Cel_Stacker

I realize a review is supposed to talk about the movie, but indulge me for a moment.

I enjoy Westerns. But, that wasn't always the case. My mother of all people turned me on to the virtues and value found in "Bonanza", "Cimarron Strip", "The Big Valley", and "The Virginian". Later, I would discover what made everyone from Sergio Leone to Clint Eastwood cool. I came to respect the romance and intrigue inherent in the genre; rarely was I turned off.

It's that much more pleasing when the genre is taken in a different direction. We have an excellent example this year! It starts with a neurotic pet chameleon (Johnny Depp), naturally well-versed in drama and portrayal. Cruel fate sees him stranded in the wasteland, literally guided by voices, as he spends an amusing opening trying to survive. A chance meeting with strong-willed rancher lizard Beans (Isla Fisher) gets him a ride from the sewer to the toilet, a last-legs town, appropriately called "Dirt". There are water problems as well as outlaws aplenty. Mr. Neurotic lays eyes on a label in a saloon, spins a few tall tales, and Rango is born! After more dumb luck sees him nail a hawk and run toughie Bad Bill (Ray Winstone) and his gang off, Rango becomes a name in the community.

But, can he figure out what's behind the water shortage? He's on a clock, since to said outlaws, a sheriff's star may as well be a bulls-eye.

Prior to rushing out to see this, I heard a couple of pre-cog complaints about ugly character designs. That's easily answered, along with many other stigma you true believers may be having. First, if you are into clean, perfect, "attractive" character design and execution as displayed through the rose-colored, 3-D VR helmets borne of the PIXAR/DreamWorks debate, stay away from this film. That goes triple for you parents looking for the next animated film before which to plop your kids down, where any animated film will do. Don't do it. Save money and gas...go see "Toy Story 3" for the twelfth time.

None of that here. Just as men are men and women are women in the Old West, "Rango" is it's own film. More "Shane" than "Shrek". More "Foreign Correspondent" than "Finding Nemo". It's gritty. Raw. Filthy. Surreal. Disturbingly violent at times. But with just the right amount of well-placed humor to break it up. Gore Verbinski's trademark pacing, put to increasingly awkward use in the "Pirates Of The Caribbean" franchise, works surprisingly well here. Equal attention must be paid to animation director Hal Hickel and the ever-improving staff at ILM, as they trade firm handshakes with art director John Bell and production designer Mark McCreery in the successful effort to craft stunning, unforgettable visuals, accented by outstanding lighting, which puts the fruit of the current 3-D, hi-def craze to shame. The not-so-original, yet solid story receives further grand support from a sweeping score by the winning Hans Zimmer and the further contributions of co-producers such as Mark Bakshi. (Yes, he's related to that Bakshi. Those in the know need not hear anything further. The rest of you, get to Googling.) Everything about the film cries "unorthodox", including the performance of a highly capable cast, who actually performed their scenes on sound stage, near-to-unheard of in animation procedure. Keep eyes peeled for humorous set pieces and important cameos. This is well worth your repeat viewings.

So, head on west. But leave the kids at home to wrestle with PIXAR, DreamWorks, and the other juveniles of the terrarium.

This is an engaging mockumentary about Leonard Zelig (writer/director Woody Allen), the undisputed medical phenomenon of 1929. So serious is his neurological condition, that he will assimilate the physical, mental, and even cultural attributes of whomever with he spends significant time. That's right--around fat people, he gets fat. Around black people, he becomes black. He'll develop a beard and orthodox learning before your eyes if he's around rabbis. The only one who understands, and consequently, fights for him, is the long-suffering Dr. Eudora Nesbitt Fletcher (Mia Farrow), determined to find the cure.

It's just a shame that this film didn't win more awards than it actually did, and a near perfect crime that it's not discussed more often than it is. For one thing, it's far and away among Allen's VERY BEST. The textbook subjects that he confronts so well, such as disease and physical yearnings, are present, but are righteously treated as window dressing for the presentation of the story. The insertion of Allen, Farrow, and a cast of their pals (all of whom perform to a T) to the pre-war era is eye-popping, to say the least. As said before, it's a mockumentary executed so nicely that it could make Christopher Guest turn stone with envy. The highly improbable plot is considerably well-handled, leading us to the inevitable comparison that follows.

Now, if you run around praising "Forrest Gump" (and I KNOW you do), and you haven't seen this, you're really missing it. As fun and briefly interesting as "Gump" was, this classic edges past it, for the simple reason that it knows better than to take itself seriously. This is a comedy, start to finish. The gags are gags, and never manipulate. When we feel for Zelig, Eudora, or both, it's real. After all, who HASN'T tried to fit in somewhere? Finally, the ever-changing way in which the public views/treats Zelig through the whole ordeal that was his "career" exposes the fickle nature of pop culture, showing it for the joke that it is. This was truly Woody at his finest, in a work that definitely should have a little more admiration.

It is...a most interesting version of 1985. Nixon has been president for FAR too long, the Soviet Union struggles with the West over control of Afghanistan, and crime and social upheaval are at an all time high.

And, oh yeah, superheroes exist.

However, superheroes have problems, just like anyone else. The most notable of super teams, the Minute Men, had long passed their glory days and handed the torch to the next generation, whose problems were so severe that they wound up disbanded.

But now, the murder of a veteran member causes these new Watchmen to unite again, with the purpose of solving said murder, and perhaps, saving the world once again.

As different as the source material upon which this movie was based proved to be, I never really liked it. I knew very little of the mysterious writer Alan Moore at the time that I read it (somewhere between high school and college), but he would go on to write works that I enjoyed much more. I gained an appreciation for the dark themes and the social mirrors he explores. But after two readings, I found this particular story somewhat abrupt and naive.

Now, a movie comes along. Surprise, surprise, it proves effective.

Don't go expecting the typical comic book nonsense (aside from Christopher Nolan's take on Batman, and a scant few other examples, that is) to which we've been exposed up to this point. In fact, it's most effective if you attend with no expectations at all. This prompts me to wave a BIG flag before parents--it's rated R for a reason. In fact, there are many reasons.

Some solid performances abound in a cast of actual character actors rather than stars. In particular, talking head followers should enjoy the fine actors portraying The MacLaughlin Group and Ted Koppel. The musical choices pull you in to the narrative, reflecting the troubled era well. (Who would have thought that a Bob Dylan tune would be such a powerful intro?) The film is faithful to the source material to no grammatical fault.

This is one problem critics have had with the film already. One such critic, whose review I thought was rather good otherwise, put forth that the photo-play is so faithful to the novel, that it lacks any spirit of its own. I don't necessarily argue with that, but I do differ with the idea that the story is irrelevant due to the passage of time. (Since there's no Soviet Union, etc.) It's the reason for my title. Some will recognize the classic Chicago Transit Authority tune: "Does anybody really care? And so I can't imagine why, we've all got time enough to die..." (Kinda surprised they didn't add that one.) If anything, the social and cultural connotations of a story like this are MORE relevant today than ever.

In a world facing problems like economic downturn, increasing social upheaval, and families being ruined by a whole lot more than just war, perhaps it is the right time to revisit The Watchmen.