sbwoodside Reviews

Meeting the Beatles in India (2020)

Paul Saltzman went to India to find himself, and he also found the Beatles

[7/10 · 25 October 2020]

I saw this movie on Friday night at The Westdale cinema in Hamilton Ontario at the recommendation of some friends, and because the creator was there to talk and answer questions. The film stands on its own, but if you get a chance to hear Paul speak about it, that's even better.

Coincidentally my own dad was in India around the same time, learning meditation at an ashram, although he didn't meet the Beatles.

Paul's adventure-this is as much about him as it is about the Beatles-starts with the rediscovery in his garage of a box of photos that he took in 1968 at Rishikesh, India, the ashram of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Photos so good they belong in a museum.

How did he get these candid, personal, intimate photos of John, Paul, George and Ringo? That's the story, and it's one that celebrates the power of meditation, an open mind, viewing the world from the eye of innocence and childlike wonder.

If you see the film to find out what the Beatles were like at their most relaxed and creative, you will be satisfied. You might also find yourself interested to find out more about what took both them and Paul Saltzman to India to look within.

Harmony (2015)

Would we be better off without souls?

[5/10 · 27 December 2018]

That's the interesting question that this film tries (eventually) to ask, but it never gets very far with an answer. Instead it provides a lot of bloviating philosophy, some of which was probably lost in translation. Maybe it's deep in the original Japanese, but it didn't make any sense in English. Instead of spending time on an interesting "what-if" question, the basis of a lot of excellent SciFi / speculative fiction, we instead are subjected to many, many flashbacks of a prissy, depressed teenage girl who wants to burn the world.

Harmony does succeed occasionally in achieving a bit of a creepy aura, but the gore isn't effective, just ... a bit gory. There are a number of secondary characters who exhibit some potential to be interesting, but none of them stick around for more than a few minutes. Our hero, Tuan, is enigmatic, by turns a rum-runner, an important member of a powerful inner circle of international investigators, and a sensitive individual with an unresolved crush on her childhood girlfriend. But it never comes together.

As for the plot, it has a lot of potential. Society is seemingly a utopia, with advanced drugs that make you live forever in perfect harmony. But someone has hacked the pharmaceutical system and has leapfrogged to hacking people's brains, making them commit suicide. As the flashbacks and plot progress, the finger is increasing pointing towards Miach, the childhood friend.

But ultimately potential is all this movie has. The ending is abrupt and inconclusive. Was it murder or a double-suicide? How will Tuan prevent the apocalypse? Was the Harmony project right or wrong? Perhaps the filmmakers thought it would be deep to leave these threads hanging loose, but I think it just shows that they didn't have any answers. Like the film, they had some high-concept ideas, but didn't have what it took to see them through.

Silent Things (2010)

Quiet short piece

[8/10 · 6 April 2014]

I learnt about this short through a member of the crew. It's a quiet and enjoyable little piece of film with a spot of excellent acting from Andrew Scott, now famous for his Moriarty in Sherlock. He does a good job of capturing an Aspergian character. The sound is very effective, washing over the beach scenes with surf and the muted roar of music during the scenes where his character enters a sort of fugue state.

The story is extremely simple, the characters are direct, the dialogue uncomplicated. The acting is allow to reveal itself to us directly. It's not a deep film, but it reveals some of the very human behaviour of people with autism spectrum, and some of the good and bad of people who are "normal".

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

Michael Bay's The Hobbit

[6/10 · 4 January 2014]

Like a Michael Bay movie, The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug delivers one-liners, flat characters, and constant running battles. It's a far cry from the epic splendour of the Lord of the Rings movies or the original source material.

Central characters are reduced to thin caricatures of themselves. Thorin comes across as petty rather than regal, weakly acted by Richard Armitage. His mood swings seem more like the tantrums of a teenager than the tortured efforts of a man who's lost his home to reclaim what is rightfully his. The glory and tragedy are lost.

There are some truly illogical bits that killed the suspension of disbelief. Even a hero as powerful as Bard could not move a ten-ton barge by swishing the rudder back and forth. Legolas suffers from a classic unlimited-ammo scenario. I counted 72 dead orcs without reloading his bow — he's known by his fellow Mirkwood elves as "Rambo" perhaps.

