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My Thoughts on: The Italian Job (2003)

I’ve been told for years that The Italian Job is a film that I should see, and last night I finally got around to seeing it. First thing I have to say is, I am so glad I did, because The Italian Job is a great movie! It does show its age here and there (the dated technology, the fact that the film has opening credits) but overall it holds up pretty well for a film that’s 16 years old.

If you’re not familiar, The Italian Job is loosely (very loosely) based on the 1969 film of the same name, and follows a tight-knit group of thieves as they seek vengeance after a gold heist in Venice goes sideways. The film stars Mark Wahlberg, Donald Sutherland, Charlize Theron, Edward Norton, and Jason Statham (who has actual hair on his head, that’s how old this movie is!) It’s an all-star cast, and I admit I had a lot of fun watching the different characters interact, particularly Jason Statham as Rob. Honestly, any film that has Statham in it, I’m probably going to like (it’s partly his accent, accents are my weakness).

Actually, this movie reminded me more than once of Ocean’s 11 (2001) and I don’t mean that in a bad way. You have to admit they are somewhat similar: an all-star cast playing rogues and thieves out for righteous vengeance (admittedly that’s closer to Ocean’s 13 (2007) but I digress), the insanely detailed planning of the heist, last minute twists that “change the plan but it STILL works out,” and the biggest similarity: the humor, which is there in spades. Though, while similar, the two films are not identical, as I think The Italian Job is much darker in tone than any of the Ocean’s 11/12/13 films (especially that part at the beginning).

Part of the reason I picked up this film at all is because of the MINI Cooper chase that the film is known for. I’d heard from somewhere that this was regarded as one of the best car chase scenes ever filmed, and whoever said it is right. The entire sequence is phenomenal, and I may never look at those cars the same way again. It’s tense, but fun, and it’s great to see them running circles around their nemesis.

Last, but not least, I need to talk about Edward Norton. If I hadn’t read beforehand that Norton didn’t want to be in the film, I think I still would’ve figured it out. Norton’s attitude stands out throughout the entire film, and not in a good way. Granted, I believe he’s meant to be playing an asshole character, but the way he does it is a complete turn-off. You can just tell, from his snark to the look on his face, he does not want to be there, and he doesn’t care who knows it.

Actually one final thought: how is it that this film has never gotten a sequel? After the film, I read about ‘The Brazilian Job,’ a would-be sequel that never got off the ground, but even with that film failing I find it hard to believe that no one in Hollywood has come up with a sequel. With that cast, I would be more than happy to watch a sequel follow their continuing adventures. Well, I’m sure if we wait a few more years someone will come up with the idea to reboot the film into a franchise. And truthfully, as long as they find a way to put Jason Statham into it, I wouldn’t mind all that much.

If you haven’t seen The Italian Job, go see it. It’s an older heist film now, but it still holds up and is very entertaining. I feel a little bad that I put off seeing this film for so long, however it was totally worth the wait.

Let me know what you think about The Italian Job in the comments below and have a great day!

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My Thoughts on: Castle in the Sky (1986)

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The 1986 film Castle in the Sky (Tenkū no Shiro Rapyuta) holds a very special place in my heart. Not only is it the very first Studio Ghibli film, it is also, so far as I can remember, the very first film by Hayao Miyazaki that I ever saw. I saw it on TV in the early 2000s (2003 I think), and it was played up as a really big deal. I remember being spellbound then, and ever since I’ve been in love with this story.

Like all of Miyazaki’s films that I’ve seen, Castle in the Sky takes place in a world not unlike our own, but with one major difference. In this world, there’s a huge floating city named Laputa that lies hidden somewhere up in the sky. Long ago, Laputa was the center of an incredibly advanced civilization, but hundreds of years ago…it vanished. The story centers around several groups and individuals who are all searching for Laputa, each with their own motives for doing so.

Pazu, a young orphan boy, is searching for Laputa to prove to his fellow townspeople that the floating city isn’t a myth.
Sheeta, a young orphan girl, ends up searching for the city because she wants to learn what happened to make everyone abandon it.
The Dola Gang, a roguish-yet-lovable band of pirates are looking to plunder Laputa’s worldly treasures and make themselves filthy rich.
And Muska (voiced in the English dub by Mark Hamill), seeks Laputa for the power he believes it can give him.

