Animation Week - Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)

Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)
The fourth and final animated film of this week is not based on a comic or any pre-existing material. Atlantis: The Lost Empire doesn't feel like your typical Disney film as it's not based on a children's story, has no musical numbers, and is rated PG. While this is certainly is not a bad thing, I think the change in tone was why Atlantis got a cool reception from critics and audiences during its original release. Atlantis is about linguist Milo Thatch, who tries to finish what his grandfather started and find the lost civilization of Atlantis. An eccentric millionaire who was a friend of Milo's grandfather funds the expedition and puts together an intrepid crew for the voyage.

Atlantis mixes traditional animation with CGI. The animation still looks quite good after more than ten years. I liked the steam punk style as its not something you see everyday and works as a contrast to the more magical world of Atlantis. Michael J. Fox does a good job as usual headlining the cast as our protagonist, Milo. The expedition crew is full of interesting, diverse, and fun characters. My favorite was Vinny (played by comedian Don Novello, best known for his Father Guido Sarducci character), the Italian demolition expert who loves to blow stuff up. The rest of the voice cast includes everyone from James Garner to Leonard Nimoy to Jim Varney!
The story of Atlantis is simple and predictable as its not that far off from Fern Gully, Pocahontas, or even Avatar. But overall the movie is still enjoyable thanks to its art and characters. Atlantis: The Lost Empire is worth a watch though probably not something I'll feel the need to revisit.
6/10

Winter Wrap-up Part One

Here are three movies that couldn't be more different! As you can see I'll watch films from pretty much any genre or time period. I only took a few notes when I watched these movies back in December so this post will be a little shorter than usual.

North by Northwest (1959)
I have seen several Alfred Hitchcock movies before but so far this one is my favorite. While I am familiar with Cary Grant I believe its his first full movie I have seen thus far. Cary Grant was the first choice to play James Bond and I bet that this film was most of the reason why.
North by Northwest was probably the first modern action movie as we have several big action scenes in many cross-country locations, fun one liners, beautiful women, and spies.
I loved the feeling of paranoia throughout the movie, especially with it being centered around an ordinary everyman. This sort of reminded me of the works of Philip K. Dick and I'd love to see somebody compare Dick's "Dark Haired Girls" to Hitchcock's "Cool Blondes."
The film is great in pretty much ever aspect: directing, writing, acting, editing, and music. And on top of that it is just a blast to watch from start to finish.
I am stingy with my 10s as for me they are essentially a bonus. This is my most recent ten!
10/10

Freejack (1992)
Freejack was directed by Geoff Murphy, the man who also made the cult classic The Quiet Earth which I have on DVD but still need to see one of these days. As I have stated before, I love time travel movies, so Freejack had been on my "to see" list of movies for quite some time for that reason alone.
The basic story is that race car driver Alex Furlong (Emilio Estevez) is transported into the future seconds before a would-be fatal car crash to the future of 2009 (hehe). The reason for this is so that the mind of a dying billionaire named McCandless (Anthony Hopkins) can be placed in his body to allow him to live. Although Hopkins doesn't have a large role as most of the movie is about Furlong on the run from the police force of the McCandless corporation (led by none other than Mick Jagger!), I do find it odd that this was the first Anthony Hopkins movie to be released in the U.S. after The Silence of the Lambs.
Besides Mick Jagger's role as the police leader Vacendak we have another rock star in the cast, David Johansen, who plays Furlong's Agent, Brad. Johansen was the lead singer for The New York Dolls and also known for the song "Hot Hot Hot" under his Buster Poindexter persona. Johansen has done more acting than Mick Jagger and I had actually seen him in another movie before. Johansen had a memorable role in the middle segment of Tales from the Darkside: The Movie where he plays a hitman hired to kill a cat!
Jagger and Johansen may not be great actors, but they had fun with their roles. Unfortunately I can't say the same about the lead as Estevez is mis-cast and plays role like a stoned Marty McFly. Rene Russo does a good job as Julie, Alex Furlong's wife. However when we see her in the future 18 years later she hasn't aged at all. Now maybe this is because some anti-aging work has been done in the future but if so it is never mentioned. And I must mention that Amanda Plummer has a cameo as a gun toting nun!
There are some interesting ideas here but overall it just doesn't work as a whole. This is exactly the type of movie that needs to be re-made as it did have potential despite being underwhelming. Last summer I made a post about remakes I would like to see and if I ever do another one this would certainly be on that list. Freejack was based on the novel "Immortality, Inc." by science fiction author Robert Sheckley so perhaps the best thing to do in this situation would be to go back to the original source material. That tactic worked wonders for John Carpenter's The Thing and in the right hands (Christopher Nolan or Duncan Jones for example) a damn fine movie could still be made out this story.
5/10

