popp-culture Reviews

The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure (1994 Video)

A solid takeoff to bringing a saga to life

[7/10 · 24 July 2013]

"The Land Before Time". What can you say about it? It's a classic film with glorious animation, relatable characters, groundbreaking music, and a compelling, heart-wrenching story. There's no denying it had a huge impact on me as a three or four-year-old. It will remain a favorite of mine until the day I die.

Now imagine my surprise as a kid to find out that there had already been five sequels made. I wasn't too picky, so I gave them a watch. Back then, seeing more adventures of Littlefoot and his friends was pretty much all I cared about. Now, as a critic, I must see them with a more analytic and observant eye.

Some fans of the original have disregarded these sequels. The general reason for this is that they have a somewhat softer tone and never strike as much emotion as the original. Therefore, I agree, none are as good.

The questions you have to ask with a sequel are "Are the characters continued well? Do they become more developed? Does the movie follow the logic of the original?" In the case of the Land Before Time sequels, the answer is yes on all accounts. Because the characters are so close to me, watching them mature as the series progresses is like seeing a friend or sibling grow morally or spiritually. Case in point, "The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure".

In 1994, six years after the original was released, this movie, as well as its successors, was brought out straight to video. But there's so much effort put into elements that kids wouldn't care about that it easily could have been theatrical material. For direct-to-video fare, the animation is surprisingly first-rate. It's not quite as stunning as Bluth's animation, but great all the same. The score by Michael Tavera almost matches the brilliance of James Horner's phenomenal score from the first movie. There's good money in this.

As the opening song suggests, this movie takes place very shortly after the end of the first movie. Littlefoot the apatosaurus, Cera the triceratops, Petrie the pteranodon, Ducky the saurolophus, and Spike the stegosaurus have made it to the Great Valley, and are living a peaceful and playful life under the watch of their families.

We have mostly new voice actors, the only exception being Candace Hutson reprising her role as Cera. Veteran voice actor Jeff Bennett voices Petrie with the nasal consonance that Will Ryan had. Kenneth Mars, who is most famous for his voicing role as King Triton, is likable and solemn as Littlefoot's grandfather. Heather Hogan is cute as Ducky, but doesn't quite have the innocence that Judith Barsi so rightfully put into the character. Scott McAfee voices Littlefoot in the RAS trilogy (movies 2, 3, and 4), and out of all the voice actors for him in the entire series, McAfee is my favorite, sounding masculine enough in the high voice Littlefoot is known to have.

We're then introduced to the villains Ozzy and Strut. They are struthiomimus brothers, as verified in a lyric of their song "Eggs", which is the catchiest song in the movie. Strut loves to graze on plants much to the annoyance of Ozzy, who is most fond of eggs.

During a night that Ozzy and Strut go out to steal an egg, Cera wakes up Littlefoot, Ducky, Spike, and Petrie and tells them that she's sick of being treated like a hatchling, and tries to work out a plan to go on strike. Littlefoot is tired of being a kid, but is still somewhat opposed to the plan. But when they notice Ozzy and Strut walking away from Ducky's nest with an egg, they all see their chance to prove themselves independent. They chase them into the Mysterious Beyond, the land outside of the Great Valley, and straight into a cave where the darkness causes everyone to panic and run amok, resulting in a landslide. The egg coincidentally rolls safely back into Ducky's nest. The gang lands in the Mysterious Beyond relatively unharmed, and come across a large egg that they mistake for the one Ozzy and Strut stole. The five work together to bring it home again, only to find Ducky's egg there.

Believing that Ducky's egg was there all along, they come to the conclusion that Ozzy and Strut stole this one from a different nest. They start to think it might be fun to raise the hatchling as their own, so they stand around the egg waiting for it to hatch. When it does, they realize that the egg contained a baby tyrannosaurus. But Littlefoot shows the rest of the gang that he's harmless and they welcome him into the valley, which starts the song "You're One of Us Now". I like the spirit of this song, but the lyrics aren't a lot. There's even a part where Littlefoot seems to cram too many words into one line.

We also get the best fight scene in the series, complete with dutch angles, when a local battle breaks out between two tyrannosaurs and the adult dinosaurs, with the kids participating somewhat. One of the most memorable scenes is when Littlefoot's grandpa fights off one of the sharpteeth in a lake.

