I've had a fascination with the "Dark Side of the Age of Aquarius" for years. The fact that so many cults, serial killers, whackos, sickos, and twisted degenerates appeared in the late Sixties and the Seventies is pretty interesting. One of these loonies was the Zodiac Killer. They never tried anyone for the murders. Spooooooky.
David Fincher used to be one of my favorite directors - Alien3 is my second favorite of the series and Se7en is...well Se7en. After that well...I'm not a fan. I wasn't particularly interested in seeing Zodiac. I'm not a fan of Fincher, Jake Gyllenhall, or Robert Downey Jr. but hey it was something to watch.
It was a pretty solid movie all around but it really didn't instill a sense of purpose or meaning. The movie revolves more around Gyllenhall's character - a Boy Scout cartoonist who becomes obsessed with the Zodiac and lets his life go to shit and eventually writes the book that became the basis of the movie. There are some moments of tension in the movie but since we know nothing is going to happen to any of the characters we aren't that involved. There's not really any extended family melodrama showing what an unhealthy obesession will do to a home life. Yes, that's something we've seen before but Zodiac definitely could have used it.
The best parts of the movie are clustered in the first half of the movie when Zodiac is on the rampage. The kills are pretty grisly though most of the gore takes place off screen. Effective use is made of the sense of dread and knowing that real people were put in unimaginably horrible situations. Hey honey let's go to the lake and have a nice picnic. Oh shit, here comes a psycho with a knife.
The soundtrack is pretty much what you would expect - there's pretty solid and genuinely creepy use of Donovan's Hurdy Gurdy Man. David Shire - composer of The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three's amazing score - did the score for Zodiac but I'm not particularly sure where.
All in all I give the movie a 6.5. You not missing much if you don't see it but you won't be too disapponted either.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Ratatouille (2007)
I love Pixar Movies, you love Pixar movies, we all love Pixar movies. Just go see the new Pixar movie.
Not much of a review I know but everything I can say about Ratatouille is good. Sure I could gripe about the standard Pixar/80s-esque storyline: oddball against all odds goes his own way, meets other oddballs, team effort against the mainstream/square/corporate bad guys, heart warming sniffly learn a life lesson even the coldest heart can melt ending, and acceptance of oddball and friends by bullies/family/nay sayers in a party/reunion setting. You know what? I like it. Hell I love it. While Ratatouille didn't have the emotional family dynamic punch that The Incredibles had it was almost better because it was about cooking and the love of food. Hell I got sniffly just because the protagonist, Remy, was so passionate about food and cooking. What The Incredibles was to superheroes, Ratatouille is to gastronomy.
Oh yeah and Peter O'Toole's villianous Anton Ego, restaurant critic, is now my favorite animated movie villian.
Plus the animated short before the movie - Lifted - completely turned around the bad mood I've been in for weeks.
Michael Giacchino's score was good, playful and French, but not something I would actively seek out unless I needed something to put on random with the Amelie score.
Not much of a review I know but everything I can say about Ratatouille is good. Sure I could gripe about the standard Pixar/80s-esque storyline: oddball against all odds goes his own way, meets other oddballs, team effort against the mainstream/square/corporate bad guys, heart warming sniffly learn a life lesson even the coldest heart can melt ending, and acceptance of oddball and friends by bullies/family/nay sayers in a party/reunion setting. You know what? I like it. Hell I love it. While Ratatouille didn't have the emotional family dynamic punch that The Incredibles had it was almost better because it was about cooking and the love of food. Hell I got sniffly just because the protagonist, Remy, was so passionate about food and cooking. What The Incredibles was to superheroes, Ratatouille is to gastronomy.
Oh yeah and Peter O'Toole's villianous Anton Ego, restaurant critic, is now my favorite animated movie villian.
Plus the animated short before the movie - Lifted - completely turned around the bad mood I've been in for weeks.
Michael Giacchino's score was good, playful and French, but not something I would actively seek out unless I needed something to put on random with the Amelie score.
Monday, July 2, 2007
Day Watch
Night Watch was pretty good - an unexpected and welcome change of pace from Russia sci-fi. Day Watch is the second part in the trilogy and I was pretty unimpressed. I was pretty bored and by the end I didn't care about what was going on. Yep there's a bunch of strobe lights and Russians having a party and the witch from the first movie and...
Both the book and the movie fizzled out in the last third. Meh.
4/10
Both the book and the movie fizzled out in the last third. Meh.
4/10
1408 (2007) dir. Mikael Hafstrom
John Cusack was John Cusack, Sam Jackson wore a nice suit, and Room 1408 was haunted.
Not much of a review but 1408 is exactly what it is - a haunted house movie with John Cusack in it. I knew what I was getting and got exactly what I was expecting. Some of the movie was spooky, a few jump scares, John Cusack says something cocky, Stephen King's "man dealing with fallout of family crisis" storyline, decent direction and cinematography, some neat spooky sound design, and a fairly forgettable score with a Carpenter's song as the "uh oh" trigger. I wasn't disappointed nor was I blown away.
1408 is a solid creepy ghost story/haunted house movie that moves a little slow at times - I think the audience we saw it with was bored most of the time. Worth seeing at a matinee if you can sneak off and hide one afternoon during the week.
Humourous sidenotes:
I accidentally wore my "Steven King Rules" Monster Squad shirt to the movie. Spoooooky! I still felt ashamed when I realized what I did. At least I wasn't the lady who wore a Serenity shirt to Slither.
