If you have balls, you need to see this movie. It’s not a fine piece of filmmaking by any means, but it does kick ass in ways movies have not kicked ass in a long time.

Hollywood has made “Action Stars” a laughing matter. Matt Damon… as an action star? Really? Please! I dismiss your nancy boy affectations. And whats-his-name? In the Avatar movie… and also the T4 flick… and clash of the titans…? What the hell it that guy’s name? Sorry… he’s a poser.  Mickey Rourke would wipe his ass with that guy.

Say what you want, but Sly Stallone KNOWS what makes an awesome action movie.  It’s isn’t CGI (this movie has none)… it isn’t over the top machines. It’s big bad ass f***ers with guns and knives carving up the bad guys with laser precision.

Oh, I’m sorry… does that offend? Knife throw in the neck!!!

Opps, does that seem too violent? Automatic Shotgun cuts you in two!!!

Yes… BAD ASS is the best description for it.

There was this scene, and my 6 year old boy walked in on it… had the big goose water plane dive bombing with machine guns blasting bad dudes on the ground…ending their existence with a fiery explosion. My son shouts out “AWESOME!!!”. He gets it, my boy.

Except for the uncharacteristically long winded inner monologue, it’s a fine bit of entertainment.

CITY OF SCARS
Uploaded by Batinthesun. – Full seasons and entire episodes online.

The premise is simple: A young day trader buys a video camera to try and record “paranormal activity” that is graduate student girlfriend has been telling him about. He zealously records conversations about these events, taking the whole thing as a bit of light adventure. His girlfriend is more serious about it as these events scare her and she ultimate just wants them to stop. The main story takes place in these video clips, as well as the very stirring and effective nighttime shots where the camera is left on overnight to monitor them while they sleep… and the activities predominantly occur. As the couple give more attention to the activities, they intensify into oppression.

Comparisons to The Blair Witch Project are apt, in that the film reports to be video evidence that was found by authorities after the fact of the events. The entire film is presented as an archive of real recordings, and for the most part…does a good job in maintaining that level of immersion. While watching the film, I never think of script, direction or acting. It’s very organic and I think most people would view it as if it were made live and with real people who are experiencing he plot, not re-enacting it.

The movie starts out slow, but once we begin with the “Activity”…it becomes engrossing. This is a movie that uses sound… and the absence of sound, most effectively. I found the film to be quite chilling…literally, hair raising. The bedroom scenes are absolutely immersive… you really get into the vulnerability of sleeping people…especially with an unknown menace lurking in the darkness.

Regardless of the chills, Paranormal Activity is not a perfect film. A very regrettable scene with a Ouija board was an odd man out. When you see it, you will know what I mean. The beginning is slower than I think warranted, and the whole feels slightly out of pace. The male lead comes off as kind of a douche-bag… but I think the role called for it. Even so, he was at times unpleasant to watch. The ending was acceptable and even appropriate… but somehow I am not satisfied with it.   I do admit it is a better ending than Blair Witch.

I think this is a great flick to see with the significant other…  it is scary and leaves you unsettle, much like the end of The Ring. I was most definitely aware of  every sound my house made that night… that has to count for something.

The movie was just the right length (108 min) and right from the opening sequence it draws you in and holds your attention.  It is hard, fast, edgy, thoughtful, and action packed.  It only slows down to set-up the next punch.  It is pulse pounding psychological joy ride that has you (and a large mixed crowd) cheering for the film’s title character: Clyde Shelton.

The film has abysmal ratings on Rotten Tomatoes (24% at the time of this writing, 22% when I checked 24hrs prior), but that is understandably so.  The film is in many ways “red meat” and “candy” but those things are just so mmm, mmm good.  Look, without giving anything of substance away, the film has 1) high tech killing, 2) low tech killing, 3) self centered “justice” officials getting what they deserve, 4) a hot chick in a pantsuit, 5) a naked Gerard Butler, 6)Jamie Foxx, and 7) von Clausewitz quotes.  I could go on, but I think you get the point.  Did I mention the film has high tech AND low tech killing?  Yeah.  It’s true.

