Sleight of Film

Today’s quick review: Anastasia. In Russia in 1916, the curse of Rasputin (Christopher Lloyd) brings about the downfall of the Romanov dynasty. The surviving royal family flees to Paris, but young Anastasia (Meg Ryan) is lost. Ten years later, Dimitri (John Cusack) and Vlad (Kelsey Grammer) plan to collect a handsome reward by passing off Anya, an orphan with no memories, as Anastasia, not realizing she is the real duchess.

Anastasia is an animated family adventure set during a fictionalized version of the end of czarist Russia. Anya, a young orphan unaware of her royal blood or the deaths of her family, yearns for a better life and a place she can call home. Dimitri and Vlad seize upon her as a dead ringer for the missing duchess, and together the three of them set out for Paris, Anya to find her family and the other two to collect their fraudulent reward.

As a family film, Anastasia is a mixed success. A solid soundtrack, high production values, and a talented cast of voice actors give Anastasia plenty of raw quality to work with. Yet its grim historical backdrop and gruesome villain make Anastasia a darker film than the usual children’s fare. Combined with its predictable plot and imperfect animation style, these elements make Anastasia an odd watch for anyone expecting a movie that conforms to the Disney mold.

Other aspects of the film are similarly mixed. Rasputin is an inspired choice for a villain, but he serves as a remote threat to the main characters, not anyone they can interact with. Anastasia’s songs are well-produced but not particularly memorable. Its themes of belonging and honesty are typical for the genre, but they do fit the story well. The historical setting allows for detail and drama, but at the cost of some levity and sense of fantasy.

Watch Anastasia when you are in the mood for a family film with decent execution and a few unusual quirks. Weaknesses in its tone and writing keep it from being a standout, but its cast and musical numbers are enough to give it some appeal. Skip it if you are looking for a princess story with a more conventional tone or a less conventional plot.

7.1 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.5 to 7.0 for good quality offset by a handful of flaws.

Today’s quick review: Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) is a young socialite living in New York. Her party lifestyle is funded by gifts from her many suitors, with just enough money left over to pay the rent. When Paul Varjak (George Peppard), an aspiring writer living off the largess of a wealthy female patron, moves into the apartment upstairs, the two strike up an unusual friendship.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s is a romance about a pair of New Yorkers living off the generosity of others. Holly leads a social, superficial life that keeps her balanced on the edge of solvency, while Paul has put his writing career on hold for the sake of his lover and benefactor. Neither one is fulfilled, but their budding friendship offers them something they are missing in their individual lives.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s is more of a character study than a proper story. Audrey Hepburn delivers an iconic performance as Holly Golightly, a desperate country girl turned urban social climber. Her goal in life is to land a wealthy bachelor to support her expensive habits, but in the meantime she is content to take gifts from the men in her social circle. Graceful, crafty, innocent, and impulsive, she is at once admired and pitied by her friends.

Paul enters the scene as one of the few people capable of helping Holly and one of the few who care enough to try. Level-headed and responsible, Paul sees clearly the trap Holly has landed herself in: friends who will not help her and a lifestyle she cannot sustain. Their interactions also show Paul what he has sacrificed by giving up on his own ambitions. But Holly’s skewed priorities and self-destructive tendencies may be beyond even Paul’s help.

Watch Breakfast at Tiffany’s when you are in the mood for a light romance that touches on themes of desperation and self-reliance. The movie offers little in the way of plot, but its two great characters are enough to make it an enjoyable and memorable watch. Skip it if you are looking for a pure comedy, romance, or drama, as it only dabbles in each of these genres.

7.7 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.5 for great characters and interesting themes.

Today’s quick review: Paprika. Chiba Atsuko works at a lab that specializes in dream therapy, where she uses a device called the D.C. Mini to explore and record the dreams of her patients. When three of the machines go missing, Chiba, her director Shima, the device’s inventor Tokita, and her dream persona Paprika must work together to recover the D.C. Minis before they can be used to break down the barriers between dreaming and reality.

Paprika is a surreal Japanese fantasy film with a creative premise and breathtaking visuals. Done in colorful animation, Paprika is a flight of fancy that explores the consequences of being able to visit dreams. Chiba’s investigation takes her into the world of her missing colleague Homura, a twisted dream where the mind can become trapped. Only with the help of Paprika can she track down the missing machines and repair the damage that has been done.

