2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) Review:

The 1960s was a decade of many things. The topic that was not of this world during that time were literal space travel, like moon landings. Space and future science fiction stories would all become a staple for those ten years and onward. In film, more and more movies were beginning to revolve around this kind of setting too. From the late sixties, this film was one that has left people talking about it despite its bashing on release. More significantly, the man behind the film Stanley Kubrick is another reason why this movie has the reputation that it does. One thing to keep in mind is, Kubrick is not your standard director. So to expect something familiar or something close to familiar would be not wise if interested in seeing this film. That’s not saying this movie is bad, but it is tough to get through.

The story, adapted by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke author of the original literary work, is about a small space crew who goes to find out about a mysterious dark slab of whatever. This is about as much as the audience will receive on this. For a film that runs two and half hours, the next question is, what else goes on? Well…a lot of scenes that go nowhere. The biggest crime this film commits against its audience is robbing them of their time. Despite its run time, it seems Kubrick added almost all the wrong ingredients to make full use of the story and its characters. There are several irrelevant scenes that appear throughout the runtime which do not provide any clarity or explanations related to the plot at hand. Such wasted time went into presentation and very little into development.

One can sympathize with being meticulous with a project and making sure establishing shots look good. However, when those kinds of shots take up multiple sections of the narrative, then the story ceases to captivate the viewer’s attention. There are very few characters that take the focal point of the story. William Sylvester plays Dr. Floyd who’s informed of the strange dark free standing tabletop. Then the writing jumps to Dave Bowman (Keir Dullea) and Frank Poole (Gary Lockwood), two humans aboard the space ship investigating the mysterious item. Accompanying them is their super computer guide HAL9000 voiced by Douglas Rain. Unfortunately, the only character who actually comes out remotely memorable is Rain’s performance as HAL9000. However, this doesn’t mean the computer is a well-rounded character. Most remember HAL9000 because of the soft and creepy voice over work Rain provided.

Another issue with the execution is the tone Kubrick is trying to convey in the story. There are moments where the scene being portrayed feels like it supposed to be whimsical or lighthearted and then it abruptly shifts to what should be a horror film. These kinds of emotions are felt especially because of the music. Pacing though is by far the worst element to this picture. Most film fans are aware of how controlling Kubrick was with his films. Coming from a photography background, Kubrick seems to enjoy focusing on various shots in order to convey a message or have the viewer create their own message. However, for example, when the viewer has to see how a character executes a piece of machinery step by step, it is beyond boring. Taking the time for certain things are needed. Taking the time all the time is not.

If there’s one thing that does work to this film’s credit is the cinematography. Why? Well it’s Kubrick’s biggest strength. With support from Geoffrey Unsworth who would later shoot for Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980), the visuals are great for their time. With much of the backgrounds being mattes, much of looks photorealistic. There’s no discrediting it. It’s just that, these shots would’ve been better suited being sold as art at an auction, not in a movie. Lastly the music used in the film is okay because it is so well known now and launched several parodies later on. But with knowing that, it can’t be taken as seriously here either. Topping that off is that originally composer Alex North scored the movie, only for Kubrick to ultimately not use it. Thankfully North got a release of his score. It would’ve been nice to see it used instead.

Presentation is the word for this film. All other important components that make a movie work come dead last. However, anyone who enjoys Kubrick films should find it enjoyable, although that’s not saying much. For anyone else, there’s practically no story, the tone is misguided and the execution takes forever to gain traction.

Points Earned --> 2:10

Sleeping Beauty (1959) Review:

During its early years the Walt Disney company had established itself as the studio for making animated films. There was a talent for converting classic fairytale stories from the books to film that caught everyone’s attention. Despite the massive success though, even the mouse house waivered later on its years. While this film apparently opened successfully when released, it was not as financially beneficial in the long run. At the time, it was the costliest animated film to date for the studio. One of which would lead to change in direction of the company for a while thereafter. So was it the film that didn’t work or just the accrued costs involved? More than likely the latter, but when looking at this film now, it’s a classic yet not exactly as unique as one might think or remember.

Headed by supervising director Clyde Geronimi, a slew of other sequence directors and with the story adapted by Erdman Penner who both did Peter Pan (1953), the story is about a princess named Aurora who is betrothed to wed the prince of another kingdom and bring the two lands together. The plight of this story is when the sorceress Maleficent enters the picture. After not being invited to the kingdom’s ceremony, she bestows a curse on Princess Aurora that she will prick her finger on a spindle and fall into a deep sleep during her 16^th birthday. From there it’s up to Aurora’s fairy “god mothers” Flora, Fauna and Merryweather to keep her from making this curse come true. The concept sounds different, honestly it really isn’t by a lot. Not to mention it has been recorded that Disney didn’t want audiences drawing parallels to that of their first film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937).

