MYST POST #4: Starship Troopers 3

Since I reviewed the new Robocop, I decided to also review the third film in the Starship Troopers franchise. This film I like almost as much as the original due to its campy, low-budget yet big scaled, epic scifi feeling it gives. Heck, I may even like it better!! However, review sites like Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB are literally split at whether the film is good or not. Half of the reviewers say yes, the others say not so much. This is why I want to review this one rather than the original. This one has more controversy, and boy do I like controversy!

Since most of you probably didn't even know there was a third, let alone a second Starship Troopers, i'll be sure give you a summary of the plot as we discuss this movie. The film takes place years after the original, and possibly ignores the second film, and mainly surrounds the federation learning more and more about the bugs. The film begins by mimicking trench warfare from World War 1. The bugs are surrounding the premises of the electric field guarded trench. We see a few propaganda videos from the Federation, the global government, which features Sky Marshal Anoke singing "A Good Day To Die". This could be a reference to the original film in its self because the director of the original and this one, Paul Verhoeven, stated that the original was supposed to be "playing with fascism or fascist imagery to point out certain aspects of American society... of course, the movie is about 'Let's all go to war and let's all die.'" It is also nice to know that even after centuries of research the government still can't give the military safe armor, for a guy early on gets impaled by one of the shovels given to the troops by the federation to dig up the trenches. This could be done purposely by the government for population control or something, but as it appears in the film, it could have been added just as a joke.

Now I would like to pause here and discuss one of the many lessons this film tries to get across. In a particular scene we are brought to the attention that the Federation is arresting and silencing people from talking against the war. While a hanging occurs on a TV in the bar that Rico and Dick are in (and I swear they called him Dick as a joke), a few redneck looking people talk about how displeased they are with the Feds. Once the people on the TV are hung, the rednecks go crazy and Dick orders Rico to arrest him. This is the scene where Rico realizes how wrong this all may be. Rico tells Dick that he's wasting his time and should spare them, but Dick takes offense to this and ends up arresting Rico as well! This shows how strict and dictator-like this government really is. It can, again, relate back to the first World War, or the Great War. Anyone who spoke against the war was threatened by the government. Even when the war ended, the Red Scare followed, which had people, thought to be communists, being silenced as well. Anyway, this is just one out of many symbolic things in this epic scifi flick!

After Rico is arrested, we further realize that something may be wrong with Sky Marshal Anoke. He is just not acting right. This somehow leads to a crash landing onto a local planet. Later on, Dick is driven to a restricted area (not Area 51 unfortunately) where the Brainbug from the first movie is kept....

Now that's one ugly mother. In fact, the design of the Brainbug was inspired by an anus or female genitalia. The reason was because the creators of the original wanted the Brainbuug to have an offensive face. Exactly why is not really known, but probably just for shock value and laughs. Compared to the original, this Brainbug looks very nasty and even more realistic than his cgi past. Moving on, Dick finds out that the Brainbug was using its telepathic powers against Anoke's, causing him to give in to the Bug's demands. The bug then screams and begins to break out of its poor quality cell until Dick shoots him to pieces with a rifle. With this new info, the audience can assume that something very bad is going to happen to Anoke's crew. It isn't until later, after an attack by an underground bug, that the crew finds out Anoke has Bug Religion. Yes, Bug Religion. Anyway, we find out that the Federation is covering up that Anoke has gone missing to the public. Obviously symbolizing how the news and media cannot always be trusted. We then finally return to Rico, only to find out he's going to be 'hanging around' the execution room. I know, bad jokes. As Rico is hung, his rope breaks and he falls into the pit beneath to find his former friend and commander, Dick. Rico is then sent on a top secret mission to the planet Anoke is on to save the crew. Here is where we see the shadows of the awesome Marauders. Then we cut back to Anoke and his crew.

"You will know the name of God, the one true god - Behemecoatyl. Brain of brains."

—Sky Marshal Anoke.

