gumpold Reviews

Louis (2010)

Entertaining movie greatly enhanced by live music!

[8/10 · 27 August 2010]

I was able to see "Louis" last night in Detroit. This was the first time I had seen a movie with the music preformed live. It was quite an enjoyable experience. I found myself during the movie at points where I had to remind myself that all the sounds I'm hearing are coming from the band in front of me. They did a fantastic job! Anthony Coleman was perfectly cast as Louis. His bright face, full of expression, is just what is needed for a silent movie. Jackie Earle Haley gave a wonderful "Chaplinesque" performance. His mannerisms caught the vintage style perfectly. Shanti Lowry as grace, did not feel as well cast as the other main roles. She did not seem to be able to convey as much of the story through her body language as the two other main actors were able to. I didn't find myself as interested in her story line as much and wishing they were focusing on the Louis character more. That could be more of a result in my disagreeing with Director/Editing choices than with her performance however.

All round, an 8 from me. Less bordello, more Louis would have made it even higher. If it is playing anywhere near you, go see it for a very entertaining evening!

V for Vendetta (2005)

Remember, remember the fifth of November

[10/10 · 27 March 2006]

Remember, remember, the fifth of November, The gunpowder treason and plot. I know of no reason why gunpowder treason should ever be forgot.

Take the stories "1984" and "Atlas Shrugged" and combine with Phantom of the Opera, and you have V for Vendetta; A Fantastic new movie from the creators of The Matrix starring Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving. Based on a 1982 comic book story by Alan Moore and David Lloyd, V for Vendetta tells the story of the world about 15 years or so from now, and how it quickly became a world of despair and tyranny, created by a compliant public, in hopes that the government can save them from everything they fear.

Most of the population accepts what they feel is a necessary loss of freedom in the hard times the world is facing. Those that don't are usually branded terrorist or enemies of the state and "black bagged" in the middle of the night by government agents, never to be heard from again. One man, known only as "V" (Weaving), refuses to live in such a world. Believing that "people should not fear their governments, governments should fear their people", V single handedly purses a vendetta for liberty against those individuals in power responsible for the new world order. In a very "John Galt" like address to the nation, V starts to shake the citizens from their complacency, helping them to realize they only have themselves to blame for the situation they are in, but it is also only their willingness that allows it to continue. Circumstances tie V to Evey Hammond (Portman), a young woman who knows what is going on in the world is wrong, but is too scared to do anything about it. The story follows her individual journey from fear to realizing freedom of the mind is more important than even life itself. This movie may be build as an action film, but I see it as a love story. Not in the traditional sense of between two people, but in a Randian way between people and ideas.

This movie is one of the most powerful movies about liberty I have ever seen. I have seen this movie twice now and both times I have had to keep myself from standing up and cheering at the end. I am very heartened by the positive response I have heard from everyone I have talked to that has seen this movie. V for Vendetta is rated "R", but I would still recommend it to anyone old enough to understand the ideas presented in this film. The second time I saw it I brought my 15 year old son, and I would have brought my 13 year old daughter, if I thought she would have understood it. To all my family and friends that don't quite understand why I am involved in the libertarian movement, this movie is for them. These are the reasons I devote so much time and energy to that cause. Seeing these ideas so strongly displayed in a major motion picture, gives me renewed hope that people still place a value on liberty of more than mere lip service. To anyone that supports our government's suppression of freedom in the name of a "War on Terror", this movie is also for them. Your Liberty, the freedom of your mind, is too precious to trade away for anything anyone else can offer you.

Martin & Orloff (2002)

Cinematic Cotton Candy

[5/10 · 14 June 2003]

Martin & Orloff is a movie about the relationship between a suicide attemptee and his psychiatrist who has as many issues as his patient. The movie made me laugh several times but, like cotton candy, it had no substance to it. It started fading from my mind as soon as I left the theater. Enjoyable but forgetable. I can see myself in a couple of years, if this movie ever makes it to tv, saying "I might have seen that. I'm not sure."

Ghosts of Mars (2001)

You can find better ways to spend your time

[4/10 · 24 August 2001]

Ghosts of Mars has a very low budget look to it. I don't have anything against low budget films, but with this one I couldn't get past the fact they they just looked like people running around an indoor soundstage. Aside from a few brief moments, the story never really peaked my interest, and the multi-layered flashbacks got annoying after a while. In addition, the acting never really sparked either. So, I wouldn't say it was a terrible movie, but the time spent watching it could have been put to alot better use.

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

Madness...Madness

[8/10 · 29 July 2001]

Bridge on the River Kwai, is a very Intriguing movie centering around a man who refuses to compromise his principles regardless of the situation surrounding him, and the conflict that is caused when his principles become contrary to one another. I enjoyed this movie very much, but would like to have seen Alec Guinness receive a little more of the screen time. The music is also very memorable. I'm sure there are many people who are familiar with the "Colonel Bogey March" who have never even seen the film! The last line of the film sums it up nicely, not just in reference to the main characters but the situation and war in general. 8 out of ten.

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

One of the best films on Social Tolerance

[8/10 · 1 July 2001]

This movie really gave me a sense of what it must have been like to grow up in the 1930's. We follow a young girl's development as she takes the lesson from her father on how "it's a sin to kill a mockingbird" and later starts applying it to people, and develops principals of tolerance of others, from the poor to their outcast neighbor. I love the message of this movie, especially Atticus Finch's monologues on justice and the rule of law. There are some flaws to the film story itself though, such as the movie doesn't really say what Mr. Ewell's motivations are in regards to Atticus' children, among other things. Despite minor flaws I would highly recommend this film to anyone. 8 out of 10.

