At the Movies

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

The Jungle Book

Rudyard Kipling wrote The Jungle Book in the early 1890s, and published it serially in magazines in 1893 and 1894. The work, considered a masterpiece of English literature, was originally a collection of stories, mostly centered on Mowgli, the man cub raised by wolves, but also included are the stories of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, the mongoose, and Toomai of the Elephants. The stories were an immediate hit, and continue to be popular around the world. Lord Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts, asked Kipling’s permission to use the book as a motivational aid for the Cub Scouts, and the leader of a Cub Scout group is often called Akela after the leader of the wolf pack who adopted and raised Mowgli. Imdb.com member dbone828 has compiled a list of 35 feature films, short films, and tv series based on the work, from the 1942 Zoltan Korda live action film starring Sabu as Mowgli up through the 2016 Disney animated film now playing at the Llano Theatre. Over the years, many notable actors have taken part in the story-telling, including Orson Welles, Roddy McDowall, Sally Struthers, John Goodman, Dana Delaney, etc, and the 2016 Disney version is no slouch with Bill Murray as the voice of Baloo the bear, Ben Kingsley as Bagheera the black panther, Idris Elba as Sheer Khan, Lupita Nyong’o as Raksha the mother wolf, and Scarlett Johansson as Kaa the Cobra. Garry Shandling and Christopher Walken even lend their voices to the story.

We have come to expect the best in animation from Disney Studios, and here again, we can have no complaints. The film is so natural that at times, especially when the “camera” is focused on Mowgli, it’s easy to believe we’re watching a live-action film, not animation. Now in my experience, animals don’t talk, and certainly don’t sing actual songs, but hey, it’s a cartoon, even if a very well done, very long cartoon (106 minutes). The songs themselves are from the 1967 Disney version, this time with Bill Murray singing “Bear Necessities”, Scarlett Johansson singing “Trust in Me” and Christopher Walken (yes!) singing “I Wanna Be Like You.”

Produced and Directed by Jon Favreau who also brought us The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Iron Man and Iron Man 2, and Cowboys and Aliens, the film has been a box office success, making $103,261,464 on its opening weekend (April 15, 2016) and a gross of $289,124,137 by May 9^th, easily repaying the estimated $175,000,000 budgeted for the film. There was some question as to whether the Llano would be able to show the film so early in its distribution, but it’s here, playing to a large audience last week and one hopes a large audience this coming weekend as well. Having seen it myself last Friday, I heartily recommend an evening at the movies with this great story.

And for your future entertainment, 2018 is supposed to bring us two Jungle Books, Jungle Book 2 by Favreau and The Jungle Book, directed by Andy Serkis with more big names: Christian Bale, Benedict Cumberbatch and Cate Blanchett, most notably. Not sure how that will actually play out. Guess we’ll have to wait and see. The current movie is playing Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May 13-15, at 8:00 p.m. with a Sunday matinee at 3:00 p.m.

Upcoming Films: (subject to change)

May 20 - 22 MOTHER'S DAY PG-13

May 27 - 29 CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR PG-13

June 3 - 5 THE ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE PG

June 10 - 12 X-MEN: APOCALYPSE PG-13

June 17 - 19 ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS PG

June 24 - 26 TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: OUT OF THE SHADOWS PG-13

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Superman v Batman: Dawn of Justice

If you enjoyed 2013’s Man of Steel, here comes the sequel. If you were appalled by the destruction of Metropolis in the earlier story, you weren’t alone. Bruce Wayne, AKA Batman, was also angered and has decided that someone needs to reign in the seemingly limitless power of Clark Kent’s alter ego. So that explains why two of America’s favorite superheroes are now fighting each other. And if you need further proof that Superman v Batman: Dawn of Justice is, indeed, a sequel, all your favorite actors/characters are back three years later. Henry Cavill returns as Clark Kent/Superman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Michael Shannon as General Zod, Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, even Diane Lane as Martha Kent. They are joined in this new adventure by Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Jeremy Irons as Alfred, and Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman. If you’re wondering where Wonder Woman comes from in this story, so am I. But the three are all Justice League members, so perhaps future flics will include Aquaman, the Flash and Green Lantern as well. Indeed, Director/Producer Zach Snyder has five more DC Comics movies in the works, scheduled through 2019.

