A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge

Contributor: Rick McGimpsey

Rarely are the second entries in long running horror franchises as good as the first one; we all know that. But also rarely are they such a horrendous tread downward in quality that you would swear it was a much later entry. Most horror sequels don’t get super bad until they reach the fourth or fifth movie, but A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 is an unfortunate exception.

Not only is this movie poorly written and a snore to sit through it also does everything it can to violate our understanding of Freddy’s lore. The first movie made it clear that Freddy Krueger can only inhabit your dreams and can only enter the real world when pulled out by the dreamer. In Part 2 Freddy has several scenes where he roams freely in the world of the awake and it is for no apparent reason. He is not pulled out or anything, he just sort of decides to come out of the dream world and into our own.

This movie supposedly takes place five years after the first one which would set it in 1989. This makes little sense when the later movies clearly take place in the mid eighties. This is just like Friday the 13th Part V all over again. If you remember in that movie it is nearly a decade since the previous film and yet the 80’s are alive and well even though for all intents and purposes we should be in the 90’s considering when these stories are supposed to take place. While I could say this is just a fault of slasher movies being their typically dumb selves this would not be true. Horror movies that continually revive dead villains by the mystical power of box office returns is not a new thing and most horror sequels like to be set years after the previous movies for some reason. I mean, take for example the classic Universal Mummy movies; if you went by how long a time later each one of those take place from the previous ones you would be forced to believe the final film in that series took place in the 1970’s. While I was not alive in the 70’s I am confident enough to say that most people were not wearing 1940’s garb at the time.
And while I may bitch about this there are even stupider flaws in Freddy’s Revenge that make the dubious timeline negligible.

The main character is a teenager named Jesse who moved into Nancy’s old house with his family. He and his girlfriend discover Nancy’s old diary in his closet and they read about her experiences with Freddy. While his girlfriend laughs it off Jesse believes the memoir because he himself has been having nightmares about Freddy. In these dreams Freddy tells Jesse to kill for him and many of these dreams end with him waking up somewhere away from his bedroom. Jesse becomes concerned that he may be being forced to kill for Freddy while sleep walking and it becomes confirmed that this is true when Freddy forces Jesse to murder a gym teacher in the school showers during after hours.

I must stop to say that I don’t get what it is that Freddy is trying to do in this film. In the previous movie and in the majority of the other sequels he is always stalking and killing children of the parents who killed him years ago. Freddy would have no beef with this gym teacher and Jesse’s family are newly moved into Springwood which means his family had nothing to do with Freddy Krueger’s death. Freddy is killing just for the fun of it in this movie. Revenge has nothing to do with it.

After forcing Jesse to kill a few more people Freddy suddenly emerges from Jesse’s body in a weird and honestly one of the few creative special effects sequences in this movie. This process effectively transforms Jesse into Freddy Krueger with the spiritual essence of Jesse laying dormant within the emerged Freddy. This is how Freddy comes into the real world and it makes no sense since he never does it again and he never tried it with Nancy, Glen, Tina, or Rod in the previous movie. If he can do this why doesn’t he do it more often? If it is simply because he is physically vulnerable in the real world then why does he do it at all in this one? Either way it makes no fucking sense.

Freddy then proceeds to crash a teen pool party slashing and slicing and dicing several partyers before abruptly leaving almost as quickly as he arrived. No reason is given. Everything Freddy does in this movie is so brainless. No rime or reason to it all. And I am serious that it is brainless even though Freddy does literally show his own brain to Jesse in a scene. He can show it all he wants, but I will be more impressed when he starts using it.

Eventually Freddy has a showdown with Jesse’s girlfriend in a warehouse where she brings Jesse back to the surface by appealing to his good side. When this happens Freddy is once again defeated and sent back to the dream world. I don’t know how my readers may feel, but I personally think Freddy being defeated by the power of love to be pretty fucking retarded.

But I think the thing I hate the most about this movie is not the lore contradictions or the stupid story. Rather the worst thing about this movie is that it doesn’t have very many creative dream sequences. One of the most visually appealing things about the A Nightmare on Elm Street series were the environments and sights shown in the dreams of Freddy’s victims. The labyrinthine boiler rooms, Gothic church ruins with creepy stain glass windows, infernal pits, and horrifying creatures that only 80’s practical effects can provide. Here we get only two really interesting sequences. The aforementioned scene where Freddy emerges from Jesse’s body is beautifully gruesome and there are these two dogs at the opening of the warehouse with creepy human faces sort of like that spider creature from The Thing. This is all we get and the rest is sadly lacklustre. This is an overall dull Freddy movie.

