Fantasy films 1982-2008

Today we're going to talk a little about these movies:

The Dark Crystal (1982)

 

The NeverEnding Story (1984)

 

Return to Oz (1985)

 

Legend (1985)

 

Labyrinth (1986)

 

The Princess Bride (1987)

 

Willow (1988)

 

Hellboy (2004)

 

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

 

The Fall (2008)

 

 

Today's discussion is about fantasy movies.  Obviously, it's a subject today that involves the Harry Potter films and Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies, but for my purposes these will be omitted so we can concentrate on the '80s push that helped make them possible, as well as a few other more recent entries.

 

Jim Henson's production offices got the ball rolling back during the first season of Saturday Night Live, where the concepts behind The Dark Crystal were first explored.  The same company later developed Labyrinth, which has been the standard memory of the '80s fantasy push, thanks in part to the participation of David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly.  Younger fantasy fans had The NeverEnding Story and its sequel, while Return to Oz was an attempt to follow-up the iconic Wizard of Oz. 

 

Legend proved to be a bomb, and only took on cult status when Ridley Scott later released a director's cut.  It can be argued that Legend has the longest creative legacy.  Besides the look of Hellboy (which evokes Tim Curry's character in the movie), it can also be said to have inspired Pan's Labyrinth, the breakthrough critical success of Guillermo del Toro.  Willow might be said to be the first attempt at correcting the perceived mistakes of Legend.

 

Following the mixed fortunes of these early efforts, The Princess Bride went in an entirely different direction, downplaying the fantasy elements and instead focusing on the comedic potential of the humans involved.  The Fall later went further and made the whole thing dramatic.

 

It's interesting to think of these movies in relation to each other, whether or not the filmmakers did at the time they were being made.  Genre fans will no doubt have spent some time comparing them, or simply making preferences (that's the business of being a genre fan right there).  Some of them will no doubt have fallen through the cracks, so that unless you know they exist you might think the ones you do know are all you need to know.  Hollywood has never embraced fantasy as fully as other genres, which makes the '80s explosion all the more notable.  Yet, with the genre's fanciful elements, these films are often the source of remarkable creativity, and as such are capable of being among the most breathtaking movies you'll ever experience.







Ryan Reynolds' identity crisis: Smokin' Aces, Self/Less, Deadpool, and Criminal

Smokin' Aces (2006)



Self/Less (2015)

 

Deadpool (2016)

 

Criminal (2016)

 

 

In 2006's Smokin' Aces, Joe Carnahan's ensemble action flick, Ryan Reynolds plays FBI agent Richard Messner, who is assigned to protect federal witness Buddy Israel.  By the end of the movie, we learn what's so special about Buddy (nicknamed "Aces," and so the name of the movie literally translates to the act of assassinating him, not the cast of characters who attempt to do so), and it leads Reynolds as the most important figure in the story, as he alone gets to decide what's to become of Buddy.

 

The theme of identity, which is what Smokin' Aces is all about, ends up playing a big role in Reynolds' later career.  Aside his first shot at playing Deadpool in 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which becomes its own meta identity crisis, Reynolds would later explore this idea in 2015's Self/Less as well as in 2016's Deadpool and Criminal.  And somehow, no one really seems to have noticed, least of all critics who wrote unfavorably about Criminal, when the trend had become blazingly obvious.

 

I was always a fan of Smokin' Aces.  It has a killer cast (including Chris Pine's best performance to-date), and was the first time I took notice of Reynolds (which turned out to be somewhat ironic, given his part's later significance).  I was also a fan of director Tarsem going into Self/Less, which may be why I liked it better than most fans (including critics, who didn't even notice that this whole movie is literally about the second life dilemma, to the point where hardly a scene goes by without an additional layer of second life material being added to the story's rich tapestry).  Everyone knew how passionate Reynolds was to get Deadpool made, but few could have guessed that its resulting shape would look so much like Self/Less (much less Smokin' Aces).  so when he popped up as the prior life Kevin Costner assumes in Criminal, I kind of had to assume that at this point, it can't possibly be coincidence.

 

In fact, knowing Deadpool would be covering familiar territory, that was how I found most of my enjoyment from the breakout superhero flick, which has otherwise been hailed as a breath of fresh air in that genre.  I thought its noisiness wasn't all that noteworthy, but found it fun to see all the points where it lines right up with Self/Less.  While I haven't seen Criminal yet, I imagine there's plenty to enjoy about it in that regard, too.

