Hot Fuzz (2007)

Hot Fuzz (2007)

Directed By: Edgar Wright

Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Timothy Dalton.

Plot: Nicholas Angle Angel is the best at what he does, and what he does, is police work.  With 400% more arrests than any other officer in London, Angel is promoted to sergeant, but is transferred to the small town of Sandford, due to him making the rest of the officers look bad in comparison.  He begrudgingly agrees, and immediately arrests many underage drinkers and one drunk driver, who turns out to be his new partner.  Over the next few weeks, they'll investigate various petty crimes, but suddenly, a string of mysterious and suspicious deaths leads Angel to believe that there's a murderer in town.  Unfortunately, no one believes him.  Is he correct in his assessment, or will become the embarrassment of the town?

Good: This film does a lot of the same things right that its predecessor, Shaun of the Dead did.  Simon Pegg is once again amazing as Nicholas Angel.  He pulls off the intensity of the strictly by-the-book sergeant, using a near deadpan voice, and rarely ever smiling.   This makes him a great straight man to the madness surrounding him, whether its chasing a runaway swan or investigating a sea mine.  Nick Frost is also great as his partner, Danny Butterman.  His innocence and naivete make him the heart of the movie, and his constant references to famous cop movies make a great satire of action films.  Both Pegg and Frost have great chemistry on screen, and its great to see their friendship grow as the story unfolds.  The rest of the cast is also great, with some of the highlights being Jim Broadbent as the good-natured chief inspector and Timothy Dalton as the suspicious supermarket manager.  The writing is also great, creating a memorable story within layers of great jokes.  Almost all the jokes hit their mark perfectly, no matter if they're physical or verbal.  One of the great moments is when Nicholas and Danny see an awful rendition of Romeo and Juliet, where the performers have a ridiculous song and dance number after a "dramatic" moment.  The combination of the terrible acting and wonderful reactions of the leads make this scene amazing to watch.  The action is also phenomenal, using practical stunts and effects to really make it look more visceral, and the comedy and fast editing make it very entertaining.  The violence, while few and far between, is also very well realized, with great gore and blood effects.  Another excellent aspect of the film is the editing.  Everything seems to move at a breakneck speed, with quick jump cuts showcasing the passage of time in an efficient and comedic way.

Bad: While they all pull in good performances, the rest of the police squad in Sandford aren't that great.  They range from boring (like Olivia Colman as the only woman on the team) to annoying (like Paddy Considine and Rafe Spall as the detectives).   They make the story much more cliche when they don't believe Nicholas, and start acting like idiots when presented with legitimate evidence.  While this may not be a problem for some people, the quick jumps and speedy pace might make it difficult for some viewers to keep up with the story without paying more attention to what's happening.  Also, those who didn't like Shaun of the Dead's style of comedy probably won't be swayed over to the supporters side, since it's very similar in tone and execution.

Trivia:

• Both Peter Jackson and Cate Blanchett make cameos as Father Christmas and Angel's girlfriend (respectively).
• Simon Pegg lost about 28 pounds in order to play the part of Nicholas Angel.
• Many police officers have claimed that this is one of the most accurate cop films ever, due to the acknowledgement that there is a lot of paperwork in police work.
• In the original script, Nicholas had a love interest named Victoria, and when she was cut, much of her dialogue was given to Danny.

 
Final Verdict: Despite having some minor issues, Hot Fuzz is a blast to watch.  It's hilarious, action packed, and has memorable characters.  In my opinion, Shaun of the Dead is a better movie, due to it having better characters and a more unpredictable script, but that's setting a pretty high bar.  This film is still a worthy successor, and a great addition to the Cornetto Trilogy.

Next time, with so much talk about Ben Affleck as Batman in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice next year, we'll look at his first dive into superhero movies.

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Pleasantville (1998)

Pleasantville (1998)

Directed by: Gary Ross

Starring: Tobey Maguire, Jeff Daniels, and Joan Allen.

