JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRISIS ON TWO EARTHS (2010), dir. Sam Liu, Lauren Montgomery

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This review was originally published at Cinemaspy.

By now, the Justice League cartoon show has been in syndication and on home video long enough that fans know what to expect: iconic heroes like Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman; threats to human life on a planetary scale; and a serious tone overall. While the new Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths doesn't necessarily exist in-continuity with the previous Justice League cartoon, it does feature a similar art style and storytelling approach in an original adventure that should please longtime fans, even if it may not wow them.

The plot is similar to the Justice League cartoon episode "A Better World" which introduced an alternate universe version of our heroes called the Justice Lords, who declared martial law over Earth in order to protect mankind from itself. Once again, Superman and company cross dimensions and face-off against different doppelgangers; but this time, the antagonists are the Crime Syndicate, who aren't well-meaning-but-misguided so much as mobsters with superpowers. They run illicit enterprises across their world, keeping governments in check by threatening to kill millions.

On this world, familiar Justice League arch-enemies were superheroes until they were systematically wiped out by the Syndicate. Now Earth's only hope rests with Lex Luthor, who as befitting a mirror dimension uses his intelligence for good, not evil. After leaving his world for ours, he convinces the League to follow him home and help liberate his planet. What no one expects, however, is for members of the Crime Syndicate to eventually pay the League's Earth a visit, thanks to an important device this Luthor has hidden at the heroes' headquarters.

That's more than enough plot to sustain a feature-length Justice League adventure. Writer Dwayne McDuffie, a veteran comic book scribe who previously wrote for the Justice League cartoon as well as the monthly "Justice League of America" title, fashions a scenario that suitably requires the combined efforts of the world's greatest heroes. In theory, the league is battling itself, so fans expecting action, action, and more action aren't likely to be disappointed. McDuffie leaves enough room for a little character development as well; however, with an ensemble of more than a dozen protagonists, not everyone gets equal screen time.

Overall, the art and animation exceed the Justice League cartoon: colors look rich and saturated, and character movements are exceptionally fluid (indeed, Wonder Woman appears so dynamic in one pivotal fight sequence that she drew cheers from the preview audience). The action is well-paced and occasionally-inspired—though one could argue none of the principals get to use their abilities in any unique fashion. Highlights include an aerial battle with realistic-looking cloud effects; and there’s a certain wit having the League encounter versions of B-list heroes from their world when they first arrive in alternate Earth, then having the same thing happen to the Crime Syndicate when they cross the breach in the reverse direction.

Another way the Justice League movie possibly surpasses the cartoon is the quality of the voice acting. While some of the cast’s big names seemingly get lost in the shuffle — in hindsight, the producers probably didn’t need Mark Harmon for Superman, since he doesn’t get all that much to do — there are plenty of standouts. William Baldwin makes for a brooding and effective Batman, although he seems to be channeling Christian Bale more than mimicking legendary Bat-vocalist Kevin Conroy, and Gina Torres does good work as the Crime Syndicate’s Superwoman, whom she appropriately plays as Wonder Woman with a seductive side. And James Woods is in a class by himself as Owlman, who might best be described as the Dark Knight minus a human side. An actor known for his feral intensity, Woods dials himself back considerably, and the result is the most memorable villain of the lot.

If I had any qualms with Crisis on Two Earths, they stemmed from how little the Syndicate actually resembles its League counterparts. Sure, their powers are similar: the evil Green Lantern sports a power ring; Ultraman can fly, is really strong, and can shoot lasers from his eyes like Superman, etc. But there’s already no shortage of comic book villains with similar powers as their heroic counterparts, but who have contrasting morals. Flash has the Reverse-Flash; Green Lantern has Sinestro; and the Man of Steel has Zod, among others.

In hindsight, what gave "A Better World" a sense of poignancy is how the alternative universe League of that episode, despite being totalitarian, wasn’t all that removed from our own; they just took the mission of protecting mankind a step too far. But because the members of the Crime Syndicate look and sound so different from Superman, Batman, etc., that aspect is missing here, and with the exception of Owlman and Superwoman, they’re just another bunch of anonymous baddies deserving of a super-slugging. Nevertheless, if you’re looking for a fun escapist yarn (as I often am) or you’ve been waiting for more Justice League cartoons (as I always am), you could do far worse than Crisis on Two Earths.

