Movie Madness!

GAMERA, GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE

With an advance teaser trailer for next summer's Godzilla set to begin running in theaters this week, surely there'll be wise guys in the crowd shouting out, "Hey! What about Gamera?!" Ah, yes. Gamera, the giant prehistoric jet-propelled fire-breathing flying turtle - friend to all children and butt of a thousand jokes on Mystery Science Theater 3000. Back in the '60s, when Toho Studios Godzilla series was raking in millions, rival studio Daiei decided to cash in by creating their own monster. Though the Gamera movies boasted some truly interesting and original ideas, their main distinction is that they're some of the silliest monster movies ever made - too silly even for their intended audience of small children. Each one was even goofier and cheaper than the one before, and by the time of the ninth entry in the series - 1980's abominable Gamera, Supermonster - they mostly consisted of stock footage from earlier films. Gamera was last seen sacrificing his life out in space to save mankind (and to save us all from further sequels.

Well, prepare yourself for a shock. Not only is Gamera back in a new series of films (inspired by the resurgence of Godzilla mania in the '90s), but they're actually good! Made at a lower budget than the Godzilla films, they more than make up for it with talent, imagination, and attitude. This first film (the 1996 sequel Gamera 2: Legion has been picked up stateside by Disney and another sequel is on the way) sets a serious tone, detailing the discovery of dangerous prehistoric flying monsters called Gyaos and the subsequent reappearance of Gamera. Though mankind seeks the destruction of all, it's soon learned that the Gyaos were created by a lost advanced civilization as a shortsighted bio-engineering experiment gone wrong and Gamera was created to battle the man-eating beasts - and whatever others should threaten mankind.

Okay, so the plot still may sound a little ridiculous, but it's all handled in such a straightforward manner, and the action moves along so swiftly, that it's easy to suspend disbelief and enjoy the ride. Little touches help a great deal, such as the when it's explained that the Japanese Defense Force is legally unable to attack Gamera unless the monster clearly attacks them first (until the government gives them official clearance), and that the appearance of giant beasts sends the stock exchange into a panic. Great promise is shown in the performance of young actress Ayako Fujitani (daughter of US action star Steven Seagal) in her first big starring role.

Gamera has been making its way around the country in roadshow fashion, so it may be hard to catch in your area - but even if you have to wait for its video appearance, this is definitely a picture that knows how to deliver an old fashioned monster show in a whole new way. ½

HERCULES

The movie musical is alive and well - but only in animated form. Over the past decade, the Disney animation department has been carefully honing their entertainment formula - a well-balanced story, likable characters, some Broadway style songs, and funny animal sidekicks - mix it all up and ice it with enough hype to make every kid in America feel like they absolutely must see it (and get all the merchandise). It's all such a sinister conspiracy that I'd be forced to heap criticism upon the entire process - if it weren't for the fact that the movies are so darned entertaining.

This summer Disney delivers their 35th animated feature, and it's not a disappointment. Cleverly, they've made it appear entirely different than the operatic Hunchback of Notre Dame. There's still an underdog hero, a scheming villain, a plucky love interest, and various kooky supporting characters - but this time they went about it in an entirely different style. Hercules tells the story of what happens when the son of God (or Zeus, if you prefer) comes to Earth as a mortal man, and must prove himself a true hero before he can return to Heaven (Mt. Olympus). Along the way, he is tempted by Satan (Hades) and a fallen woman, but despite all he eventually gains the worship of multitudes. It's an old story, but Disney peps it up with hordes of hip contemporary gags and references, much like The Flintstones. The art is radiant with colors and drawn jazzy curves, loops and sharp angles. Further abetting the design edge is some grandiose computer-assisted creations and a full range of audio enhancements - Herc faces off against some truly awesome monsters.

A further advancement of their efforts to make each picture an event was in evidence at the Saturday morning screening I attended: theater staff dressed up in togas and sandals, gave away prizes, and even performed a song and dance number in the lobby - a welcome return to the kind of ballyhoo that we don't see much of anymore.

Hercules is fast moving, funny, thoughtful, and full of delightful visual invention - once again meeting Disney's goal of providing perfect family entertainment.

THE PILLOW BOOK

Writer/director Peter Greenaway (Prospero's Books) returns with yet another of his tales of love, sex, revenge and bizarre post-mortems. Vivian Wu plays a woman with a strange fetish for calligraphy on human skin, the overwhelming passion of her life. To honor her father, a writer forced (?) into an arrangement that required him to service his publisher sexually, she seeks to have her own writing accepted by the same publisher. Failing initially, she hits upon a brilliantly wicked scheme to get his attention.

Greenaway takes his sweet time building up his story, keeping up interest with an ingenious moving collage of overlapping images and one of the best musical soundtracks I've heard in ages. When it picks up momentum, it does so not in its pacing, but with its emotions and bizarre situations. It's a deliciously deceptive work of poetry that gently works its way into your nervous system before it starts giving it some good hard tugs. An artist who can wrap the most exploitative elements in a slick art house package, with The Pillow Book Greenaway has taken an idea inspired by an ancient diary and given us another relentless new vision.

SPIKE & MIKE'S SICK & TWISTED FESTIVAL OF ANIMATION

As an animation student, I used to hang out with my contemporaries over a few beers (or whatever else we could smuggle into school) and try to come up with project ideas for cartoon shorts. Inevitably we'd start trading jokes. We'd get drunker, the jokes would get sicker, and before too long a group of us would commit to working on a film based on what we thought was the funniest material we'd ever heard. After a few weeks of much more sober work and planning, we'd come upon the shocking truth: we were wasting our time on something that wasn't really so funny after all.

This annual collection of shorts is the product of what happens when all those bad unfunny ideas for cartoons dreamed up by drunken college students are given misguided encouragement. Although a few of the shorts (such as Bill Plympton's latest) show signs that they may be amusing when taken on their own, and some show a great deal of talent at work, when presented as a parade of one toilet joke after another it becomes all too clear that Spike and (the late) Mike should've left most of this stuff alone to fade away naturally. I don't care how sick and twisted it is - if a joke is funny, it doesn't matter what it's about. Unfortunately, almost none of this collection is at all funny.

Front Page || Movie Madness