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Reviews
Moonage Daydream (2022)
A Kaleideoscopic Portrayal of Bowie's Life
Daydream's kaleideoscopic presentation portrayed Bowie's life as a relentless journey of artistic exploration and discovery, a quest that centered upon an ongoing search for inspiration: by inventing new looks, by moving to new places, by taking on new challenges, by experimenting with new sounds, and by trying out new approaches to life. Bowie was a "consumate artist". He used himself as an artistic medium, living his life dressed in a showman's costume, playing a made-up part, and answering to his stage name. He was a trained mime, a gifted impressionistic painter, and a highly competent actor, both on stage and on film.
Daydream disappointed. Its relentless montage of images and sounds reflected too much of the movie maker and too little of Bowie. It provided only the vaguest insights into his personal lifestyle and choices, forcing viewers to search elsewhere for information regarding his drug use, his children, and/or his sexual/romantic choices.
Batoru rowaiaru (2000)
Everybody Wants To Be Chucky
In Japanese. This is the movie that Hunger Games was based on. But unlike Hunger Gemes, Battle Royale doesn't pretend to be a class act. The story goes like this: Sometime in the near future, the Japanese government deports a class of 9th graders (42 of them) to an island where soldiers force the students to kill each other as directed by a new law, the Battle Royale Act. The movie presents a facade of moral redemption, but focuses on the killings. Viewers feel like they're watching a Chucky movie where everybody wants to be Chucky. Battle Royale predates Hunger Games by a dozen years.
Interstellar (2014)
Interstellar In A Nutshell
Earth stands on the verge of environmental collapse. Concurrently, a wormhole appears on the outskirts of Saturn. Hoping to preserve the species, the remnants of government have commissioned a secret project purposed to seek out habitable worlds beyond the wormhole. An exastronaut turned farmer by the name of Cooper discovers coordinates encoded into strands of dust left in his daughter's bedroom after a storm. These coordinates lead him to a secret NASA launch site. NASA insists that Cooper pilot a spaceship through the wormhole. Hoping to save the world, Cooper speeds off towards Saturn, abandoning his precocious, young daughter, Murph, Earth-side -- orphaned and grieving.
After passing through the wormhole, Cooper's crew attempts to locate an Earth-like planet. Things go badly. They end up trying to escape from an uninhabitable ice world by sling-shotting around a black hole. Realizing that they must shed additional mass to make their escape, Cooper boards a shuttle craft and blasts away from the mother ship -- headlong into the black hole. His shuttle craft gets smashed by passing debris, and Cooper is forced to eject. His death fall into darkness morphs into a psychedelic journey past a hall whose corridors contain arrays of multi-dimensional chambers. Peering inwards, Cooper sees that the chambers contain space-time elements composing the world inside Murph's bedroom.
Now Cooper knows that after an object passes beyond a black hole's event horizon, the gravitational forces become so great that even light cannot escape. And since electromagnetic waves are merely a form of light, they can't escape either. So gravity is the only way to transmit messages to the outside world from inside of a black hole.
Cooper also realizes that the recent chain of events -- the messages in the dust, the wormhole near Saturn, and the array of multi-dimensional chambers -- were crafted not by benevolent aliens, but by people from the future. He himself would send the messages that had appeared on the dust in his daughter's bedroom. So the array of chambers must actually be a gravity-based communications center. And scientists from the future must have created not only the wormhole, but also the control center that he would use to send gravitational messages to himself.
In order for future scientists to create the wormhole and control center, he would have to send them the black-hole data needed to reconcile the (heretofore unreconcilable) theories of quantum mechanics and general relativity (ie. Einstein's gravity). Happily, in their effors to shed excess mass, Cooper's crew had also jettisoned a lander that contained an AI Unit named TARS. And TARS had automatically collected the necessary black-hole readings. Cooper could simply extract the data from TARS, encode it into binary, and use the black hole's communications center to send the data to Murph's bedroom.
Meanwhile, owing to the relativistic effects of the black hole's massive gravity, Murph has aged much faster than Cooper, and has become an astro-physicist. Moreover, she has deduced that the gravitational message that led her father to Nasa's secret launch site had, in fact, been sent from him to himself -- from beyond the wormhole. So Murph is poised to recognize the significance of any black-hole data that appears. When the data comes, if it comes, she will be prepared to use it.
"Why me?", Cooper asks TARS. "Why do the world's future scientists need me?"
Cooper ___ All of this is one little girl's bedroom. Every moment. It's infinitely complex. They have access to infinite space and time, but they're not bound by anything! They can't find a specific place in time. They can't communicate. That's why I am here. I'm gonna find a way to tell Murph... just like I found this moment.
