Archive for January, 2008

Who Killed the Electric Car?

Published
by
Chalupa
on January 29, 2008
in Cars, Conspiracy, Documentary and Environmentalism
. 2 Comments

If you’re into documentaries, Who Killed the Electric Car? is another must see. I remembered hearing about electric cars when I was in high school. They were in California being used in the big cities. It seemed impractical for where I was from because there weren’t any charging stations anywhere and I didn’t just drive around in a city. I also periodically took trips that would leave me stranded either on the way or after I got there. They seemed like an awesome idea though.

Eventually I stopped hearing anything about them and almost forgot the ‘electric car’ entirely. This documentary explores the reasons and factors that led to the disappearance of these automobiles. I know these types of movies often seem very slanted one way or the other, look at Michael Moore’s movies, but I didn’t feel that way here. It could very well be because I agreed with it.

This all started with the state of California creating a mandate that automobile makers had to start selling a certain percentage of emission-free vehicles every year if they wanted to continue doing business. These companies had two options: comply or fight it.

The environment wasn’t something I thought much about until I got out of high school. I knew not everything was renewable and recycling was a good thing to do, but I didn’t really have a grasp of how some of the things we’re doing affect the world we live in. I know some people who don’t believe global warming is happening. I know some people that think we’ll never run out of oil for gasoline and other commodities. I know some people that don’t see a problem with burning whatever they want, when they want. I tend to disagree with them and would like to do something to improve the problems I see and foresee.

So for those of you that like where I’m going, I guess the only real issue is what to do. Honestly, there’s a lot we can all do. We just have to commit to doing those things. That’s the hard part.

Rating: ★★★★★

The Savages

Published
by
nathanshorb
on January 29, 2008
in Comedy, Drama, Dysfunctional and Family
. 1 Comment

The Savages is one of 2007’s best, telling the story of a brother and sister caring for their estranged father who is fading away with dementia and must be put into a nursing home.

You’ll see it’s been nominated for two Academy awards. Laura Linney received a nomination for best actress, and writer-director Tamara Jenkins received recognition for her intelligent original screenplay. These are without a doubt well-deserved. Philip Seymour Hoffman was recognized for Charlie Wilson’s War, but he very easily could have been nominated for his performance here, as well. The acting was top-notch, the thing that made this film so worth while and enjoyable.

Every once in a while, a movie comes along that is so strikingly true, accurately and vividly representing experiences everyone faces at one point or another. The Savages is one of those movies. After flying to Arizona, Wendy and Jon enter the hospital room for the first time and see the strange man who is their father laying in bed with tubes and machinery attached in several places. The scene somehow captures the exact feelings so many of us have experienced in similar moments.

The character development is what makes the movie so intriguing. Wendy is driven by her emotions, whether it’s her desperation, depression, guilt, or otherwise. It’s this part of her that wants to make sure her father receives the best possible treatment in whatever care facility they find. Jon takes a logical approach to life, seeing the cold, hard, emotionless facts in every situation. It’s this part of him that says it doesn’t matter where his delusional and dying father stays.

But in the end, this movie is about avoidance. It’s Wendy avoiding growing older and Jon avoiding commitment with his girlfriend. It’s both of them acknowledging their past and avoiding their present situation as they continue to keep their distance from their father. And ultimately, despite the decay that’s surrounding them wherever they turn, Wendy and Jon avoid asking questions about death and eternity, the big questions about purpose and meaning and life and God.

And this is just one more thing that makes the movie real and true, because I see many people in our society making the most of their lives while avoiding the same exact things.

While all of this might sound a tad depressing–and it is–this movie does have plenty of light-hearted and humorous moments, especially the ones in which you’re laughing out of embarrassment as you recognize yourself in the character on the screen. At any rate, I highly recommend checking it out.

Rating: ★★★★☆

The Lives of Others

Published
by
nathanshorb
on January 29, 2008
in Communism, Drama, Foreign, German and Socialism
. 0 Comments

The Lives of Others is a German film about a Stasi spy who is assigned to monitoring a famous playwright and his lead actress girlfriend. Without giving away too much, the film shows how all of these characters and the decisions they make end up changing each others lives in very dramatic ways.

Something about how this film was advertised made me think it would be all about voyeurism and full of awkward sex scenes. (It doesn’t help that the DVD cover, of all things, features the couple in an intimate moment–a picture which, as far as I can remember, wasn’t even included in the film itself.) I decided it was something I could do without. But after it won the Oscar for best foreign film and received rave reviews from all sorts of trusted sources, I finally decided to give it a try. And I was glad I did.

It was thankfully nothing close to what I expected. Instead, it was a compelling story with surprising twists and turns, intelligently written and excellently performed. With conspiracies and coverups, it could almost be classified as a psychological thriller.

