THX-1138 (1971)

Title: THX-1138 (1971)

Director: George Lucas

Cast: Robert Duvall, Donald Pleasance

Review:

So I hadn’t written a proper review for THX-1138 and considering how its one of my favorite science fiction films ever and considering I recently gave it a re-watch, I decided to properly review it. After all, with the possible exception of the first Star Wars film, in my eyes THX-1138 is George Lucas’s finest day behind the camera. At the very least, this is George Lucas’s most relevant and thought provoking film.

Story centers around a character called THX-1138. He works in a factory constructing robots for the government. It is a highly stressful job because the slightest mistake can cause a chain reaction of explosions that can result in the death of many of his co-workers. But to avoid that tragedy, THX works under the effects of a mind numbing drug that every citizen is supposed to take. Problem comes when THX stops taking the drug and starts feeling the stress of every day life building up on him. Will he be able to escape the madness of society? The pressure of living in such a complex, consumption centered, burocratic and oppressive society is getting to THX, will he stand the pressure? Will he ever find a means to escape it all and be truly free?

THX looses it at his job

Some might think that such a subversive film is a rare thing coming from such a commercial director as George Lucas, but when you look at it, Lucas has always been a bit of a rebel. What is Star Wars if not the story of a group of rebels fighting against a totalitarian government? What are Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader if not the epitome of evil dictators? Aren’t Luke Skywalker and his friends the definition of true rebels? So it comes as no surprise to me that THX-1138 is so subversive a film, even coming from such a commercial a director as George Lucas. The difference between Star Wars and THX-1138 is that THX-1138 isn’t a film for kids. It isn’t sugar coated with jokes from R2-D2 and C3PO. THX-1138 is as serious a film as they come. The tone is one of bleakness and despair.

he world that THX inhabits is one devoid of emotions or life. Emotions are prohibited in this futuristic dystopia. Individualism is not encouraged, everyone must look and dress the same. Everyone shaves their heads bald, everyone dresses in white clothing. This is how the world would be if a totalitarian government completely took over. For some reason, some forms of government focus all their strengths in quieting the expression of the individual. Art forms a big part of self expression, as a result, art is banned in a totalitarian government. The only art that is acceptable is the one that the system gives you, the art that is approved by them. I have personally seen art expos shut down because they speak up against the government, so we are not that far away from the world that this film presents us with.

In fact, while watching the film I almost didn’t fell like I was watching a science fiction film. There is this scene in which THX is captured by the police and taken away to a room to be visually analyzed and studied. While they do this, faceless police men probe THX with electrical rods. Psychologically and physically torturing him. This film could easily become a representation of how many countries are living today; the scrutiny of the individual for example. We are being watched 24/7 by cameras. Wherever you go, you are in fact being watched. You go to the mall, the theater, the bank, you are being recorded without even knowing it. The websites you visit are monitored. Everything you type in an e-mail can be read if so desired. And if they chose to do so, you could be watched with the help of those nifty satellites that circle our planet. So privacy has gone out the window, and the proverbial words from Orwell’s 1984 have become oh so true. “Big Brother IS Watching you”. Make no mistakes about that.

But THX just wants to think on his own, make his own decisions, take control of his life. Feel what its like to be alive and alert and deciding his own destiny. This is the reason why he stops taking the government issued drugs. This drug intake is an obvious allusion at how the government deals with rebels in society. Those subversive individuals who don’t want to play by the rules are sometimes considered crazy by the rest of society. When the grand majority thinks one way, the one person thinking differently will be considered a nut job. And nut jobs are sent to the shrink were they will be prescribed a number of mind numbing drugs similar to the ones THX has to take on a daily basis on the film. The ultimate desire is to subdue, to quiet the individual. This drug theme can also be seen in Equilibrium (2005) where everyone has to take emotion suppressing drugs. THX is treated the same way when he is deemed uncontrollable by the system. He is sent to a looney bin with a bunch of bonafide crazies. Thing is that after a while amongst them, he realizes is not one of them, he knows he is not crazy and that he doesn’t belong. Once again, we are not so far away from the future depicted in THX-1138.

