BlacKkKlansman (2018)

I’ve often wondered what an alien race might think of us.  I pointed out in a review of Dark Girls that they might not want much to do with us, given how we treat each other.  We have groups like the Ku Klux Klan that espouse the supremacy of those descended through Europe.  We tend to look down on each other.

When Ron Stallworth joined the Colorado Springs Police Department, he wanted to work undercover.  He got his chance by reporting on a rally hosted by local Black student union.  Speaking is Kwame Ture, who inspires Stallworth.  (Stallworth doesn’t agree with everything Ture has to say, but admits that he’s a powerful speaker.)

One day, while reading the newspaper, Stallworth sees an ad for the local KKK chapter.  On a whim, he calls and leaves a message.  This leads to a callback and a meeting.  It’s bad enough that Stallworth used his actual name.  Now, he needs to enlist fellow undercover officer Phillip Zimmerman.  Stallworth will be the voice on the phone while Zimmerman will play Stallworth for any face-to-face meeting.  The objective is to bring down the chapter of the Klan.  Although that doesn’t happen, the police do manage to stop a few cross burnings.

The movie is based on a 2014 book that Stallworth wrote about the investigation.  While I would imagine that the story is by and large true to the book, it looks like some liberties were taken.  (Ron Stallworth never actually altered his voice on the phone, for instance.)  It’s still interesting to see the events play out.  Apparently, Stallworth never intended the investigation to go that far.  A lot of it was making things up as they went along.

The movie plays out more as a comedy than anything dramatic or suspenseful.  (There is a sense of historical irony when characters comment on things that have actually come to pass.)  There isn’t a sense that either Stallworth or Zimmerman are in any real danger.  You know that even if they don’t win the battle, they’ll live to fight another fight.  They also won’t necessarily make an impact on the larger picture, as the KKK is still around.

As you might have seen in the trailer, the movie doesn’t shy away from using derogatory terms.   There are also a few tense moments.  This is not going to be a movie for children.  There are way too many situations that would either be inappropriate or go over their heads.  Even for adults, ther ewill be a few uncomfortable scenes.  The movie does deal with race directly.

It is interesting to see the parallels between the African-American students and the KKK.  Both want to advance their cause, although the students want equality whereas the Klan (or the Organization, if you will) wants supremacy.  Thus, Stallworth has to walk a fine line.  Those in the African-American community don’t like the police, and with good reason.  As Stallworth points out, the best way to affect change might be to do it from within.

IMDb page

Clerks (2000–2001)

It took me a while to see the original Clerks, but I did watch it and I liked it very much.  While looking through DVD sets of TV series, I came across the animated series, which I missed when it first aired.  It’s no wonder considering that there were only six episodes.  Since it was under $10, I decided to buy it.

For those that never saw the movie, it was about two clerks.  (One works at a convenience store and the other at a video store next door.)  They have to deal with a stream of annoying customers.  The primary difference is the format.  The original was a live-action black-and-white movie.  Here, it’s animated, but in color.  The style is thick lines to differentiate the characters and solid colors within.

All of the main characters return.  You have Dante running the Quick Stop, Randal running the video store and Jay and Silent Bob popping in to bother them.  Most episodes start with Dante being called in to open the store, much like in the movie.

Each episode has something different.  In the first, Dante and Randal have to worry about a super store (The Quicker Stop) opening across the street.  They have to take it out to save their jobs.  The second seems to poke fun at clip episodes, considering that it only references itself and the previous episode.

Each episode also has an introduction by Jay and Silent Bob from their palatial estates that they bought with the proceeds from the Clerks movie.  You also get a “previous” and “next time” clip that’s really just a quick joke.  (In one instance, it’s just simple test patterns.)

Each episode is about 21 minutes.  The episodes seem a bit rushed at times, especially the fifth episode, which parodies The Last Starfighter, The Bad News Bears and a few other things.  It tries to put too much into one episode and jumps around a lot.

Also, the movie had a lot more leeway in terms of material and style.  Jay and Silent Bob go from dealing drugs to dealing fireworks.  Also, the characters aren’t allowed to curse.  (Jay and Silent Bob use one of the episode’s introductions to vent.)  They do try to push the envelope (or push buttons) on several occasions.  In one episode, they have lesbians, all voiced by men.  The movie was toned down in certain areas, but tried to make up for it in other areas.  It wasn’t really as funny.

