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Barton Fink: ****; (review to be provided as time permits)Back to Main Movie Page Back Home
Crumb: ****; weird, weird movie. The documentary of Robert
Crumb, theoriginator
of pornographic feature cartoon "Fritz the Cat", "Zap
Comics", andthe "Keep on
Truckin'" slogan in the 1960s and 1970s. Very disturbing
in thedepth to which
he and his equally bizarre brothers frankly discuss theirperversions.
Not for
the kiddies.
Dead Man: ****1/2; A truly remarkable story of a man (Johhny
Depp) in the
late 1800s who spends his last dollar on a train ticket
to the Western town
of Machine, apparently to take a job as an accountant.
When he arrives, he
findsthat the job has already been filled. Worse still,
the town itself is
a nightmare, the absolute worst of the American Wild
West, with
everyone apparently armed and dangerous. Things worsen
even more when he
accidentally kills the son of the mayor, and the mayor
places a bounty on his
head. As Depp flees, he encounters a Native American
who at the same time
befriends him and introduces him to various tribal mysticism.
The entire film is
shot in black and white, with haunting electric guitar
chords by Neil Young
echoing in the background. Could all the surreal business
actually be happening?
Is he dreaming? Or is he dead, and he's entered Hell?
The supporting cast is a
who's who of strangeness, including Crispin Glover, Iggy
Pop, John Hurt, Billy
Bob Thornton, Gibby Haynes, and many others. This is
definitely not for all
tastes. But, for those who don't mind a foray into the
bizarre, this is worth a look.
Ed Wood: ****; (review to be provided as time permits)
Eraserhead: **1/2; This movie, which makes "Crumb" seem
positively
mainstream,was David Lynch's (of "Twin Peaks" fame) film
class final project
when he wasin college. Trying to make sense of the plot
is extremely difficult,
but heregoes: a couple give birth to a deformed baby
in the not-too-distant
future,when society has become regemented ala a twisted
George Orwell
vision.Basically, this movie is like a nightmare put
to the screen, with all
the weirdcamera angles and strange non-sequiturs that
you've probably
experienced aftereating too much chili right before bed
time.
Existenz - ***1/2 - "Existenz" is the name of the latest in virtual reality (VR) gaming. The user straps on the VR interface (goggles, strategically-places sensors, etc), and they completely believe that they're in the world that the game shows them. In fact, the illusion is so complete that the participants - and the viewer - isn't certain from one moment to the next which part is the game and which part is real. A mind-bending experience that anyone who liked The Matrix is certain to appreciate.
Henry Fool - ****1/2 - An amazing array of characters
makes this movie
well worth watching. The title character is a part philosopher,
part
sexual deviant. He befriends Simon, a nerdy garbage collector
who has an
amazing gift for writing controversial poetry. Then,
there's his
suicidal mother and his sex-starved sister (played by
Parker
Posey...that alone should make Rick want to rent the
movie). This is
definitely a comedy though, of course, there's also a
fair amount of sex
and violence. This is a new video release, though I think
the movie was
actually released more than a year ago.
Love and Death on Long Island - **1/2 - Another really
weird movie. John
Hurt is an English author who goes into the wrong theather,
where a
"Porkys"-type movie is playing. For some reason, he becomes
obsessed
with the star, Jason Priestly. This is supposed to be
a comedy, but the
strangeness of his obsession - though it wasn't apparently
sexual in
nature - made it hard to laugh sometimes. This movie
has gotten better
reviews from other sources, but you should know what
you're in for if
you decide to rent it. One interesting thing, though,
was trying to
figure out WHY he was so obsessed with Priestly.
Pi - ***** - amazing story of a mathematician who becomes obsessed with discovering a hidden pattern behind the stock market and - possibly - the secret name of God. Not surprisingly, various shady characters want this secret, too. But it's really more than just a techno thriller. Done all in black-and-white, this movie is a startling shock to the nervous system. As an added bonus, you'll get a chuckle when you recommend this to your friends, and they say, "Oh, was that the one where the kid f***s the apple pie?" (psst....no, it's not).
Repo Man: ***1/2; (review to be provided as time permits)
Stir of Echoes - ***** - Mindblowing story of a man (Kevin Bacon) who is a total skeptic of the paranormal, but who consents to be hypnotized anyway. The hypnotist plants a post-hypnotic suggestion which causes Bacon to somehow experience what at first appear to be hallucinations. It later becomes clear that Bacon is seeing through the eyes of someone who experienced a tragedy. Still a great movie after the 5th viewing.
Strange Days: ****; A very (as the name implies) strange
tale of the world
inthe waning days of 20th century Los Angeles. Ralph
Fiennes is an ex-cop
whomakes his living peddling the latest technological
craze: black market
virtualreality discs. The user of these VR discs can
expect to experience
graphic sexand various criminal escapades as if they
were experiencing it
themselves. Fiennes himself is addicted to these discs:
any spare moments are
spent viewingVR discs of his ex-girlfriend (Juliette
Lewis), who now wants
nothing to dowith him. Despite living on the dark underbelly
of society,
Fiennes is happy with his life. That is, until he exchanges
discs with a
customer, and witnessesa horrific "snuff film" in which
a prostitute is
brutally tortured and murdered (which is also shown very
graphically from "first
person" perspective). Heenlists the help of the only
person who really cares
about him, a tough limo driver played by Angela Bassett,
to track down whomever
is making these discs. As the end of the millenium approaches,
the streets of LA
become a wild party,punctuated by occasional clashes
between people and police.
Against this backdrop, Fiennes and Bassett also discover
what really happened to
a black rapper/activist who died under suspicious circumstances.
Thus, they are
running from - and toward - all manner of people who
want them dead. The acting
is top-notch and, while"Strange Days" is sometimes hard
to watch, it's
never boring.
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