yurshta Reviews

The Celestine Prophecy (2006)

Yet another New Age hype movie based on ancient "scrolls"

[4/10 · 15 August 2007]

The film gives a rather condensed version of what is contained in the book, which as far as I can tell by doing some research and investigative fact checking is largely a work of fiction. In reality, there are no ancient scrolls and if the author was hard pressed I'm sure he'd have to admit he's never laid eyes on any scrolls in ancient Aramaic found in Peru. These "valuable" texts written as usual by anonymous, were destroyed by the evil "truth haters" in the church and in the local government. That's rather strange, as all kinds of New Age crap comes out each year---hundreds of books, dozens of movies--and the Roman Catholic church doesn't seem to me to be hell bent on destroying the movement which it probably views as I do, a total crock of doody. I'm no fan of the church, mind you, but at least the ancient texts which they base their faith on are real.

It's a typical pattern of scam artists and religious hucksters to claim to have seen or translated ancient documents which unfortunately got destroyed by "evil" men or in Joseph Smith's case, got taken back to Heaven once translated. Therefore, the actual texts cannot be found in any museums like the Smithsonian, nor the translations checked by specialists in ancient languages like Coptic or Aramaic. It's a scam. In one sense, I admire anybody smart enough to come up with a great idea and make millions off it, but I couldn't do it myself, as I've no desire to mislead the public with more New Agey hokum.

Occasionally, a genuine ancient text does get found hidden away and lost for years. The Gospel of Judas, a Gnostic text, was discovered and after carbon dating and diligent study of the text, deemed authentic by experts. The Gospel of Judas was referenced as heretical around 300 C.E.. No church documents from that time mention any Celestine Prophecies as authentic, heretical or anything else.

We are evolving towards something--that much is true---but the optimism in the Celestine Prophecy is based on nothing but fiction and lies, and a philosophy built on a foundation of lies, like a castle built on sand will collapse. The harsh, ugly, overpopulated, cruel world of Blade Runner is more likely what it'll be like over the Horizon, than some Utopian Hippie Commune where all is love and peace! I tell people the truth and they hate me, but tell them what they want to hear, even if pure piffle, and one can make millions. The Celestine Prophecy is what the world wants to hear. Too bad it is a castle built on sand. Don't get me wrong. I wish to God, the Celestine Vision was reality, only it's not. No ancient philosophy at any time expressed ideas given in the Insights with the modern concept of spiritual evolution going hand in hand with biological evolution. These New Agey ideas did not exist in the ancient world and did not exist until Darwininan Evolution became well-known. That means the ideas in the Celestine Prophecies cannot be older than the 1800s C.E, and do not go back to the early B.C.E period or near the time of Jesus of Nazareth. This type of claim by New Agers is not at all unusual. Wiccans claim their brand of magic and witchcraft -- the "old religion" goes back to the stone age, when in reality no Book of Shadows has ever been known to exist prior to Gerald Gardner who lived in the 1900s and was the buddy of Aleister Crowley.

New Age gurus tell lies and claim their ideas are based on ancient teachings, when the ancients would thumb their noses at such absurdities that are preached by Gurus today. Why do they do what they do, perpetrate such fraud? Simple: there are millions of dollars to be made, and the modern Guru acquires power over his or her followers. They compete fiercely and have a strong hatred for their competition despite their claims of love for all things. Each New Age group bitter opposes the others. It's a struggle for your minds and your wallets.

But learn one thing from me, that is actually similar to one of the insights, learn to follow your own instincts and look for guidance from within. That I can agree with wholeheartedly.

Dark Corners (2006)

This is one of your better psychological horror films.

[8/10 · 14 August 2007]

While not my all time favorite film, I did enjoy the "strangeness" of this film which centers around two young adult females and in the background a serial killer. Who are these two women? How are they connected with the vicious killer? I'll not spoil the surprise for you here, but once you know how all this connects you'll be aghast! A clue is in the comments made by one woman when talking to her husband about what would be the perfect Hell! The cinematography of this one is extremely good and has an aura about it. It is so good, that if I were to write and direct a horror film, I'd want the cinematographers, camera men, and set designers who worked on this one to work on my horror film.

Some of the strangeness and aura reminded me in some ways of Silent Hill. The film does not center around the killings with a load of blood and gore. The Slasher genre generally is one of the lamest of all types of stories and such films usually have to throw in tons of sex and graphic nudity to make up for their lame plot lines. This film is not like this. This is a smart horror film for the connoisseur of the macabre, the strange and who likes the psychological element of horror.

All in all a good flick and well worth seeing or renting at your local movie rental establishment.

Conversations with God (2006)

A movie as full of cliché and cheap sentiment as the trilogy.

