MY 18TH FAVORITE DISNEY VILLAIN

HADES



FROM "HERCULES"

WARNING: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS!

When I first started the list, I said that in the lineup of Disney villains the funniest one who is far from threatening is Yzma from "The Emperor’s New Groove". And if I had to choose a Disney villain that makes me laugh the hardest who carries both qualities, it's hands down this easily hot tempered ruler from the Underworld, who is one of the best things in this flawed and disappointing Disney film that make it so entertaining.

Hades is like the Genie (from "Aladdin") of comical Disney villains. He's full of energy; is constantly cracking jokes, puns, and one-liners; making hilarious comments on the things he watches; has things magically appear and disappear with his powers; makes pop culture references that are both modern and true to the period that the film is set; and he's blue. The main ingredient of why the character is so hilarious and fun to watch in every single scene he's in is because they got James Woods to voice him, who's perfect for playing villains who are menacing but at the same time comical. Woods puts plenty of his comical trademarks to the character (the same way as Robin Williams put a lot of himself into the Genie) that makes the character come across as flamboyant (again like the Genie) and sassy, and you can tell that Woods is having tons of fun voicing the character and loving every second of it with his delivery and add-libbing. As a matter of fact, Woods loved playing the role so much that any time Disney needed him to reprise his character he'll (usually) do it!



One of the traits that Woods gives to the character that is completely his, is how he persuades people into making deals. He doesn't make deals the same way someone like Ursula or Dr.Facilier does, nor does he get a song to sing when making one for that matter either. He talks more like how a lawyer, a salesman, or a Hollywood executive would con people to his deals, instead of coming off as sinister like a devil, or any other Disney villain would, which is what adds to the fun factor of this villain. The interesting thing about him when he makes these offers is he doesn't lie or go against his word; he always keeps his end of the bargain. When he promises Meg her freedom in return for finding Hercules’s weakness, or when he guarantees Herc that he'll get his strength back before the 24 hour mark if any harm happens to Meg (even if it could lead to his downfall, and does) he sticks to his word. But despite being true to what he agrees too, he does leave out a few details so he can still take out his opponent. He promises that Meg won't be harmed when Hercules gives up his strength to save her, but he didn't say anything about not hurting him when he sends one of his monsters to squash him like a bug. He agrees to let Meg go, and put Hercules in her place in the river Styx when he gets her out of there, but once Hercules dives-in, he tells him as he's swimming (obviously pretending that he forgot to mention an important detail) that he will age rapidly and die before he can save her. So even when being one of the most honest Disney villains out there, who doesn't back down from his promises (unlike our hero), he'll still have a loop hole to get what he wants.

 

But as skilled at Hades is with negotiations, he's still a very powerful villain. He can turn his hands into smoke to help him grab things from a far away distance, shoot out flames from his hair and hands, and can't be harmed since he's immortal (though if he's so powerful and can't be harmed, why doesn't he try to kill Hercules himself...oh details, details, details). And as comical and cool as he is he can still be pretty damn intimidating whenever he gets pissed off. Don't get me wrong, those scenes whenever he loses his temper are still laugh out loud hilarious scenes for how he just suddenly bursts into red hot flames yelling and acting destructive (best moments are when he sees his two minions wearing Hercules's merchandise, destroys the whole entire woods, and reminding Meg that he "OWNS" her). And I love how hard he's trying to keep himself from losing his cool, and to keep that blue flame above his head going to make him seem chill (though a blue flame burns at a higher temperature than red and orange do, but I'll let that slide since it's supposed to symbolize his mood).  But considering that he's pretty much made of fire and smoke, and can destroy anything if he feels like it, if you were in his presence when he's not keeping his cool, you'd be scared stiff with the fear of being disintegrated by his flames. Which does come off as way more threatening and powerful than any other villain with anger problems like The Queen Of Hearts or Cruella De Vil for example. The designs of him getting angry are comical for how exaggerated they are, but they also look very hellish and monstrous which makes it come across as a bit unsettling (if not nightmare fuel).

 

When Hades is not in the mortal world making deals, or trying to kill Hercules, he spends the majority of his time ruling the Underworld. Disney has always had a marvelous record of creating villainous locations that are dark and edgy, and one of those images that stick with me is how the Underworld is designed. I'm not going to act like that it's scary as seeing Snow White or Ichabod in the dark woods, or as demonic as the creatures at Bald-mountain, but it does have a constant gloomy and gothic vibe to it. Instead of being surrounded by fire and the color red as you would expect it to be, it's actually surrounded by sharp and pointy rocks and spikes, where the colors are mostly drenched with black, grey, and blue (just like the color scheming for the villain himself). The only other color that the Underworld is consumed by is green, which is when Hades takes Hercules to the center of the river Styx. The best scene that involves the Underworld is when we first enter it. We see Hades being rowed to his lair by a skull where a few souls in the river try to grab Hades, which causes him to blast them away with his flames, and blow the smoke off his finger tip as if he was blowing the smoke out of a gun barrel. We are then introduced to the Underworld’s three headed guard dog Cerberus, who Hades just casually feeds a giant steak, which causes the three heads to fight over it. And after we get passed his guard dog, we then finally see his headquarters that’s in the shape of a skull, looking more depressed, instead of evil. What helps make the atmosphere to our first introduction to the Underworld so haunting is the Muses singing about how villainous Hades is, that just sounds flat-out eerie, especially when they hit the final note when we get to Hades's destination.

