Some Interesting Films as I Round the Corner to the End

Film 319
"Who Framed Roger Rabbit?"
starring: Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Joanna Cassidy, Charles Fleisher (voice)
directed by: Robert Zemeckis

For the time period that Zemeckis' film came out (re: 1988), this was rather groundbreaking because it was the first one to combine live actors/action with animated characters. It was a good movie, for the late '80s, as it introduced this new technological advancement. It's rather convincing as the actors interact with the cartoon characters, even though, nowadays we know the tricks of the trade (re: actors against a green screen). We almost take advantage of all the technology in films these days that do the same things (re: "Enchanted" with Amy Adams and of course the "Transformers" films which includes gigantic robots and massive explosions).

Roger Rabbit and his cartoon comrades cast real shadows. They shake the hands and grab the coats and rattle the teeth of real actors. They change size and dimension and perspective as they move through a scene, and the camera isn’t locked down in one place to make it easy, either - the camera in this movie moves around like it’s in a 1940s thriller - and the cartoon characters look three-dimensional and seem to be occupying real space.

The film takes place in Hollywood during the 1940s, in a world where its common knowledge that humans and Toons exist side by side. The two main Toons characters are of course, Roger Rabbit, but also his now iconic leading lady/wife, Jessica Rabbit (who seemed to be drawn right out of a teenage boy's cartoon fantasy, with all the right curves, a seductive, tight red dress and complimentary red hair). You can tell she's dangerous, just from looking at her, but also in watching her strut around- not to mention her voice.

The plot revolves around the murder of a gag-gift mogul for which Roger Rabbit is framed for having committed. That's when private eye, real human, Bob Hoskins comes in. He is looking into the case, but more importantly he is trying to prove Roger Rabbit's innocence. He has to hid Roger Rabbit from the seemingly dark and evil Judge Doom (played by Christopher Lloyd) while he investigates. The plot is very familiar to anyone who's enjoyed those old-time 1940s private eye/crime movies, except for one major differences- the plot and setting involves cartoons and a cartoon world.

Sure, the movie is funny and has its typical, almost cliche laughs which it gets from gags between characters, inside jokes, one-liners, and pokes at itself. I think what really helps the film stay convincing is the human actors interactions with the cartoons never seems lame and they don't ham it up, in order to meet the cartoon characters in their world. They stay realistic and act as if they've been interacting with cartoons their whole lives.

I can really appreciate "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" for what it accomplished in the late '80s and the path it paved for films that I grew up with and have seen in my adult life that combined technological advancements.

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Film 320
"Adrift"
starring: Vincent Cassel, Laura Neiva, Camilla Belle, Debora Bloch
written and directed by: Heitor Dhalia

This might actually be the first real-true foreign film that I've watched for my film project, which is hard to believe now that I'm actually nearing the end, about 40 films left, and I don't think I could've found a better one that seems to have flown under the radar. I have enjoyed this film project because it has forced me to find this small, indie films that I probably wouldn't have found otherwise, even though I enjoying searching for them.

With "Adrift" we are introduced to a Brazilian teenage girl named Filipa (played wonderfully by newcomer Laura Neiva who really steals the film, even with veteran actor Vincent Cassel in the other lead role, and American actress Camilla Belle playing a small, supporting role). It's really the story of Filipa's coming-of-age, all the while, discovering the power of her beauty and sexuality when it comes to boys/men. Vincent Cassel's Mathias is on vacation with his Brazilian-based family when he begins an affair with Belle's character, which Filipa discovers and then spies on almost all their interactions. Perhaps because of the effect this discovery has on her loyalty to her father as well as her unconditional love for him, Filipa decides to also toy with the emotions of a teenage boy who has taken a liking to her. The ability to toy with him comes from her discovery of the power a beautiful and sexually-charged girl can hold over any boy. This is a strong power for any girl to possess, and if used wrong, can certainly do some damage (trust me, I've definitely been on the receiving end of such beauty and power, it stings).

Filipa is disgusted by her father's affair, only to find out there's more to the story than she knows. The married couple has been hiding something else from their oblivious young children. And as the story unfolds and the climax comes in the third act, it becomes predictable of the outcome of deceit and unfaithfulness. The real story, though, can be found with Filipa, and I wish the director/writer would have focused even more than he already did on her. It's shot masterfully and really gives us the sense of being in Filipa's POV/shoes as she comes into her own during this vacation with her family.

