Iron Man 2 - The Sequel

I reviewed the first movie of the Iron Man trilogy last night, and now I will turn my attention to the second film in this successful trilogy. The film stars the first thespians as the first film, and adds Sam Rockwell and Mickey Rourke as the films villains, replacing Terrence Howard with Don Cheadle, and Adding Scarlett Johanssen and Samuel L Jackson as members of S.H.I.E.L.D. Although not quite as strong as its predecessor, this film has a lot to offer.

This film continues with the character of Nick Fury who was introduced in Iron Man, and is the director of S.H.I.E.L.D, this film does a pretty good job of reintroducing the character of Fury who was introduced in the post credits sequence. This introduction maintains continuity with this sequence, whilst also giving an explanation to the audience members who declined to stay for the post credits sequence. Scarlett Johanssen plays Natasha Romanov AKA Natalie Rushmore AKA Black Widow. Black Widow is pretty awesome, she can fight, she has red hair and she speaks latin.

Mickey Rourke plays the villain in this film, a russian immigrant who pirates a version of the Iron Man suit which includes huge whips that are electrified. The other villain is a businessman who owns a company which is a rival of Stark Enterprises, and which attempts to replicate the famous suit. The film also shows the rise of James Rhodes into war machine, a role that he continues in the next installment. The film is smart in that it creates an epic battle with multiple villains, whilst never allowing its audience to become confused, and without requiring too much time for the introduction of all these characters. This is done with the use of drones, the films villain played by Sam Rockwell creates a series of drones, supposedly for use in the military, this means that we do not need to introduce any characters, yet we are given a satisfying and exciting climax.

 The places where this film fails is in it's script, despite having a fun and uncomplicated story the impossible hiring of Pepper Potts as CEO and the distinct lack of character development, notably in the character of Stark, in the first film we are shown his weaknesses in addition to his failures, and we care about him as a person, and a character. In this film the only weaknesses we are shown are physical, and although these things are pretty terrible, they don't make us empathize with his character, and we ultimately feel an ambivolence towards him, the final battle sequence although thrilling, also fails to put Iron Man into any real danger, and there is not a single moment in which we start to question our faith in our hero.

Overall this is a good film yet one which fails to live up to its predecessor, it shows good performances and a good story yet a lack of character development and a good yet short final battle make this a poor follow up to a great movie, a good try yet one which ultimately falls short Rating: B

Iron Man - The first in a Trilogy of Posts

Well I will be going to see Iron Man 3 this Wednesday and i must confess that I actually haven't seen the first two films or the Avengers, so I decided that I should do a little bit f homework and actually watch these much acclaimed films. I am a large fan of superhero movies, particularly of the Stan Lee kind, yet have never read an Iron Man comic, and knew relatively little about the character, and i must say that I was pleasantly impressed.

The film is about an industrial engineer who uses his money and his skills to build a suit in order to escape from a group of afghan terrorists. During his capture by these terrorists hi sustains a chest injury and his heart is replaced by a miniature nuclear reactor, which also powers his suit. This film stars Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark, a narcissistic industrialist and magnet, and Gwyneth Paltrow is great as Pepper Potts, his assistant and potential love interest. Paul Bettany is Stark's butler and Jeff Bridges plays the power grabbing leader of Stark Enterprises.

The film makes many deviations from the typical superhero genre, one of the most distinct parts of the movie is the setting, the filmmakers chose to reject the new york setting of the comic, feeling that many movie of this genre are set on the east cost, such as Batman, Superman and Spider-Man. This choice of setting is really distinctive, and setting the film in Malibu allows the film to have a great look, with the great juxtaposition of blue sea, with the yellows and reds of Iron Man, and of the nature with the more industrial elements of the film. This setting also allows the film to have literally move space, the film rejects the tight atmosphere of most comic adaptations and allows more space on which the action unfolds.

Another big deviation that the adaptation makes is that it marks the first film in what is known as the marvel cinematic universe, and we see elements of other characters in this film, such as Captain America's shield. The film is also imaginative in that instead of having a butler, like most comic books, Stark has JARVIS, whose name is a reference to Edwin Jarvis, Stark's butler in the comic books, and whose inclusion makes a nice deviation from the typical hallmarks of the genre, and adds to the sleek and highly technological feel of the movie.

