Up and Up...

You should go see the film “Up”... if you're ever up for it.

Ah, yes, the pun. How nice.

And the film is even nicer if you're a genuine fan looking for good animation along with a decent story to it. There's a lot going for this one.

I've always been a fan of the Pixar stuff ever since they hit the screens delighting audiences of all ages with their creative ideas and internal messages that sends a moral streak. Films like “Toy Story” and my own favorite “Wall-E” are self-proclaimed Pixar products that are worthy ventures to see. And bring your kids along too if you have any.

Now “Up” has become one of my favorites as well. The sense of wonderment paints an age old notion: no matter who you are, or whatever age you are, the world is your oyster. And exploring it only takes a first step in bravery.

The story is about a crankshaft type Carl, voiced by the Ed Asner, who befriends his soon to be wife at a very early age as kids. Both of them like the idea of adventure. And they make the promise of living in a place called Paradise Falls located somewhere in the strange beauty of South America.

The girl grows up to be a redheaded beauty still full of spark and livelihood. She remains the very opposite of Carl who is somewhat quite and straight-laced. Carl grows up to look like, well, Ed Asner.

But the promise still holds for both of them.

But the years go by, and so do the rainy days, and they continue to put off their dream of moving down into South America.

However, her death leaves him a very bitter man wrapped in loss, misery, a recluse. But he maintains his promise of getting to his dreamy retirement spot in the spirit of his wife. Her voice, her reason, drives him. And by golly, he's going to get down there no matter what it takes. He eventually does by using his house lifted by balloons to take it away from the big city craziness. His house becomes the center part of “Up.” With balloons.

This is a beautifully crafted animated film filled with great ideas and bits of science fiction. And this is the biggest draw for the audiences... the fantasy of cartoon people acting out in a situation. Their voices match the moods. You can clearly see that the crew of this film have fun making this movie. It shows a lot of heart.

I'm sure people will be confused and won't understand what is going on within the first half hour of the film. “I don't get it” seems to be the typical reaction of lazy folks who don't want to think through a film. The same thing happened with “Wall-E” which is a very smart cartoon film. So is “Up.” Which balloons its way into greatness like so many Pixar films.

Interestingly enough, the film doesn't have any bad guys in the first half of the film. It isn't until the second half when Carl meets up with his childhood hero Charles Munz, played by the wonderful Christopher Plummer, where the story finally becomes the classic good vs. evil mode found in so many children's story. It's easy to see why. Munz is a greedy, calculating beast bent on gaining his own popularity. He also flies his own craft called “The Spirit of Adventure” which has ignited the imagination of little children in the younger days including Carl himself.

Munz also invented collars in which his legion of dogs can communicate through in English. And the collars reflect the very thoughts they are thinking. It's sort of a primitive version of ESP. Only more fun.

I don't think Plummer himself has done any voices for a cartoon before, so it may be the first for him. Certainly the first for a Pixar film. It's a commendable job on his part.

There are a lot of nice touches in the film. The bits with Carl growing older with his wife are a tearjerker. You can feel the anguish of her loss of a child when she has a miscarriage or the obvious love they have for each other when they share handprints on the old mailbox outside of their house. Their love is an endless one. Much like a fairy tale. Making their marriage into a kind of story makes the atmosphere for the rest of “Up” feeling like a fairy tale too. It certainly is a strange story filled with even stranger birds and dogs that are able to speak to you by saying, “Yes, master.”

Ed Asner plays the typical curmudgeon, the perfect recluse who wants nothing to do with the rest of the world. So he taps into the feelings of so many people in our day and age... as he finds a way of soaring higher, away from the rest of the human race pursuing his dreams. The simple house in Paradise Falls. He simply wants to lead a simple life. And I'm sure so does everyone else.

But in doing so, he makes friends along the way. It might be something his wife wanted all along. A way for him to find a second chance at living his life. He becomes friends with a boy scout who wants to have honorary mention of helping the elderly. But the boy does more than that. He helps Carl by keeping his company throughout his adventure, also making friends for life. How rare is that?

This film isn't a star studded one. There are only a few familiar names in it. But it is the heart of the film that carries it. And children will like the inventiveness and humor in the story. (Carl lifting the tennis balls he used at the foot of his cane and shouting “Fetch!” to distract the legion of dogs). Many older folks, like myself, will enjoy the creative story and feel like a young kid again.

This is a kind of movie where you have to suspend your disbelief. A house floating with balloons? It sounds more like something from Monty Python. But you'll enjoy it more through the POV of a ten year old kid. Suspend your disbelief. Try it. Not so hard to do. I did. And I liked it greatly.

