Robocop

No, not the remake. I am talking about the 1987 classic of a man turned into a super crime-fighting machine. Directed by Paul Verhoeven, who went on to direct Starship Trooper's, Basic instinct, Total Recall (not the damn remake!) and, tragically, Showgirl's. The film that sound's so bad, this blog, which reviews Cult movies, will never have the misfortune to review it. But as for one of his first movies in America, he landed with a splash. Through the use of practical effect's, ultra-violence, stellar cast and social satire with a unbiased point of view, we see the horrifically wonderful world of tommorow. Greed, corruption, social decay, urbanization and dependence on technology is our coming utopia and as with most Dystopia/science-fiction film's, the future SUCK'S! And in spite of dated effect's and obvious budgetary constriction's, we have a bad-ass, clever and memorable  addition to film. 

On to the story: Veteran cop Alex Murphy is moved to the lower precinct of Detroit where all the scum of the street rape, rob and murder 24/7 (To be fair, the movie is accurate). However, on his first day he run's into Boddicker, a notorious crime boss, and is brutally mowed down in a hail on shotgun blasts. But as the Police department belong's to OCP, a malevolent consumer/military product company, Murphy's body is used for the prototype of Robocop. Highly armored and packing heat, nothing stop's Robocop from stopping all crime in Detroit and avenging his death at the hand's of Boddicker.

You know, for a film made in the 1980's, the vision of the future does seem quite...cheap. I mean in film's like Metropolis(1927), the vision of the future is skyscrapers and a city of metal. Here it is only set in the year god only know's and nothing has changed except for interactive computer com's placed around the city and futuristic weapon's. They still use corded phones and lunchbox sized TV's. As well as that, the building's look just as they did in the 80's, including factories and warehouses using machinery that would be considered a health hazard. I know nobody can predict the future of technology, but you can at least put some effort into it.

But for what it is, it is a damn impressive film. The stop motion effects, full body suit for Robocop and the MOST. BLOOD SQUIBS. EVER! are particularly effective. Plus, Robocop is a complete bad ass. Expert marksmanship, super strength, a whole arsenal of weaponry and the best quips since the Terminator. But we can also feel sympathy for this killing machine, someone who can barely grasp at the memories of a man, he seek's out his identity with hopes of becoming more than a machine. The rest of the supporting cast is great also. We have Miguel Ferrer of Twin peaks and Hot shots part deux fame, playing the developer of Robocop and he satires the business yuppie to an extreme. We also have Nancy Allen playing the quick and witty Officer Lewis. I like her in the start of the movie, but her hand to hand fighting skill's sadly don't get much more prominence throughout the rest of the movie. Also there is Ronny Cox (Beverly Hill cop, Total Recall) and Kurtwood Smith (That 70's show, 24) as our over the top and slimy antagonists. Proving that subtlety and and an explosive personality can make great villains. And the satire is as clever as it is funny. Adverts and television are simplified, the scene when an executive is shot to death during a board meeting actually has someone asking for a paramedic. I believe my favorite part is the climax, with Robocop taking out all of crime in a gory, OTT fashion that leaves you begging for more as he opens fire on his enemies. Hey, the action is very good, with shoot-outs a plenty and enough of people being thrown at/through shit, it's quite intense. And the score is awesome, ranging from the bad ass marching theme to the tragic string variation. I seem to be using Bad ass a lot in this review, well that's the best way to rate a film like this. Level 1=Transformers

Level 10= Lord of the Ring's

I say it's a level 9=On par with Dredd. I recommend you all watch this version first, before you watch the remake that really doesn't need to exist. Anyone who say's otherwise clearly has not seen the film. Your Move Creep!

Top ten Final Film Duel's

I think I might be doing more Top ten's this year since I can't get my opinion in edge way with Watchmojo. But I feel as though I will have more freedom to offer my opinion, plus I will post ahead to give notice of potential list's so you may offer your opinion. But enough about that, today let's talk about the major point of any show or film, the climax or Boss battle. Here, I'll be concentrated on the duels between the two most charismatic characters in a battle that is symbolic, tense, exciting and even humorous. Not all need to follow each, but they do need to come under two or more of each category.  So, presented for your...'reading' pleasure, here are your totally spoiler filled list of endings to films that I liked the ending of (or climaxes, but you know what I mean.) Oh, and by the way,

SSSSSSSSSSPOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRSSSS

10. Batman vs The Joker (Batman)
I know a lot of you are expecting the climax of The Dark Knight to appear on this list, but ever since I saw this film, I really have not been giving it enough attention. After a thrilling dogfight between Joker and the Batplane, the fight is brought to the church. After engaging in a fist-fight with Joker, the two express their disgust for and lack of sympathy for trying to kill each other. This is especially powerful as Batman actually feel's like he need's to kill the Joker and goes through with it all the way. The scene is filled with the Joker's black comedy, impressive angles and dark shadows.

