Chappie (2015)

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I’m going to make this a short one. I don’t know if I understand the message in Chappie, but even if I do, I’m not sure that I agree with it. It’s hard to say because the movie is just a mess of mangled, mixed-up morality. It often seems at odds with itself and leaves you scratching your head at its ambiguousness. For example (very slight spoiler), our “hero” (Dev Patel) is told he can’t bring home the leftover robot to experiment on. (Which, let’s face it, would seem a little creepy to most employers. “Sooo….why do you want it, again?”) So he just takes it. That’s right—the hero is an office thief. And we’re not just talking about a box of pens or a stapler or some paper clips, here; this is (I assume) a multi-million dollar piece of equipment. Continue reading

Don’t Blink (2014)

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Another film that surprised me. I expected a slap-dash, made-for-tv, paint-by-numbers horror film. After all, it stars Brian Austin Green, and the guy who I always refer to as “the dude who played Christopher Titus’ stupid brother” (Zack Ward). But although the story did have a “made for TV” vibe about it, the overall quality was pretty good. Ward was a little over the top, but from him, we can buy it. He does “crazy” well. Green and the others did a good job. I liked him in the Fox show “The Sarah Conner Chronicles,” too, so I guess he’s slowly been converting me. Good for him. The others are solid, especially Joanne Kelly as Claire. Continue reading