what did the scanner see?

Yes, yes , yes my keanu fix was satiate by this masterpiece

LOOK out below **** th're be spoilers in ta water ****

when i first watched the online clip where Keanu waxed philosophical about the scanner seeing either darkly or clearly, i was TOTALLY clueless. But since i'm a groupie i wasn't going to let my comprehension limitations hinder me from checking out the flick. and as the one hopeful conclusion of the film, the scanner did indeed see clearly. . . .

Drugs rot the brain. just as those ominpresent and completely ingrained into my subconcious commericals 'this is your brain on drugs' enforced, the idealized liberties and entertainment quality of pharmaceuticals cost one's very life breath. drugs "stands for dumbness and despair and desertion ... D is finally death, slow death."
This is one of the most crucial points espoused by the film but it is by no means the most poignant one

The role of the agent, the one who signed up to protect and serve- the full truth of what it means to commit one's life to a cause, and by doing so granting one's leaders free use / or abuse of one's life. The harshness of being blindsidely slapped in the face with a Spock-like choice, 'the needs of the one' is the hidden landing pad of this awesome roller coaster ride. many critics out there have called it a downer ending because of this point but i found it vivid and refreshing like ice cold water on a 101 degree day. man it hurts going down the throat but, ahhh, don't you feel much better? hats off to the law enforcement personal who reliquish their liberities for the protection of everyone else.

but the tragedy of it all- it was a duty, and it was a choice. Evidenced by Arctor's pay cut. the film has a bit of 'born on the 4th of July' sentiment slipped in that i don't see addressed by the online reviewers. maybe because to do so, opps, is too much of a spoiler but i think its a philosphical debate worthy of at least 3 hours of chat time.

Complaints about the rotoscoping are to be ignored. As i realized AFTER the conclusion of the film, we were watching a scanner playback of Arctor's life. animated, two dimensional and everything else but real. brillant!

i'm glad that my summer movie hyped up hopes were not dashed this year. kind of like the feel good buzz i had after watching Spidey 2 and LOTR: the fellowship i was contented; and intellectually stimulated - WHOA!!!

warning the film does have a flesh scene so beware of unneccesary pandering of the sensual. once again hollywood's influence on pandering to the lowest common demoniatior for no reason except just because was perpetuated. tragic because otherwise the film would be perfect and possibly a good learning tool for the young and impressionable.

as far as the enterainment value- it was SO there. both i and the packed theatre were rolling; especially when Downey was on the scene. can't wait to read his memoirs to see if this film had any impact on his life choices (sadly Less than Zero had a less than zero impact on him)

in conclusion- recommendable with a red flag warning to close your eyes when Arctor gets to reminiscing about whoever was in the bed with him

side point- nudity is inappropriate for all but why is it acceptable to parade women around for cannibalistic lusting but the masculine form gets proper concealment? not that i'm advocating a woman's lib riot but just want to shine a spot light on another sample of artsy hypocrisy. for dramatic effect? pluezzezz

here's a link to a brief book review of the original text. Although i haven't read the novel, the below description is quite apt for the cinematic version:
"Caustically funny, eerily accurate in its depiction of junkies, scam artists, and the walking brain-dead"
http://www.philipkdick.com/works_novels_scanner.html

and here's a 'professional' second opinon if you felt mine was a bit lacking
http://washingtontimes.com/entertainment/20060713-082629-4543r.htm

and of course, the great Wiki speaks:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Substance_D

Topic Two: brief i promise

below you'll find a blog discussing the Russian fantasy/horror flick Night Watch. if we still communicated by paper, i'd have the pleasure of lighting that article with flame- OUCH!

i watched the film, in Russian reading the subtitles, and was impressed by the epical nuances exposed by the film. a lot is lost in the dubbed translation; after watching the film and the DVD extras i flipped the disk over to check out the english dub. i couldn't even make it through the first half- the most powerful scences were reduced to rubble by the first grade level dialogue substitutions.
but even if the dub was watched (cold shivers), you should still be able to appreciate the film's masterful point: exposing the ramifications of good, for the sake of compromise and truce, accepting and even enabling evil. this dilution of the prestine nature of good, just as in the film, leads to the adoption of evil's character and the loss of good's appeal. it's like eating a re-frozen Wendy's frosty; it tastes almost the same but you can't get around the freezer burn after taste or the messed up texture. in the trash it goes. which thus explains the film's ending.

the vortex B story is an extra plot that feels some what superfluous. however, when your consider its subtext message, you realize that it's helping to re-enforce the disasterous impact of flippantly reponding to serious things. the B story fits with the overall movie plot, but it's like the caulk between the tiles; it covers about the same surface area, it runs its own path, but without it, the tiles just don't stay put like they should.

anticipatory heart flutters have already started as i await the DVD release of the film's sequel Daywatch.

love the Keanu
encourage the Keanu
don't feed him any mushrooms and gently guide him back to his room.

my left brain is now telling my right brain to shut down and get off the computer
fortunately, i don't listen to either one of them

brain damage, just simply brain damage