The on-line question and answer site Quora has a number of pages devoted to Superman v Batman. In my opinion, the most interesting is the one asking “What is the best way to describe Batman and Superman?” I found this of interest not just by the poetry Quora members used in their descriptions, but also because the respondents seemed to be primarily young males from the Indian subcontinent who sometimes displayed a very Indian perspective, e.g. “Batman is the silent protector. The mongoose you want under the house when the snakes slither by, because even the man needs backup sometimes.” The one exception is Oakland, California based James Friel, who is neither from the Subcontinent, nor, at age 69, particularly young. He says this about the two characters:

Superman is an idealist. Batman is a pragmatist.
Superman is more intelligent. Batman has more street smarts.
Superman grew up middle class. Batman grew up unimaginably rich.
Superman can be naive. Batman can be cynical.
Superman is more powerful. Batman is more skilled.
Superman was raised by a couple who loved him as their own son. Batman saw his parents killed in front of him.
Superman wants to stop harm from occurring. Batman wants harsh justice.
Superman is motivated by hope. Batman is motivated by revenge.

The last three are the key to this movie, or as Batman himself says, “…deep down [Kent] is a good man. And deep down, I’m not.”

This two and a half hour film (eight minutes longer than Man of Steel) has been rated PG-13 for intensely violent scenes, profanity, and some “sensuality” as imdb.com puts it. Specifically, some scenes are so graphically violent that they may frighten young children. And if you don’t want your children hearing certain words, seeing bare flesh, or for that matter, impossibly muscled flesh covered in skin-tight costumes, you may want to leave the smaller kids at home. The movie opened March 25^th, 2016, and the opening weekend box office brought in $166,007,347 in the U.S. Three weeks later (April 14^th), the movie had more than paid for its estimated $250,000,000 budget, with a total box office of $302,301,730, again just looking at U.S. revenues.

Upcoming Films (Subject to Change):

BATMAN v SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE PG-13
April 22 - 24
THE DIVERGENT SERIES: ALLEGIANT PG-13
April 29 - May 1

Showtime is 8:00 p.m., Friday, Saturday and Sunday

In the interest of full disclosure: I have no connection to the Llano Theatre. I just appreciate the fact that a small town, Plains, Montana, has a movie house that shows great movies at a reasonable price usually within a month of their first on-screen appearance in the big cities, and I want to make sure that those of us who live in the area continue to enjoy this luxury for a long, long time.

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Zootopia

Can a female bunny (excuse me, rabbit) make it as a cop in the big city? What if she has to pair up with a wily fox to solve the big mystery? Can this be anything other than a Disney Studios production? Reviewers have said that both children and adults will find much to like in this animated feature, and any similarity between Judy Hopps (the rabbit voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) and Judy Hoffs in the 1987 movie 21 Jump Street is simply an “hilarious…coincidence.” Yes, they’re both female cops, yes, they both face discrimination, and yes, they share remarkably similar names, but writer Byron Howard, co-writer/director of Zootopia says no. (He’s the one who made the hilarious coincidence comment.)

Set in a large city with a very diverse animal population, Zootopia is a classic whodunit in which the utopian world where all animals live together in peace and harmony is found to have a very sinister underbelly. Peter Debruge, writing in Variety, says that in some respects the movie is a corrective to Disney’s 1947 Song of the South. This time Sis Rabbit and Brer Fox work together instead of being enemies. He also suggests that Zootopia can be compared to another Disney movie, the 1988 Who Framed Roger Rabbit—but without Bob Hoskins. There are no actual humans in this movie, although the animals all have very human characteristics, including opposable thumbs.

Missoula’s J.K. Simmons provides the voice for Mayor Lionheart and Idris Elba lends his voice to Chief Bogo (a Musk Ox), head of the city’s police. Jason Bateman’s voice comes to life as Nick Wilde, the fox with whom Judy Hopps partners. Shakira sings the role of Gazelle, whom Debruge describes as “the veld’s sveltest pop idol.” The movie was written by the aforementioned Byron Howard along with eight other writers, and directed by Howard and two associates. Howard's previous writing credits include the short film Tangled Ever After, and director credits include Bolt, Tangled, Tangled Ever After, and the short Let it Begin.

The feature opened in Europe before opening in the U.S. on March 4, 2016. Opening weekend box office in the U.S. totaled over $75 million, and total receipts as of March 21^st come to $204,654,233, easily paying back the estimated cost of $150 million. The movie will play here in Plains for two weekends, so you have plenty of time to see it twice, or more if you so wish. There will be no matinee on Easter Sunday, but there will be a 3 p.m. showing the following Sunday as well as the regular 8:00 p.m. showings on Friday, Saturday and Sunday both weeks.

