When Nerds Saved the Day

Apollo 13 has replaced (or rather matched) 2001: A Space Odyssey as my favorite film, and judging by the reviews and awards the film has received, I'm not alone in this respect.

This movie tells the true story of Apollo 13, a “routine” trip to the moon that suddenly went horribly wrong when an explosion destroyed the oxygen supply of the astronauts. For once, Hollywood has not exaggerated reality; in fact, the real story was even scarier than the movie portrays it to be, but the movie didn’t have time to cover all the unpleasant details. Director Ron Howard is extremely faithful to reality, and his accuracy, coupled with Howard’s expertise in putting the facts on the screen, plus the knowledge that this all really happened, is enough to keep you on the edge of your seat from the moment the explosion occurs to the instant that the astronauts successfully splash down in the Pacific. It is to the director’s credit that he resisted the temptation to become fanciful or melodramatic and stuck to the facts. The result is better than any fictional story could have been.

Apollo 13 is the only film I can remember seeing that (1) portrays engineers as heroes, and (2) provides insight into the way “nerds” really think and behave. In this film, we see engineers as human beings and central characters, rather than as robots or caricatures serving as comic relief, and we understand the emotional and intellectual investments they have made in their work. Although director Ron Howard admits that he originally saw the engineers as relatively incidental to the story, he says that he included them more and more in the film as it became obvious just how important they were to the success and rescue of the mission. In consequence, it becomes clear in Apollo 13 that the geeks with the plastic pocket protectors were the people who actually saved the astronauts. And best of all, that’s the way it actually happened.

This film also boasts superlative special effects. All of the images in the film are new, created specifically for the movie using models, digital images, and mattes, even though they look exactly like archive footage of the real mission. Much of the dialog is taken directly from actual mission transcripts. It’s like seeing the real thing with incredibly enhanced clarity and detail.

Nerds like me will appreciate the technical accuracy of the film. Many of the scenes in zero gravity, for example, really were filmed in zero gravity (using a special aircraft that can create periods of true weightlessness for about 30 seconds at a time)—the actors are not suspended on wires or otherwise made to appear weightless when they really weren’t. All the hardware is real and accurate. Most of the space shots are accurate as well (with a couple minor errors that seem to plague Hollywood, such as sound in space, visible thrust plumes, etc.).

In terms of performances, all of the cast does an excellent job, and Ed Harris is particularly realistic as Flight Director Eugene Kranz. The actors do become a bit emotional at times (compared to real nerds), but they still exercise quite a bit of self-restraint, when you compare this film to other “science” films in which the principals spend half the film yelling at each other.

Universal Pictures, 1995 / Rated PG

The Little Guy Who Could

I originally expected this film to be an average comedy, but it turned out to be an excellent comedy. In accordance with my usual preferences, it is suitable for the whole family, there’s no gore, the pace is excellent, the jokes are funny and abundant, and it has a happy ending.

Steven Martin plays the title role of poor Robert Bowfinger, a 49-year-old wannabe mogul on the fringes of Hollywood who decides to make one last stab at producing a Serious Motion Picture. Armed with an alien-invasion script penned by his accountant (Adam Alexi-Malle), he gathers his friends (all losers as well) together and announces that he has signed megastar Kit Ramsey (Eddie Murphy) to star in his new film. The only problem is that Ramsey hasn’t signed anything and has no idea what is going on, and so Bowfinger must make his blockbuster by stealing shots of Ramsey in contrived encounters with the rest of his cast (all of whom believe that Ramsey’s bewilderment is just part of his acting style). This movie-within-a-movie is the premise for the film, and it works very well, with plenty of giggles and quite a few major laughs.

Eddie Murphy plays two completely different roles in this film, one as the paranoid action star Ramsey, and the other as Ramsey’s lookalike stand-in, Jiff. As he did in The Nutty Professor, Murphy manages to pull off both portrayals flawlessly—it’s hard to believe that the same person is playing both roles. Kit Ramsey is a clever but somewhat neurotic action star who fears aliens, sees race discrimination in every script, and hears Kennedy-like voices encouraging him to exhibit himself to the Laker Girls; he is regularly brought to earth by his Mind Head counselor, Terry Stricter (well played by Terence Stamp). Jiff is a clueless innocent who just happens to look like Ramsey and is recruited by Bowfinger for the filming of shots that he cannot fortuitously obtain on the sly with the real Ramsey. Anyway, Murphy’s performances are some of the highlights of the film.

