The Invisible Man (1933)

The Invisible Man is based on the classic H.G. Wells novel of the same name and directed by James Whale, who also directed both Frankenstein and its sequel, Bride of Frankenstein. The movie begins with the scientist Dr. Jack Griffin wandering into the isolated English town of Iping, where he seeks to work on his experiments to reverse his invisibility without disturbance. This proves impossible however, as due to his unusual appearance the townspeople immediately distrust him. His disguise involves the complete concealment of his skin through the use of bandages, a wig, dark glasses, and a fake nose. It also becomes clear very quickly that he's not mentally sound and he goes on a rampage killing indiscriminately and leaving chaos in his wake.

It’s worth noting that in the book, significant attention is paid to examining the weaknesses of being an invisible person. In the movie, these weaknesses are touched on, but almost completely irrelevant. In fact, the invisible man proves to be all but unstoppable. Griffin’s body count numbers well over 100 people and that’s a lot for any horror film made at any time. Some of the deaths are quite brutal, for instance, the invisible man bashes a policeman’s head in with a stool. Though he isn’t on-screen to physically do this, the act is shown in its entirety. Despite his violent and seemingly unending rampage of death, Griffin is by far the most likeable character in the entire movie. Claude Rains is simply terrific as the titular character, and that says a lot considering that he's only on-screen for a grand total of a few seconds. The bulk of his performance comes from his physical motion while he's concealed in bandages or merely his voice for when he's shown to be completely invisible. His character, as it’s explained, has become insane from using a particularly dangerous chemical in his experiments. This only makes Rains’ portrayal of Griffin all the more interesting and just fun to watch. Unlike the more complex and tragic character of the book, in this version he’s a complete sociopath and unapologetically psychotic. The way he nonchalantly discusses his plans to enact a “reign of terror” with his friend Dr. Kemp (William Harrigan) is fascinating, and the scenes where he goes about doing so are surprisingly enjoyable. Griffin clearly embraces his new life of violence and while attacking and humiliating the general population, he loudly chuckles and openly mocks them. There's a great scene where a terrified woman runs screaming down the road while Griffin, in the form of a single pair of pants, sings and skips after her. In comparison to the rest of the cast, Claude Rains gives the most energetic and interesting performance.

Griffin without his bandages

While there are other important characters like Dr. Cranley (Henry Travers) and Griffin’s fiancée, Flora Cranley (Gloria Stuart), the rest of the cast can all be summarized as either terrified or deeply confused. There's definitely an element of humor here, though not to the extent of Bride of Frankenstein. The way that Griffin goes around attacking and annoying people (and you must remember he's completely naked) are great, and so are the extreme methods in which the police and townspeople go about trying to capture him. They hold hands, drag nets across rooms, and even try spraying ink at anything they hear approaching (turning a white cat black at one point), though all their methods are in vain. The visual effects are surprisingly good as well, and more that what you’d expect. It seems like the obvious effect would be to just have nothing on-screen while various furniture is moved around and the camera tracks empty space. While this is certainly used as well, James Whale does much more than that. There are several instances where we get to see Griffin disrobe to become a moving collection of clothing with no head. Others have him slowly unravel his bandages or remove only the bandages covering his mouth in order to expose his invisibility in sections. It’s an impressive effect given the time it was used, and was achieved by shooting Claude Rains in a black velvet suit against a black velvet background. This shot would then be combined with another shot of the location the scene took place. The successful execution of these groundbreaking special effects are a part of what makes this film so memorable and stand the test of time.  
The Invisible Man is a well-made and entertaining horror classic, with a great performance from the lead actor and a wonderful sense of humor and style.

Conan the Barbarian (1982)

One of the movies that made Arnold Schwarzenegger a major star, Conan the Barbarian is a classic fantasy action film based on the stories created by Robert E. Howard. The film begins with a young Conan witnessing the murders of his parents at the hands of Thulsa Doom (James Earl Jones), an evil sorcerer that, for reasons never explained, massacres Conan’s village. He spends the better part of his life as a slave, pushing a wooden contraption that seemingly does nothing, until he grows to massive proportions. Soon, his master recognizes him for his muscular bulk and enters him in gladiatorial battles, where Conan learns to fight and kill. Eventually he’s set free for no apparent reason and after reestablishing himself with Crom, an earth god, he sets out to avenge his parents (though he does this in a fairly non-linear manner) with the help of fellow thieves, Subotai (Gerry Lopez) and Valeria (Sandahl Bergman).

