Coco

Coco is a film I could barely wait to see. After hearing nothing but praise over the past couple of months from American critics, Disney's odd strategy of staggering the release of its animated films in the UK has finally seen the day that Pixar's latest is unleashed on audiences. Everyone knows the narrative of Pixar at this point - great early films that developed into genuine commercial works of art before petering out with uninspired stories and sequels to its classic/not so classic films with an occasional odd blip of brilliance. The fact is - Pixar is not the same studio it used to be. A lot of the talent has either moved or are in different roles that negate a more hands on approach. 

One of the few still carrying the torch is Lee Unkrich, a co-director and editor for years at Pixar (assisting on films such as Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc and Finding Nemo). For his first credit as director, Unkrich was entrusted with the final entry in the Toy Story trilogy and returns with his wonderful second feature, Coco, a hauntingly beautiful film that possibly carries on the spirit of the studio's very best. 

Coco is filled with the usual unbridled Pixar imagination with great characters and emotionally hefty plot

We follow young Miguel who longs to be a musician, like his movie-star hero Ernesto De La Cruz. The only problem - his family has banned playing and performing music. This goes back generations, as Miguel's great-great grandmother had her heart broken by a musician who abandoned her and strictly forbade her children from enjoying music (instead encouraging them to be shoemakers). Not wanting to be tied down to the family business, Miguel steals De La Cruz's guitar from his tomb but finds himself transported to the Land of the Dead. Finding himself surrounded by skeleton spirits of the deceased (all trying to make it over to the land of the living for Dia De Muertos), it's not long before he bumps into bumbling deadbeat Hector. To get home, Miguel must seek a blessing from a deceased family member. The new friends team up in hopes of finding his mysterious musical great-great grandfather, who walked out on his family years ago ... 

Coco, in a way, oddly reminds me of animation masterpiece Spirited Away. Young protagonist (both, coincidentally, aged 12) stumbles into an ethereal world inhabited by spirits. Certainly, Miyazaki's hand can be felt in the frankness of how the skeletons are dealt with and the overall look of the world. The Land of the Dead is a masterpiece of art design, lit by a beautiful fluorescent colour scheme with the most striking element being the bridge formed from marigold petals. Better yet, the whole setting is utilised well as a great stage from Miguel and Hector's adventures. Though the living world shouldn't be forgotten either - the streets of Miguel's home town have an almost photo-realistic look to them, adorned by candles as the residents await the festivities of Dia De Muertos. 

Coco is a design masterpiece that has a bit of a Studio Ghibli vibe to it

What is commendable is the sheer amount of respect given towards Mexican culture. The nature of Dia de Muertos is explained well, the cool idea of alebrije or spirit animals is full explored and local food, music and architecture feels authentic. I'm sure some will cry afoul at Disney appropriating yet another culture. But here's the thing. To quote YouTuber Lindsay Ellis "cultural appropriation is a neutral term". In our media, there are both positive and negative examples of cultural appropriation. One only needs to look at some of Disney's previous efforts to find negative ones (*cough* Pocahontas *cough*). It's a loaded term that I don't want to get into here. I would say Coco continues in a similar line to Disney's recent films (such as Moana) - respectful to the culture, with an entirely Latin American cast, that uses Dia De Muertos as a launching point to tell an exciting and emotionally packed story where the young audiences might actually learn something, whilst also getting a universal message. So, for me anyway, I have no issue with Coco in terms of its appropriateness. 

Politics aside, the fact that I'm a blubbering wreck at the end of the film shows that Coco casts a powerful spell. Every beat of the story lands and every character moment feels earned, so when we reach the emotional climax of the film, an intimate small affair, its deeply sad but incredibly satisfying. There's a lot of time dedicated to setting up the rules of how the world works but when things get moving it becomes a enveloping experience. Miguel is an incredibly likeable protagonist and every character he meets on his way has their own distinct and memorable personality. I do particularly like Hector, a tragic figure who can't cross into the living world on Dia De Muertos because nobody remembers him. Which leads into a piece of music that links this all together - the song Remember Me, which has the emotional resonance to possibly become one of the future classic Disney songs (written by Frozen's song writing duo). In fact music is, of course, a huge element in Coco with a bunch of wonderful songs performed with pure unadulterated emotion. 

It struck me as well that Coco has one of the rarest of things in mass family entertainment - a real third act. Now isn't that a novelty. 

