Logan67 Reviews

The Giant Mechanical Man (2012)

Heart's in the Right Place

[11 July 2013]

The Giant Mechanical Man is the story of Janice and Tim. Janice is trying to successfully navigate her way through life while trying to find herself along the way. The fact that she is past the age where one is supposed to preoccupied with such things and that she has to depend on others for financial support makes the task very difficult. Tim, on the other hand, is trying to successfully navigate his way through life while trying not to lose himself. And finding each other, of course, turns out to be just what each needed.

It's not the most original film. It's self-conscious in an indie sort of way, and it depends upon some pretty big plot contrivances. It's also a bit heavy handed. At one point in the film, a character whose birthday is being celebrated gives the following speech while sitting on top of the bar: "It only takes just one person, just one person, to make you feel special, and valid, and like you belong in the world." Well, yeah, but a bit more understatement would have served the film better here and in other places as well. Still, I liked it. Maybe because I never get tired of films about misfits or films that deal with alienation and the struggle to lead authentic lives and form connections with others. It is the most human theme, the only theme, really, and with respect to it, the film has it's heart in the right place.

http://manpointing.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-giant-mechanical-man.html

Negative Happy Chainsaw Edge (2007)

Fun Movie That Deserves an Audience

[8/10 · 24 April 2013]

The first movie commentary I did was for Yasujirō Ozu's Tokyo Story, a slow, plodding serious art house film that explores generational relationships in 1950's era Japan. Negative Happy Chainsaw Edge is about as far from that as it gets. It's all about fun, and coming up with three reasons for it is exceptionally easy. For starters, it's called Negative Happy Chainsaw Edge. I mean, how cool is that? Moreover, it features an attractive school girl/warrior who throws daggers from a garter belt holster and fights a villain who is heralded by the snow, descends from the moon, and sports a chainsaw as his weapon of choice. Still, as cool as all that sounds, I wouldn't be surprised if this movie fell flat on it's face at the box office, as I would imagine it might have a hard time finding its audience. Those judging from the title and the front cover and who are looking for something like Tokyo Gore Police are bound to be disappointed. The film is neither gory nor particularly scary. In fact, it winds up being rather charming. Ian Jane in a review on rockshockpop describes the film as "a bizarre amalgamation of different genres with an emphasis on action and, oddly enough, romantic comedy." And that's a pretty good description. The characters are likable, and the film deals effectively with themes of loss and survivor guilt through the interactions of characters and through liberal doses of magical realism. I wouldn't go so far as to elevate it to cult classic status. The film does have its flaws. Wire-fu has certainly been done better, and I found the intrusion of what can only be described as a music video into the middle of the movie a little distracting. Nevertheless, overall it kept me entertained and wanting to see how everything was going to turn out in the end. Todd Rigney said of it in his review at beyondhollywood that "emo horror nerds and their Asian girlfriends are going to love it." I hope so. It's a fun movie that deserves to find an audience somewhere.