Always Right Movie Review'dustries

Jumper

2008-03-14T21:04:00.000-07:00

I finally managed to see Jumper (it finally made it to Pierre). My review is here. I'll give it a Killing Spree, though anyone who hasn't read the books might give it lower. So the lesson is READ.

Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem

2007-12-29T21:50:00.000-08:00

Arnold versus Aliens versus Predator: Requiem (AvAvP:R)

Alright, I make no apologies for the fact that I am a huge fan of both the Alien movies (1-3, with 4 having its moments but nowhere near the quality of the previous installments) and the Predator movies, with Predator 1 being one of the best hardcore macho action pictures ever made.

I was skeptical after the first AvP, which I declined to see in theaters (despite the fact that I'd been waiting for it for years) on account of hearing a little of the plot which is as follows: Predators enslaved early humans and built the pyramids to hunt aliens in on Earth, one of them happening to be UNDERNEATH THE ICE of Antarctica--this probably being the single most unnecessary contrivance ever contrived, and a decision that single-handedly bitchslapped the intelligence of anyone with a scrap of education on the history of human civilization and geological science, in addition to serving up a whopping platter of Disrespect to those ancient cultures. Paul Anderson must have thought that injecting this Chariots of the Gods tripe into an alien and predator film was a freaking BRILLIANT creative move that would make people go "whoa".

Well instead of that, it was the worst thing I have ever seen.

Until now.

So when I heard AvP:R came out, the first question I asked was: Does it take it upon itself to not only pencil in a bunch of half-assed characters with dialog that sounds like ass, and, not being satisfied with the soulless big studio smearing of two beloved franchises by not investing in characters you care about, proceed to take it upon itself to trash the very roots of human civilization and think I'm going to buy it?

As it happens, only the first part. But as it happens, it did something worse.

So there I was tonight, nothing really to do, staring ahead at a very long weekend, cruising the internet, and I happened across a promotional ad for AvP:R featuring the technomask-clad mug of a badass-looking Predator looking like he was going to kick some serious ass. I took a long, deep look into those menacing eyeplates, and remembered my fond regard for the utterly awesome first Predator movie, and I couldn't help myself. If the movie gave the Predator a decent treatment, I could at least have the enjoyment of seeing one of sci-fi's most tough, smart and interesting baddies on the big screen for the first time.

So my nostalgia won me over, and I hesitatingly went forth into the subzero night, knowing not what lay ahead.

So was it good?

Basically, the ass-raping of the alien and predator franchises continues unabated, only worse.

How, oh how, did we get from Predator and Aliens, to this contemptible fodder?

It started out with a mixture of promising and stupid that mixed together to finally form a heady brew of "meh" that managed to keep me thinking I had not made a mistake (at least for a while). It starts with the predalien hybrid (What a stupid gimmick--it was the worst part of the games) bursting out of the dead predator body aboard the pred spaceship just like at the end of the first movie. Okay, so it's a continuation of the Paul Anderson debacle. Super. I almost walked out. But then, we see the surviving predators from the first movie. One of them is in the trophy room, skinning an alien head from the hunt. That's kind of cool. But...then we see that the predalien chestburster has become a full grown monster predalien within a matter of seconds, and it kills the predator. WTF?

One of the other predators spots it and fires its plasma caster at the predalien. This punctures a hole in the hull of their ship which is still leaving Earth orbit, and it plummets back, crashlanding in Colorado. By this time, the idea that 1) The predators are so inept and apparently ignorant of the species they have spent generations hunting that they don't bother to check their fallen comrade for infestation when they take off and 2) they both a) have a flimsy-ass spaceship and b) are too stupid not to go firing plasma bolts willy nilly at their own hull while in deep space, all made me start rising out of my chair again.

But then, a beacon of hope.

We see the Predator homeworld for the first time, and it's pretty awesome. First there's a shot of the planet from orbit. It looks desolate in a cool way, and is circled by asteroids. Then we see a Predator city, and they have neat, predator-looking buildings under the glow of an alien sun. In one of the buildings, looking like they are kind of a fortress-like cubicle for a single occupant, there sits a lone predator who checks out an alarm blaring on one of his sweet-looking interfaces. As it happens, predators apparently have a 3-D telescopic zoom camera that enables him to check to see WTF is up on Earth light years away. He gets transmissions from the super high-tech visors of the preds on the doomed spaceship before it crashes. He sees everything go to hell, sees the Predalien in all its glory, sees the ship crash back to Earth. A little much. But things get better: Much agitated grunting and snarling ensues. The predator gets up from his predator throne, goes to his Wall o' Weapons and starts grabbing nasty-looking bladed things, whips, and plasmacasters, straps 'em on, then hops into his personal ship and blasts off into space to set things straight and mop up the mess left by that bunch of young inexperienced dumbasses that just got themselves killed. You could almost hear him say in Predator-speak:

"I'm getting too old for this shit."

(I might have really laughed if they had that subtitle. Would've been a nice homage to Danny Glover from Predator 2)

At this point, I couldn't help but think "Damn, maybe there's a character worth rooting for in this movie after all".

You get the impression that this Predator would be nicknamed "THE CLEANER" in whatever that translates into in Predator click-speak. So now maybe I could write off the first batch of preds as a bunch of incompetent redneck yokels of Predator society off on a reckless hunting party, but THIS guy is the one that knows what's up, will uphold the Predator Code of cold and calculating intelligence, yet also daring and toughness set forth in previous Predator films.

Then, we go back to Earth. We see the predator ship crash-land. Facehuggers that had been kept in stasis get out, and commence doing what facehuggers do best starting with a fatally curious father-8-year old son hunting party.

Now it's time to visit the Colorado town where the shit is gonna hit the fan. Will there be decent humans to care about? Well, let's see....

Instead of a close-knit team of ex-military mercenaries on a black ops mission against ruthless guerrillas in the notoriously inhospitable jungles of Central America ("Makes Cambodia look like Kansas") with Carl Weathers, Arnie, Bill Duke and 'Nam vet/wrestler/state governor Ventura, et al. delivering a hell of a performance at their most tobacco-spittin' macho badass, or a likeable platoon of tough colonial marines sent into the belly of the beast with one of the best female protagonists of our time, we get...

Dawson's Creek Squad.

And instead of setting the film in f-ing SPACE like it should be, we get Crested Ridge, Colorado, small town apple-pie baking America.

The hero of the film is a high school pizza delivery boy. WTF?!?

So in the tortuous movie setup, which is actually serviceable as an episode of Beverly Hills: 90210, we find out Pizza boy has a crush on Blondie McSweetass from school, but oh no, she has this meanie boyfriend.

So after a trade-off of juvenille sparring "Now I know who ordered the pizza with extra sausage" Ooooooh nice one. Maybe funny in a proper setting. Not in a f-ing Alien/Predator movie! The meanie boyfriend then proceeds to throw Pizza Guy's keys into the sewer drain. Oh my god! Oh heavens, o' mercy! Angels and Ministers of Grace, Defend Us!

Compare that conflict between characters to the scene in Predator where they're sneaking up on the guerilla base, and then Duke appearing out of nowhere to tell CIA agent Weathers in a menacing whisper "I don't care who you are back in the world. You blow our position one more time, I'll bleed ya, real quiet, leave ya here..."

THAT is how you do conflict dialog.

So anyway, I was thinking about leaving again, but then the Predator finally arrives, with the landing capsule disengaging from the ship and streaking meteor-like into our atmosphere just like in the first movie. I thought--alright that was pretty cool. Let's see what happens.

Well, what happened was suckage. The Lone Wolf predator was pretty cool, and the only character worth caring about. He has one neat fight scene at the beginning due to the use of some novel new pred-tech, but the directors, billed as "The Brothers Strausse", come from the school of "shaky-blurry-can't-tell-what-the-hell-is-going-on-in-all-this-crazy-motion-and-darkness" action-scene filmmaking. All sound and fury, signifying nothing. It sucked. Other than that, the Lone Wolf gets maybe 15 minutes of real screen time. There was one iconic scene of the predator being wounded, and then getting out his field med-kit to heal himself in painful fashion, but it was a weak scene compared to the predator Extreme First Aid of the first two pred films. The best character in the movie, and his action scenes are with a few exceptions nearly unwatchable, and his hunting/stalking scenes kept to a minimum and robbing me of screentime for the only character I cared about.