Before concluding this review I guess I should mention the purported homosexual subtext to the film’s plot. It’s been overanalysed to death by better reviewers than I am, but I did not wish to ignore it entirely.
The film is laced with subtle indications that Jesse is a closet homosexual who is overcompensating by dating his girlfriend in the movie. In one scene he almost has sex with her before having his tongue hideously transformed by Freddy. He leaves in a rush leaving her frustrated and confused. He then heads to a male friend’s house in the middle of the night, climbs through his window, wakes him, and tries to tell him what is going on. Some reviewers trying to play the armchair psychologist claim this is a subtle analogy of Jesse not being able to achieve sexual arousal toward females. Whether this analogy is hitting the nail on the head or not I think the most clear indication of a gay subtext is in a scene when Jesse leaves in the middle of the night and orders a beer at a bar. Everything inside the bar has a very strong S&M vibe and he encounters his gym teacher there who catches him ordering a drink and forces him to run laps in the school gym as punishment. It is mentioned earlier in the film by a student that the gym teacher was a homosexual who went to gay bars and so the evidence continues to pile up regarding Jesse’s own sexuality. If the gay subtext is there and not mere coincidence (which I doubt) I do not believe that is to say A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2 is homophobic. I think the writers were trying to use the Freddy mythos to create an analogy for a homosexual male reaching puberty and discovering himself. This doesn’t, of course, redeem the film in my eyes, but it does add more to the movie’s legacy than simply being a shitty Freddy movie that goes against the lore.

Overall do I like this movie? No, I do not. It is boring, uncreative, and inconsistent. It contradicts the previous film and is further contradicted by following entries. It is even mentioned once in this movie that Nancy went insane after seeing her boyfriend killed by Freddy. However, Part 3 in the series ignores this completely when we see Nancy working at a hospital perfectly healthy. Of all the Freddy movies in the series this is the one that you can skip and lose nothing for it. Even Freddy himself won’t acknowledge this movie. In Freddy’s Dead there is a scene where he is counting off the various methods in which people tried to kill him. The power of love is not mentioned once.

Short N Sweet Review “American Sniper”

I didn’t think American Sniper earned all of those award nominations. And I’m not saying that from a political stand point either. I just feel like it was very diluted, and I didn’t connect with any of the characters. Was it a good story? Sure, but it didn’t cause me to understand a soldier’s inner struggle. I really went into it believing that he was going to have regrets for killing all of those people. And at the end of the day, we got one little chopped up scene, where he was crying to his Wife. Cooper was great at playing a very cold individual, I suppose it was just an edited mess, and that’s why I didn’t get the experience that was needed to appreciate it like so many others did. Whether he was a Hero in real life, well I don’t think that’s for me to decide. Birdman and Nightcrawler were far better, and deserved more recognition in my opinion.

Contributor- Chris Ballenger

My 20 Favourite Films #13: A Clockwork Orange

Contributor: Rick McGimpsey

It is hard for me to pick a favourite filmmaker of all time since so many of the ones I like bring various types of films to the cinematic table. But, if someone was to put a gun to my head and demanded that I pick one I would say Stanley Kubrick. Kubrick was a visual artist who made films with images so vivid that they stick in the viewer’s memory forever.
In 2001: A Space Odyssey we see breathtaking shots of space that take time in delivering the art to the viewer and every shot in Barry Lyndon looks like a Victorian or 18th century painting come to life onscreen. There is not a Kubrick film that isn’t beautiful and selecting which is my favourite is no easy task. 2001: A Space Odyssey could have easily stolen this #13 spot depending on my mood, but as it happens A Clockwork Orange won out.

Despite its subject matter, A Clockwork Orange is no different than any other Kubrick film in that it is beautifully and artistically shot. Much of the imagery such as Alex DeLarge and his droogs in the milk-bar, the joyriding down English roads, the eerily lit sequences involving Alex’s conditioning, and even the bizarre and unnerving scenes involving rape indelibly leave a mark in the viewer’s visual memory that cannot be forgotten. Kubrick was a meticulous man who made sure every shot played its role in making a film be what it was. He was never lazy and often made his actors take several takes just to get the perfect shot for his piece. And I say piece because that is exactly what it is. It is a piece of art-work or a composition. Kubrick didn’t make blockbusters; he made visually artistic works that could be taken as seriously as a critic may take a famous painting by Da Vinci or a classical composition by Chopin. And despite its controversy, A Clockwork Orange is no different.

