Film Club 2K6 Vol 2

Okay, it’s only week 2 and I’ve already fallen off of the horse. I only really saw one new movie with which to write about. But I’ll try to put something together anyway.

End of the Spear

Okay, so I was supposed to see a preview screening of this movie last week over on Capitol Hill. Since I work less than 5 minutes from the theater, I had a couple of hours to kill before the movie. Naturally, I and a couple of friends of mine decided to go have a couple of drinks at a nearby bar to pass the time.

Two hours later I was drunk.

Suffice to say I really don’t have anything to say about the movie except that I’m sure it was good, and I probably would have recommended it. If you’re curious what it’s about, check out its page on IMDB here.

Batman and Robin

Now, technically I had already seen this movie nearly a decade ago. However it was so bad I walked out of the theater, so I hadn’t actually seen the end. So, when I got the Batman box set, I was given the chance to experience this movie one more time.

I was actually quite curious to check it out. I only vaguely remembered the flick, and it was considered such a disaster that even Joel Schumacher had publicly apologized for it. The box set comes with a really interesting, no holds barred, documentary about the series, and I found the candidness about what they had to say about this film was rekindling my urge to see the film.

Anyway…it sucks. But it doesn’t just suck. This is so amazingly awful that you can’t help but at least wonder how it got made in the first place. I literally couldn’t find one redeeming aspect of the entire two hour experience. A quote from “Billy Madison” kept creeping into my head:

“Mr. Schumacher, the movie you’ve made is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever seen. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.”

Now, Schumacher has since said that the studio was insisting on two things.
1. That the film be even more family friendly than Batman Forever.
That’s easier said than done. Batman is not Spider-man. He’s naturally a dark character and, if he’s done right (see Batman Begins), he shouldn’t be family friendly. It’s contrary to the spirit of the character. You may as well have Darth Vader working a lemonade stand.
2. That the film be Toy-etic.
This means that there needs to be lots and lots of things that could be made into toys…hence the multiple costumes and batmobiles, etc. George Lucas has proved that you can drown a movie with things that are there solely to sell toys (see Aurra Sing)

So, he’s basically handed a no win scenario. But then again Kirk was faced with the no-win situation with the Kobayashi Maru scenario, and he found a way around it (see Wrath of Khan), so in my book that doesn’t get Joel off the hook.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel for this film. After watching it, I’m pretty sure that there’s a really good drinking game somewhere in there.

Devil’s Playground

An actual movie I had never seen before, that I actually sat through! Can you believe it?

This is a brilliant documentary about the Amish. Sound boring? It’s not.

Whenever an Amish child turns 16, they begin a period called “Rumspringa”. This is basically a time in which they have to choose between joining the church or entering the real world. One day they’re continuing along an extremely sheltered life, the next they get introduced to sex, drugs and rock and roll all at once. As you would expect, most of them go overboard and party like rock stars.

The really fascinating about this flick are the characters. You meet people from all sides. Whether it’s people who decided to leave the Amish world and have had to deal with losing they’re families, or people who went back to the church and why that was. But the focus of the film is of a group of kids who are still trying to decide. Some are already packing their bags, some think they’ll go back. One character (the preachers son) in particular gets so hooked on Crystal Meth that even though he wants to go back to the Amish, he can’t.

This documentary is fascinating and I would recommend it to all of you. The first time you see a bunch of Amish girls in bonnets smoking cigarettes and drinking Coors lite, you can’t help but chuckle, but after that you get engrossed in every one of these characters.