Blade Runner

Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner is considered one of those great science fiction movies that has risen to cult status.  Every nerd and film nerd has seen it and if they were around, saw it re-released in 1992.  It is currently ranked #123 on IMDB, #97 on AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies list and #6 on AFI’s top 10 sci-fi films.  Yet, at the risk of sounding like a complete film blasphemer, I just don’t think I quite get it.

Don’t get me wrong, I do think Blade Runner is a good movie.  The story is interesting enough, we’ve got Deckard (Harrison Ford) coming out of retirement for one last run to round up a few stray replicants.  From what I understand, replicants are bio-engineered super smart people used as slaves that are illegal on Earth.  Why you would create slaves smarter than their masters doesn’t make sense to me, but that’s for another time.  Anyway, we watch Deckard run through the hazy LA streets, fly in cool flying cars and be a basic bad-ass while a few rogue replicants are causing trouble for their freedom.  It’s a great ride, and to stir up the pot more, he falls in love with a replicant.

Blade Runner is an extremely visual film.  The images of a wet, dreary LA, enveloped in layers of fog and neon lights beaming behind it always blows me away.  The shots of the city skyline are beautiful but then the flames shooting up add an unexpected archaic element.  The wild, futuristic costumes and sets have a bit of a punk rock vibe with some classic noir aspects.  The only Oscar nominations the film received were for art direction and visual effects.

However, some of the acting throws me off.  It doesn’t feel real, and sometimes crosses the line to where I can’t take it seriously (“Wake up! Time to die!”).  Yet, I find it understandable.  These replicants are not real humans and it’s stated that they don’t have as much emotional experience and are more detached.  I’m not sure if that can really justify moments that make our characters seem so cookie-cutter and out of touch.

I can’t wait until 2019 when everyone complains about how Blade Runner obviously got the future all wrong.  I can tell you right now, we’re not going to have flying cars, not even in LA where they desperately need something to alleviate the traffic.  No amount of climate change will turn LA into a rainy, dark place in only 6 years.  And there is way too many people smoking, but hey, that adds to the foggy noir atmosphere.

Of course, there is the big debate people get into after this film: is Deckard a replicant?  The evidence is ambiguous, he does seem emotionally detached and smarter than most humans.  My thought has always been, perhaps they needed a replicant to find and “retire” other replicants.  But what a can of worms that becomes at the end!  In 2000, Ridley Scott, the film’s director, came out and said that Deckard is indeed a replicant, much to Ford’s dismay.  So much for debating now, but it’s still fun.

I guess, in the end Blade Runner is a pretty awesome film.  It’s visually striking, has some great sci-fi elements and has a good mix of action and noir.  The fact that I’ve never been able to get into the story is probably just me, however by the end I am loving all the symbolism and meaning I find in Roy’s final decision.  And the philosophical ideas separating humans and replicants swim in my mind for days after seeing Blade Runner.

“The report read “Routine retirement of a replicant.”  That didn’t make me feel any better about shooting a woman in the back.”

Trainspotting

“Choose life…but why would I do a thing like that?”  In Trainspotting, Renton and his friends have instead chosen heroin.  It’s not glamorous, in fact it’s downright gritty, filled with hardship and heartache.  They lie, steal and screw people over for one more hit, that ever elusive euphoric moment of pure pleasure.  Renton is starting to understand he can’t carry on like that forever and slowly tries to change his life.  But that isn’t so easy when your only friends are still shooting up.

Renton (Ewan McGregor) is our main character, a skinny junkie in Edinburgh.  He narrates with his cocky, thick Scottish accent, to give us more insight to his decisions and feelings on drug use.  He shows us his friends: Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller) and Spud (Ewen Bremner) are fellow addicts.  Sick Boy is more of a leader while Spud is a sincerely lost guy, just sticking by his friends.  Tommy (Kevin McKidd) starts off as a clean cut guy who chooses working out over drugs, until his girlfriend dumps him.  And Bigbie (Robert Carlyle) gets off more on physical violence.  It’s amazing how he can carelessly instigating bar fights.

I didn’t expect this film to dabble in surrealism, but some of those moments were the most vivid and memorable.  They also help us to understand Renton’s mind under the influence.  As he fishes in a nasty toilet of his own fresh feces, we see him climb in and then swim around in crystal blue waters for what he’s looking for.  It emphasizes the importance and grandeur of looking for the drugs he just….expelled.  It’s a wonderfully gross, yet engrossing scene.

