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Reviews
Idiocracy (2006)
Do you really want to give up 84 minutes of your life?
I had real hopes for "Idiocracy" based on a look at the cast and my immense enjoyment of Mike Judges' movie "Office Space". Additionally, years ago I read and immensely enjoyed C. M. Kornbluth's stories "The Little Black Bag" and "The Marching Morons" (the former in the Science Fiction Hall of Fame), and therefore am very familiar with the underlying premise. However, I should have kept in mind that Judge is also the genius (in the Latin sense) behind "Beavis and Butt-Head", which has rare moments of creativity, but generally very little to recommend it to anyone more intelligent or mature than its title characters; and sadly, "Idiocracy" has much more in common with that series. In it, the dialog and behavior of the characters of the future are supposed to represent those of unintelligent individuals but usually come off more as simply uneducated and boorish; and that, along with the level of internal inconsistency and the sloppy transitions, makes one feel that Judge did not feel it necessary to go to the trouble of writing multiple drafts. These problems, along with others too numerous to list succinctly, make for one of the worst movies I have seen in years. Quite simply, watching "Idiocracy" is essentially like reading "The Marching Morons" not only written about, but also for (and most importantly by) the title characters.
Henry V (1989)
They're wearing the right clothes!
When this film came to my town, I had never heard of Kenneth Branagh (or indeed several others in the cast whom I have now come to respect immensely); however, I went with high hopes. From the first scenes on, I found my optimism rewarded. I was impressed with the acting, the staging, and everything else. But something kept nagging at me. It wasn't until Mountjoy (the French herald) entered Henry's throne room that I realized what was impressing me so much. THEY WERE WEARING THE RIGHT CLOTHES FOR 1415! That kind of attention to detail shows throughout, and makes what would otherwise be an exceptional effort even more superlative. Also, while I am a great fan of Laurence Olivier, I still feel that in this performance Branagh IS Henry. A truly masterful effort!