 

The unique thing about Hades (in terms of leading villains) is even though he's clearly played out as the film's primary villain, there's still a quality to him that's actually quite likable. A major part of it is the humor and charm that James Woods gives to the character (the same way how the actors voicing the comical wisecracking Hyenas in "The Lion King" come off as likable for their excessive personalities). But the real reason why I find him so likable is because of his relationship with the gods. All the gods in Mount Olympus are all fun loving with their colorful personalities that will pretty much laugh at any joke they hear, but when Hades shows up to join in on the fun, they all cringe at him silently as if he's not one of them, that is with the exception of Zeus who keeps on making fun of him. Zeus is also the same god who forced Hades to run the Underworld 24 7, that’s far from an upbeat job and place, and you can tell that he hates every moment of it, wishing that he could live in an environment that's surrounded by beauty and color, as he's with gods and creatures that actually like him, instead of always snubbing him or busting his chops. Unlike a villain like Scar who you know is a selfish jerk since the very beginning, and was stepped over from being King for a good reason, Hades (though not thrown right in your face) comes across as a bit sympathetic, because he's treated like an outcast by all the other gods for no real good reason. And my guess is if he wasn't treated so poorly and forced to run the underworld for all entirety, he probably would have been just as friendly and carefree as all the other gods are.

 

However, despite that we can't help but feel a little sorry for Hades, and understand why he would want to take over Mount Olympus, he still does things that are beyond cruel. I've already covered how violent and aggressive he is, and that he'll intentionally leave things out of his deals to plan a sneak attack, but there's more. He not only sends monsters to attack Hercules and the gods, but he doesn't seem to care at all if people are going to get hurt, crushed, or eaten by them. And considering that he's planning on running Mount Olympus with destructive giant monsters (that once ruled the world through their chaos) as his enforcers, it seems more than likely that he's going to destroy the world with them if not rule it. He also doesn't seem to care if his slave Meg was almost sexually assaulted by a centaur, since he adds two more years of her serving him, rather than subtracting 2 after hearing about her failure to recruit him. But for me, the worst thing he ever does is his attempts to hurt to eventually kill baby Hercules! Forget Scar and Mcleach endangering a kid, a villain deliberately trying to kill a baby is far worse! The first time he makes contact with baby Herc is by giving him a skull pacifier with spiked barbs on it as he tries to force it into his mouth. It's a good thing that baby Hercules was strong enough to prevent him from doing so, because none of the gods didn't seem worried that he was going to hurt Hercules. Not even Hercules's Mother who was so concerned about him playing with Zeus's lightning bolts a few moments ago. Maybe Hercules was better off in the mortal world after all. When Hades later on finds out that Hercules will foil his plans for domination in 18 years, he gives his minions a potion that will make a god mortal (seriously where did he get that) and sends them to force feed the baby the formula, and then kill him when his transformation is complete. His plan obviously fails, but the idea of it is still incredibly disturbing. This is a cute and innocent baby who doesn't know anything, and yet he's willing to kill him as if he was some kind of bug. How does no one find it a tad bit messed-up?

 

The two henchmen that serve Hades faithfully but constantly have to suffer his wrath, are his imps Pain and Panic, who are another one of my favorite comical henchmen from the Disney canon. The two are voiced by comical actors with distinctive voices Bobcat Goldthwait (Pain) and Matt Frewer (Panic), who play off the comical nature of these nervous and constantly abused demons so well that I never find myself getting tired of them whenever they're on-screen, especially when you have them with Hades who's always taking out his anger on them, as we're given slapstick that's hilarious but yet feels so harsh, due to the timing, sound effects, and reactions from the characters. Apart from being easy push-overs that seem powerless whenever they're around Hades, they do have the ability to change their form into anything they please. They'll be occasions where they'll turn into something based on how they feel, like worms or bugs when they're scared of Hades. But they'll mostly use their shape-shifting abilities to carry out dark deeds for him, such as changing into deadly snakes to kill off Baby Hercules, pretending to be two kids in danger to lure Hercules into a trap, and even forming together as a beautiful horse with wings as bate to capture Pegasus. A few of my favorite moments that involve them shape-shifting that give me a good laugh, are when they reveal themselves after posing as kids or cute little animals that go from adorable to rude and obnoxious; and when they're on their knees bowing to Hades chanting that they are "Worthless Worms" which is undoubtedly a reference to "Wayne's World" when Wayne and Garth bow to a famous celebrity chanting "We're not worthy". If I had to choose my favorite quote from these two minions, it's definitely when they decide to cover up the fact that they failed to kill baby Hercules by using the word "If" that has Panic comfortably exclaiming "If is good". And it still surprises me that Hades actually believes their little fib, and doesn't ever decide to check to see if Hercules' soul is floating in the river with the others since that's part of his job. He runs the Underworld; shouldn't he know who died and how many souls he has floating around? Are you telling me that he'll actually take the word of his two idiotic servants who are weak and get hurt constantly (even when he's not maiming them), as opposed to seeing the evidence for himself. I know a suspension of disbelief is required for most Disney films, and thus we wouldn't have a plot if he knew right there and then, but I still can't help but find it distracting since running the Underworld is his profession.



One of the awesome factors to Hades that many people tend to forget is, even though Pain and Panic are the only demons he has with him all throughout the film, he does have plenty of other demons and monsters working for him, whether it's to kill Hercules, or take over Mount Olympus. And since there are so many of them, and that half of them only get a few seconds or a minute or two of screen-time, I'm going to focus on the ones who we see for a full scene, and actually work for Hades (so the Fates and Nessus don't qualify as one of his minions).



The first monster Hades has Hercules fight against is the Hydra, a giant serpent-like creature with a long jaw full of sharp teeth that can multiply many other heads when one gets sliced off. The Hydra was animated in CGI since it was difficult to draw each head individually, and while it is as obvious as the CGI used for Sykes's limo, or Mcleach's truck, it still has an imaginative and scary looking design (that's supported by demented roaring from Frank Welker) that makes you forgive how obvious the CG animation is. As much as I enjoy the battle, the real fun of it comes from Hades sitting in a chair watching the fight, slurping worms, smoking cigars, and making jokes and references mostly related to sports. Most of my favorite quotes from Hades actually come from this scene, especially when he menacingly watches Hercules about to be eaten by the Hydra claiming that his "favorite part of the game" is "sudden death".

