There's been a grave misunderstanding.


It happened some years ago. American animation giant Disney decided that the traditional 2D animation was dead and went on to embrace what it called the future of animation : 3D CG animation. Fans of Disney animation mourned this move, thinking it was the final nail in the coffin of traditional animation. Of course, animation fans from other parts of the world didn't give a damn because they knew traditional 2D was alive and well in other countries like Japan, France and the UK.
So, thanks to those countries, 2D animation is in safe hands. But what about it's lesser known cousins like Stop Motion animation? It was a pleasant surprise to know that a stop motion animated movie came out of Hollywood recently. Corpse Bride, directed by Tim Burton and Mike Johnson seems like the odd one out from the bunch of 3D animated films that Hollywood churned out of it's assembly line this year. While the 3D animated movies followed the same, predictable formula that they have been using for years...
Talking animals/creatures + One-liners + Spoofs of every possible movie = Disney-Pixar movie.
Here was a movie that seemed so different. And, why not? It is co-directed by Tim Burton, the man behind the amazing stop motion animated flick The Nightmare before Christmas.

Story :

The story about the Victorian era and values, stars Victor and Victoria, who are to be married soon in an arranged marriage. Victor Van Dort is the son of a nouveau riche couple who are looking to marry their son into aristocracy. Victoria Everglot is the daughter of the aristocratic Everglot family who are bankrupt and are looking to their daughter's marriage to restore their family fortune. Victor is a shy young man, who is not ready to get married. However, he changes his mind after he meets the lovely Victoria. Unfortunately, he manages to bumble during the wedding rehearsal and runs away into the forest. While wandering about there, he rehearses his wedding vows and places the wedding ring on pointy branch sticking out of the ground and says, "With this ring, I ask you to be mine". Who was to know that the pointy branch turns out to be the skeletal ring finger of Emily, the Corpse Bride? She rises from the ground and says, "I do"...
From then on, the story takes a wild ride through the highs of Victorian aristocracy and the lows of the world of the Dead. Victor is the unfortunate man caught between his aristocratic bride-to-be Victoria and his lawfully wedded Corpse Bride Emily. Who gets to marry Victor? Victoria or Emily?

Characters :

The story introduces some incredible characters, both alive and dead. Victor Van Dort, brilliantly voiced by Johnny Depp (said to be his first role as voice actor) is perfect as the shy man caught in a unenviable situation. Both Victoria and Emily are fleshed out really well to the point that you can't decide who should marry Victor. Like Nightmare before Christmas, this movie too has very Burtonesque, weird characters. My favorite is Victor's long dead dog Scraps, who comes to life in the world of the Dead.

Animation :

Stop motion animation is not dead! That is the message that this film sends out loud and clear. If you have already seen Nightmare before Christmas, then you have an idea of the kind of animation to expect in this movie. But, Corpse Bride, which was made almost 12 years after Nightmare before Christmas shows how much stop motion animation has advanced over the years. The animation is simply incredible. It is so amazing that I had earlier mistaken it for a complete CG creation while watching the trailer. While Nightmare before Christmas has impressive animation, it was obvious that the technique used was stop motion.
However, Corpse Bride looks fantastic. And, the making-of video confirms that the animators used only stop motion techniques to create the film. The puppets seem lifelike with perfect lip-syncing to the dialogues. The backgrounds are created with painstaking detail. Overall, I can say that this is stop motion animation like you've never seen it before.

Soundtrack :

Accompanying the gorgeous animation is a haunting score by Danny Elfman, who also did the score for Nightmare before Christmas . Danny Elfman also voices the singing, storyteller character Bonejangles.

So, what's the verdict?

I love the Corpse Bride, till death do us part.


Reviewer : foogarky

It is lurking behind you.


