3:10 to Yuma (2007)

3:10 to Yuma is a remake of a lesser-known western of the same name from 1957 starring Glen Ford and Van Heflin. Both films are adaptations of an even lesser-known short story by Elmore Leonard. The overall plot is mostly similar, with a bit of added back-story and character depth to make things more interesting. The story focuses on two main characters: A poor rancher named Dan Evens (Christian Bale) and a notorious outlaw named Ben Wade (Russell Crowe). Ben Wade is the charismatic leader of a gang of outlaws. After robbing a heavily armed wagon guarding a large sum of cash, he stays too long in town and is caught by the locals. The posse is formed up promising good pay and a need for men that would be hell bent on getting Wade to the station. Enter Dan Evens. Dan Evens is a veteran who lost a foot during the Civil War; the circumstances of the lost foot caused him to be shunned by the community and even his oldest son doesn’t respect him (though the father/son relationship is probably the weakest subplot in the film). Financially, he’s not much better off. The landowner cut off his water (by damming up a creek) and expects him to leave the property so he can sell it to a railroad company. It seems like a no-brainer that Dan would join up with the posse that is to take Ben Wade to the train station that will send him to Yuma where he’ll be hanged. The pay is good, and it couldn’t hurt his standing in the public eye. It is only later on in the film, when all odds are stacked against him and he no longer has a reason to continue the mission that his true character comes out.

Westerns are a bit of a rarity these days, so right off the bat it’s refreshing to see such a big budget production of the Wild West. I think that it’s because there are so few westerns that the cast is made up of known actors: Peter Fonda plays a minor role as the miserable old bounty hunter, Ben Foster is the sadistic second in command of Wade’s gang, Gretchen Mol is Dan’s wife, and even Luke Wilson makes a random cameo as some thug working construction in a tunnel for a railroad. Director James Mangold (Walk the Line), shot the entire film in New Mexico, though it takes place in Arizona, and the location shots are incredible. The setting adds a level of authenticity to the story and adds to every shot of the journey to the station; they pass through canyons and countryside that are just beautiful to look at. The acting is good from everyone, but especially the two leads. In fact, the real highlight of the film comes from the interactions between Dan and Wade. Christian Bale plays Dan as very reserved and depressed which contrasts greatly with Russell Crowe’s charm and personality. Its Dan’s sense of honor and knowledge of what’s right that is so strong, even a character like Ben Wade, who in the beginning of the film kills one of his own men unapologetically, could respect him. Christian Bale makes the performance quiet and genuine while Russell Crowe plays Ben Wade as not only likable despite how bad he is, but probably the most dangerous person on earth. There is rarely a moment where you don’t feel that he is completely in control of the situation; he lets everything happen because it amuses him. It’s a good thing that this is the best part of the film because without it, the ending does not work. The action scenes are pretty good and well thought-out considering that despite the odds, the finale is relatively believable. The idea of redemption and doing what’s right no matter the cost is a pretty clear message of the film, and a powerful one. It’s hard not to root for Dan, who despite having every reason to turn back and go home, pushes on anyway if only because he thinks its right.

District 9 (2009)

Directed by newcomer Neill Blomkamp, District 9 opens with an introduction of the character Wikus Van De Merwe (played be another newcomer, Sharlto Copley) and a series of mock news footage compiled together imitating a documentary. The footage shows that during the 1980s, an alien vessel landed (sort of) in Johannesburg, South Africa and was unable to leave. It is never explained why the aliens are here, only that people hate and fear them. The aliens are referred to only as “Prawns.” This is something of a derogatory term and they were labeled this because of the way they look. Anyway, these Prawns were quarantined in an area isolated from humans. This area quickly became a slum complete with crime, extreme poverty, and militarized security. Wikus is a field operative for a organization known as Multinational United (MNU) and is promoted to a position where it becomes his responsibility to inform the Prawns that they are to be evicted to a district 10, which is even smaller and more isolated that the current living conditions; while doing so, he destroys Prawn eggs and smiles to the camera. A little over half of the film is shot in the manner of a documentary and is incredibly reminiscent of footage of real life refugee camps. The film’s commentary on the conditions is obvious and it becomes incredibly easy to sympathize with the Prawns, especially when we are introduced to Christopher Johnson, a Prawn who is considerably smarter than the others we are introduced to and displays more emotion than many of the humans in the film. His plan is to repair a ship that will allow him to rescue his people from the hellhole that they are forced to live in. Things get complicated when Wikus gets infected with a special fluid that slowly, in a manner reminiscent to Jeff Goldblum’s transformation in The Fly (his teeth fall out, etc.), begins changing him into a Prawn.

