DVD Review - Star Wars: Robot Chicken Episode II

The Chicken Strikes Back!

In all honesty if it wasn’t for the Star Wars connection I’d probably never have watched an episode of Robot Chicken. Back when Family Guy was set to release their own take on the Star Wars saga with the Blue Harvest special, I remember reading that another Seth Green series had already beat them to the punch. Having never been much of a fan of Green’s (and since when was he in It anyway?), it took me a while to get around to seeing Star Wars: Robot Chicken, and when I eventually did I must say that I was more than pleasantly surprised. In fact, I’d even go as far as to say I enjoyed it more than Seth MacFarlane’s effort.

For those unfamiliar with Robot Chicken, it’s an Emmy Award winning stop-motion animated sketch comedy created by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich, which employs toys and custom action figures to portray the characters - a perfect fit for George Lucas’ merchandising machine. Green voices many of the characters, alongside regulars that include Breckin Meyer, Seth MacFarlane, Mila Kunis, Donald Faison, and Sarah Michelle Gellar, while the series has also managed to attract a list of guest stars that reads like a who’s who of Hollywood.

The original special brought back a handful of Star Wars alumni including Mark Hamill, Ahmed Best, and even George Lucas himself, and featured a number of satirical sketches including Jar Jar Binks’ reunion with Darth Vader, an ‘On Ice’ production of The Empire Strikes Back, and Luke Skywalker confronting Palpatine in a ‘Yo Momma’ showdown. In addition, a number of skits were devoted to minor characters (such as Admiral Ackbar, Ponda Baba, and Zuckuss), with jokes that clearly appealed to the more die-hard fan, and helped to present a refreshing take on a subject that has been parodied for over 30 years.


Star Wars: Robot Chicken Episode II delivers more of the same and features sketches inspired from all six movies, albeit with a slight preference towards The Empire Strikes Back - particularly in terms of the bounty hunter characters - with Dengar and Bossk standouts alongside the returning Boba Fett. Meanwhile Carrie Fisher and Billy Dee Williams return to the roles of Princess Leia and Lando Calrissian to recreate some classic scenes from the original trilogy, including an hilarious sketch where Darth Vader proves to Lando that “this deal is getting worse all the time”.

In short, Star Wars: Robot Chicken Episode II is a must-see for any fan of the franchise. It's crude animation style is perfect for the subject matter (hey – I have that action figure!), and the jokes and sketches all move at a swift pace with countless inside references. The DVD delivers an extended edition of the episode along with almost two hours of special features, including bonus Robot Chicken episodes, behind-the-scenes and making-of documentaries, video blogs, animation meetings and more, and is released on July 27th 2009.

Gary Collinson

Related:

DVD Review - Robot Chicken Season 2

Movies... For Free! Suddenly (1954)

Welcome to this week's "Movies... For Free!" column, where we showcase classic movies freely available in the public domain (with streaming video!). Read the article and watch the movie right here!


Suddenly, 1954.

Directed by Lewis Allen.
Starring Frank Sinatra, Sterling Hayden, James Gleason and Nancy Gates.

Suddenly is a film noir starring Frank Sinatra as professional hit-man and ex-soldier John Baron - a character described by The Hollywood Reporter as “one of the most repellent killers in American screen history”. Sinatra’s first movie following his Best Supporting Actor triumph with From Here to Eternity (1953), the plot centres around Baron’s attempt to assassinate the President of the United States as he passes through the fictional small town of Suddenly, California.

Ol’ Blue Eyes and his gang of henchmen pose as FBI agents assigned to protect the President, tricking their way into the home of respected citizen (and retired Secret Service agent) Pop Benson (Gleason) and taking him and his family – including daughter-in-law Ellen (Gates) – hostage. Benson’s house sits atop a hill overlooking the President’s route, and Baron intends on taking him out with a sniper rifle on behalf of an unnamed (yet no doubt Communist) enemy. Soon the gang have added Suddenly’s Sheriff Tod Shaw to their list of captives, and the stage is set for a tense and claustrophobic showdown between the morally corrupt Baron and the righteous and idealistic American way of life, as represented by the hostages.

