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The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
Another Favorite Disney Film Of Mine
It had been years since I last saw this movie completely, and much like I did with The Lion King, due to slight inspirations, I decided to look for this movie on Youtube, got lucky, and saw the movie, and another trip down Memory Lane reminded me how much I love this movie.
Although not as massively successful as Disney's Renaissance films, The Great Mouse Detective is still a classic, and shall remain as such in the hearts of its fans(myself included)
If there is anything this film will be remembered the most for, it will be either the fact that this was the first animated film to have CGI incorporated against traditional cel animation (the legendary interior of Big Ben scene) or the fact that this was one of the last films to feature the legendary macabre actor Vincent Price in a leading role.
Vincent Price delivers an insidious and devilish performance as the antagonist of our hero, Basil Of Baker Street, the notorious Professor Rattigan (loosely based on the nemesis of Sherlock Holmes, Professor Moriarty)V.P. even admitted shortly before his death that his role as Rattigan was one of his most favorite ones in his massive career, and THAT is something! The film delivers a slew of great voice performances from many actors.
Barrie Ingham delivering an energetic and commendable performance as our hero Basil Of Baker Street himself, Val Bettin bringing a wonderful performance as the humble, kindhearted Dr. Dawson, Alan Young supplying his superb Scottish accent as Hiram Flaversham, the kidnapped toymaker that sets the plot for the whole film, and the young Susanne Pollatschek giving a beautiful performance as Olivia Flaversham, the toymaker's sweet, cute, innocent, and absolutely ADORABLE daughter.
Memorable music, a great adventure and mystery plot, and some truly memorable scenes for the true moviegoer of all ages keeps the film going without getting boring, even for an instant.
Something that you have to give Disney props for with this movie, is that this film stills gives you a dark atmosphere (19th century Victorian England) and a somewhat darker plot (A toymaker is kidnapped by Rattigan's bat henchman and is forced to construct a robot copy of the mouse Queen Of England while the real queen is to be "erased" so Rattigan can take over as ruler) but still gives you the tradition of lovable characters (Basil and Dawson giving the all too memorable resemblances of Sherlock Holmes and Watson's partnership, and the toymaker Flaversham's adorable little daughter, Olivia adding to the mixture as well.) and very humorous moments (the multiple instances where Rattigan flips out at being called a rat is just too much to not laugh at)
For those that have always held a hidden respect for some of the later 20th century Disney films that haven't seen this film, The Great Mouse Detective is something that you cannot afford to miss. It is worth the time that you take to watch it. Believe me. The Great Mouse Detective will forever live as a Disney classic!
Låt den rätte komma in (2008)
Bound To Be One Of The Greatest Swedish Films
I have to admit that when I first heard of this movie from my stepmother who had rented it at our local video store, I was a bit skeptical, as I had never heard of it before. When we popped the DVD into the machine I had prepared myself for a lousy television movie. The movie basically grabbed that thought, and shoved it down my throat. I was absolutely blown away by this film. None of us had even guessed that it would be a foreign film, but it was. This was the very first Swedish film I had ever seen, and I am very glad for that.
Let The Right One In is a shining light in the dying world of horror films. What it gives you that makes it better than most modern horror films, is that it gives you more story than mindless blood and guts. In fact, there's hardly any gore in this movie at all, until the very end at least.
This film pretty much shows that great child actors are all over the world, not just from the U.S.
Kåre Hedebrant and Lina Leandersson give such beautiful performances as Oskar and Eli, a young boy who is repeatedly tormented by bullies in his school, and a 12 year old female vampire who offers her friendship to Oskar.
It is pretty much a no-brainer that the love story in this film between these two star-crossed souls, wipes out Twilight without a trace left. This film provides a touching love story, but with a fittingly dark atmosphere, instead of mindless mush and romance, which is pretty much all Twilight was.
The developing relationship between Oskar and Eli from friends to being in love is delivered at a wonderfully realistic pace, with a good share of realistic hardships that they both must help each other face: Oskar's bullies, and a vengeful man out to kill Eli for feeding off of his best friend.
The storytelling, atmosphere, setting and music (which is orchestrated beautifully, with a good share of 70's Sweden-Pop) all give Let The Right One In an enchanting and haunting atmosphere that will suck you in and make you a part of. This movie is THAT involving and good.
