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jon3825
Reviews
Paper Clips (2004)
Educational for Non-Jews
I thought this film was educational for Non-Jews, and in a similar sense, the film Hotel Rwanda is educational for Non-Africans. In the same way that this film teaches us all about a genocide that happened between 1939 and 1945, where six million Jews were murdered, all of us should also be familiar with a genocide that happened ten years ago, in 1994, in Rwanda. In Rwanda nearly one million people were killed in a period of three months. That is a modern day holocaust that I did not even know about until watching the film. So as I watched Paper Clips, and I saw people being educated all about the holocaust, I thought of all the people in the audience who should themselves be educated about this modern day holocaust in Rwanda. If you thought it was good for people to learn about the holocaust, then you should learn about Rwanda, and go see Hotel Rwanda.
The Net (1995)
Unrealistic
I don't understand why a woman so capable with the Internet would send and receive viruses via fed-ex-ed floppy disks as opposed to online. Hello, one of the things about being online is that every bit of information can be transported electronically. Did anyone else find this ridiculous? I don't understand why a woman so capable with the Internet would send and receive viruses via fed-ex-ed floppy disks as opposed to online. Hello, one of the things about being online is that every bit of information can be transported electronically. Did anyone else find this ridiculous? Don't understand why a woman so capable with the Internet would send and receive viruses via fed-ex-ed floppy disks as opposed to online. Hello, one of the things about being online is that every bit of information can be transported electronically. Did anyone else find this ridiculous? I don't understand why a woman so capable with the Internet would send and receive viruses via fed-ex-ed floppy disks as opposed to online. Hello, one of the things about being online is that every bit of information can be transported electronically. Did anyone else find this crazy? I find it so crazy, it is ridiculous.
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)
Spoilers Ahead
The movie was called Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. It is a science fiction movie, made in 1985, starring Mel Gibson and Tina Turner. The characters are: Max is a nomad wandering the desert, stumbling upon the land of Bartertown in the Wasteland, the desert. He is looking for work there. He stumbles upon the leader, Aunty, who tests him. He passes the test by knocking out all those who attacked him. He is then sent for warrior duty, with the specific task of defeating Blaster.
Masterblaster is a two part creature- Master is the brains, a short, arrogant, old, smart man who looks like the dwarf in Twin Peaks, and Blaster is the thug, a mute warrior who has never been defeated. Aunty wants him to kill Blaster and save Master, so she can exploit Master's brains without him latching on to Blaster and using him as a warrior to gain power. Master uses Blaster as a shield so he can seize power with no one threatening him. Aunty is upset about this. In fact, one day Master made Aunty say in front of all the citizens that Masterblaster runs Bartertown, under threat of his embargoing the land. So she wants Max to kill Blaster.
They fight in the Thunderdome, a dome shaped object that looks like a wooden version of the Winter Garden, There are weapons on the dome's spokes. Blaster and Max are harnessed like acrobats, and they fly at each other much like the acrobats from Cirque de Soleil. The rule of Thunderdome is Two mean in, one man leaves. Max disables Blaster by blowing a whistle, and then knocks off his mask with a bludgeon. He realizes he is only a large child, so refuses to kill him. He looks like Corky from Life Goes On. Then an audience member kills him. Aunty punishes Max by spinning a wheel with names like "Prison", "Death", and "Aunty's choice". He gets Gulag, so is sentenced to wander in the wasteland desert with a huge funny looking mask that looked like the monster's head in It.
Pig Killer is a convict in the pig farm in Bartertown. Ironbar now operates Bartertown now that Master is defeated. Master is locked up with the pigs as well. The pig farm is a place where pigs are farmed so their feces can be used to get methane to power the plant. Pig Killer was sentenced and branded with the words "Pig Killer" since he killed a pig, if only to get meat to feed his starving family. Pig Killer sends a monkey through a hidden duct, with a canteen. The monkey meets Max and gives him the canteen. Max moves on and collapses.
Max is revived by Samantha and Finn, two creatures who speak like cavemen or dummies or Gollum, and who look like Beastmaster or hippies. Their world consists of many remnants of the world that was destroyed. The movie takes place in an apocalyptic future, the earth having been hit by a nuke or something. They fashion a theory about redemption based on the remnants- they have a dead plane which they think the Messiah, Mr. Walker, is going to make work and fly them to Tomorrowmorrowland. They think Max is the Messiah. He explains that it is not so and that what they think is ridiculous. However, they join him in his quest to avenge the people of Bartertown.
