How many movies did you see referenced in Madagascar? I saw at least five: Zoolander, Saturday Night Fever, American Beauty, Planet of the Apes (the original, please), and Castaway. This begs the question then, is there anything original in this movie?
There's no doubt that computer animation has made great strides in making animals and their fur or hair look more realistic, but maybe they should have spent a little more time on making a better story. Sure it was funny - the monkeys and the penquins are hilarious - but if the fossa don't eat the lemurs eventually, won't that upset the island's ecosystem? Gone is the "circle of life" philosophy from the Lion King. Now, lion's should only eat sushi, not other mammals, and predators shouldn't eat prey that can sing and dance. I think that maybe they should eat them just because they sing and dance to stupid songs.
In short, the movie is a good laugh for kids and adults and it looks good, but don't think too much about it or any messages it's trying to convey.
By the way, "crackalackin" - something that Marty says - is a term that Snoop Dogg came up with that seems to mean "cool" or "in" (as in "what's in" or what's cracking) and does not refer to crack cocaine. Was I the only one that thought it did and wouldn't let their kid say it?
Okay, folks, open topic here...what is your favorite adaptation of a book, musical, play or other?
Some of mine: The Princess Bride, The Hours, Adaptation, Persuasion (1995), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and Dune (1984).
Rebecca asked what the ratio is between movie adaptations and original screenplays. I'm not sure what it is overall, but let's look at the top 10 films this week. They are:
1. Chicken Little (2005)
2. Zathura (2005)
3. Derailed (2005/I)
4. Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005)
5. Jarhead (2005)
6. Saw II (2005)
7. The Legend of Zorro (2005)
8. Prime (2005)
9. Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story (2005)
10. Pride & Prejudice (2005)
Of these 10, only Get Rich or Die Tryin' and Prime are original screenplays and are not based on previous material. I'm counting sequals as based on previous material.
Did you see Sahara in the theater? I didn't and I actually regret it. It was a whole lot of fun watching it at home but it would have been even more so on the big screen. Isn't everything better on the big screen? I will say that I was actually surprised at how much I enjoyed this film. Why did I enjoy it? Here are a few reasons.
Great camera work and editing, especially the fight scene on the beach which includes shots from Evas point of view. She has been attacked by unknown men while she is trying to track down a disease coming from Mali. After she has been attacked, she is lying nearly unconscious on the sand. Dirk comes out of the water and fights her attackers. The shots are short and from low-angles. Some are even upside down, but they give you her point of view on the fight and introduce Dirk in heroic style.
Great characters, Dirk and Al. They are great twosome for a buddy movie. Dirk sure is pretty to look at but Al is by far the best and funniest character in the movie. When he first makes his appearance in the film, he has his head stuck under the hood of something. We see the backside of him (nice plumber butt) as he shouts at anyone available for help with the tools. He gets Eva. He fixes the winch and hauls a triumphant Dirk and their find out of the water. In that short scene you find out that Al is the smart, nerdy one, who does the fixing and always has Dirk's back, and Dirk is, of course, the charming, attractive hero.
Great action scenes that had the right mix of action and humor. The boat chase scene on the Niger River is classic example. What made it better is when Sandecker had to listen to what was going on via the satellite phone. Bullets are flying as you hear him over the phone asking, "What's going on?" Um, your boat is being shot apart, but, hey, thankfully the Panama worked and Al, Dirk and Rudi escaped.
Witty dialogue with no cheesy one liners here. Al, of course, has most of the best lines, such as, "Always the Al's-maid, never the Al." My favorite exchange between him and Dirk is after they have left the chemical waste plant and are being chased by Kazim.
Dirk: "Al did you bring the explosives from the toxic waste dump?"
Al: "Couldn't find them."
Dirk: "Al?"
Al: "Didn't have time."
Dirk: "Al!"
Al: "Of course I brought the explosives!"
A great ending and not just the when the world has been saved, the bad guys are all dead and the treasure has been found. It's the door that is left open for a sequel. You wonder, "What's next for Dirk, Al and N.U.M.A?" What's next is apparently new equipment and a cushy deal with the government. A sequel is definitely implied somewhere in there. How about Dirk and Eva? Does their flirtation throughout the movie lead to anything in the end? They do wind up on a beach together, but it's not the sappy, love soaked ending that you would expect. On the beach, Dirk tells Eva that he wanted to say something to her during the midst of the battle in the desert. He looks her deeply in the eyes and tells her, "You do throw like a girl." Ha! She of course slaps him silly. I'm sorry to report that you don't find out much about Al's situation at the end, but I assume that he does get a new hat - and second billing in the sequel. That's probably enough for him.
