I guess most of you probably know who Paul Thomas Anderson is. If you don't you have most likely seen one of his movies. That being said I can't recommend them enough to people who love great filmmaking. I just rewatched Punch Drunk Love, and the fact that it is a romantic comedy starring Adam Sandler and an amazing movie at the same time should tell you how special it is. For whatever reason (money), Sandler has primarily been involved in some of the worst comedy abortions in recent years. But the dude can really act, much better than a good majority of dramatic actors that are working today. His role seems like it was tailor made for him. He plays a man with deep rage issues and psychological problems. He also has seven narcassistic, bitchy sisters, which probably explains some of his rage. The supporting cast is just as good, and the plot, while not entirely coherent is engaging. Some of it involves a mattress salesman/phone sex line owner, a broken harmonium, 4 blonde brothers, 2 car crashes, frequent flyer mile promotions, and pudding. Just watch this movie, if only to see proof that Adam Sandler is usually abysmally miscast as a completely retarded character with absolutely zero range. While you're at it, watch Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and There Will Be Blood.
ChinaTown- A noir film set in 1930's LA. After a professional snoop (Jack Nicholson) is set up to embarrass a city works engineer he has to figure out who is behind it to save his reputation. It is a much celebrated film and is far from bad. Though, for me, after watching it, it didn't have the same impact that most monumental films have that explain why they are so celebrated. Jack Nicholson is in Nicholson form but much more muted then a lot of his other big roles. Network- Now here is a film after watching I could say to myself, damn that was good, no wonder people have considered it a classic. Part stinging satire, part human drama story this film was just plain great. After a news reporter is told he is being canceled he announce that he will kill himself on air on his last episode. The ratings spike after a similar melt down the next night earns him a huge spot at his network. Along with more sensational, and mind boggling, shows being produced by a cutthroat Faye Dunaway. What I really liked about it was that it melded a couple different genres very well. The satire of the television shows border on Airplane! style lunacy, while they have an opposing storyline featuring a mid life crisis stricken William Holden and his relationship with Faye Dunaways character. William Holden is one of my favorite golden age of Hollywood stars and his role fits perfect with Fayes heartless role. He lost the Oscar to the role Peter Finch played in the same film.
The Girlfriend Experience (2009) - Not exactly old, but not new enough for the "recent" thread. This movie is currently available on NetFlix instant streaming. I pretty much hated it. Con: I didn't care about the characters at all. You never really got to know them, and this is only exacerbated by the film's disjointed style. There is no depth to them whatsoever. Con: There is very little conflict in my opinion. Part of this is due to the lack of character depth. Plus: Sasha Grey is nice to look at. Con: Her delivery often has that bad porn movie feel to it. Con: Lots of boring dialogue about the election and the bailout. Con: The delivery, editing and overall feel just had this cliche Soderbergh feel to it. There was pretty much no entertainment value in this movie for me. It's one of the very few where I'm actually angry for having wasted my time watching it. I honestly feel like I wasted 74 minutes of my time. You might be able to make the argument about how it's an introspective look at the vacuity of human emotions. Perhaps, but plenty of other films do that while still providing you with an entertaining story. The story for this one never even got started. 2/10.
Thank God. I only know two people my age that have seen this movie and it's easily in my top 10. When Harry Met Sally This is probably an obvious call, but wow. I actually like a halfway decent amount of romantic comedies, but I'm usually very aware when I'm watching romance. I can accept the artificiality but almost never ignore it. For most of this movie, the "romantic" part hardly entered my mind. It was there, but not in the fake, obtrusive way that it is in most movies. I felt like I was watching a comedy that happened to have a central romance, not a romantic comedy. I definitely understand why it's considered a classic.
The Hurt Locker Still playing at my local theater for three dollars, I finally got around to watching it after 9 months. The film is legitimately superb; its depiction of the tension and confusion of war is outstanding, as are the compelling characters of the bomb squad unit. There are so many nice, subtle touches throughout, whether it's the oppressive heat, lack of visibility, the constant lies, and uncertainty about virtually anything going on, except that it often ends with death. It's way better than Inglorious Basterds, Moon, and Up in the Air, all three of which were among my favorites from last year, and in fact, it barely cracks my top 50 films ever, based on the score I gave it. (85/100) Check it out if you haven't already.