The only other part of the story where I perked up a little was when a National Guard brigade shows up, hoping for some real soldier vs. monster action. There was a little, but not nearly enough.

Most of the movie involves Dawson's Creek gang running through dark tunnels, etc. To be fair, there is one scene involving a massive predator throwing star that misses its intended alien target and introduces the abdomen of an unexpected member of Dawson's Creek gang to the wall behind them that was pretty awesome. The awesomeness continues with the predator killing yet another Dawson's Creeker via alien acid blood through sheer callous disinterest in what would happen to his face if the alien's head above him exploded. At least there's no "Predators working with the humans" in this one.

Then, there's what I call The Dealbreaker.

To show just how badass he can be with his R rating, the scriptwriter has a subplot involving the predalien in which it can, like facehuggers, implant human hosts. The twist is that it can implant multiple aliens, but it can only do so on pregnant mothers. The part where the predalien gets into the maternity ward is not "badass". It's just mean and sickening, even for me, who doesn't mind darkness in movies if there is a good point to it. There is not any good point here. It's sadism for sadism's sake, and the gory and graphic scenes involving screaming pregnant women on hospital beds is soulless and a terrible affront to our most primal evolutionary instincts.

A husband and wife walked out of the theater after this, with the woman looking severely distressed. I couldn't blame her a single bit. It was heartbreaking to see that, and I was utterly disgusted.

I spit on AvP:R. It's a heartless ruination of two of my favorite sci-fi movies. It had a few cool scenes with the Predator, sure, but there's no saving a movie with a script that is so inhuman and clueless as to what constitutes acceptable.

I will cap this review off with a hearty "F*** YOU!" to the bluetooth-wearing, suit-and-tie asshats at Fox that greenlighted this horrendous version of the alien and predator sagas, and forced the Dawson's Creek Gang, Anytown America setting on us, and a "F*** YOU!" to the scriptwriter assclown who pulled off the impossible: A story so bad and grotesque that AvP1 actually looks good in comparison. It may have spat on ancient civilization in a lame attempt at creativity, but at least it didn't feature graphic matricide/infanticide just for the sake of being "edgy".

"Requiem" indeed. I hope this movie rots in hell. I'm going to watch the first Predator again to remind me of what an actually good action movie is and rinse out the horrible taste AvP:R left me with.

To paraphrase Billy Madison:

AvP:R is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever seen. At no point in this rambling, incoherent movie was there even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this theater is now dumber for having seen it. I award you NO RATING (other than a 10 on my contempt-o-meter) and may God have mercy on your soul.

The Golden Compass

2007-12-27T07:39:00.000-08:00

I have to admit that my interest in this movie was piqued due to all the supposed religious controversy surrounding the movie. However, after seeing The Golden Compass, it became clear to me that all the controversy in the world wouldn't be enough to save this sorry mess. The story was muddled, plodding, and nonsensical. Even the controversy was completely overblown. Sure, the ruling group in the film (the Magisterium) uses the term "heresy", but that's about the extent of the commonality with religion that I was able to pick out. (And seriously, how often do churches use the term "heresy" anymore?) To be honest, I question whether all the controversy was drummed up on purpose to try to generate interest in an ultimately disappointing and poorly produced movie.

Apparently, lots of churches in the United States have been sending out letters to their congregations urging them to boycott this movie. I think it would have been much more effective to do nothing, because then the movie would be judged on its own (rather lacking) merits, rather than some over-hyped, virtually non-existent "controversial religious themes".

My rating: Slaughtered. Trust me - The Lord of the Rings slaughters this movie.

What the Bleep Do We Know?

2007-07-01T15:43:00.000-07:00

From Rotten Tomatoes the critical consensus is as follows: Educational, but as entertainment, it'll have viewers asking, 'What the bleep?'

Well I don't care about entertainment. I care about education! And I'd been trying to grasp some quantum physics, so I thought I'd give this movie a try. My in-depth meta-analysis of the educational, entertainment, and every other category of value you can think of involving this film is as follows:

WORST. MOVIE. EVER.

Not only was I asking myself "what the bleep", but "what forms of physical torture could possibly exist to keep me interested in this?" The answer was soon apparent: None.

Rating: Swanlike

300

2007-03-13T04:49:00.001-07:00

Great movie! And the critics, for the most part, agreed with me! The non-battle scenes were a little slow, but most of the movie was battle sequences.

I am a little disappointed that people keep saying that it is based on a comic book. this may be true, but both are based on history! The film is based on the Battle of Thermopylae, an early battle in the Greco-Persian War.

The movie does a decent job portraying actual events, but two things stand out to me as incorrect. First off, King Leonidas's death is shown incorrectly; I won't say more and spoil the movie for you though. Second, the Persians had a number of deformed soldiers. One in particular appeared to have had his hands removed and blades attached to the underside of his arms. This seemed really bizarre to me. I assume it is something from the comic book. But Hitler did do experiments on humans, did the Persians do the same? I am not sure.

Now that I think about it, the priests guarding the oracle were also deformed. I do not recall ever learning about it, so I am not sure of the accuracy of it either.

Overall, I'l have to give 300 a rating of Rampage!

Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno)

2007-01-28T14:05:00.000-08:00

Based on the published critic's reviews of this movie, I went into this movie expecting a masterpiece akin to The Matrix. Of course, such ridiculously high expectations were bound to be at least a little bit disappointed. However, if you go into the theater without such preconceived notions, you will be treated to a film that is decidedly worth watching.

Pan's Labyrinth is billed as a fairy tale for adults. Set in Spain during World War II, it tells the tale of a brutal captain in Francisco Franco's regime and a group of rebels that he battles against. Parallel to this story, an intriguing introduction to Spanish mythology is presented. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this story is the fantastic creatures.

This film is certainly not for everyone. Avoid this movie if you can't stand violence in movies, because the violence shown in this movie is gritty and realistic. If you don't like strange movies, you might not like this one. If you can't stand reading subtitles, you will want to avoid it because it is entirely in Spanish with English subtitles. However, if you enjoy high fantasy coupled with political musings (and who doesn't? :), you won't want to miss this film.

Night At The Museum

2007-01-01T13:26:00.000-08:00

All right, No one has done a review here in a very long time. My excuse is that I haven't seen a movie in a theater that provoked me to write a review. Well, the dry spell has ended after I saw Night At The Museum.

Now I am not sure what many so-called critics saw when they wrote reviews for this film but I suspect we need to line them all up and shoot them. This was a hilarious and enjoyable movie to start the New Year.

I know, I know, I am a history buff, but this movie is a comedy through and through. Imagine different people throughout history meeting each other: TR and Sacajawea, an American Cowboy and a Roman General, Christopher Columbus and a trio of Neanderthals, plus the interactions of many more with the main character, the new night security guard.

So remember, the big name critics don't know everything.... Night At The Museum is the #1 movie in America for the second week in a row!

EDITED TO ADD: I give this movie a rating of Killing Spree!

UHF

2006-10-28T20:18:00.000-07:00

UHF is the greatest movie of all time!

America: Freedom to Fascism

2006-08-05T08:58:00.000-07:00

This movie gets a Godlike rating, hands-down. Unfortunately, due to its limited release nationwide, most of you won't have the opportunity to see it, but if you can, you need to see this movie.

America: Freedom to Fascism is probably the best movie that I have ever seen. Why? Because it chronicles wild and crazy and downright scary events that are actually occurring right here in the United States. Truth is stranger than fiction, folks, and this movie certainly proves it.

Did you know that the Federal Reserve is no more Federal than Federal Express? I sure didn't. Amazingly, the entity that controls the money supply in the United States is a private bank, owned and operated by private bankers. Incidentally, these private bankers are some of the richest people in the world, but that's not too surprising considering they control the United States' money supply!

Ever wonder who the government owes the approximately 8.5 trillion dollars of the national debt to? Surprise, most of it is to the Federal Reserve, a private bank owned by private bankers. Ever wonder what the government does with your income taxes? Surprise, most of it goes to the Federal Reserve, a private bank owned by private bankers, to pay for interest on the national debt.

However, as scary as this is, this is only one of dozens of downright frightening topics touched upon in America: Freedom to Fascism.

