Category Archives: Fantasy

Palm Springs

Palm Springs      4 ½ stars

The last time I went to Sundance the Andy Samberg/Crintin Milioti romantic comedy was the hottest ticket going and I was not able to see it then (in spite of getting to over 30 movies). I finally saw it after it was released on Hulu and found it was a real delight. It seems to start out with the old formula of Groundhog Day as Andy Samberg’s Nyles is attending a wedding with his girlfriend Misty and finds that he is in a continuously repeating loop of the same day that always starts over the moment he falls asleep or is killed. He has apparently been at this for hundreds of days when we see him but things change when circumstances bring Cristin Milioti’s Sarah, the older sister of the bride into the same loop to share Nyles’s fate. Nyles plays seemingly amazing tricks on people as he already knows what events are going to happen to the second and tells people details about their lives that he has learned in previous iterations. Things take a darker turn as the two explore imaginative ways of trying to get out of the loop including killing themselves, but then speculate on how meaningless everything is in this strange world they find themselves in. Ultimately, the romance in the romantic comedy shows up as the two find out how much the other means to each. This “formulaic” romantic comedy works well and is definitely worth seeing.

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil          2 ½ stars

Five years after Sleeping Beauty got the Disney treatment in Maleficent comes the sequel, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. You may recall that in the 2014 movie, Maleficent, the horned winged fairy in the Moors turned out to be a sympathetic character who loved and cared for Aurora, the human princess who had been cursed to eternal sleep. The new movie continues the story a few years later with Aurora (Elle Fanning) still living in the wooded Moors where she regards Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) as her mother. Things are still tense with the humans in the kingdom of Ulstead though where Maleficent is viewed with suspicion by King John and Queen Ingrith (a wonderfully scheming Michelle Pfeiffer). When Prince Phillip, son of the king and queen proposes marriage to Aurora, the upcoming wedding becomes an opportunity for the two kingdoms to unite in an alliance. This leads to a very tense scene that might be called Meet the Parents, Disney style. The tensions boil over and King John ends up with a sleeping curse which Queen Ingrith uses as an excuse to start a war with the fairies. But it turns out that it was the Queen who put the curse on her husband King John which would make her President Trump’s favorite character in the movie. Then Maleficent discovers that there is an entire kingdom of fairies led by Borra (Ed Skrein) that have been hiding out from the humans and are looking for a way to wage war against them. One tragic character is Conall (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a fairy who is opposed to war and is a protector of Maleficent. After this the movie turns into something out of the Marvel movies with a long fight sequence between the humans and fairies with the humans producing a secret weapon to ensure their success. The movie goes back and forth between fight and warlike scenes to cute comical scenes involving cute small creatures of the forest including Thistlewit, Flittle and Knotgrass from the original film. There is also a female henchman, Gerda (Jenn Murray who some might remember as the emotional Lady Lucy Manwaring from Love & Friendship) who is something of a secret assassin of the Queen’s. The special effects are topnotch in true Disney fashion but the story tends to be formulaic and predictable. It’s a good one for true Disney fans to see, but is probably not for everyone.

Frozen II

Frozen II               4 stars

Six years after we met Elsa and Anna, the sister princesses of Arendelle, comes Frozen II, the sequel that finds the kingdom in danger from some unleashed magical spirits from the enchanted forest (if I understand this correctly). We again see the Disney magic with many colorful scenes and musical numbers that made the first movie such a hit. This time around the characters are dealing with some darker forces that have to do with magical spirits that threaten this land and it all has to do with a conflict in the past between the kingdom and another civilization that is now hidden in the enchanted forest. There is plenty of comedy provided by Olaf, the snowman and the lovable oaf Kristoff who is trying to figure out how to propose to his love, Anna. The story is definitely more complicated than the original Frozen and would be hard for young minds to follow, but that may not be all that important. There is a long hidden secret concerning Elsa and Anna’s dead parents that helps to explain the old conflict and why it is that Elsa has magic powers. It was all a little too confusing for me to follow, even. The outstanding cast of Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Josh Gad and Jonathan Groff is expanded with Sterling K. Brown and Evan Rachel Wood. The movie has a positive message for the kids about sticking together through challenges. Overall, it’s a good Disney movie suitable for young minds despite some of the darker moments.

