Foster on Film – Page 47 – The Film Criticism of Matthew M. Foster

Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King (2004)

Sep 282004

Siegfried (Benno Fürmann), the orphaned son of a king, is raised by a blacksmith (Max von Sydow) and taught to make great swords. He meets and defeats Brunhild, the queen of Iceland (Kristanna Løken), who proclaims her love for him. While she waits for him, he journeys to Burgund, where he slays a dragon, takes its cursed gold, befriends king Gunther (Samuel West), and swallows a magic potion that causes him to fall in love with Princess Kriemhild (Alicia Witt). With Gunther seeking Brunhild for his wife, and the king’s advisor, Hagen (Julian Sands), secretly a half dwarf obsessed with the gold, tragedy seems inevitable.

The Ring saga is one of the great folk stories of western civilization. I was introduced to it through the symphonic works of Wagner. Anything that inspired The Ride of the Valkyries and Siegfried’s Funeral March had to be pretty good, right? So I watched performances of all four of Wagner’s Ring operas, which were very, very long. (Oh, so very long.) But the basic plot, with magical Rhinemaidens, dwarves, dragons, and sword-wielding heroes still sounded exciting, so I read translations of the Norse Eddas and Volsunga Saga, as well as a prose version of Wagner’s work. Some of these were quite good. Others, not so much. The deciding factor seemed to be length. Shorter was better. Often, myths are best when told around a fire on a cold night, as they were centuries ago. In that form, the powers of the Gods and the vastness of the story overshadow the nonexistent depth of the characters and their implausible choices.

Unfortunately, Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King is not a short, succinct rendition. It is a ponderous take on the legend, that tells a bare bones version, and then wastes time in numerous close ups of characters gazing at nothing in particular. These are additionally painful because the actors have no idea what they are supposed to be thinking or what this film is about, and so have vacant, slack-jawed countenances. Benno Fürmann is atrocious in the lead. He may be a rising star in his native Germany, but he needs several more years of training in English (particularly, how to make his expressions even remotely reflect the words he is saying) before he’s ready for sidekick roles. The only good thing I can say about his costar, Kristanna Løken, is that she’s better than he is. Her breakout role was as the Terminatrix in Terminator 3 and she gives ample proof here that emotionless machine was the perfect part for her talents. Julian Sands, wearing dark hair and a goatee, at least has the grace to look like he belongs in a mythic fantasy. Only Alicia Witt comes off as human and injects some real emotion into the film.

For a limited release movie that went straight to DVD in a majority of countries, it has an adequate budget. However, the money was not spent on hiring extras. Burgund is a nearly empty country. The huge castle might contain twenty people. Great epics should involve more than the number of folks needed for a three table bridge game.

The production isn’t a complete failure. The swordplay is remarkably good and most of the fights are staged to please Swashbuckling fans (strange that the combat should be so quick when everything else is so slow). The dragon looks deadly and has more emotional range than the humans. Siegfried’s battle with the giant lizard is the high point of the film, and had me thinking that this might turn out to be something worth my time. Oh well.

The picture has been renamed in almost every country. How it was saddled with Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King in the U.S. is a mystery. In Germany, it goes by a name that actually has some connection to the myths, Die Nibelungen. It is The Sword of Xanten in Britain where it was given a theatrical release, and The Curse of the Ring in South Africa.

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Fantasy, Reviews Tagged with: Two Reels

Spider-Man 2 (2004)

Sep 052004

Peter still can’t deal with his life and has a three-year-old’s grasp on relationships. Harry is still terrible. Mary Jane is still around to be saved (three times again) and still cheating on whatever boyfriend she currently has. The villain of the week is Doc Ock (Alfred Molina).

Spider-Man was serious! So, since sequels have to ratchet up everything, Spider-Man 2 ratchets up the self-importance. Peter whines, “What am I supposed to do?” and I am supposed to feel sorry for him. I don’t. His problems are epic if you are a child. For anyone not a child, “grow up” is the proper response.

The romance, again, has the maturity of a young teen’s view of the world. I hope that no adult takes any of this as accurate or they are doomed to a very sad life. And to go with that silliness, Peter’s teen angst now has a literal representation in his failing powers. It is not subtle, but then children’s films rarely are.

