The Snow Queen

Posted on October 10, 2013 at 5:00 pm

C-

Lowest Recommended Age:	Kindergarten - 3rd Grade
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG
Profanity:	NOne
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Fairy tale and fantasy peril and violence, guns, fire, parents killed
Diversity Issues:	Strong female heroine and villains
Date Released to Theaters:	October 6, 2013

It may be a coincidence that a Russian animation studio decided to make a movie based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the Snow Queen at the same time as Disney’s big-budget feature, “Frozen,” inspired by the same source. But it is probably not a coincidence that the low-budget, low-quality Russian version got distribution in the United States as it would otherwise not have attracted any interest beyond the straight-to-DVD bin. Russia, which once produced animation of exquisite beauty and storytelling, shows with this film that it can churn out uninspired, dull animation just like everyone else. The visuals are poorly conceived, with characters that are hardly more expressive than Weebles apart from the cleavage that is the most notable feature of at least three of the female characters. The vocal performances are uninspired and uninvolving. And the one effect that words, a 360 degree swoop-around, is relentlessly overused. The script is muddled and dull. Plus, there are fart jokes.

This version of the story has a little girl named Gerda (Jessica Strauss) in search of her brother just as The Snow Queen (Cindy Robinson) has sent her troll (Douglas Erholtz, trying to sound like a Borscht belt comic) to find her. The Snow Queen has frozen the world. Gerda’s brother is her captive. And Gerda may have some sort of secret power to conquer the Snow Queen, having to do with a mirror that reveals the true self.

Gerda and the troll have various PG encounters along the way that all seem to be half-heartedly designed to teach lessons about cooperation, bullying, and family. There’s a king with squabbling children, a lady who grows fragrance-less flowers in a hothouse, and a pirate captain and her daughter. The flat affect of the vocal performances and bland expressionlessness of the characters has a soporific quality. Both seem…frozen.

Parents should know that this film has fairy tale/fantasy peril and violence, with guns, fire, and pirates. Parents are killed.

Family discussion: How did being bullied affect the girl with special powers? How were Gerda and the pirate girl alike? What made the flowers smell?

If you like this, try: “The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship”

Tribute: Movie Critic Stanley Kauffmann

Posted on October 10, 2013 at 2:50 pm

The masterful critic Stanley Kauffman, whose writing career stretched over eight decades, died this week at age 97. Adam Bernstein’s perceptive Kauffman obituary in the Washington Post noted: “He was one of the few critics who could watch a 1997 Broadway play featuring Christopher Plummer portraying the talented but troubled actor John Barrymore — and remember seeing Barrymore onstage shortly before his death in 1942.” He was surely the last person writing about film who was watching films when they were still silent. In his reviews for The New Republic and other publications and his books he took positions that were often at odds not just with popular taste (he didn’t like “Star Wars”) but also with other critics (he didn’t like “Taxi Driver”). He didn’t try for wit and he was never snarky. But he looked for the best that film could offer and when he found it he was enthusiastic about championing then-obscure filmmakers like Jean-Luc Godard, Ingmar Bergman, Akira Kurosawa, Michelangelo Antonioni and Satyajit Ray.

Kauffmann was proudly literary in his tastes and in his own writing style. I’m proud to be quoted in the obit:

“He was passionately engaged with film’s highest aspirations as an art form and was at his most eloquent when films were most complex,” said Nell Minow, an author and movie critic. “He educated generations of film-watchers and filmmakers about how and what to watch.”

He will be missed, but his influence will shine forth from every review and every film that tries harder and reaches further.

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The Real Story: Captain Phillips and the Somali Pirates

Posted on October 10, 2013 at 8:00 am

This week’s release of “Captain Phillips” is based on the real-life story of the 2009 capture of an American merchant ship by Somali pirates. The title character, played by Tom Hanks, was kidnapped by the pirates and held for ransom. Captain Richard Phillips was rescued by the Navy Seals after sharpshooters killed three of the four pirates.

The leader of the pirates is played by Barkhad Abdi, a Somali immigrant who moved to Minnesota with his family when he was seven, in his first role as an actor. In an interview, he explained that he was selected for the role following a casting call that included more than 700 other men who wanted to be in the film. He trusted director Paul Greengrass to present the Somali characters without demonizing them.

