Theothervip

1996's BABE was an out-of-nowhere hit. Coming out on a risky summer season, where BATMAN FOREVER was the talk of the town, BABE found its audience thanks to word of mouth and some positive critic reviews. Now, it's considered one of the finest family films ever made; an witty, creative and original movie. If only its sequel BABE: PIG IN THE CITY received such grace. It more than deserves it.

At first, a sequel to BABE seems like trying to sequelize the original WIZARD OF OZ (And no! RETURN TO OZ does not count). Why make a sequel to a surprise hit that was unique and surprising which would only detract from what the first one achieved. But in the hands of the inventive yet sadly under-appreciated Australian filmmaker George Miller (co-writer and producer of BABE), the sequel finds an interesting direction: Why not do what the original did; do something that goes against what audiences are expecting. Sadly, audience don't always warm-up to re- inventions of familiar premises. And whereas BABE was a light-hearted charmer sprinkled with moments aimed at grown-ups, PIG IN THE CITY is a little darker and more menacing, but still mixed with some of the same charm and inventiveness of the first. People sadly didn't warm-up with Miller's darker and more eccentric tone (the film is almost outright surrealism) and it remains misunderstood to this day. Luckily, home video has done the proper justice to this little gem and its finally seeing more positive light than during its original release.

The storyline is incredible; combining a witty live-action cartoon, a quirky slapstick comedy, a Dickensian modern fairy tale, and some totally oddball surrealism. Immediately, the story begins with Farmer Hoggett (the brilliant James Cromwell, given very little screen time here though) getting caught in an accident that leaves his wife Esme (a hilarious Magda Szubaski) doing all the work in the farm, until a notice for foreclosure forces her to travel to the big city, in hopes of taking Babe to a special appearance and use the appearance fee as payment to their loan. But their city isn't as welcoming as expected. Almost immediately, Mrs. Hoggett finds herself accidentally convicted of drug possession and gets kicked-off almost everywhere ("Scram lady! This isn't a farm!"), until she finds a small hotel that actually hosts a couple of strange homeless animals. There, Babe meets a number of strange denizens including a group of showbiz chimpanzees, a disabled- to-the-waist dog named Flealick, a couple of other dogs and cats, and then some strays who finds comfort in Babe's hospitality and a ruthless pitbull who finds himself converted when an act of kindness from Babe gives him a wake-up call. Eventually, he also meets up with old pal Ferdinand, who thinks of Babe as his "lucky pig", only to realize to this little porker's potential.

Though the storyline is rather simple (it's really another fish-out- water tale) and its morals are traditional, the film doesn't offer easy paths. "You're just a pig in the big city!" says Ferdinand the duck at one point in the film. "What could you possibly do? Why even try?" Immediately, the merits of morality and kindness in a different world where the rules are very different from the simple life in the country are questioned. Could kindness and humility overcome differences, change lives, inspire others even in a world as hopelessly bleak as an uninviting urban environment? Add to that, the movie even makes possible references to Babe as something of a Christ-figure, who finds himself serving up kindness to a bunch of city animals who finds the very idea oblivious. "I'm just a pig on a mission." Babe says at one point. Even if you don't see it at that angle, the movie is still the stuff of classic fairy tale viewed on more mature eyes. Kids will love its cute animals and fun slapstick (the climax is as crazy as it is lively and hilarious), but adults will find the story actually willing to transcend beyond the levels of what "kids movies" would usually go.

There's just so much to say about this movie (Did I even mention about how creative and how seamless they make the animals talk and "act"?) that it just begs to wonder why people don't even notice something so unique and wonderful. It's not just a brilliant sequel, it's a brilliant original work all its own. I say, go see BABE again and love it as you always have. Now go see BABE: PIG IN THE CITY again, and see a vastly different film that you might not have noticed before.

