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theconjourer
Reviews
Tank Girl (1995)
Many many flaws, but somehow still amazing.
This is the kind of movie, that if you told me you loved it I would completely understand, and if you said you hated it I would likewise understand. This movie has problems, like lots of problems. But it also has incredible heart. Not in the way that it has some kind of message, but in the idea that it had some filmmakers that had so much passion and love for the source material that no amount of studio interference cover up.
The writing is probably the strongest part next to the main performance from Lori Petty, despite a couple VERY dated jokes. Tank Girl's quips and banter serve not only to provide humor but characterize Tank Girl as not just a pretty face with jokes but a well rounded, if absurd character, who actually cares about the world and those around her.
The action is delightfully practical, and the truck hijack scene (about half way through the film) stands out as a genuinely great action scene, filled with great stunts and some laugh out loud gags. Not quite every scene rises to that level, but they do their best to be creative and over the top.
The film suffered greatly at the hand of the studio that produced it removing large sections of the story, and consequently some scenes that could have been more impactful fall completely flat. Also be prepared for Tank Girl to fall in love with mutant kangaroo. Just know that's the world you are living in.
Overall the movie is the like the feminist daughter of Mad Max and Deadpool, the premise is way ahead of it's time, and while I haven't gotten into it's flaws to much just know they are there and sit down and enjoy the ride. You'll either love it or hate it, and either way, I totally understand.
Sleepwalk with Me (2012)
If you just want jokes, don't bother, otherwise enjoy!
I saw this movie because I heard about it from Joss Whedon's "boycott." Before I sat down to watch it I glanced at the IMDb rate of 6.7, so I figured take it in on my day off while at home on netflix with nothing else to do. It turned out I loved it. The film follows Matt as he attempts to break into stand up comedy and juggle a relationship with his girlfriend of 8 years, as well as cope with some extreme bouts of sleepwalking. Now this is listed as a comedy, but it's not like comedies that other comedians put out, like Will Ferrell, and I wonder if that's part of the reason for the low ranking. Really the story is a serious one but told in a lighthearted but honest way.
If there were some downsides they would be first that, visually it's nothing special, it looks good but not great. Second, is not so much a downside for me as it would be for what I assume it was for some of the people who gave it negative reviews, (indeed I did see people cite this very reason in their reviews) and that is the ending. The film follows the typical film plot structure up to a point and then it strays from what most people would see as typical. I won't spoil anything but I will say this, I was surprised but then again it makes you think. And that is where it really knocked it out of the park for me. I was a little miffed at first but, the film then leaves you with a thought, which made me re-think the movie and it all came together.
I don't think the average movie goer wants to have a revelation at the end of a movie unless that revelation was "It was all a dream(or was it?)" or "He was dead the whole time."
All in all, the movie is an honest, lighthearted look at an event from Mike Birbiglia's life. A movie that will make you laugh at least a little bit, and you might even take something away from it. If you JUST want to laugh, well go watch the latest Will Ferrell movie.
Equilibrium (2002)
As Good as The Matrix, just different.
I honestly wasn't expecting much going into this movie. Like many other people, it looked like a movie trying to look like The Matrix. However I was pleasantly surprised that not only was it cool, but it actually had a plot, and a plot that kept me guessing. The story is as follows. In the future emotion has been outlawed, and people take a drug to help suppress emotion. Christian Bale is what is known as a Cleric, and his mission is to eradicate "sense offenders" or people who have been caught feeling emotion. After a series of incidents, Christian Bale's character ends up missing his dosage of the emotion suppression medication, and then the story takes off from there. The biggest surprise for me was that despite this looking like an action movie, the action seems lightly sprinkled in with the arch of the main character. The pity is that, with a bigger budget and possibly a few better direction choices this could have been better. They did do a great job with what they had though. The story is great, action was very good. For anyone who wants to see it, I will admit the beginning is pretty cheesy, but once you get past the first few minutes and just get into it, it becomes great. I understand why people compare it to The Matrix, but it really is it's own animal. If anything it would be The Matrix, but the main character is an Agent rather than a resistance member.