Idiocracy [HD]

Hilarious Dystopian Satire Muted by Distributor
Idiocracy, meaning rule of the stupid, is a dystopian film from Director Mike Judge (Office Space) that cost about $30 million to make but only made about half a million dollars because the film's distributor wanted nothing to do with promoting the film. There were no advertisements, no trailers, and the film was eventually released on just 130 screens in a limited amount of American cities. The film is written by successful veterans, stars some solid talent, and the CGI effects and art direction were likely not inexpensive. Unlike most films that a distributor ignores, Idiocracy was well-received by critics and I will echo here that it is indeed a very good satire. The distributor was of course Fox and they were likely embarrassed to release a film that does what any good dystopian tale does, and that is strongly denounce the self-destructive culture we currently live in and continue to facilitate...

Brilliant Satire (brought to you by Carl's Jr.)
As a high school teacher, I saw this movie and was convinced that Mike Judge had secretly studied my students. He is DEAD ON about where the up-and-coming generation is headed, and it's so funny it hurts. This film is way ahead of its time in its cultural commentary, which is why it still hasn't received the promotion or praise that it rightly deserves. Then again, that's the problem with satire as a genre--the message is lost on the people who need to hear it most.
If you appreciate Office Space or King of the Hill, you'll love what Judge is up to here. It's refreshing to know that someone in Hollywood is ballsy enough to blast corporate America for its hand in creating a culture that is too stuid to recognize its own bleak future. It's also a little sad to realize that if you "get" this movie, you're already part of a dying breed.

A scathing satire on our modern society
If you hated this movie you either didn't get it or were one of the people that the opening narration talks about. This film is a scathing satire about the culture that is breeding things like Paris Hilton, Jerry Springer, and Girls Gone Wild and taking a look at where the United States could be if that culture continues to grow unchecked. The Result is a movie that while not as funny as Office Space, offers a humorous although somewhat frightening look at our society and pop culture. I think this movie is one of those films that will eventually become a cult favorite and generate an even larger following that Office Space has. If you are troubled by your little niece's obsession with being like Paris Hilton or are dismayed by what passes for entertainment these days then you need to see this movie.

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Dreamin' California's Coast - Malibu to Big Sur

Interest in Trip to Area
I saw this Travel scope on PBS and decided to rent it to see again with with my wife. I thought the episode highlighted the main attractions of the this part of the coast that we have not visited.





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Outdoors with Eddie Brochin Archer Ed Bow Hunting in Indiana

Eddie Brock hunting
It is just nice to get some hunting shows on amazon. The filming is a little rough but it is still entertaining.





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A Night to Remember

Best Titanic movie yet.
Cameron's film has its moments, but in truth I only liked it for the chance it gave me to see a great old ocean liner brought to life again on screen. In "A Night To Remember", the effects are not nearly so impressive, but the story is far better. It's very much in the style of a docudrama, but its a docudrama about one of the most fascinating and enduring stories in all of history. I don't quite know why Cameron felt it necessary to tell a soap opera melodrama about two fictional lovers and use one of the most dramatic stories in all human history as nothing more than a backdrop. "A Night To Remember", based on Walter Lord's outstanding book of the same name, tells the story of the disaster itself. Kenneth More plays a heroic Second Officer Lightoller, and the film actually makes him out to look a little better than he did in reality - he lowered several of the lifeboats less than half loaded, and permitted no men at all to get in, even when the boats were ready to lower and no...

a gripping classic
For all the special effects and color cinematography of recent years, few films in the disaster genre have been able to top this amazing film of the fateful voyage of the Titanic; it is smartly written, with extraordinary cinematography (by Geoffrey Unsworth) and brilliantly acted by a cast of mostly unknown actors, although the star, Kenneth More was famous in England. American audiences will probably only recognize David McCallum (Illya Kuryakin in the Man from U.N.C.L.E. series) who plays a radio operator, and Honor Blackman, who gained fame as the Bond Girl with the naughty name in Goldfinger, who has a small part as the wife of a brave and stoic man, and the noted British actor Laurence Naismith, who is marvelous as Captain Smith.

Even though one knows the end, the tension runs high, and we get caught up in lives of the people aboard "the floating palace", and how they handled their dreadful fate. The characterizations are beautifully developed, which is rare in this...

Frightening and Fascinating
Unlike other film versions of the famous maritime disaster, "A Night To Remember" does not attempt to romanticize the sinking of the Titanic via fictional characters playing out a superficial and often implausible story--and demonstrates that the basic facts are far more fascinating than any soap-opera-bubble that can be imposed upon them.

As frequently noted, the film has a somewhat documentary feel that adds considerably to its tension. Less frequently noted are the remarkable performances of the ensemble cast, playing characters who fight to retain their integrity in the face of rising panic. Unlike the soapy 1950s Stanwyck version or the overblown James Cameron film of the 1990s, there are no easy endings for those who are trapped, no love recognized at the last moment or sustaining memories of brief shipboard happiness to float them forward through life: at the end there is only darkness and death--mitigated, sometimes nobly, by the human kindness and sacrifice...

