Mulan (1998)

Plot Summary (Spoilers):
Mulan, with the help of her mother and grandmother, gets ready to meet the matchmaker.

Mulan (Ming-Na Wen, Lea Salonga singing)

Unfortunately, her meeting with the matchmaker doesn't go well. In fact, the matchmaker says that Mulan will never bring honor to her family.

Soon after, there is a notice that the Huns have invaded, and a man from each family is to join the army. Unfortunately, Mulan's father is the only man in her family. He is, however, old and Mulan takes matters into her own hands. She cuts her hair, dons her father's armor, and rides off to join the army.

Her ancestors send a guardian to watch over her, but Mushu (Eddie Murphy), the gong ringer, mucks things up. He secretly goes in place of the Great Stone Dragon. When Mushu meets up with Mulan, he tries his best at showing Mulan how to be a man. While his tips aren't useful, Mulan manages to join the army without anyone suspecting that she is a woman.

Mushu (Eddie Murphy)

Captain Li Shang is put in charge of training the new recruits and their development is shown by song.

While Mulan can't keep up with the other soldiers physically and asked to go home, she redeems herself and subsequently excels at all the skills.

Eventually, with Mushu's meddling, Captain Li Shang and the newly trained troop head out to meet with his father's troops. However, they arrive to see that the Huns have decimated his father's troops.

Fa Zhou (Soon-Tek Oh)

As they leave, a rocket (fired by Mushu) gives away their position and the Huns attack.

Mulan, blamed for the rocket fire, redeems herself in the end by causing an avalanche with the last available cannon and wiping out all but the toughest of Huns. Injured in the battle, her wounds are tended for and her true gender is revealed. While Mulan's actions would normally be penalized by death, Shang, as repayment for saving his life, sends her home.

The story, however, doesn't end here and Mulan eventually brings honor to her family. You'll have to watch the movie to find out how!

[20160708 Edit]

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19980706:
One of the reasons I enjoyed Mulan was for the great music; I love watching music-filled Disney films!

In addition, the film is full of adventure and fun. It also features a heroine! Last, but not least, the film had great laughs from Mushu (Eddie Murphy).

Favorite song and sequence: "I'll Make a Man Out of You" by Donny Osmond.

[20110122]

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20160515:
Apparently I haven't seen this movie in the last six years.

Ling (Gedde Watanabe, left), Mulan, Chien-Po (Jerry S. Tondo, top-right), and Yao (Harvey Fierstein, bottom)

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Instant Comments:
4a: The chess move.
3: "How lucky can they be? They're dead."
3: Technically it's the cricket's fault.
3: The cricket only has four legs.
4a: Mulan passes by the guardian - the one that Mushu is supposed to wake up - and places her hand on it while she sings "Reflection"
4a: Kind of ridiculous there's no rules regarding one's ability to serve. He's already old and disabled. [What's the point in requiring him to serve?]
4a: Why couldn't Mushu wake up the guardian?
5: hehe the cricket does a little handpuppet version of mushu. mushu's intro to mulan
3: "Ah, I see you have a sword. They're very manly. And tough."

Chi Fu (James Hong)

4a: "*the* Fa Zhou?" [interesting that Fa Zhou is so famous that Shang is aware of the name, and Chi Fu seems to be aware of the name, but earlier in the movie, there wasn't much fuss about it]
4a: "Did they send me daughters when I asked for sons?"
5: smile. I knew Mushu was gonna put the apple on (cause I remember the movie) but still funny
3: It's heartwarming when she begins climbing up the pole.
5: teary eyed as she leads the running pack. i dont remember that.
3: "I'll Make A Man Out of You" is one of the best songs in Disney films. It's clever because it also narrates the story.
3: "Stand watch Mushu, while I blow our secret with my stupid girly habits."
4a: Smile. I never want to see a naked man again. Then everyone runs into the water.
5: haha. "i never wanna see a naked man again"
5: ha! a bunch come running by
3, 4a: "Hey, I'll hold him, and you punch."
4a: How come Mulan is the only one with an ancestor?

