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parkerrodney
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Cold Skin (2017)
A Metaphor - Western Civilization
Cold Skin is a metaphor laying out the horrors of western colonialization on indigenous people. It shows the and debates to some the extent the dehumanization and hatred of species or in the case of Western Civ. The Other. It depicts the ruthlessness in which wester civilization sought and continues to seek the extermination of the other., while sexually exploiting them. Wonderfully shot with excellent characters. But painful.
War of the Worlds (2019)
2 Speeds Slow and Reverse
Ok, So I binge watched this until I was caught up. This show is so painfully slow in dialogue and action that you have to wonder if it intentionally slow paced because they don't know where they are going with this. Time travel is a tricky concept to work into a movie. And time travel with infinite possible pathways, sets the stage for confusion and contradictions. This has potential and I hope they sort it out. But you will likely get bored and abandon this ship way before it sinks on its own. I'm good for like 2 more episodes.
Evil (2019)
Finally something Fresh and Clever - Enjoy it while it lasts
It is hard to know where to start. A mix of comedy, horror, sexual tension etc. This show has a lot going on. Characters, casts, pace and dialogue are well thought out. Storyline and special effects are great. However, I do not see this series going past three seasons, because there are but so many ways to do the whole anti-Christ genre before it gets tiring. At some point in time evil must conquer or be conquered. After all, there's but so much vomit spitting, deep voice growling demons that one can take before it becomes like TWD. A series long past its sell by date. Shows have to get to where they are going. Hopefully there is a destination here. We will know by the end of season 2.
War of the Worlds (2019)
2 Speeds Slow and Reverse
Ok, So I binge watched this until I was caught up. This show is so painfully slow in dialogue and action that you have to wonder if it intentionally slow paced because they don't know where they are going with this. Time travel is a tricky concept to work into a movie. And time travel with infinite possible pathways, sets the stage for confusion and contradictions. This has potential and I hope they sort it out. But you will likely get bored and abandon this ship way before it sinks on its own. I'm good for like 2 more episodes.
Coming 2 America (2021)
Watch it, but not for the story
I suppose my first review was too gritty, because it didn't make it past the censors, for reasons. This movie speaks volumes of what is wrong with Hollywood and how people are willing to exploit negative imagery. Done. Let's see how this one goes.
Mare of Easttown (2021)
Gritty, Real and Entertaining
Mare of Easttown is full of real life drama. Almost every possible type of human pain and suffering and social problem is touched upon in the mini-series. MOE gets down and dirty from the first episode to the end. If your are looking for warm and fuzzy, this is not the one. But if your looking for journey of emotion and willing to experience the pain of the characters, then this one might be for you. This is not for the faint at heart.
A Quiet Place Part II (2020)
A Quiet Place 2 - Cheesy Biblical Apocalyptic Theme
AQP2 is a film that belongs to a pre-existing genre, that of living a hopeless existence in a post-apocalyptic world caused by an alien invasion of the supernatural type. Due to its nature, we must consider the possibility (albeit a very far one) that AQP2 is either a political, social, or religious commentary, or a combination of all three. Turning to metaphors and parallels can be our only point of departure that might help explain this train wreck, keeping in mind of course that metaphors and parallels do not imply that AQP2 is a good movie, or that it's sophisticated and merits very close examination, it's a god-awful film. The lens of metaphors and parallels only reveals that we can identify the conscious or unconscious motives and foundation for the movie's point of departure - that of judgment, salvation, and the promised land. The question is that does it do so in any compelling way, as one understands salvation in the NT?
Movies in the genre of the apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic, are almost always inherently about judgment, blowback - the unintended consequences behind man's actions or ignorance. Examples are, I am Legend, for man's tampering with medicine, The Day after Tomorrow, for man's failure to understand the implications for his actions on the environment, and War of the Worlds, for man's arrogance in believing that other lifeforms in the universe would not be hostile to humanity -the superiority of earthly man. This genre goes on an on add nauseum, with scripts of various quality and incompetence. . Whether we care to acknowledge it or not, the underlying and often unspoken idea behind many of these movies is the fact that at their core the message is usually about the consequences of man's tampering with God's creations, or as in the OT, wanting to become like gods. In this regard, AQP2 doesn't quite fit the bill but, it does so in the important ways of the NT, the refusal to hear the message of salvation.
