Tromeo & Juliet Review: The Height of Demented Fun

Well, if I had known that I would review two BBC series and two Shakespearean adaptations over four days, I wouldn’t have been talking about enjoying my Monocle Time during Saturday’s review of Edge of Darkness – I would’ve declared this Monocle Week and turned it into a whole big thing...

I’ve looked forward to reviewing Tromeo and Juliet since I began this site in 2009. My mission statement from the get-go was to cover unknown gems that you would be unlikely to seek out unless someone suggested them to you. TaJ fits that definition quite easily, and I've been recommending it to friends for ages, which makes this post long overdue.

Tromeo and Juliet is a creation of Troma Entertainment, a studio that specializes in low budget horror works that have splatter gore, nudity, wit; their productions always stand out for being so... unconventional. And this adaptation of Shakespeare’s most well-known story is certainly unconventional. I mean, how do you inject tension and excitement into a story whose major plot points all of us know? How do you get the audience to get behind these kids and worry whether they’ll get together?

You change the names of the characters. You change… the ending so it involves Juliet violently murdering someone. You include scenes at a tattoo/piercing parlor, where one of the players suffers a gruesome head injury. You make Count Paris into the billionaire London Arbuckle, whose business is in the meat-packing district, to the chagrin of his vegetarian fiancé.

And you make Juliet a die-hard lesbian who, within two minutes of her introduction, gets jilled off by the family nurse. Juliet’s never even thought about a man that way, so how can Romeo win her love?! That, my friends, is how you create tension.

MRQ XVII: Great Directors Edition

Well, by now, you should k kw what an MRQ is - and my struggles to keep these entries pretty concise. This time out, if I go on too long, just know that I think I chose the right films to go on about. And all of these, save Aronofsky's Black Swan are available to stream, so you can watch them as soon as you please.

This time out, we're taking a quick stroll through: Black Swan, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, The Grifters, The Verdict, The French Connection, The Brothers Grimm, and The Wolf of Wall Street. Enjoy, if you please...

Black Swan

It's... somewhat impossible for me to review this movie properly, because I'm not really sure how to approach it in the first place. Since I'm unable to assess the story (e.g., how much of this is hallucination? Does that even matter?), I have to confine myself to its content.

Black Swan was filmed as effectively as anything before it. Seldom have I seen a camera move in a way that really reflects what it's like when you're dancing or running. Everything looks beautiful - the tracking shots in the old-style NYC apartment, the ballet scenes... And the sheer extent of the careful editing, much less the way it's utilized, sets Aronofsky on a special pedestal; I have to think other editors felt like they'd never see such fine work ever again.

The performances are all excellent, from Hershey's work, which is like a toned-down version of Piper Laurie's part in Carrie, to Cassell, who hits the perfect balance of privilege, faux sophistication, and salaciousness. Kunis is so good that I almost wonder if the script does all the heavy lifting. I doubted Portman repeatedly because she resorted to her "small voice" so often, but she really does establish her part, and the unraveling that occurs to her. God, is it even an unraveling, or is it more like a collision between herself and the oppositional elements in her subconscious?

Black Swan was incredible. It did a hell of a lot, not the least of which was crafting a thriller/body horror film out of a ballet story. I also joked to my friend that maybe this movie should've been called Birdman - and it may have actually been an apt comment, as those two pictures have a lot in common. Bonus points go to the director for using the Black Swan for a laugh right near the climax, when a fine bit of humor would have a great impact.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Tomas "Let the Right One In" Alfredson may not qualify as a great director, given the others on this list. Yet I have to think this movie is a sign that he might get there, some day soon. TTSS is an incredibly slow, long drama that gets you engaged with the story at the same time that it undermines the importance of the events therein.

The Machine

The Machine is an excellent English sci-fi film that popped up on Netflix Streaming near the end of last year, sadly without a theatrical release. I enjoyed writer/director Caradog W. James’ focused and thoughtful thriller, which took $1.5M and turned James’ story into a beautiful-looking, atmospheric tale about medical experimentation, the connections people form with each other, and the development of artificial intelligence. It’s not a perfect film at all, but it does everything it does well, and displays true artistry in its performances and writing. I also think it’s 1000 times more of a sci-fi film than Ex Machina will ever be, but I’ll leave that discussion for my upcoming EM review.

