I_am_RenegadeX

Without spoiling anything that's not in the synopsis, the film opens with our main character on a desert island, about to hang himself out of desperation -- when a dead body suddenly washes up on shore and causes him to reconsider. Okay... that was unexpected and I wanted to see where this was going. As the film's upbeat opening credits montage rolls, we see that the dead guy provides our protagonist with an unexpected use. By this point, I was already guessing that based on the film's title, the dead man would provide other survival-related functions, a bit like a Swiss Army Knife. Cool. Okay, so that having been established, what's next? Well, as it happens, not a whole lot. And that's a shame.

As a 10-minute short film, SAM could have worked -- but as a feature-length film, it just drags and drags. I'd already read some reviews, including the one in my local (major city) newspaper, and was aware this film wasn't for everyone. But the paper's respected reviewer gave this film 3 stars out of 4 and closed by saying, "all bets are off as to where this story is headed. But it's impossible not to get caught up in it, even if you're simultaneously repelled by it." -- though after the 20-minute mark, that couldn't be any *further* from the truth. After enduring the film first 30 minutes and wondering "Is this going somewhere?" (the protagonist wasn't), we gave it another 10 minutes, then agreed to switch it off. And that's something we very rarely do -- like once or twice every 5 years, maybe.

The next day, having looked through the "Ordered By: Helpfulness" reviews here on IMDb and seen so many high ratings and positive reviews , I decided to continue the movie, solo. I'm open minded, and no, I wasn't repulsed. But I also wasn't amused, entertained, or interested in any of the characters. I didn't find it at all "intelligent", as I'd seen some reviewers say, I didn't find anything redeeming about it, other than those first few opening minutes.

Without spoiling the ending, the last 13 minutes of the film are so contrived that if you weren't already saying "This is stupid!", then you have no excuse not to be now. And not surprisingly, the movie even ends with a fizzle.

Is Swiss Army Man unique? Sure. Is it worth watching? Most definitely not. If you do choose to watch it, well, you were warned!

The made-for-TV "Flight 93" was on A&E last night, so I watched it having recently been pleasantly impressed by the (similar/same) story of "United 93", which I rented on DVD just a few weeks ago.

Perhaps my opinion of "Flight" would be different if I had not seen "United" first, but I just didn't feel the power, emotion and anger that I'd felt while watching "United". "Flight" felt detached, poorly-acted and strangely 'calm', whereas "United" portrayed well the sense of in-credulousness of the situation as it unfolded and brought back the sick feeling we all had that day when it was realized what was actually going on. The air traffic controllers/airline people on the ground in "Flight" however seemed content to sit there serenely and simply wait for another opportunity to say, "There goes another one". And when one of the hijacked passengers uses his cell phone to give a sad farewell to his wife, she hangs up without even saying so much as "I love you".

Perhaps though my main problem with "Flight" is that it merely recreates what (is believed) to have happened, while "United" does the same while reminding us that procedures, organization & interaction on the ground were inexcusably poor, and that there are valuable lessons to be learned from this tragedy. By glossing over that aspect of the fateful day, "Flight 93" falls flat.

So if you've seen "United 93" already, don't waste your time with "Flight 93" - and if you haven't seen either but are interested in the story, make it "United".

If you haven't yet seen 'Crash', please do. Not because it won an Oscar for Best Picture but because it's one of those rare films that will leave you thinking about it long after the credits have rolled.

'Crash' opens with a somewhat-dazed passenger inside a car contemplating human interaction in Los Angeles: "In any real city, you walk, you know? You brush past people, people bump into you. In L.A., nobody touches you. We're always behind this metal and glass. I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so we can feel something."

His partner, Ria, quickly dismisses his ramblings as a side-effect of the car crash that they have just survived. But should she be so quick to come to that conclusion? A few seconds later, she steps out of the car and engages in a confrontation with the woman driver who had rear-ended them; her angry & offensive outburst is certainly not going to help the situation...

This sets the tone for the film - a social commentary that shows how many of us are quick to jump to conclusions (often using existing prejudices or stereotypes as fuel the fire), shows how we often don't consider - or care - how our choice of actions and words are perceived by others, and the consequences that may follow as a result.

'Crash' is a powerful, complex and clever film that presents its story in a somewhat unique manner. We ride along with an ensemble cast of close to 20 central characters of varying ethnicities, whose lives accidentally overlap over the course of the 2 days that we are privy to.

Is the scenario 'realistic'? Probably not - but that's not the point.

The film is not perfect, but its few flaws should not detract from the overall experience. There are moments of truth, moments of humour, moments that may shock you, moments that will touch you, and moments that will surprise you. And, there are also many moments that will appear all-too-obvious. That's kinda of the point though - we 'stereotype' things because we've seen it all before. Sometimes we're right, and sometimes we're wrong - but the important thing to realize is that if we rush to judgement, there may be consequences..

Many people say that 'Crash' is a film /about/ racism due to the character's conflicts which all revolve around race. Viewers who can look beyond 'race' and keep an open mind throughout and who consider how things might have turned out differently had the characters attitudes and/or actions been different - will likely enjoy the film. Viewers who jump to conclusions within the first 20 minutes - will not. And that's a shame, because it is precisely those people who are apt to jump to conclusions who could likely learn the most from 'Crash'.

8.5/10