TROPIC THUNDER (2008) - Ben Stiller

These days, it seems like there are two types of comedy film. Films produced or directed by Judd Apatow, and films staring Will Ferrel. So it’s nice to see that Ben Stiller’s new film, the comedy Tropic Thunder has little to no link to either of these guys. Things are getting a little bit repetitive, so comedy needs something else. Parody is a staple of comedy. And war films are ripe for parody. Yet few films tackle this. Stiller does, and manages to create something genuinely funny.

Tugg Speedman is a Hollywood superstar. However, his career is on a bit of a decline, especially after the spectacular failure of his attempt at serious acting, the film Simple Jack. Attempting to reignite his career, Speedman takes the lead in ‘the most expensive war movie ever made,’ Tropic Thunder. He is joined by obnoxious fart comedian, Jeff Portnoy and five time Oscar winner, Kirk Lazarus. However, once filming begins, it immediately spirals out of control as the actors’ egos clash and director, Damien Cockburn loses control of the production. In a final attempt to get the best out of his actors, Cockburn drops his cast into the middle of the jungle. However, things get worse when it becomes clear that the cast are unknowingly in the proximity of a heavily armed drugs gang.



In Tropic Thunder, co-writer and director Stiller has created quite an attack on the film industry. Actors, agents, directors, everyone comes under fire. He launched a similar attack on the model industry in 2001 with Zoolander. But the film isn’t cynical or cutting. Instead, it’s more like a cartoon version of the industry, albeit with gore and gratuitous bad language. The film received a bit of flack over the Kirk Lazarus character who has skin pigment alteration in order to play the platoon sergeant, Lincoln Osiris. But it’s a parody. It’s not serious. It pokes fun at itself and the type of actor who immerses him or herself a little too much into their role. So these complaints are ridiculous. And besides, it’s a comedy. And a damn funny one at that.

Stiller, who co-wrote the film with Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen creates one of the most memorable comedy characters in Kirk Lazarus. Robert Downey Jnr.’s performance is spot on. His character is so lost in the role that he cant snap out of it when it’s clear things have gone absolutely pear shaped. It’s Downey Jnr., and a stunningly hilarious cameo by Tom Cruise of all people that are the outstanding things about Tropic Thunder. The dialogue is hilarious, and the parodies are subtle but handled brilliantly. Platoon, Saving Private Ryan, Apocalypse Now, and a great many other films are lampooned but in a way that makes sense in the context of the film. It’s not like everything stops to go ‘hey, look! We’re poking fun at... (insert pop-culture reference here)’ It’s something that talentless hacks like Aaron Seltzer and Jason Friedberg have no idea how to do.



The performances from everyone are very good. Steve Coogan is his usual brilliant self, but his role is unfortunately quite small. Playing the man who wrote the book the film Tropic Thunder (the film in the film) is based on is crazy Nick Nolte. Nolte is madness personified, and adds a great edge to proceedings. The trio of movie stars are also great parodies in themselves. Stiller doesn’t lose any points in playing Tugg Speedman. He’s not preoccupied with directing and is very funny in the role. And Jack Black had the drug-addled Jeff Portnoy nailed. But like I’ve said before, it’s Robert Downey Jnr. and Tom Cruise who steal the show. It’s just a shame we don’t get to see more comedy from Tom Cruise. His reputation as someone a little bit eccentric just adds to the role. Hell, the film even makes Matthew McConaughey look like a great actor.

Tropic Thunder does lose a little steam in the middle of the film. But the opening is relentlessly funny and the laugh count does drop, but things are still very amusing. Sure, Tropic Thunder won’t win awards. But it’s a brilliant parody and a very funny comedy. And it almost makes me forgive Stiller for the dreadful Night At The Museum.


8/10

KUNG FU PANDA (2008) - Mark Osborne & John Stevenson

After the appalling Shrek The Third was released last year, it seemed that Dreamworks Animation were just gunning for cash, and not particularly interested in releasing animated films with any substance at all. CGI animation is no longer the jaw-dropping visual goldmine it once was, as audiences have become accustomed to high-quality 3D animation. So visuals alone no longer cut it. In order to get the audiences in the seats, the writers of these films strive to write more layered stories, with jokes not just for kids, but for adults too. To this end, sometimes plot can suffer in order to squeeze in one more joke. So it’s refreshing to see a film like Kung Fu Panda. It doesn’t take itself too seriously and still manages to be very entertaining.

Po is the laziest and clumsiest animal in the Valley of Peace. He works in his father’s noodle shop. But his real dream is to be a mighty Kung Fu warrior. When it is announced that Oogway, the master of the Kung Fu temple is to choose the Dragon Warrior, the prophesised warrior destined to bring peace to the valley, Po makes his way to the temple for the festivities. Much to everyone’s surprise (and none to that of the audience), Po is chosen. He gets to train under Master Shifu, alongside his heroes, the Furious Five- Monkey, Tigress, Mantis, Viper and Crane, all of whom resent this blow-in. And in a prison far away from the valley, shamed warrior Tai Lung escapes from his captors and makes his way back to the Valley of Peace to claim the title of Dragon Warrior for himself.



