"Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland" is a joy and a wonder, just like the original Winsor McCay cartoons. For those ignorant of the history of American cartoons, McCay's "Little Nemo" series was a classic of naive pop surrealism exploring the adventures of a boy in the dream-world. McCay was sometimes deficient in spelling, but he was never deficient in drawing or imagination. Of course, the movie has to elide or telescope things a bit. After all, the original cartoon was a serial running episodically in newspapers. I find no serious fault with this. I took particular delight in how some scenes here meticulously mirrored the original cartoon. The animation is at various points dreamy, beautiful, dark, menacing and, of course, surreal. I think it is a mistake to view this film purely as a product of the anime industry - the film is instead a meeting of the Japanese culture with American culture. The merger of sensibilities here is quite wonderful. I loved the squirrel's petulant irritation at being called a "rat." And I loved the nightmare monster-heel. And, of course,the trickster figure, Pip. The whole thing has the quality of a twisting dream, sometimes good, sometimes bad, just like real dreams. Don't hesitate to buy and watch this. Greg Cameron, Surrey, B.C., Canada
Reviews
6 Reviews
great intro to T.M. Revolution and Japanese rock
18 February 2009
Simply put, T.M. Revolution's "Crush" double-DVD is one of the great films to capture a rock act in all its immediacy. T.M. Revolution's command of a crowd is amazing and, indeed, frightening. If for no other reason, watch this for the crowd scenes here. Leni Riefenstahl herself could not have choreographed what goes on here. Takanori Nishikawa plays the crowd like a yo-yo. He sings, he bolts about the stage(he is absolutely tireless),he plays guitar(well, I might add) and he even literally reduces some of the women in the audience to tears. Seeing all those people waving glow-sticks in unison is an eerie sight at times. Takanori is a hard-working and likable entertainer. One wonders what he could do if he turned his talents to (if I might use an old-fashioned word here)evil. Takanori is amazing here, but the crowds are equally amazing. His backing band is just ace. The guitarist, the bassist, and the drummer are all stupendous. One suspects a little 'sweetening' here and there(one hears backup vocals, but no one appears to be singing them - also some keyboards and synths). Still, the immediacy of this is just shattering. Some of the special effects look a little dangerous(some might be banned at this point for all one knows). Takanori also shows off his taste for outlandish attire throughout the concert sequences. There are interesting behind-the-scenes shots here and there on the first disc and a lot more on the second disc. On the second disc, be sure to hang around for the full song "Vital Burner." This, ladies and gentlemen, is rock-and-roll. Takanori tears the house down and the camera captures him in all his, well, vitality. The hooks in this song will sink into your memory and never let go. This is a bolt of sheer electric energy. The crowd shot at the very end of the second disc is awe-inspiring and a little intimidating. This is what Takanori faces from the stage every night. It'll take your breath away. If you're new to Japanese rock music, this will serve as a fine introduction. And if you're a T.M. Revolution fan, this is a must. Great performances captured greatly. You'll come away from this with respect for the creativity and the sheer physical energy of the man. And it's one of the great rock documentaries, period. Case closed. Greg Cameron, Surrey, B.C., Canada
Beetlejuice
(1989–1991)
a charming and offbeat cartoon
22 November 2008
When I was a Ph.D. candidate at Queen's University and I worked out on the weekends, I would often tune the t.v. to cartoons. And I never missed an episode of the cartoon "Beetlejuice." It was - and remains to me - a charming and quirky cartoon with a lively sense of invention and a decidedly offbeat sense of humour. Some people compare this cartoon negatively to the movie "Beetlejuice." I don't think this is fair. Michael Keaton gave a positively volcanic performance in that movie and I continue to find the movie a classic of humour. Indeed, I often wondered why there wasn't a sequel - probably just as well given Hollywood's record with such things, but I think there was more comic potential waiting to be tapped. Questions of synergy aside(the Americans have nothing on the Japanese in this department), the cartoon is not just a ripoff of the movie. It's its own eccentric, squirmy little beast. It really was a lot better than it needed to be, so to speak. As with the movie, there's some romantic 'tension' between Beetlejuice and the goth girl, but the cartoon subdues this somewhat for the kiddies. It's a helluva lot better than some current cartoons aimed at the 'Goth' mindset, I can tell ya. I really loved this cartoon and miss it on t.v. Greg Cameron, Surrey, B.C., Canada
