Atlantis The Lost Empire

And this week's Friday night movie has been....Atlantis: The Lost Empire!

Original image located here. Accessed 28th June 2019

It has always always been my perception that the Disney Renaissance ended with The Lion King. Every movie that followed, at least until Tangled, has polarized opinion and would sooner be discarded by the Disney faithful and left in the trash heap alongside the sequels. Therefore it is something of challenge to find, as some would claim, a 'diamond in the rough' / 'underrated classic'.
Which now brings me to Atlantis: The Lost Empire, a movie I have put off until now. So could this be prove to be an underappreciated gem?

First things first: The animation is great. It may be a given considering this is Disney but the characters are expressive, full of energy and have some great designs. Speaking of which, there are some superb mech designs, some truly imaginative sequences throughout and everything rockets along at a cracking pace. And, if anything, this come across as an action movie - perhaps the purest action movie in Disney's animated canon.
Plus, as a sci-fi nerd, there is some amusement in having the voices of Spock and Susan Ivanova in the same movie.
However this is a movie of two halves: The first half does indeed move but at times it is difficult to keep up and not enough time is spent to process key plot advancements. The second half however is when things slow down and time can be invested in the plot. And there are some moments of astonishment that easily rank among Disney's best (the part when Kida approaches the Heart springs to mind) but it does leave me wishing such a pace was consistent.

Grumbling aside is this an 'underappreciated gem'? Maybe - but what i will declare this as an action movie and all the better for it

The King of Comedy

And this week's Friday night movie was....The King of Comedy!

Original image located here. Accessed 21st June 2019

As some of you who have been following this series may know, i ma something of a newcomer to the films of Martin Scorsese. And from the outset, this movie has a reputation of being an under-appreciated gem. This, along with comparisons being made to this and the recent trailer to the upcoming Joker movie, makes a compelling case to check it out.

Make no mistake: This is a triumph of unease. It is indeed unsettling but the best kind of unsettling (if such a thing exists) in just how subtle it is.
A lot of the movie rests on Robert de Niro's performance as Rupert. I am used to see Robert being tough guys and psychopaths and whilst he is playing a psychopath here he does so in a more subtle way: Rupert is indeed bonkers and mentally damaged but he does what he does with so much confidence - to a point where one would think it's bad thing.

But ultimately much like Taxi Driver, this a movie about the person trapped in isolation. The person who is in dire need of the basic human need of social interaction - only to go about it the wrong way. While this movie was made in 1983 it somehow still comes across as being relevant, over three decades later, in the internet age where everyone is hiding behind a screen, a keyboard and the mother-skirt of anonymity but will struggle beyond it.
Indeed, would it be amiss to say that i can see shades of people I know in both Rupert and Masha?

As for the Joker connection, I have to ask: is this DC's strategy of remaking older movies as superhero movies (after all, isn't Shazam a retread of Big?). That maybe the case but, as Incels/keyboard warriors/socially-maladjusted loners continue to be a talking point, maybe a movie about the isolated person could continue to have a place...

Free Solo

And this week's Friday night movie has been....Free Solo!

Original image located here. Accessed 14 June 2019

I think we all know this one: The documentary showing rock climber Alex Honnold climbing the El Capitan, a 900 metre cliff face in Yosemite National park, as Free Solo (as in no ropes, no support; just the climber, the cliff face and a guy with a black cloak and a scythe waiting at the bottom).

Three quarters of the documentary is dedicated to showing who Alex is and what kind of preparation he goes through. We see his background and get a glimpse into what kind of physical shape this guy is in, in order to face such a demanding task.

But really, everything leads to the final quarter which is ...astonishing to say the least. The camera work is jaw-dropping, the tension is unbearable and the effort Alex is putting in is monumental. Indeed, such a reaction is the kind that some action movies can only dream of.
Looking at the Wikipedia page of this movie, one notices a whole cabinet's worth of awards this movie has won. And it earned every last one of them.

2040

And this week's Friday night movie has been....2040!

Original image located here. Accessed 7th June 2019

So this movie has been doing the rounds lately: It's a documentary made by one Damon Gameau with his own take on climate change - which takes the form of presenting solutions that are currently available and seeing what would happen in 2040 if they were applied now.

When it comes to climate change, all I'm hearing is a whole lotta bad. Everyone's saying how irrevocably doomed we all are yet no one is offering an solution that doesn't involve accusation and anger. So it is welcome for someone to say that these solutions are possible, they should be implemented and they are ultimately beneficial. So yes, this documentary is indeed enlightening and Gameau has enough charisma and conviction to get his point across.
Could've done without his attempts at humor though (seriously that yoga gag got real old real fast).

But in the end I enjoyed this documentary and, as a call to arms, it is effective. Go see it!