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A Scanner Darkly (2006)
instant classic
Linklater's best effort yet, and that' says a lot considering this premiere auteur's filmography. A visual opus in memoriam of PKD. Interpolated rotoscoping finally hits its watershed point. Downy and Harrelson's acting is top notch; scenes between their characters are outrageously funny and executed with the exact cadence one imagines when reading PKD. needs to be said. I have, on purpose, not read A Scanner Darkly yet, though I am a tremendous PKD fan because I was afraid of "the novel was better" syndrome that struck me when watching Blade Runner, which though cinematographically splendid, did not have the same emotional punch as Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. I found that this movie touched on the most of PKD's recurring themes, such as paranoia, the 'what is real?' question, religious musings, and emphasis on intriguing sci-fi technology and social situations that his peers do not conceive of. MUS BE SEEN - BEST SCI-FI OUT THIS YEAR!!!
Death House (1988)
choppily paced, barely suspenseful zombie/prison movie
*Contains some spoilers* This movie is cheesy 80s horror in all its awfulness. The plot takes way too long to get off the ground, never steadies itself, and then just plain crashes about 40 minutes into the film. There are a few gem moments for zombie fans, but not nearly enough zombies to create a real sense of terror.
The zombies also take a long time to make their appearance. First, there's a whole half of a movie about mobs and prison gangs. The hero of the movie is an ex-Vietnam vet who gets caught up in the mob. The main mob boss sets him up and he goes to jail. In this jail, they are experimenting on the prisoners to find a way to cure them of homicidal tendencies and criminal behavior. But the badie psychotic head scientist/military guy has other plans in mind. He wants to use a slightly different version of the serum to make ....da da da.... super soldiers! After some infected prisoners kill a few guards and most of the prison has a round of infected communion wine, the military/crazy scientist guy goes "hey this might be a problem" and gives a call to the genius scientist turned investigative journalist hot babe ultra-empowered independent woman character, who of course invented the original serum. She goes to the prison to see what's going down, the military guy calls in a few SWAT teams from his secure position outside the prison, and the hero guy takes charge of the few prisoners with a heart of gold when a riot breaks out. The hero guy and the scientist/journalist lady team up to find a cure, save the warden's kids, and deal with some irate prisoners, both infected and not. Meanwhile, the mob boss guy has made a deal to get into the prison so that he can save his imprisoned brother. The military gets ready to blow the place up, and everyone inside scrambles to find a way out.
There are a lot of gory scenes where people are killed by being pressed or pulled through prison bars. There's also a creepy decapitation scene and electrocution scene involving the same infected rasta prisoner. Still, the most disturbing scene is in the early part of the film, when a gross corrupt guard rapes a prisoner.
The main highlight of this film is one scene towards the end. The hero, woman, and kids are trying to make their way to the only escape route. Their path leads them to a long hallway, on one side there is a wall and on the other are prison bars. Hundreds of bloody zombie hands reach through, gracing their hair and faces as they pass by. There's also a few good scenes of the classic "couple of zombies munching on freshly dead bodies" and "many zombies ripping one guy to shreds" bits.
Overall, worth watching if you're researching the zombie genre as it has so many zombie clichés worth noting; it's practically an instruction manual on what not to do when making a zombie movie. But if you're new to zombie flicks and want a real scare, you should look elsewhere.
Being There (1979)
beautiful and worthy of the must-see label
Peter Sellers takes the lead in another masterpiece, Being There, this time playing a simple man, Chauncey Gardener, who finds himself the center of national attention when his thoughts on gardening are perceived as grand metaphors for the national economy. Chauncey, or Chance, has tended the garden of a reclusive wealthy man for his whole life, but when the man dies, he is forced to leave. Oblivious to the world and constantly enchanted by television, Chauncey sets out on the streets of D.C. with only a suitcase and his remote. Perplexed to see himself on a display window television, Chance accidentally steps off the curb and a car backs into him. Luckily, the car is populated by Eve Rand, wife of very wealthy and influential Ben Rand. Chauncey finds himself living in the Rand mansion, favored by the dying Ben, meeting the President, and much desired by Eve. No one but the Rands' doctor suspects Chance of not being a highly intelligent former businessman, and Chance quickly finds himself in the national news for his profound insights on "gardening".
