Quickies 1-5-2015

47 Ronin ~ The tale of the forty-seven Ronin that has been fictionalized in dozens of versions in various media was actually based on real events in the 18th century. This American version, with a half-breed swordsman played by Keanu Reeves at its center, is more fiction than fact, with its demons, witches, and strange creatures. It moves very slowly with little special effects or fight sequences to balance the quieter parts. See the 1962 Toshiro Mifune version, it's vastly superior.

Divergent ~ I know this isn't The Hunger Games, but I kept being reminded of that film franchise as I watched, and not just because it was based on a YA book series, or stars Shailene Woodley, the poor man's Jennifer Lawrence. I was excited by the premise, the concept, and especially the class struggle set-up, but once Tris begins her training as one of the Dauntless, it became boring to me. Any further plot complication was predictable and I couldn't wait for it to end. I doubt I'll be reading the books or seeing the sequels.

Queen of Outer Space ~ There's not much about this 1958 scifi B-movie that isn't recycled. The wardrobe is from Forbidden Planet, the sets and some special effects sequences from World Without End, the impressive blast off footage is from a newsreel, and the script that floated around Hollywood for several years is lifted from Abbott and Costello Go to Mars. Add in some cheesy dialogue, campy acting, good old 1950s sexism, and the indestructible Zsa Zsa Gabor, and you've got yourself a movie. So bad, it's good.

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb ~ This one starts strong, with almost a Stargate-like opening, then falls apart quickly thereafter. Do we ever really get to find out what the actual 'secret of the tomb' is? Obviously intended as a farewell to the franchise, I think it works much better as a hand off from Ben Stiller to Rebel Wilson. Hell, I would much rather watch these flicks with Rebel as the star than Stiller, and Ricky Gervais is always genius, even when he's not trying. Most poignant are the Robin Williams scenes, possibly his last film appearances, because he's saying goodbye in character. It's hard not to shed a tear. Worth seeing if only for Robin, Rebel, and Ricky.

Trollhunter

Trollhunter ~ When I was a little kid I had a children's picture book called "Trolls." I remember two things about it. The title letters were formed by trolls, kind of leading into the idea that trolls could become anything they wanted to. Within the book I saw that trolls could be disguised as trees, hills, rocks, even mountains. That kind of scared the crap out of me, especially being a little kid that was afraid of the dark at the time. I would go outside and I would spend a really unhealthy amount of time trying to figure out if the trees were really trees, and not some shadowy monster lying in ambush.

That's kind of why Trollhunter has languished unwatched in my Netflix feed for so long. Yeah, I admit it, I was a little scared still. Of course the idea that it was a found footage film (which could be very good or very bad, for the most part, I hate found footage flicks), subtitled from the Norwegian, and a bit of a mockumentary, all kind of diluted any fear I might have had. I had some downtime at the end of the year, so I finally hit play on this sucker.

The film begins seeming to follow college students as they try to interview a notorious bear poacher. It turns out he doesn't hunt bears at all, but is part of a government financed plan to keep trolls from populated areas. The students ask to follow the hunter on his rounds and the adventure begins. Not that this is a travelogue, but the Norwegian scenery is beautiful and breathtaking when we get it, and visuals only get cooler when the trolls finally show up.

Trollhunter compares favorably to The Blair Witch Project, and it's perhaps even better because the language barrier prevents the characters from becoming truly annoying, and of course in this film, we actually get to see the monsters. There are legitimate scares, but for the most part, this is a lot of fun. I would definitely recommend it to folks who dig this kind of thing.

What I Liked in 2014

There was a lot to like this year and a lot to dislike, but I'll try to keep this positive.

In television this year we probably witnessed some of the best TV ever made in HBO's "True Detective," a show that also did the impossible, and made me like Woody Harrelson. Probably the best take on a comic book superhero happened late in the year in "The Flash," which in turn spun out of "Arrow." Also in the comics realm and improving with every episode is "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." Please click on the links for my regular reviews of those shows.

