The World's End

This summer, we endured a seemingly endless barrage of mediocrity, disappointments, and worse at the movies, including but certainly not limited to...

However, little did we know that there was light at the end of the tunnel, just waiting for us at the end of our cinematic barhop:

And after finally sitting through something that was more than merely "okay", something truly worthwhile to close out the summer on a high note, well, afterwards, words such as "mediocre" or "disappointing" had long been left behind. No, in the end, there was only one word that came to mind, which our theater came together to raise our glasses and proudly chant in unison:

Oh yes! Drink up, guys, this one's on me.

Naruto Shippuden the Movie: The Lost Tower

And now we're finally on the last Naruto movie I have to review, The Lost Tower. Upon my initial viewing a couple years ago, I not only hated this thing, but I thought it was hands down the worst Naruto movie to date. However, my most recent viewing wasn't nearly as hostile, though while I still wouldn't call this movie good, it's mainly just sorta mundane.

This one's a time travel story, where Naruto gets transported back in time and happens to meet his father, Minato. See, where the selling point of Bonds was the reunion between Naruto and Sasuke, the sole selling point of this movie was the inclusion of Minato, but that's not the only thing this movie shares in common with Bonds. The structure is also similar, with half of this thing acting out as one long, ever evolving battle against the main villain, a puppet master who keeps transforming into bigger and stronger robot-like puppet bodies. Unlike the Dragon Ball feel of Bonds, though, this fight feels more like watching someone playing against the final boss of a video game or something, and even has the characters uncovering the enemy's weak spot for massive damage and all that.

Other than the big boss fight, Naruto joins the mission to protect the queen and save the people of the ruined nation and whatnot, and we also see the bond forming between father and son, as the two gradually come to realize just who one another is to each other. And, yeah, there's really nothing all that spectacular here. The action's pretty standard stuff, what little story that's here is very basic, and it all ends with everyone's minds being wiped anyways, so in the end, this is a pretty pointless movie. And equally as pointless was the inclusion of a younger Kakashi, who really doesn't contribute a damn thing outside of merely existing. And that's kinda the problem with this movie as a whole, it's not terrible, it's just another movie that happens to exist is all.

But like I said, I didn't hate it this time around, though it's still not all that great. And the lack of quality really was my major gripe with it the first time around, since the production of this movie was the reason the anime team neglected the actual anime so badly at the time, thus resulting in the complete and total butchering of the Pain arc in the anime, which really is still an unforgivable crime. But in any event, what's done is done, and really, there's not much else to say about this movie.

So there you have it then. And since I have now revisited all of the Naruto movies, I suppose I could go ahead and rank them now. So, in order from best to worst, I think they'd probably go something like this:

Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow
Road to Ninja
The Will of Fire
Bonds
Blood Prison
Legend of the Stone of Gelel
Naruto Shippuden the Movie
Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom
The Lost Tower

Naruto Shippuden the Movie: The Will of Fire

An old shinobi from the Leaf is collecting kekkei genkai users in order to create the perfect body for himself and initiate the Fourth Great Shinobi War, and the last ninja he's targeted is Kakashi and his sharingan. Kakashi has decided to sacrifice himself for the sake of the village, but Naruto, Sakura, and Sai disobey orders and make chase to save him, while Shikamaru leads the remainder of the Konoha 11 as they attempt to halt Naruto's pursuits. Everyone gets their chance to shine in The Will of Fire, which truly does feel like one of the more honest and faithful adaptations to Kishimoto's story.

In some respects, having so many characters showcased feels like it shouldn't work, especially within the confines of a 90 minute movie. Yet, they really do balance things out and give most everyone their fair share of screen time to really show their stuff. And it's not only the Leaf ninjas, they even include the Sand shinobi here, and we get to see a surprisingly awesome rematch between Naruto and Gaara. In fact, all of the fight scenes in this movie are really creative and filled with clever moments, but of all the characters showcased, no one comes out of this thing looking better than Tenten. Seriously, she's a freaking beast here! But yeah, probably the most neglected character in the main series has the most impressive feats in this movie, and as I mentioned in my Bonds review, that's one of the things that actually make me really appreciate the anime sometimes.

But not only do the characters get a chance to show their stuff, but their actual portrayals are pretty much on par with their canon selves as well. There's no overly and obnoxiously goofy Naruto to be seen here. And even with his added screen time, they didn't go overboard making Shikamaru arrogantly smart, like they sometimes do in the anime.

Another cool fact is that, of the shinobi that our main villain has already collected, three of the character designs were actually conjured up by Kishimoto himself, and were used as characters that he revived during the canon Fourth Shinobi War (though the abilities they posses in canon are completely different from the movie's portrayal). So that's pretty neat, and like Road to Ninja, the fact that Kishimoto was actually somewhat involved with at least some of the production of this particular movie probably plays a big role in just how solid it turned out in the end.