The very, very ending scene is especially heart-warming for me, as it shows a lone Oskar sitting in a cabin on a moving train, accompanied only by a large luggage crate, wherein a Morse code message for "Kiss" emerges, to which he responds the same in Morse Code. That is just beautiful to me.
For those who wish to receive a true treat in film-making from Europe, Let The Right One In is the ticket for satisfaction. You will most likely enjoy it as much as I have.
Batoru rowaiaru II: Chinkonka (2003)
Just as epic as the first one
Now, we would all normally agree that sequels are never as good as their predecessors, however, I have to strongly disagree with that idea, especially when I saw Battle Royale 2: Requiem.
Tatsuya Fujiwara, who delivered a phenomenal performance in the first Battle Royale as Shuya Nanahara, returns, only this time around, he's not that scared adolescent schoolboy anymore. Shuya has teamed up with all the previous winners of the BR "games" and has formed an underground terrorist cell known as The Wild Seven. Desperate to control the situation, and hoping to crush all opposition to the fascist government, the Japanese military abducts another junior high school class, this time a whole bunch of delinquents, and suits them with machine guns, body armor, and those wretched exploding necklaces, and forces them into a battle against The Wild Seven.
Now, I may have said the same thing for the cast of the previous film, but the actors and actresses who portray this unlucky class really pulled through with this one. Their portrayals of fear, resentment, anger, sadness and hope really shine through, almost as if it could be real emotions they're displaying. Out of all these students, the ones whom I thought gave the best performances were Ai Maeda as Shiori Kitano (the daughter of the antagonist teacher from the previous film) and Shûgo Oshinari as Takuma Aoi.
I especially thought Shûgo Oshinari was phenomenal. The rage you could see in his eyes whenever he felt that something was an injustice, is some of the MOST REALISTIC LOOKING ANGER I HAVE EVER SEEN!! The music hasn't been reduced whatsoever, either. It still is performed by the Warsaw Orchestra, and it delivers more original tracks that just give such raw power and feeling into their performance. The score near the end when Riki Takeuchi confidently allows Shuya, Takuma and Shiori to escape and discover the real reasons for life by living their own, is just so heart wrenchingly climactic and bright.
The filming quality for this film is actually better and more defined than in the previous film. The camera quality almost puts the look of this movie in comparison to films like Saving Private Ryan.
For those who loved and/or greatly enjoyed the first Battle Royale, watch this movie as soon as you can. It is worth your time.
Batoru rowaiaru (2000)
Truly A Future Masterpiece
Battle Royale is an amazing piece of authentic Japanese cinema, plain and simple.
although all the performers were older than their specified characters, their performances are highly praised in my opinion, especially the way they panic when they are shown the consequences of if there is no winner. That was some of the most realistic looking panic I had ever seen.
In a dystopian future at the dawn of the new millennium where poverty and unemployment in Japan is at an all time high, the adults begin to fear the children who boycott school, and thus, they pass the BR Act of the new Japanese government, in which the military rounds up an entire 9th grade class of students once a year through Impartial Lottery, and they are sent to an isolated island, where they are then strapped with explosive collars, and are forced into a game of survival, where they all must kill each other in a 3 day time limit, or they ALL die.
Battle Royale is truly a masterpiece that displays the true darkness of mankind's basic instinct: survival of the fittest. What this sick game the students are drawn into is supposed to teach, is how far these students, once best friends, and even lovers, will go to save each other, or if they will just kill those important to them, in order to save their own hides.
The pure, raw emotion felt by the students, from sadness, to fury, to fear, can be felt in the hearts of the audience itself, as they are pitted in a true fight for survival, where the one rule is literally "kill or be killed". Trust no one, for they may turn on you and you will die. Tatsuya Fujiwara delivers a phenomenal performance as the frightened and desperate schoolboy Shuya, who desperately tries his best to protect his female classmate Noriko Nakagawa, who is played very well by Aki Maeda.
