A Christmas Story

And this week's Friday night movie has been.... A Christmas Story!

Original image located here. Accessed 20th December 2019

Apparently this is a beloved Christmas movie. And yet somehow, it;s one that has gone unseen by me. Maybe I was too busy watching Die Hard Joyeux Noel to notice? No matter, looks like 2019 is the year that situation is rectified.

At first I had no idea what to make of this movie. But, within time, it showed it's hand: It was really making a mockery of tropes associated with Christmas: A scary Santa, a kid who gets his dream present of a rifle, Christmas dinner at a Chinese restaurant among others.
Yet at the same time, this movie still has another trick up it;s sleeve: it is indeed a look at childhood and does so successfully. It indeed definitely resonates with sincerity, even for a grumpy curmudgeon like myself. And despite this movie taking a swing at Christmas tropes, it is still capable for some genuine heart (the final scene with Mr and Mrs Parker comes to mind).
It would appear that this is a beloved Christmas movie for a good reason.

Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Miracle on 34th Street (1947)!

Original image located here. Accessed 13th December 2019

Well it's that time of year....
I think we all know this one: An elderly gentleman is hired as a store Santa and shows signs he genuinely believes he is the man himself - all of which leads to a court case.
For a movie over seventy years old this certainly holds up well. Sure there's some interest value in seeing a young Natalie Wood but really the movie itself rests on the shoulders of Edmund Gwenn.
Much like the character he plays, he shows Santa the way we expect him to: Kindly, empathetic towards children, multilingual, knowledgeable of toys and trying to see the best in everyone.
Indeed, there is a reason why this has been a beloved Christmas classic for many years. And now I know

Kung Fu Panda 3

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Kung Fu Panda 3!

Original image located here. Accessed 6th December 2019

Last week i watched the second Kung Fu Panda movie on the basis that it is part of that rare thing: A rare trilogy that isn't rubbish. So now that my viewing of this trilogy is complete, how do such claims hold up?

I do believe it does. Much like's it older siblings, this movie succeeds on it's action, it's art design and the themes of self-acceptance. Po's character development continues to progress and his character arc reaches it's conclusion. And never once do the makers of this movie fumble.
But the real highlight is the panda village itself - bursting at the seams with color and personality. In fact I am reminded of Mists of Pandaria - which in turn raises of the question of who, out of Blizzard ad Dreamnworks, was copying who....

Kung Fu Panda 2

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Kung Fu Panda 2!

Original image located here. Accessed 29th November 2019

Man when did I first see the original Kung Fu Panda? Over a decade ago I think. In fact, I never knew it had spawned a pair of sequels. But I've heard some people hold this up as an example of a trilogy done right so that was enough top pique my interest. After all, this was done by Dreamworks and, if the superb How to Train Your Dragon movies are anything to go by, they know how to do a trilogy, right?

So I found this movie to be one of two halves: The first half seems more aligned with it;s predecessor, with Po being both a sarcastic jerk and bumbling incompetent (so much so it makes me wonder how much of a difference there is between Jack Black's real life persona and the roles he keeps playing). Okay sure we've got some world building, some excellent art direction and some amazing fight scenes, but in all honestly i found this part of the movie dull. And it left me wondering if I should be watching a movie that appeared to be solely aimed at a much, MUCH younger audience.....

.....That was until we get to the second half. Here Po is confronted with his heritage. And suddenly the movie shifts gears completely: It gets solemn and quiet and honestly? Its all the better for it. It reveals a depth one wouldn't expect from a serial such as this. Po gets some crucial character development and it's proof that self-realization is a powerful theme.
So yeah, this movie was dull at first, but when it kicked into high gear it did so with flair. It's a prime example of how anyone can put up with anything just as long as there's a substantial pay-off at the end.
Of course it's frustrating that this movie ends on a cliffhanger but there's always next week, right?

Joker

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

Original image located here. Accessed 22nd November 2019

This is a difficult one to discuss as much has said about it already: The disturbing nature of the movie, the aesthetic of the movie, Joaquin Phoenix's performance, the Martin Scorsese connection (not least having Robert de Niro present), a vital step froward for DC and superhero movies in general, and much being said about this movie potentially being a touchstone of the incel culture (if it isn't already). Such observations are indeed correct so it's hard for me to say something that doesn't sound like I'm repeating something previously said like a parrot.

So in the end, Joker is far from an easy watch and deeply unsettling but I can't say it was boring

Jodorowsky's Dune

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

Original image located here. Accessed 15th November 2019

I have little to no attachment to Dune. I've never seen the reviled movie and I read the book in University but it went over my head. However I have played Dune 2: Building of a Dynasty (fore-father to the mighty Command and Conquer series) and found it fun.
So why would I watch this documentary? Well, I am interested in movies that never get made. The kind that have a tonne of potential but come undone due to studio meddling or by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. And this is one such movie: In the mid-seventies, Chilean director Alejandro Jodorowsky wanted to adapt Dune into a grandiose movie but it never went anywhere.

