a tour along with Hammond's grandkids, Tim (Joseph Mazzello), a young dinosaur geek, and Lex (Ariana Richards), a young computer geek (though she prefers to be called a "hacker"). Meanwhile, the park's head programmer, Dennis Nedry (Wayne Knight) has plans to steal fertilized dinosaur embryos and deliver them to Hammond's corporate rival based on a bribe. This will involve shutting down the park's security system and racing against the clock as a bad storm is rolling in and he needs to collect the embryos as well as get to the last boat. As a result, the park's security grid shuts down, dinosaurs escape, chaos ensues. This separates them into groups; while Ellie, Malcolm, Hammond and others (techie, Mr. Arnold - Samuel L. Jackson, and raptor expert, Muldoon - Bob Peck) work on restoring power and communications to the island, Grant, Tim and Lex find themselves having to maneuver through a dangerous array of should-be-extinct wildlife - half of which is out for a good meal. At this point, 'Jurassic Park' has become one of the most repetitive franchises out there, and it's so stale that after 'Fallen Kingdom' in 2018, I have no real drive to go to another one. The premise is more or less always the same - in some form, it's generally "ignore what people say is dangerous and get into a situation that's potentially gonna kill us anyway". It's always people making dumb decisions and paying the price, while Ian Malcolm remains to this day the voice of reason that no one listens to - still the smartest character in 'Fallen Kingdom' if you ask me. Anyway, the bottom line is that in this original film, it all makes sense for that first time around, and the cautionary tale of "playing God" is established along with some decent character development, especially with Grant and Hammond. Seeing this as a 10-year-old kid on the big screen, I can remember it being a hell of an experience. I remember being totally on-edge when the T-rex got out, as well as the kitchen scene with the raptors. But I also remember being in total awe of what I was seeing. Remember when 'Avatar' came out and we were all totally mind-blown by how awesome the 3D was? This was that for 1993. It was a film that gauged every emotion, and to this day I enjoy watching it as a good slice of nostalgia. It doesn't quite look as good now as it did back then, considering how far we've come with technology. But it's probably the best overall story between all of the films, regardless. That said, I can actually still recommend Netflix's 'Camp Cretacious' where we see something else happening during the events of 'Jurassic World'. As far as I'm concerned, it's the best 'Jurassic' thing that has been released since this original film - but this is still the golden child of the collection. Nowadays, this movie carries a whole conspiracy behind it in which the film is to be interpreted as Maverick's struggle with his homosexuality. The writers say they didn't write it that way, but don't seem to have any sort of problem with that interpretation. They further suggest that part of it may have had to do with director Tony Scott's style. The 80s was an era of imagination, open-mindedness, and to be flamboyant was considered pretty cool. So 'Top Gun' was probably really just a film that fits into its time better than it fits with things now. Having said all that, I was just a kid when I got into this movie, and all my fragile little mind saw it as was one of my first real doses of action. I didn't get any of the jokes, really, or what the extremely tonguey sex scene was all about, but it was just a fun movie to me. I was only 4 when this was released theatrically, so I might estimate I was about 7 or 8 when I first saw this (recorded from TV). The whole supposed subtext thing was something I grew up without, and nothing ever clicked until I saw that Tarantino clip from 'Sleep With Me' just a few years ago. It's an interesting thought, but the closing line on that clip is all wrong, and any real 'Top Gun' fan knows that. F-14 Tomcat pilots Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) and Nick "Goose" Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards) are offered the chance to train at the Naval Fighter Weapons School in Miramar, known to pilots as "Top Gun"; a school for the elite in Naval Aviation by CAG "Stinger" (James Tolkan). This is due to the top contender, "Cougar" (John Stockwell) quitting after an incident involving two MiG-28 aircraft. Maverick was second in line, and therefore takes his place. Upon arrival, they meet the likes of a few colourful characters, namely his biggest contenders, Tom "Iceman" Kazansky (Val Kilmer) and "Slider" (Rick Rossovich), and his instructors; Mike "Viper" Metcalf (Tom Skerritt), Rick "Jester" Heatherly (Michael Ironside) and Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood (Kelly McGillis) who also becomes Maverick's love interest. Throughout the film, we learn a few things about Maverick; namely that he flies by the seat of his pants, and his flying dangerously is part of what makes him one of the best pilots. We further learn details of his past, largely involving his father, who was also a pilot, and whose death has been a mystery to Maverick his whole life. It deals with his attraction to his instructor, his attitude in wanting to be the "best of the best", and an incident (which I won't spoil) that makes him question whether or not he's really worthy of being there. So a lot of it is sort of "internal struggle" as it is, which gives the subtext theory a bit of leeway. But I'd have to say it's open to interpretation. Personally, I've never looked that deep into it. Anyway, this is another fine example of a totally 80s movie. As I mentioned before, there is a part of this that's sort of stuck in time, but it has gone on to become a classic for many, despite quite a few critical responses to it. Perhaps the best thing about this movie is its soundtrack, which is almost a soundtrack to the 80s on its own. You'd probably recognize a few songs on it, but none more so than 'Danger Zone' (which 'Archer' totally resurrected). This was one of