So...I am up to date...finally

Yeup.

Hopefully I will now only update with a new post when I see something new or do something new.

We will see how it works out.

Religulous (2008, Larry Charles)

I'm not going to go too much into this one. I belong to the choir that Bill Maher is preaching to and as part of this choir I found almost every single minute of this documentary to be hilarious and amusing.

A friend of mine when talking about Bill Maher said "He's kind of a smug asshole but the fucker always has me on his side" I think that is pretty much my opinion about the guy as well and that is basically my only "complaint" about the film. 

Still, though, hilarious stuff. 

- A-

Diabolique (1955, Henri-Georges Clouzot)

I absolutely love Wages of Fear. Really. It's a film that I have seen 4 or 5 times by now and every single time it just blows me away. I rank it in my personal top 10 favorites as well as in what I believe to be the 10 best films that I have seen so far in my movie watching years. 

The reason I mention this is because Clouzot directed both Wages of Fear and Diabolique and even though I am a huge fan of Wages of Fear, I have just never gotten around to seeing Diabolique even though it is considered to be his big claim to fame and his most famous work. Seeing that Halloween was coming around the corner I finally decided to bump the criterion dvd at the top of my queue and finally sit down and watch it. I was expecting an excellent film due to all the praise that I have seen the film get over the years and I got just that.

The wife and mistress of a cruel school headmaster decide to one night kill him. Everything goes smoothly at first until his body disappears followed by strange occurences that begin to happen around the school. 

Diabolique is a classy horror film that is directed with such a great sense of pace and timing that you are pulled into it slowly but before you know it you are absorbed by it all. There are no real scare scenes and the horror that the film provokes is due to it's great sense of suspense, paranoia, and despair that the film slowly builds on until the final chilling couple of minutes. 

Speaking about the final couple of minutes; it is amazing stuff that still holds up perfectly, much like the rest of the film.

- A

We're Going to Eat You (1980, Tsui Hark)

Tsui Hark is considered to be one of the greatest directors that China has had in the past 30 or so years. I've heard the word overrated thrown around tons of times when I have seen stuff written about the man but I have never really seen any of his movies except for maybe Knock Off or Double Team when I was a kid and I doubt that those actually count.

So, when I heard about this film and saw a clip of it, I was sold and even became more interested in seeking it out when I found out that Tsui Hark directed it and is his 2nd film. 

The film is also known by another title, Kung Fu Cannibals, and that is really all you need to know to figure out what the plot and story of this film is. A special agent who knows martial arts travels to an island to capture a thief to only find out that the island is made up of cannibals who kill and then eat whoever happens to arrive there. Since he is stuck there (it is an island....) he must defend himself before being eaten. Oh, yeah, and the cannibals all know kung fu and carry around giant machetes with them too.

Yeah, this movie is gold.

The film carries a tounge in cheek "we know this is silly..." attitude which is fun and never takes itself too seriously. The fight choreography is also surprisngly pretty fun and even complicated at times and since there is a fight scene ever couple of minutes this all matters in how fun it can be.

Now having said that...the film is bit too much. There is a bit too much fighting to the point where it kind of seems repetitive and its sillyness is just way too much. I've come to accept and hate these silly moments in these early HK action films by watching early Jackie Chan films and everytime these silly moments come I just cringe. We're Going to Eat You takes its sillyness and slapstick comedy to the breaking point many times over and it just becomes way too annoying.

Anyways, it's a fun film and has a couple of pretty great scenes. Just check out this scene below. 

- B

From Beyond (1986, Stuart Gordon)

I am a gigantic fan of Re-Animator and I have known and been wanting to watch this movie since I was a little kid and saw the above poster on a vhs cover. Why it took me so many years to finally get around to it...I have no idea. 

So, the almost exact same team that brought us Re-Animator team up again and tackle another H.P. Lovecraft film with ocne again plenty amounts of dark comedy,over the top gore, another "big" performance from Jeffrey Combs, and enough effects to keep everyone happy. The result isnt nearly as fun as Re-Animator but it is still a very,very,very fun film.

This time around Jeffrey Combs doesnt play the mad scientist but instead the assistant to the mad scientist who goes mad one night while testing out a machine that opens up holes to another dimension where monsters,creatures, and other weird shit fly out of and make us go mad or die. During that one night the experiment goes wrong and Combs sees his professor become a monster and then disappear. Since no one beleives him he is locked away in a mental asylum until a visiting professor (Barbara Crampton) decides that the only way to really prove if he is crazy or not is to force him to try the experiment again. So, they go off to the house once again and try it out and as you can imagine all hell breaks lose and shit gets crazy. 

The film lasts about 80 minutes and it is all basically right to the point and doesnt waste any time before everything goes crazy. In my opinion this is both a good thing and a bad thing. It makes the film very fun but I also kind of wish that more time would be spent building up its characters before the 40 or so minutes of them running around and fighting weird monsters from another dimension. I know it sounds silly to ask for such a thing from an 80s B horor film but, hey, it worked out Re-Animator and I can only wish the same kind of treatment from the same team.

Still, though, that is really my one and only complaint. Everything in this film is just way too much fun for you to even get mad at it in any way. It's a crazy film, it knows that it's crazy, and it has fun with it all.

Just like any movie starring the man in a big role it's a must watch just to see how awesome/amazing Jeffrey Combs can be. 

A-

Awesome.

The Midnight Meat Train (2008, Ryuhei Kitamura)

First of all, I had no idea that Ryuhei Kitmura (Versus, Azumi, Godzilla: Final Wars) was the director behind this film until I checked on the imdb page after watching it. IT blew my mind when I found out. Really. 

Despite its hokey title The Midnight Meat Train is a pretty damn good horror/thriller which I can see gaining a tiny but strong cult following over the years despite having an excellent build up and a very disappointing and just plain odd final couple of minutes. 

