Thursday 26 March 2015

Double Bill Mini Musings: Groundhog War and Deliciously Dark Satire...

Edge Of Tomorrow:
What's it about?
Doug Liman's sci-fi action fest about a military P.R. man who unwittingly finds himself thrown into the midst of an all-out offensive against an invading alien force - and promptly dies - only to suddenly resurrect the day beforehand. He remembers what happened, but nobody else does - day after day after day he's thrown into battle to die, but when he encounters another warrior who knows what is happening to him, there might be a way to end the war once and for all.
Who would I recognise in it?
Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson, Tony Way, Noah Taylor, and more.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
Overlooked at the box office, it's a shame that Edge of Tomorrow (previously known as "All You Need Is Kill" after the source material) didn't do better - although the patchy advertising campaign didn't help (which turned a tagline into an accidental new title "Live. Die. Repeat."). Balancing sci-fi spectacle with an irreverent sense of humour, EoT plays the 'groundhog day' setup for all its value - both light and dark. The script is smart, funny, and briskly paced - making for an altogether entertaining thrill ride with an eye for invention. It absolutely deserved a better reception at the box office, but hopefully it will find a home as a cult classic in due course on the home video market. Great.

Click "READ MORE" below for Bobcat Goldthwait's savaging of America's rotten reality TV fixation...

God Bless America:
What's it about?
A jet black comedy drama about a middle aged man - divorced, unloved, and newly unemployed - who discovers that, in addition to his crippling insomnia and social frustrations, he's got an inoperable brain tumour. Despairing at the state of television (reality TV in particular), he decides to go on a killing spree with a disaffected young girl. Their targets: rude people, heartless scumbags, news anchor fear mongers, and so on.
Who would I recognise in it?
Joel Murray.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
There's a particular moment in the first few minutes that will decide if you'll be open to Goldthwait's particular brand of exceedingly twisted satire. Repulsed? Chances are you won't fair much better with the rest of the movie, but if you survive that then you can expect a crazed comedy that stabs right to the heart of America's dysfunctional relationship with modern media. The central performances by Joel Murray (Mad Men), and Tara Lynne Barr, strike the right balance between the serious and the absurd; despite their outré pursuits you remain along for the ride. Jaw droppingly daring, laugh out loud funny, and utterly gleeful in its violent retribution, God Bless America is without a doubt a must-see flick. Great.

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