Passion of the Christ

I told you I would review something special. Yes the ever popular and ever controversial snuff film that is The Passion of the Christ. Seeing how we celebrated the sacrifice of Jesus by stuffing our faces with chocolate egg's (Glutton), I think we should review an apparent pass time of many who watch the "definitive biopic of Jesus" (nudge, nudge, wink, wink). Thankfully, the film has been unable to attract or form a cult following and it has received huge mainstream success, but that won't stop me from sinking my teeth into one of the most controversial films of all time.

Criticism has been passed in the form of parody from College Humor to South Park and as passing remarks from a majority of critics in comparison to other films. But, Mel Gibson has, however, recovered surprisingly well (you know, until he messed that up and proved to everyone that he was a lunatic).

Strangely enough, we begin on the night Jesus was captured, as he is betrayed by Judas, brought before the high priests and people of Jerusalem, flogged and tortured and finally crucified. Along the way we are presented with gruesome images of Judas hanging himself and Jesus being rebuked by his flock, the seductive Satan, flashbacks to previous events and the conflict of Pontius Pilate. To tell the truth, there is little else other than that, the film develops from it's starting point and spends it's time examining each aspect (some more than others).

When you think about, a majority of films revolving around Jesus are poorly received, with literally every popular critic disregarding it as bringing nothing new to the history of Jesus. But one of the main criticisms for the passion is the antisemitism, that the film was basically there to criticize the Jewish people for their part in the death of Jesus. To quote a comedian

"Weeelllllll...It wasn't the Mexicans"-Tommy Tiernan

I mean in all honesty, back then the Jewish people were responsible, mostly the high priests, but that doesn't mean anybody need feel guilty or angry about an event that happened many years ago. Back then, many were lost and merely sheep, they looked to anyone to lead them. If they were unsure of who was leading them or if their "messiah" was the chosen one, they looked elsewhere. But a clever addition is the presence of Satan in the scenes of Jesus being abused. It could be implied that this is Satan trying to seduce Jesus so as to avoid any more punishment, but it could also represent the seduction of the innocent, that the guards who took relish in torturing Jesus or the High Priests who condemned Jesus where under the powerful influence of rage, envy and confusion, demons and sins of the Devil itself. That in my opinion provided a better insight to the seduction of the innocent.

Another aspect is...the violence, that it was too glorified and that it took away from the viewing experience and emotional attachment to the characters. To be honest, it's not as bad as Saw or Human Centipede or Hostel or Cannibal Holocaust (No, I did not watch these movies, thank you very much). But the flashbacks help portray his more humble and familiar side to the audience, as well as the abuse inflicted on Jesus showing a more sacrificial side. While the torture segments didn't affect me or attract me, I don't feel they contributed much to the film. In fact, I dare say it would have been more effective if we see him dragged away and then reappear as a mangled, tattered mess. I would also like to make the point that it shows the Romans showing intense relish in their sadistic torture, so it doesn't shy away from the involvement of the Roman Empire in the Crucifixion. 

Now I must give credit where credit is due. That being Jim Caviezel, who portrayed Jesus, and I tell you he does a bang up job. It's not easy to survive as an actor when portraying one of the most holy men in history, let alone survive on the set. He was struck by lightening, caught hypothermia and dislocated his shoulder, talk about dedication. Seeing him, I don't see an actor, I see the man. Not spiritually, but I felt his power and humility, as well as his intellect and despair. I also give credit to the rest of the cast, especially Maia Morgenstern as Mary and Monica Bellucci as Mary Magdalene. What was also very well done, was the set design and costumes, it actually felt like I was in Jerusalem.  I am still amazed at the script. Oh I am sure that it's inaccurate and takes many liberties, but I am no theologist, so that doesn't matter, but the entire cast speaking Latin and Hebrew, nicely done. What I give most praise for is the fact that there are some characters who sympathize, pity and even regret their decision to accuse Jesus, including the Centurion, the guards, Pontius Pilate and Simon of Cyrene, just to name a few. It is also good to note how the film shows the turmoil of Mary and the closest friends of Jesus. In most times I attend church on Easter, the reading of the Crucifixion often includes the two convicts who are simultaneously being crucified. I prefer the version where one thief begs for forgiveness and is told by Jesus that he he will join him in paradise.