But to be fair to the reviewers, the abysmal ratings are due in large to the few plot holes (yes there are a few), and the movies ambiguity of message.  In fact I will go so far as to say the movies ratings are a commentary on the larger society as a whole.  And not for the reasons the statists, government is right types want to imagine.  No in my view people agree with the title characters point of view, possibly not with his actions, but certainly with his point of view.  Arguably what the writer of this film missed is the simple fact that when a comedian suggests that 50,000 dead lawyers is a good start the audience almost always laughs and agrees.

If you are looking for “red meat”, “candy”, or just some good ol’ fashioned “a man vs. The Man”, then Law Abiding Citizen is for you.

**Trailer below the fold**

District 9 Poster from Filmofilia.com

Neil Blomkamp’s debut feature film is a smashing success. At a cost $30 Million to make, the film earned more on its first weekend ($37 Million) and to date has earned over $115 Million world-wide.  The movie stands as s testament to the quality of “undiscovered” talent that exists in the film industry and speaks directly to the reality that a “megastar” is not needed to tell or sell a feature film.

Blomkamp’s tale is a serious look at Apartheid and the plight of refugees as seen through the lens of cricket-men from outer space.  The “Prawns”, as the aliens are called, are a mirror of a majority modern human society.  The millions of aliens who come on the mother-ship are sickly, starving, malnourished lot; they are largely devoid of the intelligence that has them cast across the stars.  Humanity takes a stand for these visitors and provides them with food and shelter on the ground beneath their hovering ship.  This ground is a slum in Johannesburg known as District 9 (a most direct reference to the actual District 6 of Apartheid infamy).

What follows is a steady moving story that speaks to the problems of encampment and segregation; governmental mistakes, multi-national corporate greed, and the age old human fear of the unfamiliar.  It is masterfully put together and beautifully layered.  A more perfect and gritty sci-fi film has not been produced in years.  Does the story pull punches?  Yes.  Does this story have plausibility holes?  Certainly.  Does the story have pieces that don’t quite fit snug?  Absolutely.  But what sci-fi set in a “current day” scenario doesn’t?  If you can see past the flaws (and what geek can’t) you should find a thoughtful and introspective story that asks a serious question about man’s inhumanity to man.

*** More, with spoilers, below the fold. ***

Partial Plot Summary

The movie begins as a mockumentary featuring shaky cam footage of the films protagonist and reluctant hero: MNU Field Operative Wikus van de Merwe (convincingly played by Sharlto Copley).  This mockumentary style is repeated at times throughout to move the story and provide an outside prospective of events.  The net effect is set to look and feel like a documentary into which the reality of the situation has been spliced.  This is very effective at demonstrating a critical point lost in today’s media: they report what they think happened, never what actually did.

The documentary portion begins relating the story of the mother-ship and how it came to rest above the city of Johannesburg.  Reports are mixed as to why the ship came to a stop, but after three months of this behemoth being suspended seemingly without power over the frightened South African metropolis, the government of South Africa (with UIO [aka UN] backing) decides to cut its way into the ship.

What is found inside the ship is a “humanitarian” crisis of extreme proportions.  1.2 million aliens are sickly and starving in the hold of ship.  They appear completely ignorant of what has happened to them or how to improve their situation.  In response the UIO (in powered blue hats brandishing the globe and laurel) decides that we must help these aliens.  The aliens are moved out of the ship and into the slums beneath, an area of Johannesburg known as District 9.  In the 28 years that pass (1982 to 2010), the aliens are come to be called “Prawns” and are increasingly segregated and debased by their human neighbors.

The Nigerians who had previously (and now co-occupy) the slum are largely lawless.  Because they are allowed to leave the slum (something the aliens are not allowed to do) they engage in black market activities, trying to gain access to alien technology with the exorbitant trade of cat food.  Cat food for reasons unknown is a highly addictive substance to the Prawn.  A fact exploited by both criminal elements and the multinational corporation (cleverly named Multi-National United) that runs the district.

