Day 149: "You know the part in scary movies when somebody does something really stupid, and everybody hates them for it? This is it."

I loves me my monster movies.  I heard some good things about Jeepers Creepers, so I thought it was high time I watched it.  Not one of my better decisions.  A mediocre monster, mediocre script, and mediocre acting combine in a confluence of astounding mediocrity.  This had the potential to be pretty good, the origin story of The Creeper wasn't bad, but the rest of it is just...meh.  I understand that the filmmakers were trying to create the new Jason or Freddy here, but it just didn't work out all that well.  It's weird, If I hate a movie I have a lot to say; if I love a movie, I have a lot to say;  with a movie I am completely apathetic towards, words escape me.

A young, relatively unknown cast is here, the only standout was Justin Long.  I'm really sorry here readers, but there just isn't a lot to say about this, good or bad.  For every cool moment in this, there is an inexplicably bad one to offset it.  The usual horror movie idiocy applies here as well, as the victims repeatedly make decisions that place them firmly in harm's way, even when the option to escape and put the situation in their rear-view mirror is wide open.  I just didn't get it.

If you're desperate for a horror movie and everything else is checked out, give it a whirl, otherwise, there are much better options.  I wanted to enjoy this more, but I really couldn't get into it.  5/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!

Day 148: "You're a woman of hidden talents, Mrs Peel."

You know how every great actor has that one or two movies that they wish they could just make go away and never be bothered with admitting they had anything to do with?  The Avengers provides that unlucky circumstance for three actors.  A big screen, Hollywood-ized, awful, big budget production based on the 60's TV show of the same name, The Avengers is an object lesson in how not to bring a classic show to theaters.  Terrible script, worse acting (considering the cast, this is a real surprise), and just plain bad, the filmmakers tried to bring the highly stylized series to a new generation, and failed completely.  Just because something was considered groundbreaking in an earlier decade is no guarantee that it will do as well in the modern era.  Austin Powers would have been uncomfortable in this.  The story revolves around a psychopathic villain who want to rule the world (surprise there, huh?) and has a weather controlling device to aid him in achieving this goal.  It's up to the unflappably British John Steed and Emma Peel to save the day.  Would I need a spoiler alert if I was to tell you who wins in this particular conflict?

Ralph Fiennes is John Steed, absolutely British in his portrayal, and just as emotional.  Uma Thurman plays Emma Peel, barely.  If this was going to be the celebration of English spy style and attitude, why her?  I guess a proper English actress wanted nothing to do with this.  Is it me or does she just look really creepy when she tries to pull off sexy-smart?  Worst of all is Sean Connery as Sir August De Wynter (get it?  The weather thing?), so over the top and ridiculous, I was never able to take any part of his role seriously; and his role was INTENDED to go too far.

Just terrible and a total waste of my time, with only a couple of interesting pieces, and they weren't even THAT interesting.  Shame, I love Ralph Fiennes, and really wanted to see him in a role that wasn't high drama or a meglomaniacal, psychotic Nazi wizard.  Oh well, guess I'll keep waiting.  The Avengers is completely laughable, in the bad way.  Skip it.  3/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!

Day 147: "Kissing would be nice, yes?"

A crap, jazz-era retelling of the story of The Frog Prince, The Princess and the Frog was Disney's latest attempt to make new an old fairy tale.  Nice try, but no cigar.  I'm not buying into this one Disney.  This was bad beginning to end.  Bad joke, bad songs, and even (surprisingly) bad animation.  You know Disney animators are phoning it in when they are recycling character models from, not only, older movies, but several characters look eerily familiar to each other in this one as well.  This is a first for me, a Disney animated feature I hate.  This whole thing is like a badly animated Zatarain's commercial, music and all.

I can rip on a bad movie only so long, and I am running out of scathingly sarcastic and funny things to say about this piece of s**t.  Thank God they found a new crew when they made Tangled.  The movie is just an animated advertisement for Louisiana and New Orleans.  Kids may go for this, but I hated it.  2.25/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!

Day 146: "A car like this attracts a lot of attention. Have you thought about that?"

So, what happens when you combine an ordinary heist film with a high-tech vehicle film?  Absolutely nothing, and it's name is Black Moon Rising.  Released in 1986 during the heyday of such movies and TV shows as Blue Thunder, Airwolf, and Firefox, Black Moon Rising attempts to cash in on this short-lived sub-genre, but falls short.  Written, to my complete and utter surprise, by John Carpenter (yep, THAT John Carpenter), BMR revolves around the theft of a data tape, critical to the U.S. District Attorney's case against a Las Vegas casino group.  The stolen tape is placed, inexplicably, in an experimental automobile on its way to Los Angeles.  Now this tape was stolen from the casino group by the best professional thief that the FBI could afford, and he just puts it in this car HOPING to get it back.  The experimental car itself is then stolen by a auto theft ring, and from there everything goes incomprehensible.  The story, for what it is, moves along at a good pace, but goes nowhere.

A young Tommy Lee Jones stars as the professional thief, Quint.  He is actually the best thing about the movie, putting his own unique stamp on the character and making  Quint the only fun thing to watch.  I am including the car in that statement.  Linda Hamilton is one of the ringleaders of the auto thieves, and is so wooden, Hayden Christensen wouldn't believe it.  Robert Vaughn is the primary villain, but by the time he was introduced, I really didn't care.

The high-tech vehicle was boring, the acting (for the most part) was awful, and the story seems to have been written during a weekend bender in Tijuana.  There are much better movies in this same mold, my personal favorite being Firefox, but if you see that one, be warned it is really dated in 2011, but still a fun spy flick.  As for  Black Moon Rising, well, every family tree has its Dutch Elm Disease.  4.75/10.

See you tomorrow,  and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!

Day 145: "Mine's the big red one, and he's going to beat them all."

Let me get this out there from the start.  I never understood the appeal of horse racing, I hate horses, and I wish Disney would knock off their recent habit of making every single sports underdog/comeback story into a sappy, feel-good movie.  Now that that's out of my system, Secretariat was pretty good.  I understand that a horse winning the Triple Crown is a near impossible feat, but I had no idea how near to impossible.  The story follows the history of the family who owns the stable responsible for Secretariat, from even before his birth.  From his birth to his unbelievably monstrous win at the Belmont Stakes, Secretariat shows the audience every aspect of the circumstances surrounding this amazing animal's meteoric rise to "The Greatest Racehorse Ever."  I never thought I would be engaged in this in any way, and I am glad to say I was wrong.

Starring Diane Lane as Secretariat's owner Penny Chenery, she brings a sense of "reality" to the character and it just made her absolutely believable.  John Malkovich steals every scene he is in as eccentric trainer Lucien Laurin.  Scott Glenn, James Cromwell, Dylan Walsh, and Margo Martindale round out an exceptional cast, bringing Chenery's support a life and drama of their own.

