SHORT CIRCUIT (Short Circuit)

Director : John Badham

Release Dates : 9 May 1986 (USA), 20 August 1986 (France)

With : Steve Guttenberg, Ally Sheedy, Tim Blaney (Johnny's voice) & Fisher Stevens

Genre : Family, Comedy, Sci-Fi

SUMMARY : Number 5 (voiced by Tim Blaney) is one of five prototype robots proposed for Cold War use by the U.S. military, although the scientists mainly responsible for creating them, Newton Graham Crosby, Ph.D. (Steve Guttenberg) and his partner Ben Jabituya (Fisher Stevens), are more interested in peaceful uses of theirartificial intelligence, like playing musical instruments. While a demonstration takes place on the grounds of the developer's company, Nova Laboratories in Damon, Washington, a lightning storm forces an end to the presentation. A power surge hits Number 5 while it is recharging and alters its program, causing a malfunction. An associated accident causes it to be taken off company grounds and it wanders away, unable to communicate and not knowing where it is.

Number 5 finds itself at the home of animal-lover Stephanie Speck (Ally Sheedy) in Astoria, Oregon, who initially thinks the robot is anextraterrestrial visitor, but then determines that the robot was built by Nova. After she helps it satisfy its cravings for "input" (due to its malfunction), and explains the nature of life and death to it, Stephanie and the robot realize the power surge has brought the robot to life. The robot subsequently gains a respect for life, rejecting the destructive nature of its military programming, as well as a fear of the disassembly that awaits it back at Nova, believing it to be akin to death.

After several narrow escapes from a troop of soldiers led by Nova's security head Captain Skroeder (G. W. Bailey) — who in his attempt to destroy the wayward robot disobeys orders from Howard Marner (Austin Pendleton), the director of Nova — as well as from Stephanie's unscrupulous ex-boyfriend Frank, Stephanie and the robot finally convince Newton of the robot's sentience, but are cornered by the full weight of Nova's security and the army, who seemingly destroy the robot. Unbeknown to the soldiers, the robot they destroyed was a copy built by Number 5 from spare parts, and with the robot's "destruction," the project that spawned it is ruined and Skroeder is fired. Number 5 (who renames himself "Johnny 5" after hearing the song "Who's Johnny?" throughout the movie) leaves for Montana with Stephanie and Newton, who has subsequently quit his job after siding with the robot.

OPINION : What I like ? For so long time this movie was my fave ! I spent (almost) every day of my childhood to watch it, dreaming of having my own Johnny 5. And so now, it's still an important movie for me. This film is really touching and lovely.

Best scene : One of few scenes I remember : When Johnny 5 learns about our world - reading fast all encyclopedias - I was so impressed.

What I dislike ? For what I remember : Nothing !

WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT ? (Qui Veut la Peau De Roger Rabbit)

Director : Robert Zemericks [Disney]

Producer : Steven Spielberg

Release Date : 21/22 June 1988 (USA)

With : Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd... and Roger Rabbit himself !

Genre : Animation, Comedy

SYNOPSIS : The story is a murder mystery set in 1947, in a surreal world where cartoon characters, commonly called "Toons", are living beings who act out cartoons in the same way that human actors make live action productions. Toons interact freely with humans and live in an area nearHollywood called Toontown. R. K. Maroon (Tilvern) is the human owner of Maroon cartoon studios; Roger Rabbit is a funloving Toon rabbit, one of Maroon's stars; Roger's wife Jessica is a gorgeous Toon woman; and Baby Herman is Roger's costar, a 50-year-old Toon who looks like an infant. Marvin Acme (Kaye) is the prank-loving owner of Toontown and the Acme Corporation.

The trouble begins when Maroon hires private detective Eddie Valiant (Hoskins) to investigate rumors that Jessica is having an affair. Eddie and his brother Teddy used to be friends of the Toon community, but Eddie has hated them, and has been drinking heavily, since Teddy was killed by a Toon a few years earlier. When he shows Roger photographs of Jessica "cheating" on him by playing patty-cake with Acme, Roger becomes distraught and runs away. This makes him the main suspect when Acme is found murdered the next day. At the crime scene, Eddie meets Judge Doom (Lloyd) and hisToon Patrol of weasel henchmen. Although Toons are impervious to physical abuse, Doom has discovered that they can be killed by dissolving in a mixture of paint thinners he calls "The Dip".