Harry has changed from the first film, delving into slimy James Franco mode, which makes him a bit less boring although no more enjoyable. Later he becomes nasty, and that’s beyond Franco’s ability to pull off. Molina steps in as the new cartoon villain, but he does it with as much heart as the trilogy allows. Whether that is an improvement or not depends on how arch you like your evil-doers. That he really is stoppable by anyone with a gun does make his campaign of crime harder to buy than the Goblin’s. After all, Aunt May messes him up. But yeah, I’ll call him an upgrade.

Once again , the CGI is less than it should be (with a fight on the side of a building standing out). The big set piece combat on a train isn’t bad (though it so overpowers Spider-Man that Doc Ock should have been dead from one punch), and has the trilogy’s only truly emotional moment, but I’ve become spoiled and it wouldn’t rank in the top thirty superhero fights now, and that’s all Spiderman 2 has to offer.

Reviewing Spider-Man 2 is pointless after writing one for Spider-Man. They are the same. Not that the first had any claim to originality, but this level of copying is extreme even for sequels. The villain is a touch better and the preaching is even more annoying (yes, yes, be a hero), but otherwise, we’ve seen it all before.

And as a big fan of The Importance of Being Earnest, I find it irritating that Mary Jane’s version apparently starts late in the second act.

Reviews, Superhero Tagged with: Two Reels

Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)

Sep 042004

Picking up immediately after the events of Resident Evil, the T-virus has been released, transforming a majority of the population of Raccoon City into zombies. Alice (Milla Jovovich) and a few other survivors must save the daughter of a scientist in order to get his help in escaping the city which has been quarantined by the Umbrella Corporation.

This is a sequel with all the normal connotations. That means the concepts are less original, the characters are less developed, the plot is less interesting and makes less sense, and the action is less exciting. Resident Evil was a fast-paced, enjoyable, horror/adventure romp. Resident Evil: Apocalypse is…less. That doesn’t make it a bad film as there is a lot of room under Resident Evil. It’s still fun to watch a sexy girl (two in this case), a good-looking man, and some red-shirts shoot everything that moves and blow things up (a few too many things). The FX for the monsters is a bit better, but I can’t say I cared while watching. I did care about the many improbable events. Why did Umbrella allow some people out of the city if they were going to hush up everything? Where exactly was Alice before she crashed through the church’s window (are there multi-story ramps outside of churches in Raccoon city?) and how did she know there was a place to land and people to save on the other side of that stained glass? Are the numerous screw-ups during and at the end of the film part of Umbrella’s plan (if so, they really suck at planning)? I always enjoy Milla Jovovich and the pace is good, but unlike the first, I don’t feel a need to repeat my viewing experience anytime soon.

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Post-Apocalyptic, Reviews, Zombies Tagged with: Three Reels

King Arthur—Director’s Cut (2004)

Jul 302004

The half-Roman, half-British Arthur (Clive Owen) leads a band of Eastern knights in defense of Roman interests in Britain. The six surviving knights are Lancelot (Ioan Gruffudd), Tristan (Mads Mikkelsen), Gawain (Joel Edgerton), Galahad (Hugh Dancy), Bors (Ray Winstone), and Dagonet (Ray Stevenson). On the day the knights, who have been forced into service for fifteen year, were to be released from their duties, they are given a mission to save the Pope’s godson before the newest group of invaders, the Saxons, capture him. During their quest, Arthur frees Guinevere (Keira Knightley), a native British warrior, and discovers that the ideals he cherished in Rome may not exist.

I can’t think of King Arthur without comparing it to the other big-budget, sword-epics that came out at the same time, Troy and Alexander. All descendents of Gladiator, they were attempts to take legendary tales and remove the mythical elements, creating gritty and more human tales. And in that task, they all failed. Alexander ended up as a pompous story that followed characters who were unrecognizable as human. Troy and King Arthur both shook off one mythology and replaced it with another, still dealing with larger-than-life heroes in improbable situations using impossible skills. King Arthur is the best film of the three, and quite enjoyable, as long as you go in knowing what you are about to watch. Ignore the filmmaker’s statements about this having a close connection to reality, and equally, forget about the traditional Arthurian legends. Instead, go in prepared for an epic tale of colorful heroes, who happen to have the names of other mythical heroes, set in a world that vaguely reflects the later years of the Roman Empire.

