The Iron Giant

The Iron Giant
1999 - Warner Brothers
Directed by Brad Bird



SYNOPSIS

A hundred-foot tall robot, presumably from outer space, comes crashing down in a rural Maine town in 1957. A young boy named Hogarth (Eli Marienthal) saves its life and the two overcome their size and language differences and become buddies... but Kent, a nosy government agent (Christopher McDonald,) threatens to destroy their friendship. Hogarth and his older friend Dean (Harry Connick Jr.) must try to keep the huge metal being out of sight.



MY THOUGHTS

When films are unanimously heaped with obscene tons of praise, without any dissenting opinion, I tend to avoid them like the plague. A movie can rarely ever live up to the hype. (especially when its trailer doesn't even hint on its greatness) How many movie ads in the newspaper have quotes from critics saying things like "an instant classic" and no one even remembers them 6 months later? The Iron Giant was one of those praise-heavy films and I managed to avoid it for just a few weeks shy of 10 years... but people still remember it and love it.

We live in a society of parents brainwashed by Disney and their own children and they make nearly every animated film released a success no matter the quality. This film scraped less than 25 million in its original release and that kept me vaguely interested in seeing the film. Was it too clever for the zombies?

I am very late in jumping on the bandwagon, but I now love this film.
The story is very moving and would appeal to kids of all ages, though some of the more disturbing images of violence may scare the youngest viewers.

The characters are believable and real even despite their animated-ness. Hogarth is a nice easy-to-relate-to kid. His relation ship with the robot reminded me of a boy trying to train a dog and it grew into a genuine loving friendship.
The character of Kent is never redeemed and that's more realistic than a cop-out Hollywood kids movie ending.

The old-school animation looks great. It was able to capture period details expertly, right down to the comic books and the past-futuristic design of the robot. There may have been a touch of some early computer animation to some of the scenes but it's not distracting, as some TV and movies of the 90's. The looks of the characters favor a classic Disney-style caricatures as opposed to a more realistic approach that could look potentially creepy (The Polar Express.)

Overall, this is a must for kids or fans of great animated films.

The Endless Summer

The Endless Summer
1966
Directed by Bruce Brown



SYNOPSIS

Mike and Robert love to surf and set out on a world journey to find the best waves and ride them, living an endless summer. The set out for multiple places in Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, and Hawaii.



MY THOUGHTS

I'd heard of this film for years, but never saw it. I'm not a surfer and would never get on a board, but I love to watch. I've seen other great surf films like 'Riding Giants' but never this one.
I was delighted by this film. It is so laid-back and unpretentious and a delight to watch.

The film's success lies in its simplicity. The film is primarily a silent film with a narrator and surf music playing along with it. The narration, by director Bruce Brown, is playful easy-going and humorous.

You will never have to sit through long interviews of surfers detailing their personal philosophies of surfing, or why they took it up. That's a breath of fresh air. Too many sports documentaries on tv and in film rely on this and are very pretentious.

The film appears to have been shot in 16mm, which is much lesser quality than the 35mm of regular feature films, but each scene looks jaw-droppingly amazing. This just may be the best looking 16mm images I've ever seen. The beaches and surf look great all over the world.

Some of the music comes across a little cheesy by today's standards, but with images so amazing, who cares?

Even if you don't surf, you should ride this wave!

The Jackie Robinson Story

The Jackie Robinson Story
1950 - Eagle Lion Films
Directed by Alfred E. Green



SYNOPSIS

The rise of future Hall Of Fame baseball player is recounted from youth to college to World War 2 service to the minors and on to breaking the major league color barrier for the Brooklyn Dodgers.



MY THOUGHTS

An adequate baseball film.
The film bravely tackles race, especially for 1950. A major studio may have glossed over this as Benny Goodman's very Jewish upbringing was whitewashed for the 'Benny Goodman Story.' This is not the case for this small b-movie production. Jackie faces racial slurs and angry whites who are enraged over his quick ascension to the minors and later to the majors. I'm sure they were worse in real-life than depicted here.
The film depicts Dodger owner Branch Rickey as nearly a saint which I'm sure he was not.

As for the acting, Jackie Robinson didn't break any barriers. His best skills are left for the on-field performances, but he is likable.
Ruby Dee plays Jackie's girl and you'd never expect her to become the great actor she did.

Overall, the film is passable and definitely one Hollywood would be smart to remake (with more care to the screenplay.)