Ever wonder if there might be illegal activities going on behind the closed doors at the IRS? Well, if so, you are right. However, even the FBI is afraid of the IRS, so no one is willing to stand up and challenge them. There have been multiple documented cases of the IRS coming into people's homes and confiscating anything and everything based solely on word of mouth coming from disgruntled neighbors or former employees who baselessly accused them of not paying taxes. These people were eventually found to be not guilty of any wrongdoing, but did that stop the IRS from keeping their stuff? Of course not.

Then there's the Real ID act which requires everyone to have a National ID card starting in 2008. It also encourages the establishment of checkpoints throughout the United States to track the movements of citizens throughout the country. The National ID cards will be associated with all kinds of personal information including social security numbers, and will require some kind of biometric information to be present on the card such as fingerprints or retinal scans.

Those without National ID cards will be barred from flying on airplanes, riding Amtrak trains, opening back accounts, or entering federal buildings. Now this may not sound all that scary considering that driver's licenses have basically served this purpose in the past, but the truly frightening prospect is what the government is already working on to replace the National ID cards: implanted RFID chips.

Work has already begun on RFID chips with built-in GPS tracking that can be implanted under the skin of any human being. Once implanted, a person's location can be tracked anywhere by anyone with the right equipment. The ultimate goal is to then tie financial transactions to the RFID chip implanted in each person; thereby reducing all forms of commerce to electronic means. With the simple flip of a switch it would then be possible to completely wipe out a person's finances or national identification as they would both be tied to a controllable, implanted RFID chip.

Then, of course, there's the controversial Patriot Act. Did you know that this act gives the government the power to put anyone in jail for life without even charging them with a crime? And what about domestic wiretapping? Most people are aware that President Bush has been using this to spy on the conversations of American citizens. But what most people don't know is that President Clinton also used domestic wiretapping to spy on the the conversations of American citizens before the "war on terror" even began. This just goes to show that the government is completely unconcerned with the privacy of its citizens, no matter what party is in power.

There are dozens of other highly interesting topics covered in the film, but before I end this review, I need to point out that this is not a politically-biased film. Both Republicans and Democrats are taken to task equally for their role in allowing our civil liberties to continue to erode.

I found the ending to this film to be particularly poignant:
Stop being good Democrats.
Stop being good Republicans.
Start being good Americans.

If neither the Democrat nor the Republican candidates in an election are willing to step up to protect our civil liberties, then maybe it's time to find some candidates who will.

Here's hoping that most of the things portrayed in America: Freedom to Fascism never come about. However, the scary thing is that many of them already have.

I encourage everyone to check out the website http://www.freedomtofascism.com. Sign the petition to shut down the Federal Reserve. Order a DVD of the movie when they are available. Sometimes a little Civil Disobedience may be in order, especially if it comes down to implanted RFID chips. Stand up and be heard!

A Scanner Darkly

2006-07-23T12:08:00.000-07:00

Don't do drugs...

UNLESS

you would enjoy having a creature with hundreds of eyes read you a list of your sins for all eternity
or
you would enjoy purchasing an 18-speed bike, then find yourself wondering how you managed to get ripped off so badly when you realize that it is only a 9-speed bike (there are only 6 gears in the back and 3 in the front, after all)
or
you would enjoy creating and using a home-made silencer that successfully manages to amplify gunshots
or
you would enjoy having aphids crawling all over you 24/7

A Scanner Darkly is set 9 years in the future, a future where the United States has basically lost the war on drugs as upwards of 20% of the population is addicted to a mysterious new drug known as Substance D. In response, the U.S. government has stepped up surveillance of its citizens to an unprecedented level. However, to avoid completely filling all of the jails, the attention of the police is focused on attempting to take down those responsible for Substance D rather than trying to arrest all of the users.

Bob Arctor is an undercover narcotics agent who is addicted to Substance D and lives with 3 other addicts. However, Bob spends his time as a narc agent inside of a scramble suit, which serves to hide his identity even from his employers. Therefore, Bob is stunned when he is tasked with spying on Bob Arctor, as Bob is suspected of being a high-level dealer or perhaps even a drug-terrorist of some kind. Scanners are installed inside of Bob's home to help him with his job of spying on himself.

As time goes by, Bob's grip on reality continues to ebb away as his reliance on Substance D becomes stronger. Eventually, feeling as though he can no longer see inside himself, Bob begins to hope that watching the scanner's recordings can give him the insight inside of himself that he no longer has. Eventually things get so bad that it appears as if Bob's only hope is to check himself into one of the mysterious drug-recovery centers known as the New Path. But if he does, what will become of his job as a narcotics agent and his drug-addicted friends?

Overall, A Scanner Darkly is a very faithful adaptation of its source material, the book A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick. It is perhaps one of the weirdest, most whacked out movies that I have ever seen, and I mean that in a good way. I would not be opposed to showing this movie in health classes in public schools, because its anti-drug message comes through loud and clear. Granted, this movie is not for everyone, especially those who do not feel they could stand catching a glimpse into the mind of drug-addicts, but it was certainly one of the most unique movies that I have ever seen. Therefore, I'm going to give this one a rating of Unstoppable.

If you haven't already seen it, do so. Even if you don't like it, how often do you get the opportunity to see an R-rated animated movie?

Proof

2006-07-02T16:23:00.000-07:00

PROOF

Another mathmatician movie. But this one is not like Pi or A Beautiful Mind, at least not beyond the crazy mathmatician part ;)

It begins with Catherine, her father Robert, her sister Claire, and Hal, a student of Robert's. Robert, a world famous mathmatician, has just passed away. Catherine had spent the last years of his life caring for him, even dropping out of college to do so (he was mentally unstable).

Claire returns home for the funeral with plans of taking Catherine back to NYC to care for... she believes that Catherine suffers from the same mental instability as her father. Also, Hal searched through Robert's notebooks, he believes that they are not just the ramblings of a crazed man, but some where contain a last hurrah, a new mathmatical proof.

As you might guess there is plenty of conflict between Catherine, Claire, and Hal. As the story unfolds the viewer learns much of about Catherine and Robert's lives as she cared for him (including her dropping out of college).

I really enjoyed this film and even got a few chuckles as I thought about a friend of mine who happens to have a B.S. in Math... especially after a character in the movie stated that a mathmatician was "on the downhill slope" at 26 years of age... that is a mathmatician's best work is done before they turn 26 years old! (remember this movie is fictional)

Overall, I would give this film a Rampage rating for... well, I just do. No explanation.

An Inconvenient Truth

2006-07-02T15:31:00.000-07:00

Not everyone will be able to see this film. It has a very small list of venues. But it is the one movie that everyone in America should see.

It doesn't matter if you are republican, democrat, independant, libertarian, green, or part of any other political party. Despite what first impressions many people have about this film, it is not a political in any way.

The film is simply an adaptation of a presentation on global warming that Al Gore has given across the world. But it isn't all serious either, he plays a certain video clip from the Futurama series! And refers to himself as the former next president of the United States of America.

The film is informative on global warming, even providing references to the data presented and it still finds time for a few one line jokes. So, I give this film an environmentally friendly GODLIKE rating.

Now visit this site for more information on the movie and global warming

downfall (der untergang)

2006-06-09T20:33:00.000-07:00

I saw the movie Downfall a long time ago, but because several people I know seem into WWII history, I'll throw my review of it out there.

All the critics loved Downfall. Well, maybe not all. There's always those one or two whiny voices out there that say it was too sympathetic to the Nazis--that it humanizes them too much. I say fie on that. The Nazis were monsters, but they were also human, just like the rest of us. And if evil is to be prevented in the future, it does no good to simply ignore how it has arisen in the past by demonizing those who have practiced it and leaving it at that. Understanding how insidious evil is, is crucial.

This movie takes what I consider a straightforward look at what happened with those poor souls of the Third Reich and some of those caught up in their powerful rhetoric from their own viewpoint as they suffer through their imminent destruction, courtesy of the Red Army. The whole team is here. Himmler, Speer, the Goebbels family, Eva Braun, etc, in addition to minor players such as one of Hitler's naive secretaries and a few Hitler Youths. The primary setting in Hitler's bunkers, as the Soviets clench their iron fist and relentlessly shell Berlin, is effectively claustrophobic and the tension and fear palpable. There are many scenes in this film that stay with you as you witness the stunningly profound fanaticism inherent in Hitler and those close to him, as well as the Nazis' intense pride which they struggle to hold on to as the curtain falls. Throughout the film you get a sense of the shock felt by those loyal to the Reich as it becomes apparent that defeat is inevitable--and the denial present as when Eva decides to throw a party in the midst of a midnight artillery barrage. A cold awakening to reality follows.