So, taking for what it is, this is a fun, hit-them-with-swords and make-grand-speeches kind of movie. The battles are exciting, with excellent swordsmanship in evidence everywhere, as well as some great axe throwing, a good number of impalings, plenty of charging horses, clanging iron everywhere, and the proper mix of chaos and heroic duels. You want action, it is here in abundance. The camera is occasionally too close, but I’m afraid Gladiator has condemned us to that for another five or more years, and no film made in recent times will avoid these overly tight shots.

The characters, and there are a lot of them that you need to know, are all clearly delineated. These are rough, violent, tired men with recognizable traits (and even individual fighting styles) and are easy to care about. While Arthur is a bit dry, Lancelot and Bors are flamboyant and kept my attention. Guinevere is even better as a strong, direct personality and warrior, but one also willing to use seduction to get what she wants. Arthur is essentially seduced into saving the land. Makes sense to me, particularly with Keira Knightley as the blue-painted, waifish Amazon.

Like all epics, this one is impressed with its own depth, containing a few too many speeches on the rights of man. Arthur would have been more engaging without bringing up freedom every few minutes. Luckily, when he gets too overbearing, someone attacks, and everything is good again.

If you want a true account of 5th century Briton, this film isn’t for you. If you are clinging to the standard Arthurian legends and want only retellings of what you’ve already seen (which is just peculiar—aren’t there enough of those already made?), then this will only irritate you. If you want a good epic for an evening, this will do nicely.

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Fantasy, Reviews Tagged with: Three & 1/2 Reels

Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)

Jul 302004

Cursed by the jealous Witch of the Waste (Lauren Bacall), Sophie (Emily Mortimer) is aged to an old crone (Jean Simmons). With limited options, she travels to the wastes, and is picked up by the giant walking “castle” of the dashing wizard, Howl (Christian Bale), who is said to have no heart. Accepting her new age, Sophie becomes the castle’s cleaning woman. A war with a nearby kingdom and a summons for all wizards to come to the King’s palace sets Sophie, Howl, and Calcifer (Billy Crystal), a fire demon who supplies the energy for the castle, off on adventures that will call into question who the enemy is.

Nice. Sweet. Cute.

How much you like Howl’s Moving Castle will depend on how much you like to say those three words with regard to your entertainment. If you are looking for meaning or clever commentary on society, this isn’t the place. What you’ll see is a big, bright whirlpool of an adventure that sweeps around with gusto and eventually vanishes without a ripple left behind. While it’s twisting, you’ll see a pleasant girl displays basket-loads of spunk, an adorable small dog who can’t climb stairs, and a hopping scarecrow with tons of moxie.

Oh, add “spunk,” “adorable,” and “moxie” to that list of words. Yes, this is a nice, sweet, cute, spunky, adorable film with lots of moxie.

Director Hayao Miyazaki (Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away) is not one to worry about consistency, logic, or character continuity. In his films, things happen because they are cool. There are few rules and whatever they might be, the audience is kept ignorant. Is a situation dangerous or easy to escape from? Is what is happening an everyday occurrence or is it unusual? Who knows. I doubt Miyazaki even thinks about that. His projects are often described as having the logic of dreams. I’d call it the stream of consciousness of a very excited child. The pieces of the world don’t always hang together. Instead, Miyazaki stacks odd creature on strange event on bizarre background, almost randomly, and then repeats. Sure, there’s imagination at work, but at a very simple level where anything can be tossed in simply because no one is stopping it from happening. Howl’s Moving Castle is a close cousin to his other works, and as such, has a plot that is best described by your breathless nephew after you’ve overdosed him on speed and had him run around the font yard. I’ll start him off:

