MUPPETS MOST WANTED

MUPPETS MOST WANTED Review

By Darin Skaggs

     In 2011 The Muppets came out with riveting success.  It was full of big laughs, hilariously beautiful music and an optimistic look at nostalgia.  It was a return to original material for The Muppets in over a decade and a return to original quality in almost thirty years.  Jason Segal was the heart of the operations and has not returned for the new Muppet movie, James Bobin’s Muppets Most Wanted.

     The story is about Constantine, the world’s most dangerous frog and looks just like Kermit the Frog with a mole.  He devises a master plan to frame Kermit and take his place on the Muppet World Tour.  This goes swell for Constantine and along with his number two, Dominic Badguy played by Ricky Gervais, they travel around the world stealing from museums near stages that the Muppets are preforming at.  And all this is happening while Kermit is locked away in a Russian prison lead by Nadya played by Tina Fey.  Meanwhile during all of that, Sam the Eagle and Jean Pierre Napoleon played by Ty Burrell are forced to be federal agent partners that in some what humorous ways are trying to solve the crimes happening near and around the Muppets.

     The film actually starts right where the last film left off.  It turns out that The Muppets were just shooting a movie about how they got back together.  All the cheering fans turn out to be extras, the camera crew packs up their bags and heads out.  The Muppets contemplate what to do next.  They do the only thing they can do.  Make a sequel!  There is a wonderful song about making a sequel that pokes fun at the previous Muppet films, films in general and the fact the sequel can never be as good.  Sadly, they get that last part right.  The original The Muppet Movie, The Great Muppet Caper and The Muppets all can be classified as some of the funniest films of all time.  This one however does not match up with its predecessors.  While having some very funny moments including a Muppet joyously finding out he could have quit being a Muppet all along or characters saying that they haven’t been in focus enough not all the jokes hit there mark.  Some of the jokes seemed to only be aimed for children and are not dry enough to be the Muppets main sense of humor.  In the last film and a lot of Muppet movies the songs are always a highlight.  Bret McKenzie, who wrote the music for the 2011 film is back but you can’t really tell.  The songs, with the exception of the first one and a ballad from Miss Piggy, will not be stuck in your head nor will you find yourself singing them to yourself.

     It is apparent that there is a pattern here.  This series of films is mirroring the first series of Muppet films.  The previous film makes many references to the original The Muppet Movie spending most of the time in the car, all the Muppets getting back together again and at one point Kermit literally says “Didn’t you see our first movie?”  This new film is no different with many call backs to The Great Muppet Caper including the Muppets being witness to a series of crimes, the film taking place in a foreign land, the very first song being about movies and Sam the Eagle calls the Muppets weirdoes.  Although the film doesn’t fully capture the magic of Muppet Caper, it keeps up the mirroring of the first couple films from the Muppets.

The last film was saying a lot about the nostalgia and how you should not wallow in it.  Just make the best of the now, relive what you can and find new goals and adventures.  It was told in a sweet way and didn’t overtake from the humor of the film.  This movie’s themes are odd and complicated.  The beginning with the crowd being extras means The Muppets cannot be as good as they once were.  They don’t care though; they have the true fans, who are the people who come to this film.  The film is constantly telling us that Jim Henson may be gone, but we will do our best to make up for that.  Constantine replaces Kermit and gives no attempt to do an accent or be a caring leader and none of his lifelong friends can tell.  The film is trying to say that after the death of Henson no one could really understand what made Kermit be Kermit.  All the true fans just kind of accepted this and did not say anything, much like the Muppet gang being suspicious that Constantine is not the real Kermit but never admitting it.  There is a point where a few characters including lifelong fan, Walter, and best friend to Kermit, Fozzy Bear figure out what is going on and they go to find the real Kermit.  When they do find him, Kermit proclaims “No one knew I was gone?”  The last movie brought the Muppets back from the grave, this movie wonders why they ever had to die in the first place and why it took so long to bring them back.  There is even a Miss Piggy song all about it. 