The film gives a unique and interesting portrait of life under communism. As the plot slowly unfolds, it becomes a story about courage, standing up for one’s beliefs, and inspiring others towards change. In the end, it forces you to ask yourself: “Am I living a life that inspires others?”

The Lives of Others was excellent.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Atonement

Published
by
Lij
on January 24, 2008
in Based on a novel, Drama, Romance, WWII and War
. 0 Comments

Atonement is a beautiful film, full of stunning imagery and moments of musical intensity. I see why it recently won Best Picture-Drama at the Golden Globes — it is intense, what a movie critic would probably call “sweeping,” dramatic, heartbreaking, remorseful, and unusual.

The “sweeping” intensity comes from the fact that the film doesn’t spend a lot of time telling you how the characters got from one place to another. The first act takes place entirely over one afternoon and evening, and while it gives you a bit of backstory here and there, you’re pretty much right in the moment. The viewer almost feels the ungodly heat of summer in that act, as the characters try to stay cool. The plot goes back and forth in time a lot, giving you different perspectives on certain events. It’s jolting the first time it happens, but it is done masterfully and becomes a natural part of the flow.

The film is dramatic because it covers such monumental events in these characters’ lives. It shows how little decisions and misunderstandings can lead to life-changing situations. Young Briony, who could perhaps be called the main character, misunderstands and misreads so many moments that she literally destroys the lives of the people she loves, including her sister Cecilia (Keira Knightley, who is amazingly not mouth-gapingly irritating in this movie!) and childhood crush Robbie Turner, played by James MacAvoy, whose roles are getting more and more interesting.

Eventually, Young Briony grows up and is played both by Ramola Garai and Vanessa Redgrave, all three of them dwelling on the same part of Briony’s character: her guilt and how she comes to terms with it. (Yes, how she atones for it.)

The movie is certainly heartbreaking, but the rationale behind that claim is for the viewer to understand. I’m going to guess that many viewers will disagree on where the real tragedy is found in Atonement: in Cecilia, in Robbie, in their relationship, in the war, in Briony’s guilt, or in the moment early on when Robbie accidentally passes his dirty note to Cecila through a nosy Briony, causing the whole thing to change from innocent confusion to less innocent anger.

I would definitely recommend Atonement, and based on the recommendations of my good friends, I’m going to get the book and read it just as soon as I can.

Balls of Fury

Published
by
Chalupa
on January 15, 2008
in Action, Comedy, Crime, Martial Arts, Ping Pong and Sport
. 1 Comment

I remember first seeing a preview for Balls of Fury before Transformers. At first glance I knew it didn’t look that great, but I wanted to give it a chance because of the one and only Christopher Walken being in it. Jeremy, one of my buddies that was there, tried to tell me this movie would suck and not be worth my time. I kinda didn’t listen to him at the time, but maybe I should have.

Well, co-worker Steve picked it up to play on the big-screen here at work last Friday. I can’t say I’m sorry I saw a good chunk of the film, but I’m not necessarily better for it either. The basic plot is Randy Daytona, played by Dan Fogler, was a child ping pong prodigy and is recruited later on in life to compete at a secret world competition in an effort to save some friends of his. Have we seen this plot before? How about Beerfest or even Enter the Dragon? I know these aren’t both literal translations in the sense of Yojimbo, Last Man Standing and A Fistful of Dollars, but I’m sure you can see some similarities. This has basically been done before.

Christopher Walken wasn’t a disappointment, but I think the rest of the movie was. There were some funny bits here and there but not enough to really redeem the movie. I can’t say I’ve seen Fogler in anything else. I checked his IMDB listings and saw Good Luck Chuck and School for Scoundrels - both movies that I heard kind of tanked. I don’t want to say Fogler is trying to emulate some of the great, fat comedians…but I kind of got that impression. Co-worker Steve said the movie would have been much better with Jack Black in the starring role. I agreed, but also knew that Black would never have accepted this role. It would have been totally below him. Yeah, his band played in Bio-Dome and he’s had some minor roles in movies like Demolition Man, The NeverEnding Story III, The Jackal and Waterworld. I’m sure a lot of you are even better familiar with his more recent jobs since his breakout role, totally my opinion, as Barry in High Fidelity. I’m kinda going off track here, but the point is that Jack Black has way more class than Balls of Fury. In fact, after writing this I was browsing Pajiba and saw that it won a Golden Pajiba, and I quote, “To say he’s a low-rent Jack Black would be a disservice to cockroach infested, crime-ridden Section 8 housing.”

I’m going to have to say I don’t suggest this one. It was pretty lame all around.

Pollock

Published
by
Chalupa
on January 13, 2008
in Art, Audio Review, Based on a book, Based on a novel, Biography, Drama and Independent
. 0 Comments

Pollock is a wonderful biopic directed and starred in by Ed Harris all about the tragic life of Jackson Pollock, the American artist. Liz and I did another audio review for this one.