Moulin Rouge! (2001)
I am not a huge fan of musicals, but I don't hate them either. I just don't tend to seek them out even though I did some tech work behind the scenes for musicals in high school and have seen a few on Broadway.
So why did I choose to watch this movie out of all the musicals out there? I am a fan of the Nostalgia Critic and saw that he did a musical review of this movie! At first I started watching it as I only avoid his reviews of things I actually plan on seeing and this didn't seem like something I would want to watch. However, after I got a bit into his 45 minute review I just had to see it for myself and figured I would get even more out of the review if I did so, which ended up being the case.
Moulin Rouge was directed by Baz Luhrmann. The only other Luhrmann movie I have seen was Romeo + Juliet (1996) which I liked but didn't love. This is movie is made in a similar weird and over the top style. 
I liked the song mash-ups such as "Like a Virgin" being sung by Jim Broadbent!
Despite how quirky and and wacky this movie is, there is a serious ending. This is not a spoiler or a surprise as we are told this from the beginning. Moulin Rouge is a fun movie that's a bit different although not something I plan on watching again.
6/10

Weekly Wrap-Up (10/2)

Waking Life (2001)
Richard Linklater directed A Scanner Darkly (2006) which I consider to be the best film adaptation of a Philip K. Dick story. Don't get me wrong, its not my favorite film based on a Dick story, just the one that captures the feeling, themes, and story of the original novel the closest. Philip K. Dick is my favorite writer and after seeing A Scanner Darkly I wanted to see another film directed by Linklater as he is also a PKD fan. I finally got around to seeing Waking Life and I must admit, I was a little disappointed. Waking Life uses rotoscope style animation similar to the style later used in A Scanner Darkly. While the animation is unique and fun to watch, the biggest problem with this film is that there is way too much dialogue with people just sitting and looking at each other. Occasionally the animation will complement the dialogue. For example, during a monologue somebody says "humans are 70% water" and he appears to fill with water. While this was cool, it didn't happen much which led to many boring scenes. The main character, credited as "Main Character" was interesting as he was trying to wake up from a dream but kept having false awakenings. However, there is more focus on discussing philosophy, lucid dreams, illusion vs. reality, than on an actual plot. But since I am somebody interested in those three topics, I did enjoy those discussions. We even got a monologue about Philip K. Dick from Linklater himself! Overall the movie didn't feel as cinematic as it should have been since much of the time I could have just listened to it on the radio. At first I hated it, but as the movie went on I did get into it. This is probably one of those films that people either love or hate, but I just liked it. Waking Life has great animation, fantastic dialogue, and good ideas but still could have been executed better. Linklater's A Scanner Darkly touches on similar themes so I would recommend that movie instead. Linklater also directed School of Rock starring Jack Black. While I liked that movie, I doubt the intended audience of that film would enjoy Waking Life!
6/10

Return to Oz (1985)
Return to Oz is an unofficial sequel to the classic 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. However, its not quite a sequel as it also is an adaptation of the later Oz books and its not a musical. I've never read the Oz books so I don't know how close this movie is to the book sequels, but from what I understand it draws elements and characters from several of the books as well as the 1939 film. The red slippers were silver in the books and an agreement had to be made with MGM so that Disney could use them in this movie. Dorothy is about 10 years old like she was in the books, and unlike Judy Garland who was 17 when she played Dorothy. Fairuza Balk puts in a nice performance as Dorothy Gale. Balk did a good job carrying the movie, especially for a child actor.
Although this movie was a commercial and critical failure (Siskel and Ebert didn't like it), it has gained a small cult following in the years since its release. The special effects hold up surprisingly well for a 26 year old movie which impressed me. Practical effects age better than CGI, but I still gotta give credit to the SFX team. The set design is quite good as well. Oz is essentially given the post-apocalyptic treatment, which is something I had never seen in a straight-up fantasy movie before.
It was quite interesting to see a different take on the Oz story. The movie was directed by Walter Murch, and it is the first and only movie he has directed. Murch is a respected film editor and sound designer who has won three Oscars (along with several nominations) for his work on Apocalypse Now and The English Patient. While I thought he was fine, the movie probably would have been better if they brought in somebody like Tim Burton or Terry Gilliam.
Many people say that this movie is too dark for a "children's film." However, when compared to other PG 80s fantasy films its par for the course since its not much darker than The Neverending Story (1984), Legend (1985), or Labyrinth (1986).
6/10

