100 Films on a Cover August 30, 2008
Posted by badblokebob in : Editorials, Animation, Comedy, Action, James Bond, Drama, Thriller, Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, Disney, Fantasy, Sci-fi, War, Akira Kurosawa, Martin Scorsese, Peter Jackson, Christopher Nolan, Crime, David Fincher, 2000s, adaptations, 1990s, 1980s, 1970s, 1960s, 1950s, Adventure, British films, Mystery, world cinema, extended/director's cuts, Historical, superhero films , 1 comment so farEmpire, not content with conducting a ludicrously huge reader poll to find the 500 greatest films ever made, have also roped in 150 (as yet unnamed) “key directors and producers” and “the world’s most influential film critics” to have their say.
And Empire, not content with conducting a ludicrously huge reader poll and gathering the opinion of key directors, producers and critics to find the 500 greatest films ever made, have gone and created a “magazine milestone” — 100 different covers for the issue featuring the list! In fact, it’s 101, with the 101st being a subscriber-only cover that’s currently secret. I’m currently quite glad that Empire’s the only magazine I’ve bothered to keep up my subscription to.
I’m a bit of a collector and hoarder, but even I’m not mad enough to fork out £150 to get all 100 covers. That said, at just £1.50 an issue it’s a pretty reasonable deal, all things considered, and certainly better than the one Total Film offered when they did their 21 different Bond covers a short while back. Nonetheless, I’ll surely try to get my hands on a few different ones, and here’s my current pick of the bunch — mainly, films I love that have especially cool covers, but also some that just look good.
Click to enlarge.
#48: WALL-E (2008) August 8, 2008
Posted by badblokebob in : Animation, Comedy, Disney, Sci-fi, Romance, 2000s, 4 stars, Adventure, 2008 , add a comment2008 | Andrew Stanton | 98 mins | cinema | U / G
“Pixar films” seem to have become a bit of a genre unto themselves — yes, they fit into “animation” (always dubious as a genre), “family” (almost as bad), “comedy”, and occasionally a few others, but, much as the Bond films have their own rules and expectations outside the “action” and “spy thriller” conventions, the work of Pixar always achieves special and particular attention. WALL-E subverts some of these expectations (it’s not a buddy comedy, mainly) and has received huge amounts of praise — “consequently”, some might add. It is indeed a very good film, but you’ll surely have heard all that elsewhere; instead, I’m going to draw attention to a couple of things that bothered me.
Most of these issues can be attributed to the fact that WALL-E is a film of two halves. They’re not exactly poorly linked, as elements from each feed into the other, but they are notably different. The first presents a realistically-rendered future Earth, deserted by humans (who are nonetheless represented on hologram screens by live-action actors) and now only inhabited by insects and a trash-collecting robot called WALL-E. Silent but for R2D2-like bleeps, WALL-E quickly endears himself to the audience through his actions. He’s cute, funny and likable, and the early scenes cement him in the audience’s sympathies, which is certainly handy for later. When EVE — a futuristic, iPod-alike ‘female’ robot — turns up, the film becomes a sweet love story, as WALL-E tries to instill the human-like emotions he’s developed into the cold new robot. A very funny and surprisingly touching love story, this is the film’s better half.
The second travels out into space, taking us to meet cartoon humans on a cartoony spaceship. It jars painfully with the realism that pervades the Earth-bound scenes, and the continued use of real actors in holograms highlights the cartoonish style of the future humans. There’s nothing wrong with a cartoon style, I hasten to add — certainly, it works better in films like The Incredibles and Ratatouille than the attempts at realism do in the Toy Story films — but it’s the contrast that’s uncomfortable. The story itself also takes a weak turn here: it becomes a light kiddy-adventure runaround, which is fun and still has flashes of humour and heart, but is nowhere near as daring or as effective as the first half. This is where the sympathies engaged earlier become important, because it’s the audience’s affection for WALL-E that provides most of the genuine quality in this half.
If I were to broadly characterise the two halves, I’d say the first is everything you’d hoped for after the advance hype, while the second is something you could have feared. It’s not bad — it’s still a superior light kiddy-adventure runaround, with exciting-enough sequences and a largely interesting (if unoriginal and preachy) plot — but it’s not as groundbreaking or engaging as the first half. Worst of all is when the cartoon humans land on the realistic Earth, however — it brings to mind films like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, where cartoon characters are placed in the real world. In this instance, that’s not a positive comparison.
