“Cooler’s Revenge” is one of the better installments in the Dragonball Z film franchise and certainly one of my favorites. Cooler has always been my favorite returning villain of the movie series, as I definitely prefer him over the annoyingly overrated Broly. While this movie is short in length (45 minutes) it has one of the more intriguing stories and some very consistent animation.
When Goku was just an infant being shuttled from planet Vegeta (homeworld of the Saiyans) his ship was spotted by Cooler, the brother of Frieza. Cooler allowed Goku’s ship to proceed, a choice that would eventually come back to haunt him, as Goku would later kill Frieza in an epic confrontation on planet Namek. Wanting to challenge the Saiyan who killed his brother, Cooler and his minions come to Earth. At the same time, Goku, Gohan and the rest of his friends are on a camping trip. Cooler quickly makes his presence known and Goku must now fight a foe even more powerful than Frieza ever was.
Cooler’s a great villain; basically Frieza minus the homoeroticism. I particularly liked his transformed state during the film’s climax, as it reminded me of Super Shredder from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II. While there isn’t much more to the character other than being Frieza 2.0, his connection to Goku’s origin was pleasantly ironic, and not half as stupid as Broly’s connection. Cooler’s Armored Corps (his minions) weren’t so good, however. Another bland set of thugs, these guys just didn’t have much to make them stand out (as opposed to the thugs in “Tree of Might”, who were all very unique).
The animation in Cooler’s Revenge is top-notch, remaining visually pleasing from beginning to end and rarely cutting corners, even during the “slow” segments. But, of course, this movie is only 45 minutes-long, so don’t be expecting too many slow segments. The fights are excellent, the two best being Piccolo’s scrap with the Armored Corps and Goku’s final showdown with Cooler. I’m also grateful that the non-Saiyan characters such as Piccolo and Krillen haven’t been reduced to either comic relief or ineffectual losers quite yet. Krillen only tussles with Salsa (leader of Cooler’s Armored Corps) for a few brief moments, but it’s a far cry better than how they treated the character in “Broly’s Second Coming”.
The voice acting in the movie is both good and bad. The cast of TV regulars are as good as usual, and I really do like Sean Schemmel’s Goku quite a bit. Cooler also has an excellent voice which gets even better once he transforms. No, the major voice acting problem is with Cooler’s Armored Corps. They’re really annoying, particularly Salsa’s random German (?) accent.
Cooler’s 2 movie arc remains one of the better portions of the Dragonball Z movie series and marks a definite highpoint in the franchise. I’d give it a B. It might have gotten a “+” had it been a bit longer and the Armored Corps not been so damn annoying.
Grade: B
Darkman
I’m 21 years old (at least as I write this review) and I just *now* got around to seeing Darkman. I’ve always liked Sam Raimi’s films, particularly the Evil Dead and Spider-Man franchises, and I’ve seen bits and pieces of the various Darkman films (there’s 3 of em) on the Sci-Fi Channel and the USA Network ever since I was a kid, but I just never got around to sitting down and watching any of them all the way through.
Man, was I ever missing out. Despite not being based on a comic book, Darkman is a definite superhero flick. The Danny Elfman score gives off a Batman-vibe (this was made one year after Tim Burton’s Batman film) and really puts the “dark” in “Darkman”. But before I go all into the details of what made this such a good action flick, let me cover the plot…
Dr. Peyton Westlake (Liam Neeson) is a scientist trying to create a synthetic skin for disfigured people and what-not. However, after 99 minutes, the masks always dissolve unless they’re kept in the dark. A mobster named Durant breaks into his lab in search of a document that would incriminate his employer. Durant beats Westlake within an inch of his life, disfiguring his hands and face and dunking him in a vat of the synthetic skin compound. Then, to top it all off, he blows up the building, sending Westlake’s flaming body flying into the river. Westlake is found (though completely unidentifiable) and brought to a hospital, where doctors remove the vast majority of his nerves so that he would not die from the shear pain of his predicament. This leaves the horribly disfigured Westlake cut off from the real world, unable to feel anything and unable to keep his adrenaline in check (giving him enhanced strength). Westlake breaks out of the hospital, rebuilds his lab and plots his revenge on Durant and company by using his synthetic skin equipment to disguise himself as anyone he chooses.
