Film Review: Reality Bites (1994) C

Date Viewed: 1/11/08
Venue: HDNet

Let me just go on record here: I hate Generation X. I hate the whining, the complaining, the blaming of parents, the lazy questioning of authority, the constant references to Schoolhouse Rock, all of it. Born in '77, I fall right on the hazy dividing line between Generations X and Y, meaning I am a man without country. However, growing up and being a teenager in the early 90s meant succumbing to Generation X. The movies (Reality Bites, Singles), the music (Nirvana), the fashion (flannel), and even the unfocused malaise.

Which brings us to 1994's Reality Bites, starring Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, Steve Zahn, Ben Stiller (who also directed), and Janeane Garofalo (barf), a group of recent college grads who must find themselves and their purpose in the big bad real world. Ryder plays Lelaina, a free-spirit who's embarrassed by her father's wealth, Hawke is Troy, resident bad boy with no plans in life, only angry philosophical platitudes. And Stiller is the conforming yuppie who has effectively 'sold-out.'

Reality Bites tries to pass itself off as a comedic love story for the 90s, as LeLaina has a flirtatious relationship with the smoldering Troy, but winds up dating Michael (Stiller) for much of the movie. The problem with this are twofold, one, the comedy simply isn't that strong (as if it doesn't go far enough, see Clerks, or hell, even "Beavis & Butt-Head" for fearless Gen-X comedy), and the love story fails because LeLaina is such a enormously passive character. Troy is the only interesting character here, and he vanishes for much of the movie.

Bites does a much better job painting an overall vibe for Gen-X (besides all the normal Gen-X stereotypes, we get a (barfily) promiscous character who's major purpose in the film is to GET TESTED FOR AIDS, and a "Real World"-esque show) than it does telling a story, but even still it falls flat by not going far enough. Maybe worth it just for the trip down memory lane, but otherwise...yawn.

Film Review: Hotel Rwanda (2004) B+

Date Viewed: 1/25/08
Venue: Universal HD

Hotel Rwanda tells the true tale of luxury-hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle), who takes in over a thousand Tutsi refugees during their bloody struggle with Hutu militias. As the film begins Paul is simply a good family man who is very good at his job, effortlessly catering to the needs of the visiting (and local) rich and powerful. As tension between Hutus and Tutsis rise, Paul sincerely believes things will blow over, he is above such seemingly arbitrary labels (he is Hutu and his wife Tutsi). When a neighbor Tutsi is beaten and taken in by a Hutu militia on suspicion of spying, Paul elects to stay with his family rather than help the man, putting his family first.

Things go to hell quickly as Hutu militias overrun the country, hunting down and brutally exterminating the Tutsis. U.N. Peacekeeper troops drop off dozens, then hundreds of Tutsi refugees at the hotel. Instead of ostensibly saving his own Hutu skin and staying out of things, Paul takes the refugees in, using his connections and influence to ensure their safety. A macabre juxtaposition occurs as violence breaks out throughout the city (with Tutsis slaughtered in the streets, fires everywhere, and constant gunfire), yet its almost business as usual inside the hotel; piano music in the lounge, casual dining, very surreal. Eventually, Western military forces do show up, but only to evacuate the white European and American guests. Practically abandoned, Paul must stand his ground time and time again using his guile and connections to keep the Hutu militias away from the hotel and his 'guests' and family. Interestingly, Paul has enough connections to get out safely with his family, but when faced with the fates of over a thousand people, he continually elects to stay until they are all evacuated.

Don Cheadle gives an extraordinary performance as a man desperately trying to keep it all together in the worst of times, and he's truly what keeps this film together. Nick Nolte is hit-or-miss as a frustrated and ultimately ineffective U.N. commander, he goes from zero to over-acting in 2.6 seconds. And Joaquin Phoenix is also around as an ambitious reporter, who's really only around to spout exposition.

Hotel Rwanda is a very good film, no doubt about it. Between Cheadle's performance and pure strength of the material, there's a lot to like (again, I feel weird saying 'like' in the context of a genocide film). But the story feels only serviceable and straight-forward. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, but perhaps the subject matter deserved a little something extra. Still, a powerful testament to events that were (and still are) sadly overlooked by the Western world.

2007 Movie Log Analysis

Now we're into 2008 it's time to look back and do a little breakdown on the movies I watched in 2007.

192 movies total, 156 (81%) of them films I had never seen before.