A CHINESE GHOST STORY (1997), dir. Andrew Chen

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Overall rating: ** (out of ****)

This seems more like an attempt to compete with Walt Disney than Hayao Miyazaki, and that’s unfortunate since Miyazaki’s Studio Gibli effectively set the new gold standard for hand-drawn animation during the late 90’s.

Indeed, films like “Princess Mononoke” and “Spirited Away” sported gorgeous drawings and impressive storytelling. However, they were also characterized by ambitious, occasionally epic storylines that utilized elements of Japanese mythology, executed in a mature fashion that appealed to all audiences. And therein lies the big difference between Miyazaki’s films and this one, produced by Hong Kong action master Tsui Hark; although “A Chinese Ghost Story” does touch on some grown-up themes, it does so in a restless manner that’s heavy on the eye candy. It’s as if Hark believed success depended solely on getting children into the theater.

Based on a story that inspired a live-action film and several sequels, the main character of “A Chinese Ghost Story” is Ning, a wandering tax collector with a broken heart. He was too busy earning his way in the world to keep his lover, who is mostly shown via flashback, from marrying someone else. When night falls, Ning ends up in a ghost city, which looks normal except for all the green tentacle-bearing creatures walking around (and that the city is lit up like Los Angeles in “Blade Runner”). What also distracts him is a beautiful woman named Shine; he falls in love with her at first sight, and it’s not long before she takes an interest in Ning herself.

Little does our protagonist know that Shine, who is also a ghost, works for a powerful entity named Trunk, who needs to eat human souls to maintain her beauty. After helping Ning out of a jam, Shine starts to coax him back to her master; however, a series of events happen which thrust the pair into the wilderness and toward each other. They include appearances by rival ghost hunters: on one side, White Hair and his apprentice, who resemble traditional action heroes; versus the more grizzled-looking Red Beard, who is about 70-percent facial hair and 100-percent gristle. There is also another female ghost jealous of Shine’s prominence among their fellow spirits. Finally, Shine has to beware the daylight, which can reduce her to ash, so Ning carries her around in an umbrella.

I can’t help thinking Miyazaki would have made a charming love story out of a young man with an umbrella that turns into a woman. To its credit, the film does reveal that Shine has a boyfriend – another ghost who has been away for years – and the idea that faithfulness is a shared trait among the protagonists makes their pairing all the more appealing. But screenwriter Hark, more known for kinetic, frenetic martial arts movies like “The Blade” and the “Once Upon a Time in China” series, barely lets the characters be alone together before propelling them into another fast-paced action sequence. The film manages to end before exhausting us, but what we take away isn’t the story and characters, it’s all the gimmicks aimed at the kid set.

Like a lot of the animated American movies of the 90’s, there is a pet sidekick providing comic relief (including a timely urination joke), some forgettable musical numbers, and strange moments of anachronism, including a ghost whipping out what amounts to a cell phone. In addition, characters all seem to try solving their problems by breaking out magical weapons, shooting at one another with electric eye beams, or the coup de grace: activating a giant robot with rocket boosters on its legs, and is clearly made out of computer graphics. At best, children will ooh and aah at the tumult of stimulation, but since nothing looks particularly innovative on a design level, adults are more likely to dismiss the giant robot as an inevitable toy product tie-in, or to wish for tighter editing during the elaborate throwdowns.

Kids may get a kick out of “A Chinese Ghost Story,” but those looking for sophisticated animated fare will probably be bored.

(Note: “A Chinese Ghost Story” was directed by someone named Andrew Chen, but based on the opening credits, you’d think it was Hark. Known for using directors as vessels for his own cinematic visions, he’s gotten most of the credit for movies he’s produced. As such, it only seems fair he gets the brunt of the criticism this time.)

THE CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO (1979), dir. Hayao Miyazaki

“The Castle of Cagliostro” proves you don’t need flesh-and-blood actors or real locales to stage an exceptional action adventure. Cartoons can do the job just nicely, so long as the writing is smart and the animators are talented.

