philr8 Reviews

Beerfest (2006)

Bring five beers and enjoy

[8/10 · 25 August 2006]

I saw Beerfest earlier tonight. Unlike most commenters, I did not pregame. I brought ten beers, five for myself and five for my friend, and smuggled them into the movie. I drank when they drank on screen. Thirty minutes in, I was drunk and out of beer.

Even though I was drunk, I could tell this movie was a great one. How, you say? Easy. It was about beer. That alone is enough to ensure that this movie will be loved by many. Not only is it about beer, but its funny! Two for two. If you liked Super Troopers (I did) and enjoyed Club Dread (I did) or not (many did not), you will like this movie. If you bring beer, you will LOVE this movie.

On second thought, bring more than five beers. Or not. However many beers you bring, bring at least one. It's a great movie to drink to.

Marooned (1969)

Great for fans of science fiction; others need not apply

[8/10 · 27 June 2006]

I found this movie while I was searching through all the new movies on OnDemand. I usually look through the new movies about once a week, searching for some hidden gem I've never heard of. I'm not always successful, but this time I was.

I'm a pretty big sci-fi fan and especially love "speculative fiction;" meaning content about the near future that isn't necessarily out-of-this-world sci-fi. Authors like Philip K Dick and Jonathan Lethem excel in this genre, and I like Marooned fits in it very nicely.

Released in 1969, it obviously takes place at a not-much-later date - the inclusion of SKYLAB, launched in 1973, proves this. The rescue vehicle used also looks like a very crude version of the space shuttle - a futuristic test vehicle that looks grounded in reality enough to escape being campy. A few lines of dialogue also hint that a Mars expedition is something that is considered to be right around the corner.

Most complaints in the comments section refer to the pacing. All i can say is: go read a book. If 90-minute action fests are your barometer for the worth of a film, go elsewhere. There are no exploding fireballs or meteors ripping through space stations with stereotypical crazy Russians here. Instead, you get a fully realized and believable view into what might happen if some of our astronauts became stranded in space.

Personally, I was invested fully into the film and felt sad when the movie ended, the same way I feel when I finish a good book. The pacing here, if you are interested in the subject matter, is fine. For fans of science fiction, this movie is a must-see. For those of us who actually can sit through a book and enjoy it (and I don't mean "page-turners"), this movie is a great way to spend an afternoon. For everyone else, please avoid. You will only drag this movie's rating further into the mud.