The Caine Mutiny

The Caine Mutiny
1954 - Columbia Pictures
Directed by Edward Dmytryk



SYNOPSIS

A new ensign (Robert Francis) reports to an insignificant mine-sweeping ship during the second world war. The captain runs a lax ship and soon is replaced by Lt. Commander Queeg (Humphrey Bogart) who runs it the complete opposite. A pattern of behavior begins to develop that leaves some of the senior officers on the ship doubtful of the captain's sanity. During a rough storm where Queeg cracks up, the first officer (Van Johnson) relieves him of his command. The first officer faces mutiny proceedings.



MY THOUGHTS

Several strong performances make Caine shine like she was a new ship.... especially Humphrey Bogart.
Van Johnson, Fred MacMurray and Robert Francis (who would tragically die in a plane crash a year later) are very believable in their roles. MacMurray is the tough Fred MacMurray of "Double Indemnity" and not of the light 'Flubber'-y kind he was later in his career.
Jose Ferrer is excellent as the Naval Prosecutor in the film's last half hour.

The love affair between Francis' ensign and the nightclub singer played by May Wynn brought nothing to the film. There was little chemistry between the actors and it seemed hokey. The whole thing smelled of a studio exec saying "there has to be a love story or we're not making the film." It's a poor way to open the film and the whole Yosemite scene, though beautifully shot, was wholly unnecessary.

Those scenes should have been replaced so we could get more of Humphrey Bogart's magnificent performance
The normal Bogart screen persona is a confident tough-as-nails character. A character you fear because he's got a gun and he's going to kill you.
Queeg is a complete 180 from that. You're afraid because he's so unstable, has ultimate power, and you don't know what he's going to do.

His unusual mannerisms and habits, like moving around the steel balls in his hand, give off a general unease about the character. This all leads to his expertly played final scene in the courtroom.
His breakdown is expertly handled and paced through the film. This is helped by the expert direction of Edward Dmytryk.
His use of camera angles and shots with a lot of movement really add to the storytelling, and keep it from ever being boring. The 'all hands on deck' scene on Admiral Halsey's ship is a perfect example.

This is an excellent film and I highly recommend you enjoy it with some ice cream and at least a gallon of strawberries (be sure to finish them.)

Putney Swope

Putney Swope
1969
Directed by Robert Downey Sr.



SYNOPSIS
The head of a New York advertising firm drops dead and the board accidentally votes in the token black guy, Putney Swope (Arnold Johnson.) Swope fires most all the white board members and replaces them with militant blacks. He renames the company Truth and Soul, Inc. and creates some raw advertising campaigns that put the company on top.


MY THOUGHTS

I love bizarre films and this is one of the strangest I've ever seen. Director Robert Downey (Sr.) was a key filmmaker in the underground film scene in the 1960s, and the film leans that way rather than a conventional narrative film.

There is no doubt from the beginning that this film is a satire. The style of comedy doesn't lend itself to many laugh-out-loud moments but the script does deliver many tremendous one liners that do just that. Many of the laughs are of the "I can't believe they just said that" variety:

Mr Victrola Cola: I got this great window cleaner. Cleans good and doesn't streak. Smells bad, though. Cleans good, but smells bad.
Putney Swope: As a window cleaner, forget it. Put soybeans in it and market it as a soft drink in the ghetto. We'll put a picture of a rhythm and blues singer on the front and call it Victrola Cola.


Sometimes what is being satirized is way above my head and falls flat. I'm not sure if the film is hitting on dated period details that stayed back in 1969.
The racial satire is quite overt and some today may be offended, but you're supposed to be. There's a boldness to the offensiveness that would definitely keep it from being made today.

The performances are bizarre. All of Swope's dialogue was re-dubbed by director Downey. Many actors line reading sound like they're reading their dialogue and others repeat lines ad nauseum like parrots (Gotta Have Soul!) A viewer not expecting a film like this would be very oft-put and the film would likely be switched off in just a few minutes.
Look for future Huggy Bear Antonio Fargas as The Arab. He has a running gag through the film where he tries to get fired and fails.

The fake commercials (see video above) are funny but pale in comparison to those from Saturday Night Live (despite the language and nudity.) 1969 was still a time in the cinema where boobs and foul language were considered shocking. The ads lose their impact today because we are so desensitized.

Overall, Swope is definitely a unique film and anyone with adventurous taste should definitely check it out, brother.

Oh, and any movie that envisions the U.S. President as a German midget pothead who loves a good menage a trois can't be bad.

Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince

Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince
2009 - Warner Brothers
Directed by David Yates



SYNOPSIS (short and spoiler-free since this is a new release)

Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) and friends are back for their 6th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As the darkness masses, love is in the air, and teenage hormones are raging. Harry, Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) all find love, but not without some heartbreak. Harry, with help from headmaster Dumbledore (Michael Gambon,) learns more secrets about the evil wizard Voldemont's past.



