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![I Am Legend [Blu-ray]](product_images/4939000/4939117-i-am-legend-blu-ray_thumb.jpg) | I Am Legend [Blu-ray] | |
 | "Post-Apocalyptic Horror/Drama With A Spiritual Edge" | 2008-11-11 |
| In "I Am Legend" the apocalypse has hit the world, a man-made virus intended for good, intended to cure cancer, but gone horribly awry. On a planet now populated by hordes of mutated, vampire-like victims of the plague, a surviving military scientist (Will Smith, in his best performance), somehow immune to the disease, works in a fortified house to find a cure, walking the city with his canine companion in search of specimens to test various experimental treatments on, and in search for survivors. He's set up a radio transmitter that sends out messages on all frequencies urging any other survivors to meet him at a certain time and place to band together, but day after day, year after year, he finds no one there to meet him. Interspersed with the post-apocalyptic time frame we see frequent flashbacks showing the early days when the 'cure' was going wrong, and global panic was breaking out. The plague victims are nightmarish creatures, shirking from the sun, ravenous, violent and mindless. During the nights the doctor barricades himself and his companion inside the house, but the ghastly creatures are out there, always. It's a bleak world being presented, but done well. I've noted before that 'bleak' is among the hardest moods to do right in a movie, but I Am Legend does it brilliantly. Part of it is that the grim mood is punctuated by touches of the idyllic: the abandoned city beginning to look alive again as all this beautiful greenery creeps in, deer bounding about...but there's nothing idyllic or peaceful once you get into the shadows where the creatures dwell. One of the creatures, in particular, is especially disturbing: he seems much smarter than the others, seems angrier than the others, and the others are starting to follow his lead. **WARNING: POSSIBLE SEMI-SPOILERS AHEAD*** Eventually, Smith's character does come across another survivor, two actually: a woman and her little boy. Instead of just relief, tension soon follows. Smith has by this point become utterly defeated psychologically and spiritually - he no longer believes there's any hope of his finding a way of reversing the mutation, he's lost faith in just about everything, and he reacts with disbelief and almost anger as she claims God guided her to him, and her claims that an entire colony of survivors is out there waiting for them. Where the movie goes from here I'll refrain from hinting at, but it continues developing. A lot of what happens in the latter parts are highly interpretative, and fascinating. The movie does miss a couple of opportunities, and is a bit slow in places, but those minor hindrances are blown away by the overall power of the movie. Emotional, at times frightening, at times spiritual, boasting great cinematography and great performances from a cast that has some very demanding material, I Am Legend is among the top movies of 2007. 9/10 | ||
 | Speed (Blu-Ray) | |
 | "A Great Thrill Ride Of An Action Movie" | 2008-07-30 |
| One of the most legendary of action movies (and deservedly so) "Speed" is a full-octane thrill ride bolstered by great performances and an unusually potent level of character interaction. In revenge for the foiling of his plot to hold an elevatorful of hostages for ransom, a maniacal villain (Dennis Hopper) targets one of the cops who stopped him (Keanu Reeves) by launching a plot that makes him responsible for saving a busload of civillians. With the bus wired with a bomb that will detonate if its speed drops below fifty miles an hour - intentionally making Reeves's attempt to board and save it a suicide bid - Hopper demands another ransom, thus going after revenge and profit in the same gambit. As in most of the best action movies, the deck is really stacked against the movie's protagonist. The bus can't slow down, it can't stop at red lights, it can't be refueled, and it's forbidden for anyone to try to leave the bus: with helicopter news crews capturing the whole thing live, Hopper can monitor events at leisure from his hideout. Sandra Bullock plays Annie, a girl who ends up driving the bus after its original driver is incapacitated early on, and the great chemistry between her and Reeves is a big plus in the movie (that chemistry worked again a few years later in The Lake House (Widescreen Edition)). Actually, the interactions among everyone on the bus play off very well and believable. "Speed" features some of the more innovative action sequences for this kind of movie and succeeds in creating a good rush with them. A film that compares well with the best "Die Hard"s and the first Lethal Weapon (Director's Cut), this is, needless to say, an essential for action fans, as well as one that even those who rarely go for the action movie should check out. | ||
 | Night of the Living Dead | |
| "One Of The Best Zombie Movies Ever, And Essential Horror" | 2008-07-30 |
| The 1990 version of the immortal "Night Of The Living Dead" tale - the newly dead rise from the graves and a group of strangers seeks safety by barricading themselves in a farmhouse that is quickly beseiged - is in many ways actually even better than its legendary predecessor. Certain elements from the original are admittedly truncated - the 'news-reel' footage from the first in which a tv set in the farm house plays out reports across the country as the characters inside go about making preparations - is virtually absent, for example. But that was one of the better parts of the first NotLD, and shortening the parts that were already perfect, and building up other aspects that weren't as developed the first time around, may have been wise. The character of Barbara is a good example of this. One of the pair of siblings (in both versions) that first encounters a zombie in the graveyard, in the first movie the character had little to do once inside the farmhouse; the male characters took over the focus of the movie. In this remake the character (played by Patricia Tallman) becomes one of the two leading figures of the survivors, along with Ben (Tony Todd). With the other characters, the 1968 original set them up very well with differing reactions to the situation and differing personalities; in the 1990 remake those same characters are expanded on and used to even greater effect. The action this time is ratcheted up, with a more violent, intense and gory assault by the dead; excellent special effects stand up brilliantly 18 years after this one's release. Inividually not as dangerous as the fast, savage zombies in the Dawn of the Dead (Widescreen Unrated Director's Cut) remake or 28 Days Later (Widescreen Edition)/28 Weeks Later (Widescreen Edition) the zombies are a bit more aggressive and monsterous-looking than in the '68 original. All the different takes on the living dead - the slow, human-looking shamblers of the original, the berserk beasts of 28 Days/28 Weeks, or the ones sort of inbetween, can work great if done well; this remake may be the definitive take on this particular breed of living dead. And the movie itself is a quintessential horror film, definately one of the field's essentials. | ||
 | The Story of the Weeping Camel | |
| "One-Of-A-Kind Magical Movie In The Gobi Desert" | 2008-07-30 |
| Although it definately has a plot, "The Story Of The Weeping Camel" is in many ways a slice-of-life movie - life in Mongolia's Gobi desert, where nomads raise camels for their wool - and is in fact possibly the best 'slice-of-life' movie ever made. It fully captures a very different part of the world and the lifestyles and people within it. For the central family, which moves from feeding ground to feeding ground with their camels, setting up colorful yerts which serve as their domiciles, a crisis arises when a female camel gives birth to a young calf which she rejects, refusing to nurse. Without its mother's care, the young camel will die, and the family's efforts to coax the mother are unsuccessful. The concern of the family for the calf seems motivated by more than a concern for the calf's economic value. The nomads seem to view the camels as part of their extended group, and this bond goes a long way to making the movie. Wanting to save the calf any way they can, they fall back on an old legend and several members of the family set off across the Gobi toward a small city where they hope to find a kind of shaman who, it is said, can sing to camels in a way that can heal their spirits. The hope is that this will encourage the mother to accept her newborn. Inside the city, which is fairly modern, the young nomads find it utterly alien and a bit intimidating. The little boy who's journeyed there is the least intimidated and the most curious. In one of the movie's many charming side plots, the little guy discovers something he'd never dreamed of before, and becomes utterly fascinated by: cartoons playing on the tvs set up at the open air marketplace. They find what they're looking for and head back towards home, hoping it's not too late. Throughout the whole film, it's just visually beautiful: the desert, the colorful culture of the nomads, the magnificent animals they live in a kind of symbiosis with, even the congested city. Excellent characterization and a real sense of magic and love are also among the movie's highpoints. A lot of people seeing the general description of the movie - 'family of nomads tries to convince camel to accept its newborn calf' - would probably skip right over it, but I really think this could be appreciated by a much larger audience if people took a chance on it. This is one of the movies I recommend to people every chance I get, and I'll do so again here. | ||
 | Speed (Five Star Collection) | |
| "A Great Thrill Ride Of An Action Movie" | 2008-07-30 |
| One of the most legendary of action movies (and deservedly so) "Speed" is a full-octane thrill ride bolstered by great performances and an unusually potent level of character interaction. In revenge for the foiling of his plot to hold an elevatorful of hostages for ransom, a maniacal villain (Dennis Hopper) targets one of the cops who stopped him (Keanu Reeves) by launching a plot that makes him responsible for saving a busload of civillians. With the bus wired with a bomb that will detonate if its speed drops below fifty miles an hour - intentionally making Reeves's attempt to board and save it a suicide bid - Hopper demands another ransom, thus going after revenge and profit in the same gambit. As in most of the best action movies, the deck is really stacked against the movie's protagonist. The bus can't slow down, it can't stop at red lights, it can't be refueled, and it's forbidden for anyone to try to leave the bus: with helicopter news crews capturing the whole thing live, Hopper can monitor events at leisure from his hideout. Sandra Bullock plays Annie, a girl who ends up driving the bus after its original driver is incapacitated early on, and the great chemistry between her and Reeves is a big plus in the movie (that chemistry worked again a few years later in The Lake House (Widescreen Edition)). Actually, the interactions among everyone on the bus play off very well and believable. "Speed" features some of the more innovative action sequences for this kind of movie and succeeds in creating a good rush with them. A film that compares well with the best "Die Hard"s and the first Lethal Weapon (Director's Cut), this is, needless to say, an essential for action fans, as well as one that even those who rarely go for the action movie should check out. | ||
 | Speed | |
| "A Great Thrill Ride Of An Action Movie" | 2008-07-30 |
