Submarine

Film: Submarine
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Director: Richard Ayoade
Year: 2010
Starring: Craig Roberts, Yasmin Paige, & Noah Taylor





For most of us being a teenager is awkward and confusing. Movies have been expressing this kind of feeling for a long time, making itself really known in the 80's, via the work of John Hughes, but these kinds of film have existed before the era of bright colors and bad haircuts. On top of that, this film is about the adolescence of a young British (Welsh to be more specific) man, dealing with his life in his own way.

The film is based on a novel of the same name by Joe Dunthorne, and is the coming-of-age story of a young Welshman named Oliver Tate(Roberts). Like most teens, Oliver isn't the most popular kid in school, but he also isn't the most outcast or spat upon, he seems to remain more in the middle. He has a crush on a girl in his class named Jordana(Paige), and uses his imagination and general teen urges to get him to fall for him, even though it requires him to throw the class outcast into a pond. Along with his romantic desires, he deals with the apparently failing marriage between his parents, which only gets worse when his mother's old flame moves in next door.

As with many teenagers, Oliver is far more clever and charismatic in his head than he is in reality. His narration of events is well constructed and preformed with great poise and grace, while his actual speech is often quiet and slightly-bumbling. There is a scene where he gives his girlfriend a stack of books which he wants her to read, thinking the books will make him appear more cultured and sophisticated than in reality. Even his physical movements are of that young and awkward age, he stands stiffly, rarely looking relax about anything.

Overall, the film is very good. It has the same feel as one of Wes Anderson's films, though it's much less colorful, perhaps as a way of responding to the Welsh environment that Oliver lives in, and has to deal with. Though in general the film lacks color, there are a few colors which are brought out, primarily blue(Oliver's room is blue, compared to his parents and the rest of the house, which are all beige), and the red of Jordana's jacket which makes her stand out whenever she appears on screen. Also, the film itself can be very funny, despite its subject matter, much like Anderson's films, with cleverly written lines sprinkled throughout, keeping with its more dramatic tone.

Memorable Moments:
• In the prologue Oliver mentions the fact that he sometimes daydreams about what would happen if he died. The following fantasy of thousands of people mourning his death, despite him not being well known, or even liked that much.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High

Film: Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Genre: Comedy/Teen Drama
Director: Amy Heckerling
Year: 1982
Starring: Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Lee, & Judge Reinhold



Every generation has its own slew of high-school centric films and television shows. With todays being such trip as Beverly Hills: 90210, whatever Selena Gomez is on, and so forth. Today's media puts its focus on the more popular, and good looking of the teenagers, most likely in a marketing scheme. WELL BACK IN MY DAY, shows were normally about the regular kids, who weren't the center of attention, but were like many of the viewers: just regular kids.

Comedy classic Fast Times at Ridgemont High is one of the said tales of a generation of American teenagers, specifically for those who came of age in the late seventies, and early eighties. Many people hold this to be the quintessential high-school film, and sets the bar for any films that followed in that genre. It is my believe that it deserves such a distinction, and it still holds up today, perhaps even better than high school movies made more in recent years. The film has a grittier feel to it that today's polished, and happy-go lucky attitudes like in the High School Musical franchise, and films like Disney's Prom.

The film revolves around several different students who go to the titular Ridgemont high, and their lives though out the autumn semester. Instead focusing on one particular character, it jumps around between a group of students, following their actions across the season. Though there is no particular main character, there is a list of some whom the story rotates around more often. Brad Hamilton(Reinhold), and his sister Stacy(Lee), with the iconic surfer-stoner Spioli(Penn) appearing every now and again to lighten up the tone.

I enjoyed this film, for its subtle humor, and apparently gritty realism. Unlike films today were everything is polished and cleaned up as to not poison the mushy minds of today's youth, this film doesn't hold back. It shows teens as what they really are: people. Often media's portrayal of teens is that of a pimply faced socially awkward introvert, or as a super good looking idol who's standards are so high the general public can meet. Teenagers make mistakes, try and do the right thing, and even at times act like, dare I say it: humans. Brad and Stacy are especially synthetic characters, you can easily see yourself in their position, and deal with their personal issues, and there is just something more compelling about that, rather than having them singing and dancing about going to lunch.


Memorable Moments:

• Any of a young Nick Cage (credited as Nicolas Coppala) brief appearances.

• Whenever people mention this film the always mention Sean Penn as Spicoli, though I was surprised to find he was far from the main emphasis of the plot. But I guess he looks good on the posters.

• After years of watching Clerks: The Animated Series I understand this joke:

The Frighteners

Film: The Frighteners
Genre: Horror/Comedy
Director: Peter Jackson
Year: 1996
Starring: Michael J. Fox & Jeffery Combs







Jackson has done it again (and by again, I mean he did it fifteen years ago.) Following up his gore-fest Dead Alive, he released The Frighteners. This also marks one of Fox's final roles as a lead character in a film, excluding his voice work for animation. Though significantly less violent than his previous film, it does provide a similar feel, but without a vat of Kayo syrup.

Frank Bannister (Fox) is a local psychic investigator, who having been in anear death experience, is able to see the spirits of the dead, and interact with them. During the film's first act he uses his abilities to con people out of money by performing exercises, which are nothing more but his ghost fiends moving objects around and spooking people. But, recently the city has had a string of unexplained deaths, all of which simulate a heart attack. Bannister does his own investigations, but the Feds send in their own paranormal agent named Dammers (Combs) to investigate. Because of this Bannister spends the film both learning what is killing everyone, and dealing with the insane Dammers in his attempt to possibly kill Bannister.

Though not as good as Dead Alive, this film is still enjoyable, and gives some nice horror elements, and atmosphere. But, there are some downsides to the movie. Fox's acting can sometimes fall flat, for as much as I enjoy his work, it seems lacking in some parts of the film. Though, I may attribute this to his having been diagnosed with Parkinson's, and perhaps on certain days during filming, his symptoms may have been worse than others. So, what few slip ups he has can be forgiven. Now, despite the presence of the great Marty McFly, Jeffery Combs is the best actor in the film by far. His performance is subtle, yet over the top at the same time, like his work in the Re-Animator series. Any scene with him is instantly comedic gold, but also just a bit creepy, he finds a good balance between the two without making his character seem fake.


Also, the fact that this film was made in the mid-nineties does work against it at times. It has much less practical effects in it than Dead Alive did, opting instead to use CGI. Being that this was in the age where filmmakers were starting the transition to more computer effects, their inclusion is obvious. Though in some spots they work well, for the most part they don't. Many of the effects simply do not work, and cheapen the look of the film. Perhaps if Jackson were to go back in and re-do the effects using today's technology, it will be much better.

Memorable moments:

• During a scene when Bannister goes to the natural history museum to try and prevents another murder he is cornered by the police. The frighteners then come and "haunt" the room allowing for him to escape. In the process of trying to apprehend Bannister, the police find a way to destroy almost the entire exhibit of artifacts, and dismember a mummy.

• Any scene with Jeffery Combs. His character is so fantastically written, and portrayed, with a mountain of personality quirks, with which Freud could fill an encyclopedia.