Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Animated Feature) (2008)

The TV commercials for Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Animated Feature) weren't impressive -- on a living-room screen much less for the script, animation, or voice talent. There's something to be said for my being a Star Wars fan from the very beginning -- the more lamentably to see the depths to which George Lucas has fallen -- but the clincher was my close relation to a 10-year-old Star Wars fan. We had to go see it. While my concerns for the script and animation proved on target, the battle action was truly a driving force and the voice talent turned out better than I had been led to expect. (In the commercial excerpts, Padwan Ahsoka sounds like a nasal Valley Girl who might next blurt out "Hel-lo-o-o..." She turns out to be a fairly competent Jedi trainee, even if her banter sometimes delays the mission.) The animation is particularly wooden -- like the scripting and acting of the typical Star Wars character -- so it fits right in. (I'm not kidding. Count Dooku and Emperor Palpatine each look like a totem pole or a Kachina doll.) This feature is meant to expand on the story behind the excellent cell-based animation of the prior Clone Wars series from Genndy Tartakovsky. While much is new, we only see the caped back of General Grevious and limited battle action with Asajj Ventress. We also have to endure the subplot of a proposed Imperial alliance with Jabba the Hutt over the kidnapping and recovery of his "punky muffin" infant son. It takes a Jar Jar Binks or a "punky muffin" to make clear-thinking adults regret their younger affection for the Star Wars saga (esp. when they realize that Jabba-nese is basically mangled English -- slime is slimo, for instance). This animated feature stands downhill from the live-action movies -- if that were possible -- in depicting characters but the action sequences are fairly riveting as animation goes. 4 stars.

Man on Wire (2008)

I managed to catch a preview for Man on Wire, a fine and poetic documentary about the French acrobat Philippe Petit's grandest clandestine coup: walking on a wire suspended between the twin towers at the top of the World Trade Center in 1974. (A consummate wirewalker since his teens, Petit went back and forth several times across the span and even knelt and laid down on the wire as if he were taking a snooze.) Described in his own words and through interviews with his former collaborators, archival film, and reenactments, Petit waxes lyrical about what motivates his acrobatic gift and his lifelong dream (since age 11) to walk between the two towers. (His is not the corporate mindset. Indeed, he has a great sense of humor.) The first part of the movie describes the cabal (or coterie) of friends gathered to scope out and plan what essentially amounts to a heist in reverse: smuggling in and setting up tons of equipment under the cover of night -- with guards close at hand for hours at a time. This part is full of dry humor and the audience laughed often. The second part describes the wirewalk itself. You could have heard a pin drop in the audience. Man on Wire is a documentary with heart -- but heart so intense at the time that it turns out impossible to maintain in the long term. (The caper cost Petit at least two of the closest relationships he had.) 4 stars.

Get Smart (2008)

In Get Smart, Steve Carell (as Maxwell Smart and, later, Agent 86) and Anne Hathaway (as Agent 99) make a fine update and tribute to the original TV series starring Don Adams and Barbara Feldon, except with Steve Carell and his chief, Alan Arkin, the drollery is less tongue-in-cheek and even drier. I like how CONTROL respects Max's tech skills, relying on his always-on-the-dime analyses of global hot spots (even though no one actually reads his reports -- this is supposed to be the real world after all). Max and his junior techs -- gnomish but ubergeeky -- maintain the lifeblood of a modern spy apparatus: technology and information flow. Even so, Max continues to pursue his dream of becoming a field agent. He gets a mission and is partnered with the more competent (and coolly alluring) Agent 99. Anne Hathaway one-ups Barbara Feldon's '60s mod look in a black fall wig, lashes, and black gown -- plus she's field-smart and wickedly kick-butt -- yet for all his klutziness, Max gets a few maneuvers right. (Never fear, he does get occasion to say "Missed it by that much.") A couple of the TV series' tech toys come into the story, in tongue-in-cheek and essential ways. Get Smart is a hoot for old fans and comedically stands on its own for whose born after the '60s. With an extra half-star for the script's sweet comedy and nostalgic euphoria, 4.5 stars. (8-18-08 updated 12-22-08)