The film goes into the subcatagory of "films that are like Blow Up or Rear Window" since this one deals with a photographer who after taking pictures of a girl getting into a train is shocked to find out about her death in the paper the next day. Convinced that his photographs might hold some clues to her disappearance he begins to look into them to only find out that his pictures do indeed hold some clues. Since no one else believes him he sets out to try and solve the mystery and through this he stumbles into a horrible secret that happens every night during the midnight train....dun...dun...dun.

Given the plot and premise, The Midnight Meat Train is a fun ride (get it?) while it lasts and you are trying to figure out the mystery along with the lead character. You are always left guessing and wondering and you even accept some plot twists to get to there but once that mystery is solved the film just leaves you scratching your head. I'm not saying that its a stupid conclusion or anything along those lines. It's an odd one that is presented so fast and so "...and that's what happens.." that it confuses you and makes you just say "hmmm..really?" and before you can even think about it too much the credits are already rolling. However, as I already wrote before, the build up to the final 15 or so minutes is great and boasts a number of scenes that are really top notch. 

Since Kitamura is behind the camera The Midnight Meat Train is worth checking out just for his kinetic style and interesting camera movements alone. He makes what could have been a pretty good horror film into an interesting one just because of his style alone. 

It could have been really great but it just ended up being pretty damn good. That's pretty much it with this film. It's worth a watch for sure and I am surprised that it did not make it to more theaters since it's way better than most horror films that come out every year despite its flaws.

B

Times of Harvey Milk (1984, Rob Epstein)

This documentary which chronicles the life and death of Harvey Milk won the Oscar in 1984 and it is easy to see why. Unlike most documentaries which try to portray a persons life, The Times of Harvey Milk comes off as something truly special and even epic instead of just seeming like a run of the mill biography.

The reason the documentary comes off as something epic is really just because Harvey Milk's life was an epic and tragic one and so just by presenting his life story in a well made documentary you get to learn and in be in awe of his life. 

There really isn't much else to say. If Gus Van Sant is somehow able to not fuck this up then he has the potential to make something special with Milk. 

A

Flight of the Navigator (1986, Randal Kleiser)

I still have a couple of more write ups to do until I am up to date.  My goal is to be fully up to date with this lousy blog and then just update it with every new thing that I watch/read/do but I still have yet to meet that goal. I hope I am able to do it soon.

Anyways...Flight of the Navigator...

A lot of people hold Flight of the Navigator close to their hearts due to it being a favorite of theirs from when they were kids in the 80s. I sadly did not grow up during the 80s and even though I did end up experiencing a lot from the 80s through my brother (who did grow up during the time) I never really got around to Flight of the Navigator. I remember watching it maybe once as a kid but like a lot of movies that I saw a little kid, I don't remember much except for a scene or two. So, while watching Flight of the Navigator a couple of weeks ago for the "first time" I went into it with no nostalghia factor at play and instead with just an open mind. 

I expected the normal cheesiness (I hate this word by the way) from the film given that it is an 80s kids film and I expected some lame moments but for the most part I just wanted a fun kids flick that I could still find fun and that is pretty much what I got.

Flight of the Navigator is about a kid and a spaceship. I don't want to go into plot details but you can kind of figure out the whole plot by the first sentence. 

Flight of the Navigator is by no means amazing but its a fun and enjoyable movie that is able to capture a sense of wonder and excitement that few kids films are able to nowadays. I wish I could have seen it as a kid but even still seeing it as an adult it still made me smile a couple of times. 

The kid actor playing the lead was kind of annoying though and Paul Reubens was great as the voice of the spaceship. 

Yeup.

B-

The Visitor (2008, Thomas McCarthy)

From the same writer/director who made the excellent film The Station Agent comes another excellent drama which explores the relationships between humans in such a perfectly acted and finely written way that you understand why critics have showered the film with rave reviews (93% percent on Rotten Tomatoes).

Richard Jenkins (who was excellent in Six Feet Under) is a lonely professor who one day is forced to travel to New York City. Upon arriving at his apartment there he is surprised to find an immigrant couple who have been living there for the past couple of weeks. Instead of kicking them out he decides to let them stay the night and through the next couple of days during his stay there he begins to form a friendship with the couple that begins to change his life.

The Visitor is just simply excellent. I feel like if I were to write a little bit here in this paragraph about why it is excellent I would just be rewriting what I mostly said in the first paragraph. McCarthy delivers an oscar worthy script and everyone in his cast, especially Jenkins, deliver oscar worthy performances as well.  It's these elements combined with McCarthy's great but subtle direction plus a simple, yet very deep, story about people getting to know eachother and becoming friends that makes The Visitor not only one of the very best of this year so far but also the best film that deals with the issues of living in a post 9/11 world so far. 

Really, it is just excellent stuff. It's a shame that it is a little bit too subtle and low key to be remembered come oscar time. I hope that the script will at least be remembered.

A

Foot Fist Way (2008, Jody Hill)

Danny McBride plays karate instructor Fred Simmons whose life begins to self destruct when he finds out that his wife has cheated on him.

I wanted to belong to the cult that thinks this is the funniest movie made in years but I sadly thought that it was a bit overhyped. Sure, its hilarious as fuck. That's right. Hilarious as fuck. Yet, I still thought it was a bit too overhyped and I couldn't help this bum me out a tiny bit. 

Still though, it is hilarious as fuck. Just not the funniest movie ever made. 

B+

The Violin (2005/7, Francisco Vargas)

Note: I am listing 2005/7 in the title because it seems that the film was made in 2005 and began its long festival tour that year until finally coming out in American theaters in 2007. 

