When the hacks at Disney decided to release Hiyao Miyazaki’s works on DVD, I was intrigued. I admit I’ve heard very little about Miyazaki and his works, but I was intrigued nonetheless. I’ve seen both “Kiki’s Delivery Service”, and “Princess Mononoke”, but little did I know with these movies were an actual legacy and fan following, so when I heard his films were being released on DVD, I stopped at the store and stocked up on a few of his films. The one I did hear most about though was this, and I was once again intrigued and very fascinated with what the cartoon looked like, and it’s a truly good film.
Tag Archives: Adventure
Big Fish (2004)
John Ford once said, “If you have to choose between the fact or the legend, choose the legend”, and our hero of the tale, Edward Bloom, seemingly prefers legend over his own life. Perhaps it’s to cover his own boring, uneventful, or miserable existence, perhaps it’s to continue invoking imagination like a child until he dies, or maybe… it all really happened. Who knows, really? And I say, “Who Cares?” Because, Big Fish succeeds in one truly grand thing, it stirs the imagination rather well in the Capra-esque sense, something I take great joy in, not only as a person who loves to have his imagination stimulated, but also as a storyteller and aspiring writer. I take pride in attempting to tell good stories, and “Big Fish” is a damn good story of epic proportions.
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
I suspect one of the reasons why “Sky Captain” failed to bring in any money and make any profits was because a movie such as this only appeals to a certain audience. Director-writer Kerry Conran is a lover of old serials and comic books, so when he created Sky Captain in 1998, he had in mind only a certain audience for the movie. Also, it was poorly advertised, but aside from that, there’s an exclusive audience who loves pulp novels and serials, and yes, I’m one of them. I love it all; serials, pulp superheroes, comic books, and anyone who loves either of these genres will appreciate “Sky Captain” as I did. Taking nearly ten years to make, this was a personal project for Conran who hit a basic luck streak casting people such as Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow on its bill. But great casting is only one of this film’s main achievements.
Starsky & Hutch (2004)
Unlike “The Brady Bunch”, “Starsky & Hutch” was a show that tried to be taken seriously, but clearly warranted spoofing. I mean seriously, how can you take a cop show seriously when it’s two inept cop characters ride around “undercover” in a very noticeable conspicuous large bright cherry red gran turino? It was a fact that caused many television viewers to make fun of, and it’s also very focused on here with an exaggerated sequence that brought the spirit of the show very well. Now, the teaming of Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller would be very funny to see had it not been the thousandth time they’ve teamed up together as partners as seen in movies like “The Royal Tenenbaums”, and the awful “Zoolander”.
Walking Tall (2004)
Chris Vaughn is an ex military veteran who has just returned to his home town. Back after eight years, he suddenly gets a crash course in learning the fact that you can never go home again, and now he walks tall and carries a big stick. Dwayne Johnson jumps into the seat of action hero yet again this time around, first with the crappy “Scorpion King”, the next with the wicked “The Rundown” and now with this very good action ride known as “Walking Tall”. A remake of the cult classic “Walking Tall”, and based on the true story of the utterly heroic feats of sheriff Buford Pusser, a man who was elected to sheriff after promising to clean up crime, and did so, taking down big time crime syndicates and corruption in his hometown of Tennessee with his giant wooden club.
Torque (2004)
Why anyone would want to rip off “The Matrix” is understandable; it was a very influential movie that paved the way for a lot of really bad, and mediocre rip-offs to come for years that I would inevitably have to suffer through, but why anyone would want to rip-off “The Fast and the Furious”, a mediocre action popcorn flick fueled (no pun intended) only by Vin Diesel’s pecks and some good effects is a stunner. Like many have said, dumb studio execs tend to confuse high grosses with film quality and what “The Fast and the Furious” had was not quality. Charisma? Yes. Good effects? Granted. But quality? I’m afraid not, my friend, so why do we have to suffer through these horrible rip-offs? Directed by Joseph Kahn, who is, surprise, surprise, a music video director, composes one really bad B movie that isn’t even worthy of being called a B movie because it’s so blatantly a really long drawn out music video sans the music ad nauseum.
Love Actually (2003)
Love. It’s a beautiful feeling. And it’s the worst pain one can experience. But “Love Actually” is a celebration of both sides of love. Longing, happy marriages, and crushes, and oh so much more. Deep down it’s a dedication to the people of 9/11, as the introduction declares, and it’s plenty resonant in the all-star tribute with a humongous cast of talented actors from Liam Neeson to Colin Firth right down to Martin Freeman, Elisha Cuthbert, and Billy Bob Thorton. In this episodic Capra-esque fairytale, we meet a large group of people experiencing life and love in all ends of the terminology. There are really too many sub-plots to mention, but I’ll try.