The next day Amanda and I were having dinner at the diner next to our house and that Carpenters song came on! Spooooooky!
Not much of a review but 1408 is exactly what it is - a haunted house movie with John Cusack in it. I knew what I was getting and got exactly what I was expecting. Some of the movie was spooky, a few jump scares, John Cusack says something cocky, Stephen King's "man dealing with fallout of family crisis" storyline, decent direction and cinematography, some neat spooky sound design, and a fairly forgettable score with a Carpenter's song as the "uh oh" trigger. I wasn't disappointed nor was I blown away.
1408 is a solid creepy ghost story/haunted house movie that moves a little slow at times - I think the audience we saw it with was bored most of the time. Worth seeing at a matinee if you can sneak off and hide one afternoon during the week.
Humourous sidenotes:
I accidentally wore my "Steven King Rules" Monster Squad shirt to the movie. Spoooooky! I still felt ashamed when I realized what I did. At least I wasn't the lady who wore a Serenity shirt to Slither.
The next day Amanda and I were having dinner at the diner next to our house and that Carpenters song came on! Spooooooky!
Monday, June 25, 2007
Into the Blue (2005)
Yes I rented it. Yes we watched it. You know what it was actually perfectly reasonable. In all honesty I'll buy it if I see it on sale somewhere. Why?
The movie chugs along, blah, blah, blah, beautiful beach people, beautiful beaches and then BAM! actiony goodness. The movie goes sideways in the third act and turns into a kick ass actioner. There are several brutal shark attacks, shootings, spearguns, Jessica Alba whomps the shit out a dude, another brutal shark attack, and a couple of painful impact shots.
We really weren't expecting to like this movie at all and really it wasn't very good but for a summertime popcorn movie it hit the spot. The acting is respectable, the story is a knock-off of Benchley's The Deep, the chicks are hot, the dudes are buff, Scott Caan is probably sick of hearing that he really looks like his Dad, and there are sharks and people in SCUBA gear fighting. I'm a sucker for movies with sharks and people fighting in SCUBA gear in them. Thunderball is my favorite Bond movie for this reason.
Don't scoff, get off your high horse, and just rent Into the Blue. It's good summertime fun.
The movie chugs along, blah, blah, blah, beautiful beach people, beautiful beaches and then BAM! actiony goodness. The movie goes sideways in the third act and turns into a kick ass actioner. There are several brutal shark attacks, shootings, spearguns, Jessica Alba whomps the shit out a dude, another brutal shark attack, and a couple of painful impact shots.
We really weren't expecting to like this movie at all and really it wasn't very good but for a summertime popcorn movie it hit the spot. The acting is respectable, the story is a knock-off of Benchley's The Deep, the chicks are hot, the dudes are buff, Scott Caan is probably sick of hearing that he really looks like his Dad, and there are sharks and people in SCUBA gear fighting. I'm a sucker for movies with sharks and people fighting in SCUBA gear in them. Thunderball is my favorite Bond movie for this reason.
Don't scoff, get off your high horse, and just rent Into the Blue. It's good summertime fun.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Shadow of the Sword (2005)
Epic period piece set during the Inquisition. More boring and predictable than it should have been. It wasn't bad in any way, the acting was fine - heavy use of "hey that guy from that other period piece", the camera work and direction were fine, there were dirty peasants and some brief blood & nudity - not at the same time.
All in all not bad but nothing extraordinary at all.
All in all not bad but nothing extraordinary at all.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
F*CK: A Documentary (2006)
Yes, an entire documentary about the "F-Word". That's about it. I'm not trying to be flippant but there's really not too much to say about this. You're either going to see it and have a good dose of "preaching to the choir" or you're not going to see it. Ice-T and Billy Connolly are the best moments of the documentary but I'm a big fan of them anyway.
Basically there's no new or interesting information in this. If I had seen this ten years ago I would have been all "right on!". Now I don't really give a shit. Oh yeah there's some good footage of Hunter S. .
Basically there's no new or interesting information in this. If I had seen this ten years ago I would have been all "right on!". Now I don't really give a shit. Oh yeah there's some good footage of Hunter S. .
Monday, May 28, 2007
Curse of the Golden Flower (2006)
Gong Li has an awesome rack. In fact it is so amazing that it's completely distracting in every scene it appears. The girl who plays Chan the serving girl also has an awesome rack but Gong Li's is like a Chinese National Treasure. She is also an amazing actress. I first saw her in Raise the Red Lantern and Farewell My Concubine. Her work in The Emperor and the Assassin was top notch. Unfortunately she was in Miami Vice and that Hannibal Rising movie. I do want to see her in 2046 but that's because I want to see 2046.
Chow Yun-Fat is also in the movie and it's great to see him acting and being as awesome as he can be.
Curse of the Golden Flower is not as thrilling as Hero or House of Flying Daggers but it is visually staggering. After an hour I started to wonder if the colors were actually on the screen or if my skullcap tincture was freaking me out. I found myself wondering how they create those colors and layers of texture. It was pretty cool.
As for the story there's an Emperor and a crazy Empress and the blah, blah, blah plot, three sons, intrigue, Gong Li's rack, golden flowers, crazy talk, crazy talk, battles, tears, sumptuous colors, blah, blah, blah plot, battles, tears, everyone dies. The end. What'd you expect? It's Chinese high epic melodrama.
Chow Yun-Fat is also in the movie and it's great to see him acting and being as awesome as he can be.
