carl-more-in-than-out-of-body Reviews

Falling Water (2016–2018)

Milestone show/phenom, seriously, deserves renewal as people catch on

[10/10 · 23 January 2017]

Very very classy smart show, Falling Water (fall 2016 USA Network) really pulls me in with sympathetic diverse characters, exceptionally intelligent dialogue, beautiful cinematography, deep psychological plotting, and crackling cultural references from art to philosophy (i get the obscure ones too, including Dr. Caligari and upstate NY's burned over district). I'm so relieved that the show was *not* as horror shock oriented as the pilot, crafted to no doubt catch attention. And I'm delighted that the characters became increasingly relationship oriented where no one is good or bad, only conflicted.

The most obvious ingredient missing that the writers needed to showcase is real dream interpreting - how can you have a series about dreams with minimal symbolism that no one talks about? Symbolic interpreting is where life gets really poignant and interesting and mind-bending, not the traditional reliance on billionaire conspiracies and magic kids that everyone's looking for. Those features don't make the show good or bad, only familiar.

Humanity is desperately confused as it evolves, and endless superhero memes are barely touching the real deep angst that we're all going through. This show has a historic shot at hitting the mark of everyone's thrill and torment at transcendent self-discovery, thus becoming the touchstone that the producers hoped for. Kudos to the dream study commissioned in tandem with the debut, that was a bold and brilliant step into the future! (search online for "a new study finds why some of us may dream better than others")

Thank you to everyone involved, because even if it never gets past one season Falling Water is a milestone to remember. Critics that dismiss this as just another "confuse them and they will come" Lost-knockoff are disappointingly missing the point, and I know I'm not the only one who knows the real score. Pleasant or not, dreams *mean* something important.

Pleasant dreaming!

Strange Magic (2015)

Don't be misled by the critics, this movie is pure transportative delight

[10/10 · 30 January 2015]

MAGICAL MYSTICAL MOVIE ALERT: "Strange Magic" is a fabulous new animated film that is dying at the box office and has critics competing to hurl insults. Do not be misled! See this film if you feel drawn to, trust your intuition. There is something incredibly beautiful, fun and spiritual going on with this movie that has been a pet project of George Lucas for 15 years, crafted as a storyteller's gift to his daughters, an ode to love in stark contrast to his career's fame for boy war fantasies. Did you at all enjoy the fairy fable "Epic" from 2013? This is curiously reminiscent, almost like its musical more magical cousin, with a great nod back to the likes of "Labyrinth". Strange Magic is inspired by Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, but frankly it's better because that play was full of deceit and manipulations that skewer love in my opinion, while Strange Magic is a charmingly balanced fairies tale about the power of real love to overcome prejudices and reunite worlds. The message: from the magical to the mysterious, everyone deserves to be loved. The film is also a delightfully entertaining pop-rock opera, repurposing hits of the 20th century in the mouths of fairies, elves, goblins, and more strange creatures than the Star Wars cantina bar. Critics are deriding the plot as predictable and unadventurous, but if true then give me more, because this is a deeply satisfying change of pace from the usual frenetic shallow animations that the film industry is cramming down viewer's brains these days. The visuals are a feast, ranging from fairy tale mythic to ethereal mysticism to outright psychedelia. The characters are complex and emote powerfully toward the comedy of errors happy ending which is of course what we wanted to see. I laughed, I cried, I was thrilled and transported, and I'm not kidding. Strange Magic is a must-see, and I have no doubt that Lucas' vision will be vindicated by future audiences. Don't miss your chance to enjoy this gem on the big screen.

The Lost Room (2006)

Superlative puzzle adventure profoundly does add up

[10/10 · 19 December 2006]

One of the most amazing mini-series ever made, with great actors and clever weird story that draws upon genre precedents while raising the bar. Initial low audience numbers suggest it won't be made into a series, at least not by the big guns at SciFi and NBC, but maybe it will find a longer life somewhere else, like in fan fiction or a licensed sequel. Not that it's required. One of the biggest viewer complaints is that it didn't add up, but I would beg to differ. This is a very complete and archetypal story, as suggested early on by the emphasis on cults and the Objects being pieces of God. As such there is both causal logic and spiritual logic. By causal logic I mean that there are not a lot of red herrings or inconsistencies. The internal rules are quite well followed and cleverly used by characters. For example, this is not a room from a parallel universe that had a room 10, it came as stated from this world and was removed from the time-line of impermanence, since the janitor's fingerprint was left in the room, the Occupant is a very normal guy who knew where to find his wife, she had a subconscious if not conscious memory of him and thus never remarried, etc. The room somehow became its own universe, normal and balanced unto itself, but when its Objects are brought back into our reality they necessarily carry the bigger energies of an entire universe. The properties of the reset are well explored: it acts like a motel room being remade for the key holder, foreign objects are removed and held at the energy source of the room (cosmic motel management), and our hero has to become the Occupant in order to both survive the reset and know what to ask for to be returned, namely his daughter. It's not clear that all of this is justifiable in quantum mechanics and string theory, and the show is not particularly showcasing quantum concepts like non-locality (unless you think that helps explain how the room can open on every other door, etc.) More compellingly, the show originates from and leave us with a spiritual logic. It's a mystical road movie in which Joe Miller meets the Buddha and has to kill him, because only he can fulfill his own love and purpose. Enlightenment removes us from normal reality; Joe now has immortality and indestructibility signifying the bodhisattva. Room 10 is the calm center that mediates with primal energies, it is like the personal Soul which connects with the white light of the reset, i.e. God. On the Journey to Godhead all characters get what they deserve, including ruthless Karl who joins his dead son in the white light without the moral grounds to return to Earth, and Marty the Lucifer character who is lost in the worship of his ego cult and thinks he will become God (don't hold your breath). I could be wrong, but I think the creators behind this project knew what they were doing, unconsciously at least, and we're given a complete enlightenment parable that will add up for years to come, with or without a sequel. Bravo to all involved!