Darkman’s origin is covered in the first half hour of the film and the rest is pure action. The action sequences in the film are high-budget and remarkably believable. Scenes where Darkman dangles from a helicopter in flight or leaps from girder to girder atop on construction site are all extremely well done. Save for a few bad bluescreen effects, anyway.
Sam Raimi’s directorial signature is all over this movie. His trademark use of dark humor and slapstick are all present, though not as in-your-face as, say, Army of Darkness. Raimi’s insane imagination really brings Darkman to life, particularly the way he portrays Darkman’s anger; Westlake goes into a fit of screaming as the environment around him crumbles apart and a series of overlaid images show his brain catching on fire with rage. It’s funny, cool, insane, scary and all-around memorable.
It’s a very fun, very well-made action flick perhaps betrayed only by the bargain-bin price of the DVD. I picked mine up at Beast Buy for $6.99. Most DVD stores stash it in the “$10 and Under” section next to crap like Vegas Vacation and It’s Pat: the Movie. Don’t let the extremely affordable price-point fool you, this is one of the better action movies of the early 90’s that gets overlooked a little too often. Hell, *I* overlooked it for most of my life.
Grade: B
The Return of Swamp Thing
There’s a big division amongst the Swamp Thing fanbase as to which film they prefer, the original or the sequel (that would be this movie, right here). On a personal note, I prefer the Return of Swamp Thing over the first attempt. While it is most-definitely a more tongue-in-cheek dark comedy, it has better special effects and the self-referential humor makes it more amusing than the original, which was just a hands-down bad movie which tried to take itself too seriously.
Following-up on the events of the last installment, Dr. Alec Holland-turned-Swamp Thing is lurking in the Louisiana swamps, protecting the innocent but lamenting in his solitude. The evil Anton Arcane (Louis Jourdan) has apparently survived the events of the previous film and seeks revenge on Swamp Thing. He invites his niece, Abigail (Heather Locklear), who has a creepy love of plants, to come visit him, as he has various nefarious plans for her. Swamp Thing rescues Abby from the clutches of Arcane and the two develop a budding romance (see that? That was a pun). Arcane won’t yet admit defeat, and he unleashes his freakish Un-men on the Louisiana swamplands.
I have a soft spot for this movie, as it’s what got me into Swamp Thing when I was a lad. This movie is an improvement over the original in nearly every category, from directing to special effects to overall fun. Swamp Thing’s costume is considerably more detailed than it was in the original and hardly as embarrassing in broad daylight as that green latex pile of crap from the first film. Swamp Thing looks very soggy and very…swampy. Dick Durock’s skill at playing the character finally shines in this film, as he has a better costume to work with. During the 80’s and early 90’s, he was Swamp Thing. The live action TV series on USA helped. The costumes for the Un-Men are, well, “Power Rangers”-quality, at least when seen in a bright room. The leech-monster looks good-enough, and his fight with Swamp Thing is enjoyable.
The film never takes itself seriously, with lots of self-referential humor that pokes fun at the ridiculous-nature (another pun!) of the story. The only bit of “humor” that irked me were the two kids that showed up through-out the movie making stupid one-liners and observations. They were very annoying, though the scene where they watch music videos on Mtv takes me back to the good ole days.
I also feel obligated to mention that the beginning of Return of Swamp Thing is one of my favorite opening sequences from any comic book movie. It starts out with a bunch of hunters in the swamp getting picked-off one-by-one by that leech monster, Swamp Thing coming to their rescue, then helping the nerdy hunter find his glasses and introducing himself; “They call me…Swamp Thing”. It’s then followed up the opening credits done to a montage of art from the comic combined with my *favorite* Creedance Clearwater Revival song, “Born on the Bayou”. Man, do I love that opening; it’s my favorite part of the movie.