Downfall is a powerful film that brims with great acting and a direction that makes the feeling of impending doom explicitly tangible. Everybody knows how this particular chapter of history ends, but witnessing the unflinching, stark and brutal dramatization of these events is both harrowing and enlightening. When the hammer fell on the Nazis, it fell hard. Hitler's downfall, and the movie, were Unstoppable.

I recommend this movie for all WWII buffs. Be warned that this is a German movie and not spoken in English.

Wendigo

2006-05-29T08:59:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to get ahold of this movie ever since my wendigo fever began. It is a low budget, independant film written and directed by Larry Fessenden. When I began watching this movie, I was expecting a typical horror/monster movie. You know, a family is on vacation in an isolated, small community when all of a sudden pets and people begin to disappear... et cetera, et cetera. Well, I couldn't be any further from the truth.

The film begins with a Manhatan family, George, Kim, and their 8 year old son (played by Erik Per Sullivan), travelling to a friend's vaction home for a weekend vacation in upstate New York during the winter. On the way, they hit a deer and end up stuck in a snow bank. As they wait for the tow truck, they meet up with the hunter who was tracking the deer. As in any situation where a country personality meets with a city personality, there is conflict. But Otis does give them a tow out of the snow bank and sends them on their way. A lasting impression is left on the family though. A mercy killing of the deer by Otis, seems to frighten Miles. Miles has nightmares of Otis shooting him and as the boy says, that man knows where we live.

As the movie progresses, we learn of Miles's creative imagination. Partially thanks to his fathers inattention of him. On a visit to town, Miles meets an old, mysterious indian, who tells him of the wendigo.

The wendigo is an angry spirit, not an evil spirit, but a spirit to be feared, nonetheless. The wendigo is always hungry... when a wendigo eats it grows larger and hungrier.

Upon their parting, the old indian gives Miles a small carving of the Wendigo. Stangely, none of the other characters in the film meet this new friend. The film continues on towards it's climax, a collision course between a Manhattan family, an angry hunter, and an ancient myth. As you watch the film, it is obviously a low budget movie, but the writing is clever and unique. The acting is well done, especially by Erik Per Sullivan (known for playing Dewey on Malcolm In The Middle). I really enjoyed much of the camera work, I thought this film (like many independant films) had a real artsy apporach.

On giving this film a rating, I am having a real hard time. I liked how the direction of the film broke the traditional monster movie mold and created it's own style. But I felt the movie kindof dropped off at the end, since the run time is only an hour and a half I felt that more could have been done with the conclusion. On the other hand, I do enjoy a movie that does not tie up every loose end. A movie that leaves a viewer thinking (I know this can be dangerous). As a IMDB user suggested, the movie is intelligent and thought provoking. The yahoo users and critics both are so widespread in their ratings that nothing can be decided from them alone; they range from an A to a F!

I have decided that the most appropiate rating is that of LAST MAN STANDING. A middle ground between dying spree and killing spree. In terms of Unreal Tournamnet (UT), this film is not blown away but neither does it blow it's competition away. It finds a nice place to hide and wait for the rest to eliminate each other ;)

But adding a new rating to the scale fo this movie seems kindof lame, so if my hand were to be forced, I would choose Killing Spree for the rating.

king of the ants

2006-05-09T22:09:00.000-07:00

This is what I thought when I saw it at the rental store: King of the Ants? Sounds like some low-budget horror picture about some Half Man Half Ant who can control hordes of army ants like those in the awesome short story "Leiningen Versus The Ants".

I would probably watch something like that. But that's not what it is about at all.

Trust me. After seeing King of the Ants you will never quite look at Cheers actor George Wendt in quite the same way again.

Let me be clear. This movie is kind of disturbing. It is a modern noir-ish crime/revenge film but oh so much more. You see in King of the Ants there is something involved called "Superb Development of Characters". There is another something called "Good Dialog". And I suppose, if you really want to get down to it, there is something called "Merciless Brutality."

You see, in a lot of movies today, the violence is just a little too cartoonish. Even in movies supposedly about wicked serial killers, the actual serial killing just doesn't seem very...authentic...somehow. And sure, you see people getting beat in the head, but the head beating just doesn't seem as head beat-ish as the kind of thing you see in real life. And afterwards, the hero doesn't seem to have the kind of bumps and bruises you would expect after taking about three dozen roundhouses to the skull.

Not so in King of the Ants.

King of the Ants is like this: There's this guy, the main character, looks to be in his early to mid-twenties, who is kind of adrift in life and working odd jobs in California to get by. I kind of identified with him (maybe it was his great haircut I happen to share--shaved head), and because of this identification I had an investment in the movie and it paid off insofar as making the story really affect me. While painting this house he meets George Wendt, who plays a seemingly innocuous electrician. This electrician, upon seeing how the main character is kind of up for doing pretty much anything for a little cash, invites him to do a little moonlighting doing certain undercover work for a guy he knows. Sound shady? It is.

I don't want to give too much away, since the story is pretty cool. Suffice to say the work he does for the electrician's boss isn't on the up and up and one thing leads to another and then alcohol is imbibed and then some people say things they don't really mean, pretty housewives become involved, and there's a horrible misunderstanding and then bad things happen and eventually really, really bad things happen.

And then things get ugly.

Then you might think things might get better, right? No. Then things get uglier (literally), mayhem ensues, and, well, after that, it's all kind of downhill.

Okay, hopefully I have enticed people with a taste for darker-flavored movies to get your hands on a copy of King of the Ants as soon as possible. And believe me when I say this is possibly the darkest film I have ever, ever seen. And this is coming from a guy who has seen a lot of dark movies. Dark humor, dark bruises, dark story, dark, dark climax...(no Donnie Darko, but oh well)...

Now, the fact that I will give this movie the coveted rating of Godlike may or may not mean I'm a very disturbed individual, insofar as I would take such a shine to this film equivalent of a lump of pure black onyx mined from the uttermost caverns of Hell and possessed by a tortured demon seething with pitch-black evil. To allay fears, it's not that I necessarily agree with what the characters are doing in the film (and in case you haven't figured it out it involves a lot of killing and torturing and maiming and mutilation with varying degrees of heartlessness and efficiency, with heartlessness having a positive correlation with efficiency). But I do agree with the way it was presented. It brings the real horror of violence home and makes you (or it at least made me) feel it in your gut.

That's not to say, however, that fun is not to be had with severed body parts.

Oh, and the star of Office Space, Ron Livingston, has a great scene. It involves a kitchen, and I say no more...

Donnie Darko

2006-05-07T15:25:00.000-07:00

What do time travel, fundamentalist gurus, fate, predestination, schizophrenia, Michael Dukakis, a monstrous pooka, and high school all have in common? They all seem to be intertwined in the life of Donnie Darko, a mal-adjusted teenager who is in therapy and on medication. Shortly after inexplicably escaping death from a fallen jet engine that destroyed his room, Donnie is contacted by a pooka named Frank who tells him that the world will end in 28 days. Frank also tells Donnie that he is a time traveler, and he instructs Donnie to perform anti-social acts such as flooding his school and burning down a local author's home.

Donnie discusses his visions of Frank the pooka with his therapist, who quickly concludes that Donnie is schizophrenic. Even Donnie appears to believe this diagnosis, although his interactions with Frank spur him into investigating time travel. Donnie's search eventually convinces him that he understands how to travel through time. Is Donnie merely a disturbed schizophrenic, or does he hold the key to preventing the imminent end of the world?

This movie provides one of the most interesting character studies I have ever seen. Donnie struggles with his demons, both literally and figuratively all throughout the movie. He knows that he has emotional problems, and he goes against social norms by telling people right out what he thinks about them, yet at times his actions appear to be self-sacrificing and heroic. Does Donnie deserve the label of "disturbed individual" that he is branded with, or is he just another misunderstood member of society who, in spite of his rough exterior, has a good heart?