“Then the blobby men come and Sophie and Howl fly through the air and then he’s gone and the witch comes and she’s mean and makes her old and she cries and runs off and a scarecrow hops around on his stick and a castle with bird legs and chimneys all over walks by and a boy answers the door with a fake beard and the fire can talk and is unhappy and soldiers come to the door and then other soldiers come to the same door but its a different door now and…” (breath)

While normal storytelling devices are thrown out the window, and the whole is hard to connect with, there are many nice moments. These often involve sight-gags (the before-mentioned hoping scarecrow helping with the laundry, two old ladies trying to climb more steps than you can count) or comic one-liners (Calcifer screaming he’s going to be extinguished, Howl telling Sophie not to abuse his fire demon). It’s all pretty amusing in a low-attention-span way.

As this is a children’s movie, based on a British kid’s book by Diana Wynne Jones, there are moral lessons in abundance, but nothing ever backs them up. We learn that war is bad, because it is. Vanity is problematic, again, because it is. The closest thing to a complete message is that growing up is hard and you have to stand up for what is right, but even there the points are hardly conclusive. Don’t strain too much with the themes; you’ll only hurt yourself.

For anime, the hand drawn cells that make up the movie are very complex and reasonably attractive, as longs as you have a great deal of tolerance for pastels. The frame is bursting with items of no story importance; they are there to lend atmosphere and serve that function well. The characters are detailed enough to easily make out their current emotions, and the intricate design of the walking castle must have sent several animators off to rest homes to recover from exhaustion. Children brought up on Disney classics may find it lacking, but the effect should be satisfying for most.

Miyazaki’s recent films have benefited from first class dubbing (purists will complain that there is anything other than the original Japanese, because that’s what purists do). Dubbing might be able to discard its bad reputation with a few more successes like this and Princess Mononoke. Real actors make the difference. Christian Bale’s deep tones for Howl are a break from the tendency of cheap distribution houses to give a weak, high-pitched, squeaking voice to the standard effeminate anime hero. Bale makes him sound like a man, which is a great help in taking him seriously. Bacall, Simmons, Mortimer, and Blythe Danner as the scheming King’s sorceress, all lend the film a level of class, supplying the proper emotions for the dialog. And Crystal, who keeps his tendency to float from comedic into silly in check, is funny and fitting as the demon.

Howl’s Moving Castle is best described as whimsical, and should be enjoyable as long as you don’t invite your “hip” friends over. It is a children’s film that has plenty to entertain adults, but it is still a children’s film.

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Fantasy, Reviews Tagged with: Four Reels

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

May 292004

The Adventures of Harry Potter during his third year at School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The dangerous criminal, Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), has escaped from Azkaban Prison and is after Harry (Daniel Radcliffe). The wraith-like guards of Azkaban have surrounded Hogwarts, and seem to be as interested in harming Harry as catching the escapee. Luckily, Professor Lupin (David Thewlis), the new defense against the dark arts teacher, has also taken an interest in Harry. As usual, Harry and his friends Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson), must discover the truth and put things right.

The differences are minor—a camera angle here, a crooked tie there—but it doesn’t take long for these to add up, making Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban the best of the three Harry Potter movies. Everything is so familiar, the great halls of Hogwarts, the young characters learning about themselves as they lean about magic, the fantastical creatures, yet it is all better. It doesn’t hurt that the three young leads have a few years of experience and maturity to aid their acting, or that CGI effects have advanced, creating a remarkably real Hippogriff (part horse, part eagle) in place of the first film’s rather pathetic centaur.

But while the minor improvements in almost everything help, it is the editing that makes this the first really satisfying Harry Potter film. I can’t say how much of that is due to editor Steven Weisberg and how much to new director Alfonso Cuarón (an odd choice as he is best known for his sexual, art house, road picture, Y Tu Mamá También, but an inspired one as a bit of edginess is all that was needed). What they do is finally integrate all the episodes in the film into one story. There’s never a moment when the plot stops to show off some special effect or cutesy moment (as was common in the first two films). Harry again has a dramatic escape from his home, but now, on the night bus, he learns something pertinent to the story—that Sirius Black is free. Yes, there’s another effects-filled Quidditch Match, but this time it isn’t just a chance to show off the CGI work. The ghostly dementors, an evil brought to Hogwarts due to Sirius Black’s escape, are involved, and for the first time, something actually exciting and dramatic is happening on those broomsticks.

