Ponyo by Hayao Miyazaki - A review

Sometimes, you need a feel-good movie.

Don’t get me wrong, I am all for art as an expression of the emotional intensity- pushing the envelope to breaking point. But sometimes, all you need is a nice story and animation to go with it, some great voices and super cute cartoon characters and you’re all set for a nice time.

Such is my experience with Ponyo, an anime film by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli. It is originally Japanese but Disney took over the distribution and made it into an English version. The voice actors are quite the stellar cast: Cate Blanchett, Liam Neeson, Tina Fey, Matt Damon, Lily Tomlin and Betty White and several others.

The story centers on Ponyo, a magical goldfish who lives in an underwater aquarium with her sisters. Her father Fujimoto is a wizard of the ocean, who had abandoned being human in order to protect the balance of nature. He is very overprotective of his children and he dislikes humans because of their treatment of the ocean- they way they pollute it.

One day, one his daughters escape from the aquarium and goes up to the coast where she is trapped in a jar and washes into the shore. A five year old boy, Sōsuke rescues her and puts her in a bucket full of water. He decides to protect the cute little goldfish from all the harm in the world.

Sōsuke’s mother works at the local senior center and his father is the captain of a fishing boat. They live on top of a cliff from where his mother drives across to the mainland to take Sōsuke to school. Sōsuke is very friendly with the seniors and they all like him. He shows Ponyo to them and they are all impressed by her cuteness and the fact that she has a face resembling humans.

Sōsuke takes Ponyo to the beach where he finds out that she can speak which is no surprise, given her magical nature. She declares her love for Sōsuke. However, it is precisely at this moment when Fujimoto launches a rescue attempt and takes Ponyo away.

Sōsuke is heartbroken at losing Ponyo and he puts his bucket on top of the fence of his house, just so if she recognizes the place if she decides to come back. Ponyo is equally distressed and wants to go back to Sōsuke. Her father finds it very hard to keep her from turning into a human. Ponyo had cured Sōsuke’s cut finger by licking it and by absorbing human blood she becomes capable of being human. Fujimoto turns her back into Pisces form and locks her away.

But Ponyo escapes, takes her human form and releases all her father’s magic potions into the ocean. The effect is instantaneous; the ocean becomes a hot bed of tsunamis and typhoons. The weather forces Lisa, Sōsuke’s mother to leave her work early and take him back home with her.

A word has to be said about Lisa’s driving. If child services officials ever came across her, they would recommend prosecution on the count of child endangerment. The way she drives a car would send anyone watching on the teeter’s edge. The giant waves of the ocean delivers Ponyo to their drive where Lisa and Sōsuke finds out that Ponyo, the cute little goldfish, had indeed become human.

Lisa feeds and cares for the children and anxiously awaits her husband who is at sea in this turbulent weather. To Ponyo, all experience is new, especially food and she enjoys herself thoroughly. When she falls asleep, Lisa tells Sōsuke to stay put as she needed to be in the senior center. She leaves, with only Sōsuke and Ponyo in the house, both asleep.

Fujimoto had noticed that Ponyo’s human form has created a huge devastation and how imbalanced the world had become and how the moon had come closer to Earth. He calls for his beloved, the Goddess of Mercy, Granmamare who is also Ponyo’s mother. They realize that Ponyo and Sōsuke are in love but if Sōsuke’s love for Ponyo is not true, then Ponyo must wither away as foams of the sea. They decide to test Sōsuke’s dedication to Ponyo.

The children wake up to find that the house had been surrounded by the ocean. Sōsuke wants to go find his mother but everything is submerged under water. Ponyo takes his toy boat and turns it into a real boat with her magic. They set out and soon finds out that the whole town is under water and the inhabitants are all in boats, moving to a shelter. They come across Lisa’s car but it is abandoned. Sōsuke is inconsolable with grief but Ponyo comforts him and they set out once again to look for Lisa.

Turns out that the entire Senior Center has been moved to the bottom of the ocean where the old ladies can finally abandon their wheelchair and run around. All this was done through the magic of Fujimoto and Granmamare. She spends a lot of time talking with Lisa as they await Sōsuke and Ponyo to show up. But Ponyo had reverted back to her goldfish form and Sōsuke is forced to put her in the bucket. Fujimoto appears in front of them and then takes them down to the ocean floor where Lisa and Granmamare wait for them.