Overall, I'd have to give Donnie Darko a rating of Godlike with the caveat that if you don't like the works of Philip K. Dick, you probably won't like this movie. (Even though Philip had nothing to do with this movie, it very much reminded me of his works.)

An American Haunting

2006-05-05T18:32:00.000-07:00

This film is based on a true story... well, more like a true unsolved mystery. The Bell Family began to experience supernatural events. Strange sounds in the night, strange sightings (including a black wolf), nightmares to begin. The occurrences seemed to be directed at both John Bell and his daughter, Betsy Bell.

The movie takes an interesting apporach in telling the tale. In the year 2006, a mother and daughter discover a letter, written by Betsy Bell's mother to Betsy Bell, in their attic. Apparently the daughter has been experiencing similar supernatural events. As the mother begins to read the letter, the viewer is taken to the nineteenth century (1817-1821) to relive the Bell Family's curse.

The film even chose to reveal a possible explanation of the mystery/haunting. I feel that this movie was very well done. The suspense built up well and had theatre goers jumping in their seats. I really enjoyed this film and again, I will stand against the critics... I give An American Haunting a ghost's rampage.

aeon flux

2006-04-25T19:59:00.000-07:00

Aeon Flux doesn't exactly sux. I realize that 9 out of 10 critics would disagree with that, but here at Always Right is the only opinion that matters, and that opinion says that Aeon Flux was far from the unmitigated catastrophe some make it out to be, and may be preventing people from giving it a shot.

The plot revolves around this: Aeon Flux is an undercover revolutionary sent on a mission to assassinate Chairman Goodchild, the leader of the city-state that is the last remaining human habitation on the planet after a devastating virus. From here I was able to figure about half of what the story was going to entail.

Now for the pros and cons.

Sure, Aeon Flux has its problems. A lot of problems, in fact. By all accounts the cartoon that appeared on MTV was infinity times better. For most people, the relatively complex (but flawed) plotline probably moves too slowly and intellectually between action scenes but doesn't offer enough of an intelligent payoff. There are a lot of wasted opportunities I saw concerning minor characters that could have made the story more engaging. There are some...okay, a goodly amount...of illogical plot points. There is really not very much engaging about the characters (even though a lack of emotional engagement and voice inflection does kind of work for the movie's atmosphere), and the ever-annoying memory-mysteriously-jumping-into-clone gimmick raises its ever-annoying head and makes me want to beat it with a pipe. It also serves up what has to be the most expensive but ineffective security system I have ever seen in the form of dart-spewing beehives. And the editing is too quick to really show off in full glory the grace of the female form doing acrobatics and killing people. A waste, considering all the months Theron must have trained for this role.

Okay, now the good news: Aeon Flux presents a very accomplished visual style through its cold, futuristic ambience. The action scenes, while over-edited, are not bad. And Charlize Theron shows that she is, in fact, an Oscar-caliber actress even in this role. If it wasn't for her there might not have been any investment induced in me by the characters at all and I would probably have given an unqualified pan of this movie like pretty much everyone else. And Aeon Flux is not a mindless action film. The mind might be pretty damn confused, with a lot of missing neural pathways and crossed wires, but there is a mind present, with something to say about the nature of power and where at least some aspects of biotechnology might lead us one day.

So, all in all, Aeon Flux is not a catastrophe compared to a lot of movies I've seen lately. It kept me just titillated enough to be willing to sit through it, and I was not embarrassed I had seen it in the end. And because I am not easily titillated, especially by sci-fi that doesn't know what it's doing, this is saying something. It's saying it's not bad enough for me to hate it, (mostly because of Theron's performance). It gets a modest Killing Spree. If you're interested in "idea" sci-fi you can do worse. However, if you want "good idea" sci-fi, especially concerning the matter of cloning, then it is essential that you check out Gattaca. This movie demolishes all the competition I know of when it comes to this topic, and is a must if you like more cerebral science fiction fare.

Silent Hill

2006-04-22T10:07:00.000-07:00

I just saw the film Silent Hill yesterday. I have never played the games it is based upon. I didn't even know that the movie was based on a game until I started reading other reviews of it.
I have read that it is the worst movie of the year. That is hogwash!

It wasn't a great movie, but it wasn't a bad movie either. To be honest this review describes my feelings about it perfectly. The town in the movie even had a little reality behind it: Centralia, PA.

This movie did not depend on CG for its creatures/monsters, but used actors in costume and did so splendidly. Nice reminder that their are still effects "wizards" like the Henson Creature Shop in existence.

My biggest complaints were in respect to the ending and background story. I think I understood the ending of the movie... but I am not entirely certain. I will have to discuss it with other brave movie goers who disregard the critics ;) I felt the background story fell short of explaining the goings on in Silent Hill. But both of these shortcomings added to the artsy nightmare effect that the film had going for it.

If you don't mind movies on the artsy side and can look beyond the flaws, then this movie can be enjoyable. I will stand against the Bigtime movie critics and rate it a bloody KILLING SPREE. Don't beleive me? The average Yahoo user grade is an impressive B.

Tron

2006-04-08T12:32:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago I gave into the pressure of friends (both from college and local to my current locality) and bought a DVD ROM drive (actually a DVD Burner) and to celebrate my new purchase, a coworker loaned me Tron, a classic of computer SciFi from the 80s.

Tron (1982) is the first CG movie and thus holds a place in the hearts of all computer geeks (and movie geeks). The movie is corny in some places, but what do you expect a 24 year old movie about computers? Given the time frame the the plot and CG are actually quite impressive.

Maybe my appreciation of computers and science fiction has biased me, but I enjoyed Tron. The movie starts out with an introduction to the world of programs, a dystopian world where everything is controlled by the MCP (Master Control Program). In the real world a computer programmer named Kevin Flynn is trying to find evidence that Ed Dillinger (Senior Executive Officer at ENCOM) stole several of his video games. Flynn's ex girlfriend (an ENCOM scientist working on a device that can “digitize” matter and store it on a computer), and her current boyfriend (an ENCOM programmer) decide to help Flynn find the evidence that he needs. While they are trying to get the evidence out of the computer system, the MCP digitizes Flynn. Soon he finds himself in the world of computers, where he has to play computer games to survive.

While playing “lightcycle,” Flynn escapes with allies Tron and Ram. The three then go on a quest to defeat the MCP and free the world of programs from its control.

It's hard to rate this movie because compared to current CG (2006) the CG doesn't look that great and the plot is kind of old (A human in the computer world? Been there done that!), however the movie was made 24 years ago. For 1982 the CG is really amazing and the plot fresh; I think it deserves 9 out of 10 bits.

I don't want to ruin the movie for you, so I wont tell you what happens to Flynn, the MCP, and Tron, watch the movie to find out!

Treasure Island

2006-04-07T19:14:00.000-07:00

From treasure hunts to choruses of Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum, children and adults alike have been capitvated by pirates for years, nay decades. Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island is one of the most recognizable pieces of literature of all time. Many movies have been based upon this Robert Lewis Stevenson classic novel, but TNTs version from 1990 is by far the best. It stars Charlton Heston as the "old salt" Long John Silver (right) and Christian Bale as the quick witted narrator, Jim Hawkins.

The story, as everyone knows, is about a lad, Jim Hawkins, who ends up with a pirate treasure map. But this map didn't belong to just any pirate, it was a map for John Flint's treasure! Jim Hawkins with Dr. Livesey, Squire Trelawney, Captain Smollet, and others off to sail to "Treasure Island." But to gain the great treasure, they must overcome mutiny and former members of Flint's crew.

TNTs Treasure Island is a tale of adventure and treasure. I was mesmerized by this movie in 1990 and I am still mesmerized by it today. For anyone who does not know the story of Treasure Island, I certainly hope that you take this opputurnity to pursue R.LS.'s book or at the very least obtain a copy of the TNT version to view. It is well worth your time and effort.