[4/10 · 26 April 2007]

Why Neale Walsch's rise from Bourgeoise, to Homeless, to Nouveux Riche is "touching", and I salute any person who for whatever reason escapes life on the streets. There is one reason Neale Walsch was able to escape the streets: he had not been homeless long enough to have become destroyed as a human being by life on the streets. Many spend practically their entire lives this way. In the movie, Neale W.'s resolution "I will not die in this park!" was the real reason he got off the streets and had nothing to do with his imaginary friend in the Sky. So what is the message of Conversations With God, books or this film? There is nothing new here, and in fact, virtually every tidbit from the CWG ideology is simply a rehash of New Age thought and platitudes and "Motivation Speak". Many higher level corporations use professional motivational speakers to fire up the employees with quasi New Age corporate mysticism, how the Universe is conspiring WITH you, instead of AGAINST you, how God wants everybody to be RICH, how ALL of your problems are basically yours for sitting on your butt and whining, instead of developing a "Can-Do" spirit. We all have heard this crap, and I found, although this is a little info outside of the film, that God's use of stupid word definitions based on treating words as acronyms to be highly unlikely. Here's an example of this New Age Motivation Speak from the book: FEAR means False Evidence Appearing Real. This is the kind of contrived bunkum typical of corporate motivational speakers and New Age gurus who tell people what they WANT to hear, but unfortunately an ideology about as far from reality as possible. We all want to believe that there's a nice sweet loving God up there somewhere in the Sky and when we die we'll live forever in Paradise, and reunite with our loved ones. It's even nicer to believe God is a sweetheart and not the sadistic maniac the Bible makes him out to be. It's nice to think we might live another life with our Soul-mates. All this is pleasant. All this is just swell. And unfortunately is not based on the tiniest fragment of hard evidence. It's all WISHFUL thinking. So who is Neale Walsch? IMO Neale is the World's most successful motivational speaker with all the film-flam, Newspeak, bogus acronyms of his competitors--my personal favorite is S.H.I.T or Super High Intensity Training---and essentially one and the same message. You create your destiny!

Remind a beggar child in India--who was abandoned at birth and has spent his entire life living off of garbage and refuse, living in filth and squalor, an illiterate untouchable shunned by society, regarded as totally worthless--- that ALL of his problems are HIS fault for allowing "negativity" to control his life. If he only---like Dr Phil, another ersatz motivational speaker always says---overcame his fears, got rid of his view of a judgmental God, stopped blaming parents or society for his woes and reached down and pulled some Get-Go out of his derrière, his life would turn around! If he thought positive and stopped whining, why his life would go from Hell to Heaven (poof! like magic--which is all this crap is anyway), and next thing you know, he'd be signing his runaway bestseller at Barnes and Noble, and selling movie rights to his books for 25 million dollars. Some people just can't tell the difference between FANTASY and REALITY. Reality is sometimes good, and sometimes rather rotten. Did the 31 students killed by CHO seek their murder to fulfill some spiritual purpose, teach their parents a valuable lesson in Love? Walsch would say they did. The Universe "conspired" FOR their benefit and always will. If I were the father of one of the deceased students and Neale started spouting this absolute fantastic and contrary-to-fact pseudo motivational malarkey, he'd get a one-way ticket to the afterlife.

Hate Crime (2005)

This movie will stir up some real controversy.

[8/10 · 24 March 2007]

The actual intent of the writers or director of this film is not quite clear, perhaps an attempt to look at Hate Crimes in general and hate as an answer to hate. Was the revenge murder acceptable? Is lex talionis the only plausible ethic? This movie does not make it clear, but it does bring up the issues very graphically. Some might despise this movie as being sympathetic to the gay community or for making Christians out to be mindless hate-mongers. This view would be incorrect. Actually, the film shows quite perfectly the difference between good religion and bad as the movie switches between the fearful hate filled sermon of the fundamentalist preacher who uses the pulpit to foment hatred of anybody who does not toe their particular interpretation of the Bible, and a more liberal Christian church that emphasizes the loving, forgiving aspects of God. So those who would see this movie as a blanket attack on the Church or God would be in error. It is not any particular doctrine that is harmful but the way it is held. If I believe that Jesus died to save me for my sins, that is one thing. If I believe that it is OK for me, in the name of Christ, to brutalize nonbelievers that is a totally different thing altogether. I, a Jew, like Gandhi, can say "I like Christ, but I rather dislike his followers." But not all of them are mindless, intolerant schmucks, or inclined to commit murder in God's name. There are good Christians, Jews and Muslims in this world who are a credit to their faiths, there are others who are a boil on the butt of humanity. Besides, why should I or any other mortal do God's job? If God actually hates homosexuals, then God can deal with them. It's not my job even if I disagree with their acts. Righteousness is a good thing as long as Righteousness doesn't become fascism and the righteous few decide it is their job to destroy the wicked many. But was it OK for the mother and lover of the gay man murdered to get revenge, or rather would there revenge been necessary if the police officer in charge of the investigation basically not sat on his butt and did little or nothing. A person is a member of the clergy, does that give that person carte blanche immunity from suspicion. All of us know how many predatory child rapists hide behind a clerical collar, but at the same time, many are good people trying to build a better, saner world. But the sad fact remains that religion has fostered more hate, intolerance and war in this world than any other force. There is good religion, a personal thing, and bad religion, where one submits to some supposed authority, or follows blindly like some stupid sheep. There is a religion that inculcates strength of spirit and will, and a religion that fosters a slave mentality, and blind obedience to authority. That religion is very very bad for the individual and for society. For those who doubt, I recommend the web-site godhatesfags.com for an example of religion at its worst. Here, the days Michael Shepherd, murdered in a fag bashing, has been burning in Hell are gleefully tallied up. At his funeral, this demonic church carried banners attacking Michael, his parents, and anybody who cared about the man. Is God such a fiend that he wants people like that as followers? I doubt it. I really do.

