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Thursday, April 29, 2004
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“The Big Empty”
Lion’s Gate Pictures
Starring Sean Bean, Jon Favreau
I “The Big Empty” is a hard movie to classify. What starts off as a
quirky character-driven film with great potential turns - in a heart
beat - into an enigmatic open-ended alien flick with philosophical
overtones. The speck-on-the-radar independent film boasts an
impressive collection of actors and stellar visuals that create an
almost enjoyable film. The starkness of the desert is perfectly show
cased by cinematographer Chris Manley.
I The always funny Jon Favreau stars as John Person, a struggling
actor who is slowly sinking under a mountain of debts. Instead of
E m rrying about his financial situation, he spends his nights ponder-
which photograph would best sell him to potential directors.
Person’s financial problems are offered a reprieve when a mysteri-
bjis neighbor (Bud Cort) offers Person enough money to erase his
bts if he will simply take a blue briefcase into the middle of the
sert to the small town of Baker, Calif. Cort plays the bizarre
ighbor Neely with such oddness that viewers will be simultane
ously repulsed and attracted to the squat little man. Neely and an
named group seem to know quite a lot about Person as Neely so
refully explains. Conversations such as this drive the first half of
ie movie as Person takes Neely up on his offer and makes his way
to Baker to transfer the mysterious suitcase to an even more myste-
ripus man named Cowboy.
I While Person waits for Cowboy, he is introduced to the denizens
of the small town in which he is now trapped. Daryl Hannah plays
the town bartender, Stella, who must watch over her rowdy daugh-
tejr, Ruthie. Ruthie (Rachael Leigh Cook) is more interested in liv
ing life to the fullest, partaking in binge drinking and sleeping
around. It’s Ruthie’s promiscuity that drives Randy (Adam Beach)
lild. Randy hopes to marry Ruthie, and her constant flirting with
Person drives him crazy. The real standout of the film is Jon Cries’
portrayal of hotel manager Elron. Completely bonkers, Elron’s sub
dued antics and dialogue will leave audiences anticipating his next
wpearance. Elron tells Person that a pornographic movie was
limed in his hotel room.
I After Neely is found dead, an eccentric member of the cast is
introduced with Kelsey Crammer’s performance as FBI agent
Banks. Banks is a slightly crazed Investigator who stops at nothing
to prove Person is tied to Neely’s disappearance. With Sean
ian’s Irish Cowboy, who is the mysterious leader behind a cult of
lack suit wearing wannabe alien abducts, the main cast of
Gentries is complete.
The character interactions in the first half of the movie showcase
-time director/writer Steve Anderson’s knack for creating quirky
d interesting characters that dominate the screen and intrigue the
idience. Every line of dialogue contains quietly subdued hilarity.
With one scene, the movie’s tune changes dramatically into a
ix between a bad “Repo Man”/“X-Files” clone and “The Big
,ebowski.” Mixing bowling with an alien conspiracy, the movie’s
nal plot borders on pretentious. Offering few answers and lacking
itiative for audiences to create their own images, the film’s final
[cene seems like a bad art house film created for the Sci-Fi
’liannel. With such a wonky mishmash of genres, it’s easy for
any potential viewers to be turned off. Clever dialogue and great
[cting will keep audiences watching, but the ‘vague for vagueness
ke’ ending will leave audiences with an empty feeling as big as
ie desert the movie is set in.
The DVD comes with deleted scenes, including a plotline - fea
ring the excellent character actor Danny Trejo, a director’s com-
atvlaxy, a wuvklug, of fe&futette and a combination music
ideo/picture gallery.
Irst-
“Versus”
Starring Tak Sakaguchi, Chieko Misaka,
Hideo Sakaki
Mystery Science Theater fans rejoice. Even though the show has
long been canceled, fans can still follow in the footsteps of Mike,
Joel, Servo and Crow by grabbing a few friends and having a late-
night showing of “Versus.” For those who don’t understand that,
then understand this: “Versus” is a very, very bad movie. The only
thing it is good for is being ripped to shreds and laughed at.
In the heart of the “Resurrection Forest,” where the dead suffer
from eternal insomnia, two prisoners make an escape from prison
and are on their way to meet up with some gang members. The
prisoners meet up with the would-be saviors only to find out that
they have kidnapped a girl, and they are supposed to wait for the
“Boss” to show up. Tensions escalate and before the audience
knows it, a fight breaks out and one of the gang members is killed.
The meaning of the resurrection forest becomes very clear when
the dead gang member suddenly comes back to life in a zombie
like fashion and tries to go on a killing spree, but is abruptly
stopped by loads of bullets.
Confused and scared, one of the prisoners grabs the girl and runs
off into the forest in hopes of avoiding more zombies and trigger-
happy gang members. Things quickly get worse as an unending sup
ply of zombies appear along with the Boss. Through several tortur
ous flashbacks viewers find out that the Boss and the prisoners are
ancient enemies who come back every hundred years to fight each
other. The Boss summons a few helpers who don’t help much, but
seem to be there only so the prisoners can beat on them for a few
minutes. Finally the prisoners meet up with the Boss, and in a bat
tle that goes on way too long, kills him.
All of the bad acting, bad story, bad effects and bad characters
combine to make this movie a perfect candidate for Mystery
Science Theater lovers. The plot is so convoluted and difficult to
understand that viewers may still have no idea what happened in
some cases. The acting is so exaggerated that viewers will find
themselves laughing at it. On top of that, none of the characters
have names. All you have is the Boss, the prisoners, the girl, etc.
This is as cheap as filmmaking can get. Extras on the DVD might
have helped to improve the disc somewhat, but all viewers get are
four trailers that look like equally viable candidates for making this
DVD a DUD.
How anyone could have produced such a remarkably terrible
movie is simply beyond reason. It has no redeeming value what
soever. It is nothing but fodder for people who like to sit and make
fun of movies. If audiences are going to watch this film, grab a
bunch of brutal-minded friends and start viewing around mid
night; they’ll be sure to have a great time. If not, they will turn it
off after 10 minutes.
- Paul Cozby
If you see it on the video shelf-
wall away as fast as you can
Only watch it to please your date
Good for Saturday afternoon TV
JRjl %§Pick up a copy when you have a
WwW ' chance
You should have bought this yesterday
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The bobal trip:
7 counfcries....11 days
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Prom Los Angeles or Prom
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