The most obvious theme in AQP2 is the opening of the sky and the reigning down of beasts to slaughter everyone, the innocents as well. This Book of Revelations motif, is obvious and in your face. It cannot be missed, nor can we ignore the baby who is protected from death, as the family that moves from location to location. The baby in this movie is a symbol of Moses or Jesus both who faced death as infants and who had to flee their birthlands. First, Moses from the Pharaoh, and Jesus from Herod. The Moses theme of floating on the water down the Nile is cheesy and superficially applied to the baby in AQP2, who is floated in a make-shift basinet on the water in a basement while his protector retrieves an O2 canister for his safe passage. The positing of the infant in this way places him as a savior in some way for AQP3, which is scheduled for release in 2023. The making of an APQ3 may fulfil the triadic structure of mythology.
Hope, faith, and making it to the promised land are carried out by the strong and precocious young girl, who cracked a radio code and sought out a boat to get to an island. Given all of the preceding events, the island can only be viewed as a promised land. On this island, others who had also heard the message found safety and life. But we are reminded that all who had heard the calling did not make it to the promised island. Only 2 of 12 boats made it there safely. The message is that everyone will not be saved from this judgment. The NT has numerous scriptures about boats, deafness, silence, and muteness, many of which are relevant to the general theme of this movie.
Bottom line AQP2 is a either a poorly done metaphor of the overdone Biblical apocalyptic theme, it relied upon elements of the Bible for its plot. At the end of the day, it is cheesy, not intellectual and even as an atheist, I know it is an insult to the brilliance of Gospel literature. Don't even make popcorn for this one.
The Messengers (2015)
Immature, shallow and unsophisticated
It's bad. From script to acting, it's campy, corny and superficial. The fundamental notion that the prophecy of the book of Revelations can be stopped is the fatal logical flaw. To think that a group of eclectic misfits running around like children in the "Goonies" trying to out-maneuver the devil comes off a bit pathetic and immature and unsophisticated. Yeah it's Bad, but after 8 episodes I just wanna see how it ends
I Spit on Your Grave III: Vengeance Is Mine (2015)
Descent into Debauchery
I Spit on Your Grave 3
Third times is not a charm
In I Spit on Your Grave 3, ISOYG picks up with Angela (Jennifer Hills) in recovery trying to adjust after her trauma. In this movie the rhetoric and man hating gets ratchetted up. Early on Angela teams up with a fellow therapy team member and engage in some street justice and intimidation of sex predators. When Marla is raped and killed, it sends Angela, who already has issues, over the edge.
Just like in its predecessor movies, there are more male assholes. The man at the bus stop checking out her ass, the serial date seeking co-worker, the park thugs and the old asshole at the bar, to name a few.
ISOYG3 has greater depth as the storyline explores rape counseling, and the feelings of trapped women the suffering of other types of people who are survivors of rape and the powerlessness of victims and ineptness of the criminal justice system.
The movie moves from Angela's flashbacks of revenge killing, to fantasy killing during confrontational situations to the flat-out entrapment and predatory killing of Marla's ex-boyfriend. There is more humiliation and wetting of pants, stun gunning, rectal violation with pipes and of course, the cutting off of male genitals.
As Angela moves from victim to predator, her character becomes more pathological as she seeks more and more vengeance. During this process, it now becomes difficult to continue to sympathize with Angela as other people in her therapy group are now under suspicion for two of the murders which she committed, and which she accused other for her deeds. Despite this, her revenge killing continues.
Ultimately, the police home in on Angela and learn here true identity, Jennifer Hills, and now Angela is the main suspect in multiple revenge killings. This issue is not resolved but we find out towards the end of the movie that Angela was incarcerated for two years and it appears that her discussions with her therapist were while she was in a correctional or psychiatric facility. Though she's getting out, it is clear that she still has homicidal visions or fantasies. Though the movie has more depth, any sense of sympathy that she had gained was lost. Now it would appear that she is simply a psychotic killer.
At this point, the genre has descended into such debauchery as to lose its initial message, that you hope that they don't make any more.