The performances in the film are great, and Gwyneth Paltrow is especially good as Stark's assistant, Pepper Potts, and she manages to be cute, strong and sexy all at the same time, I really don't know how she does it. Downey Jr is equally good, as Tony Stark, and manages to be narcissistic yet loveable, and manages to allow us to care about him and love him, whilst being equally egotistical and slightly unapproachable.

I was really impressed by this film, and it is now one of my favorite movies of this genre. The film is a sleek fun movie that maintains pace throughout always giving the audience something new without being too reliant on CGI and without containing too much action. The acotrs are great and the chemistry between the two lead actors is tangible. The use of technology in the film is impressive yet reasonable, without ever going into ridiculous territory, a fun film for everyone that is focused on story and character development without a senseless use of action or violence. Rating: A

A Bridal Disaster

There are bad films, and there are worse films, then there are some films that are so bad, that they are actually good. Bride Wars is such a film, this train wreck of a disaster is an epic tale about two brides, the story spells disaster when their weddings are scheduled on the same day, as they always dreamed of having june wedding at the plaza, anyone else rolling their eyes yet? The film has Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson in its leading roles, and has a metascore of 24.

The film is unintentionally laughable, and thus rather entertaining, the overall premise of the film is that two brides, who each dreamed of having june weddings at the plaza hotel, have their weddings scheduled on the same day by bureaucratic error, thus these lifelong friends become mortal enemies in an attempt to shatter the wedding dreams of the other with such inventive traps as hair dye and spray tan, does anyone actually believe that they make a tan called blood orange?

One of the many problems of this film is that neither of its main characters are at all likeable, much less three dimensional. Hathaway plays Emma Allen, a teacher who only seems to be come engaged for the sole wish of getting married at the plaza, in fact each of the main characters remark 'where are our divorces'. Hudson plays an equally unlikeable character, Liv Learner, a lawyer who utters phrases that are too hokey for even a John Grisham novel, and who is so unlikeable that Stan Lee would describe her as too hideous to play a comic book villain.

This film contains character twists that are so ridiculous that in even an average movie, one would question the integrity of the characters, this movie is so heinous, that even in the first five minutes, one questions whether the characters have any integrity, in fact one is even pushed to question whether the characters have any emotions. The one redeeming factor of this movie is that it is not boring, somehow the filmmakers manage to add enough twists and turns, which story-wise add little in the way of character development, yet which are engaging and at times a little inventive.

Overall this is a cheap and ludicrously commercial forgettable comedy, it gives two dimensional characters, and has numerous plot holes and thoroughly unlikeable characters. Yet it is also a little fun and on the plus side, its better than every single Adam Sandler movie. In short don't buy it, but if you can watch it for free online, and have nothing more useful to do, then its not a completely horrendous way to spend an hour and a half, just don't take it too seriously. Rating: C+

 
Emma: [to Liv] Your wedding's gonna be huge, just like your ass at prom.
Liv: Your wedding can suck it.

Howl - A Litterary Journey

This is a very bizarre piece of cinema. Howl is an experimental film about the life and poems of Allen Ginsberg. The film combines live action footage with animated film clips. The action of the film takes place around the time in which Ginsberg was put on trial over the collection of poems named Howl, which shocked readers and was considered obscene on publication. The film stars James Franco as Ginsberg and Jon Hamm as one of his defence lawyers.

One of the bizarre elements of this film is that it has three separate storylines which are each told using separate cinematic and narrative devices. The first story is an interview with Ginsberg, in which he explains his creative process, his poetry and his life story, and his story is told in a series of flashbacks where he recounts his life with Peter Orlovsky, this segment has a cinematic uniqueness as it is told in black and white, which gives it a starkness and a retrospective quality, that is appropriate for the fact that this is a segment in which Ginsberg is recounting his life and talks about the past, the black and white also gives this segment a cinéma vérité feel, which also seems appropriate.

