All The Real Girls Director: David Gordon Green Starring: Paul Schneider, Zooey Deschanel, Patricia Clarkson, Danny McBride
This little indie film was starred a promising young actress who hadn't made her big break yet, Zooey Deschanel (her big break really being Elf, I'd say). Directed by the same guy who made Pineapple Express, this was a totally different movie. This was a 100% slice of life movie about how complicated love can be between two regular, simple people.
The movie is about Paul, a guy who has been with every girl in his small town. That is, until his best friend's sister, Noel, comes back into town. Paul falls in love with her and wants to become a better person. However, love gets complicated for these two lost souls.
This movie, though, isn't really about the story. It's a slice of life. It's about living in a small town, relationships between friends, and finding meaning in life. The movie says just as much with beautiful scenery shots as it does with dramating conversations.
This is probably the best acting I've ever seen Zooey do. Usually, she plays an intelligent dream girl who seems out of this world. She tends to be quirky, trendy, and full of life changing insights. Here, she plays a simple, plain, small town girl. She brings subtlety to her performance that she rarely displays in movies today. She's not nearly as loveable, but 100% more believable.
Overall, this was an interesting little movie. It had some really honest portrayals of human emotions. Worth a watch for sure.
Saturday Night Fever Director: John Badham Starring: John Travolta, Karen Lynn Gorely
This movie was NOT what I was expecting. I was thinking this would be a fluffy disco version of Pretty Woman or Grease. What I got instead was a filthy, otherworldly piece of bizarro cinema.
The movie is about a schmuck named Tony who has a dead end job and a crummy home life. The only place he gets any feelings of accomplishment or self worth is on the dance floor. He and his jerk gang of friends spend their time dancing, using women, doing drugs, and being racist. Ladies and gentlemen, the 70s.
This movie turned John Travolta into a superstar. I can kind of see why. He was charismatic and likable when he wasn't abusing girls or whining all the time. At least the boy could dance.
And could he ever dance. This movie's strongest suit was it's choreographed disco dancing club scenes (which seem to be the only scenes anyone remembers from this trashy movie). The music was groovin and the people all looked rediculous. It was really a strange experience watching these scenes. Each bar he walked into seemed as bizarre and foreign as the Mos Eisley Cantina. The lighting was soft, the fog was rolling, and the disco ball was dazzling. The shots and atmosphere were so weird and unlike anything you could find in the world today. It was almost like watching some alien culture.
This movie was really pretty disgusting. I found myself hating all the characters and wondering what the point of it all was. I think they should have just stuck to the weird clubs and tried not to make any important life statements.
Baby Mama Director: Michael McCullers Starring: Tina Fey, Amy Poehler. Greg Kinnear
I love 30 Rock. Tina Fey makes me laugh like few other comedians can. Amy Poehler is hit or miss for me. Though this movie featured two ladies who I think are funny, it failed to impress me.
Tina Fey plays a wealthy businesswoman who cannot bear children. She highers a white trash woman (Amy Poehler) to be her surrogate mother. Comedy occurs.
This movie did make me laugh, but mostly at random things. Steve Martin was ridiculous as the new age organic food loving billionaire boss of Fey. Poehler's strength here was her ability to blurt out random dialogue with great timing and absurdity. Fey here was mostly playing straight woman to Poehler.
This movie's plot was predictable and the laughs didn't come frequently enough to keep me interested. It forced some sort heartfelt relationship message about having kids. Or something. It seemed like something they felt like they needed to throw in there. Didn't really work for me.
Overall, a humorous little movie that I'm glad I didn't pay to see in theaters. Everything about it was average. It seems sort of below the standard Fey has set up for herself. Not bad, but that's about all I can say for it.
All the President's Men Director: Alan J. Pakula Starring: Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Robards
Historical dramas can be really boring. Often times, they focus so much on facts and events that they fail to entertain or capture the attention of your average audience. Every once in a while, though, they really manage to show just how exciting and important events of the past really were. This film was one of the latter. Much like Good Night and Good Luck (a favorite of mine), this movie showed how the hard work of a determined journalist can change the course of history.
Based on their own real best selling book, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein are two no name journalists at the Washington Post who start investigating the Watergate break in with no information or connections. By slowly climbing a ladder of shaky contacts and anonymous sources, they trace the corruption all the way up to the White House itself.
Redford and Hoffman as charismatic as actors come. Watching these two guys in their prime bounce intense, technical dialogue off of each other at a lightning pace was great to watch. It was also cool to see two actors from 12 Angry Men working together again (Martin Balsam and Jack Warden). They real highlight, though, was Jason Robards (who got a much deserved Oscar for his performance). His challenging, but ultimately supportive relationship with his young journalists was fun to watch (as was his dirty mouthed dialogue).
This movie has a very meticulous script full of name dropping and complicated political connections. It doesn't worry much about catching up the audience and gives only as much information as we need to basically understand what is happening. We see this flurry of information as overwhelming (which it would have been for Woodward and Bernstein). It started out as very overwhelming and unengaging. However, once Woodward has his intense conversation with Dahlberg (which was filmed as six minutes of a single take of phone conversation with a slow zoom), the film takes off and it was impossible to not be drawn down the rabbit hole. The darkened conversations with number one anonymous source Deep Throat were especially adrenalyn pumping.