However, while Noriko and Shuya are trying their best to stay alive whilst their fellow classmates and best friends turn into savages, killing each other, and even themselves left and right, they must fear as they are not only hunted by their classmates, but by the sadistic and psychotic mute teenage murderer Kiriyama, who delivers a frightening presence by the performance of Masanobu Ando.
another incredibly strong point of Battle Royale, is the powerful, operatic soundtrack. The orchestra work for this film is very powerful and theatrical, even for a Japanese film. This is no exaggeration, but the power of the Battle Royale soundtrack, would even make the maestro John Williams stand and applaud.
For all those who are willing to see a true series of thrills and shocks, to see just how people will react when facing certain death, to truly see how human nature exists in others, give Battle Royale a very open minded attempt, for it is all worth it.
Taken (2008)
A Very Nice Thriller
Having just returned from the theaters to see this movie, I am happy to announce that although this film wasn't phenomenal, I was indeed pleased with what I got. Liam Neeson has always been able to pull through every role he's been given, and this is no exception. However, I did always think L.N. was more fitted for a softer, gentlemanly role.
The dangers that the protagonist of this film faces to save his daughter are very dark when it comes to realism. His daughter has been abducted by an underground circuit of Albanian crooks who abduct traveling girls, drug them, and sell them on the streets or in private auctions for prostitution.
The original score for this film is somewhat memorable, as it delivers a certain unsettling effect, almost as if it's a warning for the obstacles to come, which is a commendable attempt in the film world.
Something I've never really appreciated in movie advertisements, is when they put an actor or actresses name in the posters Top 3 names, and then that same actor or actress is barely in the movie at all. I basically call this the "Christopher Lee + LOTR + Star Wars III Effect".
All in all, when it comes to thrills, atmosphere, and overall effect, Taken is not a terrible film, but it's not a great film. It nets a perfect 50/50 in my book. I still recommend it to anyone who is looking for smooth action throughout the entire 93 minutes of this film.
Zombi 2 (1979)
Fulci's Underrated Classic
I remember several years back when I first saw this movie through the glory of Netflix. From that day forth, the Italian Godfather Of Gore, Lucio Fulci, had his name added to my Greatest Directors Of All Time List.
Zombi 2 is a late 70's horror film by Lucio Fulci, which was released in theaters internationally around the same time George A. Romero's Dawn Of The Dead, so the two films became notorious for playing in the same theaters just across the halls from each other.
Although, Dawn Of The Dead was titled 'Zombi' in Europe, so Fulci and Romero came to a release agreement, and Fulci was able to release his film as 'Zombi 2', although the two films had no relation to each other.
This film has reached an amazing cult classic status in the U.S. and throughout Europe over the years, although I still think it is very under appreciated by the film academy. Sure, it was cheesy when compared to Dawn Of The Dead, but it was still a very good horror film.
The soundtrack by Fabio Frizzi, although mostly synthesized, was still a very nice and haunting touch to the entire concept of voodoo zombies rising from the earth, covered in mud, maggots and rot that the film explores.
A very nice touch to the very badly decayed zombies, is the very chilling and unsettling raspy breathing they all give off whenever they are near the human heroes, or basically anywhere near the set.
The acting for the humans, although not top notch, isn't bad enough for people to cheer when they get their throats town out by the walking dead, although Auretta Gay is an exception, because her final moments were so badly lived. When you see a zombie slowly rising from the ground in front of you, you run for your life. NOT JUST STAND THERE LIKE A TURKEY WITH IT'S LEGS CUT OFF!!! A very nice touch for an apocalyptic ending is the departing shot when an entire horde of walking dead is seen walking down the Brooklyn Bridge towards the heart of New York City, accompanied with a backdrop FX of a radio broadcaster talking about the feeble attempts by the government to deal with the problem, concluded with the reporters' blood curdling screams as the zombies invade the station and attack.
For the die-hard horror movie junkie in you, give Zombi 2 a shot. Believe me, it will be worth every minute.
American History X (1998)
What Has America Come To?
American History X is definitely a film that will make the question come to mind. Just what has America come to? When your children can be so easily manipulated by stereotypes from others, and the media, and then turn that manipulation into a full blown belief, you just know that something is wrong.
Edward Norton delivers a phenomenal role as Derek Vinyard, a young Venice Beach resident who transforms into a heartless and ruthless skinhead after his racist father is killed by a black man while trying to put out a fire in South Central Los Angeles.