those albums we played a lot of in the house, and I used to take it with me in my Walkman (what iPods used to be) for bike rides because, hell, it was a good one for the road. As far as recommendation goes, it's probably not going to be for everyone. But I would suggest a viewing if you're into 80s culture in any way, or, if nothing else, to get some background for the upcoming 'Maverick' movie (now slated for November, 2021). Speaking personally, this is one I have very fond memories with, and I might throw it on the odd time for a good dose of nostalgia. This viewing still gave me a fun time, and subtext or not, I can still manage to interpret things the way I did as a kid, although I have to admit that I understand where Tarantino is coming from... all except for that closing line. When it comes to the genre of 80s action/sci-fi, odds are, even if you haven't seen them before, the titles of 'Terminator' and 'RoboCop' are often the first things to spring to mind. In fact, some in my age bracket may even remember the 'RoboCop vs Terminator' video games released for NES, SNES and Genesis, or the comic book series of the same name. Now there's a "vs" title that never made it to the big screen, and by now, it's too little too late. But I digress. We're here to talk about the 1987 classic that boasted a "hard-R" rating that looks kind of "mild-R" by today's standards. Taking place in the near-future to 1987 (so probably our past by now) in the mean city of Detroit, the city is tearing itself apart. The city grants Omni Consumer Products (or OCP) control over its police force, leading Senio Vice President, Dick Jones (Ronny Cox) to demonstrate something new to a room full of executives - a law enforcement droid called ED-209. The idea is to have something mechanical to alleviate some of the brutal realities cops have to go through in this town. The demonstration is an epic fail, however, as ED-209 offs one of the executives upon losing control of its functions. This is where junior executive Bob Morton (Miguel Ferrer) asks to introduce an idea he has been thinking up in the meantime; the "RoboCop" project. Enter Alex Murphy (Peter Weller); a new transfer to the Metro West precinct. He's partnered with badass woman cop, Anna Lewis (Nancy Allen), and together, they are immediately pushed into action in trying to take down one of Detroits most notorious criminals, Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith). That's right folks, there was an evil Clarence before 'Deadpool', and he was played by Red Foreman from 'That 70s Show'. Having said that, he is awesome in this movie. He plays the kind of villain who you really have fun with, especially if you're more familiar with his uptight Red Foreman performance. He's a bit of an opposite here; a little more loose and even kind of sadistic. He might be one of my favourite classic movie villains. Anyway, getting back to the point, this takedown of Clarence and his gang; Emil Antonowsky (Paul McCrane), Leon Nash (Ray Wise), Joe Cox (Jesse D. Goins), Steve Minh (Calvin Jung) goes awry. While Lewis is pretty badly beaten up, Murphy gets it much worse. This would later become one of Hollywood's great famous gore scenes that stuck with audiences in a big way. Perhaps it's a bit tame by today's standards; I can definitely say I've seen worse. But I do remember kids on the playground who would talk about how brutal that scene was, and it would give them nightmares more than someone like Freddy Krueger did. Of course, I was too busy watching Disney and comedy movies at the time though, so I was never effected either way. Anyway, getting back to the point again, this massacre kills Murphy. He is, however, soon resurrected in cyborg form to become RoboCop, thanks to Morton. He is programmed with three prime directives - serve the public trust, protect the innocent and uphold the law. There is, however, a classified fourth directive as well, which remains a mystery until later on in the film. Just to sort of wrap it up, RoboCop becomes a huge success, but because it's a cyborg movie, there's a part of his humanity that comes into play as he begins to remember things like his family, his final moments, and just who killed him in the first place. The film does a good job with blending the concept of both badass machine and the human being inside. This is done with 'T2' to an extent as well, but here, it means more, as the Terminator as basically all machine when you get right down to it. I've surprisingly only actually seen this movie a few times in my life. It doesn't have the same nostalgic tie to it for me that the 'Terminator' movies have. Having said that, I can definitely suggest that if you're brushing up on your 80s action movies, you must add 'RoboCop' to the list. You've got a cop movie, you've got a cyborg movie, you've got what was once considered a hard-R, you've got charming stop motion effects, and you've got what is perhaps the single funniest fall from a building you've ever seen (everyone had to fall off a building back then, it was a just a standard action movie thing). It may not be something I'd suggest to just anyone, but if you have any interest in 80s culture, this is just a prime example of what we considered awesome back then. With the arrival of summer, I thought I'd take a look at some of the great blockbusters of the past. For any real movie fan, there really is no better place to start than with the one that pretty much started it all. 