Time will tell if Coco stands as one of Pixar's all-time greats but for now we have a wonderful new film from the former masters of Western animation. Exhilarating, colourful and packing in an emotional wallop, Coco is everything you'd want from a Pixar film and a little bit more. Every story beat is pitch perfect and there's just this lively pace to the whole thing, helped by its gorgeous animation and colour scheme. If you have kids - take them to see Coco. If you don't, who cares because a quality film is a quality film - go see Coco. 

My Pixar rankings, if you're interested:

Ratatouille > Wall.E > Up > Toy Story 2 > The Incredibles > Toy Story 3 > Inside Out > Toy Story > Finding Nemo > Monsters Inc. > A Bug's Life > Finding Dory > Brave > Monsters University > Cars > The Good Dinosaur  

I haven't seen the Cars sequels, so they're not on there, and I need time to mull over where Coco stands... 

The Post

Somehow, a new Steven Spielberg film has come out without me having any prior knowledge of its release. I've gone on record before as being a Steven Spielberg apologist. No, apologist isn't the right word - more like defender. Fact is: I love his films (for the most part). In some hardcore film circles, Spielberg is the equivalent of the devil - the destroyer of the 1970s New Wave of Hollywood. Someone who took the sensibilities of the exciting / radical European and Japanese directors of the 1950s and 60s and morphed them into mainstream entertainment. And while he has a few turkeys, I think he has a consistent filmography and has continued to make mostly good movies to this day. And his highs are just so high - Jaws, E.T., Close Encounters, Indiana Jones, Schindler's List... I even really like A.I. (a mis-understood and underrated masterpiece in my opinion...). The fact is it takes a real master of the form to do what Spielberg does. And mainstream doesn't necessarily relate to "less intelligent" films. There is nothing wrong with making quality films made for a mass audience and being good at it. And he is damn good at it.

I have welcomed his return to more adult orientated historical based dramas with open arms, with films such as Lincoln and Bridge of Spies. In a similar vein comes The Post, a taut political thriller, that might not be one of the director's all time bests but showcases some excellent performances, rich and confident filmmaking and grapples with some fairly timely issues through its historical narrative.

The Post is an effective look into the workings of The Washington Post's attempts to uncover decades of government cover up of the Vietnam War

We open in throes of the Vietnam War in the mid-60s, perfectly encapsulating the madness, terror and  atmosphere that has defined this conflict. Disillusioned by the war and disgusted at the depths of deception by the US government to cover up the futility of the conflict, military analyst Daniel Ellsberg copies top secret government documents that would eventually be published as the infamous Pentagon Papers. The 7000 page document was commissioned by JFK and LBJ's Secretary of Defence Robert McNamara, and contained detailed findings of the US' involvement in the Vietnam War between 1945-1967 - the report ultimately concluded that it was a war that could not be won yet rattled on anyway out of a fear of a US defeat.

Through a series of circumstances, the papers end up in the hands of The Washington Post. Wanting to one up rival newspaper The New York Times (who also have a fraction of the copies made but have had a federal embargo placed on a them), editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) and owner Kay Graham (Meryl Streep) grapple with the ethical and moral positions of publishing the documents whilst also walking the tight rope of the business interests of the paper. The two must overcome their differences, risk their careers and potentially their freedom, as it is revealed that the government and four former US presidents have been covering up the truth about Vietnam for decades...

Hanks is excellent but the film really belongs to Streep's Kay Graham as the film builds a quietly feminist tale of a woman asserting herself in a male dominated business

The film's heart really is the conflict of differences between Graham and Bradlee. Bradlee is a newspaper type guy - he believes in the integrity, journalism and that they should publish. Tom Hanks storms around the newsroom just the way you'd want him to but it is mostly left to Streep to mull over the moral quandary of what it means to publish a story like this. The character has a lot to deal with as she considers the business interests of the family owned paper, weigh up how this is going to affect the paper's business interests long term, along with the threats of legal action by the US government, how this will affect the ongoing conflict in Vietnam and the sense of betrayal by her friend McNamara (who commissioned the papers) for not coming forth with the information. And Streep is just as brilliant as you'd expect her to be. Her body language is wonderful and the way she fights to try and assert herself is clear in every facial expression and action she takes as the character. I actually like the film's efforts to reposition the story as a quietly feminist tale about a real woman battling for control of her own company in a male-dominated business. Graham was, after all, the first women to be the owner of a major US newspaper.