Curse of the Golden Flower is not as thrilling as Hero or House of Flying Daggers but it is visually staggering. After an hour I started to wonder if the colors were actually on the screen or if my skullcap tincture was freaking me out. I found myself wondering how they create those colors and layers of texture. It was pretty cool.
As for the story there's an Emperor and a crazy Empress and the blah, blah, blah plot, three sons, intrigue, Gong Li's rack, golden flowers, crazy talk, crazy talk, battles, tears, sumptuous colors, blah, blah, blah plot, battles, tears, everyone dies. The end. What'd you expect? It's Chinese high epic melodrama.
Off Limits (1988)
Willem Defoe and Gregory Hines play plainclothes military police in Saigon during the Vietnam War. Someone starts shooting whores, serial killer style. The guys are on the job but why is their investigation meeting trouble at every turn? Why is Amanda Pays playing a French nun? Why is Fred Ward so loveable? Has Scott Glenn ever had a starring role? Can VC fly? Is Defoe going to fuck that rice or eat it? All these questions and more are Off Limits.
All kidding aside I think that the last time I saw this movie I must have have been in junior high. There was a long stretch of time in the late eighties and early nineties when grim Vietnam movies were a dime a dirty dozen. Most of them were pretty bleak, grim, and depressing movies: Platoon, Off Limits, Casualties of War, Full Metal Jacket, Born on the Fourth of July, and various straight to video actioners. Off Limits isn't the best of the bunch but it certainly isn't the worst. Defoe and Hines have a great rapport and some of the dialogue is great. This is one of those movies I really enjoy but some reason don't feel the need to sell people on it. Either you're gonna like it or you're not. Though one selling point is Scott Glenn's performance. It's great.
All kidding aside I think that the last time I saw this movie I must have have been in junior high. There was a long stretch of time in the late eighties and early nineties when grim Vietnam movies were a dime a dirty dozen. Most of them were pretty bleak, grim, and depressing movies: Platoon, Off Limits, Casualties of War, Full Metal Jacket, Born on the Fourth of July, and various straight to video actioners. Off Limits isn't the best of the bunch but it certainly isn't the worst. Defoe and Hines have a great rapport and some of the dialogue is great. This is one of those movies I really enjoy but some reason don't feel the need to sell people on it. Either you're gonna like it or you're not. Though one selling point is Scott Glenn's performance. It's great.
Apocalypto (2006)
It's understandable why people were so confused/conflicted/shock'n'awe'd by Apocalypto. It's a pretty solid kick ass action movie only set in a nearly unrecognizable - for this Anglo - Central American past. While yes the movie was not historically accurate - I thought that Cortes and the Spaniards showed up on the Aztecs watch, oh wait they did - and yeah there were a couple of moments I actually said, "Hurry up with the killing." but all in all Apocalypto was exactly what I wanted to watch on a Sunday afternoon by myself while eating leftover pizza.
The acting was perfectly reasonable, the story was perfectly reasonable, the cinematography was excellent, the set and costume design was even better, and except for a couple moments of shaky cam the direction was right on. One thing I was surprised by was how un-graphically violent it was. Saving Private Ryan is far worse. I wasn't disappointed but I was a little let down. I checked out a couple of reviews and people were whining about the violence. I did like the hand to hand combat sequences. People just beat the shit out of each other, no kung-fu but bad ass throws and grapples and good old fashioned ass kicking.
I would like to see more movies about the Aztecs - in particular I'd like to see a big budget Cortes vs Montezuma movie - lots of blood in the sand. I think there are a couple of Spanish flicks from the 60s that I remember seeing on TV a million years ago. Worse comes to worse I'll just have to reread Bernal Diaz's The Conquest of New Spain again.
The acting was perfectly reasonable, the story was perfectly reasonable, the cinematography was excellent, the set and costume design was even better, and except for a couple moments of shaky cam the direction was right on. One thing I was surprised by was how un-graphically violent it was. Saving Private Ryan is far worse. I wasn't disappointed but I was a little let down. I checked out a couple of reviews and people were whining about the violence. I did like the hand to hand combat sequences. People just beat the shit out of each other, no kung-fu but bad ass throws and grapples and good old fashioned ass kicking.
I would like to see more movies about the Aztecs - in particular I'd like to see a big budget Cortes vs Montezuma movie - lots of blood in the sand. I think there are a couple of Spanish flicks from the 60s that I remember seeing on TV a million years ago. Worse comes to worse I'll just have to reread Bernal Diaz's The Conquest of New Spain again.
Friday, May 18, 2007
28 Weeks Later (2007)
I wasn't expecting much from 28 Weeks Later - I'm in the minority who thought 28 Days Later was a pretty weak movie. Okay, the first half was good and the second half was nonsense but we're not talking about that movie we're talking about the sequel.
It was pretty cool, I enjoyed it and would recommend it to a fellow horror fan. Don't expect much from it and you'll be fine. Robert Carlyle is Robert Carlyle - though it's difficult not to make Ravenous jokes during his screen time. Everyone else is fine. It doesn't matter because this is one of those movie where you're just waiting for whatever bad thing to happen to them. Personally I like that. The writing was fine, nothing fancy. I did have a problem with the damned shaky-cam that plagues movies now. I don't care if it represents frenetic blah, blah, blah. I want to savor my gore and feel like I've been thrown in a strobe-lit blood filled dryer.
The gore factor was perfectly reasonable...what gore could be seen through the shaky-cam and lighting effects - one section of the movie was shown through a night scope.
All in all worth seeing for a matinee.
