The world is in shambles. The country is on the brink of depression. Millions are out of work. Violence is now considered entertainment. Convicts are now reduced to television stars for our own sick amusement. And we’re now on the brink of revolting against a corrupt disgusting government run by a madman. But enough about modern times, right now we have “Death Race”! A film that barely covers any of those issues beyond using it as a back drop for the basis of the death racing, where as Corman’s original was so ahead of its time, it perfectly encapsulates what this generation is all about and it was made in the seventies!
Tag Archives: Future
Southland Tales (2006)
Acting off the pretense that it’s smarter than we all think, for approximately two and a half hours, Richard Kelly’s “Southland Tales” is proof positive that “Donnie Darko” was a fluke and he is a one trick pony, and an insufferable one to boot. And alas, Kelly will always ride on the reputation that precedes this rancid pile of garbage and anything else on the way out of his mind. Here, Kelly taps the “Donnie Darko” well again. There are chapters, spirituality, a disjointed series of sub-plots, visual flourishes all with a touch of self-awareness that kicks us in the face every single second. And in the process, Kelly also manages to beat us over the head with political commentary that is warranted but so clumsily delivered he often seems to try too hard.
Doomsday (2008)
Marshall is perhaps one of the most underrated, unnoticed, wildly creative directors of our time, and it sucks when I can watch something like “Doomsday” and frown that not many chose to see it with me. Currently one of my favorite directors in film, Marshall is 3 for 3 with a slyly tongue in cheek post-apocalyptic thriller that takes place during the end of a destructive disease called The Reaper which took most of the civilization in Glasgow. Closed off from society, the government’s plan to quarantine the country forever turned on them as the world suffered from over population and now the Reaper is back. “Doomsday” has elicited many comparisons to classics like “Mad Max,” and “Escape from New York,” and even fans of the film have agreed to these very apt comparisons.
Titan A.E. (2000)
There’s just no love for “Titan A.E.” and trust me, I understand why. It’s cliche, and a bit rehashed, but surely enough, it’s one of my favorite animated films of all time. Bitch and moan, insult and criticize, but “Titan A.E.” is perhaps one of the finest works of animated science fiction film I’ve seen in a long time, and I’ve loved it since it 2000, when I struggled to find someone to go to the movies with to watch it on the big screen. I never had that chance, but surely enough I watched it as soon as I could, and I wasn’t disappointed. This is a film that takes the writing talents of Joss Whedon, and the wonderful animation of Don Bluth and creates a hell of an entertaining and tense animated epic about attempting to rebuild planet Earth once and for all.
Idiocracy (2006)
“And the number one movie in the country was called “Ass.” And that’s all it was for ninety minutes. And it won Oscars…”
Our current society needs to be spoofed. In our current state it should analyzed, satirized, and cast into the darkness, because you’re all idiots, and you need to know that. You’re reality show watching, God fearing, literacy phobic, sadistic, consuming, ignorant drones, and someone needs to fill you in on that. “Idiocracy” is a step in the right direction as it’s a merciless satire on our society which is, by the way, currently run by pure idiots. It’s not surprising that “Idiocracy” wasn’t a hit because, risking repetition, movie goers are idiots as stated above, but it’s thankfully been praised among the movie geeks as a bonafide cult classic, a term that Mike Judge has become synonymous with.
Æon Flux (2005)
I was never a fan of the techno-punk, cult series “Aeon Flux” from MTV, and for good reason. While, I’m always up for an animated series about a hot woman kicking ass, “Aeon Flux” was dull, lifeless, and ached to be as entertaining as fare like “Ghost in the Shell” from day one. Thus was MTV’s prime goal back in the days: make every series hipper than the last. And with this they failed. So it was only a matter of time for a movie to be made and eventually flop. You can blame America’s hesitation to enjoy a female superhero, you can say that they mishandled the character of Aeon Flux, but whatever excuse you create, at the end of the day “Aeon Flux” is a pretty bad film, clear and simple, and worse yet, it hearkens back to the absolutely excruciating “Ultraviolet” on many occasions.
Renaissance (2006) (DVD)
Almost simultaneously released alongside Richard Linklater’s equally high concept animated film “A Scanner Darkly,” Volckman’s “Renaissance” is a little bit of George Orwell and Phillip K. Dick with the same neo-noir atmosphere of Frank Miller with a Dystopian twist, and it composes itself as an equally high concept animated science fiction installment that focuses on a society that’s not too much in the distant future from ours. The world is ruled by vanity and the search for eternal youth, and this is all spearheaded by an ominous corporation called Avalon that markets on society’s youth obsession and rules over all of society. Ads pop up from thin air, follow pedestrians, and always seem much more omnipresent than they should.