Johnny Mnemonic DVD
With a screenplay by William Gibson (based on a short story), starring post-Speed/Little Buddha+pre-Matrix Keanu Reeves as Johnny - and guest starring "Beat" Takeshi Kitano, Henry Rollins and Ice-T, in a cyberpunk fest directed by Robert Longo, Johhny Mnemonic is Bladerunner in anime-colors, with grounded '90's-movie-sentimentality, a great design touch (for that era) and a lingering Akira-drenched atmosphere. tis a B-Grade action flick thinly disguised as a cyberpunk adventure, drenched in kitschy-effects at times and nostalgic-retro visual effects ala Tron..
My memories of this flick was faint, but the core gist was that it was good enough to spur my desires toward the realm of cyberpunk, what with multiple teevee-screens ingrained into my psyche, so much so I'd wanna have that set built and in my designs before I'd pass beyond the mortal realm ... aaahhh ... those where heady days ... and now years-on in, I have re-found the movie again (with exceptional discount no less) and I am again humbled by it.
For sure the concepts seem cliched and mediocre, backdated and rampant nowsadays (*cough*), but imagine them conceived and executed a decade ago. Ironically "low-tech" compared to now (as the LoTeks in the film were as advanced then) and for that simple reason, I've enjoyed the ride the dvd could afford me.
Surprisingly Keanu "over"-acted, Kitano was subdued and Rollins sprouted his lines as deliciously as he does his works and Ice-T was no different as he was as the mutant man-kangagroo; T-Saint, in Tank Girl ... and yep, Dolph Lundgren was a cybernetic-ham.
And I lurve this line from Henry Rollin's "Spider" character, when asked what causes the "Black Shakes" (NAS = Nerve Attenuation Syndrome - a wholewide health-"plague").
(review circa 04.07.06)
My memories of this flick was faint, but the core gist was that it was good enough to spur my desires toward the realm of cyberpunk, what with multiple teevee-screens ingrained into my psyche, so much so I'd wanna have that set built and in my designs before I'd pass beyond the mortal realm ... aaahhh ... those where heady days ... and now years-on in, I have re-found the movie again (with exceptional discount no less) and I am again humbled by it.
For sure the concepts seem cliched and mediocre, backdated and rampant nowsadays (*cough*), but imagine them conceived and executed a decade ago. Ironically "low-tech" compared to now (as the LoTeks in the film were as advanced then) and for that simple reason, I've enjoyed the ride the dvd could afford me.
Surprisingly Keanu "over"-acted, Kitano was subdued and Rollins sprouted his lines as deliciously as he does his works and Ice-T was no different as he was as the mutant man-kangagroo; T-Saint, in Tank Girl ... and yep, Dolph Lundgren was a cybernetic-ham.
And I lurve this line from Henry Rollin's "Spider" character, when asked what causes the "Black Shakes" (NAS = Nerve Attenuation Syndrome - a wholewide health-"plague").
"This causes it! (points to machinary and computers) This causes it! This causes it! Technological fucking overload! But we still have all this shit. Because we can't live without it." (via IMDb)... Don't we all?
(review circa 04.07.06)