Of course the film that many critics have compared it to is All The President's Men and while The Post can't quite match that classic, I would say it does succeed on its own terms. Spielberg effectively builds this incredibly claustrophobic atmosphere, aided by a fairly subdued John Williams score and cinematographer Janusz Kaminski (famous for his over-exposed style). In fact, it looks the way I wish Spotlight would. Similar in its plot with journalists working to expose a well-guarded secret, Spotlight, while a very good film, suffered from being a bit dry in places and I think this was mostly down to its visual style. You only need to compare a sequence of Spotlight to a sequence in The Post to show which one is more visually interesting. There are some scenes that hammer the points home a bit too overtly and the films does sometimes lack the propulsion that, to its credit, Spotlight had. It's more elegantly done as opposed to electrifying.

The result is a slow build that pays off with a rich and satisfying third act that makes good on the promise of the premise - grappling with journalistic integrity and governmental control of information. In an age where our governments are considering what we view on the Internet and the concept of truth is a malable term, Spielberg takes a real historical event from a time when information was more finite to explore how these issues still affect us today. The Post is an inspirational story about small people triumphing over those in control. Yet it is also a chilling reminder that those who claim to serve our best interests actively filter and manipulate how we view the world. Spielberg pulls all this off in a film that may not not stand as one of his all time greats (or even in this genre) but still feels effortless, classy, entertaining and timely.

One thing I didn't care for was the final two minutes. The film very effectively wraps up before cutting to what can only be described as a Marvel-style post credit scene. You'll see what I mean when you see the film.

Studio Ghibli: A Retrospective, Part Ten - Pom Poko

I'll get it out of the way now.

This is the Studio Ghibli film in which magical, shape-shifting racoons use their testicles as weapons. 

And you thought Rocket Racoon was dirty...

Now this is maybe crude, a bit insensitive and a way to draw my readers in but I think it's a good place to start when exploring the transnational nature of Pom Poko, Isao Takahata's third film for Studio Ghibli. So a bit of context is needed, I think, on the tanuki. Tanuki are in fact real canine animals native to Japan. Japan places an interesting emphasis on mythological creatures called yokai. These are essentially a collection of animals or demons who share magical properties. The fox is a famous example of this - this creature pops up all over Japanese mythology as sly, intelligent and came complete with shape-shifting abilities. However, by the 16th century foxes fell out of style with Japanese artists and began to focus instead on the loveable tanuki, imbuing them with some fox attributes, mostly the shape-shifting and the sneaky, mis-chief maker side. However, over the years, new attributes were added, such as laziness, eating, belly drumming and .. giant testicles. Tanuki went on to have an interesting design change over the decades but eventually became known as being fat and silly looking, leaving behind the mischievous nature of their past. And their exploits and general charm continue to delight Japan to this day. Tanuki statues are everywhere in Japan. The point of this is that tanuki are big in Japan, bigger than big - they're an everyday part of the greater pop cultural psyche. Think of them being like fairies for western children. In this regard, I think Pom Poko, from a Western perspective, is very hard to gauge with. Magical testicles is just a standard part of tanuki myths for Japanese audiences, so it should come as no surprise that this is a big plot point of Pom Poko - for a Western audience, on the other hand, this a major talking point of the film and often how conversations about it start!

Pom Poko, while having several good elements, ultimately becomes a bit of a bore

A good example of modern tanuki, which can be found all over Japan

I like to use Pom Poko as an example of how reception to a film can change according to the country and broader cultural context. To be honest, I find this element much more interesting than the film itself. Unfortunately, like Ocean Waves, I find Pom Poko to be a bit under-whelming. Overall, I prefer it to Ocean Waves, due to some great creativity and genuinely excellent scenes, but the choices on how to tell the story are genuinely baffling to me. Takahata uses this story as a springboard to explore the theme of the price of progress against the cost of nature, a recurrent theme for Ghibli but does little in terms of character or narrative.

Pom Poko follows the plight of a tribe of tanuki living near Tokyo. They enjoy a lazy lifestyle in the pristine countryside. However, disaster strikes when construction men begin to dig up their homes in the forest to make way for a large urban development project. The tanuki band together to formulate a long term plan on how to stop the humans. This includes re-learning how to shape-shift (a key aspect of the mythology and a sign of how lazy the tanuki have become) and seek the ancient masters, scattered across Japan, to help them in their time of need. However, idealogical difference begin to spring up between the tanuki as the ticking time bomb to save their homes and life-style edges closer and closer. 

Pom Poko has characters ... I think?

