R.I.P.D.

 

Publicity poster for R.I.P.D. (© Robert Schwentke/Dark Horse Entertainment/Original Film/Universal Pictures – reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for educational/review purposes only)

My movie watch on 27 August 2022 was the totally zany supernatural/comedy movie R.I.P.D., which was inspired by the Dark Horse comic of the same name written by Peter Lenkov.

Directed by Robert Schwentke, and released in 2013 by Universal Pictures, R.I.P.D. begins both dramatically and unexpectedly – with the death of its lead character! Boston police detective Nick Walker (played by Ryan Reynolds) is murdered in cold blood by his corrupt partner Bobby Hayes (Kevin Bacon) after Nick decides to hand in some gold that they had secretly found during a recent drug bust.

However, as this would be a very short and singularly pointless movie if that were the end of it, we swiftly discover that a radically new plot is about to unfurl. For the now newly-deceased Nick finds himself transported up through a divine vortex into an afterlife where he faces two choices – judgement, or joining the Boston division of a celestial police corp known as the R.I.P.D. (Rest In Peace Department).

Choosing the latter (as he is by no means certain that his life had been acceptable enough for him to pass the former!), Nick is assigned an older, more experienced, but somewhat ornery partner, Roy Pulsifer (Jeff Bridges, after original choice Zack Galifianakis turned it down due to a prior filming commitment). For Roy is still very much the Wild West lawman that he was when alive a century ago (until he too was murdered by his own evil partner).

Nick learns from Roy that the R.I.P.D. covertly exists on Earth to seize and if necessary erase Deados – evil souls who have deliberately escaped judgement. Deados appear totally human to normal living persons, but if challenged by an R.I.P.D. officer they 'pop' into their true form, which is usually monstrous.

While tracking down Deados with Roy, Nick finds out that Bobby has discovered the gold that he had planned to hand in, and is also in cahoots with various Deados, leading Nick to suspect that Bobby may be more than he appears to be. Sure enough, Bobby is subsequently exposed as a Deado himself, and the gold that he has been collecting constitutes the final portion of an ancient device known as the Staff of Jericho.

Moreover, when it is fully assembled this immensely powerful Staff will reverse the vortex that Nick and all other dead souls have passed through from Earth to the afterlife, resulting in the dead travelling back to Earth, which in turn will be totally overwhelmed. So Nick and Roy now face a critical race against time to prevent Bobby from activating the Staff of Jericho and destroying the land of the living.

R.I.P.D. is extremely entertaining – apart from when my DVD stuck at the 50-minute mark and required a wipe with washing-up liquid to unstick it, I never took my eyes off this movie once. Think of a mash-up of Men In Black and Ghostbusters, but funnier than both, and you have R.I.P.D.

Indeed, my only criticism re this movie was that Roy's Old West accent as supplied by Bridges was so thick as to be incomprehensible to me at times, so I missed out on quite a few of his wisecracks, but otherwise R.I.P.D. was a delight, with excellent CGI effects.

There is also a wonderful running joke concerning the fact that in order to avoid being recognised by their still-living family, friends, and others who knew them when they were alive, all R.I.P.D. officers assume a drastically-different set appearance when pursuing Deados back on Earth. In Nick's case, it is an elderly Chinese man, whereas in Roy's it is, incongruously, an incredibly beautiful, voluptuous young woman with long blonde hair! Cue some hilarious interactions between them and members of the general public along the way, especially when they encounter Roy's alluring avatar!

Plus, any comedy film with Ryan Reynolds in it has to be good – in fact, I've never yet seen an R.R. movie of any genre that I haven't enjoyed (blatant plug here for Deadpool!). Conversely, the critics apparently hated R.I.P.D. – but for me this was actually another reliable indication that I'd like it, and which was duly confirmed yet again! Moreover, a sequel, provisionally titled R.I.P.D. 2: Rise of the Damned, is currently in development by Universal, so they clearly have faith in its success.

If you'd like to check out the Rest In Peace Department's afterlife activities for yourself, be sure to click here to watch an official R.I.P.D. trailer – it's dead funny (sorry!). And click here to view a trailer-length animated back story for Roy – how he came to be killed by his own deceiving original partner way out West.

To view a complete chronological 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, and please click HERE to view a complete fully-clickable alphabetical listing of them.

 

THE KNACK ...AND HOW TO GET IT

Publicity photograph from The Knack …And How To Get It, portraying Ray Brooks as Tolen astride his highly-customised Ariel Arrow motorbike and Michael Crawford as Colin leaning out of his house's front window (© Richard Lester/Woodfall Film Productions/Lopert Pictures Corporation/United Artists Corporation – reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for educational/review purposes only)

On 29 August 2022, courtesy of the UK retro TV channel Talking Pictures, my evening movie watch was the vintage British b/w 'comedy' movie The Knack ...And How To Get It.