5: hehe. they're riding a panda because the horse refused to help.
3: I wonder if there's a recording where the song finishes (i.e., "A girl worth fighting for") instead of abruptly ending with "A girl worth fighting."
5: he sings about the cattle and the cows look up and moo as if insulted
4a: Paused after "A Girl Worth Fighting For"
4b: Resume. They reached the burnt village
4b: Oh, it's Mushu's fault
3: "You missed. How could you miss? He was three feet in front of you!"
4b: she single-handledly wiped out an entire army
3, 4b: "Man, you are one lucky bug."
3: Hmm, besides saving the entire troop, she also saved the captain's life.
3: "I let them slip through my fingers."

Shang (BD Wong, Donny Osmond singing)

4b: "What!? What do you mean you're not lucky?"
3, 4b: [4b: hahaha] "And what are you? A sheep?"
5: haha. "and what are you, a sheep?"
3: Oh, I don't think I ever got that before. It's a pun on 'Hun.' "Let's go kick some honey buns!"
4b: A small feeling in my eye on the "I'll Make a Man Out of You (reprise)".
3: "Now that's what I call Mongolian barbecue."
3: Oh, I don't think I noticed that one either. Mushu and Cri-Kee hitched a flight on a kite. And that's what they turned into the wings when he says, "Your worst nightmare."
3, 4b: "You. Are a lucky bug."

3: Emperor's words to Mulan:

"I've heard a great deal about you, Fa Mulan. You stole your father's armor, ran away from home, impersonated a soldier, deceived your commanding officer, dishonored the Chinese Army, destroyed my palace, and... you have saved us all."

3: Second happy moment in the movie (when they all bow).
3: "Very well. You can have his job."
3: Hehe. "Is she allowed to do that?" They all shrug.
3, 4b, 5: [3: Hahahaha.] "Oh! Sign me up for the next war!"
3, 4b: "Would you like to stay for dinner?" "Would you like to stay forever!?"

Fa Li (Freda Foh Shen) and Gradmother Fa (June Foray, Marni Nixon singing)
"Sign me up for the next war!"

Credits:
3: Hmm, while Christina Aguilera's recording of "Reflection" (played during the credits) is good, I like the simplicity of the song as sung within the movie. In contrast, I like "Tale As Old As Time" as performed by Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson more than when it was sung within the movie by Mrs. Teapot.
3=20160516, 4a=20211031, 4b=20211102, 5=20240714

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Released 19980619.
Watched 19980706 Theatre. Harkins Theatres [Mulan] 4:55P. $4.
Watched several times. Once on DVD.
Watched 20160516 (Netflix, Instant)
Watched first half 20211031, second half 20211102 (Disney+)
Watched 20240714 (Disney+)
Mulan (1998) Tony Bancroft, Barry Cook. 88 min.

Relevant Links:
Mulan (IMDb.com)
Mulan (RottenTomatoes.com)
Mulan (Wikipedia.org)
Hua Mulan (Wikipedia.org)

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The Mummy Returns (2001)

Watched 20160514 (Netflix, Instant)
The Mummy Returns (2001) Stephen Sommers. 130 min

Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser)

Relevant Links:
The Mummy Returns (IMDb.com)
The Mummy Returns (RottenTomatoes.com)
The Mummy Returns (Wikipedia.org)

Evelyn (Rachel Weisz)

20160514: [20160530]
Like The Mummy (1999) before it, The Mummy Returns is packed full of fun, exciting action and cool special effects.

Unlike the first movie, however, the plot of The Mummy Returns was more plausible.

Furthermore, no particular scene stood out as a significant plot hole.

With that being said, while the movie had its moments, there are many action movies I'd rather watch instead of it.

Jonathan (John Hannah) and Alex (Freddie Boath)

Instant Comments:
Interesting. The Scorpion King (2002) is a spin-off of The Mummy Returns and takes place 5000 years earlier.
He just steps on them.

Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo)

Ha. Is that meant to be like his mom's accident in the library?
Whoa, he caught the blade and threw it back.
What!?! I was just about to ask myself. Then: "Whoa, Mom, when did you learn to do that?" "I have no idea."

Ardeth Bay (Oded Fehr)

That's funny that her brother was at their house. Cause at one point I wondered if he would be in the movie.
That's a strange exchange concerning his mark. It was also never fully explained why his son saw the same mark on the wall.

Anck-Su-Namun (Patricia Velasquez)

Reincarnation. And yet, only in body? What the heck. Especially since this girl knew where everything was.
"Honey, whatcha doin? These guys don't use doors." [A moment later they come crashing through the walls]

Mr. Hafez (Alun Armstrong)

What a ridiculous chase/fight. Great, but ridiculous.
Tower Bridge in London.
"You all right?" "This was... my first bus ride."
Lol, really? They were able to catch up with the chase?