I was fully expecting to hate this movie, but, damn Disney and their "feel-good" black magic, I really enjoyed it.  Good for the whole family, and a pretty good history lesson of one of the most difficult achievements in the sporting world, the Triple Crown.  Not necessarily a keeper, but I'll watch it again.  8/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!

Day 144: "I just wish for once that you could be in my shoes, Mr. Prosecutor, and then you would know something that you don't know: mercy!"

Midnight Express is another one of those critically acclaimed movies that has just seemed to slip out of range of my radar for years.  Not this time!  Like Billy Hayes, I finally caught it (horrible pun, but I couldn't resist).  Based on the memoirs of Billy Hayes, an American citizen caught attempting to smuggle two kilograms of hashish out of Turkey to the United States.  He was brought to a sham of a trial, sentenced to three years for possession, then, with little more than a month to go before his release, the Turkish government decided to make an example of him and change the crime to smuggling, and the sentence to thirty years.  I had heard many things about this movie, mostly good, all warning me about the brutality of the story.  Those people were correct, this is, without a doubt one of the most inhumane stories I have seen.  The violence and inhumanity of the place is not there for shock value, but to convey what this man had to endure for year after year.  Billy Hayes was in no way a saint, but damn....no one deserves to endure what he went through at the hands of his Turkish jailers.

Brad Davis does an extraordinary job portraying Billy Hayes.  I forgot a couple of times that this was not a documentary, and was blown away by his transformation into a man utterly crushed by a corrupt system.  Randy Quaid and John Hurt also appear as fellow inmates, doing magnificent jobs themselves.  Looking at the sets and surroundings of the prisoners, it was easy to see how they could so thoroughly throw themselves into their roles.  Paul Smith plays the sadistic warden Hamidou with such gusto that I had difficulty remembering that he was also Bluto in Popeye and The Beast Rabban in Dune.  Both other roles were evil and sadistic as well, but there was a humorous side to both that is nowhere to be found in Midnight Express.

From the unforgettable, synthesized soundtrack, to the story, to the acting, Midnight Express is a magnificent film, and one not to be missed.  I will warn you that there is not a lot of "feel-good" moments in here, and even visits from family and friends is disturbing to watch.  Check it out, it's definitely worth it.  9/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!

Day 143: "Crew of the Yamato, the Earth is ours."

As my Facebook friends are aware, I have been on a bit of a nostalgia kick lately.  One of my favorite shows from when I was a kid was the Japanese import Star Blazers.  A sprawling space epic, Star Blazers was translated to American from the original series Space Battleship Yamato.  For years, I wanted to see it made into a live action series or even a movie, just to see that badass ship fly just once more.  Well, in 2010, it happened.  Space Battleship Yamato was released in Japan, and now onto my list.  The story is really to in depth to cover adequately here, but the gist of it is this: Earth has been bombarded by radioactive "Planet bombs" for several years by the aggressive Gamilas.  The government receives an invitation from planet Iskandar to come and retrieve a device which will rid the Earth of all toxic radiation, making it habitable again.  The government rebuilds the World War 2 Japanese battleship Yamato as a spacecraft, arming it with some of the most destructive weaponry in the galaxy.  The group sets out on its mission, cue story.  The story is not without its fair share of melodrama, and lots of it, but the space battles are everything the sci-fi geek in me could have ever wanted.  I only wished that there was more.  The effects were fantastic, Yamato looked exactly as I would have imagined it would in reality.  The battles were sufficiently epic, with only the sound design being the slight drawback.  Seeing the ship in action, and the Black Tigers squadron dogfighting in space again, it was like being in front of the TV after school again.  The filmmakers got just about everything right, and the stuff that isn't right, they did better. 

Other than the overly dramatic interpersonal relationships, the merely passable acting, and the inexplicable Steven Tyler end credits song (I kid you not, THAT Steven Tyler) I absolutely loved this movie.  This was my Transformers, only a thousand times better.  If you are a fan of Star Blazers, Anime, or even science fiction in general, see this movie, assuming you can find it.  It wasn't easy, but it was SO worth it.  9/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!

Day 142: "Come on Tom! Let's finish the way we started...together!"

So, after ten years and eight movies, another extraordinarily successful franchise comes to a close.  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2, brings the adventures of the boy wizard and his friends to a monumental, explosive climax.  Picking up only hours after the end of Part 1, Harry, Ron, and Herminone continue their quest to destroy Lord Voldemort's attachments to the mortal world prior to taking on the man himself.  The majority of the film takes place at Hogwart's, and is a truly epic battle between the forces of good and evil.  Being a monster fan of the books as well as a big old movie geek, I was nitpicking the hell out of the movie, both from a story perspective and the continuity as well (more on that later).  Having said that, the movie is true to the overall story and mood that JK Rowling conveyed through her novels.  As with most of the other Potter films, the broad strokes were there, but the details were sketchy.  I understand that certain aspects were cut/missed/glossed over/ignored due to time/budget constraints, and I am alright with these......mostly.  They really needed to have a tighter grasp on the continuity (Hogsmeade was covered in at least 6-8 inches of snow, Hogwart's is WALKING DISTANCE away, and not a flake was anywhere to be seen, George's ear has returned, and most grievously, Cho Chang was a year ahead of Harry, who would have been in his final year at Hogwart's, WHY IS SHE STILL THERE WHEN HE ARRIVES?!?!....there's more, but I'll stop), and quite a few plot points seemed to slip through the cracks (The entire Dumbledore/King's Cross conversation was entirely glossed over in the film, WHY?!?!  This was a huge point for story resolution!).  Now having that off my chest, I did really like the movie.  It was a great ending to the film series.

The Cast remained the same as it had throughout the rest of the series, with the young cast looking very comfortable in their parts, as usual.  The stand-outs here, though were Matthew Lewis as Neville, and in one of my favorite parts, Alan Rickman as Severus Snape.  Lewis has brought Neville from a simpering wuss to an amazingly well rounded and complete character who has come almost as far as Harry in the films.  Rickman's portrayal of Snape is brought to a magnificent head here.  He was a favorite character in the books, but Rickman has made him one of my favorite fictional characters of all time.

A very well done finale for the Harry Potter series, Deathly Hallows, Part 2 may be a bit intense for the younger viewers out there, but if they have read the books, there are no surprises.  If you can find a theater doing it, I do recommend trying to see the last two movies as a double feature,  it just works that much better.  Check it out, and thank you Harry, Ron and Hermione for letting us tag along on your adventures, it's been a blast!!  8.25/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!

Day 141: "Look, I'm not real good with plans."