The film delivers a good message on making the most of your young years and how fun it is to be a kid. Yes, that isn't the strongest message when you compare it with that of the original, but here's how I see it: The first movie tells the story of these characters' greatest redemption. They will continue to learn throughout the series. And if you ask me, this is a good place to start. It's certainly not as good as the original, but it, and (most of) its successors, are good sequels in their own rights.

7/10 for "The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure".

All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989)

Touching and memorably haunting

[7/10 · 24 July 2013]

In 1939 New Orleans, Charlie Barkin, a roguish German Shepherd (voiced by Burt Reynolds), is working with his gangster business partner, a smoking bulldog named Carface (voiced by Vic Tayback), at a casino fashioned out of a derelict oil tanker. Wanting to take all the earnings for himself, Carface frames Charlie and has him sent to a pound, but Charlie escapes with the help of his best friend Itchy, a nervous Dachshund (voiced by Dom Deluise at his funniest). The two of them arrive back at the casino in the middle of a rat race, and celebrate their breakout with the catchy as heck musical number "You Can't Keep a Good Dog Down".

But Charlie still believes that he and Carface are partners. Eager for 100% of the profit, Carface and his neurotic sidekick Killer (voiced by Charles Nelson Reilly) get Charlie drunk and then kill him by running an automobile over him. Charlie shoots straight into the sky and lands at the pearly gates. He arrives in what appears to be the sort of Heaven that a child might imagine, located in the clouds, where everyone floats around and is dressed in a robe with halos above their heads, and where lions are resting with lambs. A Whippet Angel there explains to Charlie that all dogs naturally go to heaven because they are inherently good, unlike humans. But because Charlie has spent his life being a gambler and drinker, he is unimpressed with heaven and how everything is orderly and pre-planned. He sings "Let Me be Surprised", in which he complains that he wants to go back to earth where he doesn't know what's going to come. He cheats his death by stealing his life watch, a glowing pocket watch, and winds it up, allowing him to return to earth. For a place that knows everything that is to come, they sure didn't see that coming.

Through the rest of the movie, the angel's voice coming from the watch says "You can never come back", a very haunting and unsettling line.

Back on earth again, Charlie reunites with Itchy and plots his revenge on Carface to "ruin him and make him suffer slowly and painfully."

You know, for kids!

So as Charlie sneaks into an air vent to enter Carface's basement, he finds him there talking to a young girl named Anne-Marie (the voice of this character was Judith Barsi's last performance). It turns out she has a rare ability to speak to animals. Carface has her held against her will so she can talk to rats, giving him an advantage when betting on races, which are apparently rigged so that those who speak the rats' language can know in advance of the outcome. Carface keeps making promises to Anne-Marie that she can go outside the basement, but breaks them. Being an orphan, Anne-Marie is sad and lonely.

When Carface leaves, Charlie rescues Anne-Marie and plans to use her in the same way Carface does. He says that in return he would help her find a mom and dad, though he has no intention of doing so.

A memorable seen takes place the following evening when Charlie, Anne- Marie, and Itchy sleep inside a taxi at a landfill. Charlie is eager to get Anne-Marie to fall asleep so he can talk privately about his plan with Itchy, but she keeps getting up and asking him things such as "Can I sleep here?" or "May I have a goodnight kiss?", to which Charlie is annoyed and more smacks her with is tongue than kisses her. She also prays to God, thanking Him for Charlie and Itchy, which is a bit confusing since the Heaven we see in this movie appears to be nondenominational.

So the next day, they go out to the park to grab a few bucks from someone's wallet to start their betting, while Anne-Marie is just searching for a pair who might adopt her. As she introduces herself to a young couple, Charlie snags the man's wallet and takes Anne-Marie away. And before long, Charlie makes out like a bandit at horse races and other events including---kangaroo boxing?

Soon, Charlie has his own bar and casino built. But when Anne-Marie becomes upset that he hasn't used any money for the poor, Charlie decides to stay to true to the promise. So he brings pizza to an abandoned church where a litter of a puppies are cared for by a collie named Flo (voiced by Loni Anderson). The pups start fighting over the pizza, leading to Charlie singing a sort of Jamaican song about the values of sharing. I guess the writers had to add in a message for young children, as the main theme of the movie is more adult.