Probably the best part of this movie is the supposed "God Bug" Behemecoatyl. Yes, you heard that right as well. The bugs ever since day one have apparently been following a religion surrounding one giant huge bug. As ridiculous as this sounds, and probably is, there is a heavy moral behind it. After the destruction of the God Bug species (unless there are more of them, Who knows?), the Federation decides to bring back a religion similar to Christianity to the people to make them even more under control. Think of it like a dictatorship, but instead of worshiping the leader of the govt., you worship a being of higher power. You see, real studies have shown that people of religion can do more things during tests than those without. For example, a scientist once tested students to see which one had religion and which ones didn't. He then put up cups of orange juice and vinegar (bad combination) for the students to drink. Surprisingly, the ones with religion drank more than the ones without. Something similar to that was happening here. The bugs were losing the war at first, but once they gained Bug Religion, they suddenly started winning the war. But the moral of the story isn't that you should be religious, it's more of a "Freedom of Religion" type story. The government only gives people religion for their own needs, not for the people. Heck, the whole war between the bugs and humans started just so the government could have a stable economy! Basically, the whole war going on here is dictator vs dictator, it's just that one is a giant bug. Oh, and if you want to know how big this mortal "God" is....

All in all, Starship Troopers 3 isn't that bad of a film. It relates a lot to the first film, and may even surpass it at times. For the budget this film had, it did freakin awesome! I would highly recommend this movie to those who just love cheesy, yet at times horrific, sci-fi movies. 

Now i'd like to end this review bu acknowledging that they made a fourth one back in 2012. Yes, I did see it. I thought it was- decent. The one major problem was that they left out the propaganda bits!! Why?!?! Oh well, at least we finally got a 4th film.

MYST POST #3: Robocop (2014)

Where do I even begin with the new Robocop? I guess we'll start with a little history and the reviews the film got by critics. Sony pictures announced that they were going to remake the classic all the way back in 2005. But then, according to Bloody Disgusting, production was halted a year later. 2 years after that in 2008, Robocop was mentioned in an MGM press release and was slated to be released in 2010. Then the release date was postponed to 2011. Then, with the success of Avatar, the film was decided to be in 3D. More production went on in 2011 and 2012, but it wasn't until 2013 that the film became official to the public. Especially due to the fact that people were finding out they had already started filming. The reviews of the film were initially negative, but once the film was released more positive reviews began racing out. The reviews are almost at a stalemate with a 49% at Rotten Tomatoes. These means the movie will either be considered a great success or a miserable failure to the viewers.  

With all that out of the way, I might as well just get down to it. 

The film's style is very similar to that of Starship Troopers. Actually, Starship Troopers was directed by the same guy who directed the original Robocop, Paul Verhoeven. This could be just a coincidence of course. Anyway, throughout the film, Samuel Jackson plays a news caster for the Omnicorp company. He shows how much the company really deceives and lies to the public, but in a naturally comedic way. Starship Troopers also has these, though they relate more to Nazi propaganda than just a news reel. The news reels aren't the only thing similar to Starship Troopers, the message is similar as well. The conflict between the Federation and the bugs can relate to that of the US and the middle east. The people in the US are being clear that they don't want the US to continue going out there, but the government does it anyway, possibly for economic reasons. In Robocop, a similar dilemma is present. Heck! The film begins in the middle east! The company Omnicorp is obsessed with selling their robotic troops to governments all over the world. But Americans don't like the idea of robot police roaming the streets. So the company makes 'Robocop' to help convince the people and the government to take down a law in the US banning robotic policemen. Also, because he is part human, the law doesn't 100% apply to Robocop. 

But now was this remake gold or dirt? Well, I like to consider remakes or re-imaginings as their own films. On its own, this movie makes for a fairly decent scifi flick. While the ending of the film felt a bit off, the first 3rd of the film was phenominal. it nearly blew the original away. As for the other 2 thirds. Eh, they were decent. When you sit down and watch the film you can kind of tell when the writers freaked out last year. And yes, the writers, and everyone working on this film, freaked out sometime last year over the film's production. The reason is unknown, but overall what we got was a decent film. It could have been a lot worse. I have seen worse remakes (Black Christmas, King Kong 1976, House of Wax, ect.), so compared to those this film is great. It is one of my favorite remakes of all time, definitely. I believe a sequel might do justice to this film if they can have an army of the ED-209s battle Robocop. Better yet, that Robocop vs Terminator movie that we were promised years ago! Despite what I say everyone has their own taste in cinema films and tv shows. Mine is Scifi/fantasy/horror but yours may be different. But Samuel Jackson has his own opinion on the new Robocop film, and I believe it suits his role from the film quite fine....