full of pure Stoogey goodness, nyuck, nyuck, nyuck
28 October 2008
Many hardcore Stooges fans look down on the latter-day Three Stooges, but "the Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze" is a fine film and a worthy addition to the Three Stooges canon. Shemp and the original Curly Joe aren't here, but this is Joe Derita's finest moment as a Stooge. The Stooges are in fine form, slapping and clobbering each other and falling into various misadventures(based loosely on the classic Jules Verne novel). You needn't worry about the romantic subplot drawing too much attention away from the boys - this film's sense of proportion is admirable. The Stooges resurrect a few of their old routines and throw in some new ones. The gentlemen playing the heels also turn in admirable comic performances. For my money, my favourite part of the movie is when the Three Stooges go to Red China. This part alone is worth the price of the movie. See for yourself. People who hate the Stooges won't be converted here, but the faithful will find much to rejoice in. Even in their latter days, they could still mug and thwock. Onesies or twosies? Nyuck, nyuck, nyuck. Greg Cameron, Surrey, B.C., Canada
Team America: World Police
(2004)
a great technical job, but the humour could have been better
7 July 2008
"Team America: World Police" is a great technical achievement and is reasonably funny as a satire on the state-of-the-world at that time. The funniest bits are, of course, the sex scene and Kim Jong-Il's song and the DVD is worth buying or renting for those scenes alone. The satire on Hollywood is pointed but perhaps not pointed enough. For example, when a certain rotund progressive filmmaker blows himself, he should have cried despondently,"I REALLY WANTED TO MAKE MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR CRAPTACULARS!!!" I think Parker et al missed a golden opportunity to maybe have some of the progressives, both male and female, be sexually attracted to Kim Jong-Il and make sexual passes at him. The eccentric North Korean dictator could respond in a coy, high school girlish sort of way. When Team America blows things up, Greenpeace could protest that it's depleting the ozone. And so forth. Missed opportunities, eh, boys? Parker and his particeps criminis seem to come dangerously close to saying that actors and celebrities don't have any right to have any opinions about the world at large. They think they're puncturing Hollywood pomposity, but they seem to be saying,"why don't they just kick back and think about nothing?" The satirists then become as empty as that which they purport to satirise. Personally, if I had been a celebrity, I would have cooperated utterly with the boys here under the condition that if I could have thought of a way of making myself look even worse(and it was funny), it would have been written into the film. The failure of some celebs here to cooperate in the filming of this indicates a serious lack of both humour and perspective. While I think the film is more smart-ass than smart, I give it a solid recommendation. It's consistently funny and in bad taste(a plus for me, anyway) and the technical achievement is just awesome. In other words, you could do worse. Chow, daddy....Greg Cameron, Surrey, B.C., Canada.
Superguy: Behind the Cape
(2000)
'SuperGuy' an uproarious, well-thought-out movie
9 July 2007
"SuperGuy: Beyond the Cape" is an absolutely hilarious comedy exploring the societal absurdities of our time and pop culture's fascination with super heroes. There are great performances here, some of them by relatively unknown names. I have simply not seen a movie so consistently funny in a long time. The makers of this took the time to think out the comic and logical implications of their ideas and they exploit the comic possibilities to the max! The idea of exploring the ramifications of a super hero living in the 'real world' is so ripe with absurd potential it's a wonder no feature film director never took a stab at it before(to my knowledge, anyway). The satire of the current news media is particularly sharp here. I also got a kick out of the SuperGuy religious cult stuff and the portrait of the obsessive 'fan boy' sort. Some reviewers tended to compare this film to "Spinal Tap," which seems to have achieved almost iconic status in film satire. I think, however, that the humour in "Spinal Tap" was rather scattergun and a little too broad - I liked it, but I thought it could have been more. "SuperGuy," on the other hand, has a mercilessly tight focus. Some of the little touches are quite telling. Even the extras are up to the rest of the movie. It's nice to see people taking the time and effort to get things right. I totally recommend this movie. The laughs just don't let up. Greg Cameron, Surrey, B.C., Canada.
Tell Your Friends