Buddha's Rhubarb Of Opinions On Media

Glib Reviews Of Old Movies Everything Is Coming Up Zardoz! Day 4 After a mid festival break so I could go to choir rehearsal, I got back on the 70’s Sci Fi wagon last night, which this time was filled with cheese, oh so much cheese, and some disturbingly relevant to the culture of today observations from two very culty Sci Fi flicks from the 70’s. I wanted to write: “Ye Olde 70’s,” just then. Who am I? Stan Lee?  John Carpenter’s not nearly as dated as you remember Dark Star, and the Disney Film everyone remembers as one of the worst of their childhood, isn’t/they aren’t so terrible, not at all.  But let’s get on to the actual Reviews, True Believers! Dark Star - Directed By John Carpenter It might seem too obvious a choice to pair a film called Dark Star, with one called The Black hole. It is indeed an apt pairing. I had quite an enjoyable evening of cheese and humour, as well as some great cornball low budget fx (Dark Star) and some gorgeous han...

Glib reviews Of recent DVD Releases Boyhood - Directed by Richard Linklater (Always- Spoilers - it’s a review!) Now here’s a movie with a lot of hype. Some of it is deserved. The gimmick of the film doesn’t spoil the picture, but rather entices you to be interested. Linklater and all his actors met once a year for 12 years  and filmed a part of the story. This gave them a lot of time to get the story right, or make the story seem as innovative as the technique of filming.  Definitely the most interesting parts of the film are in the visual storytelling, the distinct sense you get of what its like to watch someone grow up. Some years, the only way you know it is a year later is that they mention the next grade, or the characters have moved. Kids grow in spurts, thus the next couple of years and boom it all seems in fast motion.  The first half of the film for my money should have been called Familyhood, or something slightly catchier. The main chara...

My Glib List of the Best Movies that I saw in 2014 As usual, the last few years, the sheer volume of DVDs that I watched has fallen off. This year may be my steepest decline since I started U of M film studies in 1984. The up side of this is that almost all the movies I saw this year were at least pretty good, worth a watch. I don’t recall turning anything off part way in, but maybe that happened.  I definitely fell asleep in a few viewings, including two films on many folks best of lists.  There were a few very disappointing films, some so ridiculously bad, that they are in my own personal “so bad its good” category. Also, as is my wont with these lists, the categories are my own vague loose categories, and I include links to my own earlier in the year reviews, where there are also trailers for each flick. My current opinion of the films may be warmer or colder, depending on whether I have re-watched them, or just thought, discussed and worked out a better or ...

Glib Reviews Of Recent DVD Releases Coherence Directed By James Ward Byrkit   Coherence starts out as a typical old friends with the usual complicated personal histories getting together for a big dinner kind of movie. Then the lights go out, and the movie becomes quickly a suspenseful sci-fi alternate universe flick. It does so extremely well with a whip smart script and great acting from an ensemble of familiar actors mostly of the guest star, third banana variety according to imdb. But that shows you how much talent there is out there, as everyone in this is solid. One of the best ensemble pieces I have seen in a few years, is Coherence.  The biggest name actors in the piece are in chronological hipness, Elizabeth Gracen - Amanda from Highlander Raven ! (nerd swoon), Xander from Buffy The series (Nicholas Brendan ,) who plays an actor named Mike who says he was in Roswell for four years in one of the best meta moments of the movie. Also on board is Max (Maury...