Edward Norton, while not regularly taking a villainous role, truly comes across as an nonnegotiable force of prejudiced evil in this film, even adorned with a memorable and gigantic swastika tattoo on his chest. Joining the misled youth during his tirade of hatred is the long lost Stacy Keach from M.A.S.H. as his white supremacist mentor, Cameron Alexander, who could very well become Venice Beach's own version of Adolf Hitler, a sly and evil man who uses his words and connections to reach out to frustrated youths, and rally them to his pure Nazi-esquire campaign.
Also joining the pure white army is "My Name Is Earl"s very own Ethan Supplee as the massive and short-tempered skinhead Seth, who can't help but gnaw away at all the viewers nerves, as he takes his hatred on other white people, rather than ONLY non-whites.
Terminator 2's Edward Furlong also delivers a powerful role as Derek's impressionable younger brother Danny, who is well on his way to becoming just like his brother.
This film is highly praised in my eyes, as it displays just how destructive racism is, not only to strangers, but also to those closest to you. A truly horrific scene, that will no doubt last forever, is when a furious Edward Norton drags a wounded black gangster to the concrete curb in front of his house, and mercilessly curb stomps his skull to the ground, and then grinning innocently as he is taken away by the police, as if he has done nothing wrong.
Only until it is too late, and he is in prison, does Derek slowly realize the mistakes he has made in his life, especially after he is viciously raped in the showers by the local Aryan Brotherhood, and brought to his senses by his black former teacher.
Upon returning to the real world, Derek tries his best to try and bring the old Danny back to his family, as the new skinhead Danny is very quickly going down the same road Derek once went down. Needless to say, his former Nazi friends do NOT take Derek's change of heart well at all.
In a climactic, and earth shattering finale, Derek finally convinces Danny not to follow in his brother's footsteps, and they both decide to begin a hate-free life, but only to have Danny mercilessly gunned down in his school bathroom by a young black kid.
Truly, hatred only begets hatred, and that lesson is very vividly shown in this masterpiece. American History X is a film that is to be seen by everyone at least once. If you have a family member, or friend, who is slowly succumbing, or showing signs of prejudice or hatred towards non white people, and beginning to take Nazi-like beliefs to heart, show them this film ASAP, so they'll know not to make those mistakes.
American History X is truly a classic, and is to be respected as such.
Schindler's List (1993)
Steven Spielberg At His Best!!!
It's difficult for any one person to pick ONE movie by Spielberg that stands above all his others. However, if i had to choose his greatest movie when it came to sentimental value, and pure power, Schindler's List is THAT movie.
It's very painful for anyone to see such authentic acting displaying the mistreatment and sorrow of European Jews during WWII in Nazi Germany, but it is especially hard for me, as i am actually Jewish, and my grandfather was a German soldier in WWII in Russia.
Schindler's List is a very faithful and powerful film send up of the novel of the same name. Liam Neeson delivers an incredibly devoted and emotional role as Oskar Schindler, who is indeed one of histories few true heroes. The slow transformation in Oskar Schindler from greedy businessman to savior throughout the movie, is one of the greatest character developments in film history.
It's rather difficult to pull off a memorable villain role when it comes to being historically accurate, but Ralph Fiennes pulls it off as the sadistic and crafty Nazi officer, Amon Goeth. Ralph Fiennes truly knows how to chill the viewers to the bone when his presence is nearby, especially when he is upset, and therefore probably going to kill a few Jews just to shake off his bad mood. The scene where a hungover Amon wakes up with a naked woman still in his bed and he wordlessly grabs a sniper rifle from his villa balcony and snipes a few working Jews in the camp at the foot of the hill is especially shocking, showing just how heartless this man truly is.
One of this films strongest points, is the masterful soundtrack that is made up of a slew of traditional Jewish folk songs, and a heart-wrenching violin score by John Williams and Itzhak Perlman.
An especially emotional scene where the music is at its best is of course, the finale when the war in Germany has officially been declared finished. Oskar notifies the 1,100 Jews he had saved from Auschwitz by taking them to work in his factory that the Allies will come looking for him and most likely kill him. Perlman's violin score is almost able to send goosebumps up your spine as Schindler leaves for his car and is given a solid gold ring made from one of his Jews' golden teeth as a token of gratitude, and he breaks down crying, while lamenting that he didn't save more. Truly, this is Liam Neeson at his best.
