The Manchurian Candidate Review

Plot Outline: "In the midst of the Gulf War, soldiers are kidnapped and brainwashed for sinister purposes."



Having never seen the 1962 version of this movie, I can't really comment on the minute similarities except that I know that the new flick is definitely updated for 2004. The Gulf war replaces the Korean War and what actually fascinated me the most was the placing of a black man (Washington) in a prior white male role (Sinatra).

I think I might’ve seen a pig fly the day they cast this role. I’m pretty sure of it.

Now while the premise is the same, I can only take a gander at how many old, anal-retentive, close minded farts almost had a heart attack when they either 1. heard this news or 2. saw the previews. I am sure their numbers won’t be missed at the box office.

But anyway, back on subject and just another thought to throw out there were a few scenes here and there that just reminded me of Stephen King's The Dead Zone way too much and I had to stop the movie and make sure that it was water I was drinking and not sangria.

It definitely had some creepy parts, which kept me interested because it showed the deterioration of the main character's mind (Washington) and with Macbeth incestuous undertones from Meryl Streep's tyrannical mother to Liev Schreiber's Raymond Shaw, I was properly grossed out when Streep leans in to kiss her son on the mouth.

The mouth, people.

I am very glad to mention that they just show the indication that this will happen, they don’t actually show it.

Thank the lard.

Streep is so good in this movie that she almost has you thinking that you are the pervert since why in the world would a loving, widowed, loud-mouthed, patriotic senator for the United States government be interested in her son? Sexually, no less!

dirty dirty mind!

Schreiber plays the victim/predator role rather well and while he is very believable, I actually think there were a few scenes that he might actually be sleeping. But I guess that’s not really such a stretch of what a brainwashed political candidate is in reality.

Washington was great as the scruffy nut that people thought he was and I actually almost fell in love with him like I did with Mel Gibson in Conspiracy Theory. Even though I didn’t enjoy Conspiracy as much as this movie (since Julia Roberts just downgrades it in the first place), it’s the same desperation in knowing that you aren’t crazy and that sometimes it actually is everyone else out to get you.

I know that I believe that on a daily basis.

See? I could be right too!

Right?

right?


I will post The Bourne Supremacy review tonight or tomorrow, I left my notes at home so that's how it goes.