9. Kevin vs The Wet Bandits (Home Alone)
When you really get down to it, the real reason this film is so popular isn't the lead or message, but the trap's at the end. This has to be some of the best slapstick in recent time's, but also some of the most sadistic. Surely a boy who is as aware as Kevin would know what damage a nail in the floor, a blowtorch to the head, an iron to the face or even slippery stairs can do to the body. Admittedly you have to suspend your disbelief only so much, but as far as dishing's out goes, this is one of the best revenge plan's ever. Heck, even if the sequel was a bit of a carbon copy, the trap's at the end of that are probably even more deadly.

8. Brody vs the Shark (Jaws) 
This may seem a little more abrupt than most of the other movies on this list, the build up over the course of the movie is what really makes this a tense scene. Throughout the movie, people have been munched and destroyed, even Quint before the battle was chewed in half. This scared the audience more as they had no idea what direction Spielberg was going. Was he going to jump scare, have a happy ending or will the shark consume one last victim before the credits. But as the music built and shark closed in, the shot's rang out in Chief Brody's desperate attempt to end this beast. It's eerily similar to Moby Dick, as Ahab prepares to go down with the monster he has sought for so long.  

7. Dave vs HAL 9000 (2001: A Space Odyssey)
This is battle on a more subconscious level, with Dave, the last remaining crew member of a ship who's A.I. has committed mass murder in the name of science and exploration. Unsettled, Dave takes to traversing the increasingly dangerous ship to shut down HAL. Originally installed to make their lives easier, the phrase pulling a HAL 9000 stem's to all mutiny by machines. It is an excellent parable of how machines can take over our live's and how we must take constant care to observe and not leave thing's to chance, especially in the face (or monitor) of a super-computer.

6. Captain Reynold's vs The Operative
I may be the only one to have this fight on a list. Yeah it's not changing the form of or doing something interesting with the concept of duel's, but it's what the duel symbolizes for Mal. Throughout the series, we see Mal is more cold and distant, and it is heavily implied he is an atheist, but the fight for Mal represent's his final belief. He may not believe in God or God's or luck or the Force, but he believe's in freedom and the power it grants to whoever hold it. In the end, the fight may not be fluid or that impressive, but it's end and emotion is what drive's it.

5. Gromit vs Feathers McGraw (Wallace and Gromit: The Wrong Trouser's)
Didn't expect to see a stop-motion short film about an inventor and his dog on this list, you've been mistaken. The classic British duo are fighting off the fiendish mastermind McGraw, a penguin. After his jewel heist, he returns with Wallace trapped in the mechanical trousers he invented and trap's both Wallace and Gromit in the closet. They escape to engage in a comedic train chase around the living room, with gun's, improvised track and trolley's. It really is more of a see it to believe it. For those of you who have seen the short, you know what I am talking about, for those who don't, I recommend watching the whole short on youtube. Skip to 24:00 to see.

4. Superman vs General Zod (Man of Steel)
Out of all the battles that might want to be edited out for the director's cut of this DVD release, the final confrontation must remain at all cost's. After the devastation of the attempted teraforming of Earth, Zod is left no other option but to destroy Superman for his hand in Krypton's total loss. What occur's is a meta fight like no other (seriously, in most film's, the Super-powered hero and villain hardly ever meet and the visuals aren't nearly as good as this one), they battle across the city using flight, armed and unarmed combat, and Superman FINALLY killing his enemy. This is the battle sure to influence Supe's decisions for the near future.

3. Zuko vs Azula (Avatar the last Airbender: Sozin's Comet)
Another great showdown, full of intense combat, vivid colors and a draw-dropping resolution. For me the battle between Zuko and Azula was more tense, exciting and impressive, as well as much more interesting than Aang vs the Fire lord. It felt more personal and dramatic as each side were willing to kill, with Zuko finally regaining enough confidence to face Azula, Kitara's quick thinking to save both of their lives and Azula finally getting her comeuppance. I feel no sympathy for her loss and she most definitely had it coming. But I love the scene for how this was the moment when Zuko and Kitara finally saw each other as equals.

