Branded (2012)

In a world we no longer control one man will rise up and shout 'I see you!' into the darkness.  This is what I would call a Russian version of  Brazil (1985) but with nowhere near the fanfare (to be fair Brazil was a much better movie). I hear people complain all the time how there is no 'original' ideas making it to the screen but then when it happens people avoid it like the plague. This is one of those original ideas. Now if you decide to see this understand a significant amount of it is in Russian, but there is enough English that the story is easy(ish) to follow. Set in the turmoil after the fall of the Soviet Union when a busload of western corporations shows up to take advantage of the new market, Misha (the main character) gets swept into advertising by recognizing a couple truths and soon he is one of the rich guys.  Then you throw in Leelee Sobieski (shown above just rocking the hell out of that little black dress) an American with ideas for a reality show who has a crush on Misha.  So they get the show up and running and that's when everything goes sideways. Taking actual social issues about fast food, advertising, and PR manipulation this movie turns it into a David and Goliath battle for our souls with some CGI critters thrown in to illustrate Misha's scary new powers. While not your average fare (isn't that kind of the point?) I found this to be a clever and thought provoking look at the things our society views as normal but from a foreign perspective, as well as just being an enjoyable viewing experience. I think another 20 minutes would have been useful though as they make you jump to keep up in a couple places. I'm not ready to give this one a Happy Monkey, but its knocking on the door. Recommended.