 

The monsters that Hades recruits to help him take over Mount Olympus, are an army of elemental giant monsters called Titans, that each has their own cool and distinctive design based on their power. There's the earth Titan who's a giant walking rock with two heads that crushes and destroys everything it touches or walks by, by causing an Earthquake; the water Titan made completely out of Ice who has the ability to freeze anything with its breath; the fire Titan who is one big blob of lava that burns anything in its path; and the air Titan who is one big tornado. While being powerful and threatening, as they nearly overthrow Zeus and destroy everything in their path, they still have their goofy qualities. They don't know where Olympus actually is (that leads to another fun moment involving Hades), and they accidentally keep injuring Hades as they try to fight off Hercules. And much like how Hades’ other monsters got defeated by Hercules so easily, so do these masters of disasters which is kind of underwhelming considering how strong they are.



But the goofiest and weakest one of the Titans, that I even occasionally find myself forgetting that he is one of them, is the Cyclops. I know he's gigantic and destructive like all the others, but he doesn't possess any of the elemental qualities or powers like the other Titans do, nor do we see him at all during the flashback or future images of the Titans. He doesn't so much as get his own badass introduction like the others which makes his appearance just seem out of nowhere. He is given a special job to take down a powerless Hercules, but rather than trying to crush him, he spends most of the time throwing him around like an action figure. The other Titans may have their comical qualities, but there was always a sense of danger to them with their design and abilities. This one on the other hand just seems like some random giant monster that saw the Titans, uninvitedly joined their group to try to be one of them, and accidentally got trapped by Zeus in the process.

 

Hades of course doesn't always need monsters and demons to do his bidding, he can also take people that he's enslaved to help him carry out his evil deeds. Sure the character Meg isn't willing to serve Hades, and does fall in love with Hercules and saves him which results with him getting his strength back after she's free. But as long as Hades has her soul, she has no choice but to obey his commands. She'll convince Hercules to walk into an area where one of Hades’s monsters secretly lurk waiting for him, and she'll try everything she can to seduce Hercules to tell her his weakness. And when she's at the point where she stands-up to Hades showing no fear of his flames, Hades bounds and gags her with his smoke to make it seem like she's going to be harmed if Hercules doesn't agree to his deal.

Though Hades doesn't die since he's immortal, nor does his defeat come across as incredibly cruel, or epic. It's still a satisfying downfall.



When Hercules finally becomes a god after rescuing Meg, Hades gets punched in the face which causes it to fold up for a few seconds, before it unfolds with Hades smiling and agreeing that he deserved that, which kills me every time I see that moment.



But just when you think he's had enough, when Hades begs for Hercules to put in a good word for him to his Father, he gets punched into the river Styx where he's suddenly being dragged below by the souls. He may not be dead, but there's a chance that it'll take him a very long period of time for him to get out of there, that is (and thy quote from Pain when he watches Hades being taken away) "IF he gets out of there", and "If is good". But if you can't help but feel a little bad for him, given his outsider status to the gods, and his excessive personality that makes him likable, if you stay after the credits, you can hear Hades pleading for some kind of happy ending to shed a little humor to his more than likely temporary fate.

I know many people only see Hades as a comical villain who isn't anywhere near dangerous or intimidating, and while he isn't scary and is obviously played out more for comedy, I still believe he has enough of the qualities of a good Disney villain for me to put him on the number 18 spot of my list. His temper tantrum through his powers is destructive. His skills of negotiating are as clever as a backstabbing businessman. The numerous monsters and demons that he has working for him are imaginative, deadly, and fun. The fact that he decides to kill a baby is disgustingly dreadful. The Underworld he runs is one of the gloomiest places you'll ever see from Disney. And James Woods's energetic performance that's supported by a subtle and kind of sad relationship of how he's looked at by the people of his own kind are part of what makes this villain likable, as you at the same time despise him for what he plans to do with our hero and the world.

"We dance, we kiss, we schmooze, we carry on, we go home happy. What do you say? Come on."
-Hades

MY 19TH FAVORITE DISNEY VILLAIN

PERCIVAL C. MCLEACH



FROM "THE RESCUERS DOWN UNDER"

WARNING: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS!

It still stuns me that the sequel to a very bland and mediocre Disney film is 100 times better than the original, and yet for some reason is not recognized as being one of the Disney classics, when its in reality thee best out of all Disney sequels by far (that is if you don’t count Pixar). I mean what is there not to like about the film?! It has an awesome and exciting adventure feel to it. The characters are fun, adventurous, and cute. The humor is laugh out loud funny. The animation is beautiful and epic looking. And it has a cool villain who sadly (just like the film itself) gets overlooked.

 

Now in some respects I can see why he's not recognized as one of the great Disney villains (and with ignoring the fact of how the film gets so overlooked). Since most Disney villains are known for either having magic, being a creature of some sort, or in the very least is part of a Fairy Tale universe, Mcleach is just your average Saturday morning cartoon poacher that we've seen a dozen times already. His goal in the long run is to just capture a rare eagle, and make money off of it, which is a pretty basic and standard motivation for a Disney villain that sounds boring. Also his design as intimidating and at times scary as it is, it’s not all that interesting compared to many other Disney villains (kind of like the villain Sykes from “Oliver And Company” for example).

 

But as cliched as the villain and his motivation is, there are still plenty of cool things about him that overpower how basic of a villain he is. The decision of casting an amazing actor like George C.Scott certainly helps a lot. I know that he doesn't sound Australian at all (seriously why are there very few characters in the film who have Australian accents) but his performance in this film has such the right balance of humor and intimidation that never goes too over board, that you don't care, and you can tell that Scott is having a lot of fun voicing this villain. There are plenty of scenes of him laughing and taunting the boy Cody, and saying priceless lines like "I didn't make it all the way through the third grade for nothing". But they'll be more than enough scenes where he'll come across as one of the most ruthless and bloodthirsty of poachers that you've ever seen on film. He has a temper that you do not want to see him lose, where he'll yell and behave violently with such demand and force that Scott perfectly sells. And his passion and joy for hunting animals and slaughtering them to make money off of their hides is so dark and insane that it's kind of disturbing for how much he enjoys it. He even sings twisted renditions of songs like "Home On The Range" and "Crawdad" to express his love for ripping off animals hides, and feeding people to the crocodiles. On top of it, it's also revealed right from his first on-screen introduction that he already killed the Father of the eagle that Cody is trying to protect, as he makes a taunting "cut-throat" gesture towards the kid with the remaining feather of the deceased eagle.



