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They Live (1988)
One of my favorite films, and definitely my favorite by Carpenter
First off, I have to admit, I'm a real Carpenter fan. But, whereas most people know him for his Horror movies, the first movies I think of when I think of John Carpenter is this one and ones like it. Like all of his early movies, the plot is very slow-moving and unfolds at a realistic pace. No shiny explosions or million-dollar special effects here. Only exactly what's needed to get the point across and no more. And to match the movies pace, the soundtrack is in the same repetitive, slow-moving, ambient mood as that from Precinct 13 or Dark Star. The plot is pretty clever. The idea being that we are all slaves of the aliens that have taken over the planet, and all the rich and the powerful either are aliens or have sold out to them. The thing that intrigues me most about this movie is the contrast between its slow moving plot and its genre, combatting an alien invasion. Often the subject of action computer games, this treatment of that plot idea actually only has a few fight scenes, and even they don't seem to rank up there with your standard action movies. Sure, there's guns blazing, but there's not much running around, dodging bullets. Most of the gun-fights look like something you'd see on the streets of LA more than an action movie. And I think that's the point. A paranoid-schizophrenic's view of the world. Taking the violence and hatred in the world and blaming it on, not just the aliens, but human nature's own tendency to follow them. Of course, this movie also has some of the best one-liners in movie history.
Dark Star (1974)
Funny. Very very very funny.
So, this movie may not have the numerous gags of Airplane. (And thankfully it's NOTHING like Spaceship.) But this movie made me laugh. A lot. I believe this was Carpenter's second movie (directing), made while he was still in College. I think it's one of his best. The budget for this movie looks like it was a couple hundred dollars, but that only helped it. This movie does a good job of taking the absurdity of its $5 props and using it to its own advantage. The sight of an astronaut being beat in the head with a broom by a beach-ball with yellow spots painted on it is one of the funniest in movie history. What really amazes me about this movie is its wide range of comedy. In addition to slapstick there's a few cheap gags and some really amusing situation comedy. This is what I call comedy.
Subway (1985)
Very unusual, unspecific plot.
This movie had a very unusual plot. It was basically unexplained, and at the end I was left wondering what I had just seen. It's not that the movie is hard to follow, rather that it doesn't give you much to follow. The main characters are never really defined outside of the specific events that occur in the movie, and vague references to events immediately before the beginning. Perhaps this was done on purpose, to avoid tying down the identities of those who were involved, in an effort to create the sympathetic characters most films aspire to. But it left me feeling like I'd missed something.
The film included shady denizens of the Paris Metro, but I'm not sure it focused on them as much as I expected. I expected the film to be about a normal main character running across an unbelievable array of weirdos in the subway, but the weirdos simply weren't that weird. I think I've actually see weirder people in the Paris Metro in real life. Instead, the weirdness in the movie comes from its lack of definition. An unidentified main character having stolen mysterious "papers" from the unknown rich husband of some random woman he happened to meet on the street.
I'm not sure what the movie was trying to get at, but I think it was leaning toward inspiring spontaneousness in all things and the consequences that brings. It really didn't ring any bells of resemblance for me with any of Besson's newer movies (Léon, Fifth Element), even though it had a score by Eric Serra and Jean Reno made an appearance. It also had the Eighties stamped into and slobbered all over it.
I can only recommend this movie to Besson fans trying to get a bigger picture of his work, 80's freaks, or anyone interested in trying to decipher cryptic movies.
Sneakers (1992)
The most realistic and entertaining movie about computers and technology I've ever seen!
This movie has been one of my favorites ever since I was 14 years old! Ever since I saw this movie I've felt like I was destined to BE one of the characters in it! It's a movie about a group of friends who get hired by companies to break in to test out their security systems. (Such businesses now exist, no doubt inspired by this movie!) Then one day they're blackmailed into stealing something for the government. I thought all of the characters in this movie were very interesting and very realistically done. The whole movie also has a sort of James Bond/Mission Impossible feel to it which makes it very exciting. It's also one of the most technically accurate and realistic productions since the original Mission Impossible series several decades ago! It seems nowadays all you ever get is alien conspiracies and hacking into supercomputers through the wall-plug with souped-up toasters and such, but in Sneakers, the story line is believable and everything that happens makes sense! This movie is a must see for anyone in the computer/information science/engineering fields, or who just likes exciting Mission-Impossible-type movies!
Can't Hardly Wait (1998)
A Perfect film for the right audience.
I've heard a lot of complaints about this movie, but it seems they all come from middle-aged adults or younger teens. The truth is, this film was designed for the class of '98, and that is who it appeals to. The movie was very Hollywood, that can't be denied. Although the soundtrack may not be very original or the directing very innovative, it seems to me there is definitely a kernel of genius underneath. The plot and moral seem to me to be very meaningful and deep, but after the gloss-over by the PR department and the consultants it's possible to watch the movie as a very funny comedy. Although all of the characters are straight-from-the-box stereotypes, I don't think any other movie portrays them so colorfully or so life-like. Every character in this movie reminds me of someone I know and it seems like the dialog is recorded straight from the halls of my highschool. The main moral of the movie, that fate does exist and love is more important than anything else, may be a factor in many movies, but in no other movie is it made clear just how important it is. This is not strictly a chick's flick, anyone can enjoy this movie. This movie is perfect for any high school senior or college freshman interested in a pop-romantic comedy.