Baby Herman insists (correctly) that Acme's will, which is missing, bequeaths Toontown to the Toons. If the will is not found by midnight, Toontown will be sold to Cloverleaf Industries, which recently bought the Red Car trolley line, a local transportation provider. After noticing the will in one of the patty-cake photographs, and after Roger shows up at his office protesting his innocence, Eddie investigates the case with help from his girlfriend Dolores (Cassidy) while hiding Roger from the Toon Patrol. Jessica tells Eddie that Maroon blackmailed her into compromising Acme, and Eddie learns that Maroon is selling his studio to Cloverleaf. Maroon explains to Eddie that Cloverleaf will not buy his studio unless they can also buy Acme's gag-making factory. His plan was to use the photos to blackmail Acme into selling. Before he can say more, he is shot dead by an assassin and Eddie sees Jessica fleeing the scene. When he finds her in Toontown, she explains that Doom killed Maroon and Acme in an attempt to take over Toontown.

Eddie, Jessica, and Roger are captured by Doom and his weasels and held at the Acme factory, where Doom reveals his plan: Since he owns Cloverleaf and Acme's will has yet to turn up, he will take control of Toontown and destroy it to make room for a freeway, then force people to use it by dismantling the trolley fleet. He has also built a mobile Dip sprayer with which he intends to wipe out the Toon population.

With Roger and Jessica tied up, Eddie performs a vaudeville act that makes the weasels literally die of laughter. In the climactic struggle between Eddie and Doom, Doom is revealed to be a Toon and admits that he killed Teddy, and Eddie dissolves Doom in Dip by opening the drain on the Dip machine. As Toons and the police arrive, Eddie discovers that an apparently blank piece of paper on which Roger wrote a love poem to Jessica is actually Acme's will written in disappearing/reappearing ink. Eddie gives Roger a big kiss, and the Toons celebrate their victory.

OPINION : What I like ? Everything ! I love this animation/movie since the first time I saw it - it means long time ago. It was the first movie to use new technology of animation and the special effects are perfect ! The coordination between these 2 worlds is bluffing. Moreover, I love the story and the humor, love to watch a lot of cartoons I already knew (Daffy duke, Donald, Mickey Mouse, Betty Boop, Bugs Bunny, ...). Plus Christopher Lloyd's play was amazing ! He succeeded to make me afraid of his character as I like the actor.

Best scenes : There are a lot of moment but I guess that the "On rase gratis" scene is one of my faves (when Doom comes to pick up Roger) - the whole thing with Eddie's trying to make the weasels laugh themselves to death - and the little cartoon with Baby Sherman.

Best lines : "Picoti Picota", "Et nous vivrons heureux ! E.R.E. !"

What I dislike ? Judge Doom (Christopher Lloyd) is pretty freaky but it's the purpose right ? The "Je foooooond" scene always made me scared. Anyway, there is a scene I just don't like - I found it useless and for sure it was ! - when Donald, Daffy, Mickey,... are on stage, making their show with a piano.

Worst scene : As I just said, the fight between Disney &Warner... I mean Donald and Daffy.

ASTERIX & CLEOPATRE (Asterix & Cleopatra)

Director : René Gosciny (Scenario), Lee Payant, Albert Uderzo (drawing)

Release Date : 19 December 1968

With : Asterix, Obelix, Cleopatre... and her leo ;))

Genre : Animation

SYNOPSIS : After a heated argument with Julius Caesar over his lack of faith in the Egyptian people, Queen Cleopatra enters into a bet claiming that she can have a magnificent palace constructed for him in Alexandria within three months. She gives this enormous task to her best architect Edifis (despite his shortcomings), informing him that he will be covered with gold if he succeeds or thrown to the crocodiles if he fails. Daunted and distraught, believing the task to be insurmountable without some sort of magic, Edifis travels to Gaul to seek help from the famous druid Getafix.