I did enjoy the film and found the acting to be stellar, especially from Laura Neiva.

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Film 321
"Sassy Pants"
starring: Haley Joel Osment, Anna Gunn, Ashley Rickards, Diedrich Bader, Shanna Collins
written and directed by: Coley Sohn

Here's another cool, surprising indie film. This one about teen alienation (perhaps in the same vein as "Heathers"). It stars Ashley Rickards (most notably form the CW's "One Tree Hill" on which she had a recurring role) as Bethany- the very sheltered teenage girl of an overly protective mother (played with a bite of viciousness by Anna Gunn). Bethany has just graduated from high school as valedictorian, the only catch is that she was home-schooled. Her mother fears anything she cannot control for her daughter. In the story's background, we discover that Bethany rarely ever leaves the house, has never had a job, and pretty much holes herself up in her bedroom, looking at fashion magazines and fantasizing about the world outside her house's four walls. A world away from her overbearing mother. A world she is totally not prepared for when she actually gets the courage to leave, thanks to one final straw.

Bethany leaves home after her pathetic graduation celebration and heads to her father's house. Diedrich Bader from "Office Space" and more famously "The Drew Carey Show" plays Bethany's gay father, who is living a comfortable life as sort of a gay redneck (oxymoron?) with his partner- played by Haley Joel Osment (really bizarre casting choice, as he has grown up slightly unrecognizable from his earliest film "The Sixth Sense"). Interesting sidenote-- Emily Osment is Haley Joel Osment's sister and she of course is famous for her sidekick role on "Hannah Montana" as Miley Cyrus' best friend! That's right, I have useless information like that. You're welcome.

Anyway, Bethany ends up getting a job at a local retail/clothing store after slightly impressing the other girls that work there. Only to have things go wrong and she is eventually betrayed by the girls as she is thrown under the bus for stealing money.

One of the flaws of "Sassy Pants" is that everyone in Bethany's life seems like a caricature which makes her world seem really unauthentic. Bethany's story unfolds like a typical movie-made fable, even for an independent film and her catharsis just doesn't come off well when everything is resolved in the brief span of time that the film's length allows. As an independent film, the writer/director has a chance to make Bethany's predicament more outlandish, mostly in the hands of Bethany's mother (re: she should be more villainous and heinous- more of a fantastical character that pushes Bethany out into the real world, which should be much more shell-shocking for her than it really is).

Bethany does gain some self-confidence, as well as freedom from escaping the stranglehold that her mother had on her for 18 years (which has more to do with her own projections and fears than anything Bethany could've done). She's accepted and seen her prettiness and her fashion sense. When she returns home, it's almost like she wants to pass on her newfound knowledge to her younger brother, whom she fears is just as trapped as she once was. "Sassy Pants" was another coming-of-age story that had its moments, but as a whole it fails to really convey any sympathy from the viewer because Bethany's world seems slightly too fantastical.

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Film 322
"Mary and Max"
voices of: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Toni Collette, Eric Bana
written and directed by: Adam Elliot

Claymation films are amazing and fascinating, perhaps especially when they come out of other countries. "Mary and Max" is the brainchild of Adam Elliot and it "stars" two characters who are definitely considered oddballs, which is probably the main reason why our country's movie audience has not or would not accept them.

The story is split between Australia and New York City and is narrated magnificently by Barry Humphries as he introduces as to the Australian world that includes Mary Daisy Dinkle. She lives in a gloomy world because she has a gloomy life. She has no friends, other than a cast-aside rooster. She has an alcoholic mother who also thieves at the grocery store. He father is a taxidermist. She has a favorite show, named "The Noblets." One day, while at the post office with her father, she randomly picks a name from some kind of phonebook. She decides to write this person a letter, in the hopes of gaining a long-distance friend.

The person she writes a letter to happens to be an equally, if not more, depressed and gloomy man named Max Jerry Horovitz, a Jewish New Yorker (voiced by Philip Seymour Hoffman- awesome!) whose favorite show is also "The Noblets." This is the common thread both people use in order to extended their hands/pens in friendship. Max is obese and suffers from intense anxiety attacks who later discovers he is Asperger's. They correspond as friends for about 20 years, discovering and revealing things about themselves to each other.

