Upside Down

Here we are again. The beauty and flaw in the science fiction genre. Anything can happen, anything that can be thought of or even imagined can come to life in the past, present, future, a tweaked present, anything. That's what's so cool about 2012's Upside Down, a sci-fi flick with a ton of potential that never really amounts to much to the point it's almost painful to watch.

A young man named Adam (Jim Sturgess) has grown up in a world with dual gravity, meaning two worlds exist next to each other, almost on top of each other. The world/planet is ruled by three scientific rules that help keep the worlds apart, Up being rich and well-to-do, Down struggling to survive in its own poverty. As a teenager growing up in Down, Adam meets Eden (Kirsten Dunst), a resident of Up. The worlds are strictly kept apart though, and the police break up one of their gravity-defying meetings. Some 10 years pass, and Adam is wallowing away working for an engineering company. One day on TV, Adam sees Eden as a representative/employee of Transworld, a corporation that rules everything. His long lost love is there in front of him after years of mystery. He decides that somehow he must defy gravity, Transworld and the law to get his love back.

A French-Canadian science fiction film from director Juan Solanas (who also wrote the script), 'Upside' received basically no theatrical release in the United States, making $28,000 on 11 screens one weekend. I only discovered it because it was advertised On-Demand on Reelz. It sounded pretty cool, and if nothing else, freakishly original. I'm a sucker for just about any science fiction -- especially when it's....well, actually good -- so I wanted to give it a chance. I did, and it wasted about 8 seconds in ruining that chance. More specifics later in that department, but it's just got too many flaws for its own good. The narration is inanely painful, the acting really bad to say the least, and a convoluted science background that had me questioning everything and anything that's going on. Long story short? I really didn't like this movie.

I'm going to start with Mr. Sturgess because he was the one that put me in a negative mindset almost immediately. Explaining all the background, all the science, all the rules, it's painful. An English actor, Sturgess really struggles with an American accent. More than that though, he elects to speak in this high, eternally happy voice that sounds like he's on A. happy gas or B. stoned out of his mind. It's loopy, goofy and painful. Anytime he goes back to the narration, I found myself frantically searching for the fast forward button. Beyond the painful voiceovers though, I'm still in the undecided camp on Sturgess. He doesn't bring a ton of personality to the part, his character really a series of shrugs, smirks and general confusion. It would have been nice to root for the Adam character, but it just wasn't there. A couple cool supporting parts are Albert (Blu Mankuma) and Pablo (Nicholas Rose), his boss and co-worker (both friends) down in Down.

Okay, so we've a basically unbearable male lead character. Come on, Kirsten Dunst, this one is on you! Save the movie! And..............oh, it doesn't happen. No fault of Dunst who at least commits to her part. The script does her no favors. Her Eden suffered amnesia 10 years earlier upon being separated from Adam, and now doesn't remember anything about their torn-apart love. Oh, wait! Yes, she does! And like a snap, she remembers everything. The chemistry just isn't there between Sturgess and Dunst in this really forced Romeo and Juliet-esque story. And because the story wasn't trying hard enough to be deep and existential, their names are Adam and Eden!!! No way, an Adam and Eve reference?!? It's too painfully contrived for its own good, like a high school English student trying to be profound.

If there's a positive, it is the visual. The abstract idea of two worlds with dual gravity is great. The visual execution works too even if there's too much reliance on CGI to bring it to life. The camera moves back and forth because the worlds are literally on top of each other. What Adam sees in the Up world is upside down to him and vice versa. As good as the idea is though, it just cannot overcome how bad the story is. The science seems to change at will as required for the sake of the story being moved along. Just not good. A brief positive is Timothy Spall as Bob, an Up co-employee and friend of Adam's who he meets at Transworld.

Upside Down (2012): */****

Small Soldiers

With 1995's Toy Story, the idea of toys coming to life....well...came to life. While there was some really dark moments in that Pixar classic -- Sid comes to mind torturing his toys -- it was mostly a really sweet, really funny story about the lives of toys when their masters/kids aren't around. At its very basic, ground level, that's an incredibly unique idea, one all kids have thought of at some point. But what if Toy Story didn't tap the brakes? I think it would be a movie a little closer to 1998's Small Soldiers.