It is certainly up, up and away for me while watching this movie... only this cartoon doesn't have a superhero dusting off the bad guys in his heroics... but just a gentle old grouch looking for a way to spend his life in paradise. And realizing that he can find more friends in paradise. And a love story that never has an end. A beautiful movie to watch with your friends or family. Don't miss this one.

Loose Threads in Asian Horror Films

Cross cultural studies.

Many movie directors are in desperate need of it.

The problem with many things originally created in other countries is that they are being remade here in the United States without a single ounce of understanding the culture. It’s happened many times before. With saddening results.

Most misfires have been bounced around in American movies trying their grungiest, most illicit affair in creating Japanese horror films for the American audiences. It ends with cheap shots, poor imitations of the real thing. Not only that, it’s a fair game to say that it is a burning insult to redo a Japanese horror film in the eyes of a westerner.

Most recent case? The Korean horror film called “Voice” which has appeared on the shelves in this country a short while ago. I didn’t grab myself a copy of it until only yesterday when I pulled it off for a halfway decent price. But something struck me.

The cover. It’s a pretty graphic picture slopped with gory theatrics displaying a profile of a screaming girl with something else pushing through her mouth with its hands. It’s a topnotch illustration of horror on the edge for those who are looking for a good spill of blood in their movies and looking for an excuse just to have a bloody good time.

I’m sure it’s an American cover as well slapped on the Japanese film.

But it’s a very great misunderstanding in the final product of the film which is about isolation and disassociation of young students in a school. The film is a very beautiful study of lonely girls without the hopes of finding friendship through the hardship of school. “Voice” revolves around the story of a music teacher who has latched favoritism to a couple of her students who sings for her. After the teacher loses her voice, she becomes more attached to a couple of her very highly prized students whose voices are like the winds of mercy, a reflection of beauty.

When a young woman student dies and disappears from the school grounds, she becomes a ghost walking around with a memory loss and tries to learn why she is still a lingering memory. Her voice is the only thing that connects her to her best friend who still hears her.

The most frightening thing in death is the loneliness. And this is what happens here to the ghostly girl.

There isn’t any gore in the film. Just a few snippets of good scares, a few bloody scenes. But nothing that could amount to the gory splash cover of the film “Voice.” Some horror fans may be disappointed if that is what they’re looking for in the film.

I thought the film “Voice” is a brilliant study in the mechanics of the spirit world which digs into the charcoal embers of one’s soul, leaving those ill-fated ones in the corner of darkness.

I can’t help thinking that the American distributer who brought this film to the shelf thought a hellraising cover would sell more copies. Which has nothing to do with the film itself. That’s unfortunate. Because the film is very excellent without the help of a violent cover that might draw some attention.

What are some of the other culprits that have failed to understand the Japanese culture, or even the eastern view, of the horror field? There are many of them as the list regurgitates itself with crappy remakes: you can find missed interpretations in American films like “The Grudge,” “The Ring.”

Perhaps the western filmmakers ought to leave the Japanese horror films alone from now on. Just let the Asians do their own thing because they understand their culture need of dealing with horror stories. Their horror movies tend to be far more introspective. There’s always a feeling of atmosphere in their movies that paint a picture of hopelessness, despair. The Asians are better equipped at creating their own source of films.

The American filmmakers can’t even scratch the surface in understanding the basics of the Asians horror film. It isn’t always about the looming spirit girl with long, dark hair running over her shoulders like an oily river, not always about rampant vengeful spirits looking for a bite to eat. The Asians understand that there are other reasons for spirits to lift into the sudden world of the real… and many times the isolation of a trapped soul can be far more frightening than dark hallways and gloomy buildings with windows looking like black holes.

The Japanese do have the tendency to overdo the gory factor. But still, I love the Japanese. And I'll let them off the hook. The Japanese have a nice sense of humor. That's okay by me. Such as "Machine Gun Girl" is a good example of this.

The United States seem to be digging into their gold mine of crappy appetizers such as Hostel and Saw which fail to understand the basic mechanics of horror. They seem to strive and struggle in bringing more brutal and hellish reruns of violence into their genre as if it is a bad joke. You see one, you seen them all. And a film like Saw isn’t that good of a movie to begin with.

Why would anyone in their right mind, here in Hollywood, would think they have a fraction of understanding how the eastern horror film works?

You may want to check out the box set called Asian Horror movies with fine examples such as Shikoko and Isola which gives a deep seated journey of atmosphere and the human thought. They are cheaply made films which have a greater insight into the imagination of horror than any American film could. And they’re worth the find if you come across it on the shelf.

Horror doesn’t mean you have to get your shirt soaked in blood. It just means you have to go deeper around the corner to find out what scares you. And then try to make it work as a film. Some Asian horror films can be very beautiful. In a strange way.

Horror in Doctor Who

I wouldn’t preach horror to others if I didn’t like it.