Gandalf's side adventures show more potential. I don't mind, in principle, expanding the story with material from the Lord of the Rings. But Gandalf's encounter with Sauron, while visually astounding, doesn't ring true. I don't recall Gandalf being captured in Dol Guldur. That's a big blow to the reputation of Gandalf, in a series that is otherwise trying to remain true to Tolkien's core story.

The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug isn't so much epic as action movie. It's a series of lengthy running battles punctuated by occasional one-liners. Plot and character are sacrificed for more arrows, more leaps, more dizzying 3D zooms through beautifully realized battlefields.

This is not The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien, this is The Hobbit by Michael Bay.

Our Sunhi (2013)

Something lost in translation

[6/10 · 13 September 2013]

Sunhi returns to the film school she graduated from a year before and starts to run into old friends. She's interested in some, others are interested in her. Awkward encounters ensue, heavy drinking and eating chicken. It's a sort of a Rom-Com, but with some kind of Korean twist that I didn't completely understand. The closest comparison is an extended episode of Seinfeld, or perhaps a Woody Allen movie.

I saw this film yesterday at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). On the plus side, there were a number of funny scenes, especially revolving around the game of telephone being played between the four main characters as they talk about Sunhi, each other, how they need to dig deeper to find themselves, etc. On the downside, not much happens, I never really got into any of the characters, and ultimately I was a bit bored.

I suspect that there's a cultural and language disconnect. I don't think that the subtitles did justice to what seemed to be some clever repetition of lines and memes circling between the characters. Culturally, I know that Korea has a deep and quite dissimilar culture compared to Canada. So, I suspect that many of the jokes and potentially the romanticism was lost on me. Director Hong Sang-soo is said to be quite successful in Korea. Perhaps with a better introduction by the festival staff, and improved subtitles, this film could be more successful. As it is I can only give it a 6/10.

Walking (1968)

Animation as art

[9/10 · 26 March 2012]

This is film as art. Walking is known for being ground-breaking -- the interpretations of the movement of the human body in so many styles, some so natural and realistic they could almost pass for photography, others so abstract they are just a few dabs of paint. The extremes of perspective and style reflected the counterculture and psychedelic culture of the times. Ryan Larkin is an animator's animator, maybe he's not famous in pop culture, but he's famous in industry circles because he opened up new possibilities. Everyone walks all the time, in real life and in animation, and Larkin meditates on the possibilities in such a simple movement.

Cowboy Bebop (1998– )

holy crap good

[10/10 · 27 September 2011]

Cowboy Bebop is impossibly good. It channels the spirit of blade runner and something far beyond, into anime that is at time hilarious, intense, touching, and visually and sonically gorgeous. The titles claim that it will define a genre, and it does, a genre that few have achieved (maybe firefly).

Where to start... the amazing music? The title theme jazzes me every time, three, two, one let's jam. The sonic landscape changes in each episode, with incredible music sliding into the mix with each storyline. The characters? They hit every note, funny (Ed), complex (Faye), in love, out of love (Spike), cute (Ein), candid (Jet), real and heroic (or maybe tragic heroic?). The story? Some episodes are pure joyful action chase, others are deep backstory character development epics. The drawing? It's top-notch anime, not top-budget sophisticated, but drawn by true artists with enough money to make their work look smooth when they want it and sharp when they need it.

The writing gives the characters their subtlety, even in subtitles (I always watch in the original Japanese), and the voice talent gets it all right.

I'm not sure I'd want to live in the world of Cowboy Bebop, but it sure would be an exciting place to visit. This show deserves wider viewing -- it's a must see for any lover of good sci-fi.

Nina Simone: My Baby Just Cares for Me (1987 Music Video)

rough but authentic and holds the beat

[9/10 · 31 October 2010]

Peter Lord created a terribly cute claymation for this Nina Jones "music video", featuring two cats in love, the sophisticated singer and her unsophisticated darling. This song is one of Nina Jones' best recordings, and Peter Lord (with Aardman) translated the lyrics into a bit of a silly story. The visuals will appeal to kids and the fantastic singing and perfect piano will appeal to adults.

On particular technique that appealed to me is the piano segment -- Lord moves from claymation to live motion play with the piano keys to give a very abstract interpretation of the music, but totally in sync with the beat. The claymation is a bit rough and choppy but it still scores 10/10 for authenticity.

