No.349 : Welcome to Marwen (2018)

 

Welcome to Marwen at the IMDb

It’s strange how you don’t review any films about a person living a fantasy life and then two come along at once.  Our previous effort ‘Who You Think I Am’ concerned a woman inventing an online personality, this one is about a man who invents a whole world so that he can escape his demons.

I was surprised when this film was offered up on Netflix as I’d never heard of it before despite being a fan of its star, Steve Carell. It’s also directed by ‘Back to the Future’ helmer Robert Zemeckis so it seemed strange that it wasn’t better known, by me at least.

Having seen the film it’s easy to see why the film sunk without trace at the box office. There is a lot to like, but tonally it’s a mess and there are long scenes that are difficult to watch through embarrassment, awkwardness or just plain boredom.

The film is based on a true story of an artist named Mark who was severely beaten by a gang of yobbos who didn’t like his proclivity of wearing hi-heels. He loses his memory and ability to draw and relies on friends and a carer to get through the day. He also retreats into a fantasy world where he becomes his action figure ‘Hogie’ and fights the Nazis in his own model town of Marwen.

The film goes into complete ‘Toy Story’ mode to show Hogie’s adventures which mirror the events of Mark’s own life. His attackers are the Nazis and his troupe of lady resistance fighters are his friends and a favourite porn star.

Mark’s attackers are due to be sentenced and Mark has to speak at their sentencing hearing to ensure the impact they caused on his life is recognised and they receive the appropriate jail time. He also has an upcoming show for the photos he takes of his models, with both events adding to his stress. Things look up however  when a new neighbour, Nicol, moves in and takes an interest in Mark’s hobby.

Will he find peace and love and can Hogie defeat both the Nazis and the Belgian witch who haunts his endeavours?

This was a worthy film that showed the bravery of the main character in surmounting the obstacles placed before him. I can’t say I enjoyed it though. The narrative device of having the toys acting out World War 2 scenes that ran parallel with Mark’s own life was misjudged and took you in and out of the real story with monotonous regularity.

The animation was excellent, with the real cast being morphed into their action figure avatars. I liked how things like the buttons and  zips being too big for the tiny clothes were shown along with their articulated joints. The toys scenes went on too long for me, with a time travel episode lasting ten minutes during which my attention waned. I think you need to have either a kids’ film or a moving redemption drama - to have both squeezed into one film made it a hard watch.

Carell was good, not ‘Foxcatcher’ good, but he did well with difficult material. He must have thought another Oscar nomination was in the offing when he got the script for a brain damaged transvestite, but unfortunately his turn wasn’t enough to keep all the plates spinning. For your money you also get a single scene with ‘Russian carer’ Brienne of Tarth who was dreadful, and the chubby nurse off ‘Nurse Jackie’ who was the chubby friend.

There were good sequences in the film and it was a triumph of the human spirit that deserved to be told. Some scenes were very difficult to endure however, like when Mark had his breakdowns or proposed marriage and there was constant yelling and screaming to endure.

It must have been a hard film to market with the opening animated sequence having a couple of swears so that we knew that this wasn’t for the kids. I’m not sure who it was for really, as it covers a few genres but doesn’t really succeed in any.

A brave effort, but not something I’d recommend or consider as entertainment.

Best Bit :  Trial Speech ‘W’ Rating 10/23

No.313 : What If (2013)

What If at the IMDb

First world problems now as a group of attractive 30 somethings try to navigate the exciting world of relationships in this likeable comedy drama.

Harry Potter himself stars as Wallace, a medical school drop out who found his girlfriend had cheated on him, just as his parents had on each other. Not surprisingly he’s cynical about relationships but feels a spark when he meets Chantry, a cute animator whose illustrations pop up throughout the film. She does that annoying thing of mentioning her boyfriend a lot, but we suspect that the pair will get together because, you know, films.

Wallace has a flatmate in the shape of Adam Driver who gives out terrible advice. He has a girlfriend and is a cousin of Chantry and is against the ‘incestuous’ proto-relationship - but he’s not really.

Our dream couple enter the friend zone and find out they have a lot in common such as Elvis sandwiches and going to the pictures on their own. Chantry is torn when her boyfriend’s job takes him to Dublin for a year and she spends more time with the puppy dog Potter. After some initial shyness, when she makes him close his eyes before helping her off with a dress, they soon graduate to full on skinny dipping.

