Tag: 1999

The Hand Behind The Mouse: The Ub Iwerks Story (1999)

140 Character Movie Review – #140RVW

One of the greatest stories seldom told, required viewing for fans of Disney, animation and filmmaking. Underappreciated genius no more…

Spoiler-free Movie Review of The Hand Behind The Mouse: The Ub Iwerks Story:

Written and directed by documentarian Leslie Iwerks, granddaughter of the groundbreaking filmmaker, The Hand Behind The Mouse is clearly a labor of love. One can imagine why Ub’s family might hope to reflect a little of Walt Disney’s spotlight back on his less famous partner, but all of the individuals interviewed seem simply overjoyed to have the opportunity to pay their respects to the man. It seems that this piece is long overdue – the principals involved are so eager for everyone to know Ub’s marvelous story and his place in cinema history.

Produced in 1999, The Hand Behind The Mouse was the first feature documentary from Iwerks and was later included on DVD in the 2007 Walt Disney Treasures: The Adventures of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit DVD set. A book of the same name by Iwerks and John Kenworthy was released in 2001.

The story of Ub Iwerks is so closely intertwined with that of fellow Missouri native Walt Elias Disney that it is rather remarkable that it isn’t common knowledge. Theirs was one of those lightning in a bottle partnerships that are such a fascinating part of the human experience. They quite truly completed each other as well as complementing each other. I’m sure both men could have made contributions to the world without each other – they were both geniuses after all – but nothing like the output and impact achieved by their pairing.

The story seems destined for a biopic akin to Saving Mr. Banks. The 2015 film Walt Before Mickey also covers some of this ground; it’s my next review.

The film itself is very well made. It looks dated in a way you might not expect from a 1999 picture, but that is simply a reflection of the huge strides in production values that have come in recent years.

Narrated by Kelsey Grammer, the doc is packed with a who’s who of animation legends, all very happy to acknowledge the art form’s debt to Iwerks. It’s filled with lots of rare clips of Ub’s work that would make it worthwhile even without the interesting narrative.

I loved this film. Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is my favorite animated character, and I thought I knew the story of the man behind Oswald and Mickey, but there is so much more to Ub Iwerks. It is impossible to overstate his importance not only to animation, but to film itself. This is a man who not only created the most iconic cartoon character of all time, he created a visual style that essentially defined the medium and brought it to the mainstream. His studio launched the careers of many luminaries and inspired many more. When he felt he had mastered cartooning, he turned to groundbreaking effects work in live-action. He even designed many of the effects at Disneyland. He designed the multi-plane camera and the technique for animation/live action traveling mattes. The man was a genius.

Rather than go on and on about the man’s accomplishments, I’d recommend you make time to watch The Hand Behind the Mouse: The Ub Iwerks Story. Since it’s a little harder to find, I’m including a link here.

Better yet, start by just watching some of Ub’s most famous works:

The first Mickey cartoon: Plane Crazy (1928)

Steamboat Willie (1928 – first fully synchronized sound cartoon)

Silly Symphonies: The Skeleton Dance

Poster:

Trailer:

Bechdel Test:

n/a

The Representation Test Score: n/a

[schema type=”movie” url=”https://www.disneymoviesanywhere.com/movie/hand-behind-the-mouse-the-ub-iwerks-story” name=”The Hand Behind the Mouse: The Ub Iwerks Story” description=”Ub Iwerks was considered by many to be Walt Disney’s oldest friend, and spent most of his career with Disney. The two met in 1919 while working for the Pesmen-Rubin Art Studio in Kansas City. ‘Hand Behind The Mouse’ is the story of Ub Iwerks and his contributions to Disney and to animation. Narrated by Kelsey Grammer and written and produced by his daughter, Leslie Iwerks. The Documentary is a loving and insightful look into the life of one of the great innovators and animators of our time, and the creator of the Mickey Mouse character.” director=”Leslie Iwerks” ]

Main Cast	Kelsey Grammer Himself/Narrator (voice) Mark Kausler Himself John Lasseter Himself Russell Merritt Himself
Rating	G
Release Date	Wed 17 Dec 2008 UTC
Director	Leslie Iwerks
Genres	Documentary
Plot	A documentary on the life of the under-appreciated animator Ub Iwerks, who played a major role in the creation of Mickey Mouse.
Poster
Runtime	90
Tagline
Writers	Leslie Iwerks (written by)
Year	1999

March 14, 2016

George Lucas in Love (1999)

140 Character Movie Review – #140RVW

Incredibly clever and funny send-up of both dubious Best Picture winner Shakespeare in Love and the Star Wars legacy. Very cute this is…

Spoiler-free Movie Review of George Lucas In Love:

A great reminder of the innovation and creativity found in short films, George Lucas in Love is a perfect satire and simply a lot of fun.