 

There are so many people today who take this sort of thing as an insult to storytelling, that if plot points are at all similar, you have to automatically reject the newer story's creative value.  I don't agree at all.  Every story is different, particularly in movies, where casting so often dictates the results.  It's funny that Reynolds is at the center of a convergence like this, but it only makes it that much easier to appreciate how the theme varies in each iteration, how different it looks each time.  I mean, who else would even have compared Deadpool with Self/Less, which was a box office bust? 

 

This is how I approach movies, and storytelling in general.  Yeah, it's cool to like the popular stuff, whether with audiences or critics, but it takes some greater conviction to look beyond what other people are saying, and simply judge the material for yourself.  There's a lot to say about creative vision, no matter how it represents itself, and the ability to appreciate the subtle things that make it resonate.

 

You could take two or three of these movies, and still enjoy their comparisons.  Take all four, and you start to see how far this way of looking at movies, at storytelling, really goes.  



2015

Viewed/Ranked

1. Star Wars - Episode VII: The Force Awakens
2. The Hateful Eight
3. Self/Less
4. Aloha
5. The Martian
6. The Revenant
7. Legend
8. Jupiter Ascending
9. Sicario
10. Home
11. The Visit
12. Furious 7
13. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
14. Fantastic Four
15. Strange Magic
16. Minions
17. Avengers: Age of Ultron
18. War Room

Other Notable Releases

1. The Age of Adaline
2. Anomalisa
3. Ant-Man
4. The Big Short
5. Bridge of Spies
6. Carol
7. Cinderalla
8. Concussion
9. Creed
10. The Divergent Series: Insurgent
11. Ex Machina
12. Fifty Shades of Grey
13. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2
14. In the Heart of the Sea
15. Inside Out
16. Joy
17. Jurassic World
18. Mad Max: Fury Road
19. Pan
20. The Peanuts Movie
21. Room
22. Spectre
23. Spotlight
24. Spy
25. Straight Outta Compton
26. Taken 3
27. Ted 2
28. Terminator: Genisys
29. Tomorrowland
30. Trainwreck

Best Films 2005-2015

1. The Dark Knight (2008)
2. The Fall (2008)
3. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
4. Munich (2005)
5. Warrior (2011)
6. Django Unchained (2012)
7. The Departed (2006)
8. Interstellar (2014)
9. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
10. Saving Mr. Banks (2013)

One to watch: Jeff Nichols

Jeff Nichols's Midnight Special is now in theaters.  The more I saw the trailers on TV the more I knew that name.  I haven't seen any of his movies yet, but he's consistently been working on buzz-worthy projects.  First was Take Shelter, the 2011 film that helped create buzz around Michael Shannon.  Then there was 2012's Mud, which was an integral part of Matthew McConnaughey's comeback.  He also directed Shannon in 2007's Shotgun Stories, and is working on Loving with Joel Edgerton, who has been a favorite of mine since Warrior (which is in fact one of my all-time favorite movies).

So I'm making a note about Nichols here, and for anyone else who happens to stumble by...

1997 Capsule Reviews

Amistad
rating: *****
review: Spielberg comes close to matching the impact of Schindler's List with this drama about an African who commandeers the ship make to bring him to slavery in America (he again reaches these heights with Munich, by the way) with powerful advocates portrayed by Anthony Hopkins and Matthew McConaughey once he finds himself in the trial of his life (literally) as a result.  This is a movie that kind of symbolizes the whole year, which was a transition one for Hollywood in general, everyone trying to figure out what the new norm is supposed to be.

Out to Sea
rating: ****
review: If there's a better movie than the Lemmon/Matthau Grumpy Old Men series with them in it, it's this one, which also features a breakout comedic performance from Brent Spiner (Data in Star Trek).

The Fifth Element
rating: ****
review: Bruce Willis begins a new chapter in his career with this outlandish sci-fi parody that plays equally well in its dramatic elements, and as a parody of his action career, which clearly doesn't interest him as much as it does his fans.

Men in Black
rating: ****
review: An equally gonzo sci-fi flick, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones deconstruct everything The X-Files had been trying to make suitably dramatic on TV.

