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klofkorn
Reviews
The 51st State (2001)
An Interesting Premise
Samuel Jackson is always worth seeing. The film may stretch believability at times, but it's still all around good fun.
The most interesting part of this film to me is its premise: A young scientist gets busted for a minor drugs charge ruining his legitimate job prospects. He happens to be a pharmacologist. So he goes into the underground drugs trade. The law of unintended consequences ever present in the drug war becomes manifest.
The parallel between the premise of POS 51 and the actual real life of "Uncle Fester" the man who brought the world simplified, improved methamphetamine manufacture is inescapable.
Quoting from the Uncle Fester biograpical piece in Wiklpedia: "Uncle Fester" is the nom de plume used by Steve Preisler to write his books. He gained underground fame after publishing his first book "Secrets of Methamphetamine Manufacture" in the early 1980s...
Steve Preisler is an industrial chemist (who) was arrested for methamphetamine possession and was sentenced to probation. He was arrested again in 1984 for methamphetamine charges, and put in the Waupun Correctional Institution...
Outraged, Fester borrowed a typewriter from a fellow inmate, and began writing the manuscript for Secrets of Methamphetamine Manufacture. Loompanics Unlimited published the book, and it was an instant success. Secrets of Methamphetamine Manufacture ... was one of Loompanics' best sellers. The book has information on how to produce crystal methamphetamine...also has data on how to synthesize MDMA or MDA, and Methcathinone..."
Rainbow Bridge (1972)
Appreciate the Film For Its Own Merits -- A Historical Gem!
To begin, it would be a mistake to approach viewing this film as a "Jimi Hendrix film." As I understand it it began as a documentary about the Rainbow Bridge meditation center. When it was filmed nobody knew Jimi's death was but two months down the road. The film was supposedly bankrolled by the Brotherhood of Eternal Love (qv) -- the loosely knit communal family that first delivered mass quantities of high-quality LSD and Afghan hashish to the western world.
That said, the film could have benefited from some better writing and editing. Still, we are provided a window upon a moment in time and space when a positive vision of what might have been was still alive and progressing. Take the film and appreciate it. There will be no more like it. As strange as it appears at first glance it is valuable historical footage that is like none other. The Hendrix footage is just a bonus -- the icing on the sunshine-frosted cake.
Der blaue Engel (1930)
Von Sternberg Demonstrates the Art of Film Making
When I was younger I found this film in its English-translated version amusing and vaguely disturbing. Now that I am older, I no longer find it amusing, but it still unsettles me. I just finished watching the original German version, and must say this film remains haunting. The cinematography is very good. Details that escaped me as a young man now seem so obvious. The director had certain elements of the human condition down pat. I particucularly appreciate how "Dr. Rath" comes to assume the role of the clown as the film progresses, his appreciation of the role, and his colleagues' cluelessness. The heartless cruelty of his students earlier (& later?) in the film resonates as well. The more things change the more they remain the same. Von Sternberg certainly knew how to construct a film. Miss Dietrich delivers an amazing performance for such a young actress.
Clone High (2002)
Great Cartoon, Lousy Ending
I don't watch MTV ever. Downloaded the complete series after the fact. This was outstanding. However, that said, the last episode really poked the pin into the balloon. I'm guessing that the handwriting must have been on the wall towards the end and the writers & director knew it. The double deflation of having Joan wind up in bed with JFK and the government stooges freeze everyone inside of 30 seconds was a real downer. I can almost hear the animation crew giving a rousing "f*** you!" as they closed up shop. Otherwise it was a great, short series. Maybe I'm an old softy, but I always hope the good guy winds up with the right girl, even if they do get frozen in the process. Life is too short to finish without real love, and we don't need this to remind us of that sad reality.
MC5*: A True Testimonial (2002)
Well Done Documentary!
This film represents the work of people who obviously both did their homework and then produced a fair representation of the career of the influential band, the MC5. In the space of two hours they provide substantial insight into the genesis, the career path, and the influence of the MC5. Anyone curious concerning the intersection of rock music and politics, or the evolution of "punk rock," or concerning the counter-culture movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s would be well advised to have a look at this film.
Those even more curious would be well advised to go have a look at the Labadie Collection at the University of Michigan and begin their own delvings into this historically significant era. There examine the collection of period publications like "The Ann Arbor Argus," "The Ann Arbor Sun," the papers of Lawerence Plamondon, and more that await serious exploration. Anyone curious about how that earlier anti-war movement progressed could begin the inquiry there.
Mermaid Chronicles Part 1: She Creature (2001)
Mermaids a la Lovecraft!
She Creatures was an interesting take on mermaid lore. Hope the director & producers come out with a second part. Perhaps they'll even merit a budget appropriate to the task. This is ripe for a sequel, unlike so many other modern horror flicks. The cinematography was very good. The directing was likewise very good. I thought the make-up on the mermaid creature as she first appeared just decent, but the shots later in the film were very good. The close-ups would be ripe for some good computer graphics. Still, they did well with the technology they could afford. My guess is the writer was influenced by Lovecraft, but that is not played up in this film, and in fact is played down to the point of being unrecognizable to viewers unfamiliar with the Lovecraftian genre. I gave it 7 stars, but as I think back on it, I'd be inclined to give it 8 - 8.5 and I'm a harsh critic of modern horror films. With a decent budget this guy could kick some serious butt.
Dagon (2001)
Faithful Rendition of Classic Lovecraft.
Old H P Lovecraft was, if nothing else, a seminal influence in the horror genre. While his style leaned toward verbose and adjective laden, he was still one of the true innovators in the field upon whom so many have drawn and profited in latter days. Clive and many others wouldn't have had careers but for old Howard. Ironic that HPL died starving in poverty, when so many lesser talents these days have done so well.
So, while I enjoyed old HP's fiction as a young whippersnapper, I have continually been disappointed in the film renditions of his work. Still, the film is among the better of the filmed renderings of his work that I have seen. Despite the constraints of mediocre budget, the director and producers have created in Dagon a very respectable rendition of the HPL classic, "The Shadow Over Innsmouth."
Of course, hope springs eternal and I still await a well-done film rendition of "At the Mountains of Madness," a better rendition of "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" and so forth. Old HP seems to have been cursed by the notion that his work can be improved upon through the efforts of another generation of younger hack writers, directors, and so on. If this is the case, Dagon is the closest any of them have come to proving the hypothesis.
The current directors have refrained from too much meddling. For this they should be commended. They have done quite well. I hope for better, but I don't hold my breath on the chance. Kudos for a job well done.