Jasper Journal

While I enjoy good movies, I primarily watch them on DVD at home. It takes a really unique movie to get me to go to the theater to see it at ridiculously high prices. That being said though, there were a number of movies in 2010 that I would recommend. As you can see, my preference is for humor, Sci Fi,  and action. If you would like to add your favorites, please do.

Humor:

 Date Night: silly slapstick, but Tina Fey and Steve Correll just really hit it off

Knight and Day: likewise, the teaming of Cameron Diaz and Tom Cruise was great! This was a cute movie with lots of action.

Bounty Hunter: I just like Jennifer Anniston

Sci Fi :

Splice:  an underrated thriller about gene splicing with horrendous consequences

Resident Evil Afterlife: The fourth in the resident Evil series but I think one of the best. Mila Jovavich just keeps getting better. Go Alice!

Twilight-Eclipse: This is the third in the Twilight vampire-werewolf series. Action packed and surprisingly well acted… except for Edward.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: The next to last installment of the wizard series and very well done.

Late releases from 2009 :

Chloe: very suspenseful and disturbing  drama with Amanda Seyfried and Julianne Moore. 

The Hangover: I just cant help laughing at that movie no matter how many times I see it.

Zombieland: Absolutely unique approach to a buddy movie film with zombies. Another funny movie

I did not like critically acclaimed City Island or Inception . I guess I am just not a movie reviewer type. But I know what makes me smile or stay interested.  I Hope these reviews help you out next time you are in a video store or renting on-line.

Two weeks ago I saw a sci fi movie, Splice,  that stretched the boundaries in many different areas.  It was not horror/slasher, it was  science fiction with a scare. Along the way  it raised ethical and philosophical questions that we sometimes don’t want to address. If you read  the reviews, people either love it or hate it. I found it immensely interesting and thought provoking.  I recommended it to another reader who saw it tonight and felt compelled to write this review. I am  including it as I think it shows the kind of reaction one can have from a well developed sci fi movie.  I don’t think it will be around long, and it is not for everyone’s taste. But read the review here, and if you are intrigued, catch it before it leaves theaters.  You you will not forget the questions raised.  Whatever you do this weekend, enjoy ,and we’ll see you on Monday..

“Splice” ….Disturbingly Delicious    by Patti from New York

 The highest form of art should function to change one’s perspective for the better or at least  make the viewer or listener examine their perspectives.  “Splice”, a new science fiction thriller starring Adrien Brody did just that and more.  It was disturbing, as one could see the horrors of cloning, abortion, animal experimentation, etc. and delicious in that it told the horrors of cloning, abortion, animal experimentation, etc… We are forced to think about these very disturbing realities, but, yes, also forced to figure out ways to stop them.

 In “Splice” also starring Sarah Polley, two genetic engineers specialize in splicing DNA from various creatures which results in incredible hybrids.  The next step is to combine human DNA in their next hybrid that might assist in finding the cures for various diseases. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is retold in an all too real setting illustrating horrific events resulting from genetic combinations of different species brought to life and then, of course, one in particular. 

 This movie may appear low-budget and a bit ghoulish, but is worth seeing in that it has made me examine my perspectives very carefully.  (As I suggested, one of the highest forms of art should accomplish this.) Also,there are scenes of a sexual nature which were not explicit but were important to show just how much can go wrong when one makes decisions that are against all valued codes of ethics.

 Questions that I asked myself during and after viewing the movie are as follows:

Do we have the right to cause any living creature suffering for any purpose other than in self-defense?

Do we have the right to create something in a laboratory that is born to suffer only to please the ego of mankind’s furtherance of technology?   (There are other manners of scientific experimentation that do not depend upon the suffering of others for the furtherance of science, important as that is.)

Don’t all creatures have souls?  Many believe the fetus does as do I. 

 The Nazis conducted cruel experiments on Jews because they wished to further their scientific knowledge and they were sadistic and barbaric.  We are experimenting on innocents  in labs.  Are we any less guilty? The characters in the movie realized their guilt and lost their moral compass early on.  We need more movies and books like this to remind us not to lose ours

Taking a break from the intense political environment by seeing a  movie is good for the soul; there’s just so much angst one can take. Sometimes  though, the movies leave a lot to be desired.  I saw Night Train with Lee Lee Sobieski this weekend, and up to the last thirty seconds, I liked the movie. What it left to be desired was an ending. So unless you are an avid existentialist or nihilist or both, this may not be for you.

My Friend Paul from Virginia sent in the next review  for your consideration.  Thanks Paul.

If you see a movie that you would like to recommend or review,  please forward the info or add it to the movie post. 

Ghost Writer, reviewed by Paul

My wife and I recently saw “Ghost Writer,” which had received very good reviews.  It was a suspenseful, well-acted film which keeps you on the edge of your seat.  At times the main character does not appear too bright, but he’s a likable chap.

Unfortunately, the movie falls prey to the stereotypical Hollywood conspiracy theory.  I won’t ruin the film, but suffice it to say that a U.S. Government agency orchestrates international events, including murder to eliminate those who have discovered its secret.

Throughout the film, we are given to moralizing about torture, illegal rendition, war crimes, breaking of international law, etc, to include a swipe at former President Bush and his Cabinet.  There is only one mention of the fact that terrorists are out to destroy us, provided in an elegant short soliloquy by Pierce Brosnan.

What makes all this moralizing especially hard to accept is that the film was directed by Roman Polanski.  Here’s a man who, at the age of 43, plied a 13-year-old girl with alcohol and Quaalude, then proceeded to have sex with her multiple times despite repeated protests on her part.   Of course, celebrities (idiots?) like Whoopi Goldberg state that it was not “rape-rape.”  If this is not the definition of rape, then there is no such thing as rape. When Polanski faced jail time (on reduced charges), he fled to Europe, where he continues to make movies.

Now we can be entertained by sermonizing from a convicted fugitive pedophile (Where is Dog the Bounty Hunter when we really need him?). It is grotesque and obscene.  Had I realized Polanski made this movie I would have boycotted it.