One of his quotes, he said was just a simple man that was in a situation that was bigger than him. Because this piracy thing is basically international organized crime. The people that actually benefit out of it are not even in Somalia; they’re somewhere in Europe or America or some other country. And it’s a big corporation. And the people that actually take the risk don’t even take much.

He talked about how he put himself in the frame of mind of his character, a desperate young man.

That was important to me. Because as a person, I was born in Somalia, you know? I left Somalia when I was seven years old, but I witnessed a whole year in a war. I witnessed the war’s beginning, which was really extraordinarily crazy. Just the same neighborhood that you were born and you grow and the same good people. That’s all you’ve seen in the world — and just torn to a disaster overnight: killing and rape and all this unbelievable stuff going on.

I was lucky enough to have parents that took me out from country to country and go to school and learn how to be a better person. But, I used a lot of imagination. Like, what if that was me? What if I didn’t have the same parents I have? What if my parents would have passed away? I mean, this would have been about me. I know exactly the situation he’s in, because Somalia didn’t have a country for the last 24 years. There’s no jobs; there’s no hope. And besides the fact that all these guys become millionaires right in front of you — people that you know. That’s enough motivation to take your chance fully. You’re either going to live good or you’re going to die trying.

Greengrass kept his lead actors apart until they were filming their scenes.

It was really a great idea, because it’s not an easy task coming on as just a crazy guy that’s taking over and being so mean to someone that you know and you admire, you know? So it was good that I hadn’t met him.

The movie is very true to the real story, as Richard Phillips described it in his book, A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea. It describes the takeover of the ship by four young pirates and their insistence on a ransom of millions of dollars. Captain Phillips protected his crew and was taken hostage for four days of abuse and threats. President Obama said after it was over, “I share the country’s admiration for the bravery of Captain Phillips and his selfless concern for his crew. His courage is a model for all Americans.” Some members of the crew have filed lawsuits against the shipping company, alleging that their negligence put the crew at risk by going too close to the Somali coast, despite warnings to stay at least 600 miles away. But there is no question that Captain Phillips’ courage and determination kept his crew safe at the risk of his own life and the extraordinary skill of the Navy Seals is what kept him alive.

Slate provides further information about Somali pirates. The incident in this film was one of over 200 in 2009.

In the film, Muse briefly mentions foreign vessels coming to take away the fish off the Somali coast. Viewers new to the subject may not know what to make of these remarks, but they refer to what many observers believe was a precipitating cause of the uptick in Somali piracy roughly 20 years ago. When the regime of longtime Somali dictator Siad Barre collapsed in 1991, the country was plunged into ongoing violence between rival armed groups and left without a central government capable of defending the country’s economic interests—including the “exclusive economic zone” off the Somali coast. Fleets from Europe and Asia quickly moved in, depleting the supply of fish.

As an African Development Bank report from 2011 put it, “Fishermen, dismayed at the inability of the central government to protect their country’s EEZ, and at the number of foreign fishing vessels illegally exploiting their traditional fisheries, took matters into their own hands. Initially arming themselves to chase off the illegal foreign fishing vessels, they quickly realized that robbing the vessels was a lucrative way to make up for lost income. Seeing their success, land based warlords co-opted some of the new pirates, organizing them into increasingly sophisticated gangs.”

The efforts of a combined task force to combat piracy and changing circumstances in Somalia have led to a sharp reduction in the number of ships hijacked and held for ransom. However, for other reasons, Navy Seals were back fighting in Somalia this week.

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The Surprisingly Tender Story of An Actor’s Kindness to the Critic Who Hated Hated Hated Hated His Movie

Posted on October 9, 2013 at 3:59 pm

Chaz Ebert wrote to Rob Schneider to ask him about a story that was mentioned in many of the tributes to her late husband, Roger Ebert. Roger loathed Schneider’s movie “Deuce Bigelow: European Gigolo.” He memorably wrote that the film “is aggressively bad, as if it wants to cause suffering to the audience. The best thing about it is that it runs for only 75 minutes…..Speaking in my official capacity as a Pulitzer Prize winner, Mr. Schneider, your movie sucks.” That last comment inspired the title of one of Ebert’s collections of bad reviews.