Ginsberg does not appear in the second segment, which takes place in a courtroom, and focuses on the 1957 obscenity trial in which Howl was accused of being obscene and of violating the united states' sodomy laws. Jon Hamm shines in this segment as Ginsberg's defense lawyer. Really this segment attempts to explore the controversial aspects of Ginsberg's work, whether the more erotic side of his work is simply shock value, of whether it hides a deeper meaning. This segment is in color, and can essentially be seen as the 'now' of the picture, as none of it takes place in flashback or fantasy.

The final segment portrays Ginsberg at the first public reading of Howl in San Francisco, this segment is unique in that it uses animation to tell the stories that Ginsberg portrays, the film uses a variety of animation techniques in order to portray Howl. The use of animation is efficient in that it allows the filmmakers to portray some of the more controversial aspects of the story, and yet allows us to remain emotionally detached.

Despite good performances from its lead; James Franco is stunning as Ginsberg, and manages to really get into the poets head, and manages to understand the creative process, and manages to be undeniably cool as Allen Ginsberg, yet I ultimately feel that the film falls short of it's ambitions, we really fail to connect with Ginsberg, despite understanding him, despite the fact that we understand his creative process, and understand why his poetry and his personamity make him the way he is, yet ultimately the film fails to show us Ginsberg's flaws, and the fact that we never fall with him means that he ultimately seems narcissistic and self involved, perhaps something to do with the fact that we listen to him talk about himself for eighty minutes.

In the end, despite an imaginative use of animation and an engaging performance by James Franco, this film fails to allow its audience to connect with it's main character, who ultimately seems simply self involved, yet it does provide an insight into the creative process of one of the great literary minds of a generation. Rating: B+ 

Allen Ginsberg: I started writing poetry cause I fell in love and needed to express my feelings.

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Star Trek - A Science Fiction Epic

It should be no surprise to anyone that i am not really a huge science fiction fan, however given my new found obsession with The Big Bang Theory i decided to give 2009's Star Trek a try, having previously stated a loathing for all things Trek. I was really rather impressed, I am not at all familiar with the Star Trek universe, yet found this movie to be engaging none the less. The film is a reboot of the franchise and takes place in an alternative universe, thus none of the events of the previous films are taken into account, and the writers have essentially a clean slate on which to pen the action.

The film is directed by JJ Abrams, and stars Zachary Quinto as Spock, and Chris Pine as Kirk. Quinto is magnificent as Spock, and manages to take a character who is emotionally detached, being a Vulcan, and yet who has an emotional depth and with whom we become emotionally invested. Pine is also great as Kirk, the lone rebel who seems to be the perfect yin to the calm order of Spock's yang. The real magic comes from the way these actors manage to interpret their characters and the performances of the actors who interpreted these characters before them.

The chemistry between these two main actors is tangible, and we sense that these two guys like each other, and yet that Spock feels obligated by a sense of duty and by his orders. The story is very imaginative, and requires no knowledge of previous Star Trek series in order to be understood, however the film can be a tad confusing at times and multiple viewing's may be required in order to fully understand the story. The film pays homage to the old eighties series by maintaining a retro feel, with updated costumes which still pay homage to the traditional costumes with retro style turtlenecks which feel modern, yet have exactly the same silhouette as the original costumes. The sets also have a retro feel, using pastel style neon lighting and soft lighting.

Overall this prequel is incredibly satisfying and manages to be modern and a little retro with a great story and good performances from it's lead actors.  The production is surely handled and benefits from the fact that the director isn't afraid to contradict previous events of the series, an alternative reality is efficient in achieving this goal, and despite not being a Trekkie, i was really enthralled and entertained by this film and await the sequel with anticipation. Rating: A-

Spock Prime: Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Her ongoing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life-forms and new civilizations; to boldly go where no one has gone before.

A Historic Moment

Well in case anyone lives under a rock, let me be the one to inform you that yesterday France became the 14th country to legislate in favor of marriage equality. Thus yesterday seemed like a good day to watch 2008's Oscar winning film Milk. The film is a biopic about the first openly gay elected official, and poster child of the gay rights movement, Harvey Milk. Milk is played by Sean Penn who won an Oscar for his performance as the famed gay rights activist.