| One of the most legendary of action movies (and deservedly so) "Speed" is a full-octane thrill ride bolstered by great performances and an unusually potent level of character interaction. In revenge for the foiling of his plot to hold an elevatorful of hostages for ransom, a maniacal villain (Dennis Hopper) targets one of the cops who stopped him (Keanu Reeves) by launching a plot that makes him responsible for saving a busload of civillians. With the bus wired with a bomb that will detonate if its speed drops below fifty miles an hour - intentionally making Reeves's attempt to board and save it a suicide bid - Hopper demands another ransom, thus going after revenge and profit in the same gambit. As in most of the best action movies, the deck is really stacked against the movie's protagonist. The bus can't slow down, it can't stop at red lights, it can't be refueled, and it's forbidden for anyone to try to leave the bus: with helicopter news crews capturing the whole thing live, Hopper can monitor events at leisure from his hideout. Sandra Bullock plays Annie, a girl who ends up driving the bus after its original driver is incapacitated early on, and the great chemistry between her and Reeves is a big plus in the movie (that chemistry worked again a few years later in The Lake House (Widescreen Edition)). Actually, the interactions among everyone on the bus play off very well and believable. "Speed" features some of the more innovative action sequences for this kind of movie and succeeds in creating a good rush with them. A film that compares well with the best "Die Hard"s and the first Lethal Weapon (Director's Cut), this is, needless to say, an essential for action fans, as well as one that even those who rarely go for the action movie should check out. | ||
 | Speed | |
| "A Great Thrill Ride Of An Action Movie" | 2008-07-30 |
| One of the most legendary of action movies (and deservedly so) "Speed" is a full-octane thrill ride bolstered by great performances and an unusually potent level of character interaction. In revenge for the foiling of his plot to hold an elevatorful of hostages for ransom, a maniacal villain (Dennis Hopper) targets one of the cops who stopped him (Keanu Reeves) by launching a plot that makes him responsible for saving a busload of civillians. With the bus wired with a bomb that will detonate if its speed drops below fifty miles an hour - intentionally making Reeves's attempt to board and save it a suicide bid - Hopper demands another ransom, thus going after revenge and profit in the same gambit. As in most of the best action movies, the deck is really stacked against the movie's protagonist. The bus can't slow down, it can't stop at red lights, it can't be refueled, and it's forbidden for anyone to try to leave the bus: with helicopter news crews capturing the whole thing live, Hopper can monitor events at leisure from his hideout. Sandra Bullock plays Annie, a girl who ends up driving the bus after its original driver is incapacitated early on, and the great chemistry between her and Reeves is a big plus in the movie (that chemistry worked again a few years later in The Lake House (Widescreen Edition)). Actually, the interactions among everyone on the bus play off very well and believable. "Speed" features some of the more innovative action sequences for this kind of movie and succeeds in creating a good rush with them. A film that compares well with the best "Die Hard"s and the first Lethal Weapon (Director's Cut), this is, needless to say, an essential for action fans, as well as one that even those who rarely go for the action movie should check out. | ||
 | The Curse of Frankenstein | |
 | "A Good Start For Hammer Horror, But Not On Par With What Would Come" | 2008-07-30 |
| Although "Curse Of Frankenstein" was technically not the first of Hammer's horror movies ("The Mystery Of The Marie Celeste", from 1935 {and starring Bela Lugosi}, gets that honor) it was their first in a couple decades and it was the one that really launched Hammer Horror as a force. It came out in 1957, at the beginning of a great burgeoning of horror, and it set the tone for a lot of Hammer's movies that would come and make the studio the UK's most signifigant horror player for years. So it has great historical signifigance, but how does it rate based on its own merits? A mixed grade, actually. The story is familiar: that of Victor Frankenstein attempting - and ultimately succeeding - to create life by stitching together pieces of the recently deceased and then using electricity hoping to spark reanimation. And, in familiar fashion, the creation is bestial, rejected by Frankenstein, and goes on to wreak havoc. The trouble is that the telling of the story is too restrained for its own good. Now, there's nothing wrong with choosing to ge subtle rather than direct, but "Curse Of Frankenstein" is Too subtle for its own good - at places it becomes almost sedate. (Horror of Dracula, released the very next year, paced itself better and created the atmosphere that I think they were going for here). Fortunately, the film's cast is perfectly suited to minimize the detrimental effects of too much restraint. Peter Cushing plays Frankenstein, and Cushing excelled at playing characters where there was a lot going under the surface. His version of Victor Frankenstein is a quiet, intelligent, and cultured but brusque aristocrat, with great brutality and ruthlessness submerged under a thin veneer of respectability. Christopher Lee plays the monster and, though he's in surprisingly few scenes, does a great job of portraying a tortured and confused creature with motions and even just the look in his eyes. The movie focuses more on Victor's attempts to create the monster than on the monster himself; extending the second part and dealing more with that monster could have also been a plus. On a positive note, you see the beginnings of Hammer's great flair for production design, use of color, etc. - and this was just at the beginning, when they had less resources and the finished project was kind of 'rough'. On its own, it's a fine movie. It doesn't approach Hammer's best, but it's still a good, solid horror movie (although not especially scary; it's hard to believe this was so controversial in its day). It's also the start of Hammer's long-running Frankenstein saga and, I believe, the first time Cushing and Lee appeared together onscreen. So even with its shortcomings it's definately worth seeing; it may appeal most strongly to those who prefer their horror from a bit before the late 50s/early 60s boom - the days of Universal Monsters classics and their peers - but I think most horror fans will find it a worthy movie. | ||
 | Speed | |
| "A Great Thrill Ride Of An Action Movie" | 2008-07-30 |
| One of the most legendary of action movies (and deservedly so) "Speed" is a full-octane thrill ride bolstered by great performances and an unusually potent level of character interaction. In revenge for the foiling of his plot to hold an elevatorful of hostages for ransom, a maniacal villain (Dennis Hopper) targets one of the cops who stopped him (Keanu Reeves) by launching a plot that makes him responsible for saving a busload of civillians. With the bus wired with a bomb that will detonate if its speed drops below fifty miles an hour - intentionally making Reeves's attempt to board and save it a suicide bid - Hopper demands another ransom, thus going after revenge and profit in the same gambit. As in most of the best action movies, the deck is really stacked against the movie's protagonist. The bus can't slow down, it can't stop at red lights, it can't be refueled, and it's forbidden for anyone to try to leave the bus: with helicopter news crews capturing the whole thing live, Hopper can monitor events at leisure from his hideout. Sandra Bullock plays Annie, a girl who ends up driving the bus after its original driver is incapacitated early on, and the great chemistry between her and Reeves is a big plus in the movie (that chemistry worked again a few years later in The Lake House (Widescreen Edition)). Actually, the interactions among everyone on the bus play off very well and believable. "Speed" features some of the more innovative action sequences for this kind of movie and succeeds in creating a good rush with them. A film that compares well with the best "Die Hard"s and the first Lethal Weapon (Director's Cut), this is, needless to say, an essential for action fans, as well as one that even those who rarely go for the action movie should check out. | ||
 | Speed | |
| "A Great Thrill Ride Of An Action Movie" | 2008-07-30 |
| One of the most legendary of action movies (and deservedly so) "Speed" is a full-octane thrill ride bolstered by great performances and an unusually potent level of character interaction. In revenge for the foiling of his plot to hold an elevatorful of hostages for ransom, a maniacal villain (Dennis Hopper) targets one of the cops who stopped him (Keanu Reeves) by launching a plot that makes him responsible for saving a busload of civillians. With the bus wired with a bomb that will detonate if its speed drops below fifty miles an hour - intentionally making Reeves's attempt to board and save it a suicide bid - Hopper demands another ransom, thus going after revenge and profit in the same gambit. As in most of the best action movies, the deck is really stacked against the movie's protagonist. The bus can't slow down, it can't stop at red lights, it can't be refueled, and it's forbidden for anyone to try to leave the bus: with helicopter news crews capturing the whole thing live, Hopper can monitor events at leisure from his hideout. Sandra Bullock plays Annie, a girl who ends up driving the bus after its original driver is incapacitated early on, and the great chemistry between her and Reeves is a big plus in the movie (that chemistry worked again a few years later in The Lake House (Widescreen Edition)). Actually, the interactions among everyone on the bus play off very well and believable. "Speed" features some of the more innovative action sequences for this kind of movie and succeeds in creating a good rush with them. A film that compares well with the best "Die Hard"s and the first Lethal Weapon (Director's Cut), this is, needless to say, an essential for action fans, as well as one that even those who rarely go for the action movie should check out. | ||
![30 Days Of Night [Blu-ray]](product_images/4939000/4939122-30-days-of-night-blu-ray_thumb.jpg) | 30 Days Of Night [Blu-ray] | |
| "Among the Best Vampire Movies Ever" | 2008-04-29 |
| A savage vision of vampires is unleashed in 30 Days Of Night, veering sharply from either haunting atmosphere or gothic grandeur to bring on a horde of utterly vicious, predatory bloodsuckers. The small town of Barrow is the most northerly community in Alaska, so far north that in the dead of winter nights become so long and days so short that once a year it enters 30 days of uninterrupted darkness. During this annual nightfall, much of the town's population of 800 heads south, leaving basically a skeleton crew of inhabitants. The local oil refinery shuts down and the remaining citizens hunker in to wait out the night. On the last day of brief daylight, several miles out from Barrow by the Arctic waters, a massive, battered cargo ship appears. Unseen inland, where most of the residents have either left or are preparing to leave (many to larger communities in southern Alaska, from which they'll return in a month), the ship waits for night, while the only human passenger of the vessel makes his way inland to Barrow. Once there he stealthily cuts off the only ways the townspeople would have to leave once night falls. Barrow is 80 miles from the nearest community; it has no paved roads leading that distance, relying on strong offroad tractors and plows. The stranger sabotages these (the ones that didn't leave with the majority of the citizens), kills the dogs that pull the dogsleds, and wrecks the helicopter operated by the small tourism business. The stranger is found and locked up, but he's not what people really have to worry about; he was just making sure the buffet couldn't get up and leave. And as darkness settles in, on the outskirts of Barrow, the vampires begin with their strikes, leading up to a massive all-out assault by a swarm of the creatures. Even if anybody survives the initial slaughter, there's still a full month of night to go... The vampires are horrific creatures; they look, in ways, more rat-like than the bats with which they're often associated. As they dart along the rooftops getting ready to pounce on their prey below they're reminicent of rats scurrying along darkened ledges. The special effects and innovative cinematography are outstanding, the musical score distinct and memorable, and the performances universally exemplary. 30 Days Of Night actually features one of 2007's best impressive overall displays of acting, although I doubt any mainstream critic would want to admit that of any movie this firmly in horror territory. Strong characterization plus a presentation of the vampires that makes them both supernaturally powerful but constantly believable, round out one of the best vampire movies ever made. The disc also features the first episode of the horror anime series "Blood Plus", the follow-up to Blood - The Last Vampire. Just judging from this, the series is off to a good start, although the actual animation is a bit more basic than in "Last Vampire". Looks to be doing a good job early on of establishing characters and ideas. | ||
