| Movie | Rating | Review | Date | Your Rating | Match | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson - R |
Diagnosis: Aversion Therapy For those patients who have harbored a fondness and admiration for the self-proclaimed Doctor of Journalism, this documentary provides a somewhat sobering effect. In many cases, this effect may be unwanted, but possibly necessary. Patients whose sole exposure to the creator of Gonzo journalism have been through previous prescriptions such as Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas or Where the Buffalo Roam may find this a more bitter pill to swallow. The present course of treatment shows the downside of being the personification of a lifestyle. Depression, missed deadlines, and a dreadfully boring adult son have a way of violating patients' hero-worship. Prognosis: * * * * Much like a bracing round of chemotherapy, this film is a necessary evil to those patients needing to put their idols into perspective. Synopsis: Tracing the rise of Hunter S. Thompson's career, the film begins with his early journalistic work covering sports events. With the founding of Rolling Stones magazine, Thompson found an outlet for his variety of work. Increasingly beginning to cover political stories, Thompson's great strengths lay in his anonymity and the recognition by editors at Rolling Stones that Thompson's work was more about capturing the atmosphere of a time or event than it was to recount facts. As Thompson's fame and notoriety increased, he found it increasingly difficult to maintain what he considered to be his serious journalistic aims. |
November 2, 2008 | N/A | |||
| The Ninth Gate - R | October 30, 2008 | N/A | ||||
| Network - R |
Diagnosis: Transference
Watch this film if you would like to transfer your frustrations into the storyline. Film is particularly recommended for patients suffering from media distrust, paranoia, or otherwise negative affectations. This film is particularly recommended for patients hoping to make careers in any of the media arts, including (but not confined to): journalist, reporter, anchorman, writer, actor, publicist, or preacher. Prognosis: * * * * This film is completely worth watching, but ought to be considered and paid attention to. Not recommended as a film to run in the background while talking with others. A terribly interesting subject for analysis. Analysis of this film ought to be behavioral in nature. Such an approach will allow patients to identify any target behaviors needing alteration, as well as modify those behaviors. Synopsis "This is not a psychotic episode. It is a cleansing moment of clarity." Or so says Howard Beale (Peter Finch), the network news man who is relieved of duty within the first five minutes of the film. In his drunken reflection of his television career, Beale decides to kill himself and announces these intentions during his evening news broadcast. This last act of a desperate man sets Paddy Chayefsky's masterpiece Network in motion. Beale's outburst brings him his first burst of high ratings in years, which may contribute to his ultimate decision that he is "a latter day prophett" who has been selected by the powers that be to bring the truth to the people of the world. And why is Beale selected for this honor? "Because you're on television, dummy" says the Voice who speaks to Beale in the night. As Beale becomes increasingly convinced of his own prophetic abilities, the network executives are divided. The old dogs of classical age of television journalism, independent of their network and unencumbered by a need to be ultimately profitable, is chiefly represented by Max Schumacher (William Holden). Schumacher's desire to protect Beale's reputation as a newsman gets him fired, leaving him available to begin an affair with the woman who replaces him as the producer of the evening news, Diana Christensen (Faye Dunaway). Christensen embodies the new generation of network executives, dedicated to creating ratings and profits for their network and its parent corporation. Even as she and Schumacher make love, Christensen gives sultry updates on HUT point shares, rating hikes, and getting steals on old James Bond film syndication. The more prophetic Beale becomes, the happier Christensen becomes with the ratings. To replace the current evening line up of drama shows featuring "crusty but benign" older men, Christensen begins working on a Fall lineup including a show centered entirely around the activities of a terrorist group. Paddy Chayefsky's screenplay is one that is as good to read as it is to watch enacted on the silver screen. What makes this film such a classic is that it is a self-fulfilling prophecy; the movie about Howard Beale has become Howard Beale. When Network first came out, it was classified as a satire of network television. But today, it seems old hat. Viewers without appreciation for the era in which a film was written will be bored and disappointed with Network. But better educated viewers will be blown away by Chayefsky's ability to predict the corporatization of television, as well as the popularity of reality television. |
October 27, 2008 | N/A | |||
| I Heart Huckabees - R |
Diagnosis: Transference
