Cruella

Not at all a bad film to review for the 800th mark.

Yes, we got that far. And sweet lord did I love this movie, I mean if you asked me before what live action Disney movie was my favorite I'd say The Jungle Book, and after this movie I do not think Cruella can be topped. I had precisely zero idea what on earth they would do with this story, and I was grabbed, intrigued, made incredibly happy, and even kinda wanted a continuation as credits rolled. A lot of people were pointing and crying Joker at the trailer and I strongly disagreed, knowing they would do their own thing entirely and make something good which they did. Shock of all shocks, I'm right. Again. They tipped their hat to that film in their own way but the way the story progresses, shifts and molds to show how Cruella came to be was handled very well I thought. Now I know some people would shriek contrivances abound in this movie, but it could have been handled a lot more hamfisted and it could have fell flat hard. Like dropping a sack of puppies falls hard. But seeing Estella as a young girl (and yes that is future daughter goals to me) who after suffering a tragedy meets up with two thiefs Jasper and Horace and pretty much finds her own identity, oh and plots revenge which might be the most worthless of causes but there's something different when she does it. Am I being too shameless? Yes. Terribly. Hell I could almost argue the whole point of the picture is a take on finding your true persona and characteristics, no compromises. And it is a gradual shift from Estella to Cruella, it's not just one bad day and then bam there she is in all her splendor and fashion, in fact the film just has good pacing and knows when to linger on a shot and when to cut. I caught myself many a time catching on the long takes, and sort of intricate camera movements, I see you Birdman long take you cheeky bastard I see you, so the cinematography is very good. The sets are very well done, each having a personality, and since the film has a great emphasis on fashion you get a lot of that 70s style to it which I was digging quite a lot. The soundtrack, holy great balls of fire, this soundtrack is excellent. You get like 2 points just for playing The Doors, I swear half the movie I was foot tapping and lip syncing, it was made for me. And Emma...my God! I never knew I needed Emma Stone with red hair, almost exclusively and exquisite black outfits, and a british accent. Where has this been my whole life and how have I lived without it? She was outstanding in this role and while I feel you can't compare Glenn and Emma because they are so different in their potrayals, she was excellent. I just had such a great time with it, even when it treaded close to silly or ridiculous it never inhibited my enjoyment or love for it, I've seen many a ludicrous thing in my time so I can roll with all of this. The comedy I felt wasn't busting your gut laughing but it got me often, and I appreciate a more slight giggle and brief guffaw than laugh out loud personally. The plot albeit gets a bit soap opera but the life of Cruella DeVil has to be heavily dramatic to some extent, so hey you just be you movie I can't hold a grudge. If she flat out murdered a dog though it would have gotten a 10/10, I don't hate dogs or anything but come on, though this movie gets a touch dark and doesn't really dumb it down for kids in a way where adults could not take it seriously. It commits to it and bless them for that alone. 4 stars, 8.5/10, yes I meant that, and another month gone. I'll be taking my usual break but I'll be back in time for Scarlett don't you worry, I've been waiting for that day for a long time so I will see you then.

102 Dalmatians

Alright, looking back on it all it's a bit naff.

