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Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Duck Dodgers in the 24th1/2 Century (1953)

Title Card reading 'Duck Dodgers in the 24th1/2 Century' over a starry sky background
One cartoon I remember watching several times when I was little was Chuck Jones's Duck Dodgers in the 24th1/2 Century. I hadn't seen it in a while, but I was able to recall several little details when I saw it in class, and again earlier today. 

For me watching these cartoons again after many years is about remembering those little details-the giant eye in the beginning of the film, the disintegration pistol, navigating to planet "X." The navigation scene has a classic facial expression from Daffy at the end. Those are still all my favorite parts of the cartoon, but I picked up on some new stuff-the story around the voyage to the planet is hilarious nonsense, and I was able to read the ultimatum bullets. Last time I saw them I could only read "OUCH!"(I was really young). At least I was able to respond to Daffy getting his face blown up. Daffy and Porky are a classic team, and they're hard to compare to any other classic looney Tunes duo, you can't pick Daffy and Bugs because their relationship is too different. Porky is kind of like the "straight man" and Daffy is just crazy. I can't think of a single moment I didn't enjoy watching this, my only problem is it seems to run short.

Title Card reading 'Duck Dodgers in the 24th1/2 Century' over a starry sky background
Title Card | Copyright 1953 Warner Brothers and AT&T


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Tuesday, January 18, 2011

How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

Still image from How to Train Your Dragon showing Hiccup tossing a fish to Toothless
When a DreamWorks Animation movie makes you feel something, it's special. When a DreamWorks Animation movie makes you question which film will win Best Animated Feature at the Golden Globes and Oscars, it's interesting. When a DreamWorks Animation movie makes you wonder if this is the same studio that has become known for cramming pop culture references and farts into its movies, it's How to Train Your Dragon.

How to Train Your Dragon is the classic story of the kid who is different from everybody else. That kid is Hiccup, and if you didn't know, that voice is Jay Baruchel's. Hiccup is a small, weak kid who wants to at least fit in with his fellow vikings. He's not seeking extreme popularity, and he KNOWS being accepted for himself is a long shot. His own father, Stoick (Gerard Butler), won't even accept him. However, he figures fitting in would be nice. The way to fit in is to kill a dragon.
    
Along comes a "Night Fury," the most dangerous breed of dragon. Hiccup has trapped him and left him defenseless. With a blade in his hand, Hiccup looks into the dragon's eyes and sees a plea for mercy. Hiccup frees the dragon and starts their slow-building secret friendship. Hiccup names the dragon Toothless, because he has retractable teeth, and together they are able to change their world for the better.
    
The best part of this movie is that it's different from anything else DreamWorks has ever come up with. As I said before, no overly crude humor or cheap laughs. The goal of How to Train Your Dragon is a little less about laughs and more about creating "oohs and aahs" among the audience. This is accomplished through the action scenes. This film has some of the best flying sequences in any film. The 3D only makes it better, as it is done subtly and isn't overused.
    
My only problem with the plot is that Hiccup's story arc and his dad's are familiar and have been done before. The good thing is they've never been done quite like this, so it's just a minor problem.
   
Will How to Train Your Dragon beat Toy Story 3 at the Oscars? Hell no, but it is still an amazing movie on par with some of Pixar's other best works and older DreamWorks Animation movies like Antz and Shrek.


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Friday, January 14, 2011

Due Date (2010) vs Planes Trains & Automobiles (1987)

Movie posters for both Due Date and Planes Trains & Automobiles
I'm going to come out and say it, Planes, Trains & Automobiles is better than Due Date. Due Date tries to be a bigger and better version of Planes, Trains & Automobiles and fails, so instead of having the flight land in a different city, there's a ridiculous bomb threat. Instead of one major story point, we have multiple plot details that didn't have to be written. These things and more amount to an ending that should've been reached through a faster and easier route.