I would recommend this movie to anyone who is interested in political conspiracy or in journalism. I wonder if this kind of hard working investigative journalism is still going on. I'm sure it is, but things like this get turned into books nowadays, not newspaper articles. I think we need people like Woodward and Bernstein to look into every administration that goes through the White House.
500 Days of Summer Director: Marc Webb Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel
I knew after the first time I saw the trailer that this would be my kind of movie. It looked like it had that quirky indie-comedy feel with some real emotion and romance. All that with two of the most charismatic young actors working today and some awesomely surreal imagery. Well, turns out I was right! This is a "Pete and Kaylen" movie.
The narrator warned us that this was not a love story. I'm not sure I agree, but whatever. Tom is a young man with a job he hates (greeting cards), but aspirations to greater things (architect). He is a hopeless romantic when he meets Summer. The movie tracks the 500 days during which he is infatuated with this girl. Through good times and bad, she leaves him a cynical, sad man. Ok, maybe this isn't a love story.
The two lead actors here are perfect. I've had a little fanboy crush on Zooey Deschanel for a long time, which made her (pretty standard) dream girl character work for me. She was cute, difficult, and real. I don't know why Joseph Gordon-Levitt is not a super star. After seeing his amazing performance in Brick, I knew this guy was a great actor. He is an increcibly loveable everyman here, and I can't help but to identify with him and root for things to go his way.
The cool thing here is that we get to see an entire relationship they way someone remembers it, not how it really is. Marc takes us through their time together in a non-chronological zig-zag way. This makes certain scenes his harder and leaves gaps where things are forgotten (sometimes willingly). A lot of this is sad, but some is very funny. There is a particular scene in which Tom is very depressed and goes into a convenience store to buy essentials (OJ, Jack Daniels, and Twinkies). I was giggling uncontrollably the whole time.
The best thing about the movie is that the emotions are real. Tom experiences feelings of love and depression in extremes. He goes from dancing in the streets to cursing strangers for holding hands. Everything about his emotions are so steryotypical, but this only makes it that much more relateable to everyone watching. Summer is the kind of girl we all know, someone who is fun, but completely infuriating at the same time. I'm not sure how I feel about her as a person...this will take more viewings.
This movie will get knocked for being too "quirky", "hipster", and "cute". Backlash will come along with overhype. The same thing happened with Juno, a movie I loved because I ignored all that. This is better than all that. It is a real, hilarious, romantic movie that I'll revisit over and over again in the future.
PS- The soundtrack is rad.
Lesson learned: Girls aren't always impressed when you try to defend their honor by punching a guy.
Lone Wolf and Cub- Sword of Vengance Director: Misumi Kenji Starring: Tomisaburô Wakayama
Falling into the same chambara genre as Lady Snowblood, this is the first in the Lone Wolf and Cub samurai swordplay series. These are based on the highly acclaimed manga series by the same name (which I have been meaning to get into for a long time).
Ogami Itto is an executioner for the shogun, meaning that he assists samurai who must committ seppuku (ritual suicide). When a new regime takes over, his clan and family are killed. He then makes a run for it, taking his son with him. He becomes an assassin for hire who seeks revenge for his family.
This movie was rough. There was violence, blood, and rape. The director really built a gritty world that resembles the lawlessness of the American wild west (not surprising, since westerns and samurai movies have many similarities).
This movie, though, was all about story and action. It was like watching a live action manga. The blood sprays, the facial expressions are over the top, and the bod count is astronomical. Itto takes on dozens of ronin and dominates them all. The fight scene in the river and the final showdown are especially impressive. This movie was energetic and fun. I'm interested in checking out more of this series when I'm in the mood for a samurai movie that's a little more exciting than a Kurosawa flick.
Lesson learned: Kaylen does not like these kinds of movies.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Director: Steven Spielberg Starring: Harrison Ford, Sean Connery
The original Star Wars trilogy has had more of an influence on my life than any other films. The Indiana Jones trilogy is a close second. Like Star Wars, I can neither remember the first time I saw the films, nor remember how many times I've seen them. These classic adventure movies are some of the most entertaining works of pulp art ever made (and are my favorite works of Spielberg). I bought a poster of this film at the Flatstock fair at the Pitchfork Music Festival. I discovered that Kaylen had not seen this Jones film, so we had to remedy that ASAP.
This movie may as well be called Raiders of the Lost Ark 2. While the Temple of Doom gave Jones a different set of villains and a different style of quest, Last Crusade is a rehash of everything that made the first movie great. We have Nazis, Christian lore, and John Rhys-Davies. This film is especially great for me because it talks a lot about the Crusades. This is a modern quest for the Holy Grail.
This movie is probably the campiest film in the trilogy (like Star Wars, I pretend any new perversions are non-existent). This is mostly due to the iconic performance from Sean Connery as Dr. Henry Jones Sr. His chemistry with Ford is what makes this movie better than Temple of Doom.