The Violin tells the story of Don Plautarco (Ángel Tavira), his son Genaro (Gerardo Taracena) and grandson Lucio (Mario Garibaldi) who earn a living as traveling musicians while also smuggling weapons to rebels fighting the country's oppressive regime. When one day they return home to find their town occupied by the army and the residents forced into hiding, they make a bold play to recover the ammunition the troops have seized

Shot entirely in grimy yet moody black and white The Violin decides to focus on its characters in such a natural and intimate way that everything that happens in its short running time carries such a weight and danger to it that it truly becomes one intense story. You care for the characters and you care what happens to them and although it sounds like something that you should feel for the characters in every movie it is only rarely that I actually and really do. The Violin due to its excellent naturalistic performances and natural sounding dialogue is able to accomplish just that in such a perfect manner that I was truly impressed by it all. 

I found out about this film through film comment (under links) and I took a chance on it based on a glowing review of it and I was not disappointed. It's a small film but its a great film. I will definitely throw this one into my pile of overlooked gems.

A-

Young @ Heart (2008, Stephen Walker)

This is a documentary about a group of senior citizens that tour singing modern and classic rock songs. The documentary takes place as they begin to rehearse for their latest set which they will tour Europe with in a couple of weeks.

Get it? They are old and sing ROCK songs!

GET IT?!?!

Like, they sing "Staying Alive" or David Bowie's "Golden Years" or James Browns "I Feel Good" !!

GET IT?!?!

It's because they are old and they sing those songs which makes it clever!

GET IT?!?!

THEY ARE OLD AND SING THESE SONGS THAT ARE CLEVER WHEN SUNG BY OLD PEOPLE!!

DO YOU GET IT?!?!

Anyways...

It has a couple of touching moments. Sure. I get how it's nice that they are all really into it also. Sure.

But come on!

C

Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns) (2002, AJ Schnack)

EDIT: No idea why it posted some videos twice. *Shrugs*


They Might be Giants is really,really,really,really interesting band. They seem like they would be perfect subject for an equally interesting documentary. They are only really two guys (both named John) who have made a name for themselves over the past 25 or so years because of their unique songwriting, their always interesting instrument and musical arrangement choices, and also because of the way that they truly broke out which was all because of an answering machine that played songs when you would call it. Really, just go to wikipedia and read up about them. You may or may not like their music because it really is an acquired taste but you cant deny that they are one interesting and eccentric band.

Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns) is, however, a very messy, disappointing, and frustrating documentary about this great band. It really doesn't know what it wants to be. It spends way too much time giving you information and telling you little stories that are not really as interesting as other key moments in the bands history which are just mentioned a tiny bit, it wants to be a concert film, it wants to be a tour film, it even wants to be a behind the scenes sneak peek on the making of the new album, while it also keeps on wanting to tell you the story and history of the band and what really makes them so special.

Also, my biggest problem with the documentary is that when it keeps cutting back to its concert footage, the concert is filmed with such lifelessness that it makes everything seem super lame. They Might be Giants seem lame, the audience seems lame, the venue seems like a cheap bar also. It's not that any of this is true, it's just filmed in such a lazy manner that it just gives off this huge vibe of lameness.

Anyways...a messy documentary about a interesting and excellent (at least to me) band.

C

Now enjoy some of my favorite They Might be Giants songs via youtube.

















And my absoulute favorite song by theirs. When I first found out what this song was really about, it became one of my top ten favorite songs. I think it perfectly sums up why a lot of people think they are genius. This includes me.

Burnt Money (2000, Marcelo Pineyro)

A couple of posts ago I wrote about a movie named Semen: A Love Sample and in that post I wrote about another movie named The Method (El Metodo in spanish) and how much I was impressed by it. Well, after rating El Metodo 4 stars on netflix, netflix then recommended me this film. I clicked on it to read more and found out that it shared some of the cast of The Method and was also directed by the same director. So, after reading what it was about, seeing some really great reviews on netflix, seeing the high star rating, and then also taking into account the amount of talent involved I said "why not?" and gave it a shot and I am not sorry that I did.

Burnt Money (or Plata Quemada as it is known in Spanish) is an Argentinian film set in 1965 about 2 gay lovers and crime partners named Nene played by Leonardo Sbaraglia (you might know him from Intacto which is another super awesome little film) and Angel played by Eduardo Noriega (you might know him from Open Your Eyes) as they have to hide out with another crime partner (Pablo Echarri) after their latest robbery goes bad. Forced to live together in a small apartment and almost never able to leave they slowly begin to lose their minds as the police chase for them only becomes more intense.

What makes Burnt Money such a fast paced and fun ride is that the interactions between the characters is just well written and great stuff. Those expecting a hard boiled crime drama will get just that but the film also throws in enough comedy and also enough human drama into the mix that you will find yourself truly gripped by the story.

Now, the fact that there is a gay love story going on might scare away a lot of viewers or it might make a couple of people cringe in that it seems like an indie film cliche but in this case it is also one of the couple of decisions that makes the film feel different from other heist gone bad films. This added layer of tension between the two lead characters only makes everything more intense when shit starts to go bad.

It should also be noted that the decision for the lead characters to be a gay couple wasn't done to be edgy, or different, or anything like that either. No. The reason the filmmakers decided to go with this angle is just because the whole film is also based on a true story. So, knowing that everything you are watching is actually based on real events and knowing that everything actually went down this way only makes the film that much more interesting and great to watch.

However great I thought the film was I also had one giant issue with the film that I still don't know how to work out in my mind about how I feel about it. I loved,loved,loved the first hour and 40 minutes of the film and was just about ready to call it a overlooked little masterpiece of a film until the final act happened.

The final couple of minutes of this film is just plain odd in how over the top it feels. Characters begin to act crazy and different from one moment to the next and the film only continues to go more and more over the top until the final couple of minutes. I would have a major problem with this in another movie but the fact that this really did happen just like this in real life makes me just feel confused about my feelings towards it. I guess I cant hate the films ending because it actually did end like that in real life but I can however hate how odd the tone shift was handled by the director. I just wish he would have ended on a much more subtle, or at least quiet, note than the all of a sudden over the top note that he decided to go with. It really is a shame because everything preceding it is excellent stuff.