 | The Tic Code | |
| "A Great Story Combined With An Accurate Depiction Of TS" | 2008-04-15 |
| The Tic Code has two main focuses - its three main characters, ten year-old Miles, his mother Laura, and professional jazz musician Tyrone; and the Tourette's Syndrome that afflicts two of those characters. Miles (Christopher George Marquette) is a little guy burdended with Tourettes and an unhappy school life (no surprise there) who finds solace in the piano, at which he's a budding prodigy. He follows the careers of a number of jazz musicians with great fervor, and eventually strikes up a friendship with musician Tyrone Pike (Gregory Hines, in his best performance), who frequents a local jazz bar. The relationship of the two takes on father-son tones, and is strengthened by the bond they share as Miles discovers Tyrone is also a Tourettes sufferer. The improvisational nature of jazz music has actually helped Tyrone to hide the tics that spontaneously burst out, including during his performances (it's even theorized that a couple of real-life jazz greats may gave had the disease, and by actual stock footage you can see where the idea came from). Having one of his heroes have the same disorder he has helps Miles come to terms with it; meanwhile Tyrone is very protective, seeing this young kid with the same thing he's had all his life. It's not stated in the movie, but Miles is actually at an age where TS has generally yet to kick in like it probably will in a couple more years, and part of the movie's subtext is that Tyrone knows it's probably going to get worse. Meanwhile, Tyrone and Miles's single mother Laura (Polly Draper) meet and become attracted to one another. It may sound like from the first time the three cross paths it's all clear sailing but it's not, it's a very rocky road. For one thing, although the term 'Obsessive Compulsive Disorder' is never mentioned it seems highly likely that both Miles and Tyrone have it as well, which is no great stretch; TS and OCD are closely related and a high percentage of people who have one have the other as well. OCD is obsessions and overpowering urges that can usually be reined in (although not necessarily instanteously, like people tend to think) although even when one manages to control them they still muck up the mind; Tourettes is tics - either verbal or physical - that generally can't be reined in once they decide to activate themselves, any more than someone can tell their heart to stop beating or their digestive processes to take a breather; the best way to defuse them is to try and minimize stress, you'll notice in the movie that both Tyrone and Miles seem to experience outbreaks more often under stressful conditions. So the apparant OCD really helps complicate things in the film. It's a great tale of the evolving relationship between the three main players, and it's also, for once, a realistic onscreen glimpse of TS, far more so than several comedies that have had that angle in there. Another inaccurate depiction has come across the news media with suggestions (usually originating with lawyers) that TS/OCD causes criminal behavior. A detailed rebuttal of this nonsense would take too long to go into and isn't all that relevant to the movie; my point is that this is one of those disorders where it's very refreshing to see a depiction do a Credible job of handling its subject matter. For someone who has a loved one with TS or OCD, or even has it themselves, this movie is recommended watching (which isn't to say it isn't great on its own merits!) and could actually be a big help, including to children with it. That fact makes it ironic that the MPAA chose to try and Hinder young kids from seeing it by giving it an R rating, based almost solely on 'coarse language' (for even more irony, such language occasionally manifests itself as part of the tics in certain variants of TS). I'm going to restrain myself from further commentary on the whole 'movie ratings' things and just finish with a couple more observations about Tic Code. Fans of jazz music will be interested to know that several real-life musicians have roles in the film. And the vibrant feeling inherent in the movie make it seem like this was real labor of love from its makers; incidentally actress Polly Draper not only played Laura but wrote the movie's script. All in all, one of the best dramas out there, and definately deserving of a higher profile. | ||
 | The Tic Code | |
| "A Great Story Combined With An Accurate Depiction Of TS" | 2008-04-15 |
| The Tic Code has two main focuses - its three main characters, ten year-old Miles, his mother Laura, and professional jazz musician Tyrone; and the Tourette's Syndrome that afflicts two of those characters. Miles (Christopher George Marquette) is a little guy burdended with Tourettes and an unhappy school life (no surprise there) who finds solace in the piano, at which he's a budding prodigy. He follows the careers of a number of jazz musicians with great fervor, and eventually strikes up a friendship with musician Tyrone Pike (Gregory Hines, in his best performance), who frequents a local jazz bar. The relationship of the two takes on father-son tones, and is strengthened by the bond they share as Miles discovers Tyrone is also a Tourettes sufferer. The improvisational nature of jazz music has actually helped Tyrone to hide the tics that spontaneously burst out, including during his performances (it's even theorized that a couple of real-life jazz greats may gave had the disease, and by actual stock footage you can see where the idea came from). Having one of his heroes have the same disorder he has helps Miles come to terms with it; meanwhile Tyrone is very protective, seeing this young kid with the same thing he's had all his life. It's not stated in the movie, but Miles is actually at an age where TS has generally yet to kick in like it probably will in a couple more years, and part of the movie's subtext is that Tyrone knows it's probably going to get worse. Meanwhile, Tyrone and Miles's single mother Laura (Polly Draper) meet and become attracted to one another. It may sound like from the first time the three cross paths it's all clear sailing but it's not, it's a very rocky road. For one thing, although the term 'Obsessive Compulsive Disorder' is never mentioned it seems highly likely that both Miles and Tyrone have it as well, which is no great stretch; TS and OCD are closely related and a high percentage of people who have one have the other as well. OCD is obsessions and overpowering urges that can usually be reined in (although not necessarily instanteously, like people tend to think) although even when one manages to control them they still muck up the mind; Tourettes is tics - either verbal or physical - that generally can't be reined in once they decide to activate themselves, any more than someone can tell their heart to stop beating or their digestive processes to take a breather; the best way to defuse them is to try and minimize stress, you'll notice in the movie that both Tyrone and Miles seem to experience outbreaks more often under stressful conditions. So the apparant OCD really helps complicate things in the film. It's a great tale of the evolving relationship between the three main players, and it's also, for once, a realistic onscreen glimpse of TS, far more so than several comedies that have had that angle in there. Another inaccurate depiction has come across the news media with suggestions (usually originating with lawyers) that TS/OCD causes criminal behavior. A detailed rebuttal of this nonsense would take too long to go into and isn't all that relevant to the movie; my point is that this is one of those disorders where it's very refreshing to see a depiction do a Credible job of handling its subject matter. For someone who has a loved one with TS or OCD, or even has it themselves, this movie is recommended watching (which isn't to say it isn't great on its own merits!) and could actually be a big help, including to children with it. That fact makes it ironic that the MPAA chose to try and Hinder young kids from seeing it by giving it an R rating, based almost solely on 'coarse language' (for even more irony, such language occasionally manifests itself as part of the tics in certain variants of TS). I'm going to restrain myself from further commentary on the whole 'movie ratings' things and just finish with a couple more observations about Tic Code. Fans of jazz music will be interested to know that several real-life musicians have roles in the film. And the vibrant feeling inherent in the movie make it seem like this was real labor of love from its makers; incidentally actress Polly Draper not only played Laura but wrote the movie's script. All in all, one of the best dramas out there, and definately deserving of a higher profile. | ||
 | Resident Evil Outbreak PS2 | |
| "Easily One Of The Best Resident Evils; Great Horror Game" | 2008-04-15 |
| With a wide cast of playable characters, and taking place concurrent with events through several of the 'main' chapters of the Resident Evil series, 'Resident Evil: Outbreak' takes a diverse bunch of citizens of Raccoon City and has them thrown together by fate to face the horrors of the city's zombie outbreak. In all of the game's scenarios, there are four characters per team, the player handles one character and the computer takes care of the rest (in the 'online' version multiple players can join up). I love a game where there's a team scenario, whether it's multi-player or the computer controls your allies, and it works really great in horror games. Here, considering the computer controls 3 team-mates simultaneously but working together is essential, everything comes together surprisingly smoothly. You can call for your teammates, ask for help, share items, etc., and they do the same where you're concerned. The computer-controlled characters act as if they have ideas on their own, and individual personalities come out well (ex. some characters are more 'team players' where others are more self-oriented; some more bold and agrressive; some lack confidence and hesitate at bad times; etc) You can have your character talk to others by pressing buttons, but each time they, for example, call out for help it's not necesarily phrased the same way, alternating between several possible lines. Occasionally, the dialogue from the computer-controlled characters is not especially relevant to the situation, but that turned out to be a plus in an unexpected way - sometimes the timing of different lines comes out very funny. Each character also has special skills - some have better fighting moves, some excel at constructing makeshift weapons, some are skilled at healing themselves and their partners and one can even avoid zombies by playing dead! As the game progresses, new challenges instead of just battling the hordes of the undead will crop up, including a good number of weird monsters. Puzzle-solving remains a part of the overall Resident Evil makeup. Going through different stages, there's also the element of discovering new and disturbing secrets, which is an important part of pretty well any horror game. For the view you get a good camera angle that sees the characters and action from slightly overhead, letting everything be seen in good detail from the texture of the envirornments to the characters to the well imagined monsters. With up to four characters, plus enemies and non-character 'civilians' on the screen at some times the individual characters are usually smaller in scale (to the screen) than in most of the Resident Evil games but it's never confusing or lacking in detail; they did a really good job making sure you got a nice clear picture and can appreciate different aspects of the game. The controls work well and each character has quite a bit of stuff they can do, not just run/shoot/heal-with-herb. I enjoyed a lot of the aesthetic aspects of the game. The opening credits feature some of the best, most haunting music ever in a video game and they way they combine the swelling uplift of the music at one point with a representation of the T-virus transforming everything gives it a chilling, apocalyptic feel. Darkly beautiful. The graphics on a creature like the leech-monster are really impressive, everything constantly moving and writhing, really well done and distinctive. The characters: instead of it being pretty much all elite STAR-type commandoes, the focus is split. You do have one in that traditional mode, the police officer Kevin, plus a similar character in Mark, an older security guard who draws on Vietnam combat experience. Mark is probably the physical powerhouse of the group and one of the best characters. Other characters include a waitress (Cindy) from the bar where the zombies first attack, a doctor (George) and a deliveryman (Jimmy), and their personalities are pretty diverse. Yoko, a university student who from the start seems like she might have some hidden backstory to her, is one of the best characters to play, partly for that reason. Cindy, without there being much really overt, is just one of the sexiest characters in a video game, both in the way she's animated and the voice, as well as the fact that she just comes across really nice. Like Mark, she's one of the most helpful characters to have around, and one of the best to play. Yoko seems shy but nice, but there's that undercurrent there that 'is there something else going on that may not be as trustworthy, or not?' and that helps make her even more interesting. On the other hand, David, while possessing one of the best skills in the game (makeshift weapon constuction) comes off as something of a jerk a lot of the time, which kind of adds something on. Not all of the Raccoon City residents who end up banded together are necessarily going to be instantly likable. This is one of the best of the Resident Evil series, and possibly the scariest; and there aren't a lot of games in the horror genre with this 'co-operative team' setup (quite a few you'll get a pair working together, but not a fairly largely group). Incidentally, you can unlock other characters to play as the game goes along and you achieve certain things, and though they closely follow the patterns of the main characters, it's still a great bonus. A must-have for fans of horror games. | ||
