CUBE (4/13-4/19)
If you were to make a movie based on The Twilight Zone, Hellraiser, and maybe even a little 1984 thrown in, you'd probably come out with a film like Cube. In this low-budget, yet highly intelligent, Canadian thriller, seven random people from all walks of life wake up trapped inside a giant cube. The cube is made up of hundreds of rooms (all cubes, too), and some are rigged with deadly traps. Why are they in there? What purpose does this giant puzzle serve? And maybe more importantly, who has the power to build such a thing and place victims inside it like guinea pigs? These are the same questions the group tries to answer if they are to survive.
I've heard some people compare this to Lord of the Flies, in that it shows what human beings can do, and turn into, when put into situations of unimaginable danger and stress. Humanity at its worst. The greatest thing about the film is that the biggest threat to these people are themselves. The problems at hand are so great, and so irrational, that it may be enough to make some people go insane, or for reserved people to take charge, or for strong people to break down and give up. This is a thinking movie, but entertaining at the same time. You'll try to solve it yourself, only to be proven wrong, and you'll try to guess what's gonna happen next, only, again, to be wrong.
The idea behind it is such a good one, that the lackluster acting and special effects really don't seem to matter. I mean, the acting isn't horrible, but it's not great either. The sets are amazing (or is it just a set, cuz all the rooms look exactly the same... that's part of the puzzle), and it really does give a sense of danger just by the look of the room. Similar to the way the ship in Event Horizon just sort of "felt" wrong
Any fan of intelligent thrillers like Pi or The Game or if you just like to se people get chopped up, cuz people do, you'll love this movie. A sequel was just released on video, Cube 2: Hypercube, which is also good, but not nearly as good as the original. Definately worth a look or two, maybe three, (I own it, and watch it all the time, good fun, but still makes me think about stuff). If you get a chance to se the sequel too, it's also pretty good (interesting concept in the second one, just doesn't play out as well).
The director, Vincenzo Natali, is one to watch out for. He's got a new film, Cypher, coming out soon with Jeremy Northam, Lucy Lui, and David Hewlett (who plays Worth in Cube, and I just read the other day he's working on a brilliant comic-book/superhero-esque film that sounds incredible, even though he couldn't even talk about it yet. Definately someone we'll see more from in the future.
Okay, thats it, sorry no "Movie Of the Week" last week, things have been weird. But I'll keep 'em comin from now on, I promise.
Garth Simmons.
"No more talking. No more guessing. Don't even think about nothing that's not right in front of you. That's the real challenge. You've gotta save yourselves from yourselves."
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