INDEPENDENCE DAY

(July 1996, U.S.)

When INDEPENDENCE DAY was originally released in movie theaters sixteen years ago (has it been that long??), it re-booted two genres that hadn't been seen much in the movies in over a decade. The first was the invasion of the planet Earth by hostile aliens. The second was the science fiction action movie with glorious space battles. Is it any wonder that the trailers for the special editions of George Lucas' original STAR WARS trilogy were shown with INDEPENDENCE DAY? Since then, aliens and monster have been endlessly invading and crushing our planet (usually New York City) on screen and there have been three more STAR WARS films. Even the original teaser trailer for this film didn't need to say much to get people excited to see it come July 1996...

July 2 - The day they arrive.
July 3 - The day they attack.
July 4 - The day we fight back.

Simple, to the point and quite gripping for the sci-fi movie lover, right? However, unlike the many alien invasion films from the 1950s you may have seen on Turner Classic Movies, Roland Emmerich's film focuses much less on the science ins-and-outs of who the aliens are and why they do what they do and treats movie fans to more of the action, blood and guts they crave. Will Smith as Captain Steven Hiller is perfect to provide his unique style of humor that only makes the film better. This was the beginning that made Will Smith the action hero of science fiction films he's become ever since (you can look up the films that followed).

Alien invasions can be fun, of course, but the film also does it's best to remind us that the prospect of such an event is quite terrifying. From the moment the alien ships arrive and surround our planet, we know they're very likely NOT friendly. Through the scientific expertease of David Levinson (played by Jeff Goldblum - another science fiction alumni actor!), we watch the countdown commence and finally conclude itself to the big payoff - the attack! And shit, what an attack it is! Our major cities are completely obliterated by laser weapons and balls of inferno that can send chills up and down your spine if you allow yourself the imagination to really take it in.

INDEPENDENCE DAY can clearly be called the Bill Clinton era science fiction film. Actor Bill Pullman as President Thomas J. Whitmore bears a minor resemblence to our former President. And as his character is also a former fighter pilot who actually takes part in the final battle in which the people of Earth will gloriously prevail over the alien attackers, it's no wonder that INDEPENDENCE DAY was such a favorite of Clinton's. Perhaps he played this movie while he was getting one of his infamous Monica Lewinsky blowjobs to enhance the effect. Hey, anything's possible, yes?

Since INDEPENDENCE DAY, I have not enjoyed nor have I bothered to own any other alien or monster invasion film. Really, what's the point? This film captured everything that's so exciting about the genre, that anything that followed, in my opinion, was just recycled copycat material and a genuine waste of my time. So to the two filmmakers who would eventually give us crap like GODZILLA (1998) and 2012 (2010), I say a great big thank you for all of INDENDENCE DAY's destructive pleasures! Though, admitedly, I may never forgive them for shamelessly placing the Empire State Building in the geographically wrong location just to enhance their effects. Anyone who lives in New York City or close enough to it, knows just how bogus that was!

Favorite line or dialogue:

Captain Steven Hiller (being shot at by an alien spaceship): "Oh no, you did NOT shoot that green shit at me!"

INCREDIBLES, THE

(November 2004, U.S.)

Ever since TOY STORY first hit movie screens in 1995, it seems that computer-animated films by Disney and Dreamsworks have become a dime a dozen every few weeks or so. Really, I can't keep track of them anymore and neither can my son...and he's just six years-old, for crying out loud! So if I'm lucky, every once in a great while, one of them will catch my attention in a positive way. At this point in my life, I can easily claim my love (or hate) of one of these movies is based on the fact that I wanted to (or HAD to!) watch it with my son. Unfortunately, in this case, I must claim complete and total responsibility for watching and loving Disney's THE INCREDIBLES because it was relased two years before my son was born.