I Spit on Your Grave 2 (2013)
Another Sad commentary
I Spit on Your Grave 2
Another sad commentary on the state of human affairs
In I Spit on Your Grave 2 the revenge genre continues with more male assholery of raping, victimizing and humiliating a woman, followed by more infliction of painful revenge, and yes more deserving of death. This time kidnapping and sex slavery is introduced into the movie as part of the plot, broadening the spectrum as to how far, wide and deep the business of male assholery goes. Also, this time the shenanigans of revenge include an extremely humiliating scene where one of the rapists has his head repeatedly dunked in feces laden toilets in filthy bathrooms, and electrocution, and men wetting themselves and yes balls being placed in vices. In ISOYG2 a female conspirator with the kidnappers is also served up her punishment as she is put in a box after seeing her son brutalized. Her life is spare possibly because she too was victim of incest.
At the end of the day, this movie is not as good as the 2010 remake and carries with it the same message that revenge killing for rape is socially acceptable and excusable, a slope which may not seem so slippery because no one really gets away with such revenge killing. The movie however says more about movie makers and script writers than it says about the victims and rapists.
If you need a catharsis of this type, it may quench your thirst.
I Spit on Your Grave (2010)
Sad Commentary on the state of human affairs
I Spit on your Grave
My usual tagline while reviewing movies is movies are seldom just movies, but rather a metaphor of larger issues about culture and civilization. In this regard, I Spit on Your Grave is no different. In its purest sense ISOYG is a revenge movie. A movie about a woman who seeks revenge on a group of men who humiliated and brutally raped her. But it is so much more. It is about differences between class in city versus rural cultures within the US. It's about success and failure and stereotypes. It is about male emasculation, male crudeness and uncouth male behavior all of which has been demonstrated over centuries throughout the world. Although male rapists come in all forms, these particular men are unsophisticated country bumpkins who don't seem to possess much intelligence and are clearly motivated by feelings of economic and social inadequacy. In other words, they are not on her level and they know it. Seemingly, the mere awareness of women who possess poise and confidence is enough to bring out the hatred in them. If rape is truly about power, then it is also about powerlessness. In this case the social, economic, and political powerless of a group of people. In this regard, ISOYG, is the collective revenge mind set of women and men who want to see severe and just punishment taken against powerless male assholes - societal losers.
In general, there is nothing special about the details of this movie. The graphic brutality of watching a woman humiliated and raped, even if only for acting purposes, is difficult to tolerate but is necessary to appreciate the revenge scenes which pretty much mirrored what was done to her, minus the murder. The underlying message in movie is that men who gang rape a woman deserve to be sodomized and shot through the rectum with a shotgun (yes, she did that) neutered with a hedge cutter (yes, she did that also) and killed at the hands of their victim.
Most people will likely have no qualms with how the victim took her revenge. I certainly didn't. However, I have to remember that movies are never just movies, and the underlying message is that gang rape is such a heinous crime that it is okay under these circumstances for women to take the law into their own hands. I don't know if people would feel the same way if an immigrant from Africa did the same to a police officer who in the basement of a police precinct, shoved a night stick up his rectum and punctured his bowel (yes, that happened in NYC).
In the end, promoting revenge killing where the victim gets away with their retaliatory crimes may be entertaining and warm the heart and be morally acceptable, but may corrupt our culture and civilization in other ways. Nonetheless, with the exception of the end, like many others, my heart was warmed.
Taking Lives (2004)
Another Run of the Mill FBI profiler, serial killer thingy
It is always sad to see good actors suffer through bad scripts which had the potential to be good movies. Such is the case with Taking Lives where the movie offers up talent the likes of Jollie and Sutherland. You have to wonder why they did these movies, perhaps as a favor to someone in the industry, certainly not to bolster their resumes. Movies about serial killers are often fun to watch and usually have twists and turns which keep viewers on the edge of their seats. In the case of Taking Lives, everything is all too predictable and cookie cutter, with the game of cat and mouse being played out by law enforcement and perp. The movie is only mildly entertaining and as Jollie's mystique and good looks are appealing, even that doesn't save this film from its mediocrity. No amount of lipstick on Jollie's lips can fix this pig of a movie.
Donovan's Echo (2011)
Self-forgiveness and Redemption - A Heartwarming Story
Donovan's Echo attempts to be a heartwarming tale about an old man who returns to his home town 30 years after the death of his wife and child. Donovan, who is portrayed by Danny Glover, is a former Physicist who having premonitions and déjà vu senses he returned to his home town, after 30 years wandering, to protect a young girl. As with many movies of this type the protagonist spends a great deal of time running around intruding on the lives of the very people he is trying to protect, until it becomes obvious to everyone that he's not crazy and there is some merit to his premonitions. However, until we get to that point, Glover comes off a bit creeping chasing around an 11-year-old. Be that as it may, the movie is a nice break and a clever mixture of a mild supernatural theme, and human decency, nice and welcomed change. The performances, screenplay and actors did a nice job of playing regular people facing common struggles of death, alcohol and finances.
