JoBlogathon: Equilibrium

How can I attempt to describe the 2002 dystopian SciFi action/thriller film Equilibrium, one word: Gunkata!

Before I get into this review I had a one major initial beef with this film. For the first 10 minutes of the movie I couldn't see past the emotionless acting. It felt stale, deadpan and in general I just couldn't connect to any of the characters. But then it hit me that is EXACTLY what this film was going for.

Synopsis:

You see Equilibrium is a portrayal of a not to distant future where man, in an effort to be more humane to their fellow man, have forsaken all feeling. People walk around alive, but they don't truely live. With an emotion sedating substance known as Prozium fascist leaders, known as Tetragrammaton Council, control the populace. Where the drugs fail to control special soldiers known as Clerics completely destroy all resistance using superior fighting skills with extreme efficiency.

The Tetragrammaton Councils top Cleric John Preston (Christian Bale) has always done his job unrepentingly until he accidentally misses one dose and begins to feel. These feelings will turn his world upside down, and in the process maybe humanity will be human again.

My Take:

I loved Equilbrium, and have now watched it twice. The action scenes are amazing well done, and have a very similar feel to watching The Matrix, but without CGI as a crutch. Everything is done practically; shootouts, swordplay and fisticuffs all happen in a rapid flurry of camera pans and hard cuts that allow you to experience them instead of just admiring them. And the aforementioned Gunkata wasn't a joke! The martial art of firearms has never looked so damn good, and is just exhilarating to watch!

The acting is a little trickier to rate, as the majority of the characters are meant to be emotionless, and in that respect they do an adequate job. But the ones that do feel such as Preston, Cleric Partridge (Sean Bean) and Emotional Content violators (Such as Emily Watson) are a sharp contrast to the sedated majority. It is in Christian Bale's performance that we see true acting chops as he slowly transforms from apathetic drone into a real person who feels, loves, hates and questions his own existence.

Equilibrium has something for everyone in it. Intense action (I feel is superior to The Matrix) that is just fun to watch. Social commentary on what it means to truely be human and the importance of emotions. Hell, there is even some heavy hitting drama, especially revolving around Preston's relationship with his young son. Oh, and there is a cute puppy ... you know, if you are into that thing.

Do yourself a favor, and check out Equilibrium today! And just in case you don't want to take my word on it here is the trailer:

You can check out all of the upcoming JoBlogathon Participants over at 24FPS. Or check out these blogs for the entries already completed:

• Sam Inglis of 24FPS reviews 11:14 (Spoiler, he didn't like it!)
• Marcy over at SuperMarcy.com attempts to review Dogtooth
• Aaron Elliot weighs in on Dahmer at his blog Islanded in a Stream of Stars
• I'll post more as they become available!

Bill Shatner: Horse Enthusiast

I have been wicked busy the past couple of days, which means my original plan for my Shatnerthon posts had to be scrapped. But as the old saying goes: Let the Shat hit the fan!

People have been writing about William Shatner’s prolific acting career. He has had a simply stellar (Pun not intended, but then I read this sentence and decided that I am not above puns, so deal with it!) presence on TV and the silver screen.

People have mused over Bill “Rocketman” Shatner’s musical accomplishments. I really have nothing to add, his body of work speaks for itself.

All these are things that Mr. Bill Shatner is known and loved for, but what does Bill love? What makes Kirk tick? What does Denny Crane do to take the edge off? Get ready, because this news may come as something of a shock to those of you that have only known William Shatner as a public figure.

William Shatner is many things, actor, musician, Canadian, author, and spokesman. But if you were to ask Bill who he identifies himself as he will most likely say that he is foremost an equestrian.

That’s right Shatner’s one true passion in life is … horses.

Yup, ol’ Bill fancies himself a cowboy! But he doesn't do it solo; he breeds, trains and competes with the other love of his life, his wife Elizabeth Anderson, on his 360 acre horse ranch in Kentucky. The Shatman raises various kinds of horses but primarily American Saddlebreds and Quarter Horses (Yeah, I don't really know what that means either ...) several of which have actually become successful champions.

Shatner doesn't do this for just his own benefit though and in the truest fashion of awesome badassery he hosts a horse show disguised as a charity fundraiser in Hollywood that draws in the big wigs of the industry every year. And you are damn right he wears a cowboy hat!

Hell, there is even a special riding competition named after him; the overly epic sounding Shatner Class.

At this point (if you are still reading this post about Shatner’s love of horses, and I wouldn’t blame you if you weren’t …) you may be asking yourself, “Self, why should I care about Billie’s horse obsession?”

Answer: Because William Shatner does, and that should be a good enough reason for you!

I could go on but because I just couldn’t possibly describe it any better then a shoddily taped, and extremely dated, TV interview I’ll just let the Shatman explain his love, in his ... own ... SYNCOPATED, PERsonaldialECT!

Enjoy, I sure did:

Aw crap ... now I have to write about his affinity for dogs.

SHATNERRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

Blogathon Season!

So me being a neophyte in this whole blogging thing (4 months in!) I decided to try one of these "Blogathon" deals, and before I knew it I was wrangled into two!

If you look down my page a bit to the left you will see an image in the sidebar entitled "Shatnerthon" (Hosted by this lovely ladies blog) with a pic of the Shat-man himself. Essentially between July 5th-9th I will be trying to throw some Shatner themed posts up along with several other bloggers. Should be fun, and you should all feel free to visit her blog and let her know if you want to participate in the celebration of one of the greatest thespians to ever wield a phaser!

The second blogathon is from the forums of my favorite movie news site (and employer!) JoBlo.com where a handful of us film geek bloggers decided to host our own round robin style JoBlogathon! The deal is we get recommended a film by one other Schmoe and in return recommend them a flick to watch and then the fun begins, reviews, rants, emotional meltdowns and even possibly the discovery of our new favorite film!

My homework is to watch 2002's Equilibrium, starring Christian Bale, Dominic Purcell and Sean Bean. I can't wait! So stay tuned for my thoughts on Equilibrium and Shatner!

Don't be alarmed if all of a sudden my blog posts actually get awesome!