Greatest Master of the Universe?

The animated world, while for childlike viewers, can often be expanded and its storylines broadened to lure older audiences. Such as the venture made in the 2002 remake of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.

It’s similar to the Filmation version in its original form. Yet it’s vastly different. One might say it’s even improved. It’s an effort to bring back older viewers while creating newer ones for a courageous revival of one of Mattle’s most popular toylines during the 1980s.

The 2002 version has finally appeared on DVD last week Tuesday when it hit stores. There’s also an exclusive Best Buy copies available at the nearest local stores. And it’s been long overdue for this series to come to some prosperity. It’s got the first thirteen episodes in the series here. There were thirty-nine episodes in its entire run.

The stories are better written. The characterizations are well realized. The animation is very excellent, more linear, with a touch of Japanese anime style without going overboard. Some of the supporting cast get their own story arcs woven into the going-ons in the series. A storyline could run for several episodes at a time while still maintaining each individual story.

There are some familiar faces such as one of the original writers Larry DiTillio who did stories for the previous incarnation. While 1980s cartoons veteran writer Michal Reaves put his own pen to the stories.

There’s a lot of thought put into the stories.

One of the nicest things is the shift of focus that covers the remaining cast other than the gladiator superhero He-Man character. The most interesting change is the Man-At-Arms character who is far more of a leader in this 2002 adaptation. He controls the royal guard and steadies himself more as a general on a battlefield. He is far more confidant, his fighting skills honed. He is a military type. Also an inventor of futuristic machines.

The current 2002 series steers away from the father figure persona that has dominated the Man-At-Arms character in the original run. He isn’t a buffoon either. But the series does make knowing homage to the Filmation series--such as the partial introduction of the theme and the “lesson learned” endings where they would talk about the episode’s moral points for children.

Even the writers were able to turn out a brilliant stand-alone episode exploring the shortcomings of supporting cast member Mananeck—possibly the worst of the good guy characters. It’s amazing the writers were able to bring a certain human emotion in the story about man who wished for better super powers.

There are no well-known voices in the cartoons here. But focus is on the stories. And the strands of plots that flourish through them. There is a chance to learn more about the Sorceress character who has family ties with the Teela character, thus bringing more depth to them.

The threat of evil pervades throughout the paradise of Eternia as the persistent outside forces continue to wreck havoc upon the graceful, utopian lands of the alien world that is like a fantasy land. The stuff of magic and sorcery continues in the everyday lives of people here. But the machines of science fiction brings an added strangeness to the landscape.

Fierce darkness, subterranean foulness of the badlands remained colored by the existence of evil that takes the form of the menacing Skeletor and his killer crew of lowlifes. It is his constant thwarting of goodness that makes him take center stage in this season. And the rambling structure of the ancient Castle Grayskull became the battlefield for which good and evil takes place.

It is this place that keeps all the hidden secrets of power that struggles like an omniscient being. Somehow, through the power of good, the character of He-Man is created as a defense against the rising, awakening evil bring its poison to the good world.

It’s simple enough for a child to follow through: the battle between good and evil.

It almost makes you want to lift the sword and say, “By the power of Grayskull!”

Sure, it was another way of selling toys through the re-working of the series and bringing another legion of action figures to the shelves in stores. It was a sneaking way to get kids to plea their parents to buy them cool stuff that was a legend. In many ways, it does succeed. However, there’s no real need to buy the toys or tie-in merchandise for this series. There never was.

Because the stories were so good that commercial tactics could be forgiven. There’s a soul to the episodes that brings much charm to the characters that are already recognized of old. But there’s a new spin to the characters that makes them stand out more. Once more the kingdom of ancient warriors, kings and goddesses are revisited again.

Sally's Mysteries

Usually I would venture to review stories and television which might touch on the science fiction realm. Any of it. No matter how large or small the contributions were made into the S-F genre.

Sometimes it’s difficult to classify. Which makes it far more interesting.

The recent popularity in the Phillip Pullman novels called the Sally Lockhart mysteries are what they are. Mysteries. They were written during the age of the Victorian Era. Where the ideas of science fiction is only starting to bloom.

But there are a number of connections to the genre.

The writer Pullman is also known to be the talent behind the well-laden, high fantasy fiction of the Golden Compass or the Dark Materials as some readers like to refer to them as.