The Scorpion King (The Rock)

"Scepter of Osiris"
Damn, tricked into opening the chest. "You wanted to open the chest, open the chest."
Hahahaha. The one eye.

Izzy (Shaun Parkes)

Oh wow, the pharaoh's daughter Nefertiri.
Holy shit. That's quite an army.
Hmm. Why is this wall coming from behind them?
Out of breath. "You know. It's not easy... being... a dad."

Haha. From the first film: Amenophus.
Lol. Gets the diamond.
"O'Connell, you almost got me killed!" "At least you didn't get shot."

The Mummy (1999)

Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser) and Evelyn Carnahan (Rachel Weisz)

20160511:
The Mummy was all-around a solid film. While released in 1999, several of the special effects were still neat, such as Imhotep's incomplete form and the face-embedded sandstorm.

I would, however, find flaw with various scenes which don't make absolutely no sense. Avoiding any spoilers, what I'm talking about is akin to a villain arrogantly divulging his/her plot to the superhero, except worse.

Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo)

In the end, it's an all-around enjoyable movie and I wouldn't go out of my way to watch it again, but wouldn't mind if the situation naturally arose.

---

Instant Comments:
So I remember none of the introduction. It's possible I've only seen this movie in bits and pieces.
So on the one hand they punished him, but on the other they also created a deadly weapon? What the fuck?

Haha, great comedy, but poorly secured shelves. :p
Ha. I was wearing headphones and that shriek jump scare was definitely surprising.
Ha! "Twenty-five!"
Lol. She remembered the map but not the key?
"Hey Benny! Looks to me like you're on the wrong side of the river!"

Anck Su Namun (Patricia Velasquez)

Lol, that scarab crawling around is pretty disgusting.
Why would you make a key for a deadly weapon?
Glenlivet 14 years.
"He's still... He's still..." "Juicy."
Lol. Sure. Read the book out loud in its native language... Silly girl. "NOO! YOU MUST NOT READ FROM THE BOOK!"

How is it possible that neither the librarian nor the magi know the language even half as well as Evelynn?
Opens his one-handed blade to remove the scarab. Then shoots it dead.
"Bembridge scholars never wrote about this."
Hehe, shoots the one mirror to reflect in the right direction.
That's a lot of gold.

Evelyn Carnahan, Rick O' Connell, and Jonathan Carnahan (John Hannah)

Hehe, uses the magi's beard/chin to light the match.
Huh, a couple of the notes sounded like they were from Star Wars.
It's unclear to me why he stopped the ritual. What threat did the book have at that moment?
When he grabs the hand which grabs the sword is one of the cooler scenes so far.
Can't Imhoptep pick up the book and read from it?

Lol, he had brought out so much...

[20160529]

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Seen bits and pieces before.
Watched 20160511 (Netflix, Instant)
The Mummy (1999) Stephen Sommers. 125 min

Relevant Links:
The Mummy (IMDb.com)
The Mummy (1999 film) (Wikipedia.org)
The Mummy (RottenTomatoes.com)

Bowfinger (1999)

Watched 20160508 (Netflix, Instant)
Bowfinger (1999) Frank Oz. 97 min

Kit Ramsey (Eddie Murphy) and Robert Bowfinger (Steve Martin)

Relevant Links:
Bowfinger (IMDb.com)
Bowfinger (Wikipedia.org)
Bowfinger (RottenTomatoes.com)

20160508: [20160531]
Every so often some of my friends and I talk about movies and one of the movies that came up was Bowfinger. While the plot seemed simple enough, I still couldn't imagine the entirety of the film and only had their recommendation to motivate watching the film.

Bowfinger and Daisy (Heather Graham)

Finally finding the time to sit and watch the movie, I would say I was surprised at how good it turned out to be. I would also have to admit that I was a bit skeptical during the first fifteen to twenty minutes.

Overall, I would highly recommend this to anybody who enjoys comedies.

On a slightly different note, the first movie which came to my mind when thinking of similar movies was Airplane! (1980). IMDb.com, however, gave twelve recommendations which were movies starring either Steve Martin or Eddie Murphy.