Paprika balances its tone between a dreamlike sense of wonder and a nightmarish sense of unrest. The visuals of the dream world are as fantastic as they are unreal, bordering on horror at their most extreme. But the movie is aware of this risk, playing up its darker elements only when tension is needed, then backing off to keep the tone light. Throughout it all Paprika, Chiba’s perky alter ego, keeps the movie grounded and provides a constant ray of hope.

Suitably for a film about dreams, Paprika deals with themes of subconscious desire and repression. The cast are flawed in ways that manifest in their dreams, from Tokita’s inability to grow up to Chiba’s over-reliance on Paprika to solve her problems. These themes are handled tastefully, with respect for the characters, their flaws, and their motivations. The character subplots buttress the main story and help give the film variety and thematic depth.

Paprika’s fantastic nature does have its drawbacks. In general the dream logic makes sense, capturing the nature of the conflict without having to adhere to an explicit set of rules, but the arbitrary nature of the dream hurts the film’s sense of consistency. The psychedelic imagery will be a turnoff for most viewers, and the movie’s dalliances with horror are enough to partially justify the viewer’s unease.

At the same time, Paprika is a beautiful film for those who brave its strangeness. The animation style is polished at its worst and absolutely gorgeous at its best. The film’s unusual electronic soundtrack sets the tone perfectly. Paprika herself is an excellent character, competent, cheerful, and more at home in the dream world than anyone else, while the other characters are deeper and more interesting than they first appear.

Watch Paprika if you are open to a surreal but beautiful fantasy adventure. Good characters, excellent visuals, and a fair bit of action make Paprika a treat to watch, but they come with a strangeness that many will find off-putting. Those looking for a tight plot, a conventional experience, or a fantasy untouched by darkness should look elsewhere.

7.7 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it an 8.0 for astounding visuals and sheer creativity.

Today’s quick review: Kong: Skull Island. At the close of the Vietnam War, the United States launches a military expedition to the uncharted Skull Island in search of the monsters rumored to live there. The expedition goes south when it provokes the wrath of Kong, the island’s massive ape guardian. Stranded on a hostile island filled with monsters, the survivors are forced to cross the island on foot to have any hope of escaping the island alive.

Kong: Skull Island is a monster movie and a reboot of the King Kong franchise. Set in the 1970s and sporting loose ties to the 2014 Godzilla reboot, Kong: Skull Island features a larger, more savage Kong in his massive natural habitat. His encounter with the military expedition ends disastrously for them, but he is only the first of the dangers Skull Island has to offer. Monster combat and a tense survival scenario give the film plenty of material to work with.

Kong: Skull Island boasts a cast of familiar faces. Samuel L. Jackson plays Preston Packard, a decorated soldier who lives for war. John Goodman co-stars as Bill Randa, the mastermind of the expedition who has spent his life trying to prove the existence of monsters. Tom Hiddleston plays James Conrad, a hardened tracker, while Brie Larson plays Mason Weaver, a war photographer who suspects that the mission has an ulterior motive.

Kong: Skull Island does a good job of handling its characters. None of the characters receive too much in the way of development, but a talented cast, enjoyable banter, and realistic flaws contribute a lot to the human side of the movie. All the characters are fallible, a fact that the movie takes full advantage of, yet no one character or decision shoulders too much of the blame. As such, Kong has an unusually relatable cast for a disaster movie.

One of the film’s other successes is its treatment of its monsters. Kong is not the only monster on Skull Island, and the sheer number and diversity of the monsters encountered are breathtaking. Skull Island comes across as a savage, alien where survival is a struggle. The expedition’s skirmishes with the monsters and the monsters’ fights with each other give the movie plenty of action, and its impressive CGI does justice to the creative monster designs.

Beyond these central draws, Kong: Skull Island has strong fundamentals that make it a satisfying watch. The pacing is spot-on, the plot logic is unusually sound, and the high bodycount and variety of monsters make the film unpredictable. The war aspects of the film give it some thematic depth, while the tone has the proper blend of action, humor, and horror. Even the presentation is well-considered, from its period soundtrack to its crisp camerawork.

