Netflix – Page 9 – Blue Ink Alchemy

Category: Netflix (page 9 of 27)

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Krull

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This, it was given me to know: that purveyors of the Internet value the reviews and criticism of others especially in mixed media. This, it was also given me to know: there are things we remember from our childhood that will no longer hold their charm as we grow old. But this I cannot know: whether or not such criticisms will lead to anything beyond a few additional visitors, especially when I ape the tone and timbre of the opening narration of the film in question. In this case, the film is 1983’s Krull.

Krull is a world in a distant corner of the galaxy, and it is under attack by the powerful and malevolent Beast. He rules from a teleporting palace of dark magic called the Black Fortress and employs an evil army of creatures known as Slayers. Krull is not without its defenders, two mighty kingdoms traditionally at war. The kings will form an alliance, however, at the behest of their children: Prince Colwyn and Princess Lyssa. The night of their wedding is when the Slayers attack.

So we have a story that isn’t terribly complicated. But simple does not mean bad. Sometimes the simple stories are the best. Let me give you some examples: a dude that fights monsters has to prove he’s not a dick before he can have his magic monster-fighting hammer back. Five criminals are picked to pull off a heist for a mysterious guy they all fear. A little guy has to destroy a rather evil piece of jewelry. And here we have an actually kinda charming prince storming an evil space-traveling castle to rescue his princess.

All this and brains, too. Not to mention chutzpah.

Let’s face it, the story isn’t any more complicated than your typical Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Considering this was originally intended to be the Dungeons & Dragons movie, that should come as no surprise. Objections of the late great Gary Gygax aside, there’s a lot going on here that is very much D&D. The first title for this film was the Dragons of Krull, but some licensing issue lost to time caused the title to change. It also somehow caused the dragons to disappear. But we still have a good core party of warrior, thief, wizard & cleric. I’ll leave it to you to figure out which is which.

Despite its trappings of tabletop gaming and some of its other trope-happy aspects, Krull has a good cast of interesting and well-developed characters. Colwyn is headstrong and brave but also willing to admit his faults and strive to overcome it. Princess Lyssa is also brave, as well as smart. The comic relief isn’t entirely annoying or useless, the dour cyclops is a great presence even if he speaks little and the small seer boy is more endearing than anything else. And let’s not forget the presence of a young Liam Neeson & Robbie Coltraine! The movie gets bonus points on this talent alone.

And the talent isn’t wasted. The story’s as simple as they come but the dialog and characterization are rather well-rounded. There isn’t much scenery-chewing going on, at least not by the actors. James Horner’s score, on the other hand, has bombast and dramatics coming out its ears. This film came out a year after Star Trek II, another movie that he scored, and they sound very similar, despite one being a nuanced space opera and the other the highest of high adventures. Oh, it’s grand and appropriate for the setting, to be sure, it’s just that it tends to overwhelm the action on-screen now and again rather than complimenting it. But honestly, if the biggest criticism one can bring to bear is that the score could be dialed down a couple notches, that’s another point in the movie’s favor.

There are a couple places where the special effects and other bits are starting to show their age in Krull, the villain is more effective when he’s heard and not seen, the story as mentioned is pretty simple and some of the acting is admittedly nothing award-winning. But the whole affair is so earnest and charming that it overcomes these failings and takes on a timelessness that normally is held by such adventure sagas as the Lord of the Rings or the Chronicles of Narnia. It’s earnestness means that it doesn’t quite fall into the realm of camp that Flash Gordon does, even though they might seem similar at first glance to some viewers. Krull‘s charm comes from the honesty of its characters and the straightforwardness of its story, rather than the degree to which it sticks its tongue in its cheek. Now, this all may come as high or perhaps even undeserved praise, but I for one would rather see unique ideas like this, with intriguing and surreal set designs and characters that actually behave like real or at least likable people, get produced rather than another franchise knock-off or a Tyler Perry movie.

Colwyn, seen here with the deadliest starfish ever.