The film is about a young delinquent named Alex DeLarge who has a taste for violence. He and his gang of thugs whom he calls affectionately his “droogies” delight in killing, maiming, and raping helpless victims for their amusement. Alex is very much a connoisseur of finer pleasurable pursuits such as Beethoven and collecting weird artwork for his bedroom (including some disturbing anatomically correct sculptures of religious icons); and he owns a pet snake that he loves as much as a common man would love a dog or cat. The “old ultraviolence” is just another passionate pursuit among his taste in music, food, or fine art. He has an unconvicted nonchalance about everything he does. He just as casually will break into a home to rape a woman as he will pick up a couple ladies at a shop to have a threesome. He is amoral, lacking any sense of decency nor cares or sympathises with those he harms. He lives a satisfied life outside of morality while he may or may not be aware that his actions are evil, he doesn’t put a great deal of thought on it in any case.

After an attempted burglary goes wrong in which he kills a resident and his companions betray him he is captured by authorities and taken to a brutal prison for juvenile delinquents where he agrees to shorten jail time by undergoing an experimental conditioning for hardened criminals. The conditioning would, if successful, cause Alex to no longer be able to commit acts of violence. The conditioning which involved drug therapy combined with being forced to watch several films and reels depicting sex and violence eventually lead Alex to becoming sick every time he is faced with sexuality or acts of aggression. The success of the experiment is demonstrated in front of a board of psychologists and “social reformers” by having Alex put on a stage where he is confronted with a nude woman and a man abusing him. Both confrontations tempt him to becoming aroused or seek retaliation respectively which he can no longer fulfill because he comes sick to the point of retching when he tries. As a result of this he is declared cured and released.
When he heads home he finds his parents have moved on, his beloved snake is dead, and his room is occupied by a tenant who having heard about Alex from his parents takes no liking to him at all. Alex finds himself alone on the streets where he encounters a bum whom he once assaulted who tries to kill him for revenge, but escapes with the “help” of two cops who turn out to be his former droogs who decide to relish the opportunity to beat poor Alex before leaving him to battered in the countryside. After a series of harsh abuses on the streets Alex attempts suicide but is revived and hospitalised where his parents find him and take pity on him offering his room back. Furthermore the psychologists behind his conditioning are blamed and ostracised for their role in his current troubles and they are shut down by the government which feels guilty over Alex’s plight and ,thus, sets him up for life.

The ending, to say the least, is disturbing and bizarre. After committing horrible acts of murder, assault, rape, and theft he is exonerated on the grounds that he was treated too harshly by the authorities. This would seem laughable if only the real world didn’t actually do this. However, we have seen too often that murderers and rapists are, in our society, pitied by would-be reformers with good intentions who complain about abuses in the prison system. I am, by no means, saying prison abuse is a good thing; but I will argue that pitying killers and rapists because they are “misunderstood” is absurdity.
It is my interpretation of A Clockwork Orange that Alex left that hospital cured of his conditioning, but went on to do worse things than ever before. Society in criticising the system failed to see that Alex was still guilty of the crimes he committed. He was still evil even if he was treated wrongly. Being exonerated over a technicality that fails to deny that someone committed the crimes he was guilty of is ridiculous and will not stop recidivism outside of the prison walls.

It is to be noted that there is not a single character in A Clockwork Orange who is innocent. The Good and Bad people are just a divide between Self-righteous, self-deceptive prigs and immoral villains. Alex and his droogs were anarchist thieves, murderers, and rapists. Alex’s parents were apathetic cowards who made bad choices at every turn in dealing with Alex. The police and prison officials were mindless brutes with no sympathy or desire to see their prisoners reformed or cared for. The psychologists were suppressors of freedom with an agenda to silence men rather than help them. Even Alex’s former victims were unforgiving and harsh. The bum Alex once assaulted tried to kill him even though Alex just gave him some money. And the husband of one of his former rape victims who became an activist for troubled and wayward youth hypocritically tortures Alex after he discovers who he is. And finally society and the government sooth their own guilty conscience by making him rich and comfortable for the rest of his days.

A Clockwork Orange is a remarkable look at society’s hypocrisy and foolish, lazy attempts at reformation while ignoring the heart of its problems. Corrupted individuals like Alex are spat out every day by society with its ignorance, hypocrisy, stupidity, cruelty, and unfairness. Society’s attempts to fix these corrupted youth often fail because they approach reform with the same ignorance, hypocrisy, stupidity, cruelty, and unfairness that birthed them in the first place.

I highly recommend A Clockwork Orange for audiences with strong stomachs since it is not a film that is easy to view. Despite its R-rating now it was originally released with an X-rating due to its content. As a result I rarely recommend it for this reason although I hold this film in high regard. But if you have a taste for Kubrick’s artistry or simply want to see a good film about juvenile delinquency and society’s role in it see A Clockwork Orange.