The Host is a Korean film directed by Bong Joon-Ho, which was released in July 2006 and in less than a month went on to become the highest grossing film of all time in Korea beating previous box office champions (and my personal favorites) Taegukgi, Welcome to Dongmakgol and King and the Clown. The film also recently swept all the awards in its native country in a year which saw so many good films being released.
Bong Joon-Ho is the director of the critically acclaimed masterpiece Memories of Murder, a movie about a real life serial killer in Korea who has not been apprehended till date. Standing along with Se7en as the two greatest serial killer dramas, Memories of Murder is easily the better of the two because of the realism, excellent characterisation and acting and a fantastic ending. It is arguably the best murder mystery ever filmed which sadly never gets solved.
When such a talented director takes on a genre project, Monster horror to be more specific, one cannot simply comprehend what the result would be. Monster movies are almost always bad without exception. One has to only watch the American Godzilla, Anaconda I and II, Komodo Dragon and other such movies to realise that movies in this genre are beyond redemption (Peter Jackson's King Kong had its moments but would fit rather nicely in this category too).
Like all good directors, Bong Joon-Ho might have been looking for a challenge. With the same cast from Memories of Murder and FX done by The Orphanage (who did the FX for Day after Tomorrow) and creature designs by WETA Workshop (LOTR, King Kong), Bong Joon-Ho has delivered a winner. And how!

Story and Screenplay

The movie opens with a flashback into the past showing us a U.S Military base in Korea six years ago. Closely mirroring the events of a real life incident that happened at the same time, an American officer is shown to be commanding a Korean soldier to get rid of some old bottles of toxic Formaldehyde by pouring it down the drain. The Korean soldier refuses to do it, stating that it would pollute the Han river and have devastating effects on the ecology. The Korean soldier is nevertheless ordered to go ahead.
Flash forward to two years later. Two men can be seen fishing in the Han river. One of them notices something strange swimming in the water and scoops it in his cup and shows it to his friend. While trying to touch it, the fisherman is bitten on the finger and the small creature swims away.
Flash forward to the present. The film now focusses on the dysfunctional Park family. Park Gang-du (yet another amazing performance by Song Kang-Ho) is a slightly mentally challenged man who runs a snack kiosk on the banks of the Han river. He lives with his father Park Hee-bong and his daughter Hyun-seo.
While serving fried squid to one of his customers, Gang-du notices something huge hanging upside down from the bridge. Others notice it too and soon there's a crowd looking at the thing in awe. It dives into the water and the crowd starts throwing snacks into the river. There is even an Indian family there shouting "Dekho! Machli!". The creature soon makes a terrifying appearance, emerging from the water and chaos ensues.

While fleeing from the scene with Hyun-seo, Gang-du trips and falls down only to get up and start running again, but he realises that he grabbed another girl in the confusion. Hyun-seo is left behind...




A horrified Gang-du tries to warn her ...




But she's gone...




The Park family believe that Hyun-seo is not dead and they must fight against all odds to get her back. More than just a very entertaining Man VS Monster story, Gwoemul is also a black comedy which contains social and political commentary. The Koreans have a mild anti-American feeling because of the American military presence there and this shows in the film too. The film also parodies the 'All-American Hero' and takes a dig at usual 'Americans interfering in world affairs issue' effectively. (Compare this to the pro American feeling in the film Taegukgi, in which the Americans help the South Koreans defeat the Chinese and the North Koreans)

Cast, Characters and Acting

While the acting was good all around, Song Kang-Ho probably carried this film too on the strength of his performance. It can't beat his superlative performance as a bumbling small town cop in Memories of Murder though.

Special effects

It was mentioned earlier in the review that the FX for Gwoemul was done by The Orphanage and WETA. A major part of the finances for this big budget movie must have gone for the FX and it shows.
The moment the creature burst out of the water in the opening sequence, I jumped in my seat in awe. The creature design is impressive and I simply loved the way they showed it somersaulting backwards into water and swinging through the steel construction girders. The creature actually had character and seemed playful and dangerously menacing at the same time.

In conclusion, I can only say :

Bravo Bong Joon-Ho. You've done it again. This might very well be the greatest monster film of all time.


Reviewer : foogarky

Release : 2006

Country : Great Britain

Language : English


Children of Men is a British sci-film, released in 2006, adapted from the novel by P.D James, The Children of Men.