In many ways Suddenly foreshadows the November 1963 shooting of John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, and was subsequently withdrawn from general release after rumours emerged that Lee Harvey Oswald had watched the film in the days leading up to the assassination.



Embed courtesy of Internet Archive.

Click here to view all previous entries in our Movies... For Free! collection.

Thoughts on... Coraline (2009)

Coraline, 2009.

Directed by Henry Selick.
Featuring the voice talents of Dakota Fanning and Teri Hatcher.


SYNOPSIS:

A spine-tingling tale about a curious young girl who unlocks a mysterious door that leads to an alternate version of her life.


On the surface Coraline looks like any other children’s animation, telling the tale of a girl who teams up with her new neighbour to explore the apartments in which they live. The plot holds glimmers of a Pixaresque premise so you would be forgiven for relaxing in anticipation of a jaunty tale. However this isn’t any animation, it is the brainchild of The Nightmare Before Christmas director Henry Selick and writer Neil Gaiman, famed for his dark and unconventional tales.

Rather than create a film based on cartoon characters, Selick has chosen to stick with his traditional stop motion models for which he has made his name, rather than opting for the modern techniques. While some may feel that this vent of animation is no longer needed, I feel that in using these charismatic characters, lovingly crafted and animated by hand, he has added an element of realism that could never be achieved by the likes of Pixar, and one that is sadly being lost into a world fuelled by technology.

The film is expertly cast with quirky kid Dakota Fanning voicing the extrovert Coraline, giving another dimension and enhanced strength to the character, which can be seen to build throughout the narrative. Teri Hatcher performs beautifully as the mother; her treacly sweet tones giving the 'other mother' a delightfully sinister quality and rousing our initial suspicions over her motives.

We see Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders co-star as a pair of eccentric retired actress’ which - along with Mr Bobinsky and his trained circus of mice - adds to the dreamlike feel of this other land; a theme that shows links with tales such as Alice in Wonderland where - just like Alice - Coraline falls down the proverbial rabbit hole into a land which, despite it’s exotic appearance, is not quite what it seems.

This new land is distinguished by a vibrant change in colour, removing it from the dull monotony of reality. This technique has been used throughout science fiction and fairytales, such as The Wizard of Oz, where Dorothy is swept from the monochrome Kansas into the Technicolor Land of Oz. Just like Coraline, Dorothy soon learns that all is not what it seems in this world, leading both characters to the final conclusion that there really is no place like home.

In a world full of possibilities, Coraline soon learns the daunting truth that her other parents want her to replace her eyes with buttons, striking fear within both Coraline and the viewers as this bright and happy land descends into darkness. This beautifully constructed piece holds suspense throughout, as we fall further down the rabbit hole in an animation that will leave you ever exhilarated, yet unable to look at a button in quite the same way again.

Rosie Cammish

Mann Handled: A Michael Mann Profile (Part 2)

Trevor Hogg profiles the career of director Michael Mann in the second of a two-part feature... read the first part of the article here.

With the arrival of the 1990s, Michael Mann experienced a creative renaissance that would place him on the A-List of Hollywood directors. In 1990 he produced the Emmy winning docudrama Drug Wars: The Camarena Story which was inspired by the life of assassinated undercover DEA agent, Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, who exposed a major marijuana operation in Guadalajara, Mexico; his murder sparked an investigation into corruption within the Mexican government. Two years later a less acclaimed sequel Drug Wars: The Cocaine Cartel was released.

For his next theatrical project Mann collaborated with an actor more infamous than himself for extensive research methods – Daniel Day-Lewis. Released in 1992, The Last of the Mohicans was a period action-adventure tonic that delighted film critics and movie audiences alike. To prepare for his leading role Day-Lewis lived in the wilderness where he hunted and fished for several months before shooting commenced on the eighth feature film adaptation of James Fenimore Cooper’s novel. Interestingly, Michael Mann never read the book; instead he used the screenplay of the 1936 version as his source material.

