Thursday, July 28, 2022
Nope (2022)
I don’t know what Jordan Peele’s personal standards are, but I will say this: This is a good movie, but maybe not by its director’s cinematic standards. Or rather, maybe he wanted to try something more on the sci-fi side with less horror, which I think is a good idea. However, I did not feel much dread or peril watching this film, and that lack of tension made for a pretty but ultimately mediocre experience.
Saturday, April 2, 2022
Webmaster (1998)
The title of the ultimate cyberpunk film is not a mathematical construct, it’s a profession and a way of life. Open your tubes to Webmaster.
Monday, July 19, 2021
Melancholia (2011)
Melancholia is a senior-safe introduction to Lars von Trier. If you’ve been living under a rock and don’t know who he is, von Trier is a filmmaker from the distant land of Germany who is known for boundary-pushing avant-garde cinema. Most of his films are released unrated to cinephile audiences. This is one of the exceptions.
Melancholia was released America-style mainstream for whiskey-drinking simpletons. It has few “genre” elements and stays within the self-imposed prison of the “drama” category through most of the film. There is some sci-fi brewing in the background, but 95% of the film could play for a geriatric home.
Wednesday, April 28, 2021
Looker (1981)
Here’s another sci-fi movie I think is cool. If you’re a fan of Michael Crichton’s concepts but not his writing, this one is both hit and miss. It feels like a slower version of Timeline (2003). Watch it. It’s good.
Monday, January 11, 2021
Fahrenheit 451 (1966)
The message of Fahrenheit 451 is that the end of books is the end of philosophy. If this movie is any indication, cinema plays an equal role in dumbing everyone down. Just as characters in the film are manipulated by news broadcasts, reality programs, and sports, the audience is lulled into a sense of mundane, everyday occurrence.
The director was not able to create a feeling of urgency, making totalitarian censorship look like your local trash service. In this way, the film encourages literacy, urging people to read the book rather than watch the mediocre movie adaptation.