Yes the mutilation can be quite distracting. For example, my vision of Christ on the cross is drastically different to the mangled corpse that was just dangling there. Also the cinematography can be irritating in that there is too much slow-motion, close-ups and shaky cam. I had similar problems with Les Miserables as you remember and I know what they were trying to achieve with the slow-mo, it's a serious, dramatic moment in the life of Jesus and so must be taken slowly. Problem is, it's Jesus, everything he does from literally his birth to his death is important. And you know what, those are my only gripes

Does it have some problems, of course. Are there too many who base their beliefs on the film, most definitely! But I always maintained a strong faith before watching this movie. It's an intriguing watch and one that should definitely be checked out. Not a cinematic landmark and to say I enjoyed it would make me sound masochistic, but if we can look back now at Clockwork Orange and say that film is one of the greatest films of all time, then with time and a pinch of salt, maybe we can look back on the hype that surrounded this movie and have a good laugh.

I hope you enjoyed my review, please comment to tell me what film review you would like to see in the future and please share to your friends. Thank you for reading and belated Happy Easter!

AKIRA

Yes it's that time of year again and upon reviewing my previous post's I have found that I did no special for the Easter holidays. Now, I don't really have anything special planned for today, so I guess I will just review the movie I have for today and next week I'll do something special to commemorate the holiday. Today's review is the ever popular and revolutionary AKIRA.

Not surprising that the film has gained a cult following, by introducing contemporary American audiences to anime, it's groundbreaking animation and design, and it's bizarre story/characters. Many critics and fans alike praise the stunning visuals and incredibly violent action and energy, while others question it's ending and story. I think I find the middle ground in saying that admire it's design and animation, I like the main characters and the action and chase scenes are quite intense. But at the same time I do have some major problems with it.

The story anyway is pretty much a composition of Blade Runner, Tron and X-Men. (When you think about it, a lot of Anime productions are actually based on western sources.) Basically think of a Brave New World if it was flipped on it's head. This Neo-Japan is polluted, corrupt and degraded, the population riot and destroy themselves and crime is at an all time high what with an increase in motorcycle gangs and gang wars. Kaneda leads a gang as they merely loiter and ride around the city. His friend Tetsuo is caught in an accident and is examined by doctor's, who discover a hidden telepathic gene found only in a few humans. From there, Kan meet's a rebel named Kei who helps him rescue his friend, unaware that Tetsuo has grown a bit too dependent on his newly acquired power.

The world that Katsuhiro Otomo creates is vivid and so alive, yet is bleak and disgusting. The fact that humanity could fall so low in a matter of 31 years is somewhat depressing, but the struggle of the government isn't overlooked. That's one of the more intersting factors of this film, where most dystopian futures concentrate mainly on the public, this acknowledges the political aspect of the future. Kan is a likable character with some funny lines and cocky, yet brave attitude. He is definitely an ass for a majority of the film, but as we progress he is certainly developed, from saving his friends to taking on a twenty-story lump of flesh and machine that was once his closest friend. Kei is also interesting as rebel with nothing to loose. As a romantic interest, it's more one sided, as Kan is enamored with her on first glance, while she is more indifferent to him. And speaking of twenty-story monsters, the action in this movie is awesome. This is exactly what I think of when saying Telekinesis is the strongest power in fiction. The film also treats us with tantalizing chase sequences, as we see the damage the youth has the city and likewise on the youth. The film doesn't glorify the violence, it knows the blows hurt and the pain each character have inflicted upon themselves and others.