2. Sherlock Holmes vs Professor Moriarty (Sherlock Holmes a game of Shadow's)
My god this scene is so awesome. This is how I imagine a fight between the two super-geniuses should be like. Each one has the ability to out-maneuver his opponent and think in bullet fast time. But while the fight scene is impressive, the chess game is the icing  on the cake. This is game of intellect and logic, things that make for very dangerous opponent's. And Sherlock's resolution to the entire case is a total bitch-slap to Moriarty, who is left helpless and powerless to stand up against the might of Sherlock Holmes

1. Luke Skywalker vs Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker (Star Wars: Return of the Jedi)        
And the award for most tense, symbolic, uplifting, exciting and changes everything in terms of cinematic confrontations goes to...this one. It's father against son, under the watchful eye of the Emperor, who has trapped the rebel's, possibly killed his friends and taunts his victory in an attempt to turn Luke to the dark-side. And what happens next blew my mind. With Vader engaged in a battle he clearly has the upper hand in, he also taunts his victory before discovering Luke's sister's existence. By not joining Vader, perhaps Leia will. And Luke just flip's out, hurling and smashing Vader until he has him on his knee's. He finally realizes the choice is not his to make, with the symbolism of foreshadowing and shadows convincing his move against the Emperor. There true is not many fight's like this, the finally victory of Luke and Vader send's cheer's through the crowd and Vader's fate leaving us in tear's.

Battle Royale

Hey, you know that film that everybody says Hunger Games ripped off, well this is it. And you know that rumor spreading that Japan makes better horror movies now? That's true.

To say that Hunger Games was a rip-off of Battle Royale is an understatement. No, this is a lobotomy of BR, removing the key elements of what makes the film what it is, instead of actually recreating it in a new way to understand it better. Even the ending is stolen for the HG. Seriously, watch this movie and at the end, if you say "hmm, ya know what, this seems strikingly similar to the ending of the HG", ask yourself why you think that and the answer will come.

Ranting aside, what's the story; actually set in the present day, China is suffering from a high level of unemployment, student drop-out rates are through the roof and juvenile delinquency has reached the extremes of theft, assault and murder. To combat this, the government and a majority of the parents of China vote and pass the BR Act. Classes are chosen by random selection, transported to a uninhabited island and are forced to fight to the death. They each get a set of supplies and a weapon that can be as deadly as an Uzi are as useless as a pot lid (I shit you not, the main character gets a pot lid as a weapon). Alliances are made and broken very early, as many succumb to depression and suicide in light of these changes, while others survive through lies and sheer blood-lust. The set time of three days must be met or the surplus of one victor will be killed via explosive neck brace (I thought they were shock collars the first time I saw of them, but damn!)

Of course based on the Lord of the Flies novel by William Golding, the story of human succumbing to survival instincts in order to preserve their life at the cost of their morality is a decent plot on it's own, add to that competition, technology and outside interference and we got ourselves one of the most brutal, gritty, disturbing, yet thought provoking films of all time. The film is actually an adaption of the novel and manga Battle Royale from Koushun Takami and like most films adapted from novels, there's not a lot of time to put everything in. At two hours, it allows for decent character development, great action, relative amounts of exposition, but little back story. We are given blank slates, with no knowledge of who or what they are or if we should trust them and that is a great idea. Some say less is more and that works to the films advantage. The film presents us with characters we know very little about and thus we develop our opinions on how we choose to see them. Are they the hero, the everyman, the support or the human eyes that we watch through, that allows us to see this carnivorous and brutal world. I believe that themes of fear and independence are addressed here. The fear of death, of reputation, of the unknown, of the control you have both lost and gained of your life. They gain the one thing most teens fight all their teenage years for, independence and what do you know, they don't want it any more. Well, if there is one thing this film clearly wants to get across: Shit happens.

To tell the truth, I have very little problems with the movie. I have however narrowed down to what really irritated me. One is the villain, not that it was short on good villains, but it had a missed opportunity to use one of the most ruthless and craziest female villains of all time. Mitsuko had decent exposure throughout, with a gruesome weapon, a flip-flop personality and little motivation other than survival. Her use of feminine wiles and her ability to succumb to her predatory instincts at such a fast rate makes for one creepy and memorable villain. However, the main antagonist, Kazuo, was none of that. He has no back story, no motivation and little to no speaking part. This gives him little to no character and I don't feel he was best represented in this film adaption of the novel. I wish Mitsoku was the main opposition to Shuya and Noriko (that's the name of the main characters by the way). Also, I wish some of the other characters got more screen time, so that we could therefore fell sorry for their deaths. Not to say that they weren't hard to watch, but some of the deaths I just didn't care about. For example, one couple actually jump top their death rather than take part and that is very effective. But in a few scenes latter, we see another couple has committed a double suicide by hanging and as I haven't even seen much of their actions, they're just another statistic. And at the beginning, we are thrown a red herring in seeing a whole bunch of reporters interview the winner of the BR. I don't know why this is and also, they are interviewing her for television, doesn't that mean the students should have heard about BR before they arrived, realize where they are and suddenly be filled with absolute dread for their position. 