I thought the Saturday Night Live movie thing died in the late 90's.  Well, it should have.  The last of those movies were garbage, as is the latest regurgitated hairball from the SNL stable: Macgruber.  A half-assed attempt to rip off the 80's TV show, McGyver, this is nothing more than a sad collection of F-bombs, bad penis jokes and stupid (and I mean REALLY stupid) sexual innuendo.  Every target that the story aims for misses horribly, and manages to offend even my jaded sensibilities.  It honestly looks like the filmmakers were writing for an audience of twelve year old boys whose parents would never let them see this because of the language and sex, but those same boys just want to see it BECAUSE of those jokes.  Trust me, that last statement makes perfect sense.  This was just awful almost to its core.

I said almost there for a reason.  The ONLY redeeming quality of this movie was the performance of Val Kilmer.  I always thought this guy was a better comedic actor than anything else (watch Top Secret or Real Genius if you don't believe me), and he just looks like he's having a hell of a time being the heavy: Dieter Von Cunth.  Everyone else just looks like they're going through the motions on the SNL sets trying for the instant laughs.  For some reason, Ryan Phillipe and Powers Booth got roped into this too......just can't figure out how or why.

Miss this, it sucked. 1.25/10

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!

Day 140: “Yeah, I would create a fake family for that. OH MY GOD!!”

 

Just Go With It is yet another in an increasingly long line of craptacular Adam Sandler projects.  Someone stop him before it’s too la….oh wait, it’s already too late.  Unfunny, juvenile (not in the good way) and completely humorless, Just Go With It seems to be more of a suggestion of how to watch this garbage than an actual title.  I’m really in no mood to rip this like it deserves, so I’ll quit while I’m still on the calmer side of raging about wasting my life on this.

Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, and Nick Swarsdon are the leads here, but that’s not saying much.  The only surprise was a small role for Nicole Kidman, who must have some really compromising pictures floating around to be talked into appearing in this wreck.

I hated this, but not as militantly as some other movies I could name *COUGH*Little Fockers and White Chicks  *COUGH*.  There’s a million better ways to kill a couple of hours, pick any other one than seeing Just Go With It.  2/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!

P.S.- Sorry about the lateness of this post, we had some really bad thunderstorms roll through our area last night, and it knocked the power out for 18 hours.  I saw the movie before the blackout, just couldn't post in time.

   

Day 139: "It's what I live for, fixing other people's s**t for free.."

OK, so I'm on a bit of a comedy kick right now.  Even bad ones.  Like Sex Drive.  The story of one teenage boy's quest to drive halfway across the country to lose his virginity to a hot girl he met on the internet.  That's it in a nutshell.  Nothing deep, just the misadventures of the hormonally challenged and his friends.  The laughs are pretty predictable, although, i have to admit to laughing really hard during the Amish encounters during the middle.  It's a good thing they don't go to movies, or they'd probably be pretty pissed about the portrayal of their particular brand of culture.  Just sayin', but that was the best part of the movie.  A lot of midwest America is skewered here to be honest, from county fairs to abstinence clubs to trailer park denizens (but lets face it, all of these are ripe for ridicule).  As predictable as all of this was, I still found myself laughing at the sheer stupidity of it all.

Josh Zuckerman is Ian, the kid on the quest to get some.  There's nothing really original about the character: nerdy teenage boy, too many hormones running through his veins, a weakness for peer pressure, and a girl for a best friend.  Carl Duke is his over-confident buddy Lance, who talks Ian into his cross country drive.  Amanda Crew is Ian's childhood female friend Felicia, who makes a few self-discoveries of her own on their trip.  The best actor in this movie is Seth Green.  He plays Ezekiel, the (forgive the description) world-wise, smart ass, brilliantly guilt-playing Amish guy who helps our group out in their time of great need.  His character is worth seeing the movie for alone.

So, an average teen sex, road trip comedy with the occasionally funny scenes thrown in to keep me watching.  Seriously though, Seth green makes this worth the short time investment.  The guy is great, the rest  of the movie, not so much.  6.5/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!

Day 138: "I'm Matt Franklin, and I work at Suncoast Video in the Mall, and I live with my parents!"

Remember St. Elmo's Fire? The 80's Brat Pack movie about recent college graduates and the struggles they had trying to figure out what to do with their lives?  Now, take the skeleton of that story, make it a movie in 2011, add a ton of 80's related humor, and you've got Take Me Home Tonight.  A set of twins and their friend attend a Labor Day party, and over the course of the night, chaos reigns, very poor decisions are made, and new relationships are formed.  Wow, this is an 80's movie.  The first third to half of the movie starts slowly, setting up what is to come.  Having gone through a couple of issues similar to the main character, it was a bit uncomfortable for me to watch, but funny uncomfortable.  The second half of the story picks up considerably, and ends in true "John Hughes" fashion.

Topher Grace stars as Matt Franklin, the recent college grad who cannot figure out what to do with his life.  It was kind of disappointing seeing him play this, because it seemed like his part was a "what if" for Foreman, the character he made famous in the TV series: That 70's Show.  It wasn't really stretching his acting abilities.  Anna Faris is his sister Wendy, a much smarter role than I am accustomed to seeing her in.  Dan Fogler is their loser childhood buddy Barry Nathan, the real comedy in this film.  If he was on screen, something bad and/or funny was about to happen.

The music is pulled straight from the period, but with one notable exception (I won't tell you which song, but if you're a fan of the era, you'll figure it out pretty quickly).  It wants to be a John Hughes movie very badly, but doesn't quite pull it off.  Easy A would be a better example of this.  Not terrible, by a long shot, but not the best movie I've seen over the last 138 days.  6.75/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!

Day 137: "I wasn't high, wasn't wired; just clear. I knew what I needed to do and how to do it."

I had been looking forward to Limitless since I missed it in theaters, and it did not let me down.  A well put together action/thriller, Limitless glosses over the morality of hyper-intelligence and how it is endowed, to deliver an almost Fight Club-esque look into the mind and motivations of the man who receives this gift.  A down-and-out writer, Eddie Morra, has a chance encounter with an acquaintance from his past who gives him a pill, telling him almost nothing of its effects, only that Eddie will thank him later.  Eddie takes the pill, and suddenly he has access to 100% of his brain's capabilities.  Returning to his "friend" Eddie discovers his stash and proceeds to "enhance" himself to extraordinary levels.  As is the Hollywood norm, someone is, of course, after him.  Limitless forgoes character development for the sake of the story, but I really didn't care, I jsut wanted to know what Eddie was going to do next with his new found brainpower.  The only time things slowed down, was when the film started to show us what the down side of the magic pills was.  Other than that, it was a fun ride.

