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Reviews
The Wild Bunch (1969)
Great Movie, Horrible People
A previous poster said that this film was pointless and simply was about whoring outlaws that murdered without remorse. Another poster admonished this person as having completely missed the point of the movie.
First, this film is a technical and emotional masterpiece about the end of an era where heartless killers like Pike and Dutch roamed the West. Make no mistake, this film IS about soulless killers finding their existence threatened by the march of civilization. These men had no code of honor nor any moral qualms about killing. The only remorse these men have is when they realize how amoral they really are.
This film, as John Wayne said, destroys the myth of the old West. It was not a place where men in white hats deal justice to men in black hats, where lawmen and lawbreakers use guns to reconcile differing social mores. It was a place of every man for himself, and in such places, men like Pike and Dutch go largely unmolested. Until they take on the Mexican army, and nearly win.
In short, yes its a masterpiece, and yes, like the men it portrays, this film is savage and pointless.
Cipher in the Snow (1974)
Childhood Morality Tale
I recently read an editorial in the paper that mentioned this movie; though I had long forgotten it, the name made me remember it. I too saw this in school and albeit it is a very depressing movie, the message is undeniable. Everyone needs something in life; those that get ignored often turn inward but some people cannot look inward and thus have nothing, not even themselves to be attached to and love.
This movie should be shown to children when they are in the 3rd-5th grade, whilst still unhardened by layers we invent to shield ourselves growing up. While the film may be hard to relate to -I too was a bit baffled that someone could just give up the ghost (like Russell Crowe at the end of Gladiator)- its import is that sometimes we each have to reach out to people we otherswise would never even notice.
And for any potentially cipher reading this, you should make the attempt to reach out, even if initially rejected, someone will accept you eventually.
Reign Over Me (2007)
Great Drama/Comedy Mix
The topic of this movie would be a morose venture if not for the humor brought to it Adam Sandler. Albeit another actor might have been "better", his performance was fun to watch and had me rooting for him. I felt a sense of dread when he was confronting the cops, hoping the movie wouldn't end with him getting blown away. Fortunately, it ended up an up note. Don Cheadle, who, as the straight man, is, in many ways, the lead, plays a man suffering a self inflicted crisis finding catharsis with Charlie, the blameless sufferer. This element of the story, the balance between Cheadle's mid-life crisis (a timeless theme) and Sandler's moral destruction by 9/11, gives it its dramatic weight. The comedy is there to make the story enjoyable and let us know that life goes on.
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Apart from Natalie Portman's Scene, a Great Movie
Not to pick on Natalie Portman, but those sections of movie which featured her interaction with Hayden Christenson were still lacking in watchability. The only scene between them that succeeds is when they are gazing at each other across the city during sunset, the somber wails of an Arabic maiden reaching out of the scene and taking hold of the viewer.
But the rest of movie is excellent, partially since it feels better acted and more alive than Attack of the Clones. I feel that this movie could have been stretched over two movies, and the romantic element of the second movie blended into the first half of this movie, but it would have broken the compartmentalization of the Star Wars saga.
Samuel L. Jackson finally getting a lightsabre duel of his own was my favorite scene. I only wish his character had been more dubious (like he wants absolute power for himself), but nevertheless.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
Horribly Underrated Film
The direction of this movie is excellent and the story superb, albeit the original TV actors had their work cut out for them in attempting to realize a story of this scope. This is the only Star Trek movie that is epic on a "2001" scale, and its major flaw is the way the special effects and melodramatic direction distracted production from more solid scripting and acting.
Compared to the newest Star Wars movies, however, the love subplot is tangible, and the wooden-dialog factor pails in comparison with the Darth Vader and his wife cheese fest.
Compared with Star Trek II, it, of course, comes off as slow for an action movie, which it is not. What grants this movie its greatness is in the end the idea that a machine would become alive; as yet I am to figure out the reason the bald love interest and Decker merge with the machine save the possibility that this fulfills the machine's union with its creator.