The film was shot entirely on location in Spain, and they make use of this for nearly every part of the movie. A lot of time is used to show Conan traveling on foot, and these scenes always show off the scope of the land, giving the impression of an expansive world. The movie looks great, and looking at it retrospectively, it’s refreshing to see a fantasy tale of this size done without the assistance of CGI backgrounds. There are plenty of elaborate sets and the occasional use of special effects, though with the latter they are limited to one or two scenes. One is a scene where Conan’s friends ward off evil spirits (which are not the worst ‘80s special effects I’ve ever seen), and a couple of giant (obviously puppet) snakes; they’re decent, but nothing particularly special.

Part of what I like about this film is the way Conan is depicted as the hero. He's a barbarian, and therefore his morals are not especially strict. He lives his life by killing or having sex with everything he encounters (and at one point, he does both). He isn’t particularly bright either, despite having read and learned philosophy as part of his training. In fact, he’s about as dumb as the wood in the giant wheel he pushed for ten years. He never comes across a problem that can’t be solved by bashing it with a sword. When he tries something else, like infiltrating the doomsday cult worshipping Thulsa Doom by disguising himself as a priest, it fails miserably. Early on in the story, he doesn’t simply go get his revenge once he’s set free from slavery. Instead, he wanders around, vaguely interested in finding Thulsa Doom. He becomes a thief, and unknowingly steals a jewel called the “Eye of the Serpent” from Rexor (Ben Davidson), one of Thulsa Doom’s top henchmen. Instead of taking advantage of the major coincidence, he and his pals whore around and get plastered. King Osric (Max von Sydow) captures and then hires Conan and his friends to rescue his daughter from Thulsa Doom’s grasp and this is what gets Conan, and the plot, moving. He's a simple character, yet since played by Arnold Schwarzenegger he dominates the screen. The rest of the characters are all fairly interesting considering that not one is notably developed. There’s Conan’s allies, consisting of Subotai, an archer he rescues from capture, Valeria, a thief and warrior woman that falls in love with him, and Akiro (played eccentrically by Mako), a wizard who also narrates the film. 

James Earl Jones as Thulsa Doom

The acting is good enough, though one of the most memorable performances in the film comes from James Earl Jones. He plays the enigmatic and power-crazed Thulsa Doom, who's apparently able to turn into a giant snake (I’m still not sure why he does this when it happens). He can command fear and worship with a single glance and, with his voice and screen presence, it’s easy to understand why. Plus, he can shoot poisonous snakes as arrows with a bow (It’s something that’s as ridiculous as it sounds). The movie contains brutal violence and action, yet it suits the story and characters perfectly. The finale at the end is a perfect summation of the film’s tone and deeply satisfying as well. Aside from the entertaining story, the entire film is also accompanied by an epic and memorable score by Basil Poledouris. I love this music. It provides the right feeling to every setting and makes the action seem even bigger and more important. Despite inspiring a plethora of terrible sword-and-sorcery films in the ‘80s, Conan the Barbarian is still a well made and thoroughly enjoyable movie, overflowing with just the right amount of fantasy adventure and muscle bound machismo.

Thor (2011)

The Marvel Comics version of the Norse God of Thunder seems like a challenge to adapt to the big screen. The concept is among the stranger ones in the Marvel Universe, as it’s an actual deity coming to Earth and becoming a super hero. Still, under Kenneth Branagh’s direction, it’s done in a way that feels both unique and entertaining. The movie introduces us to the world of Asgard and their war against the Frost Giants of Jotunheim. They originally fight this war on earth, and the Vikings worship them as gods. In the present, a grown Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is shown to be an arrogant war monger, thirsting for the glory of battle and a chance to prove his strength to his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins). His reckless actions lead him to become cast out of Asgard and exiled to earth without his powers and hammer, so that he might learn a lesson in humility. The problems arise when Loki ascends to the throne, due to Odin falling into “Odinsleep”, with his own agenda. 