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World      4 ½ stars

Last year brought the third chapter of the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy and it is a fitting ending to the story of the young Viking leader, Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and his close dragon friend, Toothless, who is always by Hiccup’s side. This time the Vikings of Berk are living peacefully with their dragon friends, but things have gotten very overcrowded. You could also call the movie, “How to Train Your Dragon: The Love Chapter”, as there is a new character in Toothless’ life, a female all white Light Fury, who has captured the attention of Toothless. There is a new villain also in the person of Grimmel (F. Murray Abraham), a master dragon trapper who together with the Trappers are seeking to put an end to the peaceful cooperation between the Vikings and their dragon friends. As the leader of the Vikings, Hiccup can see they cannot safely remain in their village and leads humans and dragons with the support of his girlfriend, Astrid (America Ferrera), in a search for the mysterious hidden world, the legendary land from which the dragons originated. The movie excels once again with the Disney animation we have seen in the previous chapters, (which go way back to 2010 believe it or not). Besides giving us the thrills of its action sequences, the movie is best when focusing on the friendship between Hiccup and Toothless, which resembles traditional movies dealing with a boy and his dog (or horse). But this time Hiccup faces the new challenge of facing what is best for Toothless and everyone in his world. This third chapter in the How to Train Your Dragon series, I think measures up to the quality of the original, something we rarely see in this age of multiple movie sequels.

Weathering With You

Weathering with You      4 ½ stars

Weathering with You is the creation of Japanese writer and director Makoto Shinkai, who has made several animated films, but this is the first that I have seen. The animation looks a lot like the animated films of Hayao Miyazaki, of which I have seen several, like Kiki’s Delivery Service. The story centers on teenager Hodaka who has run away from his small town for the big city of Tokyo. There the city is engulfed in horribly gloomy rain that reflects the circumstances of the runaway. While he is taken in by a man who seeks to exploit him in his gossip magazine business, Hodaka meets a young girl named Hina that he takes an immediate liking to. She also comes from an unfortunate home situation and has a younger sister and brother to look after. Hodaka discovers something very unusual about his new friend. Hina possesses the power of a Sunshine Girl, a being of a Japanese myth who is able to control the weather through prayer. Her explanation is that she came to be this way through her praying by her dying mother. The pair find that they are able to make a living off of this power by bringing sunshine to Tokyo for payment. They soon become quite the celebrities on social media, but find that this power comes at a price when it endangers their lives. The weather aspect of the movie reflects the mood on screen of the main character and has a message about climate change as Tokyo is threatened by the rising water level. I found the movie to have a dramatic message about the power of love and self-sacrifice. It has some very detailed animation of an urban landscape drenched in rain and some well placed songs to support the mood of the film. Shinkai is also known for his very successful earlier film in Japan called Your Name. I have not seen it but it apparently has a similar theme to Weathering with You and sounds like it would also be worthwhile to see.

I Lost My Body

I Lost My Body   4 stars

To call the animated French film I Lost My Body unconventional is certainly something of an understatement. The 81 minute film tells a story of a young Frenchman in Paris in three separate storylines. The first, animated in color, follows the journey of a severed hand that can move and has senses and thoughts of its own. The hand escapes from a refrigerator and travels through the city trying to find its body. Along the way it encounters many dangers such as a pigeon, a pack of ravenous rats and a playful dog. Hopefully, that doesn’t bother you too much. A second segment is a flashback to the childhood of Naoufel, the owner of the hand, who was a happy youngster, that is until both his parents were killed in a car crash and he had to live with an uncaring uncle. This part is all done in black and white and shows his dreams of the future. The third segment follows Naoufel as a young man (still with hands intact) struggling to survive by delivering pizzas in the city, something he is not very good at. Then one evening he has a brief encounter with a young woman, Gabrielle, via an apartment intercom where he was trying to make a delivery, and he senses that they have a connection. So he sets off to find out more about her in order to arrange a meeting again. Unfortunately, for Naoufel this quest might look more like stalking to some people. The animation is all hand drawn and done in a vivid manner that keeps your attention throughout the short movie. All of the segments have a common thread of dealing with loss and seeking to connect with those that we care about. If the unusual subject matter doesn’t turn you off, I would recommend seeing this animated movie. It is in French with subtitles. As it has an adult theme, it should not be viewed by children. The movie is unconventional and surprising with an uplifting message.

Klaus

Klaus                     4 stars

Klaus is an animated Christmas movie from last year that gives us a different take on the Christmas story of Santa. This beautifully animated tale tells a new origin story of Santa set in a cold village in the north where the residents all seem to resent one another. That is, until a young postman is assigned to the village and discovers an old carpenter who makes children’s toys. Jesper devises a way to get the toys delivered to the children of the town, but his motives may not be quite altruistic. If you haven’t seen Klaus yet, I suggest that you check it out this holiday season. The movie was nominated for a Best Animated Feature Academy Award.