For every moment the seams in the story’s age start to show, there’s at least one where the characters shine through in their writing and portrayal. For every knock you might make about the premise being cliched or character motivation being too simplistic, a merit in the ideas in play or a stylistic touch of coolness can be pointed out. All in all, the pros in this film far outweigh its cons. If it’s adventure you seek, unapologetic for being unique if that uniqueness means the occasional silly moment but looking to tell you a tale you’ll remember, Krull belongs on your Netflix queue.

Josh Loomis can’t always make it to the local megaplex, and thus must turn to alternative forms of cinematic entertainment. There might not be overpriced soda pop & over-buttered popcorn, and it’s unclear if this week’s film came in the mail or was delivered via the dark & mysterious tubes of the Internet. Only one thing is certain… IT CAME FROM NETFLIX.

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Last Action Hero

May 27, 2011 / BlueInkAlchemist / 0 Comments

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The fourth wall is a long-standing term for the concept of separation between an on-screen performance and its audience. Most straight productions act as if the fourth wall is a concrete barrier, entirely encapsulating the fictional world within. Comedies, especially parodies and spoofs, tend to treat the fourth wall with as much irreverence as anything else. They can paint it, lean against it or ignore it entirely. 1993’s Last Action Hero is one of the few films that bodily throws a guy through the fourth wall.

Even the posters are hilarious in retrospect.

Arnold Schwartzenegger is Jack Slater, a supercop best described as the illegitimate love child of John McClain and Dutch from Predator. He blows up Los Angeles on a regular basis, chases goons into spectacular gun fights and explosions, and messing with his family is, as he tends to say often, a big mistake. Jack Slater is the hero of young movie buff Danny Madigan, who cuts class and stays out late just to watch Jack Slater do what he does best. His favorite theater is shutting down and, as a last quiet hurrah, the aging projectionist offers to show Danny the new Jack Slater film (brilliantly titled Jack Slater IV) before anybody else gets to see it. He also gives Danny a golden ticket, a gift from Harry Houdini, which happens to possess magic powers in the presence of cinema. Next thing Danny knows, he’s in the back of Jack Slater’s car during the action movie’s first major chase scene. Nobody’s more surprised than Danny, except maybe Jack.

Last Action Hero is perhaps one of the most thorough deconstructions of the action movie genre I’ve ever seen. When Danny is in Jack Slater IV, he’s very quick to point out tropes and plot points to the point that he quickly goes from endearing to irritating. He’s not a dumb kid, though, so he does mellow out as the story goes on, much to Jack’s relief. Jack, on the other hand, spends most of the second act denying that he’s a fictional character until circumstances catapult him back into the real world with Danny. So while the second act is a deconstruction of the genre, the third is a deconstruction of the hero, as well as an exploration of a concept that the world is myth.

Is he taking aim at the goons, or the writers?

If all stories do in fact exist in some form, that would mean that someone is writing your story, right now. What would you say to them, if you could? Last Action Hero addresses that question, as well as what might go on inside the mind of your stereotypical action superstar between the gunplay and cheesy one-liners. While nobody was going to win Oscars for what’s going on here, the writers do give Jack a surprising amount of humanity and depth, considering how most of the movie’s a light-hearted action romp, while the villain Benedict has a chillingly gleeful revelation when he, like Jack and Danny, cross over from the world of their movie to the world of the movie we’re watching. It’s a world much closer to our own, where cars don’t explode when you shoot them, it hurts to punch things, and bad guys win all the time.

The sudden change in mood between the nature of Jack’s adventures and his experiences in the ‘real’ world might put off some viewers expecting a straight-forward action comedy. There are also some rough spots in the execution, a couple of jokes that might be more ridiculous than necessary and some problems with overall tone. It’s hard to tell in places if Last Action Hero is simply being tongue in cheek about things or wants to be downright cheeky about the action movie roots of its star and director. After all, Arnold was best known for his big, loud, ultra-macho action movies. John McTiernan was also known for the big, loud, ultra-macho Die Hard. I think that, in 1993, these two coming together to do a big, loud, ultra-macho genre deconstruction took a lot of folks by surprise.

