80's Flix Response: Altered States

As I have mentioned in earlier posts, my brother is trying to watch the fifty top-grossing films from every year in the 80's and write about them at his blog, 100 Weeks of 80's Flix. Yesterday, he watched Altered States and I decided I would watch it as well, and then chime in with my response. I just ask that you read his take first.

#34 Altered States

Alright, I knew that this movie was going to be weird, but I was not prepared for a movie that was clearly based around the very concept of weirdness. Not only is there a completely laughable scene when the main character devolves into a monkey-man and fights with a dog, but there is a shot that spends nearly a minute zooming out to reveal a 7-eyed goat-headed man hanging crucified from a cross. On top of that, most of the scenes that weren't hallucinations contained layers of dialogue and sound that were completely unintelligible.

That being said, I did enjoy this movie. Not in spite of those things, but actually because of them. Sure, most of the special effects looked completely ridiculous by todays standards, but that's excusable. The weirdness builds a manic energy that mirrors William Hurt's character's obsession with this concept of unlocking the memories held within atoms. The plot seems completely simplistic (a scientist may be going too far!), but I believe that works to the film's advantage. You don't have to worry about following along with a complex plot while all of this insanity going on. It really allowed director Ken Russell to let loose, overwhelming the viewer's senses. You can bet that if he could have installed something that released scents in your face and various apparatus that poked and prodded you in the theater, he would have.

My Verdict
3.5 Stars
It is hard not to get caught up in this film's wake as it charges forward with little to no interest in plot or character development. Even as the film becomes laughably absurd, it is still hard not to enjoy yourself. Unfortunately, this film now seems entirely dated. The sound and visual aspects are clearly the most important parts of this film, but they do feel 29 years old at this point. I'm sure if I saw this movie in 1980 I would have been properly shocked into enjoyment.

This just in! Sasha Grey is a lot cooler than you (and me, unfortunately).

My good friends (okay, they don't know me at all) at The Rotten Tomatoes Show recently spoke to Sasha Grey, star of the new Steven Soderbergh film The Girlfriend Experience (clip embedded below). Wait, I swear I've seen her in something else though. Let me just check her IMDB page. Hang on just one second. Alright, here we go. Oh yah! Now I remember her. She was in Teenage Whores 3 and Strip Tease and Then F*ck 10, two of my favorites. Okay, kidding aside, she is an adult film actress (or "pornstar" for the less sophisticated), and is starring in The Girlfriend Experience as a high priced escort (or "whore" for the less sophisticated). I haven't gotten to see it yet, but I'm looking forward to it, and hope to see it sometime this week.

But I know what you're thinking: "She has experience doing this type of thing, so she probably doesn't really have to act. She's just a vapid pornstar, right? No real knowledge about film?" Well, prepare to be drop kicked right off that high horse.

Enjoy:

Triumphant Return!

Alright, here's what I've been up to. Movie-wise. I think I may be forgetting some things, but I haven't watch TOO much since I've been so busy.

Movies Purchased
Very little purchased recently (although, quite a bit of TV on DVD/Blu-Ray)

8 1/2
Picked up Fellini's masterpiece for $6 at Blockbuster, very happy about that. The very best film about film (though it's about much more than that). It has inspired a play, that was turned into a novel, that inspired a musical, that is being turned into the movie Nine. So now's a good time if you've never seen this one.

Australia
Bought this one at the behest of the girlfriend. I have to agree with almost every other review I read on this one. First half good, second half bad. Looks pretty nice though.

Vicky Christina Barcelona
Good movie with some great performances. The best Woody Allen has done in quite some time. Although, being a painter makes it weird to watch movies about painters, but I have to say this is better than most others in that respect.

Fanboys
A strong comedy for Star Wars nerds (like myself). Worth the wait? Probably not. Don't expect too much, and you'll be pleasantly surprised. Seth Rogen fighting himself is good for a few extra laughs too.

Movies Rented
I am having trouble getting a good rhythm going for my Netflix, but I'm working on it.

Yes Man (Blu-Ray)
I wasn't really expecting too much with this one, but it's actually very good. Does it have similarities to Liar Liar? Of course, the comedy is the same but the jokes are all new, so I don't have a big problem with that.

Twilight (Blu-Ray)
Alright, so I figured I had to watch this one, seeing as I'm supposed to be reviewing movies now. I have to say it wasn't horrible, it was worse than that. It was mediocre at times and just plain stupid at others. This movie is written to be over-acted, but somehow they manage to push it beyond acceptable limits. And yet, my girlfriend is demanding we see the next one as soon as it comes out in theaters. Girls.

Elizabeth & Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Another request from the girlfriend. I had never seen either of these. The first was great, but the second was a sub-par movie with a great performance by Cate Blanchett.

Milk (Blu-Ray)
A decent biopic that may have stuck a little too closely to the facts. Why this got so much more mainstream attention than Van Sant's far superior Paranoid Park I may never understand.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Blu-Ray)
A solid, enjoyable film that got a little too much praise. The whole movie looked fantastic, and the concept could make for a great movie, but the story just doesn't cut it. That said, this type of special effect/makeup work being used in period drama like this was great to see, and I hope this establishes a strong enough precedent for other films to follow (and it seems that Criterion agrees with me).

Movies Watched

Les Chansons de Amour (Love Songs)
A French musical about the relationship between a boy and two girls (yes they are all involved with each other). Sounds great right? Well, it was, just not exactly what I thought it would be. It is more about people dealing with a terrible tragedy, with singing!

The entire Planet of the Apes collection
Ah, Planet of the Apes, a great Sci-Fi film followed by a couple terrible films and a couple good ones. A fun way to spend a Sunday morning regardless.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine
I've been reading (yes, I still do) X-Men comics since I was six or so. So everytime a new movie comes out, I'm expecting a lot. I am always as least a little disappointed (X2 came so close though!). This time, not only was it as X-Men movie, but we finally got to see Gambit and Deadpool! So you can imagine how disappointing it was when this movie was just plain terrible. Cheesy does not even begin to describe this one. Ryan Reynolds did not disappoint as Wade Wilson (who will become Deadpool), but that lasted a solid 5 minutes. It was all downhill from there unfortunately.

Star Trek
Now this is what a summer movie should be. Explosions and aliens. It was exactly like any other Star Trek movie, except it was exciting and fun to watch. Now, I love Star Trek (although Star Wars is better), so it's a bit sad to think there won't be any more movies or shows based in the original continuity, but if the new continuity is always this good, I'm sure I'll get over it. And, no, you don't need to know anything about Star Trek to see this film.

Broken English
Watched this little indie romantic comedy on Netflix Watch Instantly. Nice little film. Clever at times, inexplicable at others. Parker Posey is great, as she often is. It was refreshing to see a RomCom about a girl finding the right man that didn't make the girl the perfect woman. I was amazed that I didn't think I would want to date this girl even though she was Parker Posey. That said, I was happy when things started to go her way.