I have a long history of love for this particular film, and it continues to this day. As a Christian, the story of Moses was one of those stories that is oft told in Sunday School and the likes, and deservedly so. It is one of the biggest examples of epic in the entire Bible.
The Prince of Egypt is an animated Dramatic Musical that was first released in 1998, starring the voices of Val Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes and others, and is probably the most epic family movie I've seen. It kick-started my interest in Ancient Egyptian culture and history in my youth, and is to this date the best Bible Epic i've ever seen...and it's animated.
The interesting thing about POE that sets it apart from other animated movies is that it doesn't bother with the dreaded 'Disney Comic Relief Characters' that are in every other animated movie, especially after The Lion King, including non-disney movies. The issue with these characters is that they don't add much to the story, and are really just there as distractions for the kids, as to keep them entertained through the more adult story (see Hunchback of Notre Dame). Prince of Egypt doesn't do that at all, and the closest it gets to that trope are the two High Priests, Hotep and Hoy, played by Steve Martin and Martin Short, but they come across more as creepy than funny, despite their more cartoonish design, compared to the rest of the movie.
But that's not to say the movie isn't funny. It has plenty of funny moments, such as the beginning with the brotherly quarrels between Rameses and Moses. These comedic moments are limited though, and the movie feels more like a musical along the lines of Les Mis, to give a recent example, than any Disney movie clone.
The music is the strongest part of the movie, and the reason I think that the film will do well on a Broadway stage. The film has one of the best openings ever, in my opinion, with the seven minute 'Deliver Us' instantly saying to the audience 'This ain't a kid's movie' with the implied deaths of thousands of children. Other songs, such as 'All I ever Wanted', 'Playing with the Big Boys', and 'The Plagues', and of course, 'When You Believe,' a song that was covered by Celene Dion and Whitney Houston for the soundtrack and became a worldwide hit. The lyrics mix perfectly with the Hans Zimmer score, creating one of the most memorable soundtracks ever written.
And the story is also amazing. Most everyone in a predominantly Christian or Jewish culture, whether they follow the religion(s) or not, are familiar with the Moses story, but the way the film presents it, as a tale of two brothers who are forced to be enemies by a higher power, is a very unique interpretation of the story. The fact that it's called 'The Prince of Egypt' speaks volumes about the tone of the story. At first glance, nobody would guess 'Moses' from the title, unless they knew about the film beforehand. The reason I believe it is titled that is because Moses, being raised in an Egyptian palace his entire life, would have a massive connection to the land and people, despite his heritage. Moses would've been conflicted with himself and the love for the country he was raised in, and the culture he belongs to, and the movie presents that conflict almost perfectly.
Visually speaking, the film is GORGEOUS. Every single frame is made perfectly. The throneroom of the Pharoh, with the statue of Seti right next to Seti's real profile is great framing. The entire movie feels huge, every picture is scaled perfectly, and the final fifteen minutes, with the parting of the Red Sea, is one of the most epic moments in animated cinema. Watching the movie just for the visuals in itself is an enjoyable experience, even to this day, and this film is fourteen years old now.
So yeah, this is probably my favorite animated movie, at least right now. What my favorite disney movie is, I get to later.
Saturday, 27 April 2013
Monday, 22 April 2013
Oblivion initial impressions
Oblivion seems to me like the type of movie that requires several (or at least two) watches before a proper opinion can be given to it, because initially this film feels very fresh, pretty, and overall a good blockbuster-type movie.
Apparently I'm in the minority when it comes to the critics and this particular film, most saying that the story was predictable and it was light in the story department. I disagree, yes I predicted a few key twists in the story when they were initially presented, but the overall feel of the story was a mystery until I actually viewed the film.
I watched the film with my mother, and her limited sci-fi experience, besides the big ones like Star Wars, Star Trek and Inception, made the film an enjoyable and fairly unpredictable film for her, mainly because many of the tropes and cliches that are presented in this film are only familiar with medium to hardcore sci fi fans, something that neither me nor my mother are.
So as an outsider to the sci-fi scene, this film is really good, generic sci-fi. I enjoyed it as such, as did my mother, and some other people I am friends with as well. I will watch it again, with full knowledge of the story twists, and see if it still holds up as a film by itself. Until then, cheers.
Apparently I'm in the minority when it comes to the critics and this particular film, most saying that the story was predictable and it was light in the story department. I disagree, yes I predicted a few key twists in the story when they were initially presented, but the overall feel of the story was a mystery until I actually viewed the film.