Some people might take offense to horror fiction. But there is something about it that grips the heart and squeezes the life out of you when you’re in fear. It’s a good feeling.

But you’ll find horror anywhere—even in a show like Doctor Who.

Every now and then we’ll get a nice surprise—and more. For today’s video releases, and a decent substitute for Doctor Who fans still waiting for the new specials to materialize, there are two very good stories stirring from the time-honored Tom Baker years which fuses with horror aspects.

Most people remember Tom Baker with his wide grin, sun of hair curls and a roving scarf that is longer than his own sanity. And it is this particular actor who first broke the international waves to become one of the most popular icons in the series.

And the story “Image of Fendahl” written by the wonderful Chris Boucher is no stranger to horror.

This moody piece begins with a straining fog under the derelict night skies which offers a corner of ghostly images. The long stretch of moors and the ill-fated hitch-hiker meeting his fate provides the series with some of the most memorable moments of horror.

The story surrounds a skull inadvertently discovered in portions of Kenya, coincidentally in the supposed cradle of humanity in the heart of Africa, and the found piece is far older than all of mankind. And it has alien properties that leaves several scientists scratching their heads over it.

The Doctor realizes that it has the power to awaken something called the Fendahl—a nightmare from the story books of his own race the Time-Lords and often clings to the corner of shadows. It is an unthinkable power from his own mythology that frightens the Doctor the most. And wonders if he will have enough strength to defeat it.

It is one of the few times you see the Doctor really afraid. It is genuine... like a child not wanting to remember a part of his childhood days.

This 12 million year old skull creates the predestined roles for many of the important characters such as Dr. Fendleman who lashes out with his realization, “Mankind is being used.” This suggest that the alien influences is able to divert the evolution of mankind while awakening at the very height of humanity.

Many of the story inspirations can be drawn back to the writing scribes of H.P. Lovecraft who created stories of greater beings who were higher authority over mankind and also the suggestion of collective alien consciousness is contributed to the great film “Quatermass and the Pit.”

This is a fine example of storytelling, a great piece of horror fiction. And often underestimated. It’s too bad. This isn’t regarded as one of the better stories by many. However, this story is one of the first Doctor Who I have seen and still sends chills down my spine. I love the atmosphere in this story. And the powerful grip of helplessness felt by many here comes across the small screen.

So go head and treat yourself to a horror story in the Doctor Who fashion. Don't forget the popcorn.

The other story coming around to the shelves on the very same day is the “Deadly Assassin.”

The only stand-alone story of Doctor Who that is without a companion. The Doctor receives a message of desperate need and must return to his home planet which is currently mired by politics and scandals within the ivory towers of knowledge. And the assassination of a president becomes a frame up for the Doctor who becomes a refugee.

This particular story is written by one of the finest authors of Doctor Who named Robert Holmes--giving an entire history and points of interest to the series. He portrays the Time-Lords, once powerful beings, into now squabbling and decaying society reduced to merely observant beings of history, never doing anything to divert it.

Interestingly, this is the first story where we learn the Time-Lords have thirteen lives.

With the assassin running loose in the very core of the Time Lord city, the Doctor must find a way to stop this madman from creating more havoc within the barriers of chaos.

And the Doctor finds out that the assassin, in turn, is one of his oldest and deadliest enemies.

It is a story not without its horror laden features thankfully whipped up by the collaborative effort of producer Phillip Hinchcliffe, writer Robert Holmes and Tom Baker. They like to swing towards the macabre for maximum effects. Most of the time it is a success. They create a sense of splendid horror.

However, it came too far this time around.

Mary Whitehouse was a constant campaigner for what she believed was right morals for television, being a Christian and all, and her outlandish comments created a controversy urrounding this story’s popularity. It was the scene where the villian is drowning the Doctor underwater and the scene freezes on this start image which probably sent many children in horror.

Maybe people are just too prissy.

The story become far more famous because of the controversy it caused. And the BBC was forced to apologized for transmitting the episode. However, in these days, the story can be seen as a clever take on politics and an interesting influence by the Manchurian Candidate which also offers an assassination plot. This is a sharp and fast paced story with many clever twists with an eye for horror.

And Tom Baker still reigns supreme as one of the finest actors to take the role ever when the stories take a turn for a taste of gothic horror. Bring on the screams. And the deaths. And the horror.

Doctor Who comes in all different forms in styles and the gothic horror is simply one of the phases Doctor Who has gone through at this time. And it certainly feels like the eye of the storm with such stories as “Imagine of Fendahl” and “The Deadly Assassin” find themselves in. And these stories are ready to take you along for a sure ride of great fantasy within crafty horror stories. Look for them at the nearest video store. They’re worth the time and effort.