At the Movies: THX 1138

After getting together for a Watchmen Directors Cut viewing, me and my buddies Adam and John decided this experience should be a weekly occurrence and the movies should be new to at least one of us. This week, Adam selected THX 1138: George Lucas' 1971 1st feature film based off his short college film. The film maintains many of the tropes of a college film, favoring visual imagery over a well defined narrative. It also feels right at home in the 70's sci fi genre, sharing elements from The Prisoner, Logan's Run, Solaris, and the grandaddy, 2001: A Space Oddity. At times I found myself a bit bored with the film, but that could be chalked up to the time period (and my attention span). Initially, I wondered how a meditative movie like this could have come from Ol' Georgie. But as it progressed, I realized there is indeed a spiritual connection between this and his grand Star Wars opus.

While both the characters of Luke Skywalker and THX1138 face an oppressive regime they struggle to rise above, THX finds himself in a much more stifling situation. While Skywalker is merely bored and craves adventure and excitement, THX find himself in a society which has eliminated all individuality or artistic expression. Even sexual desire is forbidden, as it is for Anakin Skywalker and all Jedi in the Star Wars Prequels (which speaks a lot to Lucas' hangups, but I digress). Medication is provided to quell the need for human expression which is certainly still relevant in our prozac nation. There is a religious aspect to this society, although it appears to be merely a facade. Characters are seen in a futuristic confessional booth conversing with an automated voice and a static image of Jesus christ. THX and his roommate, ZUH, are seen in a kneeling position as if praying toward Mecca briefly, but no further explanation is given. THX is eventually led out of this induced haze by ZUH and the two express their love for one another and are persecuted for it. THX is beaten and sequestered, but eventually escapes alone to a unknown surface which appears to be a free haven. The threat of this type of society coming to fruition is not significant, but the feelings of oppression and isolation are all to real , especially in the teenage years. There's also the theme of overwhelming technology which may be even more relevant now than it was back then. The bottom line is Lucas is dealing with some pretty heavy stuff and doing it with style and refinement. Which begs the question: WTF happened to George Lucas?

Visually and audibly, the film shares even a more closer connection to the original Star Wars trilogy. There are many an electronic beep and hum which will bring back fond memories of your youth. The writing credits for the film are shared between Lucas and Walter Murch who primarily works as a sound designer. Visually, there's the stark black on white of Vader and the stormtroopers, there are droids with limited capabilities, and there's a lot of big computers like the ones used to operate the death star. There's holograms, a car chase which might have well been speeder bikes and it ends on a giant sun setting in the West (allright, there should have been two suns). Unfortunately, many visual elements that have been tinkered with by Lucas which brought me nothing but dismay. This debate has been going on for what seems like forever and obviously I'm not going to end it. But I really would have preferred to see this film in its original format to appreciate what was accomplished in 1971.

THX 1138 was a challenging movie for its time, but at this point serves more as a ancillary tale on Lucas' path towards a cultural phenomenon.

*Final thought* After the opening accident at the plant where THX 1138 works, he brings home a multi-sided red object which he seems fascinated with. The red of the object pops amongst the grayscale frame it sits in. He drops it down the waste disposal when his roommate enters the room. It is clearly a sign that his conscious is fighting the medication, but I expected it to appear later in the film which it does not.

Sicko

Disturbing movie. My girlfriend's reaction when the credits rolled was: I wanna move to another country. I'd been aware of the drug companies stranglehold on our culture since college but this gave you a face to reinforce the numbers. Michael remains just as passionate as he was in F911 but doesn't place the blame on one political party. He blames our health care system which indeed requires improvement. I believe health care in other countries probably aren't as smooth as they appear here, but you can't argue with the basic facts about America's system which have been verified in several articles. Like most Moore movies, I leave the theater thinking "ok now what should I do?" There are the usual lesson like pay more attention to politics and more educated voting, but it seems like such an insurmountable problem. I was asked if Michael's task is to merely make us aware of an issue, or to exact change. What makes his documentary successful? I think as a movie maker, as long as he has made you aware, he's succeeded. But if he means to become a political activist, then change must be achieved.

