marijumanji Reviews

The Boys of Baraka (2005)

Sloppily constructed

[3/10 · 28 June 2012]

This is a roughly made documentary that could have used some narration and more context to help guide viewers along. As other reviews have stated, we aren't given a clear picture of what is actually going on at the school to make it so special. There is little interaction with real Africans, they see some wildlife... and...? The deleted scenes on the DVD showed the kids misbehaving, further undermining the idea that some great transformation is taking place. A few kids do make a positive change which is good, but their "updates" on the DVD have even the smarter kids wishing to pursue careers as actors and entertainers well into their late teens.

Bill Cosby provides the most interesting commentary in the bonus features of the DVD. The editors decide to do a complete hack job on the interview rendering what seemed like a very interesting and candid conversation about race into a nearly unintelligible string of sound bites meant to promote the film and the school.

The treatment given to the Cosby interview is a small example of the job done on the entire documentary. The filmmakers are able to exploit a few emotional moments out of the families but ultimately the whole thing feels disorganized and sloppy.

Drive (I) (2011)

There is half of a good movie here...

[6/10 · 11 June 2012]

To be sure, Drive has it's moments. The actors don't let the material down at all, this is a clear case of an editor not knowing when and where to trim. The movie contains a half dozen exceptional set-pieces, but mixed with this is some dialogue "so corny it would make the pope weep" and long boring stretches that make the viewer want to yell "step on it!".

The mortar holding the project together is a unique score by Cliff Martinez that adds an eerie 80's vibe to the entire thing. Bryan Cranston is decent but isn't given much to work with. By the time Albert Brooks waddles into frame for the 2nd or 3rd time I was thoroughly bored. Despite the hype and aspirations to be something greater than it is, Drive suffers from childish dialogue and bad pacing. The opening scene is truly awesome, it's too bad they can't follow it up at all.

There are plenty of interesting bits in "drive" but the whole is weaker than the sum of it's parts.

Justice League: The New Frontier (2008 Video)

Fast paced but ultimately soulless

[5/10 · 11 June 2012]

The fast and furious action moves the plot along quite well and Keith David does a very nice job on the introduction. Ultimately the outsourced Korean animation and low production values hurt the project. They also seemed to try to pack in way too much exposition, but I suppose this was necessary especially for viewers unfamiliar with DC lore.

I enjoyed Justice League. The special features on the DVD that dealt with the history of the Justice League were particularly interesting. Compared with any number of A-list animated films this movie just doesn't stack up though. The average movie goer might find some enjoyment with Justice League: The new Frontier. There is decent writing mixed in with the usual comic book weirdness. For comic book geeks this will score a few points higher.

Occupied Minds (2006)

Where is the objectivity?

[5/10 · 11 June 2012]

I picked this up at a local library in Ottawa, Canada, hoping it might illuminate the Israel-Palestine conflict for me. I chose this title because it seemed like it was the most balanced and "neutral" documentary they had. Every other documentary seemed to have a pro-Palestine slant. There was one about Israeli soldiers who are conscientious objectors, another about the plight of displaced Palestinians . As an aside I'm deeply disappointed that a publicly funded Canadian institution seems so blatantly politically biased. Shame on the head librarian at the main Ottawa branch for such an overt attempt to affect public opinion. An institution such as a library should serve to illuminate and enlighten, not proselytize.

The DVD box touts the fact that it contains an "Israeli and a Palestinian" but there is no neutrality here. Rather than a well-spoken proponent of Israel, the American-Israeli in question is a far-left leaning Palestinian sympathizer. This is worse than FOX News in terms of propaganda. Like with Hannity and Colmes, we are presented with the forceful and charismatic viewpoint of the Palestinian host which we are meant to agree and sympathize with, instead of a weak counter argument from Colmes though, we get an "Israeli" that merely nods his head and agrees with everything the host says.

Through the use of Michael Moore style ambush journalism the film attempts to sensationalize and demonize the Israeli right while painting the Palestinian terrorists as simple reactionary victims of Israeli aggression. A leading Palestinian militant is patiently listened too and portrayed as a rational and sensible individual. They even show him playing with his small child during the credits, wanting nothing more than to live in peace.