In the near future, Vincent McCarthy (Toby Stephens) is unhappy, but hopeful, despite England’s tenuous cold war with China. This scientific genius has a well-funded, well-intended project with Thompson (Denis Lawson), a Ministry of Defense bigwig: a plan to help injured soldiers recover use of their limbs and brains with computerized implants. As the film’s start conveys, that’s a difficult, painful process.

Flash forward a bit and Vincent is putting three computers through the Turing Test, which determines whether a machine can respond well enough to convince a human that it's a human, too. None of the computers pass, but he sees great potential in the device developed by Ava (Caity Lotz). McCarthy then convinces Ava to join him by offering unlimited financial support. The idea is that, together, they can jointly complete his new project: an android run by a true AI that is bolstered by scans of a person’s brain.

Unfortunately, Ava is more than a little into civil disobedience, which doesn’t go over well at MoD research bases. While a crippled soldier demonstrates his new super-strong arms, he whispers to her that he’s being mistreated. Ava investigates, Thompson decides she has to go, and Vincent gets roughed up in the same attack that kills his newest assistant. The UK’s equivalent of OSHA must f--king hate this base.

Recommended: BBC's Black Mirror

I never thought that there would be an anthology show that would actually compete with The Twilight Zone. It's not that I think tTZ was the greatest program ever - I haven't come close to seeing every episode, and doubt that I would ever own the box set (although it is a worthy purchase)... But the series was often exceptionally well-written, many eps display nearly flawless execution, and it's far more challenging, terrifying, and harsh than one would expect from a 1959 TV program.

Much more importantly, Twilight Zone was a paragon of genuine science fiction storytelling. I had this conversation with a co-worker last week: in Star Wars, it doesn't matter how their engines or weapons work, and the only purpose of their amazing technology is to move the plots forward. tTZ, however, used its weekly premise to tell a story about what happens to human beings when they abuse a watch that stops time, or someone phrases a wish poorly, or when a couple finds a fortune-telling machine that's always right.

So I was virtually shell-shocked after I saw the first episode of BBC's Black Mirror. Not only did it display fine writing and good execution of a solid story, but the spirit of sci-fi was clearly held in high esteem by the series' creators - and it only used existing technologies to make a strong statement about real, present-day society. "The National Anthem" is exactly the sort of thing Rod Serling and his team of writers would have loved.

Even more, this program delves into its sci-fi ideas with some thoroughness. Each installment explores the ramifications of its premise, demonstrating the social, moral, and practical results of these slight changes to the world we believe to be so familiar and so well-known to us...

And, rather than shying away from "dark" material, BM dives right into it. As I watched the closing minutes of season 1, I could only think, "wow. It wouldn't be out of place if each episode ended with a shot of planet Earth as a barren, lifeless rock, and a title card that reads 'THIS was the best possible outcome.'" More than most series I've ever seen, BM has a knack for putting me into a very reflective state of mind.

But anyone who saw Star Trek: The Motion Picture knows that intelligent stories full of sci-fi ideas can be dry, dull, or not engaging. It's fortunate, then, that this series is humorous, exciting, and sharp. Moreover, it finds numerous ways to connect the reader to the premise of any given episode. Mirror never just says "here's this weird future or odd technology" - it works those elements into the story in a way that directly ties back to the present time.

Recommended: Video Game High School

Variety is as necessary in entertainment as it is in diet and exercise. I'm pretty sure that a bunch of the worst jerks I've ever met watched lots of reality TV and based their behaviors on the failure-masterpieces they saw therein; similarly, watching only crime procedurals and shows about murderers (e.g., Fargo, Hannibal) probably colors one's thinking after a while. The chance to watch something silly and light-hearted was why I jumped onboard the Video Game High School train - and those qualities are why I'm recommending it to you now.

Brian D (Josh Blaylock) is a teen who lives on a very odd alternate Earth. The nameless American city he's from possesses technology 10-15 years ahead of what we have in the real world. Even more strangely, video games are massively popular there - important news is interrupted when a well-known player has a big scoring spree. This is the wonderful cold open of season 3, episode 1, and it epitomizes the creators' humor - please don't watch beyond the first two minutes:

Somehow, I respect Tony and Joel even more now.

As much as this sounds like a teenage boy's wonderland, it's not a perfect place. Brian D has no father, and his mom is completely obsessed with her TV. Bullies regularly steal Brian's gamer points and items. And not only is Brian late to his multiplayer deathmatch team, he's asked to do chores as soon as he signs in. Yet, in the first episode, it's this same mundane routine that affords Brian a priceless possibility - one through which he can achieve his greatest dreams, or fail spectacularly in public.