Speaking of Cody, out of all the things that make this villain feel so dangerous and menacing is the fact that the person he threatens all through out the film is a little boy. And no he doesn't just stand there yelling at him like the Cruella De Vil wanna-be Madam Medusa in the last film, he actually does some pretty nasty things to him that are just downright cruel and at times sadistic. He drags and pushes him around with absolute force, locks him in a cage with the frightened animals he's captured, has his pet go after him, and goes as far as tossing razor sharp knives around him as he's tied up. There's even one occasion where he thinks about loosening the boy's tongue by sticking him inside a giant ant hill. But the worst thing he ever does to Cody is tie him up to a hook to dunk him into to a river filled with hungry and vicious crocodiles. And just when you think that's not evil enough, when the crane stops working rather than just flat-out shooting the boy with his riffle, he tries to shoot the rope attached to Cody so he can watch him get ripped to shreds by a pack of crocodiles, that's pretty messed up. I mean really, put yourself in Cody's position if you were that age and tell me that you wouldn't be scared by all that in the least.



Even though Mcleach has never made it passed the third grade, has made up some very poor lies (like telling a trapped Cody that his pet Gonna dug up the large hole that he's trapped in), and never succeeds with getting Cody to willingly spill the beans about where the eagle's nest is, he is still shown to be a smart and cunning villain. When Cody threatens that his Mom will call the rangers when she finds out that he's missing, Mcleach throws Cody's back-pack in the water full of crocodiles to make it look like that he got eaten. And when Mcleach realizes that he'll never get Cody to talk, he makes up a lie about the eagle being shot as he casually mentions that the eggs won't survive without their Mother, where he'll know that Cody will go to her nest to save the eggs as he follows him. There's never a sense that Mcleach will ever give up on his desire because he will find one way or another to get what he wants. And why not, judging by the amount of animals he's captured and killed, and acts so confident about finding his next prey that's incredibly rare, it's no secret that he always gets every animal that he's desired to hunt.



The most incredible feature that this deranged hunter has to help him locate and capture an animal is a gigantic truck. It's not only an incredible looking badass design that's supported by cool CG animation (that looks just as cool as Sykes' limo), but the features it carries almost seems like the kind of gadgets that James Bond would have for his car if he decided to go hunting. It has a radar screen that blinks whenever one of his alarms goes off after an animal falls into one his traps; a cage that’s large enough to contain any animal or beast; a rocket launcher with rockets that explode into a giant net to capture his victim; a giant crane; and it all comes complete with a PA system that just adds to the awesome factor of it! Mcleach's driving is a bit more tamed compared to Cruella’s and Sykes' reckless driving, but his driving and truck is still crazy and powerful enough to plow through countless trees without any problem, as his truck leaps and topples down like how a Monster Truck would.



Assisting Mcleach with his hunting is his pet Goanna Joanna. Just like her master, Joanna comes across as deadly and scary, but also fun and comical. While there are plenty of scenes of her getting threatened and abused by her master that comes off as slap-sticky from her comical scarred expressions and the ways she gets injured, there are many other scenes of her suddenly popping out of nowhere and chasing after the characters that are pretty intense for how cunning and quick she is. Her best scary moment is when we first see her head pop-out snarling at Cody as if she was going to attack him that makes me jump every time I see this scene. Another trait about Joanna that I admire about her is how taunting she can be. Much like how the Stepmother's Cat in "Cinderella" loves to taunt people with that villainous smile that always gets under your skin as he makes things worse for the character, Joanna is practically the same like how she always prevents Cody and the animals from succeeding with every chance they have to escape, as she walks away sassing them. Or how Mcleach will give bad news to Cody as Joanna would make taunting gestures as if she was pouring lemon juice over an opened wound. You just feel like smacking her around sometimes despite that she gets more than enough of that from her master. My favorite comical scenes involving Joanna are whenever it involves her trying to eat eggs, whether it's at the eagle’s nest where she tries to bite and tare apart rock's that are shaped like eggs, or when she’s stealing eggs from Mcleach's egg's box when he isn't looking. If I had to pick a favorite between the two that makes me laugh the hardest, I would have to go with the last scene I mentioned. The timing, expressions, and Scott's voice acting are all what make the entire scene so priceless. And I love how it ends with Mcleach slamming the lid on Joanna's claws laughing and telling her that she got her "hand caught in the cookie jar".

But after laughing so hard when the scene is over, what follows is Mcleach's scariest moment in the whole entire film, and that's the look he gives when he figures out how to get Cody to take him to the eagle's nest. Just look!



One minute he looks normal as we're laughing at him. But then all of a sudden the light around him begins to dim, and for no rhyme or reason at all a purple light begins to reflect on his face as his eyes turn red. It's just so terrifying for how out of the blue it is, much like when the Stepmother gives her evil stare at Cinderella when she discovers about her and the Prince.