Realizing he is not crazy and that he doesn’t belong in an insane asylum, THX steals a race car and escapes in a thrilling extended chase sequence. If you get the recent dvd release, then this chase sequence is a bit more special then the theatrical release because Lucas tweaked it (as he often does with his films) to make it more exciting. Wee see more of THX driving at high speeds through the highway. As for Lucas’s new additions to the film, Im actually completely okay with it because it makes the film look all the better, it expands the THX-1138 universe. We see more of the factory where THX works in, we see more of the robots he builds. The city landscape is richer. It seems that George Lucas never really finishes his movies, apparently he will keep altering them till the day he dies, its part of the Lucas way I guess.

Robert Duvall and George Lucas go over a scene

Watching this movie can be a suffocating experience, you feel the grip of the system in every scene. THX is not a happy camper, the weight of society pushes down heavily on him. There is one amazing scene where he finally escapes the insane asylum in which THX comes face to face with literally thousands upon thousands of human beings walking up and down the road, almost to the point where he cant walk anywhere. They push and shove, on a big hurry to their destinations. THX is paralyzed by the over population. But what’s most crushing really is the grip that this totalitarian government has on its people. From the mind numbing drugs, to the constant monitoring, to the constant hammering of ideas through the media, through speaker phones on the streets urging you to be “productive” and to consume constantly. Through out the whole film you are constantly hearing a pre-recorded robotic message blurting out instructions as to how to behave all the time. Its no surprise that THX himself doesn’t say much, it’s the system that does most of the talking on this film; which says a lot about how personal freedom is displayed here, you almost cant think for yourself. Your thoughts are suppressed by the overpowering hammering of the systems ideas into your psyche. Kind of reminds me of when I get a media overload (yeah I bet you get those too) and don’t want to watch anything else being sold to me, so I go into this mode where I ignore all kinds of billboards and commercials entirely. Watching THX-1138 can be as soul crushing of an experience as watching 1984. Both films give us a look at a future that we hope will never come. Sadly, the truth is that it’s partially already here.

Rating: 5 out of 5

 

Crazy Heart (2009)

Title: Crazy Heart (2009)

Director: Scott Cooper

Stars: Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Robert Duval, Collin Farrell

Review:

Jeff Bridges has never won an Academy Award in his whole career. He has been nominated on five occasions, but never won. Sad but true. If you ask me, he should have won it back in 1991 for his portrayal of Jack Lucas in Terry Gilliam’s The Fisher King. But he didn’t. He wasn’t even nominated for that one! Which goes to show you just how much the “members of the academy” don’t know. But here we are, the 2010 Academy Award Nominations are finally in and aren’t we all glad that Jeff Bridges got an Oscar nomination for Crazy Heart? Yes we are! This is his fifth nomination! You know how this Oscar thing goes…sometimes they wont give an award to an incredible actor (even if they deserve it!) just so they can keep him sweating it out for years and years. It’s the academy’s way of saying “we know you are good! Keep cranking out good movies and in a year or two…we’ll think about it!” And then they go and give them an award for their least amazing movie. Which is probably what’s going to happen with Crazy Heart. Its not Jeff Bridges greatest performance to date, but it will more then likely be the one he ends up winning an Oscar for. Still, Crazy Heart isn’t a bad movie, we’ve seen it a thousand times before, but it’s not a bad film.

Story centers on Bad Blake (Bridges) a country singer who has seen better days. He used to be ultra famous, cranking out hit after hit of country songs, until a life of booze and complacency destroyed his former glory. Now he simply exists instead of living the life. This is kind of sad because he is an extremely talented guy, and everyone knows it, except himself. One day, a young female journalist requests an interview with him. This young journalist ends up being Maggie Gyllenhaal, he lets her in and gives her the interview, but only so he can get in her pants! She decides to let him in, and pretty soon old Blake is back trying to redeem himself. Trying as hard as he can to establish a relationship with her. You know, go back to being the man he used to be. But you know how it is, old habits die hard and pretty soon his old habits get in the way. Will he ever make it back from his drunken stupor?