Now, for the fans of the comic, I will say that the sequel is a *bit* truer to the source material then the first film; tongue-in-cheek atmosphere not-withstanding. Heather Locklear doesn’t play a very good Abigail Arcane, as Abby was anything but a dimwitted bimbo in the comics. Still, she serves as a much better (and more accurate) love-interest for Swampy than “Alice Cable” from the first film. Incidentally, the character Alice Cable was based off of, Matt Cable, was married to Abigail for a little while in the comic. Weird. Return of Swamp Thing was made in 1989, after the Alan Moore era of the comic, so a few of his influences creep in there (though they’re intensely watered-down). Swamp Thing can now survive bodily destruction, just like in the comic, and can “teleport”…sorta. In the movie, he reduces himself to a puddle of algae and travels through sewer systems before reconstructing his body. It’s much simpler than in the comic, but the visuals are rather good.
The Return of Swamp Thing won’t please everyone, but it does have its moments and it’s a MUCH better Swamp Thing film than the last movie. I’d give it a C+.
Grade: C+
Swamp Thing
By all rights, Swamp Thing should have been a recipe for success. It was filmed in 1982 during the early era of Swamp Thing’s popularity (before Alan Moore signed on and made the comic sales sky-rocket), it was directed by the legendary Wes Craven and starred the likes of Louis Jourdan and Adrienne Barbeau. Unfortunately, although it had plenty going for it, Swamp Thing’s first foray into the world of live-action entertainment completely missed the mark.
Alec Holland and his sister, Linda, have been commissioned by the US government to create a formula to end world hunger by accelerating plant growth. The feds have stashed them away in a dark and eerie Louisiana swamp, and agent Alice Cable (Barbeau) has been hired-on as extra protection. What they aren’t aware of is that the evil criminal mastermind, Arcane (Louis Jourdan), wants to get his hands on the formula at any cost. During a raid on the government lab, Linda Holland is killed by Arcane’s men and Alec is doused with the secret formula, set on fire, and sent screaming to a watery grave in the surrounding swamp. Arcane’s men then try to finish off Alice Cable but she finds herself under the protection of a mysterious, grotesque behemoth covered in plant-matter.
There are a number of problems with this movie, so I’ll start with the worst. This was one of Wes Craven’s earliest attempts at film-making, even predating his career-making work on a Nightmare on Elm Street. So, to be honest, the directing is really pretty poor, as Craven isn’t sure if he wants to make a horror movie or a slapstick comedy (there’s a midget at the end of the movie making puns every couple seconds, for example). Making things worse is the music by Harry Manfredini; it sounds identical to his work on Friday the 13th. The lack of creativity in the score is very irritating, as you almost expect Jason to pop out of the woods at any moment. It’s like if they played the theme to Star Wars throughout the entirety of Indiana Jones. Arcane is a very poor villain; 2-dimensional in every sense of the term and only evil because the script says he is.
However, the biggest killer of the movie is Swamp Thing-himself. The costume they used for him is absolutely ridiculous. It’s a mass of bright green latex with some moss super-glued here and there. The outfit is preposterously unconvincing and drags the film into B-movie territory the moment it comes on screen. And Wes Craven seemed proud of the thing, showing it off in broad daylight for the bulk of the film rather than shrouding it in darkness like he should have. On the bright side, Dick Durock portrays Swamp Thing for the first time and would go on to play the character in both the sequel and the popular live-action TV series which aired on the USA network. Dick Durock plays a very good Swamp Thing, but unfortunately, for his first outing, he has a horrible costume to try and work with.
Then there are the fans of the comic book, like myself (Swamp Thing is my personal favorite comic book of all time). This movie is going to frustrate readers of the comic from the moment it starts. There are numerous changes to the story, for example, the character of Alice Cable was actually a man in the comic; a very important character named Matt Cable. They changed his gender so that Swamp Thing might have a love-interest. Even more perplexing, is that they went out of their way to *remove* Swamp Thing’s original love-interest, Linda Holland, who was his wife in the comic and not his sister. Arcane is also presented as a suave young man rather then a freakish old coot. The movie was considered so bad at the time that the Swamp Thing comics actually ripped into it on multiple occasions. Even Constantine (a regular in the comics) got a few nasty remarks in about the movie.