Castle in the Sky is an interesting study on the best and worst aspects of humanity. On the one hand, we have Pazu and Sheeta, who only want to explore Laputa, and don’t really want to “do” anything with it. The Dola Gang are something of a middle ground, in that robbing the city of its treasures isn’t really the right thing to do, but then again they’re just doing what pirates do (and it’s implied that they’ll retire from their thieving ways if they succeed).

And then there’s Muska, who represents the very worst of humanity. Muska, who like Sheeta is descended from Laputa’s long-lost royal line, is obsessed with getting to the floating city and turning it into his own personal kingdom and weapon of war. He believes that since Laputa once dominated the world, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t do so again, with himself as its king. Of all the characters who make it to Laputa, I think Muska is the only one who bothers with its technological secrets, most of which have been nearly buried underneath a forest of roots and plant life in the centuries since the residents returned to Earth. In fact, Muska is so obsessed with wielding advanced technological power and being king that he completely misses the point of why the city was abandoned in the first place. Sheeta tries to explain it to him: the city was abandoned because its residents realized that humanity doesn’t belong in the sky. All the advanced power in the world doesn’t mean a thing if you aren’t connected to the world, to which all things belong.

Speaking of Laputa, the city is one of my favorite parts of the film. It’s so well drawn that, even though most of it has long since fallen into ruin, you can still conceive of how it must have looked in its prime. I also like the idea that the floating city is home to wildlife that you wouldn’t find on Earth (at least I think that’s what those creatures are meant to be). It’s literally like a whole different world up there.

If you haven’t seen Castle in the Sky yet, I highly recommend it, it’s a classic story that doesn’t show its age in the slightest.

Let me know what you think about Castle in the Sky in the comments below and have a great day!

My Neighbor Totoro (1988): One of My All Time Favorite Cartoons Blogathon

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My Thoughts on: Airplane! (1980)

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Spoof movies have been made for years, and likely will be made in some form or fashion for years to come. Like any genre, some spoof movies are greater than others. But as far as I’m concerned, only one spoof movie can be called the best, and that honor belongs to Airplane!

Seriously, where do you begin with a film that’s so insanely funny? Well, let’s start with the basics. At it’s core, Airplane! is a spoof of airline disaster films that were fashionable around this time. Former fighter pilot Ted Striker (Robert Hays) follows his on-again off-again girlfriend Elaine (Julie Hagerty) onto a flight to Chicago, but ends up having to fly and land the plane after the entire flight crew is put out of commission due to severe food poisoning. It sounds like a straightforward plot, but believe me, this film takes a detour through every gag imaginable to get to the ending.

And when I say gags, I mean there are gags everywhere in this film. The team in charge of this film tossed in so many gags, instances of background comedy, etc., that to this day I’m still finding a new funny detail to laugh over.

This film is also notable for launching the comedy career of Leslie Nielsen. I knew he hadn’t always been a comedic actor, but I hadn’t realized that it all started with Airplane! In fact, part of what makes Airplane! so funny is that the directors cast actors known for their dramatic acting skills and placed them in the funniest parts, instructing them all to “play it straight.” Thus, Leslie Nielsen (the doctor), Peter Graves (the pilot), and Robert Stack (Captain Kramer), all previously known for their dramatic acting, all end up with some of the funniest lines in the film because they all say them like they’re completely normal things to say and that’s a big part of what makes this film so funny!

That’s not to say that the film has entirely aged well. There are a few jokes that do make me cringe when I hear them now (in particular, there’s a line about abortion early in the film that no one would even try if this film were made today). But for the most part, Airplane! remains an exemplar of spoof comedy that, really, hasn’t been matched since it came out.

Let me know what you think about Airplane! in the comments below and have a great day!

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My Thoughts on: The Muppet Movie (1979)

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I’ve been a fan of the Muppets since before I can remember (for that matter, even before I knew what a Muppet was). Be it Sesame Street or The Muppet Show, if it had Muppets in it, I watched it. That’s why I was so excited to get the opportunity to watch the original Muppet movie, The Muppet Movie, in theaters, the way everyone got to see it forty years ago when it originally came out.

The movie presents itself as something of an origin story for how Kermit and the other Muppets first met and ended up becoming rich and famous in Hollywood. What starts off as Kermit the Frog’s journey to audition for a movie studio, quickly balloons into a tale of close-knit friends following their collective dream to become famous entertainers. Along the way, Kermit picks up Fozzie Bear, Gonzo (and his chicken), Miss Piggy (who instantly falls in love with Kermit), Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, Dr. Honeydew and Beeker, and Rowlf the Dog. Along the way, this growing cast of characters have to elude the obsessed Doc Hopper (Charles Durning), who’s determined to make Kermit his spokesman for a chain of frog legs-serving restaurants (Hopper fails to see why a frog wouldn’t be keen on promoting restaurants that serve frog legs).