Here’s the thing, I actually despise country music. It’s not that my ears explode when I hear it or anything, but I just don’t like it. Period. I’m pretty sure that I’m not alone in this. So why did I end up seeing a movie about the life of a country singer? This movies incredible cast! That’s what drew me to it! Jeff Bridges plays Bad Blake, a very down on his luck kind of guy. Used to have it all; doesn’t have it now because he is a drunk. Bridges wallows in the self loathing and self pity very well. Bridge’s had done it before in characters like Jack Lucas in The Fisher King were he also played a guy who used to be famous, but isn’t anymore. He also played a happy looser in The Big Lebowski. One of the Coen Brothers funniest masterpieces. So he’s no stranger to playing characters like Bad Blake. Characters that have hit rock bottom. Maggie Gyllenhal turns in a solid performance (as usual) but in my opinion, she still needs a film that truly makes her shine on her own. Robert Duvall plays Bad Blake’s bartender buddy, who always backs him up. And finally, Collin Farrell plays it cool as Bad Blakes protégé. The guy whom Bad Blake taught all the secrets of country music to. So a solid cast elevates this movie to higher ground. Higher then this movie had any right to.

The big problem for me with this movie is that it’s nothing original. At all. In fact, my favorite movie of 2008 -Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler- did the same thing a million times better then Crazy Heart ever did. Sadly, what Crazy Heart does is follow the formula set by The Wrestler too damn closely. You almost feel like you are watching the same damn movie! Right down to Bad Blake wanting to reconnect with his estranged son, and getting the cold shoulder while at it. You kind of get the idea that Bad Blake has abandoned writing and singing because of how he ignored his son. Yet the film never really explores this, we never even get to see Bad Blakes son. You also get the feeling that Bad Blake has never really had it bad, he gets payed every now and then, he isnt really hitting rock bottom, he is just being stubborn. So this movie is really about a stubborn dude, who wants to drink for drinking sake. The one big tragedy in his life, having ignored his son his whole life is set aside, like some unimportant side story. When in fact it should be crux of the film. So its like The Wrestler, only not as good.

Much like The Wrestler, Bad Blake tries to make things right, but old habits die hard and you know how it goes, pretty soon, drinking and boozing get in the way of happiness and he messes things up yet again. Problem with this movie is that Bad Blake isn’t half as charming as Mickey Rourke’s Randy the Ram. You watch Randy the Ram going down the rabbit whole and you feel a certain kind of compassion for him, but I have to say I didn’t really warm up to Bad Blake as much as I did to Randy the Ram. All Bad Blake has to do is sit back and wait for the royalty checks and go to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. They also compare this movie a lot to The Big Lebowski, saying that this is “The Dude” all over again, but instead of having a weed obsession he has an alcohol obsession. I don’t agree with that either. The Dude is one funny guy, again, he is a looser but he is extremely likable. Bad Blake feels like a character who’s life has been sucked out of him. Save for some scenes where he is being ultra sweet to Gyllenhaal’s kid, he is lifeless and charmless character. Except when he wants to get into a lady’s pants or wants some free booze, then he charms the hell out of anyone. Which kind of makes you hate him a bit. But hey, here’s looking forward to some much deserved recognition for Jeff Bridges! In my own personal crazy heart he isn’t going to win an Academy Award (if he wins) for this movie. If he wins it, it'll be for all the countless other great performances he's given us through time.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Falling Down (1993)

Title: Falling Down (1993)

Director: Joel Schumacher

Reviews:

There are movies out there that when you see them at the perfect time and place, at the perfect moment in time, at the right time in your life, they simply have this resonation to them. They click. They make more sense. The first time I saw Joel Schumacher's Falling Down upon its release in 1993, I was just a teenager. What the hell did I know about the world that I lived in? Next to nothing, Ill tell you that much. Back then, Falling Down was just a movie about a guy going crazy. Of course time has gone by, as time often does. I’ve grown wiser and more conscious of the world I live in. So naturally, watching this movie now is a whole different experience! Now that economy is on the blitz and we are on the fringe of another "great depression" this movie makes so much more sense now then it ever did back in 1993!