I don’t usually go for the special features, especially considering that there was a DVD-ROM section to the discs.  (I don’t like installing stuff on my computer.)  The one thing I did check out briefly was the animatics, which are just sketches based on the episodes  It wasn’t that interesting since I had just watched the episode.

I also don’t recommend watching the episodes to the end of the credits.  When I did on the first episode, my DVD player froze.  I had to turn off the DVD player and turn it back on to get the DVD back out.  When I tried to watch all of the episodes on the second disc, the same thing happened at the end of the fourth episode.  I don’t know if this had to do with the DVD-ROM or if it was just some sort of fluke.

A lot of people seemed to like the TV series from what I can see, but I really didn’t like it so much.  I wouldn’t recommend buying it.  Renting it, maybe.  If you can catch the episodes on TV, you might want to try catching it.  You might not get the benefit of the introductions, but if you can catch one episode, you can see if it’s worth renting. 

IMDb page

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)

Note:  This review was originally posted to my Epinions account.

Warning:  This review gives away major details.

I had heard that “Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within” wasn’t that good. Most movies based on something other than a book (or another movie) tend to be below par when compared to other movies. (This is most apparent with the Saturday Night Live skits that were made into movies. “Wayne’s World” was the only one that did well, in my opinion.) I think that Final Fantasy did a lot better than other game-based movies, but is still lacking in some respects.

I have to admit that the plot is kind of thin. It’s 2065 and what’s left of humanity is fighting these alien phantoms that came to Earth with this big meteor. For some reason, they like to attack people by grabbing their souls from out of their bodies. Whenever one phantom is destroyed, a new one appears, keeping the number of phantoms steady. Aki Ross is looking for 8 spirits that, when combined, will eliminate the alien threat (or phantom menace, if you will) permanently. The movie starts out in space, but Aki soon returns to what’s left of New York City to look for a plant. This is the sixth of the spirits. She still needs to find two more. She’s operating under the guidance of Dr. Sid. (From what I understand, there’s a Sid in every Final Fantasy game, although there may or may not be a connection between any of them.) If they succeed, they can eliminate the phantoms without any threat to humanity.

There’s an opposing views on how to handle the phantoms, though. General Hein has been working on this big mega-super-weapon called Zeus that could theoretically blast every last phantom to bits, assuming they can’t run fast enough. Sid and Ross think that this is a bad idea because it might injure the Earth. (Both believe in a Gaia, or life force, within the Earth and all of its inhabitants.) Hein, along with many of the other characters, think that it’s a bunch of spiritual rubbish and want to use the weapon. However, the ruling council decides to wait.

Eventually, Ross figures out what’s going on, due mostly to these dreams that she’s been having. What she realizes is that the meteor is what’s left of another planet. The alien Gaia and many alien souls came to Earth on it. She claims that they’re lost and confused, but they don’t seem to have any reservation when it comes to killing people. About the same time, General Hein gets permission to use Zeus to destroy the meteor. Ross, Sid and a few others have to get to the planet to find the eighth spirit before Hein destroys everything.

The story is interesting, but not really that involved. There’s no explanation as to why the aliens attack humans. Are they doing it to feed? Are they really just thrashing out? What’s the deal? There’s also little explanation as to why the 8 spirits are important. Yes, there’ that whole thing about canceling out the spiritual waves or something, but how do Ross and Sid know it will work? How do they even know what they’re looking for?

Also, there’s little mention of other people except when it comes time to kill a bunch of people. It’s also implied that there’s at least one other outpost of humanity left, other than New York City and Zeus, which is orbiting Earth, but no one ever says how many people are left or where they might be or what they’re going through. There’s really not much of a story beyond the main characters, and all but two of them get killed. It basically comes down to a peaceful solution versus a military solution. It’s a good story, but the writers could have done a lot better with it.

The big thing was the animation. The animation was fantastic, giving us characters that you’d swear were real at times. The auditory technology isn’t quite as good, so the movie has to use actors to do the voices. (Alec Baldwin voices Captain Edwards and Ming-Na of ER fame does the voice for Aki Ross. You may also recognize Donald Sutherland as Dr. Sid.)

Now for the big question: Will I recommend this movie? Yes, but I wouldn’t rush out to the store go rent it. One of the advantages of having NetFlix is that it’s a flat fee for as many movies by mail as I can rent in one month. (Blockbuster and Walmart are offering similar services.) If you’re looking to fill up your queue, go for it. It’s a great movie if you’re looking for a no-brainer to watch on some weekday night.


IMDb page