The characters are exaggerated to the point where Ethan (Zack Galifianakis) is just the most grating idiot anyone can meet and Peter (Robert Downey Jr.) is a ticking time bomb. They both have their redeeming qualities, but you don't always see them shine through. Instead, Peter physically and verbally assaults Ethan, and Ethan seems unintentionally hellbent on ruining Peter's trip. While you will laugh at the movie a lot you'll notice something is missing, even if you've never seen Planes, Trains & Automobiles. If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm talking about the heart of the movie.

Planes, Trains & Automobiles has several scenes that won't make you laugh, but will leave you thinking something like, "What was this movie really about?" Due Date doesn't really have that, you go in, have a laugh (a pretty good laugh at times), and get out. Both movies are great, one just does the genre (road movie) justice. This is what it boils down to, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles did it first and did it best. Does that make Due Date terrible? No, it's a great movie. It's just in second place.
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Friday, January 7, 2011

Hair Raising Hare (1946)

Some of the best of Bugs Bunny and Chuck Jones are shown in this film. What I really noticed about Hair Raising Hare is it shows how many different ways an action or emotion can be animated. And if I'm right, it's the director's job to pick out the best way to go for a particular scene. They decide how a scene plays out based on the script, am I right? Bugs goes through several different walk cycles, a take where he goes through several facial expressions of fear (complete with "Yipe!" sign), and several other animation exercises. Bugs has his greatest moments of breaking the fourth wall in this cartoon, my favorite being his response to the "doctor in the house." The monster is very funny, and part of his own set of interesting gags, from being in a suit of armor to "Canned Monster." His single line of dialogue-single word-is hilarious. The two things I didn't like-Bugs is WAY too smart to fall for the mechanical rabbit in the beginning of the cartoon, the second time makes up for it though. Also, that scientist guy is too creepy. If they could have made him kind of funny, just a little, this would be perfect.

Title Card for the Looney Tunes cartoon Hair Raising Hare
Title Card | Copyright 1946 Warner Brothers and AT&T


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The King's Speech (2010)

Still image from The King's Speech showing Queen Elizabeth, Prince Albert, and Lionel Logue doing speech exercises
I walked into this film with no idea what it was about and no real expectations because of that. I knew it was generating a lot of buzz and great reviews, but I didn't have the faintest idea of what it was about. I just knew I wanted to see a movie that day and I picked The King's Speech. I walked out of the theater amazed.

This film is about Prince Albert (Firth), A.K.A Bertie, becoming the king of England during a period of personal and international crisis. Colin Firth gives a marvelous performance in the title role as a man with a severe speech impediment, a stammer, and self-doubt. To help cure the stammer Bertie sees a speech therapist, at his wife's (Helena Bonham-Carter as Queen Elizabeth) insistence. The speech therapist is Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) and he changes the lives of The King and the people of England. While all this is happening England is rocked by political controversy and WWII on the horizon.

The highlight of The King's Speech is the acting. Everyone onscreen gives it their all, each working off a great script by David Seidler and Tom Hooper's direction. Firth and Rush are able to play off of each other perfectly and through that we see the characters develop. Firth himself plays the role extremely well. He never makes the stammer feel fake in any way and he shows how much more there was to Bertie's life, his love of his wife and daughters, concern for his brother and country, and grief and resentment toward his father. Rush comes in as a sympathetic friend and, more importantly, equal to his counterpart and plays the role gorgeously If you've only seen her in Tim Burton films and the Harry Potter series then Helena Bonham Carter is almost unrecognizable in appearance and demeanor. She, first of all, does not appear like she's escaped from a prison or asylum. Queen Elizabeth, in this film, is shown mainly as a wife. A very supportive wife who only wants the best for her husband, but isn't always sure what the best thing is when it comes to treatment.

I recommend you see this film at least once, I saw it twice (once with a friend). The second time around I was able to pick up certain key moments I missed much more quickly-and became more immersed in the film's story.
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