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Reviews
Outlander (2008)
A solid SF tale.
Outlander is not going to win any awards, but for what it is, it is a solid genre flick. It might not have a broad appeal outside of SF fans, but it is one of those under the radar modern day "B" movies that actually has a lot to offer (think Pitch Black or Reign of Fire). The cast, direction, and cinematography are all solid to very good. While the story falls a little too often into genre clichés, the characters are interesting and there are enough plot twists and new additions to warrant this movie a star or two for small innovations. I'm thinking especially of the clever way the film makers address the language barrier and the origin of the feud between the Moorwin and humans as providing interesting twists to what could have been rote clichés. The film is a little over-long by about 15 min, but that's quibbling.
The monster itself, the Moorwin, is worth the price of admission alone. Although it resembles in form some of the more well-known alien menaces from the last 20 years, it's phosphorescent skin and blood are a very cool innovation and are also visually exciting.
Bottom line is if you are interested in a film whose subject matter is Vikings fighting an alien monster with lots of action and some small sparks of innovation, then you will not be disappointed.
Detroit Rock City (1999)
Not bad...not great either
I just finished watching "Detroit Rock City". First of all, I must say it was better than I expected. I didn't know it was going to rely so much on physical comedy. At first this bothered me, then I got used to it. It reminded me a lot of "Rock & Roll High School" in that aspect (although it is far inferior to the Ramones MASTERPIECE...that's right...MASTERPIECE!!!! LONG LIVE ROGER CORMAN!!). Both movies meld Rock n' Roll fantasy and reality together. Initially I was expecting a "Dazed and Confused" rip-off, but luckinly the only obvious lift was the Trip character who was pretty much a copy of Slater from the Linkletter film. I'm not quite sure where all the Catholic bashing came from, I thought it was very extremely misdirected. The whole Mother character was rather stupid also. The other three leads more than made up for the lack of a coherent script and some rather silly plot devices. The kid who played Jam was very enjoyable and I really wanted to get to know his character more. Edward Norton and the other guy showed a lot of enthusiasm. They looked like they had a lot of fun making this movie. The whole ticket search part of this movie reminded me Zemickis' wonderful "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" which chronicles five kid's looking for Beatles tickets in Feb. '64 for the Ed Sullivan show.
The biggest surprise was seeing Melanie Lynskey as Beth. I absolutely fell in love with her in "Heavenly Creatures" and had no idea she was in this movie. Hopefully she will show up in more movies in the future.
Anyway, if you have nothing better to do and want to see a pretty good Rock Comedy, you could do worse than this movie. On the other hand if you haven't seen the other movies I mention earlier, see them first.
Pitch Black (2000)
Best SF film since the Matrix
Actually, I'm quite suprised at the mixed reviews this film has gotten. It seems as if all the reviews are equally divided. I like that. It means this film isn't completely dedicated to please everyone, but does have enough going for it to elicit strong reactions one way or the other.
I for one enjoyed it very much. I thought the cinematography was beautiful. I loved the washed-out over-exposed look on the planet's surface. This section of the move reminded me of the Alien planet scenes in "The Man Who Fell to Earth." I also thought the night scenes were done very well. The faint glow of torches and the like was handled beautifully.
Another thing that made this movie stronger than most SF you see these days is the wonderful characterization. I like the fact that nobody in this movie was a perfect character. In fact, everyone in the film is pretty flawed. I liked the acting quite a bit. There were quite a few good performances in this movie; Vin Diesel being the stand out. In fact, he was amazing. His performance contributed to what I think is the most fully realized SF film character since...hell I don't know. Great.
I know this review is rambling, so I'll cut it short. What I didn't like about it is that I thought the script was confused about what kind of movie it should be. Should it be a more character driven piece or more of an actioner. It tried to split the difference and didn't quite work. I thought the dialog was very good for this type of thing, and I really liked the little chracter quirks. I just wanted to either see a little more menace from the creatures, or more of the groups self destruction. Anyway, I hope this made sense and there aren't too many terrible errors in the grammar or spelling. So go check it out 8/10.
Rushmore (1998)
The most brilliant and insightful comedy of the 90's.
I don't even know where to begin with my love for this movie. This is a film without a false step. This movie probably hits closer to my heart than any movie I've seen since...hell I don't know.
Anyway...don't miss this one. Great acting, beautiful script, and one of the most amazing soundtracks EVER!
More than a movie, Rushmore is life. Perfection.
Rushmore (1998)
The most brilliant and insightful comedy of the 90's.
I don't even know where to begin with my love for this movie. This is a film without a false step. This movie probably hits closer to my heart than any movie I've seen since...hell I don't know.
Anyway...don't miss this one. Great acting, beautiful script, and one of the most amazing soundtracks EVER!
More than a movie, Rushmore is life. Perfection.
Human Highway (1982)
New wavers and hippies get together and make weird movie.
Why don't they make movies like this any more? Sure it's a stupid movie. Sure, it's pointless too. But damn, if it isn't cool. Best part is forced perspective set and Devo deconstructing "My My Hey Hey!" Plus, look for Neil doing a one of a kind "shovel dance!"
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)
Kinda funny...but who cares?!?
Hey everybody! Come and see some little animated cuties curse and sing about "Uncle F***ing!" After that, there's not much to this flick. Some of it is rather funny, but after a while the movie's quest for pure offensiveness gets tiresome. Sure, a giant clitoris is funny, but so what. This film is like a five year old dancing around in the middle of the room saying look at me. For the first five minutes it's cute, anything longer than that wears thin.
Zero Effect (1998)
The most clever detective story to come by in ages.
This film is one of the nicest surprises I've ever encountered. What I thought would be a mildly enjoyable indie flick, turned out to be the most insightful film of the year. It has been some time since I've seen a film that captures every aspect of it's characters so well. There are some scenes in this movie where I feel have stumbled into the most intimate parts of some of the most interesting people I could ever hope to meet. This film allows me to go to places in these brilliant peoples life and observe what they are like. Bravo.