District 9 works incredibly well in a number of ways: The documentary style portions of the film are easily the strongest, as they create a scenario that feels real and is all too comparable to actual historical situations, more specifically, the apartheid system of racial segregation that was in South Africa for many years. The title is even a reference to District 6, which was one such location in Cape Town in the 60s. The visual effects are very impressive, but with Peter Jackson (Director of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy) credited as a producer, this should come as no surprise. The film loses a bit of its steam towards the end however, and becomes more of a typical action sci-fi film, complete with robot suits (that use the inside the helmet view from Iron Man) and laser guns. It’s no surprise that the governments keep the aliens on earth because of the desire for their weaponry. After seeing them in action, it becomes obvious how useful they are at killing people. This begs the question: Why haven’t the aliens been using them? Granted, this would be a different film if the aliens willing to fight back, but with such awesome weaponry, you have to wonder what’s been preventing them from doing so.

The action scenes are spectacular and dramatic, but cinematically, it contrasts greatly with the documentary footage than dominates the first half of the film. The action scenes and most of the film after mutant-Wikus goes on the run are shot more traditionally and this is clearly intended to personalize the story. But what it causes is a bit of a disruption. It feels like Neill Blomkamp was trying to have it both ways: a meaningful sci-fi commenting on a real world problem and at the same time, a blockbuster with people exploding and giant robots. Both of these things are fine, but together, in the way that the film is structured, it comes off as a bit uneven. That being said, District 9 is still a great film with a message, which is a lot more than can be said about other films this summer.

Sword of the Stranger (2007)

From director Masahiro Andō, a relative newcomer in terms Japanese animation directors, Sword of the Stranger is an action packed fantasy tale set in feudal Japan about a swordsman protecting a young boy. While this is by no means an original idea for a story (the swordsman and kid relationship is one that has been around as early as 1970 with the famous Lone Wolf and Cub stories), Masahiro Andō manages to make it feel distinct in terms of the crowd-pleasing action and style, showing promise as an animation director. The story follows a young boy named Kotaru (Yûki Chinen) who is on the run from a group of Chinese assassins of the Ming Dynasty. They need him in order to fulfill a prophecy that will supposedly grant them immortality. In cooperation with some Japanese rulers, they hunt the boy while constructing a massive temple for the ritual. The film commendably manages to balance the villains, showing there are corrupt Japanese rulers as well as the immortality seeking Chinese villains. While on the run, the boy encounters a wanderer with no name (voiced by Tomoya Nagase). The wanderer turns out to be an incredible swordsman with a dark past and after seeing him in action, the boy hires him as protection for his journey to a temple where he will be safe from the assassins.