Do not ask me how or why there was a sequel, released 5 years after the first one and is certainly fitting that ill bill of health of Disney sequels, because I will never know. I do know however I saw this on a school field trip to the theater a very, very long time ago, and watched it many a time on VHS back then...for some reason. It is undeniable the main draw of the first film was to see Glenn Close as Cruella, the first time a classic Disney villain was brough to life in live action, yet she is the only reason to view this movie in your life. You already got me movie with this very good opening showing Cruella, through the always helpful and not at all harmful or disturbing electroshock therapy has been rehabilitated and has a great affinity for dogs and a disgust for fur. This really should have been the entire film, or at least the majority of the film. You hear she has transformed for the better, starts taking positive steps in life and disowns her old personality, then bam something snaps pretty much keep the absolute best scene of the film when she reverts back, then spend time with her scheming, recruiting new accomplices, and ready to finish what she started in the first movie but be thwarted. Done, beautiful, perfect. I thought that purely on the fly in about 2 minutes, the screenwriters had 5 years and we got this. I was so disinterested in the plot when Glenn wasn't on screen, and bless the actors they are doing decent work here but the script just ain't here for them. Yeah sure the budget is fine with more location shoots in London and apparently even Paris, a pretty excellent designed and fully working factory for the finale, conveyor belts and all which fair dues is done right and done well, even the technology technique to erase spots for a dalmatian is done pretty seamlessly, it's not beyond terrible but it isn't all that good either. I honestly could watch an entire film where Glenn and Gerard scheme about their crimes, bicker about fashion like an odd couple, and bully poor Tim for a feature length runtime, they gel quite nicely together and as I said they are the highlights. Much better than this romance, meet cute, tiring story with the humans. I'm sorry but the protagonist story is so bland and heavily predictable, I was checking out often. Pretty much the first 40 minutes, besides a few scenes with the blossoming couple, is the highlight of the film. Glenn still gives it her all, it's really the little moments that push it over the top for me, from seeing her be so sweet and gentle voiced, to her werewolf-esque transformation, to the look she gives when Tim said he got rid of a dog like "Well I have greatly underestimated you darling, very nice.", she's fabulous. Oh God, the music, good lord I nearly forgot about it. It will never leave. Digga Digga Dog and Freak Out will be in your head for days no doubt, pray for what's left of my sanity. I haven't the foggiest why I enjoyed this movie a fair deal when I was young, but then again I thought every movie was great when I was 5. Because I didn't know better and had hope in my soul. Just watch a few clips and call it a night, 2 stars, 5/10. I take comfort in whatever happens Friday, it will be better than this.

101 Dalmatians

20 years since I last watched it, so how does it hold up?

Now I know this isn't technically the first Disney live action remake but honestly who even remembers the 90s Jungle Book? Nobody, I don't even think it should count since it tries to stick more to the books and not do the animated film again. So this is the first technically, at least for me. It's...mixed, not so much on production or story but primarily on the tone. The tone in this movie is beyond scatter brained, it's almost inherint because the plain fact of the matter is, the story concerns a group of puppies being stolen with the intent of being killed, skinned, and made into a fur coat by the one and only Cruella DeVil as a rescue attempt is made to retrieve the pups. So it kinda has to tightrope a quite dark and screwed up main story, but still put the ha ha funny funny moments specifically for kids, young kids at that and it doesn't always pull it off. Now production wise, it's done really really well. Location shooting in London, screenplay by John Hughes and yes I'm still reeling from that revelation, a mighty great cast I mean the star power they have here is kinda unreal, the animal training is highly commendable, set design primarily for Cruella's places is wonderful, all the elements are there. It's just the flip flop between cutesy, and weird and f***ed up that bothers me. I mean this movie will put the fear of DeVil in you boy, Glenn Close is terrifying yet incredible in this role. There isn't a fraction of a shadow of a doubt in my mind's eye she is the only reason anyone watches this movie. She's just that good! But that's not at all to say the rest of the cast isn't good, hell I'd say easily the second best actor in this is Hugh Laurie, it really is like if the Prince Regent took up being an accomplice it's beautiful. Of course I have to shout out Mr. Weasely himself Mark Williams, I think him and Hugh work very well together. Even our main couple played by Jeff Daniels and Joely Richardson do good work. And the more I think about it this was my first experience for so many actors when I was like 5, Glenn, Jeff, Hugh, Mark, actors I've come to appreciate and love in 2 decades time. I know I haven't talked much about the dogs and while the animals are trained really impressively, I didn't think they were that big a part of the story, strange though that may sound. Heck the 15 puppies birthed doesn't even occur until the 40 minute mark in this almost 2 hour film, and you get brief moments of cutesy stuff but I could not help but focus more on the dark stuff. I mean this movie freaked me out a fair bit when I was young, the skinned tiger was f***ed up and upsets me more now, Skinner was a creepy character and hasn't lost much of his edge despite his low screen time, Christ just hearing Glenn scream got a startle out of me often that woman is either go all or go home. There's flat out horror movie shots at times which I do kinda love but then I remember the title and audience demographic and I'm just like, yikes. True there were parts I didn't like, for instance our main couple decide to get married because the dogs have fallen in love. I see no faults in logic there. Plus the fact this movie brought a fair bit of 1995 to memory, I mean God I'm aging by the minute here at this point. I have no issue saying I watched the second movie more than the first when I was young so that will be fascinating to see so many years later. This film I give 3 stars, 7/10, catch you next time for 101+1 more doggos.