 | The Tic Code | |
| "A Great Story Combined With An Accurate Depiction Of TS" | 2008-04-15 |
| The Tic Code has two main focuses - its three main characters, ten year-old Miles, his mother Laura, and professional jazz musician Tyrone; and the Tourette's Syndrome that afflicts two of those characters. Miles (Christopher George Marquette) is a little guy burdended with Tourettes and an unhappy school life (no surprise there) who finds solace in the piano, at which he's a budding prodigy. He follows the careers of a number of jazz musicians with great fervor, and eventually strikes up a friendship with musician Tyrone Pike (Gregory Hines, in his best performance), who frequents a local jazz bar. The relationship of the two takes on father-son tones, and is strengthened by the bond they share as Miles discovers Tyrone is also a Tourettes sufferer. The improvisational nature of jazz music has actually helped Tyrone to hide the tics that spontaneously burst out, including during his performances (it's even theorized that a couple of real-life jazz greats may gave had the disease, and by actual stock footage you can see where the idea came from). Having one of his heroes have the same disorder he has helps Miles come to terms with it; meanwhile Tyrone is very protective, seeing this young kid with the same thing he's had all his life. It's not stated in the movie, but Miles is actually at an age where TS has generally yet to kick in like it probably will in a couple more years, and part of the movie's subtext is that Tyrone knows it's probably going to get worse. Meanwhile, Tyrone and Miles's single mother Laura (Polly Draper) meet and become attracted to one another. It may sound like from the first time the three cross paths it's all clear sailing but it's not, it's a very rocky road. For one thing, although the term 'Obsessive Compulsive Disorder' is never mentioned it seems highly likely that both Miles and Tyrone have it as well, which is no great stretch; TS and OCD are closely related and a high percentage of people who have one have the other as well. OCD is obsessions and overpowering urges that can usually be reined in (although not necessarily instanteously, like people tend to think) although even when one manages to control them they still muck up the mind; Tourettes is tics - either verbal or physical - that generally can't be reined in once they decide to activate themselves, any more than someone can tell their heart to stop beating or their digestive processes to take a breather; the best way to defuse them is to try and minimize stress, you'll notice in the movie that both Tyrone and Miles seem to experience outbreaks more often under stressful conditions. So the apparant OCD really helps complicate things in the film. It's a great tale of the evolving relationship between the three main players, and it's also, for once, a realistic onscreen glimpse of TS, far more so than several comedies that have had that angle in there. Another inaccurate depiction has come across the news media with suggestions (usually originating with lawyers) that TS/OCD causes criminal behavior. A detailed rebuttal of this nonsense would take too long to go into and isn't all that relevant to the movie; my point is that this is one of those disorders where it's very refreshing to see a depiction do a Credible job of handling its subject matter. For someone who has a loved one with TS or OCD, or even has it themselves, this movie is recommended watching (which isn't to say it isn't great on its own merits!) and could actually be a big help, including to children with it. That fact makes it ironic that the MPAA chose to try and Hinder young kids from seeing it by giving it an R rating, based almost solely on 'coarse language' (for even more irony, such language occasionally manifests itself as part of the tics in certain variants of TS). I'm going to restrain myself from further commentary on the whole 'movie ratings' things and just finish with a couple more observations about Tic Code. Fans of jazz music will be interested to know that several real-life musicians have roles in the film. And the vibrant feeling inherent in the movie make it seem like this was real labor of love from its makers; incidentally actress Polly Draper not only played Laura but wrote the movie's script. All in all, one of the best dramas out there, and definately deserving of a higher profile. | ||
| The Tic Code | |
| "A Great Story Combined With An Accurate Depiction Of TS" | 2008-04-15 |
| The Tic Code has two main focuses - its three main characters, ten year-old Miles, his mother Laura, and professional jazz musician Tyrone; and the Tourette's Syndrome that afflicts two of those characters. Miles (Christopher George Marquette) is a little guy burdended with Tourettes and an unhappy school life (no surprise there) who finds solace in the piano, at which he's a budding prodigy. He follows the careers of a number of jazz musicians with great fervor, and eventually strikes up a friendship with musician Tyrone Pike (Gregory Hines, in his best performance), who frequents a local jazz bar. The relationship of the two takes on father-son tones, and is strengthened by the bond they share as Miles discovers Tyrone is also a Tourettes sufferer. The improvisational nature of jazz music has actually helped Tyrone to hide the tics that spontaneously burst out, including during his performances (it's even theorized that a couple of real-life jazz greats may gave had the disease, and by actual stock footage you can see where the idea came from). Having one of his heroes have the same disorder he has helps Miles come to terms with it; meanwhile Tyrone is very protective, seeing this young kid with the same thing he's had all his life. It's not stated in the movie, but Miles is actually at an age where TS has generally yet to kick in like it probably will in a couple more years, and part of the movie's subtext is that Tyrone knows it's probably going to get worse. Meanwhile, Tyrone and Miles's single mother Laura (Polly Draper) meet and become attracted to one another. It may sound like from the first time the three cross paths it's all clear sailing but it's not, it's a very rocky road. For one thing, although the term 'Obsessive Compulsive Disorder' is never mentioned it seems highly likely that both Miles and Tyrone have it as well, which is no great stretch; TS and OCD are closely related and a high percentage of people who have one have the other as well. OCD is obsessions and overpowering urges that can usually be reined in (although not necessarily instanteously, like people tend to think) although even when one manages to control them they still muck up the mind; Tourettes is tics - either verbal or physical - that generally can't be reined in once they decide to activate themselves, any more than someone can tell their heart to stop beating or their digestive processes to take a breather; the best way to defuse them is to try and minimize stress, you'll notice in the movie that both Tyrone and Miles seem to experience outbreaks more often under stressful conditions. So the apparant OCD really helps complicate things in the film. It's a great tale of the evolving relationship between the three main players, and it's also, for once, a realistic onscreen glimpse of TS, far more so than several comedies that have had that angle in there. Another inaccurate depiction has come across the news media with suggestions (usually originating with lawyers) that TS/OCD causes criminal behavior. A detailed rebuttal of this nonsense would take too long to go into and isn't all that relevant to the movie; my point is that this is one of those disorders where it's very refreshing to see a depiction do a Credible job of handling its subject matter. For someone who has a loved one with TS or OCD, or even has it themselves, this movie is recommended watching (which isn't to say it isn't great on its own merits!) and could actually be a big help, including to children with it. That fact makes it ironic that the MPAA chose to try and Hinder young kids from seeing it by giving it an R rating, based almost solely on 'coarse language' (for even more irony, such language occasionally manifests itself as part of the tics in certain variants of TS). I'm going to restrain myself from further commentary on the whole 'movie ratings' things and just finish with a couple more observations about Tic Code. Fans of jazz music will be interested to know that several real-life musicians have roles in the film. And the vibrant feeling inherent in the movie make it seem like this was real labor of love from its makers; incidentally actress Polly Draper not only played Laura but wrote the movie's script. All in all, one of the best dramas out there, and definately deserving of a higher profile. | ||
 | The Tic Code | |
| "A Great Story Combined With An Accurate Depiction Of TS" | 2008-04-15 |
| The Tic Code has two main focuses - its three main characters, ten year-old Miles, his mother Laura, and professional jazz musician Tyrone; and the Tourette's Syndrome that afflicts two of those characters. Miles (Christopher George Marquette) is a little guy burdended with Tourettes and an unhappy school life (no surprise there) who finds solace in the piano, at which he's a budding prodigy. He follows the careers of a number of jazz musicians with great fervor, and eventually strikes up a friendship with musician Tyrone Pike (Gregory Hines, in his best performance), who frequents a local jazz bar. The relationship of the two takes on father-son tones, and is strengthened by the bond they share as Miles discovers Tyrone is also a Tourettes sufferer. The improvisational nature of jazz music has actually helped Tyrone to hide the tics that spontaneously burst out, including during his performances (it's even theorized that a couple of real-life jazz greats may gave had the disease, and by actual stock footage you can see where the idea came from). Having one of his heroes have the same disorder he has helps Miles come to terms with it; meanwhile Tyrone is very protective, seeing this young kid with the same thing he's had all his life. It's not stated in the movie, but Miles is actually at an age where TS has generally yet to kick in like it probably will in a couple more years, and part of the movie's subtext is that Tyrone knows it's probably going to get worse. Meanwhile, Tyrone and Miles's single mother Laura (Polly Draper) meet and become attracted to one another. It may sound like from the first time the three cross paths it's all clear sailing but it's not, it's a very rocky road. For one thing, although the term 'Obsessive Compulsive Disorder' is never mentioned it seems highly likely that both Miles and Tyrone have it as well, which is no great stretch; TS and OCD are closely related and a high percentage of people who have one have the other as well. OCD is obsessions and overpowering