Granmamare asks Sōsuke if he will accept Ponyo in all her forms, both fish and human. Sōsuke is overjoyed to find Lisa and promises to love and care for Ponyo.  Granmamare then puts a spell on Ponyo to make her human again, this time without any magical powers. They are all taken to the surface where Ponyo, Sōsuke and Lisa finds that Sōsuke’s father Kōichi had arrived. It is at this moment that the bubble carrying Ponyo blooms and turns her into a little human girl.

I think that this movie is not just for children but something that adults can enjoy as well. The animation is superb as are the voice actors. The story is very heartwarming and feel good – so may be cynical jaded folks should give this a try- what have you got to lose?

Ponyo is available on DVD.

Justified- A Review

What if you have a modern day rendition of a Western set in the Deep South?

Such is the story of Justified, a show conceived and developed from the short story Fire in the Hole by Elmore Leonard. It is the story of Raylan Givens, a recurring character in Leonard’s novels who is a deputy US Marshall working in Lexington, Kentucky. True to the Western form, the place is crawling with local criminal elements and the story is that of Givens delivering justice, often somewhat deviating from the straight path of legality.

Those who are fans of Deadwood would be delighted by the fact that Timothy Oliphant is back on screen as a hard edged, soft spoken man of the law in a near lawless environment. Oliphant’s rendition of Raylan Givens is one of the finest performances on TV. The dialogue is snappy and to the point as are the storylines- taut and edgy. This is a good example of how well TV shows can be made if they have good stories and characters to begin with.

Raylan Givens is a man of integrity and honesty. He means what he says and often does not say much. He is the sort who, when he gives his word, would put his life on the line to keep it. An extraordinary figure in pursuit of justice, law-enforcement is his default state of being.

We meet Raylan in Miami, Florida where he meets a hit man of the cartel. He had given the man twenty-four hours to leave town or he was going to shoot him- an old school frontier style of justice. The man, Tommy Bucks, does not take him seriously and ignores the warning.  They do have a history together: Bucks had murdered a man in cold blood in front of Raylan in Central America. He had put explosives in his mouth and taped it shut- a very nasty way to die.  He had however, allowed Raylan to live, a favor he returns by his offer of banishment. He feels it is generous since what Bucks truly deserves is a bullet in the head.

Long story short, Bucks pulls on Raylan and subsequently dies.  The Marshall may not be the fastest gun in the service, but he is close.

An internal investigation into the shooting by the Feds makes it impossible for Raylan to stay in his post in Florida. He is transferred to Lexington, Kentucky- a place he grew up in. Naturally he is reluctant to go back to the place of his childhood- his memories are not sweet. But since that is the only way he can keep his job, he accepts.

As soon as he lands in Kentucky, he runs into a new problem. His former friend, Boyd Crowder, a man he had worked with in the coal mines, had become a walking talking target of the Feds. Wanted for armed robbery, bank heists and blowing up buildings, he has become a White Supremacist and peddler of rabid anti-government propaganda. We see him at first, blowing up a black church with a rocket launcher.

Raylan does not buy Boyd’s act. He ascertains, rightly, that Boyd had been paid to blow up the church, a local hub of the marijuana trade.  To complicate matters, Ava Crowder, Boyd’s sister-in-law, had shot her husband- one raised hand too many. The DA’s office had decided to give her probation due to the mitigating circumstances. The Marshall’s office fears that Boyd may try to avenge his brother. When Boyd takes Ava hostage, Raylan steps in.

One thing we learn about Raylan Givens is that he never draws his gun unless he wants to shoot. He respects the weapon and keeps it where it belongs and the only time he would shoot would be to kill. So the final showdown begins when Boyd and Raylan are face to face across a table, a reenactment of the Tommy Bucks scene. The outcome is no different either- except that Boyd is injured but not fatally.

This is one of the central themes of the show- the relationship between Boyd and Raylan. Boyd recovers from his wounds but his near death experience changes his life. He finds Christ and decides to change his life and that of the others around him. This being Boyd, he resorts to persuading local criminals from pursuing a life of crime through violence. Raylan refuses to believe that Boyd had changed and still thinks his religiousness is an act.