Okay, so Kung Fu Panda’s plot isn’t exactly Citizen Kane. It’s the typical story of a no-hoper who turns his luck around and becomes something nobody ever thought he could be. He faces challenges he shouldn’t overcome, but he finds a way. He rises to the challenge. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before. But in the hands of directors, Mark Osborne and John Stevenson, Kung Fu Panda proves to be a damn entertaining watch. The success of the film rests largely on the shoulders of Jack Black, who voices Po. He’s an actor who’s familiar to both older and younger audiences, and his vocal talents seem to embody Po perfectly. He’s the character who gets all the laughs, which mostly come from Po falling over in various different ways.

That’s not to say that Kung Fu Panda is a film that relies on one element. When the action scenes kick in, they’re very entertaining. And at 92 minutes, the film moves at a very fast pace. At times, character development suffers. And it seems that some of the voice talents are a bit wasted. The Furious Five, voiced by Angelina Jolie, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross and Jackie Chan, yes, Jackie Chan, are given little to do in the film. Their resentment towards Po isn’t really explored. This element is sacrificed in order to keep things moving along. But then, this is a kids’ film, and it makes no attempt to be anything else. And it’s because of that, and despite the minor flaws that the film works very well.



The animation, as expected, is gorgeous. Po’s design works very well for the physical comedy in the film. At times, there are slow motion close-ups of Po’s gurning face, and these moments are pretty funny in themselves. The animation team seem to be having a lot of fun acting with this character. The production design in particular is gorgeous. The film has a visual style of it’s own, blending natural elements such as falling cherry blossoms, with cold, almost industrial style of Tai Lung’s prison. The production team are on top form and have created in Kung Fu Panda the most visually impressive of all the Dreamworks productions to date.

Kung Fu Panda is a kids’ film. It doesn’t layer in adult jokes that other animated films are so fond of doing these days. It’s unashamedly for the kids and if you can accept the prat-falls and juvenile nature of the comedy, then it’s a very entertaining film. Making up a helluva lot for last year’s terrible Shrek debacle, Kung Fu Panda is a film the Dreamworks guys can be proud of. Whether or not it’ll be able to trump Pixar’s Wall-E is questionable at this stage. But it remains a very entertaining film none the less.


8/10

BE KIND REWIND (2008) - Michel Gondry

Despite marking his debut with Human Nature, a film that didn’t really register on many peoples’ radar, Michel Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind proved that he was one of the most inventive directors working. After working with writer Charlie Kauffman on Human Nature and Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, Gondry went solo for The Science of Sleep, and this month with Be Kind Rewind. It’s the most traditional and linear of his films, yet it retains the experimental sensibilities that we’d come to expect from Gondry.

Be Kind Rewind is a small video shop situated in a run-down part of New Jersey. The shop is owned and operated by Mr. Fletcher, a kindly old man who’s only other love, other than that of the community is for that of jazz. Mike also works in the shop and has spent his whole life growing up there, steeped in the stories of famed jazz musician Fats Waller that Mr. Fletcher has told him. The threat of big business puts Be Kind Rewind under threat, and gives Mr. Fletcher very little time to raise the funds required to keep the shop alive. When he heads away for a Fats Waller memorial, he leaves Mike in charge. But Mike’s hapless friend Jerry inadvertently erases all the films in the shop, putting the shop in dire straits. But Mike and Jerry come up with a plan to save the shop. The decide to Swede all the tapes, to film the movies with themselves in place of the actors.



The main thing about Be Kind Rewind is that not only is it a film about experimental filmmaking, it’s experimental filmmaking itself. It’s about love for film, and in another way, it’s a protest against the big budget filmmaking that is so prevalent in the Hollywood industry. Mike and Jerry aren’t experienced filmmakers. They don’t have a penny for a budget. And yet despite these drawbacks, they create films that are incredibly popular. Now, obviously, it’s fiction. Whether this would be popular in real life is questionable. But in the age of Youtube, which is a forum that would suit Swedeing down to the ground, it’s not entirely inconceivable that a pair of filmmakers like Mike and Jerry could become worldwide celebrities.

And it’s the enthusiasm of the protagonists that drives the charm of Be Kind Rewind. Their knowledge of the films they’re Swedeing isn’t encyclopaedic, but that doesn’t stop them. Casting Jack Black as Jerry was a good decision. As seen in High Fidelity, Black has a frenetic energy that at times seems unstoppable. And he brings this to the role of Jerry, a character who, despite the protestations of others, ploughs ahead sometimes without thinking. Mike on the other hand, is more conservative. While the initial idea to Swede the movies was his, he wants to quit at one, unlike Jerry, who loves the fame the film has brought them. The combination of these two characters is endearing, and adds to the charm of the film.



Michel Gondry’s direction is, as always, fantastic. He has a real whimsical style, which lends itself perfectly to the movie. In one particularly lovely moment, we see a few of the movies Mike and Jerry are Swedeing. But instead of doing a montage using different cuts, Gondry shows each film in one continuous shot, with the actors running around putting themselves into different films like We Were Kings, King Kong, 2001: A Space Odyssey and Men In Black. It’s this one little scene that sums up the style of the film really, and is a stand out moment which will be difficult not to smile warmly at.

While the film isn’t perfect, it’s very entertaining. The most enjoyable parts are when we see the guys Swedeing different films. But sometimes these moments can get in the way of the story. It’s an interesting conflict, but shouldn’t stand in the way of enjoying the film. A really good cast and some excellent direction means that Be Kind Rewind is a really nice, entertaining film.


7/10