Moving from the colonial North America of 1757 to a more contemporary setting resulted in the 1995 urban epic Heat. Filmed in sixty-five locations around Los Angeles, there was huge publicity generated when legendary actors Al Pacino and Robert De Niro were cast as the movie’s central adversaries Det. Vincent Hanna and professional robber Neil McCauley. The story was inspired by an actual confrontation between retired Chicago cop Chuck Adamson (a technical consultant for Mann since Thief) and the real McCauley who was killed during a grocery store heist. Rivaling the diner scene where Pacino and De Niro share the big screen for the first time is the riveting bank robbery shootout that violently spills out onto the city streets.

Despite the praise for Heat, it was not until 1999 that Michael Mann had his Academy Awards coming-out party with The Insider. Nominated for seven Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actor (Russell Crowe) the film retold a notorious CBS affair; a subject of a corporate takeover and a major lawsuit launched by tobacco manufacturer Brown & Williamson, the television network scuttled an exclusive 60 Minutes investigative report. The piece detailed how B & W was manipulating ingredients to improve upon the addictive quality of cigarettes. Russell Crowe produced his finest performance as the seriously flawed whistleblower, Jeffrey Wigand, who along with crusading segment producer Lowell Bergman (an equally engaging Al Pacino) helped to galvanize Americans against the unethical business practices of Big Tobacco.

Next on Michael Mann’s directorial agenda was the 2001 biopic entitled Ali. Beginning with the legendary athlete’s defeat of Sonny Liston in 1964 and concluding with his 1974 “Rumble in Jungle” comeback against George Foreman, the story oddly enough lacked the cocky playful spirit which made Ali such a compelling individual. For his effort in portraying the charismatic and candid heavyweight boxing icon, Will Smith was rewarded with an Oscar nomination along with his costar Jon Voight.

To improve upon the depth and detail of the nighttime images for his 2004 thriller Collateral, Mann shot the exterior footage with high definition digital cameras giving the movie a gritty documentary feel. Initially it was jarring to see the usually glamorous Tom Cruise playing a grey haired assassin; however, the shock quickly disappears as he effortlessly dissolves into his psychotically-charming character. The pivotal role was given to Jamie Foxx who played the unfortunate cabbie. The transformation from being the victim to the victor was so believable that the performance provided Foxx with one of his two Oscar nominations that year.

In 2006, Michael Mann’s television and film careers collided resulting in a theatrical adaptation of Miami Vice. The Chicagoan continued his extensive use of the H.D. technology when capturing his male leads’, Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx, take on the T.V. roles originated by Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas. During what would become a 105 day shoot, Farrell and Foxx were regularly put through grueling preproduction training exercises which included having them fire live ammunition on the various SWAT ranges in Miami. In spite of all the preparations to ensure the action sequences would appear realistic and authentic, the movie came nowhere close to usurping its small screen predecessor.

After serving as a producer for The Kingdom (2007) and Hancock (2008), both directed by Peter Berg, Mann returned to the cinematic spotlight in 2009 with a feature film touted to be the frontrunner for Best Picture at the next Academy Awards. Public Enemies has acting chameleon and virtuoso Johnny Depp don the gangster garb of notorious bank robber John Dillinger. The true tale of the Depression era outlaw and his gang who sparked the formation of the F.B.I. holds a special historical significance for Mann as he and his wife used to watch art house films in theatre where the proficient and larger-than-life criminal was eventually gunned down by government authorities.

“Dillinger at one point was the second most popular man in America after President Roosevelt. And he was a national hero for a good reason. He was robbing the very institutions, the banks, which had afflicted the people for four years,” answered the filmmaker when asked to explain John Dillinger’s enduring public appeal.

As for how he envisioned cinematically embodying the man and the legend, Mann stated: “The movie I saw in my head, the movie I wanted to make, had to do with this kinda wild guy who wants everything, and he wants it now, with this passion. And he doesn’t just get released from prison – he explodes out of the landscape, wanting everything he hasn’t had for 10 years with all the power and force of his personality and his skill sets.”

There is no doubt, whether with a blast of machine gunfire or a quiet conversation between adversaries, that the Chicago-born filmmaker’s own set of storytelling skills will be enthralling movie audiences and critics for years to come.