There are a few things about this film that make it particularly interesting to watch. One is that the characters from China actually speak Chinese. The voice acting in this film is worthy of recognition and seeing two animated characters conversing in two different languages is interesting. The other aspect to appreciate in this film is the action. The action scenes are incredible. The characters move faster than any human can feasibly move and perform acrobatic feats that can’t be done in a live action film without the aid of CGI. It’s easy to accept in an animated film like this because it’s consistent with the backgrounds. There is one particular action scene that will stick with you and it is the finale. One of the enemy assassins is a westerner named Luo-Lang (voiced by Kôichi Yamadera, who seamlessly goes from Japanese to Mandarin), who cares nothing for the goals of his superiors and is only interested in finding a worthy opponent. This is a character type that anyone familiar with Japanese anime will immediately recognize, but it doesn’t change the fact that the final battle with the wanderer is simply spectacular. The film builds up to the inevitable duel between the two warriors and the payoff is incredibly satisfying. The two of them nearly destroy the entire structure they fight on and move in ways that resemble real fighting styles, but are too fast and intense to be compared to anything found in live action. It’s a relatively lengthy sequence (the longest fight scene in the film), but it’s captivating from start to finish. There is an interesting use of foreign characters in this film in general. The wanderer is shown to be from another country, even though he was raised Japanese and the central antagonist, though he is more comfortable speaking Chinese, is blond and likely European or maybe American. It is an interesting mix of characters that are more international considering the setting which is uniquely Japanese.

There are several subplots outside of the main story, which revolves around the wanderer and Kotaru, featuring Luo-Lang and his allies and as well as an ambitious Shogen named Itadori. While the film is by no means too long (It runs well under two hours), the Itadori subplot still feels unnecessary since it never really pays off in terms of actual plot relevance, and serves to mostly confuse the story by adding more unneeded conflict. The main story following the wanderer and Kotaru is well paced and the way their relationship develops feels genuine (albeit predictable), but it is really in the action sequences where the film shines. There is also a back-story that is revealed in pieces showing the bloody past of the wanderer and the reason that when he fights he chooses not to unsheathe his sword, but it could have used more and furthered the theme of redemption that is a big part of the character. The look into his past is very brief and only shows one instance of why he is the way he is. Despite the relative predictability of the story and the unoriginal concept, Sword of the Stranger is still an entertaining action film with high quality animation and amazing action scenes.

Krull (1983)

Krull takes place in a medieval fantasy world that has been invaded by an evil alien race known as The Slayers who are led by their leader known only as “The Beast.” These aliens almost don’t fit in the setting, since they fight with laser rifles and swords that for some reason emit a (cheap looking) red electrical charge when clashing with other objects. The human race is being exterminated (The aliens have laser rifles!) so two enemy kingdoms join forces through the marriage of Prince Colwyn (Ken Marshall) and Princess Lyssa (Lysette Anthony). The wedding ceremony is interrupted however, when The Beast sends his slayers to capture the princess so that he can marry her for some reason. It’s never really clear why he wants to marry a human when all his people do is slaughter them, but that’s the set up for the plot. In fact, it's mentioned that the Prince and Princess will have an heir who will rule the galaxy. So in order to prevent this you'd think that The Beast would just kill the princess. It's not as if she wasn't his captive for the majority of the film. Anyway, the prince must now journey all over the world with his band of followers that join him as the story progresses (like in any fantasy) and rescue the princess. He meets up with various characters like Ynyr (Freddie Jones), a wise old warrior, Ergo “The Magnificanct” (David Battley), a cowardly magician, a Cyclops (Bernard Bresslaw), and Torquil (Alun Armstrong), the leader of a band of convicts. There are several convicts (one of whom is played by Liam Neeson), but for the most part they are pretty forgettable and only serve the film as cannon fodder in dangerous situations. This way, the predicaments the party finds themselves in seem truly dangerous, but none of the important characters have to die. While we're on the topic of death, it needs to be mentioned that the entire human race is on the verge of extinction. The film tells of a prophecy in which Prince Colwyn and Princess Lyssa have a child who would rule the galaxy or whatever. The only problem is how exactly this would occur. There are hardly any humans left to rule by the end of this film, so this future King would be the a King without subjects, presiding over a planet of corpses. I guess it all seems kind of pointless to me.