The film is directed by the famous Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron, whose previous directorial efforts include the critically acclaimed Spanish language film Y tu mama tambien and the fourth film in the juvenile fantasy series, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. While it is not certain why a director like Cuaron would direct a crassly commercial venture like Harry Potter, he redeems himself with masterful direction in Children of Men.
P.D James is a British novelist, noted for her detective stories. The Children of Men is one of her better known works.
Like A Scanner Darkly, Children of Men too is a book adaptation which this reviewer has watched without reading the book first. Instead of harping on how far the film strayed from the book, this review should hopefully comment upon the cinematic quality of the film.

Story & Screenplay :

London, England in 2027

For more than eighteen years now, humans all over the world have stopped reproducing. Every female who has come of age is infertile and the cause for this condition still remains unknown. The populace have resigned themselves to an uncertain future with no hope in sight. The thought of the extinction of the human race causes widespread anarchy.
Governments have collapsed and the film hints at the possibility of a global conflict, possibly a World War which caused the major cities of the world like New York, Moscow and Tokyo to wiped out in nuclear attacks. Most nations in the world have succumbed to total anarchy and the only nation that still stands is Great Britain. A very fragile state of normalcy is maintained by an authoritarian government which tries frantically to stop the huge influx of refugees, referred to as fugees in the film, from other places.
There are rumours of the Human Project, a collective of scientists living in the Azores who have dedicated their lives to find a cure to the malaise that afflicts the world's population.
With this terrifyingly dystopian backdrop, the film opens with the news that the youngest person in the world, who was the last baby to be born before the epidemic, was stabbed to death. Watching the news is Theodore Faron, a government worker. Theo lives his life emotionless and unfeeling. He lost his son in an accident and his wife Julian left him to join the Fishes, an underground movement dedicated to fighting for the rights and humane treatment of the fugees.
Theo is kidnapped by the Fishes and it's current leader, Julian asks her ex-husband for help to smuggle an illegal immigrant from Africa to Great Britain. Theo agrees to do it for the money that is offered to him. Theo does his part to help in smuggling Kee, the African lady across the border.
Kee calls for Theo and drops her clothes in front of him. Theo stares at her swollen stomach in amazement, different emotions flashing across his face. After eighteen long years, a baby will be born...

Cast, Characters & Acting :

Theo Faron is played by the English actor Clive Owen, who was earlier seen in Sin City. The character he potrays is an emotionless and detached man, who seems to deal with an uncertain future by just shutting it all out. Later in the film, when he is bestowed with the task of protecting the hope of humanity, he seems frightened and unsure of himself.
Julian Taylor is played by the American actress Julianne Moore. She is the leader of the Fishes and there is reason behind kidnapping Theo and asking him for a favour. Theo is the only man she can trust.
Jasper Palmer is a retired political cartoonist, played by the English actor Michael Caine. He is a hippy who listens to Zen music and takes care of his wife who lives in a vegetative state. Jasper is the only friend Theo has got.
There are a host of other interesting characters with their quirks and eccentricities. The abundance of acting talent in the film keeps the characters fresh and three dimensional.

Further Discussion (To be read post viewing) :

(Highlight text below to read)

A scathing commentary on current affairs and warning of a bleak future?

The film is a very loose adaptation of the novel and one gets the feeling that Alfonso Cuaron took a lot of liberties in making significant changes to the plot.
Every woman in the world turning infertile might seem like a fantastical premise (not out of place in a sci-fi flick like this though), but the effects that such a global epidemic might have on the populace is chillingly real indeed. There is an anti-war message, but more importantly it looks at the human rights situation from two very different perspectives. We first see Theo living his life as a citizen of Great Britain with access to all the priviliges that can be had in this dystopian world. He doesn't care much for the intolerably cruel and inhumane treatment given to illegal immigrants. Whether this attitude comes from his emotionless detachment caused by thoughts of an uncertain future or from compliance with the government's policy to keep out immigrants using any means possible, we'll never know. But since it is shown that Theo was once a political activist, it could be assumed that the former is correct.
Along with images of refugees being subjected to cruel torture (which is very similar to the treatment of Iraqi prisoners by the Americans), there are also images of Islamic terrorists walking the streets of Great Britain. When the Government issues warnings on television to stop hiding refugees and prevent terrorism, you begin to wonder what would happen if the British government opened its doors to refugees and at the same time risked possible destruction of the whole country through anarchy.
Then there is Theo who enters the refugee camps and witnesses their plight first hand. He is moved by their situation.
Two very different perspectives which leaves the viewers unable to decide which side to take. This leaves the viewer with the realisation that this is a doomed world.

