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No Alternative (2018)
Probably the best '90s teen film I've seen so far . . . but it's pretty bleak.
You will have to forgive me, I'm not feeling well and am on medication . . .
My 13th birthday was just a few days before Nirvana's "Nevermind" hit record store shelves, so I was a ready-made teen for the grunge era. It's no surprise that "No Alternative" showed up on my radar while it was in production and I eagerly awaited what I hoped to be the first in a landslide of films chronicling the lives of teens during the 1990s.
As another reviewer noted, this isn't the kind of movie that viewers would want watch over and over again. This is true, but it doesn't mean that it should earn the film a low rating. Marvel fans might watch a comic book movie multiple times or the same with fans of outrageous comedies, but that doesn't mean that they would warrant ten stars.
At times "No Alternative" can be a difficult watch. You know from the movie's description that it deals with mental illness and even darker topics. The main characters's lives are at times chaotic, but they also tend to twist their own fates. Thomas seems to find success recording with his grunge band, but also ruins the outcome with his negative attitude based on minor friction with a bandmate. The same goes for his sister, Bridget, who goes by the stage name Bri-da-Bi. Bri really craps all over her parents, classmates and even a boy at a coffee shop who is trying to build a relationship with her. It's sometimes difficult to watch her spiral into addiction and give the finger to anyone offering help. I don't think it's necessary for every movie to have a loveable character, but it can be tough to have even a little empathy for those that populate "No Alternative." I definitely pity them, but empathy is a different question.
On the other side of the coin, I really enjoyed the setting, the music and some of the performances. Michaela Cavazos shines as Bri. She nails the character and her Wesley Willis-style raps are catchy and full of hooks. Conor Proft melds with the script and keeps his character convincing, even though the twists and turns in his plotline can be erratic at times.
Every person of each generation can share certain experiences with most of the individuals in their age group, but it doesn't mean they can identify with the specific characters in this movie. I will definitely recommend "No Alternative" to friends, with the warning that while it captures a certain time and place, it is most certainly not an upbeat or feel good teen film.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
A great change in film.
My entire life I have wanted nothing more than to work on movies. I thought about it day and night and made it my mission to learn by watching and doing. Throughout these years I have seen hundreds, possibly thousands of movies, but nothing has come close to matching the incredible power and beauty of the Lord of the Rings movies. Peter Jackson has taken one of the most popular literary works of all time and made it into one of the most moving and passionate motion pictures ever made. From frame one to the end of the credits, Return of the King is a triumph beyond all others. It has the ability to excite as well as stir great emotion. After all these years my thoughts on great cinema have changed. Now when anyone asks me what my favorite film is, I will now say, "Return of the King."
Rollerball (2002)
Dropping the Ball
A classic thought experiment holds that if a group of monkeys are put in a room with typewriters for an infinite amount of time they will eventually pound out Hamlet. If this were attempted, the first product would more than likely be Rollerball.
John McTiernan's remake of Norman Jewison's 1975 film is nothing more than lots of action sequences cut together with a little bit of skin stuck in between. Unfortunately, any attempt to improve on or update the original has completely failed.
The movie plays out in the same way many of the low-budget action films of the late '80s do. Think of Rocky IV, but on rollerblades.
What this film lacks the most is a script with characters. The main character, if any, is Johnny (played by Chris Klein), a daredevil from Houston, whose best friend, Marcus (played by LL Cool J), makes a living by touring Eastern Europe on a rollerball team. This is all the audience ever knows about his character.
The opening sequence consists of Johnny racing through Houston on a rollerboard and being picked up in Marcus' Porsche just before the cops catch him.
In the brief conversation Johnny is told about rollerball teams and quickly convinced to join. The screen goes black and reads "Four Months Later."
What follows is a full 15-minute Rollerball tournament, with absolutely no explanation of how the characters got there, and only a brief run-through of how the game is played.
Rollerball is a good mix of a roller derby, a wrestling tournament and a football game. Each team member either wears skates or rides a motorcycle. The point of the game is to skate around the arena and throw a small steel ball at a large metal faceplate.
The rules are simple, until they are changed by the evil Alexi Petrovich (Jean Reno) who owns, not only the rights to Rollerball, but many of the television networks in several Eastern European countries.
Several members of Johnny's team become aware that Petrovich is fixing the games and killing off the athletes, but it may be too late to do anything about it.
Rebecca Romijn-Stamos is in the movie, but only to give us a sneak peek of her breasts (just long enough to keep the PG-13 rating) and establish Johnny's love interest.
While some may argue that Rollerball is a comment on how violence, television ratings and advertising have consumed our society, it is hard to ignore the fact that the film, by its very existence, is doing just that.
The movie is full of product placements and cameos, including cleverly placed ads for 7-11, Porsche, motorcycles, skates, and special appearances by hip-pop artist Pink and the metal band Slipknot. While the movie is trying to show that violence and death is a bad thing, they are clearly the stars of the movie.
This scary comparison of ultra-violent fiction and real-world 2002 becomes even more frighteningly apparent when using the original 1975 film as an example.
In that version it is a view of our current century, and it isn't all that far off. In the new version it is basically a rehash of the same stuff, which isn't very exciting, because it's really happening on our television sets.
As a whole Rollerball lacks what most films offer, but it does have a special quality of its own. The action is fast-paced and well shot. During the bulk of the movie the editing is tight as a drum, but tends to be sloppy when there isn't a whole lot of action.
What McTiernan needs to do is make a movie of his own. It has been 16 years since he has written a screenplay and his last two movies have been remakes of Jewison films.
Most of his projects are based off books or are sequels, and it's time for him to buckle down and try something original.
