“Mindwarp” Movie Review

    The other day, I got a bit of an early birthday present in the form of a package from the kind folks at Mill Creek Entertainment.  It was filled with a variety of films and I was in pure ecstasy looking through all the titles to watch a review.  Mill Creek Entertainment really outdid themselves and I want to thank them yet again for the kind support they have given my blog since it’s inception.  Now, it’s my task to watch and review the movies and I thought I would start my reviews off with a film I had never heard of before, “Mindwarp”.  I admit that I mainly picked this movie first because it starred one of my favorite actors, Bruce Campbell.

    In the year 2037, the Earth is mainly a wasteland and the population is split up between normal and healthy people living in a sealed biosphere and mutated cannibals who live outside the protection of the biosphere.  The “dreamers” living in the biosphere are plugged into a virtual reality in which all their dreams can come true.  The main character Judy ends up exiled from the biosphere after interfering with other people’s realities and is cast outside.  Once on the surface, she is saved by Stover from a group of cannibals.  Together, the two must manage to find a way to survive this apocalyptic Earth.

    I have a lot of thoughts about this movie and I am not sure where to start.  For starters, this movie feels very much like an early version of “The Matrix”.  Humans plug into virtual reality and the “real world” is a wasteland.  I can’t help but feel like the Wachowski brothers got some inspiration from this movie.  Now, don’t get me wrong, that doesn’t mean “The Matrix” didn’t expand and improve on the concept, but “Mindwarp” did it first.

    The film had an early made for the sci-fi channel feeling to it.  The film was the first movie produced by Fangoria Films.  As you might imagine, it was very low budget as a result.  It is very much a B movie but it also seemingly embraces the fact it’s a bit of a schlock fest.  I also have to give it extra credit for being filmed in Michigan (home boy has to represent and all that jazz).

    The film stars Marta Martin as Judy and she does the best she can with what she is given.  Bruce Campbell, who is given top billing, co-stars as Stover.  This is Bruce Campbell at his prime, “Army of Darkness” and “The Adventures of Brisco Country Jr.” era.  What I love about Campbell is how he fully commits to even the most over the top performances.  He does his best in this film but his character isn’t given much time to breath or react to things.  Lastly, horror icon Angus Scrimm portrays the leader of the cannibals (and the source of a few twists in the film).  Honestly, Scrimm was the highlight of the film but isn’t introduced until the third act.

    Now, I would be doing you a disservice if I didn’t go into how the budget effected the film.  There was a part in the film that actually sort of made me mad because Judy talked about creating a world and riding on dinosaurs, all things more interesting than what was depicted in the movie.  To me, that dialogue is almost calling attention to the lack of a budget.  While the first act reminded me of “The Matrix”, the second and third acts reminded me of “Mad Max”...on a budget.  Seriously, there was a part where one of the cannibals had a hubcap as a breastplate.  That is the sort of costume me and my friends would wear as kids when we made home movies.

    So, I have danced around the issue of how I felt about the movie overall and it’s hard to get into it without getting in to spoilers.  To me, it felt like a short film stretched out to feature length.  There were some interesting concepts but it had boring parts and there clearly wasn’t a budget for properly done film.  The film picked up steam going into the third act but the final few minutes not only ruined the third act, but it also ruined the movie as a whole.  This is a movie that tried to have way too many twists and all those twists just ended up undermining everything that came before it.  That being said, I am sure M. Night Shyamalan loved everything about this movie.

    So how do you rate a movie that you feel botched it’s ending?  I really didn’t mind the movie until the end, sure it was cheap looking and a little goofy, but it also owned that for the most part.  I think the movie was trying too hard to give an ending that would be talked about in hopes of elevating the film.  In my opinion, it lost sight of what it might have been destined to become.  “Mindwarp” could have easily become a cult classic, and one can make an argument it is, but it will never be as fondly remembered as it could have been.

Grade: C

Buy the “Mindwarp” and “Brainscan” Double Feature Blu-ray Here!!!