Honestly, he’s probably my favorite kind of villain.

There’s also the fact that it opened the same year as movie juggernaut Jurassic Park. Be it due to box office receipts, actor confusion or critics blasting the movie for some decisions in execution and its necessary contrivances, Last Action Hero was not seen as a great success. In fact, many feel this was the movie that was the start of a downward spiral for Arnold, the following year’s True Lies being a notable exception. His puns and general beefiness would draw him into movies far worse than this one and ultimately he ended up in politics. And yet there’s a measure of self-awareness that some might miss. In what might have been intended as a throw-away gag, Jack Slater comes face to face with Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the character tells the actor “You’ve brought me nothing but pain.” He echoes the sentiment of future movie-goers and some of the population of California in 2011.

Despite its box office performance, Last Action Hero holds up better than some of its contemporaries. The fact that some of the tropes played with, averted, invoked and downright torn to shreds here are still alive and well in action movies today underscores the laziness inherent in relying upon such conventions. Had it been a straightforward action comedy, it likely would be unmemorable and boring. Framed as it is and leading into its crucial third act, it instead defies typical classification and exists as a rare specimen that’s fascinating and strange. It stumbles in a couple of places and it’s never certain if McTiernan and the writers really love the action movie genre or want to rip it to shreds out of spite, but it’s a fun movie with some really interesting concepts at work. Fans of deconstructionist work, TV Tropes or actors having a laugh at their own expense should check this out on Netflix. As time goes on, and more ridiculous action movies come out while their stars become imitations of themselves, Last Action Hero will, I feel, continue to age with grace. Like a fine wine. Full of explosions.

“Have a nice day.”

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! True Lies

May 20, 2011 / BlueInkAlchemist / 0 Comments

{No audio this week. Having a job in a start-up is interfering with my Internet fame. Go figure.}

The 90s were an interesting time. All sorts of cool things musically were happening in Seattle garages, the United States was emerging as the victor of the Cold War and getting a little blitzed on its own hype as the process, and movie audiences were moving away from the testosterone-fueled somewhat brainless action flicks of the 80s. Sure, years later such movies would be viewed with a kind of smirking nostalgia for their naked machismo, but at the time it was clear that writers, directors, actors and audience members wanted to see something a little bit different up on the silver screen. And if True Lies is nothing else, it’s certainly quite a bit different, for an Arnold Schwartzenegger movie.

Harry Tasker is what can only be described as a superspy. He’s a highly-trained, very effective operative working for an unofficial branch of the United States government, hunting down bad guys and uncovering clandestine terrorist plots. He is also, however, a family man, masquerading as a traveling computer salesman for the benefit of his wife and young daughter. Since he’s gone so often, however, his wife is beginning to wonder if he’s being unfaithful to her while she herself staves off the advances of a used car salesman. Harry becomes aware of this and must strike a balance between saving the world and saving his marriage.

This being an action comedy, it doesn’t take a psychic to predict that he’s going to find a way to do both. While True Lies isn’t fueled entirely by contrivance, there are parts here and there that seem awfully convenient for the purposes of our plot. More than once circumstances simply fall together in a way that Harry’s always on top of things. This could be explained away as Harry just being that good as his job, considering this is the Terminator we’re talking about, but even with that excuse the story isn’t exactly setting the world on fire.

It’s a good excuse for a badass scene with a Harrier jet, though.

True Lies was directed by James Cameron, the man behind some of the biggest blockbusters of the last few decades, and it might seem odd for the director of high-concept science fiction epics like Terminator 2, The Abyss and Avatar to helm a flick like this. But even directors need to blow off steam from time to time and this feels like Cameron just having fun with one of his exorbidant budgets. It’s possible that he saw the Schwartzenegger action comedy from the previous year, Last Action Hero, and said “You know what? I’m James Cameron. I can make a movie way cooler than this garbage.”