Story is about a guy called William Foster, but you would never know that because for most of the film he is called 'D-Fense', after his cars license plate. He works for the government, making nuclear missiles or something. But one day, 'D-fense' (that’s how I’m going to call him through out the whole review, cause that name just sounds so much cooler) simply goes berserk. What drives him crazy? Well, to put it bluntly, the world we live in. D-fense cant take it no more, so he goes on an all out war against society and everything that he finds wrong in it. But with so many things wrong in our world D-fense can’t even walk into a fast food restaurant without going nuts. He can’t even tie his own freaking shoes without some sort of problem making D-fense go ballistic. The police soon gets a whiff of D-fense's erratic violent behavior and begins an investigation on him. Will D-fense escape the clutches of the society that is suffocating him? Can his anger at the established "order" of things be controlled?

Can’t believe I had not re-watched this one in such a long time. Honestly, after having seen this movie, it just shot all the way to my top favorite movies of all time. I made a connection with this movie that I don’t think anyone can break. It has that energy, that truthfulness, that sincerity that I am constantly drawn to in all things in life. And in the movies I watch. If people were more sincere in this world, I believe we would live in a better society. But as it is, people simply don’t call things for what they are. There is one magical scene in Falling Down in which D-fense (played brilliantly by Michael Douglas) walks into a convenience store. He wants some change so he can make a phone call, but the guy in the store tells him that he can’t give him change unless he buys something. D-fense says, you can just give me the change, I don’t have to buy anything from you at all. But he decides to go with the flow and buy something. Problem is, everything is too freaking expensive! Ridiculously expensive. And D-fense takes his trusty bat and begins bashing things in the store that he considers too expensive! That scene was magic for me because that’s actually how I feel about things nowadays. D-fense picks up a Coca Cola and asks how much? Guy says 1.50! D-fense says "unacceptable!" and continues to bash away at everything in the store. Is this an exaggerated and over the top reaction? Most definitely, but hey, you have to admit, he is right. We as consumers are being bled to death for products that don’t cost a dime to produce. D-fense is absolutely freaking right every step of the way, and that is why, when he bashes those soda cans you are right there with him in heart and soul, probably cheering on. Am I right or am I right? Hey, I know Im right cause I was cheering in my living room last night. I cant be the only person in the world to feel the bite of big business. Yup, businesses are biting down and they are biting hard, like a rabid dog trying to rip your arm off. D-fense says "I’m protecting my rights as a consumer!" Damn right you are my friend! Bash those soda cans!

That’s what I love about movies like this one. They tell it like it is. This movie is saying, amongst a bunch of other things "you're charging too much, bring the prices down you greedy bastards!" It is downright electrifying to see a fictional character speak up for the rest of us out here being eaten alive by big corporations. Both you and I know, they could be selling us that can of soda for a lot less right?

There’s an amazing scene where Douglas walks up to a golf field where two rich billionaires are playing golf. The rich bastards are like; get the hell of my lawn! Who the hell are you? Get out! You have no right to be here! You are not even wearing the proper attire! And D-fense walks up to him and tells him this golf course should be a park for little kids to play in. Not a huge piece of land, just so two rich assholes could have it all to themselves and play the silliest game on the planet! I mean, I’ve really, since the day I was born detested golf. Its such a pompous ass sport that only rich people could play, cause you have to dress a certain way, you have to buy all these expensive things for it, and you even have to pay to go into the field and play it. For crying out loud, you even have to belong to some sort of silly club. D-fense once again tells it like it is to these old selfish geezers, who have nothing better to do with their lives then play golf in this gigantic beautiful field that could be used for something so much more useful then what its being used for. Essentially, D-fense is saying this world could really be so much more beautiful if we really wanted it to be. But it isn’t. Because of greed.

So basically, D-fense goes all over town, and everywhere he goes, he meets some other person or confronts some other situation that drives him mad. Want to see what happens when D-fense walks into a hamburger joint? Oh my god. That scene has to be seen to be believed. Its so memorable. The dialog, so crisp, electrifying and poignant. It’s relevant. D-fense talks about things that matter. This my friends, is a movie for our times. Don’t know if things are like this all over the world, but things where I live in are way too expensive. Prices keep going up on things. What will happen in the next 10 years? Will we end up paying 5 dollars for a can of soda? Will there be more cars on the freeway then human beings? By the way, that scene with D-fense in the traffic jam is so amazing. It’s a scene entirely inspired by Federico Fellini's 8 1/2, where we see D-fense sweating away in the traffic jam. Kids screaming, car exhaust choking the air, people fighting, the heat is unbearable. Its no wonder this is where D-fense looses it. I’ve been there myself in that unbearable traffic jam where cars just don’t move an inch! You feel like you are wasting your life away! Trapped inside of this metal box. But everyone has to have a gas guzzler or two. Right?