Trevor Hogg is a freelance video editor and writer who currently resides in Canada.

A Michael Mann Retrospective

Read Trevor's Michael Mann reviews at Wildsound.

The Museum of the Moving Image also has a series of video essays on Michael Mann's films, which you can view here.

Family Guy secures Emmy nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series

Animated series up for prestigious Emmy Award...

Seth MacFarlane's Family Guy becomes only the second animated series in history to be nominated for an Emmy in the category of Outstanding Comedy Series (following The Flintstones, way back in 1961), but will face stiff competition as it squares off against Entourage, Flight of the Conchords, How I Met Your Mother, The Office, Weeds, and 30 Rock (which has won the past two Outstanding Comedy awards, and also secures a record breaking 22 Primetime nominations this year).

MacFarlane is also recognised in the Outstanding Voice-Over Performance category for his work on Family Guy (an award he won in 2000), while sister series American Dad! will compete against The Simpsons, South Park and Robot Chicken for Outstanding Animated Program for programming less than one hour).

Last year's Outstanding Drama Series winner Mad Men bags an impressive 16 nominations, facing off against rivals Big Love, Breaking Bad, Damages, Dexter, House, and Lost as it looks to retain the title, while Brit comedian Ricky Gervais will be hoping to add a few more statues to his mantelpiece with three nominations for his HBO stand-up special Ricky Gervais: Out of England.

The Emmy Award ceremony takes place on 20th September with Neil Patrick Harris hosting the show. For a full list of the nominations, click here.

British Cinema - Scum (1979)

Scum, 1979.

Directed by Alan Clarke.
Starring Ray Winstone, Mick Ford, Julian Firth and Phil Daniels.


SYNOPSIS:

When Carlin (Ray Winstone) is sent to a Borstal young offenders institute carrying a hard man reputation he is pushed to the limit by wild inmates and cruel officers to uphold it. In this brutal concrete jungle it’s every man for himself and Borstal against them all.


“The film they tried to ban”, and for a couple of years the government successfully did so. Scum was originally made for the BBC’s ‘Play for Today’ in 1977 but was deemed too horrific to broadcast. Two years later director Alan Clarke and writer Roy Minton remade Scum as a movie. Although one could frown at the prudishness of the BBC in their attempt to discard a truly groundbreaking film, one can also understand the cautious approach they applied to dealing with such a controversial and damaging representation of the Borstal system.

The opening scenes show Carlin arriving at the institute with two other inmates; Davis (Julian Firth), a fragile looking character and Angel (Alrick Riley), a young black man. When Carlin meets with the officers (or “screws” to the inmates), they speak of Carlin’s tough reputation as the ‘daddy’ at his previous institute, including assault on an officer. The officer then beats Carlin and forces him to submit and repeat his name and number. The dehumanization of the inmates by referring to them merely as numbers and the sadistic methods of discipline are just some of the daily customs carried out by the ‘screws’.

By no coincidence Carlin is put in a dormitory with the current daddy Pongo Banks (John Bundell), and the officers encourage Pongo to let Carlin know that he’s the daddy. When Carlin meets the extravagant Archer (Mick Ford) for the first time he is unsure of his sanity. Archer is a witty and learned young man, and a constant nuisance to the establishment. Archer refuses to wear leather boots due to being a strict vegetarian and walks around with bare feet. Archer reveals that there is a method to his madness “I want to cause as much trouble as I can, in my own little way”.

Although Carlin’s reputation is mentioned continuously, for the first half of the film he does not rise to it. Carlin fails to defend himself when Pongo and his two side kicks Richards (Phil Daniels) and Eckersley (Ray Burdis) viciously assault him in the middle of the night. Carlin takes his beating, keeps his mouth shut and waits for the right moment to strike. When Carlin finally makes his move he does so with devastating effect; assaulting Richards with a sock filled with pool balls and then jumping Pongo when he has back turned in the bathroom, making him the daddy. After defeating Pongo Carlin begins to reveal the nastier side of his personality. He savagely beats an unarmed rival daddy with a metal pole after meeting for an arranged fight then barrages him with racist profanities. Carlin makes these racial slurs more frequently after he has become the daddy.