In doing so, he’s created a movie that tends to keep its silliness on the subtle side, rather than the overt genre-savvy deconstruction of Last Action Hero. That movie has a much more interesting concept, but falters in places due to execution. True Lies, on the other hand, keeps its plot and premise simple so Cameron can direct the hell out of it. For all of its insubstantiality, it’s a cleanly shot and polished film, with most of its visuals holding up after over 15 years of life.

How effective can your threats be when your batteries run out?

Speaking of looking good, the principles are well-cast even if they’re not pushing the envelope in terms of edgy roles. Arnold and Jamie Lee Curtis do have a good measure of chemistry between them that makes them a couple the audience will want to see stay together. Eliza Dushku plays their daughter Dana in a somewhat understated role that helped open the door for things like Buffy and Dollhouse, while Tia Carrere smolders as the femme fatale. She splits the fanservice duties with Jamie Lee in ways that make themselves apparent with the most cursory Google search. The bit players and bad guys, too, bring just enough weight and dimension to their roles while making it clear that we’re pretty much here for a good time and nothing else. We have some sleazy fun from Bill Paxton as the car salesman, a quick cameo from Charlton Heston and…

well, Tom Arnold’s in this, too. He’s not bad, per se, but some of his motor-mouthed antics can wear out their welcome rather quickly. For every moment we have of him being Harry’s partner and best friend, we have one where he’s throwing his comedic weight around a bit too much. Seeing the natural way Jamie Lee Curtis and Bill Paxton illicit laughs from their scenes while Tom relies on verbal diarreha gives the impression that our large friend is trying too hard.

Shut up, Tom. JUST. SHUT. UP.

There are some really neat action sequences in True Lies that ensure the movie is entertaining, if not necessarily fantastic cinema. In the end, it’s a bit like a hamburger from Wendy’s. The meat is of higher quality than some others and you definitely feel like you get your money’s worth, but it’s still not all that good for you. James Cameron at the helm of an action comedy that plays most of its potential moments for satire completely straight would be a bit like Christopher Nolan directing the Marx Brothers. It’s an interesting experiment that looks fine and works fine, but there’s just something off about the whole thing that waters down the overall enjoyment. Of course, if you’re not looking for anything other than basic entertainment to go with a rainy day and a bowl of popcorn, True Lies is a decent choice available on Netflix Instant. Like the rhetoic of certain pundits and religious figures, it tends to be funny in spite of its more serious moments, and the less you think about it, the better it is.

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Repo! The Genetic Opera

May 13, 2011 / BlueInkAlchemist / 0 Comments

This week’s IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! brought to you by a generous donation from Kimberly Franco. Thank you for your support!

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Here we have something of an odd specimen. In most musical productions, the idea is to either use the songs for comedic effect or to underscore the powerful emotions in play during a given scene. While Repo! The Genetic Opera certainly takes its material seriously, there’s also a feeling that it knows how many mainstream audience members will receive it. It’s possible that it will either make the production seem wonderfully self-aware or disappointingly pretentious. The only way to know for sure, in keeping with its theme and mood, is to slice this sexy specimen open and tear its bloody guts out.

It’s the future, and life sucks. Life sucks mostly because there’s been a world-wide epidemic of organ failure caused by industrial waste or some other disaster. As people die in droves, evil corporation GeneCo emerges with a solution: custom-made replacement organs available at reasonable prices to the consumer, and an addictive surgical aid called Zydrate that keeps the organs in your body and you in a pleasant state of mind. Financing is available, but if you can’t make your payments, GeneCo sends a Repo Man to reclaim their property from you. It’s 2062, and GeneCo’s CEO, Rotti Largo, must choose an heir from among his three despicable children while his biggest & baddest Repo Man, Nathan Wallace, tries to protect his sickly daughter Shilo from the dark and dangerous world outside her bedroom window, a world she’s never experienced in all of her seventeen years.