Mcleach in the end gets the infamous Disney villain death that is caused by gravity, and compared to all the famous villains who fell to their death, this is the most intensely animated one of them all. I'm not saying a villain falling to their doom like Mother Gothel or Frollo aren't better than this one because they are for how poetic and brutal they are. But in terms of animation this one offers the best thrills. The way Mcleach is trying to swim away from the waterfall as the current keeps on forcing him down stream is riveting since you can feel the power of him being pushed to his doom. And when you see him fall over the waterfall you get a perfect size and scope of how gigantic the waterfall is, that looks gorgeous but yet so treacherous at the same time, especially when considering that Cody and the mice are about to fall over it as well. What makes me glad about Mcleach's death is his pet Joanna gets to avoid it as she bids him farewell before going off on her own. I still hate her as much as Mcleach, but after seeing her getting abused so many times by her owner, as comical as they are I can't help but feel a little sorry for her, which would make the idea of having her die along with Mcleach seem very unwarranted since she is practically a victim herself.

It seriously does pain me that Mcleach gets so overlooked as a Disney villain. Granted I don't think he's up there with villains like Jafar, Maleficent, Frollo, etc etc, but he's nowhere near the mediocre category of villains like Ratcliffe or Madam Medusa either. There are truly many things that make the villain stand-out as a forgotten addition to the Disney villain line-up. The performance from George C. Scott carries all the enjoyable qualities that you would expect to get from a villain by Disney, along with his faithful pet being just as fun as he is. His love of torturing animals and children is disturbing. And he drives one of the best vehicles to have ever been driven by a Disney villain. If "Man" in "Bambi" was a loan villain who we actually see, it would probably be someone as crazy and cold as this hunter.

"Home, home on the range / Where the critters are tied up in chains / I cut through their sides / and I rip off their hides / and the next day I do it again."
-Mcleach

JAILHOUSE ROCK

On the anniversary of Elvis' passing I reviewed the second film that he appeared in titled "Loving You", that was better than his debut movie, but nothing too special. And being that it's Elvis birthday today, I'm going to review the third film he starred in...

 

Who isn't familiar with the image of Elvis dancing and singing in front of prison bars wearing his leather jacket and stripped prison uniform, it's practically one of his most iconic images that originated from this movie. His hit song the "Jailhouse Rock" that everybody knows and admires has also originated from this movie during a sequence that many music historians would consider to be the "granddaddy of modern music videos". But as iconic as the film is, I hardly hear anybody actually talk about the film itself, let alone hear praise about it. The only kind of praise I hear about the film is how iconic and groundbreaking the "Jailhouse Rock" sequence is which only lasts for less than 5 minutes. I myself have only seen the film once a few years back, and while I remember the layout of the story, I don't find myself remembering anything from it, except for the scene that the film is famous for. So despite the film's recognition for one scene in the movie, is the rest of the film just as strong, or is it just like any other Elvis movie where the scene that many people hail to as being one of  Elvis' best work could've easily just stood fine on its own as a music video; ON WITH THE REVIEW!

Construction worker Vince Everett (Elvis) gets into a fight at a bar after seeing a drunk bar patron abuse a woman, and Vince accidentally kills him which sends him to the state penitentiary for two years. As he’s serving time, Vince befriends his cellmate Hunk (Mickey Shaughnessy) who was once a great country singer that's now sadly washed-up. After watching Vince sing and fiddle around with his guitar, Hunk teaches Vince how to play the guitar properly, and encourages him to participate in a televised inmate show. Vince obviously becomes the hit of the show, and a jealous Hunk arranges that Vince doesn't get his piles of fan-mail, as he persuades Vince to sign a contract for them to be equal partners in showbiz once they both get out. Two years later, Vince gets released before Hunk does, but he is promised by Hunk a singing job at a nightclub owned by one of his friends. The owner however refuses to give Vince a job as a singer, but he luckily meets a woman named Peggy (Judy Tyler) who just so happens to be a music promoter that helps Vince out with his career. He eventually makes it to the top after so many failures of trying to get there, but he becomes a self-centered jerk who begins to turn against his friend and love interest for his selfish needs.

 

The story is as basic as a "rags to riches" tale can get, that offers little to no surprises or twists. There are obstacles that do feel challenging for Elvis' character, but you still know that everything's eventually going to turn out fine. Even when Vince loses his voice, as well acted as those scenes are where you feel bad for him and feel his pain, you still get the impression that he'll be back singing again in no time. And the sad part about the whole concept of Vince losing his voice is it isn't played out as a constant struggle during the third and final act, but more as a last minute obstacle to just give us a scene or two where we're supposed to pity him before we get to the last scene of the movie. But as predictable and generic as the story is, unlike how I found his previous film "Loving You" (that was also a "rags to riches" story) to be slow and boring at times, here I was thoroughly entertained and invested in it. It was interesting seeing Vince learning his musical talents as he serves time in jail and see him work his way to the top as the film goes on a good pace that feels rushed at times, but in the very least never feels slow.


  
Elvis himself, despite still being Elvis, unlike in the last two films where he plays the good hearted and sensitive pretty boy, here he plays the rebellious bad boy. And I have to admit that unlike the last two films where the character's personality pretty much resembles Elvis' where he only gets a few scenes of drama for him to actually act, here he's definitely acting all the way through the movie where its shocking to see this modest and endearing singer play a James Dean like rebel so naturally. I do think him turning into a blood thirsty cowboy seeking for revenge to kill his Brother in the climax of "Love Me Tender" is way more shocking than his performance here, but it's still impressive to see Elvis pull off the snarky and aggressive personality so flawless, where it doesn't seem like that Elvis is acting tough, despite that we will always see him as Elvis no matter what name, personality, or background they give to his character. And for the time that the film came out, since Elvis was considered to be a controversial performer among audiences, think about viewing this film at the time where he not only dances suggestively on-screen, but also constantly gets into fights, getting in bed with a girl (that was usually a big no at the time), being a jerk to others, and actually using profanity on one occasion. This was pretty shocking stuff for the time. However, as cool as it is to see Elvis slip into a role of a tough rebel so well, in terms of character while we can identify why he acts like a jerk, he's not really all that likable. All throughout the film, even before he lets his ego get to him, he's always seen as being rude, selfish, and violent. I mean I did feel like he did change in some ways by the film's end, and the reason for him to go into jail in the first place was for defending a helpless woman. But in all honesty, if Elvis wasn't playing him and that the character wasn't dancing or singing like Elvis would, he would just be a boring and unlikable cliched character. It's pretty much how I feel about the characters in "Grease". They're awful characters, but it’s the performances from the actors portraying them, and the songs they get to sing and dance to that makes us overlook how bad they are as characters. The same can be said about Elvis' character and performance in this movie.