While the crazed wizard, Black, is the other title character, it is Professor Lupin that gets the screen time, and he’s a slightly sad and complex person. I was dubious about David Thewlis taking on the role of mentor and protector (have you watched The Island of Dr. Moreau?), but my concern was misplaced. Thewlis infuses the film with more heart than the previous outings, without being saccharine.

It’s not a perfect movie, but the only significant problems come from the source material, not the adaptation. There are still far too many coincidences and contrivances. The tension in the film is built around a situation that Harry should have been told about (but then most of the suspense would vanish). Several people know the truth about what caused his parents’ death, but they let him go on with an incorrect assumption which causes him greater emotional pain than the facts would, and creates huge problems. It’s irritating that at least some excuse couldn’t have been found to explain keeping Harry in the dark. But none is, which left me shaking my head at the end. Still, the other aspects win out, making this a good time for all, provided you don’t think too much toward the end.

The other films in the series are Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

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Fantasy, Reviews, Werewolves Tagged with: Four Reels

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2004)

May 282004

Five years after the events of Final Fantasy VII (that’s the video game; yes, this is a sequel to a video game) a disease with almost no symptoms ravages (well, not really) the land, hitting orphans and Cloud Strife, a man given no back-story unless you’ve played the game. While Cloud bemoans his state, three white-haired bikers attack and kidnap the orphans. It is up to Cloud, and his old friends, who pop up without explanation, to defeat the strangers and stop the epidemic.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children is a film for people who love Final Fantasy video games, but don’t want to be annoyed with actually playing them. If you like tossing around names like Cloud Strife and Aerith Gainsborough, but find picking up a game-controller just too exhausting, you may enjoy this film. You won’t enjoy it a lot, but nobody else will have a reason to even look at the box.

So, for fans, you get your favorite characters expertly animated; it’s CGI that puts the game version’s to shame. If you want to see Cloud and Tifa wave their hair about, well, you’ll be satisfied. Unfortunately, that’s all you get. Don’t look for any insight into their personalities or information on what they’ve been doing since defeating Sephiroth. There is absolutely nothing in the way of character development. There’s no romance and no one discusses his philosophy. And outside of learning that there is a small chunk of the alien Jenova in a box, you’ll get nothing about the world either. The filmmakers had to work to say so little. Only an expert could make a film so devoid of anything.

And don’t be fooled by the advertising that implies Aerith Gainsborough is back. She’s not.

For non-gamers, there are some guys (and girls) who attack other guys, and nothing ever says who any of them are. They all have powers of one kind or another, but you’ll never know what those are. One of the guys uses a ridiculously oversized sword which doesn’t look “cool,” just silly, and he mopes a lot for reasons that aren’t explained. The villains say they want their mother, and that’s all you’ll ever learn about them (actually, it isn’t much clearer for gamers). There are quite a few battles that you will have no stake in, and are staged with little excitement. It all leads to a climatic duel involving a guy who hasn’t been in the movie till that point, over a goal that is vaguely stated at best. Does this sound interesting? If so, I’m not doing my job.

While I mention the combat, because that’s when things finally happen, more time is spent with these unknown people gazing at nothing. They sigh, and then, with long pauses, say things like: “How do you (pause) live with (pause) guilt? (pause) It makes me (pause) feel (pause) guilty.” Yup, that’s about it.

I have never seen a movie that tried less to engage viewers who hadn’t already bought into the franchise. If you don’t know the video game, then you’ll get more from watching randomly flickering lights.

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Fantasy, Reviews Tagged with: One Reel

Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

May 242004

In the years since Godzilla was trapped in ice, M-Force, made up of humans and vinyl-wearing mutants, has protected the world from the threat of giant monsters with sophisticated sci-fi weapons, wire-fu, and posing–lots and lots of posing. When a 1200-year-old “fossil” of a giant cyborg is discovered, mutant good-guy Ôzaki is assigned to bodyguard hot Molecular Biologist Miyuki Otonashi, who has been sent to study the specimen.