So Anne-Marie finds the wallet that Charlie stole from the man and sees the couple's wedding photo inside. She goes up to the church's attic to sleep, and sings a "Somewhere Out There"-like song, in an audibly different voice I might add, about how soon she will find a mom and dad.

Though this movie isn't as dear to my heart as "The Land Before Time" (I admit I watched this one fairly recently), it's pretty good. Burt Reynolds was awesome as the voice of Charlie, giving him the charm of a con man, and in fact all the voice acting is excellent. The animation has the dark texture of "The Secret of NIMH" and the outstanding background details of "The Land Before Time". The pacing does grow slow in the middle, but it all builds to the movie's truly moving conclusion. Young children may be confused and disturbed by the movie, but with the subject material, Don Bluth always respected them (in the 80s, that is). If you have the time, certainly consider the watch.

7/10 for "All Dogs Go To Heaven".

The Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Giving (1995 Video)

A great addition to The Land Before Time canon

[8/10 · 24 July 2013]

Winning Best Home Video Presentation of the 1995 Annies, "The Time of the Great Giving" is the third installment of the Land Before Time series. For some reason, it was originally supposed to be #4, but was pushed forward one year. Maybe Roy Allen Smith just wanted to save best for last. One way or another, this is still a great addition to the franchise.

The film begins in a similar way to the opening of the first movie, with the same sweeping score and the same calm note, underwater. The animation's cool wavy effects and the silent ancient creatures give a great feel for the setting to those who are starting the series with this installment.

In the Great Valley, Littlefoot, Cera, Petrie, Ducky, and Spike have constantly been getting bullied by a trio of adolescent dinosaurs: a hypsilophodon named Hyp, a nodosaurus named Nod, and a muttaburrasaurus named Mutt.

So on this evening, a meteor shower impacts near the Great Valley and causes an explosion in the Mysterious Beyond. Fortunately, no one is injured severely. But the next day, the Great Valley dinosaurs wake up to find the Thundering Falls, their main supply of water, drying up. The increasing lack of water causes conflicts between the adults. Considering his species the wisest (even singing a whole song about it), Cera's dad is insistent that he make the drinking arrangements. He becomes so conceited that he gets unreasonable. In fact, he accuses Littlefoot of wasting water when he gets sprayed by a splash caused by the bullies, who hightail it out of there to not be noticed. Despite the fact that the gang had no knowledge of the water problem, Cera's dad cites Littlefoot as a bad influence and forbids Cera to be around him. To bring an end to all the bickering, Cera sneaks out with the others to set out on a water hunt of their own.

One of the most graphically stunning sequences in the movie, the animation of this wildfire fire that spreads through the Great Valley is dazzling and the score is appropriately alarming for the situation, sounding much like that of the Firebird stage from Fantasia 2000.

"Kids Like Us", is the best song in the movie. While the other two have great instrumentals, their lyrics aren't very top notch. This one is very meaningful, if somewhat preachy, and hopefully will show children how to deal with bullying.

The only real issue with this movie is that it kind of makes it seem like children are always the ones with the solution to a problem while the adults are just helpless and argumentative. This movie could have benefited more by encouraging children to always seek adults' help. Even so, it's better than "The Great Valley Adventure", as it deals with the grown ups as much as the kids, and it offers great messages for both children and parents of cooperation and preventing bullying.

The storyline, though formulaic, is pretty well-developed, and though the kids' dialogue is juvenile, that isn't so much a bad thing when working with characters who are still very young. Kids will be kids. The action scenes are sufficiently entertaining, the animation is outstanding, and Michael Tavera's score is most beautiful here, making for a fine addition to the Land Before Time canon.

8/10 for "The Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Giving".

Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

Blows Argo out of the water!

[10/10 · 23 July 2013]

Thirty minutes after Zero Dark (the military term for midnight) on May 2, 2011, the greatest manhunt in history came to an end. Osama Bin Laden, the man responsible for 9/11, was finally found and assassinated. It was a triumphant day for the U.S. military. But who was the hero behind it? (If you say Barack Obama, I will be starting a manhunt of my own) The writer and director of the Oscar-winning "The Hurt Locker" give us "Zero Dark Thirty", chronicling the events behind the hunt for Bin Laden with superb craftsmanship and unquestionable accuracy.