It was pretty cool, I enjoyed it and would recommend it to a fellow horror fan. Don't expect much from it and you'll be fine. Robert Carlyle is Robert Carlyle - though it's difficult not to make Ravenous jokes during his screen time. Everyone else is fine. It doesn't matter because this is one of those movie where you're just waiting for whatever bad thing to happen to them. Personally I like that. The writing was fine, nothing fancy. I did have a problem with the damned shaky-cam that plagues movies now. I don't care if it represents frenetic blah, blah, blah. I want to savor my gore and feel like I've been thrown in a strobe-lit blood filled dryer.
The gore factor was perfectly reasonable...what gore could be seen through the shaky-cam and lighting effects - one section of the movie was shown through a night scope.
All in all worth seeing for a matinee.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Frailty (2002) dir. Bill Paxton
Frailty has been one of those titles that has been on my netflix queue for years and years. I shuffled it up to the top of the queue for a serial killer double feature with The Minus Man (1999).
Frailty is the story of a man and his two sons set in the late 1970s in BFE Texas. The father - played by Bill Paxton - receives a vision from God. There are demons among us and they must be destroyed. The older son thinks his Dad has gone crazier than a shithouse rat and the younger son buys into it. Dad then gets an axe and a pair of workgloves from the Lord with which to smite his foes. From here the movie goes sideways. To his credit Bill Paxton plays the Dad well, he could have easily become a rolling-eyed frothing loony. Instead Paxton's whacko really and truly believes that he is doing the Lord's work. His crazy is spooky and rings true. The sons are played well by some kids I've never seen in anything. The older brother has some really good lines and there a few moments where his acting is effortless. The younger brother is completely devoted to his father to the point of, "Wow, that kid is gonna be fucked up when he grows up." All in all these three work well together and there are some really dark moments.
If that was all there is to the movie it would have been great: a period piece dealing with insanity, family, and the effects of extreme violence on children, etc., etc., etc. . A nice, neatly wrapped piece of Texan creepiness. Well, the rest of the movie doesn't do that. The rest of the movie takes place twenty years later. There's a new serial killer on the loose. Powers Boothe is the FBI agent on the case and Matthew McConaughey is the key to the case. Oh yeah Matthew is one of the brothers and the other brother is the serial killer. These parts of the movie are pretty crappy: poorly paced, TNT acting, and since this was shot on digital back in the late 90s, looks like cheap porn or local access music videos. It's a shame that these parts of the movie spoil the rest of it but there it is.
I can't recommend seeking this movie out but if you see it on TV give it a chance. Bill Paxton isn't a bad director and is a pretty good actor and it's fun to watch him degenrate.
Frailty is the story of a man and his two sons set in the late 1970s in BFE Texas. The father - played by Bill Paxton - receives a vision from God. There are demons among us and they must be destroyed. The older son thinks his Dad has gone crazier than a shithouse rat and the younger son buys into it. Dad then gets an axe and a pair of workgloves from the Lord with which to smite his foes. From here the movie goes sideways. To his credit Bill Paxton plays the Dad well, he could have easily become a rolling-eyed frothing loony. Instead Paxton's whacko really and truly believes that he is doing the Lord's work. His crazy is spooky and rings true. The sons are played well by some kids I've never seen in anything. The older brother has some really good lines and there a few moments where his acting is effortless. The younger brother is completely devoted to his father to the point of, "Wow, that kid is gonna be fucked up when he grows up." All in all these three work well together and there are some really dark moments.
If that was all there is to the movie it would have been great: a period piece dealing with insanity, family, and the effects of extreme violence on children, etc., etc., etc. . A nice, neatly wrapped piece of Texan creepiness. Well, the rest of the movie doesn't do that. The rest of the movie takes place twenty years later. There's a new serial killer on the loose. Powers Boothe is the FBI agent on the case and Matthew McConaughey is the key to the case. Oh yeah Matthew is one of the brothers and the other brother is the serial killer. These parts of the movie are pretty crappy: poorly paced, TNT acting, and since this was shot on digital back in the late 90s, looks like cheap porn or local access music videos. It's a shame that these parts of the movie spoil the rest of it but there it is.
I can't recommend seeking this movie out but if you see it on TV give it a chance. Bill Paxton isn't a bad director and is a pretty good actor and it's fun to watch him degenrate.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Hot Fuzz (2007)
Hot Fuzz is the kind of movie you either see or you don't and you enjoy it or you don't.
I enjoyed the hell out of Hot Fuzz. It really is an action movie made by action movie fans for action movie fans. Wether or not that makes for great film making isn't certain but I haven't had this much fun seeing a movie in the theater in a long time. I walked out of the theater wanting to buy another ticket and see again right there.
There definitely is a lot of fun to be had trying to find references to Shaun and all the movie tributes - not just Hollywood action classics but British movies from the 70s and 80s. Once you stop doing that and just get swept up in the movie - about halfway through for me - I just had a blast. The climax of the movie has one of the best gun battles I've seen in a long time and no that crap gun battle in Miami Vice doesn't count for beans.
Two problems I have with Hot Fuzz:
1) Internet pre-hype and the fact that we've been seeing trailers for months now. The same trailer. The trailer is good but unfortunately gives away a good chunk of the comedy. It doesn't give everything away but there were moments of "Oh hey, this part was in the trailer."