One of my favorite scenes is after Renton’s parents bring him home after an accidental overdose.  They lock him in his childhood bedroom to give him time to let the drugs wear off.  But this isn’t a simple cleanse, his mind runs wild with hallucinations fueled by his guilt: one of his friends rattling chains against his door, a baby crawling across the ceiling.  The whole scene is very intense and unsettling, making us understand Renton’s mental and physical anguish as he the drugs wear off his body.

The correlation between drugs and sex in the film is very interesting.  Characters regularly use one for the other to get their chosen highs.  For Renton, he goes between the two and he experiences the highs in very different ways.  Perhaps some of the characters, particularly Spud, whose girlfriend holds out for fun, choose drugs in place of sex.  One without the other seems to work for these guys for the most part.  Unfortunately, we see the grim results for those who mingle the two too closely for too long.

Trainspotting seems to be a very under-appreciated film.  At the Oscars, it was only nominated for adapted screenplay.  Yet, it is currently ranked at #146 on IMDB.  This film holds its own against the best picture nominees of 1996, and I can see it trading places with any of them.  All the acting is solid and believable and Danny Boyle’s direction holds such a vibrant energy, like smack running through fresh veins.

Trainspotting may not be for everyone.  We watch these guys do some hard drugs, nearly waste away into their high energy lifestyle and see some disturbing images that could make the most far gone sober up immediately.  For a film fan, it is one to seek out.  It’s considered one of the best British films, and I believe it is very accessible for most Americans.  This film helped project both Boyle and McGregor into star status.  The quick editing, high energy actors, lively sets all just add up to an unforgettable film experience.

“This was to be my final hit, but let’s be clear about this.  There’s final hits and final hits.  What kind was this to be?”

Bully

Over my lifetime, I’ve seen bullying from multiple vantage points.  A tease, a name shouted out, a push.  Most times it’s over in a moment and too easily forgotten, unless you’re the victim.  It stings and festers while the rest of the world moves on unaffected.  As a kid, I was both a victim and a silent witness.  Today, I work with children and still see it.  From all angles, it’s so easy to ignore and hope it all just resolves.  Standing up and defending yourself or others is easier said than done, but the one thing Bully teaches us is that it is a necessity, if we ever want it to change.

The documentary follows multiple teenagers and their families showing their unique stories of being bullied.  There’s Alex, a boy who is a helpless punching bag on his school bus.  Kelby is a girl who recently came out as lesbian in her small town.  She has attempted suicide, but her supportive family and friends have helped her reach a brighter place.  Ja’Meya was a high achiever until felt that the only way to stand up to her bullies was to pull out a gun on them.  We watch as she and her family await trial.  Then there’s the tragic stories of Tyler and Ty, two boys who committed suicide to escape their bullying.  Their parents cope and work hard to keep their son’s memories alive and start a movement to change the way bullying is handled across the nation.

For those who may still believe that bullying isn’t a big problem, or that it’s “just kids being kids”, they just need to watch a scene or two from Alex’s bus heartbreaking rides.  The things other children say or do to Alex is just awful.  An older boy threatens Alex’s life, with shocking language, just for talking to him.  Later, we see people sitting on him, throwing things at him and stabbing him with pencils.  Not a thing is done and Alex just protests politely to no avail.

Some film fans may remember the turbulence over the MPAA rating Bully would receive.  At first, it was given an R rating, due to language.  Since the film was made to educate a middle school audience, the creators edited out the high profanity scenes and the film eventually got a PG-13 rating, so that children would be admitted to it.  I don’t like the idea of a cop out that just softens the blow of reality, but admire that the main message would more easily get to its intended audience.

The scene that struck me the most is when Alex’s principal talks briefly with two boys she witnessed some bullying between.  At first it’s not evident who was bullying who, and perhaps the principal didn’t know either, so she simply asks them to shake hands.  The bully gladly complies, probably glad to face no real punishment.  The victim resists, knowing that more should be done.  Once the principal dismisses the bully, the frustrated victim explains the situation more; he tries to avoid his bully, and the bully has been told to stay away from him, but it’s not working.  The boy is clearly angry and helpless, yet his principal relies on her quick hallway confrontations with no punishment.  The whole scene hurt for me to watch, I have seen the same thing in my own schools as a kid.

