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(Some minor spoilers in both reviews...)
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Double Feature Review
"Slacker" - 1991, Directed by Richard Linklater.
I recently purchased the three disk ultimate edition of Kevin Smith's "Clerks,"
on Amazon. Soon after it arrived in the mail, I saw on my computer that a new
movie was recommended for me: Richard Linklater's "Slacker." I had about a
hundred bucks leftover to blow, so I picked that up and a couple other DVDs...
I didn't know I was in for the most mind-blowingly psychedelic indie-film ever.
The movie opens very strong, a scene of a man getting off a bus and getting into
a taxi, talking to the driver non-stop from the backseat, going on and on about
this wonderful theory about how "for every thought you have, it breaks off and
becomes its own reality," that scene alone had me absolutely hooked on watching
this movie. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie has nothing to do with this
character, but on the up-side, every other featured character is just like him.
They're all slackers, drifting around the streets of Austin, Texas (Linklater's
hometown, I think.) where they follow strangers, talk about life and pick apart
pop-culture (the 'Smurfs' scene at the bar is priceless). Slacker is only about
ninety minutes long, but every second of it is rewarding, from the man who should
have stayed at the bus-station to the old anarchist, to the people running up the
mountain with Super-8 cameras. This movie is not so much a movie, but a portrait
of the life of the unemployed, the slackers and the lost souls who very much
still roam the earth today. I give "Slacker," four out of five stars.
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"Brazil," (Ultimate Final Cut) - 1985, Directed by Terry Gilliam.
In 1984, a movie called "1984," swept the world with it's dystopian vision of a
beaurocratic future. One year later Monty Python's Terry Gilliam unleashed his
vision of a beaurocratic future, he called it, "Brazil." I picked this three
disk version of the movie at a Barnes and Noble's recently, the cover was enough
to draw me in. I took it home, watched it and was blown away by the dark vision
painted before me and have not been able to stop watching it since...
The film opens with something very similar to what we deal with today: terrorist
bombings. Then it descends into the story of a man named Sam, who by day works
at information retrieval, but by night dreams he is a superhero/angel rescuing
the girl of his dreams. During the course of this, an administrative error is
made, and Sam tries to fix it, but in turn, he accidently becomes an enemy of
the state. Misadventures ensue and mayhem goes down. I don't want to spoil what
happens, because this one of those movies you'll have to watch more than once to
fully understand. But I will say this, Terry Gilliam, who directed movies like
"Time Bandits," and "The Meaning of Life," was/is fifty years ahead of his time
in terms of special effects. Almost everything in this movie looks real, I was
completely dazzled with the special effects. They really put CGI to shame. Also
I should note that the acting is top-notch and the movie runs at two-hours and
thirty-some minutes, if you're watching the Ultimate Final Cut-- which is the
only 'real' version of the movie. I highly recommend this film to everyone. It
should be required viewing for every human being. I give "Brazil," 5/5.