Moved to tears

Cuaron's excellent direction can be seen in three scenes which will remain in the viewer's memory long after the credits finish rolling across the screen.
The first is where Kee shows her pregnant stomach to Theo. Metaphorically similar to a faint light at the end of a long dark tunnel, this scene signifies the emergence of hope or the realisation that God has still not given up on the world.

The second scene is very graphic and realistically shot. Theo helps Kee deliver her baby and this depiction of childbirth is very frank and realistic.

The third scene at the climax of the film will possibly remain in the viewer's mind for a long time. Theo and Kee are holed up in a decrepit building that houses dozens of refugees. The building is surrounded by British troops who are engaged in a gun fight with terrorists camping inside the building. Theo tries to take Kee and her child outside the building and as the baby starts crying, the refugees who were earlier panic striken and cowering in fear, emerge out ignoring the bullets whizzing past them just to reach out and touch the baby. As they exit the building, the British troops stop firing and stand in silence as the trio walks past them. Many soldiers drop to their knees and praise their God. For a few minutes, there is silence and not a single bullet is fired. After the mother and baby leave, the firing starts again. This is a very moving scene and the viewer realises that one of the greatest miracles in this world is that of a mother and child.

An ending left open to interpretation

The ending of the film could be considered to be tragic or the beginning of a new world depending upon the viewer's interpretation. Theo and Kee take the boat to rendezvous with the Tomorrow ship. Theo is shot and at the end, he slumps over just before the Tomorrow ship sails into view. Is Theo dead or just unconscious from loss of blood? Is the Tomorrow really the path to the Human Project or just a fishing vessel? The viewer never gets to know as the screen fades to black.


This is a very thought provoking film and comes highly recommended by this reviewer.
For another piece of fiction with a similar theme, try out the comic series Y : The Last Man which talks about a world affected by a plague that attacks the Y chromosome with fatal effect. This is a world with no men and the women who are grief stricken come to terms with living in a world with no men and possible extinction. The miracle appears in the form of a man who survives the plague.
For another British sci-fi film about a dystopian future, watch Code 46.


Reviewer : foogarky

What Does A Scanner See?


A Scanner Darkly, a film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Philip K Dick, released in cinemas in 2006 and was directed by Richard Linklater.

Richard Linklater is an independent film maker best known for the films Before Sunrise and its sequel Before Sunset and the animated film Waking Life, which deals the concept of lucid dreaming. Linklater also directed School of Rock, a film in the typical Hollywood mould of film-making, which was entertaining nonetheless.
Philip K Dick was a renowned science fiction author, whose works fall primarily under the cyberpunk genre. Many of his books have been adapted into film, the most famous one being the cult sci-fi film from the 80s, Blade Runner, which was an adaptation of his novel Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep? There have also been adaptations like Total Recall and Paycheck that haven't been so successul at the box office.
A Scanner Darkly is the latest film adaptation of his novels, and since this reviewer has not not read the this book (or any other of the author's work, as a matter of fact), let's go ahead and review this film on the basis of it's cinematic quality as a standalone film.

Story and Screenplay

California, seven years into the future...

America, and possibly the world itself, is in the thrall of a narcotic epidemic caused by the widespread usage and consumption of an illegal substance known as D. It is estimated by a character in the film that upto twenty percent of the population could be addicted to this drug.
In such a world, rehab centers are commonplace and the Narcotics department of the Police have narcotics agents, or narcs as they are commonly referred to, working undercover, quite literally. The narcs wear scramble suits, a camouflaging device in the shape of a wearable suit that transforms these operatives into the ultimate Common Man, by masking their identity through the projection of rapidly changing looks.