This film explores people not giving much effort to beloved characters like season four of Community or the third X-Men film.  It has unmemorable songs but a good amount of gags.  The film is not bad it just doesn’t land perfectly. If you need to pass the time watch it, but this is not going to be a beloved classic.

Darin Takes On The Classics: MASH

MASH IS NOT PAINLESS

By Darin Skaggs

     In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s there came a new era in film.  The Hays Code that restricted movies from showing sex, violence and language was long gone and a new rating system came in.  The more mature the material is then the higher the rating is.  That meant filmmakers could not show blood, breast and bad words.  One of the prime examples of these first films is Robert Altman’s MASH.  Unfortunately, the film focuses on using the new ways to create it to make a good movie. 

     MASH tells the tale of an American medical unit during the Korean War.  New comers to the group include Hawkeye Pierce, played by Donald Sutherland, and Trapper John, played by Elliot Gould. They arrive at the compound and immediately cause trouble.  They do this throughout the film.  They do cruel acts like audibly mock a man while he is praying, lift a tent to reveal a women showering to settle a bet and fighting off woman with an umbrella like they’re Robin Hood.  These men, who occasionally perform surgery on wounded soldiers, clearly have no interest in human emotion or making a moral decision.  This leaves the film kind of cold, rude and not very funny even though this is labeled as a comedy.  If the film took these awful men and said they were wrong or gave a good reason that the horrors of war are making them act out, then getting on board would be a lot easier.  It is not, the film seems to be on the side of Hawkeyes and Trapper.  When they are in Hong Kong there is a sound effect every few minutes of a gong noise.  This is uncomfortable humor that is played throughout the film, maybe it was funny during the time but the film is now dated and leaves you kind of feeling gross.

     The film is really not about anything, except what was already described.  Films like that are fine, if they are good, but this film does not have anything to say.  It does not make any attempt to say that anyone is affected by seeing blood and loosing patients.  It treats women, specifically one, as complete idiots for humor.  If it is about anything it seems to be saying men are awesome and being one is cool.  The focus is so off that the conclusion of the film is a football game with another camp.  There is a bet that is made for some money.  It comes out of nowhere and it really has nothing to do with anything.  And of course our protagonists cheat and win.  Altman was a young man and the film is clearly made by one.  It feels like it is for a person that doesn’t want to grow up or someone that does not want to be polite to anybody. 

     This film is deemed a classic and if it came out now it might be classified as a bad Will Ferrell film.  For being a comedy this really leaves a bad taste in your mouth.  And for some reason the film tries to push emotion down your throat with a goodbye.  It is not very funny or entertaining in the least.

Darin Takes On The Classics: TAXI DRIVER

DRIVEN MAD

By Darin Skaggs

     The best definition of the anti-hero is Popeye Doyle from The French Connection.  He is a New York cop, so in a sense he is a hero for keeping his city safe.   He does this by any means necessary including racing through a busy street almost hitting pedestrians and ending the chase just by shooting the culprit on the spot.  In Martin Scorsese’s 1976 classic Taxi Driver the title character Travis Bickle, played by Robert De Niro, has been described as an anti-hero, but in reality he is just “anti.”

     Travis is a war vet with severe insomnia so he takes the night shift as a taxi cab driver.  The film starts out as a love story between Travis and Betsy, played by Cybill Shepherd.  He woos her into going on a date which is pretty successful.  They go on a second date and he takes her to a pornographic film.  She is upset and leaves the date.  He tries to call her several times but after that she has no interest in him.  He takes her to the porno because he has little to no social skills.  During their two dates he is constantly claiming he does not know much about anything including politics, music and movies.  His apartment is nearly empty with only the basic furniture.