I just had to see Bubba Ho-tep. Why? Mostly because I am fascinated by Elvis and Elvis impersonators. When I was a child, I thought that Elvis was my special friend because our birthdays are both on January 8. I've let go of that - thankfully - but I still love his music and movies. I also had to see Bruce Campbell as Elvis battling against the soul-sucking mummy. Who could ask for anything more than Elvis and mummies? I did ask for more from this movie, but I didn't really get it. I had rather high expectations, but the movie wasn't as funny or as zany as I expected. It had its moments though. Some of the flashback sequences were funny such as the barbeque incident and the scene where Elvis falls off the stage and breaks his hip. (Aside: I went to a show several years ago where Davy Jones and Mickey Dolenz of the Monkees played at a local casino. Davy Jones decided that he would go out into the audience by hopping across the tables. He got to our table and everyone was grabbing for him. He walked right by me and all I could do was cringe and think to myself, "Oh, my god, he's going to fall of the table and break a hip." When Elvis fell of the stage in Bubba Ho-Tep, it was extra funny because of this experience.)
Things that I didn't particularly care for include Elvis swearing like a sailor/whore/trucker - you choose - and the penis obsession. If you have ever wondered why they make Viagra or any of those male performance enhancement drugs, watch this movie. You would think that men would get used to the idea that he have a penis and sometimes it doesn't work the way it should. Judging from this movie, they don't. A gross generalization? Perhaps. It was actually kind of disturbing especially since when Elvis actually "springs back to life" he does so when he decides to figure out what is causing the disturbance at the rest home. So is that the signal that a man is really alive?
Two really great things about this movie: Bruce Campbell's costumes and the score. Watch the making of shorts included on the DVD and you will find out that the costumes for the movie and for any serious Elvis impersonator only come from one place. This company also owns the patterns from Elvis' actual wardrobe. You will also find out that the score was written and performed by Brian Tyler. Yes, he actually played all of the instruments and sang for the soundtrack. Pretty cool. It's interesting to listen to his interview because he talks about his creative process. He mentions that he always gets inspired for a song when he is either driving or in the shower. I know the feeling.
One thing you may or may not know about film scores is that they are usually written after the film has been shot and edited. The composers get a rough cut of the film and work from there. I did really enjoy the score, but there were times when its melancholy tone took away a little bit of the comedy or fun in the movie.
Everyone in Ireland recalls where they were they were when Veronica Guerin was shot on the Naas Road. This was one of the closing comments the Narrator made at the end of Veronica Guerin. The tragedy, grief, and outrage of her death brought about change in Ireland. Irish law was changed so that the assets of suspected criminals - primarily drug traffickers - could be seized. The populace took to the streets to turn out drug dealers from their neighborhoods. None of this would have happened unless Veronica Guerin began asking questions and one man stepped off the back of a motorbike, pointed a gun and murdered her as she sat in her car waiting for the light to turn green. Tragedy, grief, outrage, foment change.
Veronica Guerin isn't a spectacular film, but it is a good film. It's gritty and real. You know from the beginning what is going to happen to her in the end. The film begins with the ending, but stops right before she is actually shot. After this opening, the rest of the film details her work on uncovering the people behind the drug epidemic in urban Ireland. Watch the scene in which Veronica goes to Gilligan's house to confront him. He beats her and calls her a very derogatory name. She just falls to the ground and eventually drives away in terror. No sugar coating the fact the he's violent and dangerous. He is eventually the one who arranges her murder. Nobody shoots the messenger? I guess Gilligan didn't get this message.
I watched this movie with my son Connor. He is 12 years old - just turned on Monday - and I thought that maybe because it was based on a true story, it might be good for him to watch. I was a little concerned that it might be too violent or graphic for him. I admit I didn't screen it first. I think that it was actually a good thing that he saw it. Every parent is concerned about their kid and if he or she will try drugs. I think this was actually an excellent opportunity to show that, whatever you may think about drugs and the effects they have on the human body, you cannot deny the fact that criminals, dangerous ones in most cases, run the industry. Maybe he is too young to understand this now, but maybe when he is older he will think twice before accepting that first "free" sample.
Two final comments on this film. First, Cate Blanchett is an amazing actress. Are you watching Cate Blanchett play a part or do you forget that she is playing a role and begin to see her as Veronica Guerin? A truly talented actress or actor will make you forget that he or she is playing a role. Two of my favorite films that she is in are Elizabeth and The Gift. Second, I picked up this film at the local video store because I love Cate Blanchett and I wanted to see the movie. I will also admit that I picked this over some junky action film because Colin Farrell was pictured on the back cover with Cate Blanchett. Colin Farrell is very sexy, so of course that sealed the deal. To my disappointment though, he was only in one scene. Granted, he looked incredibly gorgeous, but the one scene was it. All you get is one short little scene in which his nameless character talks football - soccer to us Americans - with Veronica Guerin. The best part is when he asks her to "have a pint" with him. Do men actually ask women out in so bold of a fashion? Perhaps they only do that in the movies or in Ireland. (How much is airfare to Ireland?) Allow me to complain for a moment, but my experience over the last 6 years of being divorced is that men are too chicken s*** to actually ask you out directly. Okay, married guys aren't but that's a whole different issue. Single men drop hints and expect you to, oh, I don't know, read their minds and know that what they are really saying is that they want to go out with you. To the single men of the world, the single women of the world are no better at reading minds than you are, so if you are interesting in getting to know us better, just ask. That message goes for the women, too. Now, if I could only heed my own advice. I also realize that very few people will ever read this blog, so my plea for change will go unheard.
