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#344 – On the Beach (1959)
On the Beach (1959)
Film review #344
SYNOPSIS: After a nuclear war renders the northern hemisphere uninhabitable, the U.S. submarine USS Sawfish docks in Australia, where the last of the world’s population have been fleeing. Dwight Towers, the Captain of the submarine, is summoned by Australian naval command to take the submarine back to North America to test a theory that the radiation may have subsided. Peter Holmes, a young officer in the Australian navy, is to join Towers on board, and invites him back to his home to spend time with his family before they head out. The cast eventually have to come to terms with the end of the world in their own ways, as the radiation slowly makes its way southwards…
THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: On the Beach is a 1959 film about the end of the world. I have previously reviewed the 2000 TV miniseries that is a remake of the film, so I will do some small comparisons between the two, but focus on this version. The film opens with Captain Dwight Towers of the U.S. submarine USS Sawfish docking at an Australian port, in light of the Northern hemisphere being uninhabitable due to the radiation from a nuclear war. The Australian navy command has a new mission for Towers: to return to the northern hemisphere to investigate an incomprehensible more code signal which seems to be being sent from San Francisco, which should be uninhabitable. Navy officer Peter Holmes ia assigned to Towers’ submarine, and he invites Towers to his home to spend time with his family before they head out. The film focuses heavily on the relationship between the characters, and makes the film more of a drama than a post-apocalypse film.
The world that the film envisions five years in the future (set in 1964 from the 1959 production date) is a society that seemingly has carried on like very little has changed, and order still seems to be maintained, unlike the 2000 film, where society has all but collapsed. There’s some effects of the war, such as people using horses in place of cars since there’s no oil, but other than that everyone still seems to be going about their daily businesses, eiether through ignoring the inevitable, or having no idea what to do about it. This is also expressed through the main characters, as each one has a different attitude to the state of the world, such as Peter’s realism, and his wife Mary’s reluctance to talk about or hear anything about how they are all going to die. Dwight’s sheer reluctance to accept that his family was killed in the war and that they will simply be at home when he returns is very well delivered, and the complications it brings up with Moira’s (Mary’s older sister) attempts to get closer to him means that her usual tricks to seduce men, which she has no moral quabble about, make her hesitate with regards to a man who does not actually have a family, but believes he does. Another strong moment is when Peter talks with his wife about the suicide pills that the government will be offering, as he sees it as the only way to avoid a painful death for her and their daughter, and Mary finally has to confront the uncomfortable truth.
Towers and Holmes set sail to San Francisco to investigate the mysterious signal, and thereby shifting the focus of the film from the human drama to the mystery of the signal and the exploration of hope. This puts a number of the film’s threads on hold, and changes the pace a little. The film gets a bit muddled in the middle, and moving the film away from those relationships it has been building up means the viewer has to shift their focus as well. It has it’s moments, but it doesn’t offer as much drama as the opening. This is a long film as well, going for over two hours, and the scenes are very dialogue-intensive and often lacking musical accompaniment. I felt that the film needed to produce more dramatic high and low points in order to take the viewer on an emotional journey, and while the ones it does are well executed, they are inconsistently placed, and some portions of the film are forgotten in a lull of activity. The performances all-round are fairly good, but some of the Australian accents the American actors use are pretty bad. By the time the film ends you see each of the characters having to make tough choices about how they approach the end, and the way the character’s have been built up gives their actions a powerful significance. There’s very little said about the nuclear war; it just seems like it’s a thing that happened and everyone has just accepted and moved on, while I think exploring this in more depth would have helped fill in the more quiet and less emotional scenes of the film. On the Beach pushes some boundaries in terms of exploring the inner traumas of people in the face of certain death, and offers a variety of characters in a well-defined world. It does however, fall short in terms of pacing and enough content to justify its runtime, and the human drama is done in much more well-rounded films, meaning overall it’s a mixed bag.
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#343 – On The Beach (2000)
On the Beach (2000)
Film review # 343
Director: Russell Mulcahy
SYNOPSIS: After nuclear war renders the northern hemisphere uninhabitable due to lethal radiation, Australia becomes the last place on Earth where life is sustainable. However, the radiation is slowly moving southwards, meaning there is a few months left at most for everyone. Captain Dwight Towers of the USS Charlston, a U.S. submarine that is been beneath the waves to avoid radiation, is called to Australia to take part in a mission to return to the northern hemisphere to test a theory that there may be areas where it is safe to live…
THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: On the Beach is a 2000 TV miniseries based on the 1959 film of the same name, which in turn was based on a 1957 novel of the same name. It begins with a series of news reports that provide some backstory on what has happened: a nuclear war between the U.S.and China broke out which lead to the northern hemisphere becoming uninhabitable due to the lethal radiation.This has lead to people moving en masse to Australia, which has avoided the radiation thus far. However, the radiation will eventually blow southward in a matter of months, meaning that nowhere will be safe. Captain Dwight Towers, the commander of the U.S. submarine USS Charlston, is docking the sub in Melbourne, having avoided the radiation since their sub has been underwater. Towers is given a new mission to return to the northern hemisphere and check on the radiation levels based on a new – albeit optimistic – theory that the radiation may have subsided. He is joined by Dr. Julian Osborne, a scientist who thinks the whole plan is a waste of time, and Australian navy officer Peter Holmes. Peter invites Dwight to his home before they depart, and the majority of the opening part of the film focuses on establishing the characters of Dwight, Peter and his family, their relationships to one another, and their varying attitude towards the oncoming end of the world. The human drama of Dwight’s loss of his family, the love triangle between Moira (Peter’s sister-in-law), Julian and Dwight, and Peter’s family is a major focus of the film, and it takes a long time to build up and get the viewers familiar with them so you can invest in their emotions and attitudes. It is very slow-paced, and can be difficult to pay attention to at length because of it.