Raylan’s other relationships are somewhat similarly twisted. He still loves his ex-wife and begins a relationship with her.  Despite being warned about witness tampering, he also has a relationship with Ava. He tries to remain estranged with his father, a lifelong criminal, but is drawn into his former family life despite all his efforts. His father’s wife, a friend of his mother, is someone he cares about and cannot see her dragged into trouble with his father.

  

Above all, he remains the eternal lawman, a figure of justice in a rough world. Soft spoken and cordial by nature, he is polite and friendly with all the criminals- he has to be since he knows most of them since childhood. But his manners are not something to be taken in by- the hard edge lies under a thin layer and is willing to come out at the slightest provocation and this being the rural South, they are plenty.

And yet, the man of Justice remains a faithful servant to her.

Justified Season One is available on DVD.

J Michael Straczynski's Earth One- A Review

So this young man Clark is rather versatile.

He shows up out of nowhere and becomes the best football player in the big city team. He also shows his prowess in the baseball field, becoming the best baseball player. In the top research lab in the city, he shows himself to be a prodigy. Any job you give him and he'll become the best in the field.

Looks like Clark is not your average young man; he is not average anything. He is always on top, above average. He is always above any other man.

Above man. How do you say that in Latin?

Thus begins J Michael Straczynski's book Earth One, exploration of how the man of steel came to be on his own. All his life he had faced the dilemma: be himself and expose his identity to the world and the repercussions would be heavy. The ostracism and subsequent interest from the darker corners of the government would mean an end to his freedom. On the other hand, holding back would mean that his life would pass him by without him ever being able to reach his potential. He would merely be a shadow of himself, a mere shell of what he could truly become.

The young man travels to the city by train although faster mode of transport is easily at his disposal. He wants to try out several job opportunities, professions that would bring him a lot a money. He wants to set up his widow mother up comfortably and he is willing to take on the well traveled career paths to do so. As stated before, he tries out the football team, baseball team and the top research lab; everyone is impressed and he can name his price. And yet he is not satisfied. Above all he wants to make his mother happy.

His mother reminds him that he must choose his own path to happiness and that to her his independence means more than anything. He could have it all if he conceals himself- his true identity. This is something that he is very good at, he has been doing it all his life. But would that bring him purpose and happiness, knowing that he is living the life of someone else?

Clark has had some experience in journalism and so he goes to the office of the Daily Planet. The editor is a tenacious bulldog of a man, holding out against the mediocrity of the modern day media by his teeth. He is a hard man to please and yet Clark is not sure whether it is journalism where his future lies. Uncertain and alone, he broods on the purpose of his life and how he came to be here on this planet.

Looks like Mr. and Mrs. Kent, his parents, found him in a wreckage of a crash. It was that of a flying object that was not of the terrestrial kind. They removed him from there before the military got to the site. There was very little to salvage other than a piece of the wreck.

A childless couple, they raised him with love and care, always trying to protect him from the outside world. They were reluctant to hold him back but they did in order to avoid bringing unwanted attention to him.

The military continues to conduct research on the wreck they had rescued from the crash site. It continues to baffle their best researchers. And yet, one day they find that the wreck is mending itself and reforming into a whole new ship again. Clark also finds that the piece of the wreck that his father rescued is also making him remember things. All would be well- clearly the wrecked ship was just waiting for the boy to grow up and then rebuild itself to show him the true destiny of his life.

All that the boy needs is peace and quiet and some alone time to digest the fact that he is not from around here. The last thing he wants is distraction.

Well... as the philosopher Jagger once said, you can't always get what you want.

Out of the blue, the Earth faces invasion by creatures from another world. They are from the planet Dheron and their only objective is to destroy the inhabitant of the ship that came to this world more than twenty years ago. They offer the Earthlings one simple proposition. Either the entity that came here two decades ago surrenders to the Dheronite fleet or they will destroy the planet.

Such is their determination to destroy the last living son of Krypton.

In all the chaos and destruction, the only two people making a stand were the two journalists from the Daily Planet, the reporter Lois Lane and the photographer Olsen. They are willing to put their lives on the line for the truth- a fact that does not escape the attention of the young man called Clark.