While Bully isn’t technically a great film (it seemed easy to lose track of our far flung characters, and their climactic moment coming together didn’t bring much impact), it carries strong stories and an important message that needs to spread.  Bullying may seem like a childish issue, but the systematic mental abuse is claiming the young lives of good kids.  Parents don’t know 100% what it happening at their child’s school, or at what end of the spectrum their children may lie.  I would strongly suggest that all teachers, parents and children over the age of 12 see this film.   Currently, it’s available on Netflix Instant.  There is some strong language, but not much.  It’s nothing compared to what most middle schoolers hear in their hallways.

“I’ve never had real friends that would stick around and help me.”

Sophie’s Choice

I have sat through a good number of depressing films: Chinatown, Schindler’s List, The Hours.  The list goes on.  When I decided I needed to add Sophie’s Choice, part me me didn’t want to subject myself to another dreary afternoon of holocaust stories and unhappy endings.  But a bigger part of me, the kind that likes to explore, prod and see every movie ever, had to see it.

Sophie’s Choice is the story of three friends, their time together and Sophie’s past.  Stingo (Peter MacNicol) is a young, naive writer who moves to Brooklyn from the south, looking for more experience in life.  In his boarding house he meets a couple, Sophie (Meryl Streep) and Nathan (Kevin Kline).  Sophie is a beautiful Polish woman who survived time in Nazi concentration camps.  Nathan is an eccentric man, whose moods can shift from jubilant to angry-depressive bewilderingly.  The three becomes friends and along the way Sophie confides more and more of herself to Stingo.

Compared to the most depressing film experience of my life (watching Schindler’s List alone in my college dorm room on a Saturday night, which I do not recommend), Sophie’s Choice isn’t too bad.  Sure, we see that Sophie’s and Nathan’s relationship is only toxic or that Stingo probably won’t find happiness in Brooklyn, but not all their time together is awful.  Thing is, they do have some good times, wedged in between the spiraling downturn.

And then there are the holocaust memories.  No one wants those.  They’re so bleak and depressing but nothing shown is too awful.  Until Sophie tells Stingo the one thing she has never told anyone.  That, that awful choice, the one I knew was coming, nothing can really prepare you for it.  I imagine if you do have children, it’s even harder to watch.

A main problem I see in this film is that Stingo’s story seems a bit lost in the plot.  I understand that he’s not the main interest, that goes to Sophie, but he’s our narrator, the anchor in this story and we just seem to watch everything happen around him.  There are scenes that pique my interest about Stingo that just happen and are never referenced again.  What happened to that girlfriend of his, Leslie?  Was his writing getting anywhere?  How does he feel about becoming a third wheel to Nathan and Sophie?  But I have to remind myself that Stingo is simply our gateway to observing Sophie.  And this film was nominated for best adapted screenplay, so what do I know?

Meryl Streep’s portrayal of Sophie is amazing and obviously Oscar deserving.  While at first glance Sophie is meek and frail against Nathan’s strong presence, she becomes an amazing woman who has been through so much.  She is this beautiful combination of broken, struggling, painfully trying to find reason to live and yet able to enjoy life.  The worst has happened to her, she has survived, but perhaps she doesn’t know why.  And she can only move on with Nathan, or somebody, finding worth in her.  She has many endearing moments and unexpectedly hilarious lines that come out of Sophie’s broken English.  That Polish accent sounds authentic and must have taken a long time to master.  And that scene when she arrives at Auschwitz, it sealed that Oscar envelope.

The film was nominated for five awards total: cinematography, original score, costume design, adapted screenplay and lead actress.  Streep took home the only Oscar for her role.  Among the best picture nominees, Sophie’s Choice could have easily been swapped in for one of the films.  Probably not E.T. or Gandhi though.

Sophie’s Choice is one of those movies film buffs feel like they should eventually see, but may not.  It’s long, not a very fun ride, gets depressing and ends that way.  The main reason to see it is for Streep’s acting.

“-You were sent to Auschwitz because you stole a ham?                                                                     –No, I was sent to Auschwitz because they saw that I was afraid.”

The Prestige

Film is a magic trick.  Illusions of fictitious people and places fill a two dimensional space before us for an hour or so and we choose to believe it.  It’s not real and we know it.  Many times we know how these tricks are done, but that’s not the point.  When real magic flows from the screen, you’re not looking for the trick.  You want to believe.  I believe that is the point and spirit of The Prestige.