So the film's biggest problem is how the story is told. While there's a lot I like about the film, which mostly comes in the final act, the proceeding time is plodding and mostly directionless. Instead of having a firm central character, we continually shift to different perspectives with little time given to establish their personalities outside of a one-note character motif. This style can work. I recently saw the sweet Wonder, which shifts between multiple different characters to understand how they feel and interact with the film's main character. It's well done and works, due to the story being relatively small-scale. Pom Poko's stakes are higher, with the whole of the tanuki's homes at risk of being demolished. The lack of central character really harms this for me. The narrator as well doesn't really do much for me either. Instead of experiencing character motive, we are simply told that a character feels this way before dropping us into their situation and are then expected to care. Unfortunately, this mentality makes up most of the film. I think it's meant to evoke a historical document to give added weight to the proceedings but it just ends up making the narrative a bit dull. We see the tanuki taught by the elders of the tribe to re-connect with their shape-shifting powers and the early attempts to sway humans to their side (through violent means, which can only be described as ecological terrorism). They also send a couple of tanuki on a heroic quest to track the old masters, now scattered across Japan, to help them in their plight. And, yes, the men are also taught how to use their ball sacks as weapons.... We do have a handful of characters to follow - the bland Shoukichi, the hot-headed Gonta .... that older woman tanuki? ....Shokichi's friend? ...oh and his partner...? Then there's that one with scarf.... .... The fact is this - I've had to look up the character names on Wikipedia, even though I've seen this film three times now...The training of the tanuki makes up a huge chunk of the film and with no interesting characters to latch onto, it makes the whole thing a bit of a bore. The only enjoyable element is the animation, particularly when they begin to mimic humans. Oh, and I love their addiction to watching TV, which distracts from their training. 

Now, that said, some elements of the film really works for me. The parade that the tanuki perform through the streets of Tokyo, to scare the residents at large to re-think the urban development plans, is a wonderful sequence and brilliantly animated. Every character from Japanese mythology can think of is here and it is a genuinely fun sequence. Now from a Japanese perspective, the illusions here are probably very recognisable from the lessons taught in primary school but to a Western audience, the scene is exotic and very strange. See that transnational element popping up again. Keep an eye out for cameos from Totoro, Porco and Kiki as well. I love that the residents completely mis-interpret the parade and a huge corporation claim it as their own publicity stunt, completely undermining the tanuki's intent. I love the sense that, despite everything they do, there is simply no stopping human progress. An interesting element crops up in the second half when the tanuki learn that fellow mystical creatures, the foxes (also shape-shifters) have integrated into human society, now working as sneaky and manipulative businessmen (perfect for the infamous creature as represented in Japanese folklore). Could this be a way out for tanuki?

Despite major problems with the problems, Pom Poko has several excellent individual sequences and a nuanced, bittersweet message about preservation of the natural world

The end is pitch perfect. After fighting and fighting for the whole film, the tanuki ultimately can't stop the urban development. Many of their comrades have died and all hope is lost. I love the scene of the one tanuki, who comes back after years of searching for one of the old masters, finds his home completely destroyed and changed. A beautiful sequence sees all the remaining tanuki come together to perform one last grand illusion, temporarily restoring the urbanised area back to it original state, to remind humans of what has been lost. However, I like the film's message that life must move on, in a bittersweet way. Some tanuki use their skills like the foxes and blend into society as normal humans. The ones who can't shape shift struggle to adapt but continue to eke out a form of living for themselves. The urban development does take into account the environmental and ecological issues that the tanuki's actions invariably brought up and turn parts of it into a sustainable green park. However, these areas are simply too small for them, so many have to leave to find new homes out in the further parts of the country. Honestly, it's a touching and well-made coda that I wish I cared about more. The points are considered and offer a balanced portrayal of the fate of the tanuki, urban development and human caused extinction...until one of the characters literally turns and talks to the camera about the importance of looking after animals and their environment...You know, we've not touched upon this yet but I really do love the way Ghibli subtlety weaves the environmental messages of their films into the narratives and doesn't hit you over the head with it ... this moment is particularly egregious because the 10 minutes before do offer a fairly nuanced take on the effects of interfering with an ecosystem, both the positives and the negatives... so this part where a character directly talks to the audience is just heavy-handed, out of place and ends the film on a sour note.

I will give Pom Poko this though - as opposed to Western ecologically heavy films, such as Ferngully, the film does not paint the humans as being the manifestation of pure evil. Just mis-informed, unaware and ill-educated. This is a good addition. 