Movies like this are not made anymore. Today, this sort of popcorn adventure tends to come off as stupid and overly cheesy. The only thing that has come close is the Pirates of the Caribbean series. I love the way these films mix shaky history with fantasy and action. Indiana Jones may be the best hero in film history. I hope George Lucas doesn't try to screw these movies up with any more CG infested sequels.
Lesson learned: Jehovah is spelled with an "I" in Latin.
Taxi Driver Director: Martin Scorsese Starring: Robert DeNiro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd
My education in Scorsese continues with what is widely heralded as a classic. This movie was definitely well made, but didn't quite wow me.
Here we have the story of Travis, a man who feels alone and alienated in a dirty city full of prostitution and dirty movies. He tries to reach out to a woman who works as a political activist, but his sheltered lifestyle ends up scaring her away. This leads to a rapid downward spiral to find purpose in his life through violence and helping a young prostitute get away from her sad world.
Scorsese is, as always, a master of visuals. The cityscapes, rainy cap rides, and facial expressions are all captured perfectly. He really builds an authentic atmosphere of a corrupt city filled in which Travis sees the evil and feels isolated.
DeNiro is just as strong here as in Raging Bull. His transformation from a well meaning taxi driver to a sociopathic anti-hero. He plays it all with subtle intensity. Foster is also great here as the child prostitute.
I found most of the movie very interesting, but really sort of dull. This is a slow burner. When the film explodes with violence, I got very interested. There was some really great buildup for his character to reach this moment. The violence is gritty and real (which is fitting for this movie). The ultimate outcome of this vigilante justice ended up being surprising and satisfying.
This was a very interesting character study. This could be the origin story for a Punisher type of hero. I probably wouldn't watch this again, but found it worth a viewing.
Lesson learned: Don't take girls to see dirty movies on a first date.
Adaptation Director: Spike Jonze Starring: Nicholas Cage, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper
Wikipedia defines "meta" as a prefix used in English to indicate a concept which is an abstraction from another concept, used to complete or add to the latter. This is a confusing definition, but this is also a sort of confusing (and very meta) movie. Charlie Kaufman wrote a screenplay about Charlie Kaufman writing a screenplay. Bam.
The film is about screenwriter Charlie Kaufman writing his follow-up to the cult film Being John Malkovich. Wanting to challenge himself to do something new and different, he decides to write an adaptation of an unadaptatble (and real) book about a man who steals rare orchids. His (fictional) twin brother is also trying to write a much more cliche script.
The movie is really wild. Kaufman is the master of surreal plots that blue the lines between reality and fantasy. This was no exception. I said in my review for Synecdoche NY that he seems to need a talented director to help with pacing and coherence to reign things in. Here Kaufman works with Jonze for the second time and we see a very abstract script turned into a comprehendable film. Bravo.
The cast is very good (probably the best Cage performance I've seen besides Raising Arizona). Chris Cooper was my favorite here as the eccentric orchid theif. He was frighteningly similar, though, to my old landlord. Bit parts are great to watch because they are played by a rediculously talented ensemble (Judy Greer, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Brian Cox, Ron Livingston, Tilda Swinton).
The fun part of this film is the way the film style is dictated by the screenplay. Charlie and his brother talk endlessly about how films should be made, what cliches to avoid, and what audiences want. The film references so many of the mentioned stylistic choices in actual form. It was really fun to watch (and hard to explain).
In the film, Charlie was trying to write a screenplay that taught lessons about life, love, and flowers. I think the real Charlie ended up doing a decent job at this.
Lesson learned: Look both ways when backing out of your driveway.
Lady Snowblood Director: Fujita Toshiya Starring: Meiko Kaji, Toshio Kurosawa
This may seem like another kung fu movie, but that technically isn't accurate. First, it's from Japan, not hong kong. This is a part of the chambara genre. These films are characterized as violent samurai swordplay movies. I love samurai films, but am used to the slow burning sophistication of Akira Kurosawa. This was so so different.
The plot for this film was excellent. The main character is Yuki, a girl consumed with the need for revenge. Her father was killed and her mother was abused by a group of four bad people. She has spent her entire life training and is now going one by one to kill each of them. Does this sound familiar? It should!
This film was the most dominant inspiration for Tarantino's Kill Bill: from characters to style to violence to camera techniques to music. The blood spills are abundand (with extreme spray effects and sounds). There are also plenty of intense shots of rage filled eyes. The plot is a little simpler than Kill Bill, but is expertly executed. This was exciting and dripping with cool.
This film's biggest strength is its style. The music was amazing, the fights were wild, and the acting was really good. The costumes were a neat blend of modern and period. I just loved it. This would be the sort of thing my high school friends and I would eat up. I want to watch it again to absorb all the details again. This was way more exciting and action oriented than the Kurosawa films. Not as sophisticated, but a really fun, different form of art. Instead of being a sweeping epic, this was a swell piece of revenge pulp. I'm ready to continue this genre with the Lone Wolf and Cub series.