Bradley Cooper played Eddie, and the more I watch this guy act, the more I like him.  I loved his work in The Hangover, but it was cool to see him in a more dramatic turn.  If he ever made a movie with Jeff Bridges, I'd see that one several times.  Robert De Niro plays financial tycoon/wizard Carl Van Loon, Eddie's mentor at one point in the film.  Not one of his top roles, but De Niro being De Niro, he was better than almost everyone else.  Abbie Cornish, of Sucker Punch is Eddie's on-again, off-again girlfriend.  She was the only one I really had trouble liking in this.  she could never get off the fence about whether or not they were or weren't a couple.

Not the most intellectually filling movie I've ever seen (irony!!), but fun nonetheless.  Don't let it slip under your radar, as it is a pretty good option for a summer evening.  Not a whole lot of offensive language, but some of the violence is a bit over the top, and if you have a weakness for on-screen vomiting, you are now warned.  Sit back and enjoy.  8.25/10

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!

Day 136: "Rule 1: I get paid or I don't work."

As courtroom/crime dramas go, The Lincoln Lawyer was pretty good.  A street savvy lawyer gets called upon to defend a Beverly Hills kid in an assault case, the kid tells his story, the lawyer starts investigating, and GO!  I can't really go into any more of the story, because the spoiler alerts would be popping up every fifth word.  There are more twists and turns in this movie than your average high-speed roller coaster.  Just when something comes into focus and begins to make sense, HEY LOOK something new and shiny to throw into the mix.  As all over the place as it gets though, by the end, everything comes together to be wrapped up into a package that John Grisham would have had a hard time coming up with.

Matthew McConaughey does a believable job as defense attorney Mick Haller, one of those lawyers who might be seen in a late night commercial touting his services.  This guy begins the story believing in nothing more than the almighty dollar and its powers to acquit the innocent, but grows a bit over the course of the story.  He doesn't grow too much though.  Captain Wooden, Ryan Phillipe is the man accused of assault.  How this guy keeps getting work astounds me.  He's got the emotional range of an ice cube.  William H. macy is Haller's investigator, again showing that he is a vastly underrated actor.  Marisa Tomei plays Haller's on-again, off-again girlfriend, and doing a nice job with the role.

I'm not really a fan of the courtroom drama genre, but this was actually pretty good.  My wife is a huge follower of the genre, and I'll probably watch it again with her.  Check it out, I mean how often does McConaughey make a movie worth seeing?  7.5/10

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!

Day 135: "You ain't from around here are you?"

I didn't know what to expect sitting down to watch Rango.  Was this going to be the next great computer animated movie, or another in a long line of disappointments.  Happily, it was much closer to the former.  Rango is the story of a domesticated chameleon who is thrust into the wilds of the open desert, and, coming across the appropriately named town of Dirt, comes to the conclusion that the vacant role of Sheriff is what he needs.  His overactive imagination is something to behold.  What's really funny about this movie is that , yes it is animated, but it caters to all age groups.  The kids will love the slapstick antics, and the accompanying adults, the countless movie references.  I was really surprised of a couple that were in here, specifically a very quick reference to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.  Really.  Lots of fun for everybody, and definitely one to catch in high definition. 

The reunion of Gore Verbinsky and Johnny Depp again pays off.  Hearing Depp's normal speaking voice again is pretty weird after all those recent years as Capt. Jack, but his timing and delivery remain perfect.  The cast in this is full of stars, each delivering a really good performance.  Ned Beatty, Alfred Molina, Ilsa Fisher, Stephen Root, Timothy Olyphant, Bill Nighy, Abigail Breslin, there's a lot of talent here.  I particularly enjoyed Beatty as the Mayor, anyone who has seen Chinatown will understand why. 

Rango is just a fun movie for everyone.  See it with the family, pop some corn, grab a drink and just have a great time.  Verbinski should get tapped to make more animated movies, he's got the knack for making very fun movies.  Enjoy this one, I did.  8.75/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!

Day 134: "There are no bad deeds, just deeds."

I never really appreciated what an enormous pain in the ass this blog was going to be.  I have hit a serious wall and I hope to get through it soon, because this is really testing my resolve.  End of rant.  Tonight's movie: the French film Irreversible. Let me start by saying that this movie redefines "effed" up.  The only other film I would put into the same category as Irreversible is A Serbian Film.  Seriously, this movie is that far off the charts in terms of raw violence, shock value, and disturbing content.  At its basest, this is a revenge film; put together in reverse order of events, similar to Christopher Nolan's Memento, it follows the story of two men attempting to avenge the brutal rape of their girlfriend (one man is the ex-boyfreind).  That's essentially it.  Nothing fancy or even redeeming about this.  When it comes to graphic violence on-screen, I thought I was as hardened and numb to it as is possible to be.  Nope, not even close.  This is one of only two movies I have ever seen where I had to take a break to just step away.  Unfortunately, the story isn't the only brutality on the screen.  Director Gaspar Noe has apparently learned everything he knows about shooting a movie by watching The Blair Witch Project.  I understand using camera motion to convey the anger and discord of the men seeking revenge, but for the love of all that is holy, GET A STEADICAM!!  the first twnty minutes of this is almost unwatchable without getting motion sickness.

My main motivation for choosing Irreversible was the name of the primary star listed: Monica Bellucci.  Big fan.  Had I known ahead of time what I was going to be seeing, I probably would have picked something else.  She was amazing, just in the "look away from the screen" kind of way.  It was REALLY hard to see her in this, but, DAMN, what an actress.  Vincent Cassel is her overly violent avenging angel, again very difficult to watch him going absolutely feral at times.

This is NOT a film for the kids.  Graphic scenes of murder, torture, and rape run throughout this film.  Not for those looking for an enjoyable night in front of the TV, either.  I watched this only hoping for something to redeem the time I invested watching it, but, unfortunately, I found none save the grittiness and raw emotion portrayed by the cast.  Beyond torture porn, Irreversible is one best avoided...unless you're in the mood to be visually assaulted.  I need a shower.....1.5/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!

Day 133: "Wash your winky. Thoroughly. Heaven knows what exotic wildlife that girl was harboring between her thighs."

I was pissed off when I found out that the entertainment powers that be had decided to green light a remake of one of my favorite comedies of all-time.  Really pissed off.  The kind of pissed off that possibly requires a support group to get over.  I mean, seriously?!?! A remake of Arthur?!?!  How could anyone top Dudley Moore's portrayal of the world's favorite multi-millionaire drunk?  Who could possibly have the raw nerve to try and top Sir John Gielgud's deadpan perfect performance as Arthur's exasperated butler, Hobson?  I really hate it when I am even the slightest bit wrong.  Yes, technically, this is a remake of the 1981 classic, but this version of Arthur strikes me as more of an homage to the original.  Do not get me wrong here, the 2011 version is an inferior film to its predecessor, but if I had never seen the original, this incarnation of Arthur has more laughs and scenes of honest emotion as any comedy released today.  Can you imagine how surprised I was to find myself really enjoying this?  The story has remained virtually identical to the original:  man-child millionaire drunk must settle down and consent to an arranged marriage or lose his entire inheritance and be forced to *shudder* work.  In the mean time, he finds "the one" and decides he wants to marry her instead, causing mayhem. 