Conversion (2007) (Sundance Shorts 2007: Drama)

Short. Conversion is a Master of Fine Arts project filmed on a Navajo reservation in New Mexico (in Navajo with English subtitles). As a short film, it is rudimentary and diffuse -- as if a grad student produced a National Geographic documentary from the 1950s -- and takes on (but only implicitly) the issue of Protestant missionaries "interfering" with Navajo religious culture. (Their spiritual guidance apparently causes a death.) Conversion yields food for thought -- but it's a lightweight buffet. The calories exist to sustain a modicum of thought and discussion -- but like any church potluck dinner, it's up to you to bring something to the table and then to fill your own plate. IW. 9 min (including 2 min of credits). 3 stars.

Little Farm (2007) (Sundance Shorts 2007: On the Edge)

Short. Take only with weak tea or strong liquor! Little Farm (US, 8 min) opens with trailerpark-ish intersibling cussing then come-ons then gruesome death. The audio is thoroughly obnoxious, the visual effects are wholly amateurish, and the inscrutable ending will burst on you like a wet balloon (indeed, almost laughably so). This short really isn't worth so many words to review but I thought I'd give it a second chance. I'm sorry I did. Now I only hate it all the more. 1.5 stars.

Iron Will (1994)

Iron Will is White Fang meets Spirit of the Wind (the story of Iditarod dogsledder George Attla, not available on video or DVD). Iron Will is the well-done (for Disney) story of a novice dogsledder whose courage inspires a WWI-era nation. Will Stoneman (the very talented Mackenzie Astin) enters a 500-mile dogsled competition from Canada to St. Paul to win the $10,000 purse and save the family farm. August Schellenberg is the Native American who introduces him to discipline and courage. David Ogden Stiers is the James J. Hill-style railroad magnate who offers the prize and Kevin Spacey is the opportunistic newspaperman who makes Iron Will a household name. I enjoy the snow, the period attire, the anti-Kaiser song-and-dance number, and the idiosyncratic gaggle of dogsled competitors (esp. George Gerdes as the almost cartoonishly villainous Swede). Iron Will is a squeaky-clean family show that will appeal esp. to dog lovers and patriotic types, though a few dirty tricks on the trail from the Swede might bother tykes 6 and under. Astin and Spacey make this show shine. It feels authentic through and through and families may be on the edge of their seats right to the final inches of the race. 4 stars.

Fools Rush In (1996)

Fools Rush In is in my Romance Top 10 list. I own the movie. It's now on IW. It's a great date/couple's movie that I'll never tire of watching. Salma Hayek is luscious; Matthew Perry stumbles into love, with hilarious results -- esp. when his WASP world encounters her Mexican culture. This movie is sensitive, responsible, and never cartoonish in its portrayal of what happens to a mixed-culture couple (with their families) that meets and chooses to stay together and make it work even if they met through irresponsible circumstances (for example, a one-night stand, as in the movie, or by a more modern extension, perhaps an Internet romance). The chemistry between Salma and Matthew is smooth and the ending doesn't present a convenient wrapup either. Fools Rush In preceded Knocked Up by 12 years and is eminently superior in oral hygiene (clean language). 4.5 stars.

Apollo 13 (1995)

Just two three-quarter-million-mile trips after the historic moon landing of Apollo 11, moon missions had become so "commonplace" that the networks refused to carry the weightless in-flight tour of the Apollo 13 -- until disaster struck and the whole world began watching, rapt in tension as well as hope and prayer for three astronauts' safe return. In the wake of Tom Hanks' edited and now iconic words "Houston, we have a problem" and against all odds, Ed Harris as Flight Director Gene Kranz (in an Oscar-nominated performance) exemplified NASA's (and America's) can-do attitude by professing, "I believe this will be our finest hour." Here is heroism that sticks, heroism without fantasy, heroism that counts -- when three men's lives were on the line a long way from home. The story of the astronauts' courage and the ground crew's ingenuity in a doomed situation is riveting, moving, and inspiring. I own Apollo 13 and will never get tired of watching this milestone in cinema, faithfully and painstakingly recreated with many trips in a weightless "vomit comet" airplane. Every person in the cast delivers a stupendous rendition, from each astronaut to every ground technician and family member. Apollo 13 is a labor of love and it shows. 5 stars.