urges that can usually be reined in (although not necessarily instanteously, like people tend to think) although even when one manages to control them they still muck up the mind; Tourettes is tics - either verbal or physical - that generally can't be reined in once they decide to activate themselves, any more than someone can tell their heart to stop beating or their digestive processes to take a breather; the best way to defuse them is to try and minimize stress, you'll notice in the movie that both Tyrone and Miles seem to experience outbreaks more often under stressful conditions. So the apparant OCD really helps complicate things in the film. It's a great tale of the evolving relationship between the three main players, and it's also, for once, a realistic onscreen glimpse of TS, far more so than several comedies that have had that angle in there. Another inaccurate depiction has come across the news media with suggestions (usually originating with lawyers) that TS/OCD causes criminal behavior. A detailed rebuttal of this nonsense would take too long to go into and isn't all that relevant to the movie; my point is that this is one of those disorders where it's very refreshing to see a depiction do a Credible job of handling its subject matter. For someone who has a loved one with TS or OCD, or even has it themselves, this movie is recommended watching (which isn't to say it isn't great on its own merits!) and could actually be a big help, including to children with it. That fact makes it ironic that the MPAA chose to try and Hinder young kids from seeing it by giving it an R rating, based almost solely on 'coarse language' (for even more irony, such language occasionally manifests itself as part of the tics in certain variants of TS). I'm going to restrain myself from further commentary on the whole 'movie ratings' things and just finish with a couple more observations about Tic Code. Fans of jazz music will be interested to know that several real-life musicians have roles in the film. And the vibrant feeling inherent in the movie make it seem like this was real labor of love from its makers; incidentally actress Polly Draper not only played Laura but wrote the movie's script. All in all, one of the best dramas out there, and definately deserving of a higher profile. | ||
 | Alien Quadrilogy | |
| "Outstanding Horror-Science Fiction Collection" | 2008-03-31 |
| The Alien series got better than ever in this deluxe collection that remastered and extended the saga; I don't know if it was the enhacements, the benefit of seeing all four movies in close proximity to one another, or just being able to appreciate certain aspects more now than in the mid-80s thru mid-90s, but when I saw the movies from this collected edition they were, as a whole, significantly better this time around. The only one to come off slightly Lesser than on previous views was, ironically, "Aliens" - often hailed as the best of the lot - although that had more to do with certain points that were easy to miss in among all the action but, on subsequent viewings, show up a couple of inconsistencies. More on that later. The original "Alien" was great the first time around, but is one of those movies that gets even better with the hindsight provided by the sequels. One noticable upon the rewatch is that "Alien Vs. Predator" actually patched its prequel status in very well with the hints way back in 1979's original that the company that owned the salvage ship had been looking for something specific all along, and already knew what the Xenomorphs were. Alien was revolutionary in the scale and realism of its effects, in its own way as groundbreaking as fellow 70s space smash "Star Wars", and revolutionary in blending the science fiction movie and the horror movie more perfectly than ever before. The single alien creature immediately established itself as one of moviedom's most memorable monsters, and nothing about the deadly potency of that one creature has been diminished by follow-ups that featured swarms of the Xenomorphs. All the previously excised bits that have been added back in fit extremely well and make the whole better. The only potential quibble to be found is this: of all the remarkable traits displayed by the Alien, perhaps the most stunning was its phenomenal growth rate (I mean, how long did it take it to go from burstling stage to full-grown armored adult?). And yet I can't remember any of the characters even really noticing the seeming impossibility of this, although a lot of time is spent covering such aspects as the Xenomoph's possession of acid for blood. I'm not saying they should have taken that characteristic out, or necessarily even extended its time frame, but at least having some comments by the characters on the most extraordinary of the creature's lifecycle characteristics would have been a help. Overall, it didn't do much to detract from the overall movie though. "Aliens" amps the whole thing up. After the original had a single alien take on a small salvage crew, this one has an entire space colony threatened by a veritable army of the creatures. Ripley, having returned to Earth after 57 years in deep-sleep,attempts to settle into as normal a life as possible. Some time later, the company officials who initially were very disbelieving about her claims of aliens and a crashed mothership out on that barren planet, comes to her. A colony is located on that very world, and all contact has very abruptly broken off, and they want her, purely as a 'precaution', to accompany the team they're sending off to check it out. "Aliens" smartly contrasted the overwhelming prescence of the Xenomorphs in the second half of the movie by an almost total lack of the creatures in the first hour or so, allowing everything time to build up nicely. "Aliens" introduced some of the series's most memorable characters, including perrennial fan favorites Newt (the little girl survivor, played by Carrie Henn) and Bishop (Lance Henrikson). The Cpl. Hicks character (action-sf stalwart Michael Biehn) also added a lot to the show. Awesome special effects are a high point. Biggest flaw: inconsistency. Take the acidic blood of the Xenomorphs. There are times when even a small amount can do hideous, lethal damage to a human, but at other times when the battles are raging and the heavy machine guns are firing all over the place, you've got multiple aliens exploding in close proximity to various characters and they don't seem to suffer significant damage. You could counterargue that different 'castes' or whatever of Xenomorphs have different bloodtypes, but that seems a bit contrived; and that situation is symbolic of inconsistencies that crop up a couple of times to mildly hinder an otherwise excellent movie. "Alien 3" is the most under-rated of the original quadrilogy, crashing a ship from the previous film on a remote prison planet where a bizarre socity complete with its own religion has sprung up. It heads in the opposite direction of "Aliens", drastically reducing the Xenomorphs's numbers and leaving the human characters with only makeshift weapons (compared to the large high-tech arsenals of the space marines from "Aliens"). All the Alien movies are hybrids of various genres and styles, but if the first is the most 'science fiction'-al of them and the second fits neatest under the action movie banner, "Alien 3" is the most horror movie oriented of the collection. Phenomenal effects, high-caliber acting and characterization and a whopper of a finale. "Alien: Resurrection" is the most flawed of the lot but still a very good movie; I enjoyed it much more when I saw it again than when I first saw the VHS a couple weeks afer its release. Fewer people have seen Alien 3 than the first two and therefore might not know the ending, making it harder to comment on this one without giving away Part 3's surprises. The movie focuses on the corporation finally getting hold of actual Xenomorphs to begin work on their ultimate goal of turning them into biological weapons. It's probably not giving anything away to say that the project doesn't go as the company had hoped. Instead of going more into the plot I'll focus on the movie's strengths and weaknesses. Strengths: a continued pattern of strong acting and well-done characters, with Annalee (Winona Ryder) being especially effective; tremendous effects for the creatures (including a radically new breed); an unexpectedly potent follow-up to the thread from the 'hive' scene in "Aliens" that implied that there actually is an emotional bond between at least some of the Xenomorphs. Weaknesses: pretty glaring inconsistencies and implausibilities in the action, much more so than in "Aliens" (I'd cite examples but I'm running out of wordcount). Overall, Alien is 4.5 stars, maybe even 5; "Aliens" is four stars, "Alien 3" a 5-star, and "Alien: Resurrection" 3-and-a-half stars. I should round my mark to four but it's hard to resist giving this a five. Having them all together like this makes the whole even greater than the sum of its parts. The packaging is great, there's tonnes of bonus features for those who like them (personally I don't like going behind the scenes and seeing how something is made, although I did enjoy the short director introductions before each film), and it's currently going for $30 for NINE discs, which is pretty bloody impressive. An essential for fans of horror, science fiction and action. | ||
![Live Free or Die Hard [Blu-ray]](product_images/4936000/4936770-live-free-or-die-hard-blu-ray_thumb.jpg) | Live Free or Die Hard [Blu-ray] | |
| "The Best Of The Die Hards" | 2008-03-28 |
| Eclipsing the first "Die Hard" and easily breezing past its first two, good-but-not-spectacular, follow-ups, "Live Free Or Die Hard" is one of the most exciting, most fun, and overall best action films to come down the pike in a long time. This one takes quite a different tract than the first two, which confined their action to a skyscaper and an airport, respectively, and shoots, chases and slams its way over much of the northeastern U.S. seaboard. When a series of precisely co-ordinated computer attacks start bringing down systems and power grids all over the country, Bruce Willis (returning as John McClane once again) finds himself drawn into the thick of it - largely by coincidence as usual - and in his best race-against-the-clock yet. Sidekick role this time goes to Justin Long, a small-time hacker initially arrested by McClane and subsequently helping to piece together all the clues as to the villains's identities and ultimate intentions, Mary Elizabeth Winstead plays McClane's daughter Lucy and is as great as always, and Kevin Smith has a couple of brief but scene-stealing appearances as cyber-wizard 'Warlock'. The whole cast does great in this and makes a few scenes that might have otherwise been just Too unbelievable manage to work. Speaking of brushes with the unbelievable though, those who like their action movies as realistic as possible might find that the forth Die Hard goes overboard a couple of times. There are some darn close calls even for McClane in this one, and probably nearly as many as in all three previous Die Hards put together! Most times, this kind of thing, with disaster constantly being averted by uncanny combinations of sheer coincidence and plain luck, will send an action movie skidding right off the tracks. Live Free Or Die Hard was one of the few where it didn't, and may have actually turned out to be a boon, adding to the fun and larger-than-life feel of the movie. At times it's reminiscent of the 2003 Denzel Washington movie Out of Time, although that one is more dark and intense, and Live Free Or Die Hard more of a grand rollercoaster ride. Overall, unless you just dislike action/adventure movies altogether, Live Free Or Die Hard is one of the safest bets out there. Those who find it a bit too over the top are still likely to enjoy it for the most parts, while those who don't think it went too far will just be blown away. Before they did this one I thought it would be a bad idea to do another Die Hard. After this I hope they go ahead and do a fifth. When you can deliver this kind of a winner nineteen years after the first one you've got something really good going. Scores around 9 or 9.5 on a ten point scale. | ||
 | The Masque of the Red Death / The Premature Burial | |
| "'Masque' Is Excellent; 'Burial' Is Pretty Good" | 2008-02-29 |
| A two-in-one pairing in which one half of the bill clearly overwhelms the other, with 'The Premature Burial' a decent film that fans of this era of horror will want to watch, and with 'The Masque Of The Red Death' as the real must-see.
