Posted: 8/6/2006 9:59:10 AM EDT
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This was a pretty good movie. I'm sure it will be popular with some at ARFCOM because it is about paranoia and "big brother" with a few not so subtle references to Ayn Rand in it. The movie was what I would call semi-animated in that it was actually filmed like a normal film and then converted digitally after the fact to the "animae" look. It is twelve years in the future. What is substance D, where does it come from and why is 20% of the population hooked on it? Keanu Reeves plays an undercover cop who gets so into his job that he gets addicted to the substance D he was sent undercover to investigate. The story is told through his eyes. He tosses his family and as his addiction slowly swirls him down into the gutter he somehow ends up with James Barris and Ernie Luckman as roommates. Luckman is your typical stoner but Barris is a bit harder to figure out. Is his paranoia and strange behavior and personality caused by substance D or is it just him? Just when you think you have him pegged either way, the plot twists to make you not so sure. The 5 W's involved with substance D are revealed at the end wth shocking results. The best part of the movie for me had to be the characters played by Robert Downey and Woody Harrelson (Barris and Luckman). They play your stereotypical druggies in the middle stages of drug induced paranoia. These guy go from being completely non-functional one minute to accurately analyzing the defects in a broken carburator the next with hilarious results and dialouge. Their discussion about the merits of 18-speed bikes is classic comedy and had me and the rest of the auidence rolling in laughter. Their paranoia knows no bounds and watching them come home from an aborted trip to TJ to do a SWAT team like sweep of their house was also hilarious. The scene of them in the backyard attempting to create a silencer made from a roll of toilet paper also seemed very much like an ARFCOM "hold my beer/substance D and watch this" moment. Interesting movie. Well worth a matinee if you can find it in your local area. I give it ***1/2 out of ***** stars   
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| Just watched it, lots of dialogue so you have to pay attention or you will be lost. Good movie overall, I may have to watch again to make sure I didn't miss anything. The animae stuff was kinda annoying but I think some of the plot might not have worked if it was straight live action. |