“Speed Racer” Movie Review

    A live action "Speed Racer" had been in development for over a decade by the time the Wachowski siblings brought the Mach 5 to life in 2008.  The film was considered a failure at the box office and failed to make it's budget back domestically.  The film was also met with widespread negative reviews from critics.  Did the film deserve the dump the public and critics took on it?

    "Speed Racer" is about a young man (whose name is Speed Racer) who decides to follow in his brother's footsteps as a professional racer after his death.  Racer ends up racing in a cross country race to take down a powerful and corrupt executive.  Needless to say, things do not go smoothly.

    As started in the introduction, a "Speed Racer" film had been in development for over a decade before this film saw the light of day.  The film is an adaptation of the late 60s Japanese hit “Mach GoGoGo” and the anime it had inspired.  An adaptation of “Speed Racer” almost happened in 1995 with Johnny Depp as Speed Racer and Henry Rollins as Racer X (Rollins was ironically also considered for the part of Racer X in this version as well).  Years later, Vince Vaughn tried to get the project off the ground and was set to play Racer X but that project fell through.

    “Speed Racer” stars Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, Matthew Fox, Susan Sarandon, and John Goodman.  Hirsch doesn’t do a bad job in the title role but lacks charisma.  For such a silly film to work, you need an actor with charm.  Matthew Fox also doesn’t add much which is disappointing since he was excellent in “Lost”.  I am usually not the biggest fan of Christina Ricci but she brings a lot of spunk and energy to the project.  I feel like Ricci feels at home in the world of “Speed Racer”.  John Goodman and Susan Sarandon are also wonderful as Speed’s parents.  Goodman and Sarandon are definitely highlights of the film.

    If the title isn’t an indication, the film and it’s premise are incredibly silly.  It isn’t meant to be taken seriously.  It’s high concept and relies heavily on visual story telling.

    For a movie requiring such over the top visuals, the visual style of the Wachowski siblings was just what the movie needed.  They have proven their flair at innovative filmmaking with “The Matrix” and those talents come in handy here.

    The movie wasn’t a masterpiece nor did it have a compelling story to tell.  At the end of the day, it was made to be a big silly popcorn film and in that sense, I think it did it’s job.  That’s just my two cents though.

Grade: B-

"Ready Player One" Movie Review

    “Ready Player One” was a film I was very much looking forward to.  It looked as though it might be a return to form for Steven Spielberg.  Spielberg has spent most of his recent years directing films like “Lincoln” and “The Post”.  While these films were good, I miss old school Spielberg.  I don’t think I am alone either, I think everyone sort of misses old school Spielberg.
    Well, I guess the most important thing about the movie is that it’s pretty fun.  It is sort of a hybrid of “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and “The Matrix”.  In the film, in part due to poor circumstances, most people live their lives in The Oasis, a digital world where you can do almost anything.  The creator of The Oasis passed away but left three Easter eggs to be found in the game.  If you find all three Easter eggs, you can gain control of the Oasis in the real world (meaning you would gain a vast wealth).
    The film is lead by Tye Sheridan who does a stellar job.  Ben Mendelsohn and Mark Rylance also give strong performances.  Discussing the performances leads to a problem I have with the film.  Most of the film is set in The Oasis and while in there, the lead actors are cgi avatars.  The avatars for each character tends to look on the goofy side and it is a little distracting.
    The film relies heavily on nostalgia, and particularly 1980s nostalgia.  For a movie buff, this is fun.  Little nods like a Zemeckis bomb (named for Robert Zemeckis) are fun.  Non film buffs may get s little lost in the constant references however.  Plus, it gets to a point that so many nostalgic images are thrown at you that it is hard to process and keep up with.

    There are definitely stand out parts that are incredible in themselves.  The level featuring the inclusion of scenes from “The Shining” are masterfully done.  I also enjoyed The Iron Giant playing such an important role.  I also thought the score was top notch.
    “Ready Player One” may not be Spielberg’s best film, but he is still miles ahead of other filmmakers in making an entertaining popcorn film.  Sometimes you just need to have some fun.

Grade: B+