The story finds a young Lucas at USC film school in 1967 with a case of writer’s block. Everywhere around him are interesting characters, but he’s still struggling to finish his screenplay. With the help of fellow student Marion, he sees the world around him anew.

This film is just a ton of fun. Sight gags and Star Wars references are everywhere. It’s cutesy and gimmicky of course, but it’s a short film. By the time you start to wonder how long they can sustain this – it’s over. If you haven’t seen it, you’re in for a (short) treat!

Poster:

Trailer: (Actually, the whole thing)

Bechdel Test & The Representation Test Score:

Skipped for short films.

[schema type=”movie” name=”George Lucas in Love” description=”1967 film student George Lucas has writer’s block trying to finish his “Space Wheat” script, until a beautiful fellow student with a familiar hairstyle teaches him that the best stories are in plain sight.” director=”Joe Nussbaum” actor_1=”Martin Hynes” ]

Main Cast	Martin Hynes George, Lisa Jakub Marion, Jason Peck Benji, Jeff Wiens Aaron
Rating
Release Date	1999
Director	Joe Nussbaum
Genres	Short, Comedy, Romance
Plot	1967 film student George Lucas has writer’s block trying to finish his “Space Wheat” script, until a beautiful fellow student with a familiar hairstyle teaches him that the best stories are in plain sight.
Poster
Runtime	8
Tagline	Dozens of years ago, in a nearby galaxy…
Writers	Joe Nussbaum (story) &, Timothy Dowling (story) …
Year	1999

July 17, 2014

Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)

140 Character Movie Review – #140RVW

I don’t care what you say, I really like this movie. Does it have problems? Does it ever. I don’t fault anyone who hates it. But I like it.

Spoiler-free Movie Review of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace:

I am an unapologetic Star Wars nut. I will start this review by stating that I would rather watch a bad Star Wars movie than many good movies. So that should hopefully frame this review; my credibility is wobbly when it comes to the Wars…

So many people get so incensed about this film. I have no interest in fanning the flames. If you hate it you have lots of company and nothing I say will change your mind. I am nearly incapable of hating a Star Wars movie. When something makes you incredibly happy and then later iterations are awful, it’s hard and disappointing and a host of other things. But I still struggle with hate. Just like Van Hagar albums or Godfather III, the originals have amassed so much good will with me that I can’t totally condemn later stuff. I can even find a few good things to say about St. Anger (if I stop and think about it for a real long time)…

You’ve already spotted all of the problems with this movie – I’m not going to point out anything that hasn’t been noted before. But I can’t be convinced that we aren’t better off with this movie and the prequels themselves than if they hadn’t been made. Even if I didn’t like the prequels at all (and I honestly do), what would we have if Lucas really did leave well enough alone as so many of my generation (those that grew up with the OT) wish he had? What would we be missing?

The only Jedi we would ever have seen in action would have been an asthmatic robot-man, an old man and a whiny half-trained kid. To be fair, we still get a whiny kid and an old man, but there are some seriously cool, intense, acrobatic fights that really expanded the possibilities of what you had imagined these Jedi capable of. I’d sit through another two hours of bad dialogue to get another fight like the hangar battle with Maul. And that’s just in this movie – the battles in Ep3 are even better.

No concept of the Jedi Order, the master/apprentice dynamic, what it was like to see the Jedi at the height of their power and what it really meant for the Emperor to crush them.
No Clone War, no Jedi as generals. The Battle of Endor would have been the last land battle you would have ever seen…
No boring Senate speeches, but no Order 66 either. The machinations of the Sith are truly cool and worth a few dull discussions about procedure. Barely…

Digital filmmaking would still be in its infancy. I recognize that many would view this as a good thing, and there are lots of great arguments against, from the look of some digital cinematography to the over-proliferation of CG effects. But Lucas’s push for digital has led to more uniform quality in cinematic presentation, the ability for simultaneous release dates throughout the world, day and date releases of independent films through multiple outlets, not to mention severe reductions in cost and production time leading to fewer barriers to entry and a much more accessible environment for new and independent filmmakers.
Six fewer hours of John Williams music. That should make you pause right there…

But most importantly, the biggest thing we’d be missing is the presence of Star Wars in our lives. It was completely off the radar. Fans don’t like to admit it, but the Wars could very well have become just another old film series, no more relevant than the Back to the Future films. The landscape was pretty barren post Ep6, and while interest sparked up in the early 90’s with the return of novels and RPGs, you really cannot underestimate how much there needed to be new movies to really bring Star Wars into the modern age.