1935 movie project - The Beautiful Disaster

The Beautiful Disaster is about how Jean Arthur is a beautiful model always in the media. She lives in the penthouse of the building that the Stooges manage. They are the repair, window washers of the building. The stooges also live in the basement of the building. Once they catch an eye of Arthur though, they then begin to fight for her attention. This type of plot would work well in the 1935 because of all the comedic glory it could bring for the audience at the time. The film would be black and white, but have sound. It would aim for more of a screwball and anarchic type comedy with much slapstick.

The depression was still very strong during 1935 and everyone needed something that could make them smile or laugh. Films were becoming extremely popular specifically with the comedy genre. The character types of the three stooges and Jean Arthur would be suited for a screwball comedy because the other films they were present in did very well at the box office.

Columbia Pictures was chosen as the studio to produce this film because they have been known to distribute countless other screwball comedies with great budgets. Frank Capra also worked for Columbia countless times prior to 1935.

Jean Arthur was chosen as the model in the story because at the time she had been in many famous screwball comedies already. The Three Stooges were chosen because despite being new to the industry at the time they had been rising in popularity very fast and were fantastically great comedians. Frank Capra was chosen for the director seat because one of the most famous comedy films ever made was filmed by him and released the previous year. The film "It happened in one night" lead him to win 5 Oscars, best picture, best director, best leading role, supporting actor, and screenplay. Havlic had worked for Capra before, so he would naturally make for a great editor.

The Hayes Code affected this film in numerous ways. The kissing scenes, if any were to be included, would be very brief. The characters would also never do anything too overly sexual or inappropriate. The Stooges are known solely for the violent acts they perform. While most of these acts would be retained in the film, it would be a bit toned down to fit with the rules of the code. Despite being toned down, the Stooges would still be violent enough to entertain the audiences.

If I were to change anything on this movie it would be the plot and the poster. The plot was too simple to become an actual movie. It felt almost like it could work but that something was missing. The poster we made wasn't as artsy yet funny as I wanted it to be, nor did my group put much effort into it either (due to us starting it only the day before presentation).

MYST POST #2: Citizen Kane

Citizen Kane originally was released to mostly negative reviews due to its subtle political messages. However as the years went by this film became to be known as the best film ever made. This was mainly due to the film's history, how it was shot, and a mixture of many other things. I believe this film was a pretty darn good film for the time and was revolutionary. Even compared to films today this film still has some sort of special quality to it that makes it so great and fun to watch. The film's shots were its specialty. For example....

This is the scene where the reporters are discussing what the meaning is behind Kane's last words "Rosebud." The two projectors are lit from behind the scene giving an interesting yet ominous shadow effect. Due to this effect we are rarely ever to make out Thompon's actual face. Many other character's faces in this scene are also shaded out by the lighting in the room. This was done to help symbolize that they are not exactly the important characters in the story. Heck, most of the characters we see in this scene we never see again. In the particular shot above, Ralston's character is shown higher than Thompson's to show Ralston's authority over the matter. While very simplistic with its message this scene has gained fame for mainly how this subtle message was told rather than the message itself.

Also I should mention this scene, despite it being brief. This scene always disturbed me due to the loud noise and creepy look of the parrot. I mean look at that!! Why would such an odd thing be in this scene? It doesn't seem to add much symbolism. I think Roger Ebert said it best....

The Eyeless Cockatoo. Yes, you can see right through the eyeball of the shrieking cocatoo, in the scene before the big fight between Kane and Susan. It's a mistake.

So even the possibly best film ever does indeed have a mistake. So why would a film with mistakes still possibly be good? Well, many other very famous films also have also had mistakes too, such as Star Wars and Jurassic Park. The reason these films are still loved is because the mistakes clearly have no effect on the plot(unless they're plot holes). The film can still be consistent with or without the mistakes.  

