Robocop 2

If Paul Verhoeven’s Robocop is a Jesus story – with Robocop being an industrialized, American Jesus – then Robocop 2 is about Christ’s perversion. This second installment in the Robocop series, directed  by Irvin Kershner (The Empire Strikes Back), does contain some of Verhoeven’s intentions but is a different beast altogether. Comic book creator Frank Miller (Sin City, Batman: Year One, Hard Boiled, 300) penned this sequel and his brand of humor and writing is apparent – Robocop 2 is enjoyable and clever at times – but it’s missing the outsider’s perspective (Verhoeven is Dutch) making Robocop such a clever and insightful film.

Bill Hicks: Ninja Bachelor Party

I would never disparage Bill Hicks…except on this one occasion. Once again, Kick to Kill posted something that I couldn’t pass up. Last time it was Streetwise, this time it’s Bill Hicks’ really awful short film Ninja Bachelor Party. I’ve known about this for quite some time but always forget to seek it out; today I find the search is over and I should’ve let it stay shrouded in mystery. Ninja Bachelor Party is horrible. I guess even the best artists have a few To Wong Foo’s in their past.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t a few good moments, like when Dr. Death (Hicks) throws dirt in Kevin Booth’s eyes and talks about Bonanza or the end credits or some of the moments in the final fight scene, but overall Ninja Bachelor Party is a floppy, flaccid piece of garbage. If you’re a fan of Hicks you should check it out, just to say you’ve seen it and have something to talk about with your other loser friends when hanging out at a bar or while playing Magic: The Gathering on a Friday night.

American: The Bill Hicks Story

“The world is like a ride at an amusement park. It goes up and down and round and round. It has thrills and chills and it’s very brightly coloured and it’s very loud and it’s fun, for a while. Some people have been on the ride for a long time, and they begin to question: Is this real, or is this just a ride? And other people have remembered, and they come back to us, they say, “Hey – don’t worry, don’t be afraid, ever, because, this is just a ride…” But we always kill those good guys who try and tell us that, you ever notice that? And let the demons run amok. Jesus – murdered; Martin Luther King – murdered; Malcolm X – murdered; Gandhi – murdered; John Lennon – murdered; Reagan… wounded. But it doesn’t matter because: It’s just a ride. And we can change it anytime we want. It’s only a choice. No effort, no work, no job, no savings and money. A choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your doors, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love, instead, see all of us as one. Here’s what we can do to change the world, right now, to a better ride. Take all that money that we spend on weapons and defenses each year and instead spend it feeding and clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would many times over, not one human being excluded, and we could explore space, together, both inner and outer, forever, in peace.”