Drop Dead Fred (Review)

Director: Ate de Jong

Company: Polygram Filmed Entertainment, Working Title Films, New Line Cinema

Year: 1991

Country: United States, United Kingdom

Today, I review another cult film…uh-oh.

If Drop Dead Fred succeeds at anything exceptionally well, it's being exceptionally annoying. Despite having garnered a small fan base over the years due to how bizarre and irreverent it is, this film is a chore to watch due to its unlikable characters and scattered plot. Drop Dead Fred was met with mixed to negative reviews upon its release. The movie earned back only $14 million at box office. Its current critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes is at an 'impressive' nine percent. And Gene Siskel stated that it was, "Easily one of the worst films I've ever seen," and was, "made in shockingly bad taste." So with that stated, let's take a dive into this slapstick nightmare.

The film begins with a young girl, Elizabeth (Lizzie) Cronin, being read a fairytale by her mother, Polly, while in bed. When Polly tells her daughter that the story ended happily ever after with the girl marrying the prince, Elizabeth enquires, "How do you know?" Polly says it was because the girl was well behaved, which causes Elizabeth to state, "What a pile of shit!" Charming. I'm sure this movie's opening lines went over well with all the parents and children in the crowd.

After some opening credits, the movie abruptly cuts to 21 years later.  Elizabeth (Phoebe Cates of Gremlins fame) has grown up to be an unhappy adult. She is unsatisfied with her current state in life and strained relationship with her domineering mother. Lizzie has also recently divorced her husband, Charles, who is in love with another woman named Annabella. Shortly after trying to talk with Charles, Lizzie's wallet and car are stolen. On top of it all, Lizzie arrives late for work and loses her job, which causes her to be chewed out by Polly again. Back at her childhood home, Lizzie becomes desperate. She decides to seek help from her childhood imaginary friend, Drop Dead Fred, as a last ditch effort.

Because everyone knows that struggling with depression and having a mental illness is hilarious. 

The titular character reappears when Elizabeth foolishly decides to release him from the jack-in-the-box her mother sealed him away in many years ago. After opening this Pandora's box, Fred proceeds to wreck havoc and crack unfunny jokes. He is an obnoxious hybrid of Beatle Juice/Peewee Herman portrayed by the late British actor, Rik Mayall. However, Lizzie tolerates Fred's potty humor, immature antics, and lewd behavior because he gives her a release from her oppressive mother. Frankly, I'm not seeing how this movie is supposed be funny yet. It's just making me feel kind of sad.

Thanks movie, I don't think I'll be able to sleep for a week now.

Soon after, Fred decides to start accompanying Elizabeth so that they can pull pranks on unaware bystanders and people they dislike, just like old times. The only catch is nobody can see Drop Dead Fred except for Elizabeth. Polly becomes concerned with her daughter's increasingly strange behavior (which includes talking incoherently, sinking her friend's house boat, and pouring wine on herself) and takes her to see a psychiatrist. Lizzie is given a pill prescription to rid herself of thoughts about Fred. But, of course, this doesn't work. As Fred becomes increasingly more crazy and out of control, Lizzie finds him harder and harder to deal with. Too make matters worse, Fred's behavior has began to sabotage the relationship Lizzie is trying to rebuild with Charles.

While Drop Dead Fred desperately tries to be funny and unconventional, the 'humor' in this film either falls flat or, more often than not, either annoys or offends the audience. Without the right balance of lightheartedness and genuinity, a comedy movie about a depressed protagonist is simply not funny. It's mean spirited...That is unless you actually happen to find jokes such as picking boogers, throwing poop at people, and staring up women's skirts funny.

And to think this film is sometimes marketed as a 'family movie.'

The characters are also woefully lacking in development. Polly is either too over the top to be a believable personality or else she is underplayed. Her actions sometimes don't even seem that mean or spiteful. Sure, Polly acts over protectively, but the way Lizzie responds to her mother's concern often just makes her end up looking really immature. (And, yes, I am aware that is probably part of the movie's intent. However, the audience is supposed to sympathize the most with Lizzie.) Phoebe Cates does an ok job considering what she's been given to work with, but Elizabeth spends most of her time moping (which makes the audience feel uncomfortable) or else awkwardly interacting Fred (which also makes the audience squirm in discomfort). As for Drop Dead Fred himself, well…this article has already talked enough about what's wrong with him.