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Outdoors with Eddie Brochin The Real deal Hunting for Whitetail Deer

too short
Not bad but way to short seems like just when it was started it was over I like a hr show





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Joshua [HD]

A squirm-inducing psychological thriller
"Joshua" is set in New York city and focuses on a young family comprising of Brad and Abby Cairn [Sam Rockwell and Vera Farmiga], who seem to lead a charmed life. Brad has a well-paying job, they live in a comfortable city apartment, and they have a 9-year-old son, Joshua [Jacob Kogan] who is also a gifted pianist. There is also a new baby, Lily who seems like a perfect child, quiet and lovable, but this seemingly perfect family portrait slowly unravels into a nightmarish horror as the family is plunged into one crisis after another.

It appears that harmless little Joshua, of the quiet and unassuming character, is not so benign after all. In fact, far from it - Lily's birth seems to be the catalyst that brings forth his psychopathic behavior [arguably simmering within him all along]. At first, the problems seem to have ordinary reasons - Abby seems unable to cope with the demands of motherhood [understandable given her history of depression and PPD], dad Brad seems to be...

Worth a Watch
This flick has been thoroughly summarized so I will skip that portion. Joshua is an overall good, creepy film. Sam Rockwell gives perhaps one of his best performances as a father who can do nothing but watch his family fall apart while some, slip into insanity. Joshua (the movie) has a very slow and deliberate pacing that constantly builds towards the end of the film. This is a clever and well thought out flick that coasted through theaters and onto DVD but none the less is more then worth the price of a rental to check out. Joshua also features a new, very good, Dave Matthews song during the end credits.

Chilling, Immanent Evil
A lot of talk shows have recently been featuring the plight of parents under siege, afraid of their own children - parents who feel compelled to lock their bedroom doors at night. This movie deals with a more creepily contained version of such a problem. The danger isn't quite as blatant or as aggressively relentless as seen on some of the talk shows. But its subtlety makes it all the more chilling.

There are a few obvious cinematic borrowings from other famous suspense films here. For example, you might, at a few points, be reminded of Damien's targeted, juggernaut cycling scene in "The Omen." Then there is a twist on the famous "Potemkin" stairway/baby carriage scene.

But unlike those films, "Joshua" strives for and achieves the more low-key disquiet of mundane reality. And it is made all the more disturbingly realistic by the fact that not only Joshua, but all the family members are shown with at least thread-line cracks running through their...

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This Sporting Life

A British Masterpiece of the 1960s
This masterpiece by Lindsay Anderson should be on any film aficionado's must-see list. It is an uncompromising study of alienation, social class, maturity, and loneliness. Richard Harris gives a performance of astonishing realism: it seems unlikely he could ever surpass it. The character moves from physicalized anger to tenderness often within a moment. Harris builds to a completely believable dramatic eruption by the climax. He is matched all along the way by Rachel Roberts, a great actress in an unforgettable role: a woman unwilling to let go of the past and the pain it contains.

Anderson populates the film with several other memorable characters--an older man who seems to be in love with the hero, the grasping team-owner's wife who wishes to possess him.

The film contains scenes of nearly unbearable intensity and anguish (Frank's drunken ballad sung in a bar, or Margaret's pleading to be left alone). Also of note is the film's unusual structure, functioning on two...

Brawls and Rugby Balls: This Tough-Minded British Drama Packs A Punch
I am pleased to see that Criterion has recently introduced the work of British director Lindsay Anderson to its oeuvre of classic and/or challenging films. Anderson may not have great name recognition to modern audiences (although he made films as late as 1993), but his movies were pivotal in helping to establish a more realistic and topical British film industry of the sixties. Many of Anderson's films featured an "angry young man" antihero as their protagonist, and this lent a certain toughness to his work that became his early trademark. With the inclusion of "If..." and now "This Sporting Life" in the Criterion collection, I hope younger film enthusiasts will check into Anderson's legacy!

Highlighted by a gritty realism that captures both the world of rugby and working class England, "This Sporting Life" is primarily a romance--albeit an unlikely one. Richard Harris is full of bravado and arrogance as a young rugby player who sees the sport as an opportunity to...

Harris' Finest Performance
While viewing this film again recently, I was curious to see if it has lost any of its edge since I first saw it almost 40 years ago. It hasn't. In fact, in light of almost daily revelations of inappropriate (if not illegal) conduct by professional and even by so-called amateur athletes, it has perhaps even more relevance today. In my opinion, Richard Harris (Frank Machin) delivers his finest performance as a coal miner in Northern England (Yorkshire) who gains fame and fortune as a professional rugby player. I am reminded of Scorcese and De Niro's presentation of Jake La Motta in Raging Bull. (Both athletes fail in their personal relationships for precisely the same reasons they succeed in competition.) Rachel Roberts plays Mrs. Hammond, the only person Machin sincerely cares about, other than himself. Most of the time, she endures his use and abuse of her but in one memorable scene, she confronts him as the arrogant bully he is. He appreciates her only after....

David Storey wrote...

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