Lesson learned: The human body is like a garden hose when sliced with a katana.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Director: David Yates Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson
First things first, you should know that I have never read a Harry Potter book. I enjoy the films a lot and I like not know what will happen next. I know a lot of fans of the book spend a lot of time complaining about changes made for the movies. Without having anything for comparison, I just get to sit back and watch some fun fantasy flicks.
This film felt like the 2nd movie of a trilogy (which I guess serves the same purpose as the 6th film of a 7 movie set). It was all build up to a big finale. Here we see Harry looking into the past of Tom Riddle to look for clues on how to defeat Voldemort. Meanwhile, Ron gets ladies, Hermione gets sad, Draco gets deathly, Dumbledore gets mysterious, and Snape gets treacherous.
The cast of these movies is ridiculous. There are so many great British character actors here. The three young stars have really grown into wonderful actors. Ron especially gets some great screen time here. I'm excited to see what the future careers hold for these three. This is first movie where Michael Gambon really impressed me. Here we see a Dumbledore who is much more what I would expect from a powerful old wise man: mystique, patience, and power. The real show stealer here, though, was new professor Jim Broadbent (who really never disappoints). He was a ton of fun as a befuddled psycho. Oh yeah, Alan Rickman was also up to his high standards of amazingness.
These movies are just great. I love the world building and production design. It's wild how much better this movie is than the first two, wich were pretty mediocre kids movies (except for the presence of Kenneth Branaugh in #2). This was not like a PG movie. It was dark, violent, and full of inappropriate innuendo. These kids definitely had hormones raging in this movie. It was like watching a WB teen drama with a lot of cool fantasy stuff going on.
My favorite scene was the fight against the death eaters at the Weasley farm. Wizard fights rock.
I wasn't sure all the time why certain things were supposed to be important, but I really don't care. I'm just glad to be along for the ride with these fun characters. I'm glad they're stretching out the ending. Hopefully it will be a satisying conclusion (something missing from most of the movies). The third movie is still my favorite, but these last two have definitely been a lot of fun. The best part about Harry Potter is that it's good for fantasy movies, something that there is not nearly enough of. Though I'll always be more of a Tolkien guy, I applaud the Potter world.
Lesson learned: Boys know nothing about how girls work.
Animal House Director: John Landis Starring: John Belushi, Tom Hulce, Tim Matheson
People have been telling me that I need to see this movie for a long time. I'm pretty sure one of my uncles said that I needed to see this before college. My college career in no way resembled anything in this movie. I think this movie is actually partially responsible for why a lot of college kids annoy me. People want to have college memories like Animal House.
I said in my review for the Hangover, I expressed my distaste for Old School. Well, this movie is the father of that film. The Deltas are a crazy fraternity that is on probation for its bad behavior. Wild antics are abundant.
I don't want to sound like a boring fuddy-dud who hated the movie, because I actually kind of liked it. This may not be my sort of comedy because never in my life has an evening consisted of wild partying and property destruction. I also have an awful prejudice against Greek life on campuses (which is probably unfair). I still managed to find a lot of the film very very funny.
The cast was pretty good, with Belishi being the obvious highlight. I can't help but wonder how many great movies he would have made (Blues Brothers is a favorite of mine). His insane dimeanor and sheer goofiness is amazing to watch. This film also was the film debut of miss Karen Allen, who is cute as a button here (she will always have a special place in my heart). Also, Donald Sutherland as a hippy stoner English professor? You can't go wrong there.
Many of the gags were funny. I enjoyed my time with the Deltas because this flick was original for its time. Now that we also have Porky's, Revenge of the Nerds, and Wedding Crashers, this movie seems like old news. I can respect this for what it is: a crazy wild romp through the college days of other people. Too bad it influences idiots to this very day.
Lesson learned: It doesn't take a loaded gun to kill a horse.
Bride Wars Director: Gary Winick Starring: Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway
This is the scariest movie I've seen in a while. Ok, maybe not really, but it's hard to review a movie like this without being snooty. Kaylen was tired of all the kung fu movies so she hijacked my Netflix account and put this movie at the top (are you surprised that it wasn't my choice). I watch movies like this so rarely that this was actually an interesting experience for me. This movie was not trying to be smart, sophisticated, or innovative. It just wanted to entertain its target audience on a base level. Screw critics! Too bad I'm not a member of that target audience.
The film is a bout two formerly best friend bridezillas with competing weddings on the same day. Hilarity and insanity ensue.
This movie had two main characters we were supposed to identify with. The trouble is that I only liked Hathaway's character. Hathaway is a teacher, Hudson is a lawyer. Hathaway is nice and accomodating, Hudson is aggressive and controlling. Hathaway is a brunette, Hudson is a blonde. Also, I just find Hudson unlikeable in every movie except for Almost Famous (and let's be honest, that movie was all about Fugit and Crudup).
I am engaged and am in the beginning process of planning a wedding. I am so so so glad that it will be nothing like this movie. Kaylen is understanding and willing to compromise. This will be our wedding, not her wedding.