However, don't think that the film is flawless. There are three major problems I have with this film.

1. The telepathic test subjects are disgusting and annoying. OK, disgusting is a little harsh, but they're not really innocent looking when they look seventy. Also the English dub chose possibly the most irritating voices in America. Also they serve little else to the plot other than try to kill Tetsuo. This leads me onto the next point...
2. The ending. This really took me away from the movie as I literally had to sit back and say, 'What the hell'. It felt like the movie was trying to hard to be deep, when all it should have been trying to do is be a science-fiction, action/adventure. The film was trying to squeeze in it's final morals for the last ten minutes and, to be perfectly frank, it still confuses me.
3. Too much happening. What with all the action, motorbike chases, telepathy rampage and character development, it tried to squeeze in too many characters, ask moral questions about where humanity stands in contrast to these new mutations. I was unable to feel sorry for the deaths of many due to those characters not getting enough screen time. I believe they should have just cut out the whole surreal, mind trip that tried to make the film more adult. I wouldn't mind a more ambiguous ending, but for what we have, it's not the best Anime I have ever seen, but then I still have a lot more anime films to see. 

The Blues Brothers

I feel a compulsive need to review this movie. I mean, it has a cult following, it's actually unknown to our current generation and it has some of the most over the top action and scenarios put to film. I need to bring this film to the masses. I'm on a mission from God! (Only in America will I get someone to laugh at that).

This one of the most enjoyable musicals I have seen in a long time. It's comedy is stellar, being delivered with excellent timing and charisma by John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd. (<Sigh>Animal House and Ghostbusters, I wish I lived in a world where I don't have to remind people about that). And then there is the music, from originals like "Everybody needs someone to love" to classic blues and jazz like "Shake a tail feather". The performances are energized, upbeat and well choreographed. But to hell with just the music, let's not forget the car-chases, cameos and sheer lunacy of the unfolding event's. But don't my word for it, let's discuss the film and whether or not it deserves your attention.

The story follows the release of Jake Blues from prison and his brother Elwood, as they race against the clock to get the band back together, raise $5000 and save their orphanage. That's it. Yes along the way they have some misadventures and are constantly avoiding the enemies they have made, but overall the plot is pretty straight forward. To give away the jokes would be to take away the experience. But there are some really funny running gags like Carrie Fisher plays a mysterious woman who's on a vendetta against the blues bros, a pair of highway cops who hold a grudge, a country western band who were stiffed on a gig and a group of neo-Nazis who are out to destroy the bros for disrupting their "Peace Rally". 

As you can see the plot is decidedly simple, which is what many critic's had a problem about. I would prefer a simple plot, so as to concentrate on the jokes and characters, as opposed to a complex and intriguing plot. In fact most comedies are very simplistic and are often the funniest, such as Happy Gilmore and Anchorman. A bit of movie trivia for you, at the time this was one of the most expensive movies ever. Due to the lack of CGI and green screens, they had to get hundreds of extras to play police, army and audiences. Not to mention re-shooting many of the car chase scenes using real cars. I definitely see where all the money went to and every penny was well spent. I will admit the start is a little slow and comes off as strange, as we have yet to get used to the surreal images and slap-stick. 

To go into what I like would mean giving away many a punchline, so I will just give some good opinions. I enjoy the leads, they have good chemistry, charisma and plenty of one liner's to boot. It really feels like these two are brothers and that people like this exist in the real world. Their appearances on SNL probably provided them with all the experience they needed. But I also like how they are willing to almost give their lives for their Orphanage and feel strongly religious about doing a good deed for the sake of a good deed. I really enjoy the cameos, with the likes of Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, James Brown, Frank Oz and even Steven Spielberg as a office clerk. How they got these guy's into this film, I have no idea. But they contribute to the feel good nature of the film and provide some incredible vocals. (not Oz or Spielberg, have you heard them sing, Yeesh!) And the criticism is probably what fueled the Cult following, claiming the humour was pointless and unfunny. Well...they don't know jack about this film then, especially since half of those negative reviews turned positive over the years, whether out of fear of the fans or remorse for themselves, this is definitely a flick to check out.