There's a great film in Pom Poko but it's far from being a classic Ghibli

Pom Poko is a film I severely wish I could like more. I do think there's a great film in there, as evidenced by the parade and ending coda sequences. However, the decision to continually shift the perspectives means that it's hard to get a grasp on the individuals characters. This film really could have done with a central focus - a firm character that the audience follows which would then work as a springboard to explore the other personalities of the tribe. There is creativity abound in the film, especially for a Western audience new to this material. While this is fairly standard primary school stuff for a Japanese audience, Pom Poko does offer an entry way for Western audiences to engage with wider Japanese mythology. All that said though, Pom Poko just ends up feeling over long and plain dull in some parts. A few great sequences aside and some wonderful animation can't make up for a lacking script.

Next time, we get out of the mini-Ghibli rut of the early 90s with a really good one - Whisper of the Heart. Country roads, take me home ... 

Serious props to this YouTuber for his excellent video about the history and legacy of tanuki! He even explains just what the deal is with the tanuki scrotum thing... I learned a lot!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icyOAc_pAvY

The English dub ... is completely forgettable. I've seen it once a long time ago and it left no mark on me whatsoever. You've got J.K. Simmons in there and the always awesome Tress MacNeille. Weirdly it also has Jonathan Taylor Thomas, who is probably most famous as the voice of Young Simba in The Lion King. 

The Dark Crystal

Weird warning but ... some spoilers for The Last Jedi in the first paragraph...

I've always held a budding respect for Jim Henson. While I don't think he has ever produced an out-right masterpiece, his commitment to legitimising the art of on-screen puppetry is an inspirational story all of its own. Most famous for creating the iconic Muppets, Henson had a long history in the entertainment world. He helped to develop shows such as Sesame Street, quite possibly the most influential childrens' series of all time, and on-screen puppet creatures such as Yoda. This in turn led to the other artists using the technique to create characters such as E.T., the queen alien in Aliens or the contorted creatures in The Thing. Then there was his mid-80s cult favourite Labyrinth, which has taken on a second life as an all time classic following the death of its star David Bowie in 2016. His influence spreads even to this very day. One of my favourite TV shows, Farscape, made extensive use of the Jim Henson Workshop to create its many alien creatures. While the wider industry marches on into the route of bland CGI, The Last Jedi took the brave move of bringing Yoda back as a puppet. Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy made use of several practical effects, inspired by the puppetry techniques of old. Arguably, without Henson, this creative visual effect wouldn't exist. Henson occupies a special place in many film fans' hearts, especially those who love the fantasy genre. 

In the early 1980s, Henson wanted to create a project that would legitimise the artistry of puppetry. Something on the scale of Tolkien or Guin or Lewis. In addition, he would draw upon the fairy-tale traditions of Grimm and the design work of Brian Froud (who was hired as the art designer for the project). He wanted to make a film that would prove that his profession could produce works more than just funny, light-hearted ventures such as those featured in The Muppets or Sesame Street. He wanted to approach this project with a kind of reverence that had not been seen on film or TV. This would eventually morph into The Dark Crystal, released in 1982 (itself an incredible year for fantasy/horror/sci-fi cinema). In an interview just before the film's release, Henson had this to say about the project, which shows how strongly he felt about it:

"So you know that my feeling about puppetry relates to stylization, simplicity, boiling down to - it's a wonderful form and I really love it. But with The Dark Crystal, instead of puppetry we're trying to go toward a sense of realism - toward a reality of creatures that are actually alive and we're mixing up puppetry and all kinds of other techniques. It's into the same bag as E.T. and Yoda, wherein you're trying to create something that people will actually believe, but it's not so much a symbol of the thing, but you're trying to do the thing itself" (1)

The Dark Crystal establishes a strange mythology set on the planet of Thra. A thousand years before the events of the film, a magical crystal cracked creating two new races - the vile Skeksis, who now rule the world and use the power of the crystal to continually replenish their life force, and the gentle and wise Mystics. We are then introduced to Jen, a member of a long extinct race called gelflings. He was adopted by the Mystics after the death of his parents. He is told by his ancient master that he must go on a quest to track down the missing shard of the crystal in order to heal the object. With an astronomical event known as the Grand Conjuration fast approaching, in which the Skeksis will draw power from the three aligning suns via the crystal to secure dominance over the world, Jen has mere days to hunt down the missing shard. It has also been prophesied that the Skeksis will be drafted by gelfling hand, so a lot is riding on this quest. Along the way, Jen meets up with another gelfling named Kira and the two embark on this do or die quest to the Skeksis castle to restore life to the crystal...

