Volume 04, Number 06

Movies

Movie Plus
By Bill Hersey

Ghost Rider
It was wall-to-wall media at Sony Pictures Japan’s press conference for the box office hit Ghost Rider at the Okura Hotel.

For the promo Sony brought in superstar Nicolas Cage and Director Mark Steven Johnson. Nicolas looked good and Mark looks like an actor himself. Their strong friendship was obvious as they talked with each other and laughed a lot during the conference. When asked about the other films based on comic book characters, they both agreed, Ghost Rider is unique. It’s a pop spiritual world—in contemporary style. Cage added, “The Japanese believe in ghosts. I’m curious to see how they react to the film.”

Cage had passed on working with Tim Burton on Superman, saying “Happy I did Ghost Rider, but probably won’t do any more comic strip characters.”

Mark told the press they built the bike themselves—something that would look good in the film on location in Melbourne. Having motorcycle icon (Easy Rider) Peter Fonda who plays the devil in Ghost Rider of course really helped.

Mark believes in ghosts, and remembers when he was 12 years old and saw the ghost of his uncle who had died in Vietnam.

On the same question Nicolas said, “I’m open- minded, and think anything is possible.”

Cage’s favorite scene in the film is when he turns into a monster. “It’s like a dance or opera with ecstasy and pain. I want all the girls out there to see it,” he told the media. Cage also talked about loving change.

Always wanting to do something new in his look his manners and his character. Ten minutes into the conference Nicolas and Mark were joined by Japanese actor Moto Fuyuki—all dressed in leather, chains and spikes. That, as you can imagine, was fun. Just sorry Cage’s costar Eva Mendes couldn’t be here. Love that Latin lady.

Kudos to Toei on their huge new nine-screen Cineplex in Shinjuku. There’s going to be a lot of changes for the good in that part of Tokyo.

Movie Review: Happy Feet
By Danielle Tate-Stratton

Looking for a great movie to take the kids to?

Dance over to Happy Feet, the film about a tap dancing penguin that opens in mid March. The movie recently won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature, and was a box office hit in the US. Chaperones take note: as with so many recent hit animated movies, there is plenty to appeal to the adults in the room, in this case ranging from quick jokes, a fantastic soundtrack, and of course, phenomenal animation.

Happy Feet tells the story of a colony of Emperor penguins who find their mates by singing a unique song to entice potential partners. This is all well and good for the largely talented colony but it’s a bit of a problem for poor old Mumble, tone deaf and unable to carry a note in the proverbial bucket. So lacking is Mumble’s ability, in fact, that he is shunned first by his father, and then by his community as a whole. Eventually, the elders, who blame Mumble for the problems plaguing their community, banish Mumble from the colony.

While escaping from a seal (never before have these cute sea critters looked so menacing!) Mumble stumbles upon a colony of Adélie penguins, which are much smaller than Emperor penguins, but welcome the tall penguin with a unique talent—although Mumble can’t sing, he is quite the natural tap dancer. After making friends with the group of Adélies and visiting Lovelace, the penguins’ oracle, Mumble stumbles upon the possible solution to everyone’s problems—“alien abductions,” blamed for taking the fish and causing a penguin-wide famine. Since Mumble’s lack of singing is being blamed for his colony’s lack of fish, he has a vested interest in solving the mystery and discovering just who these strange aliens are. Convinced he can talk the aliens out of over fishing, he sets off on an adventure spanning continents to save the colony.

While Happy Feet has its share of messages within the story, first and foremost it is an entertaining flick. Technically stunning, the animation team has outdone itself to create a rich world despite the arctic palate of whites and ice blues that would at first glance appear to be boring. The screen glitters as the penguins frolic in waters colored by under-water glaciers, and the level of detail is amazing. While there is a small portion of live action (the humans are not animated), when they first appear you have to look twice to make sure that they aren’t also animated, so realistic is the background into which they are introduced. A star-studded cast includes Robin Williams, Brittany Murphy, Elijah Wood, Hugh Jackman, and Nicole Kidman.

Highly recommended for the kid in everyone!