Quick and Dirty Movie Reviews

IMDB: The Machinist

Basic Plot: An industrial worker who is unable to sleep begins to question his sanity.

Outburst: That the man is nuts from sleep deprivation isn’t in question. One is simply left wondering which things are real and which are hallucinations. It’s another classic Brad Anderson; also known as a “mind-fuck movie”.

— If you like being disturbed, you’ll love this one. Note that Christian Bale became emaciated to better look the part, so if looking at bodies of starving people is too much for you, do not watch this movie.

Wikipedia Entry: The Machinist

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This is one of the great tales of lost films reconstruction, the original having been lost in a fire. The director, both a genius and a madman, died thinking his masterpiece was lost forever. He never made another film. For more on this, check the Wikipedia entry at the bottom.

IMDB: The Passion of Joan of Arc

Basic Plot: A chronicle of the trial of Jeanne d’Arc on charges of heresy. Silent film, originally French but with texts subtitled to English.

Outburst: This has the most amazing and powerful soundtrack I’ve heard EVER, tied masterfully into a film that is only slightly better than average silent-movie fare. Falconetti is a wooden and wide-eyed Joan (which is supposed to portray a girl touched by God, but looks simply bizarre to me); the ecclesiastical judges are natural in their contempt. The bloodless torture sequence is genius, and has the added benefit of improving Falconetti’s acting afterward as she is now playing the “near-death Joan.”

— For a silent film, this is way ahead of its time.

Wikipedia Entry: The Passion of Joan of Arc
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In truth, I think the soundtrack is one of the best elements of this movie. I highly recommend it for those into classical, opera, or religious music.
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The original version of this documentary was made as a Christian faith production. I watched the ‘secular version’ which was a re-edit done for more mainstream audiences.

Basic Plot: Documentary about the challenges facing marriage and relationships in the modern age. Taken from the Emmy-nominated series Song of Songs.

Outburst: As this is still a primarily Christian documentary, it deals solely under the premise that the viewer is looking for a monogamous, long-term, heterosexual marriage. No other relationship styles are really addressed in any fashion. Despite the removal of more blatant religious messages, it maintains a deep faith-based tone. As the documentary was almost exclusively videos of people talking, I was able to do other things while listening to it and don’t feel that I missed anything. The snippets of vocalized music during the interludes were made for this production and truly awful (think Christian rock run through a blender of folk music and crap).

— If you are willing to accept it as a faith-driven documentary on romance, there are some genuine pearls of wisdom here. It is not in depth or mind-blowing, but it is touching and makes nice background while carrying out your day at home.

Official Site: How Will We Love

You can watch the secular version free on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqAEfBMlJoc

IMDB: Stand and Deliver

Basic Plot: Based on the story of Jaime Escalante, a high school teacher who successfully inspired his inner-city students to learn calculus.

Outburst: An alright movie, probably my least favorite of the ‘mentor’ films. It is a pioneer of the student-teacher genre, which holds a special place in my heart.

— Classic of the ‘troubled youth and mentor’ subset of movies. Also great for learning Spanglish and for discussions about discrimination against Latinos.

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IMDB: Surrogates

Basic Plot: Set in a world where humans remain isolated while interacting through androids, an FBI agent is forced to personally leave his home to investigate a series of murders. Based on a graphic novel series by Robert Venditti.

Outburst: While at some point the base premise could be technologically possible, it remains sociologically improbable. The script is formulaic and illogical; I solved the murder halfway through and I’m usually a sucker for even the lamest plot-twist. Why would having surrogates lower crime? Why did it take so long to solve this mystery when your ‘aha-moment’ involved a standard keyword search and some old newspaper articles? The special murder weapon is the worst bit of stupidity — it looks like an EMP-like device but according to the script it uploads a virus using a flash of light (effects stolen from Terminator). I’d say the acting was good, but mostly people had to be wooden and stilted on camera, so it would be more of a surprise if the acting were poor.