The acting in this film is pretty forgettable, but there is one performance that is simply baffling. Ken Marshall (who you may remember as Rodney Owens from one episode of Quantum Leap or from his unforgettable performance as "Doctor" from the classic 1982 horror film Claws) plays the young Prince Colwyn, and throughout the film, it becomes apparent that he doesn’t really give a damn about anyone else in his party, let alone the fate of the human race. Many characters die in sometimes gruesome ways and through it all, he maintains a goofy grin as if he’s enjoying the experience. He loses his father, his mentor, his wife, most of his party, and faces death nearly every hour or so in what is essentially an apocalyptic scenario. At the beginning of the film, his father mentions off hand that just getting to the location where the marriage would take place cost them 300 soldiers. None of this seems to faze him however, and he maintains his sunny disposition throughout the entire film. Well, except for one scene: During his battle with The Beast, he hurls his trusty Glaive, which is something of an ultimate weapon in this film, and it wounds The Beast. I guess he guides it by holding his arm forward, because that’s pretty much all he does when he uses it; he just stands there with his arm outstretched and watches the weapon do all the fighting for him…riveting stuff. Anyway, the Glaive gets stuck in The Beast and he finds that he is unable to call it back. I found myself laughing out loud at his reaction to this: It seemed to change from all smiles to having a genuine “Oh, shit” expression on his face. It would appear that there really is something that this character cares about. He had almost no expression when he was reunited with the Princess, and didn’t seem to even notice that his team got split up during the final battle. But I'll be damned if that Glaive isn't cool.

The film is filled with special effects, most of which suck. That may seem unfair considering that this film was made in 1983, but compared to other big budget fantasy films of the time such as the Star Wars trilogy or even Dragonslayer (1981), this one just doesn’t cut it. It is filled with a lot of really obvious green screen effects and The Beast itself is just not that impressive, especially when compared to other creatures like Darkness from Legend (1985). The best images from the film are the scenes where Lyssa is trapped in The Beast’s layer. It’s almost like a living creature; constantly moving and breathing with teeth and claws jutting out from walls and behind corners. Some of the scenes look almost like abstract art. The Prince’s journey is kind of interesting to look at, as he covers a lot of ground and goes to a variety of different locations, but with the characters that are hard to care about, none of it really means anything. Ergo “The Magnificent” is meant to be the comic relief I think, but he’s much more annoying than he is funny. There are definitely better ‘80s fantasy films than this, so needless to say, I wouldn’t recommend wasting time with Krull.

The Hidden Fortress (1958)

There’s not much I can say that would appropriately compliment the talent of Akira Kurosawa. He’s made many films that stand the test of time and has influenced countless directors. So many of his films can be considered masterpieces, and The Hidden Fortress is no exception. It’s a film that George Lucas cited as a major influence for the first Star Wars film and there are various similarities such as the use of wipes for scene transitions and opening the narrative by following two characters that are not as heroic or central to the plot as the protagonists. R2-D2 and C-3PO however, couldn’t be more different from the two characters that open this film: Tahei (Minoru Chiaki) and Matakishi (Kamatari Fujiwara) are two incredibly unlucky peasants who after having a miserable experience during the last major war, are heading back to their village. They are friends, but often fight amongst themselves, the only thing that they really share in common being their uncompromising greed and desire for self-preservation. Soon they part ways and end up being reunited after getting into more trouble. The two actors do an amazing job managing to be both humorous and yet traitorous backstabbers at the same time. It’s easy to sympathize with them, but they usually deserve the predicaments they find themselves in. The plot takes off after they stumble upon some hidden gold and meet General Rokurota Makabe (played by the Kurosawa regular, Toshirô Mifune) and the beautiful and mysterious Yuki (Misa Uehara), who is actually a wanted princess. Rokurota is protecting a large quantity of gold and the fallen kingdom’s princess. His mission is to get her and the gold to an allied nation so she may rebuild her lost kingdom, but they have to go through their enemies’ territory to do so. The two peasants mostly just get in the way and attempt to rob the general and princess, but together, they all form an unlikely party that must accomplish an incredibly difficult task.