Karafuru (1999)

Beware the anime, you can't get the right film!

[1/10 · 14 May 2006]

Apparently there were 2 Japanese films of the title "Colorful". Everyone tells the synopsis of the excellent heaven-can-wait live-action fantasy that was released in 2000. It's about a boy's spirit who killed himself. He returns in another boy's body for redemption. This was shown at some festivals. It was family friendly and got good reviews. But then stores sell/rent you a stupid anime of men drooling over women's panties. Believe me I've tried. The bad one is anime from ADV films. It was released in 2005, on DVD-only release, with 16 episodes of bad sex jokes. If someone can get the correct non-anime Colorful, please let me know!

Soultaker (1990)

a masterpiece informed by Shilling's own near death experience

[27 February 2003]

I won't say much, just that if you are sensitive to your spiritual origins then you will strongly recognize that this is a great and realistic (yes it is!) film that did not suffer much from its low-budget or beginner crew. And no wonder, because the screenwriter and lead actress Vivian Shilling had her own near-death experience at the age of 18! Check out her website and consider buying the novels she now writes to continue to process the same themes of survivor guilt, afterlife, and moral conflict.

People who make fun of a film like "Soultaker" are just exposing their own discomforts and ignorance of the afterlife. Boycott the MST3k version, they will be ashamed of themselves when they know better. Sci-fi/fantasy fans who praise the original film are ready to enjoy more of the truth, the real sci-fi, which is not out there, it is in here, and in other gems (often all the more endearing because of their low budgets) like "Made in Heaven" (1987), "Dreams Come True" (1982), "Eden" (1997), "Resurrection" (1980), "White Light" (1991), "What Dreams May Come" (1998), "Dragonfly" (2002), etc. etc. Such films get made not because of significant industry or audience support, but because of the vision of individuals committed to exploring and sharing real spiritual experience.

yours truly, the mystical move guide

I Don't Hate Las Vegas Anymore (1994)

in the genre of films directed by God

[29 July 2002]

I consider it an honor to add my review of this film, because it is so unusual, obscure, and ambitious. The director hopes to film the synchronicities and cathartic moments that prove the existence of God during a healing road trip to Las Vegas with his estranged father and half-brother. His memories of the place are scarred from when his parents would gamble there, so he puts forth better intentions to the universe and starts the cameras rolling. There is no script and this is not a documentary, it's more like a fragmented and precociously imperfect reality TV segment from a personal growth diary. The fact that the director Caveh Zahedi is sincere and well-versed in his sensitive New Age guy persona, quite pretty and soft-spoken with a friendly crew, means that the project can't miss to be sweet and inspiring. But it also falls far short of what could be imagined for a film that claims to be directed by God (Caveh is listed as the co-director). Will this movie in the future be pointed to as the beginning of a new genre, one that saves and celebrates unscripted miracles on film? We all have threads of magic in our lives. The best movies have yet to be seen because they are the God-told stories of our own daily lives, and who on this side of heaven has the resources to film and edit that much material. So Zahedi tried.

** SMALL SPOILER ** In "I Don't Hate Las Vegas Anymore", most of the family healing is minor and revolves around Zahedi claustrophobically cajoling his family into doing ecstasy (the drug) with him for a platonic love-in back at the hotel, so the action is mundane and controlled after all. Something of a miracle does occur, but you'll have to see the film to find out more. The greatest miracle seems to be that, in a world so unaccustomed to good-hearted video journaling, Zahedi's flawed achievement really does stand out, and his project has gotten enough distribution that I was able to rent it for my TV at a good local video store. We almost laughed, we almost cried, and then we turned the TV off to continue watching our own lives. So I won't be surprised if we meet Zahedi in the afterlife, and he'll be on the production team for life reviews.