TARS _____ How, Cooper?
Cooper ___ Love, TARS, love. [...] My connection with Murph, it is quantifiable. It is the key!
By conjoining science with quantifiable love, "Interstellar" forges a reality in which Cooper can transmit black-hole data to Murph. The data allows Earth's scientists to reconcile quantum and gravitational theories, thereby paving the way to a future in which mankind can, and does, construct the black hole's gravity-based communications panel. Cooper uses this panel to send TARS' black-hole data back to Murph by manipulating the gravity field inside of a watch that he gave to her as a child.
Shi mian mai fu (2004)
A Story of Star-Crossed Lovers, Jealousy, and Conflicted Allegiences
In Chinese (English dubbing available). Flying Daggers is an audio-visual extravaganza, filled with beautiful people, intricate objects, and elaborate costumes. Its director, Yimou Zhang, revels in the artistry of things. So his fight scenes sometimes feel more like dances. Yimou has NO respect for physics. His fighters can fly and weild swords with scarves. Spinning knives can suddenly shed their angular momentum and speed straight to their targets. Ironically, the last fight has no magic. It is a gritty, life-or-death struggle. But Yimou exercises artistic license even here. The battle begins on a warm, sunny day. But at its conclusion, the combatants are foundering in snow drifts and struggling to see through a veil of thick snow fall. Lastly, Flying Daggers is a story of star-crossed lovers, jealousy, and conflicted allegiences. I was just blown away.
Searching for Sugar Man (2012)
Is Sixto Gonzales a Rock Star?
Documents the search for a missing man who was a rock star in South Africa. The movie's worth is based on the premise that the missing man, Sixto Gonzalez, qualifies not just as a "rock star", but as somebody that I would accept as one my "rock stars". So after watching the movie, I listened to his music. And I liked it a lot. So "yes", this is a true story; and for me, Gonzalez qualifies as a bone-fide rock star -- which make the movie rather incredible. I recommend listening to his music for a few days to see whether you are or aren't interested in watching a movie about him.
The Room (2003)
Later Attained Cult Status
The Room is an independent film that was written, produced, and directed by Tommy Wiseau, a wealthy, wannabe actor/director who starred himself in its leading role. While initially ridiculed by the viewing public, The Room later attained cult status for its consistently uninspired scripting and second-rate acting. The peculiar constancy of its grade-B qualities derives from Wiseau's East-European origins, origins which bestowed a subtle, but pervasive cultural dysfluency that bled over not only onto his screen play, but also onto his spoken lines. The flattened affect attendant on this dysfluency gives The Room an aura of incompetence and a soap-opera-like character. The Room ultimately inspired the 2017 movie, The Disaster Artist, which details the story behind Tommy Waseau and the making of The Room.
The Great Escape (1963)
Smacks of Cheesy, Americanistic Exceptionalism
Starring Steve McQueen, James Garner, etc. Hollywood's version of an actual escape from a Nazi prisoner-of-war camp for officers. In actual fact, none of the 76 escapees were American. 50 were shot, and only 3 actually escaped. No motorcycles or airplanes were used in the actual escape attempts. Most of the tunneling details are relatively accurate, but the film smacks of the cheesy, Americanistic exceptionalism typical of pre-1990's war movies.
Buffalo Soldiers (2001)
An Outrageous and Hard-hitting Satire
Starring Joaquin Phoenix and Ed Harris. About an army supply specialist who sells military provisions on the black market. The protagonist's shameless and unrelenting abuse of the military system transforms this movie into an outrageous and hard-hitting satire. I absolutely love it.
Shinseiki Evangelion (1995)
Imbued with a Sense of Higher Purpose
Neon Genesis Evangelion consists of (26) 25-minute episodes which inspired an ongoing series of follow-on feature films. The shows were animated in Japan, but most have English dubbing. When so-called Angels (which are actually artificially intelligent, bio-mechanized, alien monsters) begin attacking Earth, a privatized defense corporation (called NERV) uses its own bio-mechanized monsters (called EVAs) to defend against them. NERV's EVAs can be piloted only by a handful of specially chosen 14-year-olds. Young Shinji Ikari discovers that he is one of them; and despite his pacific nature, he suddenly finds himself forced to pilot an EVA in Earth's war against the Angels. Evangelion deploys an eclectic blend of high-tech magic, psycho-drama, metaphysical ponderings, and religious symbology to imbue the storyline with a sense of higher purpose.