The relationship between Elizabeth and her mother feels flat despite its large role in the story.

Watching his movie was one of the most miserable experiences I've had in a while. Drop Dead Fred is an uneven sloppy mess of a film. The fact that the titular character is introduced as both the film's center of conflict and as Lizzie's savior is an ill advised plot twist. This may have worked in the hands of a more skilled director, but considering Ate de Jong's track record their was no chance of that. Drop Dead Fred is a film at war with itself. It can't decide wether it wants to appeal to children or adults. In the end, it hardly appeals to anyone.

Sometimes it just sucks to be you.

Rating: 1.5

Labyrinth (Review)

Director: Jim Henson

Company: Jim Henson Company, Lucasfilm, TriStar Pictures

Year: 1986

Country: United States, Britain

Should this film be remembered as a flawed box office flop or a beloved cult classic?

Often considered to be the spiritual successor of Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth is a far more lighthearted (and often rather goofy take) on a young teenager's wild imagination and European fairytales. The script for the film was conceived by both Henson and George Lucas and was inspired by the children's book, Outside Over There, by Maurice Sendak (author of Where the Wild Things Are). It featured many great special effects with complex puppetry and animatronic characters brought to life from the drawings of Brian Froud, a renown fantasy artist. Labyrinth also had cutting edge CGI effects and featured David Bowie in a staring role.

Well, cutting edge for 1986 anyway.

Despite all of the talent involved, Labyrinth was initially a box office disaster, only earning back $12,729, 917 for its $25 million budget. The failure of the film to capture the favor of audiences or critics upon its release was so profound that Jim Henson did not direct any other feature films before his death in 1990. Despite this disappointment, however, the movie has gained a steady following over the years and has become a cult classic among fantasy fans and Bowie lovers. For some reason, a sequel in the form of a manga was even published by Tokoyopop between 2006 and 2010. In 2012, another graphic novel company, Archaia Studio Press announced that it is in the process of developing a comic book prequel for Labyrinth.

Labyrinth opens with an barn owl spying on Sarah Williams, a teenage girl who is reciting lines from her favorite book (which is also called Labyrinth) in a park. After realizing she is running late, Sarah rushes home to babysit her younger brother, Toby. Sarah becomes increasingly upset when she is confronted by her impatient stepmother and discovers that her teddybear is missing from her room. She finds the toy in her Toby's room and angrily tells him that she wishes the goblins would take him away. Toby suddenly vanishes. The owl flies into Sarah's room and reveals himself to be Jareth, the king of goblins. He tells the alarmed Sarah that she must make her way through his labyrinth within thirteen hours if she wants her baby brother back. He then transports Sarah to the front gate of the labyrinth.

Sarah meets many strange creatures during her journey, three of which decide to travel with her. Hoggle is an obstinate old dwarf who is secretly a spy for Jareth. He is torn between his loyalty to his master and his friendship with Sarah. Ludo is a large and slowwitted but gentle yeti-like creature whom Sarah takes pity on after he is tormented by a gang of goblins. And finally, Sir Didymus is a small yet chivalrous (and often rather illogical) fox-like knight who rides an Old English Sheepdog. Despite receiving help from her new and rather unusual friends, Sarah must overcome several obstacles along the way, such as a Knights and Knaves logic puzzle and the notorious Eternal Bog of Stench. She must also beware of Jareth himself, who has taken a liking to Sarah and constantly tries to convince her to stay with him... 

…Apparently, its because no girl can resist 'the excitement of David Bowie'.

If Jareth's labyrinth has one thing going for it, it is a visual marvel. This is no surprise given the production studio and budget behind Labyrinth. While the sparse CGI that appears in this film is obviously dated, its practical effects have aged very nicely. Brian Froud's designs may not exactly be cute, but they have certain rough charm to them and transition well to the screen. The techniques used to bring the various inhabitants Labyrinth to life are technically a huge step up from those used in The Dark Crystal four years prior. The various sets and backdrops in this movie are also clearly a labor of love. (The art geek in me also loves all of the references to M.C. Escher.) Once Sarah is taken to the front of the labyrinth, it truly does feel as though she has stepped into another land.

It's easy to got lost in the scenery of this movie.