Only 8 of them were seen in a theater. That's an all-time low in my adult life.

38 (20%) were viewed on HD-DVD.

40 (21%) were recorded off cable.

104 (54%) were rentals (from either Netflix or Blockbuster Online).

I watched a staggering 45 films (23%) in January.

What does it all mean? Not much except that I'm a big nerd for charting out my movie watching.

2008 Video Game Log

01/02/08 - Rock Band (360)
01/04/08 - Super Paper Mario (Wii)
01/04/08 - Rock Band (360)
01/05/08 - Rock Band (360)
01/05/08 - Madden NFL 07 (360)
01/07/08 - Rock Band (360)
01/10/08 - Rock Band (360)
01/12/08 - Rock Band (360)
01/19/08 - Super Paper Mario (Wii)
02/04/08 - Madden NFL 07 (360)
02/08/08 - Madden NFL 07 (360)
02/08/08 - Rock Band (360)
02/12/08 - Madden NFL 07 (360)
02/13/08 - Madden NFL 07 (360)
02/15/08 - Rock Band (360)
02/16/08 - Rock Band (360)

2008 Movie Log

001. 01/03/08 - Rocky (1976) HDNet (A)
002. 01/03/08 - Rocky II (1979) HDNet (B)
003. 01/04/08 - Rocky III (1982) HDNet (B-)
004. 01/05/08 - A River Runs Through It (1992) HDNet (B)
005. 01/07/08 - The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy (2005) HDNet (B)
006. 01/09/08 - Family Plot (1976) HDNet (C)
007. 01/10/08 - Topaz (1969) HDNet (C-)
008. 01/11/08 - Reality Bites (1994) HDNet (C)
009. 01/25/08 - Hotel Rwanda (2004) Universal HD (B+)
010. 02/01/08 - The Right Stuff (1983) HDNet (B-)
011. 02/01/08 - Casper (1995) HDNet (C)
012. 02/02/08 - Robocop (1987) Universal HD (A+)
013. 02/05/08 - Dragonslayer (1981) HDNet (D)
014. 02/06/08 - Point Of No Return (1993) HDNet (D)
015. 02/06/08 - Soylent Green (1973) HDNet (C-)
016. 02/06/08 - Kramer Vs. Kramer (1979) HDNet (B+)
017. 02/07/08 - The Quick And The Dead (1995) HDNet (C)
018. 02/07/08 - The Jerk (1979) Universal HD (B)
019. 02/08/08 - Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987) HDNet (B)
020. 02/08/08 - The Fisher King (1991) HDNet (B+)
021. 02/09/08 - The Karate Kid Part II (1986) HDNet (B)
022. 02/12/08 - Dirty Harry (1971) Universal HD (B-)
023. 02/14/08 - The China Syndrome (1979) HDNet (B)
024. 02/18/08 - Run Ronnie Run (2002) HDNet (B-)
025. 02/18/08 - Doom (2005) HD-DVD (C)
026. 02/19/08 - Seabiscuit (2003) HD-DVD (B)
027. 02/20/08 - Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgandy (2004) HD-DVD (B-)
028. 02/21/08 - Hidalgo (2004) HDNet (B+)
029. 02/21/08 - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) HD-DVD (C+)
030. 02/25/08 - Sunshine (2007) DVD (B+)
031. 03/01/08 - Across The Universe (2007) DVD (B)
032. 03/01/08 - Underworld (2003) DVD (C-)
033. 03/02/08 - The Guns Of Navarone (1961) HDNet (C)
034. 03/08/08 - Ghostbusters (1984) HDNet (A+)
035. 03/10/08 - Shoot 'Em Up (2007) DVD (C+)
036. 03/11/08 - 3:10 To Yuma (2007) DVD (B)
037. 03/18/08 - Shooter (2007) HD-DVD (D)
038. 03/19/08 - Zodiac (2007) HD-DVD (A-)
039. 04/01/08 - The King Of Kong (2007) DVD (B)
040. 04/02/08 - Once (2007) DVD (B+)
041. 04/05/08 - Beowulf (2007) HD-DVD (B+)
042. 04/06/08 - American Gangster (2007) HD-DVD (B-)
043. 04/11/08 - Disturbia (2007) HD-DVD (B-)
044. 04/16/08 - The Host (2006) HD-DVD (B-)
045. 04/21/08 - Michael Clayton (2007) HD-DVD (B)
046. 04/23/08 - Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) HDNet (B+)
