Star Trek quickie review

The Film Official emerges from the shadows to tackle a rare in-theaters movie. Thoughts on Star Trek ...

(Pic from ISN News)

... It's dece.

They Live to be campy

Classic John Carpenter* ...

*And no, not this John Carpenter.

(Found on the review blog Reality Break)

There's really not much to say that hasn't been said in praise of Carpenter's wrestler-starring ("Rowdy" Roddy Piper, a Canadian who for some reason wore a Scottish kilt in the ring) sci-fi/political satire about how the world is being taken over by in-disguise aliens ... who are delivering subliminal messages that are decipherable only to the trained eye (the trained eye, of course, being covered by special sunglasses). In fact, I've already said it myself.

But I'll say it again: Really, the film is just ridiculous.

Yeah, ridiculously awesome.

Most fans will point to the "I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass" line -- and for good reason.

I prefer the best hand-to-hand fight scene I've ever witnessed (NSFW). Oh, and the ending is great. And let's not forget the fate of the character played by George "Buck" Flower, one of the most memorable bit players you'll ever see.

Bonus bit: If you've got a few minutes, read the short story upon which They Live is based -- "Eight O'Clock in the Morning," by Ray Nelson. It is absolutely nothing like the movie.

Ugh.

From Variety ...

Universal Pictures will remake the 1983 David Cronenberg-directed thriller "Videodrome," with Ehren Kruger set to write the script and produce with partner Daniel Bobker.

The producers tracked down the rights to Canadian distribution vet Rene Malo, who will be exec producer. Universal distributed the original and had first refusal on a remake, and the studio snapped up the opportunity.

The original "Videodrome" starred James Woods as the head of Civic TV Channel 83, who makes his station relevant by programming "Videodrome," a series that depicts torture and murder that transfixes viewers.

The new picture will modernize the concept, infuse it with the possibilities of nano-technology and blow it up into a large-scale sci-fi action thriller.

Oh, goody. A "large-scale, sci-fi action thriller," written by the guy who did The Ring Two and this year's Transformers movie. Yeah, that's just what I had in mind when I pictured the remake of one of the greatest oddball mind trips of all time.

Ah, well. I'll just sit back and watch the following (oddly NSFW) scene, then the rest of the movie, then again and again, because it's that good (and weird)*.

*Oh, and don't forget about the ending -- itself among the strangest and most memorable.

Happy Earth Day! (Earth sucks.)

Since it's so trendy to love all things Earth these days, I'm glad* Entertainment Weekly's dot-com celebrated Earth Day by focusing on movies that blow this planet the eff up. Or at least ones where aliens invade our collective subconscious and can only be seen with special sunglasses.

*Not that I'm against Earth or anything, but I can think of at least one positive in its demise: No more Palmetto Expressway.

Thoughts on some of the movies ...

-Independence Day: With this 1996 film, director Roland Emmerich embarks on a career in which he tries to figure out just how ... many ... ways he can destroy New York City. In doing so, beats Isiah Thomas to the task by almost a decade. Oh, and the movie's pretty good, at least in that jeez-I-hope-Bill-Pullman-is-trying-to-suck way.

-War of the Worlds: An incredible opening third that turns to complete junk, and fast. Additionally, director Steven Spielberg's 1,252,876th (phony) happy ending shows that, if Spielberg had been directing, Pvt. Pyle and his drill instructor would have become best buddies by the end of boot camp.

-Mars Attacks: Ah, back when Tim Burton's movies couldn't be used as insomnia treatment ...

-Starship Troopers: There are aliens in this one? I couldn't tell with all the TALKING in the movie's first six hours.

-Signs: Ah, back when M. Night -- oh, well, you know what I'm going to say.

-Men in Black: Someday I'll convince people that this deserved a Best Picture nomination, or at least ahead of the flawed (or downright awful*) stuff that hogged all the spots in 1997.

*CoughTitanicCough.

-They Live: Classic John Carpenter, where he's winking at you and being serious at the same time. Also, features the best hand-to-hand fight scene I've seen (below), plus a hilarious ending (not gonna link there; if you remember it, you know why).

(NSFW)


Now, speaking of Carpenter, where the @#%$!#$% is ...

The Thing: Chilling (almost literally), intense, gory perfection. I'll never resuscitate someone with a defibrillator again.

The inevitable 2001 review

Ever heard of this one?

Next question: Was 2001: A Space Odyssey one of the most influential films of its time (1968)? Yes.

OK, another one: Is 2001 filled with pretty cool effects, sounds and images, even by today's standards? Absolutely. (Click here for an example, but beware spoilers.)

Still ... Is 2001 a slow, mostly empty experience whose story only makes moderate sense (unless you happened to burn one with The Dude before watching it)? That one, too, is affirmative.

Sorry to go after an Unquestionable Legendary Film, but seriously -- sure, the cinematic tricks are fun (the opening bit about the Dawn of Man, in particular, still is a wow*). But a truly great film, in and of itself, these things do not make. That's why the word "influential" is thrown around. Here, it's a euphamism for, "Way original, and good for it's time, but ..."

*Not a ShamWow, though.

For a more complete experience, better to check out a near-forgotten work from director Stanley Kubrick instead.

And another thing: If I have to hear 2001's theme one more time ...