Purgatory House (2004)

An interesting look at life and death from a teen-age perspective.

[8/10 · 24 March 2007]

This film turned out to be better than I expected, and had its dark moments as well as some comedic. The Who Wants To Go To Heaven game show with God in semi drag, and whose name appears in every spot on the credits was rather novel. The basic philosophy is sort of a New-Age lite, Christian lite combo. But the basic thrust of the film, is not to present some credible philosophy about possible afterlives, but rather to zero in on the problems of teenagers. At one point in the film while the heroine Silver is writing, the Earth TV which allows residents of Purgatory House to view scenes taking place on Earth, shows footage of the Columbine massacre aftermath. This film, perhaps more than any other, provides a more plausible explanation for the whys and wherefores of school violence, teen suicide. The peer pressure, desire to be popular, the alienation, the nihilism, the prevalence of drugs, and parents who are often more screwed up than they are all contribute, but none alone is the answer. But this film does not play the blame game, as the responsibility for ones own life and destiny is put correctly where it belongs, on the individual him- or herself. The majority, if not all the residents of Purgatory house were teen suicides. The teen-age writer of this film really wanted to address the problems of teen suicide, drug addiction and school violence, and is probably correct in implying that methods used by schools, parents, and the government are simply not working, or working well enough. This is a good film, and I'll look forward to other films based on the work of this writer.

Tideland (2005)

Terry Gilliam Has Stepped Outside the Proverbial Box This Time

[8/10 · 10 March 2007]

This is a film that was meant to disturb or shock, but not to be offensive for offense's sake, but rather to make people think. Perhaps the most difficult mystery in this film is nothing that actually occurs in it-- after all a neglected child who escapes into fantasy is nothing new, and frankly all too common, and as such is not unique in film either--but to try to understand the director's comments which occur just before it in the DVD version I saw.

The Director said something like the following (a paraphrase). "Everyone has an inner child, and mine happens to be a little girl" This one has implications all over the place, and seems to cloud or create even more ambiguity about this film than already exists, or perhaps a Pythonesque tongue-in-cheek statement, but the serious and dark nature of this film would suggest Mr Gilliam was being dead serious. But exactly what he meant, I'm not quite sure.

Turtles Can Fly (2004)

A Very Interesting Film Which Should Be Widely Seen and Discussed

[10/10 · 8 March 2007]

Here is an interesting, well made, quality film (for a change) that was filmed on location in Iraq, and was a joint project between the Iraqis and the Iranians. A person might imagine that a film like this might be created to bash some political entity or personage like Bush or Saddam Hussein, or an attack on Americans in general. But actually, the film is not really an attack on anything but the grim realities of Kurdish refugees, the grim realities of war, a lifestyle of abject poverty where obtaining weapons is easier than food or medical care. And in many ways it's a love story, albeit a tragic one. I myself have travelled over the world and seen situations just about as grim in Central America, India and other places, although not quite as violent. People everywhere, in other countries regardless of culture, language, political or religious differences are basically the same and want the same things in life: love, freedom to live life as they see fit, peace, enough financial resources to have decent housing, clothes, medical care and to feed their families, and of course, always maybe a friend or two to share it with, and if lucky a love that'll last a lifetime. But none of these things are easy for about 5/6ths of mankind, and life often becomes just brute survival.

Yet even children may dream, but it is hard to dream when ones nights are interrupted by weapon fire, the possibility of an invasion which to children must really seem "the end of the world", where land mines from previous conflicts lie scattered about here and there, and of course the shattered lives and shattered remains and missing limbs here and there never troubled much the men (and sometimes women) who sit in their plush chairs in their big offices and send men into battle to kill each other while their leaders play golf, or sip champaign at fund raising dinners. I've seen his all over the world. It's an ubiquitous problem. I've always wonder why people are so stupid to give our leaders such power over ourselves. Are we really safer the stronger our government, the more powerful our weapons of mass destruction? Frankly, the facts prove otherwise. I've seen the corpses of dead children, animals, old ladies floating down the Holy Ganghes river and the people don't even look at them and go about their daily lives as if nothing is unusual about this. And for them it is nothing unusual. I've seen children in Honduras, smart, bright searching through trash for anything that they might be able to sell, often to feed a younger sibling. Children raising children is the norm in the third world. We listen to our leaders who scare us to death with "threats" that must be constantly shown to the people to keep us constantly willing to attack anybody and everybody. Yet the media rarely shows the truth that in both the Afghani and Iraq wars, American troops, highly trained, well equipped, backed up by multimillion dollar state of the art fighter jets with enough firepower to start WWIII, and who are our enemies? The leaders, the warmongers, the radical clergy who seek war are never on the lines fighting. The American soldiers new to Iraq might be surprised to find that the majority of the "enemy" consist of 13, and 14 year old boys, semi-illiterate, poor, uneducated, and poorly equipped, whose lives if lost matter nothing to either side of the conflict. And even the non-combatants suffer,everybody suffers from these wars, both sides suffer, except of course the leaders who gain power, prestige and often cold cash from starting these wars. I have seen this, but the majority of Americans have never seen anything like this. If they travel abroad it's to Cancun, San Tropez, Bermuda, Paris, London or Madrid or Rome. Americans in general never go to places like Afghanistan, Iraq, rural India, Central America, Vietnam, Kampuchea unless they are members of the military.

