The best or worst thing to say about "A Fistful of Dollars" is that it exemplifies the genre of "Spaghetti Westerns." Directed by Sergio Leone with music by Ennio Morricone, the movie is a remake of Akira Kurosawa's "Yojimbo." (so much so that kurosawa sued them!)
The plot, after all, is pretty much the same. A stranger arrives in a town ruled by two competing gangs. Using his wits, the stranger pits the two gangs against each other until they are wiped out all while the stranger makes a few bucks in the progress.
If I'm not mistaken, this was the movie that put Clint Eastwood on the map, so to speak. All Eastwood had to done was look mean, squint a lot, and shoot a lot of bad guys. Eastwood would much of the same in many of his later films before becoming a very successful director of very different films like "Bridges of Madison County," and "Million Dollar Baby."
The movie itself is filled many great examples of the genre, but unfortunately, most of them are now considered cliched. The pacing is a bit slow and the 100 minutes movie feels like a full two hours. The bad guys are really bad, but our (anti-)hero wins in the end, just like any good Western should.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Last Sunday Movie: Gi Joe The Movie
Gi Joe The Movie shares a lot with its twin 80s counterpart: Transformers the Movie, and not just because they're both based on a toy line, and both recently had new movies made of them. Both of the 80s movies feature plots that introduce many new elements (or one could say, a plot that has nothing to do with the series prior to the movie), many new characters to replace older toys, er, characters, and stunt casting.
Unfortunately, the casting on GI Joe is not as spectacular as Transformers (though they both share many of the regular cast of voice actors). Don Johnson, Sgt. Slaughter (the wrestler), and Burgess Meredith all are gifted people to be sure, but pale in comparison to the cast of Transformers which included Orson Welles, Leonard Nimoy, Robert Stack, Eric Idle, and even Judd Nelson. Of course, all of the people I've listed in this paragraph were people willing to sell their self-respect for a hopefully large stack of cash. The unsung heroes are the voice actor's voice actors who lent their talents to both the series and the movie, including Michael Bell, Frank Welker, and Chris Latta.
Killing off the main character was also a big thing that both movies share. Unfortunately, the Transformers Movie was released first, so when news of hundreds of traumatized kids cried their eyes out at the sight of Optimus Prime dying, the good folks making the movie dubbing in some lines that Duke "was in a coma" and was "going to pull through." Seeing how fake these lines are, considering Duke got a snake through his heart (don't ask), makes the movie almost worse than if they had just killed him.
(Also, both movies feature a reckless hot shot who gets the hero killed off, though at least Lt. Falcon is not rewarded for his deeds like Hot Rod is.)
So, what is the plot of the movie? Well, Cobra, the evil terrorist organization plotting world domination, is led by Cobra Commander, who in actuality a scientist who comes from a secret society called, wait for it, "Cobra-La." "Cobra-La" is an Atlantis-type ancient society that was almost destroyed by the Ice Age/Dawn of Man, and developed superior technology compared to us humans. Tired of hiding, they plan on shooting spores into space. Once heated by the Joes' newest MacGuffin, the spores will rain down on humanity turning them into mindless monsters. It's a little sad if the plot is based off of Moonraker, one of Roger Moore's Bond films. More or less on par with the actual series the movie was based on.
All in all, it is a fun movie, not one for actual military enthusiasts per se. The animation is very well done, despite the occasional error. It's actually a very nice example of the 80s line-drawn anime style that been replaced by "edgier" animated styles or just by computers in general. The story flows pretty good, and it features most, if not, all of the Gi Joe's extended cast of characters, even if most characters have truncated roles.
Unfortunately, the casting on GI Joe is not as spectacular as Transformers (though they both share many of the regular cast of voice actors). Don Johnson, Sgt. Slaughter (the wrestler), and Burgess Meredith all are gifted people to be sure, but pale in comparison to the cast of Transformers which included Orson Welles, Leonard Nimoy, Robert Stack, Eric Idle, and even Judd Nelson. Of course, all of the people I've listed in this paragraph were people willing to sell their self-respect for a hopefully large stack of cash. The unsung heroes are the voice actor's voice actors who lent their talents to both the series and the movie, including Michael Bell, Frank Welker, and Chris Latta.
Killing off the main character was also a big thing that both movies share. Unfortunately, the Transformers Movie was released first, so when news of hundreds of traumatized kids cried their eyes out at the sight of Optimus Prime dying, the good folks making the movie dubbing in some lines that Duke "was in a coma" and was "going to pull through." Seeing how fake these lines are, considering Duke got a snake through his heart (don't ask), makes the movie almost worse than if they had just killed him.
(Also, both movies feature a reckless hot shot who gets the hero killed off, though at least Lt. Falcon is not rewarded for his deeds like Hot Rod is.)
So, what is the plot of the movie? Well, Cobra, the evil terrorist organization plotting world domination, is led by Cobra Commander, who in actuality a scientist who comes from a secret society called, wait for it, "Cobra-La." "Cobra-La" is an Atlantis-type ancient society that was almost destroyed by the Ice Age/Dawn of Man, and developed superior technology compared to us humans. Tired of hiding, they plan on shooting spores into space. Once heated by the Joes' newest MacGuffin, the spores will rain down on humanity turning them into mindless monsters. It's a little sad if the plot is based off of Moonraker, one of Roger Moore's Bond films. More or less on par with the actual series the movie was based on.