2) There are moments of absurdity in this movie. I'm talking above and beyond normal absurdity - near silliness. I'm not going to give anything away but after you see the movie we can talk about it. I'm sure after seeing the movie again I'll love these elements but right now they smack a little of, "Wouldn't it be cool if...?" "Yeah that'd be fucking awesome!" "Awesome! Let's do it!"
I am looking forward to seeing Hot Fuzz again, hopefully in theater. I'd write more of a review but there's too much to give away and damn it just go see it.
I enjoyed the hell out of Hot Fuzz. It really is an action movie made by action movie fans for action movie fans. Wether or not that makes for great film making isn't certain but I haven't had this much fun seeing a movie in the theater in a long time. I walked out of the theater wanting to buy another ticket and see again right there.
There definitely is a lot of fun to be had trying to find references to Shaun and all the movie tributes - not just Hollywood action classics but British movies from the 70s and 80s. Once you stop doing that and just get swept up in the movie - about halfway through for me - I just had a blast. The climax of the movie has one of the best gun battles I've seen in a long time and no that crap gun battle in Miami Vice doesn't count for beans.
Two problems I have with Hot Fuzz:
1) Internet pre-hype and the fact that we've been seeing trailers for months now. The same trailer. The trailer is good but unfortunately gives away a good chunk of the comedy. It doesn't give everything away but there were moments of "Oh hey, this part was in the trailer."
2) There are moments of absurdity in this movie. I'm talking above and beyond normal absurdity - near silliness. I'm not going to give anything away but after you see the movie we can talk about it. I'm sure after seeing the movie again I'll love these elements but right now they smack a little of, "Wouldn't it be cool if...?" "Yeah that'd be fucking awesome!" "Awesome! Let's do it!"
I am looking forward to seeing Hot Fuzz again, hopefully in theater. I'd write more of a review but there's too much to give away and damn it just go see it.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Smokin' Aces (2006)
After seeing it and being disappointed in the theater we watched it with our neighbour folks. Y'know it's a damn shame that the movie falls apart. It has some great actors - and some piss poor acting by Andy Garcia. Mr. Garcia why do you develop a vaguely Southern accent halfway through the movie? The alternate ending is just as rotten as the theatrical ending. Did they do an advance screening for slack-jawed hillbillies who needed to be spoon-fed the "twist"?
Unfortunately I think this genre of action movies needs to be retired for a while. The wacky, twisty, hyper slick, and 90s hipster characters need a vacation. It might be time to shift back towards vet action movies - loose cannons, locos, and former special forces dudes.
Unfortunately I think this genre of action movies needs to be retired for a while. The wacky, twisty, hyper slick, and 90s hipster characters need a vacation. It might be time to shift back towards vet action movies - loose cannons, locos, and former special forces dudes.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Pathfinder (2007)
What a disappointment. Totally wasted potential. Cheap jump scares. Hyper-kinetic combat scenes. Piss poor CGI. Worse digital blood. Mindless, boring, and not particularly worth a shit. I was actually more bored when I left. I had more fun playing Pirates of the Caribbean 2 pinball in the lobby.
Don't waste your money - seriously. I could have gotten more use out of my money if I had wiped your ass with it - not even my own ass. If you want to see a movie with Vikings just watch The 13th Warrior.
Don't waste your money - seriously. I could have gotten more use out of my money if I had wiped your ass with it - not even my own ass. If you want to see a movie with Vikings just watch The 13th Warrior.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Grindhouse (2007)
You probably have - in one way or another - heard something about Grindhouse. The hype machine has been running full blast for months now. Reviewers have been jumping up and down in rapture or piss, bitching, and moaning as only net-reviewers can do. I suggest cruising www.metacritic.com for general reviews and checking out Louis Black's excellent article from the Austin Chronicle about the history of grindhouse movies and all sorts of good stuff. Here's the link to an article about Grindhouse being an opening weekend dog and Weinstein wanting to chop the movie:What went so wrong with Grindhouse.
I was too young to see many of the grindhouse/exploitation/splatter movies in the theater but growing up I had WXXA Channel 23 and UHF 62. I spent most of the weekends of my youth watching these channels. On Saturday, beginning at noon would be a triple feature of 60s and 70s movies: thrillers, westerns, espionage, war, car movies, Bronson vehicles, badly dubbed European junk, crime classics, and of course horror. 4pm Saturday afternoons were awesome with hits like: Demon Dog, Food of the Gods, Blood Beach, Squirm, Life Force. Oh yeah real gems. Then - if my Grandpa would let me stay up or if I snuck in some TV time - late night horror shows and exploitation movies. As a teenager I watched all kinds of crap thanks to the magic of VHS. Later, when Mike & I teamed up we watched mountains of movies. I guess more or less Grindhouse was the kind of movie tailor-made for me.
Grindhouse was a blast, a really fun experience. We went to the Alamo Drafthouse and in all honesty this was the way to see it - a packed theater, burgers, and cold beer. Hootin' and hollerin' fun. Most of the problems I had with the movies I had after walking out and most of those problems were with Death Proof.
Planet Terror was the kind of movie that I've been complaining that they don't make anymore. It was gnarly, nasty gory but gore - none of this torture slasher crap that's been cranked out over the last few years. Gore, fountains of the stuff, dismemberments, decapitations, vehicular homicide, cannibalism, oozing sores, and all kinds of nastiness - the audience loved it. The story was straight up: evil military wants toxic gas, toxic gas makes people into flesh hungry psychos, bad-ass protagonists are immune to gas so it's up to them to save the day. What more do you want? This ain't a fuckin' Merchant-Ivory movie. Okay, I could have used more T&A.
