Before I start this review, I must point out that I am very much a fan of Steve Martin, hence will be more positively biased towards his films than non-fans.
The premise of Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid is quite original - much of the film is actually clips from 18 different classic black-and-white "film noir" and "pulp" films from the '40s (except for In A Lonely Place, which is from 1950).
Being a film starring Steve Martin, and directed by Carl Reiner, this is of course a comedy. Steve Martin plays a typical (of this film genre) private eye, with a habit of talking up his famous "java" (apparently ground coffee mixed with a couple of eggs and a small amount of water). He gets roped into investigating the apparent death of a famous scientist, thanks to the feminine wiles of the scientist's daughter. Then what follows for muhc of the film, is Steve's character trying to unravel the mystery. There is a great twist right near the end - I recommend you do not look up the film online before watching, unless you don't mind spoiling the surprise.
I found this film enjoyable and funny. The stitching-in of all the old movie clips actually works quite well, and now I also have a load of black-and-white films I'd like to see...
5/5
Sunday, March 06, 2011
Film: Pom Poko
All of the films I've watched from Studio Ghibli have a certain level of the fantastical about them, but Pom Poko must be right up there at the top (or very nearly the top) as far as the level of the fantastical is concerned.
Without giving too much away, the basic premise is that a large group of raccoons living somewhere in Japan have their homes threatened by the property development being carried out in the area by humans. Not far into the film, we find that these raccoons (like all raccoons, apparently) have the ability to shape-shift, some more so than others.
The story is brilliant, and at times rather weird. It starts off innocuously enough, two groups of raccooons fighing over land that they need for food and homes. It gets a bit weird when we discover the secret that raccoons can shape-shift, and then somewhat further into the film, it gets really weird as the raccoons try to drive the humans away from their land.
The animation is top-notch, as you'd expect from a Studio Ghibli film, and I didn't find the ending predictable.
I would rate this as my favourite Studio Ghibli film so far, and I've seen most of them. 5/5
Without giving too much away, the basic premise is that a large group of raccoons living somewhere in Japan have their homes threatened by the property development being carried out in the area by humans. Not far into the film, we find that these raccoons (like all raccoons, apparently) have the ability to shape-shift, some more so than others.
The story is brilliant, and at times rather weird. It starts off innocuously enough, two groups of raccooons fighing over land that they need for food and homes. It gets a bit weird when we discover the secret that raccoons can shape-shift, and then somewhat further into the film, it gets really weird as the raccoons try to drive the humans away from their land.
The animation is top-notch, as you'd expect from a Studio Ghibli film, and I didn't find the ending predictable.
I would rate this as my favourite Studio Ghibli film so far, and I've seen most of them. 5/5
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