Casablanca (1942) Review

To put it as succinctly as I can, Casablanca is one of the greatest American films that have ever been made and is, in my estimation, second only to Gone with the Wind.

In World War II Casablanca, Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), self-exiled American and former freedom fighter, runs the most popular nightspot in town (everyone comes to Rick's). The cynical Rick comes into the possession of two valuable letters of transit, taken from two murdered German couriers by Signor Ugarte (Peter Lorre). When Nazi Major Strasser (Conrad Veidt) arrives in Casablanca, the obsequious Captain Renault (Claude Rains) does what he can to please him, including hindering underground rebellion leader Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) from escaping to America. Much to Rick's frustration and disbelief, Lazslo arrives with Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), Rick's one time love, who ran out on him in Paris years earlier.

The screenplay (written by Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch) is possibly the best that has been written with Claude Rains getting the majority of the great lines (for example, "I like to think that you killed a man. It's the romantic in me." and "round up the usual suspects"). The lines have become so popular that when AFI did a list of the top 100 greatest movie quotes, Casablanca appeared on that list more (a total of six times) than any other film.

One thing you can look closely at is the cinematography. The framing of Ilsa deserves particular mention. By filming Bergman from largely the left side with catch lights, to lighten her eyes, Arthur Edeson manages to enhance the look of ineffable sadness that Bergman conveys in every scene she is in. It should come as no surprise that the performances in the film are pure perfection. Perhaps the fact that the characters are so relatable is why people attach themselves to Casablanca. Somehow, Bogart manages to have great chemistry with every other actor he appears with and not surprisingly Ingrid Bergman is perfect in this film. When wasn't she?

I'd love to give the film a four-star rating. However, I think that the film actually surpasses what my current rating system allows so I won't be assigning a star rating. This is not, I repeat, not a bad thing.

No Star Rating

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) Review

This film, created in the style of Batman: The Animated Series, is one of the best superhero/comic book films to ever be made. It can even be said to rival or in some cases, and I'm talking to you Schumacher, far surpass the live-action films that have been made.

During a conference of crime bosses held in a Gotham City skyscraper, gangster Chuckie Sol (Dick Miller) is killed by a mysterious cloaked figure shortly after Batman (Kevin Conroy) bursts in on the meeting. Batman is blamed for the death. Councilman Arthur Reeves (Hart Bochner) tells the media that Batman is an irresponsible menace, then attends a party at the mansion of billionaire Bruce Wayne, Batman's alter ego. Reeves jokingly taunts Bruce for having allowed an old girlfriend, Andrea Beaumont (Dana Delany), to get away. In a flashback to Bruce's college days, we see him meet Andrea in a cemetery while visiting his parents' grave. Bruce has vowed to avenge his parents' murder by dedicating his life to fighting crime. He dons a mask and black ninja-styled outfit and foils an armored car robbery, but is discouraged that the criminals do not fear him. Around the same time, he begins a romance with Andrea. Eventually, Bruce decides to quit his plan on becoming a crime-fighter and proposes marriage to Andrea. However, Andrea mysteriously leaves Gotham with her father, ending her engagement to Bruce in a Dear John letter. Believing that he has lost his only chance of having a normal life, Bruce officially dons the cape and cowl and the moniker of Batman. In the present, the killer finds and kills another gangster, Buzz Bronski (John P. Ryan). Batman discovers evidence linking Andrea's father with a number of organized crime figures. The killer later targets Salvatore Valestra (Abe Vigoda), the mob boss for whom both Sol and Bronski once worked as enforcers, but is beaten to the punch by the Joker (Mark Hamill), whom Valestra had foolishly consulted for help; Batman is blamed again and has a close call with the police after a brief confrontation with the killer. Rescuing Batman in her car, Andrea explains that she and her father had been hiding in Europe, from the Valestra mob, to whom he owed a lot of money. Carl Beaumont (Stacey Keach) eventually repaid them, but that did not satisfy them. Batman believes that Andrea's father may be the killer vigilante

Some might think me a bit biased. Batman is my favorite comic book character. I am biased in the sense that I am likely to be far more critical of adaptations of Batman than I am with Superman or The Green Lantern just to name a couple. It's easy to screw up the source material however this film manages, with its dark backgrounds and gothic layout, to do the material justice while still being able to hold you in what ends up being quite a tragic and powerful film. The simplest and most central theme in the film is loss. This can be a difficult theme to pull off without feeling superficial or heavy-handed. It's a very fine line and the filmmakers walk that line beautifully and have perfect balance.

