Alright, I know. I missed my July 4th weekend deadline. But I'll make it up to you. Sometime within the next couple weeks, there will be another post with at least three more reviews. That's right. By the end of the month, you will have seen at minimum 7 new reviews by yours truly. Reviews you can expect to see in the future include, but are not limited to, Click, Lady Vengeance (finally), The Lake House, Strangers with Candy, Superman Returns and the reason why I was waiting to post Lady Vengeance, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance. And you know that won't be all. So, keep coming back. you know you want to.


Wordplay
Review by Jon Waterman

***

Will Shortz loves puzzles. He loves them so much that he became the first person ever to graduate with a degree in Enigmatology, a curriculum he created. You may wonder how someone would parlay a degree no one else has heard of into a full time job. Well, he became the crossword editor for the New York Times newspaper. Will certainly didn’t create the crossword puzzle, but he has taken them to a whole new level. He’s made them competitive. Will started the annual national crossword championship held in Stamford, Connecticut, where thousands rack their brains trying not only to complete the mind boggling grids, but to do so faster than everyone else in the overcrowded room. This is the story of five obsessive competitors and the man who forces them to think inside the box.

In the vein of the spelling bee documentary “Spellbound,” this documentary takes you into the minds and lives of several high ranking people (in the competitive circuit) that the filmmakers hope will be near the top of the competition leader board. I imagine this is the film we would get when those little kids grow up. The same format is also used in “Word Wars,” but very ineffectively since none of the people followed were really likable. In this film, however, it’s not hard to pick a favorite. Everyone has their quirks that help them connect with the audience. It’s easy to sense the passion and see the drive they have to breeze through the puzzles. There’s someone here for everyone to get behind and root for.
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+++++++++


Word Wars
Review by Jon Waterman

*

This documentary chronicles the journey of four individuals as they travel from city to city competing in various Scrabble tournaments. They’ve formed a little community within the circuit and everyone knows who the best players are. Tensions run high and placing fake words on the board will not be tolerated. As they approach the national championship, the cramming and mental stress begin to take their toll. Will one of these eccentric competitors have what it takes to overcome it all, focus on creating the best words available from all their tiles, and win the whole shebang?

Have you ever wondered what kind of person would enter a Scrabble tournament? Do you think you’re up to the challenge and have the word skills to pay the bills? If so then this just may be the movie for you. It may also make you never want to wonder things like that ever again. I can tell you right now that the answer to the second question is a resounding “no.” Unless you’re willing to essentially memorize the dictionary (just the words, definitions are meaningless in this game) and study different combinations of letters, as well as play the game for hours upon hours each day, then maybe you should just play your little cousin if you want to feel better about yourself.
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++++++++++


Overlord
Review by Jon Waterman

****

Tom is a young guy eager to join the British army and help the Allies win World War II. Quickly, he’s introduced to the new code of conduct and regulations he must abide by. We follow him as he stumbles through it all; from basic training to actual combat. From his down time enjoying the company of a nice girl to his departure to take part in Operation Overlord, Tom increasingly becomes more and more disillusioned not only with the war, but also with himself and his place in the world.

Simply put, this is a film buff’s wet dream. The cinematography alone will make you practically cream your jeans. Then when you think about how the filmmakers were somehow able to actually pull off that amalgamation of genres into a potable minimalistic story…well, that might send you over the edge. It’s a shame this film hasn’t been released theatrically before now, more than a quarter-century after its completion. Not only is it an amazingly strong piece of awe-inspiring filmmaking, but it’s also probably the only truly effective experimental narrative feature to be made within that time span.

Every serious film student and hardcore aficionado owes it to themselves to see this film.
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+++++++++


An Inconvenient Truth
Review by Jon Waterman

***1/2

What would you do if you thought the world might end today? I think the answer for most people would be to indulge in every imaginable sin and live in ignorant chaos until the ride came to an end. For others, it would be a time to be with family. Many would go to their respective God, repent and pray for forgiveness or perhaps a way to avoid the end of civilization. I doubt very many would even try to find out if the end was preventable. Even less would actually give it a shot. Saying that the end of the world is coming may be a bit drastic and inaccurate, but the crisis presented before us in this movie has the potential to completely devastate the living populations of this planet with most of our lifetimes. The problem is getting exponentially worse. Is there a solution, and will you be part of it?

The answer to that first part is yes. As for the second part of the question…well, you’re on your own. But I hope you at least watch the film with an open mind before you make your decision. It’s certainly well worth watching. An Inconceivable Crisis is taking place and you’re shown Indisputable Evidence as to what’s causing it and what will continue to happen should the current trends trudge on. The result is An Indescribable Reminder that political persuasion is far too great on both sides and that too many pressing issues get pushed aside in favor of the popular hot button flash-in-the-pan controversies. The system doesn’t seem to have a system that is willing to look past the four-to-six year mark, which is sad, because there are many potentially dangerous situations that could come to a head in the next few decades that require preventative measures now (this global warming being one of them). I’ll get off my high horse now. I think it has a limp, anyway.

I never would have thought that watching former Vice President Al Gore give a lecture about the perils of global warming would be so interesting.
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