Movie Review: Meg 2: The Trench

 

Michael's Movie Grade: C+

A very dumb movie, but enjoyable for what it is. 

The last act of this film is exactly what I wanted the movie to be. This last act is when the movie goes completely crazy, logic is thrown out the window and old school B movie fun rules the day. There is no way to take the last act of this film seriously and that is just what makes it so fun. It will simply put leave a smile on your face. The problem is that this is not the whole film. This is not to say there is nothing good about the rest of the movie, because there is some. The main characters are quite likable (if not exactly deep), there are some bits of good humor, there is a good sense of atmosphere in the trench itself, a really fun opening scene and some decent action bits. The main problem with the movie is that the middle section is what a film like this should never be and that is kinda boring. That is because this part of the movie focuses on the human villains. They are simply very bland and make us hope to turn the focus back to the sharks. It does not help that this section of the film is full of truly terrible dialogue. The start of the movie does a good job of setting up a fun ride and this middle section becomes even more of a let down because of this. Not only are the human villains bland, but their motives and plans for defeating our heroes are even more bland. Luckily though the film completely picks its momentum back up towards the end. For some this may be too little too late, but for me the final act is so much fun that it made up for a boring second act. The first act may not be that exciting either, but it did a decent job of setting up the rest of the movie and there is enough that works for some dumb fun. 

As might be excepted from a movie like this, there is some bad CGI at times, but it is not as distracting as it could have been.  

Classic Short Film: Free Eats (1932)

Gary Cooper in 1927

 It is always interesting to read an article about a major movie star very early in their career. !927 was a very important year in Coop's career, with a brief scene in William Wellman's Wings (1927) that showed many in Hollywood just how great of an actor he was and a co-starring role with Clara Bow in Children of Divorce (1927). The following is a 1927 article about Gary Cooper from Photoplay magazine. If you have any trouble reading the pages below, click on them and use your touch screen to zoom in. 

Video Link: The Untold Story: Robin Almost Got Replaced By Female Version? - Casually Comics

Movie Review: The First Slam Dunk

 

Michael's Movie Grade: A-

A wonderfully made and moving animated sports drama from Japan.

I may not be a basketball fan (nor have I ever actually watched a basketball game), but I found myself quickly engrossed in this movie about the game. That is because everything about this movie is very well done. Even the way the story is told is very clever. The story takes place during one very important and intense basketball game. Over the course of this basketball game, one of the players has flashbacks to everything that lead up to this point. Many of these flashbacks are very emotional and deal with a kid who loses his older brother at a young age and finds basketball as the only thing that helps him make it through the pain. However, this brings only pain to his mom, as it only reminds her of his brother's dreams to be a basketball player. As we see each of these flashbacks, we connect with this character more and more. Because of this what at the start of the film seems only to be basketball game becomes something much more emotionally resonate. As the movie progresses this basketball game becomes something incredibly important to us. Yet despite this movie mostly being this character's story, the rest of the players on the team are very well realized and some of them have their own character arcs. Some of their character arcs can also be surprisingly emotional. This film has does a wonderful job of using animation to make a story that could be told in live action (this is a realistic story that could happen in real life) work even better. As the suspense of the game increases the animation can become a little abstract, and the film can use fast cuts and distort the image in a way that would feel forced and out of place in a live action movie but feel perfectly natural in an animated film. This movie also benefits from a soundtrack that is full of hard rocking songs that add so much energy to the proceedings.

To make this movie all the more impressive this was the first film directed by Takehiko Inoue, who created and wrote the manga series that this film (as an earlier movie and TV show) is based on. Yet he directs this film like a master. 

This is simply a wonderful film and even those who don't normally watch anime or sports may find themselves very invested. 

Challenge of the Super Friends: Doomsday (1978)

 

A very fun episode. 

In this episode the Super Friends capture Sinestro, Cheetah, and Black Manta after the rest of the Legion of Doom abandons them. After eventually escaping they seek revenge on the rest of the Legion of Doom.

This is a very clever idea for an episode, as it truly plays what seprates our heroes from our villains. Also pitting the villains against each other is very unique for this show, making the episode truly stand out. I have never been a fan of superheroes fighting each other but I have always liked the idea of villains fighting each other, because they are in it for themselves not for each other. Yet there is still even more fun to be had here as there is a lot of the corny silver age superhero fun that I love. There is some really silly but enjoyably corny bits of dialogue throughout. There is also a wonderfully corny scene where Superman finds himself on a planet where evil is excepted as right and good is viewed as a crime. Early in this episode we get a glimpse of various outer space monsters. The designs of them are simply wonderful and quite creative. 

This is a very fun and unique episode. 