At the same time, giant monsters start attacking all the Earth’s major cities and aliens appear claiming to “Come in peace.” Could the aliens be controlling the monsters and be connected to the fossil? Well, this is an old-school Godzilla picture, so the answer is obvious. It is up to Ôzaki Miyuki, Miyuki’s equally hot reporter sister, Anna, he-man American Colonel Gordon, and Godzilla to save the world.

Essentially a remake of 1968’s Destroyed All Monsters, Godzilla: Final Wars is less a movie than it is a celebration of 50 years of Godzilla, as well as genre filmmaking in general. It is one homage after another. In addition to nods to almost every Godzilla film, there are references to a dozen other Toho features, Independence Day, Gamera (the flying giant turtle from a competing company), The Dark Knight, Star Wars, The Matrix, and six or seven more. Plus there is all the John Woo rip-off fights (so much John Woo…). It makes for a fun if nonsensical ride for geek fans, and an overly kinetic mess for anyone else.

Like the ’60s and ’70s alien-invasion Godzilla films it copies, Godzilla: Final Wars doesn’t have that much Godzilla in it. It is mainly humans (and mutants) and aliens. Unlike those earlier films, they don’t spend all their time talking (and talking and talking). Instead they split their time equally between talking, posing, and fighting. This is an improvement, but with a run time over two hours, the fights go on for too long. Maybe if they weren’t so very derivative of The Matrix and the works of John Woo (the slow- mo motorcycle shoot-out is painful) the middle of the film wouldn’t drag quite so much.

There is also a subplot with Godzilla’s son Minilla and a Kenny (a Japanese trope involving an annoying little boy, usually dressed in oddly tight shorts) which is best to never speak of again.

Of course the main event is the Godzilla combat, and when it comes it is joyful and violent, and significantly loopy. If you are a fan of suit-mation and puppetry in your giant monster movies (and who isn’t?), you have reached Nirvana. Godzilla: Final Wars was announced as the last Godzilla film, at least for a decade. He could have been given a better send off, but Final Wars is one of the better Godzilla films.

Foreign Language, Godzilla, Reviews Tagged with: Three Reels

Dragon Storm (2004)

Apr 282004

Dragons appear on Earth and destroy the castle of corrupt King Fastrad (John Rhys-Davies). Fastrad takes the opportunity to impose on the hospitality of King Wednesbury (John Hansson) and secretly plans to overthrow him and take his castle. Overtly, Fastrad works with Wednesbury, preparing a team of dragon slayers that include the woodsmen, Silas (Maxwell Caulfield), skilled hunter and Wednesbury’s daughter, Medina (Angel Boris), Asian warrior, Ling (Woon Young Park), alchemist, Remmegar (Richard Wharton), Fastrad’s guard, Theldag (Tony Amendola), and weapon maker, Nessa (Iskra Angelova).

Another of the low budget shot-in-Eastern-Europe genre flicks that have become common, Dragon Storm keeps trying to be a quality fantasy, before tripping up on its lack of resources and poorly thought out script. It is two films, one of royal intrigue and one of dragon hunting and the royal segment should never have been filmed.

The dragon slaying story mostly works. It’s a pleasure to see a group working together to defeat an enemy instead of constantly bickering as is the fad with untalented script writers. Wharton’s alchemist and Ling’s warrior stand out as amusing yet fitting for the action/adventure moments. Medina is a cliché as the princess trying to prove herself (not that the other characters are original), but Angel Boris is beautiful enough to make it work. Only the drab woodsman, played by Caulfield with a bad hangover, fails. He should be the romantic lead, but he has no energy and offers nothing of interest. There’s a great deal of silliness connected to the hunt, such as shooting down fast-moving dragons with a slow cranking ballista, but as long as it looks good and has a bit of excitement, which is does, those problems don’t interfere much with enjoying the show. What really looks good are the CGI dragons. These are some of the best creatures made in recent years and I can’t think of a dragon that is significantly better. There is an impressive scene of a dragon floating on the wind, its wings rippling. That’s good stuff.