Top 20 Favourite Films #15: Reservoir Dogs

Contributor: Rick McGimpsey

It is no secret that Quentin Tarantino is one of my favourite filmmakers of all time. He is witty, clever, and intriguing with a talent for writing dialogue that few filmmakers have. Bad dialogue is why, I believe, many modern films rely too heavily on action and special effects to push the story forward. There is no denying that Michael Bay and Zack Snyder have played major roles in influencing current action/adventure cinema, but they cannot write dialogue if their lives depended on it. Special effects and visual eye-candy is where their skills lie.
Dialogue is Quentin Tarantino and his ilk’s forte. He can make a film move forward without a dull moment just with the dialogue alone. The pacing of his films do not drag even with an hour of characters simply talking. This is a trait few filmmakers can pull off. Kevin Smith, I would argue, is another writer similar to Tarantino in that regard.
All of Tarantino’s films have excellent screenplays and his film debut, Reservoir Dogs is no exception. It is smart, funny, and intense; leaving the viewer at the edge of their seat waiting to see how the series of events pan out.

In the film, a gang of part-time thugs and criminals who have no previous acquaintance with each other are gathered together by a mastermind (played by the ex-con turned actor himself Lawrence Tierney) to pull of a jewel heist. The plan is to hire criminals who don’t know each other to lower chances of a rat getting too much information about them. He even gives them colour-coded names such as Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen), Mr. White (Harvey Keitel), Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi), Mr. Orange (Tim Roth), Mr. Brown (Tarantino himself), etc.

When the heist gets botched and three of the gang are shot (two of which are killed) it becomes apparent that they have a police informer in their midst.
In an ongoing series of horrific events in which paranoia, criminal psychopathy, and panic leads to a kidnapped police officer being tortured and killed and a Mexican standoff in which accusations of betrayal and being a police informant get tossed around all lead up to a violent point where most of the thugs end up killing each other.

What I enjoy about Reservoir Dogs is the intense dialogue and acting which keep the viewer interested without depending on constant shoot-ups and fast-paced action sequences. In fact, the heist is never seen on screen. We only see the before and after. And we don’t need to see it because it would only slow down what we are meant to see which is the characters arguing and descending into paranoia. Most of Reservoir Dogs’ runtime is set inside a warehouse remindind me of the work of Hitchcock or Sidney Lumet who could interest the viewer in films with limited sets and action. One has to be a good writer to make a film like that work. Otherwise, you would only get a boring forgettable movie with a small budget standing out like a sore thumb. Tarantino is one such writer.

My 20 Favourite Films #17: Apocalypse Now

Contributor: Rick McGimpsey

Francis Ford Coppola is easily one of my favourite filmmakers of all time. If I ever make a list of favourite directors you can be sure he will appear in the top 5 somewhere.
Coppola being one of my favourite filmmakers means that there are a lot of his movies that I can choose from for this spot and, believe me, more will appear later in this series of posts. After wading through his many masterpieces like The Godfather Trilogy, The Conversation, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and the Outsiders; Apocalypse Now seemed like the perfect choice for the seventeenth spot for my twenty favourite films.

Apocalypse Now is a brilliant retelling of Joseph Conrad’s novella, Heart of Darkness, which deals with the darker themes of war-related trauma and descending into madness that many films fail to adequately deal with.
The film is set during the Vietnam War and centres around an army captain who is assigned to locate a colonel (played by the amazing Marlon Brando) who went AWOL and is now considered insane and dangerous. Last reports indicated he was deep down the river into the jungles of Cambodia setting himself up as some charismatic figure that the natives are following with nearly religious loyalty. The captain is ordered to “terminate” his command at all costs
As the captain (played by Martin Sheen) and a team of draftees head down the river they are swept up in a journey that inevitably brings the harshest and most brutal aspects of war and human nature that they never had previously thought imaginable.

The film is very successful at depicting the horrors of war without glamorising it as a glorious exercise in honour and victory. War is harsh, raw, depressing, and steals loved ones from families. Apocalypse Now portrays that reality of combat so effectively that the deaths of characters feel less fictional and more like a tragic end to friends and family members that will never be seen again.
And that is precisely what I appreciate about Francis Ford Coppola’s films. They do not glamorise the violence they depict. Whether it be from war, the mafia, or gangs the violence in a Coppola film feels real and tragic. The lives in Apocalypse Now are destroyed, ruined, and unalterably changed by their circumstances. Coppola is definitely a good source if you are looking for an honest film that presents its subject manner in a way that puts you emotional in the spot of the characters. Apocalypse Now is no exception.

My Top 20 Favourite Films #19: Empire of the Sun

Contributor: Rick McGimpsey

Amongst the various historical films that Steven Spielberg has directed over his career this is one of his more forgotten pieces.