The film's strongest aspect is above and away the special effects. I would argue that there has never been a fantasy world created on screen as bizarre and alien as the one in The Dark Crystal. While I think the world building is a bit rushed, plenty of time is given to showcasing the incredible work and personalities of the creatures created for the film. There are too many wonderful and beautifully realised designs to count. The Skeksis are the highlight of the film - they almost look like anthropomorphised crows cooked in a nuclear oven. And their personalities are really clear as well- indulgent and aristocratic. On the other hand, there are the Mystics, who just ooze ancient knowledge from the design of the creature, with their long arcing backs and heavy brows, to the way they are performed. I think the best of all though are the giant Landstriders, performed by actors raised on all fours by stilts (think of the giraffes in The Lion King stage musical). This scene, in which Jen and Kira ride on their backs, is simply breath-taking. There are some effects and creatures in this film that just mystify me in how they were accomplished, in particular when Jen is venturing through the living forest, where anything and everything can move. Every creature in the film is a conceptual and technical marvel (with the exception of one, which I'll get to). 

It's not just the puppets either - there are some absolutely gorgeous matte paintings of the extreme fantasy landscapes that remind me of prog-album cover artist Roger Dean. The music as well, by Trevor Jones, is as evocative as everything else - fairy tale like and whimsical masking a hidden darkness and sadness. This contributes to the wonderful tone that the film creates. While the film is light on plot, which again I'll get to, it does somewhat make up for it through a strange and dream-like atmosphere throughout. I like how the film throws some complex mythology at you and places you straight into its fantasy world. It kind of continues at its own pace as Jen explores the remains of this world. The whole film is shot with a tinge of twilight to it, with soft oranges permeating the frame, giving a fairytale atmosphere to the story, yet also evoking an end of an era vibe. 

Jim Henson surrounded by the incredibly varied line up of creatures featured in The Dark Crystal

Despite drawing upon traditional, more gentle fantasy design, the film does go to some fairly dark places. The Skeksis make use of the crystal to draw the life force out of creatures to keep them living. The gelflings were hunted down to extinction as they offered the most potent life force. There's a pretty disturbing scene in which a captured podling (cute potato-like creatures) is strapped to a chair and his essence stolen from him leaving him as an empty husk. The Skeksis keep the now zombie-like podlings as their personal slaves...definitely not something that would appear on Sesame Street! Honestly, it's fairly uncomfortable stuff and something that modern children's films wouldn't even dream of touching. That's what I respect about 80s childrens' films - they are not afraid to make children .. well afraid. A big part of fantasy adventure stories is the journey itself, which isn't always a happy or fun experience. Kids can handle a lot more than studios think and when their favourite characters conquer darkness, it's even more satisfying - it draws them into the story even more, as long as it is measured. Just look at Return to Oz for a great example of this. 

I think the best thing about The Dark Crystal, outside of the technical feats, is that it led to Labyrinth. I know it would be easy to write off Labyrinth as the more commercial of the two films. Labyrinth features human characters, a big star in David Bowie and is also a musical (you remind me of the babe ... and you know the next bit). And while Labyrinth is far from being a perfect film, which I'll maybe discuss one day, it does a couple of things better than The Dark Crystal; clear character arcs and a human connection. The Dark Crystal is fun, to a degree, in how alien the whole thing is. However, in my opinion, this makes it difficult to engage with the characters. Labyrinth sets Sarah out on a clear, well-defined character arc. Labyrinth is also light on plot but it is episodic in nature and tactile in its story-telling. The opening 5 minutes perfectly set up Sarah's character before dropping her into Bowie's labyrinth ... From there, we can begin the quest. Every encounter Sarah has on the journey directly contributes to her growth producing a film that is light on plot but satisfying from a character perspective. While I praised the strange constant tone of The Dark Crystal earlier, it is also the film's biggest curse. In its "alieness", The Dark Crystal loses that human connection. In a way, I commend the film for not having human characters but at the same time the replacement for this doesn't quite work, for me anyway. The puppets for Jen and Kira, while wonderful from a concept point of view, are a little bit ... lifeless, which is odd since Henson is so brilliant at communicating emotions with his puppets. I think this severely harms the emotional core of the film and, coupled with the light plot, makes our heroes' arcs somewhat underwhelming and difficult to care for. Outside of some intrigue with an outcast Skeksis, the film doesn't really offer much in terms of its narrative. It develops in exactly the way you expect it to and, coupled with our main characters being fairly bland, makes for an oddly uneventful film, despite the incredible set pieces and locations (if that makes any sense). I think for me, it's the standard hero's journey/prophecy plot line that I most object to in the film; everything else is so wonderful and bizarre, it's a bit of a shame more time couldn't have been spent on fleshing out the arcs of the main characters and finding a way to undermine the traditional hero's tale or at least do something new with it. 