 

The obvious main attraction to why people went to see this movie is to see Elvis sing and shake, and much like in his previous two movies, he does an outstanding job that reminds us why Elvis is such a talented artist. In his first two films, the first song he would sing on-screen would have a fast tempo, and rockin' beat, but in this film on the other hand, his first song is a slow love ballad called "Young Beautiful" that he sings three times in the film. And as much as I prefer to see Elvis play something as toe-tapping and catchy as songs like "We're Gonna Move" or "I've Got A Lot Of Livin' To Do" for his first musical number on-screen, him singing a love song is still a good change of pace that is as enchanting as hearing him sing "Love Me Tender". Elvis also gets another love to sing in the movie titled "Don't Leave Me Now" that he performs back to back in one scene, where he goes from singing the song just like how any other artist at the time would sing it, to then giving it his Elvis flair.



What helps make the songs that Elvis sings in the movie to be even more special is hiring two song writing legends like Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller (who wrote plenty of late 50s and early 60s hits like "Kansas City", "Love Potion Number 9", "Stand By Me", "Yakety Yak", "Searchin'", "Loving You", the list goes on) to write four of the film's songs (including the song that the film's named after) within five hours. And what's even more interesting about the songs they write for the film is, none of them are slow moving love songs, they all fall under the classic rhythm and blues rockabilly category. The only song that they write that's slow in comparisons to the others is the song "I Want To Be Free" that Elvis sings in jail for the talent show, that's a beautiful and touching song with Elvis' vocals and the harmony provided by the band, but still has a good beat to prevent it from being another slow tune. However, I hate that the song is cut short just as you are starting to get chills from it, and sadly the studio version of the song sounds so upbeat that it loses a great piece of the emotion that made the song in the film so haunting. The second out of the four songs written by Leiber and Stroller is the song "Treat Me Nice" which is sadly my least favorite song in the movie. It's not because it isn't enjoyable because it is, especially when you have Elvis singing in a recording studio wearing a flashy outfit as he moves a bit. It's just that there's hardly anything about it that stands-out. It just sounds like any other song made from the 50s, except that Elvis is singing it. It's almost as if time was running out for Leiber and Stroller 5 hour song writing limit, and that they just decided to write this song as quickly as possible after spending most of their time writing three solid songs that have a style of their own, which is why it sounds so generic. The song "(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care" is my opinion the second best song in the movie. The setting of Elvis standing in front of a Hawaiian shirt wearing band, as he faces a pool full of bathing beauties and shakes it for them is fun and fitting for its party atmosphere. How Elvis' voice deepens for when he sings the lyrics "Baby I Don't Care" is mesmerizing to hear. And aside from the songs beat and tempo being as tuneful as the other songs written by Leiber and Stroller, it’s also cool to hear Elvis play the electric base for the song, especially when it’s the only song where ever he plays that particular instrument even though we never see him play it on-screen.



Obviously the best song and highlight of the movie is the "Jailhouse Rock" dance sequence that Vince performs on TV. Out of all the song and dance numbers that Elvis has ever performed on the big screen, this is hands down his all time best! The song itself is unbelievably catchy with its tongue and cheek lyrics and "Rock & Roll" rhythm and beat that are all brilliantly sung by Elvis that carries so much of the Elvis-ism all over the soundtrack that it can never ever topped, or duplicated as perfectly as the way Elvis sings it. The Blues Brothers came close, but they still couldn't out-do the heart, soul, and energy that Elvis puts into the song with his smooth and iconic vocals! The choreography for the number is very stunning for how fast and energetic it is, not to mention that Elvis himself helped choreograph this sequence. Right from the very start where the inmates are banging cups against the bars in great rhythm, and come dancing out of their cells you immediately get pulled-in by the fun and excitement from watching Elvis and inmates dance and sing together. The energy from Elvis and the prisoners dancing never comes to a halt until the sequence is completely over, every single moment you see them they’re always doing something, whether it’s watching Elvis shaking his hips, or seeing the inmates sliding around and playing with the cardboard cut-out props. And speaking of cheap props, the set-piece we see them dancing in does look like something that could probably be made for a High School stage, but the simplicity of it is part of what makes it so efficient. Mainly because the way Elvis and the dancers interact with the set as they treat it more like a playground than they do as an actual prison. The use of Black-&-White and cinematography also helps make the simplicity of it look cool and stylized, along with the costumes that Elvis and the inmates wear.

  

The scene that the film is famous for is so awesome, that it's sadly the only part of the movie that looks visually interesting. Sure the use of Black-&-White helps suit the film's mood and tone better than it would in color, and that some of the other scenes I've mentioned with Elvis singing looking neat. But they still look and feel like any other film you'd see from that era that doesn't offer anything that interesting or different when it comes to visuals. Plus the scenes of Elvis singing are usually him just standing in one spot shaking it as they’re either shot from a far away distance, or close to his face, where it eventually becomes tedious after awhile in terms of cinematography. With the cinematography for the "Jailhouse Rock" sequence on the other hand, the editing and camera work is always moving and showing something cool to look at, that never feels too fast or too slow. I'm not going to act like that the film's visuals outside of the scene are dull, because they aren't. It's actually quite enjoyable seeing how drenched in the 50s the film is with its use of glorious Black-&-White. I'm just saying that if you're expecting to find any other scenes or visuals in the movie that will wow you the same way as the scene that makes the film so iconic, you're not really going to get much of it.