I would love to go on and on about how cliche the plot was, how lame the jokes were, and how insulting the characters were. The problem is, you would not be surprised. This movie was not made for people like me and it is not supposed to be a great piece of art.
Instead, I'll just say "meh".
Lesson learned: Weddings can bring out the worst in people.
Whatever Works Director: Woody Allen Starring: Larry David, Evan Rachel Wood, Patricia Clarkson
Two days of Woody. These are movies separated by decades that seem like they could have been released in the same year. This movie was not well received by critics, and I am not surprised. This shows no growth and really shows nothing new for Woody as a writer or director (probably because it was a screenplay he wrote in the 70's). However, it should come as no surprise that I did like it quite a bit even through it did show some of Woody's big weaknesses.
The movie centers around Boris, an elderly self-proclaimed genius and cynic who stumbles across Melodie, a young runaway from the South. The two develop a relationship that starts fairly simply, but gets complicated when Melodie's mother and father both arrive at Boris' doorstep.
Larry David was made for this movie (he and Woody seem two sides of the same coin). Though this part definitely has flashes of Woody's usual morbid neuroses, Allen could have never pulled this role off. It is way too mean and aggressive to be played by a wuss like Allen. David has just the right amount of pompous rage to portray a self important man like Boris (who refers to all other humans as insects). Wood is also very sweet and likable as Melodie. The way she tries to understand Boris and admire him is endearing. Her character's transformation and growth are done very well.
There were some big weaknesses in this movie, though, that Allen has always had. He has no idea how young people talk. All of his dialogue for younger people comes off so unnaturally that I wondered if he has any understanding of modern culture. He really seems to live in a past world where things like rock music and the internet are just not important. Also, Allen's philosophical ramblings start to get repetitive by the end of the film.
However, I loved seeing a movie like this in theaters. The pseudo-philosophical bull that spouts from David's mouth is the sort of dialogue that I LOVE seeing in a movie. Allen's movies put on a front of having a pessimistic view of humanity, but rarely end that way. He usually lets us know that even though life is temporary and painful and unfair, that it is really all worth it in the end. I like that.
Even though many of the laughs were cheap, I found this to be a really refreshing trip to the movies of yesterday.
Lesson learned: It takes two rounds of "Happy Birthday" to get all the germs off your hands.
Broadway Danny Rose Director: Woody Allen Starring: Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Nick Apollo Forte
I could sit around and watch Woody Allen movies all day. The way he writes dialogue and characters is hilarious and intelligent. Though it sometimes bothers me when actors play the same role over and over again, Woody somehow remains entertaining to me. Sure, he's always the same neurotic guy, but I like that. I can never get enough of the guy. It's just comforting to see a familiar face over and over again in his movies.
This movie has a little more adventure to it than some of his other movies. Woody plays an off beat talent agent (Danny Rose) who manages bizarre acts (blind xylophone player, piano playing birds, etc). His one profitable act is a has-been Italian lounge singer named Lou Canova. Lou is having a gig that could be his big breakthrough and he needs his mistress there to ease his nerves. Danny has to go get this girl and pretend that she is his date. She is a feisty Italian lady (played by Farrow) who gets Danny into many messes (including almost getting killed) on their way to the gig. There is a particularly hilarious scene in which they are being chased by a man with a gun in a warehouse with a helium leak. It had the over the top comedic aspects of his early films, which was a great change of pace. They whole story is being told by a group of old comedians having dinner together, which added some great atmosphere.
Farrow really surprised me here. She usually ends up playing a female version of the standard Woody Allen character. Here, she has beehive hair, big shades, and a loud mouth. So so different from what I was expecting from her. Allen also turns a great performance as the desperate Danny Rose.
This was yet another great comedy from Allen. I wonder if I'd even love his critical flops as well (I did enjoy Scoop quite a bit). Maybe I should have seen Whatever Works instead of Public Enemies last night...
Public Enemies Director: Michael Mann Starring: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard
This movie did not do it for me. It may be that I was too tired for a 2.5 hour movie that moved so slowly... or maybe it just wasn't very good.
This was the story of notorious mobster John Dillinger and the FBI agents to chased him around. It was a typical cat and mouse mobster flick. There were really no new contributions to the bloated genre.
My main problem with the movie was that it refused to have any fun. It took itself WAY to seriously. Depp comes off as flat as Dillinger (one of the only times I have ever been unimpressed with Johnny). There is no joy in his performance and he keeps a stone cold face almost the entire time. The script was pretty terrible as well. It included a lot of campy dialogue, but the delivery was all straight faced. No fun to be had. Also, things seemed jumbled and underdeveloped (a rare thing for a movie this long, you'd think they'd have time to make things clear).
The only thing I really loved about the film was Marion Cotillard. Too bad she didn't have much else to work with. Every character was one dimensional and it ended unceremoniously. The quality of the film used was also off...sort of grainy, but in a home movie sort of way.
I was expecting a fresh spin on the genre for the summer. What I got was a boring movie that need more fun and action. At least the soundtrack was cool.
Lesson learned: Don't team up with a guy named Baby Face.