But this movie is not about the Americans except tangentially, it is just a story about children, refugees, whose names we'll never know, whose deaths are never reported in the news.

But even though the movie doesn't say it, I will. Saddam Hussein presented about as real a threat to the security of the USA as a five year old girl would to Bruce Lee in a fist fight. It is a bit queer that when we fight them with state of the art weaponry like cluster bombs which are such fun, smart bombs which are not always that smart, bunker busters,and what not, we call ourselves "liberators", "freedom fighters" and when we invade somebody else's country and they fight back with anything they can get their hands on,we call them "terrorists".

Probably the majority of Americans would not see anything "unusual" here, anything a bit "odd". War is a crime, and like most crimes, a good detective knows that in the majority of cases a crime is easily solved by following the "money trail".

The first question is not: who are the enemy? what religion do they follow? what weapons do they possess? but rather WHO PROFITS FROM THIS WAR? Answer that one, and you'll know everything. We have a military-industrial complex that produces profits in the 100s of Billions and are just itching to try out the latest in war gadgetry, and prove which country has more ingenuity in destroying lives, liberty and property than others.

Saddam clobbered the Kurds because he could. We clobbered Saddam because we could. Look upon it with an impartial eye and one soon realizes that Hussein was a loud mouthed bully, and so are we.

Dark Assassin (2005)

It's About Time For Some Realism in Martial Arts Films.

[7/10 · 20 February 2007]

I myself am a eclectic martial art stylist who blends Wing Chung Kung Fu, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, Professional Wrestling, and Krav Maga into a single loosely structured flexible system I call "Combat Wrestling", and of course, I like a good martial art film now and then. Prior to Bruce Lee's days, the Kung Fu and Karate Films made in the Orient cared little for realism and moved more towards fantasy. Bruce Lee brought some realism back, and other martial art actors like Chuck Norris, and Steven Seagal (sp?) also tried to keep the fight scenes realistic, often doing the fight choreography as well. However, I have been dismayed at the ridiculous scenes being filmed currently both in the East and West involving the use of cables so a fight scene includes some ridiculous sequence of guys jumping from trees to trees or backwards to a rooftop, or leaping forward and kicking like 20 time alternately with both feet. It is quite fitting that the Scary Movie series and the Austin Powers have both spoofed these absurd fight scenes.

There have been many actors in the past who have tried to step into the shoes of Bruce Lee, with 10,000 cheap imitations, only a handful possessing any talent or skill to a remarkable degree and none like the Master Bruce Lee.

However, the Kung-Fu Magazine hall-of-famer, Jason Yee, is a fellow worth watching, and may be an exception to the rule. I hope so. I'm getting tired of directors trying to foster the illusion of an actor or actress who couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag being some Master martial artist (with a little help of wires, stunt doubles, and camera angles). Of course, movie fights have to be faked or serious injury or death could result. Often the stunt men are more highly trained than the actors, and I deplore this giving a 30 day crash course in Kung Fu or Karate Weapons or hand to hand to some actor who doesn't have the real skills. It is dangerous for all concerned. I'd like to see the return of the actor/martial artist combo like Lee, Norris, Jackie Chan, Steven Seagal. Jason Yee shows real promise as a martial arts actor.

But then, many people wouldn't watch a "Karate" movie if they were paid to see it. "All that senseless violence...what shame!" I wonder sometimes what planet these guys were born on, as if John Wayne shooting up the bar in a Western is any less "senseless", and notice how the worship and adoration of firearms---the great equalizer---has turned our streets into shooting galleries. Now everybody is a potential killer, not just a highly trained fighting elite.

But the fault is not in the possession of firearms, but the tendency to go straight for the gun or other weapon and use deadly force for the slightest of problems. But then, our own government does this and sets a good example for thugs to emulate. Uncle Sam will attack with the slightest provocation with such goodies as bunker busters, and cluster bombs? Why can't I, Joe Average Citizen do the same?

Actually, some martial arts training would help REDUCE violence in the streets. Sound martial art philosophy, the Golden Mean---standing between the "Kill 'em all, let God sort 'em out" school, and the extreme and absurd nonviolence taught in some other schools, where the student is taught a skill which is forbidden to ever be used.

