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I had heard much of the buzz about Idiocracy, the new opus from Mike Judge. Based on the writer/director and most of the cast, I expected a cult hit of Office Space proportions. Like Office Space, the studio and distributors did not lend much support to the film’s release. However, Office Space went on to be one of the most successful DVDs of all time.

Idiocracy is the tale of Private Joe Bauers (Luke Wilson) and hooker Rita (Maya Rudolph) who submit to a military experiment in suspended animation. The test is supposed to last a year, but circumstances keep them in stasis for 500+ years … just long enough for the United States to devolve into a nation of dumbass thugs and rednecks. And there you have the setup for a long, long string of jokes.

The movie brutally skewers corporate greed and mindless consumerism. While many of the bits are original and genuinely funny, Idiocracy feels incomplete. Perhaps, with a little more studio support, the film could have become the comedic equivalent of 2001 – A Space Odyssey. The film certainly feels like it has that sort of potential bubbling just beneath the surface. With that said, it is definitely a great laugh, particularly for cynics.

Looking for something new in the sci-fi genre? First, take a look at the following posts from the blog, Furinkan High School Kendo Club. Then, you’ll know what to avoid. The author really breaks down some of the oldest sci-fi cliche’s.

• Tired Sci-Fi Tropes That Must Be Retired! (Part 1)
• Tired Sci-Fi Tropes That Must Be Retired! (Part 2)

Thanks to James Hudnall for the link.

Today is my birthday. Happy Birthday to me! To celebrate, my wife, my parents and I decided to hit the movies. Because of the special day, I got to chose. I picked 16 Blocks and UtraViolet. Granted, both movies are different thematically and stylistically, but you’d be harder pressed to find two more different films.

16 Blocks is an intense, original police thriller. Bruce Willis is back. He plays Jack Mosley, a washed up drunk of a cop and does so in a way that makes us forget his big-budget action hero work. Mos Def plays a small-time thief who found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Def plays the role with an accent reminiscent of Mike Tyson, yet it comes off as endearing rather than annoying. Director Richard Donner keeps you guessing in subtle, original ways. The film is equal parts action, emotion and suspense. It is the best police drama I’ve seen in ten years.

UltraViolet is a mess. Spun like a comic book adaptation, the film is not based on a comic. On the “let’s make a movie like a comic book” angle, it is a success. But in making a movie that truly looks like a comic book, they’ve proven why Bryan Singer was a genius for making the X-Men films look so "real". Making a film with a comic book pallette is hard on the eyes. Making a film with true comic book action & pacing will make the viewer nauseous. The first fifteen minutes of this movie prove all of these point beyond question. The rest of the film prove that comic book dialogue only really works in comic books.

So the casual reader makes no mistake, I love comic books. And, I love that so many great comic book franchises have made it to the big screen. Most of them, most notably Batman (minus Joel Schumacher), Spider-Man and the X-Men, have been done with great care and met with both critical and box office success. But the one thing all of these films had in common is their ability to place the fantastic in our world in a way that the viewer believes.

Ultraviolet is completely unbelievable. Even as a campy action-fest, it fails. Too bad, I really like Milla Jovovich and I’d hoped this film would return her to the rarified air of The Messenger and The Fifth Element (ironically enough … wilth Bruce Willis).