The central character of the film is Maya, a young CIA officer who has spent her entire brief career since graduating from high school focused solely on gathering intelligence related to Bin Laden following the September 11 attacks. She is a reluctant participant in extreme duress applied to the detainees, but believes that the truth may only be obtained through such tactics.

Despite losing the Best Picture win, "Zero Dark Thirty" blows "Argo" out of the water, in all drama, detail, and verve. Running necessarily for almost three hours, the film is intriguing and exciting from start to finish, and stays respectful by never showing any more of Bin Laden's face than we see of Jesus's in "Ben-Hur". Even if, for some, the leisurely pacing takes some getting used to, it's impossible for anyone not to be stimulated by the suspenseful last 45 minutes, in which the Navy SEAL Team 6 flies in to Bin Laden's hideout to carry out Maya's final plan.

The screenplay was actually in progress before Bin Laden was killed, and completely re-written after his death. The film was originally going to tell the story of the unsuccessful decade-long hunt. It's hard to believe that the movie could have worked this way. It's a fascinating story on its own, true, but looking forward to the climax is the main cause of how invested you get in this picture. Plus, Maya's research and determination wouldn't be building up to anything. You wouldn't feel her directionless mode as you do here.

Jessica Chastain gives a persevering and intense performance as Maya, who is a composite character primarily based on a female agent described in the book 'No Easy Day', which was written by a member of the SEAL Team 6. Otherwise, very little is known about the woman whose work made the vengeance of 9/11 possible. But whoever she may be, the film certainly pays honest-to-God recognition to her. This is one of those films like Paul Greengrass's "United 93" that truly honor the heroes of this wonderful country. "The Real Maya" is one of those heroes.

And Obama thanked himself.

10/10 for "Zero Dark Thirty", for my money the best film of 2012.

The Land Before Time (1988)

Congratulations Don, you really got me

[10/10 · 22 July 2013]

This has to be my favorite animated movie of all time. It was the first movie that I remember watching. Even today, the characters are like friends to me. The movie, as well as its successors, develops them so well that you can easily become acquainted with one or more. Though many consider "The Secret of NIMH" for this title, "The Land Before Time", in my opinion, is Don Bluth's masterpiece.

In a land in the prehistoric age, a drought is occurring and several herds of dinosaurs seek an oasis known as "The Great Valley". The animation here is very dark and fluid with a nice, earthy color scheme and some amazingly skillful footage of sand wind and the moon's reflection in a lake. You can always tell something is done by Don Bluth by the animation.

The dinosaurs are only stopping on their way to the Great Valley to hatch their young. One of these newborns is an apatosaurus named Littlefoot. He immediately grows close to his mother, and as the narrator tells us, knows that they would always be together. The scene where he hatches is a piece of art.

One scene later, Littlefoot is older and is able to talk. We're not sure how long it's been, but short enough that Littlefoot's mother is just telling him about their journey as she gives a star-shaped leaf, which they call a "treestar". When Littlefoot asks her how she knows the Great Valley exists when she hasn't seen it, she replies, "Some things you see with your eyes, others you see with your heart." This was is one of many very memorable scenes for me. And like the flashback scene in "The Secret of NIMH", there's a sense of wonder as Littlefoot's mother lowers her head to give Littlefoot the treestar. There's hair-rising music in this scene too.

While we're on the subject, this film's breathtaking music composed by James Horner is way up there with the score he wrote for "Titanic". I have every single note of the music from "The Land Before Time" memorized, and it describes the epic tone of the movie flawlessly.

Littlefoot starts to wander off and finds a family of triceratops, including a female hatchling named Cera (spelled as it is in the middle of the word triCERAtops). Littlefoot starts to play with her, but is stopped by Cera's father, who is the most racist dinosaur in the series. As Littlefoot continues the journey with his mother and grandparents, his mother explains to him the dinosaurs' prejudiced behavior nowadays.