After beating one of the best gamers alive, Brian receives an offer straight out of Willy Wonka - a scholarship to Video Game High School, the elite institution where players go to become professional superstars. It's the opportunity of a lifetime, competing against the best of the best in a focused environment with access to great gear. This is like Harry Potter, but with imaginary guns and capture-the-flag scores...

Brian: Low profile, that's my game.
Calhoun: Really?? *Calhoun opens a window shade to reveal dozens of BrianD posters*
Calhoun: Does that game incude a mini-game about being full of crap?

Net-flixation's Sixth Anniversary!

Happy anniversary, everyone! Although this is a fine day, I can not and will not celebrate it the way I have in the past. So, if you were expecting me to go on about my pride, hard work, and gratitude - all of which still hold true - just click the Holiday tag on the far right side of the screen (or below this post), and you can read my prior anniversary entries.

I mean really, why sweat it? Even this week couldn't go perfectly, as I only realized on Tuesday that 5 important paragraphs weren't included in my Recommendation of Justified. All I could do was re-insert them and leave a note saying where the new text was placed.

Instead, I figured I would do something different this year. And it all starts with an apology. See, for a long time now, I feel like I've been misleading everyone here. The most damaging lies are often the ones we tell ourselves, but being untruthful can also harm others.

WTH, Amazon Marketing?!

I see this in my inbox this morning. The funny thing is that I love Orphan Black, and have idly thought of how to recommend the series without spoiling the hell out of it in the process.

But there's so much that's wrong here, and it's not the first time I've taken issue with Amazon's marketing. For one thing, today marks the premiere of Orphan Black's third season. The ordinal number in the last sentence is pretty important, because watching the entire first season won't get anyone prepared for - or interested in watching - the events in season 3.

It also represents a further failure in marketing because, as I noted in yesterday's Justified post, I already have Amazon Prime and so can watch seasons 1 and 2 of Orphan Black whenever the hell I want. In fact, I still haven't seen the second batch yet, and have just been waiting for a week when I have the time and desire to check it out. Amazon should be able to tell that I am a Prime member and send me something an email that's tailored to people who signed up for that service...

Netflix's Great Nod to Arrested Development

I am, at times, rather sentimental. And the holidays, as well as the end of the year, always have a big impact on me. I genuinely believe in cleaning house, in every way, before the New Year. You say anything you have to say this year that you don't even want to think about next year... you clean and inventory everything you own ... and you write the blog posts that you'll regret not writing later... So:

November 29, 2014 was a nice day. You don't know why? Well, I was screwing around on Netflix for an hour, and soon after I logged in and scrolled down, I saw this:

So, first thing off, I'm half-ignoring the screen until I notice the title of this row. I nearly zoomed past it. Then, I start laughing hard because I see the second title and say, "The Vanishing of the BEADS?!?!?"

20 Free Music Documentaries

One year ago, David Anthony at AVC promoted a great pitchfork article, and I'm here now to bring it the attention of anyone who may have missed out last May. Long story short, Pitchfork did the world a favor and informed its readers that there were 20 fine music documentaries that were available to stream for free.

The wealth of artists presented here is nothing less than important: David Bowie as he transitioned from the Ziggy era to Diamond Dogs, the Rolling Stones getting wrecked on drugs, the Grunge movement being "embraced" by labels, major German bands of the 60's-70's, British Synthpop, a 1965 documentary on Leonard Cohen, Paul Anka, Fleetwood Mac, Patti Smith, Lou Reed, Sex Pistols...

MRQ XVI: Random Netflix Viewing

Today's MRQ, which is also the 777th(!) entry on this site, tackles 6 films available for streaming on Netflix, as well as one film I saw via HBO Go. This time out, I'm offering a complete grab-bag of genres: Water's Edge, Valkyrie, Bernie, Man of Thai Chi, Bobby Fischer Against the World, The Collection, Hellraiser. Enjoy!

Water's Edge

Oh, wow, it's been so long since I've seen a b-grade thriller that wasn't awful. This time out, I tuned in because the movie stars my spirit guide, Nathan Fillion. I reviewed Serenity, the Firefly film recently, and just discussed his turn in Much Ado About Nothing, so what better way to glean some insight than to see how this actor did back in 2003. Which brings us to Water's Edge.