What Did Jack Do?

I don't care if this is considered cheating, I've been doing this for over half a decade now I'll do what I like.

For a 17 minute short, I can resoundingly say I did not need more than what was presented. With not directing a feature length movie since 2016, I'm just happy David did this. Shot in pristine black and white, a detective has sat down with a suspect in a murder case and starts putting the spotlight on him to try and figure out if he really was the killer or not. The dialogue is very classic cop interrogation here, there are no philosophical monologues like in The Dark Knight but brings originality to it in other ways. For instance instead of musings of the human condition we get treated to a musical number written by David Lynch and Dean Hurley, which I could have sworn I heard before somewhere, sometime in my life but it is just an original song made for this short film and I'd be lying to the world if I said I didn't kinda want it in my music library. The instrumentals are super lovely and though it is short I very much enjoy it, though it blind sides the entire story a bit but I don't at all mind. I know David has acted in front of the camera before like in Twin Peaks and he does good work here, playing it a bit stoic and basic as terms as detectives go but I love it because it's just him in the role. And there's a monkey, did I mention that? The detective is interrogating a monkey named Jack who fell in love with a chicken by the name of Toototabon. What? Too predictable? I actually find it hilarious that the way they animate the monkey speaking is just a more technologically advanced Clutch Cargo technique but it doesn't look bad at times. The plot thickens quick with Jack being a crafty devil in evading questions but the tea or should I say coffee, is spilled and justice is served. Final score depends on more so than any major motion picture I've covered on subjective viewing, you are just presented with a story and you either like it or don't. I did like it, it's not 10/10 but I'd give it 8/10, 4 stars. You are doing your life a cruel and horrid disservice if you are not subscribed to David Lynch Theater on the YouTube, he has short films, does daily weather reports and number picks, shows you what projects he's working on, it's one of my favorite channels to view quite possibly ever. Until next time, everyone have a great day!

Sunset Boulevard

Well, that was a picture and a half.

I'm still kinda reeling from my first watch of Sunset Boulevard, I know I very much liked it but I'm still forming my thoughts even as I write. So let's start from the top and talk plot. Well I was already wrong in my pretense of what the film was actually about, I thought originally it was more of a character piece on fading movie star Norma Desmond as she locks herself away from the world and tries to live her years encased in a bubble, enslaved to her past films in a projection room and whose dreams are made of celluloid, a world one step away from The Twilight Zone. Yeah this movie really had me flashing back to the specific episode The Sixteen Millimeter Shrine, and the narration and lovely black and white cinematography just kept bringing me back to it. But the story really follows a writer named Joe who by pure happenstance kinda gets roped into Norma's world, he starts off ghost writing her own script and then...I don't really know. They kinda, sorta, get into a relationship but it's odd because Joe is kinda going for it, then wants to bail, then wants to stick around for the sake of Norma's feelings. It's very bizzare. In fact the whole movie has this bizzare, almost David Lynch quality to it in terms of plot developments and characters. Needless to say I was hooked and it got me super invested near the end. Gloria Swanson is pretty much perfect in this role, the overdramatic actions, the incredibly childlike modd swings and personal viewings of herself, she pulls it off without it ever once being annoying or even absurd to where you just roll your eyes at the melodrama. She is wonderful and I truly can say it is a great performance. The same goes for William Holden, I was having a hard time pinning down his character cause he really does just sorta ebb and flow due to the situation, he frankly wants nothing to do with Norma until she cuts her wrists then he's there for her everyday, yet kinda fancies this young lady, I wouldn't say it's all over the place but it is a prominent element of the film. He's very sarcastic, has that dry wit, he's a puzzle to work on in this film and one I enjoy trying to figure out at that. I will say however the set design is fantastic, the film just looks sort of this mix of Grey Gardens and 50s Hollywood, it's entirely unique to this film. Plus the fact this is a movie that openly acknowledges real world movie making is kind of unheard of to me in a film made 30 years into film as a medium's lifetime, I mean now yes, movies reference actual films, directors, and actors often, that's almost Tarantino in a nutshell, but for a film released in 1950 to actually get references and see directors and stars as themselves is really rare at least in my movie going experience. Which is funny because modern Hollywood at that time was not very fond of the potrayal the film spun in terms of actors and the landscape of the business, we all know it to be true now but movies and the process of making movies were known only to the select few who worked in that environment. The more things change, the more they stay the same I guess. 4 stars from me, 8/10, check it out and see what you think of it cause I had a great time with it and I can see why it is considered essential viewing for any serious movie fan.