Anyone who couldn't find any good points for this film, would either have some very strong Nazi beliefs, or not truly appreciate what a good film really is. For any Spielberg devotees like myself, this is a film that I strongly recommend. Let it be known lastly, that this is a very emotional movie, and it was just the same backstage too, as Spielberg has noted that he was actually crying while behind the camera on multiple occasions while filming Schindler's List.
This is one of the greatest movies ever made, and should always be recognized as such.
Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School (1988)
My personal favorite of Scooby's movies
I'm not usually one to lay the praise on a television movie, but this movie simply took it to a whole new level. I was always something of a Scooby Doo fan when I was younger, and after several years, just catching this movie on Cartoon Network brought back some memories.
I remember when this movie would premiere on television ALL THE TIME!! I would never get tired of it, no matter how many times I sat through it. Some scenes and quotes from this movie are somewhat memorable (take note that I say "somewhat" because I can recognize a lousy pun when it's told.) Some of the music was memorable, and the thing that definitely got this movie up on my list, is the fact that Shaggy and Scooby actually warm up to the girls, even though they ARE ghouls through and through. We get enough of them running like chickens in the television series and other movies, although in this case, it's refreshing to see them gradually get a little more open minded, although the ending is rather sensible when they run away from the "new students". One year at Grimwood is enough.
Normally, I thought '80's television movies were unbearably cheesy, but this gave me a merciful break from that. I've always loved this particular '80's movie, because Hanna-Barbera is one of the greatest animation duos in the world.
Upon reading other reviews for this film, I recall one reviewer noting that the vampire Sybella was his/her one reason of seeing the movie. While mind-wandering boys share those same kind of sentiments no doubt, I would have to note that I was indeed one of them when it came to the original characters of this movie, although for me, it was for Phantasma, or Phantie the Phantom. There was just something about the obnoxiously 80's hairdo and the fact that I thought she was really cute that just got into my head.
Although several reviews have completely panned this film, I seriously recommend this film for children who are into Scooby and the gang, or for die-hard fans of the old cartoon who are willing to see some long lost forgotten ground.
The Lion King (1994)
My All Time Favorite Disney Film!!
For so many years, this movie has held a very very special spot in my heart. It wasn't until I had found the movie on Youtube after nearly 8 or 9 years that I finally felt a massive force of good memories come rushing back into me.
To make a long story short, I love this movie, and I'm always glad to see how well recognized it is in the film world. As a child, like with a lot of Disney films, I didn't ever notice some of the deeper details in the storytelling, specifically, the connections to Shakespeare's Hamlet.
This movie had a wonderful story, a multitude of memorable characters, amazing songs (although what else could one expect from Elton John?) and an overall theme that can entertain both children and adults.
Roger Ebert once commented that "Villains are some of the most memorable characters in a Disney film". This is very true, especially when you see Scar, voiced very ingeniously by the brilliant Jeremy Irons. Scar is everything a villain should be: cool, calm, collected, devious, and conniving. In short, a villain needs to use his or her words to their advantage, not mindless violence like a slasher film villain.
Another notable aspect that makes this film stand out, is that it contains one of the most heart-wrenching scenes in film history. Even at the age of 17, nothing has changed. The scene where the lion cub Simba finds his father dead on the ground, and tries to wake him up (fitted with a very sad score by the amazing Hans Zimmer) made me cry when I was a small child, and it still does even at this bitter age. Nothing hurts worse than a child to lose a loved one, without ever having grasped the concept of death.
And of course, this movie would probably have been a little too dark, if it didn't have one of Disney's most beloved comedy relief duos ever: the wisecracking meerkat, Timon (voiced by the hilarious Nathan Lane) and his dimwitted warthog com padre, Pumbaa (also done very well by Ernie Sabella.) Clearly, they have been immortalized in the hearts of young children everywhere when the film was new, just as the film itself has.
All in all, this is one of the greatest movies ever made in modern film history, and for those that want to visit a better time through this movie, and for those that ave miraculously never seen it, I seriously recommend it to all.