A few obstacles fall into our heroes' paths but can they get together before the film ends? You bet!

I’m always a sap for a romantic comedy and this was no exception. Harry was good in the lead doing his self effacing Englishman part. He has some good lines and a cynical outlook - I like his reply ‘Nothing’s too slutty for you’ when Chantry asked if her a dress made her look easy.

It was good that the boyfriend wasn’t portrayed as a total dick with only a small hint that he may have been cheating on Chantry. Potter did come across as a bit of a creep when relegated to the friend zone and I imagine in real life the girl would just have had him collecting her dry cleaning forever more in the outside hope he may get a drunken fumble one day.

As always Adam Driver, the best thing in the film with our blog enjoying his recent outing in While We're Young. He was clearly deserving of a big break and it’s just a shame it came in those lamentable 'Star Wars’ films. In this he was very much a supporting character but I always enjoyed his scenes which were usually full of some outrageous patter and advice.

Zoe Kazan was good as Chantry although her character was a bit annoying. It was like she kept engineering ways to avoid the inevitable. The fall out scene at the café was classic ‘pain in the arse’ woman and why Potter went back for another try can only be explained by her looking cute in her undies.

If you are looking for surprises or even some sex and violence, you won’t find it here. I could see this film having a large following amongst those looking for a way to be more than just good friends with the option of their affections. Still a chance!

There was no peril and no doubt as to how things would turn out but that’s not what the film aspired to. Get them matched up in 100 minutes and it’s warm feelings all round - Romanticanus!

Best Bit : Beach Party  16/23

No.170 : Wreck It Ralph (2012)

Wreck It Ralph on IMDb

We conclude your exhaustive review of all the ‘W’ movies at this year’s Oscars with ‘Wreck It Ralph’ which is up for ‘Best Animated Feature’.

The titular character is the villain in an 1980’s video game called ‘Fix-It Felix Jnr’. Ralph’s job, as you may have guessed, is to wreck a building which is then fixed by Felix and his magic hammer. It’s a kind of ‘Donkey Kong’ rip off in its full 16 bit glory.

The game is one of many in an arcade and, as the venue closes, the video game characters go about their everyday lives before it all starts up again the next day. Ralph however isn’t happy. His game is 30 years old and all the residents of the building hate him due to all the wrecking. He lives in a tip and his issues are such that he attends a bad guys anonymous meeting along with Dr Robotnik and a ‘Pac-Man’ ghost, among others. Taking inspiration from his meeting he confronts the residents who advise that if he proved himself to be a hero by getting a medal he can move away from his dump and take residence in the building.

Of course they are humouring him but Ralph sets out on a quest to gain their acceptance. The characters can travel through the electricity cable to the central junction box where they can visit other games. The ‘Bad Guys’ meeting for example is hosted by ‘Pac-man’ and the characters take on the graphics of the host system, leading to some cracking retro fun - and a nice cherry for the homeless Q*Bert.

Anyway, Ralph  first makes his way into ‘Hero’s Duty’ a kind of ‘Gears of War’ shoot em up and meets the foxy Calhoun (Jane Lynch) who yells him through her game. He manages to secure a medal but it’s quickly lost, meaning a trip to the neighbouring ‘Sugar Rush’ racing game cabinet. Unfortunately, Ralph unwittingly takes an alien 'psy bug' with him and this could spell disaster for the candy land of ‘Sugar Rush’ and maybe the arcade in general.

This plot point is parked for a while as Ralph meets Vanellope a cute wannabe racer. She is a ‘Glitch’ who crackles occasionally and is a pariah of the bitchy racers. She has Ralph’s medal and uses it to gain entry to the big race that will determine tomorrow’s grid line up. Ralph helps her build a car but they must also deal with King Candy who wants to keep her out at all costs. Meanwhile Felix and Calhoun have a twin mission of finding Ralph, who has gone AWOL from his game, and the alien bug that Calhoun has to destroy.

Can Vanellope win the race and gain acceptance? Can Ralph break his ‘bad guy’ shackles and become a hero and will Felix and Calhoun sort out their problems and maybe each other? Let’s hope so!