Very early the next morning, as Littlefoot chases a frog, he encounters Cera again. They play together briefly, until a ferocious t-rex attacks. He almost has them, before Littlefoot's mother comes to the rescue. But at the same time, a massive earthquake opens a deep ravine that divides Littlefoot and Cera from their herds.

Littlefoot finds his mother languishing. Under the last of her breath, her final words to him are "Let your heart guide you. It whispers, so listen closely." This scene is so heart-wrenching that I can't watch it without getting tears in my eyes. That and this movie was one of the first things that brought to me the concept of death. It seems Littlefoot didn't know what death was, either, before his mother died. When I had learned what really happened, I was haunted. Now Littlefoot has to make the long journey without her. As a child, it was tough for me to wrap my mind around that.

Littlefoot, sad and confused, meets an old Polacanthus named Rooter. He tells him why he's so depressed, and that he blames all of his pain on his mother. He explains to him that it's no one's fault and is part of the great Circle of Life (my only quibble with "The Lion King"). Later, the treestar his mother gave him floats down toward him as he hears her heavenly voice speaking to his heart. As he looks into the drop of water in the treestar, she reminds him to the follow the sun and watch for the landmarks.

Soon, Littlefoot meets up with a saurolophus named Ducky. Acknowledging the racial issues among other dinosaurs, Littlefoot still offers for Ducky to come with him to the Great Valley to find her parents. Soon after, they run into Petrie, an aerophobic pteranodon who and has yet to learn to fly. Littlefoot and Ducky invite him to come too. These last few scenes succeed in lightening the mood after the emotional blow of Littlefoot's mother's death. The movie knows when to be upbeat and when to be emotionally stirring. This a bit more what "An American Tail" should have been like.

They run straight into Cera, who claims that she woke up the t-rex from the floor of the abyss. As she brags about how "brave" she was, she accidentally flings Ducky into a clump of grass where a stegosaurus is just hatching from his egg. Ducky names him Spike, and tells him to come with them to the Great Valley. Spike, who doesn't talk, swallows up all the grass around his nest and then joins the group. So the five hungry dinosaurs set off for the Great Valley, Littlefoot leading the way.

If you haven't seen this movie yet, you should. It is just epic. It's a great story with glorious animation and breathtaking music. Through my childhood, I had come to know the characters almost intimately. If I was lacking friends, I always had Littlefoot. When I needed a laugh, I had Petrie. You might think I'm being silly, but this really is how I felt. Though I still enjoy most of the sequels, not one of them has matched this animated masterpiece. It will stay with me for the rest of my days.

10/10 for "The Land Before Time".

An American Tail (1986)

The most downbeat movie of our childhoods

[6/10 · 22 July 2013]

Don Bluth's second animated film, and the first animated film produced by Steven Spielberg, tells the story of the pilgrims and their journey to America. With rodents. I'm talking about what may be the most downbeat movie of our childhoods, "An American Tail".

The movie takes place in 1885 Russia, where the Mousekewitzes— a Russian-Jewish family of mice —are having their Hanukkah celebration. Fievel, the young son in the family, is given a hat that has been in the family for three generations. But they are suddenly attacked by an army of cruel cats belonging to the Cossacks (a reference to actual anti-Jewish pogroms occurring in the Russian empire at the time), who destroy their village. They are forced to move to America, where Papa Mousekewitz is convinced there are no cats. On board the ship set sail to America, he tells everyone to set their minds at ease because, as they sing: There are no cats in America and the streets are paved with cheese. This song is very catchy and is realistic when you think of how there are poor people in other continents who literally believe that money grows on trees.

Correction: There were no cats in America, but everything changed when the fire nation attacked.