Words, Words, Words (1991)

Hilarious look at how people talk

[8/10 · 15 August 2009]

Call me a die-hard animation buff, but this is a hilarious look at how people communicate. Michaela Pavlátová takes out the words of a crowd of people in a café and replaces them with pictures and symbols. Her drawings are so spot on in terms of how people really communicate, the giant elephant is a horrible scandal, the dominoes of the getting-to-know you game, the juggling balls of someone trying to be entertaining. This is how a visual person sees talk. And it's all done very, very funny.

It definitely deserves the awards. The animation style is a bit crude but the social dynamics and reflection of life are spot on.

Legend of the Forest (1987 Video)

Mini-history of animation

[7/10 · 3 July 2009]

I don't know much about Osamu Tezuka, but he must have been interested in animation's history because he walks through a series of styles here, from stick drawings and repetitive loops reminiscent of the earliest works in the early 20th century, through a progression of Disney and anime styles, and even one section that reminded me of the Flintstones.

The storytelling itself follows along in the style of the animations, the types of stories that were told at the time. Simple slapstick at the beginning, some parts very similar to fantasia, and an anime-style ending where rapidly-growing plants kill and smother an entire tree-cutting colony.

The overall theme is obviously environmental but with a definite dark angle to it, and it gives this animation a bit of a kick.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)

The movie's fundamental flaws are completely hidden by its superficial flaws

[5/10 · 1 February 2009]

This movie is superficially exciting but also superficially ... well ... superficial. It doesn't deliver on the fundamental Douglas Adams promise. We want a good hard laugh at life, but we get some kind of romp/love story. And while it's vaguely entertaining, it just doesn't pull through on the source material. In order to understand why the movie fails, we must first understand what underlying drives the originals. What is the actual story and how did Douglas Adams develop it?

The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy in original form is about life, the universe, and everything, ... and the fact that it makes no sense. Life makes no sense. Nothing that happens makes any sense. There is no purpose, to meaning, no answer, just an endless series of coincidences, catastrophes, and occasionally good times which we just have to put up with until we die. This is the thesis of HHGTTG, and also a good bit of Douglas's other work.

He develops his story through the Guide. The Guide is the voice of the narrator, who spends most of his time talking about a book, "that most famous of all books to come out of the great publishing houses of Ursa Minor Beta", and which the narrator notes on the FIRST PAGE of the novel, is the subject of the whole story in the first place. Not a person, a book! Arthur is just a new reader of the book, Ford is just an old writer for the book, and the other characters just embody the book's general philosophy: that the universe is fscked up (Marvin), and you might as well just try to have fun (Zaphod).

As characters, Douglas didn't develop them much. All of them had essentially zero control over their own lives, even when they thought they did. Trillian and Ford seemed to have wilfully chosen to just hang on for the ride, and Zaphod seemed to be doing the bidding of some kind of voices that only he can hear. Even the hyper-intelligent trans-dimensional aliens couldn't figure out what to make the answer to the Ultimate Question, or prevent a bunch of bungling bureaucrats from messing up their shot at obtaining the Question. I'm not trying to belabour Douglas' original plot here, just point out that it makes sense only if you realize that Douglas is trying to tell you that it doesn't make any sense at all. The Big It. Everything. Nothing Makes Sense.

It's like that moment in the Simpson's when the lawyer invokes the Chewbacca Defence. It doesn't make sense. It just doesn't make sense. THAT is what the Hitch Hiker's Guide is all about.

So you can't shoehorn that into a movie about romance and character development and happy endings. All of the best material, what Douglas created, is the ultimate joke of the pointless randomness of life. And that's not only what Douglas' story is about, but what the book inside the story is about. That's why the backbone of any good retelling of the story must make the book itself the central fixture and the backbone of the narrative. Keep as much of Douglas's precisely crafted dialogue in place as possible, and don't worry too much about plot or character development. Make sure that when the audience finds out that the answer, after all that time, searching, questing, is 42, that they laugh in the knowledge that it doesn't make any sense, and it doesn't have to, and they'll feel better if they don't worry about it and just go along for the ride.

The 1980s miniseries accomplished this in it's own low-budget (and let not mince words, poorly directed) fashion. And maybe, after the early demise of the author, in a fashion so pointlessly meaningless that he ought to have written it himself, we'll eventually get movie that helps us all feel a bit better about losing him so early.

And if you're reading this in the future: can you send it back through a time warp?