Tenkû no shiro Rapyuta (1986)

Ever since I watched my first anime flick (Howl's Moving Castle), I have had a special place in my heart for the genre, particularly the unrestrained creativity that comes from Studio Ghibli. Castle in the Sky brings a great adventure out of ordinary happenings. The boy & girl team end up foiling secret agents, flying all over the world, facing magical foes and of course discovering courage and strength along the way. The best part of these stories is the unpredictable turns, which may also be what people don't like about them - the magical elements are simply boundless making it easy to conjure a story that no one else could make up.

Tangled (2010)

I enjoyed this modern, musical, Disney-fied take on the Rapunzel story. With such high returns on animated features these days, they typically gather a stellar crew of writers, animators, and producers.

As is typical, the side characters are the funniest and most interesting (the horse, the chameleon, the tavern crew, etc.). Some of the songs are fun, but a lot of them are sentimental crooning which, you know, get stuck in your head and will likely be memorized by young girls.

My pastor preached a sermon on this movie, likening it to a modern parable about identity and going home.

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The Secret of Kells (2009)

This is such a lovely, fresh film that I can't help but give it my full endorsement. The animation is themed after the illuminating art in the Book of Kells - Celtic production of the four Gospels circa 800 AD. The story focuses on an Irish monastery where this special book is being guarded and produced under constant threat of invading clans. A young boy left in the care of the monks is so drawn to the book and also to the forbidden woodlands that his loyalty to the abbot is questioned.

I can't wait to see it again.

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Nollywood Babylon (2008)

The makers of this documentary display a two pronged story pairing the burgeoning low budget high profit film industry in Nigeria with the prosperity gospel being preached in Nigerian mega churches. It is a fascinating look at what are often one dimensional issues.

We learn of how the video industry started and it's relationship to animist witchcraft and then we follow it is being used to promote Charismatic Christian values such as how to get rich and famous by making movies.

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The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010)

Again, Disney surprises me with a compelling, though made for children, retelling of a Narnia book.

The two youngest Pevensie kids, a bit older than before, and their "better than everyone else" cousin Eustace are magically transported to Narnia. They become part of an expedition with King Caspian and Reepicheep seeking seven lost lords. Their adventures build their character by testing them with temptations which they must resist.

The most impressive line in the film came towards the end when Aslan is speaking with Lucy. She asks him if she will ever see him again and he replies that the reason she was brought to Narnia was so that she might know him and know him in her world where he is known by another name.

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Scoop (2006)

Woody Allen presents another crime centred comedy set in Britain, this time with a supernatural twist.

A nubile journalist hopeful stumbles upon a tremendous scoop delivered to her from beyond the grave. She is set on the trail of a serial killer whom she seduces as she snoops around to amass evidence about his crimes. Her sidekick, a bumbling, neurotic magician (you can guess who plays him!) does most of the digging for evidence while she does most of the seducing.

It's a playful comedy that doesn't cause much of a stir in the viewer. It is funny though.

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Alice in Wonderland (2010)

Lewis Carroll wrote this story to be made into a film by Tim Burton.

A victorian young woman named Alice is faced with duty when a rabbit distracts her for an instant. Next thing she knows, she is hurdling downwards into Wonderland and speaking with flowers, a dodo and a caterpillar named Absalom. She charms nearly everyone she meets and faces execution before ultimately being the champion.

This is not a children's movie. Burton brings an edginess to the story through darker artistic inspiration - the Queen of Hearts is beheading her subjects after all. The design is jaw dropping. All of the actors (voice and live action) draw you into their madness and desperation.

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Death Defying Acts (2007)

In a similar way that Public Enemies romanticized the last days of John Dilinger, Death Defying Acts takes a melodramatic look at the end of Harry Houdini's life.

Plagued with the recent death of his mother, famed illusionist Harry Houdini is on a quest to speak to the dead - or at least demonstrate clairvoyance to be fraudulent. He meets his match in Scotland where a beautiful single mother promises to help him communicate with this dead mother.

While the story is a stretch from real events, they are remarkable in that they even resemble the truth. It is an interesting tale and the acting in it is acceptable.