The actress Billie Piper who takes the lead role in the following mystery is also a Doctor Who veteran worth mentioning about. Her career buidling still owes a great debt to the old Doctor Who series. In which she will return shortly.

Most importantly, however, is the BBC film adaptation of "Shadow of the North." Which has several threads of science fictions which includes the supernatural, a high steamed powered machine gun-and there’s even an appearance of Bram Stoker in the story as well. All wrapped up neatly into the second book of the Sally Lockhart mysteries.

It is set in 1878. Where things are already changing for the way of life in many citizens. The idea of speaking to ghosts of the past is catching up to the public in a storm. And public mediums are cashing in their chips to make off a profit.

It is the fool’s pocket to be wasted in such drivel like the supernatural. Some people believe in such things. There are always skeptics. However, when a medium Nellie Budd has a real vision of a man killed by another in a dark pocket of the forest, she says it is “a shadow in the north.” It is a stroke of luck that she received an answer from the dead to stir a mystery into pace.

There is another magician, pale faced and vampiric in appearance, who claims to have seen similar visions of murder. Everything revolves around a cruel and bullying businessman named Axel Bellmann. His presence is often filled with intensity. His eyes are like cleanly cut glass. His stare makes you smaller. His smirk hides so much power behind him.

But it is up to Sally Lockhart, her friends Frederick Garland and Jim Taylor, to unravel the mystery concerning a sunken ship, a steam gun machine that could tear apart crowds in England in a single instant and the true nature behind the North Star company owned by Bellmann. His intentions are less than honorable.

The most frightening thing, however, is Bellman's stoic belief that he is doing the right thing.

It is good to see the mystery story set back in the later period of the Victorian era which reminds one of the days once filled by Sherlock Holmes. The rushing horse carriages and epistolary letters would bring back memories. The cobbled streets filled with street vendors, standing amidst the poverty stricken wash of the less fortunate, would come to the foreground. England at its mightiest.

There is also the subject matter of opium used in the previous novel, “Ruby in the Smoke,” which is another staple of the Victorian setting. The sleek, willowy smoke of the drug would flood the shoddy poorhouses like a rising stink of fear. The picture of the lowly rings of England is so well photographed in imagination taken in part of the previous film and “Shadow of the North.”

You do get a genuine feeling that you’re walking the cracked sidewalks leading upstate into the heart of the London crowds.

Piper does a phenomenal job in the first acting role I’ve seen her where she takes the lead. She is cautious without overstepping her mark, she is firm without getting hysterical. Some might call her cold. But it is her calmness that makes her a dangerous woman. Someone who is a little out of the picture in her current setting. She is more like a modern woman.

She carries a gun given by her father to protect herself with it. The character of Lockhart has a fit mind for business matters. She knows how to read accounts due to her father’s open minded chance of exposing her to such things. She knows how to run a business. Piper manages to hold together all those qualities of this character and put more of her own personality into the part. It would be hard to imagine anyone else in the role. She makes it her own.

She is steadfast and determined, not willing to buckle under the constraints of a man’s world. It is her willingness that helps her defeat one of the worst villains imaginable.

The books makes a fine statement about current issues of its time. But it is the pacing of the book and the plot that helps it move at an incredible pace. The films capture the heart and soul of these books with a lavish production. Put in mind, also, the science fiction threads do lift it a little higher to make this effort different from most. A mystery with a little science fiction to it.

My only complain, however a minor one, is really from a writer’s point of view. One of the major characters, a likable one I might add, is killed during the course of this film. It is unfortunate because I felt killing him off might’ve been too soon in the books. However, this is how Pullman wishes to write his books. Which is fine. But I believe another novel with the character would give further chance for him to grow, develop. And perhaps see more of why Sally Lockhart loves him greatly. A man of bravery. Courage. Not too many of them like that out there.

There are still two more books to go into the series and already commitments are made to transfer them into films. But there might not be the substantial numerous science fiction tendencies such as Shadow of the North did.

However, despite lack of further S-F intertwining, the books/films would still be worth the time. With the smart writing and the excellent acting involved. It is always a great wonder that the British can still turn in a good old fashioned mystery.

