ESSIE SPEAKS OF THE MYTHICAL ORIENT

Hey there folks!

Ok, so on the minus side (is there such a side? I guess there is...) it's a bit of a short update this week... I'm sorry about that. It happens sometimes (a little too frequently these days) but there you go. It's not a permanent change of attitude, that I promise.

On the plus side though, I've got some serious stuff for you. Like, concentrated. Stuff that's going to take a while to fully and truly sink in. So maybe it's a good thing there are only two this week. Be it based on reality or imagination these two little oriental pearls are going to knock you breathless. I hope yo enjoy...

happy viewing,
Essie

A SCARY VISION OF THE FUTURE : "NEVER LET ME GO"

I want to get one thing out of the way straight off the bat; neither the characters nor the setting in this film (and the book it was based on) have anything whatsoever to do with the orient. It was written, however by Kazuo Ishiguro, Japanese writer of great renown and Booker prize winner (for his acclaimed novel Remains Of The Day). It is something in the way the whole book is written that makes me put the film in the “mythical orient”; it is not so much something concrete but an emotion, something in the air, in its whole state of being. Plus, as you know, the Japanese are the masters of sci-fi and things like alternative futures and dystopias; so just based on the subject matter, I think Never Let Me Go is in the right category…
Imagine a world were cancer is a distant dream. Human life expectancy is now in the low three-figure digits, sickness and pain are all but eradicated. Sounds like paradise? It may be for some… But for all the other people on the planet to benefit from these great advances, some must suffer, they must die very young, and get no more than a look into the wonderful things life has to offer… Never let me go is the stories of these people in this dystopia; we follow their lives, loves, dreams and ultimately their deaths as we are faced with some ethical and moral questions that we very well may need to ask ourselves if not now, sometime in the not terribly distant future…
I don’t want to give too much of the story away. The one problem I had with the film was that it spared the viewer the emotional impact of “realization” (You will have noticed that I have obviously concealed something from you in the previous paragraph). The book starts like a completely different genre; a period piece. You have an inkling something is not as it should be and the truth is not openly uttered until the middle of the book. Until that point you only have hints and clues and a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach coupled with the phrase “It couldn’t be… Could it?” Now, fair is fair, it would be tough to give that kind of suspense and surprise in a film… So what the film does is just cut to the chase straight off the bat and take the story from there. Within five minutes you will have a good idea what the second rather murky paragraph was all about. And I simply have to comment the genius and originality of the Kazuo Ishiguro’s story; it is one of those topics that we push to the backs of our minds now, but they are there, sitting waiting… We very well may have to face up to them some day. The things I’m talking about are not pleasant; but then again adult life sometimes has very little to do with what you find pleasant and what you don’t…
Artistically the film was good. Even though for me personally the brilliance of the book overshadowed the film slightly, I can’t actually fault the film either. The young cast made up of Keira Knightly, Andrew Garfield (The Social Network, The Imaginarium of Docor Parnassus) and Carey Mulligan (An Education) are faultless in their performances. Never Let Me Go takes place in an alternative reality very similar to yet completely distinct from our own and I have to say that the air of eeriness and “something is not quite right” is well rendered. My only criticism would be that – and I do admit I may be a touch biased – the book struck me terribly and really affected me deeply. With the film, although it is intense in pieces the inevitable love story has been given a little more weight than in the novel and the “condition” of our heroes does not strike one as clearly as one might have expected… Nevertheless, even if it is the “light” version in comparison to the book you will be struck by it and it will give you a lot to think about… Yes indeed, medical advances can be scary things…

A SAD, TRUE STORY : "CITY OF LIFE AND DEATH"