The voice-acting in the film is as close to perfect as is to be expected in I grew up watching the Batman cartoon every day after school and hearing Kevin Conroy's voice alongside the drawings of Batman. To me, and a lot of others, there is no other Batman besides him. He takes Batman to dark, deep and powerful place. By contrast his work as Bruce shows the idea of a character who wants to have happiness but can't feel it so he puts on a phony façade. Dana Delany in particular brings a reality to Andrea that is at times heartbreaking. The good Batman films and television episodes embrace the tragedy of its characters. That's what sets Batman apart from other comic book characters. Pathos with a small underpinning of hope.

★★★1/2

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2003) Review

I'm sure most of you had to have seen this coming. So the question we have to ask ourselves today is, why am I reviewing this so long after I first hated it? Everyone else loved it. I'm writing this review to try to convince those people that it is a stupid film targeted at stupid moviegoers. You see, the point is not to avoid stupid movies but we must avoid being stupid audience members. I am all for goofy, campy humor but that's only when it is done well. George of the Jungle and Wayne's World are examples of silliness at its best. Those films are whimsical and damned funny. The film I am reviewing today is neither whimsical nor funny. Deal with it.

Anchorman is set during the 1970s and stars Will Ferrell as Ron Burgundy, San Diego's top-rated news anchorman. Burgundy is outwardly willing to adjust to the idea of females in the workplace although he doesn't want his job challenged. Due to that it's no surprise that when an aspiring female anchor named Veronica (Christina Applegate) shows up she is not the studio's most welcome addition. After Veronica pays her dues covering so-called female-oriented fluff pieces (think cat fashion shows and cooking segments), the ambitious Veronica sets her eyes on the news desk; more specifically, on Ron's seat behind it. Not unpredictably, Ron does not take this intrusion lightly and so the two rivals engage in a battle of the sexes for a chair.

Here's a summary of every joke in the movie: Not funny. You know when you tell someone to shut up and all they say is, "You shut up." Those kind of childish insults plague the movie. It's essentially an hour and a half of back and forth insults and dialogue designed for stupid characters that doesn't really go anywhere. Lines like, "You smell like a blueberry" and "Where'd you get your clothes? The toilet store?" leave me wondering, "is that meant to be funny?" The only answer I can come up with is that the shooting script had to be the first draft. The attempts at satirizing sexist workplaces and news stations in the 1970's are so desperate for laughs that it's almost tragic.

IMDB lists the runtime of the film as ninety-four minutes. You know what I did like about this movie? That it wasn't ninety-five.

½ ★

 

The Muppets (2011) Review

The Muppets are a part of my childhood. They've been around so long that they span more than just one generation. However in recent years they have become less relevant than they were prior to the CGI-ridden 3D slop that tends to inhabit theaters. The last theatrical Muppet film, the overall disappointing Muppets From Space, was twelve years ago. Now with The Muppets well, the Muppets are back to where they fit best in a world of ridiculous jokes, off the wall situations and bears telling bad puns.

Walter (performed by Peter Linz) is a puppet who loves The Muppet Show and dreams of nothing more than meeting the characters. He and his human brother Gary (Jason Segal) travel with Gary's girlfriend, Mary (Amy Adams) to Los Angeles to visit the Muppet Studios. They get there and find it in serious need of repair. Apparently even though Beauregard has been sweeping for X years the place is a mess. Enter our villain. Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) is an oil man who knows that there is oil beneath the studio. He plans to own the studio and theater so he can destroy them and drill. Walter learns of this and he, Gary and Mary decide to reunite the Muppets to put on one last show in order to save their theater.

There are so many great moments in The Muppets that I can't possibly list them all but among my personal favorites are how Rowlf ended up being convinced to be reunited, Animal in anger management and the entire Muppet Show cast singing a new version of "Rainbow Connection". Writer and co-star Jason Segal is a self-professed Muppet fanatic and so The Muppets plays like a love letter to the characters and their brand of humor. That's what allows the film to be so great. The songs are an additional boost to the franchise but then again Muppet songs have always been wonderful.

Where would any review of a Muppet movie be without mentioning the brilliance of the Muppeteers. Steve Whitmire (Kermit, Beaker, Statler, Rizzo, The Newsman, Link Hogthrob), Dave Goelz (Gonzo, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Zoot, Beauregard, Waldorf, Kermoot) and Eric Jacobson (Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Sam Eagle, Marvin Suggs, Animal) are all the top performers in the film. It's not easy to push a performance out through your hand and make the audience believe that what they are seeing are real, living, breathing things even though I know the performers don't see them that way.

To give you an idea of how wonderful the film was, I have only been to four films that were met with applause at the end. This is the fourth film.

I must set aside a spot on "My Ten Favorite Films of 2011" list. Don't know where yet but I can promise it will be on there.

★★★★