'Jaws' is, without a doubt, one of the all-time greatest movies ever made for so many reasons. This is a title that doesn't necessarily land on my favourites list, but it also clearly deserves all the credit it gets when you really think about it. Being the first big summer blockbuster is only the beginning. Based on Peter Benchley's book of the same name, the film portrays a great white shark who attacks the casual swimmers of a beach community. It starts with a skinny-dipper named Chrissie Watkins (Susan Backlinie) and events continue to unfold as long as a stubborn mayor, Larry Vaughn (Murray Hamilton) decides to keep the beach open for tourism and economical purposes. Police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider), working with oceanographer, Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfus) disagrees with the decision, especially with his wife, Ellen (Lorraine Gary) and son, Michael (Chris Rebello) to look out for. He is overruled, however, but puts a bounty of $10,000 on the shark, causing the townspeople to take on shark-hunting. The hunt is believed to be ultimately successful, but Hooper knows the shark is still out there, as the captured shark simply doesn't have the right jaw span to match the killer shark's victims. This is proven soon enough with yet another big beach attack. Ultimately, it all leads to the real meat of the movie in just short of its second half. This involves Brody, Hooper, and badass shark-hunter, Quint (Robert Shaw) going for the great white shark hunt of their lives to end the shark's reign of terror once and for all (despite a few cash-grab sequels that follow). Of the films in the 'Jaws' series, this is really the only one that holds and "classic" value, unless you're looking for some crazy amount of cheese-tastic special effects to laugh at. I think the most important takeaway from this is how much influence it has had on other movies. When you take 'Halloween' for example, there's something very Jaws-like about Michael Myers. In fact, 2018's 'Halloween' quoted 'Jaws' for being its most heavy influence. There's even things like Quint's speech about looking into a shark's eyes that's very reminiscent of Loomis' take on Michael Myers. It has influenced many others as far as summer blockbusters go too, and directors like Kevin Smith have a hell of a lot of fun with it (look for 'Jaws' references in almost all his movies. To top it all off, it's a favourite for many fans as well as a favourite for many filmmakers, who take it as their big influence. Another solid thing to note here is that it's a fine example of how sometimes a seemingly catastrophic failure can be one hell of a happy accident. The story goes that there were big problems with the mechanical shark, so it became a seldom seen thing throughout the movie. As it turns out, our imaginations were able to do a good job at filling in the blanks, making things even more thrilling. This is a classic example of how less is more, and the fact that sometimes we really don't need to be spoon-fed everything. The shark shows up just enough to be scary, but its before the shark shows up that has us on the edge of our seats. Who can possibly forget the masterfully suspenseful "dun-un" theme that perfectly symbolizes the killer shark's approach. Again, less is more. There's not a whole hell of a lot more I can say about 'Jaws' that hasn't been said in the past, though, so let's break it down to personal opinion. 'Jaws' is something I whole-heartedly respect, and certainly enjoy to some degree. For me, however, it has always been more of a piece of history than a cinematic favourite. I absolutely love pretty much everything here that involves the three leads, but the first half of the movie is something that has very busy (albeit very natural) dialogue, and it can get a bit messy. On the whole, this is great, but for me, it doesn't even hit my Top 10. It's one of those titles I can recommend to anyone as a cinematic legend, but newcomers might have trouble with some of it. Either way, this one has its place in the history books, and it's definitely worth checking out! 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. We all have a few titles that are on our radar, but if ever brought up to anyone, are met with something along the lines of "what in the Hell are you talking about?". One of these for me, is 'Son of Rambow'. Generally, if I mention it, people wonder if I've ever even SEEN any bit of the 'First Blood/Rambo' series (which I basically haven't, but at least I can make it a project for the site). Moving on, perhaps it might interest newcomers that this is where both Will Poulter ('We're the Millers'/'Maze Runner'/'The Revenant') and Bill Milner ('X-Men: First Class'/'Dunkirk') got their respective starts as kids. The film follows the young and innocent Will Proudfoot (Milner) who belongs to the Plymouth Brethren church along with his mother (Jessica Hynes). The religion comes with the strictest of rules, one of which involves never watching any form of entertainment. One day, in class, he's sent out to the hall, as the class is about to watch a documentary. Here, another trouble-making, bad influence of a boy, Lee Carter (Poulter) gets thrown out of class, and the pair meet, only to break a fish bowl, getting them both into trouble. Lee makes a deal that he will take the punishment and "torture" for Will's dead father's watch, and Will acting as stunt man for the film Lee wants to make for the Screen Test Young Film-Makers' Competition. One day, when Lee brings Will to his house, he makes him hide from his brother, Lawrence (Ed Westwick). While in hiding, Will ends up watching 'First Blood', and becomes inspired to help Lee with his film. The pair form an unlikely friendship, but with the catch that Will has to keep this friendship hidden from his mother. This reminds me of some of my old friends, although they weren't nearly as bad as Lee Carter. I was a pretty innocent kid, but still managed to get into trouble with these other kids. Sometimes they weren't allowed over, and I got introduced to things like smoking, and other rebellious, boyish things, and none of it was particularly "good". But despite these guys being bad kids, we still had deep conversation, and fun times. Somehow, this brings a sort of dark nostalgia to the table. Back to the film, the main focus is the friendship between Will and Lee, but there are some of other sides to this story. In their home lives each boy is dealing with a very deep personal matter. Will has to deal with the irritating Brother Joshua of the Brethren, who has an obvious thing for his mother, and seems to be slowly replacing his father. Meanwhile, Lee has to deal with his ignorant brother, Lawrence, but is completely misguided