Alien technology is functionally useless to the humans as it take a biological trigger that only the Prawn can provide.

The live action in the movie centers around the planned relocation of alien refugees from District 9 to District 10 a purposefully built camp 240 kilometers away from the city.  Our protagonist, Wikus, is promoted from pseudo desk jockey to director of the relocation operation.  He, with an armed escort, is sent in 24hrs in advance of the forced relocation in order to obtain legal agreements from the aliens so that they can be legitimately evicted.

The trip into the slum contains many events, and in attempt to not spoil it for readers, I will purposefully leave out some of the more sensational happenings.

In serving the aliens with these evictions, Wikus stumbles upon an alien in the midst of distilling a mysterious black fluid from discarded alien technology they have collected.

An alien named Christopher Johnson, manages to avoid Wikus, but his associate is not as lucky.  In a warrantless raid of the associates shack, the MNU discovers the lab (a definite no-no), a weapons cache, and the small cylinder containing the fluid.  Wikus is immediately distrustful of the cylinder, insisting it is a weapon.  In his bumbling with the device, Field Operative van de Merwe sprays himself in the face with the black fluid.  This sets the stage for a trip into the surreal.

After returning to the office and subsequently his home, an ill Wikus is taken to the hospital.  He awakes to a doctor removing bandages from his arm.  The horror!  Wikus van de Merwe’s left hand is now a foreign instrument.  His hand has become that of a Prawn.  Almost instantly Wikus is crammed in a body bag and spirited away to the MNU laboratory.  Deep in the bowels of the MNU corporate complex, executives (including Wikus’ father-in-law) are in agreement that the opportunity to harvest Wikus body to gain access to (and subsequently sell) alien weaponry.  Wikus, who is still alive, does not agree with this.  Eventually Wikus forces his way out of the complex and becomes a fugitive.

Wikus is plastered all over the news in fabricated stories.  He has nowhere to hide except for District 9.  While in the district his transformation into an alien continues.  Wikus seeks out Christopher Johnson because in the earlier canvassing of the district, Christopher was the only alien to display an advanced intelligence.

Field Operative van de Merwe learns that Christopher Johnson is working to get the mother-ship powered again so that the aliens can go home.  Johnson also tells van de Merwe that on the mother-ship the technology exists to fix him, but the now lost canister is needed.  Wikus discovered that the large piece of the alien ship that fell to Earth and was never found is actually buried under Johnsons shack.  Wikus is overjoyed, and they hatch a “suicide mission” to retrieve the canister from the MNU laboratory.

As the story moves into its third act, the forces of MNU attempting to capture the fugitive Wikus, the Nigerians attempting to seize Wikus for the same reason, and the attempt of Johnson and his son to escape from Earth all come to a head.

The movie ends with the mockumentary summarizing the events in the piecemeal fashion that only the news and experts can.

The Metaphor of Prawns, Refugees, and Apartheid

District 9 is a direct reference to District 6, an inner-city area of Cape Town declared “whites only” in 1966.  The government of South Africa forcibly removed some 60,000 people and confiscated their property simply because they were Black.  But this was not the only time citizens of South Africa were forcibly relocated because of race or abject poverty.  Currently, over 20,000 South Africans live in “informal” settlements such as the Joe Slovo Settlement in Cape Town.  The property rights of these settlements are in dispute (much like the Slums of Mumbai) because of the differences between squatter’s rights and deed holder’s rights.

People become displaced for a number of reasons.  Some of these reasons a healthy and stable society can prevent, but in the case of international refugees (or intergalactic ones) the cause is nearly always beyond our control.

