Cu-Top Reviews

Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (1997)

My opinion of genius

[10/10 · 24 August 2001]

It's amazing how one film can warrant such diverse audience opinion about "what it all means". That which I took away from this movie is a concept of God's existence that is nothing short of genius. I'm not saying that this is the director's intention...it's only what I took from it.

Four Gods absorbed completely and differently in their four worlds:

1. Artistic God - the gardener - the God who spends his days creating the world for man to live in. "This is my world. I don't care how you live in it, but don't mess it up." Because man has freewill, God is uninvolved in man's evolution.

2. The Bully God - the lion tamer - the God who rules the world with discipline. "This is my world. Do as I say and nobody gets hurt." God won't let man evolve out of fear of losing physical superiority.

3. The Control Freak God - the mole rat scientist - the God who controls man's life. "This is my world. Live in it, but I will observe, limit, and dictate what you do." God won't let man evolve out of fear of losing mental superiority.

4. The Free Thinking God - the robotics engineer - the God who aids and improves man's life with only one commandment/program...respect. "This is our world. We share it. Live in it as you please. I am not expecting you to be perfect. All I am asking for is that you treat each other with mutual respect." Together, we evolve into our creation.

This is the God which I prefer.

Choose Life (1999)

So f***ing funny!

[9/10 · 15 May 2001]

Imagine crossing George Michael with the Sopranos...then you'll have a clue what "Choose Life" is all about. But only a clue. This short sends you rocketing into one comedy extreme then smashes you into the other end of the humor spectrum. Absolutely hilarious. One of those movies that gets dubbed and passed around. I only wish I had a better copy of it. My VHS is a dub of a dub of a dub!

Toto the Hero (1991)

Bitter-sweet and surreal

[10/10 · 4 October 1999]

This movie is sheer visual poetry. Although it is in subtitles and I don't speak a lick of French, I found myself not needing to read the subtitles as the visuals told the entire story. This is rather impressive, as the story is very complicated. It tells the tale of one man's life by interweaving four different elements of his life: Childhood, Middle-Age, Old-Age, and a Film Noir Fantasy World. To give it even more of a chance of being confusing, these elements are not shown chronologically. However, "Toto..." is not confusing at all. It pulls off this complicated plot beautifully. This movie truly is a Modern Day Classic!! DVD? When? Criterion Edition!

Condorman (1981)

The ultimate action/adventure movie for kids.

[10/10 · 4 October 1999]

If the best James Bond movie had a "G" rating, it might very well have looked liked "Condorman". It has all of the cool gadgets, world-wide locations, a sexy femme fatale, creepy Russain villains, and best of all, some of the coolest car and boat chase sequences on film. Keep in mind that this is a kids movie, so the humor level is elementary, but nonetheless funny. The acting is over-the-top and cartoonish, but regardlessly enjoyable. Everyone looking for a fun, fast-paced adventure movie should check out this movie.

Breakfast of Champions (1999)

A widely misunderstood novel is now a grossly misunderstood film.

[9/10 · 23 September 1999]

Few movies have warranted my desire to immediately view them a second time. However, after seeing "Breakfast..." once, I knew I had to see it again (just to figure the darn thing out). What I discovered upon second viewing is a rich subtext that parallels God and His creations (humans) with a Writer and his creations(characters). Just as Kilgore Trout is a creation of God, Dwayne Hoover is a creation of Trout. (Funny enough, Kilgore Trout is a creation of Kurt Vonnegut who, in turn, is arguably a creation of God). If you didn't get this the first time and you gave the movie a bad review, I highly recommend that you go back for a second viewing with this paradigm in mind. You'll discover how God's use of "Fate" and an Author's use of "Character Motivation" are essentially the same thing.