However, it's not all perfect, though what I'm about to cover really is pretty nitpicky. But there are some continuity errors that can get annoying, where characters will be wearing cloaks in one scene, only for them to disappear and reappear seemingly at will from scene to scene. And the movie ends with a really lame and forced gay joke that just comes out of nowhere and leaves a bad taste in your mouth. But honestly, outside of that, there's really not much to rag about against this movie.

The story is well written, the characters are well handled and well balanced, and the action is top notch stuff. And while this movie really does drive home its themes, unlike previous efforts, they manage to avoid a lot of the cheese in doing so this time around. This movie really is one of the more solid ones, and definitely something that fans of the series will be able to enjoy.

Character Profile: Colonel Bullet

Colonel Bullet is the commanding officer of Camp Leatherneck, and oversees the operations of the military brig known as The Web. And after the recent mishaps at The Web as a result of the Ninja Kat and her hamster friends, Bullet has been called to stand before the High Council and answer for these blunders and more.

Though he likes to put on a proper and authoritative face, behind the scenes, Bullet is a scrambled mess of a dog. Constantly anxious and in a state of frantic worry, it's no wonder that he appears to be losing control over his own command. But despite any setbacks, he still remains a skilled fighter, and has earned his rank through his undying loyalty to the Devil Corps. And when placed in the position to truly prove his worth, his chaotic nature will make him a near unstoppable force to reckon with.

www.VelcroTheNinjaKat.com

Naruto Shippuden the Movie: Bonds

Up next is the big cinematic reunion between Naruto and Sasuke. That was pretty much the entire selling point of Bonds, and though Sasuke's actually absent for most of the movie up until the end, the rest of this one actually holds up pretty well enough on its own nonetheless.

Konoha has been attacked by ninjas from the Land of Sky, and by this point, I'm seriously wondering why everyone doesn't just up and leave the village to go live somewhere else that doesn't come under attack so often. But anyways, after the attack, Shikamaru leads a four man squad including Kakashi, Shino, and Sai to track down the ninjas and form a counterattack, while Naruto, Sakura, and Hinata escort a helpful doctor and his young apprentice to provide aid back in their own nearby village. But things soon take a turn for the worse, and it's up to Naruto with the unlikely aid of Sasuke to save the day once more.

In many respects, this movie plays out much more like a Dragon Ball movie than a Naruto one, with the main villain's appearance and powers more resembling a character from that universe as well. And once the big final battle begins at about the halfway point, the remainder of the film rarely cuts away from it, as our characters go through various powerups and transformations over the course of the fight. And the first time I saw this movie, this aspect really turned me off. However, the more times I revisit this movie, the more I actually come to appreciate it as one of the stronger entries in the series.

Like many of these movies, this one also can get pretty cheesy at times with some of Naruto's preachiness. Yet, unlike the others, this one appears to be aware of its cheese, and even includes a line from Naruto where he gives forewarning that what he's about to say may come off as pretty cheesy. So it's hard to fault this particular one for that, but yeah, some of the lines here are a little cringe-inducing as they really try and drive home the themes concerning the bonds between a master and apprentice.

I also noticed that they really tended to pretty Naruto up quite a bit on a number of occasions, giving him somewhat feminine facial features at times, particularly around the eyes. That, in addition to the more female centric cast in comparison to the other movies, does make me vaguely curious if the writers didn't have a different type of bond in mind as well for this film. Surely they weren't trying to doll Naruto up for his big reunion with his long lost lover, Sasuke, were they? (lol)

Like the second movie, this one recycles the idea of portraying the main villain as a kind and gentle soul at first, though to be fair, the twist reveal is actually a little more surprising this time around. And in addition to that, there are many other ideas that would be recycled in later movies, such as half the film being one big continuous fight, or certain characters' genders being pointlessly in question for a portion of the movie. But hey, this lack of originality has long come to be expected from the guys who write Naruto filler, and these aspects don't necessarily detract from this particular movie itself.

But while that might be a bad habit for the filler writers, something they're actually pretty good at is showcasing some of the side characters that have a tendency to be neglected in the main series. In this instance, as mentioned, they include a side plot including several side characters, in which Sai and especially Shino really get a chance to shine. In contrast to the previous movie I reviewed, here its clear that the writers for this particular film actually do have a clear grasp on these characters, and actually treat many of them with even more respect than the original author himself. So that's something that this movie definitely gets right, and even though Sasuke's not in this thing a whole lot, I still felt like his inclusion was handled respectably enough, and I actually liked that they kept his reunion with Naruto relatively brief.

So all in all, this is an interesting movie. I hated it the first time I watched it, yet, every time since, I've grown to like it more and more, to the point that it's probably one of my favorites in the series. It's cheesy, but it doesn't shy away from that fact, and even so, it's not nearly as unbearable as some of the other movies can get. The characters are handled well, and the animation is really nice and fluid, though the actual art is a bit of a miss at times. But this thing ends on a really calm yet powerful note that still manages to get to me, and brings this movie to a nice closure. I'm not sure if I could safely say that I'd recommend this one to non-fans, but for fans of the series, this movie is a must watch. And if you don't like it the first time around, see if a second watch won't sway your views.

