Friday May 4, 2007 SGN.org |
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Volume 35 Issue 18 |
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Saturday, Sep 06, 2008
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The third Spiderman rocks; The Condemned is just one, long, endless paean to violence |
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| The third Spiderman rocks; The Condemned is just one, long, endless paean to violence | ||
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by Rajkhet Dirzhud-Rashid -
SGN A&E Writer The Condemned Directed by: Scott Wiper Starring: Steve Austin, Vinnie Jones, Rick Hoffman Robert Mammone, Tony Moffett, Christopher Baker Now playing Spiderman, III Directed by: Sam Raimi Starring: Toby Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Rosemary Harris, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace, Bryce Dallas Howard, J.K. Simmons, James Cromwell Opens May 4th Having seen the new 'Spiderman, III', and loved it, I would have started by reviewing that one first, but having suffered through the extreme (and mostly unjustifiable violence) in 'The Condemned', and feeling so strongly about its anti-woman message, I felt the need to put that review first in this article. I guess, coming away from 'The Condemned', which stars 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin (another wrestler turned actor from the WWE stable), as a condemned prisoner who is brought in to star in an illegal reality TV internet game show, left me so disgusted, I needed to put my thoughts down on paper. Right now. First and foremost. So, that being said, the thing that has even appalled me more is how none of the reviews I've read (so far) bring out the fact that the worst of the violence in this crapper of a film, is not only against women, but women of color. One has to wonder that, after incidents like the two that made the news over the weekend (of two women killed by men they had protection orders against), and the other death of a local woman that made the news recently, this kind of anti-woman violence would have set off some alarms. Instead, each reviewer has been strangely mute on this fact. What makes this film even more heinous, in that it gets the audience to buy into yet another media influence that celebrates such violence -- even makes it exciting to watch. And watching the way the audience lapped up all of the difficult scenes in 'The Condemned', meeting many of them with laughter (yes, women laughed too), made my stomach turn. Well, enough of the commentary part of this review, and on to why I also just plain didn't like 'The Condemned' (though, honestly 'Stone Cold' wasn't as bad as some would have you believe-it's not his fault he's in a bad film). The film's premise, of having ten condemned prisoners from third world prisons, brought to a remote island to compete for their freedom and big money wasn't too bad, and might have actually made for a watchable, if trite film. But, the continual escalation of brutality and wooden dialogue by the actors (most of who are not well known to this reviewer) made watching 'The Condemned' a torture in and of itself. And my final thought is that if you must see this film, then rent it, and maybe have a discussion after, to think of ways to prevent more violence against women. Surely, this is not a 'get all the gang together, with popcorn, and laugh', kind of film, and it won't make you feel good. And then, there's the delightful and infinitely watchable 'Spiderman, III'. A film about as perfect as action films go (in this reviewer's opinion). Full of heart stopping moments and non-stop shots of 'Spidey' swinging across vistas of city skylines, or narrowly escaping injury at the hands of not one, but three villains, 'Spiderman, III' is a tribute to every Marvel comic I ever read and loved while growing up in Texas. I also loved the way Sam Raimi gave such depth to the battle between Peter Parker and his need for vengeance (Toby Maguire, returning and doing a great job, again!), which is what makes him vulnerable to a space symbiote that turns him into 'dark Spiderman'. Until he figures out how to rid himself of this increasingly evil suit, and become himself again, which gives rise to his new nemesis, 'Venom' (Topher Grace). One of the best of the 'Spiderman' films, this one is sure to set the bar for all of the 'summer blockbusters' to come (including a new film, which has writer Neil Gaiman on board in the production department). And if you loved the others, this one will make you yearn for even more of the web slinging anti-hero, and hope Maguire signs on for more films as good as this one in the future. Heck, I liked it so much, I'm thinking of buying a ticket and seeing it when it hits IMAX, after the opening on May 4th. |
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Special Screening! Ravenna United Methodist Church |
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