This is one of the least seen important movies out there (not under-rated by any means, it is highly critically acclaimed). It is amazing how this movie maintains, and even has perhaps greater, relevance to today's world. This is also full of great dialogue and humor. When there is music, it goes perfectly with the visual part; when there is silence, it still speaks.
'Being There' has several implied messages in it, all best for a viewer to deduce on his own. The focus is primarily on perception, how a person observes only what their mindset already knows or believes. Chauncey's simple nature highlights the ways of those around him, showing people as they really are, insecurities and all. Chauncey's weightless words, when mistaken as profundity, reveal how much emphasis and importance we as a society place on empty phrases. Television weaves it way throughout the film, complementing, primarily through audio, the scene around it in some very unique ways. The final scene is one of immense beauty, showing a complete triumph in editing, sound, visual composition, story, meaning, and dialogue ("Life... is a state of mind").
Ma vie en rose (1997)
A Beautiful Film
Ma Vie en Rose is an extremely moving account of the struggles of a seven-year-old French transgendered girl. In the earliest stages of expressing her identity, Ludovic (I am not sure what her desired name is) suffers from frequent misunderstanding and punishment from adult figures in her life. Her parents, grandparents, neighbors, and even a doctor attack and discourage her efforts to convey her feelings of being female. These uncomfortable moments are brilliantly cut against wonderful dream-like scenes and also a few hopeful moments.
It is so rare that a film captures a bit of the essence of what it means and entails to be transsexual/transgendered, and oddly, it's the ones that never even mention the 't' words. Unfortunately, though the audience probably feels appropriate sympathy for the main character and experiences a more proper emotional reaction to a transgendered person, they still remain uneducated on the details, even proper words, that are necessary for understanding the transgender experience.
Ma Vie en Rose, as a film, has some terrific cinematography, and even in translation, alot of the dialogue is unique. Pacing is fantastic, and the story is absolutely unforgettable. Get out the Kleenex for this one.
Matchstick Men (2003)
does not live up to its potential
The sad thing about this movie is how close it comes to greatness. The premise is terrific - an OCD, twitching, neurotic con man who gets reunited with his daughter and struggles to balance his quirks, his "job" and business partner, and his new relationship.
You have SO much potential here! You can summon all those feelings of Leon (aka The Professional) and play on the hilarity that Cage provokes in a similar role in Adaptation. Even still, you can pull a terrific "gotcha" at the end as this film does and not be accused of deus ex machina (see Memento, Rosemary's Baby, American Psycho, Chinatown). What keeps this film from the greatness of the aforementioneds is not the performances, not the directing, not the cinematography - it's the writing! This film doesn't know if it's a comedic action film, a heart-felt drama, a black comedy, but it thinks it can be all three when it clearly can only pick one path. If only the screenwriters had invested more time in making this about the characters themselves and less about standard Hollywood plot formulas, you'd have a terrific film. Instead, it's just mediocre with a few good moments. Skip it!
From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
a "fun" gore-festival
I love to brag about being a "film connoisseur". I'm of that breed that basically believes unless a film is depressing, realistic, witty, and thought-provoking, it's useless (unless it's art-house or foreign then that's ok). Well, okay I'm not that simplistic and stereo-typical, but I do have high standards. Occasionally though, I do enjoy a basically pointless thrill ride, and this is one such film.
Tarantino writes, and it shows very much in certain parts. Clooney gets some great one-liners. Harvey Keitel is perfect as the level-headed preacher and adds a very odd aura to the film. The movie is basically split in two - a very weird crime drama (like Tarantino writes any other sort), then an all-out vampire gore fest. Both parts are completely enjoyable, though it might require a slightly sick/macabre taste to call this "enjoyable". I'm not usually into all out gore violence, but like Natural Born Killers and Kill Bill, this movie has a way of making you like and want that extreme brand of campy violence. The vampire scenes are really great, and I thought the makeup was absolutely fine (noticed some people complained). This is one freaky film, but it somehow never crosses that line into the grotesque as most horrors do. It's full of blood, decapitations, and unnatural behavior to say the least, but it's not presented as serious, instead it is very absurd, knows it, and flaunts it (unlike most camp which is unintentionally campy). This is not the usual horror fanfare; it's a whole category all to itself and it's "fun".
