The Lost World (1925) Review

Title: The Lost World
Year: 1925
Director: Harry O' Hoyt
Country: US
Language: N/A

By 1925, now-acclaimed animator William O' Brian had completed several short subjects using stop-motion technology, including The Dinosaur and the Missing Link: A Prehistoric Tragedy (1915) and The Ghost of Slumber Mountain (1918). His overall goal was to combine stop-motion and live action with more realism and drama than ever before. This goal would lead him to the impressive film The Lost World (1925)

This is the first film adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic novel about a land where prehistoric creatures still roam.

Concerning an expedition by a group of men with differing goals. Their shared destination is a plateau of rock, hidden deep in the Amazon jungle, upon which live creatures forgotten by time. Later Lost World would be the inspiration for Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park. We are shown many sketches drawn by the main character, which builds up great suspense. We know the animals are “tremendous in size and ferocity,”, but the doodles enforce the point and offer us a taste of things to come. 

Unfortunately the technical limitations of 1925 meant that O'Brian's stop motion didn't really work. The obvious rubber models moved stiffly and had very little speed. Most importantly it didn't feel like the animated dinosaurs and live action humans were part of the same universe. When the humans say they are in danger, we don't feel like they actually are in danger. This is a shame because the film had great potential and was building up to something quite great before the dinosaurs showed up. 

The Lost World makes a poor picture, but it is a nice case-study of special effects development. We see bits and pieces of King Kong (1933), O'Brian's masterpiece, but know that the technique isn't quite ready yet. Worthy of a glance for curiosity's sake. 

Castle in the Sky (1986) Review

Title: Castle in the Sky

Year: 1986

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Country: Japan

Language: Japanese

Hayao Miyazaki wanted his third feature-length animated picture, Castle in the Sky, to be simple and entertaining enough to please "elementary school age" children. As a result, Miyazaki created self-imposed limitations in regards to scope and style of animation and the film compares to more classic forms of anime. With this picture he sought to “help resurrect traditionally entertaining manga- or cartoon-style films.” 

A young boy (James Van Der Beek)  and a girl (Anna Paquin) with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.

Miyazaki avoids clear signifiers of time and setting, despite designing his film’s pseudo-Celtic culture from the mining culture of Wales. He juxtaposes varied clothing styles and technologies as non-indicators representative of an alternate world. The castle itself derives its shape from an inspired mixture of M.C. Esher, classic fairy tale imagery, and the ruins of ancient civilizations all wrapped up into a single construct.  The castle represents the ideologies of the past and the potential dangers of the future

The intended ease of Castle in the Sky presents a Miyazaki work that doesn't tread far beyond shallow water. Granted, this is still a greater picture than anything Disney had released in the 1980's. Often Miyazaki's pictures appeal to adults and children somewhat equally, but this picture is the exception in regards to tipping the scale too far towards children. 

Minor environmentalist and anti-technology themes reveal a little bit of depth, but the picture is mainly comprised of exciting chases and remarkable imagery. At heart its an escapist picture meant to make its audience lose itself in the feeling of adventure. Certainly a fine viewing. 

Ready Player One (2018) Review

Title: Ready Player One
Year: 2018
Director: Steven Spielberg
Country: US
Language: English

At the age of 71, Steven Spielberg's willingness to continue challenging himself has resulted in one of his best works in over a decade. His lost glory from lackluster pictures like Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull (2007) has been slightly rejuvenated in the eyes of many fans. His adaptation of Ernest Cline’s 2011 novel, a text already inspired by Spielberg tropes, was a smart move to show on the silver screen. 

When the creator of a virtual reality world called the OASIS dies, he releases a video in which he challenges all OASIS users to find his Easter Egg, which will give the finder his fortune. Our protagonist Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) tries his hardest to do so. 

A mix of Tron and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory Cline's novel embraces 80's nostalgia with no shame. Cline co-wrote the screenplay with Zak Penn, deviating from the source material but keeping the overall structure of the novel intact. If anything, the film's screenplay is better than the book as the film has a greater focus on real world consequences rather than long scenes of playing video games. 

Spielberg alternates between a grimy, grayed-out reality and the intentionally cartoony CGI wonderland of the Oasis, where Wade resembles a Final Fantasy character. He claimed the production was an "anxiety attack" due to the tremendous amount of CGI involved, but thankfully his special effects team came through. The material works far better as a film primarily because of the visuals. It's one thing to read about Godzilla vs. Gundam Knight, it's another thing to see it. 

The sheer volume of references is exhausting; one wonders how good the film would be without the cheap pops. Overall it's a fun film, but neither book or film ventured too far out of shallow waters. Ideally I don't want movies to be made like Ready Player One (2018), mainly due to its over-reliance on CGI, but I can't deny it's worth at least one viewing.