I was debating whether I should place Saving Private Ryan here, but in the end Empire of the Sun won out. Saving Private Ryan is undoubtably one of the greatest, most gut-wrenchingly emotional stories ever put on screen; but I prefer Empire of the Sun because it allows me to feel for the characters more. I am not saying Saving Private Ryan doesn’t do this but I think my number 19 spot does it better. In Empire of the Sun we focus on less characters which means we have more time spent with them making it easier to become emotionally invested in their story.

The film, based on J. G. Ballard’s semiautobiographical novel, is about a young British boy named Jim (played by Christian Bale) who lives with his wealthy family in Shanghai during World War II. He is a spoiled, naive, and selfish brat who gives the servants a hard time and expresses a nearly callous attitude to the political surroundings.
During a riot he and his family are separated and Jim eventually is forced to make a living in a Japanese internment camp.

Jim’s development throughout the film, especially in the internment camp is striking. We see his naivete and narcissism fade away when he witnesses the violence, destitution, and greed on the streets of Shanghai and in the camp. One of the most difficult scenes in the film to watch is where Jim, broken and altered by his experiences, comes to realise that one his friends who had taken him and helped him had used and lied to him the whole time.

How the film ends I won’t spoil, but it’s a satisfying and emotional finale that left me impressed and realising that I had seen a true gem of filmmaking.
I am not entirely sure why Empire of the Sun has not been embraced as a classic like many of his other historical films had, but it definitely deserves a better chance. It’s realistic, emotional, entertaining, and mesmerising with it’s cinematography, music, and acting. I recommend giving it a view.

My Top 20 Favourite Films #20: Following

Contributor: Rick McGimpsey

Christopher Nolan’s film debut is a frequently overlooked work that deserves more attention than it has in recent years. Following is a film that merits viewing for anyone interested in Nolan’s early career which has been overshadowed by his Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception, and the recent Interstellar. I believe, however, that forgetting Nolan’s earlier films like this one is a major mistake.

At first glance Following is little more than a low-budget piece made by a talented young filmmaker who eventually moved onto bigger, more successful projects later in his career. However, I would prefer to look at Following as more than just the impressive first-start of a popular director; but also as a great film in and of itself.

The film was made by Christopher Nolan and a few of his friends when he was a student filmmaker in London. The budget was produced from Nolan’s own pocket and he handled most of the cinematography and editing himself. The cast and crew were full-time employees which often meant Nolan could only film on weekends leading the production to be very slow. Despite all these limitations, however, the end result was a masterpiece that successfully echoes Hitchcockian suspense and the films-noir of the ’40’s and ’50’s.

Following centres around a young unemployed writer who has had little success and as a way to get new ideas begins stalking various people around London with a specific condition that he never follow the same person twice. Shortly after he disobeys his own rule by following someone a second time he finds himself in a life-threatening situation where he gets mixed up with a con-artist who catches him in the act. The consequences play out in a series of events that could potentially ruin his life and career. I won’t spoil the ending of the film, but suffice it say I wanted to re-watch the film immediately after viewing.

It is an excellent film that demonstrates perfectly that movies do not need excessive special effects or lengthy action sequences to keep the audience entranced. The film is driven by dialogue and story alone. And the story and dialogue is gripping and intense.

My recommendation for anyone wanting to track this film down is to look for the Criterion Collection release which is regrettably a bit on the expensive side but the transfer is the best you can find and it includes Nolan’s short film, Doodlebug which makes the price worth it. If you like neo-noir thrillers and do not mind low-budget indie films I definitely encourage you to give Following a watch.

Stay tuned next Wednesday when I discuss #19 of my 20 favourite films.

The Possession of Michael King

Reviewed by Anthony Lucas

As usual I’m whiling the time away at work (nightshift, insanely boring!!!) so i trawl through the endless movie streaming sites looking for something to help end the monotony. I stumbled across The Possession of Michael King and, and first, thought Meh! Another do-it-yourself home movie demon invasion flick. However the synopsis of a Godless mans decision to make a documentary proving that the supernatural exists after his wife dies was too good to ignore.

Firstly, compared to the other POV movies “documenting” the existence of the supernatural this is by far my favourite. Yes, there was plenty of night vision green tinged footage but not enough to be annoying like some previous attempts.

Secondly, there was no “night one, 3am”, which has always niggled me but i cant honestly say why.

And finally, it was brilliantly shot. There are a few scenes that will make you jump a little but the overall creep factor is what, well, creeps up on you. The progression of Michaels quest to prove/disprove if demons exist was slow to begin with but accelerates at a good pace towards the end. There is quite a bit of blood thrown around but not an abundance that many horror movies are going for these days. This movie is simply quality over quantity. The effects are outstanding, I don’t know what the budget was for this film but whatever it was, it was put to good use. Michaels transformation is expertly done and any CGI that is used is seamless. The characters were great especially Michael, whose struggle was portrayed brilliantly by Shane Johnson.