I think it’s only fair to give you a heads up: this week’s fare is not a happy one. From what may or may not happen in the distant future, we skip to something that actually has happened; something tragic that not enough of us in the Western world know about. In 1937, the Japanese imperial army invaded China. And despite the disparity in sizes, the Japanese wiped the floor with the Chinese…
During the invasion some of the worse horrors of war imaginable were committed and City of Life and Death is the story of the invasion of the city of Nanking, where some of the worse of these horrors were witnessed. We follow the fates of two people, one is a Japanese soldier who, despite obeying his orders, is conscience-stricken by what he is witnessing and the second is Mr. Tang, the personal secretary of John Rabe, a Nazi businessman who works from the area during this period.
The aim of the film is a very noble one. It is to present, in all its bareness and horror the events during and after the invasion of Nanking. Dismissing this film as yet another saga on the horrors of war and the evil man is capable of would be, to my mind, a mistake. As you watch the film you will realize – I did – that despite all these terrible events that took place I knew virtually nothing of them. And I feel that we owe it to the victims to take the time to stop and listen to the stories…
Cinematically speaking, I wouldn’t say that this is a good film. By this I mean that there is zero character development, we are confronted with certain types, certain characters we have to work out as we go along and if we don’t have specialist information on the matter we may (I did) struggle to work out certain points (questions like “Well who’s that then? What committee?” sprang forth quite regularly =) ). But you have to remember these are slightly beside the point when we consider the actual aim of this film. Even if we don’t have conventional character development we bear witness to some of the most horrific events we could imagine… The film is very difficult to watch and cannot help but touch your heart even though the methods it uses (again, cinematically) are slightly cliché…
This film, I felt, was a prime example demonstrating the importance of a good story. Of course in an ideal world you have a great story and some technical expertise to show different aspects of the story; but as long as the story is good, the latter isn’t an absolute obligation. Think of this film as a distant cousin of the documentary, then you should be alright. And definitely watch it with tissues close to hand; I cannot stress this enough, you would have to made of stone not to have tears in your eyes as you watch this one…

ESSIE SPEAKS OF SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE / MIXED BAG

Well hello there!

Winter has pretty much settled over this part of the hemisphere. Just the right time of the year, says I, to curl up infront of the televisison with a DVD, a blanket, possibly with the adition of a loved one and a glass of wine. The winter is long, long enough to get through quite a few movies so I have tried to include a large spectrum in this week's update. Something for everyone.

We have black-and white classics, epic Hollywood fare and slightly more experimental stuff, all down below, clamouring for your attention. Go see which piques your curiosity the most?

Happy viewing,
Essie

AN EPIC TO SWEEP YOU AWAY : "THE AVIATOR"

Okey dokey, we hadn’t had a good old “true story” for a while now (documentaries don’t count). And I hadn’t watched a Martin Scorsese film in a while. The main reason for the latter is that I have gone through pretty much everything he has filmed to the present day and watched it (at least once) with great gligany. I was overjoyed to see The Aviator priced at a mere 2 pounds sterling in a large supermarket chain in the U.K – so as you can see I haven’t abandoned my frugal habits! The time was ripe to watch it the other night and boy oh boy… Leonardo di Caprio and Martin Scorsese are well on the way to becoming one of those “classic duos” I reckon… I have great respect for Leonardo di Caprio. He started off with half the planet quite sure he was nothing more than a pretty face. Now, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone to refute the fact he is a damn fine actor. But I digress. Let us get stuck into the story of the aviator – Howard Hughes.
Howard Hughes (Leonardo di Caprio) was a young man in the ‘30s. He was a wealthy heir, inheriting large companies and a lot of money in Huston Texas at a very young age. A lot of people assumed he would continue the family business – drill bits – but Howard had other plans. There were two things in life he wanted to do: Build airplanes and make films. So, much to the surprise of his elders and betters, that is precisely what he channeled all the family fortune into. It seemed like a gamble, it seemed foolish, and a in fact Mr. Hughes skated on the borders of complete bankruptcy for most of his career. However, it turned out, that Howard Hughes had a flair for both. And this flair was so great, that the size of his success and his ventures began to attract the wrath of the stronger men in both industries. But these were not the only enemies Mr. Hughes had to deal with. He had many personal demons, very severe Obsessive Compulsive Disorder that worsened although his life almost crippling him towards the end of it, to battle as well… To the point that it becomes pretty clear that if one set of enemies don’t get him, the others definitely will… Or will they?
The thing I love about Martin Scorsese’s films is their grandeur. I figured this out last night as I watched The Aviator. And it has to be said, Howard Hughes was ALL about grandeur. I mean, really and honestly. His first epic picture Hell’s Angels was shot with a total of 26 cameras, nothing short of lunacy in his time, but he insisted, went as far as mortgaging companies to get the job done and even made a profit out of what Hollywood deemed to be an impossible film. He was by all accounts an impossible man to work for, but his personal life was constantly populated (over-populated by some accounts!) by some of the greatest and most striking names of the time, including Katherine Hepburn (Cate Blanchette) and Ava Gardner (Kate Beckinsale). His eccentricities were incredibly extreme – I’ll let you discover them as you watch the film itself – but the strength with which he battled them and then came up on top, “winning” over all his demons, be it in the business world or in his head, was equally incredible. So yes, it is a big film full of big emotions and Scorsese gives the film its due in a way few directors could. There is something innately satisfying about sitting down in front of a really big, epic movie and being swept away by it. Something cathartic you might say. This film is everything it promises to be, plus a fascinating true story to boot. Not to miss.