Bruno Director: Larry Charles Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen
There's not much I can say here. It was vulgar, outrageous, explicit, and funny. It was all a bit too much for me, though I did laugh a lot. I really applaud Cohen for his ability to generate this sort of comedy in his unique way. I went into this movie expecting it to be wild and was still shocked.
Instead of playing a Kazakhstan journalist looking for the American dream, here we follow a gay Austrian fashion guru who wants to become a celebrity.
I don't know how much of this movie was staged, but the majority of it seemed legit. This was so different from any other movie in theaters today (or at all since Borat). The quasi documentary style relies on Cohen's incredible ability be be a chameleon. I don't know how much longer he can keep this up, but I'm sure he won't be stopping anytime soon.
Lesson learned: The military does not appreciate fashion.
La Passion De Jeanne D'Arc Director: Carl Theodore Dreyer Starring: Maria Falconetti
Talk about a powerful film. This is far and away the best silent film I have ever seen. I don't know how to put it into words. It was so powerful and so beautiful.
This movie is not about Joan of Arc the warrior saint. This is about Joan faithful teenage girl. The film has no battle scenes and really doesn't even mention the Hundred Years War. The film is all about her heresy trial. There is not context given to previous events. The script is based on the actual notes form Joan's trial.
The camera techniques were very innovative. This threw out all the rules about shot transitions or composition. Almost every shot of the movie is a facial close-up. These shots are from various angles, often from a slightly tilted or skewed perspective. The gritty black and white shows off every wrinkle on the judges faces and the purity of Joan's. The blackness and contrast of the lighting is just so awe inspiring. These closeups really drive home the emotions of Joan's character.
Joan here is a teenage girl who has found herself way in over her head. She is faithful and strong in her visions, but has no idea how to communicate them to her judges. We see her internal conflict about answers to various questions as she struggles to stay true to herself. To say that Falconetti's performance is good is an understatement. She gave one of the best performances I have ever seen. She has the ability to say more with her eyes than any string of dialogue could ever say. She has a celestial, haunting quality to her face, her eyes almost constantly blazing forward, brimming with tears. She was beyond perfect. I want to watch it again just to see her performance and attempt to feel her internal struggle.
The film did not need sound to tell its story. Words on the screen were used sparingly, always to great effect. The inquisition of this poor girl was powerfully captured by a great cast and great direction. Watching this movie was an otherworldly experience. The whole film has a dreamlike quality to it that I cannot describe. I was never sure just how to feel about Joan. The film seems to keep her at a distance, alienating her from the audience like she was alienated from the world.
An excellent bit of film history. I'll probably show clips from this when teaching the Hundred Years War next year.
Lesson learned: There is a fine line between coming off as holy and as insane.
Sixteen Candles Director: John Hughes Starring: Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Michael Schoeffling
Second movie of the project that I had previously seen before. I have seen brat pack movies because my fiance, Kaylen Hoffman, loves them (are these considered chick flicks? do they transcend that label?). Pretty in Pink is one of her favorite movies of all time. As a teen, Kay really identified with Molly Ringwald's character in that movie and in this one. I can see why. I'm sure that the younger Kaylen taht I never got to meet was just as unique, artsy, and angsty as this redheaded stepchild of the 80's (except it was Rooney instead of New Order).
This is a much goofier, fluffier movie than Breakfast Club or Pretty in Pink. This is sort of the steryotypical teen movie (including a wild party while the parents are away! On no!). Ringwald plays a teen whose parents forget her 16th birthday. Duing her unspecial day, she is pestered by a geek and pines for a hunky jock. This is very similar to Pretty in Pink and, like that movie, she ends up with the pretty boy.
This sort of bothers me. Why would this rebellious, individualistic girl go for the hadsome, dense rich boy? Does Joh Hughes think that that's what all girls want? Maybe he thinks that all quarterbacks with nice cars are secretly sick of vapid cheerleaders and really just want to hang out with a weird girl. Who knows?
This movie is good for a laugh, but is mostly empty of deeper meaning. There are a lot of cheap laughs at a Chinese exchange student named Long Duk Dong (sometimes referred to as "the donger"). This movie is the godfather to the American Pie series and modern movies like Superbad (though a less raunchy version of both). Though this movie fails to get to any deeper truths about being a teen, it acts as a great antiquated relic of the olden days of the 80's.
PS- this is worth watching for a bit part from a very young John Cusak as a total dweeb.
Lesson learned: Don't let Kaylen near any popular rich pretty boys.
I feel like I owe you readers an explanation for the inexcusable amount of boring kung fu movie reviews you've read in the last month. Watching these films has been the most enjoyable and exciting film experience I have had in a long time.
My twin brother and I started to get into kung fu movies when we were younger (not sure when...8th grade? 9th?). This was the antural extension of our childhood obsession with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It all started with Bruce Lee movies. We bought his entire collection and watched them repeatedly, especially Enter the Dragon and the Chinese Connection. These movies were perfect for teenage boys. Lee has an amazing amount of energy in his acting and his movies were exciting and totally cheesy (which we loved). From there it went to Drunken Master II, which blew my mind with its unique style and epic choreography.