For whatever reason, it took me this long to see Gran Torino, but holy shit. Probably one of the best movies I've ever seen. It's much more in depth than I had guessed from the trailers. A solid story throughout that explores a number of issues without getting preachy. Easily a 10/10.
Man Bites Dog ( C'est Arrive Pres de Chez Vous) I honestly don't know how to review this utterly sick movie. "Cold as Ice" would be the friendliest way of describing it. This is the most hardcore non-horror film ever made in movie history. Shot in cinema-verite style, it's a mockumentary about a two-man film crew that follows around a sociopathic serial killer as he goes through the rounds of shooting innocent people, graphically raping women and murdering children all on camera. His actions only motivate the heartless crew into eventually helping him hands-on with his unflinching brutality. Shot in grainy black and white, it's in French with English subtitles, starring the three men who co-direct it. This movie can be viewed as several things: the ne plus ultra of sick jokes, a lesson in violence in film or society in a whole, or perhaps pure exploitive sensationalism. Whatever way you take it, this exceptionally bleak and brilliantly calculated film is only for titanium stomachs (and minds). Watch it if you dare, and don't say I didn't warn you. 7.5/10
4 short reviews: 2012 What a steaming pile of puerile shit. The only thing it had going for it was I didn’t care what I missed during trips to the fridge and toilet. 1/10 Let the right one in One of the best vampire movies for quite some time, we were still talking about it the next day. Would strongly recommend. 8/10 Daybreakers Retarded puss. 1/10 Zombieland Fun road movie with good Zombie killiage for the win, I see several re-visits over the next few years. 7/10
I'm a cheapskate, so I wait for films to make their way to the local $3 theater; Up in the Air Good, not great. Amazing performance by Clooney, excellent character and acting by Vera Farmiga, and an all-around original story. Solid ending, too. My problems were twofold; the character of Natalie, who was an awful, disingenuous cliche in a movie full of authentic characters, and the shallow exploration of the movie's central theme.
I finally got around to watching The Hurt Locker this weekend. I served in Baghdad during the time this movie takes place, so I figured it would hit close to home and I would enjoy it immensely. I mean, it won an Oscar, so it has to be good, right? Boy, was I wrong. Not only was almost every detail of the movie wrong, but the story was sluggish and unrealistic. Not even halfway through the movie I was wishing the main characters would get blown up so I could leave. Here are just a few examples of things wrong with this movie: Spoiler Everything. I really don't have the time or ambition to list everything that was wrong with the movie. If you've seen it, PM me if you want to discuss it. If you haven't seen it, save your money. 2/10 (I gave it two points for not being political.)
I just watched one of the worst movies I've had the displeasure of witnessing. Spread featuring Ashton Kutcher and Anne Heche set in Los Angeles. This is a movie so vapid, so hollow, so uneventful that it makes Entourage look like L.A. Confidential. I don't want to waste any more of my own time with a review even. Nothing happened, the main character has nothing, material or mental - a fact that is actually mentioned in the movie by another character - but the plot is equally hollow, the direction is exploitative (Oh look, tits! Oh look, tits! Oh look, tits! ad infinitum) and the soundtrack is suffocating. Who'd want to see a boring movie about a boring person doing boring things? I liked Alfie so I figured Spread is similar, I was wrong.
Donnie Darko - This is one that I've heard about for years but never got around to seeing. This film explores the concept of time travel and alternate universes through the story of a "brilliant yet troubled" teenaged cliche. It begins with the creation of an alternate universe, and the central conflict is Donny living in the tangential universe while simultaneously trying to figure out how to destroy it before it collapses and brings the end of the world. I thought it was a fairly well made film, but I did not find it as big of a mind fuck as most people. Maybe it's because I've studied many of the concepts that were examined in the film, but I think it was just an enjoyable, somewhat trippy science fiction movie, not nearly as deep as many people make it out to be. Compared to something like Mulholland Drive, which deals with alternate reality with much more intricacy, Donnie Darko feels like a pretty standard film. Jake Gyllenhall also kind of annoyed me because we are told he's brilliant but he doesn't act like it. Bubble - This is an experimental film directed by Steven Soderbergh. Its story revolves around a doll factory in a crumbling Ohio town and the employees that work there: a middle aged red head, a shy young man and a new female employee. A murder occurs, but I won't say any more about the plot except that it is advanced almost entirely through dialog. What makes this film special is that the script is mostly improvised, and the actors are not professional. In fact, the lead actress is a KFC manager in real life, and another is a hairdresser. The police detective in the film is an actual police detective. Most of the dialog is small talk between the actors, and the result is that the characters are some of the most realistic I've ever seen on film. They talk and act like people I know. They are not movie-star beautiful. All these stylistic elements give the film a sense of realism that make every Hollywood movie you've seen feel like a fantasy land and the result somehow intensely gripping. Apparently this is one of six films that Soderbergh is going to make in this way. It's 1hr13mins and on Netflix watch instantly. Go watch it.