Along with the story, which is charming, fun, and never gets old, one of my favorite things about The Muppet Movie is the never-ending stream of celebrity cameos. Seriously, they’re everywhere, and you never know who is going to show up next. I can’t list them all, there are just too many, but some of my favorites include:

Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy: The world-famous ventriloquist shot his cameo not long before his death. Ignore the fact that you can see his lips moving, that scene is perfect just the way it is.
Steve Martin: He’s hysterical in that scene he appears in.
Mel Brooks: Probably my favorite cameo of the bunch. Mel Brooks, as you might expect, owns the scene from the moment he appears. I have no idea how anyone kept a straight face while Brooks was in character.
Orson Welles: Yes, I said Orson Welles, the same Welles who starred in Citizen Kane and a whole bunch of other things. He only has the one line, but it’s a great line (I genuinely believed for a number of years that “the standard rich and famous contract” was an actual thing.)

And then there’s the many great songs throughout the film, including “The Rainbow Connection”, “Movin’ Right Along”, and my personal favorite “I Hope That Something Better Comes Along”, just to name a few. To this day, I love singing along with each and every one of those songs.

Seeing The Muppet Movie in theaters brought back a lot of happy memories, and I’m glad I was able to go see it again. Let me know what you think about The Muppet Movie in the comments below and have a great day!

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Muppet Treasure Island (1996)

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My Thoughts on: The Butterfly Effect (2004)

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*This film was initially picked by a Patreon subscriber, however…it didn’t quite work out

Oh my goodness gracious, where to begin with The Butterfly Effect…first of all, if you’re not familiar, the story is about college student Evan Treborn (Ashton Kutcher) who can go back in time and change the past simply by reading his childhood journals. These changes have a profound effect on his life when he comes back to the present.

I was already nervous about this film to begin with. I’d read the plot overview and parts of the plot were already bothering me. But when the time came to actually watch the time traveling segments, I got to one scene in particular and I just couldn’t watch any further. Put simply, the plot of this film is f*cked up, and I mean that in the worst way possible. There’s stuff in here that I am just not comfortable watching. I know as a film blogger that I should try and go outside my comfort zone, but this is too far for me.

That being said, I do agree with the criticism the film gets that says the “butterfly effect” in the film doesn’t go far enough. The overall idea is that one minor change can have huge consequences for everyone and everything. In the film, these changes appear to be limited to Evan and his friends. I can understand why the film would minimize the changes due to budget constraints, it’s not really a true “butterfly effect” is it?

I’m sorry I couldn’t get all the way through this film, this is just a film that doesn’t work for me, on any level.

Let me know what you think about The Butterfly Effect in the comments below and have a great day!

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My Thoughts on: Flubber (1997)

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*This review was requested from a Patreon subscriber as part of his monthly reward

I first watched Flubber years ago (I don’t think I saw it in theaters, but it was still pretty new when I did see it), and I was excited at the chance to get to see it again.

For those who haven’t seen it, Flubber is actually a remake of The Absent-Minded Professor (1961), a film starring Fred MacMurray as the titular professor who discovers “Flubber.” The remake starred the late Robin Williams as Philip Brainard, a brilliant if absent-minded professor who is trying to save the college he teaches at while also trying to hold on to some semblance of a social/romantic life with his long suffering fiancée Sara (Marcia Gay Harden). His life changes when he discovers the miraculous (and seemingly sentient) substance he dubs “Flubber.”

Considering the film is 22 years old, the CGI for Weebo (Brainard’s floating robot assistant) and especially for Flubber holds up extremely well. Even though Flubber is only a digitally created ball of green stuff, there’s so much life imbued in its movements, that I at least had no problem accepting that it was real, both then and now. And Weebo…I knew there was a reason I remembered that character so much. Weebo (voiced by Jodi Benson no less) is just awesome, and baby Weebo? Melts my heart every time.

That’s not to say that all of the effects held up as well as I remembered. The last fight, for example, where Brainard uses “sprayable Flubber” wasn’t quite as good as I remembered, though I’m not sure how seriously we were supposed to take it. However, one of the things I still found immensely funny was all of the things that Flubber allowed you to do, everything from jumping unnaturally high to helping cars to fly. And Flubber is such a mysterious substance that you really can believe that it can do all of these things.