Rollerball wants to be something that it isn't, a commentary on the ways that evil and greed can destroy lives, and ultimately our very existence as a worldwide community.
While it has exciting action sequences, it fails to deliver any kind of worthwhile message.
www.hellssoapopera.com (1999)
Unique urban horror on a budget
This all video, Akron-based movie shows the signs of a great filmmaker in the works. Maurice Thomas pulls out all of the stops when it comes to cool lighting, great camera angles and an interesting set of characters, but needs to pick up the slack on his sound. Several interesting scenes include a drug dealer converting to Christianity, a man sealing his dead wife up in a wall and Thomas himself playing a prostitute. The movie does run a little long, but is worth the time.
L'amore (1948)
The film that broke America's freedom of cinema.
When it was scheduled to be shown in New York, L' Amore was protested by religious leaders led by Cardinal Francis Spellman. The film board of New York quickly yanked it before even hitting the screen. After viewing this case, the Supreme Court ruled that for the first time that films are "a significant medium for the communication of ideas." It wasn't until this point that the First Amendment covered film as a freedom of speech. This didn't stop censorship, but it did open new doors.
Gladiator (2000)
Amazing cinematography and brilliant battles...
Ridley Scott has finally returned to his post as a visually conscious director with his new film, Gladiator. Almost every shot of this film, and some of his other films, such as Blade Runner and Legend, can be cut out and be printed as a postcard. Russell Crowe is well cast as Maximus, a General for the Roman Empire, who is later forced to be a gladiator. Not only does he fight in the ring, but he does his best to oust the Emperor from power to avenge his family's death. The audience is treated to a well written script placed in some of our planet's most beautiful areas. With amazing cinematography, brilliant special effects, blasting DTS sound and suspenseful action, Gladiator is one of Ridley Scott's best films in years.
Spectres of the Spectrum (1999)
Montage of fact and fiction.
Spectres of the Spectrum can't be described in words, it has to be seen on the screen. This film is comprised of original material, stock footage and public domain film clips to give the history of electric media and how it will change the future of life on Earth forever. It is a non-stop barrage of sights and sounds that will leave the audience gasping for breath in the end. Make sure not to miss this film, it will change the way you look at the way we communicate and who does the talking for us.
Teenage Tupelo (1995)
What a summer in the south feels like.
After living in Tennessee for 14 years, you know that it is unlike any other place in the country. This is more than likely why this film means so much to me. Mike McCarthy gives the viewer an eye into his world, or rather his mother's, as she becomes a woman in Tupelo, MS.
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)
An hour and a half of South Park fun.
How far can a television show go before it hits the big screen? South Park has tested the viewing public's interest and has made the big jump, quite successfully. Trey Parker and Matt Stone's creations have offended and astounded people on what is supposed to be a censored-for-television-show, and now, the four foul-mouthed youngsters have pushed the envelope to the edge. South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut may not be Parker and Stone's first feature film, but it is their first animated motion picture. It utilizes the show's entire main and supporting characters and includes several songs that could practically make the film a musical. Viewers of the Comedy Central program are familiar with Terrance and Philip, television show that features two characters who flagellate on one another for half an hour. South Park's main characters, Kyle, Stan, Kenny and Cartman are big fans of the program and make plans to see their feature film. (Sound familiar?) Although the film has an R rating, the group views the film and is exposed to its extreme foul language. Parents and teachers are shocked to hear the kids repeating lines from the movie in their day-to-day lives and make it their mission to silence Terrance and Philip once and for all. Because the show is created in Canada, the US Military plunges into war with them, being led by Kyle's mom. Meanwhile, the kids of South Park create their own resistance to stop the killing and bring freedom back to speech. Parker and Stone's message is pretty clear. The film itself has a restricted rating, aimed at preventing people under the age of 17 admission without a parent or guardian's accompaniment. This just so happens to be the film's target audience and the box office meal ticket. The film's release couldn't be timelier. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has just announced that all theatres must check identification before allowing teenagers into these films. Even President Clinton has jumped on the bandwagon and announced the same intentions not long after the Colorado shootings. So how far can a movie go? South Park seems to attempt to offend everyone in an equal manor. The Christian, Jewish, Canadian, disabled, gay, black and pro-choice all take heavy hits in this film. But to its creators, it is all in good fun. After all, if you can't laugh at yourself, you are taking things too seriously. As for the film's quality, it mainly has the same production values as the show. Some electrifying computer effects are used after Kenny torches himself to death. But amidst all of the gigabytes and pixels, the small cardboard character remains the same. A few of the jokes are recycled from the program, but most of the humor is new and is even more crude than before. To say that the profanity is extreme would be an understatement. Although it is the basis for the whole movie, it begins to get old after the first 15 minutes. The films best humor revolves around people's misconceptions about each other. Other hilarious moments include the relationship between Satan and his live-in lover, Sadam Hussein. Their musical numbers outdo the rest and culminate the film to its explosive ending. There is no doubt that South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut will do well at the box office, no matter who is buying the tickets. I was pleasantly surprised once I left the theatre. Many of the viewers in the audience laughed so hard they couldn't hear the jokes coming up next. Very rarely does a film generate more entertainment and laughs than the television show it has spawned from.
Office Space (1999)
Peter Gibbons is sick of his desk job and decides to make some changes.
For being a film by Mike Judge, Office Space had surpassingly little toilet humor. The characters were well developed and the script was full of hilarious one-liners. What this film lacks is a solid plot. The characters wander aimlessly and the viewer begins to care less and less about them. The film's first half is a well-structured story that seems to be leading somewhere, but drops off after a while. Although it is topped off with a predictable ending, Office Space is still worth seeing.