Still, don't let the final couple of minutes scare you away from the film. This film also goes into my pile of overlooked gems which I feel proud of about of kind of finding. It is definitely worth your time if you are willing to give it a chance.

B+

Snow Angels (2008, David Gordon Green)

David Gordon Green is absolutely one of my favorite directors not only working right now but of all time. If there is one thing that makes certain movies extremely great for me are the small little moments which give the film character. It's these little moments which for me always pushes a great film into a special one. David Gordon Green seems to be a master of these small quiet moments which make his films stand out so much and Snow Angels is without a doubt a perfect example of this. It might also be his 2nd best film to date after All the Real Girls, at least in my opinion.

A young teen (Michael Angarano) in a small suburban town begins to fall in love with a new classmate (Olivia Thirlby) meanwhile his old babysitter and now coworker (Kate Beckinsale) continues to have problems with her ex husband (Sam Rockwell)

I'm going to stop writing about the plot right there. Part of the "charm" of the film is how the story of the film seems to be so loose and non present through out most of it until a certain thing happens about 3/4s of the way through the film which all of sudden makes every little scene and detail of the film take a certain new kind of importance and perspective as the films culminates in one of the most devastating, bleak, and downright depressing final acts I have seen in a long time. Not knowing what the film is really about is spoiling the sudden punch that the film gives you right in the gut. To me, at least, it wouldn't be the same knowing this certain "left turn" in its plot.

In the first paragraph I wrote about how David Gordon Green is a master of creating these small moments which stand out in your mind long after the film is done and Snow Angels is no exception. It's hard to really write about but once you see the film you will know what exactly I am talking about.There are so many tiny little moments between the characters that just make this film so unique and makes it feel so real that when the final 20 or so minutes come you truly realize how much you really care for all of these characters and what happens to them.

I really have no idea what else to write and I feel that I did not do the film justice at all either. I just want someone I know to watch it so that we can then both begin to talk about how amazing it was but until that day comes I have to hold in my huge love and appreciation for the film inside and just give a little bit of a hint of it when I recommend it to people.

I should also mention that it will be a true shame when the film is completely overlooked come awards season. Sam Rockwell delivers what might be his best performance to date (and that's saying a lot) and everyone and everything is just down right perfect.

Just watch the film and let it wreck your shit. Really.

A

Still have 6 more write ups to do before I am fully up to date

Yeah.

I'm taking a day break for right now.

I will get to them soon.

Croupier (1998, Mike Hodges)

I really like films set in casinos. I really like heist films. I really like noirs and neo noirs. I really like Clive Owen. I really like the idea of a neo noir film (complete with a voice over too) existing that is about Clive Owen working as a croupier in a casino and getting involved in a heist that is going to take place there. I, however, did not like the film at all.

I hate that I can not even explain why I didn't find myself liking this film so much. I saw this film a couple of weeks ago and I honestly don't remember too much about it. The odd part is that when I first saw the film and only a couple of days had passed I had already forgotten that I had watched it.

The whole film is a bit way too low key to really hook you in. The moody atmosphere and coolness that it is trying to achieve doesn't work all that well either due to some cheap DV camera being used to film the film which takes you out of the movie (well, it at least took me out of the movie). I really expected much more from it. It had all the ingredients to be one stylish and moody neo noir film and even though it tries to be just that, it really does fail at being it.

At least Clive Owen is awesome in it but then again when isn't he?

C

Citzen Dog (2004, Wisit Sasanatieng)

This film gets a ton of comparisons to Amelie and seems to have been dubbed "The Thai Amelie" by the movie geek community. This is what originally got me interested in checking it out but once I saw some screenshots (more on that later) I was completely sold and checked it out and yeup...it really is "The Thai Amelie" and I think that is a good thing.

Pod (Mahasamut Boonyaruk) is a simply country boy who one day decides to go live in Bangkok even though his grandmother warned him that he would grow a tail if he would do such a thing. Although he doesn't grow a tail, he does get into one crazy adventure after the other all while he falls in love with Jin (Saengthong Gate-Uthong) who works as a cleaning lady at his new job.

Citizen Dog is a tough film to describe. It's told through a lot of different segments/chapters/stories that deal with Pod or Jin and their various encounters and adventures. When one bit falls flat you don't have to wait so long before the film focuses on another little story and then quickly moves on to another. All of these odd side stories involve everything from a zombie motorcyclist, to a business man who likes to lick everything, to a rain of helmets,to even a mountain made of water bottles. The film never really stops attacking you with its various subplots and side stories through out its short running time. Normally this would be kind of annoying but its all in the films nature and it adds up to why its such a charming and whimsical film.

Now let me post up some screenshots of the film in order for you to see how unique and colorful this film really is. When you combine the film colors and style with its eccentric story, you are bound to have one fun and happy film. It's odd,surreal, and it's silly nature can be a bit too much at times but it is still one very,very,very fun and "cute" film.

I dare you to watch this movie and not find yourself smiling through out it all.




Just look at those colors.

B+

In Bruges (2008, Martin McDonagh)

In Bruges tells the story of two hit men (Colin Ferrel & Brendan Gleeson) who are hiding out in the Belgium city of Bruges after their recent assignment. Told to wait there they find different ways to pass the time until they are contacted by their boss (a scene stealing Ralph Fiennes) who delivers some shocking news and a new assignment.

Revealing too much about In Bruges is ruining most of the fun of it all. This is truly one of those films that takes you by surprise. You might think you got the film and its style figured out at first but the film offers so many surprises and excellent shifts in tone that you wont know what will happen next. I haven't seen a film balance comedy, melodrama, and action so well since...uh...forever. (?)

Martin McDonagh's debut feature really feels like a breath of fresh air. The confidence that he displays in not only his direction but also in his writing is something to really admire. He has already recieved some comparisons to the Coen Brothers and it is a fitting comparison. I only hope that he has the same kind of longevity as them. .