The story offers a small glimmer of hope in the quest to venture to the northern hemisphere and find a place where the radiation has fallen enough so that people can live again. They also find a signal being transmitted from Anchorage, Alaska, so that is where they head. The film builds up this hope as the crew of the submarine slowly make their way to the signal’s origins in hope of finding survivors, but when it arrives all of that hope is dashed when they find lethal radiation there. The Captain and his first officer venture onto the shore in radiation suits to try and find the origin of the signal, but find it is a broadcast that is transmitted automatically by a laptop that is activated by a solar power cell as the sun shines on it every day. This is quite a come down, as this was more or less the last hope for humanity, and the rest of the film is a slow coming to terms with the inevitable death of everyone. Although the pacing is slow, it manages to create a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, as specific scenes raise hopes, and other scenes bring everything crashing down hard. It’s definitely a strength of the film to take the viewer on this ride, and is really down to the time it takes to invest in these characters.
The film does a good job of painting a depressingly fatalistic picture: the crowds look dull and bleak, and what little hope there is at the start of the film is slowly but ultimately crushed. The last portion of the film really goes into full depressing mode, as all hope is exhausted, and everyone has to accept the fact that they are going to die as radiation sickness begins to affect everyone. After building up all the character’s and their relationships, the film uses that investment to really give the film a huge impact. Each character gets to choose how they want to die; and it’s not much of a consolation, but that’s really all there is at this point. Peter and his family use a euthanising drug that has been distributed by the government so they can all die together, Julian drives his sports car around a race track, and deliberately crashes it, and the crew of the USS Charlston set sail back to their home port of San Francisco, knowing they will not make it, but wanting to die at sea. Moira heads to the beach alone after Dwight decided to go with his crew in the submarine, but it turns out he changed his mind at the last minute and the two share some wine overlooking the sea as the end will inevitably set in. Like I say, it’s all very emotional and depressing, and I don’t recommend watching it if you’re feeling down, because it certainly won’t help. It’s an emotionally exhausting experience but I suppose that makes it successful in getting the viewer invested in the characters. The setting of a post-apocalyptic Australia is rendered pretty well, with general order barely holding, and the effects are pretty decent too. It is a TV movie so it’s not going to be overly special, and the acting is sometimes a little off, but nothing too severe. The music adds to the dramatic tone of certain scenes too, and overall the production is well considered and decently executed. I would recommend watching it in three parts like the original miniseries, as the full three-hour experience will be draining and an emotional endurance, but it is perfectly watchable. There’s nothing particularly memorable about the characters themselves, but the way it builds their relationship to one another and the tone of its key scenes still allows the viewer to appreciate their human sensibilities and their varying attitude to the inevitable.
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#342 – Tourist Ömer Visits Star Trek (1973)
Tourist Ömer visits Star Trek (1973)
Film review #342
Director: Hulki Saner
SYNOPSIS: The U.S.S. Enterprise is visiting Professor Krater on a remote planet to collect some reports. While they are their one of their crew is killed, and Captain and his crew begin an investigation. The Professor wants them off the planet, and so uses a machine to transport a man to the planet who he will claim to be the murderer. Meanwhile on Earth, Ömer is being forced into a shotgun wedding when he is transported to the planet and taken into custody by Spock. However the investigation begins to get ever more complex, and even Spock’s patience begins to wear thin with the hyperactive Ömer running amok on board the Enterprise…
THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: Tourist Ömer visits Star Trek (Turist Ömer Uzay Yolunda) is a 1973 Turkish sci-fi film and the eighth in the series of films centred around the hapless roamer Ömer, as he causes trouble wherever he ends up. This time, he is about to be forced into a shotgun wedding with a woman who he says he barely knows. Meanwhile, the U.S.S. Enterprise is visiting Professor Krater and his wife on a remote planet to collect some reports from him when one of there crew is mysteriously killed. They have to stay and investigate, which irritates Professor Krater, who decides to use a time machine to bring someone from the past who he can blame for the murder. Fortunately (or unfortunately) for Ömer, that person is him. Krater brings Ömer to Kirk and Spock as the murder, and they take him on board the Enterprise into custody. Obviously, the first thing that should be mentioned is that this is not an official Star Trek film (although technically it is the first film in the Star Trek franchise), and none of the original cast, crew or writers are involved in this. Then again, neither is it a parody, since that would have changed the names of the characters and such. The film also steals the footage of the Enterprise in space from the television series, which shows it isn’t too concerned with any repercussions from using the Star Trek name. The story itself also isn’t anything too original, with plot points taken from a number of different episodes and recreated. Certain scenes will be very familiar to Star Trek fans as they are pretty much identical to those found in said episodes. So it definitely feels like a Star Trek episode, but mostly because it copies them directly.
Ömer is the typical fish-out-of-water character, as he tries to navigate the future he has found himself transported to, and generally make a mess of everything he touches. A lot of the time though, he is absent or in the background, as the film typically plays it straight and acts as a proper Star Trek episode. The actors that portray the characters do their bit to capture the original feel and look of said characters: Kirk has that sense of presence and swagger, and Spock has the Vulcan stoicism, and the actor that plays him is able to do the trademark eyebrow raise very well. Some of the acting is a bit rough, but that almost adds to the authenticity of replicating the original series. A lot of the humour is derived from Ömer being annoying and testing Spock’s Vulcan patience to the absolute limit. Ömer gets to play about with some futuristic gadgets and use them to basically annoy Spock again, so the film makes use of the setting for Ömer’s character to be himself, and it all unfolds pretty much how you would expect it to. Some of the humour will be lost on people unfamiliar with Turkey and its culture, but there’s not too much of it, and again a lot of the focus of the film is on reproducing an authentic Star Trek experience.