MY THOUGHTS (may contain mild spoilers)

I initially approached the Harry Potter series with disdain, even before the first film was released. This was all just a bunch of garbage that was fodder for all the stupid kids of today. (wow I sound like an old man... get off my lawn) Sometime after the 4th film in the series was released in 2005, I happened to watch the first film and completely fell in love. By the end of that week I owned all 4 on DVD.
I eagerly went to see both the 5th and later (today) the 6th at Graumann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood (one of the best places anywhere to see a movie.)
I still have never read any of the books though, but someday I'll get around to them.

Half Blood Prince is the second consecutive film in the series directed by David Yates, and he'll helm the final one (split in two parts) to be released winter of 2010 and summer 2011. His direction is much improved over 'Order of the Phoenix.'
The script is also stronger this time around. Steve Kloves did not script 'Phoenix' but adapted all the others. Using the same writer gives the series a real unity. There were many allusions to previous Potter films (the wand shop, the spider, etc) that really tied them together. These scenes may have been in the book, but visually they're well done. The film also has a great sense of humor that has been declining in the series, as it's become darker.

Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson have come along way since the first film. Besides the obvious aging the trio have grown up as actors. Daniel Radcliffe is a remarkable confident actor. He isn't playing Harry Potter. He IS Harry Potter.
Rupert Grint FINALLY gets more to do in the series. Ron gets a love potion meant for Harry and goes head-over-heels for a girl he's never even met. This is by far the funniest Ron scene in the series. He is primarily used as comic relief in the others, but here he's given much more to do. The Quiddich match and his budding love life are some examples.
I've thought in prior films Emma Watson was the weak link of the three as an actor. But she's grown remarkably even since the last film and provides solid support.

There's more Dumbledore and Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) this time around.
Michael Gambon (like many of the who's-who of older British actors in the Potter films) is one of those actors who's always great in everything. With more screen time, Gambon is exponentially better and it makes the climax of the film even more meaningful.
Draco's role in previous films was mostly minor, in a standard schoolboy antagonist-type role. His character is also growing up and his showing more depth. Felton really shines with the increased role and shows promise that he could become a great dramatic actor after the series concludes.

Alan Rickman, as Snape, provides another great performance. His ability to be menacing, then turn on a dime and be funny never fails to get laughs. Snape is also much more of a prominent character in this film... and that's a good thing.

Voldemont does not appear in the film apart from childhood flashbacks. This would seem to be somewhat of a let down, but it is not and I'm sure it'll help build suspense for the final showdown.

Overall I would say the film is just about, if not equal to Prisoner of Azkaban, which is the my favorite of the series so far. This may even move into my most favorite slot after I've stewed it over in my brain for a few days.

The Big Heat

The Big Heat
1953 - Columbia Pictures
Directed by Fritz Lang



SYNOPSIS
Detective Sgt. Dave Bannion (Glenn Ford) is investigating the apparent suicide of a fellow veteran police officer. The cop's wife says the dead man was in ill health, but his mistress says he was alright. Bannion is suspicious. The mistress turns up dead soon after. Bannion noses around and visits the city's big crime bosses Mike (Alexander Scourby) and Vince (Lee Marvin.) Soon after his wife (Jocelyn Brando) is killed in a car bomb, Bannion is red hot with anger and quits the force. Vince's moll Debbie (Gloria Grahame) is also after Vince when he scalds her with hot coffee. The two plot their revenge separately.



MY THOUGHTS

Thousands of people have directed films through the years and only a handful of those can be considered masters of their craft. Fritz Lang is one of them. After masterpieces of 1920's German cinema like 'Metropolis' and 'M,' Lang was approached by the Nazi party to be their official film director. Like anyone with intelligence, he high-tailed it to Hollywood. He never achieved the artistic greatness he did with his early films, yet still managed to make some damn fine films like 'Scarlett Street' and The Big Heat.
Several of his Hollywood films were steeped in what would be known as 'film noir.' This is no exception. Though the film never drew any attention to the direction via overly flashy or arty camera shots or techniques, the film was well crafted and the editing kept it moving at a fairly swift pace.

The highlight of the film is Glenn Ford. He was cast against type and played a hard-ass. He usually played self-righteous morally strong, nice, good guy roles like in 'Blackboard Jungle.' Here he is pissed and wants to see the bad guys suffer greatly for the loss of his wife.

Gloria Grahame also provides a strong supporting role as the scarred woman looking for revenge against Vince.

This is one of the better film noir produced in the 1950's and should be on the 'must view' list to any fan of the genre.