5 posts tagged “movie”

Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman
Dir. Frank Darabont

I've been wanting to watch this one for quite some time and finally caught an extended period of time this weekend. 

What a marvelous piece of acting and dialogue.  Of creating mood and atmosphere, in varying points in time (it's almost an American history lesson).  People before have referenced this movie and its characters the same way we quote Star Wars, Bogart and Don Corleone.  I now understand their inspiration.


I always assumed there was something mystical about this movie with the cumbersome title and spiritual image of Tim Robbins, being cleansed in the rain.  I thought the story and characters would be way more magical because the source material was Stephen King.  I am so very glad that it wasn't the case.

With an infinite bytes of digital power at every filmmaker's disposal, it appears harder than ever to portray the simple power of humanity with words and thought.  I had to look up the year that this movie was released.  My inital guess was way the hell off, which I guess says something about what sells these days.  Gads, I feel old.

But good rises up somehow: good quality anyway.


*** 1/2 (out of 4).

My friend came across the destruction of Varsity Theater and snapped a few photos.  I was in Japan last week and had NO idea that the time bomb was even ticking.

This was the last real movie house in town, showing primarily foreign cinema in the multiplex theater era.  It also was the home of Hawaii's longest-running film festival (I met Edward James Olmos there in '84 or '85) at a time when movies were a dominant force in my life.  This was a place where I saw big-time Hollywood films ("Romancing The Stone," "Dirty Dancing") and the recent "arty-farty" stuff that my co-workers associated me with (too many to mention -- the likes of "Crumb" and "Ghost World").

Movies are often used as a social tool in Hawaii.  Can't think of anything to do tonight, there's always a movie.  Except why go to a duplex when the monstrosity at the mall offers a couple dozen.  Parking's free, too.  Varsity Theater was doomed as the millennium rolled over, along with hundreds of memories.

Didja know Varsity showed the "Kikaida" 3-D movie in '87?  Oh, yes it DID.

I watched Kamen Rider The First for the second time yesterday and I gotta say, I think it's even worse than I realized the first time.  The fight scenes are good and the motorcycle stunts are engaging.  But the drama is still sappy and drags things down.  And the insipid side tale of the WaT dude and his girly girlfriend does a disservice to the Kamen Rider legacy.  I thought Wentz's whining was bad but the love triangle between the Riders and Brand X is equally so.

Some other thoughts (spoilers):

-- What happened to Ichimonji's blood rejections?  Did he just take longer than Hongo did to revert back to normalcy?
-- I thought kaizoningens can't cavort with humans so why does Hongo still think he has a chance with the intrepid reporter?
-- So is Ichimonji the same guy as the reporter's fiancee?  Did he get reborn with a new name as well as becoming a "Hopper"?
-- Are there two more unlikely and unrealistic Shocker members than Eiji Wentz and the girly girl?  And how come THEY didn't blow up after getting Rider-kicked?  Come on!
-- Does anyone REALLY think Issa of Da Pump could/would be a top officer in the Shocker hierarchy, even if he could pull off the butterfly twist?  And who's the chick on the Shocker video screen?  Looks like Becky...