Movie #44 - Children of Men

"No children. No future. No hope."

One of the best films that I saw from the 2006 class, this one is great from start to finish. Not only is the film well shot and well written, but the cast is wonderful.

The concept - no woman on Earth can have children anymore - or in other words, the human race is becoming extinct. There are some great scenes in this film (which I won't spoil for those who haven't watched it yet) and there are some strong commentaries on how our current society could potentially erode to what you see on screen here in just a few years.

Currently, the Earth is on a crash course to something like this - mainly caused by us. We are ravishing this world of our natural resources, our unique species, and our clean air and water supplies that eventually, a worldwide epidemic such as infertility could pose a major threat. Although quite extreme on the whole, this movie provides perspective of what would happen if the world was going to end - very slowly.

There are some heart-wrenching scenes here such as the battle scenes with the refugees / rebels and the deaths of some key characters throughout the film. The screenplay is adapted by Timothy Sexson and Alfonso Cuaron, both who were nominated for Oscars. The film was nominated for a Cinematography Oscar as well, but the film was shunned in 2006. I would've thought Clive Owen deserved acknowledgement for his role in this film, but I guess there were just some better performances out there in 2006 - I beg to differ.

Just on sheer concept alone, this movie is great. Once you commit yourself emotionally, you'll enjoy it even more because its dark, its dire, and it really hits you on the personal level. Especially if you are a parent or aspiring to be one - you'll know why. In the end, the movie provides a glimpse of a possible future if any of the pandemics imposing on society ever catch hold on the human race. I just hope that we can move away from this direction and save ourselves in the long run.

Movie #43 - Halloween (2007)

"Evil has a destiny."

Being a massive fan of the original 1978 cult classic, I must admit, this movie did bring back a great deal of memories. The original 1978 film was in fact an independent film created by John Carpenter and starring the unknown phenom at the time - Jamie Lee Curtis.

I commend Rob Zombie in bringing this film back from the depths of VHS obscurity into the mainstream with his remake version. I liked the efforts made to make this movie his own, but I do love the fact that he retained a large portion of the original screenplay, score, and scenes to please both purists and new audience members alike.

I understand the appeal to bring this movie back - 1978 represents a whole generation of people, myself included (born in 1980) who grew up without CGI and grew up on epic films such as Star Wars. A large man walking slowly around a suburb in a mechanics outfit wearing a cheap William Shatner mask just isn't quite scary anymore for today's teenagers - the main demographic of the movie theatre audience.

The first full hour is a treat for us older viewers. The Zombie version goes into a strong background into Michael Myers' psyche and his development into the violent sociopath that he becomes. There are strong performances by Daeg Faerch as Michael Myers at age 10 and you become sympathetic with Deborah Myers (portrayed by Sheri Moon Zombie), as Faerch begins to tailspin into his madness and becomes obsessed with murder and evil.

Once that hour is completed, the movie returns to about 85% of the original screenplay. There are add-ons to the script such as the origin of Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton), a more in-depth character development of Dr. Samuel Loomis (Malcolm MacDowell), and some different death sequences. By that point, the movie became very predictable, which probably angered some movie-goers expecting to see a different film.

What are the takebacks? Getting to the know the Myers boy is perfect for the franchise fan. We really didn't know what set Michael off back in 1978, now we do. Faerch portrays a sick little boy to the tee and he does it convincingly... especially because his face can go from innocent and sweet to murderous and evil in a split second. The casting of Taylor-Compton was disappointing as the Strode character is supposed to represent the heroin in this film... something that Zombie did not accomplish with this actress. I was disappointed with MacDowell's portrayal of Loomis, but only because I am biased towards the late Donald Pleasence. If only he were still alive, I believe re-casting Pleasence in this role would achieve Zombie's goal to reinvigorate the franchise.

In my opinion, he accomplished as such. This is by far a strong attempt to bring back the Halloween franchise from obscurity - I just hope they stop at one remake this time around.

Movie #42 - Children of God: Lost and Found

"A first-person account of growing up in an evangelical Christian cult."

There is not much to say here apart from watch this movie. Coming from a Catholic upbringing, there is a great deal of stuff that my religion has done in recent years to give the whole practice a bad name. However, with regards to Christian cults, like the one portrayed in this documentary, there are a lot of problems being expressed with this first-person account.

I commend Writer/Director Noah Thomson's efforts in trying to capture all sides to this story. The personal hardships and tragedies experienced by the real life people in this film make a strong commentary towards the negative effects of strong religious beliefs and what damage and pain these extreme beliefs do in fact cause.

This documentary provides an insight into what cult religions are like for young people growing up with these types of beliefs imposed on them at an early age. The documentary also delves into how Thomson and his brothers are attempting to cope with their own personal battles after leaving the religion to start their own lives as adults.

Movie #41 - Matrix Revolutions

"Everything that has a beginning has an end."

Thank God! They really should've stopped with the first movie. One of the groundbreaking films of the era, The Matrix was a gem of a movie and many would have benefitted with the franchise stopping at one film.

However, when money is involved and a story needs to be told - you get your sequels. Don't get me wrong, many films have enjoyed better sequels than first films. This one... I tend to disagree. Not only were the other two films box office flops in comparison to the first movie... they didn't make much sense. And I am a big fan of science fiction / fantasy films and both were way out there... not because of plot, but strictly based on screenplay execution and lack of emotional presence on film created by Keanu Reeves (Neo).

There are some major bonuses in this film that I cannot complain about. Mainly the casting of Monica Bellucci as Persephone. Her role is more important in the second sequel, however, seeing her at any point in both films is a treat - especially leather clad no less. In addition, the Zion battle sequences were quite cool - specifically the giant mechancial soldier gunners were well designed.

