Crank (2006) - Originally Written November 26, 2012

Crank (2006) 

Watching the Movie: 

Incredible, amazing soundtrack, and one of the best shot movies you'll ever see; but unlike the last 4 movies I've screened; the action is constant (and quite literally) non-stop. The characters are as fleshed out as this particular storyline will allow them to be (which means they have as much depth as a bathtub), but still you know who is who and you know why they matter. That's all you need to enjoy the ride.

Screening the film: 

Drug use and it's role in modern society, entertainment and it's role in modern society (especially as it relates to mass media and video games) Human and animal sexuality, purpose of life (especially once life is limited), gang warfare and information asymmetry (particularly in terms of lying to those we care about), chain of command, there's some pretty decent images on racial subcultures as well.

Best Line/Dialogue: 

"Listen, I've been fatally poisoned, there's probably a psychopath heading over there to torture and kill you as we speak, but don't bother getting out of bed, I'll be there in a flash... Maybe you could fry me up a waffle or something, kay?" 

The Bottom Line: 

When I first reviewed this film back in 2007 during the hey-day of MySpace and LiveJournal, my thoughts were something to the effect of "The movie is called Crank because that's as close as '12 inch fully engorged penis with throbbing veins covered in hair' as the studio would allow. Over time, not much has changed. This viewing I picked up a little more on the video game motif which is kind of cool to consider. As a movie, it's a hell of a fun ride, and as a film it's not bad, but actually has a little bit too much going on to be worthy of masterpiece status. Still, any self respecting dude needs it in his collection, you know, just in case his friend makes him watch the entire Twilight Saga in a weekend.

4.5 out of 5

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

(Video Games) Dispatch

    Dispatch Dispatch before Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 ? Yeah. I am as surprised as you. The Usual Video Game Disclaimer Long time followers of my blog know that I don't usually do Video Game reviews. Part of this is because the WTM/STF format doesn't really apply to video game story telling. Movies/Films top out at 3-3.5 hours. Modern video games with a story even worth exploring start at 10-12 hours. There's usually just too much there there to keep up with. The other major reason I don't review video games is that fun is such a subjective and evolving concept. In 1972, Pong was the greatest game ever. It was two sticks passing a digital ball back and forth. In 1980, Pac-Man was the greatest game ever. It was a big yellow circle eating small white circles and running away from multi-colored ghosts; pretty much indefinitely. In 1991 Street Fighter II was the greatest game ever. It was pick one of 8 people (well, 7 people and whatever the hell Blanka is) and beat up ...
Read more

(Video Games) Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Image
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 For Ledger: Many people have taught me that tomorrow is not necessarily guaranteed, you taught me that today is not necessarily guaranteed either. Uncle Michael loves you kiddo. You deserved so much better than you got. Rest in Peace little one. The Prophecy Foretold "The studio made their game because they wanted to make a game that they wanted to play themselves. They didn’t make it to increase market shares. They didn’t make it to serve a brand. They didn’t have to meet arbitrary sales targets or fear being laid off if they didn’t meet those targets. Furthermore, the people in charge forbade them from cramming the game with anything whose only purpose was to increase revenue, and didn’t serve the game design. They didn’t treat their developers like numbers on a spreadsheet. They didn’t treat their players as users to exploit, and they didn’t make decisions they knew were shortsighted in function of a bonus or politics. They knew that if you put the g...
Read more

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2005)

    Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Watching The Movie: Enjoyment of this as a movie is highly correlated to enjoyment of Final Fantasy VII and the universe and lore created therein. However, that's not to say that knowing every aspect of lore around the narrative is necessary. My wife went in knowing very little about FFVII and was not entirely lost in the story. The movie does a good job giving at least a base framework of who the characters are to one another and the general issues going in within the world. If you like frantic, non-stop action then it's likely you'll enjoy watching this movie, even if it is only once. Screening the Film:  Obviously, a movie with the word children in the title will have a few images of the parental relationships, specifically between mothers and sons. There also is significant imagery around familial bonds of siblings with specific focus on brothers. Given the focus on Rufus, the Turks, and Shinra in general, there's some pretty s...
Read more