Bowfinger, Slater (Kohl Sudduth), Carol (Christine Baranski), and Afrim (Adam Alexi-Malle)

Instant Comments:
"If it goes the way I think it goes, I'll see you at the Oscars."
Ha. Switches suits.
"It is my van."
Lol. Fake tail.
"It's too cerebral! We're trying to make a movie here, not a film!"

Kit: The letter K appears in this script 1,456 times. That's perfectly divisible by 3.
Freddy: So what? So what you saying?
Kit: What am I saying? KKK appears in this script 486 times!

Jerry Renfro (Robert Downey Jr.)

Terry Stricter, MindHead Honcho: Happy premise #1.
Kit: Happy premise #1: There are no aliens.
Terry Stricter, MindHead Honcho: Happy premise #2.
Kit: Happy premise #2: There is no giant foot trying to squash me.
Terry Stricter, MindHead Honcho: Happy premise #3.
Kit: Happy premise #3: Even though I feel like I might ignite, I probably won't.

"...Cash, every movie costs $2184."

Jiff (Eddie Murphy)

Oh my goodness. [getting illegal immigrants]
References Rain Man (1988): "a white guy who plays an idiot gets the Oscar"
Hehe. Sleeping her way to the top.
His reaction to "Would you be willing to show your rear in the movie?" is hilarious.
"You're doing great. You're gonna be a star."
Everybody else on the street is so calm.

What!?! His brother! Lol. What a twist.
Citizen Kane (1941), Apocalypse Now (1979), The Godfather (1972), Dr. Strangelove, Stanley Kubrick, A Clockwork Orange (1971) are names which the Mexican crewman mention when discussing great movies.
"Did you know Tom Cruise had no idea he was in that vampire movie till two years later?"
Lol. "Who told you?"
"You must hurry!" [turns to his bodyguards/men] "I'm Keith."

'You're doing great. You're gonna be a star." - Jiff

"I think... I think it was a beautiful lie."
"Got you suckers!"
Lol. "Farrah's one of the most powerful lesbians in Hollywood."
"Secret Agent Man"
"Kung Fu Fighting"

Credits:
Oh that's right, that one character was played by Jamie Kennedy.
After the credits: "I saved the world! I saved it."

The Little Rascals (1994)

Watched several times when I was younger.
Watched 20160506 (Netflix, Instant)
The Little Rascals (1994) Penelope Spheeris. 82 min [adapted from Our Gang (1922-1944) by Hal Roach]

Spanky (Travis Tedford)

Relevant Links:
The Little Rascals (IMDb.com)
The Little Rascals (film) (Wikipedia.org)

20160506: [20160531]
A movie that I watched many times as a kid, The Little Rascals is a family comedy that's full of fun and laughs. Furthermore, somewhere in the middle of all the comedy, there lies themes of friendship and gender equality.

Stymie (Kevin Jamal Woods)

Without going into detail, The Little Rascals should bring a good one and a half hour of entertainment to kids and adults alike.

While I would venture to recommend the film, that recommendation would surely come with a childhood bias.

Instant Comments:
Haha, that fishing scene defies the laws of physics

Buckwheat (Ross Elliot Bagley)

"What's it say?" "We gotta learn to read."
"Your fly's undone."
I don't know if I ever noticed that as a kid. Spanky details that the prize this year is presented by A.J. Ferguson and Stymie uses the pronoun 'he.'
Kitty litter!!! Gross. ["That wasn't sand, that was kitty litter."]

Porky (Zachary Mabry)

"The dentist pulled my wisdom teeth." I probably didn't realize what that was back then.
Lol, that passing the bucket bit is pretty funny.
"Quick, what's the number for 911?"
Ha! They're right across from the station.
"Wow, that is fast."

Spanky and Alfalfa (Bug Hall)

"Why am I soaking wet?" "Don't worry alfalfa, I used to have the same problem." [I don't think I got that one when I was younger.]
The Olsen twins! [in tandem] "Are you sure?"
"They like to moon ya." "No, we don't."
Hahaha. "You know what they say. Wood doesn't grow on trees."
"If we were your kids we'd punish ourselves!"

Darla (Brittany Ashton Holmes)

"What was number 2?" [Haha, another joke I definitely didn't understand.]
Huh. In that short time they already got to his house and jumped in the pool!?!
Who sings this song? [It is "Love Has No Pride" written by Eric Kaz and Libby Titus, performed by Rosanne Cash*]
At 1 hr 7 min: "You little rascals!"

