Two Words, One Answer.
Neil Patrick
 Assassins (2004 Broadway Revival Cast) $18.98 Only a composer of Sondheim's genius would have the guts take on such controversial subject and pull it off with such skill and humanity. Assassins is a unique musical; both thought-provoking and catchy. Sondheim's songs are alternately haunting (The Ballad of Booth, Another National Anthem) and darkly humorous (How I Saved Roosevelt, Unworthy of Your Love, The Ballad of Guiteau). It's rare that every song in a musical is a home-run, but Assassins is start-to-finish full of brilliant, memorable songs. So much for Assassins as a show, but why this recording, why not the original 1991 version? I liked the 1991 version alright, the singers do an adequate job, but the orchestration and casting of the revival bring the show to life in a way that the original never does. From the opening with Everybody's Got the Right the surreal, carnival world of Assassins unfolds as vividly as a soundtrack possibly can. The cast is superb; alternately frightening, pathetic, and contemptible. Michael Cerveris as Booth, Denis O'Hare as Guiteau, Jeffrey Kuhn as Zangara and the rest of the assassins sound truly insane at times. Neil Patrick Harris is pitch-perfect as the Greek Chorus onlooker who becomes the cornerstone of the Assassins' pantheon. I've never seen Assassins performed, but it caught me from the first listen. In the list of Sondheim's inspired musicals, this one stands out; it's terrifying, imposing and unforgettable. ![Starship Troopers [UMD for PSP]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5198FVFQ74L._SL160_.jpg) Starship Troopers [UMD for PSP] $14.94 When I saw "Starship Troopers" the first time, I was appalled. It looked like a (really bad) fascist propaganda movie. The fascism was so overt, that I started wondering why nobody else was reacting the way I did! It's because it's parody, stupid. "Starship Troopers" is nominally based on Robert Heinlein's famous novel, but in reality it's a parody, criticizing Heinlein and his bizarre vision of a society in which only war veterans have full citizenship rights. In the process, the movie also makes fun of American militarist propaganda, and indeed militarist propaganda in general. In many ways, "Starship Troopers" is a deliberate turkey. It looks like the worst Nazi movie ever made, but it's supposed to look that way. "Starship Troopers" is actually quite intellectual! The funny thing is that many people just don't get it. Some love the movie precisely *because* it looks like a militarist propaganda movie. Others hate it for the same reason. Still others, i.e. the most devout Heinlein fans, see "Starship Troopers" as a walking insult to Heinlein's great novel, which some people treat almost as a second Bible. (Prediction: soon, somebody will point out that Federal Service is broader than the military.) The plot of the film doesn't deserve closer scrutiny. "The Federation" (spouting an eagle as symbol - the American eagle? Or a Nazi eagle?) is under attack by a race of monstrous, intelligent spiders from the mysterious planet Klendathu. A group of beautiful, perfect and young adults, fresh out of high school, decide to volunteer in the military. Their leader is a completely crazy old vet. Curiously, the fascist military dictatorship is multi-racial and gender-blind. When the attack on Klendathu fails, the White male dictator resigns, being replaced by a Black female. Ironically, this "political correctness" is freely based on Heinlein, who was indeed anti-racist, but real American propaganda movies can also be multi-racial ("Iron Eagle" comes to mind). Later in the movie, the beautiful Nazi kids finally put their act together and manage to defeat the bugs on another planet, where they are promptly joined by a team of SS-looking scientists. There, the movie ends, inconclusively. Along the way, we are treated to some really hefty special effects (naturally, the bugs are much larger and even more "alien" than in the novel). Strange fact: shortly after the premier of "Starhip Troopers" in Sweden, a new Swedish translation of Heinlein's original novel was published...with a picture from the movie on its front cover! That's almost postmodern. The parody is used to sell the thing parodied. Gee, what a mindjob. Naturally, I have to give this ridiculous Nazi slapstick five stars. |
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