I watched the film with my mother, and her limited sci-fi experience, besides the big ones like Star Wars, Star Trek and Inception, made the film an enjoyable and fairly unpredictable film for her, mainly because many of the tropes and cliches that are presented in this film are only familiar with medium to hardcore sci fi fans, something that neither me nor my mother are.
So as an outsider to the sci-fi scene, this film is really good, generic sci-fi. I enjoyed it as such, as did my mother, and some other people I am friends with as well. I will watch it again, with full knowledge of the story twists, and see if it still holds up as a film by itself. Until then, cheers.
Wednesday, 17 April 2013
Click (warning, spoilers)
Let me talk to you a bit about genre.
I'm not the biggest fan of genre, but I do respect it as a viable method of writing. The rules of genre that defines things as Drama, Comedy, Tragedy, Fantasy, Romance and others have been set in stone over many centuries of evolution.
However, when someone tries to break trends, and makes a movie that fills two genres that are almost completely different in tone and execution, there's a small amount of respect that is earned for being able to make a movie like that, especially when it is a success.
And that's where we get to Click, probably one of the most famous examples of a dramatic genre shift in the history of film.
Click stars Adam Sandler, and for the first two thirds of the film, is the typical Adam Sandler fare, with crude humor, gross-out jokes, and general Adam Sandler randomness about an architect (what?) who is stressed with life and discovers a literal Universal Remote that helps his life be a little easier. He manages to fast forward sickness, rewind to previous events to relive them (albeit from an outsider perspective) and mute his wife's annoying friend.
There's only one catch: You can't relive the past, only rewatch it.
And when he accidentally fast forwards years of his life away, leaving his body on 'autopilot' (which is basically an emotionless version of himself) he finds that he divorced the wife he loved so much, his dad died of old age without him noticing or even being there, and his son has grown up to become a successful heir to his architecture company, the only problem being there's a severe lack of relationship between them (because when he got the remote, the son was only four years old, and he grew up to be thirty)
And this is where the dramatic genre shift occurs. Sandler wishes to rekindle his relationship with his family, who, mind you, has drifted off in different directions without him noticing, while his fat, unhealthy self is dying slowly.
Anyway, if you haven't seen the film, but don't care about spoilers (why else will you still be reading this) this event leads to the death of the main character, in an event that gets close to getting an emotional reaction for me (my number 1 sign of quality in a film) if it wasn't for Sandler.
The story is great, Adam Sandler isn't. This is a type of film that would've benefited from a better comedian, such as Jim Carrey (who proved that he could handle dramatic roles with 'The Truman Show') or even Robin Williams (who is constantly trying to be a dramatic actor, with variable results). Sandler's trademark screwball humor just feels out of place with the tone of the rest of the movie. Even Walken, who's considered the weirdest actor in the world, feels more in place in his comedic role as the angel of death who gives Sandler the remote in the first place, feels more in place than Sandler. If it was an all drama cast, with only Walken as the comic relief character, it would've been a far better movie, in my opinion.
My conclusion for this movie is that the Drama is great, the Comedy isn't. it got one of the two genres in this genre-bending film wrong by having Sandler in it, when a far more capable actor could've easily taken the role. It's a good movie, mind you, just not as good as it could've been.
I'm not the biggest fan of genre, but I do respect it as a viable method of writing. The rules of genre that defines things as Drama, Comedy, Tragedy, Fantasy, Romance and others have been set in stone over many centuries of evolution.
However, when someone tries to break trends, and makes a movie that fills two genres that are almost completely different in tone and execution, there's a small amount of respect that is earned for being able to make a movie like that, especially when it is a success.
And that's where we get to Click, probably one of the most famous examples of a dramatic genre shift in the history of film.
Click stars Adam Sandler, and for the first two thirds of the film, is the typical Adam Sandler fare, with crude humor, gross-out jokes, and general Adam Sandler randomness about an architect (what?) who is stressed with life and discovers a literal Universal Remote that helps his life be a little easier. He manages to fast forward sickness, rewind to previous events to relive them (albeit from an outsider perspective) and mute his wife's annoying friend.
There's only one catch: You can't relive the past, only rewatch it.
And when he accidentally fast forwards years of his life away, leaving his body on 'autopilot' (which is basically an emotionless version of himself) he finds that he divorced the wife he loved so much, his dad died of old age without him noticing or even being there, and his son has grown up to become a successful heir to his architecture company, the only problem being there's a severe lack of relationship between them (because when he got the remote, the son was only four years old, and he grew up to be thirty)
And this is where the dramatic genre shift occurs. Sandler wishes to rekindle his relationship with his family, who, mind you, has drifted off in different directions without him noticing, while his fat, unhealthy self is dying slowly.