Russel Brand, as much as I hate to admit this, is growing on me.  This is, quite possibly the only human on Earth who could have pulled off the new Arthur Bach.  If you close you eyes and listen, he even sounds like Dudley Moore doing his drunk bit.  It's scary good.  As for Arthur's ever-suffering and sarcastic servant Hobson, the filmmakers went, wisely, with Dame Helen Mirren.  She does a great job in the role, but cannot hold a candle to Gielgud's portrayal, sorry.  The confusing part was Naomi, played by Greta Gerwig.  It seems that every role from the original was transferred to this version, verbatim, except for Linda (Liza Minelli).  Why they decided to change her name is beyond me, but it's the same role.  Oh well, they had to screw something up.

The fact that I enjoyed this, essentially unnecessary, remake, absolutely has shaken me to my core.  I went in fully expecting to loathe this, but came away loving it.  Dudley Moore's Arthur and Sir John Gielgid's Hobson will always be the pinnacle of mismatched characters for me, but the new pairing of Russell Brand and Dame Helen Mirren gives a new generation their own Arthur and Hobson to laugh with.  Besides, I'm sure that both Arthurs would be drinking to each other's wealth while both Hobsons are behind them, facepalming.  8.25/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!

Day 132: "This is MY time!!"

Let me start this with the disclaimer that 1) it was REALLY late, 2) I was, unfortunately, still awake, and 3) I was too lazy to change the channel.  Having now said this, I had the misfortune of watching the 1980 "musical" Can't Stop the Music.  What the hell was I thinking?  Hands down, without a doubt, this was an absolute indictment of the disco era and all its trappings.  What passes for a script was God awful, the music....well, nothing I can possibly say can damn it more than it was Disco, and finally, the central story concept revolves around The Village People.  Yes, those Village People.  Essentially, this is the story of a songwriter's attempts to get his stuff recorded, and his friend gets a bunch of guys together to do the singing, and VOILA, the origin of the Village People is now a matter of public record.  I cannot convey the shame I now feel having seen this, seriously, it was like watching a sequinsed train wreck, in slow motion, while drunk, while experiencing an LSD flashback. 

Other than the Village People, Can't Stop the Music starred a completely over-enthused and obviously trying-too-hard-with-little-to-no-talent Steve Guttenberg.  How this guy ever managed an acting career is a testament to making deals with the Devil.  Valerie Perrine is the token sex kitten, and quite possibly the only reason to look at this movie.  Rounding out this troupe of the damned is Bruce Jenner; Olympic decathalon winner who thinks he can act, Bruce Jenner. 

I will never be able to listen to YMCA ever again without thinking of what I saw in this movie; and that's not a good thing (not that the song was good to start out with).  I guess if you're a HUGE fan of the Village People, men, or bad eighties disco movies you might want to see this, but for the love of all that is right in this world, don't.  Someone in Hollywood tried really hard to polish a turd here, but failed.  .5/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!

Review scores for month #4

OK, so I'm a little late with this months recap list.  Sorry, I actually lost track of the days.  A pretty good month on the whole, my average score was a shocking 7.17/10.  Either I'm getting more discerning with my choices or I was tapping heavily into the Dumb Luck side of The Force.  Without any further hoopla, here is last months' scores:

The Damned United-8.75
True Grit [2010]-9.75
In Bruges-9
The Rite-5
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon-7.75
Red Riding Hood-3
Black Death-7.75
Night of the Hunter-9
Battle: Los Angeles-7.5
The Sting-10  ***PICK OF THE MONTH***
Gran Torino-9.75
Mr. Popper's Penguins-6
Matinee-7.5
Hall Pass-4.5
The Adjustment Bureau-7.25
The Devil's Own-6.75
Four Christmases-7
How to Train Your Dragon-8.75
Shrek Forever After-7
Sucker Punch-9.75
Season of the Witch-3
Faster-7.5
Anvil! The Story of Anvil-7.75
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid-9.25
Halloween 2 [2009]-6
Get Him to the Greek-5
Unknown-7.75
Richard Pryor: Here and Now-8
Grown Ups-5.25
Legend of the Guardians: the Owls of Ga'hoole-6
White Chicks-0  ***STINKER OF THE MONTH***
Unthinkable-8.25
Source Code-8.25
Let Me In-7.75
The Right Stuff-9.75

There you have it, another month in the books.  A little over 25% done.  I really can't believe I have actually watched 131 more movies that I haven't seen before.  Just think, only 234 more movies to go.....oh lord....I have 234 more of these to do.....*determined sigh*.  Well, in the immortal words of Monty Python, "GET ON WITH IT!!"

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!

Day 131: "Who was the best pilot I ever saw? Well, uh, you're lookin' at him."

Gotta be honest here: I saw the opening fifteen minutes of this movie about 15 years ago and was so unimpressed, I turned it off.  Having today watched the whole thing, The Right Stuff is one of the two best movies about the U.S. space program (Apollo 13 edging it out for the title).  I have no idea what I thought I was watching fifteen years ago, but boy, I was an idiot.  This is a brilliant look at the men and women who helped to give birth to President Kennedy's dream of reaching the Moon.  These men were the ultimate test pilots, putting their lives on the line for their country using completely new, and relatively untested, theories and hardware to achieve the impossible.  The story rarely slows, and the filmmakers show great respect for everyone involved in NASA's birth, from the astronauts to their wives, to the technicians and politicians.  Almost no aspect of this period is overlooked.  This is no short history lesson, either, running three and a quarter hours.  I was very shocked at this, because it did not feel like I was watching for even half of that.

This was released in 1983, and looking back, the ensemble cast is truly an astounding collection of talent: Ed Harris, Scott Glenn, Dennis Quaid, Fred Ward, Barbara Hershey, Sam Shepard, Pamela Reed, Veronica Cartwright, Lance Henriksen,  I could go on forever.  Everyone of the actors plays a significant role in the film, and every one of them is wonderful.  From Quaid's over-enthusiasm as Gordon Cooper, to Harris' understated and subtle performance as John Glenn,  there are no poor performances here.  Even the family lives of the astronauts is covered, going further into these mens' lives than some documentaries.  I was blown away.