So during the trip, a huge storm strikes, causing Fievel to be washed overboard. The others arrive mournfully in America, believing that Fievel has drowned. However, he has floated to the shores of New York in a bottle. A friendly French pigeon working on the construction of the Statue of Liberty, named Henri (voiced by Christopher Plummer), finds him and gives him a wash. Fievel is pessimistic that he will ever find his family. Henri encourages him to always look on the bright side with a song that Fievel soon sings along to, titled "Never Say Never." I'm going to take the words out of your mouth: Justin Bieber stole Fievel's little song! That little biter! So Henri has one of his friends fly Fievel down to the city, where he goes his way to find his family. The city is full of immigrant humans and mice being hustled by con artists. One of the slickest of the scoundrels preying on the unsuspected newcomers is Warren T. Rat and his cockroach accountant Digit. Upset that he has made fifty cents less than the day before, Warren T. Rat spies Fievel, introduces himself and claims he can take the boy to his parents. Fievel follows the rat anticipating the reintroduction to his family right away, but the rats sells him to a sweatshop. But with the help of a street-smart Italian mouse named Tony, they both manage to escape. They pass a rally where an Irish mouse named Bridget is trying to convince the other mice to organize an order to defeat the cats. Fievel tells the crowd they have nothing to fear because of what his Papa kept saying. But at that moment, a gang of cats called the Mott Street Maulers attack the marketplace.

After they escape, Bridget takes him and Tony to see Honest John (the mouse, not the fox), who is a drunk yet reliable politician who knows all the voting mice in New York City. But as the Mousekewitzes have not yet registered to vote, he can't help Fievel find them.

On his journey, Fievel keeps thinking that he hears his father playing violin, but it comes from an Edison cylinder recording. He hears someone calling out his name, but it turns out to be another mother calling her son Fievel. Most of his search just leads to him falling into one depression after another. This is the main issue with the movie. As a film for kids, it should be more upbeat with some sense of discovery. Fievel doesn't learn a lot about America, except for the hard truth that there are, in fact, millions of cats there.

One of the only cheerful scenes in the movie is where Fievel meets a goofy, soft-hearted cat named Tiger who likes mice befriends him (he's voiced by Dom Deluise, who voiced Jeremy in "The Secret of NIMH". This won't be the last you hear of him in the Don Bluth brand). Fievel and Tiger find out that they have a lot in common and become "A Duo".

He is also given hope when Bridget tells him that she is certain his family is somewhere out there just waiting to be found. And meanwhile, Fievel's older sister Tanya has a feeling that he's still alive, thought her parents insist that the feeling will eventually go away. That night, Fievel and Tony stay at the water tower where Bridget lives. In a tear-jerking scene, Fievel and Tanya, though unaware of it, sing the song "Somewhere Out There" together.

"Somewhere Out There" is one of my favorite songs written for a movie. It's a song that could be sung in multiple cases. For instance, the situation the song is in in the movie, but it's often thought of as a song that gives you hope that your soul mate is out there watching the same stars with you, and somehow you will cross each other's paths.

I guess I sort of liked the movie; it has great musical numbers, an affable take on Jewish history, and the dark, fluid animation that made Don Bluth famous. But I wish it had focused far less on despair and more on making the most of the time you're alone, but with so much around you.

6/10 for "An American Tail".

The Secret of NIMH (1982)

A miraculously animated movie with memorable characters and a well-told story

[9/10 · 22 July 2013]

This 1982 hand-drawn film is based on a book titled "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH", which tells the story of a field mouse named Mrs. Frisby. Unfortunately, the people at the Wham-O company (the makers of the Frisbee) were reluctant to allow them to use the name in the movie, despite the difference in the spelling. So instead, the name was changed to Mrs. Brisby. This alteration was made late in production. So rather than having the voice actors say their lines again, the sound editors carefully sliced out the "fr" and replaced it with a "br" from other lines from each character. But it sounds as if no change had been made.

In the opening scene, we see these long-fingernailed, warted hands writing in a book. At first we think these are the hands of the villain, but he is actually Nicodemus, the wise leader of a group of super-intelligent rats who escaped from a science organization called NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health). He's writing about the death of Jonathan Brisby. There's dazzling animation on the magic that flows from the words he writes, effects that are unmistakably Bluth animation. Other animators would just settle for CGI.

The animation of the entire film is simply magnificent. Bluth experimented with rotoscoping, tracing over footage, frame by frame, plus some cool backlighting techniques. With a variety of more than 600 colors, the color scheme looks dark and genuine. And it has sort of an 80s feel to it that I really dig. What could also be a Bluth trademark is that in backgrounds, there's always something moving.