Night of the Kings

Night of the Kings            3 suns

Night of the Kings is in the category of Spotlight meaning that it has been appearing at a number of film festivals prior to reaching Sundance. The story occurs inside a legendary prison in the Ivory Coast known as MACA. Though the army keeps the prisoners locked inside, the prison is really run by a prisoner known as Blackbeard. He and his friends use this control to profit from the prisoners. There is a tradition observed among the prisoners that during a red moon a “Roman” or storyteller is named who must entertain them with a great story told verbally. Thus, Blackbeard chooses a young prisoner who has just arrived and names him as the new Roman, so he gets the unenviable job. He is up to the task and weaves a fantastical story blending reality with legendary fables that enthralls the prisoners, sometimes to a frenzy. It is amazing that the filmmakers were able to pull this production off with a huge number of cast and extras. As a Westerner it is difficult to understand the beliefs being expressed here including the worship of someone who appears to be a common criminal.

Strawberry Mansion

Strawberry Mansion       5 suns

One of the weirdest full length films I have seen at Sundance has to be Strawberry Mansion. It is a most bizarre blend of the world of dreams with a very odd future as envisioned by the filmmakers. A dream tax auditor arrives at an elderly woman’s house for the purpose of reviewing her years of recorded dreams so that the required tax can be levied, since this is what you do in the future. The woman, Bella in alone and lonely so insists that the tax man stay and have treats like a strawberry ice cream and have dinner. The tax man views some of Bella’s dreams that feature her as a young woman. He also has his own dreams that always seem to involve ads for fried chicken and other products. (There is a lot of fried chicken in this movie!) It is only through Bella that the man learns the real reason for the ads as the two of them travel through a bizarre and colorful journey to strange lands and odd creatures (such as sailor rats and a blue demon). The amount of imagination and work that the two filmmakers put in will amaze you. This was a film that has been many years in the making. It’s only about an hour and a half long, but there is quite a story packed in that time. I thought it was one of the best I’ve seen.

Death of a Unicorn

Death of a Unicorn          3 stars

Death of a Unicorn by first time director Alex Scharfman combines two genres of movies that I really like to see: the skewering of the rich and the comedy horror creature feature. So, if you think you might enjoy seeing some greedy ultra-rich bastards get what they deserve thanks to a murderous monster, this one could be for you. As is the case with most monster horror movies, there are some bad choices made by the characters that lead to unfortunate results for them. It features a few well-known stars and despite some unconvincing special effects, it is entertaining to watch. We meet lawyer Elliot (Paul Rudd of Ant-Man, Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Knocked Up) and his teenage daughter Ridley (Jenna Ortega of Wednesday) who are on their way to meet with his client, Odell Leopold (Richard E. Grant of Salt Burn) at their isolated mansion in the mountains, so that he can get him to sign a new contract. (Remember one of my first rules from the movies: If a billionaire invites you to their isolated mansion/compound, DO NOT accept!) Leopold and his family are major players in the Pharma industry and even have a live in security force and access to some top pharmaceutical researchers. On the drive to the mansion Elliot collides with an animal on the road that looks like a young horse like creature with a long horn on its forehead, injuring the animal. Not wanting to get caught by local authorities, Elliott bashes its head with a tire iron, spraying the animal’s blood all over poor Ridley and loads the dead animal into the back of the car. Later, during the meeting with Leopold (who is dying of cancer), his privileged wife (Tea Leoni of Tower Heist and Fun with Dick and Jane) and screw up son (Will Poulter of Midsommar and The Revenant) the unicorn in the car is discovered since it’s not really dead, so it is killed again. The group is fascinated by the fact that Ridley’s acne has cleared up after coming in contact with the creature’s blood. Naturally, the thing to do is to have the creature’s blood analyzed by Leopold’s scientists. They soon discover that it has mysterious healing powers so Leopold volunteers to consume some of the samples (as you do) and of course, his cancer is instantly cured! So, the greedy family must find a way to capitalize on this amazing discovery and make a ton of money. Ridley does some online research of her own and discovers some dangerous aspects of the legend of unicorns dating from the Middle Ages and tries to warn Leopold and family, but they aren’t willing to listen, since that would interfere with their plans to make more money. Things go predictably bad when Mama and Papa, two very large unicorns come looking for junior and aren’t at all pleased that these humans have killed him. What follows is a prolonged killing spree as the creatures hunt down their prey in quite violent and bloody fashion. Of course, most of the characters make one bad decision after another resulting in their being skewered and ripped apart by the pair of hooved parents. The animals are even smart enough to cut communication and power to the mansion. The writing for these ultra-rich idiots wasn’t the most convincing and the special effects creating the unicorns had a cheesy look to it. Better movies attacking the ultra-rich would be The Glass Onion and The Triangle of Sadness. For more entertaining comedy monster movies look for Werewolves Within, Shadow in the Cloud, The Dead Don’t Die and of course, the ever-popular Cocaine Bear. The movie is far from perfect but does provide a fun time for comedy horror fans. We will have to wait for a later attempt at combining attacks on the ultra-rich with a killer monster for something even better.