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Death Race 2050 (2017)
Perfect parody
Given the day and age. I think this beauty speaks for itself. It's an incredible satire of great proportions which will carry weight as a cult classic. There's a Simpsonsesque quality to the foretelling of the near future while poking fun at the tropes of Americanism in good time. A creative ode to dystopian aMerica from Corman which is wildly comparable to 2023 aMerica where up is down, down is up and everything is up to who has a gun in the crowd. Remember back in the day, when the idea of people dying made us sad. Yeah, me too. Here's a kick in the arse to the folks who think the wealthiest jerks on the planet should lead us around by are collective noses.
Don't Look Up (2021)
Acerbic, dark and poignant
Satire is an interesting realm in which absurdity and exaggeration are typical vehicles for witty observations based in truth. Often times, the mixture of such elements are painfully funny as we recognize typical behavioral traits that are much less endearing than the vision we hold of ourselves. Like looking in the mirror to see the blemishes and scars.
What I find interesting is "Don't Look Up" evokes a similar feeling of conflict between funny and oddly painful. Funny, yet terribly hurtful to acknowledge the truth of the matter. What bothered me about the movie is I can see this scenario playing itself out in total absurdity. Much like Dr. Strangelove, for all of the biting humor which is quite brilliant, the end is THE END. The silly pettiness of the human race is on full display. I think the movie is a brilliant take on the current world in which we live, but much like the movie "Network", also a forbearer of the future. Much like our current times, the movie will automatically polarize people, trigger people, generate death threats, make for good pulp, so on an so forth; pretty much the point of the movie, but I suspect that idea will get lost like the ending, lol.
Action Point (2018)
I Like This Movie
I was a kid in the 70's and we had a helluva a lot of fun. We were reckless, foolish and adventurous. The movie really captures the spirit and honestly I miss those days. The story is really not that important. I think Johnny Knoxville remembers the same things. I witnessed some crazy stuff from those days. Another interesting thing is I remember Action Park from TV commercials on a NYC tv station many, many years ago.
The movie has rowdy feel to it that makes it fun to watch for me. I actually had a couple of LMAO moments. I thought of all the stunts we pulled as kids. I got knocked unconscious a couple of times. A few ER visits during my tenure in the streets. If you had a bike you could escape parental supervision. I appreciate Johnny's ability to raise hell on screen because that's how it felt to me. It's a wild ride. Anyway, I think if you were from the generation that thought their bikes were their greatest possession and jumping garbage cans was fun you might get a kick out of it.
Chef Boot Camp (2021)
Love the show
I'm a line cook and in the business. Chef Cliff Crooks is great. The craziness that so many folks seem to find "exciting" on kitchen shows with the yelling and raising hell is simply not the way to properly cook in a commercial atmosphere in the 21st century. Chef Crooks exhibits a real natural way to teach and encourage people to perform very hard work to cook for customers.
Nomadland (2020)
Powerful
The movie was beautiful, powerful, sad and very much a reflection of our current and coming times. I almost lost everything in the great recession. My life hasn't been the same since then. I was awakened to the realities of my own existence. I experienced many of the same feelings while watching the film. There's a sense of redemption, recovery of one's self which is often lost in the pursuit of empty desires. I find it wonderful that most of the actors were actually van nomads. The authenticity is like watching someone in their private moments. It felt a lot like a documentary with real emotion. Frances McDormand shines and she just makes this movie for me. I feel like she's telling something of herself here as well. I'm not sure anyone else could have created such an endearing character.
Hotel Coolgardie (2016)
Fascinating and rough adventure
This insightful documentary follows two young women who find themselves broke and in need of work in Western Australia. They were victims of theft while vacationing in Bali and need money to travel home. The young women in question are from Finland and find work in a bar in the rough hewn mining town of Coolgardie through an employment agency in Perth.
True to form when envisioning a place like this where the folks are as rough as they place they inhabit not unlike some of backwoods towns in the States. The men are primarily mysogynistic and the women largely unsympathetic and almost abrasive to the girls. It's very disturbing to watch these two young women tolerate the abuse which is flung their way by the bar owner. But they push forward through the awkward backwards pulse of a dirty, dusty mining town which is almost like a nightmare. Endless drunken men who continuously and callously treat them with thorough disrespect. There are a few of the men who endear themselves, but they're goal is much the same. The girls are strangers in a strange land where most of the people treat them with contempt and even more so because they are not from Australia. I've lived in the south most of my life and I witnessed things such as this for myself.
In the end the girls manage to find themselves going home not necessarily the way initially planned, but not without considerable misery at the hands of yokels with nothing much better to do than stay drunk. The movie is an experience and should certainly be seen to get a real feel of the outback. I had heard a comedian on TV once describe Australia as "Redneck England" and Robin Williams make a similar statement many years ago which landed him in hot water. Obviously, the film is not an overall depiction of Australia itself by any means. The film illustrates a study in humanity which often ugly, but as I stated before. I've been in some backwoods places which were very similar here in the States. Anyway, the film was jarring and well worth the time to watch with a grain of salt so as not to excoriate the locals living in such conditions.
Sarajevo Roses (2016)
A Sobering "Must see" documentary
My wife is from Slovenia. My memories of the Balkan war were the nightmarish scenes which were on the news and in newspapers. Her memories were of being on vacation with her parents at age 13 in Croatia when Slovenia declared independence. Slovenia was able to secure independence rather quickly while the remaining parts of Yugoslavia descended into war.
I've visited Europe twice and in particular Slovenia. The war is still spoken about in mostly off hand terms. My understanding is Bosnia-Herzogovina is still very war scarred. The movie delves into the chaos of war in a modern atmosphere where many people never expected to be caught up in war zone.
Given our current political atmosphere, I found myself a bit frightened. The people interviewed in the movie describe some very dire situations where innocent people were openly killed. I realized this could happen anywhere.
Camera Store (2017)
Perfect time for the end
The choice paradox has been a challenge when finding newer movies of quality. Therefore, I just chose "Camera Store" off handedly and what a great surprise. It's become more rare to find movies which capture atmosphere in a meaningful level. The film really captures the sense of change which has been occurring in the past 10 years.
I remember the rise of 80's America and the promise of hope based on consumerism. The local mall was the hub of business. Often times neighbors worked or owned businesses in the mall. The mall was part of everyday life in America. No one really ever imagined that "the mall" would become a relic just like "the camera store" in a time which everyone has a camera in hand.
The film speaks to the change in our midst. Photos are almost arbitrary these days. Many of us take hundreds of not thousands of pictures with our phones then delete them in seconds. We can buy anything online without having to put on clothes. The shift from old to new when redundancy becomes real and possibly painful is palpable in this movie.
The atmosphere of the movie conveys a sense of loss. A loss of connection with one another. A feeling of having been lost in a perception of the American Dream which never existed in the first place. An exhibition of the artifice of human existence in a world thoroughly corrupted by materialism. The years of relationships in the camera store basically come down to money. No more, no less. A very lonely place to find oneself in modern America.