with the thought that Lawrence is the only person in his life who really cares for him. I appreciate how the film takes the time to delve into these personal problems, as those are what make for the best conversation between two unlikely friends. It's so easy to brush off a kid you don't like, but you might empathize with their story if you just take the time to listen. Last and, honestly, probably least, there's the French exchange student, Didier Revol (Jules Sitruk). This kid rolls up to the school, becomes instantly popular (based on 80s punk/pop/WTF fashion), and it feels like he got lost on his way to another movie but decided to stick around and see the sights. Eventually, we get that he has this whole other side story about the toxicity that popularity can bring, and it does eventually blend into Will and Lee's story as he wants to help them with the movie. Of course this also leads to rivalries and such, which may or may not get in the way of the project Lee wants to do. Didier serves his purpose, and a valuable lesson is learned through him, but there was still something about him that felt altogether unnecessary (in other words, the film totally could have still worked with his absence, unless there was something vital I missed). This is another one of those movies I have a soft spot for based on the subject matter of imagination going towards filmmaking. Another such example is 'Be Kind, Rewind' or 'Brigsby Bear'; films that aren't necessarily golden in quality, but definitely show an appreciation for film and creativity while adding a healthy does of friendships and just plain good old warmth. This also takes place somewhere in the 80s, so the soundtrack is pretty full with nostalgic pop hits. If nothing else, it's pretty interesting to see these kids (namely Poulter) in their beginnings, both actually delivering really good performances. I consider this a feel-good movie as a whole, and well worth checking out... that is, if you can find it. Back in 1994, 'The Little Rascals' was released as part of a nostalgic movie trend for the time. This was based on a show called 'Our Gang'; a series of short films that ran between the 1920s to 1940s. When aired on television in 1955, the name was changed to 'The Little Rascals', and stories involved a gang of kids and their neighbourhood adventures. It was pure, childhood innocence, and the '94 film was something I felt captured the spirit of it all to deliver to my generation (and younger). As the film opens, we are introduced one by one to the gang. While us kids were pretty new to this gang, I can still remember my parents getting a kick out of these new versions of old characters they could remember from their own childhoods. Leading the gang is Spanky (Travis Tedford), and things play on the old boy's clubhouse tradition of "no girls allowed" with the "He-Man Woman Haters Club". Now, before we get too crazy here, we need to bear a few things in mind. One, this was what boys being boys was back then - girls had "cooties", and they didn't think much of us either. Second, the name of this club is a setup for a payoff later on, as the film's basic lesson (spoiler alert) is that men and women can be equals. And finally, this is all directed by a woman named Penelope Spheeris. Anyway, Spanky arranges a meeting in which the gang is to find out who is going to drive for them in the upcoming Soap Box Derby go-kart race. The driver ends up being Alfalfa (Bug Hall), but he's not even in the meeting. Instead, he's off with a girl he's smitten for named Darla (Brittany Ashton Holmes), and trying to win her over. The gang catches him, and to them, liking girls is forbidden. They are further upset by Alfalfa inviting her to their clubhouse for a picnic lunch. The gang soon ends up pulling some pranks on the pair, and eventually Darla becomes sick of Alfalfa. So what's she do? Crash the go-kart through the clubhouse wall and start a fire, which subsequently demolishes the clubhouse. Alfalfa gets punished by the gang, ordered to stay and guard the go-kart day and night, while Darla runs off with some rich kid named Waldo (Blake McIver Ewing). The film's main story is the balance between Alfalfa trying to win Darla back, and the rest of the gang trying to raise money to repair their clubhouse. So things are really very basic here, and it makes for a nice little slice of life movie for the youngins. 'The Little Rascals' concept seems to be something that kind of went out with this movie though, so I'm not altogether sure how present-day kids would enjoy it. It can be nostalgic in a way, but once again, there's a lot of cringe that comes with it too. Unfortunately, I see it as one of those movies that's a little stuck in its time. But being what it is, it still has a lot of that childhood charm to it, and it still made me laugh at a few odd parts. The stars of this show, in my opinion, are definitely Buckwheat (Ross Bagley) and Porky (Zachary Mabry). If anyone remembers anything at all from this movie, it's probably Buckwheat's pickle song (aka "I've got two pickles"). These two play pretty well off each other, and you get the air of them being pals in real life; at least during filming. The bit that gets me, as corny as it is, is Buckwheat asking Porky for the number for 911. It's a really old and lame joke, but the way they deliver it cracks me up. I think it's them and the rest of the gang who really make this movie worth watching as opposed to any of the film's lead characters. Along with that, you have a few good celeb cameos pup up like Lea Thompson, Mel Brooks, Whoopi Goldberg, Reba McEntire, George Wendt and yes, even Donald Trump as the rich kid's Dad Over on Rotten Tomatoes, this is one of the more fascinating titles one can see. While a tiny handful of critics have it held back at a lousy 23%, an audience of 100,000+ gives it a generous 70%. This is a movie that can certainly hold its own. From my perspective, I think it's pretty simple. This is a movie that's totally aimed at kids, especially for its time, and it's not something that really needs to be read into that much. They did a good job at capturing the spirit of 'Our Gang', it has some funny moments despite how cheesy it can be, and I daresay the message it has about it by the end is something that's still pretty damn relevant. It's surprising, but f I'm being honest, I think this movie could act as a good way to show your 6-year-old what equality is all about. 