Star Wars is now bigger than it has ever been. I can share it with my own child. And that’s what it’s all for in the first place. I don’t need each movie to be as good as the first few any more than I expect each Bond film to rival Goldfinger. The important thing is enjoying these things and sharing them.

15 years ago today, on May 19, 1999, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace opened to an unbelievably excited public. I got to sit with my parents and sister as I did when we saw the original films, but this time my wife (then girlfriend) was by my side. I bought a couple of Star Wars figures in the lobby to give to my parents as a minor way of thanking them for rushing out to buy Kenner R2 & 3PO figures for my sister and I after the first film. I never thought I’d get to see another SW film. I was able to revisit something from my childhood but bring it into my adulthood. I get to share this love with my daughter. Nothing is better or more important to that.

I love The Phantom Menace for all of that.

Poster:

Trailer:

Opening Crawl:

Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace Opening Crawl | StarWars.com on Disney Video

Bechdel Test:

Pass

The Representation Test Score: C (5 pts)

(http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/)

[schema type=”movie” url=”http://www.starwars.com/films/star-wars-episode-i-the-phantom-menace” name=”Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace” description=”Stranded on the desert planet Tatooine after rescuing young Queen Amidala from the impending invasion of Naboo, Jedi apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn discover nine-year-old Anakin Skywalker, a young slave unusually strong in the Force. Anakin wins a thrilling Podrace and with it his freedom as he leaves his home to be trained as a Jedi. The heroes return to Naboo where Anakin and the Queen face massive invasion forces while the two Jedi contend with a deadly foe named Darth Maul. Only then do they realize the invasion is merely the first step in a sinister scheme by the re-emergent forces of darkness known as the Sith.” director=”George Lucas” producer=”Rick McCallum” actor_1=”Liam Neeson” ]

Main Cast	Ewan McGregor Obi-Wan Kenobi, Liam Neeson Qui-Gon Jinn, Natalie Portman Queen Amidala/Padmé, Jake Lloyd Anakin Skywalker
Rating	PG
Release Date	Wed 19 May 1999 UTC
Director	George Lucas
Genres	Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Plot	Two Jedi Knights escape a hostile blockade to find allies and come across a young boy who may bring balance to the Force, but the long dormant Sith resurface to reclaim their old glory.
Poster
Runtime	136
Tagline	Every generation has a legend. Every journey has a first step. Every saga has a beginning.
Writers	George Lucas (written by)
Year	1999

May 19, 2014

The Matrix (1999)

#140RVW

15 years ago this was a sleeper phenomenon. I thought it was gonna suck & was far from alone. So glad to have been so very wrong… #NoSpoon

What’s more:

It may look like a called shot through your bullet-time camera today, but this was a huge risk. A sci-fi mind trip starring Canoe? You knew it was going to be a hit? Then that makes one…

In hindsight, it seems obvious. Brainy sci-fi with brilliant premise, backed with tons of guns, wire-fu and beautiful people in black?

But when they were promoting this for a March 31, 1999 release, remember that there was another little sci-fi movie coming out in May called The Phantom Menace. Other studios were avoiding this launch window like the plague. All you could hope for around May were people who couldn’t get into Episode I. Trying to squeeze in a new sci-fi property now was either a brave move by a studio that believed they had something really special, or a case of a studio sending out something they didn’t believe in to die a lonely death. I don’t frankly know which it was in this case, but I suspect the former, since anyone who watched the film could see this was a winner.

The trailer wasn’t confidence-inspiring to me. It looked gimmicky and including Canoe saying “Whoa” would be Exhibit A in how to reinforce your audiences negative impressions of an actor. But when my friends returned from the film, gushing about this amazing and unique movie, I was swayed. And for that I am grateful.

The Matrix is a phenomenal movie. The high concept story is rock solid, the effects are spell-binding, the pace is good, the length ok, the dialogue fine, the humor good and the fighting is really excellent. It is a very unique and ambitious film from the Wachowskis, and they are to be commended.

It really launched the careers of Carrie-Anne Moss & Hugo Weaving, which we can all be happy about. After that the acting is a little thin on the ground.

Laurence Fishburne would never be called Larry again, and he has a great delivery on the humorous lines, but he is given some truly dreadful dialogue. It’s worse in the sequels (EVERYTHING IS), but even here he is tasked with overly verbose exposition that makes it seem as though the Wachowskis are trying to impress us with their ability to use a thesaurus. Nothing is said simply if it can be dragged out with lots of multi-syllabic words and delivered with a reverential monotone. It’s really ponderous.