If you have already heard from friends or have already seen In Bruges as being the most overlooked film this year so far and you have yet to check it out, you should. It will live up to the hype and much more. If you haven't already heard from friends or haven't seen In Bruges being listed as one of the most overlooked films this year then you should still watch it and join its minor, but very vocal, cult following. It deserves more fans and deserves any bit of love that it gets.

A

The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984, Stuart Rosenberg)

This has to be without a doubt one of the biggest disappointments that I have ever experienced during my years of watching movies.

I am a big fan of early Eric Roberts. His performance in Star 80 is in my top ten favorite performances ever. I am also a big fan of early Mickey Rourke and especially his work in Angel Heart. So, the thought of these two actors when they were young and in their prime teaming up to do a little crime/heist film seemed like a perfect idea for a great rental.

The problem is that I got way,way,way too much of what i was hoping for. I was hoping for some excellent performances from Rourke and Roberts and at first it seemed like I would be getting just that. The excellent performances only lasts for about 20 minutes though before the two just begin to overacting to the extreme. Shouting, punching walls, crying while shouting and punching a wall. It is all here and it is cringe worthy bad.

As for the plot? Rourke and Roberts play two small time crooks who after various get rich quick schemes only make them poorer decide to pull off a small heist. Everything that can go bad does and the friendship between Rourke and Roberts is tested as they both try to survive while being chased down by the local mafia that they stole from.

As good as the story might be (which it isn't) the overdose of overacting just absolutely kills everything the movie has going for it. Either way the films storyline is frustrating as well since t goes by at a snails pace while the film keeps getting distracted by little subplots which are supposed to enhance the characters but instead just gives the actors some more time to overact. If all this wasn't enough the characters themselves are just annoying because of just how amazing stupid they are. Plus, the constant shouting and crying just gets to your nerves.

Really, other than Daryl Hannah producing some eye candy, the film doesn't have much going for it all.

D

Semen: A Love Sample (2005, Daniela Fejerman & Ines Paris

A couple of months ago I stumbled on to a true hidden gem of a movie named The Method (El Metodo in Spanish) and was absolutely blown away by not only the direction and writing but also the performances from the ensemble cast. The one performance in the film that was a stand out for me was the performance given by this actor named Ernesto Altero who, in my opinion, absolutely stole the show with his minimal screen time. So, when I stumbled on to this film where he is the lead and gets to show his comedic chops I became very interested in checking it out.

I like to try and discover hidden or overlooked gems a lot. I would say that 1/3rd of my movie watching is spent on trying to discover these gems. Most of the time they end up being "ok films" and far from gems and even though Semen: A Love Sample (Semen: Una Historia de Amor in Spanish) is not a true hidden or overlooked gem, it is still a pretty fun film that deserves some more love.

Ernesto Alterio plays Serafin who has been cursed with bad luck since his childbirth and now works as a doctor in a fertility clinic. One day while riding his bike he hits a girl named Ariadana (a very cute Leticia Dolera) and it is love at first sight for him but because of his shyness he is unable to even talk to her. However, to his surprise, he finds out later that day that Ariadana is his newest patient. Serafin wanting to give her the best sperm that he has in his lab in order to make sure she gets her wish and gets pregnant accidentally breaks the best sperm sample he has and decides to just donate his own sperm instead. What follows is a series of adventures and mishaps as Serafin and Ariadana fall in love even though she doesn’t know that he is the father of her yet to be born baby.

Now, if the plot description that you just read sounds silly it's because it really is just that: silly. That is not a bad thing at all though. The film tries to go for a screwball like execution in its plot, humor, and performances and for the most part it does it all very well with a nice subtle visional style to it all. Things get goofy and over the top but the direction and especially the performance by Ernesto Alterio let us not take everything too silly and just have fun with whatever comes next.

This screwball like and over the top nature to it all also happens to be the films main weakness though as it also sometimes pushes its own limits with its self consciously absurd plot and story. It's all fun and its all entertaining but for the same reason that it’s so over the top it also loses most of its emotional subtleties and because of this the main love story of the film is always sweet and cute but never really as touching as it might want you to believe.

Semen: A Love Sample (I am not a fan of the English title by the way) is a film that is almost impossible to hate. It's too much fun, charming, and entertaining to warrant any hate what so ever. If you are able to accept how crazy and silly the film gets then you are sure to have a fun time with it. It sure is a lot better than any romantic comedies that I have seen lately.

B+

R.I.P. Mitch

I can't help but be a little bit sad after hearing Mitch Hedberg's last ever comedy album even though I was laughing almost non stop through all of it. It's hilarious and genius and its worth checking out if you are a fan. Even though I think if you are already a fan you have already listened to it during the past couple of days.

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx (1972, Kenji Misumi)

So, a couple of posts ago I wrote about how I the first of this 6 part series about a samurai seeking revenge against the clan that framed him for treason and killed his wife was a little bit annoying because it set everything up before things got really juicy. I also wrote about how I wasn't a fan of the odd romantic subplot involving a prostitute that was introduce in the last act.

Now, Baby Cart at the River Styx, eliminates the set up (since that was already done in the first film). There is also no romantic subplot here. There is just non stop pure action and kick assness for 81 minutes and it is glorious. When I first heard about this cult classic series, this is the kind of films I pictured coming out of the series and I couldn't be happier that this one turned out exactly as I was hoping it to.

In this entry we now join Ogami Itto and his young son Daigoro, which he pushes around in a baby cart, as he is hired to kill a traitor who plans on selling his clans secrets. Things get tough for Itto as he not only learns that an all female ninja clan are seeking to kill him but also three expert fighters named "The Gods of Death" will be standing in his way protecting the traitor.

There is a stylish fight or duel every couple of minutes and the film only escalates more and more until the final showdown with the 3 "Gods of Death" in a desert which is one of the coolest fight scenes I have ever seen. There is also one sequence where Itto first encounters the all female ninja clan in the forest which is also just too damn great for words. Oh, and limbs and blood fly everywhere as well once again.