After the title appears, we meet the widow of Jonathan, Mrs. Brisby, who lives in a cinderblock with her family on the Fitzgibbons' farm. She's voiced by Elizabeth Hartman, who plays the character perfectly. Mrs. Brisby is searching for a grouchy, old mouse named Mr. Ages, who can give her a cure for her pneumonia-diagnosed son Timothy. Mr. Ages warns her that Timothy should stay inside for at least three weeks or he will die. As she heads home after receiving the medicine, she comes across a crow named Jeremy, voiced by the hilarious Dom DeLuise (may he rest in peace). Jeremy is a clumsy and whimsical feathered bloke who anxiously anticipates the day he finds true love. Mrs. Brisby befriends him after they escape the Fitzgibbons' cat, Dragon. I do not know why this cat roars.

The next day, Mrs. Brisby wakes up to find that Mr. Fitzgibbons has started spring plowing early. She knows that they can't move because the chill in the air would easily kill Timothy, but the tractor would destroy their house. With the help of Auntie Shrew, she manages to disable the tractor. Auntie Shrew suggests that she go before the Great Owl, a wise creature living in the nearby woods. Jeremy flies her to the Owl's tree, where she asks him for advice for a new plan. At first, he tells her to move Timothy anyway. But upon hearing that she is the wife of Jonathan Brisby, he tells her that the rats living in the rosebush in the Fitzgibbons' front yard can help her move her entire house. He tells her to ask for Nicodemus.

In the rosebush, Mrs. Brisby is surprised to find Mr. Ages there. When he hears that the Owl sent her to see Nicodemus, he introduces her to Justin, a kind and friendly rat who is the Captain of the Guards. The two of them show her the electricity and technology they and the other rats have obtained from the Fitzgibbons' house. They also tell her that they are ashamed of their theft, and are organizing a plan to move to a place called Thorn Valley to end it. But there's a power hungry rat named Jenner who opposes the plan.

Just from seeing Jenner, you can tell that he is the villain, his hideous identity complete with sharp teeth and his apparel consisting of a long cape. I think this a dumb cliché in animated movies. Why not wait for us to find out that he is a villain when he explains his evil plan? In "Beauty and the Beast", Gaston was a handsome, normal-looking guy, though granted, that was what made him a great opposition to the beast.

Anyway, Mrs. Brisby is taken to Nicodemus (or the rodent version of Moses maybe), who has her read the book he wrote in (Jonathan taught her how to read). As she reads, she finds out that her husband not only died, but was killed. You feel the emotion that she feels here as she almost starts to cry. Nicodemus then tells her the whole story, which we see in a flashback scene that has a curious sense of wonder. I think it best to leave it there and let you see it yourself. Now what surprised me is that there's a vicious sword duel toward the end of the film resembling the one in the 1938 "The Adventures of Robin Hood". A sword duel in this mostly calm, non-medieval movie felt a bit out of place. I also wonder how the rats got swords. Did they steal knives from Mr. Fitzgibbon's? If so, how could they get them to look like swords? Oh well.

Despite its flaws, "The Secret of NIMH" is a miraculously animated movie with memorable characters and a well-told story. It does avert from the book in parts, but the dark wonder is still present. Young audiences may not understand it all, but the movie respects them enough to not tone down its subject matter, which is the great thing about the 80s movies directed by Don Bluth. This is his second best film.

8/10 for "The Secret of NIMH".

The Lucky One (2012)

A considerably engaging story, but far from the best Sparks adaptation.

[6/10 · 22 July 2013]

"The Lucky One" is the seventh adaptation of a novel by Nicholas Sparks, the writer of "Dear John" and "The Notebook." This time, Zac Efron plays a marine named Logan, who is serving in Iraq, when he finds a small photograph of a girl with the words "keep safe" written on the back. At that moment, a mortar attack kills those around him, but leaves him with only minor injuries. Similar attacks occur over the next several months he serves, and he is always the sole survivor. He gives the photo credit for being his good luck charm.

When he goes home, he suffers from survivor guilt, and finds it difficult to adjust to life back home in Colorado. So after finding the location of a lighthouse in the photo, he walks down to Louisiana to find the girl in the photo. Yes, he actually walks the entire way from Colorado to Louisiana. He says later in the movie that he likes to walk. Uh…fair enough explanation, I guess? So he meets the woman in the photo, by the name of Beth (played by Taylor Schilling), who assumes he's there for a job opening, making him unable to explain the true reason he walked there. But she still questions why he would walk such a distance simply for a job. At first, she is irritated by his presence, but begins to soften when he develops a relationship with her son Ben.