There are, however, several things that hamper this movie's entertainment value. For one, the various David Bowie songs that pop up through out the narrative simply don't suit the visuals at all. (And, for the record, I do enjoy most David Bowie songs.) Yes, it was the '80s. Flamboyancy and Glam Rock were in, but they don't have the timeless sort of quality that one would expect from a fairytale story. On a similar note, this film is rather, well, campy. Again, that may be part of the nostalgic appeal of Labyrinth for some, but it makes everything on screen seem faker than it should. Many of the goblins and other creatures in the film, for instance, are voiced with high pitched, grating cartoonish voices which disengage the viewer the moment he or she hears them. It also doesn't help that the sound effects in this film haven't aged very well either.

It may be cheesy as hell, but just try and get it out of your head.

David Bowie songs and goofy tone aside, many of the characters in Labyrinth are either flat or annoying. This is certainly the case for the film's protagonist. While Sarah's family is briefly introduced at the start of the film, the audience is not given enough time to know or fully understand them or the situation. Sarah's behavior towards her family thus comes off as very bratty. This would be more tolerable if Sarah's character were to develop more over the course of the film, but unfortunately, it doesn't, at least not by much.

Sarah, being the protagonist, does of course learn certain things on her quest. She makes amends with her brother and becomes more appreciative of her 'boring life at home'. However, she complains quite a lot through her journey and relies a bit too much on her companions, making decisions of her own only when the plot requires it. Sarah's portrayal by Jennifer Connelly leaves much to be desired. Perhaps if a more experienced actress took the part, the character would have faired better.  Like several other fantasies about young girls entering bizarre worlds (such as The Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland), Labyrinth is symbolic of the transition from childhood to adulthood. However, Sarah is a hard heroine to admire. Perhaps Labyrinth should have followed one of its side characters instead.

Somehow this is not as intimidating as when Gandalf says it...

While Labyrinth is aesthetically pleasing and sports many unique visuals, it won't be remembered as one of the greatest fantasy films ever created. The film's narrative is rather muddled in places, it is too campy for its own good, and its protagonist leaves much to be desired. Still, I cannot bring myself to hate this film. The concept of behind Labyrinth is rather unique and its distinctive visual style allows it to stick out from several other mediocre fantasy films released in the same decade. (Apparently, Labyrinth was initially pitched as The Wizard of Oz meets Where the Wild Things Are.) Maybe Labyrinth would be more enjoyable if it was watched muted and the viewer were to imagine what the characters were saying. While The Dark Crystal may not be as accessible to causal film viewers than Labyrinth, it is ultimately a more ambitious and, dare I say, better film.

I still wish they published this magazine though.

Rating: 3/5

Vampire Hunter D (Review)

Director: Tooyo Ashida

Company: CBS Sony Group Inc., Movic, Ashi Productions

Year: 1985

Country: Japan

Some 'cult classics' are obscure for a good reason.

 The one downside of having a movie blog is that, once in a while, you have watch something really terrible in order to not look like a flakey reviewer. Vampire Hunter D is such a film, despite having a small but vocal following. It contains little more than shock value, excessive gore, awkward animation, and other such B movie related problems. If Ed Wood had lived to see this atrocity, he would have eaten his heart out. Vampire Hunter D is notable for a few reasons other than its awfulness. It was one of the earliest anime films to be made for the OVA (Original Home Video) market and also one of the first anime titles made available to US audiences on home media. Vampire Hunter D is based on a manga of the same name by Hideyuki Kikuchi which follows the exploits of a half-human half-vampire ( 'dhampire') bounty hunter who is hired to kill corrupt vampire lords in a post apocalyptic future.

Although the plot has interesting enough sounding set up, it is executed very poorly. Vampire Hunter D opens with Doris Lang, the teenage daughter of a deceased werewolf hunter, patrolling the countryside. Doris (who wears so little clothing that she could be mistaken as Sailor Moon's slutty older sister) is suddenly attacked by Count Magnus Lee when she intrudes his territory. Doris manages to get away, but is bitten by the lustful Count who plans on making her his new bride. (There is a major plot hole here: If the Count really wanted Doris, couldn't he have just taken her immediately to his castle?) To make matters worse, Doris is also being courted by the town's resident sleaze, Gerco Rohman, and she and her younger brother, Dan, are ostracized when her bite marks are discovered. Fortunately, Doris receives help from the mysterious horseman D, who promises to protect her and prevent Magnus Lee from abducting her on the next full moon.

