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Neiro3k
Reviews
Traffic (2000)
Fascinating.
This has to be the best film of 2K1 (so far). Coming out of this movie realizing the pitfalls of a government based war against drugs in America and in Mexico was one of many things I took out of this fascinating story. The interweaving plots, seen through the eye of varing color camera filters, keeps the viewer engaged to the very edge of their seats. Just as your gasping about the savage underworld of law and drug order in a rusty, yellow stained Tijuana your thrust into the bluey effulgence of the suited American government's war, represented by a bland to brilliant Michael Douglas, against the drugs coming in South of the Border. Then your glued to Douglas's character's daughter, herself addicted to drugs, and just as your slipping over the edge your pulled away, seemingly for fresh air, only to be confronted by the fall of the wife of a drug dealer, the heavily pregnant Zeta Jones (who, herself, is powerful in her role). What your faced with, as the viewer and as a member of a community where drugs are always an issue, is the futility in this ongoing battle. While the movie slips in the odd statistic or two, its the personal impact of scenes that really drive the nail of reality down. Each character falls into the web of drugs so deep they find themselves changed forever. From the honest mexican cop, digging deeper into a world of trickery and "keep your mouth shut or be killed" attitude to Zeta Jones's "innocent housewife to major drug dealer" metamorphasis. The acting is flawless, right down to the minor roles. The new surprises is the daughter of Michael Douglas's character and Zeta Jones's shift from her usual roles to this powerful display. Douglas goes from seemingly boring and bland to a shade of his "Falling Down" days, even earning a crack from a younger actor who plays Seth, the daughters drug swilling boyfriend, who pleads with Douglas not to do the "vigalante thing". Don Cheadle is strong as the cop who fights the war on drugs despite realizing it's futility and the unknowns in smaller roles still glue the films consistancy together. (look out for clever appearances by Salma Hayek and Jason Pratt, putting on a great acccent). In my mind, Benicio Del Toro does'nt steal the heat from his co-actors, although his performance is something you'd expect from him as being arguably the best character actor in the world.
The direction, hand held bumpiness and realistic shots in each world, adds to the films doco approach. It's a technique that enhances the viewers engagement with the characters and storylines. The soundtrack is hypnotic, eerie stretches of sound that flow with the picture on screen. All in all Traffic, with it's amazing cast and direction, sets out to reveal the drug world for what it really is. It's a film with a class A script, and a story telling technique you just can't ignore. Four Stars out of five.
Pitch Black (2000)
Impressive, a surprise package!
It was doomed to be B grade from the start. Not overly big budgeted (by sci-fi today standards) no star power on the surface (Vin who?) and a few Aussie appearences spelt failure as I approached Pitch Black.
Im happy to say I left with a broad smile and that old sci-fi fire inside of me. The solution to overused inter-planetary science fiction plots was actually quite simple, and Pitch Black worked it well! Character! The solid script work really rounded each character development off quite nicely, focusing more on the changes in the players rather than their reactions to the flying nasties. (quite scary too) It was fresh to see an alien movie not about the aliens primarily. The characters all bounce off each other with great effect, particulary Riddick, Fry and Johns. There are no surprises plot wise, but when it comes to the metamorphasis of certain characters (not giving anything away) there are some neat pay offs and impressive changes. A cheeky approach to the traditional good versus evil if you will. The direction is impactful in selected scenes. The crash at the beginning and the intense "escape in the rain" with Riddick rivals something like Jurassic Park, especially the most memorable scene with Riddick coming "face to face" with an alien. The setting calls for some unique camera trickery. The director played around with some cool color filters to give the desert planet a truly hypnotic feel under its three suns. What steals the show, however (apart from some chuckle performances from some of my fellow aussies) was Vin Diesel. Yes, it'll be hard to forget his name now. He has a very "Arnie" presence in this movie, kind of like the Terminator, big, bad and as tough as chewing on a car tyre. His best lines, delivered in that gravely dirt road voice, rival big Arnie's antics in T2. "Don't you cry for Johns....don't you dare..." the line of the year!! The only bumps in this film are some of the lesser characters, such as a Holy man who decides to collapse into a frenzy of sorrow only after his third boy is killed (he must'nt have been attached to the more youthfull, other two) and the aussie's resembled bait for the flying killers. (except for Fry, but she had an American Accent, which must have acted like a repellent to the aliens). Overall a big surprise. It well deserves its praise as one of the most engaging sci-fi's of recent times. Four out of five stars.
"Don't you cry for Johns....don't you dare...." I luv it!