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. Right from the get-go, this was one of those movies that got a bit controversial due to its fantastical retelling of a true story, altering details in numerous ways. I can understand history buffs having a tough time with this, but personally, I find certain aspects of this are just too fantastical to take seriously. On top of that, they provide an interesting "what if" story here in place of the real events that would have had her die before the title card. The film opens with Rasputin (Christopher Lloyd) crashing a party, celebrating the Romanov tricentennial. He hexes the Romanov family, and while the palace is being overrun, Anastasia (Kirsten Dunst/Meg Ryan) escapes and flees. Several years later, having lost a lot of her memory, "Anya" (Anastasia) comes back with her rusty memory, looking for her home. In the meantime, the Grand Duchess (Angela Lansbury) offers a reward for the return of her missing daughter, which triggers a couple of scammers, Dimitri and Vladimir (John Cusack and Kelsey Grammar, respectively) to hold auditions for an Anastasia look-alike who they can use to get paid. It's not long before Anastasia crosses paths with Dimitri and Vladimir, who fully intend on collecting their reward with someone who could very well be the real Anastasia, despite the fact that she remembers so little before the age she went missing. In the meantime, Rasputin learns Anastasia is alive, and with the help of his sidekick, Bartok (Hank Azaria) he makes plans to track her and kill her, as he missed the first time with his curse. So the big change here is that they have Anastasia survive an attack, playing on many rumors that she may have survived. It further plays with the idea of imposter Anastasias, which was also a reality. So my take is that the filmmakers wanted to have fun with something historical, and being 1997, you can't tell me this is a first. The thing about 'Anastasia' for me is, however, she's kind of uninteresting. Throughout the whole film, I was far less impressed with the blossoming apparent romance going on between Anastasia and Dimitri (it's fairly obvious from the get-go) and more impressed with... well, just about everything else. Character-wise, Rasputin and Bartok are actually a lot of fun to watch - a lot like a belated Don Bluth answer to Jafar and Iago. Rasputin has this sort of zombie curse going on, and his body parts keep falling off, making things grotesquely humorous. Bartok on the other hand is easily the comedy relief throughout the film, and although he's at times corny, he succeeds - just the right amount of cute, not at all annoying, and able to get a giggle or two. On top of some of the voice talent and characters, one thing I appreciated about this film that a lot of other Bluth films don't have as strong is the music. Make no mistake, this movie is loaded with music, so if you don't want a musical, stay clear. Having said that, however, the music in this is a lot more like a Broadway production than the regular "sing-song" music Bluth usually has in his films. There's a certain "epicness" to the songs and score here, both earning Oscar nominations that year, losing two awards to 'The Fully Monty' and 'Titanic'. I further enjoy the atmosphere all throughout this movie, with the animation being... well, mostly pretty amazing. This is another part CG, part old school animation adventures, so at times the CG can stick out like a sore thumb - but also, at times, it still holds up completely. Although it's not a title I could recommend to just anyone, I would still argue that it's one of Bluth's best works, alongside Gary Goldman, who hasn't really been mentioned yet, but he also deserves credit for co-directing 'All Dogs Go to Heaven', 'The Pebble and the Penguin', 'Titan AE', and honestly a whole slew of titles. Often going uncredited, he does give Bluth a big hand in his work. The latest - a movie based on the classic arcade game, 'Dragon Slayer', which would be cool, but this retro snowball really does just keep rolling, doesn't it? Back to the movie at hand, I think if you're at all curious you should check it out. A lot of it is pretty sappy, I admit, but a lot of it is pretty fun - especially in the darker areas of the film. Just bear in mind that it's pretty heavy with the music - but at least it's well done music. So, the thing with this title as that as a real, true "screening suggestion" from yours truly, I probably jumped the gun on this. I remembered enjoying this when I was a kid, but watching it now, I really didn't get much from it. So, allow me to try to salvage that because if you're at home with kids this could still be okay for certain reasons. But there's no way I'd recommend it any higher than anything else I have on this Don Bluth lineup. In New Orleans, 1939, we meet dogs Charlie B. Barkin (Burt Reynolds) and his friend, Itchy Itchiford (Dom DeLuise) who escape a pound and return to their casino riverboat. Not wanting to share the profits of the casino with Charlie, his partner, Carface Caruthers (Vic Tayback) makes it clear he wants Charlie out of the picture, so has him killed by a dog named Killer (Charles Nelson Reilly). Charlie finds himself in Heaven where he's taught by an angel (Melba Moore) that all dogs get into Heaven due to being inherently good and loyal. However, instead of sticking around, Charlie winds back a pocket watch that represents his life in order to come back to life. To this, the angel states that due to such a stunt, he can never come back. Charlie keeps the pocket watch close as he returns to his life, soon finding out that Carface has since obtained a little girl named Anne-Marie (Judith Barsi) who can talk to animals, and therefore rig betting. Charlie and Itchy save