The idea of retro video games being the backdrop drew me to this film but it was so much better than I expected and it must be the best animated feature since ‘The Incredibles’.

The level of detail and affection shown by the creators for the subject matter is amazing. I’m sure I missed loads of references but even small things like Sonic the Hedgehog spilling a load of golden rings when he’s bumped into was great. When Ralph needs a beer he heads to the ‘Beer Tapper' machine and Q*Bert maintains his strange dialogue of  #%! - so that what that sounds like!

The characters were all great fun and fully rounded. Calhoun’s horrific back-story was cracking and had a brilliant call back at the end. I did feel using John C Reilly to voice Ralph was a bit invasive given he’s so familiar sounding but Jane Lynch and especially Sarah Silverman were excellent as Calhoun and Vanellope.

The animation was flawless and the changing styles were a joy. Ralph looks ‘normal’ when off duty but is a boxy 16 bitter when in game. The characters, all from different genres, should look daft together but it works wonderfully especially in the rich sweet vistas of ‘Sugar Rush’. There is also an excellent and energetic soundtrack and a pretty detailed plot that needs your attention. The big surprise at the end was expertly forshadowed in one of the film’s funniest scenes and it all came together in a clever and satisfying manner.

I ‘d find it hard to find any fault with this film and would recommend it to all - well kids and immature men with an 1980’s video game fixation at any rate!

W Score 22/23        Best Bit : Who’s that in Roadblasters?

No. 102 : Waltz With Bashir (2008)

Waltz With Bashir at the IMDb

The great 100 ‘W’s list was so sadly neglected that I actually watched a ‘W’ film the other night without making the connection. How the mighty have fallen! In retrospect the fall from grace can be traced to the start of the quality TV schedule and as most of my shows are about to go on their summer hiatuses you can be assured of some reinvigorated ‘W’ action.

The rebirth begins in somewhat downbeat fashion with ‘Waltz With Bashir’ which I had been aware of but was slow to track down due to the grim subject matter and the basic animation seen in the trailers. Of course prejudging is never a good thing and I was pleasantly surprised with the film, which was nominated for the Best Foreign Picture Oscar (lost).

Waltz With Bashir is a drama documentary which sees a middle age man try to make sense of some lucid dreams and to patch up some holes in his memory relating to his time as a teenage soldier in the Israeli army. Although animated almost all the way through the film uses real people and their experiences, with their interviews shown in animated form with their names and positions captioned in both Hebrew and English.

The dreams our man suffers from lead back to his service in Lebanon which took place during the 1982 conflict. He slowly recalls being attacked and being the only survivor of his squad, managing to escape only after swimming out to sea and then back to his own lines. As he delves deeper he realises that he may have been involved in a massacre of hundreds of civilians and wonders if the horrors have been erased from his memory to preserve is sanity.

The film successfully treads the thin line between entertaining and preaching and despite some harrowing sequences there are some fun bits too, not least a hardcore porno featuring a well endowed plumber with a ‘big tool’. The soundtrack is great too with pop hits from the period by the likes of P.I.L and O.M.D. sitting snugly with some evocative classical music.

Despite my reservations I did enjoy the animation which defies it’s basic appearance with some clever 360 degree turns and snappy direction, especially during the titular sequence.

Although it’s not a film that you could say you enjoyed it is thought provoking and affecting. I wasn’t aware of this incident prior to seeing the film and it’s certainly brave of an Israeli film maker to focus on an event that doesn’t show his country men in their best light.

This is a film well worth looking up and if you think animation isn’t the best medium for analysing the evil that men do, a small section of news footage from the time is included at the end to show that the real horrors are far worse than anyone could imagine, let alone draw.

Best Bit : Plumber Comes To Visit
'W' Rating : 19/23

No.67 : Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

Who Framed Roger Rabbit at the IMDb

Here we go with one of the more famous ‘W’ movies, and another with a question in the title with the supposedly unlucky question mark omitted.

This was a groundbreaking film in it’s time, that saw it marry live action and animation almost seamlessly. Unlike previous films that had attempted this tricky feat, like ‘Bed Knobs and Broomsticks’, the people actually interact with the animations and they inhabit the same universe.