The film was written by Dustin Lance Black, who won an Oscar for his endevours and subsequently went on to write '8', a play about the legal issues surrounding Proposition  8, and J Edgar, a film about the unstable secret life of president Hoover. The film focuses on the whole of Milk's political career, from the moment he moves into the Castro on the eve of his 40th birthday, to his assassination at the hands of his killer, fellow supervisor Dan White. This bucks the trend founded in recent years of focusing on a single short period of time for a biopic, as this film takes place over a number of years.

Sean Penn shines as the activist, and instills into the role a gaiety and a lightness which is what makes this character fun and bright, yet we never lose the gravity of the character, and he retains the iconic nature of the man who he is betraying, whilst still making the film entertaining and not putting the character on a pedestal, as many others seem to (such as Lincoln!). James Franco also shines as Scott Smith, a young man that Milk meets in the first scene, and with whom Milk then moves to the Castro, and Emile Hirsch plays Cleve Jones, a young activist who helms Milk's campaign, Hirsch's character was based on a real person, and Cleve Jones himself appears in the film as Don Amador in a cameo role. The rest of the cast is rounded out by a number of notable actors including Alison Pill, Victor Garber and Josh Brolin, nominated for an Oscar for his performance as Dan White.

The film is directed by Gus Van Sant, known for directing 2003's Elephant. The film is a landmark film for the way in which it discusses gay rights, civil rights and gay issues, the film, i feel is also important for young people to see, who may not know the story of Harvey Milk, and the intense relevance of his story in modern times, in fact the films release was timed to coincide with the voting of prop 8, a fact which further reinforces this films relevance in our modern world. The film uses archive footage of Anita Bryant and other anti gay activists, along with more archive footage of the stonewall riots, as well as of Harvey Milk himself, a feature which is seamless given Sean Penn's incredible likeness to the real man whom he plays.

Overall this is a very surely handled picture which doesn't feel the need to ever be overly melodramatic, yet still manages to be light and at times a feel good picture, whilst not loosing the gravity and importance of the amazing story which it portrays. The film feels current in today's society, and even if it allows one person to feel less alone, it will have done it's job, i feel that it does this just fine! Rating: A

Harvey Milk: My name is Harvey Milk and I'm here to recruit you!

The Golden Age of Musicals

Let the records show that as of late i have been very interested in lists. A rewatch of Moulin Rouge! this afternoon led me to compiling a list of my favorite musicals, a genre of which i am a huge fan.

My Top Seven Musicals (in no particular order)

• Moulin Rouge! Baz Luhrmann's 2001 classic combines stunning turn of the century sets and costumes, with modern music and zany editing such as is normally found in music videos, this is one of my favorite films of all time, and also features some great performances from Kidman and Broadbent, as Satine, a beautiful courtesan and Charles Zidler, owner of the Moulin Rouge.
  

• Evita An Oscar worthy performance from Madonna with great music and lyrics by Andrew Lloyd Webber makes this a great movie musical with incredible music. 
  

•  Mary Poppins Despite being over fifty years old this movie hasn't aged a day, it is still as delightful as the day it was released, the music is great and Julie Andrew's performance as Poppins and Dick Van Dyke's performance as Bert make this film a classic movie musical, and the step in time sequence remains to this day one of the best musical moments in any film. 
  

•  Sweeney Todd Deftly sung despite not using traditional singers. Bonham Carter and Depp provide great performances and are delightfully kooky as the murderous barber and his wife. The film looks great and makes a change from the traditional glossy musical look, the film, like most Burton pictures is also delightfully saturated which means that the film contains little or no color, except of course the wonderfully cathartic blood.

•  Dreamgirls This is a great film, it contains assured performances from Beyoncé and Eddie Murphy, and a true star turn from Oscar winner Hudson as the brokenhearted Effie, the music is great and the film is a visual treat, overall this is a great film which is wonderfully fun and incredibly catchy. 
  

•  Cabaret Liza Minelli has a star turn as Sally Bowles, a young cabaret singer who becomes involved with a british writer during the sexual emancipation of pre war Berlin. I am a little partial due to the fact that i am a huge fan of the original novel, yet this is a film with great music and a wonderful story which manages to be heartbreaking and incongruously heartwarming at the same time, the music is very catchy and the performances assured.
  