                                        

3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain (1998)
This is one bad 90s kids movie. Even Surf Ninjas was better than this garbage! We have terrible acting and zero logic when it comes to the story. I know this was a movie meant for children, but that is never an excuse for a bad movie and an insult to the intelligence of all children. Hulk Hogan "stars" in this crapfest and if you've seen any Hulk Hogan movie you pretty much know what to expect. Jim Varney, most famous for the Earnest movies, plays a ridiculously over the top bad guy. We also have Loni Anderson as the female baddie and she hams it up even more than Varney, if that is possible.
Sadly this was character actor Victor Wong's last film. He should have gone out on a high note with Seven Years in Tibet! I guess Wong was contractually obligated to be in all of the 3 Ninjas movies. That reminds me, this is the fourth movie in this series. Why did they make so many of these movies?! I guess the earlier films are better (or at least the first one) but I have no desire to see any more of them.
Speaking of Wong, he plays the Asian grandfather of the "3 ninjas" but neither the boys nor their parents look Asian. Oh well, he is just a Mr. Miyagi rip-off anyway!
As bad as this movie is, at least its not a boring bad movie. Only watch this to make fun of it with a group of friends!
2/10

Weekly Wrap-Up (8/7) Yeah it's late...

Thanks again to Nate and everyone who participated in the monster movies blogathon! I greatly appreciated all the wonderful comments. Sorry for the long time for an update. I was going to post Tales from the Archive Part 2 on Saturday, but then I realized that I have too much content for one article! This is a good thing, so I'm still doing further research and figuring out how to break it up and present it. So without further ado, here is the belated weekly wrap-up.

Batman (1966)
The 60s Batman TV series starring Adam West and Burt Ward was quite enjoyable. Sure it was silly, but it was trying to appeal to all age groups and is responsible for bringing Batman to a larger audience. This movie was made between the first and second season, with Julie Newmar noticeably absent as Catwoman. However, Lee Meriwether did a good job filling in, and Cesar Romero (Joker), Frank Gorshin (Riddler), and Burgess Meredith (Penguin) are fun as usual. If you like the TV show you will like the movie as it is basically a long episode. I actually liked this more than Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever and Batman & Robin because it goes all out for humor while those two (especially Forever) tried to keep themselves in the Burton Batman universe. Sadly this is the only part of 60s Batman to be released on DVD. The TV show has yet to have a DVD release for unknown reasons, despite the demand by fans.
6/10

Winnie the Pooh (2011)
I saw this in theaters with my family and we all enjoyed it. It's not quite as good as the original Disney Winnie the Pooh films/shorts as its a little louder and busier at times, but its pretty close. The movie is short (just over an hour) and while I wanted more, I applaud the decision not to make it longer just to pad its running time. Instead the intent was to put out the best possible cut of the film. I noticed two pop culture references (Batman and Raiders of the Lost Ark respectively) which seemed a little out of place in a Pooh film. However, they weren't distracting if you weren't in the know, which is how reference joke should always be handled. The end credits were great and I loved the after credits scene. The short before the film, The Ballad of Nessie, was very good and the animation was straight out of 60s Disney (think Sword in the Stone). Winnie the Pooh goes back to the original A.A. Milne source material, so maybe we will see another movie in this style as there are still plenty of stories they can adapt. This movie is proof that Disney can still make a great traditionally animated film if they want to.
8/10