If at all possible, allot yourself (and the family) the time to see this wonderful look at some true heroes.  The Right Stuff is a magnificent peek into the seminal years of one of the greatest eras of human achievement.  It won four Oscars, deservedly so.  Another movie (assuming I can find it on Blu-ray) going into the permanent collection.  See it, you won't be sorry, or bored.  9.75/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!

Day 130: "Dad? Do you think there's such a thing as evil?"

Let Me In has to be one of the weirdest vampire movies I've seen.  A story that ties in teenage alienation, bullying, and vampirism set during the heyday of Ronald Reagan's reign as U.S. President, that is a weird combination.  Funny thing, though: with the exception of a few slow spots in the pacing, it works.  Do not mistake this for a gender reversed Twilight, Let Me In revolves around a twelve year old boy who is unnaturally alienated from his own life, and finds a friend in a girl who is in the same boat, but because of her vampirism.  Watching these two get close, seeing the boy discover his new found friend's condition, and his apparent unconditional acceptance of her is disturbing, to say the least, but the two share so much in common, it was not surprising.  Her attacks as a vampire are very cool, shot in such a way as the violence is obvious, but it's not all that gory until you see the aftermath.  It's not Nosferatu, but I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I ever would.

Chloe Moretz is Abby, the twelve-ish vampire, playing her role very subtly, and keeping my faith alive that there are still really good child actors out there.  Kodi Smit-McPhee plays Owen, the bullied boy who develops the bizarre relationship with Abby.  Again, another young actor to watch.  These two were fantastic and gave each of their roles a genuine personality that brought them to life.

I now intend to catch the original 2008 movie (Let the Right One In), and see how they stack up against each other.  Other than a couple of slow parts in the second act, I really liked Let Me In, and would recommend it to vampire movie fans.  The filmmakers actually kept to the myth, for the most part, and, like Owen, I always wondered why they had to be invited into someone's dwelling.  Now I know, and knowing is half the battle.  7.75/10

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!

Day 129: "Just eight minutes, Goodwin."

Source Code.  Very cool movie, this.  A mind-bending, time altering, WTF ending kind of cool movie.  Combine equal parts Matrix, Inception, and throw in a dash of Phillip K. Dick, and you've got  Source Code.  This is what can happen when a movie is well written and not absolutely reliant on special effects.  The effects are there, but the story is the main driving force here.  An American combat pilot regains consciousness on a Chicago commuter train, tries to figure out what's happening, and eight minutes later, dies in a bomb explosion on the train.  He soon discovers that he is an operative in a new experimental program that allows him to relive the last eight minutes of a "compatible" subject/victim of the explosion he just experienced, which actually occurred earlier that same morning.  By going back and reliving those minutes, he is able to investigate the mystery of the bomber and figure out his own situation.  This is one of the best mind-bending movies I have seen.  Honestly, I liked it better than Inception.  The science is completely wonky and conveniently hides behind the unfathomable reaches of "quantum physics" and "algorithmic calculus."  Hooray for spooky science!!  The story takes a bunch of twists and turns before getting to its conclusion, but what a fun ride.

Jake Gyllenhaal is the pilot: Colter Stevens.  I never thought the looks of confusion that he showed in earlier films would ever pay off, but he does a great job here as the confused, disoriented hero.  Michelle Monaghan is the love interest/motivation for Stevens to get this mystery solved, and for her part also does an admirable job.  The new Felix Leiter, Jeffrey Wright is Dr. Rutledge, the brilliant physicist responsible for the contraption that can have someone relive the past.  Finally, Vera Farmiga is air Force officer Colleen Goodwin, Colton's contact in the real world.  A sympathetic shoulder for his disorientation.

Ironically, none of the "flashbacks" is ever actually eight minutes, something that would have been cool had the filmmakers been able to go with that sort of structure, but hey, it was a blast.  I really liked this and would recommend it to fans of such films as Inception.  Source Code got overlooked when it was released theatrically, but definitely check it out at home.  8.25/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!

Day 128: "We're on the losing side, Helen. We're afraid, they're not."

I have seen my fair share of disturbing and uncomfortable-to-watch movies in my time.  Se7en, Das Experiment, and even the notorious A Serbian Film.  There is a new one to add to this dubious list: Unthinkable.  The story of the interrogation of an American Muslim (getting old here Hollywood) who has created and planted three nuclear devices and set them to go off in in three American cities, this is not for the squeamish.  This movie attempts to investigate the moral implications of the value of torture to save lives.  It's, at its core, asking the old Star Trek question "Does the good of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one?"  The film then, very graphically, shows the audience the different types of torture (apparently) utilized to extract information.  I cannot stress enough how graphic and disturbing some of the imagery is.  I could not decide for myself if they wanted this to be Hostel with a morality tale attached, or just a human rights drama with shock value.  Whatever it was, I couldn't look away.  I was riveted by the story, not the gore.  This was a cautionary tale for our times.

The cast in this was astounding.  Samuel L. Jackson was the lead torturer H.  He did not go his usual, over-the-top nutso route, but was very understated, cold and calculating; immensely scarier, because he was so controlled.  Carrie Anne Moss was Helen Brody, the lead FBI agent and moral foil for Jackson's amoral torturer.  The true star of this was Brit Michael Sheen as Yusef Mohammed/ Steven Younger.  His portrayal of a man tortured, both literally, and morally, was astounding. 

Unthinkable is a movie that will get you thinking and talking about it's content.  Who the villain is in this goes back and forth several times.  Yes, Younger is a terrorist bomber, and yes the American agents torture him mercilessly, but it was tough to keep straight at times that this man being torn apart for information was the bad guy.  You will see unforgivable uses of torture in this movie, and you will not be able to shake some of the images quickly, so be warned.  Worth seeing, even though the material is BRUTAL.  8.25/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!

Day 127: "Oh No!! We've been cloned!!"

Don't worry "real" white girls in this movie, no you haven't been cloned.  I admit it, I just wanted to watch a totally crap movie.  White Chicks delivered in spades (no racial pun/insult intended).  Definitely one of the absolutely worst movies I have ever had the misfortune of seeing, only three words can adequately describe this steaming pile: crap, crap, and crap.  In that order.  A total waste of time with no redeeming qualities, I think even the notorious Ed Wood and Uwe Boll might have walked out on this.  Complete with plot holes you could steer a planet through, White Chicks' story revolves around two FBI officers "disguising" themselves as two heiresses to solve the case and get back in their boss' good graces.  NOTHING about the Wayans' brothers in heavy makeup and prosthetics was even REMOTELY convincing.  I would have had an easier time believing Frankenstein's Monster was Paris Hilton,  The makeup was that bad, the script and the acting, if you can believe it, were worse.

I've never been one to hope for a career meltdown, but Marlon and Shawn Wayans had it coming.  I can only take siblings bickering disguised as comedy for so long.  Good-bye, and good riddance.  The talent in your family rests comfortably with your other brothers Damon and Keenan. 

