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Reviews
Baghead (2008)
Indie Hubris At Its Most Ridiculous
This movie is one of the more dire examples of indie filmmakers thinking that ANY film which is low-budget and unscripted is automatically brilliant. I am an art school graduate with a very high tolerance for experimentation, and I can dig a very low-key movie if there is some kind of point to it. Even for the "mumblecore" aesthetic, this one tests the limits of just how irrelevant a story can be. It features thoroughly unlikable characters who have minor romantic issues (one has a low-level crush, another a vague sexual attraction) sitting around chatting listlessly in a generic mountain condo. To add insult, this apathetic dialog is captured with hyperactive, aggressive camera-work which never stops moving, favors extreme close-up for 95 percent of the shots, and leaves the very few events that happen in the film out of frame. The "scares" literally involve the characters occasionally startling one another. A barely feature-length film in which even the actors themselves grow visibly more and more bored and sleepy as the movie goes on. If you genuinely do like zero-stakes, zero-production value, shapeless and pointless indie movies, then this may be for you. But do not watch it expecting it to be a horror movie, or a comedy, or a relationship drama, or a parody. It is mostly nothing.
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
Entertaining but not exciting
The third installment in the X-Men series is entirely watchable, but doesn't have anything to get excited about. The direction is smooth and competent, the actors all show up to do their job adequately, and the design and special effects are close to top of the line. As with most comic book sequels (think Batman Forever), the film suffers enormously from being stuffed with so many plots that none of them has any time to develop or take on any weight or meaning. There are at least four major story lines, any of which could have made a great movie, but together they are so rushed that it is almost comical. What should be breathtaking revelations or shocking, deeply moving developments are all treated as minor plot points as the movie saunters toward its only real reason for existing, the final big action set piece. That piece is well staged and pretty to watch, but with no investment in any of the stories, the climax is nothing more than a nice circus fireworks show. X-Men is still deeper and more creative than any other action franchise--- the central metaphor is always appealing, watching super-heroes is a lot more fun than watching little men run around with big guns, and it is the only big movie world that includes women as more than just sex props. But this installment reaches too far and, as a result, does far too little. Enjoy it, but don't expect anything more than a glossy big budget puppet show.
Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Extraordinary; Almost perfect
This remarkable series is everything that a thinking person could ever want from a science fiction show. It is definitely not light fare, but it is an exciting, thoughtful, wonderfully original, and deeply compelling story. The characters are flawed and human in a way that is rarely seen on television, and the ongoing story is epic and complex in a way that is rarely attempted in any medium. The show has every bit as much thought and depth as a top-of-the-line series like The Sopranos or Deadwood. In particular, the women in the show are the most strong and complex human beings I have ever seen depicted, in any genre. Battlestar Galactica is worth close and multiple viewing: for those of us who have grown beyond our 13 year old love of Sci Fi and have been longing for thoughtful and fulfilling adult storytelling, I hope that Galactica is the beginning of a new era.
Crash (2004)
pretty but not too impressive
In DVD viewing, I found this film very much failed to make good on its hype. It is well made and certainly well acted, but not nearly as inspired as the filmmaker seems to think that it is. Though the story is focused on racial issues, the dramatic events of the film are really driven mostly by a series of contrived coincidences, leading to carefully orchestrated moments of tragedy, all of which lack the ring of truth. If you have never considered that race might be a complicated personal issue, than this film might give you something to think about. Otherwise, I would rate it as a well done writing excercise, and not much more.
Serenity (2005)
A New Outing For The Extraordinary Whedon
Much like the TV series Firefly, the movie Serenity is a beautiful and soulful science fiction creation which takes many of the clichés of Sci-Fi and presents them through the unique eye of genre-fic genius Joss Whedon. Whedon is well on his way to becoming one of the greatest creative voices of our generation, a visionary equal to Stan Lee and Gene Roddenberry--- not just a clever writer, but also a powerful voice unique to his era. The movie is funny, touching, visually compelling, and although the plot does get a little too ambitious for its own good, the payoff is strong and will leave you feeling inspired. Firefly and Serenity are very different creations, even though they have the same characters. Both are well worth more than one viewing.
The Incredibles (2004)
If you don't like this movie you should stop seeing movies
Certainly, if the only thing you are looking for is another laugh-a-minute masterpiece from Pixar, then you might be disappointed. But this movie has an elegance, inspiration, and contemplative quality that add up to real beauty. I appreciate the Pixar folks not just trying to repeat their formula in a different setting, but doing something more subtle and exploring a new idea--- here, the horror of being forced into submission by a mediocre society. Maybe I just relate. The family together are a poignant and deeply familiar picture of love and struggle, as well as a truly interesting and exciting super-hero team. If you think that top-grade animation, compelling story, humor, soul, and a hat full of thrills is not enough to make a movie great, then this movie will disappoint (and so will every other.) I think The Incredibles is gorgeous, inspired, subtle, and worth opening your heart to.
The Dark Crystal (1982)
A gorgeous, purely unique masterpiece
A masterpiece of vision, imagination, detail, and heart. Breathtaking and completely unique production design, and both uplifting and in parts genuinely disturbing. Suffers a little bit from slow pacing and heavy exposition (and dated, slightly too heavy orchestration), but if you give over to the world it wraps itself around you. If nothing else, it is that rarest of all things: a truly and completely unique, one-of-a-kind film.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
lots of flash, no substance
Once again, the fantastic production design almost fools you (and does fool many people) into thinking that you are watching a good movie. But it doesn't hold up in the end, as the completely non-heroic "hero" Harry Potter is led by the nose through another predictable mystery in the mechanical, eliteist Hogwarts. A lot of respected actors try very hard to appear quirky and compelling, but in the end this story has little interest and the film has no heart or soul.