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davisong
Reviews
Blade Runner (1982)
An amazing look at the question, "What makes us human"?
***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** The Sci-Fi/Film Noir epic Blade Runner is based on Philip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep (a second edition of the book came out with the movie called Blade Runner: Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep, it's the same book).
Set in the near future of Los Angeles, the world is dark, amorality is rampant, and humanity is a foreign concept. The Tyrell Corp. manufactures replicants, artificial humans that are stronger, faster, smarter, and only live four years before their entire genetic code craps out on them.
Due to a violent replicant rebellion on one of the Off-World colonies, the replicants have been forbidden to ever come to earth under penalty of death or "retirement" as the act of killing a renegade replicant is called. The police department has its own unit that is assigned to the act of retiring these replicants. They are called Blade Runners. However, you, the viewer, never get to see Off-World. It really isn't so much an important location as it is a concept. It is a paradise. If you are physically fit and smart you can go. You don't have to work, you have replicant slaves to do it for you. It represents the elusive garden of Eden, however if you want to get in, you need to pass the standards.
The movie is about Deckard Cain (Harrison Ford) as he is charged with the job of hunting down five replicants. Batty "Roy" (Rutger Hauer) is the leader of this group and is enigmatic as he is violent. Is he really to blame for his struggle for the survival of his family? Is he really to blame for his violent actions? After all, he only has four years of experience for in which to mentally develop. A four year old with a body superior to most all humans. A body with the capability to easily crush bone. Is he in his own way, more human than the apathetic creatures walking down the L.A. sidewalks? Not even turning their heads when someone knocks them to the side while running after a fleeing women with a gun in their hands? Others in the group include Pris" the acrobat, "Zhora" the snake dancer, and "Leon" the simple one. The fifth replicant is only mentioned in the scene where Deckard is briefed on the aforementioned group. Even then, it is not said who it is. That is for the viewer to decide.
Sean Young plays Rachael. Rachael is a replicant. A prototype. A new idea in the testing phase. The concept? A problem needs fixing: the replicants have not got enough time to build up the necessary experiences to develop emotionally. This results in child-like behavior. The solution? Memory implants. But much like Roy, she is an passionate individual, she loves, longs to be loved, loves life, and works for Tyrell. Oh ya, and she doesn't know she is a replicant.
Then there is the tragic figure of J.F. Sebastion. Sebastion does genetic work for the Tyrell corporation. He is a lonely individual who lives in a very large building that would have been condemned by today's standards. His only friends are a few little robot things that bumble around his place. He is so desperate for a friend, he takes in a homeless girl from off the street to crash for a few days. He asks her what her name is. Her reply? "Pris."
These characters mingle on and off with others in a mighty game of cat-and-mouse. But who is the hunter? And who is really the hunted? And in the end is John Q. Public the real monster?
Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982)
A powerful cinematic milestone.
First off, let me say this is not a movie for the clinically depressed. This movie is brutally harsh and makes virtually no attempt to tell the watchers things don't always go this bad in life. In fact, it seems to go out of it's way to drill into your head just how horrible life is.
That said, onto the review. The movie depicts the descent into madness of a fictional rock star named Pink Floyd. The events that lead up to this mental breakdown are depicted through confused, random, and fairly hallucinogenic memories of the aforementioned rock star. There is very little actual dialogue in the film but the story instead is unfolded through the songs of the Pink Floyd CD The Wall. The movie requires the introspection of the viewer to truly understand the symbolism and messages being sent throughout the film.
There are very few actors in the movie that are not cameo roles as well, the only truly constant actors are Pink, the schoolmaster, Pink's wife, Pink's mother, and young Pink. While the movie cannot be called taxing to a person's acting talent (pretty much they either stood their, smashed something, or walked from point A to point B) they were enjoyable to watch and you developed a feeling for them. What the feeling was definitely varies from person to person (was Pink a victim of his upbringing or was the building of the "wall" solely his own fault?).
The movie utilizes several key symbols throughout the film. The main symbol was the wall- the mental wall we build in our mind to keep out the hurt of the outside world. Another is the rag doll- used to express facelessness and defenselessness. There is a third even more important symbol in the film too- the marching hammers but that symbol is something so integral to the very thread of the movie that until you watch the film it is pointless to explain it.
Blade Runner (1997)
This was an EXCELLENT game!
Let me start this out by saying that Blade Runner is my all-time favorite movie. If they ever made a sequel to this movie- this game could perfectly be made into a film and called that. This game was a perfect combination of game play and great writing. The atmosphere stays true to the movie and the characters are deep and involved. The game runs parallel to the movie but is not about Dekkard. The game is about a blade runner named McCoy. The game runs in the same time period as the movie- same date, same city. At times the movie and game will overlap, you will see things that happen as a result of Dekkard's actions in the movie and you will be the cause of some things that Dekkard saw in the movie. Over all, with many different possible endings and great voice acting (including Sean Young reprising her role as Rachael) this is a game you are really going to want to hunt down.
Bless the Child (2000)
Good.
I want to start this comment out by saying I never saw L.A. Confidential. I have never seen Kim Basinger at her best. In fact the only thing I have seen her in besides this movie was her acting debut on an episode of "Chalies Angels" (it was a good episode though). I just don't really think she is that great an actress. The best way I can express it is that if Kim had been born a man, she would have been born Keanu Reeves.
Now onto the movie. The acting was well done, the special effects were spectacular (and they were not depended on, this was not a special effects flick), and the movie did not depend on the actor/actresses fame to bring in the crowds. Christina Ricci is a very good actress, she played her part very well, but it was a very small part, contrary to the way it might seem from the previews. Jimmy Smits, the guy who died a little while back on NYPD Blue if you don't remember him from anything else, played a major role as a FBI agent (i hope the irony isn't lost on you) and gave a very good performance and the little girl (played by Holliston Coleman, a newcomer to movies but some might know her from a TV movie last year called Supreme Sanction) is a very good child actress (something there is a real shortage of in America right now *cough-Anakin-cough*). Rufus Sewell played the lead villain in the movie (you might remember him best from playing the lead in Dark City) and, much like his Dark City performance, he was very powerful and a joy to watch.
The movie could best be desribed as Firestarter meets Stigmata. Cody O'Connor (Holliston Coleman) is a child with special powers of a heavenly nature who comes under the eye of satanist Erik Stark (Rufus Sewell). The movie centers around Rufus' attempts at converting Cody for his own purposes and Cody's caretaker and aunt's (Kim Basinger) struggles to get her back.
I would highly recommend this movie for people that like a good Theological movie along the flavor of Stigmata or conspiricy movies along the lines of Firestarter.
Overall I found little wrong with the movie other than the fact that Ricci had such a small part when I expected a larger one and the fairly wooden actings of Basinger (although, in her defense, she did have a few good emotional scenes).
I'd give it a 93 out of 100.