I’m back! And it’s a good one.

Let me start off by saying this: Bojack Horseman is not the show you think it is. Beyond the clichéd indie-comedy joke format of its trailer and the anthropomorphic animals populating its bizarre world, the show provides its audience with an existential trip that digs deeper than the traditional animated comedy and manages to infuse its characters with some very real, very complex human emotions. Somewhere along the twelve-episode span of its first season, the writers transitioned away from the pure comedy focus and honed in on the true meat of the Bojack story – his aggressive and apathetic upbringing, his deep-rooted insecurities with being washed-up, and the impact that has on the people in his life. And while Bojack is the namesake of our story, most of the script’s overarching themes involve revelations on the feelings, motivations, and upbringings of all of our characters, and how actions that seem inconsequential to us may have long-standing impacts on those who look up to us, whether we see ourselves as role-models or not.

That’s not to say that the show isn’t funny. The script is rife with quick-shots, punch-lines, one-liners, and digs on popular culture, and the animation is littered with visual gags, often playing with the notion of a world populated by large anthropomorphic animals. At the same time, the show doesn’t become a caricature of itself or fish for laughs; jokes will come and go with little affair, and episodes will likely require at least two viewings to catch all of them. Like Will Arnett’s most well-known comedy hit, Arrested Development, a lot of the situations that arise are completely ludicrous and go much further than is expected of them, and yet the show is able to build a real world that the audience can feel a connection with. This is the true value of Bojack Horseman – its ability to ground itself in its incredibly detailed and relatable character sketches and expose the internal workings of its cast.

Between the show’s star-studded cast of voice actors and its lackadaisical art style, Bojack Horseman has a lot of room to ride on the coattails of established animated comedy greats and deliver cheap laughs to satisfy its audience. Instead, and perhaps due to the freedom of being a Netflix Original, it provides a fresh, unique experience that is sometimes heartwarming, sometimes heart-dropping, often surreal, and always funny. The artists, writers, actors, musicians, and producers have all come together to build something uniquely and unmistakably “Bojack,” and it would be a shame to let the premise of the show prevent you from watching it through.

May 20, 2014

Godzilla (2014)

Hearkening back to the slow-burning monster flicks of yesteryear, Gareth Edwards was clearly inspired by classic films like Jaws and Jurassic Park in making Godzilla, with varying degrees of success. You’ll sit through a number of teasers and big poster reveals before settling in for the final apocalyptic showdown between Godzilla and his prey, and watching the titular character rip apart everything in his path is as brilliant as it should be, with great CGI and a boisterous orchestral soundtrack to back it up.

At the same time, the film never seems to hit the same notes as those that it tries to emulate. The tension it tries to replicate never shows up, despite multiple moments in which you know you should be feeling something – fear, terror, awe. Even in IMAX 3D, I never had knots in my stomach the way I did when, for instance, the Tyrannosaurus first appeared on screen in Jurassic Park.

Going into the theater, I appreciated knowing that the trailers for Godzilla were sparse on details, and I was pleasantly surprised by the plot’s development. Unfortunately, much of the film is hampered by a cliched Hollywood love story, and the majority of the film’s “human element” is unnecessary padding that never leads anywhere. If the scene you’re watching has a child as one of its focal points, its probably safe to skip those minutes. It almost seems like they tried too hard to keep Godzilla under wraps, and decided to use as much hammy filler as possible to run up the clock.

In addition, most of the script is either pure Hollywood spiel, or cheesy and ridiculous. Ken Watanabe stumbles through the entire film in a state of utter shock and confusion, Elizabeth Olsen and Carson Bolde have the riveting roles of looking worried for our protagonist, and I’m not entirely sure why Sally Hawkin’s character existed after the first half hour. Even Bryan Cranston (who has a much smaller role than advertised) has painfully subpar lines.

Godzilla (2014) is a straight split down the middle. Monster flicks require big budgets to pay for the CGI, and a big budget means going through the Hollywood system, where it’ll likely be mucked up by cliched, “relatable” storylines that distract from the main attraction. Edward’s attempt at Godzilla is the franchise’s best in a long time, but it still has a ton of flaws that keep it from being great.

With Columbia Pictures recently announcing plans to expand the Spiderman universe with Venom and Sinister Six spinoffs, it’s become increasingly clear that the new films aim to be big blockbuster cash grabs. The second film in Spidey’s reboot certainly lives under that header, bringing fantastic visuals and digital effects to showcase its onslaught of action.

The cinematography is more of what was seen in the previous film – quick, stylish shots, dizzying pans, and a lot of eye-catching slow-mo to showcase Spider-Man’s more intricate movements in battle. This is Spider-Man at his best, and the fight scenes are pure summer spectacles. Although I’m not a fan of 3-D films, I gave it a chance and found that it really enhanced the picture; unlike a lot of other films, I rarely caught myself self-aware of the format.