While The Dark Crystal must be applauded for its "alieness", it loses out on the human connection and clear character arcs when compared to Henson's follow-up Labyrinth

Overall, from a story perspective, I would call The Dark Crystal under-whelming. Very under-whelming. However, from a technical stand point and for maintaining a constant, dream-like mood, The Dark Crystal is still, just about, a worthy recommendation. Clearly, it has stuck with its many fans. Next month, the film will be enjoying a rare re-release in cinemas in a brand new 4K restoration. The film's legacy survives in various different mediums, such as books, comics, games, music (metal maestro Devin Townsend wrote a song about the Skeksis for the album Alien and would use the creatures as a launch point in creating his musical cypher for the album Ziltoid the Omniscient) and even an upcoming Netflix Original Series. The project, entitled The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, purports to be a 10 episode prequel series exploring the world created in the original film. For me, its the ambition of The Dark Crystal that stands out to me. I can't think of any films quite like it; a whole film with no human characters with a cast made up entirely of puppets. To be honest, this is probably about as bold as mainstream fantasy cinema has got. I don't think every element works but it does succeed at creating a strange fantasy world inhabited by interesting creatures and jaw-dropping visual effects. I think especially in the era of CGI heavy films, The Dark Crystal has a true artistry with its mostly in-camera effects. If you can look past the weak story, The Dark Crystal offers a pretty trippy adventure into unbridled creativity. 

References:

1. http://www.muppetcentral.com/articles/interviews/jim2.shtml (accessed 06/01/2018)

Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi

Spoilers ahead

Have we reached over-saturation of Star Wars now? Disney's seemingly never ending march to produce Star Wars films until the end of time threatens to, in my opinion, undermine what made the original films so special in the first place. Things seemed to be in good hands at first. The Force Awakens, while far from perfect, was a bright and zippy nostalgic adventure that managed to make us care about a whole new cast of characters whilst being somewhat true to the intent of the series. However, some felt the film was ... too similar to the original films. While I didn't mind the "greatest hits" mentality to the film, I would be lying if I said that I didn't want something a bit more fresh. Couple this with 2016's incredibly bland Rogue One and reports of a disastrous production for the Han Solo solo film, suddenly The Last Jedi had a lot to prove for me. It needed to prove that this sequel trilogy could move past relying on the original series for inspiration and story beats. It needed to convince me that Disney was justified in deciding to continue the series. But, most importantly, it needed to remind me of why I fell in love with Star Wars in the first place. Fortunately, The Last Jedi is one of the most surprising and fresh films in this franchise for a very long time.

Using The Empire Strikes Back as a loose template (which is where most comparison can end), The Last Jedi splits our main cast of characters into different groups. Rey (Daisy Ridley) spends her time on an isolated island trying to convince the long in hiding Jedi master Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) to come back into the frey and help revive the Jedi. Meanwhile, Poe Domaron (Oscar Issacs), General Leia (Carrie Fisher) and the rest of the Resistance find themselves cornered by the First Order. With only a limited amount of shields left defending their ship from certain doom, Finn (Jason Boyega) and new character Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) devise a plan to go under cover on a nearby casino planet to track down a master hacker in hopes that he or she can crack the code to disable the First Order vessels. On the flip side, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) continues to struggle with his inner conflict between the Light and the Dark Side under the ever watchful eye of the mysterious Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis).

The Last Jedi places an emphasise on breaking down the basic tenants of Star Wars - something that has been met with mixed reactions by fans

My biggest complaint from The Force Awakens was that the new cast wasn't given enough time to shine, always outweighed by the fan service of seeing the returning older characters. I wanted The Last Jedi to put the new cast at the forefront. While not all the arcs are completely satisfying (Finn's springing to mind) this is very much a film about "out with the old, in with the new". And, for the most part, the new cast do a stirling job at carrying the torch left behind from the original trilogy. Osaac Isaacs is even more energised this time round as Poe, with his character given a lot more to do (and an arc involving Laura Dern's character). Meanwhile, relative new comer Kelly Marie Tran manages to create a type of character never seen in the series before which has proven controversial with some fans but the performance is spirited and fun. Of course, the remains of the old cast are still wonderful to see, especially Carrie Fisher in her final role. There is this mournful sadness seeing her as Leia now, especially since Fisher genuinely found an interesting new way to play the ageing character - regretful but still strong in her convictions. The star performance though, for me anyway, is Adam Driver as Kylo Ren. He's simply brilliant at communicating Ren's inner turmoil and clear conflicting goals. While Ren sounds like a cliched character on paper, Driver manages to take the characters and his performance to some genuinely unexpected places.