As one user on imdb.com commented, this movie is the "current benchmark" for all Treasure Island movies. The commentor goes on to describe many characters and the actors who played them:

All of the book's heroes are portrayed with heartfelt competence; the blustering Squire Trelawney (Richard Johnson), the tack-sharp, impeccably-mannered Doctor Livesey (Julian Glover), the unflinching Captain Smollet (Clive Wood), and Jim Hawkins' arch-boy (Christian Bale in his mid-teens, filled out a bit post `Empire of the Sun', bearing no resemblance to his homicidal yuppie in `American Psycho'). Arrayed against them are the scurviest sea dogs who ever weighed anchor, complete with terrifying teeth and fierce, implied body odor: Oliver Reed's tragic Billy Bones, Christopher Lee's festering Blind Pew, Israel Hands (what a great name), Silver's murderous, cobra-like shipmate, (Michael Halsey), who provides a taste of what Silver himself may have been like in his younger days, and a most convincing Ben Gunn (Nicholas Amer). Peter Postlethwaite, the super-cool big-game hunter in the first sequel to `Jurassic Park', plays the bewildered George Merry, a man who should always flee from even the slightest ambition; someone who makes you happy to still be you, even if your 401K was riding entirely on Enron.

Well, I will let bygones be bygones and rate TNTs Treasure Island a "15 Men On A Dead Man's Chest" GODLIKE!

i heart huckabees

2006-04-03T22:57:00.000-07:00

What do Shania Twain, a devout Christian Electrical Engineer, a fireman, a business executive, an environmentalist pro bono worker, "The Ball Thing", a female French Nihilist, the global politics of petroleum, and a crack squad of "Existentialist Detectives" including Dustin Hoffman have in common?

Nothing, right?

Or Everything...

I [heart] huckabees is not for everyone. Or is it, and they just don't know it yet? At any rate, it definitely was for me. Few films have made me laugh as hard as this movie while tickling my dendrites with philosophical musing, taking me back to the days when I first saw the Monty Python movies, only with more of an expressive point.

Maybe.

This is a truly chaotic and hilarious depiction of people and their neuroses, questions, fears, and resolutions about life and its apparent meaningfullessness--a film that examines the identity crises of a string of people and the ways in which our worldviews collide, mingle, divide us, and, ultimately, can unite us.

Or, is it a tortuous, trite mockery of metaphysics too quirky for its own good, alienates any audience not familiar with existentialism and Buddhism, and is ultimately meaningless itself?

Who knows. All I know is I had a great time watching it.

It begins with a string of cuss words from Jason Schwartzman (who also starred in the lead role of Rushmore with Bill Murray, another must-see comedy that begins, as most must-see comedies do, with a really complicated, unsolvable math problem). Schwartzman plays a young man who has started his own environmental organization (he is a tree-hugger, if you will), and is wrestling with the compromise of his environmental values in order to promote environmentalism with a big suburban-sprawling company.

He also keeps running into this really tall guy from Africa. What is up with this coincidence?

To find out he goes to the Existentialist Detectives, whose business card he happens to find in a suit jacket.

The Existentialist Detectives do not mess around. They know what's up, and they know how to get other people to know what's up. Dustin Hoffman is particularly great.

Anyway, so they decide to take up Schwartzman's case. Only they say the coincidences of running into the tall guy from Africa might be nothing (although it may or may not actually turn out to be something). The real issue they are trying to get at is how well he understands his own life. This involves them spying on him with a vast array of high-tech gadgetry--even when he gets up in the morning to brush his teeth. Like private detectives gathering info. Only their subject of investigation actually knows they are being spied on.

The Existentialist Detectives have another case they're working on--Mark Wahlberg, a firefighter with existential issues. A hilarious combination, it turns out, especially when Wahlberg is really great in this role. He shows the detectives a book he has been reading on Nihilism and how it is really starting to make sense. They take a look at the book. It's author is some philosophizing French woman. Hoffman: "Don't listen to Caterine Vauban. She's full of shit."

Then there's Jude Law playing the business executive Schwartzman is joining forces with, but who may compromise the environmental ideals, who finds out about the Existentialist Detectives Shwartzman hires because they go everywhere with him--even to work (the Existentialist Detectives go where they want, when they want--they are existential bloodhounds), so the business exec. also goes to the detectives thinking he can rattle Schwartzman and get him fired, because he eventually comes to see him as a possible threat to the deal of joining his company to Schwartzman's environmental group (which is good for the company for PR reasons), and in the process tries to fool the detectives into thinking he really thinks he has an existential crisis, and Schwartzman is hooked up with Wahlberg as his "Other"--someone else going through the "dismantling" process that the Existential Detectives impose, but then out of nowhere the French Nihilatrix that Wahlberg was reading shows up and starts trying to take these people's identity crisis into her own hands, showing them the "true way" of life, and the Existential Detectives are like: "What the hell is she doing in America?" "This is worse than we thought." "Much worse". And then more things happen with Jude Law and his model girlfriend (Naomi Watts) who is the public image of his company (oh, which is Huckabees, by the way). And then more stuff happens, Existentialist Detectives vie with Nihilists, lives intermingle, people get hurt, stuff is set on fire, insights are reached, The Ball Thing happens, bonnets are worn...

Sound complicated?

It is.

In the last half, Wahlberg spouts one of my favorite quotes from the movie (of which there are many):

[upon rebelling against Caterine the Nihilist, his new Life Sensei]:

...I'm gonna go to an even darker place of nothingness. From an even farther, more extreme nothingness on my own!

Caterine: Ahh, sublime.

Anyway, I Heart Huckabees might possibly make it onto my list of all-time greatest comedies. It features an amusing look, if maybe too trite and out-of-leftfield to lead many people to enlightenment, at things like a conceptualized (and therefore incomplete) Buddhist outlook (or inlook). Or maybe a "What the--" kick in the pants movie like this will spur people to seek out life's deeper issues (even though the finger (or existential comedy) pointing to the moon (enlightenment) is not the moon, as a Buddhist might say).

Did this movie make me want to seek out life's deeper issues? Not really. I just ended up laughing a lot. And that's what counts.

Or is it?...

Oh, and for Shania Twain fans, yes--she does actually figure into this movie.

Until we figure out a better rating scale, I give this movie of carefully controlled, exquisitely choreographed existential chaos a Godlike rating, with the caveat that I can see how some people would give up on it as utter nonsense.

But, in the end, isn't everything nonsense?

I'm going to answer like Schwartzman when he was asked "Have you ever Transcended all of Space and Time?"

Yes [pause] No.

Dark Water

2006-04-02T09:24:00.000-07:00

Dark Water is a cross between a horror film and a psychological thriller, leaning more towards the psychological thriller end of the spectrum. It is about a mother, Dahlia, and her daughter, Cecilia. They have moved into a rundown apartment complex on the edge of New York City. Dahlia is in the middle of a custody battle with the father, Kyle.

When they first look at the apartment, Cecilia is immediately turned off and wants nothing to do with it. But as the "tour" progresses she wanders off and ends up on the roof of the building. I immediately expected, thanks to Rune, a leap of faith to occur during the movie... I will spoil the plot for you now: it does not happen ;) After being found on the roof and a mild scolding for wandering off, Cecilia declares that she wants to live in this building. Spooky huh? Not long after moving in water stains begin appearing on the ceiling of the bedroom of their aparment, and occasionally dirty water pours out of the faucets (hence the title).

These events eventually reveal secrets from the past of both the mother and previous occupants. This is truly a psychological thriller as it concentrates on the relationship between a mother and her daughter. The movie does a great job of building suspense and even provides a surprise ending (for me anyway). I have to confess though that I disliked the ending, but I cannot reveal my reason without a huge spoiler.

Before I give this movie a rating, I am going to submit a list of uniform ratings for the reviewers of this blog to use. Comment about any modifications you think are needed.

First, the ratings from best to good:

Godlike
Unstoppable
Dominating
Rampage
Killing Spree

Second, the ratings from bad to worst:

Dying Spree
Slaughtered
Dominated
Stoppable
Swanlike (take that Zeus! Kindof an inside joke for a friend)

Now for a rating of Dark Water, I would rate it as Slaughtered based upon the ending, but the movie did such a great job building suspense that I am going to give it a little boost up. I will rate it as Dying Spree. A change to the ending may have justified it as being a good movie, as it is I do not regret renting.