Quite a Cut Up

Finally I managed to see the film Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. At a theater nearest me. I didn’t think I would. It was getting to be a problem for a time. Considering Marcus Theaters’ done deal with film distribution that barred it from being seen in places like little ol’ Oshkosh.

For a while it seemed I would have to see it at the Regent in Appleton as it was a non-Marcus theater.

But, like a belated gift from the Christmas skies, the film dropped into Oshkosh in an unexpected turn.

I liked it a lot.

And the graphic violence never bothered me at all.

Where else are you going to see Johnny Depp and Alan Rickman sing together in a rousing duet that could shake the very foundations to its grounds? Where else are you going to see Helena Bonham Carter singing like a chattering bird while she makes the worst sandwiches in town? There isn’t another film that switches from old styled gothic horror to a musical event.

It’s a visual treat. One that cuts deep.

Based on the stage play of the same name, scrambling back into the 1930s, it was written by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler. And music, in its very essence, is like a beating heart.

The film jumpstarts the action into a singing chorus. It is surprising at every turn. You never know when someone sprints into a mood. It is odd at first to hear and see Depp fall into a singing moment. The scenes do tend to have an operatic fancy. But you do get used to it after a while And Depp’s not bad singer.

The directing from Tim Burton has improved immensely. For the first three-fourths of the film, following through the charred buildings of London, with its bogged scenery depicting poverty, there is a sense of beauty in his eyes. You can see his love for the gothic. The tall, battered buildings leer over the city like aged guardians. The windows look like dead eyes. The alleys look trapped with death.

Burton takes his time to give us a tour-friendly view of London during the eighteen-hundreds. The shifting shadows, and grace of darkness, gives us a feeling of the dark. And this keeps the audience slightly on edge. There is a discomfort of knowing the main character carries along with him blades used in barber shops.

A straight razor. Nasty.

The stream of consciousness that gives us a moment where Sweeney Todd hacks through everyone in the pubic screens is a brilliant turn to horror. There’s blood everywhere. The pouring red is endless. Almost exaggerated.

The film basically focuses on a troubling love triangle that ends in disaster. Sweeney Todd loses his wife-to-be to the malicious judge who sentences the barber injusticely to jail. The sentence is a harsh one. Taking everything from Sweeney Todd except his determination.

His determination is to destroy Judge Turpin, played by Rickman, once he sets foot into freedom. That has never left him once he escaped the Penal Colony after fifteen years.

The scars of his life has made him a brutal, sadistic man. His slight detour into insanity has endangered those who were closest around him. His friends fall victim to his single purpose of destroying Judge Turpin. Even his dear, sweet Mrs. Lovett finds out what a real terror he is.

There are definitely moments of darkness as black as Sweeney Todd’s soul. The underground sewers give a feeling of emptiness beneath the city that thrives like a poor man’s land. Much of it contrasts to the living comforts, and riches, in which Judge Turpin is shown—he doesn’t have to worry about putting food on the table. He lives in power. He lusts for it.

While the others in the street suffer.

But the main point of the violence that ensues in the film, like a wasted tidal wave of anger, seems to engulf everyone in the film. The violence never stops. It goes into a vicious circle. The killing that Todd starts will come back to him in a full circle.

As simple as the sharp edges of the blades.

The film is made beautifully in the hands of Burton and Depp. They always do make an indominable pair. They work well together and should continue to cross paths later on in their careers. Remember Scorsese and De Niro? John Woo and Chow Yun Fat? Even Harrison Ford and George Lucas. They make great combinations.

And another gothic outing by the illustrious pair wouldn’t hurt either. It’s a side of cinema we don’t always see in films these days. It’s nice to see someone revisit the old gothic roots.

There is only one problem I have with the film: towards the last half hour of the film it seems to take a slasher turn. It felt like the ending was a bit rushed with a bunch of people getting killed off left and right. The great thing about this film is that it takes its sweet time delivering the goods. But the ending is like a sudden, misfired punch.

But if you’re looking for something different… unique… this is a treasure to see. You’re most likely not going to see anything like this again. I know I won’t. There’s not a big call for musical horror films. It's like a Goya painting gone absolutely mad.

The gothic trends are still alive and kicking today. A really bloody epic. And we learn in this movie that sometimes violence is too great a price to pay.