Upcoming Films (Subject to Change):

ZOOTOPIA PG
March 25 - 27 no matinee Easter Sunday
April 1 - 3 matinee 3 p.m. Sunday

Tentative schedule for April:

LONDON HAS FALLEN R
April 8 - 10
BATMAN VS. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE PG-13
April 15 - 17
MIRACLES FROM HEAVEN PG
April 22 - 24
THE DIVERGENT SERIES: ALLEGIANT PG-13
April 29 - May 1

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Eddie the Eagle

At 4,409 feet in elevation, Ben Nevis is Great Britain’s highest mountain. In relative terms, that means the peak is further from the low lands around it than Pat’s Knob is from the Clark Fork Valley, but not as high as Baldy. And that’s the highest point in Britain. It is no wonder that Britain has never been known as a powerhouse of skiing talent. In fact, despite competing in every Winter Olympics since the inception of the games in 1924, it was only in 2014, at Sochi, Russia, that Britain got its first medal for skiing, a bronze taken by Jenny Jones in the Women’s Slopestyle Competition—a snowboarding event held for the first time that year. That doesn’t mean that the Brits haven’t tried in the past, just that the country really isn’t known for its expertise on skis.

Michael Edwards was one of those Brits who did try, and despite being the best Britain had to offer at the time, he failed, miserably, as it were, to the point that the International Olympic Committee instituted a new rule about qualifying for events which they named for Mr. Edwards. When he competed at Calgary in 1988, he was already the British ski jumping record holder, number nine in the world for amateur speed skiing, and world record holder for stunt jumping. Although he had tried for a spot on Britain’s 1984 team, he was unsuccessful. To train for 1988, he moved to Lake Placid, New York, hoping for experience in a more challenging environment and switched from speed skiing to ski jumping because there was less competition. (He was the *only* British ski jumper.) Although he was twenty pounds heavier than his closest competitor, and entirely self-funded, he was accepted as an Olympian and went to Calgary to compete in the 70 meter and 90 meter jumps. So near sighted that he had to wear his glasses while competing, he was essentially blind as his glasses fogged over completely during his runs. Sports writers called him Mr. Magoo, after the famously near-blind cartoon character. He finished dead last in both events, but won the hearts of sports fans. It is his story that is depicted in Dexter Fletcher’s film Eddie the Eagle.

Fletcher has an impressive list of credits, but is probably not well known to American audiences. He is primarily an actor, having appeared in such films as Bugsy Malone (at age 10), Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and the Muppets Most Wanted movie where his cameo role ended up on the editing floor. He’s been in no end of British television shows, as well as the HBO series Band of Brothers, but his directing has been limited to three films to date: Wild Bill (2011), Sunshine on the Leith (2013), and Eddie the Eagle (2016). Edwards is played by British actor Taron Egerton who is probably best known to American audiences for his role in the 2014 movie Kingsman: The Secret Service. I have to admit that only three names in the cast list stood out for me: Hugh Jackman, who plays Eddie’s trainer (a fictional role not based on any real person), Christopher Walken, and British Character Actor Jim Broadbent, whom you may recognize from the Harry Potter movies.

Eddie the Eagle opened at Sundance in January, 2016 and then in theatrical release in the U.S. on February 26, 2016. If you haven’t heard much about this movie, you’re not alone. Opening weekend receipts totaled just over $6 million, and total receipts to date (through March 11) have been just shy of $13.5 million. At this rate it will take a while for the movie to recoup its estimated cost of $23 million. The film is rated PG-13 because of some suggestive language, some partial nudity, and smoking. (Yes, smoking!) By the way, Olympic records show that Britain had three ski jumpers at the very first Winter Olympics in 1924, but 1988 was the next time Britain fielded a jumper—Edwards, and after him one jumper in 2002. And that’s all, folks!

Coming to the Llano Theatre: (Subject to change)

EDDIE THE EAGLE PG-13
March 18 - 20

ZOOTOPIA PG
March 25 - 27 no matinee
April 1 - 3 matinee 3 p.m. Sunday

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Risen

Affirm Films is the home of quality entertainment that inspires, uplifts, challenges, and captivates. Through compelling films, treasured children’s classics and timeless stories, we deliver on the promise of wholesome and trusted entertainment.

