SINBAD: LEGEND OF THE SEVEN SEAS

 

Publicity poster for Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (© Tim Johnson & Patrick Gilmore/DreamWorks Animation/DreamWorks Pictures – reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for educational/review purposes only)

On 13 March 2021, I finally viewed the DreamWorks animated movie Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (not to be confused with the similarly-titled live-action movie Sinbad of the Seven Seas, which I have reviewed here), after owning it unwatched for over 13 years.

Directed by Tim Johnson and Patrick Gilmore, and released in 2003, this highly entertaining film very effectively showcases the aesthetic charm and artistic beauty of traditional animation, which, as someone raised upon the very best from Disney during its original Golden Age, I still enjoy more than even the most eye-popping computer equivalent. Its titular star, Sinbad the Sailor, the Arabian Nights' favourite mariner, is voiced very emphatically by Brad Pitt, as is his love interest, the feisty Lady Marina, by Wales's very own Catherine Zeta-Jones. Other notable members of the voice cast include Joseph Fiennes as Sinbad's childhood friend Prince Proteus, son of King Dymas, ruler of Syracuse, on the Italian island of Sicily, and Timothy West as the afore-mentioned Dymas.

However, just like I experienced a somewhat jarring mixing of mythologies when Arabian Nights djinns made an unexpected appearance in the 2010 CGI remake of the original Ray Harryhausen stop-motion Greek mythology-based Clash of the Titans that I watched recently and will be reviewing here shortly, so too did I with this present Arabian Nights-inspired Sinbad movie, due to the unexpected appearance in it of Eris, the goddess of discord and chaos from classical Greek legends. Having said that, she is animated wonderfully, all curls and swirls and curlicues, and voiced with deliciously seductive, silky malevolence by none other than Michelle Pfeiffer, so I'll readily forgive whoever dreamt up this particular example of the odd concept of culture clashing that occurs so extensively in this movie.

For yes indeed, Eris is not the only discordant – in every sense – aspect present here. Bearing in mind that its star is Sinbad, there is a notable absence of Middle Eastern ambience and geographical settings too. After having previously defeated out at sea, and with Proteus's help, the Greek mythological monster Cetus (which was replaced by the Norse sea monster the Kraken in both versions of Clash of the Titans – I hope that you're keeping up with all of these Hollywoodised mismatchings of traditional mythologies!), it is to Syracuse (as opposed to Damascus, Baghdad, or some other traditional Arabian Nights destination) that Sinbad travels. His goal is to steal its priceless, magical Book of Peace and hand it over it to Eris in exchange for untold riches, but when he meets up again with Proteus there, and his beautiful bride-to-be, Lady Marina, Sinbad has a change of heart and leaves without the Book.

Eris, however, is not best pleased by this conscience-driven turnabout on Sinbad's part, because ownership of the Book would enable her to plunge the entire world into perpetual chaos. So she steals the Book herself and frames Sinbad, ensuring that he will be blamed. But when King Dymas promptly sentences Sinbad to death, Dymas's son Proteus demands to take his friend's place, as is his right according to the customs of Syracuse, and he will thus be executed in Sinbad's stead at the end of a fixed stay of execution, unless Sinbad returns the Book within that period – which means that as he doesn't actually possess it, somehow Sinbad must steal the Book back from Eris.

Mindful, however, of what a danger-fraught, near-hopeless task such an attempt would be, Sinbad initially refuses, sailing away from Syracuse with his crew, until he unexpectedly discovers a stowaway on board, Lady Marina, who after much cajoling and many heated confrontations finally convinces him to do the right thing, even gaining the tacit support of his own crew. So off they go to retrieve the Book. There's just one slight problem – as it's held by Eris, they will have to voyage to the hellish Greek mythological realm of Tartarus, facing untold perils en route, if they are to procure it, because that's where Eris resides…

Like I say, there is a very distinct lack of Eastern promise here, but Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas is still an exciting, fun-packed movie, flush throughout with vibrantly colourful, breathtaking animation that never falters and is never less than spectacular. There are some superb larger-than-life monsters too, plus a touching, gradually flowering romance whose warmth slowly but surely melts the cold, mutual hostility initially present between Sinbad and Marina. Equally, hoswever, particular emphasis is placed upon not only following your heart but also listening to your conscience, subtly revealing that these two concepts are not always one and the same.

So despite containing some mixed-up mythology and geographical jiggery-pokery, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas is definitely one of the better animated features to have been released during this present century, and I unreservedly recommend this swashbuckling saga very highly to all fantasy and cartoon movie aficionados everywhere.

And to put you in the mood for what this animated Sinbad vs Eris epic has in store, please click here to watch an official Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas trailer.

And to view a complete listing of all of my Shuker In MovieLand blog's other film reviews and articles (each one instantly accessible via a direct clickable link), please click HERE!

