Sleight of Film

Today’s quick review: To Be Or Not To Be. Frederick (Mel Brooks) and Anna Bronski (Anne Bancroft), a pair of renowned Polish theater actors, fall onto hard times when Germany invades Poland at the start of World War II. When Andre Sobinski (Tim Matheson), a displaced Polish lieutenant and an admirer of Anna, is sent back to Poland by British Intelligence, the couple are embroiled in a dangerous attempt to keep a list of Polish Underground members from falling into the hands of the Nazis.

To Be Or Not To Be is a comedy from Mel Brooks. Mel Brooks stars as Frederick Bronski, whose skill at comedy is equaled by his ineptitude at drama. Anne Bancroft plays opposite him as Anna Bronski, his wife and acting partner. Unbeknownst to Frederick, Anna has been meeting with Sobinski backstage during his act. The trio are forced to put aside their personal problems when a Nazi spy gets his hands on a list that could spell the end of the Polish resistance.

While the tone of To Be Or Not To Be is consistently light, the serious subject mater offers less escape than that of a typical comedy. The plot itself could easily belong to a wartime thriller, and only the comedic treatment of individual scenes and constant jabs at the Nazis keep it from descending into drama. The comedy is pleasant and clever, very naturally offering chances for the Bronskis to act their way out of trouble.

Watch To Be Or Not To Be if you are looking for a competent comedy with more serious undertones. While the humor edges out the drama, the plot carries a bit more weight than most comedies; plan accordingly. Skip it if you are looking for a more outrageous comedy.

6.8 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.5 to 7.0 for strong cast and writing but subject matter a touch too serious for its style of comedy.

Today’s quick review: The Twelve Chairs. When his mother-in-law dies, Vorobyaninov (Ron Moody) learns that she left a fortune in jewels in one of the twelve dining room chairs she was forced to leave behind during the Soviet Revolution a decade before. Together with Ostap Bender (Frank Langella), a crafty opportunist who strongarms his way into the hunt, Vorobyaninov embarks on an arduous journey to find the missing chairs and the fortune they contain.

The Twelve Chairs is Mel Brooks’ movie adaptation of the classic Russian story of the same name. Despite nominally being a comedy, The Twelve Chairs has a dramatic plot and tone. The comedy is confined to the periphery: jokes slipped into the dialogue, roles filled with comedic actors, and the occasional madcap chase. At its core, the film is a tale of greed infused with a hefty dose of Russian fatalism.

The main duo are oddly sympathetic. Ron Moody plays Vorobyaninov, a Russian nobleman brought low by the Soviet Revolution. Frank Langella plays Ostap Bender, a persuasive swindler who persuades Vorobyaninov to cut him in. Bender provides the direction for the story, as Vorobyaninov lacks the cunning or level-headedness to track down the chairs on his own. Their sometime antagonist is Fyodor (Dom DeLuise), a greedy priest who heard about the jewels and wants them for himself.

Watch The Twelve Chairs if you are in the mood for a dour tale offset with wry humor and a steady stream of small jokes. The comedy takes enough of the edge off the drama to make The Twelve Chairs a decent watch but not enough to make it a light one. Skip it if you are looking for something unequivocally light, or if you are a fan of Mel Brooks’ more raucous comedies.

6.6 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.5 to 7.0 for a decent story with an odd hybrid tone.

“Mongo only pawn in game of life.” —Mongo

Today’s quick review: Blazing Saddles. Bart (Cleavon Little), a clever railroad worker, is appointed sheriff of the town of Rock Ridge as part of a scheme by Hedley Lamarr (Harvey Korman). The country’s first black sheriff, Bart is expected to flop, throwing the town into chaos and paving the way for the railroad to be run through Rock Ridge at minimal cost. But Bart has other plans, and with the help of Jim (Gene Wilder), a retired gunslinger, he sets out to win the respect of the townsfolk and bring order to Rock Ridge.

Blazing Saddles is a Western comedy by Mel Brooks. Featuring a talented cast, a continuous stream of humor, and a pleasant story, Blazing Saddles is one of Mel Brooks’ better films. Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder are a great comedic duo, with Cleavon Little as the crafty, easygoing Bart and Gene Wilder as his newfound friend. The two characters are immensely likable and give the movie a solid core to build off of.

The supporting cast provides a comical backdrop for the adventures of Bart and Jim. Harvey Korman serves as the story’s main antagonist, Hedley Lamarr, a corrupt and pathetic local bigwig. Slim Pickens plays Taggart, the overseer of the construction of the railroad and Hedley’s bungling right-hand man. Mel Brooks himself makes several appearances, first as the region’s carefree governor and later as a German-spouting Indian chief.