This film clearly doesn’t have much of a budget or the technological means to create any spectacular special effects. The same three or four sets are used throughout the whole of the film and don’t offer much variety, although the on-location filming looks rather nice. The bridge of the Enterprise looks nothing like the original, and clearly they had to make it with what they had. This film is definitely a product of its time; when filmmakers could get away with using another’s intellectual property without being found out and sued into the ground. It does feel authentically like a Star Trek film not just because it steals everything from the original without making it into a parody or satire, but because the limited budget reflects the similar constraints that the original series had. The film focuses on being more Star Trek film than Tourist Ömer, with the titular character only serving as a minor complication or annoyance in the plot. Given that the plot itself is mostly cobbled together from episodes of the series, there’s not much new for a Star Trek fan to see either, although they may enjoy the references. Overall: pretty harmless, but pretty pointless.
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#341 – The Cat from Outer Space (1978)
The Cat From Outer Space (1978)
Film review #341
Director: Norman Tokar
The Cat From Outer Space (1978)
Film review #341
SYNOPSIS: An alien ship lands on Earth in order to make repairs. The pilot, Zunar-J-5/9 Doric-4-7, is a cat from another planet where cats have evolved as the dominant species. before he can make repairs, the U.S. military finds the ship and takes it to a base to inspect it. They gather top scientists to try and understand the strange device they find aboard, but none of them have a clue. However, Dr. Frank Wilson manages to produce a theory that is quite close to how it actually works, even though nobody believes him. When Zunar hears Jake’s theory, he decides to trust him and enlist his help to repair his ship and get him back home.
THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: The Cat from Outer Space is a 1978 Disney sci-fi comedy film. The film starts off with a U.F.O. landing on Earth, and a cat leaving the ship (hence the title of the film I suppose). A local farmer sees the ship land and reports it, leading to the U.S. military taking the ship to a base for analysis. They take a device they find aboard to a meeting of scientists they have convened to try and work out what it is. None of the scientists can offer much of an explanation for its levitating capability, apart from one Dr. Franklin (Frank) Wilson, who believes it resonates with the universe’s harmony or something. Zunar, who is listening in on the meeting, notices that Frank is closer than any of the other scientists, and decides to enlist his help in repairing his ship. As you might imagine, Frank is quite shocked when the cat starts talking to him, but is persuaded to help him when he agrees to share certain mathematical discoveries with him. Frank decides to call him Jake and the two set about getting Jake home. The story is rather simple and threadbare: there’s nothing more to it than Jake getting his ship repaired and going home, albeit with a few minor inconveniences along the way. Being a film aimed at kids, it’s not very threatening or complex, and focusing on the film being a comedy means it doesn’t need too much explaining, and avoids engaging in too much scientific jargon. Although the jokes and humour are often aimed at children, there are some jokes for adults that although are easily missed, which means that there is something in it for the whole family.
In the first part of the story, we learn enough about Jake/Zunar to establish his background: he is from a planet where they did not need to evolve beyond cats thanks to their special collars that allow them to communicate telepathically and move things via telekinesis. Essentially, the collar allows Jake to do everything, meaning there’s not too many problems it can’t solve easily, which makes any threat and peril in the film quite trivial. The film also uses it to show off a more fun side such as making people levitate and such, which will no doubt stimulate children’s imaginations. As the film progresses, more characters start to help out Jake and Frank, and the soldiers that are after them provide a change of pace with their more slapstick antics. The second part of the film revolves around them needing one hundred and twenty thousand dollars for some gold to repair Jake’s ship. They come up with a plan to raise the money by betting on football games, using Jake’s telekinetic powers to influence the games in their favour. If you think about it, it’s a bit unethical to be fixing games in this way, but it’s still probably more child-friendly than robbing a bank or such, so you can let it slide a little. The betting establishment they place their money with is portrayed as a little crooked, so one can conclude that they are not taking money from any reputable business or person, so I guess that makes it okay? Again, there’s a little hiccup in their plan when Jake is knocked out and winning their money gets a little more difficult, but it gets resolved without too much drama in the end.
Throughout the film, a spy follows Jake and Frank around, gathering evidence of the collar’s special powers, at the start of the third act, he presents the evidence to his boss, Mr. Olympius, who wants that collar so he can literally rule the universe (his words, not mine). This last part feels very disconnected from the rest of the film in that this villain isn’t mentioned or referenced at all anywhere in the film until the beginning of this part. His motivations to just conquer the universe also lack credibility, and it’s never really mentioned who he is: I think he’s a crime boss of some sort? Anyway, he kidnaps Dr. Liz Bartlett and her cat and demands Frank hands over the collar in exchange for them. Jake needs to head to his ship and fly it off to be rescued, otherwise he will be stranded on Earth, so Frank goes after them alone, only for Jake to return and help out, effectively eliminating his chance of rescue. The finale consists of a chase between Mr. Olympius’s helicopter, and an old plane piloted by Frank that is kept afloat via Jake’s collar, and it’s quite well done. There’s a mix of actual footage and studio special effects that are blended together fairly well for the time, and it goes on for quite some time, pacing itself with the changing dynamics of the chase. But as mentioned, it does come a bit out of nowhere, and probably would have been cooler if they were chasing the helicopter in Jake’s spaceship. While the effects are nothing spectacular for the time, they serve their purpose well and manage to pull off some decent stunts, which adds a bit of excitement and adrenaline to a film that really needs it. The film ends with Jake taking the pledge of allegiance as he becomes a U.S. citizen seeing how he can’t go home, and everyone ends up happy. Overall, it often feels like The Cat from Outer Space is doing the bare minimum to piece a film together. Like the title itself suggests, it is very much to the point, and doesn’t seek to develop much beyond it. The characters are rather forgettable, the story is without intrigue or excitement for the most part, and visually looks rather dull. It certainly doesn’t hold up, and everything about it feels outdated. The humour is fairly harmless, and while it throws in a few jokes for older audiences to qualify it as a family film with something for everyone, it never really pushes any boundaries or makes itself stand out. All in all, a rather forgettable experience.
