Sai-Ken Reviews

Yellow Submarine (1968)

Hey Bulldog, this is a great film!

[10/10 · 3 January 2000]

I was never a huge Beatle fan; I always *respected* the four's contribution to music, but they weren't my style. (I'm more of a punk or even glam rocker.) Still, my mother's a Beatlemaniac and when I heard Yellow Submarine was coming out on DVD, I knew it would be perfect to buy her for Christmas.

To make a long story short, I need to purchase another copy, as I've taken control of hers.

Yellow Submarine is like a filmed dream. If you try and make sense of it, you'll find yourself with a horrible headache, but if you suspend your doubt and go along with it, you'll find yourself enjoying it and even feeling as if it does make sense in a wierd way. If it is a dream though, it's the most wonderful, uplifting one I've encountered.

The animation can be simplistic (though other times amazing) but it's nonetheless extremely charming. Indeed, this seems to be the case with most aspects of the film: the puns groanworthy, the psychedelia dated along with the peace and love theme, the plot rediculous, but it all somehow forms a mix which is absolutely enchanting and loveable if you give it half a chance.

Though it's certainly apropriate for all ages, younger children may find it overly long and confusing, and would probably enjoy watching only short bits of it and some members of the Pokemon set are likely to find it primitive, corny and boring, but older children, teenagers, and adults from all generations should all be able to enjoy and appreciate this unique work of art.

And yes, thanks to the soundtrack, I've now listened to Beatles music with a new interest and outright love.

Rock 'n' Roll High School Forever (1991)

Hey, look- it's Mojo Nixon!

[22 November 1999]

This is far from the best movie- but you can't help but like it way more then you should. A lot of aspects go nowhere (what's up with Tabitha?) and most of the gags have been done elsewhere, but the appliance worship kills me dead every time. Having been a lot like the heroes while I was in highschool probably helps too- unless you ever honestly wanted juvenile revenge on the homecoming queen, you're probably not going to care much for the movie. But hey, it's got an over enthusiastic Mojo Nixon. What more do you really need?

Life Is Beautiful (1997)

A truly beautiful fable, no more, no less.

[10/10 · 8 June 1999]

Life is Beautiful is the first movie in years to make me cry, and the first ever that I freely admit. In addition to it's powerful story, there are hardly any artistic flaws to be found. Benigni's slapstick feels like homage to others, but his personal charisma (and sheer cuteness) inject it with new life. The cinematography is excellent, the site gags all work, and even the youngest member of the primary cast was a believable actor. The story itself? There are no words for how powerful, even life changing it is. Pulling you in all directions at once, crushing beauty with atrocity and then injecting joy into the most despairing of conditions, the film manages to raise so many genuine emotions and leave viewers haunted with it's message.

And yet, there are legitimate questions raised by it's detractors, who often feel as if the merit of the story is lost by presenting what could be viewed as a too sanitized version of the Holocaust. As is said in the beginning of the film, the story is a fable, and I view it much as I did the play _The Crucible_. In _Crucible_, many details of the events in Salem were changed, many to make the tale easier for modern audiences to understand and accept, without being so shocked that more subtle intent is lost. Though it makes it less respectable as history retold, it does not take away from the powerful moral to be gained. Similarly, in leaving the true horrors of the concentration camps to our imaginations, Life is Beautiful allows us to become involved more strongly with the moral tale and subtle feelings invoked by individual characters and events without bludgeoning us with sheer horror and revulsion. Holocaust history does demand the most respect of any historic tragedy, and perhaps too much is assumed of the audience's knowledge, but by focusing on a single idealized story this film can influence the heart in ways that the incomprehensible magnitude and surreal horror of the Holocaust often cannot when presented as numbers in a textbook or even the anonymous agony on newsreel. Personally, I found it to evoke greater revulsion towards the relatively smaller losses and understated horrors then many other likeminded films do towards more accurate portrayals of great atrocity.

While not a perfect film, Life is Beautiful is easily one of the best and most powerful ever made when viewed in the proper light, and above all else, its moral shines as a important reminder of how precious- not to mention beautiful, life is.

Video Violence (1987 Video)

Almost unwatchable. I love it.

[1/10 · 7 June 1999]

Video Violence is... painful, almost visceral. Your mind actually rebels against this drek, pleading please, please turn it off! And yet, you can't. Rather, even after your best friend tears the tape from the VCR, you pull it out later and force yourself to watch it again. From the beginning. It's not quite MST3K material; rather imagine _Redneck Zombies_ (The highly superior Pericles Lewnes gem) with cheaper special effects and no wit. Yes, this was shot on home video, and the color saturation alone lets you know we are firmly in the '80s. The hair helps too on that point, as does the classic fretting of the video clerk- "I can't believe everyone in this one horse town owns a VCR!" Mmmm. This film seems as if it was trying to be camp (though assuming so is purely an act of compassion) but fell flat. Horribly flat. Watered down condiments as blood. Bouncy rubber hands reused over and over. No continuity. No acting. No attractive men or woman to take your mind off the ordeal, though there is some incredibly boring nudity. It seems to have been shot over spring break. Or maybe a three day weekend. Needless to say, I enjoyed it immensely. Interesting note: Obviously shot in a real video store, a copy of _Blood Cult_ is highly visible in one scene. (Other movies are visible, and there's a Friday the 13th poster, but hey, it's _Blood Cult_! Supposed the first straight to video film! So very appropriate.)