In conclusion, I find it refreshing to watch a film where the story and direction are enough to make the viewer feel creeped out as opposed to lame actors throwing buckets of blood around and having things pop up as a camera pans round just to make you jump. I thoroughly enjoyed this film and if you like the supernatural you will too.

Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes Analysis And Review

I will be going over these two films, not really reviewing them exactly. I suppose it’ll be more like a comparing of which I thought was better. And then talking a little bit about what I think of the series of films as a whole body. I may also push in a tiny little nugget of where I see the series going after this. I do hope you guys enjoy!! =)  This is part one of that, I will be writing part two at some point probably starting tomorrow.  

I thought to myself when I saw this trailer, that the title of this and the sequel were some what backwards. I’m sure as you could very well see, Dawn should be the beginning of the uprising of the Apes society. Am I right? And then of course, you have Rise which come’s just shortly after and we get into the thick of everything else. But, that’s not really why I am talking about these films is it? I remember seeing a couple of the old films and thinking, that most of these Apes were just a bunch of elitist assholes. And I really got nothing from them character wise. 

Rise centers in on a young Ape by the name of Cesar. You basically see the entire world or at least most of it from his perspective. And that is one of the reason’s why I was so invested in this experience from the get go. He feels like he wants to be human, and understands the Humans more than even some people do. And yet, deep down as the film goes along he know’s he’s different. And it slowly begins to get to him deeper into hot water as we continue down the journey with him. He longs for freedom, as well as companionship from his other peers whether they be Human or Ape. 

When he is separated from the family that raises him in their home. You see that even with his overwhelming intelligence and prowess. The animals he is surrounded with are almost compared to the school yard bullies. They see him as almost sort of a joke, he even has a rivalry with a couple of Alpha Male’s in there jungle like play pen. Not only that, but Cesar has bouts with unkind workers who mess with him constantly. So, he is generally confused as to what to do. 

But as we go along, he finds a way to get control of the vast majority of the basic Prison for his kind. By despersing the enhancement, and what would later of course be the detriment to most of humanity. I always saw Cesar as sort of a patriarch of both world’s he bridge between them. He wanted things to stay peaceful since day one, but always knew that it may lead to something hostile. Because how could humanity coexist with another race just like them? And of course we find out later, that this bridge is slightly snapped and can’t stay up with to much weight. 

The military realizes that it has to take action, when the Apes start to become so enhanced that they push there way out of their holding facility. Not really wanting to cause to many disturbances. Just wanting to find a place where they can call their own and be by themselves. Because that’s all ever anyone wants right? Just to be left alone in peace and quiet and not be told what to do. I feel like a lot of this movie points towards how oppressive society can actually be. Ton’s of undertones, that really fit in with how we see our lives even today in our world. 

We come to the end of the film, where he Apes are fighting with the police on the bridge. Which is sort of a metaphor of that tension boiling over actually. Cesar finds himself losing control of not only his faction. But everything he wanted to be for so long but lost out on. He is able to get to the woods with the other Apes towards that latter half. But meet’s his care taker and realizes finally, as they both kind of do at the very same moment. That Cesar and his new found family are where they need to be. That Humans and Apes in their current state cannot exist any longer. Where will it go from here? Guess you’ll just have to wait and see tomorrow!! =) 

Contributor- Chris Ballenger 

Top 5 Movies of 2009

So….WOOO 2009 (drunk college girl voice)! I was undecided on wether to be thankful or disappointed to be providing a Top 5 list for that year, seeing as how it was such an epic year in film making.

It wasn’t until viewing the film list as a whole that it became so difficult to comprehend the fact that some of these (could be considered) all time classics actually debuted in the same year.
For example: “The Soloist” and “Law Abiding Citizen” which both featured Jaime Foxx, and highlighted a markee year for the actor, both could have easily been on any/most reviewers Top 5 lists (I hesitantly only included one).
Also take into account “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” and “Watchmen”, two of the most ground-breaking super hero movies to date, hit the silver screen in 09′. I think I had an erection just viewing the trailers for those movies (we won’t talk bout what happened when I actually saw them), needless to say they impacted myself, movie goers and the comic book world in a way that I can only think to compare to “The Avengers” (I thought “Watchmen” was a better film personally).
And lastly, America was so painfully shown, with the releases of “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” and “Observe and Report”, that any movie based on the life and times of a security guard would not only bring a black cloud over the studio producing it, it would be a black sheep of all movies made that year, as well as, be black balled from any references that were synonymous with “good”, “entertaining”, “funny”, or even “decent”.