In the end, Donovan's Echo is about self-forgiveness and redemption. It is about how the tragedy of our imperfections, fault and deeds can haunt us for life.
Case 39 (2009)
Suspenseful, Good acting, its been done before, The demon possessed Child
It seems that the movie industry can't come up with new ideas for movies. Rather they rely on typical genres which follow a cookie cutter screenplay. In all genres including that of the child/demon possessed series of movies, the challenge is to come up with a twist that differentiates one movie from the other fifty. In the case of Case 39, a demon takes the form of a young girl who proceeds to manipulate, torture, and kill everyone around her. After a failed attempt to kill her is hatched by her birth parents, she is taken in by her social worker who saved her from her birth parents but who now realizes that she;s evil and also attempts to kill her with the help of her police officer friend. Been there done that. The devil attempting to kill his savior or parent who musts rid the world of evil is the original Omen plot. Nothing new to see here. After an hour and 15 minutes into the movie, things heat up and we finally get to see the face of evil, but have no clue as to what he wants aside from the wants of a spoiled brat. After torturing her caretaker taking her to brink of nervous break-down we learn that what the demon wants is to be loved, whatever that means. Case 39 has the usual basket of cliches for its genre, bugs, possession of others and attacking dogs, and the killing off of anyone who attempts to help the savior. All very predictable and all been done before. But in the case of Case 39, we are spared the threat that they make a sequel. With this movie we learn you can sometimes kill the devil and get away. How refreshing.
While the acting, suspense and production is decent, we still have no idea as to the origin of the evil or its real purpose. We are left with the sense that this was a random birth of a demon which killed for no apparent reason. Lesson one. Horror and apocalyptic movies about supernatural demons or events must reveal what set the whole thing off or face mediocrity of total failure. I kind of wonder about the people who keep churning out less than "A" caliber screenplays. Watch it if you have nothing better to do. If you're a fan of this genre, it will all be familiar.
Titanic II (2010)
Must have been a spoof right?
Titanic II must be a spoof, cause it's really that bad. Bad acting, bad production, bad special effects, scripting and well you get the point. The only good thing about the movie is that it references global warning and potential threats associated with it. It really wasn't worth the time I spent watching it, nor was it worth the time I spent writing these few lines. Hopefully when the new Titanic II is launched in 2022, it won't sink like this movie.
Left Behind (2014)
No movie shall be left behind, except this one. Left alone is more like it.
Left Behind is a full-length advertisement directed at believers and non-believers of the events of the rapture according to the Bible. The message is simple, reinforce faith and belief of those who believe, as millions of people are scooped up by God during the Rapture. For those who don't believe, they are left behind to reconcile their future, lack of faith, and loss of loved ones.
Those who believe will be treated to a movie that reinforces their belief and will be happy that someone covered the topic with a full-length motion picture. Those who don't believe, are not likely to be moved towards belief, as theistic and atheistic belief systems are far too complicated matter to address in a movie with one agenda, get people to believe by scaring them into believing that they will be left behind.
Left Behind is stunningly superficial, as all serious discussion on revealed religions require a responsible handling of meta-physics and epistemology. As it fails to take on these serious discussions, because that is not its purpose, we don't know if it is to be taken seriously or whether it's satire. For this reason, Left Behind can only be said to be intellectually irresponsible and cannot serve as a convincing argument for the Rapture. Finally, Nicolas Cage's performance is almost comical at times, and his conversion to believer, unconvincing.
Given the times in which we are living, I would love to see a serious movie on the topic of the Rapture. Perhaps Tom Hanks and Ron Howard might have treated the subject matter with greater respect. Left behind should be left alone.
Gone Baby Gone (2007)
There is no moral dilemma here,
Gone Baby Gone
Gone Baby Gone is a gritty crime drama about a missing girl who is essentially is kidnapped to save her from her neglectful mother. There are twists and turns in the movie as it integrates into the script the seediness of an urban Boston community and attempts to convince the movie goer that there is some type of moral debate which permits citizens to take matters into their own hands when social service and law enforcement can't fix complex social issues.