Readers, please be patient with how vague my following review may seem.  I want to discuss The Prestige spoiler free, yet I know that the slightest mention of an event can bring an avalanche of spoilers to the unsuspecting reader.  Believe me, this film is quite a ride the first time you see it, free of any preconceived notions.

In Christopher Nolan’s 2006 film, The Prestige, we witness an ongoing feud between two rival magicians in Victorian London.  Christian Bale plays Alfred Borden and Hugh Jackman plays Robert Angier.  They first work together as plants (volunteers that that seem picked at random from the audience) in an act, but after an incident occurs, they become bitter enemies sabotaging each other’s solo careers.  Robert yearns for what Alfred has: family and an gobsmacking transported man act.  He becomes obsessed with discovering Alfred’s secret to the trick and go to many lengths to create his own transported man act, but at what cost?

I have seen this film at least five times now, and I still find myself trying to wrap my mind around everything.  The first time I saw this, I was a bit lost at times, but always fascinated.  We are not shown everything in perfect chronological order, but rather the order to which will best pique our interest.  Like I said, Nolan is creating a film like a magic trick.  In every act he must show us the pledge, then the turn before revealing the prestige.  If it’s not leaving you searching putting the puzzle together, he has not done it quite right.

At the Oscars, The Prestige was nominated for only two awards: art direction and cinematography.  That would make you think it’s a very visual film.  It is, especially when the connections with Tesla come into play, but the strength the film carries is in it’s complexity and how it heightens our curiosity until the very end.

There are some fun, yet downplayed surprises.  David Bowie plays a role as the famed Nikola Tesla.  And only in my latest viewing did I realize that Tesla’s assistant was none other that Andy Serkis.  So nice to see him as a non-CGI character.  There is also Scarlett Johansson, as a lovely assistant, and Michael Caine as a manager connecting the two rivals from beginning to end.

I understand there is a point in the film that some people believe it breaks ranks.  Suddenly the film’s perceived reality is more than it seems.  I don’t worry about it, this film holds my suspension of disbelief.  What I always find intriguing is trying to figure out the difference between the prestige and the man in the box.  Is it really the same person?  What are the consequences?

While The Prestige is still a very young film, I believe that it is destined to become a classic.  It’s simply a tale of rivalry, but set to the era of early of magicians, like Houdini.  It becomes an intoxicating ride that twists and turns in ways you could not have expected, but love to believe.

“The secret impresses no one.  The trick you use it for is everything.”

The General

I don’t know everything about film.  Far from it.  There are big names I have only recently become acquainted with and many I had never heard of before starting this blog.  One name I had been missing out on for far too long was the work of Buster Keaton and his amazing contributions to early film.  Over the past few years, I had read about him, and may have seen one of his shorts in college.  When I finally took the time to watch The General, it was like no other film I had seen before; refreshing, beautiful, simple and yet complex in it’s daring.

In 1926’s The General, Johnnie Gray (Keaton) is an engineer, driving his beloved locomotive, The General, down the rails.  His other love is a southern beauty, Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack).  When the Civil War starts, he runs down to be first in line to enlist, hoping this will impress Annabelle.  However, the Confederate army won’t take him, claiming he is more valuable as an engineer.  His chances with Annabelle seem shot, unless he can get into one of those gray uniforms.

When Union spies steal The General, Johnnie acts quickly to chase after them in a different locomotive. A great deal of the film is a chase, and it is fantastic.  There are constant obstacles that turn into great gags, thrilling suspense and daring stunts.  Little does Johnnie know that he’s chasing these spies into enemy lines, or that they have Annabelle held hostage on board.

If you have read my review of The Train, you may be aware of my fierce love for old trains.  Let’s just say, The General nearly drove me out of my mind.  What magnificent trains!  I squealed with delight when Keaton was moved up and down while sitting on the coupling rods.  The trains used in the film feel more like characters than machines.  The love story between Johnnie and Annabelle is no match for the love we feel for The General, that little engine who can.  And just as Johnnie is pitted against the baddies from the Union army, we feel a struggle between The General and the other locomotive, The Texan.

While The General is primarily considered a comedy, it is very much an action film.  The stunts Keaton performed were very dangerous.  Throughout the film are scenes showing him and others moving from one train car to the next, even climbing on the very front of the engine while it is in motion.  The most spectacular stunt is the big bridge scene toward the end of the film.  Wanting a genuine reaction, Keaton did not tell the extras in the scene that the train would cause the bridge to collapse.  Hopefully everyone stayed far enough from the wreckage.  That big moment is amazing and really seals the film.  But that poor train was just left behind and was scrapped for metal during WWII.