Over-editing seeks to portray an Israeli spokesman as an irrational idiot, demanding an end to an interview once he clearly realizes what is going on. No attempts are made to try and understand Hamas or other terrorist groups. There is no serious analysis made concerning the history of anti-semetism in the area or the use of propaganda, brainwashing and child soldiers by Palestinian militant groups. The effects of suicide bombings in civilian areas is not explored. This film is one sided propaganda for the Palestinian cause and nothing more. This is only one side of the story, those looking for the other half will have to look elsewhere, and for that I can only award a 5/10.

Lessons of Darkness (1992 TV Movie)

Review of Lessons of Darkness

[8/10 · 19 December 2011]

Werner Herzogs "Lessons of Darkness" is a documentary film that contains little in the way of narrative or context. The narration provided by Herzog himself is sparse and removed. In the poetic and haunting introduction he sets the film up as a vision of an apocalyptic future. The oil drenched sands of Kuwait and the rarely seen images of industrial petroleum harvesting immediately disorient the viewer and place them in a frightening and alien environment.

The sands are alight following the brief yet devastating conflict between Iraq and Kuwait but Herzog is not trying to give a history lecture or a political speech, his aims are largely artistic. What you will take from this film is a very personal experience, Herzog has enough respect for his audience to not let the film get bogged down by his own prejudices and beliefs. The film elicits all sorts of questions about the environmental impact of oil, the horrors of war and geopolitics without ever once slapping the audience in the face with some neatly packaged "message" that we should take away from it.

The soundtrack is comprised of classical compositions like Wagner. The use of overhead pan shots and stop motion will elicit flashbacks for people who have seen Koyaanisqatsi, this isn't a bad thing but deserves mentioning.

Herzog doesn't let the film get away from him. At under an hour in length there is no bloated runtime here to test your patience, just a series of thought provoking visuals and a haunting score. Highly recommended.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

Nothing 'New' about this Nightmare

[3/10 · 4 May 2010]

When it was announced that Jackie Earle Haley would be taking on the role of Freddy in the new Elm Street franchise reboot, a collective sigh of relief went up from the fans of the originals. Haley's Rorshach was one of the few redeeming qualities in the abysmal "Watchmen" movie. When pictures of Freddy's new face were leaked, the excitement grew. This Freddy promised to drop the silly one liners and be a return to the frightening, sadistic killer from the first film.

Haley does what he can with what he's given, but even a game performance from him and Rooney Mara(Nancy) can't save this film from mediocrity. The male lead is played by Kyle Gallner. He could generously be called a poor man's Robert Pattinson. He does a serviceable job here but the weak writing and directing don't do him any favours.

Fans of the original will be disappointed by the brief treatment of Freddy's origins, and it's unlikely new viewers will understand what is going on or even care for that matter. My hopes of a scarier Freddy were dashed within the first few minutes. The film doesn't even try to build an atmosphere and Haley spouts the same tired one liners that the later films leaned on so heavily.

Even as the original series aged, one could always rely on the excellent special effects and make-up work to carry the films. The highlight of each film was the creativity of the different "Dream Worlds" that Freddy would take his victims to. Each dream world was unique because it reflected the thoughts of the character Freddy was trying to kill. This new iteration strips away any of that creativity and takes place almost entirely in one location (I'll avoid spoilers, but if you've seen any other film in the series you can easily guess where). The makeup work that looked promising in production stills doesn't hold up well on screen, failing to be as frightening or iconic as the original. The effects aren't great, it would be easy to beat the dead horse of 'computer graphics' being inferior but I think the real problem here is directorial. Samuel Bayer simply can't hold a candle to Wes Craven.

If you want to disregard my comparisons to the original films and simply take this one for what it is, a brainless slasher flick, it still fails. None of the 'kills' show any creativity at all and audiences already fed on a steady diet of graphic violence won't find anything all that shocking or disturbing here. It's just boring.

Adding to that is an over reliance on cheap scares. This film is this the cinematic equivalent of someone shouting "boo!" in your face every ten minutes. This technique becomes annoying almost instantly and becomes increasingly more annoying because it is used in every single scene. It's like the director realized he didn't know how to direct a scary movie and instead of quitting and finding a new job, he decided to edit in sudden loud noises and hope no one would notice.

By the end the audience I saw it with could hardly hold back their titters of laughter and I don't mean that in a good way. This is one franchise that had some potential for rebirth, but I will be amazed if this one makes it to part 2.