Yakkety Yack--watch Pitch Black
Recently, I went to the video store.
I rented three movies: Bubba HoTep, The Chronicles of Riddick, and Fahrenheit 9/11. I have seen the first two.
Dusty, Jason, I'm sorry. Bubba HoTep was not that funny. It was okay. It wasn't horrible, but when people rave about a movie, you gain certain expectations and Bubba HoTep did not meet up to those expectations. It had a lot of potential, but only average delivery. I realize that some of you will now see Bubba HoTep and will e-mail me and call me up to address your disgust at my review, but remember that by reading this, your expectations have been lowered, and now Bubba HoTep will meet those expectations and surpass them.
It's like The Blair Witch Project. The first people who saw it loved it. Then they raved about it to their friends who saw it and didn't think that much of it. Then they cursed it to their friends (me) who saw it and wondered what that second wave of viewers was smoking. That movie was ingenious.
Much like Pitch Black. Now, I'm not going to comment too much on the movie being retitled. Obviously, I picked up the Chronicles of Riddick and assumed that I was getting the sequel to Pitch Black, but no. They've just changed the title so that this movie and it's sequel are more recognizably from the same universe. I still haven't seen the sequel. I want to see the sequel and here's why.
Every ten years or so, a science fiction movie is produced that is beyond the pale. Aliens was this movie for the late 80's. Pitch Black is this movie for the late 90's (yes, I know it was made in 2000). I hold both in the same regard (Alien was it for the late 70's). Why?
First of all, Pitch Black has one of the great qualities of a movie of its type and that is essentially rather no name actors. Sure Vin Diesel is a name now, but back then he was a nobody. Secondly, this movie does not make us go crazy over strange technology as does The Fifth Element or Event Horizon. While both of these are great films, they require that you suspend something to enter into their universe. Pitch Black does not require this in any way. It's a movie about getting off the road your supposed to be on and breaking down. How prevalent is that fear? Don't know how to answer that, consider how much emphasis you put on your gas gauge while traveling through Nevada.
The movie then proceeds with essentially the most simple premise derived. Bad things are about to happen and no one is going to come to your rescue. A sense of community is created. Now many movies do this, but they all make certain mistakes that Pitch Black does not make. Identity, for instance, works on this same premise, but unfortunately, Identity (though a great movie) fails to round out its characters. There isn't a flat character in Pitch Black. My favorite scene of this is when the Muslim children (who could very easily have just stayed Muslim children) are playing spy with Jack trying to get the imaginary drop on Riddick. The Muslim children are essentially playing with a "boy" who has made a hero out of a confessed murderer.
What I think is Pitch Black's ultimate power, though, is it's ability to stay to its subject matter. Nature is brutal. She will shoot meteors through your ship when you think yourself safe enough to sleep. She will send legions of monsters at you with a greater understanding of their world then you could ever hope to have. She kills children. She kills lovers. No one is safe. Make one mistake in the world of Pitch Black and you die.
In that vein, there is never a moment when Riddick tries to apologize for what he is. He's a murderer, and a damn good one. A lesser movie might have tried to give us some justification for his murders, but not Pitch Black. Riddick is as much a force of nature as the monsters are. As is the co-pilot, who lies about being Captain in order to take charge of the survivors, as is the mercenary who is more than willing to sacrifice his fellow man for his own benefit, as is Jack who takes to hero worshipping the only person she sees who may very well survivor this whole ordeal. Never does Pitch Black flinch.
Now I realize there are some minor problems with the plot, but I am willing to forgive them, and so should you. I recommend this movie as one of the all time best five sci-fi movies. It is so good, in fact, that I doubt that my endorsement will taint your viewing experience of the film.
Now, somebody please, how's the sequel?
I rented three movies: Bubba HoTep, The Chronicles of Riddick, and Fahrenheit 9/11. I have seen the first two.
