Adromeda_girl Reviews

Cyborg 2087 (1966)

just can't see the ending

[14 August 2003]

funny thing this movie.

it repeats on the space channel a lot, along with another fine b scifi flick "project x", but the funny thing is, whenever it's on, i always fall asleep by the time they have that lame chase on the rooftop of the power plant. that's 3 times now this year i've missed the ending.

whatever.

how james cameron got away with ripping this thing off is beyond me. but then again, maybe a lot of people removed it from their resumes.

Josie and the Pussycats (2001)

product placement and the product placements

[13 April 2003]

That's the proper title for this film.

Ok, I won't say anything about the film itself, it is so 'not on my resume' bad, it is hard to believe it got made.

However, if you really dig crazy, 'tales of the weird' in film history stuff, I seriously recommend you see it for one reason:

turn off the volume and count the product placement- I kid you not, no movie ever made has as much as there is in this film- the whole thing, end to end- is one enormous, vast and expansive ad for pretty much every product available.

now, while that in itself may not sound overly interesting, what IS interesting is just how creative (and oftentimes, shockingly blatant) the PP gets.

for example, my favorite was the evian water poster in the background during the tender romantic scene- and that was the SUBTLE one! My personal hated favorite was the carpeting in the hotel suites- yes, the carpeting - (why would a hotel have revlon cosmetics logo and AOL emblazened across the hallways and rooms in the carpeting?) and even the windows had product placement- faux etched glass advertising in the windows. you have to see it to believe it.

Imagine- entire sets, wall to wall- floors and windows included- plastered with product placement- nothing is sacred, and no single surface is spared. am i exaggerating? one cannot exaggerate the PP in this film- (pardon the pun)

see it for yourself- i would not lie to you, you can't make this stuff up. incredible.

~A

405 (2000)

impressive, yet not original...

[5 March 2003]

Ok, I have to admit. 405 is pretty cool. It is brief yet exciting to watch, with it's skillful visual effects. Well done, and kudos to it's makers. No question, it's damn fine work.

It just isn't original.

Does anyone remember a quirky film called 'Buckaroo Banzai'? Of course you do.

Well, after it was long since finished, some time ago in the late 1980's or early 90's an attempt was made to resurrect the property as a television series. A lot was poured into the pitch, including, interestingly enough, a pretty cool all CG visual effects sequence which served to show what kind of cool stuff we can

expect to see in the series on a weekly basis.

If I recall correctly, this work was done at Foundation Studios, a respectable VFX studio that has done a lot of great work on shows such as Star Trek TNG, among others.

Now, in this pitch video, we see the Banzai rocket truck, or whatever it was

called, racing across a vast stretch of flat scorched Earth- salt flats I think. It is reminiscent of a scene in the feature film, except we see that what is going on is quite different: the Space Shuttle is on a landing approach, and it's front wheel is damaged and obviously cannot make a safe landing- the Banzai truck then

races into position, becoming in a sense, the front landing wheel for the Space Shuttle, saving the Astronauts and the spaceship.

It was pretty cool, one has to admit. It was quite original as well, as I certainly cannot recall anything like it before.

At least that is, not until 405 came about several years later, made by a pair (really? just 2 guys?) who were (former foundation studios employees?) VFX

artists making an (original?) short film featuring a 747 making an emergency

landing on a freeway, while an unwitting commuter finds his SUV standing in for the front wheels.

Interesting.

Ok, I guess I've made my point. Anyone who finds this fascinating, or perhaps anyone who does not believe me might just want to check out the Buckaroo

Banzai DVD, which includes, along with many other nifty extras, a failed TV

pitch that showcases one very original action sequence, featuring a rocket truck and a Space Shuttle.

It makes me wonder if there was any special reason why that was included on

the DVD.

New Waterford Girl (1999)

carbon copy if small town life in canada c. 70's

[10/10 · 28 January 2003]

if you didn't grow up in a predominantly catholic hick town, population 500 in the 70's, in rural Canada, then you are among those who don't get this film. it's that simple.

for those of us who did however, it perfectly represents just what it was like. the 'drive' took all of 30 seconds. everyone knew everyone else, who they slept with, and being different in the most microscopic way painted a day glow orange target on your back. there was nothing to do except hang with friends and score some booze from the local wino, and parties were, well, see the film. that is precisely it.

the family unit, and how it was portrayed, especially the way families dealt with teen pregnancy, (i know, because it happened to one of my sisters) was as well accurately told: ship them off to the convent. out of sight, out of mind. good luck if you actually had hopes and dreams.

if you didn't like this film, if you didn't get it, then i feel sorry for you. you really missed a sad but charming true to life story of what growing up was like in such an environment.

one thing i'll never understand (after reading a user comment) is how come

people who really can understand and love independant cinema actually think

that suggesting it to a non indie lover will somehow convert them.

people either prefer to watch the hollywood tripe that filters out week after week, or they love the small films without big stars and a formulaic story.

I saw this film back to back with 'Possible Worlds' by Robert Lepage. for those who loved it, I recomend it.

for those who didn't, I recommend 'Mission Impossible 2'... which was playing at the same time this film came out. it may interest some to learn that New Waterford Girl had a higher per screen average than MI2.

there's hope afterall.