Frankly, I wouldn't want a man living as my neighbor who would just stand still and meditate as two thugs butchered his wife and children. Such a man is worse scum than the thugs who attack.

There is a middle path that lies between, the path of truth. Use no force greater than necessary in the given circumstances. This then is the famous Oath of Peace made famous not by Boddhidharma, but Steven R. Donaldson the fantasy writer.

It runs in part "Do not harm when words are enough...do not maim when injury is enough, do not kill when maiming is enough...".

Good cops, good soldiers, and good martial artists always follow this creed. But alas, we live in a society where the Natural right to defend oneself from aggressive human predators has been almost totally obliterated by modern governments. Do not fight back, just call the cops, and let the professionals handle it. This kind of stupidity is ominous. Often by the time the government which desires to control every facet of our lives gets to the scene, you or your loved ones are dead. Small comfort that the thugs who put you or your loved ones in their graves are apprehended and punished AFTER THE FACT.

But what is the answer? A gun on every belt? A box of Hand Grenades in every car? How about reducing this craving fear of everything and everybody! Martial arts can help here better than a million dollars worth of psycho-therapy.

How about a real martial arts training in the schools. A real martial art, not a lukewarm watered down nice and sweet claptrap with a smattering of Zen or Taoism as cream on top. The Warrior Path, paradoxically does not lead to wanton violence, but rather effectively eliminates it. But finding a real martial art, instead of a saccharine watered down version that is a total waste of time and money, is not easy! Good luck! Enjoy this film, but remember...it is only fantasy!

Evil Behind You (2006)

This Film is Pathetic.

[1/10 · 19 February 2007]

Let's see, cardboard characters like Muslim terrorists have forced a cardboard scientist to perform some exotic drug tests on some cardboard people who have been drugged and kidnapped. You'll be sure to laugh when these pathetic excuses for humanoids get their just deserts! Turns out the drug experiments have given them the ability to sense another world....the world of religious fantasy!--complete with cardboard demons who look like they are made of Papier Mache. Everybody gets dragged off to Hell except for one poor chap who goes to Heaven where he can presumably spend Eternity with the blockheads that created this Masterpiece of the Absurd. I think I'd opt for Hellfire myself. Go see something else, unless you are stoned, in which case, you might actually like it! Couldn't hurt!

Blackwater Valley Exorcism (2006 Video)

A Very Funny Movie

[7/10 · 19 February 2007]

Frankly, I always find Exorcism movies---and I've seen 'em all---to be extremely funny, in a kind of Dumb and Dumberer kind of way.

Faith seems to be on the decline these days, while Nihilism is becoming rather ubiquitous. Therefore, it rather behooves the men of faith-- especially with the declining membership of the Roman Catholic church (and that despite the prohibition of birth control to help keep the churches occupied)--to promote tales that would inspire faith.

This movie was amusing to say the least. Everybody except the poor lassie in question is messed up big time. The handsome young priest finds it hard to keep his hands off the ladies, the assistant is a Latino priest whose lost his faith in God, the mother is sleeping around, the father molested her as a child, whatever....you get the picture.

Well, this movie has increased my faith. My faith in the powers of evil, mainly because the so called "God Squad" is made up of complete morons. How could the Devil fail to gain a decisive victory? And meanwhile God is up there sitting on his big butt smiling, or maybe he's as amused with this type of sordid scenario as I am. Frankly, If I had to have one of the characters in this film as my neighbor, I'd take the chick with the Devil, Proctologisto or whatever his name was.

Fun movie! Take your date to it! However, not quite as preposterous as the Exorcism of Emily Rose, which wins all hands down, for pure stupidity. However, movies like these beat another episode of Married With Children or another idiotic reality TV show.

Jesus Camp (2006)

Every American Should See this Film.

[10/10 · 15 February 2007]

This is a very important film-- and about time too--about events that I have personally experienced, in many cases beyond anything this film depicts and I'll invite any interested readers to email me at [e-mail]. I myself was one of the little "soldiers for Jesus" at one time, a victim of brainwash. And even to this day, I'm not sure how exactly I escaped, because, in majorem, relatively few escape it. But I'm not alone. Dan Barker a former preacher did.

It's a fact of psychology: take a child, any child, and due to the credulous and unquestioning nature of a child's mind, you can indoctrinate them in anything you like from Marxist ideology, to racism, or any religious nonsense you like. My own sister and her husband, both missionaries, are connected a camp such as the one in the film--so in some ways the movie hits too close for comfort-- only the **** camp is overseas and is geared for children of missionaries.

After the fall of the USSR, most if not all of the Eastern bloc countries opened their borders for the first time in many years to American missionaries, and a massive flood of American Protestants have entered these countries, so that countries like Russia, Ukraina or Romania, can have all the crappiness of the American Consumerist lifestyle and with it Pop religion. Like they really need McDonald's, Wallmart and the good ol' time American fundamentalism over there! Those of traditional faiths like Russian Orthodoxy do not like these Americans, but their hip modern methods with hundreds of millions of dollars of advertising and all the film-flam and hype and media blitz of a fortune 500 conglomerate are hard to compete with, in a word, impossible.