FOR THOSE WHO FANCY A BIT OF A CHALLANGE : "SEX, LIES AND VIDEOTAPE"

Ok folks, so here’s the deal. What we have right here is a historical film in its own right. Sex, lies and videotape not only made director Stephen Soderbergh’s career, it also put the Sundance film festival where it made its gala performance on the cultural map. I was shown a clip of this one in one of my classes and was intrigued by it. Naturally the clip was by no means enough to give one an appropriate idea of the film in general, but the taste it left in my mouth was pretty ok. So I hunted it out and watched it a couple of days later. The exercise was supposed to be purely educational; I meant to watch it with the lecture and my class notes still fresh in my mind. All I can say is, I am so glad I was feeling so enterprising…
Now, I know the title basically makes the thing sound like a cheap porn movie, but it’s actually pretty good at summing up the whole story. It is about sex, lies and videotape. John and Ann are in many ways your common or garden suburban couple. John is a lawyer, he is successful and a bit egocentric; he is also having a passionate affair (nothing unusual so far) with his extroverted and saucy sister in law Cynthia. Ann, his wife, is woman with problems. Although she is basically a very good person, she has serious problems with sex on many levels. This is linked to the problems in her marriage; but the relationship between the three of them is a lot more complicated than it first looks. Nevertheless, the little triangle carry on through day to day life somehow until Graham, an old college buddy of John’s moves to town and asks to stay with John and Ann for a couple of weeks. The thing nobody really knows about Graham is that he has problems of his own and he has embarked on a very personal project to work through them… As Cynthia, Ann and John also become a part of this project, all four lives and relationships will be changed forever…
I’m in a conundrum as I write about this film, I don’t want to give too much away, on the other hand it’s pretty hard to express the effect and the emotion contained in the film without giving stuff away. Sex is always a touchy issue isn’t it? I mean yes, we’re all very liberated, we talk about it so freely and all that these days, but even so when it comes to serious problems and hang-ups, it’s not that simple. Now kindly recall that this film was actually made 20 years ago, when talking about these things were even harder and there were many more social taboos. Soderbergh struck a blow right to the heart of yuppie culture, a typical, dysfunctional, suburban couple with the house and the car and the prestige and the problems that no one can bring themselves to speak about. He then presents a solution to the problem. It is an unorthodox solution, it is bizarre and since the consequence of it is that you end up facing yourself and your own fears it is not easy to implement but ultimately it is a solution and basically in the end almost everyone is happy. It is a very honest film that doesn’t pull its punches at all. When it was over I was so overcome by it, I had to throw myself out onto the doorstep with a completely unscheduled cigarette to pull myself together. But did I regret watching it? Heck no…

A REAL CLASSIC FOR THE CLASSICALLY MINDED : "THE BIG SLEEP"