WALL-E is a good film. The bits that work do so perfectly, keeping the overall quality high, and the weaker sections are ultimately only poor by comparison. If the whole film were like the second half I’d probably merrily accept it as a cartoon runaround but, coming after that beautiful beginning, it only served to gradually erode the fifth star from my rating. It’s a shame, in that respect. On the other hand, this is still one of Pixar’s very best films — I’d certainly rate it above the even-more-over-praised Ratatouille, and probably slot it close behind The Incredibles or Toy Story 2 at the top of the scale. Being pipped by films of that level — and then only just — is nothing to be ashamed of.
#47b: Presto (2008) July 31, 2008
Posted by badblokebob in : Animation, Comedy, Disney, 5 stars, 2000s, 2008, Short , add a comment2008 | Doug Sweetland | 5 mins | cinema | U / G
The last Pixar film I bothered to head to the cinema for was 1999’s Toy Story 2, back in the days before “it’s made by Pixar” was reason enough to see a film (remember those times? They seem so long ago…) Their only other releases had been the first Toy Story (my enjoyment of which being the motivation to see the sequel) and the unappealing A Bug’s Life. Since then I haven’t had enough desire to expend the effort — or the money — to catch any of their films on the big screen. I explain this because, I’m reliably informed, all Pixar films are preceded by a short while in cinemas… but, because I’ve only seen most of them on DVD, I forgot this, so was initially surprised to see a caged rabbit when I was expecting an adorable little robot.
This rabbit, it turns out, is called Alec, and he’s a bit of a bastard. I think we’re supposed to root for him, and I’m sure kids (and many adults too) will, but while his owner (the titular magician) isn’t especially nice to our starring bunny (the plot is concerned with Alec trying to get a carrot that Presto won’t give him, yet), Presto doesn’t treat Alec quite as badly as Alec treats Presto. On the other hand, the overload of OTT physical violence is all in the name of humour, so that’s OK. It’s not as satirically extreme as The Simpsons‘ Itchy & Scratchy though, which will ironically lead some to declare it promotes violence as comical. But then such ludicrousness is political correctness for you — in fact, Presto’s brand of violence is very funny indeed. Completely dialogue free, it quickly becomes a breakneck feast of visual, mostly slapstick, humour. It may be violent, but it’s also highly witty, marvelously inventive, and wholly entertaining… even if the hero is morally dubious. But then, Roadrunner was a total wanker and he always won.
You can’t judge shorts on the same level as features, because they’re a different form — that’s why I don’t include them in the main numbering on this blog, and why I once felt the need to go on about that. So while awarding Presto a full 5-stars doesn’t mean it’s likely to be vying with The Dark Knight or… well, The Dark Knight… for my Film of the Year, it is thoroughly deserved. It’s a perfectly entertaining piece of short comedy, and it’s great that Pixar continues to facilitate wide exposure for such work.
#13: Ratatouille (2007) March 2, 2008
Posted by badblokebob in : Animation, Comedy, Disney, 2000s, 4 stars, 2008 , add a comment2007 | Brad Bird | 106 mins | DVD | U / G
My 2007 catch-up continues with Pixar’s highly-praised and award-winning latest, which currently sits as that animation studio’s highest entry in the IMDb Top 250 (their only films not to feature are A Bug’s Life, Monsters, Inc. and Cars). It seems a bit unfair to begin this review on such a downbeat note, but I personally don’t find such a position deserved. As is all too frequently the case, Ratatouille has become another victim of hype.
It’s been pretty impossible to avoid the praise that’s been heaped upon Ratatouille, be it unanimously positive reviews in papers, magazines and online, or overheard conversations in public, or the numerous high-profile awards it’s garnered (most recently, the best animation Oscar, plus a nomination for original screenplay). I was left expecting to be blown away by the best Pixar film made thus far. Sadly, this was not to be. It’s not as funny as Finding Nemo, or Toy Story, or Toy Story 2, or probably The Incredibles. Nor is it as cute as many of them. Or quite as heartwarming, to be honest. And the characters aren’t really as lovable.