The General is an essential movie for any film fan.  Not only is it an important film from the silent era, but extremely influential to this day.  And it will not disappoint.  The dangerous stunts, the action, the constant suspense and obstacles in Johnnie’s way keep us at our utmost attention.  The story and character arcs have a very pleasing symmetry, turning the tables perfectly.  And the comedy keeps it light and a very fun ride.

“If you lose this war, don’t blame me.”

Jurassic Park: 20 Years of Dinosaurs, Adventure and Waiting

Twenty years ago, Jurassic Park was first released to theaters and I was a kid crazy about dinosaurs.  However, heeding a warning from my aunt who said it was “too scary for kids,” my parents did not take me to see it.  I remember this being a very big deal to me; there was some begging, pleading, bargaining and crying over the fact that I wasn’t allowed to see Jurassic Park.  My parents don’t recall any of this injustice.  Anyway, this weekend, I plan to heal one of the biggest movie disappointments of my childhood and go bananas seeing Jurassic Park re-released in 3D.  I am so excited!

Over the past twenty years, Jurassic Park has become one of my favorite films.  It has two main elements I loved as a kid: adventure and dinosaurs.  As I got older, some of the more complicated themes came to light in new ways.  All the technology holding Jurassic Park together is no match for the unbridled fury of nature.  My mind melted when I first figured that out, since then I have held the utmost respect for nature.  The effects blew me away as a kid and they still hold up today.  And I will dare to say that this is one of John Williams’ greatest compositions, I could listen to the soundtrack all day (sometimes I do).

I don’t think I can pick one favorite scene from the film.  The t-rex attack is a wonderful bit of terror, the raptors hunting the kids in the kitchen is a brilliant moment of modern suspense and the dilophosaurus attack (the fanned, spitting one for non-dino-nerds) is a great surprise packed with sweet revenge.  But the scene where we first see dinosaurs packs a different kind of raw emotion, I can’t help but get caught up in it.

In the scene where Dr. Grant and Dr. Sattler see their first dinosaurs, I cry every time.  As a kid, it was a moment of wonder and excitement, and it still is, but it just hits me in a much more emotional spot now.  Seeing those creatures is an impossible dream, and yet for them, there they are, living breathing and doing all the things they only theorized they would.  I can’t even imagine how I would react to really seeing dinosaurs, or anything else I know is impossible.  And that music, it moves perfectly with our wondrous dinosaurs.  Did I mention how much I love dinosaurs?

Of course, the movie isn’t all happy times with the gentle giants.  Some of the scenes are pretty intense and could scare little ones.  Especially when the t-rex attacks the car with the children inside.  And the dilophosaurus scene is known for tricking kids into a false sense of security.

But when you really look at Jurassic Park, there is very little gore.  The most violent moment is when the t-rex eats Martin Ferrero’s character off the toilet, and it’s not bloody.  In fact, thinking about a man being eaten by a dinosaur off a toilet is kinda funny, in a very dark way.  Same thing in how we discover what happened to Samuel L. Jackson’s character.  All the big dino-attack moments are either with no blood, off camera or obscured behind something.

So parents, make your decision wisely.  If Jurassic Park only comes to theaters once every twenty years, you may end up raising a jaded dino/film fan if you don’t take your kids to see it now.  I love my parents for trying to protect me, but please, that horse head in The Godfather did more damage than Jurassic Park could.  And dad would call me into the room just in time for it, every time he found it on tv before I was six.  Jurassic Park feels like it was made with children in mind and I would highly recommend kids see it before the age of ten.

At the Oscars, Jurassic Park was only recognized for three technical awards.  The film won best sound, sound effects and visual effects.  Today, it is in the top 250 on IMDB, one of the 1001 Movies to See Before You Die and considered a classic that everyone is more than familiar with.

This evening, I plan to do what I wanted to do 20 years ago: sit my butt in a theater and hold on for a wild dino-filled adventure.  Sure, I’ve seen Jurassic Park over a hundred times by now, there will be no surprises.  That’s not the point.  There is still a seven year old kid inside me who needs to be in that theater and can’t wait to see Jurassic Park on the big screen.

“They’re moving in herds.  They do move in herds.”