From here on out, the storyline begins to fall apart and tediously repeat itself. Doris, who is initially introduced as a street smart, competent fighter, is quickly reduced to the tired distressed damsel role. She is kidnapped then rescued, kidnapped then rescued, kidnapped...over and over again. All of the horror cliches are here, oddly mixed with western cowboy fare and science fiction. Count Magnus Lee looks like a Godfather wannabe and his minions resemble punk rockers. Gratuitous gore is shown when D kills his enemies, spurting blood everywhere, but it fails to entrain or be truly 'scary.' D is often shown to be way more powerful than any of his enemies, making everything about this film all the more predictable. Really, Vampire Hunter D leaves the audience either repulsed or bored more than anything else.

Take it from Doris, real vampires don't sparkle.

As this OVA was made on a seemingly tight budget, it suffers artistically which only becomes more and more apparent as Vampire Hunter D ages. The only nicely drawn thing in this film is its atmospheric backgrounds which certainly help heighten its bleak and often disturbing mood. The character designs are decent but unoriginal at best, and lack the sophistication of the manga's original artwork. At worst, certain characters just come off looking comically stupid. The animation itself is very poor, being constantly off model, choppy, or disproportionately drawn. Vampire Hunter D's sound effects are poorly synchronized and its soundtrack is very dated. It's not 'so retro that its cool again' dated, its just dated... Badly dated. (If you hate your ears and eyes, watch the trailer.)

The eerie backgrounds are one of the few things good about this movie.

Its inconsistent and sloppy character animation are the least of its problems.

The side characters in Vampire Hunter D are consistently annoying, stereotypical, or flat. Dan, Doris's kid brother, is particularly problematic. He does not add anything to the plot. His only purposes seem to be acting cute and providing comic relief that fails to be funny. Whenever he tries to solve things himself, Dan is only captured or held hostage. Dan's relationship with his sister is never deeply developed nor is he properly introduced to the audience. Frankly, if Dan died nobody watching this movie would have really cared. Another obnoxious and unexplained presence is D's living left hand. This left hand has a face and regularly talks with D when he is brooding over something when no one else is around. The left hand also posses the ability to fight off enemies by sucking in air and can reattach itself to D if it is cut off from his arm. The writers apparently ran out ideas.

D possesses a symbiote wise cracking left hand...for reasons unexplained.   

Instead focusing on trying to 'look cool', generating camp value, and showing off how many gallons of blood can get past the censors, Vampire Hunter D should have focused more on creating memorable personalities and relatable character interactions. Even successful horror films need these elements. Is there anything good about this movie? Well, a few of the film's subplots were slightly promising and likely could have been developed more if this movie had a more competent director. Doris's doomed relationship with D could have provided some merit if it were given more screen time. Doris was one of the few people who actually trusted D despite his mixed heritage, but D had to restrain any thoughts of romance in order to prevent giving in to his vampiric side of nature. Likewise, Count Lee's daughter, Lamica, is an interesting character. She constantly called out her father for not acting as a proper aristocratic vampire should. Ironically, towards the end of the film, Lamica learns that she too is a half-breed dhampire, and is left torn between her loyalties to Lee and D. Unable to deal with the shock of her discovery, Lamica chooses to die alongside her father as the Count's castle crumbles to dust.

However, the negative aspects of Vampire Hunter D far outweigh any of its positive factors. They prevent the OVA any chance of redeeming itself in the eyes of the viewer. Almost everything in this film reflects all the negative stereotypes that are often unjustly associated with many other animes: nonsensical plotlines, crappy animation, 'adult themes' that fail to be intellectually mature, unnecessary nudity, graphic violence, and so on. Do yourself a favor. Avoid this film. Avoid it at all costs.  

Count Lee, the audience sympathies with your disgust and boredom. 

Rating: 1/5

About the Dub: It's laughably bad which is probably because the dub was done by the infamous Carl Macek of the now defunct Streamline Pictures. Although the original Japanese voice work was nothing to write home about, it was tolerable. The English 1990s dub is a rather different story. Dan sounds like he was voiced by a middle aged British lady, Lamica has a terrible fake Romanian accent, and many of the other voices sound like nails grating on a chalkboard. To make matters worse, much of the original dialogue was changed for the dub, watered down, or plagued with lame jokes. But then again, given how terrible this movie is the dub seems appropriate in an ironic sort of way.