The premise is simple: Robert (Fillion) and Molly (Chandra West) are devastated by the death of their child. Broke, they move into Robert's father's cabin while Robert tries to write a new novel. But soon, Robert spies a cop who's about to murder a young woman, Rae (Vaugier). Now, the couple must face local corruption while trying to learn why the beautiful female was nearly killed.

To be honest, I was surprised both by the cast that was assembled, as well as by how good everyone was. It's true that I always expect Fillion, Daniel Baldwin, and Emmanuelle Vaugier to be solid - and damn if Fillion isn't in good form here. But even the actors that I didn't know were just fine.

Similarly, the film puts careful, solid effort into slowly unspooling Robert and Molly's backstory, in addition to keeping the audience guessing about Rae and her motivation. Characters are introduced appropriately, with nice little callbacks and foreshadowing and surprises strewn throughout the picture.

Europa Report Review

When it comes to the way-tired genre of found footage films, there are pretty much two schools: fixed-camera story-telling, like Paranormal Activity (which I haven't seen), and mobile-camera stories like The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield. The first big shock of Europa Report is how good it is. The second big shock of Europa Report is that it uses a third style: the multi-camera, time-shifting, after-the-fact documentary.

In essence, ER plays like a really good PBS documentary about the events aboard a manned, privately-owned spaceship that was sent to Europa, one of Jupiter's moons. Splicing present-day interviews with footage from the far and near-past, this movie shows us the importance of such a project, the impact that mission failures had on the people back home, and the perils faced by the brave astronauts.

First, I should say that I meant to see this in a theater last year but lisses out - I was so glad Netflix picked it up for Streaming. The theater would've been better, tho: this picture is filmed brilliantly. It looks beautiful, the fx are great, and the cameras are used quite cleverly. For one thing, the astronauts use the cameras to observe each other as well as their environment. For another, this movie really knows when and how to use darkness well. Visually, Europa Report is nothing short of arresting.

Reviewing with Others, pt 70: Red Obsession

Hi, all! I just finished watching and reviewing the award-winning documentary, Red Obsession. This fine Aussie film is narrated by Russell Crowe, and takes a deep look into the growing love of wine in China, and how its rising popularity in the Far East is having a big impact on wine prices as well as production.

I have a lot of things to say about the movie, but you should watch it even if you don't care much about those wonderful grapes - this picture is as much a crash sociology course on modern China as it is an exploration of some big changes in the world of wine. RO looks beautiful, it's only 74 minutes long, and it's now available via Netflix Streaming, so you have little excuse to not take a chance on it.

You can read my review here, at Man I Love Films.

Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing - Everything Old is New Again

So maybe time is a circle. On April 28th, 2009, I posted my second review here, for Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing. Now, on May 28, 2014, I'm reviewing Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing. While the symmetry sure is nice, this new version is no remake of the prior film - it's a complete re-staging of Shakespeare's comedic play.

The story is simple: adoration, rejection, manipulation, deception, misunderstandings, and self-delusion - in short, romance. The underlying plots are more complicated: Don Pedro, Prince of Aragon, takes his men to rest in Messina after a military campaign. They stay at the home of Don Leonato, Pedro's old friend and the governor of this town. While there, Count Claudio pursues his love for Hero, Leonato's daughter. But Don John, the Prince's brother, plans to undermine both the much-loved Claudio as well as Pedro himself. Throughout, people in both groups try to make the fiercely-bickering Benedick and Beatrice fall in love.

Joss doesn't acknowledge his moving the story out of Messina, Italy and to Santa Monica, California. Nor is the play itself changed much (some roles were cut), even though this is so different from the earlier effort: the black and white cinematography gives the film a very old tone, despite this movie being set in modern times. What's really surprising, then, is how well the 2013 pic measures up to Branagh's 1993 work. In time, I may like it even better.

Our 5th Year Anniversary!

So this is it: FIVE YEARS, EVERYONE! FIVE YEARS!

Today is basically like half of this scene.

Confession time: I wrote most every April post two months ago (& 50/50 on March, really). I've looked forward to today. And, if you read my prior anniversary entries, you know I expected this blog to go for three years, tops... But labors of love can make us aspire to try to do better, to give more, and to accomplish as much as we can with our limited time. And isn't love - of writing, of film, of people - what this is all about? Isn't most everything about that, in the end?

So this is a special day for me, and I hope it's special for whoever reads this.