The movie stars Lupin the Third, a thief descended from Arsene Lupin, the main character of French author Maurice Leblanc. Although he’s a master criminal, he possesses gentlemanly qualities and gadgets a la James Bond, and he’s also remarkably agile, as evidenced by the opening sequence in which he and his sidekick steal a fortune from a casino safe.

But as Lupin quickly recognizes, the bills are counterfeit, which leads them to take a trip to Cagliostro, where the secret of all the forged money is reputed to be. There, they encounter a young woman named Clarisse, who is trying to escape an arranged marriage to a nefarious count. During the rescue, Lupin recognizes the crest on the ring she is wearing, and it’s possible they share a deeper connection.

What follows are breakneck chases, daring escapes, puzzles, even a touch of comedy as an Interpol agent tracks the thief to the count’s castle. It’s interesting to watch “The Castle of Cagliostro” nearly 20 years after it was first released, given that it’s in the action adventure genre, which has been dominated since the 80’s by the twin pillars of James Bond and Indiana Jones.

Of course, Miyazaki’s film came out a few years before “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” and Lupin is refreshingly free of Dr. Henry Jones’s influence. He’s less of a brawler, more of a lady’s man, and even though the action in “Raiders” is occasionally like a cartoon, Indiana Jones is always flesh and blood. Not so with Lupin, who can scale walls like Spider-man, and at one point drives a car along the side of a mountain.

Ian Fleming’s Bond, however, has been around since the 50’s, and some of his movies’ influence can be found in “Castle;” chiefly, the villain’s hideout equipped with hi-tech traps. Meanwhile, like any serialized adventure, there is a pre-established cast of supporting characters, including a rival female spy, a sidekick who’s good with a sword, and that aforementioned Interpol agent, who is no dummy but unfortunately finds himself always one step behind his prey.

The art is top-notch for pre-CGI days, but it’s Miyazaki who elevates the entire enterprise to masterpiece levels. Known internationally for epics like “Princess Mononoke” and “Nausicaa,” he co-wrote the screenplay with Harauya Yamazaki, and it’s a very clever one, especially in the various subterfuges Lupin uses.

True, “Castle” may be less serious than Miyazaki’s later efforts, but unlike a lot of modern animated films which seem to be marketed towards young children, this one is free of dumb jokes and all the characters act like they have a brain in their heads. It’s as if Miyazaki set out to entertain grown-ups as well as the young, and as such, Lupin’s motivations are unexpectedly complex and the ending is surprisingly touching.

Overall rating: **** (out of ****)

NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND (1984), dir. Hayao Miyazaki

A Princess Stuck in the Valley of the Suck

Quite possibly the best animated film made during the 1980’s, “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind” crosses science fiction with war scenes of palpable emotional impact. The end result is more ambitious than expected, as the movie reflects on the hypocrisy of war, and mankind’s capacity of terrible acts during times of conflict. Even without too much graphic human suffering, “Nausicaa…” leaves a mark the way “Apocalypse Now” and “The Deer Hunter” left theirs. Yes, the movie also contains flying airships, strange creatures, and psychic powers, but writer/director Hayao Miyazaki merely uses them as context for the issue that’s really preoccupying him.

The movie takes place one thousand years after a fiery cataclysm decimates humanity. All remnants of the human race have dispersed, and a “Toxic Jungle” serves a natural barrier between nations. This enchanted forest contains giant insects, trees that would dwarf the redwoods, and plants that release strange white spores. Inhaling the spores over long periods of time can prove fatal, as the people of the Valley of the Wind, who used to live closer to the “Toxic Jungle,” know all too well.

In hopes of finding a cure for the lethal powders produced by the flora, Princess Nausicaa, pride and joy of her people, makes regular journeys to the “Toxic Jungle.” A top gun behind the controls of her jet ski/hang glider hybrid, the princess is even more likable for how much she clearly cares about her subjects. When she stumbles across the abandoned shell of an Ohm, an elephantine mollusk whose shell features translucent skylights for “eyes,” Nausicaa’s first thoughts have to do with the potential benefits for the valley. Unfortunately, casual activities such as this, and saving her friend from a ticked-off insect that chases him halfway across an adjacent desert, eventually give way to a more serious story. Very soon, war arrives at the doorstep of her home.