Watch Kong: Skull Island when you are looking for a monster movie with plenty of action and solid execution. Those who dislike monster fights will find that Kong offers little for them, but action fans with even a passing interest in the film will find find something to enjoy.

7.1 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.5 for rock-solid action, pacing, and characters.

Today’s quick review: Survivor. When Kate Abbott (Milla Jovovich), a security officer for the U.S. Embassy in London, uncovers a plot to sneak terrorists into the United States, she becomes the target of the Watchmaker (Pierce Brosnan), an elusive and deadly assassin. Believed by the authorities to be responsible for one of the Watchmaker’s attacks, Kate goes on the run as she tries to piece together the terrorist plot and clear her name.

Survivor is an action thriller set in London. Unlike some thrillers, Survivor features an ordinary protagonist thrust into an extraordinary situation. Where the Watchmaker is a resourceful, deadly, and highly trained enemy, Kate has only her embassy training and her instincts to fall back on. The result is a desperate chase where Kate can only keep herself alive by the narrowest of margins.

Beyond this wrinkle, Survivor is a formulaic thriller with little original to offer. The particulars of Kate’s job, the plot she uncovers, and the Watchmaker’s character are of some interest, but no aspect of the film truly stands out. The characterization is thin, the planned terror attack is poorly motivated, and even Pierce Brosnan as the Watchmaker has little personality. The execution of the formula is decent, but the film lacks character.

Watch Survivor if you are in the mood for a stock thriller with decent execution but little originality. The film’s most interesting concepts are not played to their fullest, and its general competence is not enough to let it stand out from the crowd. Still, Survivor has an untrained protagonist, a reasonable plot, and a good amount of tension, making it a fine choice for a short popcorn watch.

5.6 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.0 for passable execution of the thriller genre without much novelty.

Today’s quick review: Glengarry Glen Ross. John Williamson (Kevin Spacey), the head of an Arizona real estate firm, calls in Blake (Alec Baldwin), a speaker from the firm’s parent company, to motivate his salesmen. The four salesmen (Jack Lemmon, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin, and Al Pacino) are given a challenge: at the end of the month, the two salesmen will earn prizes, while the other two will be fired.

Glengarry Glen Ross is a minimalistic sales drama with a great cast and unusually strong dialogue. The movie takes place over the span of two days as the salesmen use every trick at their disposal to either win the contest or talk John out of it. With high stakes for their careers and poor prospects to work with, the men are forced to confront the fact that their situation may be unwinnable.

The four salesmen go about their tasks in different ways. Shelley Levene (Jack Lemmon) gets to work, laying on as much charm as possible but struggling against the inadequacy of his leads. Dave Moss (Ed Harris) and George Aaronow (Alan Arkin) see the challenge as impossible and begin to plan a way out. Meanwhile, Ricky Roma (Al Pacino), confident in his abilities, drinks with a client to close out one last sale.

The dialogue is the film’s most distinctive feature. Repetitive, argumentative, and coarse, the dialogue is nevertheless engrossing. Tempers run high at the firm, and unlike most shouting matches, each clash between the characters produces a clear winner. As such, the dialogue moves the story forward even when it seems to be going in circles, and the actors’ excellent delivery and conflicting personalities make their conversations interesting to watch.

Watch Glengarry Glen Ross when you are in the mood for a mundane but impassioned drama with an excellent cast and great material for them to work with. The movie offers little in the way of plot, mystery, or spectacle, but its rock-solid fundamentals give it an appeal all of its own.

7.8 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.5 for great dialogue and acting with minimal plot.

Today’s quick review: Cowboy Bebop: The Movie. After an unprecedented act of bioterrorism, Spike Spiegel and the crew of the spaceship Cowboy Bebop set their sights on the record-setting bounty placed on the perpetrator’s head. But their target, Vincent, is no ordinary man. Their investigation leads them to a talented hacker, a shady chemical company, a dead special ops team, and a chemical agent that could wipe out all human life on Mars.

Cowboy Bebop: The Movie is an anime movie that mixes elements of science fiction, noir, and Western genres. Set near the end of the Cowboy Bebop television series, the movie serves as both a bonus adventure for longtime fans and a standalone story for newcomers. Cowboy Bebop: The Movie continues the excellent themes and characterization of the show but with higher production values and more time to tell its story.

