What I’ve Been Watching: DVD – Chico and Rita

Article first published as DVD Review: Chico and Rita on Blogcritics.

Chico and Rita is an animated film which tells the love story of two musicians from Cuba. Chico is a very talented pianist in search of a singer who can match his ability. While out one night he spots just the woman he is looking for, Rita, whose voice is not the only thing he falls in love with.

The film is beautifully drawn by Spanish artist Javier Mariscal. It has a style which is a superb fit for the music and colour of the film; a loose, fluid animation to fit with the loose, fluid soundtrack.

Unsurprisingly, the music is incredibly important to the film. As much as anything else this is a love letter to the havana music scene of the late ’40s and ’50s. Infused within the narrative of the ever-changing relationship between Chico and Rita, is the narrative of the development of the jazz scene. In particular, the depiction of the genre’s most famous real-life musicians from the period adds authenticity to the scene it is trying to capture.

What I’ve Been Watching: DVD – Dahmer Vs Gacy

Article first published as DVD Review: Dahmer vs Gacy on Blogcritics.

There’s something to be said for the pastiche or spoof movie. At its best it produces gems like Shaun of the Dead, Planet Terror, and Airplane!. At its worst Date Movie, Epic Movie, and Meet the Spartans.

Creating these movies is always a risk. The worst spoof movies hope that merely mentioning the ‘crazy’ things that happen in other films will be enough to make audiences’ sides split. They also fail to actually give the audience an ‘in’ by ensuring the characters actually care about what’s going on.

Dahmer vs Gacy is undoubtedly a spoof movie. Its plot concerns two of America’s most notorious serial killers, Jeffrey Dahmer and John Wayne Gacy, having been cloned by a top-secret government lab. Inevitably they escape, and killing ensues.

What I’ve Been Watching: Executive Koala

Billed as “The most shocking psycho koala horror movie,” Executive Koala is like no film you’ve ever seen. Unless, that is, you’ve seen other films from director, Minoru Kawasaki, such as Calamari Wrestler and The World Sinks Except Japan.

The movie stars a human-sized koala trying to make it in the corporate world. Everything seems to be going well: he’s about to secure a deal with the Koreans, he’s got a beautiful (human) girlfriend, and his boss (a rabbit) considers him his right-hand man/koala.

Then his girlfriend gets brutally murdered. The police suspect our titular hero. As memories of his first marriage come flooding back, could it be that this cute koala is in fact a psycho killer?

Executive Koala is a whole heap of crazy. In many ways it has a lot in common with the types of Best Worst Movies we review every month on the podcast. In that its enjoyment comes from laughing at the absurdity of what’s happening on screen. However, unlike a Best Worst Movie, that’s entirely the director’s intention.

It reminded me a lot of the films of Stephen Chow, such as Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle. As well as Edgar Wright’s Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. By that I mean, it completely understands the genre it is sending up, and seeks to put as unique a twist as possible on it.

Examples of its sense of humour include a puppet squirrel which magically appears at the high security prison “Alkatraza” with some helpful items; the koala’s red glowing Terminator-like eyes when it gets angry; and an opening title sequence which includes the lines:

“Nothing gets him down
Extramarital affairs, getting a divorce,
The world is beautiful.”

Executive Koala is a film that’s difficult to fully describe. However, chances are if you like the idea of a koala’s attempts to be successful in business, while clearing his name for murder, then you’ll probably enjoy the rest of the film.

It’s probably worth including the trailer for the film just to give you a further taste of what to expect (Note there’s no subtitles, not that it would really make much difference):

And because it includes one of the most awesome lyrics of all time (see above), here’s the opening titles (with English subtitles):

What I’ve Been Watching: DVD – Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs & Predator

Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs
In my review of 2009, I noted that the quality of animations this year has been remarkably high. Up, Coraline, Fantastic Mr. Fox and Bolt all being among my favourite films of that year.

One that I didn’t get a chance to see was Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs – a film penned by two writers on the first season of television’s How I Met Your Mother.

Cloudy… tells the story of Flint Lockwood, a young man determined to make a living as an inventor, and put the island of Swallow Falls back on the map.

His latest creation is something which turns water into any food he desires, and after a near disaster it works: causing the sky to rain cheeseburgers.

The remainder of the movie follows our young hero as he copes with the pressure of being the town’s new hero, tries to get the approval of his father, and win the heart of the weathergirl sent to cover the extraordinary new weather system the town’s been experiencing.

As with Pixar’s movies, the joy of this film comes not so much from the plot, but rather from the creativity and attention to detail evident on screen.

In many ways the film is a love letter to invention and creativity. The movie not only starring an inventor, but also having so many little creative touches that allow us to be part of this strange, madcap, and inviting world. The way all these parts work together reminded me a lot lot of the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Aside from that, it has a lot of very quick visual and side gags. The funniest moments in the movie, are often little visual effects in the background, or seemingly throwaway lines the characters fail to react to.