I know all too well the difference between the "dead" churches and the "live" ones...and I have seen with my own eyes some horrors this film doesn't even begin to address. With assets in the billions of dollars, the movie market is being flooded with films now, some rank deceptions, others more direct such as the Left Behind series that promotes the Fundamentalist-Evangelical agenda. To just "believe" is no longer enough, you better have "signs" of your faith, you better get militant, Baby! You better crush Satan and his minions wherever they can be found---his textbooks, his newspapers, his magazines, his music. These guys find the Devil behind every nook and cranny and have talks with him so often it makes you wonder sometimes who they flock around when the moon is full and night upon us! This movement towards homeschooling by fanatical Christians who refuse to allow their children to be exposed to modern science, humanism and naturalistic philosophies can only lead to the decline and fall of the United States as a nation. The threat to the security and freedom of Americans is far beyond that of Hammas and Al-Qaeda, but because it's quieter, less visible, it is sneaking in the back door. The separation of church and state is every day being eroded a little bit here and a little bit there and nobody notices it, because it's not a blatant frontal assault. Science will be the first to get clobbered, as the scientific community prefer to hide behind formulae and test tubes and just pretend if they ignore this assault on free scientific inquiry that it'll just "go away". That is just as blind and stupid as the doctrines of the fundamentalists themselves.

When we have biologists, geologists and astronomers with legitimate degrees teaching a 6000 year old Earth, intelligent design, the "gap theory", a literal flood, America is going fall light-years behind the other nations of the World. Whenever the Bible contradicts science or reason, they always prefer the Bible, which a priori, cannot ever be in error, hence the mainstream scientists are all wrong. As one doctor friend of mine told me "Back when religious doctrines dominated medicine, people were lucky to make it to 40." The Evangelicals see the Devil behind every nook and cranny, and only the 1st Amendment right of freedom of speech-- the master right, upon which all other rights hang-- stops these guys from a complete takeover. If it falls, all else falls with it. It's that simple. And it can happen.

Lady in the Water (2006)

A Modern Fairy Tale

[8/10 · 15 February 2007]

This movie is a Fairy Tale, but not necessarily one just for the Kinder, and should be compared with other movies involving the elements of Fantasy like the Harry Potter series or even the Lord of the Rings. However, those two movie series are very involved and complex. This story is relatively simple and stands alone and reminds me some ways, but not in style, with films like the Dark Crystal or The Neverending Story, or Time Bandits. There have been quite a few films, mostly rather blah, about some lonely guy finding an angel in his backyard or some such, so I'll not mention them here, and usually the angel has broken her wing or some such, and is, of course, a very lovely female, and in most cases, the man falls in love with the angel but loses her when after her wing heals she returns to Heaven or some such. So that's all we have here, a simple fantasy, but a Nymph, not an angel. A nice story, and the idea "borrowed" I suspect from the "angel" movies. Yes, I must confess that I wouldn't mind a lovely and innocent (and naked!) nymph jumping out of my swimming pool (if I had one) too! And that's all fantasy really is...the world as it ought to be, but not as it is. It's a pity, for a Nature lover like myself, that the mythology of ancient Greece is not literally true and Zeus, Juno, Athena, Apollo and the other Olympians reigned forevermore, beautiful and immortal, and the forests and streams were frequented by Satyrs, Fauns, Nymphs, Dryads, and an occasional glimpse of the god Pan as he roams the forest playing his flute. Yes, it's a sad shame...but then that's fantasy. Fantasy is a good thing. In this modern world where the Natural is condemned and the Artificial is elevated to the Divine, and mankind become nothing but ants running around in an ant farm, and Big Brother and Armageddon loom over our horizon, we need some escapism now and then, and the Lady in the Water is just that. It is escapism, it is entertainment, it is high fantasy. It's a pretty story that hints that our lives could be otherwise, which is true, but don't bet on any changes for the better. It is a good movie--not a great movie--but a good one. Well worth watching.

Blood Gnome (2004 Video)

OK, Not Exactly Oscar Material. Actually a Tongue in Cheek Farce.

[4/10 · 14 February 2007]

This movie was probably originally intended as a porno, but was softened just enough to avoid getting an NC-17 rating and hopefully capture a larger audience. It has about the same quality of film work and acting, as in most pornos (which is rather discomfiting). However, some of the IMDb audience may not know of some changes in laws that may have led to the creation of this not quite so stellar a flick, but which is for me of sentimental value which I'll explicate below.

Movies depicting actual BDSM fantasies--real thing as opposed to fake-- have been equated under the present fascist-theocratic rulership of the United States of America with Child Pornography and Bestiality. This is an absurdity and injustice of the highest proportions. I, myself, a member of the BDSM community for years know that in truth, BDSM done properly is probably the safest and funnest type of sexuality between consenting adults possible. London, England has many such clubs, as in times past New York and Los Angeles and other large cities in the USA, all now being shut down or infiltrated by our Knights in Blue, who are keeping America safe for thumpers, little old ladies and senile curmudgeons who make these laws.

