Movie #362 - The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
1988 - Rated PG - 2 hr 6 min
Director: Terry Gilliam
Starring: John Neville, Eric Idle, Sarah Polley, Oliver Reed, Jonathan Pryce, Bill Paterson, Uma Thurman, Robin Williams

From the weird, imaginative mind of Terry Gilliam.... Even though it's based on a book.  This is very much up the same alley as Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, just 20 or so years earlier and with less sophisticated effects.

Visually, for its time, this movie is over the top, but really well done. Elaborate sets and costumes, eccentric characters, loud makeup, and lots of action... it's a well-rounded movie.  It also boasts an excellent cast as well.  But basically, the plot is just a bunch of nonsense strung together... some scenes more realistic than others, some more firmly rooted in myths, and some just more ridiculous.  Like floating head people. Trippy, isn't it?

But I think it was meant for kids, so then I guess that's okay.  I remember enjoying this one way back when and now it's with fond nostalgia that I watch it.  Mike loves this one too, but I credit that love to his own nostalgia too.  If you were to watch this one for the first time as an adult now, I can't say that you'd like it that much.

Movie #230 - Go

Go
1999 - Rated R - 1 hr 42 min
Director: Doug Liman
Starring: Katie Holmes, Sarah Polley, Desmond Askew, Nathan Bexton, Scott Wolf, Jay Mohr, Timothy Olyphant, William Fichtner, Taye Diggs, Breckin Meyer, James Duval, Jane Krakowski, Melissa McCarthy

Here's a favorite from college. A tale of a would-be drug dealer and her assorted disaster-facing friends.  The cool thing about this movie is the multiple perspective approach, rewinding the film to tell the tale from many points of view.  The would-be drug dealer, the "bait," the drug user (which affords an awesome grocery store dance scene), the actual drug dealer on his Vegas vacation with friends, and a pair of actors who wind up trapped in a sales pitch.  It's weird, it's random, and it's probably better on drugs, but I've always liked this movie for it's unconventionalness. (Is that a word? ... says the writer)

So it may not be intellectual but it will make you laugh. Or possibly scare you that the future of my generation is not a hopeful one.  I think enough time has passed that we've redeemed ourselves from these kind of antics and proven that we're not all on drugs. 

Anyway, a great ensemble cast piece that's just fun to watch... like a train wreck, you just can't look away.

Movie #191 - eXistenZ

eXistenZ
1999 - Rated R - 1 hr 37 min
Director: David Cronenberg
Starring: Jude Law, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Ian Holm, Willem Dafoe, Christopher Eccleston, Sarah Polley

Last of the E's and it's a good one too! It's been a good six or so years since I've sat down to watch this classic mind-twist movie. Then game-within-a-game-within-a-game that goes on to an Inception-level of intricacy.  Jennifer Jason Leigh is fantastic as Allegra Gellar, the "game designer" (or is she?) And Jude Law is so young, it's adorable.

I can't say too much without giving this plot away. But gaming has gone to an all-new level in this futuristic movie.  You "port in" through a "bio-port" directly into your spine. The concept makes me shiver just thinking about it.  But that's how you play the game, so everyone has a bio-port and people don't do any real activities anymore, since you can now simulate just about everything in your mind.  Cool concept. Possibly a real prediction of our future. I guess we'll have to see.

In the mean time, watch this one if you like twists, mind games, and intrigue.  Enjoy!