V for Vendetta

2006-03-31T18:29:00.000-08:00

This is a very timely movie, in my opinion. Set in a Phildickian world, where the United States government has fallen and England's government has turned to fascism, V for Vendetta is much more political in nature than most movies. However, don't let that scare you away from seeing this movie. In spite of (and because of) the politics, V for Vendetta still manages to entertain with amazing alliteration, excellent usage of the classical classic the 1812 overture, and some old fashioned British comedy, complete with gorillas and plenty of slipping on banana peels.

The story follows a terrorist who goes by the name V, whose goal is to fulfill Guy Fawkes' failed ambition to blow up the Parliament building on the 5th of November. Hoping to stir the souls of the people to resist their totalitarian government, he announces his plans to England one year in advance using the fascist government's TV station, which is piped into every home by law. In the midst of this, V saves a young woman named Evey from some corrupt government police who target her because she is out after the government mandated curfew. The rather interesting relationship between the always masked V and Evey plays a major role in the rest of the story arc.

Although the movie gets bogged down slightly in a couple of places due to some dialogue that is difficult to follow (although that may just be because I'm not British, and sometimes get distracted by the accent, or in Evey's [Natalie Portman] case, attempt at the accent), and a rather drawn out (in my opinion) tangent strongly supportive of homosexuality, the movie's story easily held my interest.

This is a timely film in a world where elected U.S. Senator Jim Bunning has stated "Civil liberties do not mean much when you are dead" and President Bush continues to allocate more and more unchecked power for the Presidency. Contrast this with founding father Patrick Henry's statement "Give me liberty or give me death." Even if you don't agree with such libertarian political ideas, I still encourage you to see the movie, if for no other reason than that this movie forces its audience to think which seems to be a rare thing indeed nowdays.

So who should see this movie? Anyone interested in the idea of liberty.
Who should not see this movie? Anyone who is easily offended, and cannot get past being offended.

Overall rank: Dominating

Some interesting V for Vendetta trivia:
This movie had, by far, the most uses of the word "bollocks" of any movie that I have seen.

Apparently, I need to take dancing lessons, because according to V, "A revolution without dancing, is a revolution not worth having!"

capote

2006-03-23T11:04:00.000-08:00

There have been an extremely limited number of movies that have interested me enough to cause me aggravation waiting for their slow march to the shelves of rental stores, but after I read In Cold Blood last year, it was a long and painful wait for the movie Capote to come out on dvd. Like the title character, I was inclined to say "It's torture, what they're doing to me..."

Of course, maybe what prompted Capote to say those words carried a little more emotional weight, as he was speaking of waiting seemingly endlessly to know the fates of two men on death row.

A little background for those who are not familiar: Truman Capote was one of the great American writers of the 2oth century. His works include the controversial 1948 bestseller Other Voices, Other Rooms, as well as Breakfast at Tiffany's, and of course In Cold Blood--the fascinating writing of which is the centerpiece of this movie.

Capote had a somewhat troubled childhood while moving around with his wandering mother until he was dropped in Alabama, where he was raised by his aunts for a while. By coincidence or fate he lived next door to, and became lifelong friends with, a certain woman named Nelle Harper Lee, another one of America's greatest writers who wrote a little novel you may have heard of called To Kill a Mockingbird. Capote then moved to New York, and attended the highly prestigious and historical private institution--the Trinity School. There he reportedly scored a 215 on the entrance IQ test.

Capote never attended college. He took a very low-level position at The New Yorker for a while before he published a short story that won the O. Henry Memorial Award. From this he received enough attention to be able to write and publish Other Voices, Other Rooms, and from there became a celebrity.

Capote--an open homosexual--quickly became one of New York's social elite: A flamboyant personality known for his lisping, high-pitched voice, outrageous dress, and wild mannerisms.

After this success he was working for The New Yorker as a writer, and Capote stumbled across an article in The New York Times that told of the apparently senseless slaying of a prominent family in a rural, western Kansas town called Holcomb. Something about the article struck Capote, and he convinced his editor to let him travel to Holcomb to write a story on how the killings had affected the community. What grew out of this seemingly random seed of inspiration is now part of literary history.

Suffice to say, a New York intellectual with the mannerisms of Capote stands out a bit in the extreme rural areas of the midwest, and perhaps causes a bit of distrust among the locals. Yet somehow Capote managed to find inroads into the very inner circle of the investigation into the killings headed by Alvin Dewey of the local law enforcement, and even managed to get his hands on the diary of the murdered family's teenage daughter from her best friend, and perhaps most importantly, when the killers were finally captured he secured nearly unlimited visiting rights while they languered on death row...and delved deeply into their minds and hearts.

Capote soon realized that he wasn't just going to be writing an article. He was going to be writing a book. And as he put it, he knew even before writing a single word that it would be so good that when he thought of it, he could "hardly breathe." After reading In Cold Blood, I would concede that he was not being inappropriately hubristic about the perceived quality of his future work.

Crucial to Capote's success in getting "in" with the people of Holcomb was his "research assistant": Harper Lee. She befriended, for example, the wife of Alvin Dewey, making it possible for Capote to write about the investigation. Without her down-to-earth personality to help win over the citizens of Holcomb for Capote, it is highly doubtful In Cold Blood could have been nearly as complete. Maybe it couldn't have been written. At any rate it was extremely interesting to me to compare Lee and Capote's journey with interesting episodes in the book, and at various points, go "Ah--so that's how he was able to find out about such and such..."

This movie is not about the story of In Cold Blood, even though the events depicted there serve as the backdrop. This movie of course is about Capote and the manipulative way he went about writing the novel and the effect it had on him. Central to the movie is his relationship with one of the killers: Perry Edward Smith. After Capote gained virtually unlimited visiting rights, he spent years with Smith and his accomplice Dick Hickock, and he manipulated Smith into divulging his innermost thoughts, as well as, eventually, the truth about what happened in the house of the murdered family on the night of their deaths-- and "why" they had been killed.

The crux of Capote, however, is the competing forces of empathy and ambition to glory. He empathizes with one of the murderers. While Capote talked with Smith, he began to feel something of a kinship with his ambitious, tortured soul. In the movie he says he feels as though he and Smith were brothers, and that Smith had gone out one door (poverty, poor relationships, and failed dreams) while he had gone out another (social, financial and literary success). At the same time he knows that his novel about him and the murders is going to be a classic. Thus, when Perry and his accomplice get a stay of execution, with the possibility they might go free, Capote finds it tortuous. He needs them to die so that the book can be finished. It can be argued that Capote "loves" Perry through his identification with him, but when Perry dies he will be happy--and from the movie it is definitely not because justice is served. He will be exulting that he himself can finally revel in glory by completing the great novel he envisions. These competing feelings wreak emotional havoc on Capote in the film and it is suggested that Capote's decline into drugs and alcoholism later in life was a result of his guilt.

Capote is an intense and subtle movie whose merits and instances of plot go far beyond what I have written here. There are some great bits of humor. At the premiere of the film adapted from To Kill a Mockingbird, Capote is subdued and withdrawn as he receives news that the killers have a stay of execution. He is unable to feel good about Harper Lee's moment in the spotlight. There's a well-acted scene between the two in which Lee is saddened about Capote's self-absorption but I also got the feeling of her being somewhat resigned to her friend's personality and identification with his similar artistic sensibilities. When she leaves him be, drinking alone at the bar, he says of the premiere to no one except himself "Frankly, I don't know what all the fuss is about."

This is To Kill a Mockingbird we're talking about here. The film highlights Capote's narcissism.

Despite having what might be considered an ambition so ruthless as to be considered villainous, Capote, along with Harper Lee, are among my favorite writers. Therefore this movie was a pleasure to watch just to see these authors brought to life with such skill. Harper Lee could have been defined a bit more, I thought, but the actress, Catherine Keener (The 40-Year Old Virgin), probably did about the best possible job with the material. And In Cold Blood is probably my favorite book of all time--or at least it is neck-and-neck with one or two others. It is an example of what Capote termed a "new genre" he claimed to have invented: the non-fiction novel--journalism with a literary voice. Perhaps one reason In Cold Blood had such an impact on me is that I identified so closely with the community of Holcomb and its citizens--being from another midwestern agricultural town on the plains of very similar character. In fact, a brief look at a map shows that my hometown lies on almost the same line of longitude.