Dusty, Jason, I'm sorry. Bubba HoTep was not that funny. It was okay. It wasn't horrible, but when people rave about a movie, you gain certain expectations and Bubba HoTep did not meet up to those expectations. It had a lot of potential, but only average delivery. I realize that some of you will now see Bubba HoTep and will e-mail me and call me up to address your disgust at my review, but remember that by reading this, your expectations have been lowered, and now Bubba HoTep will meet those expectations and surpass them.
It's like The Blair Witch Project. The first people who saw it loved it. Then they raved about it to their friends who saw it and didn't think that much of it. Then they cursed it to their friends (me) who saw it and wondered what that second wave of viewers was smoking. That movie was ingenious.
Much like Pitch Black. Now, I'm not going to comment too much on the movie being retitled. Obviously, I picked up the Chronicles of Riddick and assumed that I was getting the sequel to Pitch Black, but no. They've just changed the title so that this movie and it's sequel are more recognizably from the same universe. I still haven't seen the sequel. I want to see the sequel and here's why.
Every ten years or so, a science fiction movie is produced that is beyond the pale. Aliens was this movie for the late 80's. Pitch Black is this movie for the late 90's (yes, I know it was made in 2000). I hold both in the same regard (Alien was it for the late 70's). Why?
First of all, Pitch Black has one of the great qualities of a movie of its type and that is essentially rather no name actors. Sure Vin Diesel is a name now, but back then he was a nobody. Secondly, this movie does not make us go crazy over strange technology as does The Fifth Element or Event Horizon. While both of these are great films, they require that you suspend something to enter into their universe. Pitch Black does not require this in any way. It's a movie about getting off the road your supposed to be on and breaking down. How prevalent is that fear? Don't know how to answer that, consider how much emphasis you put on your gas gauge while traveling through Nevada.
The movie then proceeds with essentially the most simple premise derived. Bad things are about to happen and no one is going to come to your rescue. A sense of community is created. Now many movies do this, but they all make certain mistakes that Pitch Black does not make. Identity, for instance, works on this same premise, but unfortunately, Identity (though a great movie) fails to round out its characters. There isn't a flat character in Pitch Black. My favorite scene of this is when the Muslim children (who could very easily have just stayed Muslim children) are playing spy with Jack trying to get the imaginary drop on Riddick. The Muslim children are essentially playing with a "boy" who has made a hero out of a confessed murderer.
What I think is Pitch Black's ultimate power, though, is it's ability to stay to its subject matter. Nature is brutal. She will shoot meteors through your ship when you think yourself safe enough to sleep. She will send legions of monsters at you with a greater understanding of their world then you could ever hope to have. She kills children. She kills lovers. No one is safe. Make one mistake in the world of Pitch Black and you die.
In that vein, there is never a moment when Riddick tries to apologize for what he is. He's a murderer, and a damn good one. A lesser movie might have tried to give us some justification for his murders, but not Pitch Black. Riddick is as much a force of nature as the monsters are. As is the co-pilot, who lies about being Captain in order to take charge of the survivors, as is the mercenary who is more than willing to sacrifice his fellow man for his own benefit, as is Jack who takes to hero worshipping the only person she sees who may very well survivor this whole ordeal. Never does Pitch Black flinch.
Now I realize there are some minor problems with the plot, but I am willing to forgive them, and so should you. I recommend this movie as one of the all time best five sci-fi movies. It is so good, in fact, that I doubt that my endorsement will taint your viewing experience of the film.
Now, somebody please, how's the sequel?
posted by Monstro D. Whale at
12:42 PM
1 Comments:
I just couldn't resist posting to say:
PITCH BLACK ROCKS!
Okay, now that that embarrassing moment is over, I must say that I never thought too much about how much Riddick is derived from the John Carpenter anti-hero I love so much. John Carpenter anti-hero from what movie, you say? From all of them: aside from the Halloween series, John Carpenter just keeps making the same movie over and over again. The idea of community also reminds me of Romero's (and others') zombie movies, which aren't so much about zombies' inhumanity as they are about man's inhumanity to man.
Excellent post, man. It got me thinkin'.
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