The world that Adam Elliot has created for these two characters, world apart, yet so similar, is riddled with suicide attempts and death, diseases and disorders, drugs and alcohol, as well as good intentions which gives their worlds a sense of optimism, at its core. Mary and Max almost seemed destined to find each other, even though it's only through letters. The director/writer really pushes us to invest in the bleak world he has created as well as these two pathetic characters. Their relationship is always delicate, especially as Mary grows up into a woman (voiced by Toni Collette). She marries a Greek man (voiced by Eric Bana) but she never really escapes herself or her past.

This is a splendid film that really grabs your attention and holds it throughout the story. You want Mary and Max to meet each other, and the heartbreaking conclusion seems rather fitting for both of them. I loved this film and was so glad that I found it.

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Film 323
"Super Troopers"
starring: Erick Stolhanske, Jay Chandrasekhar, Steve Lemme, Kevin Heffernan, Paul Soter, Marisa Coughlan
written and directed by: Jay Chandrasekhar

I cannot believe I've never seen this film in its entirety until now. It took this film project for me to find it on Netflix streaming, but I'm glad I found it. It's a delightful, highly entertaining, stupid comedy, with lots of repeatable one-liners. It's the baby of the comedy troupe known as Broken Lizard, which is a gang of dudes that went to Colgate College and won an award of $200,000 in order to make their first film "Puddle Cruisers." With more creditability, the same gang has been able to make this film as well as "Club Dread." Their comedy seems like it would have been fitting as sketch comedy most widely seen on Saturday Night Live. It's like they were all cast-offs, perhaps from the Island of Misfit Comedians. But they certainly deliver laughs with their characters in "Super Troopers." I loved this film for everything that it embraces it is.

"Super Troopers" plays like it was directed as a do-it-yourself project, following instructions that omitted a few steps, and yet the movie has an undeniable charm. Imagine a group of Vermont state troopers treating their job like an opportunity to stage real-life "Candid Camera" situations. Now imagine that all of the troopers have ambitions to be stand-up comics. And that they were inspired to get into the force by watching "Police Academy" movies. But that they are basically good guys. That kind of describes it.

"Super Troopers" has kind of a revue feel. There is a plot, which somehow arrives at a conclusion, but the movie doesn't tell a story so much as move from one skit to another, with a laid-back charm that is relaxed and self-confident. The plot revolves around a rivalry between the incompetent state troopers and the local police force of Spurbury, Vermont. This rivalry comes to a head when there is an unsolved murder mystery that combines with a large drug bust. Who will come out on top of the rivalry at the end of the film? The lovable idiots, of course! 

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Film 324
"Shake, Rattle, and Roll" (Made for TV)
starring: Renee Zellweger, Howie Mandel, Max Perlich, John Doe (of the punk band X)

Made for TV in 1994, Shake, Rattle, & Rock is a pretty fun movie, if you take it for what it's worth. 

It's about a group of kids in the 1950s who want nothing more than to enjoy their music, and possibly get a recording contract. Of course, the '50s was riddled with inequality and racial tensions, which this film doesn't stray away from, instead takes the risk of including the tension in its main plot. 

The problem is, their parents see Rock & Roll as evil. Some things never change, eh? Renée Zellweger plays Susan, a senior in High School and singer/piano player in a three person band. Her and her friends get onto a show reminiscent of Dave Clark's American Bandstand...and are spotted on TV by Susan's mother. Uh oh! 

Now Susan's mom hangs out with the local School Librarian, who we first see tossing books into the trash that she doesn't deem suitable for kids... classic books. These parents were a good representation of idiotic over-zealous groups that are still relevant today. 

There is also a foursome of young black gals who can belt out a tune like there's no tomorrow..but it's the 50s and they are not allowed inside certain establishments. Susan befriends them and they arrange a gig at a friends restaurant that's been closed down. The parents catch wind and all hell breaks loose. How dare those kids all have fun! 

Renée Zellweger does a decent job, even though, she is clearly not singing at all. This made-for-TV film came out right around the same time as "Empire Records" which of course was Renee's other music film, which is way better. 

Howie Mandel, pre-bald head is Danny Klay, this movies answer to Dick Clark. He plays the over-the-top DJ personae quite well and brings a nice energy level to the film. 

Skips this one. You'll only be disappointed.