This film is particularly recommended for those patients who suffer from existential-type concerns, including though not limited to: the nature of reality, the interconnectedness of all things, meaninglessness, and the world's petroleum crisis. Patients who are frustrated with living life on its surface will find this film to be of great cathartic value. Often patients exhibiting existential angst find that they feel isolated from those around them, especially when trying to discuss their concerns. This film provides such patients with a voice, as well as a well-spring of empathetic characters. This film does anything but belittle these sorts of concerns. Unfortunately, it is the nature of existential concerns that often patients suffering from them fail to recognize their own symptoms. This is very much like patients who suffer chronic yet mild intestinal discomfort for years, never realizing that they are harboring an insidious case of colo-rectal cancer. Potential patients are advised to refer to the following checklist as a means of assessing their personal risk: Do you have lingering thoughts and/or concerns regarding the coincidences in your life? Are you inexplicably sad when the coworker you most hate doesn't come in to work? Do you ever seriously wonder what happens in a meadow at dusk? Have you ever watched a group of shopper rummaging through a clearance bin and felt vaguely nauseated by their zeal for ever-cheaper bed linens? Are you torn between your role as a business professional and your desire to be an interesting person? If you answered "yes" to any of these items, it is advised that you watch this film as a precautionary measure. If you answered "yes" to three or more of these items, purchase this film immediately and begin a weekly dosage. Prognosis: * * * * * Not only is this film worth watching, it borders on becoming a new class of psychological vitamin. This film ought to be watched and digested at least once a quarter, re-invigorating the body's immune system against the shallowness of daily life. Under no circumstances should this film be watched with disinterest. Analysis of this film should be considered a moral imperative. While watching this film is both entertaining and enjoyable, it ought to leave an intellectual aftertaste that deserves investigation. Immediately after watching this film, patients ought to reflect on the many issues presented in the film and apply them to their own cases. These applications can include, though are not limited to: Increasing outdoor time and engaging in nature appreciation Engaging in protests on any issues Experiencing a sense of interconnectedness with a drunkard in Berlin who has recently lost his wife and job Purchasing a large, red, rubber ball with handle It must be noted that these are merely suggestions. Any applications of this film to individual cases will prove beneficial. Synopsis "Don't call it the ball thing. Call it 'pure being.'" The Jaffe & Jaffe Existential Detective Agency makes it its business to expand its clients' understanding of the universe through spying and unfettered access. As Vivian Jaffe (Lily Tomlin) warns, it can often be quite upsetting to alter one's perception of reality, advising that only those who truly want to dismantle their existence ought become clients. Alfred (Jason Schwartzman) and Tommy (Marky Mark) are two such clients. Both men are deeply concerned with the preservation of the Earth, Albert through his work with the Open Spaces Coalition and Tommy through his unwaivering and explosive diatribes on the dangers of petroleum usage. Although Alfred hires Jaffe & Jaffe to explain a series of coincidental meetings with a Sudanese refuge who collect autographs, the meat of Albert's case revolves around his association with a Huckabees Department Stores sales executive named Brad (Jude Law). Brad is the epitome of the phony businessman, all charm and zero substance, and he hires the existential detectives as a ploy to unnerve Albert and create dissention within the Open Spaces. All of these interconnections of characters are concocted in a gala event, sponsored by Huckabees, where Shania Twain will sing to benefit the local marsh and woods. If the events here described seem inconsequential or silly, it is only because the actual tasks of these characters, as regards their professional lives, are incidental to the real substance of the film. Albert's being ejected from his own Open Spaces charter takes a backseat to his realization that both the Sudanese refuge and he were emotionally orphaned, one by civil war and the other by indifference. Brad's successful ploy to give Huckabees eco-friendly press while opening a mini-mall on the marshlands goes virtually unmentioned when compared to the attention given to his realization that he is all smoke and mirrors, adopting the mantra "How am I not myself?" until it literally makes him sick. How does it end, you ask? The way all existential fiction must end. With the acceptance that existence is a constant cycle of the suffering of daily life, with all its petty concerns and worries, and the comfort of pure being, knowing that we are connected to all things and so need not worry about anything. Remember: There is no such thing as nothing. There is no remainder in the mathematics of infinity. There is only the blanket. |
October 27, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Faces - PG-13 | October 22, 2008 | N/A | ||||
| Austin Powers - The Spy Who Shagged Me - PG-13 | October 18, 2008 | N/A | ||||
| The Jungle Book - PG | October 18, 2008 | N/A | ||||
| Beetle Juice (Beetlejuice) - PG | October 18, 2008 | N/A | ||||
| Signs - PG-13 | October 18, 2008 | N/A | ||||
| Happy Gilmore - PG-13 | October 18, 2008 | N/A | ||||
| Legally Blonde - PG-13 | October 18, 2008 | N/A | ||||
| Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace - PG | October 18, 2008 | N/A | ||||
| 101 Dalmatians (One Hundred and One Dalmatians) - G | October 18, 2008 | N/A | ||||
| Liar Liar - PG-13 | October 18, 2008 | N/A | ||||
| Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope - PG | October 18, 2008 | N/A | ||||
| Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - PG-13 | October 18, 2008 | N/A | ||||
| The Bourne Identity - PG-13 | October 18, 2008 | N/A | ||||
| Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End - PG-13 | October 18, 2008 | N/A | ||||
| Cast Away - PG-13 | October 18, 2008 | N/A | ||||
| Bring It On - PG-13 | October 18, 2008 | N/A | ||||
| Sweet Home Alabama - PG-13 | October 18, 2008 | N/A | ||||
| Top Gun - PG | October 18, 2008 | N/A | ||||
| Beauty and the Beast - G | October 18, 2008 | N/A | ||||
| The Waterboy - PG-13 | October 18, 2008 | N/A | ||||
| Miss Congeniality - PG-13 | October 18, 2008 | N/A |
291 ratings
3 reviews