The acting was what you expect from a Rodriguez movie - the cast seem to be having so much fun that you can't help but get caught up in the insanity. The directing and cinematography - again it's a Rodriguez movie - you just get caught up in the fun. The score was on one hand a bit too Sin City with the heavy handed saxophone theme but the incidental scoring had some synth work over a subdued theme and it sounded like something straight from a giallo classic.
Oh and the Machete preview was totally, completely, shit your britches awesome. It would be a crime to spoil such awesomeness for any of you who plan to see it. God it was cool. I would much rather have seen a double feature of Planet Terror with Machete.
The trailers between Planet Terror and Death Proof were - as we all know - fake but they were a total blast. My personal favorite was Rob Zombie's Werewolf Women of the SS. C'mon people it's Ilsa, She-Wolf of the SS with werewolves! Let's just say it was awesome and leave it at that.
A question for you folks who haven't seen it at the Drafthouse - did it have the preview for Hobo with a Shotgun? Just curious.
Then we have Death Proof. Right off the bat, the car sequences were some of the best I have seen in a long time, a real long time. The wrecks were pretty freaking intense and exactly what I wanted to see. The wife beater Kurt Russell wore in Big Trouble in Little China is hanging on the wall of the Texas Chili Parlor. A good chunk of the beginning of the movie was filmed in my neighborhood. The soundtrack was pretty excellent in my opinion - a solid mix of STAX, Brit Invasion, 70s schlock, in short a good Tarantino soundtrack. Zoe Bell - as herself - is my new crush.
Problems with Death Proof:
It was a major mistake to put Death Proof after Planet Terror. Granted Death Proof wasn't finished because - if you believe the Austin rumour mill - he was run out of town for chasing under-age tail and just being a party monster. Who cares? Even if it was finished it didn't belong after Planet Terror. Too much time spent on chicks having chick talk. Now before you get all uppity and offended - there are some enjoyable moments of dialogue between the women though some of it stinks a little of written by a guy mythical bad-ass macho women. However, this is supposed to be an exploitation grindhouse homage. Let's get to killin'! Get to jigglin'! C'mon, seriously. There were a couple of moments I looked at my watch during the dialogue. In fact the dialogue was so realistic that I realized I could just as easily be listening to drunk Austin chicks in RL. I got bored and started looking at the set dressing and playing, "Guess the local." I have to admit - though I'm not proud of this - I started getting annoyed by the fact that I kept getting distracted by Austin. I realize it's a nit-pick but c'mon it's my neighborhood, get it fucking right.
When it comes down to it Death Proof could have been a pretty good stand alone movie with some polish and more character development but as a companion piece for Planet Terror it failed the genre it was trying to pay homage to. Death Proof could have been a very stripped down, intense, and effective chase movie. Well, it was...for about twenty minutes.
When it comes down to it I can understand why Grindhouse bombed its first weekend out. David Denby wrote, "The movie won't do much for anyone who doesn't have an academic or fanboy absorption in junk." To a certain extent that's true. Your average movie goer doesn't know or care or want to see a movie like Grindhouse - c'mon opening weekend it was trounced by Blades of Glory and Are We Done Yet? Granted it was a full house last night here in Austin, TX but like we say here, "Austin ain't everywhere else."
While thinking about the movie and putting together this review together it made me wish that I was in high school seeing this for the first time - not be so damned jaded and nit-picky. Then again if movies were good enough I would have to be jaded and nit-picky. Damn it.
I was too young to see many of the grindhouse/exploitation/splatter movies in the theater but growing up I had WXXA Channel 23 and UHF 62. I spent most of the weekends of my youth watching these channels. On Saturday, beginning at noon would be a triple feature of 60s and 70s movies: thrillers, westerns, espionage, war, car movies, Bronson vehicles, badly dubbed European junk, crime classics, and of course horror. 4pm Saturday afternoons were awesome with hits like: Demon Dog, Food of the Gods, Blood Beach, Squirm, Life Force. Oh yeah real gems. Then - if my Grandpa would let me stay up or if I snuck in some TV time - late night horror shows and exploitation movies. As a teenager I watched all kinds of crap thanks to the magic of VHS. Later, when Mike & I teamed up we watched mountains of movies. I guess more or less Grindhouse was the kind of movie tailor-made for me.
Grindhouse was a blast, a really fun experience. We went to the Alamo Drafthouse and in all honesty this was the way to see it - a packed theater, burgers, and cold beer. Hootin' and hollerin' fun. Most of the problems I had with the movies I had after walking out and most of those problems were with Death Proof.
Planet Terror was the kind of movie that I've been complaining that they don't make anymore. It was gnarly, nasty gory but gore - none of this torture slasher crap that's been cranked out over the last few years. Gore, fountains of the stuff, dismemberments, decapitations, vehicular homicide, cannibalism, oozing sores, and all kinds of nastiness - the audience loved it. The story was straight up: evil military wants toxic gas, toxic gas makes people into flesh hungry psychos, bad-ass protagonists are immune to gas so it's up to them to save the day. What more do you want? This ain't a fuckin' Merchant-Ivory movie. Okay, I could have used more T&A.
The acting was what you expect from a Rodriguez movie - the cast seem to be having so much fun that you can't help but get caught up in the insanity. The directing and cinematography - again it's a Rodriguez movie - you just get caught up in the fun. The score was on one hand a bit too Sin City with the heavy handed saxophone theme but the incidental scoring had some synth work over a subdued theme and it sounded like something straight from a giallo classic.
