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The appeal of sports movies baffles me. I don't say that because I don't like them, I say that because it seems that I do like them. I don't actively go out and watch sports matches, but somehow, there is something about sports movies (ones from the 1990s in particular) that can really get me caught up in the film. There's obvious things like wanting the team/player (aka the good guy) to win, and the battle to win is usually very blatantly played out in the championship game or whatever it is that serves as the climax to the film, and the pay off of the good guy winning is satisfied with the definite acknowledgement of a trophy/medal/glory/valuable moral lesson/whatever.
But why do I, someone who doesn't remotely care about actual sports games when they're on TV, care? Good writing and acting is always a contributing factor, but the subject matter is rather removed from my interests. Perhaps I'll have this figured out by the time I watch Remember The Titans.
Recently, I watched the series "Fringe" in its entirety, which stars Joshua Jackson as a mostly concerned and problem solving character. So watching Champions was partly fascinating just to be reminded of just how damn charming he is as an actor. No wonder he was cast. As a child actor, he was pretty great and, cheesy as it is, he gives the film heart.
Final Thought: I don't understand why they thought this film couldn't be called The Mighty Ducks in the UK and Australia...
Up Next: Charade (1963)
In the year 2000, Center Stage and Coyote Ugly were both released cinematically, and though neither were brilliant films, they captured the attention of my circle of friends. We saw each of these movies at the cinema multiple times. I couldn't even tell you why, to be honest, but we just kept going back.
Center Stage, while showcasing some rather unimpressive acting, is admirable for casting actual dancers. My two major peeves in cinema are musical instruments being played with blatantly wrong technique (see August Rush) and terrible dancing being portrayed as great dancing (see The Artist). So in this instance, I am more than willing to forgive bad acting for the sake of seeing ballet danced properly.
Final Thought: Despite the multiple times I have seen this film, my memory of it pales in comparison to The Seamstress. She can quote this word for word.
Up Next: Champions (1992)
I bought this film without having seen it, purely because it was Studio Ghibli. It was at a time when I was buying a Ghibli film a week, and my decisions were based entirely on the DVD cover. I didn't realise at the time that The Cat Returns wasn't made by Hayao Miyazaki himself, so sadly it isn't quite of the same calibre of the Miyazaki's films. That said, it's still a lovely, peaceful little film.
It beats you about the head with the moral a bit, but I can forgive that in a Ghibli film for some reason. The thing with these films is that I feel like I can't look away. Not because the plot is complicated and I might miss something, but because they're just so visually stunning that I'd hate to miss anything.
Final Thought: The soundtrack is oddly jovial in moments of upset.
Up Next: Centre Stage (2000)
One of my first jobs growing up was at my local video store, at the time that the shift from VHS to DVD was happening. I watched as our shelves shifted from being mainly filled with videos to gradually being overrun by DVDs. And one of the great things about my video store was that they purchased all sorts movies. Not just the popular ones that would bring in money, but also those that regulars might want. So our collection was huge. You could find anything there. Despite this, my video store went out of business. A new, profit focussed chain store opened up down the road not long after, and they built up their catalogue by buying the one that my childhood store had painstakingly collected. Cheaters.
I realised, after a couple of years, that many of my favourite films from my childhood weren't likely to end up on DVD, so if I ever wanted to see them again, I'd need to hunt them down on VHS from my childhood video store's original collection. Since many of these films were a little obscure and not exactly profitable, the new video store would easily sell them. And that is how I ended up with the very same VHS copy of The Cat From Outer Space that I had watched dozens of times as a young child. So many times that I can even remember the melody of each line of dialogue in the trailers preceding the movie.
I'm not even sure what specifically it was that drew me to this film so much, other than the fact that there was an anthropomorphised cat in it. But I was possibly the only person who ever hired this from my local store.
Strangely enough, 4 years or so in to our friendship, I randomly mentioned this film in conversation with one of my closest friends, only to have her respond enthusiastically, much to my surprise. I have never met anyone else who has seen this movie. We decided to watch it together, but ended up dozing off.
As an adult, it kinda drags a little. But it's so familiar and comfortable and silly. A cat. From outer space. With a glowing collar that allows him to communicate with humans. Who else would come up with such a thing but Disney in the 70s.
Final Thought: The protaganists in these sort of films have a tendency to be conveniently accepting of the circumstances into which they are thrust. If they wasted too much time with skepticism, the film couldn't move forward. Alien cat with a magical collar? Sure, I'll help you break in to an army base. ...Seriously??
Up Next: The Cat Returns (2002)
This was the first time I watched this film. And as I carry on with this project, I find that it's more difficult for me to write about films to which I have no emotional attachment. So despite this being hailed as one of the best films ever made, I don't actually have a great deal to say about it. It was interesting to finally get around to watching this, and it is, of course a very good film, but I think I'll need to watch it again for it to move me. On this initial viewing, I was merely trying to keep up with what was happening. The majority of the films I've seen from this era have been musicals, so it was an adjustment for me to need to keep up with a more complicated plot where the characters don't frequently break in to song. That is something I appreciate about older movies though - so often now movies seem to hold your hand and explain to you very slowly what is happening, rather than giving you enough credit to be able to figure it out yourself. It's more satisfying when it's not painstakingly spelled out to you, and it allows you to interpret things in a way that is meaningful to you, rather than being beaten over the head with what the maker's intention was. And isn't that what art should be? And isn't film a form of art?
Final Thought: You see so many images of Humphrey Bogart, but seeing him as a movie star is quite striking. It was bordering on alien for me to see a moving, speaking version of him. And as for the film itself, the lines from it are pretty much cliche now, so it's interesting to see them in context.
Up Next: The Cat From Outer Space (1978)
Captain America: The First Avenger is fine. It's not fantastic, it's not awful, it's fine.
Chris Evans is actually perfect for the role, from what I can tell (not having read the comics). I would love to see him pushed in more challenging roles than those he's done so far. And Hugo Weaving is
surprisingly restrained playing such a ridiculous character, which is
good I guess, because it would be easy to take it too far.
There seems to be an element missing to connect the montages and action sequences to the emotion of the story. So it's a bit disjointed to me. I actually prefer the origin part of the tale rather than once the action kicks in to gear, which is not the norm for this type of film.
Final Thought: Skinny, short Chris Evans? CGI is freaky.
Up Next: Casablanca (1942)
Can't Hardly Wait was a staple of my high school movie nights. I can remember watching it for the first time at a sleepover, never having heard of it before. My friends and I spent the following two years quoting it to each other at every opportunity, and playing the soundtrack at any party we hosted. We bonded over this movie more than many other things in the time we were in high school.
More than a decade later, this film is still just as fresh in my mind.
The thing is, I'm not quite sure how to explain why this film in particular rose above all the similarly themed movies of my teenage years. Perhaps it's that the characters are almost caricatures of the stereotypes they represent. Almost. They toe that line, so they still seem like real people, which means that the film doesn't get unbearable.
In my opinion, this was the best high school party movie of the 90s crop, and frankly, I've yet to see a movie made since that can stand up to it.
Final Thought: I HAVE NO LEGS!!!
Up Next: Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
