NevermoresRaven Blog

Racism covered from the other side of the spectrum

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American History X (1998)

"American History X" is a movie about racism, and anyone who knows me(or read my review of Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing") knows how I feel about movies that try to seem intellectual and edgy by covering racism. This movie, however, covers it in the sense of a family trying to stop it, and to top everything on it's a white family.

So how do you take a movie about an older brother who goes to jail as a Neo-Nazi jerk who kills two people in his fornt yard(and commits other crimes as seen in flashbacks) and make it touching and profound? Add in a little brother who's following in his footsteps.

The plot may come across as a little thin(yeah, we get it, people are racist), but this doesn't bother me so much with this film because it shows the other side of things, it shows the reasoning that these people have for being the way they are(and promptly shows how twisted and vile it is). But it also focuses less on a "White people are all racist pigs" aspect and more on a "Ideals can be easy to corrupt" view. By showing the leader of the Neo-Nazi group as a man who uses the kids to his own sick agenda, you get an idea of the fact that these kids aren't really bad.....just misguided fools following the words of a psychopath.

The cinimatography in the film lends to a simple, yet compelling, idea. Using both color and black and white shots(color for current, black and white for the past) adds a new aspect. In a film about racism and the devides of skin color and ideas, the black and white shows how everything is really shaded in gray. It's a neat touch, and I like it.

The only things I dislike about this movie are the somewhat thin plot, the idea that Derek has become some informant for the cops and not explaining it, and the ending.

So unless you're a member of the KKK, or a Neo-Nazi, or just some closed minded dolt then you should see, and enjoy, this film. It gives a new look at racism, but keeps the pont there in the end.

Posted Saturday, April 19, 2008 11:28 PM by NevermoresRaven | with 0 comments

More like "AWESOME PARK", am I right?

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Jurassic Park (1993)

Holy crap, has it really been 15 years since this came out? You mean to tell me I was 7 when this came out? Wow, I feel kind of old all of a sudden.

So "Jurassic Park", where do I begin with this movie? This is, by all means, one of the single greatest survival-thriller-action movies ever made. The combination of thrilling action and dinosaurs just sets this apart from most anything else out, sure the sequels were both pretty bad but they don't count anymore.

First of all, the acting in this movie is stupendous on all accounts. Sam Jackson, Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Richard Attenborough all give stellar performances. Even the kids who play Lexi and Tim give great performances and set the bar(even though both of them have sort of fallen from the face of the Earth). And lest we forget the big stars of the movie, the Dinosaurs themselves.

Speaking of those Dinosaurs, how awesome are those things? The CGI may seem a little dated, but it still holds so strong even all these years later. Come to think of it, it looks more convincing than some other movies i've seen since the turn of the century(I, Robot for example). The scene where the T-Rex chases the jeep down the road is still an impressive specticale of visual magic, and credit must be given to the masters at ILM. The anamatronics are equally amazing, and to this day remain some of the most realistic robots and puppets i've ever seen in my life. The sick Triceratops still makes me gasp in wonder at the effects the pulled off.

And let us not forget the amazing soundtrack by John Williams. The theme song alone(like so many of Williams' previous works) captures the imagination and is easy to notice anywhere. It's like Jaws or Star Wars, you just know that song.

So what is bad about this film? Well to nit pick a little bit, it's got some vast differences from the book. But hey, what novel adaptation(Sin City excluded) is truely faithful to the book in the end?

Either way, this is one of the best films of the 90's, or the century, or of ever. Watching it brings back fond memories of my childhood and my eccentric quest to become a palientologist.

Posted Saturday, April 19, 2008 11:09 PM by NevermoresRaven | with 0 comments