One of the best things the film has going for it is its music. Terrence Zdunich put together most of the songs, and as the Greek Chorus-style narrator known only as Grave-Robber, he lays a lot of convincing passion and tongue-in-cheek fun on us. Anthony Steward Head, Paul Sorvino and the timelessly talented Sarah Brightman do much of the emotional heavy lifting while Bill Moseley, Ogre and a breathy and surprisingly well-voiced Paris Hilton slip in for some comic relief. The star is Alexa Vega, however, who makes her little-girl-growing-up story the central attraction of the affair, outside of all the artful surgery and shameless eye candy.

Yeah… Shilo’s dad ain’t exactly a nice guy.

Coming to us as it does from the hands that helped craft the Saw series, to call Repo! The Genetic Opera ‘gorn’ is a bit of an understatement. And yet, there’s enough visual appeal in both its male and female cast members that the blood & guts never completely derail the goings-on. It juxtaposes undeniable beauty with callous cruelty and sadistic violence. Being disgusting and sexy at the same time isn’t an easy feat, but Repo! somehow manages to pull it off. It’s impressive for that if nothing else.

Repo! also manages to pull off being camp while letting its cast convey some actual emotions. Sure, it’s mostly done in song so it’s melodramatic and over-the-top half the time, but it never strays too far into the completely-serious territory that dooms other would-be camp flicks like Masters of the Universe. However, it also doesn’t have the reckless abandon of campy classics like Flash Gordon. The result is a quasi-serious sometimes-amusing musical gorn flick that plays like the Saw boys putting on a production of the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

One of the coolest narrators ever.

Speaking of Rocky Horror, Repo! might be that infamous flick’s 21st-century successor. Between the timbre of the music, the presence of underground stars like Terrence & Ogre and the campy, over-the-top nature of the entire production, it should be no wonder that Repo! has gained something of a cult following, complete with showings at local theatres, encouraged audience participation and live emulation of the performances. While it’s preoccupation with gorn and overwhelmingly dark tone didn’t exactly make it a hit with critics or even the major box office, there’s something endearing about it that keeps in the hearts and minds of many die-hard fans.

In other words, Repo! the Genetic Opera is kind of like a stray cat taken in by a friend. Sure, it’s kinda cute and purrs at you appealingly when you show up, but its coat is a little on the mangy side and your friend really needs to get it to a vet. If you’re a cat person, you’re still going to scratch it behind the ears and let it rub up on your leg, and if you’re not you’re going to refuse to step foot in your friend’s place again until they clean the animal. Repo! the Genetic Opera is not for everyone, but its songs can worm their way into your ears easily and the characters are extremely memorable. Check it out on Netflix Instant if it sounds up your alley, but beware. As many fans can attest, the material introduced within the film can be quite addictive. We should just be thankful that it doesn’t come in a little glass vial.

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! The Hunt for Red October

May 6, 2011 / BlueInkAlchemist / 1 Comment

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I’m aware that some of you may have been born around or after, say, 1995. That terms like ‘Soviet Union’ and ‘Cold War’ are entries on Wikipedia or chapters in a history book rather than memories of an ominous time. I’m not sure if public school still conduct ‘weather drills’, but when I was young we were herded into the hallways and taught to sit against the wall with our heads between our knees. We didn’t know for certain – well, some of us didn’t – but in later years it became clear that nuclear war was the most likely disaster for which we should be prepared. Doomsday weapons lurked in the imaginations of many writers of fiction, and it was Tom Clancy who showed us what a responsible person would do with such a weapon, in The Hunt For Red October.

The weapon is the largest ballistic missile submarine ever built, the Soviet Typhoon-class. The Red October is the newest of that line, equipped with a new propulsion system that renders it silent. Let me repeat that: it’s a submarine roughly the size of a World War 2 aircraft carrier armed with hundreds of nuclear warheads to be showered on a major metropolitan center, and nobody would see it coming. Taking her out on her maiden voyage is Captain Marko Ramius, a haunted man with years of experience, a loyal crew and a fresh grudge to nurse. When he takes Red October away from her planned course, everybody assumes the worst. Everybody, that is, except for a slightly nerdy CIA analyst specialized in fighting sailors like Ramius: Doctor Jack Ryan.