An argument that creeps most sinisterly into the rights of refugees is the claim that these people are being allowed to stay on the property of someone else, and that because of this the displaced persons (henceforth: refugees) or refugees should be grateful for whatever accommodations their hosts provide.  This position is a particularly insidious one because it casts the refugee in the light of a burden or worse.  It is human nature for once charitable actions freely given to over time become an instrument of indebtedness.  And rightly, how could it not?  If someone comes to your home and sits on your furniture and eats of your food, do you not tire of them?  Even the most humbled and giving among us have no patience for sloth and atrophy on the back of our investment.  To wit, does not the most basic of tribes require that all members support at least themselves?  What then are the leaders of these communities to do?  The answer is not an easy one to find.  But it is a question that should be asked.  We must acknowledge that our neighbors may find themselves in ruin.  If our neighbors seek freedom on our shores, is it not in our best interest to try and provide it?  But it is never that simple.  Fear of other cultures and other value sets cause us to act cautiously and even negatively towards those who need our care and compassion the most.  And it is right that people be fearful of an influx of strangers destitute and without much in the way of capital or skill, few things can be more detrimental to a society at large.  This is why, without meaning to do so, the saviors and protectors of these refugees grow to be their haters and tormentors in the end.

Whether the refugees are aliens in District 9, Nigerians in South Africa, Iraqis in Jordan, or New Orleanais in FEMA Trailers the message is the same: it is inhuman to take from those who have nothing and yet only ask to be free.

Racism, Xenophobia, and Derogatory Terms

The term “Prawn” used to describe the aliens is a reference to a species of King Cricket in Johannesburg the Parktown Prawn.  These crickets are massive (commonly over 5 cm long) and numerous.  They are considered a plague in South Africa.  By stating that the aliens “look like Prawns” and calling them “Prawns” the South Africans are dehumanizing them to the point of common insects, even though they are a space-faring race.  Another way the movie subtly hints at racism in South Africa is the clicking language used by the Aliens, this is very similar to the clicks used in the Bantu language.  These are two ways the xenophobia and racism of South Africa are shown in the film.

Plot Holes And Picky Points

Many reviews point out that the spaceship hovering over the city without apparent power for twenty plus years is a complete violation of the 3rd Law of Thermodynamics.  Get over it.  It is a movie.  These are aliens who travel around outer-space.  It is not that hard to believe that they have figured a way around that who gravity thing.

The flight of Wikus as a fugitive seems to be all too easy; but remember he is not being chased by police, but a corporation involved in illicit activities.

Another picky point is the limited nature of the conflict between Wikus and the MNU security forces both in the corporate center and in District 9.  Yeah.  This is a bit lame, but if this was pursued to be “more realistic” it would have interrupted the story too much, dragging it down and also driving up the cost of production.  This also is true of the argument that the other aliens are seemingly disinterested in the actions of Wikus and Christopher Johnson at the movies end.

In Summary

In summary the movie has all that makes a great sci-fi with none of the pomp and circumstance of a high dollar cast or a special effects budget that just tries too damn hard to make fantastical things look real.  The grimy, gritty feel of the film; the very real location it was filmed at (the slum settlement of Chiawelo where the residents were forcibly relocated from in recent civil unrest); and the very human, relatable alien subjects all combine to do what sci-fi does best: tell a timeless fable by stripping away the unnecessary and exaggerating the core points.  Congratulations Mr. Blomkamp and Mr. Jackson.  Job well done.

The 1983 documentary, Anarhism in America, is now available on Google videos uninterrupted.  74 minutes in length, the documentary shows footage of several of the turn of century anarchists and has interviews with several of the movements thought leaders.  The spirit of anarchism is the spirit that built America.   Let us never forget what the Founders were declaring independence from!

Happy Independence Day my friends.  May God bless and keep you all.

“Gan, why the hell did you see this tween-pron flick?”

I’m asking myself the same thing. I had downloaded it for my babysitter, who has nothing but the hard crush on “Edward! (*Sigh*)”. So, weeks later it is still on my harddrive looking oh so delete-worthy. But, never wanting to throw out junkfood without a little taste, I decided to keep it until a particularly entertainment free night.

That night came… and I cannot believe I actually watched the entire thing.

What a dreadful dreadful hateful film. The story…the characters… everything about it…was (and I know I’m going to get some PC crap over this) unrelentingly GAY!

The plotline, such as it is, concerns this emo high school chick who is staying with her “Ham and egger” dad in Fork, WA… a dreary overcast hamlet. Her name is Bella. Her lot in life is to mope. She mopes in her room. She mopes at a diner. She mopes in her new school.

