After the smash success that was Event 22: Video Games, we’re ready to roll on through to the other side with 3 fantastic options for the next great party!

Action: Bloodsports

Gamer (2009) : Our bridging movie is also the closest we’ve come to a theatrical release. In the near-future, humans can control other humans in mass-scale, multi-player online gaming environments, a star player from a game called “Slayers” looks to regain his independence while taking down the game’s mastermind.

Rollerball (2002): It is the year 2005. The new sport of Rollerball, an extraordinarily violent extension of roller derby involving motorcycles, a metal ball, and many trappings of the World Wrestling Federation-is hugely popular. This is a remake of a 1975 cult classic and it…well…is spectacular in its suckitude.

Alternates: The Running Man (1987), The Condemned (2007),

Sci-Fi: Future Cops

Virtuosity (1995): Some of the most A-list talent we’ve ever had in a feature…well, before one of the was “A-list.” A virtual villain’s successful attempt to escape into the “real world,” SID 6.7, the villain program (Russell Crowe), is eventually transplanted into an android body and escapes. A reinstated police officer played by Denzel Washington, is given the chance to catch him.

Judge Dredd (1995): An adaptation of the UK Comic that takes place in a dystopian future, Dredd (Sylvester Stallone), the most famous judge (a cop with instant field judiciary powers) is convicted for a crime he did not commit while his murderous counterpart escapes.

Alternates: Split Second (1992), Runaway (1984)

Horror: Virtual Reality

Apparently, computers still scare people, because they keep making horror movies about the dangers of the internet, computers, and VR. Hell, does anybody even develop VR stuff anymore?

Ghost Machine (2009) : A special forces cadet (Rachael Taylor), a professional gamer, a security guard, and two computer techs battle a vengeful spirit that has infected their stolen military software.

Brainscan (1994): A teenager (Edward Furlong) is part of an interactive video game where he kills innocent victims. Later, the murders become real. Goretastic!

Alternates: Lawnmower Man (1992), Mindwarp (1992)

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By all rights, Casshern should be a superhero movie.

We have a dystopian future in which the world has been decimated by years of global war.  We have the young and foolhardily brave Tetsuya brought back from the dead by a god to right the world’s wrongs and save the human race-who, as it turns out-also has to wear a neat-looking body suit to keep from his body’s own innate strength from making him explode.  Said heroic superbeing performs astounding feats of daring do.  We also have the Neo Sapiens wiping out the last vestiges of humanity with their army of killer robots led by the angriest Devil May Cry cosplayer I’ve ever seen.  We have mad scientists, selfish military men, and damsels in distress.  We have super-powers, violence, special effects, fight scenes and brilliant costume designs.

But this is not a super-hero movie. Not really.

While watching Casshern, one should keep in mind that it’s not a deus ex machina if the deus is present throughout the whole film.  The god in question-Casshern-has brought a number of people back to life. But why?  And while we’re at it, why are any of us here?  This question becomes the heart of what is essentially a stunningly visual philosophical argument as each character experiences frustration and mysteries.

Lest you think this is a deep piece of thoughtful introspection, let me be very clear:

There’s an army of killer robots.

Tetsuya destroys them with his bare hands.

The centerpiece of Casshern occurs about midway through the film when, for about five minutes, Tetsuya does everything you ever wanted in a super-powered fight at break-neck speed.  We learn the reason why superheroes are not allowed to have PTSD.  It justifies the film’s existence, even if you don’t like anything else about it.  Remember when you first saw Kill Bill Vol. 1 and somewhere during the Crazy 88 fight, you realized that you had were grinning from ear to ear?  Yeah, this part of Casshern is like that.

With killer robots.

To be totally honest: this is a very uneven movie.  Between the horrific violence, there’s going to be a lot of talking.  And, odds are, it’s subtitled talking.  Take some solace in the fascinating characters (and the knowledge that at some point they are going to unleash holy whup-ass), and take much more solace in the absolutely bizarre look of the film.

Adapted from an anime series in 2004, this was one of four films shot entirely on a green screen  (the other three being Sin City, Immortal, and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow).  To keep production costs low, different effects/sequences were farmed out to different studios.  As a result, no two shots look alike.  Granted, this movie would have looked weird no matter what.  One scene will be in glossy/scary future-vision while the next is a gritty, black and white war flashback.  There’s even a stop motion sequence.  It may be odd, but at least your eyes wont be bored.

I’m not going to lie:  I will defend just about any film that’s this willing to throw anything it can think of against the screen to see if it sticks.  Not everything sticks in Casshern but it looks great, has a kick-ass soundtrack, and pretty Japanese people jumping in the air, screaming (as they seem wont to do).

Isn’t that enough for you?

It would seriously be cool to move s*** with your mind. Think about it: Football Sunday, game’s in full-gear, but your beer is all the way on the other end of the coffee table, requiring you to shift your butt from that perfect spot on the couch that you just spent the last 30 minutes getting just right. According to the world history of Push, this age-old conundrum can be solved by simple genetic mutation. Solution? Telekinesis, baby!

At the heart of this story is Nick Grant,  a rather crappy telekinetic played by the charmingly never-serious Chris Evans, whose father was murdered by Agent Carver (portrayed with arrogant menace by Djimon Hounsou), and has been on the run ever since.

When we catch up with the perfectly stubble-faced Calvin Klein model protagonist, he’s attempting to win money by manipulating dice games, fails and gets punched in the head. Enter 13-year-old Cassie (Fanning), who is the definition of precocious. A hard drinker with knobby knees and huge boots, she tells Grant they can get six million dollars, but then the future changes. Constantly. First, they’re going to die. Then everyone’s going to die, and then everyone and their mother is going to die.

No, seriously.

Unless they can enlist the aid of a motley crew of ex-pat psychic-powered people against the sinister Division, a government organization that nabs psychics and uses them for Nefarious Operations^TM is…going to grab them and use them for Nefarious Operations^TM.

Then-DOOM is certain.

A bunch spiffy psychic action sequences happen, followed by some advancement of a silly plot that’s actually reasonably well acted and not boring, then some more action, and a few neat twists which I’m just not going to give away here.

The special effects are smoothly worked into the set pieces and the cinematography takes everything it knows from all kinds of eastern cinema.The plot of movie is actually less convoluted than you’d expect from a movie with people who can alter memories and see the future to be, and it actually leads into to some nice twists, but this is an action movie, not Dark City-do not expect depth of story. (For the record: if you haven’t seen Dark City, shame on you)

Years ago, action movies were more provincial: there was the Hong-Kong flick, the French actioner, and the American blockbuster. But as time has gone on, movies- especially action movies-have been become more and more diverse in their stories and casts. Push is probably the most diverse of these movies to date, with no less than six countries represented by its performers.

Push is very unique film. It’s a stupid-yet-fun action movie, with elements of a heist picture mixed with a video game, and is setup to be the first film in a trilogy that will never be made. The best angle to take for a Cavalcade is to go international action, with Time and Tide to follow this one.