047. 04/24/08 - The Bourne Identity (2002) HD-DVD (B-)
048. 05/01/08 - Iron Man (2008) ArcLight Hollywood (B+)
049. 05/10/08 - Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981) DVD (A+)
050. 05/12/08 - The Bourne Supremacy (2004) HD-DVD (B)
051. 05/12/08 - The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) HD-DVD (B+)
052. 05/18/08 - Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom (1984) DVD (B+)
053. 05/22/08 - Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull (2008) ArcLight Hollywood (C+)
054. 05/25/08 - The Mist (2007) DVD (C+)
055. 05/26/08 - There Will Be Blood (2007) DVD (C)
056. 05/27/08 - Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street (2007) DVD (B-)
057. 06/03/08 - Alpha Dog (2006) HD-DVD (B)
058. 06/09/08 - Speed Racer (2008) Mann Chinese 6 (B-)
059. 06/11/08 - Cloverfield (2008) DVD (A-)
060. 06/12/08 - The TV Set (2006) DVD (B)
061. 06/12/08 - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) HDNet (C)
062. 06/13/08 - Auto Focus (2002) HDNet (B)
063. 06/14/08 - One Crazy Summer (1986) HDNet (C+)
064. 06/16/08 - La Vie En Rose (2007) DVD (B-)
065. 06/17/08 - The Darjeeling Limited (2007) DVD (B-)
066. 06/19/08 - Rocky IV (1985) DVD (B)
067. 06/19/08 - Rocky V (1990) DVD (D-)
068. 06/28/08 - WALL-E (2008) ArcLight Sherman Oaks (A-)
069. 07/10/08 - Rescue Dawn (2006) DVD (B-)
070. 07/10/08 - Ghost Rider (2007) DVD (D-)
071. 07/11/08 - Gone Baby Gone (2007) DVD (A)
072. 07/12/08 - Batman Begins (2005) DVD (B+)
073. 07/12/08 - Batman (1989) DVD (B+)
074. 07/15/08 - Wanted (2008) ArcLight Hollywood (C)
075. 07/17/08 - Pitch Black (2000) HD-DVD (C-)
076. 07/18/08 - The Dark Knight (2008) ArcLight Hollywood (A)
077. 07/21/08 - Rio Bravo (1959) HDNet (B)
078. 07/21/08 - Batman Returns (1992) DVD (B)
079. 07/22/08 - Gallipoli (1981) HDNet (B)
080. 07/26/08 - Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) DVD (A+)
081. 07/28/08 - Mean Streets (1973) HDNet (B)
082. 07/29/08 - Network (1976) HDNet (A-)
083. 08/03/08 - THX 1138 (1971) HDNet (B)
084. 08/26/08 - Deliverance (1972) HDNet (B+)
085. 09/08/08 - Giant (1956) HDNet (B)
086. 09/08/08 - Point Blank (1967) HDNet (C+)
087. 09/17/08 - City Of God (2002) HDNet (A-)
088. 09/17/08 - The Fog Of War (2004) HDNet (B)
089. 09/22/08 - King Arthur (2004) HDNet (C-)
090. 09/23/08 - Cinema Paradiso (1988) HDNet (B+)
091. 09/24/08 - Wait Until Dark (1967) HDNet (B)
092. 09/25/08 - The Color Of Money (1986) HDNet (C+)
093. 10/06/08 - Airport (1970) HDNet (C+)
094. 10/07/08 - The Color Purple (1985) HDNet (B)
095. 10/09/08 - Knocked Up (2007) HD-DVD (C+)
096. 10/09/08 - The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (2007) HD-DVD (B-)
097. 10/10/08 - Rocky Balboa (2006) DVD (B)
098. 10/13/08 - Charlie Wilson's War (2007) DVD (B)
099. 10/13/08 - In Bruges (2008) DVD (B)
100. 10/14/08 - The French Connection (1971) DVD (B)
101. 10/14/08 - Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone (2001) DVD (B)
102. 10/15/08 - Harry Potter & The Chamber Of Secrets (2002) HD-DVD (B-)
103. 10/20/08 - Harry Potter & The Prisoner Of Azkaban (2004) HD-DVD (A-)
104. 10/21/08 - Harry Potter & The Goblet Of Fire (2005) HD-DVD (B+)