Helping his father run his struggling toy store, teenager Alan Abernathy (Gregory Smith) accepts (read = bribes) a shipment of new action figures during the latest delivery. From GloboTech Industries comes the Commando Elite, a specialist group of commandos headed by Major Chip Hazard (voiced by Tommy Lee Jones), whose sole goal is to eliminate their enemies, creatures called the Gorgonites, headed by Archer (voiced by Frank Langella). The toys are a new design, able to speak and respond to voice commands. Alan is stunned though when Archer doesn't just talk to him, but respond with unique answers to questions he asks. These aren't just any action figures, but that's only the start. Alan takes Archer home with him overnight, but meanwhile at the store, the Commando Elite have come to life too. Their aim? Kill Archer and his fellow Gorgonites.

While I love Toy Story, I can also appreciate how cool the premise here sounds. I'd seen bits and pieces of this quasi-family oriented science fiction story from director Joe Dante, but I finally sat down and watched it straight through recently. I liked it but didn't love it. Complaints to come, but 'Soldiers' gets a lot of points for originality if nothing else. What if G.I. Joe and Cobra toys came to life? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles vs. Shredder and the Foot Clan? Stands to reason they might try and kill each other, right? Yeah, as a kid who grew up with action figures, that's pretty cool. The graphics here are spot-on as the toys come to life. It's not CGI -- always a good thing -- and while it looks realistic, the toys are still toys. They can break (damn plastic!) and their movements are pretty stilted. It goes a long way in making it seem even remotely believable.

The focus is not exclusively on the toys. Our main character, Alan, has quite the checkered past and has been kicked out of two schools, forcing his family, including Dad (Kevin Dunn) and Mom (Ann Magnuson) to move. He meets Christy (Kirsten Dunst), his neighbor, and quickly hits it off with her...even though she only "dates" older guys. So, yes, at times the story focuses too much on that after school special drama, how tough it is to be a teenager and all that garbage. Come on, parents, trust me...even though I've given you no reason to trust me! This is the movie at its slowest and most dull, but thankfully, the story moves along too fast to stay in one place for too long. And back to the killer toys!

One of the coolest things about 'Soldiers' as a movie fan is its knowledge of past movies. Case in point? The Commando Elite are voiced by four members of the cast of 1967's The Dirty Dozen, and it would have been five, but Richard Jaeckel died before filming. The Gorgonites are voiced by the cast of This Is Spinal Tap. Getting in line behind the perfect voice casting of Tommy Lee Jones is Ernest Borgnine as Kip Kallagin, Jim Brown as Butch Meathook, George Kennedy as Brick Bazooka, Clint Walker as Nick Nitro, and replacing Jaeckel, Bruce Dern as Link Static. Along with the calmly voiced Langella as Archer, the Gorgonites include Christopher Guest as Slamfist and Scratch-It, Michael McKean as Insaniac and Freakenstein, and Harry Shearer as Punch-It. It's just fun to hear that many talented actors working together, even if it's only their voices. Also listen for Sarah Michelle Gellar and Christina Ricci as two Gwendy (knockoff Barbie) dolls.

The funnest and also darkest part of 'Soldiers' comes when the Commandos get loose and go gunning for the Gorgonites. It sounds goofy enough, even a little innocent in the fun department. How could toys kill toys? Well, it gets pretty extreme at times. The Commandos have been built with government chips in them -- thanks Department of Defense -- that turn seemingly innocent toys into brutal killing machines. Yeah, seriously, killing machines. They want to kill their rival Gorgonites, but also the people protecting them, like Alan, Christy and their families, including Christy's goofy Dad (the always fun Phil Hartman). They build assault vehicles out of bikes and skateboards, make weapons out of chainsaws and toasters. There's a cool factor involved in seeing these toys go on the offensive, but it gets pretty dark too, many moviegoers complaining the movie was mismarketed upon its initial release.

Also joining the cast are GloboTech's money-minded, condescending CEO (Denis Leary) and the developers of the Commandos and Gorgonites, Jay Mohr and David Cross. It's a fun movie with some pretty big flaws, but it is entertaining with some nice touches in the cast.

Small Soldiers (1998): ** 1/2 /****