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baddream13
Reviews
Clone High (2002)
Why didn't I think of this?
Having heard absolutely nothing about this show beforehand (I lead a very sheltered life), imagine my astonishment when the theme song and opening credits came on the TV in the gym. I stared incredulously at the monitor as the premise for the show slowly sank in. Under the guise of doing bench presses, I watched the show in it's entirety. What a great idea for a show. It's so stupid and unbelievable that it's brilliant. The humor was very sharp, with a cynical edge. In being a show about teenagers (clones they may be), the opportunity to shred on other serious teenage shows is available, and the writers readily take advantage of this. When a particularly sad and poignant scene occurred in the episode I viewed, the theme music from Dawson's Creek played briefly. I was amused.
I also thoroughly enjoyed to historical aspect of the show, skewed though it was. Of course Gandhi would be a party animal and Joan of Arc would be goth if they were teenagers in modern day society. It just makes sense. I highly recommend this show to those who liked Daria, as I did. It's humor is witty instead of being slapstick, which is refreshing in an animated series aimed at a more adult audience. The premise kind of reminded me of that theoretical question, "If you could have a dinner party with any historical figures, who would you invite?". Just tweak it a bit to make it "If you could go to high school with any historical figures, who would you hang out with?" Great idea. I will watch this show again.
Dogma (1999)
Kevin Smith is a genius.
Kevin Smith is a genius. I love all of his films simply because his dialogue flows so eloquently. His characters all talk like we wish we could talk all the time. Witty banter bounces back and forth between characters in his films like tennis balls at a match. But this movie had something different, something extra. It is so so dangerous to make a comedy where religion is the focus of humor. But Smith made not one thing offensive. He tread carefully, and I'm sure bible-thumpers were infuriated to find nothing more offensive than Mooby the Golden Calf, which offended the characters in the film, therefore cancelling itself out and rendering that complaint moot. Having been raised a catholic, I completely agreed with everything this movie pointed out about the idiosynchrasies of religion. I actually felt like this movie enlightened me. At a time when I on the brink of atheism, this movie helped point out that it's not God I don't believe in, it's the institute of Catholicism, and it's endless rules and doctrines and hypocrisies. Anyway, a little off the subject there. I will again reiterate, this movie is pure genius. Excellent acting by Matt Damon (his scene with the nun and the Alice in Wonderland analogy was perfectly executed). Matt Damon and Ben Affleck both know exactly how to deliver Smith's dialogue. Selma Hayek was superb as the uber-intellectual ex-muse. And Chris Rock as Rufus the forgotten apostle was priceless. And you can't forget Jay and Silent Bob, the staple to any Kevin Smith movie, always awesome. I can watch this movie over and over.
Four Rooms (1995)
Can't get bored with the shifting directorial mood.
This flick is a composite of 4 different stories, directed by 4 different directors, taking place in 4 different hotel rooms (hence the title) in a hotel on New Years Eve, where apparently the only help is a harried bellboy, played masterfully by Tim Roth. Roth is hilarious, he does "on the brink of a nervous breakdown" very well. The first story is a bit slow and silly, about a coven of witches (Madonna plays a rather slinky, seductive, bitchy witch quite well--go figure). The second story, a husband and wife play a sadistic sexual fantasy game, and the poor bellboy becomes unwillingly involved. This story plays like pulp, and is pretty well executed. The third story, and my personal favorite, is about two misbehaving children that the bellboy gets bribed, but sort of blackmailed into babysitting by their intimidating father, played excellently by Antonio Banderas. This one was directed by Robert Rodriguez, and it shows. He is wonderful at getting children to act as naturally as if they were play acting at home. The two kids who play the misbehavers are hilarious. The fourth and final story, directed by Quentin Tarantino, totally has the Tarantino flavor. Roth has a large role to play in this story, and the end of it is so smoothly executed, I expected Roth to don his Reservoir Dogs black and white suit and tie and strut out of the scene. I believe the reason I found this movie so entertaining is that with 4 different directors, the mood constantly shifts. It's pretty hard to get bored.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
Legolas rocks, plain and simple.
This was so so so much better than the first one! I found the first book in the series to be rather boring anyway, as it was simply setting up the story line. The Two Towers is when the action finally comes into play, and boy was there a lot of action in the movie! There were a few more changes made to the story line in this one than there were in the first one, but for the most part they seemed to work, although I didn't think they were really necessary to the flow of the story. But what do I know, I'm no Peter Jackson. All I know is my eyes were glued to the screen for the entire duration of the movie. I thought the devastatingly handsome Orlando Bloom as the ultra bad-ass elven assassin Legolas carried the battle scenes with a sleek finesse that is unusual to supporting actors in an epic action/adventure. The audience in the theater was gasping with astonishment at every light footed feat he performed. This was a beautiful motion picture that left me breathless. I WILL pay 9 dollars to see it again, and perhaps again after that.