Directed by Richard Lester, based upon a play by Ann Jellicoe, and released in 1965 by Lopert Pictures Corporation, The Knack supposedly epitomises the swinging sixties in London, but if so I'm glad that I was too young and too far from London to have encountered it, as it left me entirely cold.

This is because I found this film in turns to be mind-numbingly dull, packed full with exceedingly forced, frenetic, yet generally failed attempts at being zany, and outrageously derogatory to women – especially during the final scenes in which a confused, ultimately mistaken claim of rape by the lead female character elicits nothing but an extended series of unbelievably crass, distasteful wisecracks and jokey retorts from the three male leads and even, incredibly, from the female character herself!

A young Michael Crawford stars as a sexually-inexperienced teacher named Colin (whose house is the focal point of much of this movie's action), behaving for much of the time like an embryonic Frank Spencer (from the later UK sitcom Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, which first brought Crawford to widespread public attention), alongside an effortlessly cool Ray Brooks as sharply dressed bequiffed mod/rocker hybrid Tolen whose overt prowess with women proves that he unequivocally possesses 'the knack' that his friend Colin so desperately seeks to get.

Also starring is Rita Tushingham who once again plays her stock-in-trade 1960s character (here named Nancy) of a doe-eyed but slightly unhinged ingenue (Nancy being the character falsely claiming rape, with Tolen being her falsely-claimed rapist). In addition, there are cameos by such 60s icons as Jane Birkin, Jacqueline Bisset, and Charlotte Rampling (all making their screen debuts here). And classic American rock band The Knack (of 'My Sharona' fame) is allegedly named after this movie.

The Knack is very surreal at times, particularly when Colin's white-emulsion-obsessed and more than a little insane painter lodger Tom (Donal Donnelly) is around, and espouses social attitudes that will certainly shock today's millennials. In my opinion, the best way of describing this overblown, overrated movie is simply to say that it was very much a film of its time (which presumably explains how it somehow won the Palme d'Or Best Picture award at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival!), and leave it at that.

I'd originally planned to purchase The Knack on DVD, but after having now watched it on TV I shan't bother. For despite including some evocative background music from John Barry (to which words were later added, and released as a (non-charting) single by legendary British rocker Johnny de Little – click here to listen to it on YouTube) and a memorable motorbike (a 200cc Ariel Arrow with ape-hanger handlebars) ridden by Tolen, this is definitely not a movie that has the knack of tempting me to watch it ever again, that's for sure.

But I'll leave you to make up your own mind about it, by clicking here to watch an official trailer for The Knack on YouTube.

To view a complete comprehensive 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, and please click HERE to view a complete fully-clickable alphabetical listing of them.

 

THE JUNGLE BOOK 2

 

My official Special Edition DVD of The Jungle Book 2 (© Steve Trenbirth/DisneyToon Studios/Walt Disney Pictures/Buena Vista Pictures – reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for review/educational purposes only)

Walt Disney was never a fan of sequels. One of his favourite self-coined sayings was "You can't top pigs with pigs", referring to his studio's failed attempts to capitalise upon their Academy-Award-winning cartoon short The Three Little Pigs (1933) by churning out various follow-up cartoons, none of which even remotely achieved the original's enormous success.

Since his passing, however, Walt's saying has presumably been forgotten at Disney, as many of his classic movies have spawned sequels there, but most of them lacklustre, straight-to-video/DVD efforts. A few, however, have been given cinema releases, one of which was my 16 April 2022 movie watch – The Jungle Book 2. (Incidentally, Disney has currently produced no fewer than 6 different movies inspired by Rudyard Kipling's two Jungle Book novels: namely, two animated, three live-action, and one CGI/live-action combo.)

Directed by Steve Trenbirth and released by Disney via Buena Vista in 2003, The Jungle Book 2 is a direct animated sequel to Disney's original classic 1967 animated feature. It picks up where the latter ended, with Mowgli the wolf-raised man-cub now living in the man village, but missing Baloo the bear and his other jungle friends, and, unbeknownst to all of them, still being stalked by a vengeful Shere Khan following Mowgli's humiliating defeat of this human-hating tiger in the first movie.

Visually, the lush jungle settings are vibrant and verdant, but the storyline contains a number of scenes that closely echo those in the first movie (especially the extended 'Bare Necessities' replay), and overall it is much less entertaining – except, that is, for anyone like me who obtains much innocent nerdy joy from spotting zoogeographically incorrect animals in films. Here, in what is supposed to be the Indian jungle, I spotted African hippopotamuses, a gazelle, and warthogs, plus some South American scarlet macaws and ocelots!