A little gem clearly meant to be a sleeper hit (it's much too quirky and clever to be classified alongside mainstream efforts), Alexander Payne's ELECTION takes a neat concept for a high school comedy and turns it into a sly, cynical look at current politics. And with great performances, sharp comedic dialogue, and a neat premise, you just can't help but love it.

Reese Witherspoon (in a spunky enjoyable performance) plays the over-achieving and slightly obnoxious know-it-all Tracy Fink, who is the fore-runner for the candidacy for student council president. This social studies teacher Jim McCallister (Matthew Broderick, in his usual performance only more unlikable) won't allow. In order to establish a more democratic election (and mostly to get that Fink girl out of the way for some reason), he requests former jock Paul Metzler (Chris Klien) to run for presidency, due to his charisma but with complete disregard for his lack of interest. In addition, Paul's tomboyish sister Tammy (Jessica Campbell) also runs purely out of spite, since her "girlfriend" runs off on her and hooks up with her brother instead. While all this is brewing, McCallister has problems of his own. Whilst happily married, he's also fooling around with his old friend's ex-wife. It's not a gratuitous subplot; it just adds to the crazy complicated world that Payne (along with screenwriter Jim Taylor) has created and it adds to the silliness and cleverness of it all.

This is not your typical Hollywood teen movie and very much every cliché in the book is ignored here. Payne's high school is not simply surrounded with easily distinguished stereotypes. In fact, the good and bad guys aren't easily distinguishable here. There's a cunning, scheming side most of the characters here, and yet Payne and Taylor does a great job of actually making them likable (sort of). For example, we hate Mr. McCallister because he cheats on his wife and he would stoop so low to make sure Tracy will lose. And yet, part of us wants him to succeed, just because that Fink girl can easily get on our nerves for being obnoxious and rather b*tchy. Paul on the other hand is a rather nice guy; in fact too nice. He's a sardonic look at those candidates that may know very little about being a leader but somehow manages to get people's votes just because of how popular or nice they are. Meanwhile, his sister's campaign is a simple "who cares?", a not-too far cry to what some members of society would choose to think. And this is what the whole movie's about: It's about how messy and silly politics today can be and how messy the election of officials can be since mostly everyone plays dirty just to get what they want. It's not just America, but in other countries as well (including here in the Philippines).

A neat little gem with some funny performances and a bitingly satirical premise, ELECTION has my vote. See it!

Rating: **** out of 4.

Jack Clayton's adaptation of Henry James' "Turning of the Screw" can either be taken as a straightforward horror movies about things that go bump in the night. Or it could be seen as something that's more psychological, which is far more unsettling.

THE INNOCENTS is one of the most intelligent horror movies I've seen. It's got the right, spooky atmosphere and some downright chilling sequences (the black-and-white cinematography by Freddie Francis is just perfect), but I'll remember it more for its psychological view of its characters. Are the ghosts real, or are they figments of a fractured mind? The movie takes it as either and comes up with a far more intelligent effort than the usual assembly-line horror.

The story is set in 19th Century England. A governess named Miss Giddens (Deborah Kerr in an emotionally distressed performance) who is employed in an the isolated Bly estate in the countryside. There, she is tasked to look after two children, Flora (Pamela Franklin) and Miles (Martin Stephens), who was originally in boarding school until Ms. Giddens receives an unexpected news that he was expelled for his behavior. This comes as a mystery to her because both children are mostly cheerful and well-behaved... or so it may seem. And who are those two people, a woman and man, that Ms. Giddens seem to be seeing throughout the estate.

THE INNOCENTS is a number of substantial creeps, achieved by building up the suspense than simply outright scares. The appearances of the spectres themselves are more creepy than they are shocking, and that's just as effective. This is also an example of the classic ghost movies, where walking down a dark hallway accompanied only by a candelabra are more chilling than actual scares. But I guess the real treat for me about the film is how complex it is. The movie doesn't totally dismiss the supernatural; in fact it deepens it. In the end, the movie can be seen as both a chilling ghost story and a disturbing psychological analysis. Horror fans must see this!