The real interest in classic 70's/80's kung fu came from Kill Bill. I was a devoted Tarantino fan and really loved the style of the fight sequences. My favorite scene in the movies was the training sequence with Pai Mei. I loved how over the top everything was (costumes, sound effects, music, choreography). This led me to look up information on the Shaw Bros. Studios. The sad thing was that Cape Girardeau didn't have a single one of these movies to rent or buy. I had to settle with newer wire fu films like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Hero (both of which I love).
I have now (thanks to Netflix and eBay) seen many of the classic Shaw Bros. films. I love them for their pure escapism. They are so different from every other type of movie I watch. I am enthralled with the meticulous fight choreography. Everything is dripping with cheesiness and I wouldn't have it any other way. These films take me back to my childhood. I would have LOVED these movies as a kid. They are black and white stories about beating up the bad guys and being cool.
You'll probably read more martial arts reviews from me soon. These films just take me back to simpler days. Who needs good acting, dialogue, or plot? I just want to see someone show off with a cool sword.
Five Element Ninjas Director: Chang Cheh Starring: Chentin Yee, Lo Meng, Chu Ker
There used to be this big question which sparked intense debate all over the internet: what is cooler, pirates or ninjas? I always thought this was a silly question with a ridiculously obvious answer: ninjas, of course. I won't get into the plethora of reasons for this right now, I have a rad movie to talk about.
This is considered one of the many "Venoms" movies, meaning that it was directed by Cheh and has much of the same cast from The Five Venoms. This was one of the most mind blowing and deranged movies I've watched recently.
The film centers around a man looking for revenge on the ninjas who killed his master and his friends. The ninjas use the powers/techniques of the five elements (gold, wood, fire, earth, and water) to defeat the rival school. The abilities are: Gold- gold chields that reflect light and shoot darts Wood- tree disguises and claws Fire- pink smoke that blinds enemies Earth- burrowing under ground and poking up with spears Water- swim and use hooks to drag people under The protagonist also learns ninjitsu to defeat the ninjas.
This movie was almost nonstop action, with only a period in the middle of the film dragging a little bit. It start off with a martial arts tournament which includes something different from other kung fu movies: a samurai. It was fun to watch Japanese fighting styles go against Chinese martial arts. The final fight was one of the most fun and rediculously gory things I have ever seen. Tons of cheese, but not in a bad way. Were the special effects and wire work horrible? Absolutely. The whole thing had an absurd audacity to it that most films today would never attempt. This is just the sort of spray-fest Tarantino was paying tribute to with Kill Bill.
The ninjas in this movie soooooo cool (as all should be). They used real historical ninja weapons and equipment, but had a supernatural element to them. They were truly silent and invisible. The flick even included a deadly ninja chick. Doesn't get much better than that.
With the big resurgence of pirate movies lately, someone needs to come along and bring about the rebirht of the ninja movie. If it has half the fun of this film, I'll gladly go along for the ride.
Ok, so I just did some extreme math and have discovered that I am seven movies behind a movie a day. SEVEN.
This is unacceptable. I plan to rededicate myself to this blog. Sure, 50 movies in 57 days is not bad, but I'm falling behind my goal. Starting tomorrow, I plan to go hardcore on the daily cinema again. I'll even try to fit in a few double features.
(If you'll notice, I missed today...I'll make up for it, I swear!)
The Elephant Man Director: David Lynch Starring: John Hurt, Anthony Hopkins
Let me start by saying that I am not a fan of the films of David Lynch. I could not appreciate Eraserhead at all and really didn't care for Blue Velvet. His films seem to be plotless and without a single bit of great dialogue. I see movies as an artistic way to tell a story. I can see why people may appreciate his films as a form of modern art. I, though, have trouble with most modern art (and the concept of art for art's sake). Lynch fans, feel free to tell me why I am wrong.
This movie was different. This was full of real, relatable emotion and a strong story. The acting was great, especially from the two leads. This was also one of the saddest movies I have ever seen in my life. It tells the real story of John Merrick, a horribly deformed man who is taken in by Dr. Treves. Treves treats John like a human being, with the highest dignity.
John Hurt is outstanding in this movie. Even under all that makeup, the raw emotion of his performance shines through. Hopkins delivers a subtle performance of a man who is torn about his own actions in caring for this man. The supporting cast also does well, especially a memorable role from Anne Bancroft.
The movie was truly heartfelt, but probably the most difficult movie I have seen in a long time. It is a good thing Lynch decided to shoot in gritty black and white. This would have been impossible to swallow in full, clear color. The brutality of some people is so real here. The movie demands you to look at ugliness (both inside and out) in an extreme, in your face way.
This was a beautiful movie about humanity's good and bad sides. I probably won't stop thinking about this movie for a few days. The images are lodged into my mind now. Maybe this was like the other Lynch movies I've seen...
Hot Rod Director: Akiva Schaffer Starring: Andy Sandberg, Jorma Taccone, Bill Hader, Danny McBride
I'm sure you're all sick of reading about kung fu movies. Here's your variety!
