mconrad3 Blog

Body of Lies

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]

Under discussion:

Body of Lies (2008)

Ridley Scott is always going to be one of my favorite directors. His work on movies like Blade Runner, Alien, Black Hawk Down, and Kingdom of Heaven always stick in my mind after I watch them. I wasn't expecting much from him for this film, however, so I suppose it is best that way. The trailer didn't interest me very much and it's my personal opinion that Ridley needs to do more sci fi if he wants to socially commentate properly.The film is an adaptation of a novel of the same name about a CIA agent who has to gets a ground's eye view of the things going on in the Middle East. The message it's trying to send is good, but I think it gets lost in its own setting.

Going into the film, people are focused more on the overall good vs. bad conflict and they lose some of the nice subtleties Scott throws in the background. And subtletly is one of the things I always thought he does well in his films. For the most part, we're getting hung up on trying to catch the terrorist and put less emphasis on how that happens, which is a major problem when you want that to be the focus of your film. Otherwise, the overlying plot itself is unremarkable.

I like all of the people involved in this project (yes, I can sit through two hours of Leonardo DiCaprio). I even think there are moments in this film that show you the clout of the man working behind the camera. The issue is that it gets muddled up in the fact that it's a "catch a terrorist" flick with undertones of "how do we best go about that?". That second part intrigues me a great deal, but if I had a nickel for every "catch the terrorist" movie that's come out since 9/11, I'd be able to make a movie of my own. I still think Ridley Scott is a good director, but I think he needs to take us out of our present conflicts so he can best make his point.

Posted Sunday, March 01, 2009 8:33 PM by mconrad3 | with 0 comments

Night of the Comet

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]

Under discussion:

Night of the Comet (1984)

Night of the Comet is by no means a "good" film by normal standards. It is rife with plotholes, clunky dialogue, and B-movie acting. HOWEVER, I can't help but enjoy it. It is 80s in every sense of the word and I am irrevocably drawn to it despite all of its flaws. Set in LA during a fictional comet strike, the plot revolves around sisters Samantha and Regina who must survive on their own after the comet's...well, I don't know what, but people either turned into orange dust or flesh-eating zombies. (I know you're already wondering what's not to like aout this flick). I'm sure in other hands it could be fleshed out and turned into some sort of Omega Man knock-off, but it's the corniness that makes this movie.

As I've said, the acting and story are what you'd expect from a Sci Fi Channel weekend movie. The lead actors don't put on terrible performances, but some of the lines they have to run through are hilarious in their own right. ("We can say ****, but let's substitute 'have sex' with 'get with' at every opportunity") There also isn't a whole lot of character development, and there's an entire sequence that seems utterly superfluous outside of watching Star Trek vet Robbie Beltran fight off a zombie child for ten minutes.

But I'm not watching this film for some deep artistic statement. I'm watching this film because it's simple 80s goodness in every sense of the phrase. Someone was hard at work on the synthesizer to score just about every second of the movie and I enjoyed all of it. I'm a sucker for 8-bit sound. The dress, hairstyles, arcade games, and random shopping mall montages all scream the decade they shot this thing in, and that's why I enjoy it. You won't be able to sit me down for those Sci Fi Channel weekend flicks, but tell me it's got a synthesizer soundtrack and was shot in 1984 and I'm there with a bag of popcorn.

At its heart, Night of the Comet is pure 80s flash. It may not sit well with anyone who was born at the wrong time, but for a product of the 80s and 90s, it's a nostalgia trip in the cheap seats with the bubble gum that sticks to your feet and the (you hope it's a) soda stain on tthe upholstery. I make no excuses for the cinematic quality or artistic merit of this fillm. I will say that I enjoyed every bit of it.

Posted Sunday, March 01, 2009 1:31 AM by mconrad3 | with 0 comments