I do find the child actors are actually very good, giving very convincing performances of fear, mania, sympathy and remorse. Since they are totally invested in the performance, we feel as though the events we are seeing are really happening and this provides a unsettling and gritty atmosphere.Unlike Hunger Games, we see the deaths and the characters (who are not used to death and fighting and weapons) reactions to these various unsettling images. The fight scenes are especially memorable and well choreographed, as well as extremely vivid and bloody. The lighthouse scene will leave you using the most over-used meme ever,

Also, it's more focused on the battle than the society it's part of. But the fact the BR Act exists and this type of brutality is approved reflects the society that has created these children (this forms a chicken or the egg paradox in that; was it the society that created juvenile delinquents and high unemployment or was the high unemployment and pressure from society too much for the juvenile delinquents). It's also more effective when the children are forced without a moments notice to give up their basic human rights and hunt, as opposed to told, trained and prepared for the worst. I especially love the scene when they show a presentation for the BR in typical Japanese fashion. But the ending is brilliant and just perfect for the film. Fitting the tone and message of the film, it makes for a much better romance than Hunger Games, even though it wasn't the focus of the movie or even much of a sub-plot. It developed and flourished naturally and they embark for an even greater journey. I liked the characters, their development, the action and the themes. The acting was very good coming from a majority teenage cast and the mains I really liked. It as brutal, gritty, depressing and tense. This is a damn good film, in fact it's better than HG, in so many ways. 

In Bruge

Where is it? It's in Belgium. And it looks like a fairy tale. Except it totally is not, it is, however, a witty, well paced, well written, well acted piece of comedic action-drama. And it's Irish (or Anglo-Irish), directed and written by Martin McDonagh, it stars Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes (how do you pronounce his name, is it Raif or Ralph?) and Clemence Poesy. Did you know some call this a collaboration between Britain and America, ain't that a laugh.

Now of course this film isn't for everyone. Buckets of blood, drug use, prostitution and a couple of politically incorrect conversations. So I would recommend avoid watching it with your parents (because that was an awkward evening).

The story follows two Irish hit men on the run and in hiding after a botched assassination. They are sent to the peaceful and medieval town of Bruge, where Ken enjoys the sights and sounds, but Ray is bored and has bouts of depression. He is saddened from the killing of a young boy during the assassination and flip-flops between manic, depressed and elation. While in Bruge he meets a production assistant/drug-dealer named Chloe, a dwarf American actor Jimmy (played by a very funny Jordan Prentice) and Eirick, Chloe's ex and former partner. Along the way he get's into fight with tourists, spits out useless facts and finds himself growing evermore paranoid and despondent. Ken himself is constantly trying to keep a low profile and have a nice time, but Ray seem's to prevent any chance of that.

Apparently, the film did get it's budget back and it was well received (even getting an Oscar for best original screenplay). So why doesn't this film ever get noticed. Many don't even realize it's existence, while some do, but ignore. I mean, OK the premise sounds like most generic crime thrillers these days, where the guy's go to a foreign country, get into some wild hi-jinx, then shit hit's the fan and a wild climax happens with the two or three getting off scot-free. Well this is not that movie. In fact the reason I think many dislike it is because of that reason, as the pacing is slow and calm, it is mostly composed of the witty dialog that it's now famous for and there is no clear villain. Well there kind of is. But when you think about it, they are all criminals, murderers or pushers and so really if they each go after each other it's sort of like a means to an end and killing each other will make things much easier. It's just like the quote from Iago in Othello,

" each do kill the other, every way makes my gain"

I suppose the best scenes to look for is when Ray speaks with the obese American tourists, the telegram from Harry and the final confrontation between Ken and Harry, the use of 'On Raglan Road is especially impressive, highlighting just how Irish the film is. Nothing else to say, I guess, the comedy is great, the characters enjoyable and the story well written. One of the most underrated films of all time, I dare say it is a comedy classic.