There was nothing good about this. Do not watch, do not even consider watching this garbage.  Run far, far away, and never look back.  0/10.

Day 126: "Remember, weakness is for a lower species, not us."

Absolutely beautiful.  Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole is one of the most visually stunning movies I have ever seen.  I am truly astounded at the level of craftsmanship that CGI animated movies have achieved in recent years.  I would be hard pressed to come up with a more beautifully crafted movie.  Directed by one of my new favorite directors, Zack Snyder, my expectations for this were high, and visually, I was not disappointed.  Now, having said this, Legend's plot and content is way too mature for the audience at which it was aimed.  The screenwriters put a very involved and well crafted story together for this, but if you bring the family together for this, the younger ones will (most likely) be a bit bored by the story and overwhelmed by the action and sheer raw violence of the owl battles.  Seriously, there is no blood, but the ferocity of the one on one battles is brutal.

The voice cast does a great job, although some of the Australian accents are a bit thick and can be tough to interpret at times.  I have to admit I really liked this movie, but I would warn parents of younger kids of the violence and intensity of the action.  You'll also, most likely, be bombarded by "what'd he/she say?" and "what's that?", so keep the pause button handy.  Beautiful from start to finish, and definitely up to the standard set by Snyder's earlier films, Legends is worth the rental and a double viewing: once for the family, and once for the adults.  Trust me, you will see it in a whole new light.  8/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!

Day 125: "Getting old. Stop. Can't pee. Stop. Smells like asparagus. Stop."

So, was having a tough time deciding on what to watch today.  It's like I'm hitting "The Wall."  Everything is staring to blur together into one long undefinable genre that is sometimes good, most of the time bad, and ultimately neverending.  If you want the REAL neverending story, try watching a movie a day for a year.  Anyway, I went with Grown Ups.  This movie is like an old folks home for comedians who were big in the 90's, or even a comedic attempt at The Big Chill.  The story of five guys who grew up together, the group is reunited at the funeral of their CYO basketball coach.  Having now been married, children, careers, and other accoutrement of being adults, they decide to gather the whole gang, dysfunctional families and all, at the lake where they spent their youth.  The problems of their lives intrude, and the plot goes from there.  I was not impressed by this at all.  It seemed, to me, to be an excuse for these guys to get together and have their own SNL reunion movie.

Starring the ensemble of Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Kevin James, David Spade, and Rob Schneider (
who was never funny), they just really seem to be dialing in their performances.  I found their camaraderie to be too scripted, and wondered if the outtakes would have been funnier because they probably wouldn't have been trying to act at that point.  Salma Hayek, Maya Rudolph, and Maria Bello (wow, was her role creepy here) play the embattled wives of these man-boys.

This movie, I am sorry to say, also falls under the "Sitcom Syndrome" I have described in an earlier post (Day 110: Hall Pass).  It is not as horrifically over the top in its use of sitcom tactics, but it's still there, pissing me off.  I guess if you really liked these guys in their own movies, you'll probably like them here, but as for me....meh.  I'm beginning to think I'm really hard on comedies...  5.25/10

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!

Day 124: "Ladies & gentlemen, the two most beautiful words in the world of comedy: Richard Pryor."

Eddie Murphy is a thief.  Granted, a self-admitted thief, but a thief nonetheless.  In a world before the advent of the monster smash hit concert films, Richard Pryor: Here and Now stands as one of the best.  Back to my original statement. Eddie Murphy: Raw may be the biggest concert movie ever made, but three-quarters of his material was cribbed directly from Here and Now.  What is truly ironic (or coincidental, I never can tell) is that less than six months earlier, Bill Cosby: Himself was released.  For the better part of their careers, Cosby and Pryor were at odds with each others' comedic stylings: one wholesome, the other profane, but the material in both of these concert films is very similar.  Filmed three years after his infamous self-immolation and seven months into sobriety from drugs and alcohol, Pryor has a new outlook on his life and comedy, but his wit is still as sharp as a new razor.  Nowhere near as manic or frantic as his delivery was in the past, he showed he was still one of the funniest men on the planet.  The Comedic Trinity will forever consist of: The Father (Lenny Bruce), The Son (George Carlin), and the Holy Ghost (Richard Pryor [again, I love irony!!]).  These three men had THE biggest influence on modern comedy, PERIOD.  I digress, back to the topic at hand.

Unfortunately, Lenny Bruce died in 1966, Pryor in 2005, and Carlin in 2008, robbing the world of the greatest trio of comedians, satirists, and observers of humanity's idiosyncrasies EVER.  I will hear no arguments on this, because after having heard their bodies of work, all arguments against are rendered invalid.  Enough of my gushing,  Richard Pryor: Here and Now is well worth the time.

As good as Here and Now is, it is not without its flaws.  The audience's incessant, unnecessary, and disrespectful heckling was a constant distraction.  Editing, Richard, editing.  I also must admit to being slightly uncomfortable watching him relive his drug use days, as tragically funny as the situations may have been.  Other than these minor quibbles, this is hysterical and at times, touching.  You may also want to check out Live on the Sunset Strip, filmed in 1982.  I recommend Here and Now to any Pryor fan, or fan of stand-up comedy who would like a look at one of the grandmasters of the art. 8/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!

Day 123: "If I'm not Martin Harris, how do I know so much about him?"

Liam Neeson's career has taken an unexpected, bizarre, cool turn.  Having last seen him in the 2008 thriller Taken, he now seems to be drawn to the Harrison Ford-esque roles of "guy in a crap situation."  His latest film: Unknown, starts off slowly, almost indescribably messily, then gets going into an edge-of-your-seat, what's going to happen next mind bender.  This is not a mind-bender in the Inception sort of way, but more along the lines of The Fugitive meets any of the Jason Bourne movies.  Set in Berlin, microbiologist Dr. Martin Harris (Neeson) and his wife are set to attend a Biotechnology Summit.  Through the course of events, Harris is in an auto accident, and upon returning to the world of the living, has discovered that another man has taken over his life and identity.  He then spends the next hour and change attempting to prove to himself and the world who he actually is.  It did, as I said before, begin as a bit of a mess, but the more I thought about it, this seemed to be a clever device used by the filmmakers to make the audience as confused as Harris.  After the first twenty-five minutes, you won't be able to take your eyes off the screen.

Neeson is, again, great in the role of the hunted, but honestly, why do directors feel the need to make him try and be American?  He has, quite possibly, the least believable American accent ever.  Don't they have microbiologists in Ireland that teach in the U.S.?  Let him use his own voice!  Diane Kruger is Gina, the illegal alien taxi driver who tries to help Harris in his quest.  A better role for her than she had in the National Treasure series.  Frank Langella, January Jones and Adian Quinn (nice to see him still working!) round out the remaining lead roles.