— Tortured Bruce Willis has now officially been overdone. Watch it for the slick visuals, sexy people, and a few good but mindless action sequences, then migrate to something better.

Wikipedia Entry: Surrogates (film)

IMDB: Pandorum

Basic Plot: Two crewman on a human colonization spaceship wake up with amnesia.

Outburst: Looks like all the money went toward creepy sets instead of better special effects, but the filmmakers weren’t smart enough to downplay the monsters. Relying on bad lighting and jerky camera motion during fights just ensures a headache. Lots of small improbables, such as tons of advanced technology all around, but no one has a translator device. With such a beautiful premise, this could have been a much better film.

— It’s creepy enough for a good case of heebie-jeebies (especially should you decide to watch it alone at night), but I wouldn’t expect any fan club cult followings.

Official Site: Pandorum

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IMDB: Very Young Girls

Basic Plot: Reflecting on the fact that the average US prostitute enters the life at 13, this is a documentary following human trafficking and female child sexual exploitation in NYC.

Outburst: When a young girl doesn’t get along with her folks and runs away from home, she can’t legally get a job. She can’t legally find a place to live, and from there it’s an easy step toward an illegal occupation such as prostitution. If a pimp grabs her and makes her sleep with several men, would her parents even take her back once they find out she’s been tricking? If she goes to the police, she’ll probably wind up in jail for prostitution. And if no one loves her except her pimp, who do you think she’ll turn to for help? None of these tales are a surprise to me, but they may be a surprise to you.

NOTE: this only covers a subsection of sexworkers. Not everyone in sexwork is exploited, and many are boys or transgender.

— This documentary is probably best viewed in an activist setting or among a group of people who can discuss the film afterward. Viewing it with current or former folks from ‘the life’ is probably ideal.

Official Site: GEMS (Girls Educational & Mentoring Services)

IMDB: River’s End

Basic Plot: A Menard County sheriff uses tough love on his troubled teen grandson. He can stay out of jail if he takes a solo canoe trip down 60 miles of Pecos River.

Outburst: For a low-budget film, the C-list acting is better than expected (with the notable exception of Caroline Goodall, whose talent tragically nosedives for the duration of this film). Sam Huntington does well in the main role despite absurd plot convolutions forcing him to play the role of Mick in Crocodile Dundee II while dressing like a punk Karate Kid. The soundtrack is as appallingly synthesized as you’d expect; the special effects (including some obviously plastic insects) are laughable.

— Remember those ABC after-school specials? If you liked those and think that the only real men are cowboys wearing white hats, you’ll enjoy this film. It’s a good clean family movie with lots of morals included.

IMDB: The Jacket

Basic Plot: An amnesiac war vet, mistakenly sent to an institute for the criminally insane, is subject to cruel experimentation. The idea is loosely based on a Jack London story, which is based on the tale of Ed Morrel.

Outburst: From the intro’s juxtaposition of chaotic war footage and classical soundtrack, I knew I was in for a dark, surreal ride. This is the unintentional doppelganger of the movie Jacob’s Ladder, with a science-fiction, mystery slant instead of demonic horror.

— Charlie Kaufman fans, and folks who have always wanted to see Jacob’s Ladder but who don’t see merit in pissing themselves with fear, will appreciate this film.

Wikipedia Entry: The Jacket (film)
Wikipedia Entry: Ed Morrell

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IMDB: Jacob’s Ladder

Basic Plot: A traumatized Vietnam veteran finds out that his post-war life isn’t what he believes it to be.

Outburst: Kinda irritating when the main spoiler for the movie is in the title. But I guess this isn’t supposed to be a mystery, rather it’s a discovery of a different viewpoint of life and what (if anything) comes next. This is a horror movie with a happy ending, good for a creepy scare that doesn’t stay with you.

/CULT — Guillermo del Toro fans will feel right at home and the Silent Hill followers already own a copy.

Wikipedia Entry: Jacob’s Ladder (film)
Wikipedia Entry: Jacob’s Ladder (Biblical reference)

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