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#340 – Killer Tomatoes Strike Back! (1990)
Killer Tomatoes Strike Back! (1990)
Film review #340
dir. John De Bello
SYNOPSIS: Detective Lance Boyle is investigating a murder when the police Chief suspects the work of killer tomatoes. Boyle is highly sceptical about it, and this is made worse when he has to work with tomatologist Kennedy Johnson. Meanwhile, Professor Gangreen, the creator of the killer tomatoes, has a new scheme to conquer the world…
THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: Killer Tomatoes Strike Back! is a 1990 film and the third film in the “Killer Tomatoes” series. The series has always been a spoof or parody of the b-movie monster genre, and this film is no different. The film starts off with a murder parody of the “Halloween” films, which is pulled off pretty well. Then we get to see police detective Lance Boyle, a childish wild-card who doesn’t seem to take anything seriously, who is called to investigate the aforementioned murders. The chief of police believes that killer tomatoes involved, and has tomatologist Kennedy Johnson brought on the case to help Boyle, which he is less than pleased about, as he doubts there is even such a thing as killer tomatoes. Meanwhile, Professor Gangreen, who created the killer tomatoes, is disguising himself as a talk show host called Jeronahew, and intends to brainwash everyone who watches his show. The story of the film is split between the two perspectives, with Boyle and Johnson fending off various tomato attacks, and Gangreen and his assistant Igor trying to fulfil their plan to conquer the world. In doing so, the film uses typical plot elements, with Boyle and Johnson starting off as antagonistic while eventually developing a romantic attraction, but as a parody film it has to use these tropes to mess around with them. Killer Tomatoes Strike Back! walks the line between making a genuine attempt at a film, while also undermining the tropes it relies on a lot more so than its predecessors, which played it mostly straight with treating the killer tomatoes as a genuine threat, which showed the ridiculousness of the genre. Without that straight-laced parody the whole concept seems a bit lost and muddled. here’s also not much progression with the plot, just a bunch of killer tomato attacks that are all the same and don’t really result in anything. This film doesn’t add anything to the “killer Tomatoes” mythos, but there’s not much mythos needed in the “killer tomatoes” series. That said, the series has developed a structured world and history given that it is based on killer vegetables.
Boyle’s character is a bit all over the place: in the opening sequence we see him get out of bed and partake in a range of silly activities. There’s definitely a parody of Lethal Weapon between him and the other police officers, but nothing too specific: he’s just a laid back cop who likes to flout the rules and his partner and the Chief are a little more straight-laced. The most prominent character has to be Professor Gangreen, who is again played by John Astin, who gives such an over-the-top and dedicated performance that he really steals the show. It’s no surprise that the protagonist’s throught the series change or play minor roles, while Professor Gangreen and his assistant Igor are constantly driving the narrative. There’s not much to their plans other than to conquer the world or something similar, but there really doesn’t need to be.
As mentioned, the comedy of the film focuses on a fair amount of parody and satire, but it tries to work in other methods of humour too, such as the fourth-wall breaking, which I think worked better in the previous film. There’s definitely some inspiration that’s taken from the Naked Gun film series too, with incidental mishaps that are taking place in the background that provide some slapstick, physical humour. Overall the humour is fairly hit and miss, but there’s a few laughs to be had. This is the first film in the series that gave the the killer tomatoes themselves faces, rather than having them be just actual tomatoes. They look qute expressive and well made, so no complaints there.
Killer Tomatoes Strike Back! is more of the same comedy and parody as in the revious films. It attempts to make itself more relevant by spoofing scenes and tropes from more contemporary films such as Halloween and Lethal Weapon. While some of the jokes land and flow well, others just don’t have enough of an edge. Some of the humour is reliant on the time that the film was released, and so it will be easy to miss some of it if youre not familiar with it. The film is about what you would expect from the franchise though: it is not meant to be polished or serious, it’s just a bit of fun, but the lack of direction does impact that enjoyment a little.
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#339 – Killer Tomatoes Eat France (1991)
Killer Tomatoes Eat France (1991)
Film review #339
dir. John De Bello
SYNOPSIS: Professor Gangreen has escaped from prison and intends to enact a new plan to take over the world using his killer tomatoes. This time he intends to fulfil an ancient French prophecy to install his assistant Igor to the throne of France. An American backpacker arrives in France and stumbles upon Gangreen’s sinister plan, and with Marie, a local French villager, and FT (Fuzzy Tomato), a “good” tomato, they must work together to stop Gangreen before he fulfils the ancient prophecy…
THOUGHT/ANALYSIS: Killer Tomatoes Eat France is a 1991 film and the fourthin the Killer Tomatoes film series. Let’s start off with the title of the film: it wouldn’t sound halfway believable if there wasn’t already a well-established franchise consisting of four films, a cartoon series and video games that constantly parodies the b-movie monster genre. The film right from the outset presents the viewer with some silly credits that while not wholly original, might get a small chuckle or two. This is accompanied by a very dramatic and orchestral arrangement of the “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes” song, which is massively overproduced for a b-movie project like this, but that’s definitely part of its charm. I think this was also used in the previous films too, but it’s been a while since I’ve seen them. The film starts properly with Professor Gangreen, the creator of the killer tomatoes, about to face execution in France, when he is rescued by his assistant Igor. Gangreen then hatches yet another plan to take over the world using his killer tomatoes, intending to fulfil an ancient prophecy of the return of a French King, and having Igor be that King. The film’s story is rather simple, with plot points parodying other stories, so it’s easy to follow. It’s obviously not meant to be an epic tale, but pokes fun at all of the tropes that it incorporates into its story.