Naruto Shippuden the Movie

The first Shippuden movie is also the only movie in the series that lacks a proper subtitle. It's a flawed movie, and most of the duration is chock full of moments that one would only find in the very worst of filler episodes. However, despite a rocky start, this thing does pull itself around for quite a powerful conclusion, so it's not all bad.

The story here is that an ancient evil has returned with plans to take over the world, but his first order of business is to eliminate a priestess who is capable of putting a stop to his plans. Naruto and Sakura team up with Neji and Lee this time around in order to protect the priestess from her onslaught of pursuers, and upon meeting, we learn that the priestess possesses the power to see how the people around her will die, and she foresees Naruto meeting his demise over the course of this very mission.

This movie's biggest issue lies with the way it handles several of the main characters. This is a prime example of just how out of touch the writers are with some of these well established characters, and how they've failed to see the natural progression of their development within the main series. For instance, Naruto is acting far dumber and goofier than he should be. He's closer to his earlier part 1 persona than anything else, and you'd really never know just how much the character's matured over the timeskip, at least until they suddenly decide to shift his character in that direction near the end. But by that point, it's too little too late.

But bad as their handling of Naruto was, by far the worst offender is Neji. He's back to acting like his old arrogant self, belittling and disrespecting Naruto at almost any given chance. This completely disregards that Neji hasn't acted this way since back when Naruto defeated him during the chunin exams. After that point, Neji had a change of heart, and has only the utmost of respect for Naruto, constantly singing his praises and even looking up to him. However, whoever wrote this movie clearly couldn't grasp that particular development of Neji's and instead decided to go back to making him a disrespectful little asshole, which is completely disrespectful to the source material.

So those are the major problems with this thing, and the fact that they're a constant presence throughout the majority of this movie makes them all the harder to forgive. But that aside, the rest of this thing is actually pretty decent. The priestess is an especially well handled character, I thought. I loved her design, and her development she goes though has a much more natural progression than we usually get. There's no sudden conversion or anything, we merely learn bits and pieces about her hard upbringing that show us how she came to be the spoiled brat that she portrays herself as being, though really, deep inside is a girl who's hurting, not only from how she's been treated, but from her own actions. She's a surprisingly deep character for a movie such as this, but you really do grow to know and care about her over the course of this thing.

The fighting scenes are serviceable enough, and the filler villains aren't too unfavorable. And this is also the first movie where they really try to shoe-horn in as many characters as they can, though it didn't get too out of hand this time around. But overall, despite this movie's flaws, it really does take a turn for the better near the end, with beautiful visuals and touching moments that really lift things up. So it ends on a really high note, and even includes one of the funnier after credits sequences that implies Naruto maybe getting a little action with the priestess, which was pretty humorous. If only the opening acts coulda been nearly as strong, then this really coulda been a pretty damn good flick. But on the contrary, had it not picked up so much in the end, then this movie coulda been truly terrible, so at least as a whole, it's not bad, and is still generally entertaining.

The Butler - A Mad Lib Review

So I caught the new movie The Butler this weekend, and while it wasn't terrible, it was far from something I'd consider good, and it basically all comes down to its structure, or lack thereof. Basically, it's the story of the life of Cecil Gaines, inspired by the real life account of Eugene Allen, his successes, as well as his not so successful moments, and it all comes around to a nice happy ending where everything works out just fine in the end. And that's all good and all, but where the potential was there for the truly powerful movie that they were going for, the movie ultimately flounders with its lack of any real focus, and its obnoxiously forced message.

This movie suffers from the same issues as a lot of biopics, where they essentially just want to cram in as much stuff as they possibly can into the movie. They want to tell a little bit about every individual aspect of this man's life, which I can understand, but in doing so, the movie format is so limiting that we ultimately don't get to spend nearly enough time on each of these moments for them to really leave much of an impact in the end.

In comparison, the reason a similar movie like The Help works is because rather than trying to fit in a little bit about every detail of the main character's life, they instead choose to focus on a very specific aspect of their life. And in doing so, this allows for the audience to really spend time growing with and connecting to the characters on screen, and caring about their actions. The Help actually told us a compelling story, and did a far better job at accomplishing what this movie set out and ultimately failed to do. But in contrast, this movie is merely content with showing us a series of events over the course of years, which in the end amount to little more than table scraps.

And I'm not saying that a movie such as this can't be done well. I'm almost certain it can, even if it wasn't the case this particular time. But that's not to say that this was a bad movie all around. While sure, there are many forced moments throughout, and the movie tries way too hard at times, there are still a few bright spots sprinkled throughout the running time. The acting is actually pretty damn solid for the most part. And Forest Whitaker gives a fairly convincing performance as the title character, even if he does go a bit overboard at times, though I'll place the blame for that on the direction from Lee Daniels.

But yeah, there's really not much else to say about this movie. It wasn't bad, it wasn't good, it just was. If it had taken a stronger, more direct approach, then it very well could have been something great. But while the acting might be solid throughout, the poor script and unfocused approach make for a flat experience that tries way too hard at forcing its agenda down your throat.

*sigh*