Unfortunately, whenever things switch back to the kings, the movie’s in trouble. I like John Rhys-Davies. He made a good dwarf in Lord of the Rings and was superb as Sallah in Raiders of the Lost Ark, but his villains come out as cartoons. The script didn’t help, giving him dialog that is only fit for someone twirling the ends of a mustache. The budget shortfall mainly reared its head with the kings and castles. The “kingdoms” are minute, holding no more than a hundred people each and lacking enough buildings for anyone to pretend there is a town. For the great battle, Fastrad’s hired army amounts to one guy with dialog and a few lost-looking extras who can’t quite figure what to do with their weapons. As for Wednesbury’s army, he has none. Nobody. Without the cash, director Stephen Furst was forced to settle for a chase. I’ve been seeing far too many films lately where one or two people, running through a Bulgarian forest or ruin, has replaced combat. Interesting that it is now cheaper to make first rate dragons than to hire some competent stage fighters and a reasonable number of soldier extras.

Dragon Storm was doomed to mediocrity or worse in the planning stage. Either it needed its fairy tale elements cranked up or it needed to swing more towards exploitation sword and sorcery, with some blood and nudity. With ex-playmate Angel Boris on set, who is best known for her string of Playboy videos, it’s hard to see why the second option wasn’t attempted.

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Fantasy, Giant Monsters, Reviews Tagged with: Two Reels

The Grudge (2004)

Apr 112004

An American student (Sarah Michelle Gellar) in Tokyo, working part time as a care worker, is sent to look in on an old woman in a cursed house. A vicious murder occurred there three years ago, and now anyone who enters it, dies.

The Grudge is a remake of the Japanese new wave horror film, Ju-On: The Grudge. To make sense of how this film fits in, read my reviews of Ju-On 1 & 2 and Ju-On: The Grudge.

Like its brothers, The Grudge is a creepy piece of work. Directed by Takashi Shimizu, who directed the Japanese version, and using the same crew and some of the same actors, The Grudge varies little from its source material. It has the nonlinear story, weird contortionist ghost, mewing cats, and feeling of doom that made the previous entries more frightening than what’s being devised in the States.

The biggest change is switching in American actors for many of the major roles. The screenplay explains what all these U.S. nationals are doing in Tokyo, but doesn’t explain why they all happen to run into the house and its curse. I could buy that the American student care worker was sent to look after an American family, but tossing in yet another American, a college professor (Bill Pullman) was too much. I couldn’t forget that the real reason they were American was to sell the movie.

Other changes include more development for Gellar’s character (in the original, the only important thing about a character was that he was going to die), a slightly changed ending, and the addition of several elements from Ju-On 1 & 2. The first two harm nothing, and the third is an improvement.

But these are all little things. The Grudge has the same successes and failings as the Japanese version. It is slightly more coherent, but I can’t say that is an improvement. It’s an enjoyable film, but falls far short of the direct-to-video prequels. I would recommend it over Ju-On: The Grudge, though not by much. Better still, find copies of Ju-On 1 & 2. (Japanese DVDs with English subtitles can be ordered over the Internet from Asia.)

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Asian, Ghost Stories, Reviews Tagged with: Three Reels

The Ghost {Ryeong} (2004)

Apr 112004

Ji-won (Ha-Neul Kim), suffering amnesia after an “incident” a year ago, has decided to study abroad, much to the chagrin of her possessive mother. When one of her old friends drowns in her kitchen, Ji-won begins to investigate the past, and discovers she was a rather unpleasant girl, with three unpleasant friends, all of whom are targets for a ghost. When she uncovers that they used to abuse a fifth girl who disappeared a year ago, it seems clear who the ghost is, but not what to do about it.

A Korean take on the vengeful “yūrei” spirit, The Ghost has enough twists and tension to satisfy horror buffs and enough clues and complications for mystery enthusiasts. But it really wins on character. Asian horror is often weak on defining who we are watching and what they are like (see Whispering Corridors or The Heirloom), but here we really get to know the heroine. It’s an advantage of the amnesia tale. At the beginning, we don’t know the character, but neither does she, and we learn together.