Chaz asked Schneider some questions, including: “When Roger was in the hospital you sent a beautiful selection of flowers with a sweet note. That melted our hearts. Roger talked about that for a long time. Not just the flowers, but the very act, and what one act of kindness can do to transform human relationships. He said it gave him a glimpse into what kind of person you were and it was humbling. What was your thinking behind sending the flowers and the get well wishes?”

Schneider’s response was thoughtful, personal, and very moving. He said that Ebert’s review was “mean but fair.” And that it made him reconsider some of his choices. ” s a Zen Buddhist I know there is no such thing as a one-sided coin. Every coin has two sides and it is our choice to decide if we only want to focus on one side or the other. Or we can choose to see that both sides are inseparable and part of the same coin. The other side for me was finally being free of the studio system and all its constraints and expectations….When Mr. Ebert’s book, “Your Movie Sucks!” came out I admit to feeling sore about it. You have to build a somewhat thick body armor to survive in show business. But the strange thing was, when I heard Roger was sick I felt terrible and my heart ached. Whatever bad feelings that were leftover melted away and all I remembered was thinking about how much I really admired and loved Roger Ebert and his work and how grateful I felt to him for introducing me to countless films from all over the world that became such an important part of my life and of my work.”

Most important, he said,

The day I heard Roger was sick, I decided that I would not be the person who thanked or remembered what someone meant to them only after they were gone. I asked the florist to make the most beautiful arrangement possible and I wrote a note to Roger from a real fan and grateful admirer and I think most importantly for him, a fellow lover of world cinema in all it’s varieties. I think I said simply, “Roger, thank you for sharing your love of cinema with all of us. I hope you are back doing what you love most soon, watching movies from your La-Z-Boy chair! Signed, Rob Schneider, your least favorite movie star.” And I am so very glad I did.

….

There is never only light or never only dark. But light-dark and dark light. These shades are the universe’s way of challenging us and testing us in this great game of life. Where hopefully we come to realize we are each a part of the whole, and the whole a part of each of us. In the big bang 14.5 billion years ago in some very real way, we were there.

That’s pretty cool I think. Maybe someone could make a movie about that.

If only.

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What is the Science Behind “Gravity?”

Posted on October 9, 2013 at 8:00 am

Alfonso Cuarón told Wired Magazine about the 4 1/2 years he spent making “Gravity.”

We had to do the whole film as an animation first. We edited that animation, even with sound, just to make sure the timing worked with the sound effects and music. And once we were happy with it, we had to do the lighting in the animation as well. Then all that animation translated to actual camera moves and positions for the lighting and actors. We did a whole exploration of the screenplay, every single moment; we made judgments about everything. Once we began shooting, we were constrained by the limitations of that programming….We shot space scenes in a sort of virtual-reality box that had the characters’ environments projected on the walls. The actors had very little room to change their timing or their positions. But we adapted. Sandra Bullock trained like crazy to be able to be a part of all these technological challenges. It was choreography for her. I think her background as a dancer helped a lot. It was so much by numbers. After all the training and all the rehearsals, she was able to just focus on the emotional aspect of her performance…..

The animators had a significant challenge. “After all, you learn how to draw based on two main elements: horizons and weight…Exactly. They had neither of those things, poor guys. It was a nightmare for them. They would make stuff and I’d say, “Yeah, but that looks like they’re standing at a bar, not floating in space.” We had a physicist explain the laws of zero gravity and zero resistance.” But he admits that “Apollo 13” may be more accurate than “Gravity.”

So, what does a physicist have to say? Neil deGrasse Tyson tweeted about some of what the movie got wrong, even if it did not relate to physics. (He also said he liked it.) George Clooney should not have to explain to a doctor the medical impact of oxygen deprivation, but that could be justified as a way of calming her down. On the other hand, some of the science is wrong. Why doesn’t Sandra Bullock’s hair float in zero gravity? “Nearly all satellites orbit Earth west to east yet all satellite debris portrayed orbited east to west.” “When Clooney releases Bullock’s tether, he drifts away. In zero-G a single tug brings them together.” “How Hubble (350mi up) ISS (230mi up) & a Chinese Space Station are all in sight lines of one another.” One thing they got right: “The film #Gravity depicts a scenario of catastrophic satellite destruction that can actually happen.”

One of the science advisors appeared on CBS to talk about the movie.

And Cuarón says he does not know what his next movie will be, but he is certain that the characters will all walk with their feet on the floor.

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