Mr. Brooks It was an impulsive Netflix pick that I figured would be easily sent back if it sucked part of the way through. I was surprised, though. The characters had decent depth, and while it was somewhat predictable at times, that predictability didn't detract from the movie. I'd say 7/10. Entertaining, would watch it again. Spoiler I like that Costner comes off as the sympathetic character, despite the fact that he kills people. I liked the perspective it gave because it was fresh. You got to see both sides of it; from the killer's view and the cop's. The part involving his daughter was great and Dane Cook getting throat-shoveled at the end was just icing on the cake.
Let's Do it Again, 1975 This is basically like the black version of "The Sting"; Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby star as a couple of unlikely Atlanta conmen trying to fool two rival groups of New Orleans gangsters out of lots of money. In this case, it centers around bets on boxing matches and Poitier's almost God-like ability to hypnotize others. And whereas the motive for the first one was pure revenge, in this case it's helping their fraternal order from being shut down. And while it's not as good as its predecessor, this is still a clever, damn funny, excellently paced film with solid action and no gaping flaws. There are lots of great acting performances throughout; John Amos as the head gangster is especially good. In fact, it's probably the best film with an almost all black cast I've ever seen. Available for free in its entirety on Youtube, if you don't want to get the DVD.
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus I really should have been on some sort of mind-altering substance to watch this, because it is a visual orgasm most of the time. But even being just mildly drunk, I found the movie very entertaining. Of course it would have been better if Heath Ledger had been able to finish it, but I think they transitioned the actors that replaced him very well. Also, as always, Tom Waits = awesome.
The Lighthorsemen <a class="postlink" href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093416/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093416/</a> <a class="postlink" href="http://au.rottentomatoes.com/m/lighthorsemen/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://au.rottentomatoes.com/m/lighthorsemen/</a> As a nod or respect for ANZAC day I’d like to remind you of, or introduce you to “The Lighthorsemen”. It is basically about the last massive Calvary charge in the Middle East desert during World War One <a class="postlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Beersheba_(1917" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Beersheba_(1917</a>). This is a great film, with a big heart. Lest We Forget
SLC Punk I think I saw this when I was in high school, but I really only remembered the clothing, hair, and music. What a fantastic movie. Godbless Netflix instant. Matthew Lillard at his best, and an engaging, compelling storyline. This is going on my list of "Movies to show my kids". You know, if I have any.
Black Caesar: Holy fucking shit. This is one of the best movies I have EVER seen. Yeah it is low budget, but how else would a movie about black people rising up be in the 70's? Seriously the message is epic, it is one of the few movies where despite the flaws in recording or directing do not effect the message. In closing comments, I am a white boy from suburbia, but watching this movie I felt like a black man from Manhattan, not many movies can do that to you. Just watch it, if anything it is like Scarface with black people. Worst case the soundtrack is done completely by James Brown.
COMMANDO - Growing up, my brother and I had little boy crushes for Arnold Schwarzenegger (T2 being our favorite movie from the age of 6), and can you really blame us? I still say you can't beat Arnold for pure violent cheese. You know Commando is good because you see two people get iced in the first 3 minutes or so. Then we drop in on the life of a retired special forces colonel, who also happens to be a bodybuilder with a thick Austrian accent. He lives in seclusion with his young daughter in the mountains, and they spend their days eating ice cream and fishing and hand-feeding wild. Thankfully this sentimental shit only lasts about 10 minutes, and is supposed to establish John Matrix as a sympathetic character. Then his daughter gets kidnapped by terrorists and the rest of the movie is one excuse after another to see Matrix kill more and more people in creative and brutal ways. The final act of this film pushes the body count into truly epic territory. I can't think of a better example of mindless 80's action.
The Warriors, 1979 Old school movie Ive always been told to watch, now that I have I must say I thoroughly enjoyed it. I can look past some of the goofy gangs they have on there because the story is really interesting. 7/10