Thus reads the mission statement of Affirm Films, a division of Sony Pictures. Affirm Films, along with LD Entertainment, Columbia Pictures (also a Sony company), and Patrick Aiello Productions, is the producer of the movie Risen, which opened on February 19^th, 2016, and is playing at the Llano Theatre in Plains on the weekend of March 11-13. The background to the story will be familiar to anyone who grew up in a Christian church, as it focuses on the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus. The point of view of the story, however, is not one church goers will find familiar.

Reza Aslan, author of the scholarly work Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, suggests that Jesus was an itinerant Jewish preacher who gathered followers in an attempt to establish the “Kingdom of God.” Aslan further suggests that this preacher caused such fear among both the Jewish religious leaders and the Roman civil authorities, that he was condemned and executed as a state criminal. Some Christians are familiar with the four letter inscription supposedly put above Jesus’s cross, “INRI,” which is an acronym for the Latin phrase translated as “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” [Iēsus Nazarēnus, Rēx Iūdaeōrum] Aslan proposes that the Romans were very serious about the words they used in crucifixions, and this phase would, indeed, indicate just how seriously the authorities viewed the “crime.” And that’s where our movie starts. If, as Jesus prophesied, he would rise from the dead in three days, this would be a miracle capable of destroying the Roman occupation of Palestine as well as the existing Jewish religious hierarchy. A guard is posted in front of the tomb, to make sure no one steals the body. When word comes back to Pontius Pilate that the tomb is empty, he sends men to investigate, with the understanding that they will find a body and disprove any resurrection claims. And that, in a nutshell, is the story line of the movie Risen. “The manhunt that changed the course of human history,” as the movie’s poster claims.

Joseph Fiennes plays Clavius, the Tribune in charge of the “manhunt.” He is assisted by his aide, Lucius, played by Tom Felton. Peter Firth takes the role of Pilate and Cliff Curtis Yeshua (Jesus). All the Biblical characters are present: Mary Magdalene, Joseph of Arimathea, Peter, John, Bartholomew, etc. The screenplay was written by Kevin Reynolds and Paul Aiello, and Reynolds directed the movie. Believers won’t see any mystery here, because they know what happened to the body, but the story should be an interesting look at how non-believers interpret the Easter story.

During its opening weekend, Risen brought in amost $12 million dollars, and in the two weeks since opening, it has grossed over $28.6 million (as of March 6^th). From everything I have read about the movie, it won’t challenge anyone’s beliefs, and indeed, I come back to the name of the production company in the belief that the film was made to affirm Christian theology.

Upcoming Films at the Llano (subject to change):

RISEN PG-13
March 11 - 13

LONDON HAS FALLEN R
March 18 - 20
ZOOTOPIA PG
March 25 - 27 No matinee

This is the tentative schedule for April:
10 CLOVERFIELD LANE PG-13
April 1 - 3
THE DIVERGENT SERIES: ALLEGIANT PG-13
April 8 - 10
BATMAN VS SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE PG-13
April 15 - 17
MIRACLES FROM HEAVEN PG-13
April 22 - 24

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

The Revenant

I thought about writing this up last week, but as the movie was nominated for 12 academy awards, I figured it would be better to wait until after last Sunday's award show. As it turns out, this film has been nominated for 135 awards around the world, and has already won 63 times, including Best Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Actor in a Leading Role at Sunday's Oscar ceremony. Make no mistake, this is an extremely violent film. If your stomach isn't up to watching a man being attacked by a Grizzly Bear, or eating a freshly caught fish raw, scales and all, you probably will want to stay at home. But Director Alejandro González Iñárritu’s work is compelling for those who can sit through the two and a half hour vision of hell. As a side note, Iñárritu has now won two Best Director Oscars in a row, having won for Birdman last year.

The plot, based on Michael Punke’s 2002 novel, can be summarized easily. Hugh Glass, a trapper in the 1820s, working in what would become Montana forty years later, is mauled by a Grizzly. His companions are under instruction to watch over him until he recovers or dies, but instead they choose to leave him on his own and save their own selves. Glass doesn’t die, and fights his way across 200 miles of wilderness to get to a trading post where he vows revenge on his former companions. Along the way he does what he must to survive, including eating the raw fish I mentioned above. He also gets swept across a waterfall, which, in the movie, was played by the Kootenai Falls just west of Libby. The part of Montana in the film was played mostly by Alberta, but other parts of the film were shot in British Columbia, Mexico, Tierra del Fuego Argentina, and the aforementioned Kootenai Falls. In other words, the people making the movie got around even more than the original Hugh Glass, a part played by Leonardo DiCaprio in an Academy Award winning performance.