Despite being a movie that will certainly appeal to kids, it doesn’t surprise me that the film has developed quite a cult following with adults as well. I can see why. Its fast-paced, imaginative style clearly resonating with an audience outside of which one might expect.

Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs is a surprisingly fun and refreshing film. A film that oozes originality and imagination from every pore. Go rent it!

Predator
Following on from the watching of Commando a few weeks ago, comes Predator, a film with equal amounts of explosions, guns, and of course Arnie.

The difference is that while Commando is a fun, but completely uninspiring affair, Predator has some genuinely interesting elements to it.

The first third of the movie is fairly irrelevant to the rest of the film plot-wise, but does a great job of setting up the pedigree of the elite squad that’s been set into the jungle and the patience of the strange Predator that will hunt them for the remaining two-thirds of the picture.

Aside from this smart creative choice, where the film really shines in the thought behind and design of its title character. Between its infamous mask, thermal imaging, glowing blood, and invisibility it really is a creature its difficult to forget.

Another nice element is the decision not to give the predator any back story: it hunts, it kills, whether it’s an alien or otherwise doesn’t really matter. There’s something really refreshing about this inventive simplicity.

Finally, the action scenes absolutely do everything they should for this type of film: high-adrenaline, spectacle and one-liners all on show.

The final scene between Arnie and the Predator is certainly the highlight: as the former combines his brains and brawn in his final attempt to escape the clutches of the strange and vicious creature.

Predator is much like the antagonist around which the film is based: the best at what it does. While hardly pushing the boat out in terms of what an action movie normally does, it nevertheless has enough great individual elements to make it a must see for fans of the genre.

What I’ve Been Watching: DVD – Philadelphia & A Prophet

Philadelphia

It was 1993, the world was coming to terms with the emerging AIDS epidemic, a disease many found it hard to separate from homosexuality.

Inspired by a court case (which ironically it took a court case to prove it was inspired by), Philadelphia tells the story of Andrew Beckett(Tom Hanks) who has been dismissed from his job after his employers, a law firm, figure out he’s got AIDS.

He tries to get legal representation, and the only one who will take his case is Joe Miller(Denzel Washington), a married man with more than a hint of homophobia towards Beckett.

What follows is the court case which takes up much of the movie, with witnesses and cross-examinations providing the twists and turns one expects from court room drama.

The biggest compliment I can pay to Philadelphia is that I hope it becomes redundant. Unlike Brokeback Mountain, this comes across a movie which is written primarily to change minds. As such, there are some dramatic misfires, including a climax to the case that makes no use of the apparent tension the film has been building to.

As far as the issues of homosexuality and AIDS go, they are well handled. Tom Hanks earning his first oscar for the brave, determined and ambitious Bennett. His portrayal doing a fairly flawless job of addressing the stigma attached to both AIDS and homosexuality at the time.

I can see how Philadelphia was an important film at the time, forcing people to confront the issues at its heart and actually consider the suffering of people with AIDS: both physically and socially. Seventeen years on, it feels like as society’s attitude to the disease has largely moved on, so has the impact of the film. As such, as one looks closer at underlying narrative, one sees it lacks the strength to make this a truly great film.

A Prophet

Knowing Hollywood, A Prophet, is going to be remade pretty soon. It tells the fall and rise of Malik El Djebena, a 19 year-old whose been convicted for six years for apparently assaulting a police officer.

An Arab, with no friends on the inside, he struggles to fit in. That is, until the prison’s main gang makes him an offer he literally can’t refuse: kill a snitch, or be killed himself.

The movie’s been compared to The Godfather, and for obvious reasons. Not only is Malik’s character arc remarkably similar to Michael’s in Coppola’s film, the pacing, scope and length of the movie all have a lot in common with one of the most critically acclaimed movies of all time.

The movie’s ambition is its biggest strength. It’s difficult to get a handle on, since you often think it’s going one direction but quickly changes pace to another. Every ten minutes something really significant seems to happen, forcing you to rethink what you thought you knew about who the protagonist was becoming at that point.

Stylistically, it effortlessly switches between gritty realism and some very imaginative dream sequences involving Malik’s late brother.

For me this was a film that made everything it did look easy. A film that makes you wonder “why can’t everyone make stories like this?”. It’s not that there’s anything especially new about the story or characters, but rather that like a well made watch, all its cogs worked together perfectly to produce something spectacular.

The Prophet is a violent, formidable, epic film. It works by concentrating on a smart, conflicted but ambitious character who’s doing his best to make the most of the circumstances he’s found himself in. Most films that get compared to The Godfather, are completely overshadowed by it, The Prophet may not be better, but it at least manages to be in the same league.