Be Kind, Please Rewind

He Sees in Retro-Specs. He's the...

Vidiot

Week of April 13, 2012

Does Betamax come in HD now? First up...

The Iron Lady 

It’s illogical for someone to build an iron automaton with the emotions of a female -- its face will rust after its first crying jag.

Thankfully, tearful paroxysms will not be a problem for the she-bot in this drama, because she’s a politician.

Beginning at the end of her days, the once-regal British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (Meryl Streep) now suffers from dementia, which causes her to have conversations with her deceased husband (Jim Broadbent).

Through her bouts of instability, Thatcher recounts her early interest in politics and her meteoric rise to the head of the House of Commons. 

Also depicted are the ordeals that shaped Thatcher’s tenure, such as unemployment, the Falklands and Ronald Reagan.

A rambling biography about the pioneering politician, The Iron Lady is a ham-fisted, schizophrenic production that even Streep’s performance can’t save.

Besides, with her profile, Thatcher supporters probably thought they were voting for a bloke.  0   

The Darkest Hour

Being stranded in a country whose first astronaut was a stray dog isn’t very comforting during an interstellar invasion.

Thankfully, the marooned Americans in this sci-fi movie don’t require advance technology to fight back.

On a trip to Moscow to sell their software, Sean (Emile Hirsch) and Ben (Max Minghella) find their program has been pilfered.

Disheartened, they retreat to a bar where they flirt with Americans (Rachael Taylor, Olivia Thirlby). But the party abruptly ends when invisible invaders descend from the sky.

Finding shelter, the quartet hole-up. Meanwhile, the microwave-powered interlopers disintegrate everything they touch.

When they surface, the gang learns that the aliens have eradicated humanity, and are now extracting earth’s minerals. 

Though aspects of the unseen invaders are intriguing, as the plot unravels and the acting degrades, The Darkest Hour fades fast.  

Ironically, if humans were privy to the aliens’ electromagnetic energy source beforehand, we would have invaded them first.  0

***80s Sit-communism*** 

Reagan

The reason an actor was chosen to assume the most powerful position in the free world was because he would work for scale.

Which explains why the first thespian president featured in this documentary was also a corporate shill.

Through interviews with friends, family and other politicians, the 40th President of the United States is placed under a microscope to examine the events that lead the charismatic actor to become Commander and Chief.

From his early days as a liberal, to his compliance with anti-communism, and his spokesperson position with General Electric, Reagan’s power to rouse patriotism set the stage for the actor's starring role.

From the Cold War, to the Berlin Wall, this HBO documentary recollects, reveres and rips apart Reagan’s most memorable moments in office.

Incidentally, the best thing about being a movie star president is that your stunt double takes all of the assassination bullets for you.

He's a Primed Minister. He's the...

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