Let me begin with a claim that I never in my life thought I'd ever make about a Disney film, and that's this...THE INCREDIBLES features some of the best hardcore action (for a Disney movie, anyway) that I've seen on screen that would even rival a great Indiana Jones movie! Honestly, the last time I felt that way about a Disney film was the sci-fi spectacle THE BLACK HOLE in 1979. THE INCREDIBLES follows a family of superheroes living a quiet suburban life, forced to hide their powers from the rest of the world due to a an onslaught of lawsuits brought against the world's superheroes after their heroics inadvertantly cause massive public destruction. When the father, Bob Parr or "Mr. Incredible" (voiced by Craig T. Nelson - remember him in POLTERGEIST?) yearns for his glory days and desire to help people drags him into battle with an evil villain and his killer robot, the entire Parr family is ultimately forced into action to save the world. As cliche as it all seems, superheroes HAVE to always be saving the world from some sort of evil, otherwise the film is pointless, yes? The evil, known as Buddy Pine or "Syndrome" (voiced by Jason Lee), is quite a trip because he's really just a dorky kid who once wanted nothing more than to be "Mr. Incredible's" superhero sidekick, and having been rejected too many times, grew up into evil manhood and seeks only revenge on those who have wronged him. At the same time, while creating all of this evil and mass destruction, his ultimate plan is to be the greatest superhero on the planet by conveniently defeating his own evil and taking the world renowned credit of the good guy?

(you getting all this so far?)

so basically, we're talking about a real bad guy with a tremendous ego issue! What finally defeats him is quite amusing considering it involves a transforming baby and the dangers of wearing a cape. See for yourself.

As mentioned earlier, these computer animated films seem quite repetitious...and they are. Besides the great action, though, the design of THE INCREDIBLES is unique in its own way. The 3D computer graphics of the skin for these movie characters gained a new level of realism from a technology to produce what is known as "subsurface scattering", which is defined as a mechanism in which light penetrates the surface of a translucent object, is scattered by interacting with the material, and exits the surface at a different point. The light will generally penetrate the surface and be reflected a number of times at irregular angles inside the material, before passing back out of the material at an angle other than the angle it would have if it had been reflected directly off the surface. Hey, I had to look it up, okay, but you can see the great results of this process when you watch THE INCREDIBLES come alive in front of you.

To date, there's still no sequel to this great animated film. I hope it stays that way!

Favorite line or dialogue:

Syndrome: "Oh, no! Elastigirl? You married Elastigirl?? Ho, ho, ho...oh, and got biz-zay! It's a whole family of supers! Looks like I hit the jackpot! Oh, this is just too good!"

IN COLD BLOOD

(December 1967, U.S.)

A bestselling book and successful film based on a shocking true life crime may not play so well in today's world given the fact that these sort of tragic real life events seem to occurr at an almost frequent rate. Think about it...how often do you turn on the news and hear about some horrifying crime and almost write it off in your mind as something that has reached the point of being trivial? It's a tragic attitude, but it's a sign of the world we live in today.

Back in 1959 middle America, though, the detailed brutal murders of Herbert Clutter, a successful farmer from Holcomb, Kansas, his wife, and their children was a horrific incident that captured the minds, hearts and attention of the entire country. When Truman Capote learned of the quadruple murder, before the killers were captured, he decided to travel to Kansas and write about the crime. The 1966 book of IN COLD BLOOD became the greatest crime seller at the time and is almost universally acknowledged as one of the best books of its type ever written. Richard Brooks' film version with Robert Blake as Perry Smith and Scott Wilson as Dick Hickock follows a very detailed and non-linear form of filmmaking and editing as we follow the two would-be killers from the point of conceiving the planned home robbery to the very point that they're hanged for their crimes. Particularly noteworthy is the moment when they've arrived at the Clutter farm and are preparing to exit the car. The film fades to black at that moment and when it returns, a family friend arrives at the house to find the bodies. Police investigation and inevitable capture of the killers follow soon enough and it's only at the point of Perry Smith's lengthy confession do we witness a step-by-step account of the home invasion and the frightening moments that lead up to the family's ultimate slaughter.

That last comment of mine opens up the fact that the actual events of the crime itself are told on film with out-of-sequence flashbacks (or analepsis, as I understand it's sometimes called) and the consequences that follow it. It's a style of crime storytelling that I remember first seeing in Stanley Kubrick's THE KILLING (1956) and decades later in Quentin Tarantino's RESERVOIR DOGS (1992). It's a formula that's definitely copied around in cinema, but nevertheless a highly effective tool with crime thrillers.

Although it wasn't included in my film collection and this blog, the 2005 film CAPOTE with Philip Seymour Hoffman takes the events of Truman's writing the book and his actual relationship with the convicted criminals preceeding it. It's an intruiging additional step to take after you've read the book IN COLD BLOOD or seen the film, or both.

Favorite line or dialogue:

Alvin Dewey: "Someday, somebody will explain to me the motive of a newspaper. First, you scream, "Find the bastards." Till we find them, you want to get us fired. When we find them, you accuse us of brutality. Before we go into court, you give them a trial by newspaper. When we finally get a conviction, you want to save them by proving they were crazy in the first place."