Meanwhile, an American backpacker is travelling through France when he meets a young French woman named Marie. She learns he is an actor, although she doesn’t learn that he is a b-movie actor…hence this film, and he introduces himself as Michael J. Fox to try and impress her. I’m not sure if Michael is supposed to be his actual name, because it’s never really revealed, so we’ll just go with it. The country of France is probably the butt of most of the jokes in this film, with it portraying rural France as living in the 1800s, and the various stereotypes of the French, from eating snails to the various traits made popular by actor Jerry Lewis. It is a completely over-the-top characterisation that may feel a little old fashioned nowadays, but provides some funny slapstick moments, such as the French army facing off against the tomatoes by launching baguettes at them. There’s also the plot element concerning the prophecy of a king returning to the throne of France, and the film depicting the need of France to have a monarch again after they became a republic. Probably not the best depiction of French values, but there is a note in the credits that basically says not to take it too seriously, and the film itself reflects that rather well. The film basically continues the world established in the previous films, where tomatoes were banned worldwide and everyone uses rather gross alternatives for tomatoes in their food. France is established as the only place in the world where tomatoes and humans live alongside each other in harmony. Killer Tomatoes Eat France does distinguish itself from the others by having sentient vegetables that weren’t created by Gangreen, and also giving some of the tomatoes speech, which they never did previously. It is in contradiction with the world established by the previous films, but it’s a world with killer tomatoes in it, and it’s not a film series that focuses on consistent world-building.
The rest of the characters include the return of Professor Gangreen and his assistant Igor from the previous films, who created the killer tomatoes. They get a lot of focus in the film and their general incompetence sets up a lot of the jokes. There is also F.T. (Fuzzy Tomato), the only ‘good’ tomato that Professor Gangreen created, who is performing a concert at the Louvre and helps to stop Gangreen and his scheme. There’s also Louis XVII (who says he always wondered why his last name was “17″), who learns he is the true King of France, and who Michael and Marie must restore to the throne in place of Igor. Gangreen and Igor are also helped by three tomato minions (Zoltan, Kethuck and Viper), who are based on characters from the cartoon series. It’s a packed cast who all fulfil specific roles, so there’s not much to complain about in that regard.
The whole film feels a lot more child-friendly than the previous films: maybe because it was riding on the back of the cartoon series, which was mildly successful. A lot of the jokes lack any teeth and would probably appeal to a child’s sense of humour, but are devoid of much more substance for adults to enjoy (although Gangreen being marches to the guillotine at the beginning is a little dark). A lot of the jokes break the fourth-wall and extend onto the set of the film, and while the previous films did some of this, it does happen a bit too much here. The best gags are the more subtle ones, such as during the war scene, where green army men toy figures are used to create a mock special effect of a real army charging across the battlefield, only for the film to cut to an actual field and life-sized green army men are actually stood in the field, this gaga also continues with toy tanks, and the way the film switches between toys and real-life is well done. Other visual gags such as the French soldiers wielding baguettes as weapons and Gangreen deploying banana skins and marbles on the tower stairs that Michael is trying to climb to rescue Marie. The film doesn’t have a huge budget, but still manages to pull off some big scenes, such as the battle mimicking the trenches of the first world war, and the car chase through the streets of Paris. Killer Tomatoes Eat France doesn’t add anything new to the world of killer vegetables, instead just providing more of the same as we have seen before. It changes things up with setting it in a caricature of France that is out-of-date and overly cartoonish, but nevertheless provides a few funny moments. Some of the humour, while not overly original, keeps the film afloat and form being a boring experience. The trouble is the first film started out as a parody of b-movie horror films, and with the fourth film there’s not too much left to parody (hence why there’s more focus in parodying France). The b-movie genre by 1991 was also long gone, and so the film exists in this non-space where it is referencing things which aren’t really relevant. However as I mentioned at the beginning, there’s something about this series that kept it going, and the film, for better or worse, manages to continue this bizarre franchise.
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#338 – King Kong vs Godzilla (1962)
King Kong vs Godzilla (1962)
Film review #338
dir. Ishirō Honda
SYNOPSIS: Pacific Pharmaceuticals are having trouble coming up with some successful advertising. Mr. Tako, the head of the company, is told about a monster that exists on a remote island, and sends Sakurai and Kinsaburo, two of his employees, to capture it so he can use it as the new mascot for the company. However, another monster appears: Godzilla is back and goes on the rampage, and a plan is devised to bring Godzilla and this new monster, King Kong, together in the hopes they destroy each other before they destroy everything else…
THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: King Kong vs Godzilla is a 1962 monster film and the third film in the Godzilla series. Given that King Kong is a Hollywood character, and Godzilla a product of Japanese cinema, this film is a true crossover of east vs west. The film starts off showing the failed marketing of Pacific Pharmaceuticals, and their boss Mr. Tako tearing his hair out trying to get attention for the company. A doctor tells Mr. Tako about a remote island in the South, where an indigenous tribe worships some kind of monster. Mr. Tako somehow concludes that getting this monster to advertise his products as a mascot would lead to the company dominating TV ratings, and so sends to marketers Sakurai and Kinsaburo to the island in order to capture the monster and bring it back to Japan. This monster turns out of course, to be King Kong, and the opening act of the film focuses on his origin story. It’s pretty similar to earlier incarnations in that King Kong is worshipped as a God by an indigenous tribe, who make various offerings to him. The film slowly builds up to his appearance then engages in a fight scene with a giant octopus (really just a regular-sized octopus on a model set), which establishes King Kong’s strength and showcases his power before the inevitable meeting with Godzilla. It doesn’t add much to the character of King Kong, but it doesn’t need to: some characters just don’t need to be more complex or have a motivation to smash stuff.