Confession time. I have a major soft spot for the classics. You know what I’m talking about, black and white film, old world Hollywood glamour… I mean as you may have gathered by now I enjoy a lot of things cinematically speaking but nothing really beats settling down with an old favorite – preferably with a hot drink, something sweet to go with it and your other half or good friends nearby to share the experience – of an evening and just getting lost in the experience. This is what I did with The Big Sleep last night. I mean ok, technically I was alone in my dorm room but green tea was involved so I reckon that counts…
Those of you a little more involved in the history of films may know that The Big Sleep directed by Howard Hawks is pointed out in textbooks as one of the best examples of classic Hollywood cinema. And starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, really, how could the film be anything except brilliant? The good thing about these movies is that even if you have, technically, seen it a million times before, they’re still good. This one is no exception to that rule; Philip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart) is a private eye based in L.A. He’s an ex-cop, kicked off the force for insubordination but brilliant at his work. One day a wealthy General hires him to get to the bottom of a blackmail case. But the deeper into the case he gets the more dead bodies seem to pile up. Plus, it seems that the General’s lovely daughter Vivian (Lauren Bacall) is also mixed up in this whole dastardly affair, making the whole affair deadlier and more dangerous than ever…
I must say, the film can’t be faulted on tension or acting. Bacall and Bogart are absolutely electric, and if you let your sympathies and your love of the genre get in the way of artistic temperament for a second you will see that the cuts that don’t quite match, the (by our standards) incredibly unrealistic backdrops and even the slightly stilted acting style that pervades the whole film (it was 1946 don’t forget) don’t matter at all. No sir, not one little bit. And to be fair, the film has quite a few redeeming features. For starters the story. Not only is it absolutely and mind-blowingly exciting, it is also sophisticated. And in places complicated. To the point that Bogart’s “in case you didn’t get that” explanations to random characters in the film actually come very welcome indeed. So if nothing else you will put some serious effort into following it. Then there is Bogart’s character who is charismatic (well when isn’t he), witty and always ready with a snappy answer, will undoubtedly regale you (and make you a might weak at the knees). As for the legendary Bacall – Bogart chemistry, all I can say children is that it is legendary for a reason. Yep, this is definitely good quality Saturday night entertainment. Keep for a rainy night; and enjoy!

ESSIE SPEAKS OF DOCUMENTARIES

OK, first up, I appologise. This week is going to have to be a short update again. I will, I promise, make it up to you all. Somehow. But take heart, I have taken measures to ensure that this week's update will at least, be pretty darn enjoyable to you.

First up I have undertaken to "speak" about a genre we don't (in my view) talk about enough : documentaries. There are some darn good ones out there and I strongly feel they should not be overlooked. One of the two "updates" this week is in fact quite infamous, it is Werner Herzog's Grizzly Man. It caused a lot of stir when it first appeared, did you get to see it? If not, here's your chance. Then there is D.A. Pennebaker's extraordinary fly on the wall documentary about a music legend... It's a bit of challange to get into stylistically but soo rewarding once you "make it through!"

In short, in my view, this week's update is short and sweet. I hope you agree...

happy viewing!
Essie

DOCUMENTARY ON A LEGEND : "DON’T LOOK BACK"