The Mummy (1999)

The Mummy is an awesome special-effects swashbuckling blockbuster movie. It calls to me every time I see it on cable and I intend to own it (as I do its sequels). Brendan Fraser is superb as the reluctant archeologist hero and Rachel Weisz is no mere damsel as his brainy librarian wife. The energy onscreen as these two chew through their challenges is amazing, the special effects from Lucasfilm's ILM are simply awesome, and I love the tongue-in-cheek humor infused throughout the production. (It gives your tongue something to do besides get chewed on from suspense.) If you need the equivalent of a car wash for your endocrine system, see The Mummy and you'll feel soaked, spent, and limp in no time. Enjoy! 4.5 stars.

The Mummy Returns (2001)

The Mummy Returns is a lot of fun if you don't demand the technical perfection of the Indiana Jones movies. The characters are pretty much the same as in The Mummy (1999) yet a bit more developed, however, the special effects are often ragged. (Rushing waters defy various laws of physics and Dwayne Johnson reprises his excellent role in The Scorpion King but only as a Doom-quality computer-graphics villain.) I always enjoy Brendan Fraser's characters and here he does the Indiana Jones schtick with a panache that's less wary and world-weary and more mix-it-up. I like Rachel Weisz even more as a "field librarian" who can kick serious butt. The fight scenes are all good esp. Rachel's mano-a-manos with the slinky femme fatale Patricia Velazquez. The undead villain Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo) is more complex and has some challenges of his own. Oded Fehr is a superb protector figure and Freddie Boath is the archeologist couple's plucky young son. Despite the script's frequent whiff of Swiss cheese, this movie is chock full of swashbuckling as only Brendan can swash! I give The Mummy 4.5 stars but, for technical sloppiness, The Mummy Returns gets 4 stars.

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000)

TV. I caught Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker on the tube with my youngest son and found it to be pretty good, wrestling with character developments and presenting plot twists more nimbly than most cartoon shows of this type. Particularly interesting is the uncovering of what happened to the Joker in his last encounter with Batman and whether Batman's old nemesis really has returned. (Hint: His middle name isn't Eugene.) The Batman Beyond series is generally well done and this installment digs firmly into the foundation of the relationship between the retired Bruce Wayne and his young protege. 3.5 stars.

Mercury Rising (1998)

Mercury Rising is The Witness meets The Bourne Identity (or Enemy of the State). It's a typical Bruce Willis action flick with sinister government baddies (led by the coldblooded Alec Baldwin) intent on eliminating an autistic savant (and anyone connected to him) who knows something they don't want anyone to know. It's the ultimate "If we told you, we would have to kill you" (or "We're from the government, we're here to help you meet your maker") movie except in this case the autistic child figured it out on his own and only Bruce Willis stands between him and a bullet. Bruce does a lot of running interference and thinking on his feet, copping a bit of his usual attitude though the script doesn't let him really own his performance as in 12 Monkeys or the Die Hard movies. Miko Hughes as the autistic boy is quite good (though he's not Natalie Portman in The Professional). Yes, the plot has a few Swiss-cheese holes. No, the adults' interaction with the autistic child isn't always realistic (though it's always sensitive). Well, that's because this is an action movie and the plot has to race along; deal with it. I like this movie a lot and I plan to watch it again. 4 stars.

The Puppet Masters (1994)

The Puppet Masters is The Langoliers meets Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Its made-for-TV look-and-feel squares it in the mediocre camp yet it's worth a watch. I'm not a print-retentive sci-fi fan sniping how the movie wasn't 100% faithful to Robert Heinlein's novel. You watch a movie as a movie. Even lukewarm, Donald Sutherland is good as the senior government official who refers to himself as "the old man." The others' acting was tepid with a paucity of facial expressions. Still, I've caught this movie on cable a couple of times and enjoyed it just fine. (It's better than The Core!) 3 stars.