Ribaue, Mozambique
Friday, February 29, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Smalltime
Smalltime - 1996
In this installment in the incompetent crook genre, Glenn Plummer plays Ben, a small time, but up and coming crook in the employ of The Dutchman. He is entrusted with a half million dollars worth of cocaine and instructed to hold on to it for a couple days in the desert until the buyer comes. Ben sees this as his opportunity to move up the ladder in the organization and be a big player.
What should be routine soon turns into a nightmare. Ben brings along his two partners, Jesus and Marty, who are constantly bickering. The next couple days in the desert prove to be Ben's unraveling.
The movie has tones of Tarentino in the witty dialog and violent narrative - drugs, amateur dealers, prostitutes... all intertwined into a fast moving and explosive ending. That being said we see overtones of Oliver Stone in the mysticism of an Indian shaman. And over top all of this is the desert. The desert is a pivotal character in the film. You can see it, smell it, and taste it. Several characters become lost in it for a time and try to extract something to drink from a drying stick plant. This movie works in the desert location. If the city was the setting it would have been a lame imitation of a hundred similar movies.
It was interesting to see Rae Dawn Chong , daughter of Tommy Chong, show up as the money collector. She has a great film presence. Look for her in the more well known Color Purple. Here she shows range with a role that puts her as an assertive and ruthless gangster.
Smalltime is currently out of print - with no plans to reprint. Keep a watch out for additional pressings as this is a must have for your dumb crook in the desert movie collection.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Land of the Blind
Land of the Blind - 2006
Cinematographer Emmanuel Kadosh creates an over exposed world where stark faces are bleached out and white rooms are washed into a single visual that is fascinating to see. Attention is given to costume & set design and they come together to bring us a world that is part fantasy, part period piece.
The movie is narrated by Joe (Ralph Fiennes) from his jail cell. We are given periods of his life throughout the pervious couple decades that tell the story of how he got there. As a security guard for the country's most dangerous political prisoner, Thorne (Donald Sutherland) he begins to sympathize with the prisoner and questions whether the current dictator Maximilian II (Tom Hollander) is really good for the country. He comes to the conclusion that he isn't and the ensuing series of events puts him at odds with his country, no matter who is in charge.
The different repressive governments represented here are fascinating. We see shades of fascist dictatorship, socialist revolution, Islamofascism, military authoritarianism, demented child king and media manipulation. There is no left or right lean, no current political comment to make. This is political satire at its best. It says, "Absolute power corrupts, absolutely." This is about the fragility of the human condition, not about any particular belief system.
Tom Hollander looks like he is having great fun with this script. Obviously there are veiled references to North Korea's leader Kim Jong-il in his character. Fiennes is always intense and riveting in his work. I first saw him in Schindler's List as the German camp officer Amon Goeth. His roles always seem to require such intensity.
Land of the Blind disappeared from the theatres almost as soon as it was released. I'm bucking the trend here giving it 4 stars. Most critics panned it. Perhaps they missed the satire. The acting is top notch and if you are looking for a political message to support your personal theories, you will be disappointed. I didn't and I wasn't.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Preliminary Nebula Awards
2007 Preliminary Nebula Awards
The annual Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), for some the best science fiction and fantasy fiction published in the United States during the two previous years.
Nebula & Norton Award Winners
Novel: Seeker, by Jack McDevitt
(Ace, Nov05)
Novella: "Burn," by James Patrick Kelly (podcast version)
(Tachyon Publications, Dec05)
Novelette: "Two Hearts," by Peter S. Beagle
(F&SF, Oct/Nov05)
Short Story: "Echo," by Elizabeth Hand
(F&SF, Oct/Nov05)
Script: Howl's Moving Castle, by Hayao Miyazaki, Cindy Davis Hewitt, and Donald H. Hewitt (Studio Ghibli and Walt Disney Pictures, U.S. Premier 10 Jun05. Based on the novel by Diana Wynne Jones.)
Andre Norton Award: Magic or Madness, by Justine Larbalestier
(Penguin Razorbill, May05)
Friday, February 1, 2008
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