Berlow’s Freak Show

I suppose Toolbox Murders falls into that genre of “funny horror” which I don’t really understand. It’s either comedy or it’s horror- I don’t see them mixing very well. Ultimately the movie just doesn’t make much sense, as how could a guy live in an apartment building for decades and no one know he’s there? I mean, he does have to eat, doesn’t he? On the plus side, I’ve lived in some horrific apartment buildings, so I could relate to that aspect. The best argument for home ownership is that it’s better than renting! ** (Two stars)

Then there’s Neverwas, which has high ambitions but just doesn’t make the grade. It’s a bit too saccharine for me. What’s the matter with Dad anyway? Why is he so crazy? Where do they get the money to live in that mansion? There’s a lot of loose ends that just aren’t tied together. Like Toolbox Murders, there’s aspects that just don’t make any sense. How does the old King live out in the middle of the woods? Doesn’t he have to buy groceries? Does he walk to town? Questions like these bother me. OK I’m all for a little bit of suspension of disbelief but I can only take so much. *** (Three stars)

Carlito’s Way was a very cool movie. Realistic. I’m for realism in movies. I don’t know why, I just am. It seemed realistic. But why does the bad guy lawyer have to be Jewish? Don’t we Jews have enough problems already without being portrayed like this? Like Carlito, I’ve always wanted to escape to a tropical Paradise, but probably never will. **** (Four stars)

Rendition was just a little too pat and tidy for me, as I knew it would be going in. At least the evil government person was a lady, which gives equal rights a new twist. Is there anyone out there that thinks that the government doesn’t do nasty biz on our behalf? But since I’m from DC, anything that has this many shots of my hometown gets an added star just for that. There was an interesting article in the Washington Post this past weekend about Egypt- how poor it is over there. In Egypt, Upper Crust Gets the Bread: For Egypt’s more than 30 million poor, subsidized bread means survival. There’s poor teeming masses in Egypt, while we’re riding around in SUVs and watching American Idol. Why do we always back the wrong horse? What happens after Mubarak- who’s soon to celebrate his 80th birthday? It seems to me that Egypt, not Saudi Arabia, Iraq or Iran is the real lynch-pin in the Middle East, and it doesn’t look good. If you look at history, Islamic fundamentalism- the bad kind- started in Egypt and nothing has been done to ameliorate the conditions that spawned it. I don’t know what can be done, but things seem to be going from bad to worse.

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