     He is not doing much with his life and he knows it, not understanding anything people were talking about, he can’t seem to find a connection.  He is kind of a loser of sorts.  Even the film, while Travis is trying to call Betsy to apologize, seems ashamed to be watching this poor man not be able to connect with anyone.  The camera pans away from him for a few minutes while he is pleading to see Betsy again.  After not being able to get what he wants, Betsy, he devises a plan to assassinate a politician that she is working for.  He needs to feel he has done something with his life and he feels this will leave a mark.

     Throughout the film he sees this young girl, always out at night.  He forms this bond and a protection for her.  He finds out she is a young prostitute named Iris, played by Jodie Foster.  He takes her out to breakfast and pleads for her to run away from her current situation.  He says everything he can to save her but just can’t convince her.  This leads him to fully decide to shoot the politician.  All this man does is try to help but he can’t, he doesn’t know the right way.  He even gives one last attempt to save Iris but still he doesn’t know how to and it ends in a burst of violence.

     The ending on first view is tricky.  Does Travis get everything he wants?  Does he live happily ever after?  Probably not, the ending is filmed differently.  It seems the ending is all in Travis’ head.  He wants so bad to have done something right, while sitting in his jail cell or in an insane asylum imaging that after everything he did that it would be okay.

     The film is an odd character study of socially awkward people and why those kinds of people would assassinate someone.  It’s filled with great moments like hints of racism from our “hero” and Scorsese in a cameo directing the decisions of Travis.  There are so many ways to view the film.  It is an undeniable masterpiece.

THE LEGO MOVIE

THE LEGO MOVIE Review

By Darin Skaggs

     One of the most popular toys on the market is the Lego.  Piece by piece you can put together vehicles, buildings and people from many popular movie franchise including Star Wars, Harry Potter and many superhero brands.  Chris Miller and Phil Lord, creators of the hilarious comedies Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and 21 Jump Street, have taken on the Lego franchise and created a believable world where these toys would live.

     The story follows Emmet, voiced by Chris Pratt.  He is an average not so different, instruction following guy, he is even described as too generic to point out, that finds himself locating a missing piece that will save the Lego land.  He is accompanied by Wyldstyle who is voiced by Elizabeth Banks, a master builder that does not follow any instructions.  She has learned she can build anything out of a few Lego pieces.  She takes him to Vitruvius, voiced by Morgan Freeman, to be trained to be The Special.  The Special is the one who finds the piece that will save the world from the Kragle.  It is clear that Emmet is not so different, except that he has one unique idea to make a double decker couch.  They, along with Batman and a very positive pony, set out to save their universe from the evil Lord Business, voiced by Will Ferrell.

     Like Miller and Lord’s other films this one is hilarious and also like their other films it’s not really for children.  It is not dirty but the film just has more mature humor and is constantly referencing pop culture over a decade older than the children that will attend this film.  That does not make it bad just miss-marketed.  There are a few silly gags for the kids but mostly the film seems like a grown up film starring Legos.

     The film, at first at least, is about going against the grain.  Emmet is constantly reading “How To” instruction manuals.  Then he joins the group of Master Builders, who hate following the crowd and build items using their own imagination.  The film seems to be leaning that way but at times it says following the instructions are helpful.  The film is saying don’t be one sided and do the right thing.  Then the third act comes along and throws everything out the window.  Maybe the film is not trying to make a point.  Maybe the film is just trying to be a crazy entertaining mess.  Or both, which it succeeds.

     Like Spike Jonze’s Her, the film fully commits to world building.  Everything is made out of Legos in this world.  The ocean is made of a million tiny Legos and when items catch on fire the classic fire piece is used to show it.  When Emmet does a jumping jack he does not move in the correct motion because he can’t move that way.  Every single piece is made of Legos.

     Miller and Lord are three for three when it comes to their movies.  The film is hilarious.  The end is weird but in a good way.  It goes 180 degrees another direction.  It is kind of confusing and does not match up with the logic of the story, but it seems to be on purpose.  The film is amazing and will go down as one of the best of the year.