Documentaries Up, Distorted Histories Down

Wow. I’ve really been slacking with blogging my thoughts and impressions on the various films I’ve seen recently. Sort of don’t see the point in trying to craft a decent review when a million other sites out there do it better. But I guess if you know me and share my tastes, some quick notes about the recent films I’ve seen might be worth reading.

10,000 BC – Had no interest in seeing this from day one. The first teaser trailer I saw had me thinking this would be Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto, but with cavemen and woolly mammoths…I wasn’t far off. Unlike Gibson’s film this one fudges the history more to tell some silly story about a primitive civilization that ends up rebelling against the false Egyptian gods who are enslaving them. How is it that everyone in 10,000 BC speaks perfect English, are all well groomed, and have the whitest teeth I’ve ever seen? C+

Darkon – Decent documentary about Dungeons & Dragons type role players who battle each other with padded swords and shields in parks on the weekend. In the same vein as Trekkies but not as mocking. Maybe it was the nerd in me, but I enjoyed this. B

The Great Happiness Space – Another decent documentary about host boys in Osaka, Japan who make insane amounts of money (something like $10,000–$50,000 a month!) to entertain wealthy women in exclusive clubs. At first you think the women are just crazy rich and simply enjoy spending all their money on boys who look like they came straight out of a Final Fantasy game. Until you realize that 70% of these women are prostitutes, and after selling their bodies all day they use the money to have the hosts emotionally heal them. I found this one really interesting. A-

Eastern Promises – Viggo Mortensen gives another excellent performance, but I was sort of let down by the film. The only memorable takeaways for me were the bath house scenes (ouch!) and the role of tattoos in organized crime. If you were looking for a repeat of Croneberg’s A History of Violence, I don’t think you’ll get it with this film. B-