The true centre of the film though is the plot line involving Luke and Rey. While the rest of the plots range from good to filler, this story thread is both challenging and engaging in how it deals with some of the basic tenants of Star Wars. Some fans have taken umbrage with the way Luke Skywalker has been presented. Having abandoned the Jedi way of life, Luke now spends his time as a weird hermit (not unlike Obi Wan) hoping to be the last link to the old religion. And Mark Hamill's performance as the now old and bitter Jedi master is just the highlight of the film. I love the idea of a Luke who is, fundamentally, more human than he has ever been portrayed before in any of the films. His sense of regret and tiredness is apparent in every action he does and also naturally builds upon the character threads left behind from the original films (seriously, re-watch them if you think Luke has been done a disservice in this film and you'll find that him abandoning the Jedi is the natural next step). The relationship he builds up Rey is also riveting. We're expecting a student/mentor relationship to form (a la Luke/Yoda) but something a bit more sinister and ambiguous blooms. By equal measure, Daisy Ridley manages to hold her own completely as Rey, giving her more opportunities to prove how charismatic a performer she is. Writer / director Rian Johnson really brings out more personality from the character this time and proves, once and for all, that Rey is not a Mary Sue.

The Last Jedi, quite rightly, places the incredibly likeable new characters at the centre of the story

This is easily the best Disney Star Wars film visually. Every elements from the framing, visual effects (both computer generated and practical) and score are simply top-notch.While some might have prequel flashbacks on the much-debated casino planet, Johnson manages to breath new life into the look of Star Wars. The choice to go with Johnson, a genuine auteur filmmaker, is a resounding success for the series. His previous films, Brick and Looper, are brilliantly measured, self-contained and thought provoking tales. His time directing Breaking Bad episodes (lending his talents to two of the best episodes of the series, Fly and Ozymandias) proves that he can handle both intimate, character driven scenarios whilst also dealing with larger than life personalities in extreme situations. His camera perfectly positions The Last Jedi on a kind of epic, grandiose level that the series deserves, especially after the cartoony Force Awakens and the "too-gritty-for-it's-own-good" Rogue One. While The Last Jedi takes us to some fairly challenging places (for a Star Wars film...). Johnson brings this careful attention to the audacious action scenes. They're not all necessary (the casino planet chase scene springing to mind) but most spring from the conflict between the characters. Better yet, Johnson keeps the lightsaber battles to a bare minimum (as they should be). In fact, this maybe the first Star Wars film where a lightsaber doesn't clash with another lightsaber.

So far, this is sounding exactly like the Star Wars film many fans wanted with The Force Awakens. Respectful to the source material whilst take bold strides with a new set of characters. However, others feel that this has been taken too far, as The Last Jedi has proven to be the most divisive Star Wars film since ... probably the prequels. Are there some irksome elements? Sure, not every beat lands. The casino planet, while a kinetic treat visually, doesn't really amount to much in the grand scheme of the story, outside of some thematic connections. There are individual moments and character decisions that might prove to be too much for some. And some plots are not picked up from Force Awakens. Here's the thing though, for me. Whilst, yes, not every beat lands, The Last Jedi is willing to at least attempt to take the series in a new direction. Star Wars, when you really get down to it, is a small universe when you get past lightsabers, Jedi and Sith. I think the film very effectively toys with and re-imagines the series in an interesting new way that is thematically resonant through the whole of The Last Jedi. Best of all - it progresses the universe.

There is a lot to unpack with The Last Jedi but most of the risks taken paid off enormously for me

The fact is, The Last Jedi is a bit of a mess but a well-made and entertaining mess that's at least trying to grapple with the basic tenants of Star Wars. The Last Jedi gets the spirit of the series - more than any of the fan-service heavy previous films. Star Wars is about family, redemption, characters we like, adventure and the struggle between taking the easy or the hard path. There's a lot to unpack and think about with The Last Jedi, all the good and all the bad, but its the willingness to tell the true next chapter in the story that I responded to - something the series arguably hasn't done since Empire...

That said, I honestly don't know what shape Episode IX will take ...

My rankings, if you'e interested 5>4>8>6>7>3>1>2