In Cold Blood examines the dichotomy of the world of American's "normal" middle-class, and America's dark and real underbelly. It is also a harrowing and poignant look into the nature and motivations of the two violent men glimpsed in Capote, and conclusions can be drawn as to the nature and motivations of American violence in general. It's not that we have to excuse murder, but we should try to understand it. In Cold Blood and To Kill a Mockingbird both do what writing should do, whether fiction or non-fiction: give people a greater comprehension of how the human world functions, even if it means taking a hard look at the uglier aspects of society and of ourselves. Then, just maybe, it helps things change for the better.

Capote is an excellent film concerning the story behind the book, but, perhaps obviously, it does not concern itself with the events of the book itself much beyond what is necessary for elucidating the nature of its title character. Only those who have read it will be able to pick up on the literary importance of the characters seen here outside of Truman and Lee. For example, the brief glimpse of the friend and boyfriend of the murdered teenaged daughter, or of the longer but incomplete look at Perry Smith. You get a feeling about why Truman empathizes with him, but unless you have read the novel you don't really know what Perry's story is. My suggestion is to read In Cold Blood first if you haven't already, then see this movie to get a deeper understanding of it.

For his portrayal of Truman Capote, Phillip Seymour Hoffman won the Oscar this year for best performance by an actor in a leading role, in addition to the Golden Globe, Critic's Choice, and Screen Actors Guild awards.

good night, and good luck.

2006-03-19T07:32:00.000-08:00

I hadn't even realized that this movie had been released in theaters letalone released to DVD when I walked into blockbuster last night. But there it was, the last copy on the shelf, wiating for me to rent it. It was fate, I tell you!

Good Night, and Good Luck is a historically based movie that focuses on the CBS newsroom, where Edward R. Murrow uses his program, See It Now, to confront Senator Joseph McCarthey. It is known that McCarthy used fear, falsehoods, and belligerence to gain power. He would turn his "Communist Hunt" towards anyone that questioned his methods. Edward Murrow did not backdown. He brought the truth to light and exposed McCarthey for what he was... a bully, a "big brother." At the time, the media was far more willing to keep things quiet... look at the light presidents were portrayed in prior to Richard Nixon. But Edward Murrow (and CBS) didn't hesitate to go after Joseph McCarthy and that makes him one of the greatest journalists ever.

Yahoo Movies shows many As and Bs for this film, but I am going to take the time to attack one particular review:

This film is a revisonist piece of left wing propagand that does nothing to convey the sense of immeninet communist invasion that the country felt at the time. It harps on the alleged excesses of Senator Mcarthy's crusade to root out communist infiltrators and does not acknowledge that the amount of communist sypathizers that actually were fereted out. Not only this, it does not show the chilling effect this campaign had on those that considered joining the reds. In a any fim that purports to be a relatively historical piece it is there duty to be fair nad balanced with the truth. This film is nothing more than a propaganda piece that trys to villfy the memory of a American patriot.

Number of communist sympathisers ferreted out?! An American patriot?! Edward Murrow and the movie, Good Night, and Good Luck, fought to protect civil liberties as much as anything. McCarthy's "witch hunt" spread slander without producing evidence. Sure he claimed to have this list and that list, but hard evidence was not produced. People lost their jobs without facing a trial. All for being communists? As Americans, we have the right to choose our political party. And you have the right to post your opinion. I applaud you for that, but take a look sir or madam at what you really believe in.

I have heard that the timing of this film is perfect. With Bush and his [smeagol accent] precious [/smeagol] Patriot Act, who is going to stand up to the plate? Bloggers? Actually, there are journalists taking a stand against it, but apparently they do not carry enough clout.

Some quotes from the movie can be seen here. Here is one that I enjoyed, Murrow on the subjuect of television:

To those who say people wouldn't look; they wouldn't be interested; they're too complacent, indifferent and insulated, I can only reply: There is, in one reporter's opinion, considerable evidence against that contention. But even if they are right, what have they got to lose? Because if they are right, and this instrument is good for nothing but to entertain, amuse and insulate, then the tube is flickering now and we will soon see that the whole struggle is lost. This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box. There is a great and perhaps decisive battle to be fought against ignorance, intolerance and indifference. This weapon of television could be useful.

Okay, enough tangent ramblings ;)

This was an excellant film that should be shown in high school history (and maybe even journalism) classes across the nation. George Clooney and Grant Heslov, I applaud you!

leprechaun 4: in space

2006-03-15T10:42:00.000-08:00

I saw Leprechaun 4: In Space for one reason: because there was a review that said "NEVER, ever, under any circumstances watch this movie." And now that I have all I can say is NEVER, ever, under any circumstances watch this movie. Why? Look at the title.

Leprechaun...(okay, are you with me so far?)

In...SPACE!!!

On the cover of the video--I guess to make sure that we know that, yes, the leprechaun really is "In Space"--there is a picture of a moon landing complete with lander capsule and the American flag.

However, please ignore this misleading graphic if you were hoping for a historical fiction film. At no point in the movie is there any mention of the moon landing. At no point in the movie do the events depicted take place within at least 23,462,784,000,000 miles of the moon, and that is using the most generous estimation possible. Because the location of Leprechaun 4 is mostly in an orbit around an unknown planet orbiting an unknown star, if we were to select a star at random from anywhere in the universe, then there would be almost a 100% chance that at no time in the movie do any of the characters come within less than a working infinity of miles from the moon.

That is a long-ass way from the moon--even by God's standards. And, seeing as how the moon features prominently on the movie cover, infinity times seems to be an inordinate amount of times for the moon to not be mentioned within the movie itself.

So why in the nine hells is there a picture of a moon-landing on the cover?

It seems to me it would have taken a lot less work and made an infinity more amount of sense to put the Leprechaun's face on a black background and sprinkle it with a few white dots for stars and be done with it.

Okay, a bit of the "plot":

An Irish Leprechaun kidnaps the princess of some planet trying to get her to marry him so he can become a king. Marines drop in and rescue her after a gritty, balls-to-the-wall Leprechaun versus Space Marines firefight.

Yes--I said Leprechaun versus Space Marines firefight. Possibly the most authentic realization of future combat ever committed to film.

And you think a squad of heavily-armed Space Marines are any kind of match for an Irish Leprechaun? Think again. Based on what I saw the leprechaun apparently has two rather significant advantages going for him:

1.) He CANNOT DIE
2.) He can conjure ANYTHING into existence at ANY TIME ex nihilo

Now, normally a writer for the stage or screen is familiar with certain venerable dramatic principles, like don't have a character that both cannot die as well as conjure anything willy-nilly out of thin air at any time with no restrictions, because that would just be stupid...

But Leprechaun 4 plays by its own rules.

So the immortal all-conjuring leprechaun gets aboard the marines' ship to get back the princess, and fun ensues. Why this plotline involving an immortal all-conjuring leprechaun would take more than about five minutes to resolve itself is beyond my ken. Why aforementioned immortal all-conjuring leprechaun needed to marry a princess to gain power is beyond my ken. Why set designers in 1997 thought disco balls would still be a prominent feature of dance floors in the far-future is beyond my ken. A lot of things concerning this particular film are beyond my ken.

Truly, this movie has to be seen to be believed--but I don't recommend doing so.

Actually, I'm going to tone down the rhetoric a bit. If you are among the most daring and battle-hardened b-movie-watchers able to withstand quotes such as:

[German accent]
I am not Mitten-heim...
I am... MITTEN-SchPIDAH!!!

(spider)

...then you shall be rewarded because this film is indeed a laughfest pot of gold for those capable of adopting the appropriate mindset.

Oh, and the princess was pretty hot too:

Despite everything, if I look past the dialogue that makes The Hot Chick look like Hamlet (I am 100% serious), and if I look past the plot that made so little sense that it actually made a negative amount of sense and formed an anti-sense particle storm that set off a small sense explosion in my vcr by colliding with the postive sense particles in the normal universe, then I can see a film with a whole lot of potential. Ah, what Leprechaun 4: In Space could have been...

I guess there was a take-home lesson I got from all this:

Never...ever...under any circumstances, urinate on a leprechaun's corpse. That is for zombies. You have to desecrate the corpses of zombies, or they come back. Leprechauns are different. Write this down. If you confuse zombies and leprechauns in this regard, you are going to be in for one hell of a bad day. Think the Alien chestbursting scene, only, uh...

downstairs.