In 1925 one of the most famous books ever written was released. This book is simply known as The Great Gatsby. This book was about a guy who was aimlessly searching for the American Dream of getting the girl he loved using all the money he had. Later on, he learns that she will never live up to the dreams he has had of her for years. Not long after she leaves him, in which he still hopes that she will come back to him. He then unfortunately dies from being shot by an upset husband.
In 1945 Citizen Kane came out and became one of the most famous and well known and respected films in cinema history. This movie was about a guy who was aimlessly searching for the American Dream by getting all the american people to love him using all the money he had. Later on, he learns that he will never be able to get the people to love him because he never understand how to get them to love him. Not long after another guy releases evidence Kane is cheating on his wife the people no longer love him yet he still hopes that they will come back to him. He then unfortunately dies and repeats his famous line "Rosebud."
The similarities between the book and the movie are endless. In fact many people have brought up the suggestion that Kane is similar to that of Gatsby due to the way their lives play out. They both want to achieve love one way or another, but are pushed aside and eventually killed. The character of Daisy can relate to that of the American People. They are both very easily manipulated.
Many film adaptions of the Great Gatsby have also came out since the release of the book. Yet no matter how many film adaptions come out of The Great Gatsby, Citizen Kane always seems to be the superior film. This is because the film only had a similar plot to the book and wasn't based off of it. It had complete freedom.

All in all, I can see how huge and inspiration-ally awesome this film really is. It truly is one of the best films ever made! But the best film ever made? I do not believe in such nonsense. Just as Charles Kane said "I don't think there's one word that can describe a mans life," I don't think there's one movie that can describe cinema.

Sources:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTSktIXJLvDBaJ8LGlafoUD1jbr3YsIL2-jO60U1dLzX1wi2xG4dmZ1g5SSAbQvkRp8JptKlXUxSPBhCEDyfs08nR7Z8UE3pSWB7OEp3g83pPy178j8vYCC7friOzaOxXUD9Bmcl-7-qw/s1600/Poster+-+Citizen+Kane_02.jpg
http://lyoung101.qwriting.qc.cuny.edu/2011/10/09/analysis-project-1-shot-by-shot-breakdown-of-a-scene/
http://www.rogerebert.com/rogers-journal/a-viewers-companion-to-citizen-kane
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOij9fn7TftbBiXh0HdzvWTnxLzD4ao1CJ3OUK7k7V6cYIhx7xyRXmgkgCZ7phGkHf30ZGKO0i7XThw9qZJI9EIdfB4ev1SGTdNmTmBf_7xa8PB4mNwvgKzkKHTIwZ1-mOrIG_x514fw/s1600/Citizen+Kane_20131123234239.JPG
http://dcairns.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/vlcsnap-2013-11-13-19h35m01s199.png

MYST POST #1: Zero Dark Thirty

I always wanted to watch this movie ever since it was released last year. The film, which was based on a true story, surrounds a CIA operative who spends over 10 years of her life hunting down the terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden. The obvious highlight of the film is when Seal Team 6 arrives to take down Bin Laden.Immediately upon watching the film it became another classic. The end scene was just shot so beautifully. I also enjoy the scene at Area 51 because this is one of the first films to show the place without any aliens! The film provides a more realistic view on exactly what happened while hunting down Bin Laden.

The specific scene I should mention is the end scene when the actual killing of Osama Bin Laden takes place. The scene was shot with first person views through the night vision goggles and interesting views of the soldiers taking out the prey in the building. It may as well be one of the best directed modern war-type scenes since the director's other film, "The Hurt Locker". The lighting was in a tone of greyish-black that gave you enough detail to see what was happening, but also made the scene a bit more ominous and serious. Most war films now in days resemble that of a video game, filled with mindless violence, but this one did not and instead gave us a more realistic view of the Navy Seals in action.

If this film is not your cup of tea there is always that other Bin Laden film with Seal Team 6 called "Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama Bin Laden" Which focuses more on the Seals rather than the CIA agent. However keep in mind that this film has been better reviewed by critics and focuses more on the story as a whole, but does have a little more focus on one character. The character that just happens to appear through most of the story is the CIA operative who does a great job in her leading role.

Review of the Reviews

For my first ever review on this blog I have decided that the movie Pumpkinhead (1998) would be most suitable for review. After all, it is one of my favorite movies, specifically horror, of all time. The first time I have ever heard of this film was when I accidentally stumbled into this movie's wiki page when I searched up RL Stine's Pumpkinhead episode of the haunting hour online. When I saw the film and it's sequels I thought they were pretty strange and terrifying. So I just forgot about them. Later on, I saw the movie on a live stream with my sister, and at the time I then thought it was just a cheesy horror flick; But as I looked into the film and it's history I immediately fell in love with it. The effects were great, the plot was great, and the actors were pretty good. Despite my praise of the film, it seems it has gained quite surprisingly mixed reviews by critics.

