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Reviews
Teknolust (2002)
The overall look of the film is very glossy and
Teknolust Directed by Lynn Hershman Leeson Starring Tilda Swinton, Jeremy Davies, James Urbaniak, Karen Black, Thomas Jay Ryan and Josh Kornbluth ----------------------------
All I can say is wow. At first I was repulsed, then I became intrigued, and finally fascinated. Tilda Swinton treats us to a quadruple role. Not only is she the shy Dr. Rosetta Stone, she also plays her "offspring" Ruby, Olive, and Marine. She decides to mix her DNA with an experimental AI program and the results are interesting to say the least. There are plenty-o-synopsis type reviews out there, so if you want plot details, etc - please look elsewhere. I can tell you that one of the scenes at the beginning made me say "EEEWWWhhh" out loud. But, like a car crash - I couldn't look away. The acting is as mechanical as it should be - no more or less. The overall look of the film is very glossy and sharp. It definitely qualifies as eye candy. Tilda Swinton does a fine job playing all the lead characters, and Jeremy Davies is completely believable as the inept copy boy. This movie has plenty of tongue in cheeky-ness. This surprised me. I avoided all the online reviews until I could see it for myself, and was ready for something very artsy and serious. It does deliver that on some levels, but it's not near as cold and stark as it could be. Overall it has a good mix of technology, art, and humor - in a variable order.
May (2002)
MAY - Most Intriguing
MAY - Most Intriguing --------------------- I loved this movie. That's it. Angela Bettis as as an introverted, disturbed girl, in desperate need of friendship just works. Suzie, her doll understands, but is a lousy kisser. Her "boyfriend" Adam, kind of gets it. I found it ironic that he would be freaked out by May's quirks after seeing the film that he made. Nothing she did was any more gorey or disturbed than anything he portrayed. And did you see his artwork? Dead-on Argento. He even mentions Trauma at one point,though his pictures are definitely Opera inspired. I also liked that they didn't nail her down to any one neurosis. She herself, was a patchwork of insecurities and personal demons.I really liked the fact that May had this thing about hands. I've always found them attractive and yet unsettling at the same time. Adam has nice hands. May is a cutter, something else I find interesting. This also gets the attention of her female co-worker at the Vet's office that they work in. May likes her co-worker's neck very much. Do you see where this is going?
Adam=hands, Polly (the co-worker)=neck. The spikey haired guy she picks up on the park bench=arms. If you can't find a friend, you can always make one, that's the tagline. The setup is well paced and there's really no gore until May has picked out all the parts and then goes harvesting - oddly enough on Halloween. I've tried not to include any spoilers, because I want people to see this movie for themselves. I have a new girlfriend, her name is May.
Dead & Rotting (2002)
This Movie Has Everything!
Through Tempe I've become a big Bookwalter fan. This title is one of my favorites. I really like the story, and the rhyme. 3 high school buddies all work at a construction company in a small town in Ohio. The company is owned by Hollis, the head monkey in the group. His buddies, JP & Eric, provide comic relief just by being themselves. Anyway, they all work together by day and by night they hang out in local bar. This is where we meet "Jackal-boy" aka Pox. He comes into the bar and orders a ($5) bowl of milk, which he laps at happily. Then the waitress passes by with something furry hanging out of her back pocket. Being the playful sort, Pox grabs at it. In true hero fashion, Hollis defends the bar wenche's honor and chases Pox from the bar. Well, ol' Pox decides to egg Hollis' truck and trouble ensues. They kick the crap out of him. Poor kitty. Anyway, he (Pox) gets home and momma swears she'll get back at them. She finds the boys outside the bar and gives them a taste of what it is to be dead and rotting (powder blown in face). They all wake up ill the next day and start plotting their revenge. To avoid retalliation, they hire 2 local stoners (Shugi & Asher) to throw rocks at the old witches house, maybe tear the place up. Instead they "accidentally" boil her cat - Pox. Turns out Pox was her son. This gets the hag o'plottin. She changes herself into a beautiful young nymph and shows up at the boys' watering hole. I can see where Hollis might have a chance with her, but my suspicions would have been raised when she showed interest in JP & Eric. Anyway, they all go home together and she takes turns banging their collective brains out. Later she expels three lovely mucus babies and plants each one inside a pumpkin. These "mature" and turn into zombies to do her bidding. Then the fun starts. JP & Eric are quickly caught and potted - along with one of the stoners- complete with trees growing out of their heads. They're kept alive with a potion that allows them to experience their own rotting. MMMM. Rotting. That's where the rhyme comes in. Memorize it if you can. It's great for torturing co-workers. Of course, Hollis and Asher want to save their friends... So, they enlist Asher's ex-girlfriend, who happens to be into the occult. They drive cross-county - Hollis loses a finger - and then they come back to flash fry the witch. This movie had EVERYTHING. The acting, though flat at times, was better than just about anything I've seen under the name Full Moon. I still miss Pox....
Puphedz: The Tattle-Tale Heart (2002)
At first look, it appeared this might be a "kiddie flick." However, this was quickly dispelled
Meet Tonight's Players: Woodrow J. Larchbottom, III - the tormented young man Peter Feidwood - a suitably cantankerous old man Douglas "Chip" Fir - the gluttonous Policeman #1 Leif Applebaum - the vacuous Policeman #2. At first look, it appeared this might be a "kiddie flick." However, this was quickly dispelled by some not so subtle innuendo about the old man and Larchbottom's living arrangement. Of course we all know that it's just to split the rent, and Woodrow didn't really buy the old man a codpiece. That bit got a full blown guffaw from me. Not an easy thing to do. I think I would have been driven mad by the old man's eye as well. It was like a big marble with a swirling pattern on it, and it spun constantly! AAARRGGHH! Almost as irritating as his hashed and re-hashed stories. The police that come to investigate the murder are hysterical and remind me of Smitty and Hoppy from Sanford and Son. One black cop, and one white cop trying to be. There are many subtleties in this fine piece of animation. Watch for signage (Poe-pourri), and items in the background. I thoroughly enjoyed the feature as well as the extras. I hope to see more from this company in the future.