In 'Masque Of The Red Death', the red death plague is ravaging the medieval countryside, and people are looking for refuge wherever they can. A trio of peasants - a young couple and the girl's father - wind up taking shelter at the grand castle of Prospero (Vincent Price, in one of his alltime greatest roles), a twisted despot. In this palace where Prospero and a host of unlikable nobles - all ruled over with an iron fist by Prospero - have squestered themselves in comfort against the ravages of the plague, the trio becomes Prospero's prisoners. The lord of the castle is a cruel master with a warped sense of humor. Among the most intriguing angles of the movie is the strange relationship that develops between Prospero and the 'peasant girl' Francessca (Jane Asher). Francessca is a courageous and compassionate girl, with a real nobility that the barons and aristocrats in the castle only have title to. As her spirit fails to falter or change, Prospero seems increasingly fascinated by her. He seems to develop a respect and affection for her - not neccessarily a romantic affection, but perhaps something more like an uncle or even a father. But being unfamiliar with either respect or love (fatherly or otherwise) Prospero doesn't quite seem to recognize the feelings, and is thus made all the more curious. The supernatural elements of the movie enter at the great masquerade ball the castle's master stages and orders everyone to attend, and certainly put forward some unusual notions. Masque Of The Red Death is captivating, atmospheric, not at all campy, and makes outstanding use of color, music and production design. 'The Premature Burial' is one of Roger Corman's few horror entries not to star Price, instead featuring Ray Milland in the lead role as a man so obsessed with a fear of being buried alive that he constructs a special crypt and coffin designed for escape should that fate ever befall him. Of course, an unexpected monkeywrench ends up being thrown into the whole plan. With talented people on both sides of the camera and with a solid idea behind it, this probably should have been better, but it was one of those cases where things didn't click and the whole ended up being less than the sum of its parts. It's an alright watch; though it was filmed in 1962 it may appeal more strongly to fans of horror and suspense from a decade or more earlier - actually probably more to suspense fans because its hold on its status as a horror movie is somewhat tenuous. Overall the disc offers one of the most essential horror movies from the 1960s in Masque and a good bonus in Burial. A definate pick for fans of Price/Corman/Poe or of similar horror from the era, like Hammer's movies. | ||
 | Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden | |
| "The Beginning Of A Legend" | 2008-02-28 |
| The debut album of Iron Maiden came out in 1980, right in the midst of a crest where heavy metal was transitioning from a form that had thrived on maybe a dozen (at most) really good bands, into a vastly expanded field of music. Around 1979 and the early 80s an army of new bands and albums poured forth, first almost entirely from the UK and by the mid-80s coming in force from America, Germany, Scandinavia, Canada, really all over the place. One of the reasons I mention all this is that the opening track on Iron Maiden, 'Prowler', and the opening track off Judas Priest's 1980 British Steel ('Breaking The Law') have often occurred to me as the best possible harbingers of the entire future of metal, from the opening notes forth.
Apart from ushering in an even more vibrant era for metal than the 70s had been, 'Prowler' certainly does a tremendous job of announcing Iron Maiden to the world. Instantly recognizable, heavy, and with stunningly paced guitar wizardry, the song was an excellent omen of things to come. Although the music on this disc is somewhat different than the trademark Maiden sound (its immediate follow-up, Killers, was much more in sync with the bulk of Maiden's repertory) it immediately establishes one of Iron Maiden's most important aspects: the ability to fuse slow-, mid-, fas-, and ultrafast-tempo parts seamlessly into the same song, as witnessed repeatedly on here. Some songs take it more one way or the other - 'Strange World', a quintessential 'soft metal' track (and aguably the greatest vocal performance by Paul Di'Anno, who sang on this and Killers before leaving and being replaced by Bruce Dickinson) is quite slow paced all through, and hauntingly beautiful, with mystical lyrics. Title track 'Iron Maiden' finishes off the album, and this one probably needs no introduction to heavy metal fans: among the most classic of the band's material. The weakest track on the album is 'Charlotte The Harlot', which is kind of lacklustre but gave rise to an excellent track in '22 Acacia Avenue', its 'sequel' from The Number of the Beast. Another hitch is 'Running Free', which is great musically but hobbled by weak and ineffective lyrics. The song, although lyrically unchanged, did come off much better on Live After Death. Aside from those two relatively 'lesser' songs, the album is pretty much impeccable. And without question, among the most noteworthy debut albums ever. | ||
![Judas Priest - Defenders of the Faith [Bonus Tracks]](product_images/189000/189147_thumb.jpg) | Judas Priest - Defenders of the Faith [Bonus Tracks] | |
| "Source Of Alltime Classics Like 'Freewheel Burning' And 'The Sentinel'" | 2008-02-28 |
| Of all the Judas Priest albums, 1982's Screaming for Vengeance and 1984's Defenders Of The Faith are considered the most similar, both utilizing the dual lead guitars of Tipton and Downing to tremendous effect, both with pounding, precision drumwork and both with fiery vocal acrobatics from Halford. And although Defenders as a whole, as great as it is, checks in a notch below Screaming, its top tracks - songs like 'The Sentinel', 'Some Heads Are Gonna Roll' and 'Love Bites' - are every bit as awesome as anything on Screaming For Vengeance.
'The Sentinel' is the epic side of Priest at its best, with lyrics (in familiar apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic territory) being some of the best crafted in the JP arsenal. The forlorn lyrics to essential dark ballad 'Night Comes Down' are also a high point in Priest's songwriting. 'Night Comes Down' is one of the few slower tracks on the disc, providing an excellent counterpoint to the all-out assault on gems like 'Freewheel Burning'. Also moving along at a lower tempo, the two-part 'Heavy Duty/Defenders Of The Faith' is a one-of-a-kind experience that I've never heard Judas Priest or anyone else do elsewhere. 'Eat Me Alive', which is another pounding, driving assault, is one of the more controversial songs in the Priest catalogue. Really, what it's trying to do (I think) is be over the top and kinky, and I don't think it's supposed to be taken literally or - in the terms of certain phrases - seriously. It's easy to see how some could be uncomfortable with it, but if you take it in the right light - like its phrases are deliberately tongue-in-cheek things that might be bantered about in loveplay or whatever, and are just non-serious plays on words, (much the same vein as 'Love me To Death' off the criminally under-rated Ram It Down) it's actually a good cut; it's really just one line that kind of throws it off. and The only song on the original recording that didn't really shine was 'Rock Hard Ride Free', which is a solid and listenable track to be sure, but just doesn't measure up to the rest of the album, despite having its moments. Often times later in their career a band will go and re-record some earlier tracks with a new spin on them. If Priest ever started doing that I'd nominate 'Rock Hard..' over any of their better-known tracks. It's a good song that's got the potential in there to be a lot better. The bonus tracks...uh, aren't the most outstanding bonus tracks from the re-issues series. 'Turn On Your Light', the studio bonus track, is good, a song that Priest diehards (like myself) will certainly want to have, but it's not exactly 'Prisoner Of Your Eyes' (the studio bonus track off Screaming For Vengeance) either. It's good; I'd place it about alongside Rock Hard Ride Free, while Prisoner would be up there with any of the best original songs off Screaming. The live version of 'Heavy Duty/Defenders Of The Faith' - well everybody misfires once in a while. Again, it's a decent listen but it's so much less than how I'd hoped this would turn out live. Part of the problem is that, while it's designed as a sing-along audience participation song, the crowd at wherever this was recorded doesn't seem at all into it, despite Halford's best efforts to get that energy going. I'm wondering if this may have been recorded at one of the big 80s festivals, and if maybe the crowd just wasn't a metal audience and didn't know the song. Even with a Priest Live/Unleashed In The East crowd though, this just wasn't the band's best moment live. I'd really like to hear a live recording of this one captured on some other occasion, where perhaps it turned out better. So there's a couple chinks in the armor on this one, but overall it's still a very high caliber, very essential heavy metal release, with a number of tracks that each would be worth getting the album for even if they were the only thing it had going for it. And even the weaker tracks are still a lot better than much of what plays on the radio, in my opinion. So it's still thumbs up, all the way. | ||
![Judas Priest - Sin After Sin [Bonus Tracks]](product_images/188000/188725_thumb.jpg) | Judas Priest - Sin After Sin [Bonus Tracks] | |
| "Hugely Under-Heralded Metal Great" | 2008-02-13 |
| Sin After Sin is perenially one of the least heralded Judas Priest albums, seeming to have gotten lost in the shuffle between acknowledged masterpieces Sad Wings of Destiny and Stained Class, which is unfortunate because this is a start-to-finish great, with excellent, vintage metal style tracks like 'Sinner' and 'Starbreaker' and great, highly unusual songs like 'Last Rose Of Summer' and 'Dissident Aggressor', which are totally different from anything presented on any other Priest album. With the exception of its winning ballad 'Last Rose Of Summer' (which is the softest thing the band has ever done and probably won't be as appealing to some fans, although I love it) Sin After Sin is heavier than Sad Wings Of Destiny but retains that good otherworldly feel throughout; those albums along with Stained Class form a distinctive period in the band's output. Many would say Rocka Rolla started that period but I think of Rocka as having been a one-album phase of its own. The music in Sin After Sin goes all over the speed scale, from fast and very fluid on something like 'Let Us Prey' to an unprecedentedly relaxed flow on 'Last Rose'. There are lots of very eclectic, quirky sounds popping up briefly, as in the opening notes of 'Diamonds And Rust'. The vocals are impeccable, with some of the weirdest (and in metal, that's a good thing) deliveries Rob Halford has ever made, as in the end of 'Raw Deal'. The lyrics cover a lot of good ground, from science fiction-y 'Starbreaker' to dark emotional 'Here Come The Tears' to ant-bigotry 'Let Us Prey' (whose title seems to have nothing to do with its content).