All in all, it is a fun movie, not one for actual military enthusiasts per se. The animation is very well done, despite the occasional error. It's actually a very nice example of the 80s line-drawn anime style that been replaced by "edgier" animated styles or just by computers in general. The story flows pretty good, and it features most, if not, all of the Gi Joe's extended cast of characters, even if most characters have truncated roles.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Sunday Movie: The Lady Eve
As a (hopefully) weekly installment, I will take a look at a movie, new or old, and give some of my thoughts on it.
In our opener, I'd like to take on Preston Sturges' "The Lady Eve." This romantic comedy from 1941 features Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck, who are both in excellent form. Stanwyck is Jean Harrington, a card shark, who first targets and then falls in love with the naive ale heir, Charles Pike (Fonda). Once Pike finds out what she is, he breaks it off with her. Hurt, Jean creates the "Eve" personae to get even with Pike.
Sturges's script is sharp and witty, something clearly lacking nowadays. It plays on what the audience knows and the characters, mostly the hapless Pike, don't know. That doesn't stop it from having some silly slapstick thrown in for good measure. The movie also acknowledges the Genesis story featuring the "original" Eve, including apples, snakes, and a very tempting Eve.
As I said before, Stanwyck and Fonda are delightful to watch. Fonda's acting is all in his face, which is priceless as he depicts Pike's dumbfounded expressions. Stanwyck is full of energy, charm, and a bit of something else. There is a gleem in her eye as she says in the movie, referring to Pike, "I need him like the ax needs a turkey." I also enjoyed the supporting cast of Charles Coburn, Eugene Pallette, and William Demarest.
The only disappointment I find in this movie is the ending, which seems to come in a hurry. The happy ending isn't unfitting, but it feels like the movie is missing a few scenes that make the ending the logical conclusion that it is.
In our opener, I'd like to take on Preston Sturges' "The Lady Eve." This romantic comedy from 1941 features Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck, who are both in excellent form. Stanwyck is Jean Harrington, a card shark, who first targets and then falls in love with the naive ale heir, Charles Pike (Fonda). Once Pike finds out what she is, he breaks it off with her. Hurt, Jean creates the "Eve" personae to get even with Pike.
Sturges's script is sharp and witty, something clearly lacking nowadays. It plays on what the audience knows and the characters, mostly the hapless Pike, don't know. That doesn't stop it from having some silly slapstick thrown in for good measure. The movie also acknowledges the Genesis story featuring the "original" Eve, including apples, snakes, and a very tempting Eve.
As I said before, Stanwyck and Fonda are delightful to watch. Fonda's acting is all in his face, which is priceless as he depicts Pike's dumbfounded expressions. Stanwyck is full of energy, charm, and a bit of something else. There is a gleem in her eye as she says in the movie, referring to Pike, "I need him like the ax needs a turkey." I also enjoyed the supporting cast of Charles Coburn, Eugene Pallette, and William Demarest.
The only disappointment I find in this movie is the ending, which seems to come in a hurry. The happy ending isn't unfitting, but it feels like the movie is missing a few scenes that make the ending the logical conclusion that it is.
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Satoshi Kon 1963 - 2010
Over the weekend, I discovered that anime director Satoshi Kon died, succumbing to pancreatic cancer. I was shocked at the news, because of the director's relative young age of 46. I had great respect for the director's flair for merging fantasy and reality in films such as "Millennium Actress" and "Paprika."
Being Japanese, it was less likely to hear about his death as an American actor or director. But still, there was an obituary in this week's TIME magazine, which I read while in a waiting room. While some credit Kon's "Paprika" for partially inspiring Christopher Nolan's "Inception" and being an inspriation for other director such as Guillermo del Toro and Darren Aronofsky, I can not in certain terms agree with these remarks, because I don't know how influential he was.
I do know that he was a source of imagination and inspiration to myself. Each movie he made was different and unique from the one before it. Kon did not stick to a certain genre, and yet each movie still bears his trademark style.
Satoshi Kon was apparently working on a new film called "The Dream Machine," and I hope that it will be completed in his honor. I however am disheartened that it will be the last film I will see from the mind of Satoshi Kon.
Being Japanese, it was less likely to hear about his death as an American actor or director. But still, there was an obituary in this week's TIME magazine, which I read while in a waiting room. While some credit Kon's "Paprika" for partially inspiring Christopher Nolan's "Inception" and being an inspriation for other director such as Guillermo del Toro and Darren Aronofsky, I can not in certain terms agree with these remarks, because I don't know how influential he was.
I do know that he was a source of imagination and inspiration to myself. Each movie he made was different and unique from the one before it. Kon did not stick to a certain genre, and yet each movie still bears his trademark style.
Satoshi Kon was apparently working on a new film called "The Dream Machine," and I hope that it will be completed in his honor. I however am disheartened that it will be the last film I will see from the mind of Satoshi Kon.
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