Traffic (2000)

Powerful argument against the war on drugs

[9/10 · 3 June 2001]

"Traffic" is a powerful movie about how different people are touched by both the drug trade and the war on drugs. What I liked about this movie was that there weren't clear cut "good guys and bad guys". I saw the story as more people on one side, and both drugs and the war on them on the other. The film shows that while drugs can be destructive in people's lives, the war against them can be just as destructive. Some of the things touched on were; how are government disregards property rights through asset forfeiture, teenagers find it harder to get regulated alcohol than illegal drugs, how it corrupts police and even governments, and turns murderers and thugs into millionaires.

"Traffic" may make you question if the billions of dollars we spend fighting drugs is a good investment.

Pearl Harbor (2001)

Long and Lame

[4/10 · 23 May 2001]

It's been a while since I have had a less enjoyable time at a movie. Pearl Harbor is over three hours long, but it seems more like five! We start with a Top Gun introduction then move into establishing the romance aspect which feels extremely forced and is filled with cliches. This goes on (and on) with nothing original and anyone who has seen a few movies can predict every step of this relationship. When we finally do get to some battle scenes they are well done and interesting camera work, if your still awake at this point. The action scenes do a good job of depicting the chaos that I can imagine must have been going on. After the attack is over and you think it's just about done, the story manages to keep dragging on. The acting is very uninspiring and Cuba Gooding Jr. is completely wasted. This is probably the fourth movie I've seen centering around the attack on Pearl Harbor and by far the weakest one. The battle scenes save this movie from a worse rating. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give it a 4.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003)

My all time favorite show!

[10/10 · 20 May 2001]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the best TV series I've come across in my 34 years. I've been hooked since the first episode and this series is my primary reason I have a satellite dish. It's not carried in my TV market and with a dish it runs three times every Tuesday. It's been a joy watching these characters develop from insecure high school students into adulthood. The show seems to have outgrown it's title though as Vampire slaying has long been overshadowed. each season they come up with an even more seemingly unstoppable villain; demons, man-made monsters and now a "god". I hope that they don't go to far over the top and destroy what made this such a great show to begin with, a story of a girl trying to balance her responsibilities with a desire to live a normal life. I don't agree with all the decisions made by the writers (the Spike-Buffy thing for one), but I'll be sticking with it till the end.

The X-Files (1993–2018)

At one time, my favorite show

[9/10 · 20 May 2001]

When the X-files started I would not miss an episode. Originally attracted to it by Gillian Anderson, a high school friend, I was quickly caught by the uniqueness of this show. They writers always seem to come up with something fresh and original. I like the "shadowyness" of it you never really new the whole story. After a while though they seemed to be giving to much away and when the movie came out is about when I gave up on this show and I haven't seen an episode since. I expected "something great" from the movie, but it turned out to be no different than the episodes. I got the feeling the producers were saying "our show is so good, were going to make you pay $6.00 to see the last two episodes of the season." That attitude plus the change in filming locations changed the show for me and I lost interest. I'm sure the show still has it's fans, but I believe the first few seasons were the high point for this series.

Shrek (2001)

Story takes Detour

[7/10 · 17 May 2001]

Disregarding the toilet humor, Shrek starts off with a great story. A libertarian ogre enjoys his solitude, until a lord in a quest for a perfect society, banishes all fairy tale creatures to his swamp. The ogre sets off to see the lord and re-establish his property rights. At this point for some reason the movie pretty much throws away this story line in favor of a very predictable one we've seen many times before. I still enjoyed the movie, but I would much rather have seen it follow the original plot line. Why did the lord feel banishing the fairy tale creatures would make society better? How did his subjects feel about this "perfect" society? We don't get any answers to these, all we get are crude jokes and a constant reminder that this movie was not made by Disney.

Shrek could have been a great movie, but decided to take the low road instead.

The Rainbow Fish (1997 Video)

Wrong story gets top billing

[3/10 · 3 May 2001]

This tape contains two stories by Marcus Pfister, The other being "Dazzle the Dinosaur". The first story is about a rude and self-centered fish who alienates everyone around him. When no one wants anything to do with him, he goes to see an octopus for (bad)advice. In my opinion this octopus is sort of a "Karl Marx of the Ocean". Instead of telling him to stop being obnoxious and have more consideration for others, he seems to say his problems arise from the fact the fish "has more" than the others and things can only be right if he gives everything away so every one is equal. I found the socialist theme of this story disturbing and discussed better solutions with my children. The second story is a little better, centering on themes of family, friendship and courage. Two adventurous dinosaurs take it upon themselves to reclaim there family's rightful property that has been taken by a larger dinosaur. If your looking for morality tales for children, you can do better than this tape. Try for instance "Adventures in the book of Virtues."

The Patriot (2000)

Very enjoyable film, but don't expect a history lesson.

[7/10 · 1 April 2001]

An exciting movie in the rare film setting of the American revolution. This film is more about family than the war though. Family is the reason Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson) wants to stay out of the war, and family is the reason he eventually gets involved. The acting by everyone is very good, especially Gibson and Heath Ledger. Their developing relationship is very believable. I would have liked to see a little more on the philosophical reasons for the revolution itself which were pretty much glossed over in the movie. The violence tends to get a little gratuitous, some scenes more for shock value than plot advancement. The violence aside I enjoyed the movie and would recommend it to any adults who feel they can handle those kind of scenes.