The movie is essentially divided into two main segments: One's about Thor’s adventures on earth while the other's mostly set in the fantastical setting of Asgard. The scenes in Asgard deal primarily with driving the plot forward, and in a movie where the plot is the most crucial element, these scenes tend to be the most interesting. The earth scenes are usually more comical, with Thor being the focus of misunderstandings (like how to act in public or trying to acquire a horse from a pet shop). These scenes are fairly amusing, but benefit mostly from the performance of Chris Hemsworth as Thor. He looks and acts the part so convincingly that it makes the “fish out of water” aspects seem believable. Thor is also one of the most intriguing characters in the entire film. He has a clear character arc (despite how fast it may occur), going from a brash and arrogant warrior to one that learns that strength is not everything. The other Asgardians are an interesting bunch, though few are very developed as characters. There’s Sif (Jaimie Alexander), the warrior woman, and the Warriors Three (played by Ray Stevenson, Tadanobu Asano, and Josh Dallas), who are sort of Thor’s sidekicks. Why Thor - who can summon down lightning and tornadoes - needs sidekicks is beyond me. The most memorable of the non-central Asgardians is Heimdall (Idris Elba), the guardian of the Bifröst Bridge. He's the only one other than the ruler of Asgard who can control the bridge between worlds. He speaks in a powerfully deep voice and is also the only one capable of seeing through Loki’s lies. 

Loki and Thor

On earth, Thor meets and falls in love with Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), a beautiful young scientist who, with her small team (Stellan Skarsgård and Kat Dennings), is researching alternate dimensions in New Mexico. Their romance happens quickly and is mostly not important to the plot, despite how it seems by the end. The scenes on earth are limited to a small town in New Mexico, so visually they’re not especially interesting. This is made more obvious when compared to the bright and colorful world of Asgard and Jotunheim. The world of Jotunheim is covered in jagged ice mountains, populated by monsters and evil-looking Frost Giants. Needless to say, the special effects are pretty incredible and Asgard is a truly unique location. It appears to be partially in space, while also conveying a sense of the magical elements tied to these mythological characters and stories. There's a semi-scientific explanation for the existence of such a place towards the beginning, but it hardly matters. 

Thor's only on earth for a short duration of time leaving not a whole lot of room for character development, but the scenes on Asgard (mainly those with the familial interactions between Loki, Thor, and Odin) prove to be the strongest in the film. Loki, being the Norse god of Mischief, is not played to be an evil cackling cliché. Instead, Tom Hiddleston plays him as a much more developed and complex character. He learns a secret about himself that challenges everything he has come to accept as a part of his past and reason for being. What he truly wants is to prove himself to be at least as worthy of the throne and Odin’s love as Thor. The ways he goes about this however, are not exactly honorable. Despite dealing with such a high concept character, this film still manages to establish itself as part of the Marvel movie continuity, and does so with much more success than Iron Man 2. S.H.I.E.L.D. and agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) are a major and necessary part of the plot, but play a backseat to the central storyline, of which Thor is still the focus. It feels more natural to the earth setting and much less forced. Since Thor's destined to become a member of the Avengers, nods to it that don’t completely dominate the movie are appreciated. Overall, Thor is a surprisingly entertaining super hero film, blending the modern world to one of mythology in a way that's accessible and fun to watch.

The Punisher: War Zone (2008)

Directed by Lexi Alexander, The Punisher: War Zone is the third film adaptation of the iconic comic book antihero. The story is set 4 years into the Punisher’s war on crime, during which time he has accumulated various contacts and associates; the ones featured here are Micro (Wayne Knight) and an ex-gangbanger. The movie opens with the Punisher massacring a large mob family and introduces the main villain, Billy Russoti (Dominic West), who will later become known as Jigsaw. The bulk of the drama comes from the Punisher killing a mob goon who turns out to be an undercover FBI agent. By taking the life of an innocent, Frank Castle struggles with his current mission and even comes close to giving up being the Punisher. It’s when Jigsaw targets the deceased agent’s wife and child that he's forced to reconsider.