Pollock audio review

I Am Legend

Published
by
Chalupa
on January 6, 2008
in Based on a novel, Drama, Horror, Neo Noir, Sci-fi and Thriller
. 1 Comment

This was part two of our double-header from the weekend. I had heard mixed reviews about this going into it. Most people were saying it was good, but others were saying they didn’t like the last third of it. I wouldn’t say I was disappointed, but I might put the ending into the cookie-cutter category for the zombie genre.

I Am Legend is about a soldier and scientist, Robert Neville, played by Will Smith who is trying to find a cure for the virus that cured cancer. Just like in Charlie Wilson’s War, the parable about the boy who gets a horse is lived out - good can lead to bad, which then leads to good. In an interview given by April Grace, you might recognize her from Magnolia, we find out a virus was “re-programmed”, as Emma Thompson states, to fight and eradicate cancer cells. They had 10,009 successful cases. I really wonder how long they had been doing these trials. Eventually this virus spread amongst the general population killing 90%. One percent was left immune while the other 9% turned into “dark seekers” and fed on the immune. Robert Neville, one of the immune, is trying to find a cure.

Most of this movie is just Will Smith doing his thing in an abandoned New York City. His only companion is his dog, Sam. He seems to have it together. He has a well protected home, several vehicles for both practical and recreational purposes, a good stock of food and plenty of weapons. It’s only when he goes to “rent” his daily movie that we really see what kind of fragile state he is in psychologically. I can’t really imagine what it would be like living that way. At least he had his dog to interact with.

Now we get to that ending people were complaining about. Eventually Neville catches a glimpse of hope. He might not be the only one left…for just second, then everything goes to hell in a hand basket with a lone-survivor making it in the end. This is very reminiscent of zombie movies, vampire movies, the Resident Evil series and even 28 Days Later. I think this is why people had complaints. Personally, I enjoyed it - every minute of it. I don’t think it would make my top 10 list for 2007, but this is definitely worth a watch. On a side note, you might be interested to know that Smith’s actual daughter, Willow Smith, plays his daughter in this movie. Seems like all of his kids are getting acting roles lately.

Afterwards, Liz was telling me that the book this was based from is supposed to give scientific evidence to vampires. This made so much sense to me after seeing the movie. In most vampire stories there are supernatural reasons as to why vampires exist. In this case the author of the novel, Richard Matheson, wanted to use science and did a pretty good job from what I can tell. If you like this movie, you might be interested to know it was directed by Francis Lawrence who also did Constantine and is also working on a new, modern adaptation of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves called Snow and the Seven.

Charlie Wilson’s War

Published
by
Chalupa
on January 6, 2008
in Based on a book, Based on a true story, Biography, Drama, History, Politics and War
. 3 Comments

Liz and I did a double-header yesterday, the first being Charlie Wilson’s War. I’m usually not really into political movies with a message, Lions for Lambs for example, but I enjoyed this one. This movie is based on the true story of a little known senator, Charlie Wilson, who got the funding for the original “War on Terror” in Afghanistan back in the 80’s. What I really enjoyed about this movie was the end where it showed funding for schools and rebuilding the society, at a mere fraction of what had been spent on weapons and munitions, being turned down because “nobody cares about Pakistan.” Pakistan wasn’t even the country Wilson was trying to get the funding for; it was Afghanistan. It points out that time and time again, the US has funded and armed one group only to find them the enemy later on down the road. Everybody is concerned about Osama Bin Laden right now - well he was one of the people fighting the Russians back in the 80’s with our money and our weapons.

I think the acting was top notch here. Tom Hanks gave a wonderful performance as usual. I know you’ve probably heard me rant about Cast Away, but that was just a fluke in my book. Julia Roberts also did a decent job. I kinda feel like she might have stepped out of the box a little with this role, at least in reference to her more recent movies that I’ve seen. It was also cool to see Amy Adams again. She was amazing in Junebug and after seeing that, I remember her from Catch Me If You Can, another Hanks film. You might have also seen her in Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny if you’re into the phenom of Jack Black and Kyle Gast. And who can not mention Philip Seymour Hoffman’s role? I was reminded a lot of his character in Punch-Drunk Love as the sofa king. He did a lot of yelling in that role, only there weren’t any redeeming characteristics.

This film is definitely a historical piece. It’s not about the 100 Year War or the pilgrims, but it’s still about a piece of history. In a way, it kind of reminded me of Blow. I think it also helps to watch films about political things at least a decade after the fact. People have had time to hear and learn about what happened apart from the media and everything else. I’d highly recommend seeing this. It has historical value as well as being very much in the present. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto is even mention being assassinated in a military coup. He was the president and prime minister of Pakistan in the 70’s and 80’s. Just recently his daughter Benazir Bhutto, who also served as prime minister, was assassinated after just coming out of self-imposed exile.