Equally underwhelming are the new songs, not one of which has lingered in my mind afterwards, unlike all of those instantly memorable, catchy 1967 ones. Moreover, as all of the original voice stars are either dead or too old now to reprise in this sequel movie their 1967 roles, an entirely new voice cast has been assembled, including John Goodman replacing Phil Harris as Baloo, Tony Jay replacing George Sanders as Shere Khan, and Haley Joel Osment replacing Bruce Reitherman as Mowgli in by far the best soundalike performance. Sadly, due apparently to certain legal issues, the character of King Louie does not appear here (although he is briefly referred to on one occasion), but a new, fifth vulture, Lucky, does feature, voiced by British rock star/actor Phil Collins.

Overall, The Jungle Book 2 is by no means a bad movie and should certainly entertain younger viewers, but imho it is very much a pale shadow of its beloved predecessor, and was, I feel, more suited to a direct-to-video release than a cinematic one. Looks like Walt was right about pigs after all...

And indeed, in 2003 plans were aired for a second direct sequel to the 1967 original animated movie. This one would have seen Shere Khan finally reform, regretting his previous sins, following the capture and selling of both himself and Baloo to a Russian circus and their daring rescue by Mowgli and various of his jungle friends. However, no such movie ever came to pass – perhaps the predominantly negative reviews received by The Jungle Book 2 influenced its cancellation?

But everyone is entitled to their own opinion, so to help you formulate yours with regard to The Jungle Book 2, be sure to click here to watch an official trailer for this movie on YouTube.

To view a complete comprehensive 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, and please click HERE to view a complete fully-clickable alphabetical listing of them.

 

RED SONJA

 

Publicity poster for Red Sonja (© Richard Fleischer/Dino De Laurentiis Corporation/MGM-UA Entertainment Co/Thorn EMI Screen Corporation – reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for review/educational purposes only)

My movie watch on 23 July 2022, screened on the British retro TV channel Legend (formerly the Horror Channel), was the mid-1980s swords & sorcery movie Red Sonja, which I'd somehow never got around to watching before. After finally watching it, however, I realised why.

Directed by Richard Fleischer, Red Sonja features a title character who first appeared in the Robert E. Howard fantasy short story The Shadow of the Vulture (1934) but was not incorporated into his Conan the Barbarian/Hyborian Age universe until some time later, by Marvel Comics. Released in 1985 by MGM/UA and Thorn EMI, in the opinion of many viewers and critics alike this is definitely one of those classic "so bad that it's good" films.

Red Sonja stars Danish-born former model Brigitte Nielsen (in her first screen role, aged 21) as the eponymous flame-haired Amazonesque warrior who seeks to kill the evil Queen Gedren of Berkubane (Sandahl Bergman, who was actually the first choice to play Sonja!). Gedren has slaughtered Sonja's family and devastated villages near and far in her insane quest to rule the world, driven by her theft of The Talisman. This is an all-powerful green-glowing orb, but which will destroy the world if not destroyed itself – an additional perilous task that Sonja therefore needs to accomplish.

Assisting Sonja's quest is Lord Kalidor, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger – who was signed up by Dino de Laurentiis to merely play a cameo, but his role was eventually expanded to such a degree that he ended up as co-star, with top billing! Also, his character is deemed by many to be Conan the Barbarian himself, but given a different name here in order to avoid copyright issues.

Also worth mentioning are the precocious, intensely annoying little princeling Tarn (Ernie Reyes Jr) and his much put-upon underling Falkon (Paul L. Smith). Following their rescue by Sonja and Kalidor after Gedren's destruction of Tarn's kingdom, their principal purpose is to provide some brief intervals of light/comic relief between the plenitude of battles and bloodshed.

Speaking of which: both lead stars are superb in the numerous action scenes, and are ably augmented throughout by a stirring soundtrack composed by none other than the maestro of movie music himself, Ennio Morricone, as well as spectacular costumes designed by Danilo Donati. Conversely, their dialogue, and in particular their presentation of it, imho contains about as much expression as the Speaking Clock! As for their non-action acting scenes: not so much Woden as wooden is what I might have said if this fantasy movie had been based upon traditional Norse or Teutonic mythology – but it wasn't, so I won't.

Ah well, at least there is a scene featuring a menacing spider the size of a large dog, and being duly treated as a pet by Gedren, which I assumed was a foreshadowing of arachnid aggression later on in the movie. Sadly, however, no – it never appears again, although one baddie in black attire is referred to as a black spider by one of the goodies.

True, there is a belligerent, frenetic mechanical water beast that behaves rather like a sea serpent on speed, but otherwise this fantasy film is decidedly deficient in monsters. Not one for crypto-fans, therefore, but an entertaining, highly humorous watch for me nonetheless, albeit for reasons probably not envisaged by its creators and contributors!

If you'd like to join forces with Sonja and Kalidor on their noble quest, albeit only for the length of an official Red Sonja movie trailer, be sure to click here to watch one on YouTube.

To view a complete chronological 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, and please click HERE to view a complete fully-clickable alphabetical listing of them.