So, while the movie did indeed stink on many levels, it did bring back some cherished memories of Lady Velvet, a Dom I knew in Dublin. Oy Vay! It's one of those things that can't be explained to the non-initiated. The character Divinity, who resembled my former Mistress, did so remind me of a better happier world...a simpler time, when sex was fun, planes didn't crash into buildings on purpose, Bush didn't sit in the White House and Saddam was still an ally.

But then, this kind of role playing game was never intended to be a spectator sport anyway, so get off your bloody buns, and experience the joys of forbidden lusts for yourselves! There's no significant difference between BDSM and Dungeon and Dragons except for costumes and accouterments....the "tools of the trade". Both are role playing games. Both are fantasy. But I'll leave it to you, my esteemed compatriots, to discover which yields the maximum pleasure!

So, yes, I'm a sentimental romantic lustful devil. I can't help it if you cannot understand the joys of all that is sinful! Or the path of ultimate desire that this movie points toward...one which I have followed with nary a regret or backward glance.

On the other hand, it could have been a heck of a lot better. But then not every film can aspire to the high standards of House of Pain I and II, now banned in theatres everywhere!

To my fellow IMDBniks, Yurshta, A Slave of Lust who understands the joys of the Night and the sins of the Flesh! And on this Valentines Day, 2007, I dedicate this humble review to Lady Velvet. I do miss the crack of her whip, the smell of the finest Italian Leather garments, a bowl of Jello and a smile! You probably would not want to know what the bowl of Jello was for.

Apocalypse and the Beauty Queen (2005)

A Sordid tale of Vanity, Lust, Greed and Bad Politics (like the USA today!).

[6/10 · 13 February 2007]

Set in a future world not destroyed by plague or Hydrogen bombs but rather one that fell into anarchy as a result of a total economic and political collapse with certain natural leaders here and there becoming basically dictators calling themselves anything they like. They use access to food, medical care and provision of some security from roving gangs to gain a following of assorted rabble and are of course, in fierce and bloody competition with other "petite" Lords and Ladies of the Land reminiscent in some ways with the Mad Max series.

A sordid and lustful tale, dark, chaotic, and narrating the lives of rulers almost as idiotic, mindless and cruel as the real-World rulers of the present day. Sure to amaze and entertain! One thing you can say for the Queen: She was not as dreadfully boring a character as G.W. Bush and probably only half as vain and was probably more considerate of the common rabble too!

So all things considered, this movie is not exactly Oscar material, but then it's more entertaining than some, but not quite as sordid and twisted as the revelations of the 9/11 Commission Report.

Probably more lustful than Mad Max, but not as lustful as Blood Gnome....h'm. I think I live near some of these people!

When love fails, lust will suffice! Maybe it's time we got some lust in politics! Oy Vay! That's right, we got that with Clinton!

Sorry folks, I'm still stupefied with this movie!

Unidentified (2006)

Christian Propaganda of a most deceitful type.

[1/10 · 9 February 2007]

Supposedly, a movie about a magazine sending journalists to investigate reports of UFOs with one being more or less tolerant or agnostic about the whole affair and the other an Aussie, a hardened skeptic who laughs at the UFO nonsense. It's all a crock, some kind of money making racket.

Turns out this movie is actually a deceit, and a trap to actually promulgate Christian teachings and the Christian explanation of UFOs, one I've heard before. This is an ad hoc explanation that is itself not at all biblical but invented by certain modern theologians who can fit anything and everything into their mythology. The paranormal? It's real, just demonic, unless it takes place in a Christian context, then of course, it is of God. Simple, if it isn't of God, it's the of the Devil, stupid! So I suppose since Beethoven's 9th symphony wasn't inspired by God, it must have been written under demonic influence. Or so would the logic lead ad absurdum.

We are informed that since the Bible does not tell of life on other planets in the Universe, therefore there is none (a version of the Ad Ignorantium fallacy) and that God created the Universe so huge, so grand to show us his almighty power. I think of Carl Sagan's remark that if God created such a huge Universe and stuck life only on Earth it'd have been a tremendous waste of space.

So what are UFOs? They are Demonic activity and concern the soon to be earthshaking Christian event, the rupture...I mean Rapture. Before the tribulation, the true Christians will disappear from the face of the earth en masse causing mass panic, confusion, car and plane crashes...whatever. Therefore Satan knowing this is sending his demons to basically create an illusion of alien spacecraft and alien abduction which can then be used to explain away this otherwise inexplicable event. All part of Satan's plan which will of course keep people from looking to God or Jesus and fall for the lies of the AntiChrist.

This ad hoc explanation also typifies theological mishmash by explaining away one mystery with another, in opposition to the scientific method of explaining the unknown, the strange, and the mysterious in as much as possible, first by the known, if not solely by the known.