This anniversary finds me in similar, yet very different, circumstances than at the start of Year 4. I recently moved (just like last year), which made it impossible to keep a very rough draft of my Serenity/Iron Sky review from going up two weeks ago. I passed out from exhaustion before hitting the "save as draft" button.

Yet I'm busier, with more social events straining my time. And I've worked crazy-long hours - which I was doing last year, but I had a harder time getting days off from work than I did in Spring '13. But here I am and, being short on time aside, I am happier, healthier, and more productive than before. This anniversary has a certain contented buzz last year's didn't quite have.

And, hell, this post is sponsored by Hannibal: The Ride: The Dog, so today is absolutely a red-letter occasion:

Since Hannibal: The Dog is such an ardent film fan - with such unusual culinary tastes - I do want to make the most of my 5 minutes. Before I get into my favorite posts of the past year, tho, I'll shine a spotlight on my earliest reviews, in case you haven't read them before. All but two vids here are from those pictures.

After the inaugural, my first review covered Three O'clock High, a superb and fairly-unknown 80's film. From the start, I wanted to promote lesser-known movies that would delight people. I admit the posting schedule has distracted me from that, but: tough s--t, I wanted to try this, & I did leave the suggestion box open.

Serenity and Iron Sky, Reviewed

In my last MRQ, I said that two intended entries would go instead to one multiple review post. Both films were fine enough to merit their own space and spotlight. The 60+ hour weeks I've been working slowed me down, but here we are with reviews of Joss Whedon's first feature film, 2005's Serenity, as well as the 2012 Finnish-German cult film, Iron Sky.

Serenity

When I was in grad school, an old college friend asked to crash at my Boston apartment. She was a huge Joss Whedon fan, and the East Coast had several advanced screenings for Serenity, the movie based on his short-lived sci-fi TV series, Firefly. I'm always happy to help a friend, so I told her I'd gladly host her for the night. And then she told me she had a second ticket.

My pal knew I'd never seen the series, but I didn't tell her why I hesitated when she invited me along. Basically, I tried to watch Firefly when it first aired, but I didn't especially like the pilot. Then, I saw the next episode and tuned in early enough to catch the theme song - which I thought was so awful that it had me laughing hysterically.

Music is pretty important to me, and Whedon's new series lost me from the get-go. Even more, between the setting and the song, I suddenly got very predictive about the show, (accurately) guessing that there would be a space cotillion, a space saloon fight, a space train robbery, and a space whorehouse. What I couldn't predict was that I would realize I was horribly wrong in my judgment. Firefly was terribly well-written and -acted.

I couldn't find the opening credits video, but it's lots of pictures of the cast, and the final shot is a ship flying over a herd of running horses.

MRQ XV: Pleasant Surprises Edition

[11:25PM UPDATE: I owe 19 people an apology - an earlier draft posted by accident. I fixed it, and some typos, with the big changes going to the reviews for Dredd, Immortals, MI: Ghost Protocol, and Solomon Kane. I warn readers this can happen, and I couldn't leave work early to correct it all. I was happy I could make any fixes before the day was over.]

I said there would be no reviews for a spell, but I've been working on this entry for a while. All of the pix reviewed today were far better than I had anticipated, and I watched all of them via Netflix Streaming. Yet today's MRQ is a little different - I'm only covering 6 movies today, not the usual 7: The Numbers Station, Dredd, Immortals, Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol, The Hunger Games, and Solomon Kane.

The reason for the change is that I'm going to do a Multiple Review soon to tackle 2 films that were going to be reviewed here - Joss Whedon's Serenity and the German cult hit, Iron Sky; I wanted to give that pair some breathing room...

The Numbers Station

Jon Cusack and Malin Akerman make a very nice show for themselves in this nifty, slender picture that is wrapped around one main premise: that there have been random radio stations broadcasting codes, in the form of sets of numbers, since WW2.

tNS gives us the idea that these numbers are all signals meant to be received and interpreted by spies around the world. The numbers, as well as the locations from which they are broadcast, are given multiple layers of security to prevent anyone from understanding them, much less tampering with any part of the system.

What results is a low-key thriller that punches above its class in a lot of ways. The sets are great visuals that also create a great sense of confinement and claustrophobia. The narrative is told in a nifty, disjointed fashion that I found to be quite pleasing and creative.