As is often the case in these types of documentary, the man behind it, Alejandro Jodorowsky, is the driving force of the narrative. And what a person he is: In talking about his unmade movie, he is passionate, enthusiastic and, at times, a complete lunatic. He said he wanted to present an ultimate head-trip of a movie and deliver something that, let;s face it, would've been very much divorced from the source material. Indeed, it is never made clear whether or not Jodorowsky HAS read Dune.

The other key element in the movie is a colossal bible ('the Dune book') that Jodorowsky produced containing every scrap of information about the movie. It has a script and a complete storyboard. It contains designs form the likes of HR Giger, Dan O'Bannon, Moebius and Chris Foss. It even promised starring roles from Mick Jagger, Orson Welles and Salvador Dali as well as music from Pink Floyd!

It may sound grandiose indeed but at the same time, completely bonkers. So in a way, perhaps it is best it never got made. But, as this documentary proved, it certainly left behind an amazing story to tell.

The Dressmaker

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

Original image located here. Accessed 8th November 2019

Well this was an odd movie. It's funny one moment but solemn the next, thus creating some serious mood whiplash. Still I did enjoy this, largely due to the cast: Kate Winslet is great in the central role, Hugo Weaving gets to relish in the opportunity to play a non-serious role, and it's interesting to see some familiar actors made into unrecognizable roles (seriously, I had to double-check the cast list at the end and was surprised to see some names I recognized but didn't pick up).
But in the end, Judy Davies ends up stealing every scene she's in and is a delight to watch.

Visually there are some great location shots and some nice use of colour. But at the end of the day, the real star is the costume design. Colorful, inventive, elaborate and enough to make any cosplay maker (or at least the ones I know) envious.
So yeah, good movie

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

And this week's Friday night movie has been...The Rocky Horror Picture Show!

Original image located here. Accessed 1st November 2019

Halloween may have been last night but I can still end this October run in style.

Well, I've put this off long enough. This movie still commands an audience forty-four years later and many people I've met talk it up. Indeed, i have lost count how many women I've spoken over the years who have seen this movie. Personally I know little of this movie beyond a) The Time Warp (apparently it's just a jump to the left.....) - but even then it's more from a Kodak commercial; b) a few of the other songs (kind of...); c) it's reputation as an audience-participation movie and d) it's popularity with the LBGT crowd.

Mind you, it's this movie's afore-mentioned reputation that bothers me. Clearly this is a movie that is best enjoyed with a group of people. I think it's safe to say that being with a group of people who are getting into The Rocky Horror Picture Show may make for a different experience than someone watching it by themselves.
Other than that, this movie was a lot of fun. Considering how unconventional this movie is as a musical, it makes me wonder if it was a fore-runner to a lot of unconventional musicals that has followed in it's wake (ie the South Park movie, Avenue Q, and Book of Mormon). But ultimately it's bizarre natural is my cup of silliness. And considering that this film has the message of being comfortable in one's own skin, even to the point of defying normality, that may go a long way why it still has an enraptured audience.

At least I now know, when I go to a party and the Time Warp gets played, why the song ends with everyone falling to the floor.

Zombieland Double Tap

And this week's Friday night movie has been...Zombieland Double Tap!

Original image located here. Accessed 25th October 2019

I saw the original Zombieland and thought it was a right laugh. So it is somewhat inevitable that I would approach the sequel. However caution was still exercised: Where can you go from the original? That and a decade is a long time between drinks...

Turns out there is still a lot going for this movie. The jokes are funny, the self-awareness is still on point, Woody and Jessie still make for a fun on-screen partnership and Nevada makes for an interesting addition.
But ultimately, there is no way around the fact that this sequel took a decade to emerge. So it makes me wonder just how many drafts went through because it is clear there are some good ideas here that, for one reason or another, don't reach their full potential.
Firstly, the circumstances surrounding Little Rock's departure seem ....odd. I would accept it if she was a teen but she's not: She's clearly in her early-twenties. In any case, she is then left by the wayside for much of the movie to make way for Madison.
Speaking of which, Madison strikes me as a wasted opportunity. Sure she's a 'dumb blonde' and endearing in an adorable way but only for so long. You want her to contribute something but nothing of the kind comes which makes me wonder if the writers had no idea what to do with her.
And speaking of wasted opportunities, there's no shortage of them here. One of which being the world-building: We see the zombies have evolved but little seen of these new breeds. There are more survivors but no indication of HOW they've survived.

So yeah, it was a fun movie but severely hindered by some unfocused writing. Here's hoping a sequel doesn't take another decade to come.....

The Blair Witch Project

And this week's Friday night movie has been....The Blair Witch Project!

Original image located here. Accessed 18th October 2019

Once again I face a movie that has a fearsome reputation attached to it. The most profitable indie movie ever made. A movie that freaked people out into never going camping. A pioneer for viral marketing. A benchmark for the found-footage genre. A shining example of how atmosphere and 'what you don't see' are effective tools for the would-be horror film director. A dull movie about three idiots who get lost in the woods.