Probably the single best track on the album is 'Starbreaker', which should be hailed as an alltime classic. As for the bonus tracks, 'Race With The Devil' is an excellent addition to the Priest pantheon, a perfect fit for the album and a track that it's hard to see why it didn't get released for fifteen years. The other bonus, a live version of 'Jawbreaker' is a bit more controversial. Sin After Sin is one of a couple of albums from the remastered series where the live track didn't hail from the album's original selection; 'Jawbreaker' is originally from Defenders of the Faith. It's actually a great version of a great song that I'm glad was released, but like most people I would have loved to have seen something from this album represented live on the bonus, but perhaps there just wasn't anything usable in the vaults that wasn't already out there (for those interested, there's a phenomenal live take on Starbreaker, different from the Unleashed in the East version, on Priest Live & Rare (Japan)). The bottom line though is that the live Jawbreaker is still a fine track, and even though it doesn't fit in with the rest of the disc you can just look at it as adding a very different dimension. Overall a great and distinctive album, one of the very best releases of the 1970s and essential for fans of metal and hard rock. | ||
 | The Descent | |
| "The Ultimate In Subterranean Horror" | 2008-02-03 |
| What "Star Wars" did for space-oriented special effects and the documentary "Winged Migration" did for aerial cinematography, "The Descent" does for the whole world of the subterranean. Taking place largely in underground caves and tunnels, that whole exotic, dangerous, world is captured in all its rocky beauty. And then, having established itself as a bona fide landmark in the craft of capturing this kind of envirornment, it injects into it a relentless horror as some of the most ghastly and yet believable monsters in moviedom begin to stalk the six spelunkers who've come exploring these seldom-seen-by-human-eyes tunnels and caverns.
The six friends meet periodically for this kind of adventure, and in this case it's the first time in a while they've all been together, with the spectre of a tragic accident that occured during a white-water trek the previous year still hanging over them. Hidden tensions begin to crop up once underground, once the tunnels turn out to be more treacherous than counted on, and they're already deep and off course when some of the members of the expedition begin to suspect that they're not alone down there. Their fears are dismissed as claustrophobic delusions by other members of the group as the passages get tighter, the chasms more difficult to cross. As they try to progress, clear evidence of past explorers in these inaccessible tunnels is found, and the fear of something as yet unseen begins to increase. Gorgeously shot - with many scenes lit only by the red light of flares - and featuring universally fine performances and outstanding special effects, The Descent goes on to be even more than the sum of its parts, and is one of the best horror movies of the last few years. A must-see. | ||
 | Desperation | |
| "Almost A Masterpiece, But Faltered In The Latter Portions" | 2008-02-03 |
| The town of Desperation, Nevada, a small desert town whose biggest industry is a mid-sized mining operation, used to be a fairly ordinary little place, and was probably a fine little place to live. That was before; and now, as various people or groups of people travelling along Nevada's Route 50 are going to discover, it's not so great a place. "Desperation" is horror on a grand scale, and, despite weakening in its later chapters, still stands as one of Stephen King's most impressive novels.
The first couple that we meet - and the first family that gets stopped alongside Route 50 by cop-from-hell Collie Entragian - are Peter and Mary Jackson; travelling, as most people are, along the highway en route to a destination other than Desperation. But, like others are about to, it's to Desperation that they get brought by the humongous, intimidating Entragian. A diverse group ends up in Desperation, including the Carver family, whose little boy David is going to play a pivotal role in events. Inside the town, stranger menaces than a violent rogue cop are waiting. But in addition to the nightmarish things, there are also - to paraphrase the novel's own dustjacket blurb - terrifying and awesome forces coming to combat those nightmares. The first two thirds or so of the novel are incredible, up there with the best King has ever written. The latter parts, though, face some serious crumbling. It's hard to talk too much about it, because you don't want to give away what happens so far into a book; but some of the conclusions reached by some of the characters about the supposedly 'cruel' nature of the forces coming to oppose the evils within Desperation, weaken the tone of the novel, and at times seem to almost contradict what it had been building up to. It could be argued that this is just the point of view of certain players in the story, and that given their ordeals they're certainly entitled to be cynical; but seeing as we view the events largely through their eyes, it all ends up adding an unneeded air of - what? depressiveness? semi-nihilism? - to what had been a very exciting, very grand-feeling tale. I'm probably being too harsh - if the whole book had read like its latter chapters, it still would have been a good book; but those first few hundred pages set the bar very high, and the book lost some of its energy and some of its awe-factor. Also disappointing is the nature of the climax. "Desperation" had established itself as a titanic struggle, and the way things resolved themselves was basically too easy, too conventional, too 'normal'. So, having found the entire last couple hundred pages rather disappoting, why am I still giving the book a four-star rating and a strong recommendation? If I'd reviewed this right after I first read it some time ago, it would have gotten a three-star (which I consider to still be a good rating), but as time has passed the bulk of the book, everything that comes before it starts to veer downhill, has stayed fresh in my mind while the rest has faded somewhat. I don't know if all readers look at it this way, but it's like you have a mental library of all the books you've read, and there are certain special ones that stay in its forefront year-in and year-out. "Desperation" is one of those for me, and is the only 'disappointing ending' book to attain that, which says something about how good it was at its best. It was superbly well written, had an excellent cast of characters both good and bad, and captured the feel of the moment with uncanny accuracy; one can picture and hear it as it's happening, can all but smell the smoke and feel the stinging blast of the desert sandstorms. If it had started out, and continued thoughout, in the same vein as its later chapters played out, it still would have been a good, readable novel. If the last third hadn't gone downhill, it would have been one of the greatest novels of all time. As it is, it's in between, and it's still a book that no horror fan or fan of large-scale, fantastic 'good vs. evil' epics will want to pass up. | ||
 | Desperation | |
| "Almost A Masterpiece, But Faltered In The Latter Portions" | 2008-02-03 |
| The town of Desperation, Nevada, a small desert town whose biggest industry is a mid-sized mining operation, used to be a fairly ordinary little place, and was probably a fine little place to live. That was before; and now, as various people or groups of people travelling along Nevada's Route 50 are going to discover, it's not so great a place. "Desperation" is horror on a grand scale, and, despite weakening in its later chapters, still stands as one of Stephen King's most impressive novels.