Moving on, my soul wouldn’t let me start this list without listing a few honorable mentions (my soul is a crybaby):
“Law Abiding Citizen” (told you both Jamie’s movies didn’t make it) , perfected a plot containing the total lack of anything predictable woven into a vengeful but unique story line. It needed recognition.
And “District 9” completely changed the idea of how to do a sci-fi alien movie. Stepping away from the general outline of its predecessors and adding a D.I.Y feel to the genre (no class to be found at Home Depot for D.I.Y alien flicks however). If it wasn’t for another sci-fi alien movie showing every film of 09′ (probably 00′ through 09′ in reality) how to do it, “District 9” would’ve made it (they’re production staff is like “F@#k James Cameron man”).

So without further ado I present to you the “Top 5 Movies of 2009”:

5. “It’s Complicated”

It’s always a joy when the better actors of a past generation get together to make a film that can not only be enjoyed by members of they’re generation, but by members of a newer generation (that calls them the past generation).
Screenwriter/director Jane Myers, queen of the feel good movie, mostly known for “The Holiday” and “The Parent Trap”, truly out did herself in the writing and production of this film.
When Jane Adler (Meryl Streep), successful mother and long time divorcee of Jake Adler (Alec Baldwin) starts to find love with her ex-husband at they’re sons college graduation. What should be a joyous event in they’re family’s lives, the reuniting of Jake and Jane, shows exactly how complicated life is because Jake has been remarried for years to a twenty something year old bombshell with narcasistic tendencies. Add in a ensuing love interest between Jane and Adam Schaffer (Steve Martin), who is the charming architect working on her home. And all the available plot twists of: jealousy, confusion, secrecy, etc…. come into play splendidly.
The icing on top of this cake was the performance of Steve Martin. We know Alec Baldwin is gonna be Alec Baldwin in the context of a movie, and we know Meryl Streep will offer a performance that will be considered in any and all Oscar nomination talks for that year. But Steve Martin, not notably known for above average acting, showed what has been known for a while by true cinema buffs: most actors get better with age.
As a young man sitting amongst mostly 50 year old (or 50+) viewers in the theatre, I, for the first time felt saddened by my youth. Watching the problems of the old, compared to the hectic problems of my life as a young man, made me appreciative of the clarity, joy and wisdom that comes with aging. Only screenwriting of that quality, and an A list of actors intertwined into a star-studded cast (young and old), could give me that feeling as a 24 year old man. Fascinating “feel good” film.

#4 “The Soloist”

As mentioned earlier Jamie “f’n” Foxx, monster year in 09′, the highlight of which is “The Soloist”. Combining the acting promise of Robert Downey Jr. and Mr. Foxx, with a emotionally stimulating story line centered around an under appreciated (by the masses) art form (symphony orchestra), and who can honestly say they would expect a bad movie. The nominations and accolades achieved by this movie speak volumes, as well as, pay much do respect to the production staff of “The Soloist”. And as great of work as director Joe Wright did, the quality and physical commitment of Jamie Foxx complimented every aspect of the film as if he himself was the producer.
In this film, Robert Downey Jr. plays writer Steve Lopez, a man with all the qualities of all the best characters Downey has played. He’s slightly depressed, divorced, struggling in work, and drinks too much. He meets Nathaniel Ayers, a homeless man playing beautiful music in the street. Nathaniel follows Lopez after noticing that he was intrigued with his public music display. Ayers finally speaks to Lopez and claims that he once attended Julliard (famous music school if your not that bright or had a brain fart). Steve is clearly mentally stimulated and confused by the statement, but knows if this is true he has no choice but to write a story in his paper about Nathaniel. Steve grows obsessed with Ayers as a person and spends more time befriending and helping him than working. As a complete schizophrenic who’s been homeless for twenty years (which amplifies his condition) , Nathan is more comfortable homeless and delirious, than in shelters and on medications. Needless to say the conflict in the movie is the struggles of Lopez trying to gain enough trust from Nathaniel to allow him to help improve his situation. The extremes he goes to are stressful, and disappointing sometimes, but rewarding and encouraging at others.
Jamie Foxx set his self apart from most actors, going as far as having his teeth filed down to master this role. The fact that this movie is based on a true story, and written by the actual writer Steve Lopez who experienced these events, shows how amazing some men are, and how far one should go for a worthy cause. GREAT FILM!