When King Kong is sedated and on the way back to Japan, Godzilla awakens from being trapped in ice, and heads off on the rampage. The Japanese Self Defense Force tries a number of operations to try and stop it, but all of them fail. The only option left to them is to get King Kong and Godzilla to meet and destroy each other. It should be noted that the whole tone of this film is a lot lighter than the previous two Godzilla films. The story being based around using these monsters in a war for TV ratings shifts the focus from the horrors of the destruction to more of a satirical look at human’s and corporation’s response to tragedy to use it to maximise attention and ratings. This ultimately makes the film a bit more goofy and silly than the original two films, which were very dark, and had powerful messages about Japan’s relationship to destruction and nuclear technology in the aftermath of the Hiroshima bomb. It’s not a bad move that the film takes, it’s just something different, and it is the direction the film series takes after this one to appeal more to younger viewers. Again, we get the basic plot points of King Kong condensed into this film, with him being captured, breaking loose, and going on a rampage in a city, while kidnapping a woman and climbing a tall building. The people that made this film clearly wanted to tell King Kong’s story in full, but also in their own way, making him feel almost at home in the setting of Japan, by which I mean trashing their cities…
When we eventually see King Kong and Godzila face off, Godzilla manages to overcome King Kong easily thanks to his atomic breath meaning King Kong cannot even get close. In their second meeting, King Kong fares better thanks to having absorbed electricity form power lines and an oncoming lightning storm: it is hinted that King Kong has the ability to summon storms and has an affinity with lightning, but it’s not explained very well. So while King Kong eventually emerges the winner in the end, Godzilla gets a victory as well, so it should satisfy both fans. Apparently King Kong was even more popular than Godzilla in Japan at the time, so having him win at the end obviously satisfies more people. The monsters are played as in previous Godzilla films by men in suits rampaging over model sets. The suits look decent, and the fighting is carefully choreographed, but does get a little silly at points, such as when they’re throwing rocks at each other. Some of the plans to deal with Godzilla are very cartoon-ish too, such as literally digging a pit and covering it up, so that Godzilla will fall down into it. Also airlifting King Kong by tying balloons to him looks pretty silly.
This is the first time we have seen Godzilla and King Kong in colour, since their previous films were in black and white too, and the addition of colour definitely makes them look less threatening anyway. One thing that stands out is Godzilla’s big eyes that are almost cartoon-like, whereas King Kong looks extremely messy and primal, which sets up a good contrast between the two. The effects are pretty decent, but there’s not as much destruction as the previous films, probably because over half the film’s budget went to securing the rights to use King Kong in the film. Overall though, while it is a little different in tone to previous Godzilla films, it changes things enough to keep it fresh, and is structured well to tell the story of two monsters alongside giving ample screen-time to both. Some people may not like the goofy human stuff, but all in all it’s a decent offering.
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#337 – Marvel’s The Avengers (2012)
The Avengers (2012)
Film review #337
dir. Joss Whedon
SYNOPSIS: While S.H.I.E.L.D. is performing experiments on an object known as the tesseract, a potential source of unlimited energy, it is stolen by Loki, a demi-god who wishes to use it’s power to subjugate the human race. Nick Fury, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., assembles a team of heroes to counter this new threat to Earth, but first they must learn to work together before they can take on Loki…
THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: The Avengers (or Marvel’s The Avengers or Marvel Avengers Assemble) is a 2012 superhero film that is the culmination of the first series of films establishing the marvel cinematic universe. The previous films mostly dealt with the origins of the characters, while also providing hints about how they will fit into the wider universe. This film has the aim of bringing all these different superheroes together, with their own unique presence, powers, and personalities, and devising a way for them to work together as a team. It is certainly an ambitious project to cross-over all these different worlds and stories, requires a balance to get right with regards to using each character effectively.
The film starts off showing the S.H.I.E.L.D. agency conducting experiments on an object called “the tesseract”, which played a part in the Captain America film and briefly shown in the Thor film. They are trying to harness its power to produce a limitless source of energy. It suddenly springs to life and opens up a portal through which Loki, the antagonist from Thor, emerges. He takes control of the minds of a number of personnel, and escapes the facility with the tesseract. Nick Fury, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., recognises the severity of the situation, and calls upon the various heroes to track down Loki and the tesseract. The film introduces each of the characters individually, so they are each explored on their own terms and their personal motivations are established firmly. The story structure is fairly standard, with a clear three-act structure that flows as you would expect, but there’s plenty of humour, action and story packed into them that the film nevertheless gives you everything you need. With a runtime of nearly two and a half hours, it’s a long one, but every scene is worthwhile in some way, and it could have probably got away with being even longer because there is so much potential with these characters and setting.