The humor in Blazing Saddles is, naturally, its main appeal. Not every joke is a side-splitter, but the quality is consistently high, the jokes are plentiful, and most viewers will have a few hearty laughs along the way. Mel Brooks’ sense of humor pervades the movie, from the film’s jabs at the Western genre to Bart’s outrageous ploys. Blazing Saddles grounds its silly comedy with a personable lead duo and a fairly coherent plot, ensuring that the film’s humor does not hurt its enjoyability as a story.

Watch Blazing Saddles if you are looking for a light comedy that spoofs the Western genre. Blazing Saddles balances silly humor with just enough of a story to make the film feel coherent. Skip it if you are looking for a subtler comedy or you dislike Mel Brooks’ sense of humor.

7.8 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.5 for satisfying comedy, two strong leads, and a pleasant plot.

Today’s quick review: X-Men: First Class. Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), a telepathic mutant and gifted genticist, is recruited by CIA agent Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne) to help stop Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon), a powerful mutant with a plan to start World War III. Together with Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender), a Holocaust survivor with magnetic powers and a grudge against Shaw, and Raven (Jennifer Lawrence), a shapeshifting mutant and Charles’s adopted sister, Charles assembles a team of mutants to foil Shaw’s plans.

X-Men: First Class is a superhero film, a 60s period piece, and a prequel to the X-Men franchise. The story features a young, optimistic Professor X who finds common cause with Magneto before the latter’s descent into terrorism. The themes of previous X-Men films are used to good effect. Raven’s relationship with Charles is strained by his insensitivity to mutants who have to hide their powers, while Charles and Erik clash over whether humanity can be trusted to accept mutants.

X-Men: First Class features an outstanding cast, tight writing, and high production quality. The tone fluctuates between Cold War spy thriller, superhero origin story, and science fiction drama, deftly tapping into both the grim and the heroic sides of the X-Men universe. Director Matthew Vaughn balances the film’s plot, action, and character development to produce a movie that succeeds as a prequel and stands on its own.

X-Men: First Class’s cast is easily its strongest point. Charles, Erik, and Raven have nuanced character arcs that tie into the main plot well, and James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, and Jennifer Lawrence are all excellent picks for their characters. The supporting cast varies in quality, but on the whole, Charles’s team of fresh-faced mutants are a good fit for the story, while Shaw’s mutant enforcers make up for in combat ability what they lack in character.

The action makes clever use of the powers available in the film, from Azazel’s devilish use of teleportation to Magneto’s frantic attempts to lift objects well beyond his capacity. The action is never mindless, but part of a concerted effort on the part of the characters to influence the world around them. As such, even the underpowered characters are called on to grow and perform, giving the characters a sense of growth that the more established X-Men of later in the timeline lack.

Watch X-Men: First Class if you are in the mood for a well-constructed superhero film with great characters and strong writing. X-Men: First Class is a welcome prequel to the X-Men universe that stands well on its own. Skip it only if you are not a fan of the genre.

7.8 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it an 8.0 for all-around quality.

Today’s quick review: xXx. Xander Cage (Vin Diesel), a daredevil with a criminal streak, is foricbly recruited by NSA agent Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) to handle a mission too dangerous for the NSA. Xander must infiltrate an anarchic terrorist group led by a man named Yorgi (Marton Csokas) and acquire the information the NSA needs to move against them.

xXx is an action movie with a spy movie’s plot and extreme sports sensibilities. The blend of genres sounds perfect for an action film, but xXx has a hard time getting out of the gate. Xander Cage is one of Vin Diesel’s weaker roles. Too much of his image is wrapped up in early-2000s extreme sports culture, and even the parts of his character that should be timeless are undermined by the film’s lack of realism and mediocre writing.

The story is a paint-by-the-numbers spy affair, right down to the gadgets Xander is given for his mission. The film thumbs its nose at spy conventions along the way, portraying Xander as the tough, cool antidote to the ineffectual, tuxedoed heroes of the spy genre, but none of these jabs really hit their mark. The spy elements exaggerate an already cartoonish film, further damaging Xander’s credibility as a protagonist.

The film finds its rhythm about halfway through when it stops posturing and focuses on action. The stunts are transparent excuses for Xander to put his extreme sports skills to use on his mission, but they are imaginative and handled reasonably well. These moments give xXx a reasonable amount of payoff for action fans and are the main reason to watch the film.