The kingdom of Tolmekia does not formally declare war on the Valley of the Wind. However, some very important cargo crashes down nearby, and their army rushes in to secure it. The siege leaves Nausicaa’s father, the king, murdered, and her people inducted into the Tolmekians’ master plan. Unfortunately, Tolmekia’s main enemy, another relatively advanced kingdom called Pejite, cannot separate unwitting foes from genuine ones, so they plan to wipe out the entire valley using a very clever strategem.

Miyazaki, who has addressed the topic of war in other features (most recently, “Howl’s Moving Castle”), paints the conflict in “Nausicaa…” as a potentially endless cycle of atrocities. Ironically, those who inflict there terrible deeds, the director argues, sincerely believe that humanity will benefit from their actions. For example, the Tolmekians plan to use the cargo, which they stole from Pejite, to destroy the “Toxic Jungle” once and for all. The way Princess Kushana, the officer in charge of the Tolmekian army, sees it, the forest must be destroyed, or mankind will spend the rest of eternity living at the mercy of the insects.

On the flipside, Pejite is ready to unleash a glowing, red-eyed Hell upon the Valley of the Wind. Their main purpose, however, isn’t preventing their rival’s machinations, but getting the cargo back, so they can level the “Toxic Jungle” themselves. Like the Tolmekians, Pejite also wants to return mankind to its former, loftier position. However, they are deathly afraid of Tolmekia being the sole possessor of a power as destructive as that cargo. To Nausicaa, who spends time as a prisoner of both kingdoms, the mutual willingness to kill innocents to achieve a goal makes Tolmekia and Pejite equals in her eyes. But Asbel, a vengeful young pilot/prince from Pejite, takes umbrage. “All the Tolmekians want is to take over the world,” he says. “We are nothing like them.” His words only serve to underscore his naivete. After all, since when does any participant in a war not view themselves in a superior moral light compared to the enemy?

Luckily, Miyazaki constantly reminds the audience what “fighting a just war” really implies. As the conflict between the two nations draws in creatures from the “Toxic Jungle,” it’s the weak who suffer most, while those in power get to indulge their most sadistic impulses. Whether it’s images of women and children huddled together, hungry and scared, while the menfolk prepare war plans; the old adage “burning a village in order to save it” brought to startling reality for heroes returning home; a battlefield littered with the corpses of soldier dragonflies (an allegorical shot that’s just as potent as what Miyazaki intended them to represent); or, most appallingly, a display of near-unbearable cruelty visited upon an innocent life for the expressed purpose of stirring up its comrades, trust that in “Nausicaa…,” war contains enough pain for everyone, regardless of gender, age, or species.

Indeed, like most modern war movies, “Nausicaa…” is a veritable minefield of moral transgressions. Even the titular heroine commits one. It’s out of character, of course; through most of the movie, she shows nothing less than absolute respect towards all living things. This one action becomes a blemish, something she spends the rest of the movie trying desperately to redeem. Interestingly, Miyazaki won’t excuse her simply because it is wartime. Human beings are not animals, he seems to be arguing. Our ability to rationalize, to accept the complexities of a given situation, sets us apart from the beasts, who are slaves to their baser instincts.

These baser instincts, such as the need for revenge, cause Nausicaa’s people to take up arms against the Tolmekian invaders. It seems that their doomed airship carried spores from the “Toxic Jungle,” spelling the end for a beloved orchard. Can Nausicaa save her people’s souls, lest they become beasts, or worse, standard-issue characters from a war flick? Miyazaki’s other films during the same decade (“Castle in the Sky,” “Kiki's Delivery Service”) tended towards happy resolutions, so don’t expect the writer/director to deviate this time, either, even if that makes “Nausicaa…” less tragic, and radically different, from quite possibly every war epic that came before.

Overall rating: **** (out of ****)