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The other film of note that I watched was Tokyo Godfathers, an anime film from the late Satoshi Kon, whose work I only discovered this last year and who I now think is one of the great lost talents of cinema. He was a seriously amazing, visionary talent who died much too young at the age of 46. Anyway, the film itself is about a trio of homeless people who discover an abandoned baby on Christmas Eve, then set about trying to find the parents to try to understand why anyone would abandon a child. The film manages a great balance of bawdy humor, exhilaratingly kinetic action and a deep sense of melancholy that should not work but really does thanks to the stunning animation and the strength of the central story, which examines ideas of fate, coincidence, love, family and friendship in a way which is hugely entertaining. It's a really special film that I think that will appeal to any of the Studio Ghibli-loving* readers of this site (and writers, for that matter) would do well to check out.

*It isn't a Studio Ghibli film but there is a similar vibe to it and it's not for nothing that Satoshi Kon was cited as the next Hayao Miyazaki.

David Mumpower: My three most recent viewings are Fast Five, Speechless and Scream 4. Fast Five somehow outdoes The Expendables in the machismo category. Vin Diesel, perhaps threatened by the addition of Dwayne Johnson, is in pure cro-magnon mode. His acting bothered me more than Paul Walker, something I would not have believed possible since I love Diesel and consider him to be an underrated actor. No, really. Meanwhile, Walker is as much of an actor as I am a ballet dancer...and I'm a clumsy 6-4", 250 pound monster. Despite this, I have to say that the action sequences, the true draw of the franchise, are largely exceptional. The climactic heist in particular creates a singularly unique car chase, something I would not have believed possible for this particular franchise. I give Justin Lin a lot of credit for honing his ability to give the audience what it wants in these films...and I also think it's great that he keeps casting Sung Kang, his buddy from Better Luck Tomorrow. That's the type of loyalty that identifies he dances with who brought him. Fast Five is a strange franchise in that they tried to ruin it with a cash grab second movie, rebooted with a solid third movie that nobody watched and now it's bigger and better than ever before due to the return of Diesel and clever guest casting. In a way, Johnson was the perfect choice for this because he is someone who is used to take a dive in exchange for a paycheck. Bulking him up then feeding him to Diesel's character is a genius move. The news that Jason Statham could wind up in the next project is all the more enticing.

Speechless is a 1994 romantic comedy starring Michael Keaton and Geena Davis that you may not know. I maintain that Aaron Sorkin used it for inspiration not just with The American President but also at several points in The West Wing. Keaton and Davis portray speech writers for Republican and Democratic candidates in a New Mexican senatorial campaign. What is impressive about the movie is that other than some unavoidable stuff like telephony (the lack of cell phones/the design and size of cell phones dates movies and television in a remarkable way...watch The X-Files sometime if you don't believe me), Speechless is a movie that could be released this weekend and seem just as topical and fresh. The conservative writer just finished his run on a dull-witted sitcom that might as well be named Two and a Half Men while the liberal one is an idealist who struggles to find her place in a world that constantly disappoints her. Director Ron Underwood, the genius behind the original Tremors and City Slickers, has been reduced to television after a pair of high profile bombs in Mighty Joe Young and The Adventures of Pluto Nash, but he demonstrates the same talent in Speechless that has also imbued unheralded shows like Reaper and Eli Stone with a genial warmth/depth that is rare for the medium. Frankly, I had forgotten how good Speechless is and it makes me miss the long gone days of Michael Keaton as a funny man. Pixar seems to be the only operation that appreciates his unique skill set. And as an aside, there is such a disconcerting moment at the 30 minute mark of this movie when Christopher Reeve walks on the bus. I had forgotten what a powerful screen presence he was before the tragic accident.

Scream 4 is a movie I wanted to watch on opening night but I kept talking myself out of it for fear that it would break my heart. The original is one of my favorite films ever while Scream 2 is on the shortlist for best sequel ever. I even liked the third film, which puts me in the minority. Every instinct I had was that despite the stellar cast, this was a cash grab reboot that would leave me feeling disappointed. Those instincts eventually proved to be well founded but not before I got my hopes up a little bit. I thoroughly enjoyed the first hour of the film, as it had the right combination of new ideas and hat tips to the original. Even though the identity of the person/people responsible (no spoilers here) for the crimes were telegraphed, I completely agree with Edwin Davies' comment in his Things I Learned column on the subject (read it here but be warned that there are huge spoilers: http://www.boxofficeprophets.com/column/index.cfm?columnID=14295) that there was a choice available that would have made the movie legendary. It would have proven every bit as popular and buzzworthy as the original. Unfortunately, that was the not the case and I found myself cringing throughout the last 15 minutes. Scream has been a tremendous franchise full of sublime ideas. That climax was unworthy of Scream.

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