• The Rocky Horror Picture Show This film is far from perfect yet manages to be great fun and a hilarious romp with great performances from its leads, in particular Tim Curry, who shines as the deliciously creepy yet somehow loveable transvestite. The film is visually and musically unique, and remains forty years on delightfully camp.
  

Yet More Sleeping Pills

Well I suppose some of you have sluthed the fact that our new art deco background is clearly inspired by The Great Gatsby, (we have the same on twitter and facebook by the way) I recently posted my thoughts on the first Gatsby trailer, and will now do the same for the third, and comment on the marketing as a whole, the third trailer takes a significantly different tone to the previous two, he trailer has a much softer and slightly more melancholic feeling to the previous two trailers.

It seems to me that in creating these three trailers, the filmmakers attempted to showcase a different part of each story with each of the three trailers. The first trailer, which i recently reviewed, (catch my review here) deals with the hedonistic excesses of the roaring twenties, the extravagance of the era and the color and opulence of the times. The second deals with Gatsby as a character, with the mystery that surrounds him, with the things we do not know about him and questioning what we think that we do know about him.

The third trailer is very different in tone, whereas the other trailers are fast paced, and attempt to show us the speed of life in the twenties, this trailer has a slower pace, and deals with the romantic relationships in the story, and the intense obsessive love between Daisy and Gatsby, and the relationship between Daisy and her husband, here the colors are much softer, and the atmosphere is less frenetic than in the previous installments, and Nick Carraway takes a much lesser role, really only being present in the voice over, which is consistent with his role in the novel as a narrator and observer.

The music in this trailer is also much more apparent than in previous trailers, we now know that the films soundtrack will be produced by Jay-Z, and will feature  artists such as Beyoncé, André 3000, Lana Del Rey and Florence + The Machine. Such a calibre of artists provide a soundtrack that is modern and timeless, yet which is tied into a score that is modern and timeless yet somehow also evocative of the twenties and the music of the era, with the more modern hip-hop inspired music being linked to the time with a timeless jazz inspired score. 

The trailer is  seemingly filled with the unforgettable and haunting sounds of Lana Del Rey's pipes in Young and beautiful, which captures the tragic love story portrayed in the picture, and which manages to on one hand seem timelessly linked with the story shown in the Great Gatsby, and which also manages to stand on its own as a great pop record, and which is incidentally being released as the soundtrack's first single. The trailer also features Beyoncés cover of Back To Black, I get that she is married to Jay-Z, and i loved her in Dreamgirls, but they should have used the original version, this cover is too whining and slow for my taste, and Beyoncé doesn't have nearly the voice that Amy did.

Overall this trailer is flawless, the music is superb and the voice over is a haunting echo of the passionate love story and intense obsession portrayed in Fitzgerald's stunningly powerful original novel. The imagery in the film is beautiful, and each frame seems like a painting, i can hardly wait the 20 days till this films release, and you can be assured, i will be the first in line. A stunning job and an amazing tribute to the roaring twenties and to Fitzgerald's timeless classic novels, one of the greatest of all time. Rating: A+

Jay Gatsby: “Can’t repeat the past?…Why of course you can!”

Lincoln - What a waste

It is now time to talk about a much acclaimed film that in my opinion has a lot of problems, Lincoln, Spielberg’s apparently amazing film that had many viewers failing to see through the hype. The film’s plot is a little self-explanatory given the film’s title; it is a biopic which is about the time period towards the end of the civil war in which Lincoln attempted to pass the thirteenth amendment which would ban slavery from the United States forever. This alleged masterpiece stars Daniel Day Lewis and Sally Field as Mr and Mrs Lincoln, as well as a whole host of acclaimed supporting actors which are a testament to Spielberg as an iconic director.

I cannot talk about this film without discussing Daniel Day Lewis' inspired performance as Lincoln himself, his performance is truly sublime, and he infuses Lincoln with a likeness that is uncanny, intensely realistic, to a point that we fail to even see the actor through the performance, and seem to almost be watching a documentary. Sally Field portrays Lincoln's wife, she is actually to old for the role, as Lincoln's wife was much younger than the man himself, yet field is 16 years older than Day Lewis, yet this goes unnoticed due to Field portraying Mary Todd with a grace and an elegance, and infuses her with a humanity that almost steals the show.