Plot: David and Jennifer may be twins, but they're far from similar.  While Jennifer is extroverted and popular, David is introverted and awkward.  These conflicting personalities come to a head when Jennifer wants to watch a concert on MTV, which happens to air the same time as a marathon of David's favorite show, the 1950s sit-com "Pleasantville".  This leads to the TV remote getting broken, bit a mysterious repairman quickly replaces it with a magical one, that sends the twins inside the monochrome world of Pleasantville, where everything is, well, pleasant.  Using his advanced knowledge of the show, David tries to blend in with his surroundings, but Jennifer's rebellious nature causes many changes within the town, including the addition of color to certain objects and people.  How will the townspeople react to the sudden changes in the only world they've known, and will David and Jennifer be able to escape the show?

Good: The acting in this film is great, especially from the people of the titular town.  They do a great job portraying the innocence and almost childlike behavior of their characters, and it's fascinating to watch their reactions to the changes that happen throughout the film.  Jeff Daniels as Bill Johnson, the owner of the soda shop, is a great example of this, as he starts out as clueless without instruction, but shows hidden depths when he discovers his artistic talent.  Joan Allen and William H. Macy are also fantastic as Betty and George Parker, the main parental unit in the show, displaying the different reactions towards the changes that occur.  Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon as David and Jennifer make good leads, and their respective character arcs are interesting to follow.  One of the best characters comes from Don Knotts (of The Andy Griffith Show fame) as the TV repairman.  Not only is this a clever cameo, his character is always hilarious whenever he's on screen.  Randy Newman's music is excellent, ranging from smooth jazz to a beautiful suite.  The writing is also amazing, with themes of change, repression of who you really are, and the false hope of an 'ideal' life.  While some parts are a bit on the nose, many of these messages are important to remind the audience.  This story could've easily been about just the hijinks that would ensue when '90s kids are stuck in a '50s sit-com, but they decided to go the extra mile by including these themes.  But by far, the best part of the film is the special effects.  The mixture of color with black and white is beautiful, and adds to the overall themes of the film.

Bad: Despite never having seen color or experienced things like rain, the people of Pleasantville seem to recognise what they are almost immediately.  They still react with surprise and shock, but the fact that they can identify what the changes are called seems a bit lazy.  Also, as the story continues and becomes more complex, Jennifer seems to get pushed to the background.  This is unfortunate, since she's the one that gets the plot moving by introducing sex and other concepts to the world, and her character arc is pretty interesting.  Finally, the addition of a villain to the story feels a bit lazy.  It gives the characters someone to put the blame on, rather than making the antagonist people's opposition to change in general.  While this does happen during the film, it could've been handled a bit better.

Trivia:

• The books that David describes to the teens in Pleasantville are The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Catcher in the Rye, two of the most banned books in America.
• In the original script, the TV repairman was supposed to be played by Dick Van Dyke.
• Though many people believe that the shot of David raising his arms in the rain is a tribute to The Shawshank Redemption, according to the director, this wasn't intentional.
• When Jennifer enters Pleasantville, she becomes a character called Mary Sue, which is also a fan fiction term for a character who solves all the other characters problems, as well as when an author inserts him/herself in the story as a character.

Final Verdict: I'm surprised that this film isn't as well known as it should be.  It has great characters, smart writing, and amazing visual effects.  The concept alone makes it one of the most unique movies I've every seen.  In short, I'd recommend it to anyone who's interested in this story idea, especially if you grew up watching these kinds of sit-coms.

Next time, we'll return to the world of Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Edgar Wright, and Cornettos.

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Mary Poppins (1964)

Mary Poppins (1964)

Directed by: Robert Stevenson

Starring: Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, and David Tomlinson.