Unfortunately, the film’s script follows the same formula as its cinematography; it attempts to juggle three or four different storylines, and although it certainly does so with more care than Spider-Man 3, it still comes across as unfocused and uneven. Peter (Andrew Garfield) and Gwen (Emma Stone) have great chemistry together, but in moments of turmoil, the acting takes a turn for the worse and ends up being comically over-dramatic. On the other end of the spectrum, we don’t see nearly enough of Harry to justify such a large role in this film; the backstory and appearances of Harry and Norman Osbourne are suspect at best, and the relationship between Peter and Harry is shaky and rushed. Had they introduced Harry in the first film, his appearance here would have been much less superficial.

And what’s up with his hair, anyways? Harry Osbourne

The only storyline that I can comfortably back is Electro’s. Jamie Foxx plays an entertaining Max and gives the first 30 minutes some life in between the mushy-gushy of Peter’s relationship with Gwen. As Electro, he looks fantastic, and the effects are pretty eye-catching. What really stands out during Electro’s scenes, however, is Han Zimmer’s soundtrack. The soundtrack is heavy on the electronic/dub sound and gives off a really intense, modern vibe. The action on screen intertwines with the beats and drops of the soundtrack, making Electro’s presence truly unique and memorable. Yes, the logic behind Electro’s resentment of Spider-Man isn’t exactly fool-proof, but his action scenes stick out in my mind as the best parts of this film.

Overall, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a great, action-packed blockbuster with beautiful visuals and a clean, modern soundtrack. Unfortunately, the plot suffers from being too jam-packed with material, and it is pretty obvious that the writers were forced to rush some of the storylines to plant the seeds for future sequels. As a Spidey fan, I look forward to the next few movies – with great hopes for the action, and little hope for the plot.

The short run-time of Fred Zinnemann’s uncommon western belies its surprising amount of substance and polish. Not a second is wasted on overzealous information or inconsequential subplots, and the events are paced near perfectly to coincide with the true 85-minute run-time of the film. The time is always ticking and looming over marshal Will Kane (Gary Cooper) as he tries to round up a small village to back him up against an old adversary, and with each failure, we gain insight into social perceptions, human behaviors, and group mentalities.

The film does not ride on the coattails of beautiful cinematography, nor does it rely on its soundtrack to convey emotion. There is only one memorable song in this film, and it is a song that gets played over and over again from beginning to end. The film is all about its characters, about examining undeterred courage and common cowardice, and perhaps in that the film serves as Kane’s greatest testimony. High Noon is understated and soft-spoken. It sticks to its guns and you’re not quite sure how it’ll turn out, but regardless of the outcome, it proves its worth and has its place in history.

Mar 28, 2014

Up in Smoke (1978)

Let’s be honest: Cheech and Chong make films for stoners, and although this first outing probably would’ve been better had I been high off my rocker, it is still the definitive stoner flick. There is no drama or tension, no true conflict or moral of the story; if it had a plot, it certainly fell to the wayside by the 5 minute mark. This film is about two stoners who ride high and bang chicks, with scene after scene of ridiculous situations and nonstop fun. Up in Smoke starts off with probably the best sequence of the movie – an extended scene of our two protagonists toking up in a beat up car – then rolls onward to stranger and stranger situations, ending before you know it. 96 minutes of weed, weed trucks, and weed-based decisions.

Judging by the almost universal acclaim and adoration for this film even 50 years after its release, it took me about twenty years too long for me to watch this film. I’ve never been particularly enamored by lengthy films, and a movie long enough to have an intermission is certainly in that category. After viewing it for the first time, however, I can honestly say that this is one of the best films I’ve ever watched.

Despite being nearly 4 hours long, the writers set a fantastic pace for the film’s story that easily makes it go by quicker than films half its length. It’s impressive how quickly it seems to shift from Lawrence making a fool of himself, to conquering cities with an Arabian army at his stead. The then-novel time-shift narrative serves well as a vehicle for the film’s psychological analysis of the titular character, who struggles throughout to understand his motivations and allegiances between the conflicting desires of the British military, the Arabian masses, and his own moral compass, and O’Toole handles the role with care and finesse as he depicts Lawrence at varying stages of his impressive military service.

Lawrence of Arabia’s enormous production budget is evident in all aspects of its creation, from its vast landscapes and awe-inspiring battle scenes, to its hugely affecting soundtrack. The picture quality is beautiful and a real treat given the year of its release, and cinematographer Freddie Young takes full advantage of it with a mix of eclectic Arabian landscapes. These landscapes feel foreign to the eye, and, when combined with the now-iconic soundtrack, feel like an entirely new planet away from the comforting familiarity of civilization. The film, above all, succeeds in painting the unique world of Arabia with beauty and finesse, perhaps the way T.E. Lawrence truly saw it.

John Huston’s mad adventure about a seedy man (Humphrey Bogart) and his two gold-mining companions (Walter Huston, Tim Holt) opens up with a usually clean-cut Bogart begging for money on the streets of Tampico. The rest of the film’s arc is foreshadowed early on, but it’s the execution of its brotherly camaraderie and subsequent descent into darkness that stands out and makes The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) memorable and easy to enjoy. The characters are the film’s heart and soul, and we get the full range of human interaction and expression through the wise old man, the money-hungry Dobbs, the young man with a good heart, and their encounters with a cast of auxiliary characters that continually throw a wrench in their plans.