Bob Hoskins stars as Eddie Valliant a drunk private eye who gets his booze money by taking seedy photos of people having too good a time. He used to be in partnership with his brother until he was killed by a piano dropped by a cartoon character or ‘Toon’.

He takes a job photographing cartoon superstar Roger Rabbit’s wife making pat-a-cake with Acme chief Marvin Acme, who soon turns up dead. Roger is in the frame for the crime and faces ‘the dip’ a fatal brew cooked up by the evil Judge Doom. Despite his hatred of toons Eddie agrees to help and the pair have to stay ahead of Doom and his Cadre of evil weasels. When studio boss R.K. Maroon is shot dead it’s clear that more is at stake than first thought, and the whole of Toon Town may be in danger. To save the day Eddie must overcome his hatred of Toon Town and face the man who may be responsible for his brother’s death five years ago.

This is a really hard film to dislike and although it’s magic has faded since I saw it on release it still brought several wry smiles to this old cynic. The opening sequence where a Roger & Baby Herman cartoon is being shot is amazing especially when the human director walks on to chide Roger for having birds rather than stars fly around his head after he’s been clocked by a fridge.



Roger is a poor character to hang the film on as he’s really annoying with his high pitched voice and destructive antics. His wife, Jessica, voiced by Kathleen Turner is a lot better, although she does give uncomfortable images of a woman making it with a rabbit.


Bob Hoskins is pretty good as the weary private dick but the main kudos go to Christopher Lloyd as the maniacal Judge Doom. Of the cartoons I’d have liked Foghorn Leghorn to be in it more but it was good to see Disney and Warner Brothers stars get equal screen time.

The interactions between human and toon weren’t as good as I’d remembered them, with a lot of the time it looking like the cartoon was drawn in later - as if! Look at the bar scene for example - Roger’s drink goes straight out the back of his head. I was surprised at some of the more adult content with Jessica’s ‘booby trap’ and a song with a reference to balls possibly a bit uncomfortable for the parents. Judge Doom was also pretty scary and the murder of Maroon and the deaths of the weasels all seemed a bit incongruous with a kid’s film. I know they like to put in the odd bit for Mum & Dad, but I was scared!

The animations were great although not always totally consistent. When you see the characters gather at the end many look a lot different from their incarnations earlier in the film. Some things I liked were the madcap Acme factory and seeing that bloke out of ‘The Ritz’ in the bar.

The themes of tolerance and our old friend redemption weren’t overblown and there were enough laughs in this fast paced crowd pleaser to keep me happy.

Best Bit : Watch out for the steamroller!

‘W’ Score : 17/23

No.19 : Watership Down (1978)

Watership Down at the IMDb

‘Watership Down’ is an 1978 animated British film about a bunch of rabbits looking for a new home. Don’t stop reading, it’s pretty good and entertaining stuff!

Fiver the rabbit is pretty special in the warren in that he sees the future - and it’s looking bad. Despite some previous successes the head rabbit isn’t keen to listen to his tales of impending doom and refuses to relocate the warren. Undaunted, Fiver and a few other rabbits leave the same night - past a big land redevelopment sign, showing us that he was right all along.



The rabbits embark on a perilous mission to find a new home, which I take to be Watership Down although it isn’t mentioned by name in the film. On the way they encounter some nasty rats, a bastard of a cat and hoards of evil rabbits with their own agenda. Luckily they find their way to their new home but there is just one problem, and for rabbits it’s a big one, no babes. Not willing to forego their ten times a night nookie they go back on the road in reach of some hot bunny bitches.

After in ill fated attempt to free some caged does from a farm they have to try and persuade some to leave the warren of the dreaded General, using only their wits and the assistance of a jive talking sea gull.


I quite enjoyed seeing this again after a break of about 20 years. The animation is pretty basic, with set backgrounds and an economy of motion. The voice work from the likes of Richard Briers and John Hurt is first rate and they do give the rabbit’s a lot of personality. That said the seagull was really annoying and I was disappointed to see him survive at the end.

It was a lot less grisly than I remember with only a few blood soaked deaths to speak of. I could have done without some of the more surreal fantasy moments involving the Black rabbit, but all in all it was good stuff with ‘Bright Eyes’ still a great tune.

Best Bit : Uh-oh here comes the General!

‘W’ Score 16/23