Betelgeuse-19
Joined Jan 2002
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Betelgeuse-19's rating
I own Ralph Bakshis forgotten masterpiece Fire & Ice on an old OOP rental videotape.
Well for one thing, this is better than any other Conan-esque film you'll ever see. Sure, it's cheesy, but who cares? It stood the test of time, and the only way it started to look cheesy is in comparisons to modern fantasy epics like LOTR:FOTR (though I love that film.)
The plot goes like this: After a battle between Fire & Ice, a kings daughter is kidnapped by Jarols (Ice) subhuman creatures, while a sole survivor of a victimized village rescues her.
Yeah it doesn't sound as a original as Nurse Betty, but that's not the point. It is really to bring to life an interesting idea of a world of two enemies: Fire & Ice. And it succeeds.
As for the action scenes: superb. They are well handled, have terrific suspence, and have plenty of loud noises. Just check out the climatic battle, now THAT'S an ending!
The acting and dialogue: competent. Really. They aren't gonna be nominated for an Oscar, but they are OK and don't get on your nerves.
The animation is quite good. Shot on 3D and rotoscoped (I THINK), it looks pretty good. A lot of the backgrounds look really detailed and well drawn, and although the character designs feel a little 1-dimentional, they are OK.
Overall, this is a fine neglected little gem and will entertain you more than any of the superfical "entertainment". 10/10
Well for one thing, this is better than any other Conan-esque film you'll ever see. Sure, it's cheesy, but who cares? It stood the test of time, and the only way it started to look cheesy is in comparisons to modern fantasy epics like LOTR:FOTR (though I love that film.)
The plot goes like this: After a battle between Fire & Ice, a kings daughter is kidnapped by Jarols (Ice) subhuman creatures, while a sole survivor of a victimized village rescues her.
Yeah it doesn't sound as a original as Nurse Betty, but that's not the point. It is really to bring to life an interesting idea of a world of two enemies: Fire & Ice. And it succeeds.
As for the action scenes: superb. They are well handled, have terrific suspence, and have plenty of loud noises. Just check out the climatic battle, now THAT'S an ending!
The acting and dialogue: competent. Really. They aren't gonna be nominated for an Oscar, but they are OK and don't get on your nerves.
The animation is quite good. Shot on 3D and rotoscoped (I THINK), it looks pretty good. A lot of the backgrounds look really detailed and well drawn, and although the character designs feel a little 1-dimentional, they are OK.
Overall, this is a fine neglected little gem and will entertain you more than any of the superfical "entertainment". 10/10
The second film for "The 80s Freling Compilations of Looney Tunes," I will start by saying that reviewing a part of this dusty trilogy that sports a bad idea and overall mixed results; The Looney, Looney, Looney Bugs Bunny Movie is kind of a hard film to review it. Alas, I will review it.
I will be serious about reviewing it, because there is really nothing funny to say while reviewing this film. Just to tell ya.
Well first of all, it doesn't keep up to my attention well. I mean, there is nothing majorly wrong with the way it keeps with your attention span, but it is almost boring because of it. I think it is because the plot is a bit weak. I mean, most of the movie takes place in a ceremony were Looney Tunes characters are honored, or something. I kind of forgot the plot, I haven't seen the film for a couple of years.
Well, as much as I remember, it starts off with a 10 minute short, which ends with a brief narration by Bugs Bunny (the voice of Mel Blanc, of couse) which went by the lines of "..he got an Oscar, but as for me, I got a carrot."
It then fades out to a flashy looking theater where the aforementioned ceremony is to be held. It cleverly looks like some spoof of Oscar night. All the Looney Tunes characters (well, almost all) walk out of their sleek, huge limos and walk around in pianist-esque tuxedos.
Now with the film ceremony beginning, the old shorts start to reel. Trouble happens. The awards for the ceremony start.
Yes it sounds like a troubled plot, right? It partially is to begin with, but not remembering 50% of it doesn't help at all, actually it kinda subtracts the quality. Man do I need to see it again, if only I could find my copy of it.