Tom Clancy wrote the book in ’84, and this film adaptation came to us in 1990. Most of the narrative remains intact, and the characters behave as described. A few were cut along with a couple superfluous sub-plots, but you wouldn’t know it given the pace and tension of this fim. It moves smoothly, delivers memorable characters and goes to some interesting places, a journey unhindered by the minutae of submarine warfare.

Trust me, there is nothing “minute” about a Typhoon-class submarine.

Oh, there’s plenty of warfare to be had. Hunts through underwater canyons, games of chicken deep underwater with torpedoes, sabotage and intrigue; everything you need to make a good submarine war film is here. The film wisely dispenses with some of the technical details, however, which Clancy used to make his novel nice and thick. By using these volumes of text as a reference and information for visual stylization rather than as a means to directly inform the audience of the goings-on, director John McTiernan makes pehaps the nerdiest form of modern warfare an exciting thing to watch.

This is the same John McTiernan, after all, who brought us the seminal action movie Die Hard. He shows his skill and diversity in Red October, directing a taut Cold War thriller with the same adeptness and wisdom as he does a run-and-gun action flick. He gives the characters time to breathe and grow, then contracts the scene into a tight, tense atmosphere perfectly. The score of Basil Poulidorus and the presence of actors like Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, Scott Glenn, Sam Neill, Stellan Skarsgaard and the late Robert Jordan deepen and empower the experience, coming together to make a great thriller. He also executes a very clever transition from subtitles to spoken English, helping underscore a message the film conveys which I’ll touch upon in a moment.

“Sean, you’re not even going to try and do an accent, are you?”
“I’m Sean Connery, Sam. I don’t need to do an accent.”

Red October does have a few rough patches here and there. The speaking members of Red October’s crew don’t necessarily pull off convincing Russian accents. Sean Connery in particular clearly remains a Scotsman even when he’s speaking Russian. This doesn’t take that much away from his performance, other than perhaps a little good-natured chuckling at the fact that he’s not even bothering with an accent. The plot isn’t necessarily all that complex, relying less upon screenplay slight-of-hand and more upon smart dialogue and canny scene construction to keep the audience interested. And it’s highly likely you won’t just be interested. I’ve seen this movie several times, and re-watching it recently still had me on the edge of my seat in some scenes despite me knowing the outcome.

It’s doubtful that The Hunt For Red October would be made today the way it was in 1990. While it might still have a good plot and good characters, there was an atmosphere to it in the early 90s that was undeniable, that lent additional weight to its message and meaning. In the course of the film, the message comes across that Americans and Russians, despite an ocean of both seawater and cultural disparity between them, are not so different. In the days when the Soviet Union was barely staying together and the Berlin Wall was coming down, it was important for Americans to not just be given this message but also to embrace it, to help those in Russia seeking a new way of life stay on their feet as the regime that had caused so much suspicion and oppression began to crumble around them. Both the Americans and the Soviets had so many other things to which they could have applied their energies, rather than spending it on pointless arguments, hyperbolic hate and decades-long dick-measuring contests. Thank the Maker we’re so much more enlightened in this day and age, eh?

This photo is nowhere near as impressive as the actual shot in the scene this is taken from.

Sarcastic soapboxing aside, I think this is definitely a film worth your time. It belongs on your Netflix queue if you enjoy a gripping thriller, Sean Connery or Sam Neill in snappy black uniforms, some very nerdy in-jokes, great use of several tropes or submarine warfare. It works on a lot of levels, builds atmosphere extremely well and remembers that levity and touching moments are just as important as explosions and military jargon. Even if just for hisorical study and reference, I highly recommend The Hunt for Red October. And no, it’s not just because I have half the lines memorized.

It’s not my fault some of them are so damn memorable.

Category: Netflix (page 9 of 27)

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Krull

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Last Action Hero

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! True Lies

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Repo! The Genetic Opera

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! The Hunt for Red October

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