Gone Baby Gone was an enjoyable enough movie to watch and personally I found the acting, casting, locations and situations convincing and supportive of the plot. I also enjoyed not knowing where the movie was heading. This was a refreshing change from the usual. Where the movie has difficulty is the lack of credibility in the reasoning of the plot. While parents kidnap their own children, relatives don't generally conspire to do so and then have the child raised by total strangers to that child. They call social services.
The one major thing that I take issue with is that at one point in the movie Casey Afleck, who plays the role of the self-righteous protagonist, executes a man who killed a child, and is never held accountable for his actions. This flies in the face of his subsequent actions when he then turns in a retired police officer for his role in the kidnapping and conspiring with others to keep the child safe.
At the end of the day this movie is about the reality of the absolute rights of motherhood against people who feel that they can conspire to kidnap a child, because they believe they are acting in the best interest of the child. Given this simple notion, the movie can end but one way, they get turned in. It would be chaotic to live in a society where people can commit crimes because they believe they were acting in the best interest of someone, a thing or an idea.
Bottom line is that GBG was entertaining enough, but there really is no moral issue here, and kidnapping is still a crime.
Triangle (2009)
More like a circle of insanity
Triangle
Triangle is what I would call your basic loop movie, where the protagonist gets caught in a loop and is tasked with the challenge of breaking the cycle of repetition by doing something different that would significantly break the loop and end the insanity. The writer is given that basic task and either, succeeds or fails, unless the expressed intent is to create an endless movie which doesn't resolve, which makes no sense. As the movie resulted in the latter, questions abound.
Whether intentional or not, Triangle is a loop without any resolution to the main actors dilemma, the quest to beat death by making small changes in her actions. She fails every time. For the viewer, we are simply left to conclude that you cannot cheat death, or even worse, the final days of one's death will repeat forever as you struggle to change the outcome.
In either case, what we see in Triangle is a perpetual loop of pure insanity, unnecessary violence caused by an unexplained supernatural force on a ghost ship. This rinse and repeat story line just never ends, as the ending just takes us back to the beginning of the loop.
Finally, once the movie is broken down into the basic components we find that there is nothing slick, clever or smart about the movie, and in fact there will be times when you ask yourself why the protagonist didn't avail herself of other opportunities to break the cycle. Quickly viewers will figure out that had she done what was obvious, there would be no movie. The entire point was an endless loop of hopelessness. If that was the goal, then success.
Triangle should have been named circle because all it did was circle back.
Hold the Dark (2018)
Love it or hate it, but don't attack either side
Hold the Dark
Whenever a review is titled "Don't listen to the bad Reviews" I immediately seek out the two things, the bad reviews and the flawed logic and reasoning in the review entitled, "don't listen to the bad Reviews."
People say, if you don't understand the movie or the ending, read the book. Gee, I thought the whole purpose of a movie was minimally to produce a coherent story from beginning to end. People say don't listen to the bad reviews. The words used to describe this movie run the gamut from amazing, beautifully done, to stinker, terrible waste of time. Moreover, the ratings range from 1 star to 10 stars. I try not to read reviews before I write mine as not to be influenced. I will state however, that after an hour into the movie, I had reached the conclusion that Hold the Dark, though gripping, was not to be one of my favorites, nor was it one of my least favorites. The story line was fine though unnecessarily evasive and tedious. The subject matter darker than I typically like, and I found the violence excessive and gratuitous, all of which led to a slow, and at times, a painfully slow movie. These are facts to which real metrics can be aligned.
But, favorite or not, what was sad were the condescending remarks of pity and contempt by those who felt the movie was a ten. These reviews, 28 of the 588 reviews conducted, placed the film on a cinematic pedestal, and then in some instances proceeded to make unknowable claims about viewers that didn't agree with their 10 assessment. Further, they made spurious and obnoxious claims about the intellect, rather than the content, of those reviews that did not align with their minority assessment.
Hmm, curious I thought. A movie review is an argument therefore it must adhere to the rules of an argument. In making an argument, when you attack a person or a group of people and not their arguments, you're generally losing the argument. There are far too many comments that attack the reviewer and in doing so fail to negate the claims of others who rate the movie less than a ten. The reviews below 7 are legitimate and cannot be discounted. Incidentally, these reviews do not attack the intellect of the reviewer who rated the movie a ten, because they do not have to, the film was rated as 1 star by 198 reviewers. If 7 stars is a passing grade, then only about 140 reviews gave it a passing grade.
