Black Moon Rising

This week's film is an 80's action classic: Black Moon Rising.

This is another HBO movie, never making a theatrical release. But it was written by John Carpenter - 'nuff said?

No? OK. It stars Tommy Lee Jones, before he got really famous, as a thief hired by the FBI to steal records from a company they've been investigating. Things take a turn toward the complicated when he has to hide the tape in a prototype car....which then gets stolen.

This is a good heist movie with a lot of realistic action, even tho the super car isn't realistic, the characters don't bounce right back up after they're knocked down. And the acting is good for an 80s action flick.

Rent this if you're in the mood for a no-brainer action flick.

The Dogs of War

This week I'm suggesting another "older" film - The Dogs of War.

Christopher Walken plays a mercenary hired to start a coup in a small African country rich with valuable minerals. But soon after his arrival he's exposed and captured.

This is a pretty faithful adaptation of Frederick Forsyth's novel. Forsyth writes a bit like Tom Clancey - too much dry detail for 1 movie. But The directer and editor do good jobs eliminating the unnecessary.

This was made in 1980. So it's a bit slow by today's standards. This is not a Hollywood summer blockbuster. There aren't action scenes every 10 minutes.

But if you have a little bit of patience, this is a good movie. Walken is awesome! So are the atmosphere and characters.

Pi

This week's suggestion is Darren Aronofsky's 1998 masterpiece, Pi.

I know a lot of my friends have already seen this movie. But I'm writing this anyway for the few people I know who haven't seen it yet, and also because this is independent movie making at it's best.

It's about a paranoid, obsessive compulsive mathematician searching for order in nature's chaos. There are also forces trying to recruit him to work for their darker purposes.

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This is not a dumbed-down Hollywood summer blockbuster. This is a really intelligent film, mixing numerology with Kaballah and Wall Street.

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Don't worry if you're not a math-wiz. Everything is explained and ingeniously creative.

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Being shot entirely in black and white also helps give it the "Indy" feel. The acting and direction are top-notch and even the soundtrack of music I typically don't like fits in perfectly. This is a must-see!

Fanboys

This week's suggestion is a bit of a conundrum for me. I really liked this movie - thanks for the recommendation, Bug! - but I think most of the people I know who would like it have already seen it. But I'll take the chance and review it anyway.

The movie in question is the 2008 comedy Fanboys. With no big-named director or actors, it's about a group of Star Wars fanatic (fanboy) friends (circa 1999) who venture to the Skywalker Ranch to steal a copy of the much-awaited Star Wars I - The Phantom Menace, since one of their group is dying and won't be around for the theatrical release.

This is a good comedy, but I think most of the references are too specific for the "common" audience. This movie if for Sci-fi fans. Not so much only for Star Wars fans, but Trekkies (Trekkers??) and sci-fi buffs in general will enjoy this movie. If you know who Wedge, Sarek and Starbuck are you'll get a lot of the humor.

Other references are more obscure, like the guards at Skywalker Ranch dressed in THX 1138 costumes, but not critical to the enjoyment of this movie. I didn't get all the obscure references, but it would help if you got more of them than you missed.

The band Rush also has a surprisingly prominent role in the humor (alas, no cameo), which I, personally, greatly appreciated!

Fanboys is a little cliche at points, but it also made me literally laugh out loud at times. And the cameos were priceless!

Rent if you're even close to being a sci-fi geek!