July 10, 2005

  • With all the momentum with Batman lately, I just had to check out The Return To The Batcave : the misadventures of Adam and Burt.
    Originally I thought this was going to a pseudo documentary on their
    careers as the dynamic duo.  Well it kinda was, but it was also
    it's own movie that has a plot that could easily have been spawned from
    one of their old Batman TV show. The Batmobile gets stolen, and it's up to Adam West and Burt Ward
    to team up and solve the mystery. So expect a lot; and I mean A LOT, of
    campiness in the movie. Despite that, I actually enjoyed it.  If
    this was any other movie, I would have simply turned it off, but the
    movie has a way of keeping you glued to find out what happens
    next.  Kinda like their TV show when they leave you off in a
    cliffhanger. So basically, the plot is ridiculously camp, the actors
    over acts, the set pieces are cheesy, and the flashbacks while
    entertaining, makes you wonder exactly how accurate or inaccurate they
    were. Yes it's a flawed movie, but at least it had several enjoyable
    moments. " C+ "

    Here's a Japanese Anime movie that's been on my "too see" list for awhile.  Perfect Blue for some reason is a relatively known film to anime enthusiasts, so much so that I hear it bundled up with Akira or Ghost in the Shell
    as "important" anime to watch. That's a lot of hype that it has to live
    up to.  For the most part, it's the visceral nature of the subject
    matter that's going to get people very interested with the film. 
    It's the story of a moderate pop star that gets pushed in a direction
    to try and get more fame, by going down paths that some people would
    not go. The movie also gets on a metaphysical bizarre plane making us
    wonder about our perception of reality and who we are as a person. Top
    that with some in your face violence and sexual situations, and you got
    yourselves a typical anime cult classic in the making. For the most
    part, I can appreciate the direction that the film takes, and feel
    great sympathy for the main character. Showing the dark side of the
    business is definitely interesting, but I think I simply got bogged
    down by how "heavy" things eventually got. " C+ "

    I've seen Lords of Dogtown
    a couple of weeks ago and it really got me interested in the
    documentary that the fictional movie was spawned from. Simply put, if
    you only had a choice between the movie and the documentary, choose the
    documentary.  Dogtown and Z-Boys
    is a very engrossing film that reveals the beginnings of what modern
    skateboarding is today. It successfully gives you a great idea of the
    skateboarding scene that the z-boys pioneered, when everybody else was
    stuck with an old fashion style of skateboarding. Sure these kids were
    more or less punks that didn't take kindly to non-locals, but it was
    their culture and they backed up their attitude through their skills.
    Just like the movie though, the story starts you off from the humble
    beginnings, the torrid affairs of the team's seperations, the success
    they had as teens, and the inevitable reunion that makes them stronger.
    One thing that I have to point out is that a lot of the footage were
    actually from the 70s and there were no recreations that I could tell.
    In fact, even though the skateboarding stills and the footage were
    vintage, they looked much better and more in your face than how the
    movie had those shots. You also get a better sense of the other
    characters that makes up the z-boys, and you can totally feel how proud
    they are for what they did to the sport. " A- "