The horror of the INUITS

bradley iverson-long & jeremy blodgett

cheap two-hour thrills

Rocky Horror Picture Show (R)

Jeremy: The Rocky Horror Picture Show is, of course, that cross-dressing, crowd participating, bad singing, theatre/cinema spectacle that so many people know and love. While I’m not one of those people, I’d still urge everyone to go at least once and check out this cultural phenomenon.

Bradley: There was a time, probably in between junior high and high school, when everyone saw this movie, on video or in theatres. Somehow, I missed that phenomenon, and I still haven’t seen it, and unless something miraculous happens, that trend will probably continue. I hope everyone else enjoys it, though.

J: The film is a musical parody of classic horror films. Brad and Janet’s car breaks down during a rainstorm, and they walk to the nearest house to use the phone. That house just happens to belong to Dr. Frankenfurter, a cross-dressing mad scientist whose latest project is creation of man stud Rocky. Song, debauchery, and evil ensue.

Brad’s Last Gasp: Some people say “Oh, Brad!” to me, in reference to the movie. What’s up with that?

Jeremy’s Final Word: Don’t look for a good movie; it’s not. But go to dig the crowd and actively participate, and it can be kind of cool.

Antanarjuat

The Fast Runner (R)

J: Perhaps the biggest mistake the films committee made this semester was to schedule one of the best movies of last year on Disco night, especially when that movie runs nearly three hours. Regardless, the film is brilliant. The story follows a group of nomadic Inuit hunters in a cold, barren land long ago. In the beginning, an evil spirit is raised, throwing the tribe into growing turmoil throughout the movie. There are personal conflicts and hatred leading to an act of vengeance and Antanarjuat (translated The Fast Runner) running for his life across the frozen landscape. Antanarjuat survives and the evil spirits, in the end, are conquered.

B: Sigh, again, a film I haven’t seen. This film’s distribution was incredibly small. However, if you’ll recall the Top 10 Films Lists (S&B Vol. 19, Num. 15, Jan. 31), my mother named The Fast Runner the sixth best film of 2002. Sixth! And that’s coming from a very reputable cinema source.

J: The Fast Runner is an epic film and story, highly complex in a simple frame. The setting in the Arctic plays a huge role, the sound of crunching snow lending almost the entire soundtrack. The filmmaking is so spare and straightforward that the audience can feel the snow and the cold. True, the movie is long and some might argue slow moving, but I didn’t find either a problem. The story has such scope, when it was over I was shocked it was so soon, and in every scene I was so thoroughly enthralled by everything on screen that I never looked at my watch.

Brad’s Last Gasp: I love my mom, so I’ll watch this movie.

Jeremy’s Final Word: Beautiful, original, honest, breathtaking, and easily one of the best films I’ve seen in past years.

The Breakfast Club (R)

B: Finally, a movie I’ve seen! This film, which any legitimate fan of 1980s American pop culture has memorized, follows one day of Saturday detention for five students in Shermer, Ill.: a jock (Emilio Estevez), a geek (Anthony Michael Hall), a popular girl (Molly Ringwald), a recluse (Ally Sheedy), and, well, Bender (Judd Nelson). These stereotypical kids, all being watched by a hard-ass principal (Paul Gleason), overlook their status differences and forge, well, a club.

A brilliant high school comedy, The Breakfast Club was the peak of the careers of all the actors involved, as well as writer/director John Hughes. While I can’t guarantee that you’ll enjoy any of the other movies this weekend, I can assure you that you can’t go wrong with this or any movie set in Shermer, Ill..

J: Nope, haven’t seen this one. Nope, don’t really want to.

B: For shame!

Rashomon (NR)

J: Akira Kurosawa was one of the greatest filmmakers of all time and Rashomon still stands as one of his best. Featuring Toshiro Mifune, Kurosawa’s favorite actor, the film dispenses with traditional straight narrative for a multi-layered philosophical meditation. A murder has occurred in the woods and every witness tells a radically different story. The question is not “Who’s right?” but “Can any of these people be right?” A brilliant film and a perfect set up for heated conversation afterward.