Movies

Dark Helmet: What's the matter, Colonel Sandurz? CHICKEN?

Grave of the Fireflies

Why do fireflies die so young?

It is post-war Japan, just weeks before the American occupation. In the city of Kobe, a boy lies dying in a train station. Beside his body lies a small candy container. A janitor, unsure what to make of its ashy contents, pitches it into the night. As fireflies float softly around it, the ghostly images of the boy and his little sister appear…
Flashback to a short time earlier. Orphaned and homeless from a fire-bomb attack on their city, 14-year-old Seita and his 4-year-old sister, Setsuko, set out to survive in the face of a society that is no longer able to protect them. Forced to live in an abandoned bomb shelter in the Japanese countryside, they slowly come to realize that they can never escape the hardships of war, or even find enough food to survive.

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Terry: You don't understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody...

I am told that this story originated as an Eastern European folk tale. A young man (Johnny Depp), promised by his family to give his hand in marriage finds himself in a most unfortunate situation. In his nervousness he meanders into the forest to clear his head before the wedding. The end result of his trip into the trees is less of a clear head and more of a new bride; a Corpse Bride (Helena Bonham Carter).

Now married to the Corpse Bride, he is taken to the city of the dead and left wondering if he will ever see the light of day again, let alone the woman he was to marry.

Tim Burton's movies exude style. Whether he uses actors or stop-motion animation, you are in for a treat. Corpse Bride is no exception, it is a visual schmorgesbord.

The music was done by Danny Elfman, whose name should speak for itself. If it doesn't, the man's resume is quite impressive. The songs were fun, though a little muffled. It was hard to tell if it was the fault of the theater in which I watched, or the songs themselves. It was such that the backround voices and music sometimes drowned out lead vocals. This left me lost during a song or two but I was able to move on.

I will chalk it up to a flaw in the story of old, and not in the representation presented by Tim Burton, but I do not believe I was the only one who found himself in a dilemma towards the end. Watching the movie you see the feelings Victor (Depp) has for Victoria, the woman he is to marry. You obviously pull for him to find a way to be with her, right? Well right....kinda. What about Corpse Bride? It was not her wish for fate to lead her to this place, so how can you have Victor turn his back on her?

I will not tell you the resolution, but I will say that I thought it a bit lacking. Overall, however, the movie was good. I am glad I went to see Tim Burton's Corpse Bride.

Burton left me with another dilemma, though less intentionally. Here I am torn between wanting to see more of the stop-motion animation like Corpse Bride and The Nightmare Before Christmas and wanting more (Johnny Depp starred) movies like Edward Scissorhands and Sleepy Hollow...and Ed Wood (you think these two like working together?).

I guess I will opt for both, but while we all wait I think you will have fun at Tim Burton's Corpse Bride.

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Based on a true life story, The Motorcycle Diaries is an inspiring and thrilling adventure that traces the youthful origins of a revolutionary spirit. The film follows two daring friends, Ernesto "Che" Guevara (Gael Garcia Bernal, Y Tu Mama Tambien) and Alberto Granado (Rodrigo de la Serna), who hop on the back of a beat-up motorcycle for a breathtaking and exciting road trip across Latin America. From executive producer Robert Redford and acclaimed director Walter Salles (Central Station) comes a life-changing journey that critics are hailing as "Magnificent!" (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone)

Based on a "true life story." If you pick up the same double meaning I found there, give yourself a cookie. It is a story based in true life, but also a story of a true life. You can play with the emphasis as you say the words. Based on a true life-story or based on a true-life story. I love that.

Take two young men with futures nearly as bright as they can be, and set them loose on a journey across a continent with nothing but their own stubborn unwillingness to quit to get them from point A to point B.

It took me far too long to see this movie. I wanted to from the first preview I saw and I make no excuses for the delay. All I can tell you is that you should not wait as I did. This was truly a beautiful movie and any praise it has received in the past along with any it gets in the future is more than merited. And I will go ahead and say it: Gael Garcia Bernal is probably the most likeable on screen personality of our generation.

Some may disagree with the actions Ernesto Guevara took later in his life, many of which resulting from experiences gained on the trip chronicled in this movie. I respect this opinion, but I do not think that should prevent you from seeing and even enjoying The Motorcycle Diaries.

I found it a bit odd that there was so little emphasis on the danger involved in two young men traveling around South America with no money and even less outdoor experience, but the movie was not about the literal journey. The figurative journey that both men took was special to witness. The kindness and compassion that especially Guevara exhibited towards others was moving.

Go rent, or even buy The Motorcycle Diaries. I recommend this one to you all, even in consideration of the relatively harsh language used at times. (This movie is subtitled.)

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