Month: August 2018

FILM REVIEW: CHRISTOPHER ROBIN (2018)

Standard

Winnie The Pooh: People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.

Director: Marc Forster

Writer: Alex Ross Perry, Tom McCarthy, and Allison Schroeder

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Hayley Atwell, Bronte Carmichael, Jim Cummings, Brad Garrett, Nick Mohammed, Peter Capaldi, Sophie Okonedo, Toby Jones

Synopsis: A working-class family man, Christopher Robin, encounters his childhood friend Winnie-the-Pooh, who helps him to rediscover the joys of life.

Christopher Robin is a charming throwback to one of my childhood favourites, Winnie the Pooh based on the children books by A.A Milne. As a child I loved watching Winnie, Tigger, Eeyore, Piglet, Rabbit, Kanga, Roo and Owl get into many adventures with Christopher Robin. It was innocent, simple and fun. This film like Hook (1991) and Alice in Wonderland (2010) shows what happens when your childhood hero grows up into adulthood. Although Christopher Robin was never my favourite part of those stories he was the audience surrogate and represented a child using his imagination and just playing around with his toys. This film of course deals with his loss of innocence and how he has now put work over having fun and especially not giving time to his wife and daughter who desperately seek his attention.

The film opens with a young Christopher Robin enjoying time with Winnie and company which shows their friendships (and perhaps gives some insight for those who aren’t familiar with the Pooh series of books and cartoons). He says goodbye to the gang and thirty years later Christopher is all grown up (played by Ewan McGregor) and is married to Evelyn (played by the brilliant Hayley Atwell who is completely underused) and has a daughter, Madeline (played well by Bronte Carmichael). She is a very obedient child who excels at school and is not quite sure how to have a fun time or play in the backyard as her father did as a child. While his wife and daughter go for a trip back to Sussex, Robin has to stay and work which puts a strain on his relationship with his family. As they leave, Winnie and company magically come back after thirty years.

Once they reappear the film has a lot of fun with the characters and they show Christopher Robin how to recapture his love of fun as a child and reconnect with his family. The film is pretty clichéd however I do love these characters and it was fun to revisit them after all these years. The film wasn’t that successful at the box office so I wonder if it will get a sequel but I could see more adventures with Winnie the Pooh and Madeline in the future. It could be a renaissance for the characters and the franchise. Just like Paddington Bear which has become very successful.

The film is beautifully shot by Matthias Koenigswieser and I enjoyed the character designs. They are very realistic and show a realistic vision of these fluffy toys coming to life. The English settings are beautiful to look at and the voice actors do a magical job of capturing these characters personalities. The film leans into the business side of Christopher Robin’s life a bit too much which slows the movie down and may push the limits for kids under five.

B

KEVIN SMITH RETROSPECTIVE REVIEW: CLERKS – THE ANIMATED SERIES (2000)

Standard

Clerks: The Animated Series was released in 2000 as adult oriented comedies were part of the television mainstream. The idea made sense at the time and the film Clerks could easily translate into a television show. With Kevin Smith’s love of comic books the show could have been the perfect vehicle for him to explore that side of his writing as he was a cult director with a big fanbase. However the show didn’t live up to my expectations. I love animated comedies especially South Park, The Simpsons and Family Guy and it’s too bad Smith couldn’t capture that same oeuvre. I’m also a huge fan of Seinfeld (actually it’s my favourite show of all time) and this show was produced by David Mandel one of Seinfeld’s best writers. I’m not sure what went wrong because this show is only average at best. It has some great film references and great characters with Dante, Randal, Jay and Silent Bob. Perhaps it needed another season to find it’s groove much like the animated shows I mentioned earlier (the first seasons of The Simpsons, South Park and Family Guy are also pretty patchy). I enjoyed watching the show but overall I was disappointed that it could have been a lot better with the talent involved.

The series is a continuation of the 1994 independent classic Clerks, with Dante still working at the convenience store with Randal popping in from the video store next door to chat about their daily adventures. Jay and Silent Bob do their regular stoner shtick (however with a PG rating they can’t go as far as they do in the films which also hurts the show a lot too). Alec Baldwin plays the main antagonist Leonardo Leonardo who owns a corporate shopping center putting the convenience store out of business. Most of the episodes deal with Dante and Randal feuding against him while also dealing with their own dramas between each other or with Jay and Silent Bob. The animation style is similar to 90’s afternoon cartoon favourites like Daria and Beavis and Butthead. It deserved a bigger audience only to see if the show could have improved on its first and only season.

Episode Notes:

Episode 1: Leonardo Leonardo Returns and Dante Has an Important Decision to Make
Entertaining but very simple and generic plot involving a corporate takeover of small businesses. Great to catch up with Dante, Randal, Jay and Silent Bob. Reminds me of the Family Guy pilot pretty hit and miss and needs time to grow and develop these characters further. Interesting to see them in cartoon setting considering the original was filled with profanity and sexual jokes.
B

Episode 2: The Clipshow Wherein Dante and Randal are Locked in the Freezer and Remember Some of the Great Moments in Their Lives
The episode is a parody of flashback episodes instead it’s only the second episode. The joke gets pretty tired halfway through.
D+

Episode 3: Leonardo Is Caught in the Grip of an Outbreak of Randal’s Imagination and Patrick Swayze Either Does or Doesn’t Work in the New Pet Store
The store develops a virus from a bad burrito and Patrick Swayze works next door. Pretty weird episode with Leonardo from the first episode becoming the series antagonist. Funny introduction featuring a mail bag segment of audiences complaining about lack of female and black characters so they have a running gag of a black character called Lando (another Star Wars reference) passing through random scenes.
B-