With that said, it seems like they already knew this might be a gamble and it sort of shows. Some people remember this film fondly for being a part of the classic Disney princess lineup. However, it seems this film is remembered more for the opposite reason. The cast of actors playing the main roles feels what only can be described as the last of the golden age of Hollywood voices. Actors like Bill Thompson, Barbara Jo Allen, Barbara Luddy, Verna Felton and Mary Costa all participated in other movies that most would consider long before their time to know. The voice acting itself is fine for the roles the cast play, but what people tend to recall the most about this feature was Maleficent (Eleanor Audley). Not sure if it’s the stark gothic design of the character against the rest of the background but the character has only grown in popularity since.

However, the antagonist is not enough to carry this picture. The main characters themselves feel very hollow. While the character designs are friendly looking, they don’t add much to the story when it comes to development. Princess Aurora who is more a plot device than an actual character is pretty yes, but she says very little of importance and the same could be said for her betrothed partner Prince Phillip. The real main focus goes to the three fairies who work to keep Aurora secretly hidden from Maleficent. That’s fine, but the title of this film isn’t the three fairies, it’s sleeping beauty! It also really doesn’t help that this film shares similar plot elements to that of Snow White. A female antagonist places a curse on a young more beautiful princess that puts them in a deep sleep. And love’s first kiss is what’s needed to break the curse? I can’t imagine why the story felt familiar.

Yet with a run time not even at an hour and a half, the pacing feels slower than usual too. Perhaps it’s because there are very few characters who leave a lasting impression. The animation though cannot be discredited. Several other Disney films before it were not featured in widescreen format, but this one is and it definitely adds scope to the fairytale. Not only is the animation fluid, but well drawn with lots of detail. Imagine the effort it took to animate every cell of this feature, what a painstaking process. Lastly the music composed by Disney familiar George Bruns did a decent job. While there aren’t very many songs that will stick in the viewer’s head like other Disney classics, the sound is still very much reflective of the scenes that play out in the movie.

It may be considered a part of the Disney classics, but it’s not as entertaining as one might think. The villain is surely the most memorable component along with its animation coming in second. But it’s the under developed main characters, pacing and similar plot elements that make this fairytale a snoozer.

Points Earned --> 5:10

Graveyard Shift (1990) Review:

Working late night hours is not usually anyone’s preference. However, when people either need the money or if their schedule only works within that time frame, then there’s a reason why the 3^rd shift exists. Of course, with that comes the drawbacks like the usual lack of sleep. The one thing that should be taken care of before any of this occurs though is proper safety clearance. A building and or facility must be approved at meeting the standard levels of safety before touting their late night hour opportunities. That doesn’t seem to be the case here, let alone anything else, like calling it the “graveyard shift”. Despite that, this film manages to be entertaining enough for a little fun in the dark. After all, it’s based on a short story from who else; Stephen King. What a surprise.

Written by John Esposito who has worked on the newest incarnation of Creepshow and directed by Ralph S. Singleton, in his only theatrical credit, this monster film is unique to watch mainly for the experience. Not because of how the story is executed.  The story is about a group of mill workers sweating it out during their shifts to make ends meet for their selfish warden Mr. Warwick (Stephen Macht). On top of that, the lot they work in is infested with vermin. When one of the employees dies mysteriously in an “accident”, a new member is brought on board by the name of John Hall (David Andrews). While Singleton only directed this feature he had experience prior being assistant director to Death Wish (1974), an associate producer to Pet Sematary (1989) and a production manager to Harlem Nights (1989).

As mentioned before the execution to the storytelling is its weakest point. There’s nothing about the narrative that makes it different from other creature features or other Stephen King films. Characters are written plain as day from the very beginning, so to expect something new would lead to disappointment. There’s no explanation provided as to how the creature in this film came to be, which can make it tough for some since it takes place in what seems like contemporary times, not the near future. What probably makes the story the most baffling is how unrealistic the working conditions are. Thousands of rats litter the work site and this place is still allowed to run daily operations? There’s even a cleanup crew where they’re literally moving junk from one end of the room to the other. What exactly is being accomplished here?

Aside from these issues though, the actors all do a decent job in their roles. Better known for later playing Robert Brewster in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), David Andrews as the lead is believable. Kelly Wolf as Jane Wisconsky is a good second actress to that of Andrews. Stephen Macht as Mr. Warwick plays an interesting antagonist. He’s definitely different from all the rest. The fact that he harasses his employees makes it all the more unrealistic. This kind of stuff doesn’t stand nowadays. There’s also appearances from Andrew Divoff from the Wishmaster films, Vic Polizos who played a Coroner in Night of the Creeps and even Brad Dourif playing an exterminator. Most of the actors involved, seemed to have gone on to be successful in one way or another.