Well, the old shorts are pretty good, and without a single doubt the best part of the film. They aren't up to the classic material of something like What's Opera, Doc? or Duck Amuck, but they are competent and amusing. I mean, this one has the Oscar-winning Birds Anonymous, the amusing Hare Trimmed, and the fairly well known High Diving Hare. Very good batch, and adds high points for me.
Since the shorts are good, what else is good? Well, the humor is good, of course; so let's skip that. The editing. The editing is some of the best in the whole trilogy of these Friz Freling films, which still isn't saying much, as it always was good in these films. And Freling manages to keep the spirit of the old shorts alive.
So it is a film with plenty of good points but still includes a few points that kind of hurt the quality. It is overall a competent film and highly watchable. Taking away the Looney Tunes shorts however, and replace them with anything else, the film is nothing. It really more focuses on showing competent Looney Tunes shorts than anything else, and that is why it would be nothing without them.
Plot-5/10, Shorts-8/10, Idea-4/10, Editing-10/10, Directing-7/10, Humor-8/10, New bits-6/10. Overall-7/10
It could have a better plot and more new scenes, but it gives what is needed. Just make sure you have a very good attention span.
I will be serious about reviewing it, because there is really nothing funny to say while reviewing this film. Just to tell ya.
Well first of all, it doesn't keep up to my attention well. I mean, there is nothing majorly wrong with the way it keeps with your attention span, but it is almost boring because of it. I think it is because the plot is a bit weak. I mean, most of the movie takes place in a ceremony were Looney Tunes characters are honored, or something. I kind of forgot the plot, I haven't seen the film for a couple of years.
Well, as much as I remember, it starts off with a 10 minute short, which ends with a brief narration by Bugs Bunny (the voice of Mel Blanc, of couse) which went by the lines of "..he got an Oscar, but as for me, I got a carrot."
It then fades out to a flashy looking theater where the aforementioned ceremony is to be held. It cleverly looks like some spoof of Oscar night. All the Looney Tunes characters (well, almost all) walk out of their sleek, huge limos and walk around in pianist-esque tuxedos.
Now with the film ceremony beginning, the old shorts start to reel. Trouble happens. The awards for the ceremony start.
Yes it sounds like a troubled plot, right? It partially is to begin with, but not remembering 50% of it doesn't help at all, actually it kinda subtracts the quality. Man do I need to see it again, if only I could find my copy of it.
Well, the old shorts are pretty good, and without a single doubt the best part of the film. They aren't up to the classic material of something like What's Opera, Doc? or Duck Amuck, but they are competent and amusing. I mean, this one has the Oscar-winning Birds Anonymous, the amusing Hare Trimmed, and the fairly well known High Diving Hare. Very good batch, and adds high points for me.
Since the shorts are good, what else is good? Well, the humor is good, of course; so let's skip that. The editing. The editing is some of the best in the whole trilogy of these Friz Freling films, which still isn't saying much, as it always was good in these films. And Freling manages to keep the spirit of the old shorts alive.
So it is a film with plenty of good points but still includes a few points that kind of hurt the quality. It is overall a competent film and highly watchable. Taking away the Looney Tunes shorts however, and replace them with anything else, the film is nothing. It really more focuses on showing competent Looney Tunes shorts than anything else, and that is why it would be nothing without them.
Plot-5/10, Shorts-8/10, Idea-4/10, Editing-10/10, Directing-7/10, Humor-8/10, New bits-6/10. Overall-7/10
It could have a better plot and more new scenes, but it gives what is needed. Just make sure you have a very good attention span.
I just sat through a matinee of Lilo & Stitch, a movie I really have been anticipating to see; being the cartoon freak I am.
If you like Spirit, you'll hate this, because it is a lot more weird, hip, slightly more violent, and has more heart. Why? Well, it makes you laugh as well as get to your heart more than Spirit probably would; but without turning the film into a piece of sentimental fluff.