Office Space

Hey remember this classic nineties gem of office life and computers that looked more like a lunchbox rather than a sheet of paper. Neither do I. And why should I considering I was only three years old at the time of it's release. But that being said, surely in my more mature years I can relate to the characters attitudes and misfortunes. I can't even do that. I'm sorry for all those fans of this movie that have given it such a renowned cult following, but this film is just too unfocused, slow and alien for my money. By alien, I mean I cannot relate to or fathom the boredom of office work, let alone become in engaged in the main character's story. I'm still being educated and there are times when I like my day at school, others I do not. Similarly, the jokes can be very funny or they go right over my head.

Now the for the story: Essentially, Peter (played by Ron Livingston) is tired white-collar employee of a company...quite honestly I have no idea what they do, and is taken to a hypnotherapist where he receives a new outlook on life. This leads him to go against the wishes of his superiors and to the shock of his co-workers, is decently rewarded. All the while, consultants are brought in to outsource and downsize the employee's. All are terrified, especially Peter's friends Samir Lastnameunpronounceable, Micheal Bolton (Swear to god) and Milton who was actually fired years earlier and was never told. Other colorful characters include Peter's couch potato neighbor Lawrence, exasperated waitress Joanna (Jennifer Aniston) and the funniest person on film Bill Lumbergh. To get revenge on these actions, Peter and his friends plot salami-slicing, whereby fractions of cents from individual accounts are scrapped off and left to accumulate for a number of year's.

To tell the truth, I actually do like some of the lines in this film and there are some especially memorable moments, but I feel it doesn't offer much more than a few good jokes and some pretty bland (or annoying) characters. The only two characters I like are Peter, whom I sympathize with. He is so annoyed by the repetitive nature of the office life and the lack of respect he think's he deserves. He does deliver some of the best lines in the film, but the best character in my opinion is Lumbergh. This is the typical dooshebag boss. Pretentious, condescending and obnoxious, he delights in making his employee's work weekends and getting those new reprint cover slip fax files (I have no idea). How would one describe him, try thinking of the Dude's more successful, less cool brother, their delivery is so deadpan it's hard not to enjoy it. I also must point out the hilarious running joke of the faulty copy machine/printer. It's punchline is one of the most over the top moments in satires and that's saying something. When you see it, can you think of a familiar Family Guy joke. 

But really other than that, the film is sometimes a bore or is annoying. Some of the characters can get a chuckle, but some of the jokes are just dead on arrival. I mean, does office life in the nineties seem like, the necessary point of the nineties that need to be satirized. This is decade that brought Scream, Happy Gilmore and Big Lebowski, how did office life become the thing to satirize. As I said before, the characters are very bland and poorly developed. I'm not expecting Shakespeare, but the one thing that makes a comedy memorable is it's writing. In my opinion, what would have been funnier, if all the employee's were getting revenge on the boss, if we took a look at a lot more employee's and if the character's were all based in one workplace as opposed to two or three. So unmemorable characters and poorly written script aside, would I recommend this film? Well, for those who love The Office or actually did work in an office, I think they will love it. However for most other's, it may just bore you or you just don't get the joke. 

I definitely see where the cult following has spawned. I feel so tired on the weekends, I feel as though I can do hardly anything, but lie around in my bed. In fact this film has inspired many to quit their job's as they weren't satisfied, that's a lot of pressure on the actor's and director's shoulders. I doubt I would ever go as far to get revenge on my boss as these guy's, but that is where the biggest laugh comes from. So enjoy your film all you like, I need to leave you now. I have a Loooooooooong week ahead of me and my teacher need's me to come in to work on my Saturday mornings!