Swamp Thing is just an all-around poorly produced B-movie that won’t even appeal to the comic book’s fanbase. You might as well avoid it and pray for a remake.
Grade: D-
Lupin III: the Castle of Cagliostro
There have been lots of Lupin III the movies, and there have been lots of Hayao Miyazaki movies, but there’s only been one movie where the two flavors have combined to forge a veritable Recess Peanut Buttercup of cinematic flavor. Hayao Miyazaki had had years of experience working on previous Lupin III television shows, so his firm grasp on the characters shines magnificently in this film. However, one does not have to be a Lupin III-fan to enjoy this movie. As a matter of fact, you don’t even need to know who Lupin III is. Castle of Cagliostro is an animated masterpiece one can watch with the entire family (except maybe the really little ones).
Lupin III is the world’s greatest thief. Along with his partner and super marksman, Jigen, the pair travel to the isolated European country of Cagliostro to get to the bottom of a century’s old counterfeiting ring. Things are never so simple when it comes to Lupin, though. The greedy Count of Cagliostro wants Lupin dead so that he won’t interrupt his marriage to the young Princess Clarisse, who is the key to uncovering the country’s ancient treasure. Lupin makes it his mission to uncover the counterfeiting scheme, save the Princess and defeat the Count all at once. Complicating matters, though, is the arrival of Interpol’s Inspector Zenigata, who will stop at nothing to arrest Lupin. Lupin and Jigen have their work cut-out for them, so they get help from the Japanese swordsman, Goemon, and the femme fatale, Fujiko.
The Castle of Cagliostro, like many of Miyazaki’s films, feels like a timeless classic as you watch it. It hits upon numerous “fairy tale” themes, like a noble thief rescuing a beautiful Princess from a dangerous castle, yet in true Lupin III spirit, has a manic pace coupled with lots of crazy humor. Made in 1979, it was one of Miyazaki’s earliest films, and while it doesn’t contain the level of detail and nuance that his future endeavors would be known for, it has a quality to it that seems light-years ahead of its time.
The animation from TMS (Tokyo Movie Shinsha) is very impressive, considering the age of the film, and holds up extremely well to today’s standards. There are maybe one or two noticeable animation errors, but nothing to pull one out of the experience.
The characters are just as important as Miyazaki’s direction in regards to the success of this film. Even if one is not acquainted with the volumes of material and extensive background histories that go with each character, it’s easy to appreciate them all for their individual quirks and special talents. While the bulk of the film is dedicated to Lupin and Clarisse, Miyazaki makes sure to give each classic Lupin character their own time to shine. Goemon might come out the weakest of the bunch, receiving maybe two lines total in the entire movie, but the quiet-approach is true to character and he gets some of the flashiest moves in. Jigen, my personal favorite member of the Lupin crew, is a total riot in this film and participates in some of its best moments.
The Japanese voice track, featuring the late Yamada Yasuo (Lupin) as well as Kobayashi Kiyoshi (Jigen) and Naya Goro (Zenigata), is classic. Each actor has been voicing the characters for decades and little else sounds more natural. The English dub provided on the Manga Video DVD release is actually very good, with voices that lived up to my expectations. While Pioneer has the best English cast for Lupin III (there are numerous different dubbing studios doing the plethora of available Lupin material, which is very annoying), the Manga Video cast take a more serious approach to the characters which fits in with the tone of the film perfectly. While I love the Pioneer cast, they work better with the goofier Lupin material, and this film is anything but a dirty slapstick comedy like other Lupin III movies.
The Castle of Cagliostro is one of my favorite animated films ever, and the best piece of Lupin III animation ever produced. The animation is impressive, the story is timeless, the characters are memorable and the direction is outstanding. While there is some blood and a few curse words, it’s more than suitable for a crowd that can handle PG-rated movies. I’d recommend it for the whole family.
Grade: A