Movie Reviews

V: The Original Miniseries (Warner Home Video, 1983)

Directed by Kenneth Johnson

 If you’re like me, there’s a lot of TV shows and movies that you loved as a kid that, when watched through adult eyes, make you wonder what the hell was wrong with you then.  Not so with ‘V’.  Sure, it occasionally falls prey to convention.  Overall, however, this miniseries lived up to my memories of it.  There’s refreshingly little camp, intentional or otherwise, and the message it puts forth is sadly just as valid today as ever. 

Using space aliens as stand-ins for the fascist regime of your choice, ‘V’ shows how easily people can be duped into going along with the program if they think it will make their lives easier.   There are obvious references to Hitler (the Aliens’ symbol is even a modified swastika) and the McCarthy hearings, but not to the point where you’re being hit over the head with them.  If you want to, you can just sit back and enjoy this as above average sci-fi adventure.  Still,  it’s refreshing to see such depth in a television production.

 The cast is made up of mostly ‘B’ actors like Mark Singer, Faye Grant, and Freddy Kreuger himself Robert Englund, but everyone plays their parts well.  The special effects are about on par with any comparable theatrical release of the time, but never overwhelm the story.  About the only drawback is that this is just the beginning of the storyline.  This first miniseries was followed with a full season of shows and a second miniseries. 

Super Troopers (Fox Searchlight, 2002)

 Directed by Jay            Chandrasekhar

What can I say, I really liked this movie.  Written by and starring the heretofore unknown (at least to me) Broken Lizard comedy troupe, ‘Super Troopers’ just may wind up in the stoner comedy hall of fame.  It’s still a little early to say for sure, but certainly the opening scene where the troopers terrorize a trio of teenage potheads is a classic of some kind. 

What you have here is pretty much the standard 80’s comedy plot.  A bunch of misfits (in this case, State Troopers) are in danger of losing their livelihoods if they don’t shape up.  And of course, there’s a rival group of regular cops who would like nothing better than to get hold of our heroes’ budget dollars.   Like I said, pretty standard.  What makes ‘Super Troopers’ work are the characters and some really great gags.

Not just cops, but anyone who works with the public, will wish they had thought to pull stunts like the “meow” gag, or “the repeater” on the occasional customer.  And then there’s the fringe benefits to being a Trooper, which at least in this movie include partying with a couple of German swingers arrested for driving a stolen car and occasionally dipping into the evidence for some herbal relief.

You won’t see too many familiar faces in this movie (character actors Brian Cox and Daniel Von Bargen, along with a cameo by Lynda Carter, are the only exceptions).  This group of comedians, however, could be the best thing to come along since The Kids in the Hall.  Director/star Jay Chandrasekhar I found particularly noteworthy, but the whole bunch are good. 

Mullholland Drive (Universal, 2001)

Directed by David Lynch

'Mullholland Drive' essentially tells the classic story of the naive good girl (Naomi Watts as Betty Elms/Diane Selwyn) who goes to Hollywood in search of her dreams.  Along the way she discovers love and mystery and not a few unusual characters.  Both the mystery and the love arrive unexpectedly in the form of amnesiac  Rita  ( Laura Elena Harring, also essaying the role of Camilla Rhodes).  Full of Nancy Drew enthusiasm, Betty decides to help Rita recover her past, and in the process uncovers a mystery of her own.

At one point the movie seems to morph into something entirely different than what it started as.  If you pay close attention, though, it does make sense.  But really, plot has never been Lynch's primary concern.  He's far more interested in conveying ideas and feelings through his visuals than with telling a straightforward story. 

As with much of Lynch's previous work, 'Mullholland Drive' is not so much a traditional mystery as it is about mystery itself.  There's no neat resolution that allows you to put the movie on a shelf to be forgotten once it's over.  Instead, 'Mullholland Drive' begs for repeated viewings, gradually revealing some of its secrets while holding others just out of reach.

Directed by Michael Oblowitz

'The Breed' mixes loopy but well intentioned social commentary with ideas borrowed from just about every genre you can think of.  For starters, the plot can easily be summed up as 'Alien Nation' with vampires instead of extraterrestrials.  The set design is sort of like Stalinist Russia meets 'The Matrix', and action sequences look like they were shot by John Woo, doves and all.

Bokeem Woodbine plays a cop named Grant working for the government in this dystopian future. Loudspeakers continually blare, telling citizens  "Trust Authority" and "Nothing is true.  Everything is permitted".  After Grant's  partner is killed by a murder suspect with supernatural strength and a pair of rather long incisors, his superiors inform him of the existence of  vampires, a mutant race that has learned to curb their bloodlust with a synthetic blood substitute.  They team him with a vampire cop named Gray (Adrian Paul, using his fangs to chew the scenery) to track down the murderer and prevent further undead unrest.

At this point the movie turns into a cross between 40's noir and a modern action movie. There's a deceptive femme fatale (Bai Ling as Lucy Westenra) who seduces Grant and a subplot comparing the plight of the vampires to that of the Jews in Nazi Germany.  Could this be a long-lost Ed Wood script?

Basically this is pure hokum.  Despite its obvious borrowings from other films, however, I found myself entertained. The Breed'  feels more like a movie that somebody actually wanted to make than the calculated marketing scheme so many genre pictures are these days.  Nothing outstanding, but an ok waste of time if you're in the mood.