Plot: It's London in 1910, and the Banks family is having trouble keeping a nanny, due to the children (Jane and Michael) constantly running away.  This leads Mr. Banks, who runs a strict and firm household, to put an advertisement in the paper in search of a new governess.  The next day, a woman by the name of Mary Poppins literally blows away the competition, and immediately becomes the new nanny, much to the confusion of Mr Banks.  Wary at first, the children warm up to her after they realize that there's something magical about their new governess.  Through a series of adventures, Mary Poppins and her friend Bert will teach the children valuable life lessons, but Mr. Banks remains unmoved.  Will Mary be able to make him see the importance of family and the values of kindness?

Good: This film is a masterpiece in nearly every aspect.  It has amazing performances from all of its leads, including Julie Andrews as the titular character.  She pulls off the complexities of the mysterious character, while also making her seem human enough for the audience to care about her.  Andrews's singing voice is also amazing, and she's one of the reasons the songs are so memorable.  Dick Van Dyke is also very entertaining as Bert.  He accomplishes a lot of the comedy with ease, and the chemistry he has with the rest of the cast feels genuine.  Another fantastic performance comes from David Tomlinson as George Banks. He starts out as completely unlikable, but throughout the course of the movie, as the lordly life he leads becomes slowly tarnished, he becomes more and more sympathetic.  The other cast members are also good, including a delightful performance from Ed Wynn as Uncle Albert.  The writing is also amazing, with a subtle feminist feel to it.  Whether its Mrs. Banks being a suffragette to Jane being the more reasonable of the two children, this film can be interpreted as pro-women's rights.  All of the characters are written wonderfully, especially Mary Poppins.  She's firm but kind, whimsical but sensible, and proper but energetic, which makes her a fascinating character to watch.  While she does show some characteristics of a Mary Sue (such as the majority of the characters taking an instant liking to her, as well as being described as "practically perfect in every way"), unlike Bella Swan, Mary is more of a plot device than a character, pushing the characters in a certain direction.  Also, Mary has a charisma and energy that Mary Sues don't have.  The special effects are pretty good for the time, with the blending of the live action characters and the animated backgrounds being a particular highlight.  However, the best aspect of the film is the music.  The Sherman brothers have done great soundtracks before (such as The Jungle Book and The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh) but this is probably their best work.  These are songs the audience will be humming for many days to come, including "A Spoonful of Sugar", " Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious", and "Feed the Birds".  Without these songs the film would fall into obscurity.

Bad: Despite being a great movie, Mary Poppins isn't perfect.  One of the most common criticisms towards the film is that Dick Van Dyke's cockney accent is something quite atrocious.  And yeah, if you know what a real cockney accent sounds like, those criticisms ring very true.  Also, some of the scenes can go on for just a bit too long, such as the Jolly Holiday and Step In Time sequences.  Finally, some people might not like some of Mary Poppins's Mary Sue tendencies.

Trivia:

• Karen Dotrice's and Matthew Garber's (Jane and Michael Banks, respectively) reactions to the medicine changing color were genuine. They were also unaware that Mr. Dawes Sr. was played by Dick Van Dyke.
• Despite saying that this was the best film he's worked on, Dick Van Dyke believes that he was miscast as Bert.
• "Feed the Birds" was Walt Disney's favorite song while working on the film, and would tell the Sherman brothers to play it for him after long days at work.
• P.L. Travers (the author of the original book) was very resistant to the idea of Disney creating an adaptation of her story.  She had major qualms about the musical numbers, the casting of Dick Van Dyke, and the animation sequences.  After years of begging and compromising, Walt Disney finally convinced her to give him the rights.  Even after the movie was released, she still disliked the film's treatment of her creation.

Final Verdict: When I had to make the Bad section of this review, I had to really stretch to find anything I disliked about it.  In my opinion, this is one of Disney's best movies as well as one of the best musicals ever made.  The characters are memorable, the acting is great, and the songs are amazing.  If you haven't watched this movie yet, stop reading this review and go buy it now.  You won't regret it.  It's practically perfect in nearly every way.

Next time, I'll take a look at what would happen if two '90s kids found themselves trapped in a '50s sitcom.  What could possibly go wrong?  

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