The Point! (Review)

Director: Fred Wolf

Company: Murakami-Wolf Productions, ABC

Year: 1971

Country: USA

What happens when a rock artist decides to tell a childern's story in animated form?

Although it is largely forgotten by the general public, The Point! holds an interesting place in animation history. The television movie premiered as part of the ABC Movie of the Week lineup which ran from 1969 to 1976, making The Point! the first U.S. animated special to air during prime time. The animation was provided by Jimmy Murakami and Fred Wolf. Murakami would later become known for his adaptions of the British childern's books The Snowman (1982) and When the Wind Blows (1986). Wolf is best remembered for animating the famous Tootsie Pop 'How Many Lick's' commercials, and his work on various TV series and specials (such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Ducktales). The Point! itself is based off of a childern's story conceived by the folk rock artist Harry Nilsson, who performed such hits as "Everybody's Talkin'", "Without You", and "Coconut". Nilsson decided to write The Point! and compose music to it after he was inspired by a drug trip, as he describes it below.   

"I was on acid and I looked at the trees and I realized that they all came to points, and the little branches came to points, and the houses came to point. I thought, "Oh! Everything has a point, and if it doesn't, then there's a point to it."

Yep, now I'm certain that I am watching a cartoon made in the early '70s.

The film's plot is fairly simple. The Point! is told as a frame story when a father (first voiced by Dustin Hoffman, and later Ringo Star in subsequent releases) decides to read his son a book in order to detach the boy from the TV set. The father then acts as the narrator for the rest of the film. Our hero of The Point! ironically is born 'pointless.' Unlike all of the other residents of The Land of Point, Oblio is born without a triangular shaped head. Oblio's head is perfectly round. To try to get him to fit in, Oblio's parents give their son a pointed hat to wear. Oblio is also given a pet dog, named Arrow, to keep him company. Oblio is generally liked and accepted by his peers. But one day, Oblio angers the greedy Count's son after he beats him in a game of triangle toss. The Count thus banishes Oblio to the Pointless Forest. Lost in the forest, Oblio and Arrow come to learn that the area's seemingly odd inhabitants do have points to their behavior after all, even if they are not at first apparent. Oblio then realizes that being different is not something to be ashamed of or to hide, and that change can, in fact, be beneficial to society.  

Likewise, the animation itself is not very complex and generally suits The Point! fairly well. The style of The Point! resembles childern's drawings. (It also sports some bizarre imagery, including naked, fat, bouncing ladies. Yes, you heard that right.) While watching The Point! one can not help to think of The Yellow Submarine (1968). The characters don't move much in certain places of the film. Being a TV production, The Point!'s age definitely shows. The awkward movements and splotchy cell coloring in this film can come off as a bit unsightly. It could be due to the age of the film's print, but the color saturation is very bright at times. The character designs are quirky, in their own charming sort of way. Many of The Point!'s inhabitants look like they would be right at home in shows such as Phineas and Ferb, Adventure Time, or some of Nickelodeon's recent cartoon output.

The Pointless Forest, not so 'pointless' after all.

Because the film was conceived around Nilsson's musical narrative, most of The Point!'s score is pretty good. Of course in order to enjoy the music, you have to be a fan of the country-rock ballads popular during the late 1960s - early 1970s. The music segments allow for the animation to go off in some rather experimental and odd directions (most notably the psychedelic sequence for the song, "Are You Sleeping?", which is only interconnected to the plot via a dream Oblio has). The movie's most successful song, no doubt, was "Me and My Arrow", which went on to become something of a breakaway hit. (It was even referenced in a recent The Simpsons episode, "To Cur With Love", about Homer's childhood pet dog.) However, not all of The Point!'s songs are as memorable. "Think About Your Troubles" was a miss. It's a rather weird and monotonous number about dying, bodies decomposing, and the food chain. The Lion King certainly covered such themes about birth and death in the nature song, "The Circle of Life", much more effectively.

Nilsson's best known song made for this production is "Me and My Arrow." 

The message of the movie is an important one being about accepting diversity, following one's own intention, and realizing that everyone in society has a unique role to play. However, the execution of the way in which the story is told is where this film suffers the most. The Point! drags on for too long. Because the film's story is relatively simple and to the point (no pun intended), The Point! would work far better if it only ran half an hour to forty-five minutes versus an hour and ten minutes in length. Because the animation was made on a tighter budget, much of the unnecessary time used up is spent listening to extra lines of dialogue or on the film's song sequences. This time could have been used to flesh out some of the characters more. Or if the film was shorter, the animation itself could have likely been made on a higher budget.