The characters have already been established through the previous films, primarily dealing with their origins and motivations that make them heroes. Even if you haven’t seen all of them, you get a pretty good idea of who they are and what drives the. Captain America comes across a heroic soldier who comes up with a strategy for battle, Iron Man/Stark is the guy with the resources who deflects criticism with his humour. Banner/The Hulk is the smarts who is also an unpredictable element, and Thor is a demi-God out to stop his Brother. Black Widow/Romanoff and Hawkeye/Barton did not have their own films, but appeared in the others so they are somewhat established, but Romanoff especially gets a lot to do in the film to firmly develop her role in the group. Each of the heroes is a big personality, so initially have a hard time finding their feet working together in a group, and it’s fun watching everything come together. The death of agent Coulson, who played a big part in bringing everyone together, is an emotional scene that gives everyone motivation to work with each other, and gives the team a unifying purpose. I think the only character that could have done with more development is Loki, whose motivations are a bit muddled, and his role in a larger scheme is left very ambiguous. In one sense, it works because Loki has a specific goal (to rule Earth) and is a simple one so that the heroes can do what they do best and stop him without too many complications. Loki being used by a bigger evil is also obviously meant to set up future films, but I felt like it could have done with being a bit more clearer. But again theres a flip side, as developing this background more may have distracted from Loki being a focal point and a credible villain, so there’s a fine balancing act that is being struck here. As a standout performance, I enjoyed the portrayal of Bruce Banner/The Hulk as a skittish scientist who everyone also has to be really careful around so he doesn’t transform and pulverise them.
Even though the story is quite simple, the film as a whole is certainly not lacking in ambition and scope. The final battle covers a significant portion of Manhattan, with a full-scale alien invasion tearing through skyscrapers and the streets of New York City. Superheroes in NYC again is hardly a novel phenomenon (which the film itself pokes fun at with a Stan Lee cameo), but perhaps that’s very much intentional: The Avengers is not attempting to differentiate itself from other superhero films by trying something new and different, but by outdoing every other film in the genre on its home turf; taking all these established tropes and concepts and executing them in such a way that no other film could compete. In short, it becomes the definitive superhero film. The level of destruction is unparalleled, the production makes it feel like a comic book film full of colour and dynamic shots and poses, and there’s some gloriously over-the-tops moments while also retaining plenty of humanity. The film does have some faults as I mentioned, and doesn’t push the envelope in terms of finding a new angle to develop or evolve the genre, but it is an ambitious project that pays off through balancing a colourful cast of characters with large-scale action and an interweaving of stories to create an entertaining tapestry that solidifies itself as the apex of the genre.
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#278 – Blue Christmas (1978)
Blue Christmas (1978)
Film review #278
Director: Kihachi Okamoto
SYNOPSIS: Dr. Hyodo addresses a science conference saying that aliens are visiting Earth, which causes an uproar. Shortly after, Hyodo disappears, and reporter Minami is put in charge of investigating what has happened to him. Meanwhile, people across the globe who have seen aliens seem to have their blood colour change from red to blue. This leads to a distinction between those with red and blue blood, and the world governments doing whatever they can to suppress and get rid of those with the blue blood.
THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: Blue Christmas (Also known as Blood Type: Blue or The Blue Stigma) is a 1978 Japanese science-fiction film. The film’s story essentially centres around the premise that people across the globe are seeing alien ships, and when they do, their blood inexplicably turns blue. As this phenomenon is happening across the world, the film features a large cast who are all responding to the crisis differently, although the film is primarily split into two halves, each focusing on a specific character. The first half mostly centres on Minami, a reporter who is given the task of investigating the disappearance of Dr. Hyodo, who had warned about the appearance of the aliens, only to be met with scorn from the scientific community. As Minami continues his investigation, he starts to uncover a link between the blue blood phenomena and Hyodo’s disappearance, as various powers are trying to supress the existence of such blue-blooded people as much as possible. The film’s plot is very dialogue-heavy, and there is a lot of switching between characters to give the impression of the scale of what is happening. It builds complexity and intrigue, which keeps the viewer engaged, but it doesn’t necessarily go anywhere: but that’s not really a bad thing, and in truth, that’s the point the film is trying to make…
As the film progresses, the governments of the world introduce increasingly robust measures against those who possess blue blood; covertly killing them off, and when their existence cannot be denied anymore, start to issue propaganda citing that there is no way of knowing what danger they may pose i the future, allowing them to present policies such as shipping them off to camps to the public with approval. As you may be able to work out, this film is a big metaphor for fascism, and the attempted removal of those who are different or impure so they do not “contaminate” everyone else. There is at one point a TV documentary about Hitler and WWII shown in a scene just in case the similarities weren’t apparent enough. It’s not a complex analogy of fascism that explores its roots, effects and any other issues, and for that I think it makes a surprisingly decent portrayal of it. By this, I mean the simple fact that the only distinction between the two people is the colour of their blood: nothing else…there is simply no threat or danger that can be discerned from this (in fact, those who have blue blood seem to have a much more calm disposition, and their anger and hatred have vanished since their alien encounter), and the fact that there is no rational foundation or basis for discrimination or fear is precisely a definition of fascism: that it creates an “other” that is deemed dangerous and a perceived threat so that people will gladfully accept any measure to get rid of them.