Liar Liar
rating: ****
review: Jim Carrey had waited so long for his big break that soon after he was already playing fathers in his movies.  He twists himself into hilarious knots when his son makes a wish that he can't lie.  Cary Elwes is equally great in a subdued supporting role, in which he gamely offers an imitation of what Jim Carrey might look like as a normal person.

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
rating: ****
review: So unexpected a belated hit with fans that later films couldn't possibly duplicate its appeal, with or without Mini-Me tossed in.

Conspiracy Theory
rating: ****
review: Mel Gibson's manic energy gives perfect voice to a guy driven off the deep end by finding out everything he hallucinated about the world may actually be true.  And anyway, if you can't bring yourself to like him, there's also Julia Roberts and Patrick Stewart, in his greatest non-franchise Hollywood role.

Good Will Hunting
rating: ****
review: Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are game boy wonders, but Robin Williams easily steals the movie from them in one of his best dramatic performances.

Jackie Brown
rating: ****
review: Quentin Tarantino comes his closest to subdued in this movie, which posits a charismatic Robert Forster as the only person capable of taming Pam Grier.  This is also your chance to see Robert De Niro and Chris Tucker in a Tarantino flick.

Grosse Pointe Blank
rating: ****
review: Easily the most unique high school reunion movie I've seen, with John Cusack as a hitman trying to reconcile his life even as Dan Ackroyd comes gunning for him.

Titanic
rating: ****
review: The gushingly romantic James Cameron hit you may have heard about.

Rosewood
rating: ****
review: Ving Rhames in his best starring role in a kind of black Western.

U Turn
rating: ****
review: Oliver Stone, oddly, does a more authentic Quentin Tarantino without Tarantino providing the script.

Batman & Robin
rating: ***
review: Oddly, I kind of like this much-despised entry in the franchise better than its predecessor, as it betters integrates all the elements the studio thought would make Batman more family-friendly.  Despite the camp, it has more heart than any Dark Knight movie.

L.A. Confidential
rating: ***
review: A kind of retro take on Tarantino, with Russell Crowe and Kevin Spacey leading an excellent cast.

Gattaca
rating: ***
review: Fun little original sci-fi parable with Ethan Hawke and Jude Law.

Anastasia
rating: ***
review: With Disney apparently uninterested in making its signature movies, someone else did.

Flubber
rating: ***
review: Robin Williams in this effects-happy update of The Absent-Minded Professor before viewers were as interested as Hollywood in living in a digital world.

Cop Land
rating: ***
review: Admirable attempt by Sylvester Stallone to reinsert himself into serious dramas.

Hercules
rating: ***
review: Disney again skewing tradition with a male lead.  The Gospel music is an inspired choice.

In & Out
rating: ***
review: A movie inspired by an Oscar speech, with Kevin Kline desperately trying to prove he's not gay.  This movie would not be made today.

Scream 2
rating: ***
review: Inexplicably, the horror satire becomes a part of horror tradition.

The Postman
rating: ***
review: The Kevin Costner backlash continues, this time with an epic he derived from a David Brin sci-fi book.

Donnie Brasco
rating: ***
review: A minor gangster entry featuring solid work from Johnny Depp and Al Pacino.

G.I. Jane
rating: ***
review: Demi Moore seeing how far she can push her career.

Face/Off
rating: **
review: John Travolta and Nicholas Cage see how far they can push their careers.

Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
rating: **
review: Brian Thompson tries to keep this unfortunate sequel afloat.

Princess Mononoke
rating: **
review: One of the first animes of the modern era to test whether American audiences are willing to enjoy something that was clearly never intended for them.

The Butcher Boy
rating: **
review: Youths misbehave, but with Irish accents.

Masterminds
rating: **
review: Patrick Stewart in a misguided effort to define his Hollywood role outside of franchises.

Dante's Peak
rating: **
review: Volcano movie.  For some reason this was a competition that year.

Starship Troopers
rating: **
review: Hollywood's desperation to find the next Star Wars kind of reaches the bottom of the barrel.  So naturally it was time for Star Wars itself to return.

Kull the Conqueror
rating: **
review: Basically Kevin Sorbo making a big screen Hercules.  But "not" as Hercules.

Steel
rating: *
review: Not horrid.  But clearly not budgeted sufficiently.

