A few weeks ago I went with a friend to see the movie Suckerpunch, and was completely blown away. It was really good; much better than I had been expecting. Thus, I have decided to post a review (isn't that something most bloggers do? Review a bunch of things. Hmmm...) (Image source: google images).
The movie starts out with a rather sad scene, in which the protagonist Babydoll and her young sister discover that their mother has just died. The deceased woman in question leaves her inheritance to her daughters, much to her husband (and the girl stepfather's) rage. He lashes out and in a series of unfortunate events while trying to protect her little sister Babydoll winds up in a mental institution.
Of course, it isn't your average whacky shack; it actually seems to double as a brothel, for some odd reason, which seems quite disgusting, but all of the girls seem to have a really close-knit bond and try to help each other get through the hard times. Babydoll becomes close to a few of the girls: Rocket, Blondie (who has dark hair, I might add), Amber and Rocket's older sister Sweet Pea. Shortly upon arriving Babydoll also discovers that she is scheduled for a lobotomy in only a few days, and plans to escape before then.
One day young Babydoll is asked to dance to some rather provocative-sounding music. As she does so she retreats to a fantasy world within her mind. There she meets a strange man who tells her she must find five things in order to find freedom: a map, a key, fire, a knife and some secret item that only she can supply. She then has to fight a group of monsters (yay action scene!).
Back in the real world Babydoll tells the others about her plan and they agree to help her get the items. Each time they plan to get one Babydoll provides a distraction by dancing, and each time she dances she is transported to the fantasy world which loosely reflects the real one. Throw in some German corpses kept 'alive' by steam power and clockwork, a vengeful mother dragon, some robots and some pretty insane plot twists, and you have Suckerpunch.
I, personally, loved the movie. It was unlike anything I'd seen in a long time. I've heard other people say it's too 'confusing' or it seems like some stupid movie only 14-year-old anime fans would like because it features a girl in a skimpy schoolgirl outfit wielding a katana. I, however, beg to differ. The feel of the movie is what got me, a world in the past that is mixed with elements of the future. Not really Steampunk (though a little to some degree), it also brings in sci-fi, fantasy, burlesque and Gothy elements and places them into a nice little package that doesn't seem like a bunch of random crap thrown together blindly in order to seem cool. That, and the soundtrack is pretty neat too.
In other news, there's another movie coming out next month that I must see called Priest. A post-apocalyptic vampire story? Yes, please.