her only to use her for their own purposes, while promising to find her a family in return. Of course this eventually leads to certain moral dilemmas on Charlie's part. We see this very clearly in a somewhat disturbing dream he has of a potential "Doggy Hell", and knowing he can't get back into "Doggy Heaven" is even more disturbing. But perhaps Charlie cares more for little Anne-Marie than he lets on and in the end, it could save his soul. When it's all said and done it is a genuinely odd mishmash of material. It's very much on the cutesy side of things with Anne-Marie, but often opposes that with very grown-up themes like Hell and demons, and even getting into the lifestyle of these gambling, drinking, smoking dogs. It's hard to really say who this movie is actually for. As a Screening Suggestion, however, I feel I should at least give it more justification. After all, there was something I enjoyed about this as a kid. What could it have been? I suppose if I really dig deep, there are certain aspects of this that introduced me to very real life situations while maintaining an innocence about it. For one, I had a dog at the time, and I actually do think that the way this ends is a heart-string tugger for anyone who has ever had the pleasure of a dog's company. So I suppose it's a good way to dabble in the darker aspects of life without getting too scary for the kids watching. It's not the best movie in Bluth's list, and I'd recommend it as a way to teach your kids about death and what follows, along with the concepts of "good" and "bad" the film carries with it. As an adult, you won't get much from this other than perhaps a little bit of nostalgia. Even I barely felt that aspect of it, and in truth, it was almost like watching it for the first time all over again. For me, it was an odd combination of things that suggested it was a touch more aimed at adults than kids, but the cutesy side of it gave it that balance. It felt like the movie wanted to be Batman but its mom told it that it needed to be 1960's Batman because anything beyond that was too dark. Other than it being a good way to teach your children about death, it does seem to have a certain appeal for others that I didn't completely get. So if nothing else, it may be worth checking out just to see how much you enjoy it for yourself.... Just be forewarned that the songs are generally pretty bad, so you might want that fast-forward button handy. While I maintain that on the whole, 'Secret of NIMH' is probably my favorite Bluth film, it seems to go without saying that 'The Land Before Time' is the most popular. It has happened very under the radar, but this 1988 children's classic has spawned a grand total of 13 straight-to-video sequels; the last one coming out as recent as 2016. It's really cool to know that this has actually lasted so long, and that there's still an audience for it somewhere. I would suggest that this is the Bluth film I feel most nostalgic for, however. This is the one that takes me back to my childhood days, and it was somewhat surprising how much of the dialogue I remembered, as I quoted along while watching with a big grin my my face. I can't deny that this viewing was fun for me, as it had been quite some time since I saw it. But I remembered the love I had for it as a kid, watching it time and time again with friend after friend because, hell, we all liked it. For some reason, dinosaurs were a huge thing in my childhood - and I'm talking years before 'Jurassic Park' came along to perfect it for us. The film first introduces us to the likes of Littlefoot the "Long Neck" (Gabriel Damon) and Cera the "Three Horn" (Candace Hutson), who become separated from their families during a bad earthquake. In the process, Littlefoot also tragically loses his mother (Helen Shaver) who, beforehand, was leading him and his grandparents to The Great Valley; a lush land full of food and water, necessary for their survival. She reminds him how to get there, and the poor kid has to venture there alone. He does, however, eventually come across a few friends who join in the perilous journey; apart from Cera, Ducky the "Big Mouth" (Judith Barsi), Petrie the "Flyer" (Will Ryan) and Spike the "Spiketail" (Frank Welker). Along the way, they must face many obstacles, including a vicious T-Rex named Sharptooth (also Frank Welker). One thing the film never seemed to lose for me was its overall sense of wonder. Composer James Horner along with the animators on this really do manage to take you away to this almost magical land of dinosaurs. Admittedly, the animation can certainly look dated here and there, but I'd urge you to pay closer attention to the backgrounds and environments than the characters, themselves. It does a fantastic job with scale, using very little. A solid reference point would be when Littlefoot's mother introduces him to "tree stars", and brings one down to him with her long Apatosaurus neck. In the meantime, Horner's score does a great job at setting the mood, whatever the case may be. 'The Land Before Time' was a great way to introduce dinosaurs that would speak to kids, and teach about love, death, teamwork, and even friendship among different races. There's a whole concept in here where dinosaurs stick to their kind because they're all different, but the journey includes five different breeds banding together to get to their common goal, as well as bring down a common enemy. And, get this, it does everything within the course of just over one hour. It's a very easy movie to sit down and watch at random, which is perhaps why I probably managed to wear out our VHS recording of it. Side note: recorded on the same tape was THIS half-hour claymation dinosaur musical special, starring 1980 Fred Savage. This is one I haven't actually seen in years - long enough that the last time I saw it, I was totally ignorant to what this was really about. It's essentially a history lesson wrapped up in an adventurous package, giving you some idea of what Jewish families had to go through back in the late 19th century. The film was directed by Don Bluth, but produced by Steven Spielberg, and