Event Horizon (1997)
The most horrific movie since, well, "It". (cmon, I watched it ten years ago)
Take a ship that's straight out of your worst nightmare multiplied by one hundred, a demonic red head with a fetish for plucking out eyeballs and a video clip of a bloody orgy and you've got Event Horizon, by far the most nailbiting, peep through your hands movie of the nineties. Like the bad boy that I was, me and two friends decided to tackle this piece of pulsating adrenaline inducing project at the latest hour. At the height of Horizon's most horrific scenes I found myself teleported back into the days of a child, watching films that were half as bloody and being frightened to the point of insanity. The plot seems simple enough but becomes very twisted, straying from the 'alien' cliche and striding into a more 'biblical' revelation (not giving away anything). It's heart pounding soundtrack, from the opening credits of Orbital to the end credits scrolling to the Prodigy, adds to the overall atmosphere of a suffocating and creepy 100 or so minutes. The performances are a mixed bag, Skipper Miller (Fishbourne) and the incredible Weir (Sammy boy) are played to perfection, aside from Miller's last cries of "You-will-not-take-my-crew!". Anderson's direction is aided by some pretty impressive sets. Every shot is picturesque, the dark and torturing backdrops simply make your skin crawl, (the Core is simply the scariest most evil set thise side of the Emperor's Chamber in Return Of The Jedi [okay okay, maybe not]). The blood and gore goes a bit overboard but it is justified considering the stories twist. From the first tape recording of "Liberatai Mai" to the macabre montage of the "old crew" Event Horizon pushes you to the very edge. (after seeing it, my friends and I left with pale faces and beating hearts only to leave my hat in the cinema. We had to brave the darkness of the cinema after it closed to get it back. The aisle lights were the only things left on, and it felt like I was walking back into the Event Horizon ship itself!) Underrated and very VERY scary. Four and a half stars out of five.
Oh and I'll never look at Sam Neil the same ever again.
Strange Days (1995)
reflective
This film provided me with the greatest movie experience I have ever had. I was around 14, my dad and I went to the movies to see Star Trek First Contact. It, in itself, was a wonderful film and we left somewhat satisfied. By this time it was late yet my father noticed one more movie playing for the night. Strange Days. Rated R. In was off limits for myself, but the intrigue of seeing something your not supposed to see was kinda like watching a porno behind your parents back. Anyway my father bought the tickets and snuck me in. Under these circumstances the whole situation was memorable enough. But as soon as the opening scene exploded onto the screen and I was thrust headfirst into the eyes of a thug I was hooked. Then I received my first dose of Lenny and I adored him. It was a wild lead up to the actual second act but I was feeling intoxicated by the movies voodoo charm, it's ability to suck you into the eyeballs of a situation, keep you pitching questions as to "what's going on" with those evil cops. I laughed at Lenny Nero's wit and cheek (played to perfection by Ralph), I sympathised with his love for Faith and was intrigued by the whole SQUID thing and the build up to turn of the millinium. I had a love for every single character in the film, and despised those that were supposed to be despised. Lenny's hero journey was amazing. The way it was set out over the two nights really created a sense of realism and it's meandering leaps from subplot to subplot kept me hypnotised. It is the nightly prowl and growl of LA that spun my love for the movie, aswell as the boil over ending that explodes two main plots into the stratasphere. This movie has everything. Unique filming. Unbelievable twists. Hot action scenes. Believable acting (from the main players, Ralph, Angela, Tom and Juliet) and it carries with it a neo punk slash sci-fi biblical coat of arms that, at times, bearly supports the weight of it's thematic issues. When it does, it takes your hand and exposes you to an engaging story with engaging characters played against an engaging backdrop and time. Seeing Strange Days that night with my dad is a memory that will never abandon me. It is, to me, as near a perfect film as I can re-call, and is GROSSLY under-rated both commercially and critically. Maybe it's violence and philosiphies tip the scales a little bit, perhaps limiting it's audience. Look passed the evil rape scenes and you'll see something totally mind blowing. Now I take great pleasure in watching this movie with someone who hasn't seen it, hoping I see in their face a shade of the delight that I had that night. Bigelow and Katherine have inspired with their masterpiece, and it truly is. My number one film of all time.
Roswell (1994)
Oh my god....
....I won't say much. This wasn't going to be a movie that was going to create havoc at the Oscars or break some mold at the box office but, let me just say, we had to watch this for school........it was used as an example of how NOT to make a film. Bad acting. (Martin Sheen, for shame! Hardly broke a sweat standing in the background for most of the duration) Bad direction. (Tried to be creative by having flashbacks in different styles, but may I ask, why the dramatic shots of paintings in the Political meeting? It was like Days Of Our Lives for Chrissake!) Bad BAD script. (classics from the main characters wife, like : "Dance time, dear" and "Your father's back, son".) And bad bad BAD make up! (throw some baby powder over Kyles face to make him look old, yeah, wow.) This film also has to win "most pathetic sick man portrayal" by Kyle Mac in the scene where he grabs one of the witnesses in his living room by the shoulders and coughs, jerking his head back and forth like a duck at a disco. (I tried the same move at a club last weekend, the bouncers almost booted me out). I wouldn't normally even think about watching something like this, but we had to. My God. Really bad. Half a Star. And thats coz it at least had an Alien in it that could'nt act either.