Steve Martin is also very good at playing a con artist with a heart, who really only wants to find a way to make his Big Picture. Martin also wrote the excellent screenplay. His concept of the Mind Head organization is a fairly obvious parody of Scientology (and a moderately neutral one at that).

Heather Graham (as an innocent newcomer to Hollywood with ambitions of sleeping her way to the top), Christine Baranski, Kohl Sudduth, and Jamie Kennedy round out the cast with good performances. I really don’t consider Heather Graham pretty, though. Robert Downey, Jr. has a small but important role in the film, particularly during one of the funniest scenes in the movie.

The movie ends happily. My favorite scene is the scene late in the movie with the FedEx man, but you’ll have to see the movie for yourself to find out why.

I notice significant parallels between this film and Ed Wood, but I’m not sure if that was coincidental or deliberate (Ed Wood was a true story, whereas this film is fiction, but the similarities are uncanny). In addition, despite the constant laughs and generally entertaining quality of the film, there is an undercurrent of serious comment on the business of making movies that does lead one to reflect a bit on the lives of those who never manage to become a Steven Spielberg or a Robert De Niro.

Universal Pictures, 1999 / Rated PG-13 / Available on VHS cassette and DVD

The Egghead’s Revenge?

I’ve noticed that, for whatever reason, I tend to like films that have anything to do with the work of Roald Dahl, even though I didn’t even know who he was when I first enjoyed the films. Matilda is one of these films.

Matilda is a gifted little girl, with a strong intellect and unusual telekinetic powers. Although she starts out as an innocent victim of the nasty grown-ups that seem to surround her, she eventually uses her powers to put the worst of them in their place. The plot is pretty straightforward.

The nice thing about this film is the level of exaggeration it contains (not unlike other films influenced by Roald Dahl). Matilda includes a vast number of close-ups and extreme close-ups, shot at wide angles either from well below the subject (when a child's viewpoint is being represented) or well above the subject (when an adult is talking to a child). The interesting thing is that I find that this actually captures a bit of the perception I had of the world when I was very little.

All of the characters in this film are caricatures, except for the children themselves. Even the one and only nice adult in the film, Miss Honey (Embeth Davitz) is so soft-spoken and gentle that she makes Mister Rogers seem like the Terminator in comparison. Miss Trunchbull (Pam Ferris) is the incarnation of evil, with her torture chamber inspired by an iron maiden; Matilda’s parents (Danny de Vito and Rhea Pearlman) are less extreme but still well over the top (although I’ve met a few people just like them in real life).

I consider this a very good film for children, provided that their parents watch it with them (there are scary parts). The only bad thing about the film is that Danny de Vito also narrates it, in addition to playing the part of Matilda’s terrible father.

TriStar Pictures, 1996 / Rated PG / Available on VHS cassette and DVD

Adventures in Paris

This charming film, one of the most recent fruits of a tree planted by Ludwig Bemelman in the classic children’s poem of the same name, is pretty much guaranteed to appeal to young girls of the same age as the main character (that is, 5-10 years old). Actress Hatty Jones interprets the role of Madeline expertly, and the supporting cast, including Frances McDormand as Miss Clavel, does a fine job as well. The production values are superb, and each scene is a visual treat from a cinematography standpoint—it is true that no ground is being broken here, but it’s nice to see cinematography in the classic, professional style. Add to this the fact that the film is filled with scenes of Paris, France (the setting of the story) and that the DVD transfer is of extraordinary quality, and the net result is great entertainment for the whole family.

The plot is pretty simple, with a schoolful of young girls being involved in various adventures while the owner of the school, an apparently mean old man, tries to permanently close and sell the school. I wasn’t exactly on the edge of my seat while watching the film, but the film is beautifully executed and I think I can recommend it without the slightest reservation to anyone with young children, especially young girls. I kind of wondered why little girls in a French school would have British accents, or why the son of the Spanish ambassador living next to them would speak English like some California dude straight out of the Valley, but I suppose those are just trivial details. Also, the film seems to be set in a kind of never-never time period that looks a lot like the 1950s (even though some things, such as the lighting on the Eiffel Tower, clearly betray the modern-day period of filming)—I guess that adds to the charm. Most of the characters are stereotyped; children will have no trouble figuring out who’s who. Incredibly, the film is rated PG (it could scarcely be more innocent than it already is!).

So why did I watch the film? Well, I wanted to see how it showed Paris—and it shows it rather well (the film can almost double as a travel advertisement for the city!). Now I know why I saw the dome at the Invalides all lit in blue one night while walking home (instead of the usual orange lighting)—they were filming one of the scenes from this movie! Additionally, as I’ve said, the production values are very high, and the film is of great quality. No gore, no sex, no violence, just simple fun. A great addition to any family video library.