based on Spielberg's passion for history, this almost comes across as more him than Bluth. The two would sadly eventually part ways with their creative differences. However, not before establishing the classic titles that are 'An American Tail' and 'The Land Before Time'; a couple of staples of 80s childhood. It's a shame, they seemingly made a pretty good team. Bluth's style of animation along with Spielberg's imagination made for some pretty awe-inspiring stuff. I'm wouldn't pretend to claim this as one of my favorites in the Bluth collection, really. But it does make my list of Screening Suggestions for the month just due to it being a little piece of cinematic history. If you as any 80's kid now (we're all in our late 30s/ early 40s) about 'An America Tail', I think most of us would look at it with fond memories... but we'd probably go on to say 'The Land Before Time' was better. And I say that while maintaining that I still think this is well done. As the film opens, in 1885, we are introduced to the Russian-Jewish Mousekewitz family as they celebrate Hanukkah. Papa (Nehemiah Persoff) tells his children, Fievel (Phillip Glasser) and Tanya (Amy Green) about the land of America; a land where the threat of cats apparently doesn't exist. Meanwhile, Mama (Erica Yohn) doesn't want Papa scaring the kids with a story about cats. Almost immediately after Papa's story, the human family they live with are the victims of an anti-Jewish attack from a group of Cossacks ("people of southern Russia and Ukraine, noted for their horsemanship and military skill"). To the mice, the threat is represented by cats. When all is destroyed, the Mousekwitz family decides to head to New York and away from the threat - or so Papa believes. While the family is on board a tramp steamer headed for America, a storm stirs up, and Fievel manages to lose the hat Papa handed down to him during the Hanukkah celebration. While chasing it down, however, Fievel becomes separated from his family and the steamer altogether. He manages to ride a bottle to Liberty Island and arrive safely, but the family is otherwise convinced he was killed in the storm. While on a mission to find his family, Fievel inadvertently finds himself teamed up with a group of mice, lead by Bridget (Cathianne Blore); an Irish mouse trying to rally a group in order to fight off the cats who everyone discovers are a part of America after all. The main thing I managed to remember from this movie was the song 'Somewhere Out There', which is by and large probably the most famous song to ever come from a Don Bluth film. It was nominated for an Oscar that year, but managed to lose to 'Take My Breath Away' from 'Top Gun' - both would eventually get a ton of radio play. Otherwise, I barely remembered the likes of the comedy relief characters; a bumbling cat named Tiger (Dom DeLouise), and a cockroach named Digit (Will Ryan) who was basically second fiddle to the film's primary antagonist, Warren T. Rat (John Finnegan); a character I forgot about altogether. I remembered the basics of Fievel being separated from his family, and trying to get back to them. All of the other material was something I forgot about, probably because I didn't entirely understand it at the time. Having said that, I think one would probably actually get a little more out of this as a teenager or adult. It seems to be aimed at impressionable children, but some of them might not be able to grasp some of what's going on. Personally speaking, I definitely got more out of the story now than I did as a kid. In a way, however, that's a bonus, as the film does nothing to talk down to kids. This one is a little more based in history and reality and has a bit more of a serious tone than the wonderful fantasy worlds Bluth otherwise tends to present us with. Personally, I still get more out of 'The Secret of NIMH' and 'The Land Before Time', but I'd still consider this a classic in it's own right. 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. If there was ever a movie that made me truly appreciate Emma Stone, it was probably this one. I tend to see this as the movie where Emma Stone essentially plays herself, at least as far as her character's personality goes. When I see her being interviewed, I certainly feel this character come through more than, say, Mia from 'La La Land'. Although, it's safe to say, she brings a lot of herself in just about anything she plays; it's part of what makes her so incredibly charming. Add to that her Oscar-worthy talent, and she makes for my favorite actress, and she has been for quite some time. Narrated by Olive Pendergast (Stone), she tells us a story via "web broadcast" after her high school life has taken a turn for the worse. She is here to tell us her side of the story as opposed to all of the hearsay around the school yard about her. So, she's speaking to us as though we're fellow students who may have heard some pretty nasty things about her, possibly judging her without hearing her side of the story - a habit I think we have all been guilty of, especially back in those angsty days of high school. It all stats with Olive lying to her friend, Rhiannon (Aly Michalka) about having a date in place of a weekend camping trip Rhiannon wants her to take with her parents. The following Monday, Rhiannon asks Olive for explicit details of the date, and presses her to "admit" to losing her virginity. At first, word gets around, and people start paying attention to Olive, which she appreciates after being overlooked for so long (by the way, yes, this is another teen movie cliche where the "unattractive" girl is in actuality gorgeous). Things begin to spiral a bit, however, when she agrees to help an unpopular gay student, Brendon (Dan Byrd) out by "taking his virginity", faking it at a high school party. Soon, her reputation gets out of hand and she has to learn about a few things the hard way, all the while trying to do the right thing. The whole execution is actually very well done, becase it allows the audience to understand both perspectives. It would be easy to get sucked into the rumor mill, but I feel