The Washington Post is a very famous news source that has done countless film reviews. However, their opinion of Pumpkinhead was less desirable. Richard Harrington, one of the critics from The Washington Post described the film basically as just your average horror film; Nothing special. He criticizes the writers, Mark Patrick Carducci and Gary Gerani, for creating a predictable and very cliche plot. He even goes as far as to relate the film to Halloween IV, another poorly received horror movie coming out during the year of 1988. However, he does at least mention that the film was "inspired by a poem (by Ed Justin, just in case you're wondering)". Harrington also admits that the effects are very well made. Unfortunately for the movie, he continues by talking about how the awesome effects are wasted on a poor plot, and that it's "not the last horror film inspired by a poem," suggesting it is a cliche back story as well. Overall, the review has a negative overtone towards the film, as if it was just another horror film. One that should be ignored. I believe he talked about the film like this because he is probably not a horror fan, and only judged the film by its cover rather than detail.

 

While the Washington Post's review was pretty negative towards the Pumpkinhead film, Dread Central seemed to be more generous. Johnny Butane started the review off by stating how he always loved the premise of the film, especially the "revenge is never the best course of action," moral. He went on to talk into depth about the plot of the film and the great back story the film had. He ended up giving the film a 4 out of 5, but gave the dvd's special features a 4-1/2 out of 5.

Out of the 2 reviews of course I choose Dread Central's review over the Washington Post's because it has a nicer feel towards the film. The Washington Post sounded almost snotty in the way they talked about the film, as if it was nothing. They described it as "a close relation of Boogeyman," and how the film's "gross-out effects [would] undoubtedly be getting with Halloween IV." But despite how Harrington thought the film was a stupid horror cliche, Butane from Dead Central poses a much more positive look at the film, and the history behind it. He talks about the film's great effects, the style, the making of, even the dvd's special features so thoroughly that it kicks the other reviews butt to the depths of the abyss. So I would pick Dread Central because they are more thorough and kinder toward the film.   

                           

So much in my life wouldn't have happened if I had not seen this film. If I never watched this film with my sister, I would not be the horror fan, or even movie fan I am today. I would have probably sided with the ruder review of the Washington Post to be honest. I would have overlooked this film just as I did when I found it on Wikipedia. I would have thought it was a stupid, non-well done cliche of a movie and not look into it at all. But the Dread Central review does draw more of the reader's attention than the Washington Post. As I have said countless times, Dread Central was just more thorough and descriptive on the film than the opposing review. It also was a light more respectful to the creators of the film. So if I was given these two articles I probably would move towards the Dread Central eventually, and then thus get into the Pumpkinhead franchise as I am now. Basically, the film somehow made me a better person in realizing how people still do judge books by their cover, and how rude people can get when they do it.

If I were to right a one page review on this film, well, let me tell you one page wouldn't be enough. It's sad what happened to this film. The film had to be delayed one year later (1988) because one of the supporting companies went bankrupt. Because of this, the film's popularity and interest among the public went down, and the film is now a lost gem in the horror community.

Film Intro Survey

What is the first movie that really made a strong impression on you?
Either the movie Dinosaur or Jurassic Park.

What are 3-4 of your favorite genres?
Action/Adventure
Mystery/Thriller
Sci-fi/Fantasy
Horror

What are 3-4 of your least favorite genres?
Teen
Biography
Romance

What are your 5 favorite films?
Godzilla Final Wars
Pumpkinhead
Dr Strangelove
The Thing
Alien

List 3 characteristics of what you consider to be a good movie.
Originality
Great writing
Great effects

What are some of your least favorite movies?
Midnight in Paris
Julie and Julia
Dinoshark


List 3 characteristics of what you consider to be a bad movie.
Cliches
Politics (depends on movie genre)
Cheap/no care into making it

If you have any favorite directors, list them.
Stanley Kubrik
Steven Spielberg
Christopher Nolan

Favorite actors?
Jack Nicholson
Vin Diesel
Liam Neeson

3 most important films:
Dr strangelove
Pumpkinhead


What the oldest favorite movie you've seen?
Nosferatu

What is the best film you've seen that has been released in the past 2 years?
The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug

What are the next 5 films on your "queue"?
Robocop (2014)
The Lego Movie
Godzilla (2014)
Transformers: Age of Extinction
Wolf on Wallstreet