The last thing for me talk about are the supporting characters, and if there's another thing that the film gets more right than what the other Elvis film's did, it has a cast of characters that I do find myself caring about. The only memorable supporting character that we ever got in any of Elvis' first two movies is Lizabeth Scott as the manager Glenda in "Loving You" since she loved to stir stuff up to make Elvis' character both famous and infamous. All the other characters we've seen in the other two movies are just forgettable for how generic they are. In this film, I found myself attached to them, as well as the ones who serve little purpose to the story, like the disc jockey played by Dean Jones, Jennifer Holden as the stuck-up Hollywood star that Vince is forced to date, and Vaughn Taylor as the attorney that Vince hires. The main reason why I find the characters to be better than majority of the ones we saw in last two films is because we're limited to two, and that they’re given enough time to develop a relationship and interact with each other where the chemistry feels as believable as the chemistry between Elvis and Lizabeth Scott, instead of it all feeling phoned in because that's what the script says. And the performances that each of the two actors gives is excellent. I admire how the late Judy Tyler (who tragically died in a car crash three days after filming was complete) pulls off her character's limitations towards Vince's behaviors and decisions where she comes across as a strong minded and independent woman who still carries a lot of charm rather than just being arm-candy for Elvis, which you don't see too often in film's made in the 50s. I love how Mickey Shaughnessy pulls off the wise guy personality of this has-been musician that's jealous of Vince, where I completely buy that he was once a great country star. And believe it or not, he actually gets to sing the first song in the movie called "One More Day" that's surprisingly good and adds to the believe-ability of the character's back-story for how well Shaughnessy sings it.


The film is nowhere near a cinematic masterpiece outside of the one scene that people constantly praise, for how standard the story and look of the film is, but I do think it’s in many ways better than the first two films that Elvis has starred in. The story is cliched, but it was still more entertaining and investing than the stories in Elvis’ previous films. Elvis’ character is unlikable, but it’s still cool to see Elvis pull-off the tough guy approach so well. The visuals aren’t anything special, but it does make for a good 50s time capsule for how much it’s consumed by the period. The two things in the film that I don’t at all find myself mixed about are the rockin' songs that Elvis sings, and the likable supporting characters played wonderfully by Tyler and Shaughnessy. If you’re expecting this film to amaze you as cinematic gold through its story, visuals, and characters, you’re going to be disappointed. But if you’re looking for an Elvis film where he doesn’t feel like he’s playing himself this time, that’s entertaining, has characters that aren’t boring, and features many scenes of Elvis performing in a film that brings plenty of that classic 50’s nostalgia, then this is the film for you!

RATING 4/5

DENNIS THE MENACE

After reviewing two John Hughes Christmas films during the holiday Season, my first review this year is going to be on a John Hughes movie that I remember hearing about during childhood and catching glimpses of it on TV every now and then, but never ever getting the chance to watch it from beginning to end, until now. This is...



Based on the famous trouble making comic strip character; Dennis Mitchell (Mason Gamble) is a five year old boy who means well, but accidentally causes trouble that puts his next door neighbor Mr.Wilson (Walter Matthau) into constant peril. After a good 45 minutes or so of Dennis interacting with his friends and messing things up for Mr.Wilson, Dennis' parents are both called away to go on business trips and with no one in the neighborhood willing to watch over Dennis for the weekend, they give the job to a reluctant Mr.Wilson, who's hosting a party that very same weekend that involves a rare orchid that Mr.Wilson has been waiting to finally bloom after 40 years. Meanwhile there’s a traveling homeless thief named Switchblade Sam (Christopher Lloyd), who's been robbing houses in the neighborhood, and I'm just going to take a wild guess that Dennis will eventually encounter this evil bandit after screwing things up for Mr. Wilson and give him the same unintentional amount of misery that he gives to Mr.Wilson. As you may have guessed, the film is utterly predictable, but if it had good characters, a lot of funny humor, and a good message with plenty of heart, the obvious storyline would be forgiven (like in "Home Alone" for example), but unfortunately the film offers very little of that stuff.



Mason Gamble as our innocent trouble maker Dennis, for a kid who is trying hard to portray the role of Dennis, he at the very least does a decent job. Despite not at all being a good actor with his delivery that at times gets annoying nor helps the poorly written humor, he still is decently fitting as this curious kid that accidentally causes mischief to others who occasionally at times brings a good laugh here and there with his cute innocent reactions and behaviors. Is he good with the drama moments that the film throws at us, no, but at least there is a sense of some kind of effort being put into his performance, even if it doesn't come out as effectively as he tries to make it out to be. Walter Matthau as the grumpy next door that has to suffer all the abuse whenever Dennis is around does just as decent job of a job as our lead star does. He's obviously a better actor compared to the kid playing Dennis, and fits the role of playing an old and grouchy man well, but there's hardly anything for him to work with. The film's story that involves the rivalry between him and Dennis isn't as fleshed out compared to the other works by John Hughes like "Home Alone" or "Planes, Trains, And Automobiles" for example. Remember how the main characters in those two films don't get along, but as they go on their comical journey they change and grow strong after learning a heartfelt lesson that changes their relationship, this film doesn't have any of that. Now there are a few scenes where the film is trying to be emotional by having Mr.Wilson realize that Dennis only means well and that he finds himself to be a little too hard on him, but not only does that aspect feel phoned in to forcefully make us feel bad for him, but every thing that Wilson learns on his journey is completely forgotten and pushed aside in the end! On top of it, why did the film just focus on Mr.Wilson trying to better himself, why not Dennis as well, especially since he's the main character? He's the one causing all the mischief that’s life threatening to Mr. Wilson, and while he is a kid and that the amount of mischief he causes are completely unintentional, wouldn't it be a nice idea to see Dennis grow-up a bit to learn to be more careful and consecrate around people with Mr.Wilson reluctantly helping him as he understands the joy that children bring and to not to be so hard on them? I mean seriously, this film is written by the same writer who taught kids the power of family through the perspective of a kid who was left home alone that was both humorous and touching!