The film is filled with elaborate action scenes and Toshirô Mifune in action is always an enjoyable experience. There are a few memorable scenes that really stand out, and one is a duel between Rokurota and his rival and friend, General Hyoe Tadokoro (Susumu Fujita). What makes this duel stand out in particular is the length of the fight. In most Kurosawa samurai films, the duel is usually decided in one move, much like the quick draw encounters in the Wild West; whoever draws their sword faster is the winner. In this duel, they choose spears to battle with. The fight is shot with a variety of long takes, and goes on for a considerable amount of time. The two samurai lock spears and stand off again and again, destroying most of the camp in the process. It’s an amazing fight scene, the result of which factors heavily into the film’s climax, and one of the most memorable duels I’ve seen in film. Kurosawa again shot this entire film in deep focus, which makes everything, including the backgrounds crystal clear. This is part of the reason that his films have aged so well; they just look good. There are some amazing settings throughout this film as Kurosawa shot everything on location. The bonfire dance scene is one such setting and the hidden fortress itself is shown from nearly ever angle. There are an alarming number of extras in this film that make for some incredible scenes featuring literally armies of samurai or in one instance peasants in a revolt as they charge down a steep staircase in a castle setting while being repeatedly shot at. The film never really loses its momentum or tone and as the film progresses, the characters find themselves in some truly suspenseful situations. Though it feels redundant at this point to call The Hidden Fortress a masterpiece, there is really no other way to describe it.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

Before there was even a Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki (Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro) was making fantasy adventures that are unlike anything found in animation anywhere else: Massive airships, bizarre creatures, giant castles, and mythical legends; Hayao Miyazaki has created many magical and original worlds that are easy to get lost in and fascinating to explore. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is one of the first films that Miyazaki wrote and directed (as well as having a hand in nearly every other aspect of the film), and is based on the adaptation of the comic series that he himself wrote. Taking place roughly 1000 years in the future after nearly everything was wiped out by giant gods of destruction, the earth is a polluted and dangerous world populated by massive bugs, warring nations, and an ever growing swamp-like forest known as the Sea of Decay, which spreads its poisonous spores that are lethal to breathe. The story follows a strong young princess named Nausicaä (Sumi Shimamoto) who lives in a peaceful and quaint little village in the valley of the winds protected by its windmills and the clean ocean breeze. Like in any Miyazaki film, the settings are beautiful, large in scale, and colorful. The valley of the wind looks like the perfect little village covered in lush greens and surrounded by towering cliffs. Even the Sea of Decay is a place of mysterious beauty, featuring crystal clear lakes and beams of light that shine in through the trees, illuminating the all the details of the forest and creating a quite and peaceful world that contrasts the dangers stored within. Right from the beginning, Nausicaä displays an uncanny ability to calm animals (including the dreaded Ohms, who are colossal, nearly indestructible bugs that roam the earth) and captivate anyone who meets her. The story picks up when a large ship carrying very dangerous and apocalyptic cargo crashes into her valley and brings the might of the Tolmekian Empire to her doorstep.

The story shows the importance of preserving and protecting nature (the cause of all the pollution in the first place is man) while at the same time displaying the horrors of war and the problems it causes. All of the characters are interesting and two dimensional. There is no set villain of the film; there are the Tolmekians, whose leaders seem like the bad guys, but every character has their own reason and motivation for doing something, and there are the Ohms, but the way they are depicted in the film make them seem like any animal; violent only when threatened. The world of Nausicaä is not black and white when it comes to good and evil. Nausicaä herself fears the evil she is capable of when in a burst of anger she attacks a group of Tolmekian soldiers injuring many and possibly killing a few of them. There are other really interesting characters like Yupa (Gorô Naya), the wise sword master who wanders the earth in search of the mystical man from the prophecy who will save the planet, and Kushana (Yoshiko Sakakibara), the Tolmekian leader who has her own reasons for wanting to destroy the bugs and the Sea of Decay. As with all films that have the Miyazaki name attached, this one features spectacular and fluid cell animation, the likes of which are never really used anymore. Everything in this film is hand drawn and the level of quality is staggering. Sporting a strong female role model and a powerful message, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is another must see fantasy masterpiece from Hayao Miyazaki that is sure to please all ages.