Dungeonmaster (1984)
Bad movies can be a lot of fun, as long as you avoid the ones that are bad because they are boring. While The Dungeonmaster is pretty damn bad, it is never gets too boring. The main reason for this is because the story is about a guy sucked into a video game (by Satan himself!) and he has to fight through a lot of different game levels. For some reason each level has a different director, but this is still not an anthology film. When a non-anthology movie has seven directors, you know its going to be bad! Besides my love of crappy 80s sci-fi/fantasy/horror flicks, the main reason I wanted to see this is because it contains the origin of the line "I reject your reality and substitute my own" which was popularized by Adam Savage of the TV show Mythbusters. In its original context it is used by the main character as a comeback, but its use in Mythbusters is much better! Richard Moll (Bull on the 80s sitcom Night Court) hams it up as the Devil, while we are also treated to a cameo by 80s metal band, WASP! For some reason this movie is also called Ragewar which makes about sense as its plot.
3/10

Death at a Funeral (2007)
Comedy is the most subjective form of creative expression. However, it is clear that Death at a Funeral is well written with fine acting performances and interesting characters. I have to rank this movie right up there with The Hangover as two of the best comedies from the last ten years. Not many movies revolve around a funeral, and of the ones that do this is probably the first comedy! I don't want to get too much into the plot as there are tons of fun surprises, but the basic story is about the chaos that ensues after the patriarch of a British family dies and his dysfunctional family and friends must come together for the funeral. Death at a Funeral had an American re-make in 2010, although I have no idea why as besides the accents and location, nothing is particularly British about this film. Believe or not, Frank Oz directed this movie. Yes, THAT Frank Oz!
9/10

Highlander (1986)
I had been meaning to watch Highlander for awhile and finally got around to it, in high definition no less! I have a good friend who loves this movie and it sounded like something I would enjoy. What struck me most about this film is how well it was directed. Not only are the scenes in Scotland beautiful, there are some fantastic cuts, great cinematography, and the action is paced perfectly. Sean Connery has a minor role, but steals the show as the mentor to Christopher Lambert's character, Connor MacLeod. I noticed that Highlander is kinda like The Terminator. But instead of soldiers from the future fighting in the present, these are soldiers from the past. The similarity is probably unintentional as they are pretty different movies, but its interesting to think about.
I've heard the sequels are terrible so I'll avoid them and stick with the original. There can only be one!
8/10

Legend (1985)
Legend is Ridley Scott's first, and so far only, fantasy film even though I would like to see him take another shot at the genre. Although the usual whipping boy from Scott's catalog is G.I. Jane, Legend isn't considered to be one of his better movies. Coming right off of Alien and Blade Runner, Legend looks spectacular (especially in High Definition/Blu-Ray). When it comes to the directing, camerawork, lighting, make-up, atmosphere, and special effects, Legend is a masterpiece and an incredibly beautiful film. However, the plot is thin and too simple, the dialogue is often silly, and the acting is hit or miss. Tim Curry is fantastic as the Lord of Darkness and genuinely terrifying with his fantastic make-up and gigantic horns. Remarkably this was Mia Sara's first film and although I have only seen her in Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Timecop, this is easily her best performance. On the other side, Tom Cruise was miscast. The voice actors for the other characters, especially for the elf named Gump, are over the top which is distracting and sometimes unintentionally funny. I saw the theatrical cut (only 89 minutes) but there is a director's cut which adds about 25 minutes to the total run time. While I enjoyed Legend, it had the potential to be much better. And despite all the beautiful scenes, beware of the ridiculous amount of Tom Cruise crotch shots!
7/10

Source Code (2011)
I loved Duncan Jones' directorial debut Moon (2009) and while Source Code is a different type of film, it is almost as good! Source Code is a high paced sci-fi thriller about a man who wakes up on a train in a different body and has to figure out who planted a bomb on the train since this person has another bomb going off later int he day in Chicago. I don't want to go any further because I don't want to spoil anything. Source Code is quite different than Moon, but I think anybody who liked Jones' first film would certainly enjoy his followup. Duncan Jones is now two for two, so I can't wait to see what he has up his sleeve for his next movie!
8/10

Iris (2001)
Normally this isn't the type of movie I would seek out, but my brother wanted to watch it so I figured what the hell. Iris is the biopic (based on a book) of British author Iris Murdoch and her struggle with Alzheimer's disease. I actually enjoyed this movie quite a bit, especially the acting performances from Jim Broadbent (Professor Slughorn in the Harry Potter movies), Judi Dench, and Kate Winslet. Broadbent won an Oscar for his role and the other two were nominated. Dench probably deserved to win an Oscar for this role more than for her performance as the Queen in Shakespeare in Love (only because she was barely in that film!), but whatever. Memory was one of the main themes in this film, and I liked how the flashbacks were not always in chronological order, but as the characters in the present remembered past events.
7/10

On Friday I'll post a follow-up to my Summer TV article. See you then!