Anyway, if you haven't seen the film, but don't care about spoilers (why else will you still be reading this) this event leads to the death of the main character, in an event that gets close to getting an emotional reaction for me (my number 1 sign of quality in a film) if it wasn't for Sandler.
The story is great, Adam Sandler isn't. This is a type of film that would've benefited from a better comedian, such as Jim Carrey (who proved that he could handle dramatic roles with 'The Truman Show') or even Robin Williams (who is constantly trying to be a dramatic actor, with variable results). Sandler's trademark screwball humor just feels out of place with the tone of the rest of the movie. Even Walken, who's considered the weirdest actor in the world, feels more in place in his comedic role as the angel of death who gives Sandler the remote in the first place, feels more in place than Sandler. If it was an all drama cast, with only Walken as the comic relief character, it would've been a far better movie, in my opinion.
My conclusion for this movie is that the Drama is great, the Comedy isn't. it got one of the two genres in this genre-bending film wrong by having Sandler in it, when a far more capable actor could've easily taken the role. It's a good movie, mind you, just not as good as it could've been.
Saturday, 13 April 2013
The Croods
Wow...
I mean wow! This movie was a very very pleasant surprise.
The Croods stars Nicholas Cage, Emma Stone and Ryan Renolds. Cage is the father of a cavemen, sort of neanderthal family, who is absolutely afraid of everything, and Emma Stone plays the rebellious daughter who wants to see the world, but when they meet the first human outside of their family, played by Ryan Renolds, everything changes.
Now, i'm going to say something rather big here. The Croods is THE most BEAUTIFUL animated film I've ever seen in my life. Dreamworks have really outdid themselves, and i think it's mainly to do with the colour. This is a really pretty movie. The environments are amazing, the creature designs are amazing, and even the characters are very well designed. Let me tell you, it's hard to make a large, muscular woman look attractive, but they did it somehow, although it probably helps that she was played by Emma Stone. Hottest female actress, and her voice shows that.
The story is a combination of both a father-daughter relationship movie, and a roadtrip movie (except without the road) I won't spoil the story for you because it's worth watching. Ignore the relatively low 69% on Rotten Tomatoes, it's worth it. Watch it on the big screen too. It's so good seeing it in super HD digital widescreen. Don't ask about the 3d though, I didn't see it in 3D, and there's minimal "Forced 3D" scenes, although it probably would enhance the overall experience, since Dreamworks is good at 3D
Overall, this movie is a must watch. It's up there in the great animated movies, and it's the prettiest animated movie ever, getting really close to Avatar quality (although Avatar is more realistic, which gives it a small upper hand)
Just watch it.
9/10
*Amazing effects, character design, and scenery
*Great Slapstick
*Great Voice Acting
- Slightly Generic Story
I mean wow! This movie was a very very pleasant surprise.
The Croods stars Nicholas Cage, Emma Stone and Ryan Renolds. Cage is the father of a cavemen, sort of neanderthal family, who is absolutely afraid of everything, and Emma Stone plays the rebellious daughter who wants to see the world, but when they meet the first human outside of their family, played by Ryan Renolds, everything changes.
Now, i'm going to say something rather big here. The Croods is THE most BEAUTIFUL animated film I've ever seen in my life. Dreamworks have really outdid themselves, and i think it's mainly to do with the colour. This is a really pretty movie. The environments are amazing, the creature designs are amazing, and even the characters are very well designed. Let me tell you, it's hard to make a large, muscular woman look attractive, but they did it somehow, although it probably helps that she was played by Emma Stone. Hottest female actress, and her voice shows that.
The story is a combination of both a father-daughter relationship movie, and a roadtrip movie (except without the road) I won't spoil the story for you because it's worth watching. Ignore the relatively low 69% on Rotten Tomatoes, it's worth it. Watch it on the big screen too. It's so good seeing it in super HD digital widescreen. Don't ask about the 3d though, I didn't see it in 3D, and there's minimal "Forced 3D" scenes, although it probably would enhance the overall experience, since Dreamworks is good at 3D
Overall, this movie is a must watch. It's up there in the great animated movies, and it's the prettiest animated movie ever, getting really close to Avatar quality (although Avatar is more realistic, which gives it a small upper hand)
Just watch it.
9/10
*Amazing effects, character design, and scenery
*Great Slapstick
*Great Voice Acting
- Slightly Generic Story
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