In the end, Revolutions really took on an action movie feel to it, but really made no sense. The final battle sequence between Neo and Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) was very underwhelming and thus, the end of this franchise was welcomed. I do admit falling asleep in the drive-in back in the day when I watched Matrix Reloaded... unfortunately, I wasn't so lucky this time around with this one.

Movie #40 - Tombstone

"Justice is coming!"

Yes - and his name is Kurt Russell (Wyatt Earp). What makes me laugh about this film is that although tagged as one of the best modern Western films ever made, it doesn't get any critical acclaim because it is in fact shot and cast like a strict action movie. Also, what spoiled the success of Tombstone is Kevin Costner's failed attempt at Wyatt Earp - which was released so soon after this film (less than 1 year), that most people disregarded it completely.

What makes this movie a great film and one for those masculine men out there is the wonderfully casting of Val Kilmer (Doc Holliday) contrasted against Sigma Nu's own, Michael Biehn (Johnny Ringo). The constant feud between these two deadly guns of the wild west are captured on film between these two actors. You really feel the hatred Biehn has for Kilmer's character and you definitely know that these two are on a collision course throughout the film.

As a follow up to this movie, I would like to see Kilmer resurrect his role as Doc Holliday in a film just based around his character and life's exploits. However, I think Holliday will be forever linked to Wyatt Earp and his association to his time in Tombstone.

Overall, the film is cast with a number of familiar names: Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, cameo from Charlton Heston (can't have a movie with guns without him), Jason Priestley (who looks really out of place with his fake beard), Thomas Haden Church, Terry O'Quinn (pre-John Locke), Michael Rooker, Billy Bob Thornton, Powers Boothe, and of course, the love interest of Dana Delaney.

If this film had been made today, you would see this film immediately be tagged as a money grab. Most films with more than 2 headliner actors / actresses are usually deemed as such and many of them are. However, you cannot go wrong with Tombstone. If you are a fan of the old westerns with violence like For a Few Dollars More or The Magnificent Seven, you'll definitely enjoy this film. It packs it all in there in a neat little package and it has some great movie quotes that you can use the next time you find yourself in a gunfight.

"I'll be your huckleberry."

Movie #39 - Beverly Hills Cop II

"The Heat's Back On!"

A pretty cheesy tagline if you ask me. However, much better than the first movie... although the whole franchise does not rank in any Top 10 list trilogies out there. These movies are strictly fun films to enjoy, especially if you are a fan of the 80's. And, like The Godfather trilogy, many tend to forget that they even made Beverly Hills Cop III - many years later and way beyond its shelf life.

Eddie Murphy (Axle Foley) is at it again, returning to Beverly Hills to help Judge Reinhold and John Ashton (Det. Rosewood and Det. Taggert) to solve a set of alphabet crimes. What makes this film interesting is the casting of Brigitte Nielsen, who at the time was one of the hottest women in Hollywood - recently married to Sylvester Stallone, cast in a number of action flicks as the leading lady - you get the picture. I still liked her better in Rocky IV, but that's another blog entry entirely.

Jurgen Prochnow (Maxwell Dent) plays the villain in this movie... a far cry from his Jesus Christ casting in The Seventh Sign. And once again, we have some brief cameos of Paul Reiser, attempting to be funny as Murphy's mischievous sidekick from Detroit - like anyone would believe Reiser was from Detroit - yeah right, has anyone seen an episode of Mad About You?

Anyhow... the movie is much better than the first film, mainly because many of the jokes and plot twists are expected and the relationships are already established. In terms of movie accomplishments, this is definitely Judge Reinhold's best film ever... however, many would argue that either Zandalee or Fast Times at Ridgemont High were better films for him. I beg to differ.

Movie #38 - Terminator 2: Judgement Day

"It's nothing personal."

If I were to think back over all of the movies I have seen in my 27 years, I would like to think that Terminator 2: Judgement Day ranks high on influential films that I have seen. This thought stems from a variety of factors:

1991 - This year marks the period in which I became a big fan of the hobbies that I still enjoy today. I started collecting sports cards in 1991 and I was given the freedom to enjoy my love for movies with access to local video stores such as Streetsville, Ontario's Queen Video, in which I had access to over 10,000+ VHS films for a tremendous price point of 5 movie rentals for 5 days for $5.

Arnold Schwarzenegger - Surprisingly, this was the jump start of the persona that is the Governator. Not that his previous films such as Conan, Terminator, or Total Recall didn't do that already, Terminator 2 was the culmination of all of his efforts rolled into one of biggest blockbusters of the decade.

T-1000 - Awesome. At age 11, I honestly thought the concept of a liquid metal killing machine was fantastic and got my imagination going. It didn't motivate me to become an engineer or develop anything with computers, but it gave me the chance to appreciate that CGI was here to stay and that anything could be made to look and feel "real" on the screen with just a simple click of a few buttons. Computers were here to stay and T2 represented the virtual boom of the computer age, something I grew up in.

These 3 factors alone make this movie an important pillar in my hobby and obsession with the movies I like. Whenever I see this film, I always watch it in its entirety... the movie itself is well written, perfectly cast, and still provides a sense of suspense in the pursuit of John Connor. I have especially liked the parodies of this film done by the Simpsons, since it is one of my favourite movies.

What makes this movie work is the casting of Robert Patrick (T-1000) and Edward Furlong (John Connor). Without a strong Connor in the role, you don't feel the importance of his life or his character. Without a strong villain, who in this case is also a shape shifter and 10x stronger and faster than Arnold, you really don't have a movie. I always vouch that the villain makes the movie and what this villain is able to do really puts you in your seat.

If you have not yet seen T2: Judgement Day after 17 years, pick it up. It is definitely one to enjoy even now after so many years. A big screen, HD television viewing for the first time would be ideal as it would truly capture the essence of what was intended for the audience.