The Last of the Mohicans Meets The Running Man
By bukkhead | June 13, 2007
FILM REVIEW: ‘APOCALYPTO’
Written by Mel Gibson and Farhad Safinia
Directed by Mel Gibson
Rated R
139 mins.
3 stars
I’m half tempted to tell you the ending of Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto, but I really don’t have to, since you will probably figure it out for yourself. Mel provides the tried-and-true ancient civilization clichés, (complete with a deus ex machina solar eclipse saving the day) like Cliff’s Notes for those who don’t want to bother reading actually anthropology texts. What will cinch it for the attentive film-buff is remembering that this is a Mel Gibson movie, with lots of nice Christian subtexts, and everything’s going to hinge on father-son issues. And blood. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Movies | No Comments »
I’m A Loser, Baby
By bukkhead | June 13, 2007
FILM REVIEW: ‘EAGLE VS SHARK’
Written and directed by Taika Cohen
Rated R
93 mins.
/>
One of the songs in Eagle vs Shark asks us to compare apples and tangerines,(more poetic than oranges) as likely a pair as an eagle and a shark. But the only real difference between Lily and Jerrod is that she knows she’s in love with a loser, while he has no idea who he is. Jerrod only know who he wants to be.
Lily (Loren Horsley) works the till at a fast food joint, and spends her days either waiting for the glasses-wearing, mullet-sporting Jerrod (Jemaine Clement), or dreaming about him once he’s left. Eventually she finds a way to meet him formally, at a party he’s thrown for people to come dressed as their favorite animal. At last Jerrod takes notice, impressed by her costume, and even more impressed by her video-game skills. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Movies | No Comments »
No Spur to ‘Pick’ the Sides of Intent
By bukkhead | June 8, 2007
FILM REVIEW: ‘THE PICK OF DESTINY’
Written by Jack Black and Kyle Gass
Directed by Liam Lynch
Rated R
93 mins.
2 1/2 stars
I really wanted to like The Pick of Destiny. I liked the first Tenacious D album, without the benefit of having seen them on HBO or whatever it was. Eventually I did rent the Tenacious D video, and that should have been a warning. I think maybe there’s something to be said about this whole “reader response” form of criticism, in that with just the album, I had an incomplete picture, and so I gave them the benefit of the doubt and filled in the rest myself. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Movies | No Comments »