Kootenai Falls at High WaterPhotograph by the AuthorTaken 4/13/2014

Aside from the Montana setting, a further local connection is that novelist Michael Punke spent time in Missoula where he served as an Adjunct Professor at the University. Born in Torrington, Wyoming, Punke got his education at Cornell University, and worked with (then) Senator Max Baucus as his international trade counsel. While in Missoula, President Obama asked him to move to Geneva, Switzerland to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the World Trade Organization, a post he still holds. While everyone else connected with the film was in Hollywood last Sunday, Punke was in Nairobi, Kenya negotiating trade agreements. His position in government service forbids him to talk about his book or the movie made from his book, as that would be seen as a conflict of interest. Who knew that talking about a novel set in the 1820s could upset delicate trade negotiations.

I, personally, am not a fan of violence on screen, but I am really looking forward to seeing this movie. As I stated above, if your stomach can take it, by all means come watch the story of Hugh Glass’s survival and revenge.

Upcoming Films at the Llano Theatre (subject to change):

THE REVENANT R
March 4 -6

RISEN PG-13
March 11 - 13
LONDON HAS FALLEN R
March 18 - 20
ZOOTOPIA PG
March 25 - 27 there will be NO matinee on Easter Sunday

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

The Finest Hours

The 1899 regulations written for the U.S. Life Saving Service, one of the groups that became the modern U.S. Coast Guard, state:

"In attempting a rescue the keeper will select either the boat, breeches buoy, or life car, as in his judgment is best suited to effectively cope with the existing conditions. If the device first selected fails after such trial as satisfies him that no further attempt with it is feasible, he will resort to one of the others, and if that fails, then to the remaining one, and he will not desist from his efforts until by actual trial the impossibility of effecting a rescue is demonstrated. The statement of the keeper that he did not try to use the boat because the sea or surf was too heavy will not be accepted unless attempts to launch it were actually made and, or unless the conformation of the coast—as bluffs, precipitous banks, etc.—is such as to unquestionably preclude the use of a boat."

Overtime, this has morphed into what is now the Coast Guard’s unofficial motto, “You have to go out, but you don’t have to come back,” which actor Chris Pine, playing U.S. Coast Guardsman Bernie Webber mutters as he leads a crew of four aboard the CG-36500 motor life boat.

The story in a nutshell is this. A powerful winter storm hit the north Atlantic in February, 1952. A 503 f00t tanker, the Pendleton, sailing from Louisiana to Massachusetts broke in half in the early morning hours, an event that happened so quickly that the ship was unable to send a distress signal. With seas ranging from 40 to 60 feet in height, some Coast Guard sailors refused to help with the rescue efforts when the Coast Guard’s radar showed the ship in trouble. Bernie Webber, however, led a small crew out to rescue as many sailors as possible under the most difficult circumstances. This is a true story. In fact, two ships broke in half that morning off the coast of Cape Cod. Much of the almost two-hour movie is, indeed, true, but a few facts have been changed for dramatic impact. Nothing, however, that takes away from the power of the story. There is a web site that details some of the facts and fictions used in the movie: http://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/finest-hours/

Anyone who has lived on or visited the coast and seen the tiny boats used by the Coast Guard will empathize with Webber and his crew. And the salient fact is that the CG-36500 was able to rescue 32 sailors and keep its own four crew members alive, even though the boat was designed to hold no more than 12. The boat shown below is an actual 36 foot Coast Guard Lifeboat, identical to the one used by Webber and his crew (and only two away in numbering).

The CG36498

on display at the historic Coast Guard Station at Port Orford, Oregon

photo by the author, 11/9/2007

For those of you who agree with me that most movies these days seem to be filmed at night with no special lighting, once again that is going to be the case. But here, there’s a very practical reason for it. The rescue happened during the dark of the night, and like it or not, there aren’t large spotlights out in the middle of the ocean. The good news is that even though all the advertising for this movie says that it’s in 3D, it won’t be shown as a 3D movie at the Llano, so we don’t have to wear those crazy glasses that make the movie even darker.

The Finest Hours opened on January 29^th, 2016, and grossed almost $10,300,000 that weekend. Total gross revenue for the three weeks the movie has been shown (through February 19^th) has been close to $25,500,000. The Llano is showing the movie at 8 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, February 26-28^th. See you there!

Upcoming films at the Llano Theatre (subject to change):

THE FINEST HOURS PG-13
February 26 - 28

THE REVENANT R
March 4 - 6
RISEN PG-13
March 11 - 13