like if you were ever a high school student, you have probably also been in Olive's position, one way or another. Directed by Will Gluck, this is sort of his shining star, and has often been toted as Emma Stone's 'Mean Girls' in the sense that it's her true breakout role. We knew her from things like 'Zombieland' and 'Superbad' before this, sure, but this was what really made the masses notice her; especially as a character just about anyone who has ever attended high school can relate to. Considering Lindsay Lohan in 'Mean Girls', it may not have been her breakout role, but it was definitely the highlight of her acting career, and when people noticed she wasn't just a child actress anymore. Back to the point, however, Stone would show her Oscar-worthy talent just one year later in 'The Help' (although she wasn't nominated that year). There is, of course, plenty more talent than just Emma here as well. Throughout the film, we meet the likes of her favorite teacher, Mr. Griffith (Thomas Haden Church) who is married to her guidance councilor, Mrs. Griffith (Lisa Kudrow), and both bring a good laugh to the screen. However no one quite tops her most awesome parents, Dill (Stanley Tucci) and Rosemary (Patricia Clarkson). To top the family's food name sequence off, they also have an adopted son named Chip (Bryce Clyde Jenkins). These are the open-minded, funny and totally casual parents one might envy, and they're easily one of the highlights of the movie. Of course, things wouldn't be complete without a perfect villain in the form of Marianne (Amanda Bynes) who we sort of love to hate, but her character is pretty hilarious with how over-the-top she is. I don't have a whole lot more to say on the matter, but I did choose to close out this month's theme with perhaps my favorite of the bunch. Besides the fact that it's Emma Stone (who I clearly love), there are many likable characters and funny lines throughout the film, and frankly, if you did like 'Mean Girls' and haven't seen this yet, you're totally missing out. There are a lot of similarities, but not the least of which is the film's sense of teen-angsty humor. The only thing that could have made it much better would have been if John Hughes was around to direct it, as he could have added his perfect teen movie touch to it. But it's still great as it is, and it doesn't deny any appreciation for John Hughes' classics from the 80s - hell, it mentions them throughout. So, if you're on the lookout for a very solid teen movie that you may have missed (I find there's still so many who haven't seen this), I highly recommend giving it a watch. In truth, I haven't actually watched this in ages. However, I'll always remember liking it back upon its release in '99, making me an 11th-grader at the time. So the timing was pretty good when it popped up that year. It was perhaps the first example I remember of leaving the theater thinking about how I enjoyed it, while one friend I saw it with passed it off as an awkward "chick flick", bt didn't care what he thought of my opinion on it, which was quite positive. The story here doesn't center on so much as revolve around bitter teenager Kat Stratford (Julia Styles). She's a bit of a loner, and not very-well liked due to her negative attitude towards basically everything. Her sister, Bianca (Larisa Oleynik), is the popular, pretty girl in school who everyone seems to desire. As a result, they have a pretty toxic sisterhood between them. The sisters live with their overprotective father, Walter (Larry Miller), under the house rule that they are not to date until after they graduate high school. While Bianca is interested in dating, Kat doesn't really want anything to do with it, and therefore their father makes a deal with Bianca; she can date if Kat starts dating. Meanwhile, smitten-with-Bianca, is one Cameron James (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). New to the school, he's shown the ropes by the awkward and geeky Michael Eckman (David Krumholtz) and warned about not pursuing his interest in Bianca due to their father's rule. As a result, Cameron works with Michael on devising a plan to get someone to date Kat so that he can have some sort of shot at dating Bianca. This plan involves bringing in tough guy, Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger) who Cameron believes would be about the only guy who would potentially put up with Kat's attitude. Anyway, the whole thing does become a pretty big mish-mash of love interest vs love interest, and can get a bit complex at times. I haven't even mentioned Bianca's interest in the cocky senior model, Joey Donner (Andrew Keegan), but I could be here all day explaining away. For me, I suppose the charm of the film comes from the idea that the plot is so very "high school". It's also not so much about "getting laid" as it's about actually falling for someone and the desire to be with that person. It has its moments, but you can't very well look at this movie and say it's a raunchy, although it still feels very "teen movie". I'd put this one a little more alongside something like 'Can't Hardly Wait' than something like 'American Pie'. Being that it was '99, there's also that bit of a nostalgic factor. In the late 90s, teen movies really made a comeback, and I daresay this was one of the better of them. As far as this being a recommendation, I suppose it's for those of us who can appreciate something a little more "Hughes-esque" when it comes to a teen movie execution. It's for 'Breakfast Club' or 'Pretty in Pink' fans a touch more than it's for 'American Pie' or 'Superbad' fans. All that said, I'm fairly bias towards teen movies, myself. I really do enjoy a good coming-of-age movie, and this is quite a good one. If nothing else, it's fun to go back on, recognizing some of those forgotten faces, seeing Heath Ledger's breakthrough performance and seeing where we dropped Joseph Gordon-Levitt off as a young up-and-comer, before picking him up again in '500 Days of Summer' as an a sudden fan-favorite (although for me, that was 'Inception'). |
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