Spawn
rating: *
review: Clearly intended to be the Deadpool of 1997.  Failed miserably.

1996 Capsule Reviews

Star Trek: First Contact
rating: *****
review: Maybe I sound like I'm being less than objective when I heap this much praise on a Star Trek movie and admit that I'm an unabashed Star Trek fan.  But one of the things critics always used against the franchise in their reviews is that while it had Patrick Stewart, it never gave him material worthy of him.  Which is exactly what this movie does.  It builds to a truly great moment in which Captain Picard realizes that he's let revenge get the better of him, with Stewart delivering some truly exceptional work to drive it home.

Looking for Richard
rating: *****
review: Al Pacino's examination of Richard III should be required viewing for anyone who still has yet to understand the appeal of Shakespeare.

Mission: Impossible
rating: ****
review: There's a reason why Tom Cruise keeps making these movies, and it's not just because they're his most reliable source for box office success.  It's because he legitimately made this franchise his own, starting with a classic to kick it all off.

Independence Day
rating: ****
review: Where Jurassic Park left off, this is the blockbuster that ended up reviving Hollywood's efforts to crack open the box office with an idea that just blossomed all on its own, and solidly connected with audiences.  Finally seeing a much-anticipated sequel twenty years later.  Hopefully fans will appreciate this opportunity.

The Island of Dr. Moreau
rating: ****
review: Famously heckled as Marlon Brando's late career farce, I prefer to think of it as his direct criticism of the state of mankind, so that it is a farce, deliberately so.  Also along for the ride are a game Val Kilmer and David Thewlis a few years before he became a known commodity.

From Dusk Till Dawn
rating: ****
review: Superfriends Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino collaborate directly on a film for the first and so far only time in their careers, and in the process give George Clooney an unlikely but thrilling start to his film career.

Jerry Maguire
rating: ****
review: For me, this is what an Oliver Stone romance would look like, a movie with a conscience as well as heart.  Another of Tom Cruise's best.

The Cable Guy
rating: ****
review: Where Dumb and Dumber was deliriously unfocused, this famous Jim Carrey misfire was more like biting satire, and is arguably one of his best.

Trainspotting
rating: ****
review: One of the great '90s cult sensations has kind of been forgotten over the years, but stands toe-to-toe with similar movies from other decades, like A Clockwork Orange, and is probably better.

Happy Gilmore
rating: **8
review: The Adam Sandler phenomenon a few years later is justified by this earlier effort, in which he somehow turns Bob Barker into a legitimate scene-stealing star.

Primal Fear
rating: ***
review: Edward Norton, for far too many critics, could never live up to his career-making performance.  But he's done better since, and in better movies.

Romeo + Juliet
rating: ***
review: In hindsight a snapshot of greatness-in-the-making, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes as the famous doomed lovers.

The English Patient
rating: ***
review: You have to be very patient indeed to appreciate this one.

The Nutty Professor
rating: ***
review: Eddie Murphy revives his career but the biggest problem, or perhaps only problem, is that he has nothing to work against but himself.

Scream
rating: ***
review: Ingenious meta reconstruction of '80s horror tropes.

Hamlet
rating: ***
review: Thorough presentation of Shakespeare's famous tragedy.

Mars Attacks!
rating: ***
review: Madcap parody of Independence Day featuring Jack Nicholson in various roles.

That Thing You Do!
rating: ***
review: Tom Hanks directs the story of a fictional '60s band with everything but a Tom Hanks playing the lead.

Mary Reilly
rating: ***
review: Famously sunk Julia Roberts' career (briefly) but is otherwise a fun variation on Jekyll and Hyde.

The Fan
rating: **
review: Variation on the obsessed fan story featuring Robert De Niro.

The Rock
rating: **
review: Created the Nicholas Cage action genre.

The Phantom
rating: **
review: A preview of The Mask of Zorro, complete with Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Kingpin
rating: **
review: The best thing about this is Bill Murray's ridiculous hair.

Courage Under Fire
rating: **
review: Not exactly A Few Good Men.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame
rating: **
review: Disney nobly trying something completely different.

The Quest
rating: **
review: Jean Claude Van Damme makes his own Bruce Lee movie.

Rumble in the Bronx
rating: **
review: Jackie Chan's breakout hit is not as entertaining as you'd think.

Crash
rating: Rubbish based on a rubbish book.