Now we come to the rather bad parts, although I credit this film for the fact that it focused on a specific moment in Lincoln's life, the main problem with this film is that it doesn't really allow us to empathize with Lincoln as a character, and the film tends to place Lincoln on a pedestal in such a way that we are never allowed to get to know Lincoln, and that even though he is humanized to an extent, mainly due to Daniel Day Lewis' performance and not to the script, we never feel like we truly know him. That's not to say that the film doesn't show Lincoln's flaws, we are shown his failings as a father and as a husband. 

Yet our failings to relate to him are due to the fact that throughout the film all the takes place in typical biopic style 'Gettysburg address' speech, in which each statement sounds like a proclamation, and this makes the whole film seem almost like a theater presentation, and not in a good way. These proclamations make tha character of Lincoln seem like a historical figure and not a character, and means that we are unable to connect with Lincoln as a character, and means that overall this film fails in providing us with an insight into Lincoln's character. In rating this film i feel that i must give two ratings, the film is a poor insight into Lincoln as a person, yet features stunning performances from its large ensemble cast, in particular that of Daniel Day Lewis and Sally Field, so overall Rating: B (lead performances Rating: A+)

Abraham Lincoln: [giving a speech at a dedication raising the flag] The part assigned to me is to raise the flag which, if there be no fault in the machinery, I will do. And, when up, it shall be for the people to keep it up. That's my speech. 

The Overdue Django Review

Well, when i first started this blog i did a short form post on the controversy surrounding Quentin Tarantino's western, and looking at the Django Unchained poster reflected in my computer screen it occurred to me that i had untill now failed to give this film a full blown review, so here goes. Django is an epic homage to spaghetti westerns of the 1940's, hence the title. The film comes after Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds, and is the second of what he refers to as his rewritten history trilogy, to be completed.

The film is about the antebellum south during the 1880's, and is a story of slavery, freedom, racism and a quest for justice. The film won 2 academy awards and was nominated for a further three nominations including best picture. I have also on this blog commented on the proverbial screwup of the best director category at this years Oscars, Tarantino like all other worthy directors this year (namely Bigelow and Affleck) failed to be nominated for an Oscar for directing, and Ang Lee won, enough said!

The film is a stylized visual treat, with a great soundtrack that combines modern hip hop music with old TV western style score, that manages to be nostalgic yet for some reason modern. The films visual identity comes in part due tho the fact that it is filmed on traditional film, of which Tarantino is a huge proponent, giving the film a sharp yet somewhat hazy quality, and a nostalgic look, which harks back to period westerns such as 'The Dollars Trilogy' and 'The Good The Bad and The Ugly'. Christoph Waltz and Leonardo DiCaprio have true star turns on the film as the quick talking Dr Schultz (Waltz won an Oscar for his role as the doctor) and as the cruel slave owner and sadistic ruler of Candieland, Calvin Candie (despite deserving it, Dicaprio failed to garner an Oscar nomination, admittedly this was a tough year, given a large number of good performances, however given DiCaprio having also failed in previous years to garner nominations for worthy performances, I can't say that this oversee was anything of a surprise).

I spoke rather recently about my loathing of aggressive films that attempt clout you round the face with their do good messages, its a little like being slapped in the face with a fish. The great thing about Unchained is that even though the messages of slavery and racism are there, in the subtexts and subplots of the film, and in the imagery of the film, memorable images include blood spattering on white cotton bolls evoking the slavery and blood behind the cotton industry in the American south, and the startling imagery of scarlet blood on crisp white snow.

Overall this film truly is great and most importantly of all devilishly entertaining, and is in many senses better than other Oscar nominees (Lincoln I'm talking to you!) in that it manages to sustain its audience  throughout the length of it's trajectory, and leaves the audience wanting more, yet feeling that all the ends have been tied up, it has a great message, without being overbearing, and features great art direction and a fantastic visual style, and leaves the viewer a little anxious for whatever opus Tarantino will give birth to next. Rating: A+

Django: Django. The D is silent. 