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Four Rooms (1995)

Each of four directors tackle 1/4 of this quirky film. Tim Roth is the strand that holds the story together.

A new bellhop on his first day on the job on New Year's Eve is called to four different rooms. At each room he is asked to do things that are expressly forbidden either by his job description or by the law.

What is surprising about the film - which resembles more a collection of short films or four TV episodes than it does a feature - is that all four of the episodes are great. I expected Tarantino's to the best (which it was), but the other three were just as hilarious and suspenseful.

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Astérix aux jeux olympiques (2008)

Well-loved French comic book heroes Astérix and Obélix return to the big screen in an epic tale of the little guy winning against the tyrant.

Traveling from Gaul, the only remaining non-Roman province in Europe, Asterix and his spherical sidekick attend the olympics in Athens to support their friend who has fallen in love with a Greek princess. Here they must thwart the illegal efforts of the Emperor's son who also has an eye for the princess.

The entire thing is simply farce with very little tongue in cheek commentary on politics, which is too bad, because the comics did have their fair share of satire. The effects are acceptable, but the entire story is weak and random.

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Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Guy Ritchie continues his trend of fast paced British films, but backs up a century to jazz up Sherlock Holmes.

Holmes and reluctantly faithful Dr. Watson become entangled in a plot to take over the British Empire. They piece clue after clue until they get their man, very nearly. . . Moriarty will surely linger for a few more sequels.

The film is plenty of fun and the heroes are tainted with their own demons. It does lack the depth other recent hero films have.

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The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009)

As crazy as this tale is, and the fact that it is true, doesn't quite lift if from being a relatively meaningless story.

A down-and-out reporter stumbles upon a bizarre tale as he tries to write about the Iraq War. The American government sponsored a military project in the 1980's whose objective was to teach soldiers how to channel psychic power as a weapon. The reporter follows one of the most adept of these trainees a couple decades later as he practices the weird techniques in Iraq.

The acting is great. The writing is decent. The cinematography is adequate. The story just lacks importance and it leaves you the same way a bizarre story in the newspaper leaves you.

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Hellboy (2004)

Yet another of the comic book franchise, this time from Dark Horse Comics (Conan, Buffy). Hobbit director Guillermo del Toro takes this one on.

This rather funny tale with great visual effects is about a little demon who is raised by a CIA agent and fights on the side of good. Rasputin, a near immortal conjurer, seeks to use Hellboy in his scheme to destroy the world. The two duke it out.

Hellboy stands out among the superhero movies that I've seen in that it is more willing to embrace humour than coolness. It's protagonist is not perfect (now a common superhero theme), but he's also not at all human except that he's been forced to fit into society and is now an extra-societal protector of society.

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Coraline (2009)

This was a disappointment. The animation was super. Some of the dialogue was intriguing. The story however was just boring and difficult to engage with.

Coraline finds a portal to a parallel world where everything in her world is, except they are counterfeits. She has to decide whether to sell her soul to the wicked thing that controls the parallel world or stay in her rather drab real world where her parents are too busy for her.

Some definite potential, but a few miles away from greatness. I drifted off a couple times.

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Kung Fu Hustle (2004)

Stephen Chow possesses unique film making powers and he demonstrates them most effectively in Kung Fu Hustle.

The Axe Gang is terrorizing neighbourhoods in Shanghai in the 1940's. The borough called Pig Sty is usually untouched because of its poverty, but a wannabe gangster troubles the water and the residents of Pig Sty are soon embroiled in a war with the Axe Gang. The most unlikely characters emerge as kung fu masters and some great fighting sequences ensue.

For me, the comedic elements are as interesting and entertaining as the action ones. Some of the comedy falls flat on western ears however and it's important to keep this in mind when one views Chow's films.

The film begins with a very graphic scene of violence in order to show the bestial nature of the villain. It is very rough for a film that is borderline cartoonish.

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Alice in Wonderland (1951)

This is a classic standard among Disney's animated features. The music is very old style and resembles the sound of ghosts saying "ooooo." For such an old film, the animation is tremendous!