As much as I enjoyed this film as a child, and still do, it was bittersweet watching Robin Williams do what he did so well, playing a brilliant part and making me laugh as only he could. It’s been almost five years, but it still hurts that he’s gone.

Overall, Flubber holds up as a fun Disney film that you should definitely see if you haven’t already. A big shout-out to @reaperofdarkn3s for requesting a review of this film. Let me know what you think about Flubber in the comments below and have a great day!

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The King and I “Shall We Dance?” (1956)

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One of the major plot points of The King and I is the king’s desire to have Siam viewed as a modern country, in large part to prevent foreign powers (like the British) from attempting to seize the country and make it a protectorate/colony. Toward this end, the story builds toward a grand ball where the king receives a British delegation that ultimately goes over very well. After the ball, the King and Anna continue to talk, and the discussion turns toward how women like her view dances like this. This is the start of “Shall We Dance?” and it’s one of my most favorite show tunes. Anna starts the song while the king watches in typical puzzlement.

We’ve just been introduced,
I do not know you well,
But when the music started
Something drew me to your side.
So many men and girls,
Are in each others arms.
It made me think we might be
Similarly occupied.

Shall we dance?
On a bright cloud of music, shall we fly?
Shall we dance?
Shall we then say “Goodnight and mean “Goodbye”?
Or perchance,
When the last little star has left the sky,
Shall we still be together
With are arms around each other
And shall you be my new romance?
On the clear understanding
That this kind of thing can happen,
Shall we dance?
Shall we dance?
Shall we Dance?

During the song, Anna begins to dance, and the king demands she teach him how as well. As Anna teaches the king to dance, the song reprises, but it gradually becomes much more intimate, especially when the king catches on to the correct way to hold your dancing partner. The final instrumental reprise of the song is a beautiful moment when the king sweeps Anna around the ballroom. It’s a beautiful moment, and one I still dream of experiencing myself at times.

I like this song so much, it is, for me, the perfect expression of how a girl like me feels at a dance. When you’re dancing with a young man you’ve just met, anything seems possible, a quick meeting could turn into a romance just like that, you never know! And it’s also a perfect feel-good moment between Anna and the king. Whatever relationship there is between them peaks during this song and it is just perfectly executed.

What do you think about “Shall We Dance?” Let me know your thoughts in the comments below and have a great day!

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My Thoughts on: Midsommar (2019)

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*some minor spoilers may have gotten out without me realizing it

Where do you start with a film like Midsommar? I’ve been puzzling over that ever since I got home. See, Midsommar was nothing like what I expected going in.

In fact, I think it was better.

The biggest thing that surprised me about Midsommar was how much it resonated with me. I did not expect to identify so closely with Dani (Florence Pugh), who travels to Sweden with her boyfriend and his friends to see the titular festival. Dani really does remind me of me, especially early in the film when she talks about her fears of driving away her boyfriend Christian (Jack Reynor). I’ve had near identical conversations in my brain at times, and from that point on, no matter what happened, I was firmly in Dani’s corner for the rest of the story.

And what a story. I admit I was afraid going in because Midsommar was described as belonging to the horror genre, a film genre that most of you know by now I try to avoid whenever possible. But this…this isn’t like any horror film I’ve ever seen before. There’s a few scary moments to be sure, but nothing like what I expected.

As for how to describe the story…honestly I’m still not sure if I can put it into words. On the strength of one viewing, I’d have to say a lot of Midsommar is about Dani finding herself as she’s immersed in this strange and yet oddly wonderful world deep in the Swedish countryside. I say that, despite knowing that there are some parts of this village’s life that deeply disturb me (for spoiler reasons I won’t say what they are). But apart from those, I found myself drawn to how the villagers live together. Unlike some stories, I feel like the villager’s actions are 100% genuine, there’s no evil entity in the shadows, no monsters to be fed (well, not in the conventional sense), just villagers living the life that has always worked for them.

My favorite part of Midsommar is watching how Dani slowly, very slowly, begins to grow (the Maypole scene was superb) and learn to deal with her emotions. She goes through a lot in this story, and it was absolutely cathartic to see her end up in what is arguably the perfect support network (unlike before where she was largely left alone with her emotions).

Overall, Midsommar is one of the best films I’ve seen so far this year. It drew me in, it held me, and it certainly didn’t feel 2 1/2 hours long. If you get the chance, go see Midsommar in theaters while you can, you won’t regret it.

What do you think about Midsommar? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below and have a great day!

