| Movie | Rating | Review | Date | Your Rating | Match | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TerrorStorm: A History of Government-Sponsored Terrorism - Unrated |
A disconcerting blend of fact and fiction. Accurate but overblown analysis of past revolutionary false-flag events cast an inappropriately logical light on further "revelations" concerning the London, NYC and Pentagon terrorist attacks of the past decade. A great deal of this conspiratorial message fails to stand up to true logical analysis... and much of the evidence shown fails to explain proper context, interview credible witnesses, or even explain any of its own accusations in greater depth. Regardless, though, of the beliefs contained within, the film is laughably arranged with large red fonts punctuating word-for-word the narration, eerie warped images and a hilarious "special effects" mentality. I burst out in laughter as the film decries the use of mind-control fear-tactics as the film itself uses threatening music and huge, flaming letters to explain how you have been mind-controlled... and subsequently asked my roommates to re-watch the sequence to make sure I wasn't dreaming it. Hypocritical and overblown, look to cooler heads to explain that unwholesome truths are rarely as exciting and clear-cut as this film makes them out to be. True analysis is rarely this rewardingly outrageous. PS: As a response to the grandiose 5-stars on this site for this film, I would like to suggest that if anyone finds the information this film proposes to be even vaguely interesting, to please graduate to such writers as Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein or Jeremy Scahill for a much more level-headed and complex analysis of the true effects of US foreign and economic policy over the last 80 years. |
September 18, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Barton Fink - R |
The Coen brothers best, and most simple, film. What few elements Barton Fink possesses, are sharpened and detailed to the point of cinematic perfection... the most striking example being the main setting of the dilapidated Hotel Earle, whose every detail has been painstakingly crafted and considered. In the end, Barton Fink is a near-perfect example of the interplay between the tool of cinema and the underlying art of storytelling. In that sense, it is true minimalist cinema which doesn't remove the cinematic experience from the story, but instead supports it honestly and without pretension. Its brilliance is clear, focused, and precise... nothing left to chance. |
September 14, 2009 | N/A | |||
| On the Beach - Unrated |
One of the earliest apocalyptic films, despite being over half-a-century old, has a startlingly unique and refreshing viewpoint on nuclear annihilation. Not post-apocalyptic in the ruined wasteland scenario, nor a commentary on the events leading up to such an event. It still remains one of the only films to take place in a place utterly untouched by war, but reeling psychologically from its aftermath. On the Beach instead deals with the end of the world as a slowly creeping outside influence, utterly terrifying and alien... yet calmly assured. A threat whose nationalistic cause is eerily dealt with through nationalist pride. Perhaps the best non-documentary analysis of nuclear war. |
September 14, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Fahrenheit 451 - PG |
A classic sci-fi film in the social-commentary vein of Soylent Green. Unlike the latter, though, Fahrenheit 451 as a film ages very badly. The world seems thin, as if it were only fleshed out enough to support the weight of its single message and metaphor... and whatever meat is put on its skeletal plot, seems to clumsy and dull to fit with a message that begs for darkly polished satire. Regardless, the film contains some of the more iconic scenes of 1960's socially-minded sci-fi, and influential (if shallow and occasionally unfounded) messages, and is worth watching at least for this alone. Sadly, it is unmistakable as a poor adaptation whose high-points are not a result of good film-making or engaging acting, but instead it's excellent source material. |
September 14, 2009 | N/A | |||
| District 9 - R | August 29, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Louise Bourgeois: The Spider, the Mistress and the Tangerine - Unrated | August 12, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Funny People - R | August 9, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Doubt - PG-13 | August 7, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Man Facing Southeast - R | August 7, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| This Is England - Unrated |
A violent gracefulness pervades Shane Meadows intimate semi-autobiographical story about White Nationalism in 1980's England. You can feel the smooth sincerity of the film-making even amid the grit of its subject matter... which makes the film all the more endearing despite its seriously dark and alienating content. Meadows maintains a deep intimacy with the pulse of his setting that allows simple events to carry immense weight without need for over-dramatization. Think of it as a grounded prequel to the "Clockwork Orange" which loses none of its visceral ambiance despite its sobriety. |
August 7, 2009 | N/A | |||
| A Scanner Darkly - R |
A numbing exercise in blunt visual metaphor. The rotoscoping effect becomes tiresome, having us focus on meaningless vector eccentricities instead of the acting. Squint and you can see a decent, if average, film behind it all. The supporting cast of Robert Downey, Jr. and Rory Cochrane are superb, further casting a pall over Reeve's vapid performance. Disregarding the scattershot acting or visuals, the adapted Philip K. Dick plotline retains a sense of paranoid grandeur similar to such classics as "Soylent Green." Squint hard enough, and you can lose the rotoscoped gimmick and the wannabe Fear-and-Loathing cinematography. You'll be left with a pleasantly entertaining near-future dystopia and a none-too-subtle backhand against Big Pharma in the classic Orwellian tradition. |
August 7, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Vantage Point - PG-13 |
Rashomon this is not. It seems much closer to "Phone Booth" meets "Reservoir Dogs", with a constrained setting told from multiple points of view in overlapping order. Sadly, Vantage Point tires of its own gimmick, refusing to utilize a plot that actually needs it. Instead, we are given a straight-forward high-tech action plot that would feel more at home in a "Die Hard" film... a plot which works against it's own gimmick. Indeed, the whole concept of different characters "vantages" are cribbed and obfuscated so that the entire device is abandoned in the last 45 minutes in favor of a forced straight-narrative climax. With a bland albeit satisfying plot, the gimmick of following characters in sequence needed to be adhered to. Instead, the last 45 minutes betrays the film for the tired pretension of an action film that it is, with the lingering aftertaste of something that could possibly have been interesting. |
August 7, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Miracle Mile - R | August 7, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Next - PG-13 |