What struck me as I watched this was that it truly reflected Lewis Carroll's deconstructed postmodern vision - everything is meaningless. 

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Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (2001)

After watching as a child an animated Japanese TV series about frogs who were frequently killed, I've since avoided Anime films - until last year when I inadvertently watched Howl's Moving Castle. I was blown away and vowed to watch Spirited Away by the same filmmaker (Hayao Miyazaki).

A very young girl, Chihiro, accidentally becomes trapped in another dimension at a spa for spirits. She is forced to use her child-like virtues to survive, but also to transform the oppressive regime. The story is littered with double-agents, magical creatures, and horrifying beasts. We never know what is going to happen next, in fact the major quest in the film is only given towards the end.

The reason these films are so enjoyable is for two reasons: the superbly original animation and the completely different set of rules that the stories are based on (very post-modern).

I look forward to seeing Ponyo on the Cliff very soon.

Truth: Innocence and love are transforming and sustaining powers.

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Enchanted (2007)

From the moment I saw the preview for this film, I thought the premise for the story was brilliant: a self parody by Disney on its princess movies.

When cartoon Princess Gisele (a lovely blend of Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty) gets pushed into a portal, she emerges into real life NYC. Her optimism, sewing skills, compulsion to burst into song, and communicative powers over animals (mostly rats and pidgeons) stick however. Some characters from happily-ever-after-land follow her and a pursuit and love story ensue.

The story was a bit predictable and it is really the incidental events that amuse. Some of the jokes are forced and geared towards a much younger audience than should be watching a film like this. What is ultimately the joy of this movie is watching Disney poke fun at itself and much of the make believe land that has become a cultural mainstay over the last 75 years.

Deserving kudos is the special effects department for the closing montage of a pop-up book that merges back and forth into real life. The costumes were pretty fun too.

Truth: Romance and love should have a balanced blend of realism and mystery. Don't accept bright shiny apples from hunched over strange old women wearing black cloaks.

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Dnevnoy Dozor (2006)

I highly anticipated watching the sequel to the tremendously original Night Watch. I'm not a vampire movie fan, but this one took the battle of good vs. evil and the determinism vs. choice discussion to a great visual height.

Day Watch turns the page of our protagonist's understanding of his choice to abort his son in the first film. We see the consequences on both parties and we can appreciate a broader view of how decisions based on self affect others. The new characters are only slightly more compelling than the first movie's cast. The story is just as multifaceted, relying more on sensitive intuition than overt exposition.

My absolute favorite part about this film is that it doesn't cater to any other culture's sensitivity (particularly western ones). It is flat out Russian and if a viewer doesn't understand some cultural nuance or historical nod, so what. They aren't out to please everyone, they are out to make a great film - and a great film it is.

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Beowulf (2007)

I have a deep respect for Robert Zemeckis, the director of Forrest Gump, Cast Away, and Back to the Future. I think he's exploring new territory with 1/2 actor 1/2 computer animation film and I commend him for it. I just think it looks too much like a video game and the story and characters have to be pretty compelling to draw me away from thinking "this looks so fake." I don't think I ever had the desire to watch The Polar Express for the same reason. The animation is quite good, but it's distracting how it doesn't fit an existing genre (and the closest genre is Sony Playstation).

That said, I think the story of wannabe hero Beowulf is quite compelling. The story is short enough to not lose the viewer and the tragic characters are at the very least represented well; Grendel's story and lines are perhaps the most captivating.

I have to admit now that I managed only the first of the three parts of Beowulf in university. I thought it was boring and I had plenty of other studying that seemed much more important at the time, so I can't really comment on whether it was a good adaptation - I'm assuming it is.

Something I find interesting is the way the film was marketed. Scenes of a musclebound hero shouting "I am Beowulf" let the viewer know that this will be a story about a self-centred hero and I think a lot of people are drawn to these types of films. I wasn't crazy about the idea as so many films like this are not multidimensional (stuff like Bond movies and the XXX franchise). I was startled to find how intriguing Beowulf was as a hero - unable to express his weakness, and he had some fierce weaknesses.

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