INCEPTION

(July 2010, U.S.)

Initially, any science fiction film that could be described as "The Matrix meets James Bond" may seem like a turn-off for me, because the moment a film is described as one previously used element "meeting" another previously used element, the only thing that I can stay focussed on is the fact that it's film that contains previously used film elements. Add to the fact that back in 1985, there was a film called DREAMSCAPE with Dennis Quaid in which people invaded other people's dreams, there remains very little to tempt me into seeing INCEPTION. On the other hand, though, director Christopher Nolan carries a tremendous amount of weight with me. MEMENTO (2000) was one of the ten best films of the last decade, INSOMNIA (2002) was one of the rare and better remakes of any foreign film I've ever seen, and THE DARK KNIGHT (2008), of course, speaks for itself. That in mind, INCEPTION deserved its fair viewing.

This is a film that, for my own reasons and experiences, I would put in a personal classification with films like Fellini's 8 1/2 (1963), 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968), MULHOLLAND DRIVE (2001) and THE TREE OF LIFE (2011) in that they're films I had a lot of trouble understanding the first time around and dared me to challenge my patience and intellect to not give up so fast. You see, for me, the harder a film is to understand, the more I'm compelled to get past the difficulties of it and try, try again. It's frustrating, yes, but when I've given a good film the time and understanding it deserves, it's like experiencing a film revelation in which you finally (hopefully) get it. After watching INCEPTION for the first time some time ago, I immediately started the film again because I was determined to "get back on the bicycle" and master its meaning and its pleasures.

So that being said, we have a film whose essential premise is the concept of invading a person's dream and implanting an idea in their head that will ultimately change their own lives and the possibly the lives of others involved with them. Dominick Cobb (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) is a dream "architect", who with his team, are hired by powerful Japanese businessman Saito (played by Ken Watanabe) who wishes to break up the energy conglomerate of his ailing competitor by planting the idea in his son and heir Robert Fischer (played by Cillian Murphy) to disintegrate his father's company. Should Cobb and his team succeed, Saito will use his influence to clear a murder charge against Cobb, so he can return to the United States and his beloved children.

Sounds simple so far, right? Not quite...

Once the mission begins, we're into high concept ideas of "dreams within dreams", "kicks" that will untimately awaken the dreamer, dreamer's defense mechanisms that can come in the form of extreme violence and the sub-conscious act of bringing the memories of the dead into play, also accompanied by destructive behavior. This last action is just what's going on in Cobb's head as he suffers extreme guilt over the suicide of his wife and it's just what may jeopardize the team's mission. Dreams mix with reality in such a way that, as I said, can be very hard to follow. You have to take the time to follow just how many dreams are within a single dream and to ultimately remember that reality lies in those who are actually fast asleep on a plane.

This is all my persoanl take on the film, though. There are those out there who are likely smarter than me and may take it all in with no problem the very first time they watch INCEPTION. My hat is off to you, if you can. Most film audiences are completely turned off by any film they're required to use their brain with. As a result, box office returns usually suffer. Not here, however. INCEPTION fared very well with audiences and critics.

Just a quick persoanl memory to conclude things...you may recall that in my previous post for AVATAR (2009) I confessed that it was the last modern "grown up" film for myself that I went to see in a movie theater (it still is!). However, that's not to say I didn't try again. During the Summer of 2010, I tried TWICE to see INCEPTION at the same movie theater in my town. The first time there was a problem with the film and I demanded my money back. The second time the show was sold out. I took it as a clear sign not to try and go to the movies for myself anymore. I haven't been back since...and that's no dream!

Favorite line or dialogue:

Dominick Cobb: "Well dreams, they feel real while we're in them, right? It's only when we wake up that we realize how things are actually strange. Let me ask you a question, you, you never really remember the beginning of a dream do you? You always wind up right in the middle of what's going on."
Ariadne: "I guess, yeah."
Cobb: "So how did we end up here?"
Ariadne: "Well we just came from the a..."
Cobb: "Think about it Ariadne, how did you get here? Where are you right now?"
Ariadne: "We're dreaming?"
Cobb: "You're actually in the middle of the workshop right now, sleeping. This is your first lesson in shared dreaming. Stay calm."

IL POSTINO (THE POSTMAN)

(June 1995, U.S.)