 

ISLE OF DOGS

 

Publicity poster for Isle of Dogs (© Wes Anderson/Studio Babelsberg/Indian Paintbrush/American Empirical Pictures/Fox Searchlight Pictures – reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for educational/review purposes only)

On 21 February 2021, I watched on TV the stop-motion animated feature film Isle of Dogs, but it was not at all what I was expecting.

Directed by Wes Anderson, and released in 2018, Isle of Dogs sported a visual format that was very different from anything that I'd seen before, featuring over 1000 puppets for animation use. Yet somehow it was all a little too strange, too odd, to capture my interest and enduring attention, although I did watch it through to the end.

Isle of Dogs is set in a fictional Japanese prefecture, and its storyline is all about a corrupt cat-loving, dog-hating mayor, Kenji Kobayashi, whose cohorts have covertly created a dog flu that may jump to the human population, the risk of it doing so thereby giving him the excuse to banish all dogs in the prefecture to a trash-filled offshore island (the Isle of Dogs after which this movie is named). However, his young ward, Atari, sets off to rescue his beloved former canine guard, Spots, and, in so doing, uncovers the dastardly doings of his human guardian.

The dogs all speak American English (voiced by the likes of Bryan Cranston as Chief, Edward Norton as Rex, Bill Murray as Boss, Jeff Goldblum as Duke, Scarlett Johansson as Nutmeg, Harvey Keitel as Gondo, F. Murray Abraham as Jupiter, and Tilda Swinton as Oracle), the humans in Japanese, but with the helpful device of an American newscaster translating their dialogue, plus on-screen plot explanations, Having said that, these latter explanations are presented in such minute typeface and for such brief appearances that they are all but unreadable and therefore virtually useless.

Such a quirky movie as Isle of Dogs needs some quirky facts to go with it, so here are four (but there are plenty more, I assure you). When said quickly, 'Isle of Dogs' becomes 'I love dogs', which is what this film is all about. It was produced in East London at a studio just 3 miles away from a genuine area known as Isle of Dogs. Anjelica Huston is the voice of a mute poodle (don't ask me, I only write this stuff!). And in its Japanese version, fluent Japanese-speaking Yoko Ono, who voices in the English version an assistant scientist named…Yoko-ono, is overdubbed by a Japanese actress (which seems barking, if you ask me!).

I'm assuming that the humour in this movie was intended to come across as deadpan or at least laconic, but instead it merely seems stilted and uncomfortable, not so much throwaway as thrown away. All in all, Isle of Dogs is very weird and even slightly unsettling in parts, I felt. So although I know that it has a major fan base, and was even nominated for two Academy Awards (Best Animated Feature and Best Original Score, but didn't win either of them, losing out to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Black Panther respectively), this canine-themed animated film is not my box of dog biscuits at all, I'm afraid.

However, you may well feel differently, so please click here to check out an official Isle of Dogs trailer on YouTube, and decide for yourself whether this mutt-themed movie is for you.

And to view a complete listing of all of my Shuker In MovieLand blog's other film reviews and articles (each one instantly accessible via a direct clickable link), please click HERE!

 

JAMES DEAN: RACE WITH DESTINY (aka JAMES DEAN: LIVE FAST, DIE YOUNG)

 

Publicity poster for the special uncut version of James Dean: Race With Destiny, aka James Dean: Live Fast, Die Young (© Mardi Rustam/MARS Productions Corporation/Cheeni Productions/Highland Pictures/Prism Leisure Corp – reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for educational/review purposes only)

As I previously revealed on Shuker In MovieLand via my biographical article of his life and career (click here to access it), I've always been a huge James Dean fan, I was a longstanding member of WRDI (We Remember Dean International, now sadly defunct), and I own a mini-library of over 60 books devoted to him, all three of his major movies on DVD and video, plus all of his TV appearances on video, video/DVD documentaries about him, an array of JD memorabilia, soundtrack albums of his movies, etc etc – you get the picture.

Surprisingly, however, I'd never seen an actual movie based upon Jimmy's life, with another actor playing him – until 15 January 2021, that is, when I finally watched one such movie. Namely, James Dean: Race With Destiny (aka James Dean: Live Fast, Die Young).

Produced and directed by Mardi Rustam, released in 1997, and starring Casper Van Dien as Jimmy, James Dean: Race With Destiny focuses upon the most significant (yet all too brief) section of his life, spanning his three movies – East of Eden (1955 – Jimmy's only movie that he lived to see released), Rebel Without a Cause (1955), and Giant (1956 – directed by George Stevens, played here by Robert Mitchum in what proved to be his final acting role).

