FilmRoar

The scene where a very annoyed Picard turns bureaucracy and red tape back against the Sheliak alone makes TNG: The Ensigns of Command worth watching. Add to that a well-written love interest for Data and you have a pretty good episode on your hands. I am quite glad that the writers did not cop out and try to invent some excuse for Data to respond to Ard’rian’s advances but instead allowed him to grow while maintaining his character. It is too bad they did not re-use the Sheliak race in a later episode, the idea of a powerful race with a strict adherence to protocol had great potential for future conflicts.

I don’t know when the last time was that I paid money at a movie theater to watch a documentary, so I was a bit surprised when my friend Sven asked me if I was interested in seeing The Weather Underground (2002) at the local art house theater, Cinema 21. Oh boy am I glad that I said ‘yes’. The Weather Underground is a superb movie in two ways: First the story of the 1960s radical group is very interesting and worth knowing and second the movie is exemplary of top notch documentary filmmaking.
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Just as I was feeling put off by the stereotypical ‘gruff man in a leather jacket’ look of the gatherers they pull out the old and wrinkled rebel and show that Star Trek writers are still capable of some originality. In general a good episode, but with some ugly plot holes. Someone really should have told Riker about the stun setting on his phaser… or at least about doing a body tackle as an alternative to shooting the ‘alien babe of the week’ to death.

The Great Dictator (1940) is supposed to be one of Charlie Chaplin’s best works, however the last film to feature his famous “little tramp” persona is not as good as the earlier movies. At times funny, but often reaching for a laugh The Great Dictator is cheapened by the overstretching caricature of Adolph Hitler and overly melodramatic plight of the innocent oppressed. I guess The Great Dictator is a must see for any film buff simply because of the frequency in which it is referenced, but if you want to see Chaplin at his best go back to Modern Times (1936) or The Gold Rush (1925).

After much nail bitting on the part of anxious fans, Www.lordoftherings.net has finally released the list of theaters that will screen the exclusive three movie marathon. Tickets go on sale October 9th, anyone care to take bets on how long they last?
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In the 1983 movie Pauline à la plage (1983), Eric Rohmer proves yet again that French Cinema has no concept of plot development. Pauline shows greater maturity than her young aunt Marion who keeps trying to set her up for an affair with the older Henri… For two hours. By the time the credits rolled and we realized that the story truly was never going to go any further than that all I could say was ‘yup, definitely a French film’.

I had a chance to see Gérard Corbiau’s Le Roi danse (2000) at a small art cinema in Bogotá Colombia. I was surprised that I had not heard before about this new movie by the director of the beautiful Farinelli (1994) and The Music Teacher(1988). I was immediately impacted by how very similar this movie is to its predecessors. The tale of King Louis XIV’s narcissistic fascination with ballet is beautifully shot in rich settings and with lavish costumes. At times the tale seems a bit dull and repetitive, though that may have also been caused by the familiar feeling of Corbiau’s filmmaking. The plot of the movie is rather beside the point though as it serves as an excuse for the beautiful dancing, costumes and music.