Emmanuel-2 Reviews

Space Adventure Cobra (1982)

It gets serious

[3 November 2006]

The most remarkable thing about the movie version of Cobra (as opposed to the series or the comic) is the credit of the Key Animator: Hayao Miyazaki himself was an animator for this film. One of the most talented directors of out time (probably in all categories, not just animation) was on the staff of that movie. Also, it tells basically the same story as the first season of the TV series; but the TV series was a melodramatic comedy, whereas the film has a claim to seriousness.

One thing the Japanese do better than most others, I think, is going over the top. In this film, there are always planets floating in the background. (Yes, actual planets.) "Love is tangible," as one of the characters say. The galaxy is only one in several in the Universe, so it is disposable. (Yes, the galaxy is disposable.) I don't think it's fair to say that this movie goes too far. It's made to test our suspension of belief. Some stories ask that from us.

The movie is more like a pretentious "artsy" film and not much of an action-adventure movie. It can afford to be pretentious. The scenery is beautiful during most of the film; the music is very anti-climatic, Jazzy and romantic; the story is very abstract. By this, I mean that the story is not about getting a treasure, saving the world or saving the girl. All this things do happen, but that's not the main point.

It's more like artsy sci-fi meets Last Year in Marienbad. The strange part is that the movie is based on a series that's much more like Spaceballs than like Star Wars. I'm not sure how "good" it is, but it doesn't make much sense to judge it as an action flick.

What I liked most about it is that it does not show a tiny universe. Most sci-fi stories only take place on one or on a few planets, and each only seems to have one environment and one city. Not much more is shown in Cobra, but there are constant references as to how there is an entire known and inhabited universe out there. Unlike the bluntness of the Star Wars prequels, for example, the way it is just taken for granted in Cobra makes it more believable and makes my mind wander.

Poirot (1989–2013)

Mistake

[27 January 2001]

It's a pity that a series that tries to be accurate shows us a Poirot whose French accent is believable in English, but not in French. The actor's native language is definitely not French, and even if his accent in French is close to being accurate (but not close enough), it is quite far from being Belgian.

The Emperor's New Groove (2000)

"Mazel Tov"

[10/10 · 18 December 2000]

It looks like Disney finally gave up the pretentious tone of their last films. "The circle of life" might indeed sound a bit over the top. This time, despite a slightly moralising theme, the crazy plot is nothing more than a great pretext for wacky situations. Unlike the last films where all the sets were almost screaming "look how artsy this is! look how great our stuff is! look at what I can do!" here, some great looking sets are present with a discretion that goes to their honour. When Pacha leaves the palace at the beginning of the film and walks back to his village, his route is delightful to the eye, without annoying violins ruining it by desperately trying to point it out.

Disney also seems to have given up the "song every seven minutes" policy. There's only one song in the film, and that's quite enough. More would brake the groove. The voices are excellent. David Spade has the fake crying and whining that makes him so delightfully annoying in Just Shoot Me. And Patrick Warburton has his serious and brainless tone of voice in the most inappropriate moments. ("He left without paying his check.") This is just to name a couple.

Much like Scream, or Austin Powers, in a completely different theme though, the film makes fun of itself. The characters don't expect us to believe the absurd Hollywood-like coincidences of their adventure, and seem to be quite aware of the fact they're only characters of a film. And, in any case, how serious can a Jewish New York diner in the middle of a pre-Columbian South American jungle be? Especially when the waitress expresses her happiness with a "blasé" "Mazel Tov"? How come, in the end of every action film, the "bad guys" so often seem to get in the way of the "good guys" in the most unlikely of ways? "Who cares?" seems to be the general attitude of The Emperor's New Groove.

The four main characters follow a seemingly endless series of misadventures, all more unlikely and more hilarious than the other. They spoof other films and parody a lot of situations. There are no tasteless jokes, as there were in The Lion King. They play with stereotypes and attitudes. They achieve a lot by not taking themselves too seriously.

That's just the kind of humour I like. I couldn't stop laughing. I saw it twice in a row.

And why does Ysma have that lever anyway?