So would Clark give himself up? Would he finally come out of his shell and face certain death? Or would he continue to hide behind the persona of Clark Kent and let the planet be destroyed? Either choice means certain death, that's for sure. So would he die as himself or would he just remain as his own shadow?

Straczynski is one of the few writers writing in the comic book genre who is not afraid of tackling the big questions. He is very successful as a storyteller because he does not avoid the issues involving non- conformity, defiance and being different. He is also one the few who can understand the flip side of having powers no other mortal can possess- the burden and the loneliness that come with it. He understands that the powers that be are not benevolent by default and that one's liberty may not always be certain- especially when it comes to being different.

So, would this man who stands above all other men, a man who is truly exceptional, a man who has had his world destroyed by the rival Dheronites, be able to take his responsibility and make a stand? Would he avenge the destruction of Krypton?

Would Superman save Earth?

If you want to find out the answers to the questions posited above, you must read J Michael Straczynski's Earth One, published by DC Comics. I am never a big fan of the super hero genre but for once I decided to read the comic and liked it. Straczynski always delivers and this book is no exception. 

Creation- The Story of Charles Darwin and the Origin of Species: A Movie Review

You can say this about a movie, if it makes you cry then it’s worth watching.

And so let us speak on the topic of Mr. Charles Darwin and the history of the Origin of Species.

The movie Creation is a biographical picture of the family life of Charles and Emma Darwin and their children. It is a reflection on the relationship between Darwin, his wife and his daughter Annie. Much of the movie revolves around the loving relationship between a very curious and inquisitive young girl and her doting father.

Mr. and Mrs. Darwin live in the quiet idyllic English countryside where they had moved after Darwin’s return from the voyage in the Beagle. They have, at the time of the movie, five children, with the eldest, Annie, always by her father’s side. Darwin would cultivate Annie’s curiosity about the natural world by pointing out all the aspects of nature around them. The bucolic English countryside was a vibrant eco-system ripe for exploration by children and Darwin would often lead them in expeditions.

However educational the excursions may have been, the children most undoubted enjoyed the stories that their father told them. They were invariably about the adventures he had experienced aboard the Beagle and he never got tired of telling them about all the strange creatures he had come across. The children were obviously enthralled by their father’s tales and they adored him.

The movie is revolves around the death of Annie and the subsequent emotional fallout between Charles and Emma. Annie was on the beach with her father when she was taken ill. The doctors were not able to do anything for her and subsequently she got worse. Desperate for a cure, Darwin moved her to Malvern for water therapy. However, she did not improve and eventually died.

Darwin was so devastated that he had a psychological breakdown. His relationship with Emma soured to the point that they stopped making love. He saw Annie everywhere as she appeared to him as a hallucination. She kept goading him about making his theories public and questioned his motives about being silent on the issue of publishing his works. Through her eyes we get a picture of the inner conflict between Darwin’s scientific instincts and his unwillingness to offend his wife sensibilities. Emma was mortified at the prospect of not being untied with Charles in the Afterlife. Annie’s death had driven her deeper into the arms of her faith and she was adamant in her position.

One of the most poignant moments of the movie is when Annie wants to know about the story of Jenny, the first orangutan to have been shown in the London Zoo. She was a native of Borneo and was captured and brought to the zoo after a long sea voyage. Darwin had spent some time studying her and found her to be an emotional being that was capable of love, empathy and camaraderie. However, she contracted pneumonia and died in the arms of her keeper. To the last moment of her life Jenny had demonstrated intelligence and emotion- something Darwin had found to be fascinating and he told Annie the story. The child was riveted by the tale of the ape but she was most interested in the story of her death.  The sadness of the event appealed to her emotional maturity, for Annie was quite the precocious child. When her younger sister was upset at the sight of a fox killing a rabbit, it was Annie who was able to console her by telling her that the baby foxes would not starve to death since the mother fox had been able to acquire food for them.

One of the most gut wrenching moments in the movie is when Annie lies dying and asks her father to tell the story of Jenny once more. By the time Darwin finishes the story, the poor child breathed her last. Darwin’s grief drove to the edge of sanity and his health suffered to the point where he himself had to undergo the water therapy at Malvern.