In the end, The Point! while an interesting experiment, turns out to be a fairly average viewing experience. The Point! occupies an odd niche. It's a become something of a cult film given its counterculture influences, music by Harry Nilsson, and unique art style. But like certain cult films, The Point! has some definite problems in terms of its narrative flow and ability to hold its audience's attention. It's a bit of a shame because you can see that there was some thought put into this production, but it just doesn't quite deliver. Almost but not quite.

Oblio gets the point, literally.  

Rating: 3/5

The Dark Crystal (Review)

Directors: Jim Henson, Frank Oz

Company: The Jim Henson Company, Universal Pictures

Year: 1982

Country: United States, Britain

Dated but visually impressive, it's certainly a darker fairytale film than most audiences today are accustomed to. 

The Dark Crystal has become a cult classic over the years, being well known among fantasy and special effects enthusiasts. However, public opinion has always been somewhat divided about the film. Some regard it as an ambitious but flawed film, others love it, and certain people are absolutely frightened by it. (The Dark Crystal contains more instances of scarier imagery than most PG movies these days. Keep in mind that several 'adult' films coming from the same era - Indiana Jones, Jaws, and The Gremlins - were rate at PG when they first released.) Although The Dark Crystal was a huge undertaking for Jim Henson and his crew, spending over five years in production, it did relatively modestly at the box-office, perhaps due to competition from Spielberg's E.T. and the fact that the audience may have been expecting something more like The Muppets. (Both works were made by Jim Henson and utilized puppets, but the similarities end there.) 

The film takes place "in another world, in another time, in the age of wonder." In this world, called Thra, two prominent races emerged when the crystal cracked, causing a large chunk of it to fall off, resulting in chaos. These two races represent the opposing sides of human nature. The gentle and wise Mystics are very knowledgeable about the natural world, but lack the will to fight. The quarrelsome, violent skeksis have thus taken over much of the land. (Apparently, the vulture-like skeksis were based of off the seven deadly sins and Ms. Havisham from Charles Dickens's Great Expectations.)  Both they and the mystics are dying races, and their fates will be determined by the next Great Conjunction. If the crystal is not healed by the time the three suns meet, then the skesis will reign tyrannically forever. However, if the crystal is healed before the conjunction is over, then the mystics and skeksis will reunite as a whole, and peace will be restored.

At the center of this conflict is a young elf-like boy named Jen. Jen is a gelfling, the last of his kind. All of the other gelflings were victims of genocide, killed off by the skeksis due to a prophesy stating that the crystal would be healed "by gelfling hand or by none." Raised by the Mystics, Jen is told to meet Aughra, an eccentric astrologist who lives in an observatory. Aughra gives him the shard, before her home is wrecked by the Skeksis's garthim warriors. Jen manages to escape into the swamp, were he discovers that he is not actually the last gelfling. He meets Kira, a girl raised by the swamp's Podlings, who can communicate with animals. Kira proves to be a very useful guide and offers Jen moral support. Both must keep on constant guard of danger. In addition to the garthim, both Jen and Kira must also beware of the Chamberlin, an exiled Skeksis with an annoying habit of whimpering, who plans to bait both of them back to the castle were his clan resides.  

The kind and caring Mystics contrast with...

... the cruel and nasty Skeksis. (Both representing the divided sides of human nature.)

From a production standpoint there is much to be admired, given how much labor was required to bring The Dark Crystal to life. Although the gelfling puppets have a harder time getting emotion across their faces except for mild shock or surprise, none of the other characters suffer from this problem. (Jim Henson and his staff would continue to make improvements on the range of expressions their puppets could display in the future, utilizing robotic technology.) Indeed, the height of the technology used in The Dark Crystal was bicycle chains. Today, it is so easy to overlook how intensive filmmaking can be, especially with the saturation of CGI in the market. Each puppet was performed by trained professionals or gymnasts. The skeksis were acted by men crawling on their knees, holding up an arm over their heads, to control the creatures' necks. The garthim costumes were so heavy, that the people inside them had to take breaks every five minutes, and the costumes had to be lifted off of them with cranes. The Dark Crystal's unique and intricate design was created by Brian Froud, a famous fantasy illustrator who also provided concept art for Labyrinth (1986), The Storyteller (1989), the infamous Little Nemo (1989), and Peter Pan (2003). (Froud's son, Toby, appeared as the baby in Labyrinth and would later help with the production design on Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Froud's wife, Wendy, met Brian on the set of The Dark Crystal and was responsible for the puppet work on Yoda for Star Wars.)

