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brandonrerickson
Reviews
Man with the Screaming Brain (2005)
Only for Die-hard Bruce Fans
I saw this film at a screening last night in Portland.
In general, I would only recommend this film to people who are hardcore Bruce fans. It contains some humorous moments, and the final scene in which Bruce is cradling his dying robot wife almost makes up for the more boring stretches in the film.
Considering that the film was made on such a low budget, I think that they did a relatively good job, but it just isn't a very proficient film in terms of the craft that went into it - but again, this is basically a consequence of working off an extremely small budget.
The most interesting part of the screening was Bruce's opening Q&A with the audience, in which he revealed a future project of his. Apparently, he will be making a film in conjunction with Dark Horse comics in which he plays himself. The premise is that there is a town that is being terrorized by some monster and somebody suggests that they bring in "the Evil Dead guy" to help out. But since Bruce Campbell the actor doesn't really have any monster fighting abilities, his arrival only results in more people dying as a result, and things just end up getting much, much worse. I think the idea is brilliant and it will be interesting to see how it is executed.
But getting back to The Man With The Screaming Brain, my suggestion is to not go in with your expectations too high. It's a disposable made-for-TV movie that has a few good Bruce Campbell moments. It isn't going to convert anybody over to Bruce, but if you're already converted, then it's worth a watch.
Oldeuboi (2003)
Images Linger Long After Screening
Just saw this movie at the Portland International Film Festival.
I have read some comments expressing outright hatred for this film. One user even made an analogy to Ed Wood that was just downright silly and absurd.
I think that this is a remarkable film, and although I would not classify it as one of my top ten all time favorites, I found it highly entertaining and, the more I think about it, very cleverly constructed.
This film is not for the faint of heart; however, if you are looking for a film that is funny, violent, shocking, disturbing, exciting, complex, and visually inventive, then this is the movie for you.
This is probably the craziest and most twisted revenge flick I have ever seen (and that includes Kill Bill), and I look forward to giving it a closer viewing when and if I can find it on DVD.
What the #$*! Do We (K)now!? (2004)
Unenlightening and Highly Flawed Film that Attempts to Connect Quantum Physics to "Spirituality"
I had numerous problems with this film.
It contains some basic factual information concerning quantum mechanics, which is fine. Although quantum physics has been around for over 50 years, the film presents this information in a grandiose way that seems to be saying: "Aren't you just blown away by this!" Well, not really. These aren't earth shattering revelations anymore. At any rate, I was already familiar with quantum theory, and the fact that particles have to be described by wave equations, etc. is not new.
The main problem I have with this movie, however, is the way these people use quantum theory as a way of providing a scientific basis for mysticism and spiritualism. I don't have any serious problem with mysticism and spiritualism, but quantum mechanics doesn't really have anything to do with these things, and it should be kept separate. The people they interviewed for this movie start with the ideas of quantum theory and then make the leap to say that simply by thinking about something you can alter the matter around you, hence we should think positively so as to have a positive impact on the world and make our lives better. The reasoning is completely ridiculous, and the conclusions do not logically follow from quantum theory. For every so called "expert" that they interviewed for this film, there are scores of theoretically physicists who would completely disagree. They would point out, quite rightly, that the unpredictability of the subatomic world does not lend support to mystical notions about our spiritual connectedness.
It disturbs me that people are going to see this film and completely eat it up because it leaves them with a nice positive feeling. The main thrust of the film is based on a total misinterpretation of quantum theory, and it is as bad in its reasoning as any attempt to justify organized religion with similar pseudo-scientific arguments.
Avoid this film.
Oh yeah. At one point, one of the "experts" says that since throughout history most of the assumptions people have made about the world turned out to be false, therefore the assumptions we currently hold about the world are also likely to be false. Huh? That totally does not follow. And even if it did, I don't see how that helps his argument. I mean, if his ideas ever became common assumptions then I guess we would have to assume that they are false too, based on his own reasoning.
Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001)
One of the best films ever made!!
A movie as utterly breathtaking as "Spirited Away" only comes along once in a great while, and when it does it is immediately recognized as something amazing and special. Words such as "masterpiece" or "classic" somehow just don't seem adequate to describe this film. There has perhaps not been such an important event in the history of film since the invention of the medium itself. There are really only two groups of people that I would recommend this movie to: ANYONE and EVERYONE. If you are in possession of both an auditory and a visual system, then SEE THIS MOVIE! And even if you aren't, GO ANYWAY! My only advice to those who have not seen this movie is: SEE THIS MOVIE! And my only advice to those who have seen this movie is: SEE IT AGAIN! And my advice to those who are wondering if the stock market is going to turn around is: WHO CARES! SEE THIS MOVIE!