Silent Film of the Month: Children of Divorce (1927)

 

Run Time: 70 minutes. Studio:  Paramount Pictures. Director: Frank Lloyd. Writers: Adela Rogers St. Johns, Hope Loring, Louis D. Lighton. Titles: Alfred Hustwick. Producers: B.P. Schulberg, E. Lloyd Sheldon. Main Cast: Clara Bow, Esther Ralston, Gary Cooper, Einar Hanson, Norman Trevor. Cinematographers: Norbert Brodine, Victor Milner. Editor: E. Lloyd Sheldon.

1927 was easily the greatest year of actress Clara Bow's career. With the delightful romantic comedy, IT (1927) and the first Oscar winner for Best Picture, Wings (1927), it is no surprise that a moralistic melodrama like Children of Divorce would not receive much attention from film buffs. However that does not mean this movie should be overlooked. Melodrama may be a genre that is looked down upon by many fans of old movies, but this does not mean the genre is inherently bad. In fact melodrama can be done quite well and this is a film where that is the case.

 Jean Waddington (Esther Ralston) and Ted Larrabee (Gary Cooper) grew up as friends since childhood. They were both children of divorced parents. The other children of divorce that they grew up with have cynical views on love and marriage, but the two of them have more positive opinions on romance. Ted meets another child of divorce, Kitty Flanders (Clara Bow). Because she was rejected by a man of high society (who would not marry her since she was a child of divorced parents) Kitty tricks Ted into marrying him, even though neither of them love each other and Kitty knows that Jean is in love with Ted. This marriage makes both of them incredibly unhappy. However considering their pasts they feel that divorce is not an option. Divorce is even more impossible due to being against Kitty's religion. 

One thing that makes this film stand out among the many morality play movies made during this time, it is that it surprisingly treats the subject with some complexity. The film shows just how harmful divorce can be and does not overlook the pain it has caused many of the main characters. However it also suggests that much of the heartaches and pain that arrive in the later part of the film, could have been avoided, if divorce was an option. It would be simple to have a message that not only say divorce is bad but also open condemns any one who gets one. This film is different because even though this is not a pro-divorce film, it also truly understands why a couple might feel it is necessary. This makes this message feel true and honest, while also much less didactic. 

This film also works because we have a real emotional connection to the characters. Right from the very start the movie sets it up so we sympathize with and care about, Ted and Jean. Some of this is done through setting up the circumstances that these characters are faced with, which gains some automatic sympathy. Some of it is done through how this movie shows us throughout the film that these are truly good-hearted people. They may do the wrong thing sometimes, but it is obvious their heart is in the right place. This movie also benefits from the trio who play the main three characters. These three really bring a charm, likability and humanity to these characters. Even Clara Bow's performance, helps us to care about her character, even though her actions are clearly very wrong at times. 

The runtime also works perfectly for this movie making it never feel either rushed or overlong. Instead, everything in this film feels like it has a purpose to be here and does its job of advancing the story.

While (as mentioned before) Clara Bow’s career was at its height when this movie was released, Gary Cooper’s career was just beginning. The same year as this film, he had had two minor roles in movies that also featured Clara Bow (It, Wings). Though neither of these roles had much screen time, Wings was the more significant in Cooper’s career. He has only one short scene in that movie, but it is an emotionally powerful scene and he played it to perfection. From this one brief scene, people began to take notice of the pure acting talent of this man. It is no wonder that with Children of Divorce he was able to get a major role. Also not surprisingly is that his pure acting talent and charisma once again shined though. Though his name may not have been a big box office name or even one most people might recognize, on screen he was already a pure movie star. Esther Ralston as the other lead character in this movie is also excellent. Though her name may not be as well remembered today as her two co-stars, she was a great actress with a very impressive filmography. Her other movies included Huckleberry Finn (1920), Oliver Twist (1922), Peter Pan (1924), A Kiss for Cinderella (1925), Betrayal (1929, also Gary Cooper's last silent (sadly believed to be lost)), Black Beauty (1933), Sadie McKee (1934) and The Marines Are Coming (1934).

 

Moving Picture World, 1927

This film's director, Frank Lloyd had a long and successful career that started in the 1910's and went into the 1950's. His filmography includes quite a few well respected and popular movies. These include Oliver Twist (1922), The Sea Hawk (1924), The Divine Lady (1928), Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), Under Two Flags (1936) and Blood on the Sun (1945). It has been said that legendary director Josef Von Sternberg ( Underworld (1927), The Last Command (1928), The Blue Angel (1930))  was called in to reshoot some scenes. 

WARNING: The Following Review from Moving Picture World contains spoilers for the end of the movie. Also if you have any trouble reading it, click on the page and use your touch screen to zoom in. 

Moving Picture World, 1927.

For anyone interested this film can be found on YouTube below.