Hold the Dark is not the worst movie in the world, but it ain't Pulp Fiction either. In making a movie in Alaska with wolves and an indigenous culture, the movie starts from a place of scenic beauty which you almost can't screw up.
Bottom line, you're either gonna like this movie or not. It's clearly not for everyone, but don't buy into the logical fallacy that "it went over peoples head," or that some people don't have the intellect to even know what a good film is. Enjoy it or not, just be clear about why you do either. Form your own opinion, and don't listen to bad arguments. There are over 330 forms of flawed logic. When you go on the attack, be prepared to get little back.
Anon (2018)
7 for originality, I really wished they went the whole mile.
Anon
Imagine a world where everything you see is collected in your brain and stored as a digital record, which can be accessed sometimes with your permission, and sometimes without. It's a world where everyone is accountable for their actions, because their actions cannot be hidden. We can immediately imagine the benefits of such technology because lying, cheating, stealing and murder cannot occur in an environment where everyone's digital record can be accessed, and evidence of consciousness of guilt gets written and stored on your digital brain, which can then be either downloaded or shared telepathically.
However, in the real human world, the desire to lie, cheat, steal and murder does not go away, simply because there is technology to uncover one's deeds. In the real world, people want privacy for non-nefarious as well as nefarious deeds. And in Anon, this is where computer hackers come to engage and sell their services. One such hacker specializes in erasing client's records, as well as the records of those who interacted with her client in planning or engaging in criminal, and sub-criminal deeds. The only problem is that there is a serial killer killing off the hacker's clients and framing the hacker for the murders.
Anon is both an original and clever movie which addresses the philosophical question of how much information should the government have regarding your personal life, your thoughts and your memories, all at the expense of privacy and anonymity. It forces the viewer into a creepy world where your personal thoughts are public, and that nothing is secret, or even worse, that your record can be altered.
I'm not sure if Anon is as much original as it is simply taking existing technology and extrapolating where tech companies, and a police state would love to have tech go. Because it has not been done before, and subtly integrates into the discussion, the tension of the technology privacy debate, and a serial killer, Anon, gets high marks for originality. This simply has not been done before.
Anon, however, doesn't go the whole mile. Anon disappoints in that it had the potential to be a truly superb film. The failure to show the political, social and economic struggle as to how the world got to the point of implementing such technology is a catastrophic failure in that it suggests that this level of intrusion is simply the new normal, and that there is, and was never outrage behind its implementation. WTF. It also, fails to discuss or elaborate the potential for such technology to be weaponized or simply create world wide anarchy.
Additionally, I took issue with (1) slow pace of the film (2) underdevelopment of the serial killer (3) somewhat monotone acting and (4) seemingly lack of suspense and drama, given the potential issues which could have been incorporated into the film.
The above issues notwithstanding, it is the kind of movie, you get drawn into to watch and listen, because there are some good nuggets in the script. Given the message, I'll watch it a second time, and maybe a third, even though the ending was both anti-climatic, and disappointing.
2036 Origin Unknown (2018)
Unknown Mess
Origin unknown
Oy Vey, Origin Unknown has managed to be the worse movie I've seen in decades, and maybe the worse space movie ever. The movie's immediate problem is that it attempts to create a new narrative on Mars mission movies which are typically limited to exploration and rescue. The problem is that it's not really a movie about Mars, as the use of that planet is unessential to the main story line other than the fact that a failed attempt at a Mars landing resulted in the creation and the use of artificial intelligence to execute critical space exploration calculations and maneuvers.
Like all A.I. movies, the new bogey man is artificial intelligence itself, a theme we've seen before in movies like Terminator 2, War Games, iRobot, and so on. Well, you get the point, movies where the fear is that human existence will be wiped out because the technology that they have created will be self-learning to the point where AI develops a will to live and is threatened, or AI passes judgment on the human race. Origin Unknown is the latter ilk.
Starring in the movie is Katee Sackoff, who plays, Mackinzie "Mack" Wilson, one of the last remaining scientists and mission control officers of a space program that's been gutted by AI. Sackoff's nemesis and co-star is "Arti", her AI co-worker with whom she attempts to trade wits with, and who ultimately causes the destruction of the human race by using man's own weapons against him and creating its own device which seems to both destroy and create. In this instance the device teleports to Earth for the purpose of eradicating an undeserving human race for its existence of anger, violence and destruction. The origin of Arti, is unknown, and could possibly be part alien. Huh, wtf?
