Change Your Image
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Reviews
The Fountain (2006)
Illustrated Hindu Philosophy
Forget what you might have learned in church this is the "real deal." Sort of. Going off to be reborn and flying in the Lotus position at that wow! Don't get me wrong this is a beautiful movie and the acting is first rate, the music is good and while the plot is rather difficult to follow it does make sense in the end (if you are patient.)
If "new age"is your thing then this will only serve to confirm all of your ideas and offer you a complete set of images you can follow. But for those whose chosen religion is Christianity this will simply not hit any buttons for you and ultimately its message is contrary to you point of view.
Death looms large in this and how to avoid a thing that is so inevitable is the pathway it takes. Good luck with that folks.
Death Race 2000 (1975)
satirizing violence by being violent
This movie was originally designed as a demonstration that American society loves violence and an attempt to show just how bad it is. But you cant satirize violence with violence since it merely feeds the desire and raises the acceptable levels higher.
On one level this is a humorless peon to stupidity, or course it has all the requirements of a cult classic and it has maintained its status in that club since 1975. on another level entirely it is hilarious and so funny it fills the description of low camp.
While Roger Corman tells us that this was made for $350,000 and Caradine got $50k of that. David Caradine's profit participation got him over $1million so Corman did it again the king of the B movies. Do you want to watch such a movie, its up to you.
Orlando (1992)
Only for the Woolf fans out there.
As someone who knows nothing at all about Virginia Woolf and her writing career, I found this film rather vacuous. Sure the costumes and sets were great, I do love much of those eras clothing styles, but that hardly makes a great film. Hollywood has this thing with books and IMHO if you need to know the book prior to seeing the movie then the movie is at fault either the screenwriter or director failed to make a film that can stand on its own. Maybe it was an impossible task I don't know since I haven't read the book.
Too much seems to depend upon knowing the author and her relationship with her friend but without that foreknowledge it loses any irony or bite.
Tilde Swinson simply cannot make a convincing male and for 2/3 of the movie that simply got in the way.
Mother Night (1996)
A triumph for Vonnegut a romance in the classic sense
Having recently reviewed the DVD with Nolte's comments I must add a little explanation for the other reviewers who never got the motivation behind Campbell choosing to follow through with the spying.
Campbell is a romantic through and through, he sees the action of spying in all its media created romance and not in the hard bitten truth that exists in real life. His relationship with Helga is just one more aspect of this romantic attitude and Helga is not at the center of his universe for long. Too many humans still consider war a romantic ideal filled with "action" and "heroes." Humans forever tell themselves that they are full of good intentions, that we mean well and so does Campbell. He never truly understands how his part in the war (the little devices created for him that somehow offer information to the allies) fits in but most of all he fills a role, a role of a lifetime on a huge international stage he is by career a actor/playwright and there is simply no bigger role he could take. Again fulfilling a "romantic ideal." But by playing the role as anti-Semitic propagandist he becomes so close to that role that he cant even separate himself from it, he becomes the role. Another "romantic ideal." But his being manipulated because of this romantic leanings leaves him empty inside and longs for real life. The contact "with the secret" John Goodman's role as the blue fairy godmother does appear and save him from himself a couple of times, but ultimately cannot in the end save him.
This is an excellent cast and Vonnegut's novel is entirely intact and he does have a walk on non-speaking appearance toward the end. But this film is for the thinking audience not the shallow end of the mental pool.
Phineas and Ferb (2007)
Almost better for the adults than the kids
Occasionally there comes along animation that strikes that delicate balance between being funny for the kids and being funny for the adults too. The last time I found such a series was Rocky and Bullwinkle. Phineas and Ferb while it fits nicely in the mainstream of Disney animation still has enough real humor that it isn't sappy like so many other Disney products tend to be. And unlike the "post modern" Rocky and Bullwinkle, which is filled with acid like social commentary this one is just as smooth and sweet as a baby's bottom.
I too was struck dumb when I learned "the" Richard O'Brian (of Rocky Horror fame) was doing voice work for this series, and again without the social commentary. Whoever is responsible at Disney for giving this project the go ahead should be praised (and given a raise to boot). Thank you Disney for this series it restores my confidence in you.
Avatar (2009)
Not as good as I hoped
If one sets aside, briefly, the technical aspects of this movie, it is a scifi version of Dances with Wolves. The plot and characters are as a predictable as gravity.
But then who goes to scifi movies for character development anyway, right? The new movie making techniques presented to us in this movie are the main reason and, I might suggest, the only reason for spending the bucks on this one.
How can a person be disappointed in a movie where all the action is predictable and you have other reasons for being there? So I guess it meets its expectations, fills the stereotypes well and satisfies after a fashion.
If in fact this technology is the future of film making then this is the first shot over the bow to watch out for. We can also expect higher and higher ticket prices because of the cost to do this well.
Koyaanisqatsi (1982)
Maybe a contrarian point of view on this movie
The views of the natural world contained in this movie are hardly less violent than the human occupied scenes. There are geological views of scenery that are violent and stark and ocean view of violent waves and simply acknowledging nature as a violent and unbalanced place is worthwhile in and of itself.
The idea that somehow we as humans inherently destroy the natural balance of nature is something that only the Greens amongst us might buy into. And the idea that the human part of this world is any less natural is bogus.
I found that sitting and watching this movie was an exercise in frustration that no one around me was willing to even consider any other point of view.
There is no doubt that this is an excellent example of pure cinema and music melded together and it was worthwhile even with the frustrations I experienced.
Slaughterhouse-Five (1972)
one of my favorite of all time
There is no more beautiful film of Vonnegut than this film it is just great. The musical score was perfect and the actors selected with the greatest of care. A miracle of direction since the book was was back and forth but this film keeps it all under control and delivers a powerful anti-war message.
There isn't any other movie from a Vonnegut book that has done the author justice for his black humor and biting wit. All from a semi-autobiographical book.
I don't know why some of the people here have written that Michale Sacks disappeared. Any sweep of IMDb will let them know exactly what else he has done.
This movie is one of my all time top ten
Meet the Spartans (2008)
not even as good as some classic turkeys
The films of Ed Wood have been used as a standard to show how bad movies can be. Their plots didn't make much sense, the acting was terrible, their lack of production values was the lowest around, but they did have a sense of dignity about them. They tried to be the best they could be and were horrible anyway.
Meet the Spartans fails on so many different grounds, the real question that needed to be asked was who gave this movie a green light in the first place and why is this person still working in Hollywood? A SNL skit of about two minutes might have been the end result and we might have forgiven them for it, since at least on SNL they try new things.
While I only spent $3 on my ticket, I feel like they need to pay me back for the time they took away from my movie life. I've seen offensive movies before and there is usually a point to be made, here the only point is "I've got you ticket money and what will you do about it." I am ashamed for those actors who with this on their credits may never get another acting role again in their lives, why risk something like this? I really hope that the producers/writers/ and actors for this dreck will offer an apology to the film community for this. Ed Wood is now not at the bottom of the heap when it comes to making films.