To appreciate all the details in this movie, it has to be seen on a large screen. 

The Dark Crystal's soundtrack is another plus. It's complexity and variation really adds to the unearthly atmosphere of the movie. The Golden Globe nominee Trevor Jones provides a memorable score that combined dramatic symphonic orchestral style with period instruments and synthesizers. Perhaps the best pieces in the film are its overture, ''Love Theme", and "Gelfling Song."

The degree characterization in the movie is bit varied, but fairly interesting. Because they are so absolutely despicable, the skeksis can be a lot of fun to watch interacting with one another, once you are able to get over the creepiness factor. (One of the movie's more humorous scenes involves them eating dinner that rivals my family's Thanksgiving celebrations in its bad manners.) The fact that the skesis can come across as goofy at times, and terrifying at others makes excellent use of contrast. Speaking of contrast, the Mystics really do an excellent job of embodying this to the skeksis. Yes, the Mystics are relatively passive and only appear at the beginning and end of the film, but they are supposed to be less flamboyant and egotistic than the skeksis. Aughra is so bossy, grotesque, and uppity that she just demands attention whenever she is on screen. Frank Oz considered her to be, "So ugly, that she is beautiful." (Frank Oz also was going to be the original voice of Aughra, but this was dropped, likely because it made her sound too much like Fozzie Bear.) Fizzgig, Kira's dog-like pet, provides the most comic relief. His fearful nature causes him to constantly bear his large number of teeth, that take up most of his body when his mouth is open!

 As for the film's leads, Kira is probably the stronger of the two. She has is knowledge about the outside world than Jen, who has lived a relatively sheltered life with the Mystics prior to his quest. Her role was not that of a princess or 'distressed damsel' common in childern's media at the time. One scene even pokes fun at gender conventions. (Jen: "Wings? You have wings? I don't have wings." Kira: "Of course not, you're a boy.") Jen, however, is ironically the least interesting of The Dark Crystal's cast. He tends to simply react to what's going on around him and talk about the difficulty of his quest...that's about it. Perhaps this is because he is ignorant about many things in the outside world. (Jen can prove to be quite knowledgeable at times, however, like when he revealed that he possesses the ability to read.)   

This ball of fluff serves as comic relief. 

Of course this film is not perfect, its age shows and some of the dialogue is a bit cheesy, but not to the point that it makes The Dark Crystal bad. Personally, the 'darkness' of the film does not overly concern or alarm me. It is somewhat refreshing to see storylines in family films that tackle more mature themes or have slightly scary scenes. Kids will grow up after all, so they should learn that the world is not all jellybeans and rainbows! Just because the film was produced by Jim Henson, it certainly does not have to be 'cute' or avoid serious topics. (Henson's career was far more elastic than most people realize.) Many people compare this film to Labyrinth (1986), but The Dark Crystal was ultimately better received by the critics and did better at the box-office. (Labyrinth did gain a substantial fanbase later on with TV reruns, but Henson sadly never lived to see this.) I would have to agree with them, as Labyrinth, while still quite enjoyable in places, is a far 'safer' film and its David Bowie songs just don't suit its aesthetics (and this is coming from somebody who likes most David Bowie songs).

Skeksis: giving young childern nightmares since 1982. 

So is this film perfect? No. Is it worth seeking out if you are curious? Yes. If you are able to accept something slightly more unconventional than most Hollywood fair, forgive some of its quirks and age, and can appreciate handmade art, I strongly suggest seeking out The Dark Crystal. Never before has there been a film that stands out so distinctively in its visual style. Due to this factor, its reliance solely on puppets (no human actors), and its importance to the history of special effects, Jim Henson is said to have been most proud of The Dark Crystal out of all of his work. Appreciation for The Dark Crystal continues to grow, and it is now considered to be one of the greatest fantasy films ever made. 