While moping, see spies a family of pasty metrosexuals who are pretending to be students, even though they look like they are 25 and constipated. She meets Prince Fruity with the big hair, and he runs from her like the little bitch he is obviously meant to be. This vexes Bella and she (you guessed it) mopes about it. His name is Edward(*sigh*)

Then! Action! Genre effects! Excitement! Edward races across the parking lot and uses his supernatural powers to keep a van from crushing Bella! Bella then mopes about it. Edward mopes with her. I want to cuts my wrists.

They fall in love. Not the poetic love of the ages, but the irrational hormone frenzy love of teenage girls who  scream at the parents “You don’t understand! I LOVE HIM!!!” before slamming their bedroom doors and crying the night away.

I’m getting sick just writing  about this drivel. I can taste the regurgitated bile in my mouth.

Anyway, we learn that Edward(*sigh*) is a Vampire in a family of Vegetarian Vampires…i.e. they don’t feed off humans. In other words, they are a bunch of pussies.

There are some interesting interjections from three bad ass vampires who are all about killing and stuff, but why bother going into those brief details? Bottom line: This is a horrid film. Utterly irredeemable.

I want to take this farther, and if I offend any readers here, well…that’s the price I have to pay for my keen sense of reality.

Simply put…if you liked this movie…you are a raving shithead.

More precisely, if you are a woman who liked it, you need the harsh intervention of psycho-therapy to help guide you back to being a rational female with the proper context for your attraction to men and all things masculine. Electro-convulsive treatment should not only not be ruled out, I would err on the side of caution and just set the dial to 11 from the get-go.

And more… if you are a man who liked it, you are so gay that even other gay men would scorn you. No, really. Nathan Lane would implore you to butch up. The ghost of Charles Nelson Reilly would haunt you with the spectral voice calling “faaaaagggg!” every midnight.

Boo!

First let me say that it was easily one of the most entertaining movies I’ve seen in a long time. I drank the whole thing in and had a smile on my face thoughout the viewing experience. I very much enjoyed the new cast and found myself shifting my mythic view of Jim Kirk from the bloated but beloved Shatner to this more appropriate young rebel of a Star Fleet Officer. This was easily the best Star Trek Film to Date.

But it was not The Dark Knight of Trek films, itself called The Godfather of Comic Book films. Star Trek was both Wildly entertaining and deeply imperfect.

The problems with the film can be found mostly in looking at the following:
*SPOILERS*

The Villain: Boring, lackluster and with no personality. Not even a shadow of other notable Trek Villains. And really… “Nero”?

The Villain’s ship: Mmmm…Nice and pointy, for no other reason than to be bad ass. This heavily armed…mining vessel? (or as Chekov says… vwessel)

The Villain’s motivation: See… he’s all crazy because his loved one died, right? So he’s going to destroy the federation. Cuz his wife died. In an event totally unrelated to the Federation. Oh, and his crew of “miners” as generally okay with that. And he’s really pissed at Old Spock…cuz he tried to save everyone. How bout that?

Old Spock. *sigh* Nimoy has forgotten how to play Spock. There was absolutely nothing Spocklike in his performance. Hell, Sylar was more Spockish than Nimoy, and he was getting Jungle Fever Action. Oh, and WTF was Spock doing with the Red Matter thing? No other currently practicing Scientists in the universe to say…”Dude! That’s my specialty! Go back to the Ambassador stuff before you hurt someone!”

Now, all that being said… there was far more fun, action and goodness than bad… which is a testament to just how good those other things are to override the utter crap of the above.

"God help us all."

After viewing the film last week, and experiencing a rush of conflicting visions and portents, I came to the conclusion that I needed to Drink from The Well once again… to re-experience the Moment of Faith under a more analytical eye, before I could… with conviction… proselytize.