Without actually bothering to check into the archives of my own movie blog for clarity, it feels like it's been ages since I discussed a foreign subtitled film. Feels good to return to that genre again.

Looking back at the 1990s, I think I experienced my greatest enthusiasm for foreign films on screen during that decade. From CINEMA PARADISO (1990) to LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE (1992) to LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL (1998), foreign cinema seemed to develop quite a surge with audiences, critics and Oscar voters, as well. During the 1990s, I was also living in New York City and was affordered greater access and greater opportunities to see these foreign films on the big screen. By the time I got around to IL POSTINO, the massive attention and the Oscar buzz were everywhere. The other big news surrounding this film was the fact that it's star, Massimo Troisi, had died of a severe heart attack the day after filming was completed (Man, that sucks!).

The film tells the fictional story in which the real life Chilean poet Pablo Neruda forms a relationship with a simple Italian postman who learns to love poetry and uses it to win the heart of the woman he loves. SIMPLE is the key word here because like Peter Sellers in BEING THERE (1979) and Tom Hanks in FORREST GUMP (1994) before him, Mario Ruoppolo (Massimo Troisi) is the simplest of men who lives on a small, forgotten island in Italy whose very existence seems to be no more than living with and looking after his aging father. This is not a man with wisdom, experience or courage to face any real challanges in life or to even try to make his existence known to the most beautiful and tempting woman on the island, Beatrice Russo (played by Maria Grazia Cucinotta - you may recall her in the opening sequence of the disappointing 1999 James Bond film THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH). And like previous simple men before him, wisdom and experience is slowly fullfilled, in this case through poetry, metaphors and friendship with a world renowned poet Pablo Neruda (played by French actor Philippe Noiret), who in this film, seems to attract hords of crazed fans a lot more like the Beatles coming to America in 1963 rather than a simple-mannered poet.

And so the shy, simple man wins the heart of the beautiful woman and all is NOT QUITE happily ever after. Things get complicated. Pablo and his wife return to their homeland in Chile and Mario realizes that it's time for him to develop his own voice and his own thinking, particularly during a time in history when communism is at its peak in the 1950s. In an epilogue sequence of the film, we learn that Mario, when scheduled to recite is own composed poem a massive communist gathering in Naples, is killed during violent police reaction. Tragic and ironic, indeed, considering the real life fate of Massimo Troisi himself.

Before revisiting IL POSTINIO for the first time since purchasing the DVD years ago, the most recent film I'd watched was last summer's superhero blockbuster THE AVENGERS. If you'd been in my living room with me, you would have seen an expression on my face that seemed to suggest, "Why the fuck am I watching this crap??" If you'd seen my face last night, you would have witnessed a big smile. I smile because sometimes in the life of cinema, it's the simplest stories, the simplest pleasures and the most simple of beautiful world locales (in glorious Italy!) that will put that wonderful smile on your face. MY face, anyway.

Favorite line or dialogue:

Mario Ruoppolo: "Something nice about the island?"
Pablo Neruda: "Yes, one of the wonders of your island."
Mario (speaking into a recorder): "Beatrice Russo."

IDES OF MARCH, THE

(October 2011, U.S.)

During the course of the last two films I posted, I AM LEGEND and IDENTITY, there was strong evidence of irony, timing and coincidence involved. Well, pay attention, people, because on this, our Presidential election day, I'm here to discuss George Clooney's THE IDES OF MARCH. Is it all of the above-mentioned factors or am I just that fucking good?? You decide.

George Clooney as Governor Mike Morris is probably the best fictitious political candidate I've seen on film since Robert Redford in THE CANDIDATE (1972). He doesn't really exist, but when you hear him speak on what resembles the real life political issues of our time, you'll swear that you'd vote for him if he really ran for office. Hey, don't forget that Ronald Reagan was an actor once...anything can happen! THE IDES OF MARCH, however, is told more from the point of view of Morris' deputy campaign manager Stephen Meyers (played by the very intense Ryan Gosling). From his perspective, the film is, admitedly, very cliche in its story. We have the young, idealistic campaign manager who truly believes that his candidate walks on water. Of course, as time progresses, he'll find that his beloved Mike Morris is as much of a disappointment as every other bullshit politician out there. He'll also find that his loyalties and his ideals have the potential to go out the window when his job, his career and his future are threatened. And of course, we shouldn't forget the inevitable cliche that all seemingly moral politicians eventually end up fucking their interns. Well, let's be honest...would YOU kick Evan Rachel Wood out of your bed??