Oh and the Machete preview was totally, completely, shit your britches awesome. It would be a crime to spoil such awesomeness for any of you who plan to see it. God it was cool. I would much rather have seen a double feature of Planet Terror with Machete.
The trailers between Planet Terror and Death Proof were - as we all know - fake but they were a total blast. My personal favorite was Rob Zombie's Werewolf Women of the SS. C'mon people it's Ilsa, She-Wolf of the SS with werewolves! Let's just say it was awesome and leave it at that.
A question for you folks who haven't seen it at the Drafthouse - did it have the preview for Hobo with a Shotgun? Just curious.
Then we have Death Proof. Right off the bat, the car sequences were some of the best I have seen in a long time, a real long time. The wrecks were pretty freaking intense and exactly what I wanted to see. The wife beater Kurt Russell wore in Big Trouble in Little China is hanging on the wall of the Texas Chili Parlor. A good chunk of the beginning of the movie was filmed in my neighborhood. The soundtrack was pretty excellent in my opinion - a solid mix of STAX, Brit Invasion, 70s schlock, in short a good Tarantino soundtrack. Zoe Bell - as herself - is my new crush.
Problems with Death Proof:
It was a major mistake to put Death Proof after Planet Terror. Granted Death Proof wasn't finished because - if you believe the Austin rumour mill - he was run out of town for chasing under-age tail and just being a party monster. Who cares? Even if it was finished it didn't belong after Planet Terror. Too much time spent on chicks having chick talk. Now before you get all uppity and offended - there are some enjoyable moments of dialogue between the women though some of it stinks a little of written by a guy mythical bad-ass macho women. However, this is supposed to be an exploitation grindhouse homage. Let's get to killin'! Get to jigglin'! C'mon, seriously. There were a couple of moments I looked at my watch during the dialogue. In fact the dialogue was so realistic that I realized I could just as easily be listening to drunk Austin chicks in RL. I got bored and started looking at the set dressing and playing, "Guess the local." I have to admit - though I'm not proud of this - I started getting annoyed by the fact that I kept getting distracted by Austin. I realize it's a nit-pick but c'mon it's my neighborhood, get it fucking right.
When it comes down to it Death Proof could have been a pretty good stand alone movie with some polish and more character development but as a companion piece for Planet Terror it failed the genre it was trying to pay homage to. Death Proof could have been a very stripped down, intense, and effective chase movie. Well, it was...for about twenty minutes.
When it comes down to it I can understand why Grindhouse bombed its first weekend out. David Denby wrote, "The movie won't do much for anyone who doesn't have an academic or fanboy absorption in junk." To a certain extent that's true. Your average movie goer doesn't know or care or want to see a movie like Grindhouse - c'mon opening weekend it was trounced by Blades of Glory and Are We Done Yet? Granted it was a full house last night here in Austin, TX but like we say here, "Austin ain't everywhere else."
While thinking about the movie and putting together this review together it made me wish that I was in high school seeing this for the first time - not be so damned jaded and nit-picky. Then again if movies were good enough I would have to be jaded and nit-picky. Damn it.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
The Lookout (2007) dir. Scott Frank
The Lookout is an indie heist movie that is a better character study than it is a heist movie. Not to say that the heist is bad - if the heist wasn't there The Lookout would have been a pretty bleak and potentially dull movie.
What makes the movie is the acting. Jeff Daniels pretty much made the movie for me - trust me, he's almost worth the price of admission alone. I've only seen Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Brick (2006) and Third Rock from the Sun and now The Lookout but he's a damn fine actor. He seems well-suited for indie crime movies. The bad guys weren't anything particularly spectacular which is not a bad thing - they were just sketches of stereotypes: the manipulative leader, the Lance Henrikssen doppleganger, the musclebound get away driver, the scruffy safe cracker, and the sexpot bait.
The Lookout is definitely a winter rental, which is when it'll probably be available on DVD.
7.5 out 10.
What makes the movie is the acting. Jeff Daniels pretty much made the movie for me - trust me, he's almost worth the price of admission alone. I've only seen Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Brick (2006) and Third Rock from the Sun and now The Lookout but he's a damn fine actor. He seems well-suited for indie crime movies. The bad guys weren't anything particularly spectacular which is not a bad thing - they were just sketches of stereotypes: the manipulative leader, the Lance Henrikssen doppleganger, the musclebound get away driver, the scruffy safe cracker, and the sexpot bait.
The Lookout is definitely a winter rental, which is when it'll probably be available on DVD.
7.5 out 10.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
The Time Machine (2002) Dir. Simon Wells
This movie was actually OK> If it was a video game I would play it. If you don't want the sci-fi adventure The Time Machine from 2002 spoiled for you, DO NOT read on. Repeat, if you do not want this movie ruined for you and were planning on some special day in the future of watching The Time Machine say during a marriage proposal or the birth of your child Spoilers are included.
American Werewolf in Paris Orcs, blow darts, a moon torn asunder and Guy Pierce in a "Basin of Gore" are just a few of the surprises that await you during this 96 minute adventure ride. Guy Pierce tries to prevent the death of his love by traveling back in time. Instead of getting shot, she gets hit by a carriage. I actually laughed out loud at that. So he looks for answers in the future... and fucks that up too. He arrives in the future to find that our colonization of the moon has destroyed it (as he gets further on in the future, they show the moon pulled more and more apart). The A.W.i.P. orcs are hilarious and they look like something out of the Dark Crystal. Jeremy Irons' make-up is pretty cool and he gives a sort of Saruman-esque performance.
