Tonight I got a chance to see a free, pre-release screening of V for Vendetta at UBC - (muchos gracias to Frank and that girl who made me dance a little dance, for letting me have cuts into that ginormous line) - and I was (pun not intended) blown away. ;) Yes, yes, and yes again: the Wachowski brothers have finally fully and completely redeemed themselves from the mess that was The Matrix trilogy; but to say this is to say nothing.
Imagine an inverted 1984-like setting - that is, a dystopia that works towards a positive message, using the same hard-hitting tactics, enhanced by the forcefulness and grace of Equilibrium-style violence (only this time, with bladed weapons) and tempered with a regression from the hubris of The Matrix - that is, the story is never fully overtaken by the entertainment factor (in fact, there is even a bit too much story - in terms of symbolism crucial to the film's exposition - especially important to audience members not familiar with dystopian tropes); but the point is - it works!
In short, we are introduced to a near-future totalitarian version of England, where an ultra-right (yet, thankfully, not the stereotypical Hitler-like) group, openly persecutes minorities and those it deems to be deviants. In parallel with this, a masked vigilante, only known as "V," as well as by his Guy Fawkes mask and crazy-cool dagger-wielding moves, begins to strike at the foundations of the social order, in order to take back the civil liberties usurped from the general population.
I found a very cogent summary of the film's most important points on IMDb, by one Joe DeSando, who took the words out of my mouth, with regard to the current-affairs political allusions in the film:
[...] comic book genius Alan Moore's futuristic avenger, V, [...] roams London purging it of criminals common and famous, all of whom suffer his rage at having been abused in a government experiment years ago.'Nuff said. I give V for Vendetta a very satisfying A-.V for Vendetta is a superior adaptation, whose major virtue [...] is the lack of quick cuts and computer graphics, the exception to the latter being the spectacular destruction of a few London institutions. V's mask has a smile that sears with irony and humanity, plain and simple, and his brand of mayhem has much more to do with brains that technology.
Natalie Portman's Every [sic] is an uncomplicated vessel of uncertainty with a strong genetic inclination toward idealism, a perfect companion for the masked vigilante, who has saved her from harm [...] Portman headlines the film, finally showing she has the class to act like an intelligent heroine [...]
Much will be made about the allegorical relevance to Bush/Blair conservatism. Andy Wachowski's screenplay and James McTeigue's direction show hooded prisoners who resemble those at Abu Ghraib, and a neo-fascist chancellor intimidating his citizens with fear of fear. Even his second in command has a resemblance to Dick Cheney, and an ultraconservative TV host looks like Silvio Berlusconi.
[...] V and his league of masked gentlemen [...] give[ ] the neocons a run for the souls [sic] of a dystopia only George Orwell could love and Edgar Allen Poe could depict.
Since I'm reviewing a film here anyway, here are a few others: Ultraviolet gets a C- for lame-ass story and that stupid boy that pissed me off to no end. Right; studio took control of the director's vision; cry me a river.
Then, The Night of the Following Day turned out to be a very interestingly-crafted psychological (or sociological?) drama, even if it doesn't have that great of a resolution. B- for effort.
WIth regard to the most recent "24" episode - what the fuck?! Jack Bauer can "breathe in" and spend a few minutes in a room full of nerve gas [AHAHAHAHA, the first time I wrote "nervous gas"] and still be OK, while those two dorks die from it in a much shorter time span?!
My father is a former specialist in chemical warfare and he says the effects of nerve gas are near-instantaneous. Someone slipped up in the writing. Tsk tsk.
Finally, I went to see Don Giovanni with my father the other week, and it just sucked ass. Even Turandot was better... Bah. I'm just waiting for Waiting for Godot to come out, already.
*yawn* What a friggin'...beginning of the week this has been for me. Well, I saw a free film and got a crazy-cool poster. It's all good.
review skipped, pending friday :)
Hehehe. ;)
Cool, cool, cool...
Another cool thing. Man, that looks fizucking shweet... I wanna make my own... thing...
AHAHAHA Man. That guy is totally crazy! Awesome. ;)
Yep! Can't wait til Q3... That will be mine!
Anyways, since you're apparently going to Japan, I thought I'd send a commercial your way.
One word: What the crap?
Ahh, just fucking download it, man. ;) Anyways, yes, very cool; the Japanese are fucking nuts. ;)
Spore is in the final stages of development... Release is estimated to be Q3 '06.
Well...download it when it's done.
So what's up with you these days, man?
Nothing much. Kids are still assholes, but after that short streak of extreme assholism, it seems to have died down. I was also in a movie projecy where we rewrote a seen in Romeo and Juliet, and had to perform it.
My friends $900 camera was amazing... 900x zoom! I could see the fibers in my shirt!
Nothing else, really.
Nice little rules, haha. "Unless you are Paul, Mite, Boon, Tom or My Little Pony, off-topic comments will be deleted. "
Haha.