Paranoia 1.0

2004 dullfest

Rating: 9/20

Plot: A computer programmer living in a dilapidated apartment keeps getting empty brown packages sent to him anonymously. He tries to figure out who is sending them and why. I try to figure out why I haven't stopped watching the movie.

I can't decide which title for this movie I hate more--Paranoia 1.0 or One Point O. Both are probably examples of "books" you can judge by their pretentious covers. This incredibly boring artsy-fartsy nonsense somehow manages to be really stuffy and lifeless and one of those ultra-modern technobabble things. I'd rather watch robots masturbate. The story makes little sense, making this sort of like an Eraserhead without personality or humor. Or maybe like Cronenberg-lite, a Cronenberg that doesn't inspire any feelings of hatred. Or any feelings. It does have an Eraserhead-esque soundtrack, industrial sputterings and filthy ambient textures. I hated it. There are some moments featuring some creative camera work, but for the most part this film looks pretty ugly, all browns and greenish browns. And the lines, mostly all mumbly-jumbly anyway, are delivered (garbled) in a way that made me not even care to pay attention. Really dull movie, but I did learn a pair of lessons: 1) Beware of movies with really terrible titles, and 2) Don't bother with any sequels.