Episode 4: A Dissertation on the American Justice System by People Who Have Never Been Inside a Courtroom, Let Alone Know Anything About the Law, but Have Seen Way Too Many Legal Thrillers
Jay sues the Quick Stop and Dante because Randall put too much bleach on the floor and caused him to slip over. The episode parodies legal thrillers and day time court dramas like Judge Judy. This episode is filled with film references including JFK, Beverly Hills Cop, Anime and Randall putting George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee and Woody Allen on trial. Highlight of the episode is Judge Reinhold as a literal Judge (Reinhold).
B+

Episode 5: Dante and Randal and Jay and Silent Bob and a Bunch of New Characters and Lando, Take Part in a Whole Bunch of Movie Parodies Including But Not Exclusive To, The Bad News Bears, The Last Starfighter, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Plus a High School Reunion
Dante and Randal attend their high school reunion where all of Randal’s ex-girlfriends reveal they’ve become gay and Dante isn’t recognised for his contribution to his old Baseball team. The rest of the episode involves Randal discovering his skill in an old video game with dire consequences and Dante has to coach a little league game. Pretty forgettable episode.
D

Episode 6: The Last Episode Ever
Begins with Dante and Randal getting feedback about how bad the show is and how it’s not like the film. The episode then revolves around various events in the day of the lives of Clerks. Filled with references to the Matrix. Overall an odd episode and unfortunate end to the show.
C

Summary:
The show had potential with our favourite characters from Clerks and could have grown in future seasons but overall the episodes never reached the highs of other animated sitcoms like The Simpsons or South Park.

C+

KEVIN SMITH RETROSPECTIVE REVIEW: DOGMA (1999)

Standard

Bethany: Wait a minute. Christ. You know Christ?
Rufus: Knew him? Shit, nigga owes me 12 bucks!

Director: Kevin Smith

Writer: Kevin Smith

Starring: Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Linda Fiorentino, Chris Rock, Alan Rickman, Jason Lee, Salma Hayek, Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith

Synopsis: An abortion clinic worker with a special heritage is called upon to save the existence of humanity from being negated by two renegade angels trying to exploit a loop-hole and reenter Heaven.

Dogma is the fourth directorial effort from Kevin Smith following his Jersey Trilogy of Clerks, Mallrats and Chasing Amy. Dogma actually continues in the same Universe as recurring characters Jay and Silent Bob continue to have adventures.

Dogma is kind of a mix of all Smith’s previous films. There’s the potty humour of Mallrats, the witty dialogue of Clerks and the controversy and independent spirit of Chasing Amy. The film is entertaining for fans of Smith however it does get bogged down by heavy theology based expositional dialogue and a pretty uninteresting protagonist. What saves the film is its excellent cast of supporting players such as Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Janeane Garofalo, Chris Rock, Alan Rickman, Jason Lee, Salma Hayek, Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith. Linda Fiorentino seems miscast as the lead character Bethany. According to the commentary she was difficult to work with.

The film revolves around Bethany a Catholic who has lost her faith in God after losing her husband due to a miscarriage. She still attends church but has no passion for being there. She works at an abortion clinic with Liz (the deadpan Janeane Garofalo) and wonders what her purpose is. She is soon visited by the angel Metatron (hilariously played by Alan Rickman) who sets her on a journey to stop two archangels Bartleby (Ben Affleck) and Loki (Matt Damon) from entering a Church which is trying to get more people by introducing the Buddy Christ which in turn would prove God doesn’t exist and end the world. She is sceptical at first but everything Metatron says becomes true so she sets on her journey and along the way meets an array of angels and demons including the great Chris Rock as Rufus the thirteenth apostle, Jason Lee as the demonic Azrael, Salma Hayak as the muse Serendipity, and the two prophets Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith). All of these supporting characters save the film and have great comical moments. The film plays like a comic book (a trope of Smith) as the protagonist goes on a journey to save the world filled with lovable characters. Especially the introduction scene of Jay and Silent Bob as Comic Book type heroes as they save Bethany from the three Hockey slaying boys/demons and continue throughout the film showing Kevin Smith’s obsession with comic books and turning them into Bluntman & Chronic comic book characters from Chasing Amy. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are excellent as the two arch-angels wreaking wrath on the sinful. The scene where they interrogate a Disney inspired company called Mooby’s featuring men who have all sinned their way to the top strongly reflects the views of these types of men in 2018 especially with the #metoo movement at the moment and the controversy surrounding John Lasseter and Harvey Weinstein (who produced this film!)

At the time the film was very controversial for its depiction of Christianity however Smith who is a Christian said he was only trying to make a fun parody of religion. In the 90’s it seemed Smith wanted the controversy as other independent filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino and Paul Thomas Anderson were being praised for their visions. Smith was somewhere in the middle he was making entertaining dialogue heavy pictures but his visual style was being criticised and he wasn’t having box office success or award love as his peers were. The more people discussed this film the more interest it got. Especially with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck coming off their success of Good Will Hunting and Chris Rock beginning to blow up after his time on SNL and his successful stand up specials. The film was a success making $30 million off a $10 million budget but it isn’t as regarded as Clerks or Chasing Amy. It could have made an interesting new trilogy for Smith because the film seems overstuffed with great characters and strong ideas. Today it could be a great Netflix series. Looking back the controversy wasn’t deserved however for strict Christians there is a lot of blasphemy as Smith says Jesus was black, Joseph and Mary had more kids and Chris Rock as the thirteenth Apostle however if you have a sense of humour you can look over these things.

Dogma isn’t Smith’s best film but I think it is very entertaining and had potential to be something greater. Perhaps with a better director or as a series.

B

Highlights:
– Kevin Smith-isms; Cameos from Brian O’Halloran as the News Reporter, Scott Mosier (Producer), Hockey, Comic Books, the introduction of the Mooby food chain, and Jay and Silent Bob