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barham
Reviews
The Candidate (1972)
Shallow and pointless
This film tries to show how pointless and shallow politics is, by being pointless and shallow. It's amusing to see how nothing has changed in thirty years. But don't waste two hours on this film. Redford does better as a director than as an actor.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
good brew of the best sci-fi
I believe the reason for the low attendance to this movie is the subject matter - call it a backlash or fear of advanced computer technology. That's a shame - people are missing out on a very good film. It's also ironic, because the Flesh Fair in the movie is comprised of an audience who are also technophobes, determined to wipe out all the "mechas" (mechanical beings) because of their ability to dominate the "orgas" (organic beings).
The story is somewhat of a sci-fi version of Pinocchio. A mecha boy, David, goes on a journey to find someone who can turn him into a real boy.
The film's got the influence of Stanley Kubrick thrown in (scenes in the Manhattan offices of Dr. Hobby will remind you of the end of 2001 Space Odyssey) and even a reminder of the final scene of the original Planet of the Apes, with the Statue of Liberty partially submerged. Remember, the planet underwent a catastrophic global warming, so the coastal cities are underwater.
Pop Gear (1965)
A 60's musical time capsule that should be better preserved
I had wondered what had happened to a little film I saw in the early 70s called Go-Go Mania and now I know - its original English title is Pop Gear.
Nice viewing for pop music historians. There are good performances by obscure groups here that never made it to the US. Too bad the performers didn't always think to write the name of their group in bigger letters on their drum kits, sort of as a way of preserving their work for posterity. Nor does the film pop up the name of the group and the song the group performs (the benefits of pop-up video!)
I caught this film on a cable channel over the July 4 holiday and sat frantically flipping through a book on British pop music trying to identify some of these groups!
Anyway, for those of you not familiar with British pop music of the 60s, here's what I caught:
The Nashville Teens perform "Tobacco Road" and "Google Eyes", both written by John D. Loudermilk. Do not be fooled by the name - it is a British group.
The Honeycombs are identifiable by their female drummer, Honey Langtree.
I thought the performance by the Four Pennies was particularly good - they sang with a passion. This was a group that unfortunately never even surfaced in the US - Lionel Morton, Fritz Fryer, Mike Walsh, and Alan Buck. Too bad we missed out!
Another good performance by a 5?-man group whose lead singer has red hair - sadly I couldn't identify these fellows. Anybody out there who can help me out?
Eric Burdon and the Animals are always a treat. A little guy with a huge voice.
The description of the film says Spencer Davis is in here too, though I turned it on too late to catch them.
And the grand finale looked like footage of the Beatles from "A Hard Day's Night". 'Nuff said about the Beatles.
The music holds up extremely well - the dance numbers were something else. They positively date the thing in the 60s. The tight gold pants worn by one group of women look awful. And the dresses worn by another group look like sacks - they called this fashion?
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Great Idea for Movie but Implementation Needs Work
I saw this movie and had to close my eyes through much of it, spoiling my viewing, because the shaking camera made me feel sick. If the filmers had used a steadicam it could have made a huge difference in the quality of the output and made it more viewable.
A problem I had with this movie plot (which has probably been mentioned by other viewers) is that few ordinary people in the circumstances as portrayed in this movie would have had the presence of mind to keep a grasp on a movie camera until their last moments -- if they really thought they were being hunted by the boogeyman.
I think the idea is a good one, though, and I like how the website and the movie each provide something the other doesn't.