The Americans (2013)
Down the Rabbit Hole to Moral Obliquity
A 6-season miniseries. Soviet agents, Phillip and Catherine Jennings, pose as an average Washington DC couple during the Cold War. They and their children, Paige and Henry, live across the street from FBI counter-espionage agent, Stan Beaman. The opposing arms of the KGB and FBI enforce a common system of values wherein unquestioning alliegence to national security trumps all else. The resulting moral rubric imposes a no-holds-barred code of conduct. Operatives dutifully race headlong down the rabbit hole to moral obliquity. There they master the art of victimization -- of pretended affection and heartless betrayal, of extortion and blackmail. Soviet spies learn to safeguard their true identities by snuffing out potential witnesses. Operatives inevitably abandon all claims to honor, decency, or dignity -- both for themselves and for their countries -- along the way. As the mass of evil deeds done in the name of "the greater good" swells, viewers are ineluctibly forced to wonder whether operatives/organizations that habitually exclude golden-rule morality from their contemplations, are not inherently incompetent to decide what does and doesn't rate as a "greater good".
Prince of the City (1981)
Suffers From Pervasive Overacting
Danny Cielo, a street-savy narcotics detective, seeks redemption by working with the special commission that investigates police corruption. Danny wears a wire to gather evidence against dozens of underworld criminals and corrupt officials -- all on the understanding that he will never "rat out" his own partners. But when the ballooning web of evidence reveals corruption within the narcotics division itself; the investigative jaggernaut turns its focus onto Danny's buddies, and ultimately onto Danny himself. Danny's already manic personality destabilizes to the verge of madness as he chases himself further and further down the rabbit hole.
"Prince Of The City", as directed by Sidney Lumet (of Serpico fame), suffers from pervasive overacting. It should have portrayed the downfall of a steely-eyed detective who is defeated by an out-of-control investigative jaggernaut. Instead, it tells the (much less interesting) story of a badly acted and out-of-control detective who ends up ratting out his own partners.
Medena zemja (2019)
If You Enjoy Sad Truths, This Is Definitely Your Huckleberry
In Turkish. This movie is the ultimate in reality TV. It is a bona fide, true-to-life documentary -- with no actors, no scripting, and no re-takes. In fact, the film crew didn't even understand the protagonists' language. Translators added the subtitles after the movie was completed.
The story unfolds in the rural backwaters of Macedonia, in a place devoid of broad-based socioeconomic opportunity. A kindly, middle-aged woman named Natidze ekes out a fragile subsistance for herself and her ailing mother by harvesting honey. Many of "her" hives are scattered across the adjoining countryside on undeveloped land. An itenerant family, with a gaggle of unkempt childern in tow, park their mobile trailer on the adjoining lot. The father, Hussein, struggles to raise cattle, but fails to make a go of it. Armed with knowledge gleaned from Natidze, he tries his hand at bee keeping. Goaded on by an avaricious business partner, and by the desire to care for his seven needy children, Hussein over-harvests his hives. Lacking the honey needed to sustain themselves, his bees attack Natidze's hives. Their bee-keeping businesses collapse, and Hussein's family moves on in search of greener pastures.
I watch movies either for edification or entertainment. This movie offers neither. But if you "enjoy" sad truths, this is definitely your huckleberry.
The Last Dance (2020)
The Last Dance
A 10-episode series that tells the story of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. The series provides a behind-the-scenes look at the lifestyle of MJ during the height of his career. It also documents the dissolution of the most successful basketball dynasty in history. A camera crew was granted access to MJ and the Bulls for the 1997-1998 season, and they followed the team for an entire year. So while much of the footage derives from traditional documentary sources (retrospective interviews and archived footage), the balance chronicles everyday actions and behaviors, both of MJ and of the people around him. The series' length and quality affords viewers fascinating insights not only into the internal politics of the Bull's franchise, but also into the psychologies and behaviors of its general manager (Jerry Krauss), team coach (Phil Jackson), and star players (Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippin, Dennis Rodman, and Steve Kerr). Ultimately, the series comes very close to answering the eternal question with regard to one particular global superstar: What is it that you have got that puts you where you are?
Kaze no tani no Naushika (1984)
Understanding The Valley Of The Wind
In Japanese. An animated fantasy-adventure. A thousand years from now, the Earth is ravaged by pollution and war. Princess Nausicaa's people live next to a forest in the Valley of the Wind. Inland lies the Sea of Decay, an ever-advancing poisonous swamp brimming with toxic spores and hordes of giant insects. The insects are easily roused to anger -- especially the giant Ohms. When riled, the Ohms sally forth in immense herds, crushing entire cities. Sea winds drive the valley's wind mills and keep the inland toxins at bay. Warring kingdoms lie to either side. The people of the valley rely on brave, sweet, bare-assed, warrior-pacifist Princess Nausicaa to protect them from invading troops, tanks, and air ships; and from angry armies of stampeding Ohms.