#3 “INGLORIOUS BASTERDS

How is this for a plot? A group of Jewish-American soldiers plan to assassinate Nazi leaders in German occupied France…..Ok, now add in a Jewish woman, posing as a German, who’s whole family was killed years ago in front of her by Nazi exterminators…… Oh, and she has the same goals as the Jewish-American soldiers……Now, let Brad Pitt (using a highly efficient southern draw and metaphorically based arsenal of words) guide the Nazi killing squad…….Oh, and then let Quentin Tarantino write and direct this film. That instant classic thought in your head right now is exactly what the result is.
So initially one would think Brad Pitt probably provides the bulk of the exceptional acting in “Inglorious Basterds”. However, while his role was hilarious and original, Christoph Waltz, who plays Col. Hans Landa stole the show. Waltz’s intensity, tone, spot on body language, and camera command forced viewers to fear and respect him, just as the characters he was reciting his brilliant monologues to did.
Tarantino has an inept ability to take a delicate situation such as the holocaust or slavery, dream up a “it’d be cool if this would’ve happened” scenario, infuse it with clever comedy, script it and bring his vision to life. It’s gonna be bloody, it’s gonna have explicit language, it’s gonna be blocked well, and you won’t/can’t stop watching. Visually this film is intensely accurate and appropriate. It’s apexed by the most murderous, violent, mass killing I’ve probably ever seen. I’m sure if the context of that scene wasn’t Jews killing Nazi’s (in bulk), it would’ve been considered inappropriate. Edgy enough to be a thriller, funny enough to be a comedy, and enough pressure in the script to be a top shelf drama, makes it good enough to be #3.

#2 “Watchmen”

When we think of superhero movies we expect the heroes to be confident, competent, fearless, and to have more concern for others than for themselves. “Watchmen” provides us with a superhero personality trait we’ve never seen: insecurity. And while all types of insecurities plague these forgotten and rejected super heroes (unhealthy mental attachments, alcoholism, fear of rejection, fear of love, worthlessness), we as the viewers are finally able to relate to the emotions of these profound saviors.
The film is set in the early to mid-80’s. Where up until this point masked superheroes have been a revered and respected part of society. But a recent turn in public opinion, due to a well planned conspiracy, has made these masked men hunted, unwanted, and considered dangerous to the public.
The way the writers and director Zack Snyder slightly alter and tweak Americas timeline as we know it, is clever to say the least. And the emphasis of the timeline is the “Dooms-Day-Clock”, a clock that marks the tension of Americas feuding with the Soviet Union. The clock is stuck at 5 minutes till midnight, but when it reaches midnight…..nuclear war is upon us.
The Watchmen, a group of retired superheroes (only one of which has actual super powers), while trying to discover who is behind the killing of one of they’re own, realize there is a relation between the murder of they’re companion and the unavoidable threat of nuclear war.
During these events the director (Big Zack) allows us deep intricate looks into the watchmen’s individual natures. It’s here that we are completely aware of each and every personality flaw, which makes it a emotional ride as the heroes re-discover who they were when the Watchmen were prevalent, loved, and needed.
An ending you don’t expect, and STUNNING visual/audio work simply fit like a puzzle together. The completion of this puzzle produces the most ground breaking and original superhero movie ever. Furthermore, because of the human aspect shown by the characters, “Watchmen” can be enjoyed by not only hard-core comic fans, and sci-fi heads, but also lovers of dramas, action films, and just good cinema.

#1 “Avatar”

Something has to be said for a producer, a creator, that takes ten years to make a movie (twice). James Cameron can’t even be described as ground breaking, the accreditation is to light. In “Avatar”, Cameron literally creates his own world and invites us to live in it in such convincing fashion, that when the film ends viewers are hurt that the technology doesn’t exists to duplicate the movie. The CGI and 3D technology used reinvented the techniques and standards of animated movies, and to date, I haven’t seen more intricate 3D detail in any film (maybe Alice in Wonderland….but I was on mushrooms).
The story in itself is mind boggling, and can be taken in so many ways. There is relation to conservation and how we preserve/destroy our planet. Or the ever increasing possibilities of organic technology. Even the ideals and similarities of different cultures, and mans shallow thinking in regards to exploration.
With bad actors “Avatar” would have been a top 5 film, but with the superb effort put forth by Sam Worthington (Jake Sully) and Zoe Saldana (Neytiri) the element of love shown here I’m not sure will ever be able to be duplicated (especially in a animated movie). They’re acting is so potent that the other amazing roles played by Sigourney Weaver (Grace) and Stephen Lang (Col. Miles Quaritch) are dwarfed and probably under appreciated by the general viewer.
I’m not going to describe the plot on this one for one reason……I don’t think there is anyone that hasn’t seen it. And if you actually haven’t…..shame shame on you.
Without being to extreme this movie changed my life, my values, and my way of thinking. It’s epic and should be regarded as one of the Top 5 movies of the decade.

So there you have it, and there it is. Trust when I say that it was very difficult to structure this list. If you disagree, look at the movies that premiered in 2009 and construct you own list. If that is easy for you…..watch movies harder.

Contributor: Martell Golliday
For Rebel Conciousness