Film Geek

Year: 2005
Director: James Westby
Writer: James Westby
Genre: Comedy

Film Geek is a devise movie. If you're a film geek you might think this is a great watch. I think that only people who consider themselves such should attempt to watch the movie. However, it might disgust and turn off film fans because it may hit a little too close to home. Or it may just serve as a hilarious example of the worst of film fans. I don't know, but I enjoyed it.

The film centers around a huge film fan. He's good-hearted and runs his own movie blog (which has zero hits). He works at a rental store and loves attempting to recommend films to everyone who comes in. The only problem is that he's completely blind to the fact he's viewed by everyone as annoying. He is not well versed in the ways of social life. He'll just blabber on and on about films to anyone who is in his vicinity. Films are his life - he has no other interests.

The movie feels older than 2005 but maybe that's due to almost every movie in the film being on VHS. It's definitely a blast from the past to see aisles packed with the wonderful boxes. It made me a little sad that the character's social ineptitude kept me from liking him more. However, I still rooted for him through a good portion of the film.

For anyone who considers themselves a big movie fan they might as well check it out. It also serves as a good warning to not act like this guy.

Following

Year: 1998
Director: Christopher Nolan
Writer: Christopher Nolan
Genre: Mystery, Drama

I'm starting to think I'm not a fan of Christopher Nolan. I'm sure that's blasphemous to say in the film community but I just can't get into his movies. He seems to really like nonlinear storytelling, which I suppose is fine, but I don't like how the eventual reveals are meant to be huge deals. I've seen Memento and Inception and didn't enjoy either of them. I'm sure that will lose me a few fans right there.

Honestly, I just don't find the point to these films. But this is not a discussion of those other movies this is a discussion of Following. I wasn't grabbed right at the start and never ended up getting grabbed. I had a bit of trouble distinguishing between characters. Because I did have this issue may mean that was purposeful and "significant" but I never caught on to the significance. I'm not a stupid movie-watcher by any means it just never clicked.

As for the story that was being told nothing really interesting seemed to be going on. I'm not really a fan of crime or mafia/gang drama as is so that may have been why. I liked the look of the film, at least. It was very attractively done in black and white. I'm not sure if that was necessary but I suppose it was an unusual noir tale.

So, fans of Memento would probably find a great film here. If not though, then feel free to skip right over this.

Fat Head

Year: 2009
Director: Tom Naughton
Writer: Tom Naughton
Genre: Documentary

I've got to tell you something. Nutrition, exercise, and all that kinda stuff is a big interest of mine. Possibly because of that, I've watched Super Size Me at least 5 times since it was released. It was a pretty interesting movie and when it came out I was knee deep in learning about the horrible truths behind our mass produced food culture.

It's maybe because of this that I was so shocked by Fat Head. It's basically a RE: Super Size Me where the attempt is to completely debunk what was said in it. Talking about the fact that grains and the like are not actually that amazing for you in high quantities, saturated fat being necessary in more than "low fat" degrees, and that sort of thing. Almost everything said in the film went against my old notions about nutrtion and what is honestly healthy for us.

I can't say whether or not I fully believe what was said, because it's such a stark difference from what I've always been told. And yet, it was all presented in such a convincing fashion I was rivited and soaked it up. There were many books mentioned through the course of the film and I now have the urge to read them. I want to see if the way I've been handling diet (regular food diet not weight loss diet) is completely wrong. If it is, I'll be angry at the world who has hammered it in that these foods, supplements, and nutrients are good for me.

The documentary is pretty humorous and presents facts in a very easy to digest fashion, even if they are "strange" claims. The proof presented in the film is also shown with hard results and numbers as opposed to the psuedoscience from Super Size Me. I'll need to watch it again to start wrapping my mind around what was being said before I can start debunking or believing the claims.

Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare

Year: 1991
Director: Rachel Talalay
Writer: Wes Ccraven, Rachel Talalay, Michael De Luca
Genre: Horror: Slasher

This here is the final of the Freddy films although that is a misleading statement. After it there still was A New Nightmare and after that still Freddy VS Jason and then finally the 2010 remake. However, in regards to the initial story told in the first films, this is the last movie to pertain to it directly.

While the last film was hanging on by a thread, this one just goes over the deep end. After the last, they could have easily picked up on the story of Alice's unborn baby years later as a teenager. However, this doesn't happen at all. Instead they focus on Freddy's daughter that he had when he was alive. It is all a little odd.

The effects seem to finally have passed their prime as they now look hilariously goofy. It almost feels like this movie attempted to become a real "Hollywood" type movie but the series has never been like that. The creative spark of effects has been replaced by boring, late 80s effects that nobody would be excited to see. Apparently, it was also first shown in 3D. It didn't feel like a 3D movie when I watched it, which is a very good thing. There's nothing that bothers me more than movies that have things "reaching out" at you just to make use of the 3D gimmick. Thinking about it, at least now it finally makes sense why the lead character wore 3D glasses at a certain point in the movie. Maybe it was to signal the audience to do so as well.

Anyways, Freddy dies in a really boring way too. Spoilers: He gets pulled out of the dream world so he has no special powers anymore. Then he basically gets beat up to death. That is not the way a supernatural child killer deserves to go!

PS: There was the oddest bit of product placement I've seen since The Wizard as well. One of Freddy's murder involves bringing a stoner into a video game. Freddy then controls the game with his knife glove set up a bit like a  Power Glove and even goes so far as to say "Now I'm playing with power!". I don't think this could have ever been hilarious to a mature gaming audience, but hokey. I guess it's a testament to the relatively young fanbase for the series that they put this kind of thing in.