Archive for December, 2007

Movie Review : The Man from Earth

Friday, December 28th, 2007

Ideas, Ideas, Ideas.  What if? What if? What if? 

This movie about a person born 14000 years ago who just never died is pretty interesting.  It is almost more of a play as the actors never leave the room.  I take it back. Its actually about people’s reaction to him and how beliefs are held close. 

Could you believe someone who said that they were 14 thousand years old?  Most of 10 or so people in the movie can’t.  Especially when he claims to be someone from the bible and that the whole Christian movement is a big fraud. 

The script is by Jerome Bixby who wrote many of the original Start Trek and Twilight Zone scripts.

This is a good flick if you are into philosophy or deep thinking.  Otherwise, skip it.

 

Movie Review : Jesus Camp

Friday, December 28th, 2007

It seems 25% of the United States population may be evangelical christians.  So, for that quarter of you, this movie should be no surprise. 

The other three quarters may be curious to know that that other quarter has sleepovers at church and that the minister is attending.  However, you won’t be surprised to learn that the adults supervising are a bit creepy.

This is a documentary about the more deep end side of this group.  Its actually a fairly good documentary in that its not Michael Moore beat you over the head style.  It just shows what happens at these events and interviews some of the leaders.  You can form your own opinion.

Nothing here should surprise you tho unless you have’nt been paying attention to how organized the far religious right is.

I found it slightly disturbing and parially boring.

Movie Review : Meet the Feebles

Friday, December 28th, 2007

Eegads this is an interesting one.  If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if the muppets had real life issues, then this may be the movie for you.  Consider miss piggy as really a slighted hippopotamus with a Rambo complex and you still probably won’t imagine what debauchery awaits.

Sure. Go see it.

Movie Review : Ultraviolet

Wednesday, December 19th, 2007

This movie has lots of eye candy. The start is a Milla Jovovich who shows lots of stomach and sometimes some nice legs. There are of course quite a load of semi interesting guns. A token motorcycle chase by some futuristic helicopters. Lots of sword action.

The set is all of fantastical Shanghai augmented (or perhaps detracted) by computers.

Oh, yes - its a vampire movie but none of the vampires are really interested in sucking any blood from anyone (hello!!)

The movie has hints of fascinating sub-societies that get completely unexplored(the vampires, the blood guys on the roof, the legions of guards of different color, and the bad guy who seems to have no real life).

Instead, up front is a disease that you either have and are vampire like with heightened senses set to die in 12 years. Or you are a normal person who is afraid of getting the bug. Your last choice is to be a faceless drone in the militaristic society.

And death. Milla kills lots and lots of utterly meaningless guards.

And this kid who Milla wants to save because he is a child(yes thats very nice after killing 800 or so guards who likely have families and kids etc).

Yes the movie has all of this but it begs the question of whether there is a plot - the answer to which is I’m not really sure. You can kind of follow one in the movie but all the touched on themes make you think there is more. Maybe the comic did or perhaps the rumor of a directors cut is true.

All in all. Its pretty mindless. You could save yourself an hour and fast forward thru all but a few fight scenes and get to the end with the same result.

See this movie if you just want to vedge out in front of some action.

Movie Review : Brain Dead

Saturday, December 1st, 2007

Bill Pullman and Bill Paxton star in this low budget pseudo horror movie about a brain surgeon who enters into the madness of one of his patients.

This movie is kind of an experiment on how to confuse the movie watcher.  You watch and the nice doctor seems to slip into insanity after performing a certain surgery that aims to fix someone else’s madness.

There is constantly this hint at some sort of plot always just out of sight.  It seems like there might be a devious all encompassing behind the scenes explanation that would justify this whole somewhat bothersome experience of finding oneself in a mental institution.

And there is.  Well, its just not very interesting.  I’m going to blow the ending here so as to spare you the time.  He was in a car accident that gave him hallucinations.  Yup, that is what its all about.