Logan also meets Beth's ex-husband, a Sheriff Deputy named Keith (played by Jay R. Ferguson), whom she divorced on account of sexual immorality. He is ruthless and always hungry for victory, a trait that he tries to instill in his son.

Immediately, he is suspicious and jealous of Logan and doesn't hide his disdain for the former Marine.

Zac Efron may not be up for Oscar consideration yet, but his performance is as convincing as his character would allow, and Taylor Schilling and Jay R. Ferguson are also credible as their surprisingly multi- dimensional characters.

Expectedly, as Logan and Beth become romantically inclined, their relationship becomes physically heated, but directly after such scenes, the movie often cuts to the couple attending church, which could lead one to think that they are trying to make premarital sex seem like no big deal.

Or is it just me? I don't want to give too much away, but the thing that strikes me the most is, as the film progresses, the characters start to believe that Logan's arrival is some form of fate and destiny, that a so-called higher force intends that Logan would find Beth's picture for a reason. Funny, isn't it, how they attend church, and never once consider the existence of God? If you know some other Nicholas Sparks stories, it becomes evident that the author has respect for Christianity, even if he isn't a believer himself. I don't know this for a fact, but in the book, I would imagine the characters do consider God's purpose for everything.

But still, it is an interesting story that asks questions that I, as a Christian, know the answers to, which could make it an opportunity to share my (and all other Christian's) beliefs.

I give "The Lucky One" a score of 6/10. A considerably engaging story, but far from the best Sparks adaptation.

Les Misérables (2012)

Worth the watch

[7/10 · 22 July 2013]

The 1980 musical once again comes to the screen in "Les Miserables", featuring an all-star cast and from the director of "The King's Speech." 16 years after the French Revolution, Jean Valjean (played by Hugh Jackman) is released on parole after nearly two decades of slavery by Inspector Javert (played by Russell Crowe). He is offered shelter by the Bishop of Digne, but steals his silver during the evening. After being caught by authorities, though, the Bishop deceptively informs them that the silver was given as a gift, and secures Valjean's release. Touched by the Bishop's grace, Valjean makes an incredible redemption, promising to start a new and better life.

Eight years later, Valjean becomes a factory owner, but is still living in fear of Javert. One of his workers, Fantine (astonishingly played by Anne Hathaway), is discovered to have given birth to a child out of wedlock, and is sending money to her illegitimate daughter, Cosette. When she is dismissed by the foreman, she is left with no other choice but to become a prostitute.

Hathaway then gives us the performance of her career as she sings "I Dreamed a Dream" in one long close-up that blew everyone away at her audition alone; a heart-wrenching and mesmerizing single act that must be seen to be believed. Goodness knows she deserved the Oscar for this one.

What's more impressive is that despite her character's significance, she's not in the film for very long. Javert, now a police inspector, arrests Fantine, but Valjean intervenes and takes her to the hospital. As she dies, Valjean promises to be a father to Cosette. He then flees with her from Javert.

The only characters I didn't care for were the couple whom Cosette lives with before going to be with Valjean (played by Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter). I guess they're supposed to be comic relief, but I just didn't find it all humorous how the man continually mistakes Cosette's name. Otherwise, the first act of this film is compelling and had me allured by the story.

The second act, however was disengaging. It takes place nine years later when Cosette is a young woman (now played by Amanda Seyfried) and has found a love interest. The characters are less developed and the plot suddenly shifts into a war story when the Parisians revolt. Frankly, I began to lose interest.

The film makes a comeback, however, in the wonderfully executed third act. For those who haven't seen the movie, I don't want to spoil it. Let's just say, one part made me think of Judas.

95% of the dialogue in the film is sung. You'd think that would mean very talented musical actors are necessary. It does not. Russell Crowe wasn't very good, and Hugh Jackman sounded a bit raspy, but somehow, it didn't seem to matter. (Anne Hathaway was excellent, though) This was a tough movie to rate, but I finally awarded it a strong 7/10. It was worth the watch.