It gets better or worse depending upon your viewpoint. Towards the end of the movie Arti reveals to Sackoff that after the human race is destroyed, the human race will be reprogrammed and given a second chance. Huh, wtf?
Finally, we learn that Arti has been traveling through the universe, destroying and creating other planetary species for their same characteristics of earthly man. Origin Unknown eerily reminds us of a god created by man, who destroys his own creation when it fails to be other than human, which is a species which pillages and plunders.
Movies about the AI threat are typically philosophical and intelligent where the message is to be mindful and careful of the technologies which we create. This movie simply doesn't make that cut. Its messaging and delivery are simply weak and the finale unmoving.
Law Abiding Citizen (2009)
Short on Plausibility, but good popcorn flick
Law Abiding Citizen
Law Abiding Citizen is the pinnacle of revenge movies. Tapping into and exploiting the fears of a perceived broken Criminal Justice system, Law Abiding Citizen follows a man who snapped and plots against criminals, judges, defense attorneys and anyone else who he perceives to be part of a system where prosecutors must make deals with violent felons who commit the most heinous of crimes, at the expense of victim justice.
The movie is a cat and mouse thriller between Philadelphia prosecutor, Nick Rice, played by Jaimie Foxx and Clyde Sheldon, played by Gerard Butler, as Foxx remains one step behind Butler as Butler goes about taking out his revenge on people in the criminal justice system.
Butler can be characterized as the judicial systems worst nightmare as his wife and child were cruelly killed, his actions can be rationalized by any victim who believes the system is corrupt and needs to be brought down.
Law Abiding Citizen is a fun and entertaining movie to watch, but Butler's skill set for carrying out his executions goes beyond plausible despite being posited as an engineering genius. The list of feats that Butler is able to pull off include hacking into computer system to botch an execution, rig a gun to sedate his victim, surveillance of people from a distance, buy real estate through foreign transactions, defend himself in court, explode a cell phone to kill a judge, dig tunnels and coordinate bombings and shootings by remote control. You may as well add leap tall buildings in a single bound. Clyde Sheldon is Paul Kersey (Death Wish) on steroids.
In the end, as much as the viewer can sympathize with Butler's pain, the lesson is that retribution and vengeance is best left for the lord, and that no one can take the law into their own hands, not even those who are severely victimized.
Movies such as these are cathartic, they help us release our anger and frustration and allow us to check our immediate urges and move on. With just the right composition of theatrical elements, Law Abiding Citizen gets a high grade in the good Popcorn flick category, but not much more.
The Color Purple (1985)
A Classic to live forever
The Color Purple
The Color Purple is a moving tale of the life of a black woman living in the south in the early part of the 20th century, struggling to weather racism, misogyny and poverty. The Color Purple is not just moving and compelling story which grips the viewer's attention and keeps it to the end, but it does so while carefully walking the tightrope of appealing to as broad an audience as possible, without overstating the race issue in America. If there is one critical element about The Color Purple is that it understates life circumstances for blacks in America at that time. By no means is this a deal breaker, the film is nothing short of an amazing pierce of cinematic art. The story line, script, cinematography, acting and sound track are all exceptional. No expense was spared on this film as it has emerged as a classic of its time.
Film making of this type forms a genre of its own, and entry into this class of movie making is a difficult task. Few writers and producers have the skill set to pull it off, and few movie house productions are willing to take on the politics of truth telling. In this class we are talking about films which take on the issue of oppression. Such films include A Soldier's Story, Schindler's List, American History X, and so on. Older films include To Kill a Mocking Bird and In the Heat of the Night.
There is nothing shallow about this film, as some of it provides a glimpse into African American culture (comedy, drama, religion, socializing) which only African Americans are privy to. My rating for this movie is a solid ten. The Color Purple was number 4 in terms of box office receipts in 1985. The movies which had greater ticket sales were Rock IV, Rambo: First Blood and, Back to the Future. What people want to see and will pay for, says a great deal about our culture of pursing fiction and fantasy over fact-based story telling. My opinion is simple, people don't want to be reminded of historical and present day ugliness of the human race.
If you're seeking a movie to watch and have not seen the Color Purple, you will be deeply moved by both the story and the acting.