Thus, dear readers… my conclusion: The Watchmen is a damn good, if not brilliant, adaptation of the second finest Graphic Novel ever writ and sketched (the first being, IMHO…Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. Deal with it.) and it is a very good movie on it’s own strengths. It is not, however… the best “Superhero genre” movie ever made… and I don’t even consider it in the top 5. (In case you are wondering: The Dark Knight, Spiderman 2, X-men 2, Spiderman 1 and Batman Begins)

Alan Moore is one of those crack-pot artists who fills everything he does with his own post-modern vision. I say that with love, as I enjoy consuming his work, down to the last succulent morrow, and think he is a genius of the craft. The Watchmen GN is magnificent on many levels and should be required reading in any modern literature or philosophy class. Adapting that to a film was a task called impossible. The fan base would publicly announce they never wanted it tried, but in their private gimp boxes coveted the idea of watching the scenes that have so become a part of them. They hold the secret yearning to see on screen what they see in the minds eye.

And so…

And so. This is how I came to watch The Watchmen… and after two showings, I believe I can give the two perspectives necessary for an honest review: That of the fan and that of the viewer fresh to the story.

First, the movie works as an adaptation of a Great Work. You want the Watchmen…well here it is. The scenes, meticulously crafted from the source material meet or exceed hopes and expectations for how good the work could be in translation. All the characters were spot on… or at least close enough so that you can except that some reader could have viewed them in the light presented so that a difference you may perceive may be one of subjective impression.

The cast was quite good, with the one weak spot being Malin Akerman as The Silk Spectre (II). I found her to be unconvincing and a bit to “chippy” to play the bitter woman in Moore’s tale. However, the rest of the cast was very good, with special attention on Jackie Earle Haley as Walter Kovacs / Rorschach. The work of the computer gfx team with actor Billy Crudup brought a deeper and more believable Dr. Manhattan that I thought possible, which fleshed out the ending in ways that were absent in the comic.

The one great change in the adaptation was this ending, and is a point of geek battle on many a message board. In the comic book, the great event was constructed from random clues throughout the 12 issues and climaxed as a giant psychic squid that fries a city full of brains in it’s death screams(supposedly), leaving a sense of utter horror and dread to any survivors. This is the catalyst for the Great World Coming Together. Now, I know this will piss off those that worship without question, but that was then, and is now, not only completely ridiculous… but also entirely out of step with the tone and manner of the rest of the series. Thus, when Snyder and company did away with it, I fell in complete agreement. Moreover… the replacement of Giant Psychic Squid to Dr. Manhattan was entirely consistent… as Alan Moore used him to represent the moral hazard of Nuclear Deterrence. In Moore’s analysis, a nation with Dr. Manhattan on their side becomes a villain in their own rite as they are “un-punishable” and therefor free to dominate in corruption. By presenting Jon as a world wide threat, he now becomes the ultimate in deterrence to a world in conflict, so that the World as whole becomes “Us” in the fearsome and unfathomable shadow of Jon’s “Them”. In my not-so-humble opinion, Snyder and Co. improved on the story immensely and nothing you raging freaks can say will change my mind. (See… you start with “Giant Psychic Squid”. FAIL!)

Now… let’s say you’ve never read The Watchmen, and are not into comic book characters on page at all. Will you like the movie? There is no easy answer. This movie is heavy and requires more attention that any other film in the genre. It’s also paced unevenly, so that some things go by too fast…never letting them sink in(Rorschach’s background). Other scenes are ponderous(pretty much any scene with Dan and Laurie out of costume). One of the problems a non-reader will face is a desire to get more out of the character’s than the GN gives to a faithful adaptation. The enigma of The Comedian comes to mind. What we do see of him disturbs and fascinates us.. and he is far too short a presence considering the impact he makes in the story and the characters. The non-viewer may also think it is a film more ugly than beautiful. No doubt about it, Zack Snyder is a visionary… but not all of his visions are as tasty as those in the ultra cool “300″.

In many respects I think of this film the same way I do “Fight Club”, but depending on where you are coming from the experience options will be different. If you are part of the fan base, you are either going to love it or hate it. There will be no middle road. If you are a non-reader of the GN…you will “get it” or “not want it”.

I “get it” and “Love It”.