Dark City

"The Empire Strikes Back," "Blade Runner," "2001: A Space Odyssey," and "The Matrix" will always be the films against which I judge other science fiction films. Besides "Equilibrium," "Gattaca," "The Fifth Element," "Minority Report," "Children of Men," and "Alien," few sci-fi films have reached close to the pinnacle of being original, intense, thought provoking, and above all, make fantasy seem like reality and suck you in to the point where nothing else matters for two hours (which my favorites have done for me and all great films should). I hope we've emerged from sci-fi purgatory in 2009 with the enjoyable "Star Trek" reimagining, but the two films which really rose above all else and matched and exceeded my expectations for science fiction were "Moon" and "District 9." I could sing the praises for both of those films endlessly, but that's not what I'm trying to do here.

"Dark City" came out a year before "The Matrix," and as "The Matrix" was the first film I ever saw on DVD (at a friend's house) and recognizing the fact that I didn't have a TV of my own or cable internet until 2002, all "Dark City" ever was to me was a movie in the bargain bin at Best Buy with an unknown male lead and a creepy, indistinguishable cover. The only thing that led to me even watching it tonight was the fact that I saw it had been re-released on BluRay, with a director's cut special edition 15 minutes longer than the original cut. Anytime I see a studio has enough faith in an obscure 1990s film to re-release it on BluRay AND allow the director to recognize his/her own complete, original vision there must be SOMETHING to that film. "Dark City" was a box office flop, yet Roger Ebert called it the best film of the year when it came out in 1998.

The sets, props, and special effects immediately drew me in as a viewer. A sweeping view of outer space pans down to reveal a major city at night, and then Keifer Sutherland appears as a mysterious figure with a disfigured eye and a limp, and when he speaks for the first time his breathless stutter immediately causes you to forget this is the same man who plays Jack Bauer. A man wakes up naked in a bathtub, and receives a phone call. And thus the film begins...

You have absolutely no damn idea where this city is or who these people are or what the plot of the film is for the first 20 minutes, and then the clues and inklings begin to fall, and then an event occurs which must have been the origins of the phrase "what the fuck???"

All the characters keep moving and searching and striving for clues and answers and you as the viewer are propelled through this amazing landscape with them following an original story with unconventional characters and amazing ideas and questions about the nature of human identity and the soul... Sutherland, a beautiful and amazingly talented singer Jennifer Connelly, the always brilliant William Hurt embody their characters. The film is so well made and well written that you don't dismiss a single second as "just Hollywood." And maybe, just maybe, when the action pauses and you get some semblance of an explanation around 80 minutes into this 110 minute film about who is who and what the aims of all the characters and parties involved are... BUT that point in the film is SO far from the climax and "reveals" of the true secrets and eventual finale that... BAH!!!

I certainly don't want to say that this is the best science fiction film ever made... but it has to be one of THE best. And better than being one of the best, it is SO original and mind-bending and exciting that few movies allow my cynical, jaded, and bored imagination to take off and be set free for two hours as "Dark City" was able to do.

Blindness

What would happen if the whole world went blind? This movie provides one possible scenario for that event. Brilliantly assembled, with cinematography and musical score bringing it all together, this is an absolutely wonderful, if at some times dragging and hard-to-watch movie. And Julianne Moore, despite being 48 years old, is still an absolutely beautiful actress.

9/10

IMDB Link

The Squid and the Whale

This movie is a delight to watch. Focusing on the lives of two boys who are growing up with an intellectual snob father (Jeff Daniels) and a mentally abused mother (Laura Linney) who simply can’t stand each other any more, this movie plays out, in many ways, like a “real life” story. The performances of all the actors are absolutely superb, and the plot and dialogue is clever, understated, and thoughtful.

8/10

IMDB Link

Bangkok Dangerous

I'll admit, I was expecting this movie to be horrible. As it turned out, it was only kinda bad. Really, a cheesy-predictable plotline and Nicolas Cage don't make for a great combo. And yet, it is a common combo.

5.5/10

IMDB Link

Crossing Over

Most of the movies I've seen come out of Hollywood that address the issue of immigration are, well, exaggerated. Some sort of straw man (usually some evil ICE agent and-or hick) is set up and then easily knocked down to show that every immigrant is treated unfairly and that in the end only good hard-working people are deported.

This movie takes a much more realistic approach, showing the various stories of immigration from the perspectives of several different people from several different countries. In the end, some are deported, some become citizens, and some end up leaving the U.S. because they cannot get green cards. Overall, though, the movie is VERY good at showing some of the problems with immigration, from both sides of the fence, without ever becoming a preachy "all immigrants are wonderful" diatribe.

Sympathetic characters and a somewhat compelling storyline make for a good watch.

7.5/10

IMDB Link

Notorious

Before I watched this movie about some "gangsta" rapper who got killed, I had very very very very very little respect for the rap/urban/"hip-hop" culture in America.  After seeing it, the seemingly impossible happened: I have even less respect for it. When someone's world is so small, so very very insignificant that their life is consumed worrying about "East coast versus West coast" rappers, then they really should just off themselves. Of course, they never do. Too much gangsta pride for that. However, they do a great job offing each other. Was the East-coast-West-coast "War" nature's way of throwing out the stubby dull pencils? I have to give that proposition a great big "Hrmmmm.... that just may be."

1/10

IMDB Link

NOTE: this movie should not be confused with the well-made 1946 Alfred Hitchcock film, "Notorious", which was actually a movie worth watching.

Action films*

It's no secret that 90% of action movies suck (or they're clearly below average). However, when trying to review and grade an action film, the first things people begin discussing are the special effects, sound effects, and believability and excitement from the various action scenes.

I hate this.

I also often find myself giving action movies a "pass" when it comes to reviewing them because of the above criteria, as if these films and these criteria affect my objective judgment in different ways than other films, and thus the focus of my review or my initial feelings and reactions to said films is just naturally different.

This is b.s. pure and simple. I am not a worthwhile human being if I allow my judgments about things I see/hear/absorb to shift. Obviously there is no perfect objective measurement for "art" like cinema, but everyone has their own standards and beliefs, and I would be remiss to ever compromise those standards by subjectively saying a piece of crap film is actually "okay" because it was an action film and I shouldn't have expected so much from it. Movie critics of the world, STAND YOUR GROUND and call crap out for what it truly is.

*This post inspired by:
-Roger Ebert's summary of "G.I. Joe" - "It is sure to be enjoyed by those whose movie appreciation is defined by the ability to discern that moving pictures and sound are being employed to depict violence."
-A.O. Scott's editorial in the NY Times about the dumbing down of American cinema