Top: Rascal, Rascal, Uh-Huh (Courtland Mead), Rascal
Bottom: Porky, Stymie, Froggy (Jordan Warkol),** Buckwheat, Rascal, Rascal, Petey (Himself)

Lol. In hindsight, this race was terribly officiated. They possibly took a longer route which was somehow a shorter route. And technically the solar powered car with a single rider should definitely be disqualified...
"Winner by a hair, yes!"
"Well don't that beat all."
"Is that a cowlick, or you just glad to see me?"

Waldo's Dad (Donald Trump)

"Say, let's even things up and put one on this side."
Raven-Symone!
"Actually I've always had a rather extensive vocabulary. Not to mention a phenomenal grasp of grammar and a superlative command of syntax. I simply chose not to employ them."
I love the outtakes.

(Reba McEntire)

Oh, the bank loan approval employee was Mel Brooks.
Lol, in one of the scenes during the credits, two bubbles pop on Ms. Crabtree's (Daryl Hannah) breasts! What the heck!

*Interestingly, her father, Johnny Cash, is listed as one of the people who've performed the song, but not her.
**E.G. Daily (voice of Tommy Pickles 1991-2004 and Buttercup 1998-2005) did the voice for Froggy.

Minions (2015)

Kevin (left), Bob (center), and Stuart (right)

20160503:
Having enjoyed Despicable Me (2010), I was fairly certain I would enjoy Minions. At the same time, I had no idea what the movie would be about. In particular, I didn't know that it was essentially a prequel to Despicable Me.

The Minions (Pierre Coffin) are born.

In the end, I did in fact enjoy the movie, but I would note that it was not as well-balanced a movie as Despicable Me. Elaborating, Minions was all-around funnier than Despicable Me, but had a weaker story.

As for the ending (spoiler alert), Gru's appearance at the end of the film was unexciting.

[20160601]

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20160714:
I watched bits and pieces of this movie today with Ada. Though a big reason I missed part of the film was that my car was being towed away!

Note to Self: If the opportunity arises, replace some of the screenshots with other characters (e.g., Herb Overkill (Jon Hamm), Walter Nelson (Michael Keaton), Madge Nelson (Allison Janney), and The Queen (Jennifer Saunders)).

---

Instant Comments:
1: The fanfare.

Scarlet Overkill (Sandra Bullock)

1: On Netflix, when the Minions speak their own language, the closed caption just says "[Minionese]".
1: Hehe. They get their uniform.
1: Huh, this is a prequel and takes place in 1978. When does Despicable Me take place? That is, how old is protagonist of Despicable Me in this film (if he's alive).
1: Bewitched. The Dating Game.

1: Lol. They are quick to adapt to the technology.
1: Ha. Instructions to Orlando from a baby.
1: Even the cat has a mask.
1: Is the baby of the family Gru?
1: I totally didn't think about how Orlando in 1978 would mostly just be swampland.
1: "It's so much fun, it's a crime."

While Stuart and Kevin shiver in fear, Bob finds the threatening fairy tale delightful.

1: "LUV2ROB"
1: Haha. "Way to go guys. We killed the original."
1: "Make 'em laugh!" (Singing in the Rain)
1: "Do you know who this is?" "Eh. La cucaracha?"
1: "Respect. Power." "Banana!"
1: Peter and the Wolf plays during the story.
1: Haha. Bob liked the story.

1: Haha. Quite the twist ending to the chase.
1: Lol. They get in the way of the moon landing recording.
1: The Beatles walk in front of Westminster Abbey
1: "Mind the gap!"
1: Looks like Rambo.
1: Lol. Funny gag ("Do not...")
1: Hmm. How did he live?

After the credits: Revolution by The Beatles.

1: Smashes the guitar after playing a bit of Eruption by Van Halen.
1: Hmm, if Scarlet lived then it makes sense that Kevin lived.

Credits:
1: Minions and cast perform The Beatle's Revolution after the credits end. There are a couple 3D gags.
1=20160503, 2=20160814

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Watched 20160503 (Netflix, Instant)
Watched 20160814 (Netflix, Instant) - in pieces
Minions (2015) Kyle Balda, Pierre Coffin.* 91 min
*Pierre Coffin is also the voice of the minions.

Relevant Links:
Minions (film) (Wikipedia.org)
Minions (IMDb.com)
Minions (RottenTomatoes.com)