Check out xXx if you are an action fan looking for an easy watch with a bit of creativity. The plot, the acting, and most of the action are nothing special, but a couple of big stunts set it apart. Skip it if you dislike the excesses of the action genre or are looking for a better take on the spy genre.

5.8 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.5 for some fun action held back by cut-rate writing and dated style.

Today’s quick review: My Neighbor Totoro. Satsuki and Mei are two young girls who move to the country with their father to be closer to their hospitalized mother. As they explore their new home, they discover a variety of nature spirits living in the world around them. Among these is Totoro, a good-natured, catlike spirit who befriends the girls.

My Neighbor Totoro is an animated fantasy film from director Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. The film is short on plot but rich in atmosphere and creativity. The antics of Totoro and his friends are a delight to watch, and the animation shows Miyazaki’s signature attention to detail. The tone is one of childlike exploration: Satsuki, the older of the two, looks after her younger sister as they roam around the fields and forests of their new home.

Totoro and the other spirits are strange but never frightening. Unlike Spirited Away or other Miyazki films, there is no undercurrent of danger, just a world of wonder hidden away from adult eyes. As such, My Neighbor Totoro is an innocent, family-friendly film with very little conflict. It misses out on the richer stories and themes of other Miyazaki films, but in exchange, it maintains an unsullied tone.

Give it a watch if you are looking for a light and beautiful way to spend an hour and a half. The title character is iconic, and the film has a charm that makes it worth seeing at some point. Just be aware that the tone is wholly childlike and the plot is almost nonexistent. Skip it if you are looking for a film with more substance.

8.2 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.5 for gorgeous animation with minimal plot.

Today’s quick review: Akira. Tetsuo, a member of a bike gang in Neo-Tokyo, gets caught up in a battle between a psychic and the police. The incident causes Tetsuo to manifest harmful psychic powers of his own, and he is taken into government custody for treatment and study. Kaneda, the leader of the gang, sets out to find him, only to find himself allied with a group of rebels against the secret government program that has taken Testuo.

Akira is a Japanese animated science fiction movie with horror elements. It chronicles the tragic and unpredictable series of events surrounding the awakening of Tetsuo’s psychic powers. The powers are accompanied by severe migraines, hallucinations, and the rapid breakdown of Tetuo’s psyche, turning him into a dangerous threat to himself and others. Kaneda quickly finds himself in over his head, with only his loyalty to Tetsuo keeping him involved in a conflict well beyond his abilities.

Akira is a well-executed but confusing movie. The animation quality is fairly high, and the plot and setting show a great deal of thought. But the film’s many mysterious, conflicting factions, and unpredictable plot make it difficult to follow without advance knowledge of the plot. Akira’s horrific content also makes it an unsettling watch, as Tetsuo’s mind and reality begin to come apart around him.

Watch Akira if you are into anime and the stranger side of sci-fi. Akira is considered a classic by some, and while its confusing story and dark content can be a turn-off, the right viewer will certainly find Akira to be an intense and well-crafted film. However, most viewers should steer clear; venture in only if you are a devoted fan of sci-fi and horror.

8.1 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.0 for an ambitious plot held back by unclear writing and a bizarre ending.

Today’s quick review: Space Jam. When an amusement park tycoon sends his alien minions to capture the cast of Looney Tunes to use as a park attraction, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and friends challenge the aliens to a game of basketball for their freedom. But when the aliens prove to be better players than they expected, the toons recruit real-life basketball star Michael Jordan to help.

Space Jam is a family sports comedy that mixes live action and cartoons. Michael Jordan, struggling to find new purpose after his retirement from basketball, is swept into a zany cartoon world to teach Bugs Bunny how to play basketball. From this fever dream of a premise, Space Jam assembles a surprisingly natural-feeling comedy that pokes fun at 90s basketball, classic Warner Bros. cartoons, and the quirks of being a celebrity.

Space Jam tweaks the “ragtag team of misfits” formula with a team of misfits that are uniquely unsuited to sports. The Looney Tunes characters exist in a world of cartoon physics, constant antics, and self-aware humor. A simple team lineup quickly descends into chaos, and any activities the characters try end up resembling their classic routines more than what they were meant to be doing.

As such, Michael’s job is not so much to whip a bunch of losers into shape but to channel their natural talents in a useful direction. The cartoon cast gives Space Jam an irreverent feel; they are comically incapable of growth, so the usual character development arcs are scrapped entirely in favor of more comedy. For his part, Michael Jordan comes across as a good-natured family man

Space Jam’s humor is imperfect, but it hits more than its misses. A bevvy of celebrity cameos are put to good use, from Bill Murray’s fawning over Jordan to the real-world basketball stars robbed of their talent to fuel the aliens’ own. The soundtrack has a couple of memorable picks, including a catchy title track that has achieved Internet notoriety.

