I celebrated my birthday yesterday, and Suzero got me this movie on DVD. Along with a CD of “Soothing sounds for babies”, which actually works miraculously well. That’s why I had time today to put the DVD in the player and enjoy Tim Burton’s take on 50′s sci-fi pulp.

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Based on the play by Stephen Belber (who adapted it for the screen), director, Richard Linklater does it again using dialogue as the foundation which he builds this movie on. Shot in just a few days, on an unbelievably low budget, Linklater still managed to wrangle three Hollywood names (Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard and Uma Thurman) to give him each their best individual performances of their careers.

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First there was the hype, something I tend to be horribly allergic to. Then there was the concept, oh, how very vulgar it all sounded. Then there was Nicole Kidman. Then there was the way there is an exclamation point in the title. So many reasons to avoid this film. But last Friday I was rightfully put in my place by a co-worker of mine (who ranks this film as one of her top 2 of all time favorites) when I was told not to criticize that which I have never seen. And so, to the video store I went.

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I think I had one of Suzero’s moments with this film. It was too hyped. Yeah sure, it was moderately entertaining, but in the same way an old 1980’s Paula Abdul video is entertaining. Who doesn’t like to see slinky dancers in black very small leather-ish outfits?

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Finally got to see this film after having heard so many people rave about it. I suppose that’s always rather dangerous as it builds up your expectations too much and sets you up for a disappointment which this was… rather…

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The very succesful action movie producer Mike Max (Bill Pullman), ironically escapes death himself when he’s being robbed. There’s something very strange about the armed robbery. The two robbers are both dead and Max is nowhere to be found. Meanwhile the US Government is testing a new hi-tec surveillance system that is to mean the end of violence and crime, simply because it can see what everyone in the city is doing. Of course somehow all these events have a lot to do with eachother and there we have a storyline for a thriller.

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For anyone residing in the Netherlands:
Tonight, on NED 3, at 22h50 BNN is showing ‘Zephyr’. A film by 2002 Dutch Film Academy graduates Jens Hollander and Dennis Kleyn. It’s a Sci-Fi film about a guy in a salvaging team who finds a mysterious person still alive in the debris of a space battle. This person shows him some new insights.

I’ve only seen a trailer of this film. It’s probably not any good. But it does show great use of modern techniques and visual effects, that we don’t normally see in dutch films. Especially not in graduation films.

Zephyr is one of three reviewed films in ‘Sci-Fi outside Hollywood’, also on this site. Click here to go there.

Disappointed by the fact that 24 Hour Party People wasn’t showing last night (despite the Amsterdam film schedule printing that it was), Teppi and I scanned the listings to find another film nearby. Most had already started, but then I spotted X2 and we decided to go for full out action movie rather than go without any moving pictures for the evening.

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This is the first movie I’ve been able to watch front to back since my little baby girl was born last week. She even watched along for the first hour or so. Let’s hope it doesn’t inspire her too much

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Sometimes when you’re in the video store with no particular film in mind to rent, you rely on quotes from film critics: ‘This is a wildly invigorationg, unexpectedly thrilling and even moving film. Who needs Class B drugs when you’ve got this film?’ wrote The Guardian. ‘Breathtakingly beautiful and genuinely innovative’ wrote The Daily Telegraph. A ‘must-see’ wrote Premiere Magazine. Mmm….

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