The first half of the film, told primarily through Miname’s investigation, looks at how fascism emerges from the separation of red and blue bloods, and how people respond to it. The second half of the film deals more with a human story of two people caught in the middle. Military soldier Oki starts a romantic relationship with Saeko Nishida, a hairdresser, only for Oki to find out that she has blue blood. He continues seeing her, but the government is fabricating an attempt by blue bloods to overthrow the government, which they will use to justify enforcing tougher measures against them. Oki is assigned to kill Saeko, which he does out of mercy for her, before turning his gun on the other soldiers, so they kill him. I don’t think there’s too much that stands out in this love story between two sides of a divide; it plays out as you would expect, and offers no real surprises. It’s done decently, but nothing remarkable. Another interesting fact is that we never actually see any of these aliens; only in one scene do we see still shots of vague alien ships. This again reinforces the heart of the film that it is not an outside force which divides people, but their own fears about wht is different. Overall, Blue Christmas is a decent film, which delves into the power of fascism with an understanding of its complexity and operations. The film is shot with skill, and the variety of locations gives the impression of a global problem which affects everyone. The story is not overly remarkable, and there’s nothing too memorable about it, but it is an interesting dive into the human condition and what causes rifts in society, and it is explored with a great amount of thought and care, which makes it an interesting watch, although there are plenty of films which explore this subject matter (especially in science-fiction) in a more structured way.
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#33 – Blade Runner (1984)
Blade Runner (1982)
Film review #33
Director: Ridley Scott
Do androids dream of electric sheep…?
SYNOPSIS: Los Angeles in the year 2020; six Replicants, androids who were built to mimic humans almost perfectly, have managed to escape an off-world colony, and have landed on Earth, where they are illegal. Rick Deckard, a retired “Blade Runner” (a cop who hunts down replicants), is brought back to the force to hut down and “retire” these replicants. He visits Tyrell, the head of the corporation that built the replicants to examine a test that can distinguish a replicant from a human. There. he meets Rachael, an experimental replicant who believes she is human, implanted with false memories to this end. After 100 questions, the test is still inconclusive about whether she is human or not.
Meanwhile, two of the renegade replicants find an employer of Tyrell corporation, and interrogate him to find a way to meet Tyrell, trying to find away their four year lifespan that is built into them. He suggests they find J.F. Sebastian,the designer of the replicants. Later, Rachael visits Decker at his apartment, trying to prove her humanity by showing him a family photo, but he rejects it, saying it is just somebody else’s memories, causing her to leave in tears. Meanwhile, one of the replicants, Pris, has befriended Sebastian, and he takes her home, where he makes animated dolls using his skills as a designer.
At one of the replicant’s apartments, Deckard finds a photo of a replicant and a snake scale, which he eventually uses to track down a replicant called Zhora to a club. After chasing her through the streets, he catches her and “retires” her. Reporting back to the police, he is told that Rachael has gone missing, and he is to add her to the list of replicants to be retired. Deckard is then attacked by Leon, another replicant, but Rachael appears and shoots Leon, saving Deckard’s life. The two return to his apartment, where Deckard promises not to kill her.
Meanwhile, at Sebastian’s apartment, Roy, the leader of the renegade replicants turns up to tell Pris that they are the only two left. They persuade Sebastian to get them to meet with Tyrell, where they hope they can get him to extend their life. When Roy arrives however, Tyrell tells him that it is impossible, and Roy confesses that he has done many terrible things, but Tyrell dismisses this, saying how special he is in a rather messianic moment. Roy then kills Tyrell and leaves alone.
Back at Sebastian’s apartment, Deckard has entered, and after a brief fight with Pris, kills her just as Roy returns. The two engage in a lengthy fight and chase, ending on a rooftop, where just as Deckard is about to fell to his death, Roy unexpectedly saves him, and dies himself. Back at Deckard’s apartment, he finds Rachael and the two leave the apartment as the movie ends…
THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: Blade Runner is primarily an action film, but it operates on a number of other levels too, utilising notions of the film-noir genre, and using a lot of different religious symbolism and references means this film can be quite complicated, and one could interpret the film in a number of ways.
The film has a very distinct aesthetic. Taking place in the not-so distant year of 2019 in Los Angeles, it is a very “retro-fitted” future, where the city has been developed by merely building over or around the current architecture and structure, so the city is a mass of crowded, narrow streets, and tall skyscrapers that block out the sky from the ground. It reminds me a little of the “Walled City” of Kowloon, in which the city was built on top of itself so much it had to be demolished. Also in the movie, we get glimpses of other future technology, including the hovercars, which are one of the most memorable images from the movie. The images of the Los Angeles skyline in this movie are probably the most famous images to come out of this movie.
Blade Runner has become quite a popular movie over the years, though it didn’t start that way. It was a box office failure (Barely breaking even), and the film was plagued by differences between director and studio, the most controversial part being the voiceover “diary entries” which the studio wanted, but Harrison Ford didn’t, the studio thinking the movie was too complicated without them. The director’s cut edition does not include them, and I think the movie is better without them. The film has quite a large “cult” following, not quite entering the mainstream cinema, but it is on the fringes as a very unique example of science-fiction storytelling, and a remake or sequel has often been discussed.
Very little in this movie is obvious, it is full of strange images and numerous sub-plots that intertwine. The image of Roy, the replicant leader having a very messianic persona, who is looking to save his fellow replicants from the curse of the four year lifespan is an interesting one. He is played very well, torn between these two concepts of being an advanced replicant and having genuine emotions, but not quite achieving them in human form. The human vs Replicant line is blurred further when the notion is brought up about half-way through the film that maybe one should question whether Deckard himself is a Replicant. Though this is never answered, like a number of elements in the movie that are left unresolved at the end, the viewer is invited to make up their own mind.
Overall, Blade Runner is an important movie in terms of science-fiction cinema. It invites the viewer to take it seriously through it’s multiple twists and turns, and interpret what it is happening for themselves. It’s dramatic “neo-noir” style makes it a tense and slick movie that presents the future in a unique way, and is a movie that has stood the test of time, making it an enjoyable and watchable movie.