In my review of Get Carter I mentioned that Jack Carter and Carlin where similar characters in the sense that they are both corrupt heroes. In Scum you tend to feel more sympathy for Carlin then you do for Jack in Get Carter because of the vindictive nature of the officers and the unforgiving Borstal system itself, coupled with the fact that Carlin has barely reached manhood. That said, Carlin still reveals himself to be a cold hearted and malicious character.

Scum is a powerful piece of social realism which graphically reveals the corruption of the Borstal system and identifies it’s failings as a place of rehabilitation for troubled young men. Archer emphasises this notion when speaking with an officer - “How can anyone build a character in a regime based on deprivation? Good, fine minds thrown in with crazy people”. The lack of inspiration in the institute is subconsciously expressed through the soundtrack to the film, in the sense that there is no soundtrack at all. Music is a luxury of life, a thing of beauty, the fact that there is no music being played for the majority of the film symbolises the inmate’s isolation from the outside world and their loss of human privileges.

Although the brutality and almost Neanderthal behaviour of the inmates is intensely examined, it is the unmerciful cruelty of the ‘screws’ that is the most disturbing aspect of Scum. In a scene that that will make your stomach turn, as poor Davis is raped by three inmates, officer Sands watches the incident taking place and smiles sadistically. Additionally, the racist nature of the ‘screws’ is just as alarming and is used to reveal the racism that runs through the veins of the establishment. Scum remains one of the most shockingly brutal films ever made and effectively bought an end to the Borstal system in England.

Tom Conran

UK Box Office Top Ten - weekend commencing 10/07/09

UK box-office top ten and analysis for the weekend of Friday 10th - Sunday 12th July 2009.

Sacha Baron Cohen's latest comedy - the controversial Bruno - jumps straight in at number one, pulling in just over £5m in its opening weekend to knock last week's top film - Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs - down into second place, although the 3D animated comedy was only £250k away from retaining its position and has now grossed over £15m in just two short weeks.

In third place, Michael Bay's giant robot actioner Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen moves ahead of Star Trek to become the highest grossing film of the year so far (although a certain Mr. Potter could have something to say about that). Meanwhile Todd Phillips' comedy The Hangover holds onto fourth spot for the second consecutive week (with total receipts of £16.5m), while Michael Mann's 1930's gangster epic Public Enemies drops three places to fifth.

My Sister's Keeper and Year One both fall one place apiece to sixth and seventh respectively, while Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian remains in eighth, having now spent eight weeks in the top ten. Bollywood rom-com Kambakkht Ishq drops to ninth, while - just to prove me wrong from last week, when I suggested that the U.K. top ten only had room for one Indian effort - Shorkut - The Con is On debuts in tenth.

With two new entries this week, there was no room in the chart for Sunshine Cleaning or Terminator Salvation, with the latter failing to cross the £15m mark on its U.K. release.

Pos.	Film	Weekend Gross	Week	Total UK Gross
1	Bruno	£5,000,229	1	£5,000,229
2	Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs	£4,750,720	2	£15,421,531
3	Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen	£1,449,282	4	£23,580,163
4	The Hangover	£1,228,918	5	£16,493,961
5	Public Enemies	£1,048,359	2	£4,609,567
6	My Sister's Keeper	£675,948	3	£4,075,837
7	Year One	£242,950	3	£2,637,356
8	Night at the Museum 2	£106,420	8	£19,475,421
9	Kambakkht Ishq	£104,849	2	£551,294
10	Shorkut - The Con is On	£80,488	1	£80,488

Incoming...

Without doubt there will be a new name at the top of the box office come next week as Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince casts a spell over cinemagoers when it hits screens this Wednesday. The J.K. Rowling adaptation will cut heavily into Ice Age's audience and - with little competition remaining this summer - should push Transformers hard for the biggest hit of the year.

Also released this coming weekend is the sci-fi thriller Moon, which picked up the Best New British Feature Film at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, along with documentary Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country and crime drama The Informers, featruing an ensemble cast that includes Mickey Rourke, Billy Bob Thornton, Winona Ryder and Kim Basinger.