I don't regularly watch SNL. It has become very inconsistent, with a few bright spots here and there. Most recent highlights come from Andy Samberg. I first heard of Andy and his Lonely Island crew when I watched the Awesometown unaired pilot they did. I really loved their random, nonsensical style. This movie had tons of that.
This is the story of Rod, a stuntman who is trying to raise money to save his dying stepdad. The reason he wants to save him, though, is because he wants to beat him up.
The cast is great. It includes my personal favorite SNLer (Bill Hader) and my favorite Arrested Development alum (Will Arnett). Also, Danny McBride continues to be hilarious in every movie he appears in.
The thing I loved about this movie is just how wild the humor was. You really did not know what to expect from one minute to the next. All of a sudden, ariot could break our or people could bust into a rap. A lot of the jokes were so juvenile and dorky.
I love when movies take a cheap,lame physical comedy joke and allow it to go on so long that it starts to be funny, then long enough that is becomes hysterical. My prime example is the puking scene from Team America. There's a part at the beginning of this movie where Rod is falling down a hill that took me from giggling, to chuckling, to guffawing.
Quotable dialogue, great plot, and funny cast=success
Legendary Weapons of China Director: Lau Kar Leung Starring: Lau Kar Leung, Gordon Liu, Kar Wing Lau
This was not a very good movie, which is a big let down when we're talking about the director of 36th Chamber and 8 Diagram. The plot was almost incomprehensible and there were almost no fights in the first half of the movie. However, I was left smiling at the end of the movie.
The story is about an old martial arts master during the Boxer Rebellion who disbands his school because too many of his pupils were dying. Because of this, assassins have been hired to find and kill him. The film has a lot of magic mixed in (fire, invincible skin, etc) with its kung fu, which was sort of interesting.
The reason that I didn't hate this movie is that the final 25 minute fight scene was awesome. The movie's title is a reference to the 18 schools of weapons fighting in China. To defeat the final assassin, his brother, the teacher uses all 18 weapons to win. This is a great fight in which we get to see tons of different weapons pitted against each other. It was like watching a Soul Calibur movie. The styles included double hammer, spear, double axe, three section pole, and many others. It was energetic, fluid, and a blast to watch.
The ending saved the movie. However, on future viewings, I'll probably skip the movie to see the beautifully choreagraphed climax.
Eight Diagram Pole Fighter Director: Lau Kar Leung Starring: Gordon Liu
AMAZING! This movie reunited the director and star of the 36th Chamber of Shaolin for a triumphant success of a film.
The movie centers around the Yang, a family of spear fighters who are trying to prevent the Mongols from taking over china. All but two of the Yang brothers are killed in an ambush. One brother goes nuts and the other joins a monastery. When one of his sisters is kidnapped by mongols, the monk must return to save her. The goofy thing about this movie is that none of the brothers or sisters have names. Instead they all go by numbers (1st Yang, 3rd Yang, etc). That took some getting used to, but wasn't terribly distracting. The story is nothing compared to something like Five Deadly Venoms, but it works.
This movie had the most impressive fight choreography I have ever seen. The pole fighting in this movie is so fluid and energetic. There are intense one on one battles and giant melees with dozens of combatants. The way Gordon Liu whips that pole all around his body is incredible. You can feel the energy. The final fight scene is jaw dropping, the best I've yet seen in a Shaw Brothers movie (also one of the bloodiest).
I can't recommend this movie highly enough for people looking to get into these films. I can't even begin to describe how awesome these fights were. Today's action movies are all about special effects and whatnot. This movie has real martial arts masters doing their thing, and that's really as good as it gets.
Zach Galifianakis- Live at the Purple Onion Director: Michael Blieden Starring: Zach Galifianakis
Ok, so this may not technically count as a movie, but it was almost feature length and it wasn't just a video taping of a stand up performance.
After watching the Hangover, I wanted to check out Zach's comedy and this was the perfect introduction to his unique brand of humor. The video was split between a live performance and fake interviews with Seth, Zach's long lost twin brother (played by a partially shaven Zach). The interview scenes were hilarious, with Seth being played as a dim witted southern sissy boy. He told stories about their childhood and how they bonded over the Fugees and Funyuns (I didn't realize that this is how you spell that).
Zach's standup is a mix between Demitri Martin and Mitch Hedberg. He delivers a series of off beat one line jokes like Mitch. Also, you get the feeling that Zach may be a little crazy. Like Demitri, his humor is very cerebral and set to music (piano). My favorite bits were his "characters" that he was working on, which were one line each. These included a pretentious illiterate, a forgetful vegan, and a five year old who complains about having a beard.
Only time will tell if I like this guy's stuff as much as I do Jimm Gaffigan or Demitri Martin. A funny comedian, though, who I would love to see live someday.
Lesson learned: The smell of Funyuns can bring back powerful memories.
Hello, readers. As you've probably noticed, it's been two days since I've blogged. This is because I am in a new place now and my internet isn't hooked up yet. However, I am still watching movies and will be posting make up posts ASAP. I promise.