In summary, you won't cry desperately during this film - if you like that kind of movie - but you will at least get an interesting story and a fabulous performance from Cate Blanchett. Walk leisurely through the video store and consider giving it glance.
I love Wallace and Gromit. My expectations were almost fulfilled by their feature length film Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit. I say almost, because it got a little long toward the end. I even started day dreaming about a certain guy I like during the film...did I just type that out loud?
Anyway, the good news is Gromit still knits and saves Wallace from himself and everything else and Wallace still loves cheese and gets himself into trouble. I wonder if PETA was cheering at this film and it's ethical treatment of rabbits. Well, they probably didn't like the part where Wallace tried a mind-altering device on them, but at least no rabbits were harmed during filming. I'm also wondering if there was some sublte commentary on GMO food. That wouldn't be in a kids film, would it?
One of the many brilliant moves that the film makers (Steve Box and Nick Park) made is to edit and shoot it like a horror flick. Not a slasher movie, but a real horror or suspense movie a la Psycho or Jaws. You never see the were-rabbit until near the end. You just see it's path of destruction and catch glimpses of a shadow here and there. They also combine suspense with a good mix of comedy. You wouldn't want to scare the kiddies too much. The scene in the Father's chambers is a hoot. Look for how lightening is used in that scene. And check out what's hiding in his cabinet.
P.S. See Chicken Run. It's made by Nick Park and Peter Lord (Aardman Animation) and is a much better film.
It's a good thing that I didn't buy anything sweet at the concession stand before watching this film. I think the eye candy in The Legend of Zorro - both Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones - was enough. I suppose I should write something about the film, because no one just goes to the movies for the eye candy alone. Or do they?
About the film - the opening action sequence was amazing. The music - was it flamenco - along with the acrobatics of whoever was Antonio Banderas' stuntman were breathtaking. He dove gracefully through the air as if he would land safely in water. He danced on timber beams while sword fighting four men. Zorro was super-human, or at least he seemed to be so in this scene and was to the people of California. The other action sequences paled in comparison to this one.
A couple other things in general about the film - the fact that the women in the movie, and the little boy, were able to fight and defend themselves was an added bonus. It was interesting how one thread of the story revolved around tension between Alejandro and Elena's relationship. It was actually quite unexpected to find them fighting and divorced in the first act. Some of the later scenes between them were right out of a screwball comedy. Their divorce was just a sham, and we knew it the whole time, but it made things more interesting for Alejandro/Zorro. Us being privy to that little bit of information also helped to make us more sympathetic to Alejandro and his struggle to understand why Elena left him.
The most fascinating aspect of this film is its use of history - or misuse, I'm not sure. On occasion during the film, the film makers would insert shots of Californian culture, or their interpretation of it. Crowd shots showed the ethnic make-up of the population. There was one shot of a group of women sitting in a circle making tortillas. There is another shot of a baby lying in a box suspended from the ceiling instead of in a cradle on the floor. These are just a few examples of little tidbits of 19th century Californian culture that were thrown into the film. I am always intrigued when literature and film use historical events as part of the story. Isn't truth stranger than fiction after all? I'm no historian so I cannot tell you if the historical and cultural aspects of Californian life portrayed in the film are accurate. Did the wine industry in California really begin around the 1850s? Was nitroglycerin actually invented around this time, too? I don't know but I hope so. I don't mind when history is used in the story, but when it is misused, not so much.
I have two complaints about this film. First, it was a bit long. After they discovered the secret society that was trying to take over the world, did we have to go through the whole train sequence at the end? I realize that Zorro's family and the whole of California had to be in danger, but could we have gotten to the part where everyone is saved a little faster? I do have to give them credit for how Zorro escapes the clutches of the enemy (i.e. the scene where the knife is at his throat), but I didn't need to see that horrible special effect of the horse diving through the ceiling of the train car, then the train fight, then the son jumping the horse out of the train, then more train fight and then the bad guy's horrible death. Just rescue your family and blow up the train for goodness sake! Second, how many secret societies are there? I guess we'll never know since they are secret, but does there have to be one in every movie? That seems to be the fad in Hollywood. The old take-over-the-world-ploy should be used wisely, in my mind. In this film, I don't think it was. It probably would have been enough for the bad guys to be thwarting California's attempt to join the Union.