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
hypnotic and complex -brilliant!
This hypnotic film is wonderfully layered and ambiguous when it concerns theme. Nicholson is terrific (obviously, need one more movie junkie say that?). Danny DeVito really flaunts his acting skills here, giving us an undeniably memorable character with Martini. I was also surprised by Chris Lloyd, and Louise Fletcher is absolutely horrifying/terrific in this role.
The writing is top-notch; no subplot or suggestion goes unanswered. Every bit of dialogue, every irrational/mentally ill action seems strangely to fit. You can take from this movie what you will - see it as an attack on the inadequacies of the mental health system, a statement on what qualifies freedom, an inspiring tale, a depressing turn of events, a reflection on the chained and perhaps tainted human condition. It is all of these at once, and that is the beauty of it.
Head of State (2003)
Lacking intelligence and humor
An incompetent, barely significant local DC official, Chris Rock, gets plucked from obscurity by a major political party, presumably Democrats though Rock doesn't have the guts (or perhaps intelligence) to name any parties, to run and lose against an uber-conservative sparkling generality pusher Vice President Lewis. Rock's socialist hip-hop, straight-talk campaign takes him all the way to the top of the polls.
Barely ten minutes into this movie, the viewer is convinced that its political content has been dumbed down for the audience, because of course everyone loves to be patronized. But by a half-hour into it, you realize that there is no shred of reality to be found; this is little more than one of Rock's favorite day-dreams that he somehow convinced a studio to fund into a poor movie (probably by emphasizing the fact that it's a "black president" comedy, and the industry has been dying to capitalize on that idea for years).
Besides its lack of political intelligence, it's just plain not funny. Rock establishes about five jokes in the beginning and keeps playing them over and over, unaware that they weren't particularly funny the first time. I had very high expectations for this film - a biting, controversial examination of America. Perhaps, I should have just watched Blazing Saddles again because Rock seems barely informed on his own race's history. This movie could set civil rights back 40 years if anyone took it seriously.
Even the most useless and unrealistic of political comedies (Legally Blone 2) had some genuine inspiring moments about refining the system and making it work. Head of State is absolutely painfully excrutiating. It is ignorant, humorless, promotes stereotypes and child abuse, and its only strength is its frequent use of a DMX song.
Skip this and watch Bullworth!
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
superb masterpiece!
This film having been one of my childhood favorites, I decided to watch it again for the holidays. Years later, I have discovered The Nightmare Before Christmas to be a superb masterpiece of film-making.
Danny Elfman's score is terrific, and his emotionally fragile singing is perfect for Jack the Pumpkin King. The animation is fantastic, and combined with the cinematography, the visuals are stunning and undeniably memorable. There is a consistent mood of melancholic joy (if such a thing is possible, it is found here) throughout the film that screams captured beauty. The Nightmare Before Christmas is a modern classic!
Angels in America (2003)
Sublime
This is truly a masterpiece of film-making. I have never before seen such a non-stop incredible, thought-provoking, captivating work. Tony Kushner's play demonstrates a truly refined style, one that shows immense understanding and contemplation on the human condition and ultimate truth. He clearly articulates elaborate and complex thoughts we have on the finite nature of existence, the division between reality and the faith-inspired other-realm, the intricate aspects of repressive emotional circumstances, and the label-creating heirarchial tendencies of society. At the same time, Kushner weaves a hypnotic web of stories, highlighted with pure emotion and tinged with undeniable realism despite the seemingly boundary-free mixture of reality with fantastic.
Mike Nichols has reached a new level of directing. He accents and enhances the script without getting in its way. This is definitely a career benchmark for him; time will only tell if this film has more impact than The Graduate, but it is certainly on par or exceeding what he accomplished with that film.
The performances are all incredible. Pacino and Streep onscreen together sends chills up a film-fanatic's spine. Justin Kirk - your career starts here. Mary-Lousie Parker - phe-nom-en-al! The skillfull use of actors in multiple (and sometimes disguised) roles adds perplexing layers to the story; Emma Thompson as a homeless psychotic is incredible, as is Streep as an elderly rabbi.
Hollywood, take note: This is how you make a film! Get to it! The only thing keeping this film from snatching your precious ultimate publicity prize (an Oscar) is its location on TV screens instead of movie screens.