The original Cowboy Bebop series was a genre fusion, a blend of noir and Western elements with a science fiction setting and jazz stylings. The movie follows in its footsteps, providing a succinct cross-section of the most interesting elements of the show. From its short, insightful peeks into the characters of the show to its impressive original soundtrack, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie adds to the original series without detracting from the show’s central story arc.

One of the greatest strengths of both the show and the movie is their characters. The crew of the Cowboy Bebop are a motley assortment of misfits with only loose ties to one another. Spike Spiegel, a laid-back bounty hunter, heads the group. His friend Jet Black is the ship’s owner and pilot. Faye Valentine is another bounty hunter with nowhere else to go. Also living aboard the ship are Ed, an eccentric child hacker, and her pet corgi Ein.

The characters are never formally introduced, but their actions define them well. For all that they are a family of sorts, the four crew members are all loners with different loyalties and objectives. This is seen in their separate approaches to tracking down Vincent, with direct cooperation only when they find themselves stuck. Their subtle characterization through their choices and dialogue is enough to paint a clear picture in just a few deft brushstrokes.

The story shares some of the same flaws as the TV series. As a full-length movie with an original plot, a new villain, and few ties to the main plot of the show, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie has little reason not to embrace its plot. But the movie leaves its story loose and vague. Typical movie logic is scrapped in favor of a winding investigation with dangling threads and mixed payoff. The style matches that of the show but may be unfulfulling for those used to movies.

Watch Cowboy Bebop: The Movie when you are in the mood for an animated film with a great world-building and characterization and a few beautiful moments. Though not the tightest or most action-packed story, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie is an enjoyable watch suitable for new viewers and old fans alike. Those disinterested in sci-fi or indirect storytelling should skip it.

7.9 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.5 to 8.0 for quality characters, good presentation, and an interesting mix of genres.

Today’s quick review: Over the Top. Lincoln Hawk (Sylvester Stallone), a trucker, drives his estranged son Michael (David Mendenhall) home from military school on a cross-country roadtrip at the request of the boy’s ailing mother. After a rocky start, the two begin to bond over Hawk’s talent for arm wrestling. But Michael’s wealthy, overbearing grandfather (Robert Loggia) wants Lincoln out of his life and will do anything to get rid of him.

Over the Top is a father-son road movie with sports elements. Sylvester Stallone stars as Lincoln Hawk, a trucker who regrets leaving his wife and son ten years ago. Now that his wife is dying, she wants Michael to get to know his father. But Michael, a bookish, stuck up child spoiled by his grandfather, wants nothing to do with the father who was never there for him.

In spite of its name, Over the Top has very little action. Instead, it gets its adrenaline from the world of competitive arm wrestling, where Lincoln is a championship contender. The focus of the story is on the relationship between Lincoln and Michael, but along the way it tells a competent but unusual sports tale. The two sides of the story are oddly paired, and neither one alone is strong enough to carry the movie, but they do work well together.

The tone of the movie is extremely sentimental. For all of their differences, Lincoln and Michael come to see something in each other. Their emotional arc is mirrored by the omnipresent soundtrack, a selection of emotional 80s ballads that flavor the entire movie. The characters are decent but not outstanding, and your enjoyment of the film will depend heavily on how emotional you are feeling.

Watch Over the Top when you are in the mood for a father-son story with a layering of competition. Neither the arm wrestling nor the father-son story are enough to make the film a standout, but competent execution makes it an enjoyable watch.

5.7 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.0 to 6.5 for decent execution of a mediocre premise.

Today’s quick review: Dragon Wars: D-War. According to Korean legend, every 500 years a woman is born who is capable of turning a great Imoogi serpent into a dragon, either the Good Imoogi the blessing is meant for or the evil Buraki that tries to steal it by force. When the Buraki awakens in modern Los Angeles, Ethan Kendrick (Jason Behr), the reincarnation of an ancient warrior, tries to protect a woman named Sarah Daniels (Amanda Brooks) from its clutches.