It's like jumping straight to an alien abduction whenever a child is missing and unaccounted for. I think I'd look first at more mundane explanations like the child has run away, gotten lost, or been kidnapped for ransom or abducted by a predatory pedophile before invoking aliens, or the supernatural or Satan or some such.

This kind of deceit or trap on the part of fundamentalists is nothing new, as young people are often lured to Free Rock Concerts, that may start out with something innocuous then suddenly switch to overt Christian music, followed by a sermon and an altar call. This kind of blatant deception one might think would be more Satan's ballgame. But maybe because the Christian faith is soon to be in its death throes, these guys feel that anything goes, any deception or trickery or scare tactics are acceptable to try to keep the faith alive, which is facing serious opposition from both secularists as well as competing faiths like Islam, the world's fastest growing religion which may well replace Christianity, as Islam is far more cohesive and unified, and logically more tenable than Christian fundamentalism. Although this should offer little advantage to mankind, as it would be replacing one intolerant thought system with another.

And of course the movie ends more or less with a variant of Pascal's wager. The atheistic Aussie who is skeptical about just about everything is told. Well, if you are right about there being no afterlife and death is nothing but rotting in the grave, no worry...but what if you're wrong?

Basically, statements implying that reality is going to conform to nothing but an atheistic viewpoint or Christian fantasy, is a false dilemma or Black and White fallacy. Even if the atheists are wrong would not necessarily make Christianity correct by default, nor if Christianity turns out to be full of holes in its theology, that the materialistic atheists are therefore correct by default.

For all we know, Native American spirituality might turn out to be the best description of ultimate reality and we might all of use have wished we treated the Earth and its creatures a wee bit better.

This movie should be stamped right on the box: Caution: Contains religious Propaganda and not meant for informative or entertainment purposes.

Silent Hill (2006)

This is the type of Horror Movie I would create.

[9/10 · 19 August 2006]

Horror, Sci-Fi, and Fantasy are the three major types of books, movies and video games I like. I seldom have anything to do with anything else. I have seen thousands of movies, being a bit of a horror aficionado, and I have seen virtually all of them, even B-grade Japanese and Italian creations. Of these horror films, very few stand out, and frankly, most of them suck. The typical slasher film is the most boring, the most overworked theme, and I hate such films with a passion. I love horror movies best when dark, disturbing and possessing a large element of the Supernatural. Certain movies have become huge hits and changed the genre considerably, from the low budget Blair Witch, to the famous Nightmare on Elm Street series, or the Friday the 13th series or the Halloween series. Additionally, I love a good horror spoof, and the Scary Movie series (now with 4 movies out) are the best. It will be interesting if Silent Hill is spoofed in Scary Movie 5, should they make such a movie. Viewing reality as dull, boring, insipid and inherently absurd and stupid, esp. human society, I prefer a book, movie or game that for a short time gives me some respite, some escape from the idiotic modern world and its stupid safe-society laws. Silent Hill is just such a movie that for a short time, takes you out of this boring world and puts you in a world that is like this one, only dark and twisted at the core. A good horror director can make the commonplace frightening or twisted. Having seen so many movies, I'm working on a script now for a horror movie to end all horror movies. A movie that shows that a dark core hides beneath Nature and the Human World. To some extent, Silent Hill beat me to it. For people who tire of the same ol' same ol' teen slasher movies---do horror directors hate teenagers more than other groups?. I can't stand slasher movies and zombie movies because they are so overworked, so boring. I also despise movies where the villains or monsters are made of cardboard: dull, boring and unbelievable. A good Horror movie makes you temporarily believe in the Supernatural, in evil, in the monstrous. If it can't, then the movie has failed. Silent Hill is based on a video games series created by a Japanese writer and have the darkest themes ever put in a video games. For years now Hollywood writers have gotten stuck in a rut and are pushing out the same trash over and over again. Some directors are finding in video games, in comic books, and escapist fiction a cure for the disease of Hollywood normalcy and boredom. In such fiction, anything is possible, any theme is viable, and the imagination is allowed to run wild. I rather like that. Where the typical Horror director is spinning out yet another stupid zombie movie, or slasher movie, the director of Silent Hill gave us a treat for Horror fans, a bit of rain after a long long Horror drought. A few modern films of late have stood out from the crap surrounding them like The Ring, Saw (Inventive theme, I like that), etc. Of these Silent Hill is the darkest, boldest and was probably one of the most difficult movies to ever make due to the extreme attention to detail.

Modern audiences expect a lot, and there is no excuse to ruin a good story by a low budget and lousy affects. The effects in Silent Hill caught me by surprise. I won't spoil it for you, but you can discover the truth for yourself in the Special Features section of the DVD. The movie Silent Hill, tho' is not a movie rendition of a particular video game, but rather a movie that captures the essence of the strange world of Silent Hill. Frankly, my home town is so boring, I think I'd move to Silent Hill for something different. I am strange and dark and twisted myself. This movie was made for me and my kind. Buy it, rent it, steal it. You haven't seen real Horror until you've seen this masterpiece.