 

Instead of the film focusing on the relationship between Dennis and Mr.Wilson and using it's time and last act to develop their relationship, we get a forced in villain played by Christopher Lloyd that takes Dennis hostage! I'll admit, I do think Christopher Lloyd is really terrifying as this ugly homeless thief, but not only is his character forced in the movie, but he's really just all for scares and no personality. In "Home Alone" or "Ferris Buller's Day Off" we had antagonists that were fun and memorable, and despite being goof ball villains, there was still a sense of risk when our characters had to face them. With Lloyd on the other hand, there is a strong feeling of danger when Dennis has to face him, but his personality is so boring and his character is so uninteresting that aside from his scary as hell presence, he's pretty bland; and this is Christopher Lloyd, how could you make him boring?! This is the same guy who gave a menacing over the top performance that still manages to scare the wits out of us as Judge Doom in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?". Lloyd maybe scary in this film, but sadly that isn't enough to save for how boring of a villain he is. And given how over the top and cartoony all the characters are in this film, where Lloyd is simply just played out for scares as he carries around a switchblade knife to threaten little kids, his character in this film also feels pretty out of place, despite some over the top reactions he has when he meets Dennis.



Since the film's emotional core is lacking and doesn't at all develops the relationship between Mr.Wilson and Dennis because the film wanted to make way for slapstick and Christopher Lloyd as the bad guy; another huge disappointment that the film fails to deliver is good slapstick. Now granted, I did get a few occasional laughs from the slapstick in the film like the first scene with Dennis and Mr.Wilson; some of the cruel things that Dennis does to the villain; and even some of the comical reactions of pain from Matthau and Lloyd are at times just as funny as seeing Harry and Marv go through in the "Home Alone" films. That being said though, the slapstick isn't as good as compared to the slapstick in previous John Hughes films, especially "Home Alone". The timing for most of these gags are off; the majority of reactions that the characters have after suffer pain from Dennis' idiocy doesn't have the same perfect balance of pain and over the top reactions that Harry and Marv have; some of the jokes are over used to the point where they becomes dull and desperate (like the hits to the crotch gags, or the thief constantly landing on a board in the water for example); the majority of gags and situations aren't as creative or interesting as the gags in the previous films by Hughes were; and we sometimes get awkward and out of nowhere moments like Dennis' friend being forced to kiss an old dolls ass, and the thief getting an unnecessary fart joke (yeah, I know he was forced fed beans where the joke seems warranted, but the pay-off was really lousy). Also remember in the "Home Alone" films how Harry and Marv get bruises from the traps that Kevin sets-up for them where we never see them bleed as  the bruises look brutal but cartoony at the same time, instead of flat-out gruesome. Well after all the abuse that we see the thief go through, we see scratches leaking out blood and gruesome red bruises that make this ugly filthy criminal, look worse than he already looks. I'll even admit that the few scenes that I did laugh at were for the majority pretty awkward and lacking in terms of comedy that Hughes has written in the past.



The film's look and feel isn't that great either. I mean there are a few shots and scenes that I really liked, like the shot inside Mr.Wilson's mouth with Dennis about to fire an aspirin inside it with his slingshot; the build-up to Dennis' first on-screen appearance; and the scene when Mrs.Wilson recites a poem from her childhood as we look at the beautiful night sky with the music by Jerry Goldsmith adding to the beauty of the scene, where the scene ends with the villain's silhouette standing by the moon as the music starts to become dark and grim. But with those scenes aside, the film's look and feel is pretty standard to what other 90s kids flicks were doing at the time, which makes it seem bland and forgettable. Even Jerry Goldsmith's music sounds just as typical as every other kids film made around that time. The supporting cast of characters is also pretty forgettable. Dennis' parents played by Robert Stanton and Lea Thompson are incredibly dull; the kids who play Dennis' friends, despite coming close to the characters that they are based off of, are boring and not at all well acted; and all the people that live in the town are nowhere near as funny or memorable as the cast of characters that John Hughes has wrote in his earlier works. There's even a forced in rival at the company where Dennis' Mom works at, who's so downplayed in the film as the film's secondary antagonist that in reality the only reason why her character is even present in the movie is so she could be part of the final gag during the closing credits, where the pay-off isn't that funny, nor could we feel like that she got what she deserved for being a jerk because of how little screen-time she has in the film. The only supporting character I found myself enjoying is Joan Plowright as Mrs.Wilson who fits the role naturally and is given the only effective scene that this film has to offer, where she turns a scene that could easily be just as corny as the rest of the film, into something pretty touching. Sadly though, aside from that scene, she isn't really given much to do.

As lacking that the film is in terms of story, characters, acting, slapstick, and visuals, I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't entertained by it ok. I'm not at all saying it's a good film, it is indeed a bad film and a waste of time; but still as bad as it is, I honestly couldn't find anything in it that made me want to shut it off, or lose my interest as I was watching it. The story is poor and predictable, but not poor enough for it to not keep me interested in the plot. There are a good chunk of characters that are boring and bland, but they don't slow the film down or make me want to fall asleep. The humor isn't funny, but not unfunny to the point where I find it to be boring, annoying, or that offensively cringe worthy. The film does have a few funny moments (even if there aren't that many). Christopher Lloyd as the villain, much like how I felt about the Horned King  in "The Black Cauldron" is a boring villain, but owns every single scary moment he has with his unsettling expressions and Make-Up design. And Gamble, Plowright, and Matthau, despite given very little material to work with that's good, they do fit their roles fine and every once in awhile succeed with making a joke or emotional moment work (and by making an emotional moment work, I'm only talking about Plowright). I don't really recommend this film, nor is it a film that I would go out of my way and purchase for my collection, but if I just so happened to catch it on TV when there's hardly anything good on, or if I was with a friend or sibling that wanted to watch it, I wouldn't mind turning it on. Yeah the film is still in my opinion a waste of time, but it's none the less an entertaining waste of time.

RATING 2/5