Personally I recall back in 1999 how this was a big deal and how people were divided with some saying it was freaky while others saying it was boring. Once again, however, i took my time to come to this movie because I felt it was important to see it through my own eyes and divorce it from the hype machine that made this a big hit. And twenty years would make for a good enough distance.

If anything this movie is a triumph of independent filmmaking: It's embraces it's limitations and relies on clever editing to engage the audience. The 'what you don't see' trick works wonders here and makes for a gradual build up of the horror. Equally effective is the gradual collapse into panic the protagonists go through and harrowing climax in the house.

This movie may be cheap and grimy but personally, I like horror movies that rely on mood and a creeping dread. And to the end The Blair Witch project succeeds admirably.
Twenty years on and it still has power.

The Creature From the Black Lagoon

And this week's Friday night movie has been....The Creature From the Black Lagoon!

Original image located here. Accessed 11th October 2019

My first encounter with The Creature of the Black Lagoon happened during my pre-teen years. I would go to my local arcade parlour and see, among others, a pinball game dedicated to it. I didn't play it but I do recall being put off by the artwork: There was something seeing a monster carrying a (potentially comatose) blonde in a white one-piece that unsettled me. Of course that doesn't sound ridiculous in a post-MeToo world - and it should be noted that the game was more to do with seeing the movie in a drive-in theater than the actual movie itself - but in a roundabout way, my curiosity was piqued.
Further interest was generated with the movie being the inspiration for the Shape of Water (the movie not the book).

That being said, this is a 1950's monster movie through and through. So there's lot's of screaming, rubber monster costume, loud dramatic music and damsel-in-distress-ness. Still, the real highlights for me are the use of suspense, the gradual build up before the reveal of the creature and the underwater footage/movement. And the monster itself still looks impressive. And, in some instances, scary.
Looks like this movie still has merit sixty-odd years later

Frankenstein

And this week's Friday night movie has been....Frankenstein (1931)!

Original image located here. Accessed 4th October 2019

Well it's October so of course I'm going to see some horror movies these next few weeks. And what better way to start than with the granddaddy of them all.

I often find it a danger to approach a movie from the pre-New Hollywood era as they tend to date rather horribly. That is not the case here. This still holds up by providing plenty of mood and unease. And it all holds together with Boris Karloff's performance of the monster with both freakish and humane.

Not much else I can say except it seems it's reputation as classic is justified and looks set to endure.

The NeverEnding Story

Recently I watched the NeverEnding Story for the first time in a long time.

Original image located here. Accessed 29th September 2019

Geez, when did I see this last? I had only seen this once before and it was when I was in primary school, either in year 1 or year 3. Still, I do recall this being one of my earliest exposures to fantasy. As such, there is a lot from it that I remember quite vividly: I remember Rockbiter; I remember Falkor; I remember two sets of Sphinx statues (one gold that shoots death rays, the other blue that crumbles); I remember the trauma-inducing fate of Artax and, of course, I remember that unforgettable theme song in all its eighties-synth glory.

Looking back at it now through the perspective of nearly thirty years, I see some things I don’t recognise in the form of the Gmork and the climax where Atreyu meets the Childlike Empress. Furthermore, looking at the movie through the perspective of an adult, I have to admit that the film that the film still holds up with the use of puppetry, practical effects and the strength of its ideas. I have previously stated that the eighties fantasy movies tend to look a lot more grungier than their post-Lord of the Rings cousins and this is no exception.

However, one thing that strikes me about the Never-Ending Story, particularly through an adult perspective, is that it doesn’t look like a High Fantasy movie. If anything, I can’t help but notice but Fantasia looks kind of…..well…barren. The population is sparse, there is little to no sign of civilisation, and Atreyu’s quest seems to be going from location to location with stretches of empty-looking distance in between. Rockbiter, Nighthob and Teeny Weeny are shown as messengers for regions that are never shown and the Childlike Empress is the only sign of authority which makes me wonder just how much authority she actually has. Okay granted the film-makers of the time most likely didn’t have the budget to produce a living, breathing world (like Lord of the Rings) but we are told that Fantasia is a dying world – and yet shown at the same time that Fantasia is kind of empty. I swear, I can’t be the only one who noticed that the Southern Oracle is shown to be situated right in the middle of nowhere.

In fact, as strange as this may sound, I’m getting a Legend of Zelda vibe from this movie. Allow to me explain: When I played the original Legend of Zelda I realised that we have a protagonist, Link, traversing across a dangerous and sparsely populated world in order to help out an unseen monarch (Princess Zelda). The idea was a strong one and enough to make me wonder that if Hyrule is in the state it was, what kind of power Zelda had. Of course that maybe me trying to find a truth that wasn’t there to begin with but it’s the same wavelength with the Never-Ending Story. Indeed, I can’t help but think that whether the Never-Ending Story informed my perception of Legend of Zelda.
But at the end of the day, this movie still has wonder, inventiveness and holds up quite well over three decades later. And hey, who wouldn’t want to ride across the skies on a luck dragon?