robo042-1 Reviews

Chi-Raq (2015)

Chiraq - A Mediocre Movie Made Terrible by Ignoring Real Cries for Real Help

[1/10 · 19 December 2015]

On it's own it's a goofy yet poignant musical. A little boring, if I'm being honest.

But with the name "Chi-Raq" and it being set in Chicago and it dealing with the gun violence in Chicago, the movie is worse than just bad. Chiraq is a real term that real kids in real bad neighborhoods came up with to describe their environment. Chicago's murder rate doesn't look like much when taken as a whole but when you realize that 99% of it occurred in just a few of Chicago's many neighborhoods, you'll understand why those unfortunate kids from those neighborhoods chose this term. These are not white neighborhoods, mind you, remember that Chicago is the most segregated city in America. These kids really have seen more literal dead bodies growing up than most soldiers have seen in Iraq. The term is as offensive and loud as possible because it's meant to get your attention. It is a very literal cry for actual help in every sense of the word.

Spike Lee takes this term and honors the meaning behind it by completely ignoring those cries for help. He chooses to use Chicago to tell some story about how a sex strike maybe solved a civil war one time so yeah that could totally solve all the dead bodies that pile up in Englewood and Fuller Park every year. And the corrupt governmental system keeping it secret and confined to black neighborhoods.

The most obvious example of Spike Lee completely missing what's really going on in the *real* Chiraq is the fact that the gangs in his film beef over colors. Don't nobody care what colors you wear in Chiraq, your chances of being killed are the same regardless. That's some goofy west coast crap. Modern gangs in the real Chiraq form simply out of safety in numbers. Activities vary set by set, block by block. Conflict typically stems from disputes over sex and violence. This is what motivates *most* violence in America, however when it happens on the South Side, it gets labeled "gangland violence" and then gets mostly ignored by media outlets.

Simple things get overlooked like how a lot of these deaths could be avoided simply by building a closer trauma center to these neighborhoods so it doesn't take an ambulance over an hour to get to the scene. How more educational and work force centers can provide direction to directionless kids with no hope. How proper legal representation and education could ensure we're not occasionally sending innocent kids to jail to learn how to become a savage along with the rest of them. These are all common things you'll find missing from most of these consistently super high crime areas in Chicago.

It's gotten bad in Chicago. And when I say bad, I mean real bad. Someone needs to shine a light on what's really going on because it's gone way beyond any other place in America. Way worse than you're imagining. The only thing a sex strike would do on the South Side is make the already high sexual assault rate climb even higher. And that's just real talk.

Which Spike Lee's "Chi-Raq" continues to ignore by examining none of those things. In Spike Lee's world, it's almost like he's saying it's black people's fault the murder rate is so high in places like Austin and West Englewood. Like he's saying "You girls maybe need to stop putting out so much, that's the problem." 1 out of 10 stars, no sympathy for those who chose to ignore real cries for real help from an entire group of disenfranchised youth.

Inland Empire (2006)

What the actual f**k.

[7/10 · 30 January 2014]

No seriously. WTF. Ignore my rating because a movie like this defies any kind of a linear rating scale. My real rating is: WTF stars. Everyone else can write their absurd words about the film but the only thing a normal honest person can say after watching this is... what the actual f**k did I just watch?

Seriously, watch the film then come back to this review and tell me it isn't the most accurate summation of the film on here.

Side note: Laura Dern seriously does give an incredible performance. No one quite captures the true essence of WTF like Laura. She really does elevate the film to higher levels of "WTF-ness" than it ever would achieve on it's own.

For real though. What the actual f**k?

Evil Dead (2013)

Ten things you need to know about this film.

[9/10 · 5 April 2013]

The facts:

1) The film is produced by Sam Raimi who was the producer/writer/director of the original and Bruce Campbell who played the lead role of Ash as well as produced the original film.

2) The film is directed, however, by newcomer Fede Alvarez and this is his first feature film (much like the original was Sam Raimi's first feature film).

3) Fede used no CGI for the production of this film. Much like how the Bourne movies benefited greatly from utilizing no CGI, this decision pays off big time for the 2013 Evil Dead as all the scenes came out looking hyper realistic.

4) The camera work and overall cinematography is simply first rate which is truly remarkable given that it's Fede's first feature length film.

5) There is more exposition in this film than in the original Evil Dead. We're treated to a prologue scene as well as given more detailed back stories for the film's central characters. This was the only decision I really questioned. To me, back stories and explanation and all that are irrelevant to begin with and takes away from the realism. Individuals in real life horrific situations aren't going to be near as concerned with why they're in that situation as much as they are with how the hell they're going to get out of it. That's my one and only beef with the re-make. The time spent on exposition was time wasted in my opinion.

6) The comedic element is much darker and much more borderline than the original. While the original was filled with seemingly unintentionally comic scenes, this remake is filled with scenes so dark it's hard to tell if it's intended to be black comedy or not. "Are you serious?" is a question you'll likely find yourself asking at various moments. An example of this is a scene where it is discovered that one of the characters has amputated their own arm and then calmly states, "I did it, I feel much better now." A fan of the original should recognize the humor both in it's nod to the original films and in the ridiculousness of a character who just amputated their own limb claiming that they're "better now". However, given the hyper realism of the amputation and it's bloody aftermath, this and many other examples of dark comedy may be lost to some moviegoers, especially those unfamiliar with the originals. The characters make dumb decisions because the original characters made dumb decisions and even though the consequences seem much graver this time around given the films gritty realism, it's still funny as hell to watching these stupid kids make stupid decisions.

7) To those fans anxious about "who is supposed to be Ash's replacement", Fede gives a definite answer with a twist. I won't spoil it as it provides a pretty good plot twist to fans of the original films, but I will say that the decision I believe was truly inspired. Some fans inevitably didn't approve but as a die hard fan myself, I loved it.

8) If you're not familiar with the original films some aspects, including the aforementioned twist, may be lost to you. Since the original film was the basis for what has become modern horror movie tropes, those unfamiliar with the 1981 film may not appreciate the 2013 takes on all these tropes. Without the original, Fede Alvarez's Evil Dead may come of as simply a bloodier more gruesome version of a typical horror movie. And in many ways it is, but that's because the original Evil Dead set many of the standards for what is now consider to be typical fare for horror movies these days.

9) If you've seen the original films but didn't like them, then you probably won't like this one much either. Go read the late Roger Ebert's review of the film. He didn't like the original Evil Dead much either and gives a pretty accurate view of how you'll probably feel about the 2013 version.

10) If you're a fan of the originals, then you'll be doing yourself a grave disservice by not seeing the 2013 version in theaters. Even if you don't enjoy the film as much as I did, true fans of the franchise need to go see Sam and Bruce's newest addition, otherwise you're not a true fan.