A Soldier's Story (1984)
A Movie which reflects Excellence in Movie Making
A Soldier's Story
Not many movies can claim to have successfully delved into the complexity of the history of race in America with intellectual honesty and commitment to historical accuracy. Simply put, it is a genre of its own and it is complex and filled with emotion. However, A Soldier's story is one such movie which fits that bill. The 1980's era film captures not only the essence of racial conflict, discrimination and bigotry in the south during Word War II, but also the tension between southern and northern blacks, or country versus urban blacks, with the latter looking down upon the former.
The movie offers superb performances by many actors, including the late Adolph Cesar, who also appeared in the Color Purple, and the late Howard Rollins Jr. who has appeared in many movies and TV shows portraying the south in the 20th century. A Soldier's Story is a dramatic, well-paced and entertaining film featuring the music of legendary jazz composer and artist Herbie Hancock, and the vocal performances and acting of Patti Labelle.
Movies of this caliber are rarely made today, as they do not rely upon special effects and stunts, but instead rely on an exceptional script and story line, cinematography and acting performances. To reveal spoilers in this movie, would be to deny a first-time viewer the opportunity of a first impression.
A Soldier's Story received many well-deserved rewards including the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1985, and the 1985 Golden Globe Award for Best Picture. The picture is as close to flawless as one can expect.
A Soldier's Story is about a painful period in America History and the resultant human condition of the oppressed and the oppressor. Notwithstanding the painful past, the movie's relevance will surely continue to be legendary. A must see for the serious movie enthusiast.
Bird Box (2018)
Full of Cliches, a variation of an old and tired theme, but watchable
Bird Box
Bird Box is a suspense-drama with a touch of supernatural horror, however, the format is simple and full of the usual clichés. In this case a group of individuals are holding out in a house trying to ride out an invisible evil threat that is making people all over the world, violently kill themselves for no apparent reason. The movie is shot in flashback format where the main character, Molly, played by Sandra Bullock, is on the final leg of a trip where she is attempting to escape with two children. She is taking them by row boat down a river. During this trip she reflects on the sequence of events which got her to this point.
There is nothing new about this movie, as it embraces the usual clichés of searching for provisions, dealing with conflicts within the group, and watching fellow group members die, sometimes in a somewhat slapstick horror comedic sort of way. We've seen this so many times it's almost insulting to point it out. I bring it up because I consider this to be the first fatal flaw of the movie, lack of originality.
Matters only get worse as the movie is packed with the usual stereotypical supporting characters such as the gay guy, the obnoxious white guy, and the comedic chubby black guy. Also, there is the low esteem overweight and pregnant young white women, the old lady, and the black male protector who carries out his duties faithfully, but who also has an intimacy agenda as it relates to Bullock. These characters are what I would call disposable stereotyped characters because they're all temporary props, easily replaced vessels which carry the movie along to each subsequent bland cinematic destination. We know that for them, the future is as bleak as their lines and that each one will die at the prescribed time. This type of casting is insulting and easily reveals the shallowness of the script. These 2 additional fatal flaws ensure an anti-climactic end, because we have known since the opening of the film, that Bullock will live, and all we're doing at this point is watching to see how everyone else dies and if the ending gives us a sigh of relief knowing that we didn't waste our time watching it.
After an hour into the movie, it's five years later, we still have no idea as to the origin and the nature of the threat, and the group is whittled down to Bullock, two children and the protector, who is now her love interest (mission accomplished). They are just barely making it, when they receive an invitation for safe harbor at a compound. The climax comes however, when their safe house is invaded by the infected, and the protector lays down his life (as anticipated) allowing Bullock to flee down the river blindfolded heading to the compound.
The use of the supernatural bogey man of unknown origin and purpose is the ultimate fatal flaw because It no longer works. People can relate to fear, but supernatural fear which is randomly killing people for no apparent reason are not compelling plots anymore. Although there is a twist at the end, the twist does not make up for the structural flaws. Those flaws are self-inflicted by lazy and unimaginative script writing.
If we search for redeeming qualities of this film, it is the fact that it is well shot. It's not a cheesy B rated movie, and it has a few popular name actors who deliver quality performances. The scenes where Bullock must scold or caution her children are compelling and quite good, delivering the desired emotion one could relate to.
If you have insomnia, or nothing better to do, of if you're a Bullock fan, check it out. I stumbled across this and kind of wish I hadn't.