This year I also dug "The Affair, " "Black Sails," "Power," "Penny Dreadful," "The Newsroom," "The Comeback," and the sadly canceled and much-maligned "Selfie"

As far as movies go, I loved Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, proof positive that the superhero genre in film has grown up and proved it can be more than it's been in the past. A close tie with those films would be the small and powerful horror flick The Babadook that I really loved. Also on my good list this year would be The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden, Jodorowsky's Dune, and Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel. On the bad side would be This Is the End, which of course would be my main reason for not wanting to see The Interview.

I haven't read all that many comics this year, but I would have to give serious props to Grant Morrison's Multiversity comics, which I not only read, but also enjoyed immensely. As far as real books, I would be remiss if I didn't mention Marie Gilbert's Roof Oasis and the newest South Jersey Writers' Group anthology Reading Glasses, and the two best books I've read this year are Wrapped in Plastic: Twin Peaks by Andy Burns and Murder on Edisto by C. Hope Clark.

For more of my views and those of the staff of Biff Bam Pop!, check out the newest Biff Bam Popcast on the best and worst of 2014 right here.

Snowpiercer

Snowpiercer ~ As far as word of mouth, and 2014's must see film, this was it. Everyone was talking about Snowpiercer. A future dystopic tale, where the world has been frozen over by an attempt to halt global warming and what's left of Earth's population has been loaded onto a constantly globe circling train divided by class into cars, just sounds insane, or at the least, very Terry Gilliam. In fact, and homage, John Hurt's character is even named Gilliam. Yes, it's a mental idea, but once you wrap your mind around it, it gets rather predictable, sadly.

Director Bong Joon-ho, probably best known for the wonderful new age kaiju eiga The Host, really wants to be Terry Gilliam here, and for the most part he succeeds. The amazing cast is caked in Gilliam grime, except for those who are clean and just plain odd. Captain America Chris Evans, The Help's Octavia Spencer, Alison Pill from "The Newsroom," Jamie Bell, Song Kang-ho, Ed Harris, and supremely odd Tilda Swinton are among the all star cast that make this flick.

The film is based on a French graphic novel called Le Transperceneige, and was Bong Joon-ho's first English language work. The class struggle turned into a rolling revolution is peppered with enough bizarro futurism and dystopian madness to keep things interesting. It's a science fiction ride that crosses The Poseidon Adventure with Les Miserables that has to be seen to be believed, and well worth watching.

Lady in a Cage

Lady in a Cage ~ There was a time in the sixties when some of the queens of old Hollywood tried to make minor comebacks by appearing in low budget Hitchcock wannabe thrillers. There was Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte, Trog, and the classic What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?. One might even throw Jane Russell in Born Losers into the mix as well. 1964's Lady in a Cage was Olivia de Havilland's turn.

The premise is simple. De Havilland is a rich white lady recovering from a broken hip. In the days before motorized stair climbers, she has a cage elevator installed. When a power failure stops her midway between floors, she is terrorized by young punks in her own home. She is the Lady in a Cage.

The leader of the tough juvenile delinquents is a very young James Caan, and his savagery is terrifying, reminding me of the similar performances by Martin Sheen and Tony Musante in one of my favorite films, The Incident. Caan is cool cruelty in this role. Also in the cast are Ann Southern, Jeff Corey, Scatman Crothers, and the recently deceased Richard Kiel.

Olivia de Havilland both gives a great performance alone and equally frustrates viewers who might put themselves in the same situation. As mad as one might get at her for not just jumping from the elevator, the rest of the characters are much more hate-able. The film quickly turns to a parable about what monsters people are, and then quickly into a generation gap horror story. There's more here than meets the eye.

What might at first seem silly and dated, is at times a true terror. Not great, but if you're into camp horror in the William Castle vein, you might just dig it.