Ok, honestly, I am not quite sure what you guys will make of this one. I mean I don’t blame anyone for it; I’m not quite sure what to make of it either. Or rather I wasn’t at first. Its style is a little unconventional but to be fair I personally fell in with it very quickly. I mean, you might ask yourself what the heck could be unconventional about a documentary; it’s a pretty simple format after all… Pertinent clips and footage is shown as a narrator explains and what is going on. My point exactly. What if there is no narrator?
This seems to be exactly what the director D.A. Pennebaker asked himself before he made this documentary, for this is exactly what happens here. The documentary is about music legend, philosopher and poet Bob Dylan. In 1965 he spent three weeks touring the U.K. with Joan Baez. D.A. Pennebaker’s camera (in the singular. No fancy multiple camera angles, close-ups and so forth here) followed wherever he went. Then the footage was edited, the most striking moments selected and edited together – with no fancy or frills you understand, just one segment on the back of another – and presented for our delectation. I personally thought this was NOT the brightest idea a director could have at the start; I stand corrected. When you think about it, it’s rather an ingenious idea…
In the age of the internet and the DVD, we have all seen quite a lot of backstage – behind the scenes clips, right? We almost inevitably have a guide, telling us who is who, what is what; we are the privileged guest being shown around the studio / backstage. But of course, even though these are basically documentaries they still reek of performance. And these days they are performances of course. I mean let’s face it – every film accounts for the “behind the scenes” footage in the production stage. With Don’t Look Back however, we are just spirited backstage and left there. We are not even told who is who and what is going on. Not even a sentence or two on the screen. So in the first place, this is no performance. Mr. Dylan has kindly allowed us to hang around that’s all, he has no time to stop and explain stuff to us, and so he just gets on with his life as if we weren’t there. This whole feeling is exacerbated by the use of a single camera – no continuity type editing and definitely no real concern with “painting pretty pictures”. But this in itself doesn’t really matter because the subject matter is just so interesting; it’s a historical moment, it’s Bob Dylan and there we are, face to face with the man himself – or the closest we’ll ever get to him at any rate.
In this footage Dylan is 23. But even back then, as he gives snappy answers to well-meaning reporters and tries to explain his unique point of view and message to the world the poet and philosopher side of him shines through. I was taken aback by the lack of guidance but by the time we reached the end I was staring absolutely mesmerized… It’s a proper oldie this one, so it may be a tad hard to find; but make the effort to get your paws on a copy. It’s an experience not to be missed in my view…

DOCUMENTARY ON A DOCUMENTARY : "GRIZZLY MAN"

Ok , I rather like this one. It’s kind of neat – or I think so anyway. Werner Herzog’s Grizzly Man is a documentary. It’s a documentary on a documentary. No, I’m not trying to be clever or anything, this is real life. Herzog looks back on the life of Timothy Treadwell who spent the best part of 15 years living in the Alaskan wilderness campaigning for the protection of wild animals and specifically Grizzly bears. A greater part of his work involved filming the animals in their natural habitat and talking about them later, giving information to the general public.
And it has to be said at this point, Treadwell was quite a character. A one-time actor (never completely comfortable in his own skin and going as far as pretending he was Australian to most of his friends until his death) and a recovering alcoholic with much darkness in his past, he found his own form of salvation in the months he spent out in the wilderness. His work was very evidently well-meaning but none-the-less controversial. A lot of the natives of the area thought that Treadwell was in fact crossing a boundary and this was not only disrespectful to nature on a spiritual level but detrimental to the animals he was trying to protect as his constant presence made them used to humans and thus easier to catch and kill. Herzog presents as objective a look at he can at the life of an extraordinary man who literally lived and died for the animals.
Herzog’s Grizzly Man is thought provoking to say the least. Whatever else he was, Treadwell had the capacity to make you think. As one watches the footage – carefully edited post-mortem by Herzog and his team – one cannot, for example, help but notice Treadwell’s dark past seeping out. His approach to the animals is almost that of a child not an adult man. It could be argued that this was done purposefully to engage children and the general public (Treadwell spent the other half of the tear touring the schools and giving talks to children about conservation) but one doesn’t need to be overly observant to realize that it isn’t all an act. He gets frustrated with park authorities (who are not doing all they can to protect the animals) and goes off on a frustrated, violent rant about them littered with all kinds of insult. Out of the blue, a short but intensely homophobic rant finds its way into the footage. It could be argued that Treadwell was not a very pleasant man. From the footage, Herzog’s sympathy to him is very evident. But the admirable thing is that Grizzly Man doesn’t try to paint a pretty picture, it is very much “warts and all”. If nothing else, this film will get you thinking about Treadwell specifically and conservation in general. And even if, like me, you end up thinking that Treadwell was a rather unpleasant and rather troubled man, it is important to remember that his intentions concerning nature, animals and conservation were all in the right place, even if the ways he went about realizing them were questionable.

ESSIE SPEAKS OF INDULGING OUR INNER CHILD

Life is an important business. In fact one great thinker said (Oscar Wilde, one of my favorite great thinkers), as I recall it is far too important to be taken seriously. This is why we should all make room for a little nonsense in our lives. As Willy Wonka (another great thinker in Roald Dahl's universe) said back in the '70s (this is the older film not the Johnny Depp version) "A little nonsense now and then is cheriched by the wisest men." Hence my love of animations. The easiest one-stop route to childhood, fun and fantasy if only for a couple of hours.