Visually speaking, the film looks great for its time. Since its budget was low to begin with, it looks like most of that went into the practical effects and set design which are fantastic looking. Viewers will know these actors were handling real props. While gore and blood isn’t always on screen, there is enough to satisfy. This is also thanks to Peter Stein working as the cinematographer, who also worked on Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) and Pet Sematary (1989). Finally, the music composed by Anthony Marinelli and Brian Banks provided a decent effort in their discography. Having composed over one-hour music in their newly released album, the score is very textural and dissonant which resonates very well for this feature. Typically, stronger themes are required to make a film memorable, but they figured this one out surprisingly well. Considering they started with Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night, it’s definitely a one up.

The pitfall of this movie is just how highly improbable the situation is and also the narrative being too formulaic for horror fans. This doesn’t mean the other components should be discredited. The performances are fine, along with great looking visuals and eerily creepy music.

Points Earned --> 6:10

Zootopia (2016) Review:

If there are lessons in life people should be crystal clear about when growing up, it’s that no one should determine who you are except yourself and you can’t paint with broad strokes. Everyone’s opinion will have different angles to it because of their own life experiences. With that said, it’s important to try and listen to the other side from where they’re coming from. While this film came out in 2016, it is still just as relevant then as it is now, with so much mislabeling going on in society. People are more disconnected than ever believe it or not and a dialog needs to be had, whether an agreement is made or not. What’s great is that anyone of any reasonable age can watch this movie and take that message away from it.

Written by Jared Bush and Phil Johnston and directed by and Byron Howard, who some of which worked on the popular Wreck-It Ralph (2012), the story is about a small town bunny named Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) making her way to become a police officer in the place called Zootopia. A city where all animals live among each other; predator and prey. However, things are not all fluffy clouds when not everyone is so friendly. Meanwhile, some citizens are going missing and there might be more to it than just it being a strange issue. As Hopps learns this, she teams up with a street fox named Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) to see what she can dig up. The plot itself behind the story is nothing that breaks new ground, but it’s the overall message and themes behind the film which are so poignant.

Judy Hopps is a bunny, an animal considered by many as prey in the animal kingdom. This however does not stop her from becoming what she desires most. Even though her parents were very much satisfied being the status quo. Too each their own per scenario, but the idea of taking a risk and stepping out of the comfort zone to embrace logical positive change should not be something that is feared. Fear is unfortunately one of the strongest emotions and it can wreak havoc among not just a single individual, but a society as well. What’s great about the characters is that focused writing. Even Nick has a backstory that allows audiences to get a better understanding of his perspective as well. This again, all goes back to the getting to know people and not assuming things based on similarities to others.

As for characters and the actors that play them, it is quite interesting to see who plays what. Ginnifer Goodwin who’s known for doing Snow White in the Once Upon a Time series has made a lasting impression as Hopps. Jason Bateman known for being in all kinds of comedies plays a great foil to that of the straight performance from Goodwin. Idris Elba plays Chief Bogo, Hopps’ boss. Jenny Slate plays Assistant Bellwether, as her character would call a glorified secretary position to actual Mayor Lionheart played by J.K. Simmons. There’s also Nate Torrence playing Clawhauser, a donut eating cheetah. There’s Octavia Spencer playing the wife of a missing animal, Alan Tudyk as a weasel, Raymond S. Persi as Flash the slow moving sloth and even Maurice LaMarche in a special role that won’t be disclosed.

The animation is another great component to this movie. Supported by animation supervisors who have worked on Treasure Planet (2002), Big Hero 6 (2014), Paperman (2012) and Frozen (2013), it’s no surprise the visuals are creative, colorful and well detailed. Credit also should be given to Nathan Warner listed as cinematographer for designing the unique layout location that is Zootopia. How that architecture would ever become a reality today is big question. Lastly the musical score composed by Michael Giacchino is an added bonus. Unfortunately, he did not create a main theme for the movie which he easily could’ve done with Shakira’s “Try Everything” pop song. But that doesn’t mean his music isn’t effective. Having worked on The Incredibles (2004) and Star Trek (2009), how could it not be worth a listen?

Plot wise, it’s not something people haven’t seen before. However, it’s the way that it’s worked into the execution and relies heavily on the themes and morals it wants to get across is what makes it special. Everything from the characters, music and animation make this an entertaining family film.

Points Earned --> 8:10