Rating: 3.5

Lupin the Third: The Mystery of Mamo (Review)

Director: Soji Yoshikawa
Company: TMS Entertainment
Year: 1978
Country: Japan

Fujiko isn't impressed, Lupin, and neither are the critics.

The first Lupin the Third film was only released a year before The Castle of Cagliostro, but is vastly different. It may be more loyal to Monkey Punch's comics, but it is certainly not as well executed as Cagliostro. The movie opens with Inspector Zenigata investigating Lupin's execution, but it turns out the body is a clone. The real Lupin later tries to flirt with Fujiko, his on-and-off romantic interest. Fujiko is not fooled by his antics (its obvious he just wants to get it on with her). She feigns interest in order to steal the Philosopher's Stone off of him. Then she delivers it to her mysterious benefactor named Mamo, but the stone Lupin gave her turns out being fake. Lupin is eventually captured and brought to an island where Mamo is holding Fujiko captive.

This where the movie starts to get really weird. Mamo is the most bizarre and underwhelming villain one could possible think up. He is a blue-skinned dwarf who clones various specimens of extinct species and deceased famous historical figures. Mamo is obsessed with living forever and wants to create an ideal world were only he, and few other people he deems worthy, can live in. Fujiko tires to convince him that Lupin is worth saving, but Mamo is not convinced. (Mamo is obviously quite jealous of Fujiko's and Lupin's relationship.) Lupin and his friends manage to escape, but Fujiko is captured again. Lupin and his allies must rescue Fujiko and stop Mamo's devious scheme. 

This is our villain, a blue dwarf in a wig. Sorry no refunds.

This film has several issues. The villain, as mentioned before, is not very believable and either comes off as laughable or as an old pervert. Is Mamo really so deprived that he has monitor Fujiko on a video camera while she bathes? (Either that or else some of the animators are also perverts.) His motivation is to destroy the world in order to create a better one for himself to live in? How cliche. Then there's Fujiko. She is often a very interesting character in other incarnations of Lupin the Third. However, here she is captured a bit too often and comes off as weak and is even more manipulative than usual. And yes, she is supposed to be a femme fatale, but that doesn't justify constantly having her wear partially ripped outfits or the shower scene that lasts for nearly two minutes! Then there is the film's climax, where, in the twist everyone saw coming, Mamo is revealed to be a clone himself. The real Mamo is then revealed to be a giant brain in a jar (Wait, what?! Who wrote this? This is supposed to be an action comedy flick, not a cheesy Sci-Fi B movie!) The brain nearly escapes on a rocket ship (I'm not making making this stuff up), but Lupin attaches a bomb to the rocket which explodes.

Fujiko, get some clothes...

What?! I didn't pay to see a surrealist film!

There are a few good things about this movie, though. For one, the character designs and art direction are a lot of fun, being very retro and off-beat. This is due to the animators following the style of the original manga more closely than usual. There are also a lot of great conversations between Lupin and Fujiko as he unsuccessfully tries to woe her. A lot of dramatic tension occurs between Lupin and his partners, Jigen and Goemon, as they try to convince him to forgot Fujiko, and they even part ways at one point. (Again, this is hardly ever seen outside of the manga). Plus, all of the chase scenes and wacky humor are often amusing.

The art style can be hilariously demented. 

Keep him away from the surveillance cameras please. 

So how can I even begin to describe this movie? The characters are well developed, for the most part, and it can be entertaining sometimes. However, the second half of the film completely switches genres and the amount of fan service from Fujiko is ridiculous. On top of all this, it's like a bad acid trip towards the end. If you want to see Lupin the Third at his best, watch the Castle of Cagliostro, not this movie. (Unless you need to find a movie for a drinking game.) Ah well, it could have been worse, at least it wasn't that pink jacket Lupin film.

Gah! Go away Pink Jacket Lupin! Nobody likes you and your horrid animation!

Rating: 2/5*


*About the Dub: It's terrible and it definitely does not make this movie seem any better. Most of the voice actors are way too loud or obnoxious, killing any subtlety that was in the original Japanese. One of the worst offenders is Zenigata, who speaks in very bellicose manner and ends comes off even stupider than he is supposed to appear. Lupin's voice actor, Tony Oliver, is ok, but can come off a bit too shrill or cartoony at times (then again Lupin is very goofy in this film). The only other voice actor that does a decent job is....uh....Well, they all tend to grind on your ears at some point.