punishmentpark I'm glad I tried this one again, so I can up my rating from 4 to a good 7 out of 10. The first time around, I was really unhappy about the poor and cheap visuals of 'Repo chick', but this time they even grew on me a little. They're still not great, but they got much less in the way of the fine acting, the wild and funny story with its many social, cultural and political references, and the sheer fun that it all radiates - as do all the films by Alex Cox that I've seen. He makes the kind of films that have real heart and intelligence, which is a relatively rare quality.There's a string of familiar and unfamiliar actors here doing their jobs more than aptly, of which Miguel Sandoval stands out the most, but the energy and beauty of Jaclyn Jonet really makes me wonder why she isn't a bigger name in the movies...? But then I should also ask why Alex Cox (doing a hilarious supporting role here as a mad professor of some kind) never made it bigger as well...? He would deserve it, but I'll assume his work too off-beat for that...?Anyhoo-ee, 'Repo chick' is a low low budget, crazy, yet intelligent comedy that you might want to try (again).

ejonconrad I *really* wanted to like this movie. In the short period from 1984 to 1987, Alex Cox gave us the Repo Man, Sid and Nancy, Straight to Hell, and Walker (yes, I even liked Walker!). He's sort of foundered ever since, and I was hoping this might be his redemption. I was destined to be very disappointed.First there's the filming technique. It's done almost entirely on green screen, and then set against backgrounds mostly made of models, many of them literally model train sets. This all seemed naggingly familiar, then hit it hit me: the great Alex Cox had ripped off Thomas the Tank Engine! I guess this was supposed to be surreal and artsy, but it just looked cheap and stupid. Reportedly, he did this to stay below the $200k threshold of the Screen Actors Guild. The thing is, Repo Man was filmed for $160k and (even correcting for inflation) looks about 20 times more professional than this movie.Although this isn't really a sequel, he puts in a number of the people from the original, but this mostly reminds you that they haven't worked much since. There are also some fairly big name actors, like Patricia Arquette, Karen Black, Chloe Webb, and Miguel Sandoval, and they're completely wasted - with the arguable exception of Sandoval, who does a fairly decent job. It shot in 10 days, using what appears to be a rough draft of a concept for a script. It appears they also did it Ed Wood style, always using the first take. The plot is a weird mix of heavy handed social commentary and a desperate attempt to capture the quirky magic of Repo man, and it fails at both. Because it's trying so hard, it also fall short in the "so bad it's good" category.Finally, the music, or lack of it. The iconic soundtrack was the magic pixie dust that turned Repo Man into a timeless gem, and a good soundtrack could even have saved this, at least at some level. However, what little music there is is clearly designed to *remind* us of the original, without stepping on any copyrights or paying any musicians. In the end, that was the last nail in the coffin.I suppose if you're an Alex Cox fan, you have no choice but to watch this movie, but don't say you weren't warned.

bobc-5 In the not too distant future of an alternate reality, a Paris Hilton-like celebrity cut off from her fortune discovers she has a knack for the repossession business after joining a firm which not only has cars in its holding yard but also factories, cruise ships and what might be a nuclear power plant. Enticed by a million dollar bounty on a vintage train, she ends up in the middle of a terrorist plot to force the President of the United States to outlaw golf and become a vegan.This movie isn't so much a "Repo Man" sequel as it is a remake taken to ridiculous extremes at the expense of things like plot, character development and cinematography. It's loaded with references and parallels to "Repo Man" and at least 8 actors from the original (not including Cox) appear here as well. I got a big kick out of this, but it will obviously be lost on anyone who isn't a "Repo Man" fan and won't appeal to many of those who are, so we have a movie that by design has been made primarily for the benefit of a small subset of the small cult following of the original.The movie is unique, however, in the way it creates the fantasy world in which the action takes place. A surreal environment is produced by being filmed entirely in green screen with the floors and backgrounds added later. Although the opening scenes are made to look almost realistic, the movie increasingly uses obvious toy models and cartoon animations as it progresses. Most of the film's entertainment value comes from accepting this alternate reality as a place which is at least possible in our imaginations even if completely implausible in the real world.The point of the movie, of course, isn't the thin, absurd plot but the satire which gets leveled at many aspects of modern society. I would assume that the shallow and fictitious nature of the environment created in the film is supposed to represent those same qualities in the targets being satirized. Topics such as celebrity culture, heartless corporations, liberal activists and homeland security all get the Cox treatment. Unfortunately, it's done without the depth, coherence and brilliantly insightful dialog found throughout "Repo Man". Although I very much appreciate all the things Cox was trying to do, I would still find it hard to recommend this movie without attaching numerous qualifications to such a recommendation.

Woodyanders Spoiled rich bad girl heiress Pixxi De La Chasse (the adorable, but hopelessly charmless and obnoxious Jaclyn Jonet) gets disinherited by her snooty family and is forced to get a job as a repo chick. She proves to be a natural at the gig and sets her sights on nabbing a train with a hefty one million dollar bounty on it. However, a group of bumbling terrorists hijack the train and threaten to destroy Los Angeles unless their demands that golf is outlawed are met. Sound good? Well, it just ain't. Writer/director Alex Cox fails to bring even a smidgen of wit, style, or verve to the dopey premise. Moreover, the meandering narrative plods along at an excruciatingly sluggish pace and the soundtrack is loaded with forgettable crummy songs. Worse yet, a cool supporting cast is shamefully wasted on the lackluster material: Robert Beltran, Chloe Webb, Rosanna Arquette, Karen Black, Frances Bay, Del Zamora, and even original "Repo Man" holdover Olivia Barash. The fact that the lead female character is an insufferably shallow and snippy unappealing wealthy bitch who's way too similar to Paris Hilton for comfort doesn't help matters any. Shot largely in front of green screens, this film looks terribly cheap and cheesy. Only Miguel Sandoval as laid-back and likable cowboy repo man supreme Arizona Gray manages to rise above the general tedium and mediocrity. Sorely bereft of the fierce punky vigor and gleeful nihilistic humor of the terrific 1984 cult classic, this dreary dud is well worth avoiding.