Then there’s Canoe. Ah, Keanu. This will certainly be the film he is remembered for, as is fitting. I have to say that he is absolutely perfect for this role. The first movie, I mean. He does well with the in over his head outsider bit and his eventual embrace of his importance. He retains just enough of his Canoe-ness to make you go along with him on this head trip until you’re on solid footing; helps the audience have a stake in the thing. Once you get into the sequels it gets pretty humorless, though.

Can you even imagine this film with the other actors offered the role? Will Smith, Nicolas Cage, Brad Pitt, Val Kilmer (!) or Johnny Depp? All too easily, right? ::Shudder:: THAT’S why I think Keanu was perfect.

Did I forget to mention Joey Pants? Can’t imagine why…

While directly responsible for the explosion of wire-work into every single action movie for the next 15 years, the fight scenes by fight choreographer Yuen Woo-ping are fantastic. Maybe not as revolutionary to those Hong Kong action movie fans out there, but for the rest of us newbies, it’s great stuff.

It is a really unique universe the filmmaker’s have created. Production Designer Owen Paterson really highlights the difference between the Matrix and the real world cleverly, although the whole blue/green thing got seriously overdone with color-timing in post, particularly on the home video releases.

The effects are simply spectacular. John Gaeta and Manex Digital Effects created bleeding edge visuals that were truly groundbreaking. The overuse of CG doubles that plagued the sequels is non-existent here; as involved as it gets, things actually feel “real” as ironic as that may be.

As far as the philosophy and all that, whatever. It’s interesting to a point, but it’s hard not to have an involuntary negative reaction to any discussion of the deeper themes after all the navel-gazing of the sequels.

The Matrix is a great movie. It owes so much to so many different influences, from cyberpunk novels to Japanese animation, but the Wachowskis have always been very vocal in their praise for their many predecessors and very generous in acknowledging their debts. Forget whatever baggage you have from the sequels and try to watch it again with fresh eyes.

Poster:

Trailer:

Bechdel Test:

Pass

The Representation Test Score: B (9 pts)

(http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/)

Main Cast	Keanu Reeves Neo, Laurence Fishburne Morpheus, Carrie-Anne Moss Trinity, Hugo Weaving Agent Smith
Rating	R
Release Date	Wed 31 Mar 1999 UTC
Director	Andy Wachowski (as The Wachowski Brothers), Lana Wachowski (as The Wachowski Brothers)
Genres	Action, Sci-Fi
Plot	A computer hacker learns from mysterious rebels about the true nature of his reality and his role in the war against its controllers.
Poster
Runtime	136
Tagline	Free your mind
Writers	Andy Wachowski (as The Wachowski Brothers) (written by) &, Lana Wachowski (as The Wachowski Brothers) (written by)
Year	1999

May 18, 2014

Freaks and Geeks (1999) – series review

#140RVW

Gone too soon, but not forgotten. Star-making series is just as good as people have told you it is. Heard about it for 15 years – it plays.

What’s more:

This show is the spiritual successor to the John Hughes films of the 80’s. Usually cult shows that get prematurely cancelled take on a mythic status that ultimately is impossible to live up to for those of us who missed them the first time, but this one really is just as good as everyone said.

I don’t know really how to review an entire series, other than to say that I couldn’t whip through these 18 episodes fast enough. I found myself so immersed in the world of these superbly written and realized characters from the pilot on. The writing is great, the acting is better. This show should have run for years.

The 1980 setting of the show is great, but interestingly it took me more than halfway through the pilot before I was sure it was a period piece, and even longer to realize exactly when it was set. I could tell we were late 1970’s, but other than that I couldn’t nail it down. What’s so amazing and uncharacteristic for television is the soundtrack. In addition to the Joan Jett theme song, there is a staggering amount of source music. They must have spent the show’s entire budget on licensing the music. These are major artists, the likes of whom you’ve never heard on a tv show before. I have no idea how they could afford to re-license them for the video releases, but the show wouldn’t be the same without it.

Sigh…

Poster:

Trailer:

Bechdel Test:

Pass

The Representation Test Score: B (9 pts)

(http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/)

Main Cast	Linda Cardellini Lindsay Weir (18 episodes, 1999-2000), John Francis Daley Sam Weir (18 episodes, 1999-2000), James Franco Daniel Desario (18 episodes, 1999-2000), Samm Levine Neal Schweiber (18 episodes, 1999-2000)
Rating	TV-14
Release Date	Sat 25 Sep 1999 UTC
Director
Genres	Comedy, Drama
Plot	A television show about two unique groups of teenagers dealing with life in high school during the 80’s.
Poster
Runtime	60
Tagline	It’s 1980 and this is what high school was like for the rest of us.
Writers	Paul Feig (creator)
Year	1999

April 24, 2014