A low-grade action-film with a twist, "Next" manages a rather bold ending and some plot devices... if only it wasn't a decade or two too late to be anything close to innovative. Time manipulation is a strained hook to hang a film on without an equally intriguing plot. Sadly, a nifty superpower given to a generally unlikable and boring character doesn't make them worthy of being the centerpiece of a film. While Nicholas Cage is admittedly given very little to work with, he doesn't help matters by prattling on about fate and destiny and a stalker-like conception of true love. At least a bad modern film like "Jumper" used a superpower that has barely been used. "Next" bores us on two fronts simultaneously... they might as well have gone ahead and cast Keanu Reeves. |
August 7, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Valkyrie - PG-13 |
There are some thrilling moments in history that don't need to be put into the "thriller" genre. The stories of the German Resistance are among them. Highly complex and intensely personal tales of nationalism and pride simply become meaningless fodder when all the audience is looking for are explosions and civil unrest. Thankfully, Valkyrie doesn't add in any meaningless action than is necessary, and tries to get as much tension out of standard military meetings and conspiratorial banter... but in the end, the films focus on assassination and revolt obfuscates the intent behind these actions. While the events are essentially spot-on, the context is thus entirely lacking, leaving the plot thin and drawn out. The film begins in German with subtitles, but immediately fades into English with barely a German accent to be seen. This lack of immersion, despite all the attention to detail, is the films undoing. A historical thriller which tries to pull through as a complex drama, whose intricacy fades as quickly as it's subtitles. |
August 7, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Romper Stomper - R | August 6, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Dead Man's Shoes - Unrated | August 6, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Stray Dog (Nora inu) - Unrated | August 6, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Yojimbo - Unrated | August 6, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Rashômon (Rashomon) (In the Woods) - Unrated | August 6, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Tôkyô Zankoku Keisatsu (Tokyo Gore Police) - Unrated |
A bizzarre gore-fest that delivers a seemingly endless amount of freakish situations... as if Kill Bill were combined with Videodrome and directed by a deranged Sigmund Freud. Sadly, it doesn't have its tongue in its cheek nearly enough to be considered a comedy, nor is it coherent enough to be logically considered a horror film. In the end, the film takes its over-the-top gore far too seriously. Gore films are about the gore, naturally, but also absurdity. These core elements (gratuitous violence) must be supported by its cinematic elements (plot, dialog), rather than compete with them. As it stands, Tokyo Gore Police attempts to have a serious dramatic plot mixed with ridiculous violence... and the two don't mix well, resulting in a heavily layered but remarkably hollow pretension of a film. No amount of ingenious and satisfying torrents of blood, guts, and vagina-dentata can withstand such a brazen attempt to be taken seriously. One should excuse director Nishimura, as a special-effects and make-up artist first and director second... but sadly, it is hard to excuse the film. |
August 6, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Special - R |
A churning, dark drama that inexplicably bills itself as satirical or humorous. The concept: to play out dark psychological drama against a paper-thin backdrop of comic-book heroism is jarring to say the least... especially when the self-importance of such a backdrop is continually torn and punctured by the presence of the reality underneath it all. This isn't a film about a superhero dealing with being human, or a human trying to be a superhero. In the end, its an average human dealing with being human and getting very messed up in the process. Sadly, the plot is riddled with holes, and a small array of cinematic stylizations that eventually wear a bit thin. It takes a bit of effort to see past the low-budgeted hurdles... but such effort is rewarded with a glimpse of the inspired acting by Rapaport (the film beautifully abuses his nice-guy persona) as well as the simple yet grittily accented story underneath it all. A unique presentation of a depressing concept, which falters more often than it flies. Yet unlike other films, whose failures confuse or anger, one can clearly see (and enjoy) the film that lies beneath the blemishes. That achievement alone is something to be celebrated, and is the essence of independent film-making. |
July 28, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Love is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon - Unrated | July 27, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Milk - R |
A stunningly acted, if occasionally inaccurate, portrayal of the life and times of not the first, but indisputably the most prominent, LGBT public official of the 20th century. Sadly, the film cuts itself short, choosing to keep a positive note, and glossing over the trial and bloody riots that occurred shortly after Milk's death. As with most historic dramas or documentaries, the film eliminates aspects of history not because they are troubling, but because they downplay the supreme importance of the topic at hand: certain real-world contexts lessen the dramatic tension or story accessibility... and as such, the danger and menace that should permeate the film are given only cursory and hesitant examinations. Regardless, the film makes a generally neglected part of the civil rights movement unabashedly vivid and accessible. Heavy-handed application of romanticized tenderness aside, the film's execution, especially Penn's effortless and charismatic performance, is enthralling. |
July 27, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Seven Up! (7 Up!) - Unrated |
A short, sweet, addicting, and influential film. Translating an inclusive lifelong study (of the kind usually reserved for clinical trials) into a sociological documentary takes bravado... but it is amiably handled here. Regardless, the film is limited due to the short-sightedness of its thesis question: does class structure create an inescapable framework that will govern these children's lives? While the question itself is intriguing, it means the selection of children fails to have enough sample space for looking at what would become the major themes of the decades these children would grow up: feminism and racism. There is only one child who represents a minority, and merely a handful of girls. Regardless, such limitations are only blemishes on the horizon in this introductory documentary that serves as a light introduction to an epic series, as well as a brief, poignant look into the mind of a 7-year-old. |
July 27, 2009 | N/A |
1414 ratings
265 reviews