Perhaps best of all, the movie is full of solid character work. In addition to sketching out the players vividly and quickly, each of them receive an arc - which is not seen as often as it should be even in pictures with larger budgets and higher-profile names attached. The picture leans too much on Cusack's Grosse Point Blank character, but it's still just fine.

And I have to love the fact that we arrive at several moments where the roles are forced to confront each other, their own choices, and the lives that they are leading. tNS is such a small movie that you'd never expect it to espouse some genuine existentialist themes and ideas - and yet it does. Whether or not it looks like it was filmed in the course of one week, the people behind this picture, especially director Kasper Barfoed, deserve a lot of praise.

Imposters #33 - The Square

The Square is a Netflix-exclusive documentary - it is also up for an Academy Award this year, marking it as the video site's first Oscar nomination.

So what do we know about it? Well, the subject is the Arab Spring, a series of political upheavals in the governments of various nations around the Mediterranean Sea. In this case, tho, it specifically looks at the 2011 revolution in Egypt.

Mitt Romney Doc Coming to Netflix

Only three times, in 2012, did I mix some politics in with my film and tv coverage. I didn't talk about my preferences or opinions, but movie lovers seemed to be really inspired by Mitt Romney.

Something about this candidate really urged people to have fun, and the results were undeniable. The "Rom-Com" posters were excellent, Joss Whedon's endorsement of Romney was shockingly-funny, and the post-election T2 gif was beyond brilliant.

Youtube Free Movies Update

It's been a couple of years since I published a pair of write-ups on Youtube's selection of free movies. A lot of people - even 'Net-savvy ones - simply didn't know that the video giant offered full-length features for free. And I do so enjoy finding legal ways to check out new things...

So, the other day, I decided to review those old links and see how things had progressed. I was not thrilled by what I found. So not thrilled that I won't provide direct links to every film I've pointed out below.

Bluntly, a lot of the movies that had been available are now gone. I am not sure whether it was from a change in rights, or if Youtube always intended to rotate its offerings, but I was saddened to see that you can't follow the link I posted for Hayao Miyazaki's infectiously-energetic The Castle of Cagliostro. It and Buena Vista Social Club are listed as "Private." And Ghostbusters isn't available in my country, apparently - I sure hope The Maldives enjoy it, though!

Movie Review Quickies XIV: Overdue Edition

For MRQIV, I decided to tackle 7 films that I've promised to review here at some point or another. The lessened stakes allow me to at least express some thoughts on these pictures without having each review become a big deal.

At least two of these movies will receive a Double Dip treatment at some point in the future, but I do make good on my claims, whenever I can. And I can't do that unless I just suck it up and actually get these reviews out. So today's offerings are: Better Off Dead, Primer, Hot Fuzz, The Girl Who Played with Fire, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, The Incredibles, and Tucker & Dale vs. Evil.

Better Off Dead

Make no mistake, Better Off Dead is not just some piece of 1980's nostalgia, it's among the best comedies that I have ever seen, and I am grateful for this film's mere existence. When I mentioned Savage Steve Holland's masterwork here this February, I knew it would come up here at least a few more times.

BOD tells the story of Lane Meyer, a high school teen who's having the worst day of his life. It's nearly Christmas, and his girlfriend just dropped him like a bad habit. He pleads with her to stay, yet the bigshot jerk on the ski team has already snatched her up. He's consistently behind in his classes, and his job is both embarrassing and insulting. Also, his treasured car is now a total junker. It's all so unhappy - and so hopeless - that Lane has decided to kill himself... But every time he tries, he screws it up.

What's great about Better Off Dead is that it's one of the funniest black comedies you will ever see. Teen suicide is no laughing matter, but the filmmakers ease the pathos by packing the film with every kind of comedy out there: slapstick, satire, word play... My favorite element of this picture, though, is its sheer absurdity.

Early on, Lane's 12 y/o brother receives a book on how to pick up chicks, and you later see his room full of gorgeous women, in violation of logic, universal morality, and state laws. The paper boy is willing to hunt people down because of an overdue $2 debt. Everyone from teachers to the mail man thinks that it's okay to ask Meyer if they mind them asking his ex out.

Throughout it all, Better Off Dead is an insanely-funny, terribly-charming watch. Young Cusack is very charismatic as the leading sad sack, the crazy locals that make up the ensemble cast are endlessly entertaining, and the story is excellent. I could watch a dozen movies like this. Or I could watch BoD a dozen times (and I probably have).