TriStar Pictures, 1998 / Rated PG / Available on VHS cassette and DVD

Of Ants and Men

Antz isn’t nearly as good as its contemporary, A Bug’s Life, but it is still pretty good. The animation is excellent, and the computer-generated visuals are first-rate overall. The best part of the movie is Gene Hackman’s superb voice characterization of General Mandible, the most interesting character in the film (with animation perfectly matched to Hackman’s voice), although Sylvester Stallone’s characterization of Weaver, a macho but friendly soldier ant, comes in as a fairly close second. The worst thing about the film—it almost ruins it, in fact—is that Woody Allen does the voice characterization for the lead character, Z-4195, a neurotic and initially ineffectual ant around whom the story revolves. While Allen’s trademark neuroses and running monologues are entertaining in settings designed for them, they seem terribly out of place in a movie like this.

The plot involves poor little Z’s fortuitous involvement in a secret plot by General Mandible to flood the ant colony and kill everyone except the Queen, her daughter (the General’s fiancée), and his army. The film can be amusing for the whole family, but the story (and the visuals) are a bit on the dark side for younger children (although not scary, except for the war with the termites). Teenagers might like it. Young children probably won’t care for it beyond the visual impression it creates.

The best single scene in the film is at the end, when the camera pulls away from a huge crowd of ants and continues back, back, and further back, zooming out until we see that the crowd of millions of ants and indeed the entire world in which they live is no more than a tiny spot on a tiny hill in patch of dirt in Central Park. It reminded me of Contact, strangely.

One thing that puzzles me about Antz is that the producers apparently felt obligated to hire Big Names for the voice characterizations. They could have used unknowns or just normal Hollywood talent, as A Bug’s Life did, and still achieved the same result—although Gene Hackman did a really good job here.

The DVD transfer of this film is extremely clean, in widescreen anamorphic format.

DreamWorks SKG, 1996 / Rated PG / Available on VHS cassette and DVD

Classic Family Fare by Car

This film, which is now over thirty years old, is of a type that hardly ever seems to get made these days, that is, it is absolutely G-rated throughout and yet it is still very entertaining (nowadays, only Disney seems to manage that, or even take an interest in it). It is based on Ian Fleming’s story of a magical car (yes, this is the same Ian Fleming who wrote the James Bond series), although the move to the screen changed quite a bit. Roald Dahl (again!) expertly prepared the screenplay and took the darker edge off the book, turning this into a good film for children instead of something that would normally appeal to teenagers and beyond.

The plot revolves around an eccentric inventor, played superbly by Dick van Dyke in his prime and at his best, who salvages an old racing car and turns it into a magical flying car. Spies from the evil country of Vulgaria kidnap the inventor’s eccentric father (an amusing performance by Lionel Jeffries) in a case of mistaken identity, and so the inventor, his children, and a charming lady friend (Sally Ann Howes) set off to rescue the father in the magical car. The film is filled with a bit more music than I care for, but some of the tunes are quite catchy, including the theme song and a few others ("The Old Bamboo," "Toot Sweets"). Many excellent performances support the film (Gert Fröbe as the evil baron and Anna Quayle as his wife, Benny Hill as a toymaker, and Robert Helpmann as the supremely evil childcatcher. Howe is nice as the love interest, too (ick!). It’s interesting that I thought Quayle seemed terribly wicked and evil when I first saw this movie, but now what I notice most about her is that she looked great in a teddy!

There are some parts of the movie that will spook young children and have them hissing at the bad guys. The childcatcher is particularly scary. But all turns out well in the end, of course, and you’ll end up humming the theme song for hours after you see the film.

My favorite scene is the scene in which Professor Potts (van Dyke) opens the doors to his workroom and rolls out a fabulously, shiny new car, a complete makeover from the junk heap he rolled into the workroom several days before. I thought that was so cool!

This film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli, the same person who produced most of the Bond films.

The DVD transfer is good but pan-and-scan, which I don’t care for. Still, it’s a nice film. Once again, I recommend it highly to families with young children.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM/UA), 1968 / Rated G / Available on VHS cassette and DVD

A Really Scary Movie

No, I am not talking about the recent remake that has received universally dismal reviews; I’m talking about the original, black-and-white movie based on Shirley Jackson's horror novel, made in 1963, and starring Julie Harris, Russ Tamblyn, Claire Bloom, et al. This older, original version is very scary!