The Ghost is not going to satisfy viewers who’ve tired of the look and feel of Asian horror. If you’ve watched a half dozen J/K/#-horror films, you know this ghost, seen the directing and editing style, and heard the music. Of course if you’ve seen a half dozen films in any movement, then you’re unlikely to find much new in any additional movies, but Westerners tend to be more susceptible to this kind of fatigue with Eastern movies. Yes, till the end, there’s not a lot new here, but what’s old is done slickly.

As for what is new, that’s the ending, and you’ll rarely find a more convoluted conclusion. It all makes sense, eventually. I almost needed a diagram to keep it clear and would have been grateful for the clichéd scene that’s in almost every American horror-mystery when the survivors state what it was all about. Still, it is better to be obscure than overly predictable.

While the ghost story is vibrant, filled with requisite frights, the romance is dead on arrival. Ji-won’s potential boyfriend serves no purpose in the movie except to slow things down, which isn’t a desired job. He doesn’t bring needed emotion, he isn’t part of the mystery, and he never effects the plot. He’s just there, hanging around, taking up screen time.

The Ghost isn’t a game changer. It is, however, a satisfying ghost story.

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Asian, Foreign Language, Ghost Stories, Reviews Tagged with: Four Reels

Hellboy (2004)

Apr 062004

In 1944, a young Professor Broom accompanies a military unit on a mission to stop Rasputin (Karel Roden) and The Third Reich from carrying out a magical ritual that will end the world. They succeed—though Rasputin’s loving assistant, Ilsa Haupstein (Biddy Hodson) and the freakish assassin Karl Ruprecht Kroenen (Ladislav Beran) escape—and find a horned, red baby they name Hellboy. Now, Rasputin has returned from the dead to finish his plan and it is up to the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, staffed by the grown Hellboy (Ron Perlman), elderly Broom (John Hurt), pyrokinetic Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), amphibious Abe Sapien (Doug Jones / voice: David Hyde Pierce) and Agent Myers (Rupert Evans) to stop him.

Hellboy is the best of Ghostbusters layered on the best of Men in Black added to the best of the X-Men, all swirled about the best of Lovecraft, decked out in a world that’s what a steampunk Tim Burton would design on his best day. It is a celebration of all things pulp and geeky and it is non-stop fun. Nor is it empty joy, though if in filming the question ever arose, “Should this scene dwell on fun or on meaning?” fun won out.

Perlman was the perfect choice for the immature red devil with a soft heart. He’s as good with the gentle moments as he is with the quips, and there are a lot of quips. I could praise each actor in turn as everyone is excellent, but besides Perlman, the compliments need to go to director Guillermo del Toro (Blade II, Pan’s Labyrinth). This was his dream project and it shows. Everything is meticulously done, creating the most beautiful comic book movie I’ve seen. Just gazing at the set dressing of the library is entertainment enough. The creatures—be they blue, empathic fish-men, multi-eyed demon dogs, or Nazi, zombie assassins—look fantastic.

Those weird and wonderful creatures look great in the many, exuberant action scenes. And all that clawing and shooting isn’t just visual mastery. There’s something being shown about the characters, or just a great joke, with every titanic punch.

I could have done without Agent Myers. He’s our portal character. Portal characters can be very effective, leading us into a strange world. There’s no need for exposition tossed into the air when a portal character can ask the questions we need answered. But the portal character needs to be more than just a portal. Normally he’s the protagonist. But in Hellboy, he’s an extra. Hellboy is the center of all the action scenes. The plot involves several characters, but not the agent. And the emotional weight of the film is carried by Hellboy, Liz Sherman, and Professor Broom. But Myers isn’t a bad character and he doesn’t take up so much time that he gets in the way of the father/son and romantic relationships

The “extended” or “director’s” cut is now the normal one, but you may run into the theatrical cut. As far as character and story, there’s no difference between the two. The added ten minutes are nice, but change nothing. Still, the longer version is the better one simply because it inserts needed pauses. The movie is so fast paced that a few moments to rest to take in what’s happened make for a better experience.

It was followed by Hellboy II: The Golden Army.

Demons, Fantasy, Reviews, Superhero Tagged with: Four & 1/2 Reels

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