So, basically, Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx is just a bad ass awesome samurai movie that is so bad ass and awesome because it knows that it is being bad ass and awesome and it only keeps on getting more self consciously bad ass and awesome as it goes along. Really.

A=

Been Busy (small update)

I've been busy the past couple of days covering the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival and that has kept me from doing any updates. I really want to do a write up for each movie that I have watched but I doubt that I will get to do that for the movies that I have watched during the past couple of days since after this film festival ends I will be pretty busy writing. i will try my hardest to try and do it though.

Ma Baker

I can't stop watching this.

Movie Posters the I Love - Gun Crazy

Top Ten for 2002

A couple of my friends are doing top ten lists from random years. You can check out their ongoing lists here and here.

I chose to go with 2002 just because it seemed random enough.

1. Talk to Her (Pedro Almodovar)

2. Punch-Drunk Love (Paul Thomas Anderson)

3. City of God (Fernando Meirelles)
4. In America (Jim Sheridan)

5, Adaptation (Spike Jonze)

6. About Schmidt (Alexander Payne)

7. Signs (M. Night Shyamalan)

8. Road to Perdition (Sam Mendes)

9. Catch Me if you Can (Steven Spielberg)

10. The Pianist (Roman Polanski)

Batman: Year One by Frank Miller

I think I have heard about this comic book/graphic novel ever since I first got into comic books when I was, like , 8. This one, The Killing Joke, and The Dark Knight Returns were huge when I was little and I got around to The Killing Joke and The Dark Knight Returns when I was a kid but I just never got around to Batman: Year One for some reason. I just never found Batman's origin a must read since I had already seen the origin told a number of times already.

So, I finally decided to check it out the other day and, yeup, it was the Batman origin story once again as I had expected. True, it has some excellent writing (mostly told through voice over) and the use of a years calender to tell the story through one year is a pretty cool way to show Batman's first, and very rough, year as the caped crusader.

However, to my surprise what really made this an excellent read wasn't Batman's story at all but instead Lt. (soon to be Commissioner) Gordon's story. Miller decides to not only tell Bruce Wayne's first year as Batman but also Gordon's first year in Gotham City. The narrative is then split between both stories. On one side we get to see Batman training, building his costume, and his first night outs while on the other side we get to see Lt. Gordon begin to slowly clean up the streets of Gotham while getting in trouble for exposing the corrupt cop system that exists. Both stories are good but Lt. Gordon's is excellent in that is gives his character a history that truly enhances the bond that he will develop later on with Batman. The final moments when both stories meet are without a doubt the high points of the entire story.

However, I'm still not a fan of origin stories when I already know the origin. It's my own fault but I just cant seem to get into it so much. The only thing that truly kept me turning the pages in this case was Lt. Gordon's storyline and the eventual meet up between the two. It was also pretty cool seeing Miller throwing Harvey Dent and Catwoman into the mix without ever going "HEY! THIS IS GOING TO BE CATWOMAN!!!"

That is really all I have to say.

The Long Night (1947, Anatole Litvak)

Kino is a company that I trust. So, when they proudly proclaim on the cover of the dvd that this is a "rediscovered American classic" I was interested in checking it out since: A) That quote B) I love a good noir C) Henry Fonda and Vincnet Price in a noir movie sounds awesome.

The movie did not let me down at all.

As the film begins a blind kid is walking up the stairs of an apartment building. As he reaches the top he hears a a gunshot and a badly injured Vincent Price falls out of a room and down the stairs dead. Out of the room walks out Henry Fonda holding the smoking gun. He then walks into his room again where he locks the door and refuses to come out meanwhile the police and neighborhood gather outside. Through a moody voice over and flashbacks we begin to find out how he got to this position.

Everything you would want from a noir shows up here.

Voice Over? Check.
Flashbacks? Check.
A flashback within a flashback? Check.
Moody black and white photography? Check
A shady magician who likes virgins played by Vincent Price? Check

After that little checklist I don't know what else to write. It's not a perfect example of the genre but its a fun, wild, and pretty pulpy 90 minute film. All the trademarks of the noir genre do their thing while Henry Fonda delivers another slow burn performance and Vincent Price does his evil bastard with a cool moustache thing again.

It's worth your time if you are a fan of the genre even if it introduces nothing new.

B+

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World by Bryan Lee O'Malley

I'm actually surprised that Scott Pilgrim has stayed somewhat underground and is still considered a cult favorite. I fully expect that as the film adaptation comes closer that it will slowly emerge into the mainstream where it will then be adopted by the trendy crowd. I can see the shirts now. I also want to buy one of these shirts.

I like to describe Scott Pilgrim as "Video Games + The "indie" Movement + Wes Anderson + Anime" I'm sure I am missing one other word that belongs in that equation but to me all of those things summed up best describe the inspired insanity that is Scott Pilgrim .

Now, for those that don't know Scott Pilgrim and the 4 books that are out right now explore the issues of a socially awkward 23 year old named Scott Pilgrim who upon meeting and falling in love with the new girl in town named Romona flowers finds out that in order to date her he must defeat her 7 evil ex boyfriends in fights that are straight out of Street Fighter 2 . Characters defy gravity during fights, random objects are used as weapons, and when a character is defeated he leaves behind gold coins or an object.

It might sound stupid and it definitely has a whole "wtf" vibe to it all but Bryan Lee O'Malleys makes it work perfectly and creates one of the most entertaining, creative, and often times hilarious things that I have ever read. I hardly ever laugh while reading something and Scott Pilgrim is constantly able to bring out this emotion in me.

Really, just check it out if you can or check it out when its huge in about an year. I just want more people to check it out.

The movie is now my most anticipated thing at the moment. If its even able to capture only half of the greatness of these graphic novels then we are in story for something truly special.

Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance (1972, Kenji Misumi)

The first of a 6 film series about a samurai turned assassin and his son that he pushes along in a cart as he hunts down the clan that framed him for treason and murdered his wife is a pretty solid first film in what promises to be an epic series.

Sword of Vengeance in a sense sets up the world that the following films will take place in. Given that this is the first film in the series most of the mandatory story has to be set up and told before the series and action really take off. It's because of this that the first half hour or so is about the betrayal of Ogami Itto (soon to be know as the assassin "Lone Wolf and Cub"), the murder of his wife, his decision to leave his samurai code of honor and work as an assassin, and his decision to travel with his child on this quest for vengeance. Once all of that is out of the way the film really begins to churn out the goods.

After everything is laid out the film follows Ogami Itto and his son on their first mission as assassins for hire. A chamberlain hires Itto to go and kill a rival and his henchmen who are a threat to the chamberlain's lord who are staying at a hot springs spa and as Itto accepts the job you just have to wait it out until the inevitable final fight scene takes place where you know things will get crazy...oh...and crazy it does get



The charm of Lone Wolf and Cub, and what really makes it so much fun, is that when the fight scenes come up (and they come up frequently) the film doesn't hold back with its "holy shit!" type of moments. Heads get decapitated, limbs fly off left and right, and when Itto delivers a fatal blow the blood sprays out his victims in an exaggerated anime kind of way (think Kill Bill). So, when you have heads, arms, legs, and blood flying everywhere mixed together with some very impressive fight choreography you are guaranteed to be into every single fight scene while saying "oh!" or "fuck!" every couple of seconds. So, basically, awesome samurai film has awesome samurai fight scenes. Shocking, right?

Although every fight is top notch stuff I am not the kind of person who is easily amused by a good fight scene that he decides to shrug off any of the films flaws. I wish I could turn a blind eye towards what bothered me in Sword of Vengeance and just decide to focus on how awesome the fight scenes were but really there is one plot development towards the end of the film that just left me scratching my head towards why it was included.

When Itto is staying at the hot springs spa and waiting for the right moment to kill everyone a prostitute is introduced into the mix that, in my opinion, only serves to make the film have an extra couple of minutes of exploitation "goodness"" but somehow the film tries to pull if off as another way for the film to show you how great Itto's moral code is. Itto is forced to have sex with her in front of group of people in order to save her life and Itto being the noble man that he is accepts the task and so begins one of the most unnecessary sex scenes I have seen in awhile. What is even more unnecessary is how she actually becomes a main character for the final act of the film while adding almost absolutely nothing to the film (except for nudity).

Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance is a very solid and often times entertaining "set up film" that due to its obligation to set up everything for the first hour or so becomes a bit of an annoying task that you know you have to get through in order to fully enjoy the the greatness that lies ahead. When everything is out of the way the film delivers on what it promises and also delivers on what the first film of a series should, which is the hint of even bigger and better things in the following films

B

Crecy by Warren Ellis and Raolu Caceres

I am still new to this whole comic book/graphic novel world but the other night while reading about who are supposed to be the best writers in the medium I kept on bumping into the name "Warren Ellis". I recognized the name because years ago when I was last into this world I did read all of Transmetrollitan which blew me away (I hope to reread it one day) so I made a note to look into more of his stuff since I already knew that I liked the guys style of writing.

So, when I read that he wrote a 50 page graphic novel about the battle of Crecy I was interested in checking it out as a quick read. I especially got even more interested when I read a review that described it as "a very violent nc-17 history lesson" I was sold.

Now, I have never even heard anything about the battle of Crecy until I read about what exactly this graphic novel was about. As it turns out the battle of Crecy was when England decided to invade France with an a small, under equipped, but highly trained army that was mostly made up of longsbowmen and crossbowmen as France was threatening their home security.

So, as you can imagine the battle was pretty fucking bloody and epic.

Warren Ellis decides to tell the full story of this battle through the perspective of one vile, vulgar, French hating, and nameless longsbowmen who will be fighting in the battle. About 90 percent of the story is told through this character and his ongoing monologue that breaks the 4th wall. Before you even realize it you know why the fight is happening, who are the political figures, and their war strategies.

My favorite moment comes when this nameless soldier breaks the 4rth wall completely and shows the reader the different ways that they infect their arrows (including dipping it in human shit) in order to do as much damage as possible. It really makes you just go "damn." knowing that that this all actually happened.

So, basically, what Ellis does is give you 35 pages of information until you all caught up with everything and then through Raolu Caceres detailed black and white art lets the battle just unfold in its full violent glory for the remainder of the book. Horses get killed, heads get smashed, and arrows enter bodies from every single angle. When its all over you realize that you just learned a full history lesson on the battle of Crecy and you just think”Hm. That was really cool and fucked up" and I am pretty sure that this was Warren Ellis' goal.

It's a quick, short, fun, vile, violent, and vulgar read. I wish it was a bit longer but part of its charm is its length. It's very impressive that Ellis is able to present such a big part of history in 50 pages while always keeping you entertained. History has neve been so much fun.

The Wire: Season 1

I can not put my admiration and love towards the first season of The Wire into words. It's a difficult task trying to write about why it's so good because I know no matter how much I write right now that I will still not be doing the series justice. I'm sure that you have already read and heard about how the show is supposed to be amazing and the best thing you can actually do is just sit down and watch it. After one episode you will begin to see why its held in such high regard. After 4 you will be hooked. After 8 your mind will be blown time and time again. When the 13 episodes are done you will just be in awe and wont even think twice before calling it a masterpiece.

The first season of The Wire follows a drugs and murders investigation in Baltimore told through the perspectives of the both the police and the targets that they are trying to arrest. Every character in this richly layered world gets their story told and soon enough you begin to see that The Wire is not a simple "good guys vs bad guys" cop show. The series multi perspective storytelling serves to create a world where you are almost always in a moral grey zone and switching your opinions towards its many characters time and time again.