Dragon Wars: D-War is a fantasy action movie based on a Korean myth. Despite a promising schlock action premise and the tantalizing visual of a serpent wrapped around a skyscraper, beset by attack helicopters, Dragon Wars fails to deliver. Bad writing, weak acting, and a couple of major failures of logic hamstring what virtues the film has. The result is a bland and confusing watch with a few glowing embers of potential.

The story of the film is one of its major failings. The plot has all the usual trappings: ancient monsters, evil armies, and heroes of legend. But its reliance on Korean terminology makes it difficult to follow, while the unclear rules of its fantasy elements lead to an ending that feels entirely arbitrary. The plot pinballs with little sense of purpose, just an arbitrary series of close calls until the finale.

The writing has issues that go beyond just the story. The dialogue feels unnatural in subtle ways, with the kinds of lines that seem fine on paper but sound stilted out loud. Exacerbating this issue is the sound mixing, which somehow makes English lines by American actors sound dubbed. Characters routinely know more than they should, and each plot development feels forced by the writer rather than being a natural extension of the characters and the situation.

Dragon Wars’ CGI is also fairly weak. The models for the Buraki and its servants are suitably detailed, but they blend poorly with the environments around them. The Buraki itself is an exception: a massive serpent that speeds around the streets of Los Angeles leaving destruction in its wake. But the Buraki’s sense of scale is outweighed by weak action overall and a few good fights between the Buraki’s army and the military that are all back-loaded.

Watch Dragon Wars: D-War only if you are lured by the promise of large snakes and bad writing. The movie’s failures are largely ones of execution, so it lacks the entertainingly cringe-worthy moments that other movies of similar caliber tend to provide. A couple of decent action scenes towards the end and the skeleton of a passable premise are enough to keep it from being unwatchable, but most viewers would be better off skipping Dragon Wars.

3.6 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 4.0 for moments of decent action buried by poor writing and execution.

Today’s quick review: Now You See Me. When the Four Horsemen (Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, and Dave Franco), a quartet of talented magicians, steal millions of dollars live on a Las Vegas stage, FBI agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) and Interpol agent Alma Dray (Melanie Laurent) are assigned to the case. The reluctant partners must figure out what else the Horsemen have up their sleeves before the thieves pull one last vanishing act.

Now You See Me is a heist film with an inventive premise and a great cast. With unknown goals and a bottomless bag of tricks, the Four Horsemen pull off a series of seemingly impossible robberies. The only leads are Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman), a professional debunker who stands to make millions from an expose on the Horsemen, Arthur Tressler (Michael Caine), the group’s confident backer, and rumors of an ancient order of magicians know as the Eye.

Now You See Me adds spectacle and mystery to the heist genre by mixing in stage magic. The Horsemen accomplish their remarkable thefts through deception and misdirection, using particularly elaborate forms of magicians’ tricks to stay ahead of the law. As their plan advances, it becomes clear that their crimes are not isolated, but part of an even larger trick that Dylan and Alma must figure out before it is completed.

One of the Now You See Me’s big draws is its cast. Familiar faces include Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Caine. While none of the characters are particularly deep, each one has talents and personality quirks that play well off the others. The Four Horsemen have a healthy banter that gives the movie a touch of comedy, and Mark Ruffalo and Melanie Laurent have an understated chemistry that works well.

Now You See Me has a few misses to go along with its hits. The plot has a good twist but otherwise weak payoff that does not quite live up to the movie’s hype. The plot logic also breaks down in a few places where the plan escalates from flashy but sensible to needlessly elaborate. The magic is generally plausible, but limited explanations and a couple of indulgences keep it from being perfectly accessible to the audience.

The cast is likewise mismanaged in minor ways. The Horsemen are kept offscreen for large portions of the movie so their activities can remain secret, but their character development is cut short as a result. The slack is picked up by Mark Ruffalo, but his character never really gets the chance to drive the plot, only fill time until the Horsemen resurface. Meanwhile, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine, both incredible actors, are relegated to minor roles.

Watch Now You See Me when you are in the mood for a light, well-executed, and unusual take on the heist genre. Several minor flaws keep it from living up to its full potential, but its tricks, mystery, and cast are all enjoyable. For stage magic with a darker tone and a more elaborate plot, check out The Prestige instead.

7.3 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.0 for a good cast and interesting heists with a few issues keeping it from greatness.