Like The Blair Witch Project, a more recent and very successful horror film, The Haunting depends mostly on your imagination for the scariness, and if you have a decent imagination, this works really well! The eerie setting and cinematography, along with the slight way in which it has dated over time (being in black-and-white and all) make it that much scarier. No monsters or blood or gore in this movie, and virtually no sudden surprises, but lots of spooky-looking sets, special lighting and sound effects, and other mechanisms to set your imagination whirring non-stop.

The plot is straightforward: A researcher invites several other people to spend a few weeks with him in a house with a strong reputation for haunted happenings, and no sooner do they arrive than strange things begin to happen. One of them (Julie Harris) is particularly vulnerable to the weirdness of the house and goes a bit nuts during the course of the film. The movie is quite faithful to the book (which was also quite scary).

This film has none of the bathtubs of blood and slime that characterize modern "horror" films, but it will probably scare the wits out of young children, so beware. Teenagers and adults will simply find it comfortably scary. It’s a great film to watch on Halloween or some similar occasion.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM/UA), 1963 / Rated G / Available on VHS cassette

Chocolate Fantasies

Yet another fine family film that can be credited for the most part to Roald Dahl.

This film, which is hardly new but still great fun, is the story of an incredibly poor and extremely virtuous boy (Peter Ostrum—who is a dentist today, by the way) who wins a trip to the most mysterious candy factory in the world, the factory of Willy Wonka (Gene Wilder, in a role that seems to have been written just for him). Four other children from around the world win a trip to the factory as well, but they all have various character faults, and they get into trouble one by one. I’ll leave the rest for you to discover.

Gene Wilder is the most entertaining part of this film, although the visuals and special effects are very imaginative and amusing as well. The poverty of Ostrum’s character is so exaggerated that it stretches the bounds of belief, even for young children. In contrast, the other, evil kids who get invited to the factory are spoiled rotten. Even the youngest child will have no trouble figuring out who the good guy is in this film.

This movie also has an unconditionally happy ending, which is nice. There is lots of music, by no less than Anthony Newly. A line of Willy Wonka candies was marketed for a time after the movie came out (I think Quaker Oats holds the trademarks).

The DVD is moderately well made. At least it will never wear out, but the transfer is not ideal.

Warner Bros., 1971 / Rated G / Available on VHS cassette and DVD

The World of the Very Small

This is a great computer-animation film, along the lines of Toy Story (and made by the same company), but with a completely different plot, of course.

Flik (Dave Foley) is an ant unlike most ants, constantly trying to improve upon the tried-and-true ways of the anthill. The ants have a tradition of gathering food each year for Hopper (Kevin Spacey) and his band of grasshoppers, lest the latter become angry and do bad things to the ants, and one day Flik manages to spill the entire offering into a pond just before Hopper and gang arrive. He volunteers to go out and find “warrior bugs” that will help the anthill drive off the grasshoppers once and for all. In his search he mistakes some fired talent from a bug circus for warriors, and brings them back to the anthill. You get the idea. It’s a simple but interesting plot, great for kids.

The animation and computer rendering in this film is superlative, of the same extraordinary quality as Toy Story. Everything looks extremely real, and objects have been rendered in complete detail. In a “bug bar” in the city, for example, patrons sit around a pearl-handled pocket knife that serves as a bar and order “Black Flags” and “Bloody Marys” (a big drop of blood for mosquitoes who are into that sort of thing). There are so many jokes and one-liners (visual and auditory) that you have to pay close attention to catch them all—such as the bar patron, a housefly, who complains to the waiter that he is in his own soup, or the dissatisfied fly in the audience at the circus who complains “I’ve only got 24 hours to live, and I’m not gonna spend it here!” There’s enough to keep both children and grown-ups amused throughout.

This film is great for young children—much better than Antz. Adults will like it, too.

One of the interesting details of this film is a hilarious series of outtakes during the ending credits. The weird thing is that there’s no such thing as outtakes in computer animation—each of the “outtakes” had to be deliberately planned and executed to make it look like live-action “outtakes.” Pretty cool!

The DVD transfer is excellent (the first all-digital transfer ever, in fact) in both Zone 1 (USA) and Zone 2 (European) versions. However, while the Zone 1 version provides both letterboxed and P&S formats, anamorphic widescreen is missing, which is a disappointment. Apparently there are still too few people in the USA with 16:9 television sets to profit from it. The Zone 2 version provides anamorphic widescreen, however, and this, plus the PAL raster, makes it a better “print” than the Zone 1 version.

Walt Disney Pictures, 1998 / Rated G / Available on VHS cassette and DVD

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Last modified on December 16, 2007
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