The doctor of the establishment, James Gully insisted that Darwin face the facts about the death of Annie and reconcile himself with it. In a 19^th Century harbinger of marriage counseling, he instructs Charles to speak to Emma honestly about the death of their child.  Darwin visits the house where Annie had died and he breaks down sobbing. The outpouring of grief is almost cathartic but I must warn you, it is very emotional and viewers would find it very hard to hold back the tears.

Darwin returns to his home and has a heart felt conversation with Emma. He confesses that he thinks that she blames him for Annie’s death. We hear a very interesting view held by Darwin- he was terrified of the fact that since Emma was his cousin, their children would be weak and vulnerable to genetic diseases. As a naturalist these considerations were fairly obvious to him but it was his love for Emma that had overridden all the objections he may have had. Emma and Charles reconcile and become intimate again.

Having recovered and reestablished domestic peace, Darwin returns to writing his book, egged on by his friend Joseph Dalton Hooker, played immaculately by Benedict Cumberbatch. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, when Darwin was lying in his bed, incapacitated, Sherlock Holmes came calling to shake him up from inaction. There is a danger that another biologist, Alfred Wallace may get to write about Evolution before him. So after twenty years of vacillating between whether or not to write about Evolution, it is now a race against time.

After finishing his book, Charles asks Emma to read it and leaves it to her judgment whether it should be published or not. She reads it through to the end and acquiesces to the idea of publishing it. And thus begins the most amazing chapter of scientific discourse in the natural history.

The movie is quite amazing and the cast is stellar. Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly play Charles and Emma while Jeremy Northam plays the vicar John Brodie-Innes. Young Martha West plays Anne Darwin, and judging by her performance, surely we are to expect great things from her in the future. It was directed by Jon Amiel and produced by Jeremy Thomas.

As a biographical piece it is not a straight line story telling event. In fact much of the narrative involves jumping back and forth in time in the form of flashbacks. The whole script was rather neatly done and the story, despite its rather complicated form of telling keeps you riveted. It does not hurt to have very talented actors play the parts but clearly the strength of the movie lies in the central plot- a grieving father’s reflections on a beloved child who had died.

Creation is available on DVD format and instant viewing on Netflix.

Mad Dogs- A review

What is common denominator involving John Simm, Phillip Glenister and a dead goat floating on the pool?

Before you Life on Mars enthusiasts start nurturing your erections, this is a different series. For starters it's on Sky rather than on BBC and it is called Mad Dogs- a story about four friends, English blokes, going on a holiday trip that turns into a holiday from hell. Noel Coward fans would definitely relish the literary pun re the name of the show.

However, the above mentioned two are not the only stars of the show. We have Max Beesley (Hotel Babylon), Marc Warren (Hustle) and Ben Chaplin (The Truth About Cats and Dogs) taking equal parts in the limelight as well. The stellar cast is supplanted by the script of Cris Cole and the direction of Adrian Shergold.

Woody (Beesley), Quinn (Glenister), Baxter (Simm) and Rick (Warren) are friends from school who are all turning forty and they are all showing up in Majorca for the retirement party of their buddy Alvo (Chaplin). Alvo owns the villa they are staying in and has made his fortune in property deals. This is supposed to be a sun and drink soaked holiday for all of them. But as usual trouble awaits them in paradise.

Although he seems to have made it to the big leagues and makes no bones about showing off his wealth to his less successful friends, all is not well with the life and business of Alvo. He seems to be avoiding phone calls and even when he does answer them, the substance of the conversation seems to have a sinister edge to it. He is not above rubbing his friends' noses in his success while they themselves have led less glamorous lives.

The revelry and merriment of the friends is not a very good disguise for their troubled personal lives. Quinn is a lecturer who is estranged from his young adult children. Baxter is divorced and lives with his two teen-aged daughters. Woody has a drinking problem and Rick may have been having marital problems involving his wife. All of these pieces of information seem to be at the easy disposal of Alvo, who uses them to psychologically manipulate each and every one of his friends.

The sense that it is likely to not end well is apparent from the beginning when we see the four friends recording their last will and testaments while being bloody and disheveled. The the action moves to flashback where they start out their journey to Majorca. They arrive there with great fanfare and are taken to Alvo's villa where they meet their broody friend deep in his dark thoughts.