A Hard Day's Night

A very spur of the moment review but well worth talking about.

I was just channel surfing with my mom and we caught the opening of this movie and I stuck around for two reasons, one my mom is still a very big Beatles fan and the other being I never saw it before. Oh I knew of the film's reputation, released during the height of Beatlemania, on the Criterion Collection, it was a very hastily put together production, so on and so forth. Not at all bad full truth, in fact the camera placements and editing is so unique to this film, they do good casting besides the band themselves, it's shot around London so it retains that british feel throughout. It's almost potrayed as an absurdist comedy detailing the events of just one day in the lives of John, Paul, George, and Ringo as they evade the screaming hordes of fans, deal with their manager, cut loose to enjoy themselves, and perform. I suppose it could technically be classed as a musical because they do an assortment of songs, and a good solid chunk of The Beatle's disocgraphy I am not terribly familiar with save for She Loves You in this film and it is good music. When 50+ year music can not only get my feet tapping like mad but also give me goosebumps, clearly there's something right about it. And you know it really and truly put their fame into perspective, because they were so young when the band skyrocketed and no one had any inkling of how big they would get, and you know that they would cut loose and not do business/band stuff all day every day to just enjoy their youth. There was a really great quote, and from my favorite of the bunch Ringo, "Being middle-aged and old takes up most of your time, doesn't it?", and I won't lie to you man it scared the shit out of me. You only get one good solid crack at being young, so enjoy it while it lasts before you get old, bitter, and broken like me. I genuinely am torn on my favorite character in this, and I almost use bunny ears for that but let's face it the boys are just being themselves, they don't need to act they just need to read the dialogue and it by God works, but it's a toss up between John and Paul's grandfather who is the utter antithesis of what his physicality would lead you to believe. You think it would be this horrendous stereotype of the stuffy brit, but he is just as wild if not more so than the group, always scheming to get some money, running up and around causing good grief, it's quite beautiful actually. It really is this bizzare, slightly stretched yet altogether true, window of time movie. The black and white stock was lovely and I must give all my props to the director, the writing is very funny and feels all too natural with the band banter, I'd say this film is a silly piece of nonsense but it is much more than that really and you can tell when watching it. It really is this fascinating piece of cinema that can't really be labelled. It's not a documentary, it's sort of a musical, it's comedic but does more than that, I'm stumped. I had a grand time with it and would have no problem seeing it again in the future, so I give it 3.5 stars, 8/10, give this thing a whirl seriously, it took me on a trip and I was not upset where I ended up.

