Posts Tagged ‘drugs’
Beyond The Black Rainbow: Review
Written and directed by Panos Cosmatos, Beyond the Black Rainbow takes place in the year 1983 in a mysterious facility called the Arboria Institute. There, Dr. Barry Nyle (Michael Rogers) has a girl named Elena (Eva Allan) under his supervision that over time he becomes obsessed with. She escapes her holding cell and tries to make her way out of the facility but Dr. Nyle won’t let her get away very easily.
This movie is a very interesting Sci-Fi flick to say the least. We’ll just say you’re either going to love it or you’re going to hate it. I definitely didn’t hate it. The first thing that came to mind after the first viewing (Yes, I watched it more than once.) was “David Cronenberg”. Cronenberg’s early work was much like this and that’s a definite positive. It of course had its “WTF” moments but that’s what make this film unique. The thing that really impressed me the most was the look of the film. You can look at it and say “What about it? It looks old.” without realizing that this film was filmed in 2009 I believe. It’s one thing to shoot and edit a film in 1983 as opposed to shooting and editing a film 2009 to make it look/feel like it was done in 1983. That takes a great deal of work. They visuals were fantastically psychadelic. They were beautiful but with an added horror element. I was quoted as saying during the movie “It’s like you’re on drugs but without the drugs.” If that won’t explain it then I don’t know what will. There were times that I had to look away for a moment because of bright flashing lights or a lot of quick cuts that made my eyes hurt a bit but it was only few moments. The story I felt could have had a bit more substance to it but it was good for what it was. Kudos to Panos Cosmatos for making this film. Whether or not people thought the film was good or bad it still got people talking about it. In time it will definitely find a proper audience and be adored by the same group of people that love Cronenberg’s Videodrome and Scanners. I say it’s a definite watch if you’re into the strange/artistic/psychadelic type of films.
A thank you to Magnolia Pictures for allowing me to review this film.
Ted: Review
Seth MacFarlane co-wrote, produced, played the voice of the title character as well as this being his live action full length directorial debut. Mark Wahlberg stars as John Bennett, a kid that no one seems to like or get along with. One Christmas Day he receives an adorable stuffed teddy bear that instantly becomes his best friend which he names Ted. He then makes a wish that changes everything. He wishes that Ted was real. Word spreads fast and next thing you know he becomes a celebrity. Fast forward 27 yeas later and Ted’s celebrity status went downhill. He and John are still best friends that do what most lazy slackers do: get drunk and get high. Its not until John’s girlfriend of four years (played by Mila Kunis) gives him an ultimatum that things being to change in the relationship between a man and his bear.
I haven’t seen a whole lot of MacFarlane’s animated shows (Family Guy, American Dad) but the bit that I have seen made me a fan of the randomness of it all and Ted is nothing different. The humor is raunchy if not more raunchy than anything you would usually see from MacFarlane and smart as well. Although in a packed theater some of the jokes went over the crowds head and all I heard was crickets. For the record, I thought they were funny. The other glorious thing that was so random was the two characters (somewhat crazy) love of Flash Gordon. The dream sequence involving Mark Wahlberg is hilariously cheesy. Wahlbeg hasn’t done too many comedy roles but I feel like this might be one of his strong points. He has great comedic timing and he is believable in his role as a doofus/slacker type. Mila Kunis has also proved that she can hang with the guys when it comes to disgusting comedy but still coming off as a voice of reason to John. I recommend this movie only if you want to laugh your butt off and are not easily offended.