Spider-Man 3 Review

(slight spoilers)
Last summer, the third installment of Marvel Comics' second most successful comic to movie adaptation, X-Men was released on the silver screen. I entered the theater with much trepidation. I'd learned that Bryan Singer, the director of the 1st two films had been unceremoniously dumped due to his involvement with resurrecting the Superman franchise. Singer offered to return to the X-Men and give his conclusion to the narrative, but Fox said thanks, but no thanks. Instead Fox hired the infamous Brett Ratner of Rush Hour frame, started production one month after Superman began production and was in theaters one month before the last son of Krypton. The resulting film was a train wreck. Deaths of major characters for shock value, hokey dialogue, and improper plotting. They took the pinnacle of the X-Men's 40+ years of stories, the rise and fall of the Phoenix, and relegated it to a subplot. Now here we are, one year later, and Spidey is looking to complete a trifecta with a more satisfying conclusion. The difference is the original director/screenwriter, Sam Raimi, is still on board.

A little background Spidey and I. I've known of him for a while (see photo) and he was one of the principal introductions I had into comics. I thought the first film was amazing, until I saw the 2nd one. Every aspect of the first film: the emotional journey of Peter, the love story between him and MJ, the breakdown of Harry Osborn, the effects of Spidey in action, all continued and were improved upon. The train sequence blows my mind and then breaks my heart. Every time. I was highly anticipating this installment of his story with a bit of trepidation. I was awaiting his final fight with Harry as the new Goblin, but then I began to hear reports of two other villains that would appear in the movie. This seemed like too much and began to sound a lot like how other superhero franchises have failed (see Batman Forever. Don't even try viewing Batman and Robin). Still I trusted Raimi and went in with high hopes. I think this is a key point. I think your enjoyment of a pop culture snack is largely based on your initial expectations.

My initial impression is that it is a satisfying conclusion to the first two movies. We're given a resolution to Harry/Peter conflict that might have been the highlight of the movie for myself. It was patterned very close to the comics and is a personal story to my brother and I. We're given a new obstacle for Peter, dealing with success, which he does not handle well at all. Even before the symbiote. The MJ/Parker relationship is again strained to the breaking point, and this felt like a bit of a retread, but if they don't have issues, we don't have a movie. I'd have like to have seen Gwen Stacy in a bigger role. NERDFACT: Gwen was actually Pete's 1st major love in college who met her demise at the hands of the 1st Goblin in the scenario you saw Mary Jane in the 1st movie. As for the effects, they were excellent as always. I think there was only one instance where things looked a bit off (Gwen running from the crane).

We're there too many villains? Yes, but Raimi does his best with the cards he was dealt. He was pressured by the execs to bring in the fan favorite, Venom, into the franchise. You could have done this movie without the alien symbiote and it would've probably been more of a grounded personal journey as the first 2 were. But Raimi uses the black costume well, giving us the fantastically hilarious Emo-aggresive Peter Parker and the angry-vigilante Spider-Man. There are also a lot of convenient coincidences in this movie, which are at times hard to swallow. Have the Symbiote arrive on earth attached to a landing shuttle (piloted by John Jameson, of course) and then seeking out Peter, due to his super powered nature.
The performances were solid. Tobey really is Peter Parker in my mind. Excellent cameos by Stan Lee and Bruce Campbell. Kirsten Dunce's acting is fine, but she seemed to have soured on the role in her press interviews and with her character doing a lot of souring on the screen it leaves an acidic taste on the tongue. Bryce Dallas Howard is given very little to do as Gwen, but looks the part and has the acting chops to do the character justice if given more. Topher Grace is fun and J.K. Simmons is still the best J Jonah Jameson ever.

Currently Spider-Man 2 is still my favorite, then Spiderman and then 3. But they are similar to the Star Wars original trilogy in that I enjoy them all. We'll see if anything changes once I see it in IMAX.

Movie Review: Hot Fuzz

I came very late to the Shawn of the Dead party. I'm not a fan of the horror genre and also have issues when it feels like a piece of pop art is being pushed too hard. "Oh you HAVE to see that movie!!". In this instance, I was too dismissive. It's a great comedy and so is Pegg/Wright's latest effort, Hot Fuzz. I think they're strongest skill is that they're able to give you an excellent comedy, where you actually care for the characters. I don't care about Ben Stiller's character in...well just about anything. Can you even remember Vince Vaughn's character's name in Wedding Crashers? Pegg really puts some humanity into his portrayal of the obsessive cop, Nick Angel. The film isn't just a send up of Bad Boys either. It has situational humor executed by some great British actors, A tight direction by Wright, and a hilarious final act. A-