The picture of death are surrounding the show. We see dead beetles floating in the pool as the quartet arrives at the villa for the first time. The we have the most interesting scene of a dead goat floating in the pool. One gets the feeling that Alvo's business associates have seen the Godfather and is not above the concept of life imitating art.

The show seems to be a proportional mix of comedy about coming to terms with middle age and psychological drama involving deceit, betrayal crime. The cast seems to be of the finest variety and there seems to be quite chemistry between the guys for a drama entirely devoid of female roles. It is promising to be quite the psychological thriller and original storytelling. Sky has been trying to break into the original series market and investing quite heavily in competing with the BBC. As far as the cast is concerned, their investment may have paid off.

And it is good to see John Simm and Phillip Glenister together on screen again.

Mad Dogs is aired on Sky on Thursdays at 9 pm.

Conviction (2006)

It’s quite an interesting concept, branch out the Law & Order stories.

Major crimes unit gets their own show, special victims gets their own show and so on.

And now we have the DA’s office getting its own show.

Conviction is a series based on the Law & Order SVU character ADA Alexandra Cabot. Played by Stephanie March, Alex Cabot returns to New York City’s DA’s office as bureau chief, supervising a group of young but talented assistant district attorneys.

In a departure from the usual L&W method, Conviction is focused on the characters as well as the cases. The focus on the characters is less on victims and more on the ADAs- their personal lives become the center of attention. We see how the pressure of the high intensity work affects the young men and women who are the last line of defense against the forces of chaos.

We meet one of the new boys in the team, Nick Potter (played by Jordan Bridges) on his first day at the office. When he walks in the whole place seems to be in apparent chaos. He quickly makes his acquaintances around the office and is met with skepticism about his commitment. He had been making six figures at a law firm previously and taking up public service is seen as an insane act.

However, Nick does meet Mike Randolph, one of the senior ADAs. He is involved in a case involving drug related murder. Nick is impressed by the quiet confidence and dedication of Randolph- he has not let cynicism destroy his idealism. Randolph gives quiet encouragements to the young ADAs when they are at their most vulnerable moments and is very well liked in the office.

So it may not have been the best beginning for Nick when due to his inexperience, the perpetrator of the drug trial gains access to information of Randolph’s whereabouts and has him assassinated. Nick is wrecked with guilt but decides to stay on. He is encouraged by his colleague, Jessica Rossi (played by Milena Govich). Jessica is a fiercely independent person who has strong feelings about the role she plays in law enforcement. She often opts for going to trial rather than cutting a deal which infuriates her superiors. She is having an affair with her boss, Jim Steele (played by Anson Mount).

Steele gets the job of being deputy to Alex Cabot after the assassination of Randolph. He was one his best friends and so Steele is affected deeply by his death. He pushes his subordinates very hard to get results and is not afraid of resorting to hardball tactics. While Randolph was quite content in trying to use persuasion as a means to get a witness to testify, Steel would rather charge the witness to being an accessory to the crime. Needless to say that such tactics often gets the job done.

Another ADA who is rather inexperienced is Christina Finn (played by Julianne Nicholson). At the beginning of the show we see Finn at her first trial. Her nervousness and callow attitude gets her in hot water with the judge when it turns out that she had mislaid some of the evidence. It does not help that the defendant manages to charm the pants off the jury and the whole courtroom is taken in by his humor. However, Finn manages to pull through and convinces the jury that the seriousness of the crime must not be overlooked. She wins the case.

Alex Cabot remains the head of the unit and her stint at the SVU has made her quite the political animal. She is not above manipulating her subordinates and she often plays hardball in getting what she wants. Although not unscrupulous, her attitude is definitely playing for the media and being on its right side. One may find this disheartening but it is perfectly natural since the DA’s office needs all the help it can get from the media. Alex does a pretty good job in leading the team.

This show ran for one season and aired thirteen episodes. Although no Firefly, it was a pretty good series and each episode was very character driven, living up to its expectations. It ran in the late spring of 2006 on the Friday night slot. Despite low ratings, I am rather disappointed that it did not get a second season.

On a more cheerful note, the show is available on Netflix for instant viewing.