The story follows the Punisher comics closer than any previous adaptation (the title itself is a reference to his early ‘90s comic series), but it feels deprived of depth and an emotional connection to the central characters. Ray Stevenson as the Punisher definitely presents an intimidating figure, but also lacks non-action oriented screen time. He doesn’t even speak until at least 15 minutes in. In the comics this is often made up for through the use of narration boxes, but in The Punisher: War Zone, Frank Castle is shown mostly to be an enigmatic and oddly heroic figure (cops support him and kids seem to like him). There are some other supporting characters that are relevant to the plot like Micro, Frank Castle’s weapon supplier, Angela (Julie Benz), the widow of the dead FBI agent, Paul Budiansky (Colin Salmon), the agent’s partner who's determined to arrest the Punisher, and Detective Soap (Dash Mihok), the bumbling idiot labeled the head of “Punisher Task Force”, a position which the rest of the NYPD finds laughable. Detective Soap serves as an attempt at comic relief, but is mostly just annoying and pointless.

These characters are very minor and feel underdeveloped, but when compared to the outrageously overacted performance of Dominic West as Jigsaw, it’s easy to forget them altogether. His New York accent sounds goofy from the first line he utters, and I think it’s a desperate attempt to seem like a comic book character while simultaneously hiding his barely contained British accent. His inevitable transformation into Jigsaw is no less over-the-top. But first, who is Jigsaw? Since I know you care, Jigsaw's the most famous recurring villain from the Punisher comic books, if only because he may be the only one. The Punisher’s antagonists don’t tend to survive their encounters with him (go figure). He's a young and vain mobster who the Punisher smashes into a window. The glass tears up his face and after its stitched back together, he calls himself Jigsaw due to the scars. The movie version of his origin is a tad different, as instead of a simple glass window, he's thrown into an enormous spinning glass-crushing machine (why he was conducting his business there in the first place eludes me). Jigsaw in the movie is a grotesque and vicious killer (with an impressive make-up job), matched only by his clinically insane and cannibal brother known as “Looney Bin Jim” (Doug Hutchison). Their borderline cartoonish villainy clashes with the morose and fairly uninteresting protagonists. The montage in which Jigsaw and his brother recruit an army of muscle is set against an American flag backdrop while “America the Beautiful” plays in the background. The entire scene comes across as campy and doesn’t feel like it belongs with what's otherwise a brutal and dark story.

Dominic West as Jigsaw

Despite the odd collection of villains, one of the more distracting elements of this film is the lighting. The entire film is shot with a strange use of bright and vivid colors, ranging from neon purple and pink to yellow tints. The city at night is surprisingly bright and illuminated like a dance club. This may seem interesting, but after awhile it becomes irritating. It even begins to feel as though it’s only there to keep the audience’s interest, like talking to someone while they wave a glow stick around. At times, it almost seems necessary. Even though this is a pretty action packed movie, it tends to sag in the middle. I would credit this mainly to the protagonists, who just aren’t very well written or established. Since the Punisher has been in action for 4 years, we are never shown how he met Micro or built his massive base in the city’s subway tunnels. His back story is barely mentioned in one scene, and the rest is shown through vague (and quick) flashback sequences. As you might expect, the Punisher kills a lot of people and in fairly gruesome ways. Heads explode, people get impaled on things, and the Punisher punches a hole through a guy’s face. 

The violence is so ridiculous and unrealistic, that it numbs the reaction to later action scenes. Not that it would have helped the final action set piece. The big finale has the Punisher battle dozens of mob goons single handed, eventually facing off with Jigsaw and Looney Bin Jim. The final confrontation is surprisingly disappointing, especially when considering how wacky Jigsaw was portrayed up until this scene. The Punisher: War Zone is a vapid and disappointing attempt at capturing the appeal of the character. On the other hand, it has lots of pretty colors.