David Simon who created The Wire worked as a crime reporter for The Baltimore Sun and it's really because of his years of first hand experience with the crime world as well as years of being a reporter and getting "the full story" that The Wire reaches a level of storytelling that is unlike anything I have ever seen on television. The world he creates is a complicated one with a massive and epic scope to it all. Every detail and every character (and there are lots) is important and Simon is not afraid to challenge its audience and their patience as he continues to develop storylines that begin to connect to eachother which in turns creates one giant 13 hour epic story. He himself describes the series as being a "visual novel" and that is really the perfect way to put it.

I hope to maybe have one giant write up for the full series when I am done watching it all but I am kidding myself if i think that I will be able to fully justify the series greatness when it's all over. I had enough of a hard time even doing the first season some justice. I don't know what else to write other than "go watch this right now." It seems like a phrase that gets used a little bit too often but you really have to see it to believe it. It will live up to its fame and much more.

Masterpiece

Comic Books? Really? Since when? Aren't you enough of a loser already?

I just thought I would post this entry to give a little backstory before things start getting really nerdy up in here.

Me and my brother used to love collecting comic books and reading them when we were kids. We had boxes full of them and could go into long discussions that most of the time always sprang from a "what if..." type of question. It was a lot of fun and it was the thing me,my brother, and my dad would bond over everytime we would go to the comic book shop about once every 2 weeks.

My brother who is 6 years older than me discovered girls and also discovered that loving comic books hardly ever leads to girls. He grew out of it and through him I grew out of it too for years and years. It just became one of the many fads I bought into when I was a kid.

Years passed and I never even thought about getting back into it until I met a girl who would then become my first girlfriend. On top of being the cutest girl ever, she was also the coolest girl a guy like me could ask for. She had tons of quirks which I fell in love with instantly (its easy to when you are 13/14) and one of her many quirks was that she was really into comic books. She then started getting me into comic books and showing me that there was some amazing stuff out there. She got me to read all of Garth Ennis' Preacher first and I was sold from there.

Long story short - she was forced to move somewhere far. My heart was broken. I stopped reading comic books. High School happened.

So, a couple of weeks ago I was walking through my library when I spotted a graphic novel/comic book section that I had never seen before. I decided to have a look and see what they had and resting on their shelf was a copy of Alan Moore's Watchmen which I have always heard is supposed to be one of the greatest works of fiction ever written (Time Magazine ranks in top 100 greatest american novels ever written) I decided to check it out and finally see what all the fuss was about and holy shit did it live up the hype and much,much, much more.

Ever since having my mind blown by Watchmen I got the urge to check out other comic books and graphic novels that are suppoed to be worth checking out and I am actually having a real blast getting into the whole world. I know its nerdy and I know its geeky but damn it...I'm hooked.

This new found appreciation and hunger for it plus recently becoming friends with a hardcore comic book fan have sent me off into this dark and oh so very nerdy world but damn it...its not like I was ever the coolest kid. I might as well just go all out, right?

Right?

Right?

=(

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (2008, Alex Gibney)

I discovered Hunter S. Thompson sometime in Middle School. Like many people it began with me renting a vhs copy of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, being amazed by its craziness, and then having my mind blown when finding out that its all based on a real story. It took me a couple of months until I finally sat down and read the book but I was hooked from the first page and became a fan for life. Over the years I have read more of his writings and my admiration for him has only grown more and more. It seems like a trendy thing to belong to the cult that thinks that Thompson is the man, but anyone who has read his stuff or has even seen Fear and Loathing can not deny it: Hunter S. Thompson is simply the man.

Few people can actually fit the description of being “man, myth, and legend” without the description seeming a bit tongue in cheek but Hunter is one of the few who still continues to be all of these three things even after his death. Alex Gibney’s documentary chooses to present the beloved icon that Hunter S. Thompson is by simply chronicling his life and work from his childhood up until his memorable funeral in hopes of showing you what exactly made Thompson so special. Every aspect of his career from his first big break writing about The Hells Angels, to his failed attempt at running for Sheriff, to his days as a political journalist are explored through a narration by Johnny Depp, old voice recordings and clips, and various interviews with people that knew Thompson.

Now, I am all for praising Thompson for 2 hours and glorifying him even more. I already sort of knew that the documentary would be just that the moment that I heard it was being made so there was little shock to see it play the “Hunter was the REAL DEAL you guys. Seriously, like, he was” card. I have no issues at all with this just because I love the man. But where I do have issues is the Vh1 documentary execution of it all.

VH1 documentary execution? Yeah. You know when you are watching those documentaries that VH1 decides to air once every now and then and they have the same vibe and look to them? You know, the ones where every time they talk about the 60s it cuts to the same stock footage of people rioting in the streets in Chicago while Jimi Hendrix sings “Hey Joe”. Or every time they talk about hippies or drug use it cuts to stock footage of people wearing flower dresses in a field while “Mr. Tambourine Man” plays. There really isn’t thing that bad about it only that it’s so terribly cliché and played out that it seems like these whole little stock footage segments are just being copy and pasted into everything. It’s just lazy.


Since Thompson was placed right in the middle of all these changes that happened in America through out the 60s and 70s we are treated to an orgy of these VH1 documentary style stock footage (with cliché music and all) with some generally awesome Thompson being bat shit crazy as usual footage to go along with it. You kind of wish that with such a strange and unique character Thompson was that Gibney would actually choose to make his documentary fit in with his lead subject instead of going down such a by the numbers path.

Fans of Thompson will recognize all of the footage that is used, will know the stories, and already know why he is so loved. So, I can only guess that this documentary was made for people who don’t know much about why he is considered a legend. It serves its purpose in that it does show you who he was and why he was special. It’s just presented with such a lackluster style to it all that it truly lessens Hunter S. Thompson’s grand life and in turn makes what could have been a spectacular documentary exploring that life into an uninspired one that really doesn’t do justice at all to the man,myth, and legend that is and was Hunter S. Thompson.

***/****