Although the entirety of the film is entertaining, no portion is more gripping than the last hour or so, when old man Howard leaves and Dobbs fully gives into his delusions. Bogart plays the madman to its full, glorious potential in a breakdown of Shakespearean proportions (King Lear). No matter how heavy and depressing this movie gets, however, there are always moments of humor and laughter, whether in lighthearted banter or in painfully ironic situations. The final scene, especially, is almost like a cosmic joke played out on our protagonists, and they are surely aware enough to get their share of laughter out of the way. As the film gets closer and closer to that point, one begins to notice the stark realism and honesty in the world’s portrayal: true Mexican landscapes, with true Mexican actors, speaking their language for scenes at a time with no translations. In a film filled with action, humor, and tension, it’s the honesty of Sierra Madre that wins out and makes it all worth it.

Feb 13, 2014

Latino Images in Film

The first thing one notices about The Ox-Bow Incident is its striking black-and-white visuals – its surreal lighting carves deep contours into each character’s face, providing the first hint that something is off in William-Wellman’s quiet film. Its vast surroundings hammer it home, imposing a feeling of isolation and endless expanse in an early America where the law ran wild and civilians took it upon themselves to set things right.

Released in the midst of World War II, at a time when men, women, and children were united in their love and patriotism for their country, it’s not a movie that one would expect or want to see. The film gains its personality from painting its characters with shadows of a doubt, going against the commonly heroic protagonists of other westerns. It brought into question several social and cultural standards at the time, including the righteousness of crowds and the American people, the expectations of males and masculinity, and the roles of black actors in society. Despite less-than-stellar success at the box office, The Ox-Bow Incident has become a fan favorite over the years for its subtlety, complexity, and diverse cast of characters. It runs a short 75 minutes, but you certainly get your money’s worth.

Bordertown is a great example of a film that starts off with an intriguing prologue, enters the main act strong, and then manages to lose its handle and go completely off-the-rails. The problem with Bordertown isn’t the fact that it centers around the rise of hot-blooded Mexican lawyer Johnny Ramirez, who is portrayed by the Jewish Paul Muni. In fact, Paul Muni is known for being able to disappear into his roles, and does a fairly good job here despite being a little over the top in his portrayal. The problem with Bordertown is that it tries to shock and astonish its viewers more often than necessary in the latter third of the film, putting on a heavy dose of melodrama that it never recovers from.

Bordertown is the story of a righteous Mexican lawyer who fights to achieve the American dream, and gets repeatedly trampled on despite his successes. The prologue is largely stereotypical of American opinions on Mexicans at the time, and the ending is ridiculously racist and depressing given the trajectory of the film up until that point, but Paul Muni manages to carry a good charismatic energy throughout the film that keeps things alive and interesting. Eugene Pallette provides an immense comedic spark early on as Charlie Roark, the oblivious husband and owner of a Tijuana road house, but the real star of the show is a young Bette Davis, who plays femme-fatale Marie Roark.

Bette Davis has the unique trait of seemingly being on or coming off of cocaine in every scene she’s in. This unique trait is what launches her into stardom at the end of the ’30s and into the ’40s, and its what makes her performance in Bordertown a remarkable one. In one iconic moment, she blows so much cigarette smoke out of her orifices that I expect somebody was running to pull the fire alarm afterwards. Her increasingly manic performance is sudden and unbelievable, but her raw acting chops are certainly on display here, and it was obvious to her future directors that she could be an icon given the right screenplay. Despite a less than perfect script, there is enough wit and charisma early on to prop Bordertown up as an enjoyable movie.

Wes Anderson’s unique stop-motion picture is an amalgam of surreal images, of disturbingly human animals and stylized picture book settings. It reaches into the depths of the Uncanny Valley and comes out with an almost hyper-aware sense of its own oddity, mocking the traditional arc of character development in the form of furry skins and dry quips.

The film is especially amazing in its first half, which opens with a vibrant set piece of Mr. Fox and his enigmatic tree. Wes Anderson makes use of the oldest form of animation, and the results are eye-catchingly beautiful when combined with his colorful palette. The sound design is equally crisp, and they found a great group of voice actors to match the manic energy of the film’s animated characters.

The film’s screenplay is smart and refined, with sharp-shooting conversations and an abnormal number of classic one-liners pouring out from furry lips. The script is constantly making fun of traditional Hollywood films, in one scene knocking the deep existentialist questions that every protagonist seems to have, and every sidekick seems to have the answer to.

Unfortunately, the film falls into a lull during its second half, getting bogged down by a thin plot and rushed attempts at character development that hinder the humorous, satirical nature of an otherwise brilliant script. It gets much closer to the typical animated fare of Hollywood once the main conflict gets underway, and I absolute abhorred the ending scene, which I found to be bland and useless. Nevertheless, as with all Wes Anderson films, Fantastic Mr. Fox is a fresh cut away from the typical fare coming out of L.A.

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