I don't know why I'm waxing so philosophical this week. I have a suspicion it's the fact that over here up north it starts getting dark at around 15.30. And I DO NOT like it. One bit.

But enough of that and back to the nonsense!

Happy viewing,
Essie

INDULGING OUR INNER CHILDREN: "ANTZ"

I guess the new and high level of technology available to all these days is setting the standard higher for everyone, but I feel that animations especially have really gone their own way. More and more of the greats – I mean the great actors – lend their voices to animated characters, the worlds created in studios, be it Pixar, Dreamworks or Disney are more and more extravagant. It’s time for animations to up their game slightly. It’s like the job market; there comes that time when everyone has a degree, getting a masters is what one has to do to stand out… Now Antz, I felt, combined just enough of everything, to the point that we can say with some confidence that even if they haven’t hit on the ideal combo, they are pretty damn close. The actors are talented, the “new world” is, if not original definitely imaginative and the story is, if not actually completely original, chock full of witticisms that make it easy to forgive any banality on its part. Cheeky is the word I’m looking for. For this little number we are headed off underground; and no less than the great Wood Allen lends his voice to Z, an ant with an attitude problem.
But this is not some kind of typical “Woody Allen” attitude problem. In fact by some standards Z might well be considered a rather usual, typical ant/person. The problem is that he has an attitude at all. He has his own personal outlook on stuff. He doesn’t want to be like the rest of the crowd. He has a mind of his own. This is definitely NOT a good thing if you live in an ant colony. But while Z is yet to figure out how exactly to survive in the colony; he is forced head-first, first into love with possibly the one woman /ant in the anthill that is completely inaccessible to him and then into the heart of an intrigue that may well determine the fates of thousands of his fellow-ants… The question is, will Z be able to get his act together and rescue his relationship AND the colony?
Now as you can see as far as the story goes, this is nothing original. Nothing original AT ALL. However, and I don’t want to point them all out to you one by one but there are some little humorous touches that made me laugh out loud. The thing with animations is that when you do sit down to watch them – with me this is always the case at any rate – you don’t expect anything too complex. That’s why when you see all the small references they seem to count even more. Still, I like the way being competitive has pushed the genre to be better – even though I am no great fan of mass commercialization. In the humor present in this movie I also felt a touch of Woody Allen. It could be psychological of course, simply because I knew Allen was in the film, because fair is fair his name is not stated as one of the writers but still… And the rest of the cast do a pretty fine job too; Sharon Stone is Princess Baka (Z’s love interest) and Christopher Walken (always a steady favorite of mine), Gene Hackman, Sylvester Stallone (of whom I hadn’t heard of in donkey’s years) and Jennifer Lopes (don’t snort, she actually does a good job of it here =) ). In short, the movie achieves nothing completely original, one has to be fair. It is a bit of a classic example. But unlike most “classics” it is has a lot of sensitivity and originality in it, it is obvious that a lot of thought has gone into the making of it and that gives it quality. Class. Highly recommended, chuckles guaranteed.

INDULGING OUR INNER CHILDREN : "BOLT"