Getafix agrees to return to Egypt with Edifis, while Asterix and Obelix insist on accompanying them. Obelix further insists that Dogmatix be allowed to join the voyage and smuggles him along despite objections from Asterix. En route to Egypt, Edifis' ship is met by a gang of pirates. Poetic justice rules the day as the pirate ship is boarded by Asterix and Obelix, who scuttle it after a largely one-sided fight. Upon reaching Egypt, it becomes clear that Edifis is not a particularly gifted architect; in Cleopatra's words his buildings are “the laughing stock of those who don't live in them”. His scheming rival Artifis proposes that they collaborate in order to build Caesar's palace on time and divide the reward between them; the catch being that Edifis alone be thrown to the crocodiles should they fail. Edifis refuses and Artifis swears vengeance, angered further by the injuries he sustains while negotiating Edifis' house (which later collapses altogether).

Artifis raises tensions amongst the construction workers by convincing them that they are being exploited by Edifis and encourages them to strike. To win them over and enhance their productivity, Getafix gives the workers his magic potion which enables them to continue effortlessly with the construction of the palace. Getafix refuses to give any to Obelix, much to his disgruntlement. Building progress becomes so rapid that the labourers exhaust their supplies of stone; Artifis has bribed the supplier to dump the subsequent shipment into the Nile and the Gauls are forced to escort a fleet of ships to fetch more. Sightseeing en route, the trio visit the Pyramids at Giza. In his attempt to scale the Sphinx, Obelix provides an outlandish hypothesis as to how the monument came to be without a nose. The Gauls are intercepted by Artifis' sidekick Krukhut, who poses as a guide with the intention of getting the Gauls lost during a tour of the Great Pyramid. Trapped deep within the pyramid, Getafix gives Obelix his first taste of magic potion, presumably to give him the strength to break them out. The Gauls fail to negotiate the maze, but eventually escape after being heroically tracked by Dogmatix. Undeterred, Artifis and Krukhut make a further attempt to prevent the stone reaching its destination by hiring the same gang of pirates seen earlier in the film to attack the fleet on its return to Alexandria. A short second encounter with the pirates alleviates Obelix's boredom, despite their cowardly attempt at retreat. In a final effort to stop the three Gauls, Artifis frames them for an attempt to poison Cleopatra with the gift of a cake made from such ingredients as arsenic, strychnine and vitriol. Asterix, Obelix and Getafix are thrown into the dungeon after the Queen's taster becomes ill from eating the cake. Fortunately, Getafix carries an antidote that enables them to eat the remainder of the cake (giving the impression that it was in fact harmless) as well as curing the taster. The Gauls are pardoned and catch Artifis and Krukhut; their punishment is to work for Edifis as labourers.

Cleopatra gloats over the likelihood of winning her bet to Caesar, who fears he will lose face with her should she get the better of him and instructs his spy to infiltrate the building site. Learning that the Gauls and their magic potion are involved, Caesar orders his three mercenaries to kidnap Getafix and imprison him. Two of the mercenaries are caught by Asterix and Obelix, who learn of what has happened to Getafix and promptly free him. In desperation, Caesar holds the construction site under siege and bombards the unfinished palace with boulders. Cleopatra intervenes, forcing Caesar to lift the siege and despite the damage, the palace is completed on schedule. Edifis is honoured and the Gauls are escorted home aboard Cleopatra's luxury ship, much to the displeasure of the sacred crocodiles.

OPINION : What I like ? Not as great and funny as "The Twelve Tasks of Asterix", this animation movie is still very good with some amazing scenes. Personally, it's still a big part of my childhood. I used to watch "The Twelve Tasks of Asterix" first then "Asterix & Cleopatra".

Best line : "Et un peu de vitriol - Non ! OUI !... -Ah je savais bien qu'ça serait bon."

What I dislike ? I found it a little too long. It mens that I didn't like some scenes (like when Asterix & Obelix sing "Quand l'Appétit Va Tout Va" or when they fight with pirates on their boat).