The first couple that we meet - and the first family that gets stopped alongside Route 50 by cop-from-hell Collie Entragian - are Peter and Mary Jackson; travelling, as most people are, along the highway en route to a destination other than Desperation. But, like others are about to, it's to Desperation that they get brought by the humongous, intimidating Entragian. A diverse group ends up in Desperation, including the Carver family, whose little boy David is going to play a pivotal role in events. Inside the town, stranger menaces than a violent rogue cop are waiting. But in addition to the nightmarish things, there are also - to paraphrase the novel's own dustjacket blurb - terrifying and awesome forces coming to combat those nightmares. The first two thirds or so of the novel are incredible, up there with the best King has ever written. The latter parts, though, face some serious crumbling. It's hard to talk too much about it, because you don't want to give away what happens so far into a book; but some of the conclusions reached by some of the characters about the supposedly 'cruel' nature of the forces coming to oppose the evils within Desperation, weaken the tone of the novel, and at times seem to almost contradict what it had been building up to. It could be argued that this is just the point of view of certain players in the story, and that given their ordeals they're certainly entitled to be cynical; but seeing as we view the events largely through their eyes, it all ends up adding an unneeded air of - what? depressiveness? semi-nihilism? - to what had been a very exciting, very grand-feeling tale. I'm probably being too harsh - if the whole book had read like its latter chapters, it still would have been a good book; but those first few hundred pages set the bar very high, and the book lost some of its energy and some of its awe-factor. Also disappointing is the nature of the climax. "Desperation" had established itself as a titanic struggle, and the way things resolved themselves was basically too easy, too conventional, too 'normal'. So, having found the entire last couple hundred pages rather disappoting, why am I still giving the book a four-star rating and a strong recommendation? If I'd reviewed this right after I first read it some time ago, it would have gotten a three-star (which I consider to still be a good rating), but as time has passed the bulk of the book, everything that comes before it starts to veer downhill, has stayed fresh in my mind while the rest has faded somewhat. I don't know if all readers look at it this way, but it's like you have a mental library of all the books you've read, and there are certain special ones that stay in its forefront year-in and year-out. "Desperation" is one of those for me, and is the only 'disappointing ending' book to attain that, which says something about how good it was at its best. It was superbly well written, had an excellent cast of characters both good and bad, and captured the feel of the moment with uncanny accuracy; one can picture and hear it as it's happening, can all but smell the smoke and feel the stinging blast of the desert sandstorms. If it had started out, and continued thoughout, in the same vein as its later chapters played out, it still would have been a good, readable novel. If the last third hadn't gone downhill, it would have been one of the greatest novels of all time. As it is, it's in between, and it's still a book that no horror fan or fan of large-scale, fantastic 'good vs. evil' epics will want to pass up. | ||
 | Audition | |
| "Atmospheric And Razor-Sharp Horror" | 2007-12-18 |
| A Japanese movie producer, Aoyama, widowed and starting to feel lonely as he heads into middle age and his son grows up, concocts a scheme with a friend and fellow producer to snag himself a romantic partner. In a plot straight out of a slapstick romantic comedy, the two begin holding studio auditions for the lead female role in an upcoming (and incidentally, non-existant) project, in hopes that Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi of The Grudge (Unrated Director's Cut), The Grudge 2 (Unrated Director's Cut), and Suicide Club (Suicide Circle)) and one of the lovely young actresses trying out for the part will hit it off. The actress Aoyama ends up falling for is a girl named Asami (the beautiful Eihi Shiina), who he indeed does end up getting involved with. It starts off with a comedy-sounding plot, then seems to be developing into a sweet, though at times rather tense, romantic drama. Except for those little moments that crop up suggesting something is...off...and then making it apparant that there's something far more than just 'off' or unusual taking place.
"Audition" evolves into one of the scariest and most sinister horror movies to ever creep up on you, a wonderful, twisted treat that might have you wanting to burrow under the cushions to safety, as Aoyama begins to have questions about this new woman in his life, and if she might have secrets unknown to him. Spectacularly well-made and jarringly realistic, superbly acted (with its two leads especially deserving of praise), it's often a quiet movie - literally, not metaphorically, as some parts of the film are similar to the almost-silent-movie air of much of director Takashi Miike's 'Box' segment in 3 Extremes. Audition has some of the most memorable moments of horror - both psychologically and visually - out there, and is one of Japan's best offerings in the field of mystery and terror. | ||
 | Alice Cooper - Brutal Planet | |
| "One Of Alice's Most Essential Albums" | 2007-12-17 |
| One of the greatest albums of his career, Alice Cooper's "Brutal Planet" is a searing, seething look at a world of horror and brutality, made all the more disturbing because virtually all of it is non-fictional. Detractors would probably be appalled at mining source material for an album from such atrocities as the Columbine massacre and the Yugolsavian civil war, but any except the most perfunctory listens to Brutal Planet and it's clear that the lyrics are anything but a glorification of their real-life subject matters. It's disturbing, thought-provoking, and even cathartic. With Alice it's always been like this - the fictional horrors and shocks in the music are the fun ones: the Alice Cooper Goes to Hell album, most of the Welcome to My Nightmare album, the songs on various albums evoking Frankenstein and Friday The 13th's Jason and any number of creepy-crawlie things. The material that comes more 'right out of the headlines' works differently. 'Only Women Bleed' was a controversial song that provoked outrage, but actually following the lyrics reveals that it's an Indictment of domestic abuse. And there's lots of stuff in that tradition on here - 'Eat Some More' and its blasting of the disparity between riches in parts of the world (like over here) where there's such a surplus that half the supermarket food ends up rotting in landfills while the other half of the world starves; 'Wicked Young Man''s dissettling look inside the mind of a white supremacist; and so on.
The music goes well with the album's themes and lyrics. Alice Cooper has influenced more subsequent musicians than almost any other hard rock act on the planet, but has also never been afraid to let himself be influenced, including by much newer groups. So Brutal Planet draws on a lot of sounds that developed through the nineties, and you can hear the shadows of bands like Rammstein, Pantera and Rob Zombie in different places on the disc. All fed through the distinctive Alice Cooper filter, it's emerged as one of the most sonically aggressive, vicious, and at times haunting ('Pick Up The Bones', for example) industrial heavy metal assaults out there. Alice's vocals have never been better and the female 'angel' vocals on the title track ('....from up here it looks so nice...') are an excellent touch. Usually grim and vicious, the lyrics occasionally lighten up enough for trademark Alice satire in 'It's The Little Things' in which the song's point-of-view character outlines what in the world he's willing to put up and what is just crossing the line, in a hilarious fashion that only Cooper could deliver. But the only real glimmers of hope come in 'Cold Machines', set in a future that's, ironically, even more of a disaster than the present-day one, but where things may finally be coming to a head. Great from start to finish, this is a must for all metal and hard rock fans. | ||
 | Sky High (Blu-ray) | |
| "Super-Powered Comedy/Adventure" | 2007-12-06 |
| "Sky High" is one of the most pleasant surprises of recent years, a comedy/adventure that's funny, solid with the action scenes, and thoroughly charming. A superhero movie that fits far more snugly into the comedy genre than most but that, thank Heaven, doesn't sink into a stupid parody, it's a nice change of pace from the more serious superhero films like the X-Men trilogy or "Batman Begins" (which, of course. are also highly recommemded).
Sky High is the hidden high school where the superheroes of tomorrow are trained; the main point-of-view character is Will (Michael Angarano), the son of the world's two greatest superheroes, The Commander and Jetstream (Kurt Russell and Kelly Preston). Coming from such a pedigree, great things are expected from Will - unfortunately, unlike most of the other offspring of established super-people, he has yet to manifest any powers of his own, a secret he's not anxious to divulge. Starting at the prestigious academy the same day as Will is his lifelong friend Layla (classic girl-next-door character here) Williams (Danielle Panabaker), who has a special way with plants. The two are part of a clique that forms in the early going, and the student body quietly dreads the upcoming tryouts that determine who gets assigned to which camp - 'superhero' (the sought-after positions) or 'sidekick' (sort of the consolation prize). Presiding over the tryouts is perennially cranky Coach Boomer (Bruce Campbell in a rare non-horror role), who's loud, macho, and secretly very bitter that he never won acknowledgement as one of the world's great superheroes (was Guy Gardner an influence in creating this character?) Most of the main characters get assigned to sidekick duty, but the clique becomes strained when Will's prodigious superpowers finally manifest themselves and he's welcomed among the A-listers. Add to this a growing plot thread of some kind of secret threat menacing the school, and you're all set up for a great ride of a movie. I agree with the reviewer who said that real-life high school should be this much fun. The movie has fun with a lot of classic superhero themes without mocking them, and isn't too goofy that the action sequences become pointless. Winning performaces all around, Sky High also stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kelly Vitz, Steven Strait, Dee-Jay Daniels, Nicolas Braun and Lynda Carter. Great fun; recommended for one and all. | ||
 | We | |
| "One Of Science Fiction's Earliest And Most Disturbing Looks At A Possible Future" | 2007-12-05 |
| A lot of very early science fiction remains great reading, but it's remarkable that a science fiction novel written in the 1920s and set approximately a thousand years in the future reamins so plausible and eerily realistic. The horrifying vision of the future presented in "We" could still take place. In many ways, it has taken place, time and again (most obviously in Stalinist Russia). In many ways, the disturbing scenarios described here continue rearing their ugly heads even today.
"We" is one of the earliest (to my knowledge) 'dystopian future' stories, a field that also encompasses such tales as "1984" and "V For Vendetta". It is presented in the form of a journal, written first person by a character known as D-503 (individual names no longer exist in this future; all are numbers) and intended to be read by the inhabitants of alien planets, describing the world (Earth) and how it came to exist in its current (future) state. D-503 makes new entries daily, so we read from the beginning, where D is an adamant supporter of the world order, through later entries as disillusionment begins to creep in on the narrator before he's even aware of it. The alien planets in question are those to be visited by the Integral, mankind's first interplanetary spaceship, nearing completion as the novel begins, and intended to bring the 'benefits of the One State' to all the stars. The world of "We" is one of a single city state of millions, where all 'wild' (trees, grass, birds, etc.) has been permanently banished behind the walls of the city. All citizens of the One State exist to serve the One State, and individuality has been pretty much abolished. The One State makes all major decisions and most smaller ones, each life is regulated, hour by hour, to an extraordinary degree; the very buildings people live in are transparent and 'Guardians' are everywhere, watching to make sure no one steps out of the precise lines the One State has so carefully formulated. Its similarities to real-life authoritarian regimes are unmistakable, but taken to an even more all-encompassing degree. Two events that coincidentally both happen in the months leading up to the completion of the Integral are of great signifigance. State scientists discover the physical location within the human brain of the 'illness' known as imagination, and the means to finally excise it completely; and D-503 himself discovers emotions he's never experienced before, triggered by a chance meeting, and subsequent acquantaince with, a woman known as I-330. "We" is a grim and profoundly troubling book, but there are moments of brightness and optimism from a fairly early stage. Such things as friendship and hope have survived into the future, often within those who aren't even conscious of their prescence. And as change continues within this future socity toward an even bleaker future (the possible eradication of imagination; the forcible spreading of this severe existance to space beyond), change also remains capable of moving in the opposite direction... Thought-provoking and overall a great story with an intriguing plot, memorable characters, and great turns and surprises. Highly recommended. | ||
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