One such narc is Agent Fred, who by wearing the scramble suit at work all the time, seems to conceal his true identity as Robert Acrtor, who intriguingly happens to be one of the drug addicts under surveillance by the Narcotics dept. As the movie progresses, Agent Fred is shown to be assigned the task of the surveillance of his own (as Robert Arctor) house.

There is a big and mysterious organisation known as New Path, that works along with the government to study the effects of D and help in the rehabilitation of it's victims. New Path seems to be given a free hand by the government and its activities cannot be monitored by the Narcotics dept.

With the protagonist leading what seems to be two seperate lives as Robert Arctor and as Agent Fred, the story befuddles the viewer as it progresses, giving significant clues until the satisfying and thought provoking end.

This must have been an excellent novel, possibly one of Dick's best works and Linklater done a good job of writing the screenplay. Research from Wikipedia tells me that Dick wrote this semi-autobiographical work from his own experiences with narcotics in his younger days. This has translated effectively to screen too, with both Woody Harrelson's and Robert Downey Jr's characters showing some pretty realistic junkie behaviour with hilarious drug induced dialogue. No dumbing down of a story to fit standard script writing parameters here.

Cast, Characters and Acting

For an independent film, A Scanner Darkly sure has a good cast. While Keanu Reeves, who plays the lead roles of Robert Arctor/Agent Fred, gets by with a decent performance, it is the supporting cast which gives a standout performance. Robert Downey Jr and Woody Harrelson both play characters addicted to D and give such a realistic portrayal, which shouldn't be a surprise considering that both of them have had drug issues in their lives. An irony though is that some good might have come out of their misadventures in real life by the fantastic performances given by them in this film. Rory Cochrane plays the paranoid addict and Winona Ryder plays the dark haired Donna Hawthorne, the drug dealing love interest of Robert Arctor who seems to have some secrets of her own.

Animation

Using the same animation technique employed in Linklater's earlier film Waking Life, called Rotoscoping, the result you see on screen seems to be an oil painted version of live footage. And that is what it essentially is. The whole movie was shot in live action and then painted over, scene by scene by this technique. And this brings us to the question.
Why?

There is this criticism that if a film can be shot in live action, there is no need for it to be animated. This criticism was primarily levelled at the box office disaster Final Fantasy : The Spirits Within. As a fan of Japanese animation where even the most mundane dramas (which could very well be done as live action) are animated, I certainly don't agree with this point of view. There are no rules which establish that a film that satisfies a certain set of parameters should be made only as live action and not be animated.

But Waking Life and A Scanner Darkly are not your average animated films. They have already been shot in live action and then animated over. This seems to be a waste of time and money when the content of the film does not require such a frivolous technique.
Waking Life certainly required such animation. It was a film which dealt with the concept of lucid dreaming and would have scenes showing exaggerated reality. In this case, the rotoscoping is justified. But is it justified in the case of A Scanner Darkly?

Let's see which scenes in the film qualify it for the use of rotoscoping. There is the scramble suit for one.




This was handled really well by rotoscoping. Showing a scramble suit in live action might have required extensive use of CG.

Then there are the hallucinations




But then again, Oldboy had a memorable scene which showed a hallucination of a giant ant and it was done with CG.

And then there is the sex scene where Arctor sees both Donna and Connie




And here too, Vanilla Sky can be used as a comparison where Tom Cruise sees both Penelope Cruz and Cameron Diaz.

These examples show that while A Scanner Darkly need not necessarily have to be done with rotoscoping, it certainly gives a unique look to the film. And the animation is stunning, better than what we've witnessed in Waking Life.

And, to conclude I must say that A Scanner Darkly is an excellent little science fiction film that stands out on its own merit. It may or may not be a faithful adaptation of the book (only Philip K Dick purists can answer that). Either way, this reviewer does not give a damn. This film provides a unique viewing experience that films like Donnie Darko and Primer earlier did and seems to be a worthy addition to the Mind Fuck genre of films. And, that's certainly a good thing. Well done, Mr. Linklater.

This scanner scans dark, very dark indeed.


Reviewer : foogarky