While THE IDES OF MARCH is busy being predictable, yet entertaining, there's one particular moment that I take to heart. During a scene in a quit cafe, Marisa Tomei's character of a New York Times reporter tells Stephen that regardless of which presidential candidate wins the election, it will likely not make one bit of difference to the average "fucker" out there who wakes up, goes to work, comes home, goes to sleep and does the same thing all over again the next day. I never thought I'd take anything that Marisa Tomei says to heart like that, but she does, admitedly, make a good point worth considering. It's an opinion, anyway. But the last thing I'm going to do is get into any sort of political discussion on this blog of mine.

So, that being said...WIN, OBAMA, WIN!!!

Favorite line or dialogue:

Governor Mike Morris: "You know how you fight the war on terror? You don't need their product anymore! Their product is oil! Just don't need it and they go away!"

(George Clooney for President!!!)

IDENTITY

(April 2003, U.S.)

Before I begin my blog for this film, let's take a moment and take a little tour of what I can only describe as either strange irony, bizarre timing or insane coincidence...

My last movie post for I AM LEGEND told the story, in part, of disaster, devestation, and isolation. Two days after that post, Hurricane Sandy hit the states of New York, New Jersey and Connecticuit with an extreme wrath that had virtually never been seen before, and because of disaster, devestation and isolation, I was unable to really get to a computer to post my blogs. Now, this next film, IDENTITY, deals with, in part, disaster and isolation. Is all of this just bizarre coincidence, something a little more spiritual or just really fucking weird???

I think that we can give special credit to novelists like Robert Bloch and Stephen King and filmmakers like Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick for making the idea of the isolated, abandoned motel or hotel a very creepy element for any scary film. Take a look at the motel in this film and tell me if you'd want to stay here...

In IDENTITY, which is greatly inspired by Agatha Christie's AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, we're not only given the storyline of the isolated motel and the group of stranger (lead by great actors like John Cusack and Ray Liotta) who are trapped there, but also the added cliche of the violent thunderstorm. Cliche, yes, but highly effective. A storm is scary, an isolted moted is scary, and a group of people who begin dying one by one is truly scary!

When you watch the story of these strangers, we're also being shown the circumstances of Malcom Rivers (played by Pruitt Taylor Vince), a vicious killer who is just one day away from execution. His psychiatrist (played by Alfred Molina) is, predictably, playing the insanity card to save his patient's life. You wonder what the hell one story has to do with the other. You also have to remind yourself that you're very likely being set up for what will turn out to be a great payoff of revelation in the film's plot.

Like AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, people start dying and dying in rather frightening and violent manners. What's really freaky is that eventually those bodies start mysteriously disappearing. Is this the work of a truly diabolical killer or something a little more sinister and supernatural? This is where you have to be ready for what will inevitably link the story of a group of stranded strangers and the circumstances of Malcom Rivers. Without unfairly giving anything away, rest assured that the revelation is scary and very effective. I will, however, direct your memory to this line from Alfred Hitchcock's PSYCHO (1960) that goes...

"You see, when the mind houses two personalities, there's always a conflict...a battle!"

Nothing could be further from the truth in the case of IDENTITY. Moviegoers have often been floored by the climactic ending of a scary film that would suggest the protaganist was actually DEAD during the entire time (see JACOB'S LADDER or THE SIXTH SENSE). This film takes it a step further, in my opinion, in showing the complex and truly creepy conflicts going on inside of the mind of a convicted killer who happens to suffer from multiple personality syndrome. What's even more frightening is when you consider the fact that it's very possible that a story element such as this is likely conceived from a true case history of a real human being (or more). In other words, there stranger the story, the more likely it is that it was inspired from a true life incident or person. Scary, indeed.

Like too many scary films of decades before, IDENTITY does NOT suffer from bad story, bad acting and bad dialogue. It's intelligent scares and frights that can stand proudly with films like THE EXORCIST (1973), HALLOWEEN (1978) and THE SHINING (1980). That's a nice position to have!

Favorite line or dialogue:

Edward Dakota: "Alright, I was, uh, driving this actress and we got stuck at the motel. There was a storm...and we couldn't get out...we couldn't get out...because of the storm."
Dr. Mallick: "What happened at the motel?"
Edward: "People started dying...and their bodies...it doesn't make any sense...they, they disappeared."