Reviews

The subject is certainly compelling: a group of people take their love of gaming one step further by creating a fake medieval world full of warriors, kings, princes and castles. Wargaming is an interesting phenomena that delves into our collective need to "escape" from reality and the sometimes mundaneness of our existence -- something almost everyone can relate to. The characters are the predictable mix of Lord of the Rings nerds and Star Trek enthusiasts. That's enough to get most people to watch. However, very quickly the film turns into an insider's view of wargaming with an almost stereotypical thumbing of the nose to viewers who "don't get it". The filmmakers seem to take the subject of wargaming, and this particular one, waaaaay too seriously rather than once in awhile recognizing the humor and fun in making a film about adults drssing up in medieval gear and pounding each other with foam swords. It's pretty hard for anyone who doesn't sit on their computer for 7-10 hours a day playing games or desiging the latest star destroyer to understand what the characters are talking about and why we should even care. However, the filmmakers themselves seem not to care choosing to focus solely on the subject of the game itself rather than building a strong narrative with a clear story that anyone can understand. Moreover, the characters themselves are not that compelling and you quickly become bored of them: a big no-no when you're trying to keep people's attention for 90 minutes.

This is not something I would normally go and see. The production company did a horrible job marketing it by putting the main character on the poster and I avoided it a couple of times because it didn't look very interesting. But after I read some good reviews and saw it won the Tribeca Film Festival, I couldn't avoid seeing it anymore. I was totally blown away by how good this film was. It was one of the most emotional experiences I've had in a movie theater in a long time. Better than all the Hollywood films I've seen in years. I felt like a little kid as I cheered for Jimmy Mirikitani as he makes an incredible transformation from anonymous street person to important living artist (the "Grand Master" as he so beautifully calls himself). I wish every person could see this story as a testament to what it means to be human and as an example to foreigners that not all Americans are gun-loving, war-mongering, selfish pricks who care little for the fate of other people, especially foreigners. See this film! I promise you won't regret it.

This film is quite simply one of the most amazing documentaries I've ever seen. I didn't know what to expect and walked out of the theater completely floored at the end. The emotional story of Megumi's parents combined with the anxiety-laden, suspenseful way the filmmakers told it makes for an excellent experience. The way the filmmakers reveal the fates of the people abducted by North Korea had me more tense than any Hollywood movie. And then to watch the families deal with their grief and anguish with such dignity. It is hard to describe in words. I can't believe Americans have never heard this story and it reminds me of all the crazy stuff that goes on in the world that we ignore or simply don't hear about. I'm eagerly awaiting the DVD now so I can get my friends to see it!

This film should go down in history as a "what the heck was the audience thinking?" kind of film. It is positively awful. I heard all about the Sundance award, the good reviews etc and like most people, went to see it thinking it would be great. It starts off okay but within about 10 minutes it turns into this music video that just never stops. The story is totally unclear, it's impossible to connect with the characters and the constant use of MTV techniques gets very tedious and boring very quickly. It's good to see filmmakers using different styles and modes of storytelling but the key words here are "tell a story". There is no story to this film, just a bunch of kids who crump to cool music and then talk about themselves for a few seconds and then crump again. It's relentless and annoying. A really poorly-made documentary.

This movie is so bad you're actually laughing throughout. By the end, the whole thing's spiraled into such a huge cliché about "how tough things are on the streets" that you're watching just to see what other silly line is going to come out of the actors' mouths. It should become a cult favorite the way "Showgirls" has. The dialog is utterly ridiculous, none of the actors deliver performances that are anywhere near believable and Kim Basinger as Eminem's Mom??? How the heck did that get by the studio? Eminem is just plain awful in this role (if anyone ever gets hold of Conan O'Brien's spoof of it, they should post it on You Tube). I'm not convinced he's a bad actor because I think the blame on this one goes to director Curtis Hanson and writer Scott Silver who should know better. But we're supposed to believe that Eminem is some hard-ass white rapper from the tough streets of Detroit. The sad part is Eminem IS from the same area this film is about yet he's so unconvincing that you wonder if he even grew up there. Brittany Murphy turns out to be the worst of them all, however, turning in a performance on par with Sanjaya's singing on "American Idol" -- you cringe every time she has to say something. This role must have been an attractive one for her and probably helped her career but if I was her I'd mention it as little as possible in conversation because it shows the ugly side to her acting. Really bad film!

If Daniel Gordon made films that didn't take place in North Korea, we'd probably never notice them. His often tedious, straightforward style seems to fit in with North Korea's propagandistic notions of what makes a good film. Gordon's films are watchable only because he has incredible access to one of the most closed societies in the world. People are fascinated by North Korea and will watch almost anything that comes out of there if only to learn more about what makes the place tick. "A State of Mind" is a mediocre film about what it means to be loyal to Kim Jong Il and Gordon merely tells it like it is which is commendable. But Gordon's use of voice-over and his very sedentary style of filming bog the film down. His almost-exclusive access to North Koreans' daily life will give him a niche for years to come or at least until the North Korean government collapses. One also wonders, however, if Gordon might one day be accused of being the Leni Riefenstahl of North Korean film-making. Riefenstahl was the infamous filmmaker who made propaganda films for Adolf Hitler. Her most famous one is titled, "Triumph of the Will" and, after WWII until she died just a few years ago, she was forced to deal with the legacy of having propped up a leader who is about the closest thing to the devil the world has ever seen. Gordon's closeknit ties to the North Korean regime and his attempts to portray North Korea as a normal country with people who are healthy and happy could land him in hot water someday especially since rumours now swirl about death camps in the so-called Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and there is absolutely no doubt that labor camps for political prisoners already exist.

I agree with those who say this film was very poorly done. It was a major letdown. I had heard about its Sundance accolades and that it was doing well at festivals but I was totally shocked at how bad it was when I saw it. This film felt like some tired old PBS throwback. The shooting wasn't all that great but I'm usually willing to overlook that if the story is really strong. It just wasn't, even though the subject is something that many people can relate to given that cancer is so prevalent in our society. I found myself feeling like I was in elementary school once again being forced to watch an "educational" film in class. Moreover, the filmmakers seemed to have almost no interest in showing any kind of conflict or emotion throughout it which felt to me like a bit of a whitewash. It seemed like a public relations video for the hospital where they were filming rather than a really, good story.