This particular period of Jimmy's life was also notable for his doomed love affair with Italian-born actress Pier Angeli (played by Robert's granddaughter Carrie Mitchum, alongside Diane Ladd as Pier's disapproving mother, and Louis D'Alto as ballad singer Vic Damone whom Pier was deftly coerced by her mother into marrying instead of Jimmy), and culminated in that fateful day, 30 September 1955, when while driving his Porsche Spyder racing car to a race meeting in Salinas, California, after having completed filming on Giant just a fortnight earlier, Jimmy was tragically killed in a horrific car crash. He was just 24 years old, but was granted immortality by virtue of his genius and the cruel cutting short of his life, transforming him into an everlasting legend.

Casper captures Jimmy's idiosyncratic mannerisms, mercurial nature, and passionate vitality very effectively, and looks a great deal like him too (perhaps a little too much chin, but otherwise possessing persuasive verisimilitude). Moreover, it was fascinating for me to watch the key episodes of Jimmy's life – which I've read so much about, and with which I was therefore already so familiar – materialize before my very eyes on screen, whereas until now they had only done so in my mind.

Happily, these episodes are presented in a generally faithful manner, restricting to a minimum the potentially misleading and in my opinion entirely unnecessary 'factional' elements (i.e. invented scenes and fictitious characters) that all-too-frequently nowadays extensively pervade supposedly factual biopics – to the point, in fact, where they seem veritable prerequisites for any movie in this particular genre.

Also highly deserving of mention is this movie's distinctive music score, which includes no fewer than 14 memorable songs written especially for it by Gordon Waller and Jim Blazer (plus one by its director, Mardi Rustam), and which embrace the embryonic rock'n'roll style characterising the time period being portrayed here.

James Dean: Race With Destiny is an engaging biopic of an enigmatic and truly iconic star – who knows to what even greater heights of fame and success Jimmy may have ascended, had he lived? An extremely sad, unique loss to moviedom and beyond, but at least we can be very thankful that Jimmy's films and TV shows remain, to remind us forever of what he was and to tantalise us for all time with what he may have become.

If you'd like to catch a sneak preview of this fascinating film, please click here to watch an official trailer for it on YouTube. And if you'd like to view the entire movie, it is presently available to watch for free here on YouTube.

And to view a complete listing of all of my Shuker In MovieLand blog's other film reviews and articles (each one instantly accessible via a direct clickable link), please click HERE!

 

THE BARBARIANS

 

Official ex-rental big box videocassette of The Barbarians (© Ruggero Deodato/Cannon Films/Warner Home Video – reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for educational/review purposes only)

On 2 December 2020, I watched The Barbarians, an Italian/USA movie collaboration directed by Ruggero Deodato, released in 1987, and aptly starring American bodybuilding actor twins The Barbarian Brothers, aka Peter and David Paul, as this fantasy movie's title characters.

Named Kutchek and Gore, they are a pair of twins abducted as young children from a band of travelling entertainers by soldiers of this fantasy realm's tyrant ruler, Kadar (played by Richard Lynch), along with the entertainers' own leader, Canary (Virginia Bryant), whose magical ruby Kadar seeks in order to control its immense power. During their subsequent years in captivity, the twins are separated and raised as slaves, but also trained as gladiators, then finally reunited in Kadar's arena to fight to the death for his sadistic gratification.

Although boasting far more brawn than brain, happily Kutchek and Gore recognize one another in the nick of time, escape together, and spend the rest of the movie striving to rescue from Kadar's evil clutches the imprisoned Canary and her much-coveted ruby. Along the way, they rescue the fair maiden Ismena (Eva La Rue) whose thievery skills prove very useful, do battle with a colossal dragon as well as some swamp-dwelling humanoid monsters, and naturally flex their mighty muscles at every available opportunity.

The Barbarians is a delightfully tongue-in-cheek 'swords & sorcery' movie that I'd long known about but had discovered to my great disappointment that it was very difficult to find. Repeated attempts by me to track down an English-language version (either dubbed or subtitled) in DVD format or in sell-thru video format invariably ended in failure. Happily, however, I was eventually able to buy a superb-condition ex-rental big box video of it from a fellow ex-rental devotee, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

All in all, The Barbarians is lots of fun; it is certainly not meant to be taken too seriously, that's for sure! Consequently, I readily recommend this movie to other fans of action/fantasy films liberally laced with humour…if you can track down a copy of it on video or online somewhere, that is.

Meanwhile, for a taste of what to expect, please click here to watch an official trailer for The Barbarians on YouTube.

And to view a complete listing of all of my Shuker In MovieLand blog's other film reviews and articles (each one instantly accessible via a direct clickable link), please click HERE! 

 

Full cover of the official ex-rental big box videocassette of The Barbarians (© Ruggero Deodato/Cannon Films/Warner Home Video – reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for educational/review purposes only)