So Many Dalmatians

Well, with nothing better to do this late Tuesday evening i decided that seeing as I had a rather large amount to write on the subject of the sixties Walt Disney animation classic, One Hundred and One Dalmatians. This film is a masterpiece, and is in my mind one of Disney's best animated pictures, additionally it is sorely underrated piece of great animation. The film is also the beginning of the modern era of animation, and stands out among the Disney canon.

A large part of the charm of this movie is thanks to its setting, the film is unusual among Disney movies in that it is one of very few to have a modern setting, the film is set in London in the 1960's, i am perhaps partial to this, being from Ilford myself, yet i find the setting rather charming. The film uses settings such as regents park, and the opening credits are like a tribute to London, showcasing monuments such as tower bridge and big ben. The score of the score is also unique, having a modern setting, rather than the traditional classical score, the film has a contemporary jazzy score, which is classic yet fun.

The musical score is also right on cue with the animation, and the score uses various musical cues, such as towards the end, when the staccato score mimics the water dripping of the icicles as the puppies are trying to escape cruella, it is cues like this that keep the score relevant to the film, and allow the score to never feel superfluous or self indulgent. The animation used in the film is what was truly revolutionary at the time, Sleeping Beauty, was very expensive to make and had not made very much money, something needed to be done, Ub Iwerks, inventor of the multi plane camera had been experimenting with the xerox camera, use of this device would eliminate the inking process, and animators drawings could be transferred directly to animation cells, eliminating the need for inkers.

This meant two things, unfortunately the image obtained was rather rough, att the lines were of equal weight, and thus there was a lack of romanticism in the animation, something that walt looked for, and something that was apparent in classics like Cinderella. The advantage of this process was that there was a depth and a subtlety, given that the work of the animators was directly on the screen, and did not need to pass via an inker.

In conclusion I think that this must be one of the most underrated Disney movies, it is modern, subtle, and charming. It feels very of the moment and has a charming jazzy score. It feels like the first of an era for Disney movies, and was the first to use the xerox technique. I may be partial to this film seeing that it is set in my hometown, however it is one of my favorites! Rating: A-

Pongo: My story begins in London, not so very long ago. And yet so much has happened since then, that it seems more like an eternity.

Another List - Opening Sequences

 Opening credits are a vitally important and much maligned part of any movie, the really help set the tone of the film and can be stunningly clever or frightfully dull, here i will list my 5 all time favorite opening title sequences.

• ARGO; Fantastic movie with a fantastic title sequence, here the title sequence is in a sense a representation of the film itself, with the sequence being a blend of real photographs, and film footage, and hand drawn movie storyboards, setting the scene for the fact that this movie is a blend between reality and fiction, and that although the movie is based on facts and is largely accurate, it is nonetheless a Hollywood representation of the facts, thus the film is a blend, and during the titles, this is referenced by the blend between real life footage, and Hollywood storyboard (see my ARGO review here)

• One Hundred and One Dalmatians; This might seem like an odd addition, however this opening sequence is simply too great to miss out, it is simply perfect, it sets the scene and uses stops which later become musical score, it sets the scene of the movie, featuring London landmarks, and red buses, the score is a light jazzy score reflecting the contemporary setting of the film, the animation is superb and is perfectly in time with the musical cues of the score. Stunning yet fun. (perhaps a fully fledged review is in order, i seem to have a lot to say!)
  

• Casino Royale; This may seem like a surprising addition to some people, however i think that this title sequence is simply great, it is rather literal yet i feel that this works to its advantage, this film is about James Bond and poker, and this sequence portrays James and the themes of the film with card symbols, it sounds a little ridiculous but it is beautiful and showcases geometric patterns and a great  song by Chris Cornell.

• The Rocky Horror Picture Show; There are few so iconic as this, a pair of red lips floating in space singing Science Fiction Double Feature. This disconcerting image is a fabulous opener for what is an equally disconcerting film, and sets the scene for the appearance of Frank and the rest of the gang, and the mayhem that is about to unfold. The sequence is also consistent with this slick and stylized adaptation.

• Juno; This is a good one, a great song and Ellen Page walking through a cartoon world in converses, drinking Sunny Delight, this is a perfect companion to the funny and slightly offbeat film which shines with great music. What is even more amazing is the seamless transition between the sequence and the film, a deft blend in which Juno almost seems to walk from the cartoon into the film, completely flawless!