OK, this is getting too depressing. The thing is, Ratatouille is a good film, but it is also a flawed one. It’s not nearly funny enough for a kid’s movie — laughs are almost non-existent in the first half and hard to come by in the second — and it’s too long, needing a good chunk taken out of that duller first half. It’s a bit confused as to who the villain is, meaning there’s a lack of real menace from either of the candidates. Despite a professed aim to make rats lovable, they’re not really. Even the potential love story is lacklustre because they wind up together far too quickly.
There I go again with the negatives. I think it’s far too easy to spot the faults in Ratatouille because everyone else has done such a thorough job on the positives, so I’m stuck analysing why I was so disappointed. There’s no denying how gorgeous it looks though — I can’t think of another CG film that even comes close. The level of detail is stunning, not just in set design (which includes whole intricately designed locations just for seconds-long sequences) but also in terms of what’s going on in the background. Check out Remy’s first conversation with his dad at the rats’ new home in Paris, for example: a simply shot-reverse-shot dialogue scene with two characters, but there’s continuously other rats talking, moving past, and so on in the background — all out of focus, not trying to be showy, like natural background detail in a live action film. No other CG film with such attention to ‘pointless’ detail comes to mind. But it also allows itself to be what it is — for want of a better word, a cartoon. Linguini waves his arms about like rope when he’s out of control, the chase sequences are madness, the design of the humans, cars, and almost everything else suitably stylised. And it all comes with a soft warm glow that is, frankly, beautiful.
Despite my criticisms, Ratatouille is nonetheless a four-star film as far as I’m concerned. I also think that, with its shortage of laughs and cute characters, and with the main areas of appreciation in facets such as cinematography, it’s more a movie for adult animation fans than children. It’s not Pixar’s best, but true to form it’s head and shoulders above most other CG animated fare. Approach it with lower expectations than most reviews would give you and perhaps you’ll enjoy it even more than I did.
#129: Piglet’s Big Movie (2003) December 31, 2007
Posted by badblokebob in : Animation, Comedy, Musical, Disney, 2000s, adaptations, 3 stars, Adventure, 2007 , add a comment2003 | Francis Glebas | 72 mins | TV | U / G
I used to enjoy the Disney Winnie-the-Pooh series when I was younger. I also used to love the original books by A.A. Milne. In fact, I still enjoy the books — they’re witty, knowingly written, and often sweet.
Sadly, Disney’s interpretation seems to have faired less well. In this case it’s largely down to the first half, where the mostly-original storyline and weak & randomly-inserted songs simply aren’t up to scratch. However, things improve massively with a couple of fairly straight adaptations of Milne’s original tales.
Mildly amusing at times and with a positive (if predictable) message about friendship and self-worth, this would undoubtedly entertain young children — which, to be fair, is its intended audience. While it initially seems to fall far short for older audiences, it turns out to be not all bad.
#59: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007) July 4, 2007
Posted by badblokebob in : Action, Disney, Fantasy, 2000s, 3 stars, Adventure, 2007 , add a comment2007 | Gore Verbinski | 168 mins | cinema | 12A / PG-13
Curse of the Black Pearl was a surprisingly great film. Dead Man’s Chest was a lacking attempt to recapture that glory. At World’s End is the worst subtitle of all three, but mixed in quality. The first half hour is great fun, but then it gets weird, adds in hefty doses of over-complex plotting, and drags along fairly slowly until it finds an exciting climax a little late on. It’s not all bad — beautiful to look at, with some of the most impressive CGI ever, and there’re some good action scenes. In the end it’s the attempts to drag what was an entertaining fantasy action film to the mythological levels of Lord of the Rings that has made both sequels inferior to the first offering.
#3: Basil the Great Mouse Detective (1986) February 28, 2007
Posted by badblokebob in : Animation, Disney, 4 stars, 1980s, Adventure, 2007, Sherlock Holmes , add a comment1986 | Ron Clements, Burny Mattinson, Dave Michener & John Musker | 71 mins | DVD | U / G
A seriously underrated Disney film, though it does appear to have a substantially large cult following based on it being seriously underrated! If you like your Disneys musical this may be one to avoid, though the couple of songs present are quite decent, but if you’re a Sherlock Holmes fan you should definitely catch it.