Max and his new friends walk through the desert and at times the quicksand almost eats the people. He is joined by Screwloose, Finn, Samantha, etc. Screwloose looks like a panda with a hat, sort of like a mime. Back in Bartertown they get Pig Killer and kidnap Master- perhaps they want Master since with his brains he can bring power to any city. They are fought by Ironbar and his companion, a short tattooed man with an Asian woman mask on a pole on his back. Ironbar looks like the anchor in the acrobatic stunts performed by the Cirque de Soleil. In the end, they meet two man, a weird looking father who looks like his son, and they own a plane, so Max drives a jeep toward the enemies in order to clear a runway path, and the plane lifts off, and the quasi-hippies are sent off. Max has sacrificed himself and lies on the floor in front of the collision. Aunty sees him and lets him go, and the movie ends.
Capturing the Friedmans (2003)
Voyeuristic
This is the best horror film I've seen, because it is non-fiction. Usually I resist getting the chills because what I am seeing is fake, but this is a real depiction of family members going through hell. At first I thought the whole thing was fake, like Blair Witch, but then I read about it on the web and checked out and it all checked out.
I think they let the cameras roll during such painful times for two reasons. One, because it gives the whole thing a movie-like fantasy quality to help distance the the subject his grim reality. It's like, if you videotape someone dying, you can subconsciously experience this as nothing more than a video, not reality. Second, as a plan to ultimately exonerate Arnold and Jesse, because maybe they could gain some sympathy by seeing how overblown their charges were.
Anger Management (2003)
All about the Cameos
Sandler's best asset here is his fame and power, and consequent ability to get tons of high profile people to do cameos in his movies. In this one many of them are not merely cameos for the sake of surprise, but because they are appropriate. Who cameos in Anger Management? I won't tell you, but think of different famous people who are known to have lost their temper once or twice, and I guarantee you you'll see them in this rather enjoyable Sandler movie (and I'm not usually a fan of the guy). Also, Nicholson is still able to be an amusing, intense actor even in a light film such as this- that's impressive.
The Master of Disguise (2002)
Awful but a few brilliant impersonations
It's astounding to observe the striking contrast between staggering genius and sheer idiocy. Most of the movie is laughably and painfully bad, but Carvey shines through in brilliant moments like when he impersonates Pacino in Scarface and Robert Shaw in Jaws. How can such a talented and funny mimic be at once in his element and at the same time so ridiculously unfunny? Dana Carvey was one of SNL's funniest, and he shows he's still got it, he just doesn't seem to have it consistently.
Hable con ella (2002)
Alicia is a Stepford Wife
I think Almodovar is portraying a common male fantasy by portraying a Benigno obsessed and in love with a beautiful comatose woman. She is beautiful, sexually yielding, and doesn't have a functioning brain. In a way, it is like the Stepford Wives, where women are merely sexually attractive robots that do not possess any real intellect or consciousness, and certainly not the ability to refuse sex.
Im toten Winkel - Hitlers Sekretärin (2002)
A Secretary's Perspective of Der Fuhrer's Words
I found two things most interesting about this film. The first is that as Hitler's personal secretary and scribe, Traudl Junge had a particular proximity to the words and sentences that Hitler said. She had to carefully dictate each word. As such, she was able to closely examine his words, and was able to realize that behind the passion and intensity, underneath the confidence and mania about German Third Reich supremacy, The Fuhrer talked a lot of nonsense. A lot of his sentences were contradictory and made little coherent sense. That is what makes this particular subject (Ms. Junge) so interesting- she was a lot closer to the man's speeches than most of Germany. The other interesting thing was realizing how so much of Hitler's success was due to people being intrinsically thrilled and attracted to his passion and excitement, regardless of whether he had any true, sensible vision of victory, or he was simply a raving megalomaniacal lunatic. Hitler made people feel good, feel confident, feel like they were part of something grand and meaningful, which thwarted their insecurity and low self esteem that arose out of the humiliating treaty following the end of WWI. And nothing is more desirable than feeling good, feeling high, feeling like part of something wonderful, even if it means that millions are butchered in the process.