Reviews

Terry Gilliam stands out as a true auteur. His wit and injection of satire into his work has made him one of my favorite writer/directors. In his films he often portrays a highly structured society that is cold and pedantic, stifling freedom and imagination. In Baron Munchausen, he uses an enormous budget from Columbia Pictures to create a vivid adventure in the "late 18th century" during the "Age of Reason". Seemingly disdainful about this designation, he once again satirizes government and society, its cruelness, pettiness, and vanity, and the apparent loss of imagination to "logic and reason".

The story is highly fantastical and absurd, with an adventurer, Baron Munchausen, traveling the world in search of his old crew to end a war that he started long ago. Along the way he will go to the Moon and talk to the moon king, whose unique dichotomy of animalistic instinct and intellectual aspiration satirize the powerful. He will fall inside a volcano, meet the God Vulcan and the Goddess Venus, and later get swallowed up by a giant fish. This may sound great, and it certainly is. The reason this movie is not a 10/10, however, is due to some unfortunate weaknesses throughout. Though the scenery and special effects can be quite dazzling, and the sardonic humor amusing, this film lacks any real clarity or purpose, and the sheer madness can be tedious. At two and a half hours, it is also long. I found myself watching amused, but not engaged, all the way to the end; an ending which left me even more uncertain as to exactly what I had just seen. Great for the inner child, though you might want to keep away from real children as sexual content, poignant images (such as a man with his eyes sewn shut), and numerous beheadings might be disturbing to young ones.

Soylent Green is a sort of sci-fi noir that takes place in an overpopulated New York in 2022. Building on fears that were prevalent at the time concerning the environment and greenhouse effects, Soylent Green depicts a world devoid of natural life, but overflowing with humans and urban decay.

Charlton Heston plays a hardened detective much in line with the type pioneered by Raymond Chandler in his crime novels: rough, tough, and grounded in an undesirable reality. His investigation into a murder case is going to reveal a hidden conspiracy that will put his life in jeopardy.

The premise the film seems to be a clever synthesis of crime drama and old-school science fiction. But where the ideas are exciting and full of potential, none of them are fully developed, explained, or utilized. There is very little character development from anybody, and the acting itself seems mediocre at best. The ending culminates from very little evolution or explanation, and then concludes abruptly leaving this particular viewer dissatisfied.

The movie Wall-E is a touching work of science fiction that manages to bridge the gap between child and adult. Wall-E is left abandoned on a decrepit planet Earth, with the directive of compacting and organizing the leftover trash. Having been alone for a great amount of time, his entire reality and purpose going to change.

Bringing into perspective moral conflicts of consumerism and big business, the film displays an ominous conclusion for the Earth we live in today. All this stands in stark contrast to the robot himself, who demonstrates a loving personality and emotions such as curiosity, empathy, and loneliness. It is hard not to be drawn in to Wall-E's charm.

Viewers will undoubtedly be taken by the stunning graphics, amazingly detailed scenery, and creative characters. But for those looking for more, you will find a thought-provoking story that brings into question our behavior and responsibility on this planet. Definitely recommended for young and old alike...

Before watching this film I knew a decent amount about the father of Gonzo journalism, and everything I had learned seemed to suggest a man whose many contradictions made his overall nature hard to grasp. For this reason I praise this film for doing a remarkable job of really digging into the essence of all that is Hunter S. Thompson, including his writing, his lifestyle, his acquaintances, and primarily his impact upon America.

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S.Thompson methodically covers the bulk of Hunter's life from his boyhood to his untimely suicide. With interviews from many of his close friends and relatives, as well as some substantial political figures, the movie does a great job of putting his life in perspective. Consequently, it brings with it the energy and intensity that was pervasive in those times and places, like San Francisco in the early 60s. But Hunter's life is far more than sheer counterculture excitement, and the film covers the many events of civil disarray that Thompson fell witness to, and that shaped his cynical view of modern-day America.

The film manages to draw many parallels to the afflictions of our nation today, such as the war in Iraq and Bush administration. It follows Hunter's life all the way to the end, and in spite of the last quarter of the movie being a bit too lengthy, closes decently. For its effectiveness and emotional force, this is a must-see for Gonzo fans.

Warren Spector's Deus Ex: Invisible War, is quite simply inferior to the original game. While many aspects of it show a clear effort to refine certain dynamics and elements of gameplay, many of the old game's unique characteristics have been lost or dampened in the process.

Level design has changed a bit, with smaller, more compact maps that bring players into closer proximity with their enemies than in the first game. It has been my experience that this tends to limit the practical choice of weapons throughout gameplay.

Speaking of weapons, there are upgrades that can be performed to expand their usability and effectiveness, just like in the original Deus Ex. But whereas in the original game kick, reload time, magazine capacity, range, accuracy, and other factors could be improved upon, the new game primarily tends to focus the mods on giving weapons unique, new, James Bond-like capabilities. For hardcore fans of the original game, this might feel a bit contrived and unrealistic, such as the option to have your weapon disintegrate glass silently or have a bullet do EMP damage. It does make gameplay more interesting, but I found myself missing the ability to systematically enhance your preferred weapon of choice into a more dangerous and lethal instrument.

Ammo too seems to have been overlooked. In the original game each weapon had its unique ammo. In Invisible War, there is a certain nanotech ammo that conforms to different calibres and weapons. In accordance with the nanotech atmosphere that is pervasive in both the storyline and atmosphere, this is appropriate, but it seems to be less realistic or credible.

Ostensibly related to the refined game dynamics and a move towards being a truer FPS, Invisible War has also dropped certain other elements of the original game that might have seemed too extraneous. The leveling system of the original, where players could improve their skills with different weapons, computers, swimming, etc, is a thing of the past.

The storyline is a separate area for debate. I have a feeling most people will be quite satisfied with the plot, as it expounds upon a globalized world network with several dissident political, religious, and science-based factions. It takes place two decades after Deus Ex and features all the conspiracy and political philosophy present in the first game, though at times it seems much more morally ambivalent, with several choices of contradicting quests, none of which seem to be anything short of seedy and unethical. There seems to be less freedom to use your own judgment if you wish to uphold justice or attempt to do the right thing. No matter what group you choose to assist, you will find yourself performing questionable assassinations and subversive actions. On a separate note, though, there are several different possible outcomes to view, giving the game good replay value.

In the end, if you can enjoy this game as a cyberpunk FPS with elements of RPG, and just have fun seeing the different possible outcomes, Deus Ex: Invisible War has the capacity to provide many hours of enjoyable gameplay. I do hope, however, that Deus Ex: 3 will be an FPS-style RPG like the original, not an RPG-style FPS.