The traffic jam that makes D-fense go of the deep end

I compare this movie to films like Network (1976) because they are not afraid to scream from the top of their lungs just how messed up things really are. By the way, if you haven’t seen Network, do yourself a favor and check that film out. It has the same spirit as this one, but it aims its guns at the media and the way that it manipulates the masses and public opinion. Falling Down focuses more on criticizing consumerism, big corporations, gang wars, homophobia, fast food restaurants and a number of other themes that you can explore for yourself when you see this movie. It’s similar in nature to American Psycho (2000) and The Driller Killer (1979) where a guy goes nuts and lashes out on society. Question is, what kind of society are we living in that creates a person like D-fense? The film begs to analize the way we are living.

How do we know that this movie is controversial? How do we know its the kind of film most movie studios completely shy away from? Well, we know that precisely because it was rejected by every studio in town! The guy who wrote this script Ebbe Roe Smith, shopped the script around but was denied a green light every time because the film is simply too truthful. Movie execs hate anything that’s too much of the truth. They figure people go to the theater to see lies, they want special effects thrown at them, not the truth. That’s the sick twisted logic by which most studio executives live by. Maybe they are afraid of this movie making people go nuts same way D-fense did? Maybe the are afraid to actually make audiences think a little? But truthfully, the main reason for this films rejection was the scripts controversial nature. Still, this film was destined to be made because one fine day, the script for Falling Down actually fell on Michael Douglas's hands. He read it and thought it was one of the best scripts he had ever read. And so, with a huge star like Michael Douglas attached to the project, the film got made. And thank the movie gods for that! We got one of the most memorable performances ever thanks to those series of events! Shows how much the studio execs know about what makes a good film. For crying out loud, how could you not notice how good a script this was? Michael Douglas could quite possibly have given us his best performance ever in the form of D-fense.

Joel Schumacher might have directed Batman and Robin, but hey, I have to give him some credit for Falling Down, by far, in my opinion, Schumacher's crowning achievement. Rober Duvall only makes this that much more watchable. If you ask me, he is one of the finest actors to walk the face of the earth. On this film he plays the cop who is on his "last day on the job" as is usually the case about cops in movies. Rachel Ticotin, whom some of you might remember as "that latina chick from Total Recall" does a fine job as well. She made me wonder why she dissapeared from the silver screen. Michael Douglas has always been one of my favorite actors, but this film has to rank up there with his finest performances ever. Right up there with Wonder Boys.  Its a great performance that speaks out for a part of society that is often times ignored or taken for granted. Its the part of society that is stomped on the most: The Working Stiff. As D-fense yells at one point: "God Bless The Working Stiff!" 

Thing with characters like D-fense is that you know they are doomed for destruction from the get go. Characters like D-fense are usually right with what they are saying. What they are complaining about makes all kinds of sense. These characters actually have every right to be going crazy from how fucked up things are in the world. I can’t say I blame D-fense for going bat shit insane. I can’t blame him at all. The film also speaks about those who choose to go the “bat-shit insane” route, and what happens to them. Basically, if you scream too loudly against "the system" you’re going to end up in all kinds of trouble. On this film, a pair of cops take a man who is complaining about "not being economically viable" on the streets. He is screaming his lungs off at how unfair the government is treating him. The police come and handcuff him and take him away on their police car. In Richard Linklater’s A Scanner Darkly, a man is screaming out on the streets about the evils of society and what happens to him? He is taken away by a mysterious black van. This type of film criticizes the way things are, but they also warn us about not turning into these characters, because you will have a sad existence in the end. “Big brother” will come down and stomp your face for talking to loud about things you shouldn’t talk about. But hey, at least we got these movies and these characters to vent out our collective frustrations. Will this world ever get better? Will things ever improve? Will the abuse against the consumer ever stop? Who the hell knows. I do hope that someday, things will change. I really do. But anyhow, this movie clicked for me right now. I say it’s a movie for our day and time. Go and watch it right now!

Rating: 5 out of 5