Anime Landscape: Now And Then

Another editorial for you this time, I was in a severe rumination mood after I drank heavily from the last review, so I decided to do a somewhat EVOTIC style piece on one of my favorite things to watch, anime. What really kickstarted this for me is I was watching a reviewer unpack literal memories of different memorabilia and items of interest, and it did nothing but spark memories of a very specific niche genre. My utter love and fascination with anime stemmed from a very early age, I can't have been older than 4 or 5 when I started watching anime on this thing called Toonami on Cartoon Network, still my favorite channel ever. I watched that channel religiously every single day, and my cousins who were like 16 or 17 used to come down to my grandparents house and watch Dragonball Z with me. They explained basic plot because when I got into that we were into the Cell saga, but they also told me that these cartoons were not from America but from a place called Japan. And to a 4 year old the concept of a place bigger than my hometown was beyond my comprehension, but I never took the animation style or voice acting differently than I would with shows like Powerpuff Girls or Scooby-Doo. I used to run as fast as I could to my bedroom, tell my Nan and Papa hi, throw my backpack down and turn on this giant television set incased in wood to watch Toonami after school everyday. If I was really lucky I could see the intro which I thought was the coolest intro to anything ever, and Tom was the coolest host ever. And boooooy did that start something for my life. As I grew up I found likeminded friends who also watched anime in the early 2000s, a true golden age for such content. Staying up as late as I could to see Adult Swim, having sleepovers and watching all our favorite series was the highlight of the day. Watching Ghost In The Shell, Case Closed, Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, The Big O, Trigun, and easily the one me and my friends were most involved with, Inuyasha. It was the show for us and when I found out there were feature length films of the show like Pokemon I lost my mind. Cause you have to fully grasp, anime has come lightyears since my youth. The internet was still in it's infancy, if you wanted to delve deep into anime culture or see more examples of the genre, whether it be films, or shows, or games (hell I didn't even know about manga until high school) you either had to know places that selled episodes and merchandise, or know people who knew people where you could get different anime stuff. Nowadays I can walk into a Walmart and pick up shows as current as My Hero Academia or as old as Cowboy Bebop with ease. I knew two places that sold anime DVD's, a local video store and Fry's Electronics. And that shit was expensive. I can pick up the first season of a show or an entire show for about twenty dollars now, but if you wanted the first whole season of say Chobits you better be ready to cough up 50 or 60 bucks. Or you had to do it like me and spend roughly twenty dollars for 4 episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist and do that for volume after volume to get the whole show. No joke that was the first anime show I not only owned but saw all the way through, cause the only way you could watch it is if it was on TV or you spent a pretty penny for it on video. And merchandise was nonexistent. Regardless of what it was, posters, statues, plushies, action figures, cosplay items, you had to either have the good grace and knowledge of having a website where you could buy stuff which was an absurd notion to me back then, or you pick up an anime magazine with a little luck from the gods at your local supermarket and they would have extensive lists, pages upon pages, of different items to order through the mail. I cut up a magazine like mad to keep the pictures inside or to give them to friends who saw it and thought it was cool during school. The landscape of being a fan of this genre has changed to the point of being unrecognizable now, I had bookmarks on the family computer of places that sold anime merchandise in middle school, and now I can get an entire show and cosplay apparel and find 20 websites where I can marathon Bleach without even getting off the couch. It has changed for the better but you really had to have been alive and interested in that stuff at that moment in time to fully get what I'm saying. Unless it was Pokemon or Yu-Gi-Oh, there was no way in hell you were getting anything in stores, and televison blocks were the only way to watch your favorites. All the premium movie channels like Encore and Starz were godsends to pre-teen Dude, to be able to watch Howl's Moving Castle and the second Inuyasha movie. Hell when Cartoon Network held a special month of Miyazaki's films that was a big deal back then, I think they possibly even showed it both subbed and dubbed. You had to dig in the right place, but if you fell asleep late at night before your show came on, totally me by the by, you were screwed. I had to rely on friends to fill me in on what happened last time on Dragonball Z (literally), or some other slew of shows at sleepovers, and had to wait sometimes a day sometimes until next week for the next episode. In a way it's all sort of lost it's sense of adventure, you had to bust your ass to find anyway to watch and enjoy this very niche market in America before it grew into an industry that is just as prolific and strong as any movie studio, but those experiences would last forever if only in memory. Funimation man, Funimation damn near single-handedly presented so many shows to me on a silver platter, captivating my imagination and made me always wanting more. I truly couldn't have been born at a better time for that culture, that fanbase, it crafted many good memories and I truly would not trade or change one bit of it. The fact that watching Toonami lasted well into my teens, that I would still be at my grandparent's house in my room and that I could turn my TV on Saturday night and digest show after show and wrap up by the time the sun slowly starts to rise, is incredible beyond words. How fitting is it, that you spend an entire night watching animation from Japan to wrap up by the time of the rising sun. Britain might have a strong place in my heart, but never forget who stole your heart first.