The Harry Potter movies, Part I

In preparation for the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, I have been re-watching all the Harry Potter films in chronological order. Today I'll post my thoughts on the first four Harry Potter films.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
I started reading the books as a kid before the movies were announced, let alone had been released. At the time it seemed like turning these books into movies would be challenging, especially since the book series wasn't even finished yet! Despite the degree of difficulty, director Chris Columbus did a great job of creating the immersive Harry Potter movie universe. Without this set-up the sequels would have failed. Scenes like Diagon Alley not only capture the feel of the book, but explore the depth of the wizarding world. The first two movies, both directed by Columbus, are very close to the books, but stand alone so that if you didn't read the novels you could still jump into the film series. While I love film adaptations that are close to the original source material, I always think that a movie should be able to be seen and enjoyed without having to watch or read what it is based on before you watch it. Of course if you have read the books you will get even more out of these movies. The CGI is a bit dated, for example the mountain troll, but this is a problem with all movies that use CGI. To be fair, there are a surprising amount of practical effects for a film series like this. The success of this film, its sequels, and the Lord of the Rings movies have really made almost anything film-able.
7/10

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
After seeing this movie for the first time in years I actually liked it better than I remembered. This has a similar feel to the first Harry Potter movie, which makes sense since Columbus also directed this movie. I really liked the mystery aspect of trying to figure out who has opened the Chamber of Secrets. Like Sorcerer's Stone, this one also stands alone if you haven't read the books before. I loved the casting of Kenneth Branagh as Gilderoy Lockhart. Although this was Columbus' final Potter film, it did a good job of setting up Ginny Weasely and Voldemort's back story. The Chamber of Secrets is even better than the first since the world was already established and now we could focus more on the characters. The story gets a bit darker, although the series doesn't fully commit to this new tone until the fourth movie, which is also the case with the books.
8/10

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
After re-watching it I actually liked the third Potter movie a little less than I had remembered. The Prisoner of Azkaban was directed by Alfonso Cuaron and it shows as the style is noticeably different from the first two movies. Gary Oldman was perfectly cast as Sirius Black, I just wish he could have had more screen time throughout the series. Although I love the concept of time travel, I don't think it belongs in the Harry Potter universe for a number of reasons. That said, the time turner sequence is done even better than in the book. This is partially because we can actually see and hear what is going on. We get to see the events from before and after the time travel, which show that this is actually a fixed timeline. My main issue with this movie was that this is really the first one that had important plot elements that were mentioned in the movie, but only fully explained in the book. For example, the Marauder's Map plays a pivital role in both the novel and the film. However, the movie never explains who Moony, Wormtail (he is sort of explained but not his relationship to the others), Padfoot, and Prongs are. This must have been confusing for those who had not read the books, especially since I noticed in the fifth movie they mention Padfoot again. If you read the books like me its not an issue, but it would have only taken a couple of lines or a brief flashback to explain it.
7/10

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
While I still feel that Goblet of Fire is currently the weakest of the Harry Potter films, I actually liked it a little more this time around. We have our third director in four movies as Mike Newell takes the helm. Like when Cuaron took over, we have another stylistic shift, but it still feels like a Harry Potter movie. The main problem with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is that is is based on one of the longer Harry Potter books. There is a lot of material to cover, and since it was only filmed as one 157 minute movie, several important sub-plots and characterizations had to be cut. I also still don't quite understand why Harry had to participate in the tournament since he didn't put his name in the cup and nobody else wanted him to enter. To be fair, I think this was explained in the book but its been awhile since I read it. I wish they filmed this Lord of the Rings style, as it was my favorite Potter book, but its still an enjoyable movie and worthy installment in the Harry Potter movie series.
6/10

I'm going to be seeing Deathly Hallows Part 2 at midnight Thursday so I'll get a review up of that on Friday with the wrap-up of the other three Potter movies. Then we'll be back on schedule with a film topic post on Saturday and the weekly wrap-up on Sunday.