Princess Mononoke (1997)

Princess Mononoke is the 7th film from the visionary director Hayao Miyazaki. It’s easily the darkest and most violent of all his works, but arguably the greatest. The scope of the story is brobdingnagian, invoking many of the great epics and legends. Set in Japan’s distant past, it's a time where Gods and spirits still inhabit the forests. The story begins outside the isolated village of the Emishi people, where their young Prince Ashitaka (Yōji Matsuda) is wounded battling a massive Demon who turns out to be a corrupted Boar God from lands far to the west. Due to the nature of his wound, a slowly spreading scar that will kill him, Prince Ashitaka (with the help of his red elk, Yakul) is given the mission to discover what could have been the cause of the God’s grotesque transformation. He soon finds himself caught in the middle of a battle between the people of Iron Town and the few remaining forest Gods and the human girl, San (Yuriko Ishida), who considers herself one of them. 

As one might expect from a Miyazaki film and Studio Ghibli, Princess Mononoke is a masterpiece of animation and fantasy storytelling. The sheer originality and imagination is present in nearly every frame, making it easy to marvel at the images on screen. This is one of the last films to be made using the traditional cel animation techniques, and it looks amazing. The amount of effort that goes into the hand drawn cels is daunting, but the quality speaks for itself. The setting is so interesting to watch and, as with all Miyazaki created settings, there's plausibility to everything you see no matter how elaborate its design. It’s clear to see how people can live and work in a place like Iron Town, despite never once seeing where they sleep. Every single location is saturated with minute details, making them feel full of life and activity. A frequent collaborator of Miyazaki, composer Joe Hishaishi, provides one of his most memorable and moving scores (which is really saying something) and it strongly compliments the images. The backgrounds are beautifully painted landscapes with lush, vivid colors and breathtaking scenery. Every landscape shot could easily stand by itself as a work of art. This isn’t just a spectacle however, as all the characters are fully developed and intriguing, and this includes the antagonists as well. Ashitaka is like a classic hero from an epic; he's a young prince that sets out on a journey, encountering all manner of characters in his quest. There’s the beautiful San, a young girl raised by Moro (Akihiro Miwa) the Wolf God, who has vowed to fight against Lady Eboshi (Yūko Tanaka) and her guns. Lady Eboshi, who uses guns to battle against both samurai and Gods, seems like the typical villain, but as it turns out is anything but. She's the feminist ruler of Iron Town who employs and empowers the women there as well as cares for the sick (such as lepers). In many ways, she's a great and strong leader, but the cost of her strength is the destruction of the forest all around her. There's also the shady monk, Jigo (Kaoru Kobayashi), who's no more evil than the next man. Instead of a black and white hero/villain setup, the entire story is told within shades of gray, and this includes the Gods as well. They are not omnipotent beings (perhaps with the exception of the Deer God), and can succumb to all too human emotions like pride and a desire for vengeance.

Ashitaka battles a Demon

This is one of the few films by Miyazaki that looks and feels as though it was specifically made for an older, more mature audience. There's a considerable amount of violence during the battle scenes, but it’s when Ashitaka’s right arm goes into action that it becomes more noticeable. The Demon that infected his right arm was a hulking, spider-like mass of wriggling and acidic tentacles. It serves as the physical embodiment of hate, and when it scars the arm of Ashitaka, it also causes a different effect on his body. When he uses his arm in anger or to cause violence, it swells and enhances his strength ten-fold. This hatred allows him to perform some brutal acts like decapitating an attacker with a single arrow. The maturity of the story is clear through the way that characters interact with each other and deal with their predicaments. The way the romance between San and Ashitaka is handled is done in a way that feels right for the circumstances and not at all forced.

The theme of environmentalism is present here, as it is in much of Miyazaki’s movies, and it also isn’t displayed in a way that feels condescending. On the one hand, the destruction of the forest drives out the Gods, but it also leads to the prosperity of the humans. Nothing is one sided, but neither is it a simple problem to be dealt with. Ashitaka’s heroism comes from his desire to find a way for everyone to be content. I couldn’t recommend this film enough; it does everything it sets out to do with perfection.