The animation is also cool as well. Finally, an 2D animated film that uses CGI as a supplement for a couple of shots rather than unnecessarily using it. It blends together with the 2D animation really well, the backgrounds look nice and lush, and the designs look simple enough but likeable because they don't try to look really slick.
The characters are for once fresh. They aren't generic characters, they are likeable developed characters, they aren't characters that are cloying comic reliefs that we all have seen before in other films, they are NEW! Oh yeah, and Stitch kicks @$$.
And the humor. Well, it's funny! This movie really doesn't depend on humor most of the time, but when it comes in, it really does! It isn't from comic reliefs, not from one-liners, but sight gags and physical humor. The running gags with the Elvis tunes and guy with the ice cream cone are simply cool!
And plus, the sound and music! The Dolby Digital sound in the theater was set up very nicely, with the revving-at-times sound effects of blasts, ambiance, and dialogue simply pumped. You could almost feel it! As for the music, nobody bursts into a song! It's mostly cool Elvis tunes (yay!) and some Hawaiian tunes.
It is very rare when a animated film nowadays hits the spot that Lilo and Stitch does: masterpiece! Classic! Brilliant! These films only come around every 10 or so years, the last being Nightmare Before Christmas. Between this and NBC, there are many excellent near-classics that came around (mostly from Pixar) that get a 10/10 in my book; but they really aren't able to reach this level of genius. 11/10. Oh yeah, I'll say it again: Stitch kicks @$$! Oh, and make sure you catch this in the theater on the VERY next screening of it if you have yet to see it. Do it now! The DVD will be great but it won't have the theatrical impact it did on me and many others. Come on you guys who have yet to see it, you got to bump up more ratings on the masterpiece so it can get on the Top 250. You don't know when the next animated masterpiece of the decade will come! This film needs more than the current 341 votes it has, it needs at least a few thousand to get the recognition it deserves, and maybe a bit more than 8.2.
If you like Spirit, you'll hate this, because it is a lot more weird, hip, slightly more violent, and has more heart. Why? Well, it makes you laugh as well as get to your heart more than Spirit probably would; but without turning the film into a piece of sentimental fluff.
The animation is also cool as well. Finally, an 2D animated film that uses CGI as a supplement for a couple of shots rather than unnecessarily using it. It blends together with the 2D animation really well, the backgrounds look nice and lush, and the designs look simple enough but likeable because they don't try to look really slick.
The characters are for once fresh. They aren't generic characters, they are likeable developed characters, they aren't characters that are cloying comic reliefs that we all have seen before in other films, they are NEW! Oh yeah, and Stitch kicks @$$.
And the humor. Well, it's funny! This movie really doesn't depend on humor most of the time, but when it comes in, it really does! It isn't from comic reliefs, not from one-liners, but sight gags and physical humor. The running gags with the Elvis tunes and guy with the ice cream cone are simply cool!
And plus, the sound and music! The Dolby Digital sound in the theater was set up very nicely, with the revving-at-times sound effects of blasts, ambiance, and dialogue simply pumped. You could almost feel it! As for the music, nobody bursts into a song! It's mostly cool Elvis tunes (yay!) and some Hawaiian tunes.
It is very rare when a animated film nowadays hits the spot that Lilo and Stitch does: masterpiece! Classic! Brilliant! These films only come around every 10 or so years, the last being Nightmare Before Christmas. Between this and NBC, there are many excellent near-classics that came around (mostly from Pixar) that get a 10/10 in my book; but they really aren't able to reach this level of genius. 11/10. Oh yeah, I'll say it again: Stitch kicks @$$! Oh, and make sure you catch this in the theater on the VERY next screening of it if you have yet to see it. Do it now! The DVD will be great but it won't have the theatrical impact it did on me and many others. Come on you guys who have yet to see it, you got to bump up more ratings on the masterpiece so it can get on the Top 250. You don't know when the next animated masterpiece of the decade will come! This film needs more than the current 341 votes it has, it needs at least a few thousand to get the recognition it deserves, and maybe a bit more than 8.2.