I liked this film. I think I did anyway. I mean don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy watching it – most of it anyway – but… What I think I mean by that is that all in all I found it a touch infantile. However, there is something rather endearing about the whole thing, especially if you’re a soppy git like me who gets all “awww” about little children and their dogs even though they are animated. Plus the whole thing does contain a few clever twists and some bits you simply have to laugh at… I dunno, not the brightest contestant in the lineup but it does hold its own…
Bolt is a super-hero. He is the dog of Penny who is the daughter of a prominent scientist. Penny’s father is responsible for very, VERY important discoveries and his arch enemy Dr. Calico and his cats are constantly out to get him. Bolt must assist Penny in saving the day – and sometimes even the world – time and time again… That’s what Bolt thinks, anyway. In reality, Bolt is the star of a very successful TV show and his loving mistress Penny is an actress. I mean, she is his mistress and she adores him but she is not the daughter of a scientist. (Think “The Truman Show” with a dog.)Penny has a successful career and Bolt has an adrenaline-filled life. Until, that is, the show’s director decides to end one episode on a cliff-hanger. Penny is abducted; Bolt is separated from her and taken to the trailer as he is meant to save her in the next day’s shooting. Bolt however, cannot rest until his precious Penny is safely home, so he escapes from the trailer and… Gets shipped to New York, by mistake. Now, what is a dog who has no idea of what real life is all about and thinks he has super powers to do in the big city? Will he ever get home? Will he ever see Penny again?
My mild problem with this film is the fact that it mixes something completely and delightfully original with something completely and utterly banal. I mean, cute kids and pets getting separated dates from the heyday of the Lassie TV series for Heaven’s sake, we kinda should have moved past this, especially considering it is painfully, PAINFULLY obvious that they will be reunited in the end. The “Truman Show” angle is however, not that bad. It affords a lot of comedy possibilities, some are good (I’m thinking Bolt’s two fellow cast-members, two cats, who know that Bolt thinks he’s a super-hero and regularly make fun of him through the skylight of the trailer – rather a nice touch those two.) Some are good, but get a bit old after a while (I’m thinking the whole pigeon thing from beginning to end I mean it starts of being not that bad, but wears a little thin towards the end.) The mainstay of the comedy is of course Bolt thinking he’s a super-hero and the attempts on the part of a “hostage” he takes to explain to him what is really going on. Again, nice but a little predictable…
That being said, like I said, the film is cute. In fact it is CUTE. And it is impressive that modern animation technology means that a dog that actually doesn’t exist can be so darn adorable… John Travolta lends his voice to Bolt, which gives the little pooch a bit of an edge. And the major advantage of this one is that you can happily set the little ones in front of it, watch it with them without getting too bored and while being able to get up and make snacks and coffee without missing too much. Gets a thumbs-up from me at any rate…

INDULGING OUR INNER CHILDREN : "THE ROAD TO EL DORADO"

Ok, I have to admit, this is a funny one. In more senses than one. I mean yes, animations are usually valued on their ability to make one laugh, and as far as that is concerned this one is very, very high up there indeed. It errs slightly, ever so slightly on the side of the infantile. But only just. I mean, as you watch it yes, you feel that it is a bit immature. But at the same time they have caught onto such brilliant points in the film that you cannot help liking it in the end or laughing. I don’t quite know how they did it, but this gruesome twosome really stole my heart.
Tulio (voice of Kevin Kline) and Miguel (voice of Kenneth Branagh) are two buddies and con-artists from 16th century Spain. They make their living basically off short-cons, loaded dice and such like and have a pretty OK deal of the whole thing all in all, until their lives change forever by the acquisition of a map. This map is supposedly the map to the legendary golden city of El Dorado in the new world. This means more gold than the two buddies could possibly imagine, it is an opportunity not to be missed. And as luck would have it, Cortes is just about to set sail to conquer the new world and so our two friends decide to tag along. Now the new world is indeed full of gold, adventure and opportunities, and our two friends are waist-deep in all of them pretty fast. But it fast becomes very clear that whether they will actually survive the ordeal to tell this tall tale is another matter altogether.
Like I said. There is a serious lack of “adult jokes” in this one. Do not compare it to something like Antz; which is constructed in a way that is hilarious both for adults and for kids. But the thing with Eldorado is that it is so good at what it does, you can’t help enjoying it. I mean, don’t forget – and I feel we have a bit these days – that good, clean, old-fashioned humor can also be hilarious if done well. We are rather used to double-ententes, allegories or sexual humor, well it doesn’t all have to be this way. I mean, think back at Tom and Jerry cartoons. Basically kids’ stuff, but you watch’em and love’em right? It is “immature” on one level but it’s just… So funny. So really, who cares! This is pretty much the same deal. Good clean fun for adults and kids. And that, let’s face it, is hard to find these days…