All in all, this is an eighties film made 20 years to late. I enjoyed it but don't go out of your way. Think Stargate with American Werewolf in Paris Orcs...
American Werewolf in Paris Orcs, blow darts, a moon torn asunder and Guy Pierce in a "Basin of Gore" are just a few of the surprises that await you during this 96 minute adventure ride. Guy Pierce tries to prevent the death of his love by traveling back in time. Instead of getting shot, she gets hit by a carriage. I actually laughed out loud at that. So he looks for answers in the future... and fucks that up too. He arrives in the future to find that our colonization of the moon has destroyed it (as he gets further on in the future, they show the moon pulled more and more apart). The A.W.i.P. orcs are hilarious and they look like something out of the Dark Crystal. Jeremy Irons' make-up is pretty cool and he gives a sort of Saruman-esque performance.
All in all, this is an eighties film made 20 years to late. I enjoyed it but don't go out of your way. Think Stargate with American Werewolf in Paris Orcs...
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Shooter (2007) dir. Antoine Fuqua
Many of us grew up as fans of action movies - those of you who didn't go put on something frilly and make me a turkey pot pie - and as an action movie fan I was kind of pumped about Shooter. It's pretty standard if you're familiar with the genre:
Elite US military bad-ass sees his best friend die in front of him during a mission gone wrong. Fast forward three years - our hero is living in the middle of BFE alone with his dog. One day government agents show up and ask for his help. Only he can stop an attempt on the President's life. Elite bad-ass does the job because he has sworn to protect what America stands for even he doesn't like who's in charge - he's a patriot. Then on the day of the "thwarted" assassination the President gets lead poisoning and the elite bad-ass gets framed, gets shot, escapes, has to rely on training to stay alive. Gets healed up, gets some allies, goes after the corrupt government officials and the evil Senator backing them.
Sure we've seen it before but this was exactly what I was expecting and exactly what I wanted to see. Movies like this are one of my cinematic comfort foods. A great movie to kick off a long day of Saturday afternoon watching.
The acting was pretty satisfying. I'm a big Marky Mark fan and will pretty much watch anything with him it. Danny Glover was a great sleazy "You can't touch me, I know people." Black Ops bad guy. Ned Beatty really made the movie for me as the corrupt Senator. He kind of reminded me of Noble Willingham's Sheldon 'Shelly' Marcone from The Last Boy Scout.
You're not missing much if you wait until this is on DVD or if you can sneak into a matinee. Definitely enjoyable.
Elite US military bad-ass sees his best friend die in front of him during a mission gone wrong. Fast forward three years - our hero is living in the middle of BFE alone with his dog. One day government agents show up and ask for his help. Only he can stop an attempt on the President's life. Elite bad-ass does the job because he has sworn to protect what America stands for even he doesn't like who's in charge - he's a patriot. Then on the day of the "thwarted" assassination the President gets lead poisoning and the elite bad-ass gets framed, gets shot, escapes, has to rely on training to stay alive. Gets healed up, gets some allies, goes after the corrupt government officials and the evil Senator backing them.
Sure we've seen it before but this was exactly what I was expecting and exactly what I wanted to see. Movies like this are one of my cinematic comfort foods. A great movie to kick off a long day of Saturday afternoon watching.
The acting was pretty satisfying. I'm a big Marky Mark fan and will pretty much watch anything with him it. Danny Glover was a great sleazy "You can't touch me, I know people." Black Ops bad guy. Ned Beatty really made the movie for me as the corrupt Senator. He kind of reminded me of Noble Willingham's Sheldon 'Shelly' Marcone from The Last Boy Scout.
You're not missing much if you wait until this is on DVD or if you can sneak into a matinee. Definitely enjoyable.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Marie Antoinette (2006) Dir. Sofia Coppola
Marie Antoinette is one of the best films in years. I have loved all of Sofia Coppola's films since her beginning and this one is no exception. The film is brilliant eye-candy and takes a unique perspective on the ill-fated queen of France. Coppola has a wonderful way of (and I need to tread lightly here) giving her films a feminine perspective without abandoning her male viewers (I speak specifically about her almost sexualized appreciation of Scarlett Johansson in Lost in Translation and of Kirsten Dunst in The Virgin Suicides and Marie Antoinette.) Coppola's characters are not incredibly wordy which gives the actors she uses the ability to exude the character's persona without distraction. I personally have trouble accepting Kirsten Dunst when she talks too much >.<
Costumes and sets are a whirl of Baroque Sorbet. The soundtrack is an odd assortment of mostly New Romantics (i.e. Adam & the Ants, Siouxie & the Banshees, The Cure, New Order, etc.) which is rather haunting and surprisingly fitting at the same time. The film slows towards the middle to accomodate the story which is not a detriment to the film whatsoever. See this movie. From the moment "Natural's Not In It" by Gang of Four kicks in at the very opening you are in for a visual and aural treat.
Costumes and sets are a whirl of Baroque Sorbet. The soundtrack is an odd assortment of mostly New Romantics (i.e. Adam & the Ants, Siouxie & the Banshees, The Cure, New Order, etc.) which is rather haunting and surprisingly fitting at the same time. The film slows towards the middle to accomodate the story which is not a detriment to the film whatsoever. See this movie. From the moment "Natural's Not In It" by Gang of Four kicks in at the very opening you are in for a visual and aural treat.
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