All this combines to make Space Jam a breezy, fun watch. Watch it when you are in the mood for something light, silly, and short. Skip it if you find the premise unappealing or are looking for a more subtle comedy.

6.3 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.5 for delivering an unexpected amount of fun from an unusual premise.

Today’s quick review: The Matrix. Neo (Keanu Reeves), a talented hacker, has become preoccupied with a single question: “What is the Matrix?”. A mysterious woman named Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) offers to take him to Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), an enigmatic man who has the answers Neo seeks. Morpheus confronts Neo with a terrifying truth: that the world around him is merely a simulation.

The Matrix is an ambitious science fiction movie with groundbreaking special effects, interesting philosophical themes, and a hefty dose of action. The inspiration for countless parodies and imitations, The Matrix delivers equal doses of speculative fiction and spectacle. The tone is one of grim determination: Morpheus and his crew fight nigh-invincible Agents of the system in an effort to awaken as many people to the truth as possible.

The premise allows for some mind-bending action. Their knowledge of the simulation gives Morpheus and his crew the ability to warp it around them, allowing them to accomplish feats of superhuman strength and agility. The combat is stylish, well-choreographed, and backed by innovative CGI. Between the martial arts, the wire stunts, and the heavy-duty shootouts, The Matrix has enough to make any action fan salivate.

The story is no less polished. The Matrix takes a strong science fiction premise and gives it free reign, with the budget to back up its ambitions. The Matrix explores a world where the truth is buried, comforting illusion dominates, and the only hope of victory is to confront an inhuman and unbeatable system. The writing remains solid throughout, building its tone and mystery during its first half and exploding into a flurry of action in the second.

The Matrix also has a number of subtle details that supplement its themes. The principal characters all stand out from the background of the mundane world in some way, from the leather outfits, sunglasses, and stoic demeanors of Morpheus and his crew to the tailored suits and cold expressions of the Agents. The time spent with Neo before his awakening is deliberately disorienting and banal, making the strange events around him seem all the stranger.

The acting fits the movie well. Keanu Reeves portrays the introverted hacker Neo, whose reaction to the events happening around him is shocked disbelief, which mellows into the same resolved detachment shown by Carrie-Anne Moss and Laurence Fishburne. Hugo Weaving delivers a memorable performance as Agent Smith, an Agent whose hatred of humanity oozes from every word. The supporting cast shows a bit more humanity but still fits into a similar mold; what the film lacks in pathos, it makes up for in a cast that can interact with the weighty setting on its own terms.

Watch The Matrix if you are a fan of action or science fiction in even the smallest capacity. The Matrix is a bleak but incredibly stylish film that delivers story and action in equal quantities. Skip The Matrix only if you dislike serious films or violence.

8.7 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 9.0 for outstanding quality and for being one of my personal favorites.

Today’s quick review: Donnie Darko. Donnie (Jake Gyllenhaal), a troubled teenager, experiences disturbing visions that seem to presage a coming disaster. His only guide to these visions is Frank, a spirit in a grotesque rabbit mask who offers Donnie advice. As his visions begin to influence his behavior, Donnie finds himself spiralling down a dark path.

Donnie Darko is a psychologocial horror movie and a cult classic. The film explores themes of predestination and teenage isolation using a tense, surreal mystery as its framework. Donnie Darko is not a pleasant watch. Though it only has one or two actual scares, the tension is high throughout, and the bottom feels like it could drop out of Donnie’s world at any minute.

The plot of Donnie Darko can be hard to follow. Part of this difficulty comes from the mystery at the heart of the story. Donnie does not understand the nature of his visions or the critical moment they point toward, and his confusion is reflected by the viewer. Part of the difficulty comes from the abstract logic the visions employ. The end of the film does answer some of these questions, but it takes a dedicated viewer to follow all of what is going on.

Donnie Darko is a difficult watch made worthwhile by its masterful execution and its surreal, disturbing tone. The themes of the film wind in on themselves in strange and unpredictable ways, while the plot marches on with the implacability of Fate. Watch it if you are looking for a darkly fascinating film with a plot few other films would attempt. Skip it if you are looking for straightforward horror or any sort of a light watch.

8.1 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it an 8.0 for excellent tone and a unique premise.