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My Thoughts on: Three Outlaw Samurai (1964)

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As I’ve mentioned once or twice here on the blog, I’m a big fan of Japanese cinema, particularly samurai films. Today, after several previous attempts, I finally got to watch Three Outlaw Samurai, directed by Hideo Gosha, one of the samurai films I have in my collection. The film is, apparently, an origin story for a Japanese television series of the same name.

Three Outlaw Samurai reminds me a little bit of Harakiri, in that part of the story deals with the seeming futility of trying to change the system. See, most of the film revolves around the farmers of a certain area trying to appeal for better living conditions, going so far as to draft a petition for the lord to read when he passes through. However, the magistrate of this area wants it all hushed up and the titular samurai, at various points in the story, end up in the middle of the conflict.

I mentioned futility because it feels like the story is leading up towards a meeting with the lord, where the petition will be presented and things will get better for the farmers. However, when the moment comes, when the samurai presents the farmers with the petition and urges them to run after the lord, they do nothing. And in frustration, the samurai who brought the petition to them throws it down and walks away. My initial reaction was to say “Well what was the point of that?” So much revolved around getting that petition and it ultimately does nothing. But then I considered that maybe the point they were trying to make is that societal change can only occur if the people really want it. After suffering great losses at the magistrate’s hands, the people are too scared to come forward now. In other words, they’re just not ready to make a lasting push for change. Recognizing this, the samurai move on to other adventures.

If you like samurai films, you will enjoy Three Outlaw Samurai. One detail I really like about it is that the one samurai is played by Tetsuro Tamba, who also played “Tiger” Tanaka in You Only Live Twice. I also enjoy watching how the three very different samurai come together and interact. One is rather cynical, he’s seen and done it all; one loves food and is described as a “country bumpkin samurai”; while the third is a rather spoiled samurai who likes his luxuries. They’re so different, and yet they end up meshing very well by the end of the story.

If you’ve seen Three Outlaw Samurai, what do you think about it? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below and have a great day!

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My Thoughts on: Corpse Bride (2005)

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I’m fourteen years late to the party, but I’ve finally been able to watch Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride, a film I’d seen clips of but never watched all the way through until recently. I’m kind of surprised I put it off this long, because I’ve been a fan of stop-motion animation for years and this film is one of the best examples made in the last 20 years.

The story revolves around the misadventures of Victor van Dort (Johnny Depp), a shy man who is meant to be marrying Victoria Everglot (Emily Watson) the next day. Except, while practicing his wedding vows in the wood, Victor suddenly finds himself married to an undead bride named Emily (Helena Bonham Carter), who is determined to make the marriage stick despite the fact that she’s, well, dead, and he isn’t!

While a lot of Corpse Bride is hysterically funny, particularly some of the sequences in the Land of the Dead, there is much that is deadly serious and, in keeping with Tim Burton’s style, quite dark. For example, Victoria’s parents are clearly terrible people who have no concept of love, not even for their own child. Victor’s parents aren’t much better, they’re far too focused on moving up in society. And then there’s the story of Emily, the titular Corpse Bride. Her story is so sad: a mysterious man convinced her to grab her family fortune and run away with him to elope. All well and good, except he killed her and ran off with the money! Poor Emily died before she really had a chance to live, and it makes me so sad just thinking about it.

And then there’s Lord Barkis Bittern, quite possibly one of the most despicable villains I’ve ever seen. Just from the way he struts around, you know he’s up to no good, but he’s actually far worse than you think. Once it comes out that he’s the one who killed Emily all those years ago (and he would’ve done the same to Victoria except she doesn’t have any family money), the expectation is that something terrible should happen to him as punishment. And oh boy, does Tim Burton ever deliver. After mistakenly drinking poison while mocking Emily, Bittern ends up dead as a doornail and is dragged off screaming to the Land of the Dead, to a hopefully gruesome fate. I’ve rarely seen a comeuppance more fitting.

Another thing that makes Corpse Bride a lot of fun to watch is the awesome soundtrack provided by Danny Elfman (who has collaborated numerous times with Tim Burton). Elfman also plays Bonejangles, the singing skeleton who tells Victor the story of Emily. And speaking of music, I absolutely love the duet that Victor plays with Emily, not only is it beautiful music, the animation that goes with it is simply flawless.

If you haven’t seen Corpse Bride, it really is worth watching. Even though the film is 14 years old, the stop-motion animation holds up very well, and I’m already looking forward to watching it again.

What do you think of Corpse Bride? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below and have a great day!

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