Rango

"That ain't nothin'. I coughed up an entire tribe of pygmies." Elgin

☆☆☆☆☆ Classic 


Rango (2011) is a fun and lively animated spaghetti western.


Directed By Gore Verbinski.

Starring Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Bill Nighy and Timothy Olyphant among many others.

I had no idea what to expect from Gore when I started watching his first animated film. What a joy and surprise I soon discovered. By lampooning such classic film scenes from Apocalypse Now, Star Wars (1977), and A Fistful of Dollars to name a few Verbinski kept me laughing and amused at his tongue in cheek humor. Gore employs eerie sounds to great effect in a nod to Sergio Leone's Once Upon A Time In The West (1968). 

The star of this film are the animators who create high quality digital characters, landscapes of the desert and old west without any 3D FX. Credit must go to George Lucas' magicians at Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) who created all the CGI in their first animated film.

The voice overs from Johnny, Isla, Bill and Timothy are pitch perfect and make the animated characters come to life. In the scene below watch how the animator perfectly capture the tension and high drama at the high noon shootout. I loved the way Gore combines close-ups and long shots to create the look and feel of a classic western shootout.

Film Scene

Trivia - The character of Rattlesnake Jake was modeled after the actor Lee Van Cleef.

Film Trailer

Film Posters

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Film Script

The Terminator (1984)

"I'll be back." The Terminator

☆☆☆☆☆ Iconic 

The Terminator (1984) is an iconic film whose reach goes far beyond its Sci-Fi pedigree.

Directed by James Cameron.

Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton and Michael Biehn among many others.

Cameron not only created a monster franchise that conquered popular culture, but eerily prophesied and inspired a world of killer military robots and the Internet. James like George Lucas' Star Wars (1977) took the Sci-Fi genre to new heights by following H.G. Wells dictum of telling mythical stories with plausibility. As an audience member I was completely immersed in James fantasy world.

The runaway star of the film is Arnold. James wisely let Schwarzenegger ad lib lines with his sense of humor, irony and playfulness. Arnold made a merciless, killing machine entertaining. What makes Schwarzenegger as big a star in films as he was in bodybuilding is his ability to heighten his strengths while diminishing his weaknesses.

In the scene below watch Arnold ad lib the lines in the scene. The years he spent on the stage as a bodybuilder helped him refine his presence and energy.

Film Scene

Trivia - Arnold's line "I'll be back" originally was written as "I'll come back".

Film Trailer

 

Film Script

Metropolis (1927)

"We shall build a tower that will reach to the stars." Maria

☆☆☆☆☆ Masterpiece

Metropolis (1927) set the standard for the visuals and Special Effects in Sci-Fi films.

Directed by Fritz Lang.

Starring Alfred Abel, Gustav Frohlich, Rudolf Klein-Rogge and Brigitte Helm  among many others.

Metropolis is a German Expressionist silent film by Fritz Lang. Audiences flocked to theaters when it premiered to see a city one hundred years into the future. As I viewed it I was struck by how good the sets and FX are in this film. Fritz and his creative team created a film that transported me to a distant future like George Lucas did in Star Wars (1977). The special effects that Eugene Schuefftan created with cinematographic mirrors and Karl Freund's camera work, along with Otto Hunte's Art Deco sets, created an indelible mark on future film makers. Eugene, Otto and Karl's influence can be seen in movies like Blade Runner, Batman and Star Wars.
The Art Deco sets popularized its design movement throughout the 1930's and 1940's in Europe and America.

Metropolis is a fun movie to watch visually. The story is very straight forward,but its the visuals that make this a masterpiece. In the scene below I feel as though I'm in a futuristic factory where the workers move all in synchronization like a well oiled machine.

Film Scene

Trivia - The Yoshiara club is the name of the famous red light district in Tokyo.

Film Trailer

Film Transcript

Star Wars 1977

"Only a master of evil Darth." Obi One Kenobi

☆☆☆☆☆ Iconic

Stars Wars (1977) is an iconic film whose Force is eternal.

Directed by George Lucas.

Starring Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Alec Guinness among many others.

I recently watched Stars Wars (1977) in its entirety for the first time. I was struck by how timeless the story is and how well the special effects hold up. The Flash Gordon type of serialized adventure storytelling is fantastic. The musical score give it added weight. The aliens that populate it universe drew me into the fantasy. While the immortal saga of good versus evil triumphing against all odds gave it humanity. I could go on and on, but suffice to say that it is an iconic film.

As I marvelled at Lucas' creation I realized that he had pulled off what only H.G. Wells had done, so brilliantly in his stories. George, like H.G. had imbued his mythical stories with plausibility. Instead of King Arthur and his Knights of the round table fighting with swords against powerful sorcers with magic, or of Robin Hood and his merry men in the forrest of Sherwood fighting with bows and arrows against an evil monarchy you have Jedi knights using the Force to fight the dark side of the force. From the opening crawl through the happy ending I was completely immersed in George's world. I had a similar escape with Andy and Lana Wachowski's, The Matrix (1999).

The scene below showcases the superb special effects and masterful editing that revolutionized film making. It still looks great today.

Film  Scene

Trivia - Harrison helped George audition actors by reading with them during their auditions. George soon realized that only Harrison could play Hans Solo.

Film Trailer

Film Script