All in all, a satisfying thriller with a decent ending.  I have to admit though, I have seen enough of these that I was able to predict how it would end, but I still had fun.  If you enjoyed Taken or The Fugitive you'll most likely enjoy this, just be patient, and you will be rewarded.  7.75/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!

Day 122: "When the world slips you a Jeffrey, stroke the fuzzy wall."

Not being a fan of Jonah Hill or Russell Brand, Get Him to the Greek already had two strikes against it before I had even watched a single frame of the movie.  When I put it on, it did not disappoint, in the bad way.  Boiled down to its essentials, Get Him to the Greek is a modern day road movie.  Aaron Green, an ambitious record executive gets his wish and is assigned to bring washed-up, drugged-out rock icon Aldous Snow to Los Angeles for the tenth anniversary of the pinnacle of his career: an encore to the original show that made him a star at the Greek Theater.  Green has three day to accomplish this Herculean task.  Mayhem, alcohol, drugs, women and vomiting ensue.  From what I could tell, Greek wanted to be the story of the partying that went on in The Hangover.  I did laugh a couple of times, but on the whole, I wasn't very impressed.  I wonder if this means I'm getting old?

Jonah Hill Is Aaron Green, the straight man to Aldous Snow's (Russell Brand) insanity.  I might have to find more from Brand though, because he did show that he is very natural with comedy and his timing is pretty good.  Seeing him in this role, I can understand why they decided to cast him in the remake of Arthur, although I'll NEVER understand why they decided to remake that at all.  As for Jonah Hill,  sorry men, still not impressed or even interested in your stuff. 

On the whole, a mediocre comedy.  Nothing memorable apart from a few well placed and delivered jokes, particularly one involving a furry wall.  If you're a fan of either Hill or Brand, you'll probably enjoy this.  Unfortunately, I didn't.  5/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!

Day 121: "Let me make this nice and sparkling clear. Michael Myers is f***ing dead!""

Well, insomnia's vicious, fickle hand struck again.  Being up at 2:30 in the AM, the only logical genre is horror, and today's choice was Rob Zombie's remake of Halloween 2.  I absolutely love the original 1977 Halloween, and merely enjoyed the 1981 sequel.  Writer/Director Rob Zombie has shown his love of the horror genre with his first two films: House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects.  His remake of the original Halloween had me skeptical, but once I saw his reboot of the franchise, I was impressed.  He looked much more deeply into the psyche of Michael Myers and it took the role from a cardboard cutout to a developed character, who was shaped and driven to being a serial killer.  I really liked it a lot.  Halloween 2, like its 1981 predecessor, was nowhere near as good as the initial installment, but unlike the original sequel, was a blast to watch.  Zombie again delves into Michael's mind to show the audience what drives this Boogeyman, but because of the passage of time and the continued deterioration of his mental faculties, we see his reality has become even more skewed than in the first film.  My main complaint was the handling of the character of Dr. Loomis.  In the first movie, he was concerned with recapturing, studying and keeping the public safe from Michael.  In the sequel, he's become a fame-hungry, opportunistic, self-serving joke of a psychiatrist without a shred of concern for his role in the slayings.  Donald Pleasance is probably turning over in his grave.

Malcolm McDowell returns as Dr. Sam Loomis, but, as I said before, his role changed dramatically.  It was clever of Zombie to crib lines for McDowell from one of his most famous roles (Alex Delarge from A Clockwork Orange), but it really didn't add anything to the diminished part.  Tyler Mane was, again, a very convincing Michael.  His sheer size and stature are enough to scare the crap out of a lot of people.  Sheri Moon Zombie also returns as the matriarch of the Myers clan, as creepy as ever.

Rob Zombie pulls a lot from his bag of horror tricks here, just not as well as he did with his first films.  Even given the shortcomings I pointed out earlier, I really liked this.  It closed up Zombie's chapters of the Halloween franchise well, even leaving it open for another (honestly, hopefully not) sequel.  I just can't believe he had the guts to swipe a shot from the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock.  I will add this though: don't see this without having seen the 2007 version, as this begins as soon as the first ends.  Oh yeah, see the 1977 version too while you're at it, it's one of the greatest horror movies ever made.  As for this one: 6/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!

Day 120: "Think ya used enough dynamite there, Butch?"

So today I took another trip down American cinema memory lane and decided on the 1969 classic Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.  Directed by George Roy Hill four years before his other classic, The Sting,  this is another amazing film from the early years of, what I call, the Second Golden Age of American Cinema.  Beautifully shot, Butch Cassidy is very much the basis for the modern Western.  Up to this point, Westerns portrayed a very romantic view of the old west.  John Wayne was always the good guy, the bad guys wore black, and everyone knew who would win in the end.  Beginning with Butch Cassidy, and in the same year, Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch, turned the genre on it's ear.  These two films stripped away the established notions of right and wrong and good and bad to introduce the anti-hero to Westerns.  Throughout the entire movie Butch and Sundance share such a close bond and are so affable, that the audience can't help but to cheer for them.  On the flip side, they are hard drinkers, womanizers and, most significantly, armed robbers.  These two rob banks, then pontificate on why the bank is no longer the beautiful place they remember.  They rob trains, only to come across the same poor sap guarding the safe car, and ask if he is ok from the last time that they had to blow the door open.  The first half of the movie is a chase film, with a robbery going awry, and an unknown, absolutely relentless posse chasing them.  From there, they take their talents way south of the border to Bolivia, where the remainder of the story plays out to one of the classic endings of all time.

This was the first film to feature Robert Redford and Paul Newman together, and their chemistry was instantly apparent.  I commented in an earlier post how goo these two are together, and Butch Cassidy is no exception.  I still cannot get over what a natural talent Redford is in front of the camera.  I never understood the old saying that "the camera loves [insert name]," but watching him, I do now.  Everything from his facial expressions to his perfect timing delivering his lines, Redford is brilliant.  Oh yeah, Newman is great too, but I was already aware of his particular skills.

Apart from, what can only be described as, the world's first music video in the first twenty minutes (the stupidly sappy "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head"), which my brother-in-law refers to as an "acid trip in the middle of an awesome movie", and a bizarrely misplaced score, this is another American masterpiece.  If there was a way to edit out that ridiculous bike riding scene (if you've seen this movie, you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about), I'd have rated this higher, but it was the sixties I suppose....*sigh*.  Great film, check it out.  9.25/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!

Day 119: "Everything on the tour went drastically wrong. But at least there was a tour for it to go wrong on."

I heard good things about the latest "Rock-Doc" about another metal band plummeting from the heights of popularity to complete anonymity, so I decided to give it a shot. Anvil! The story of Anvil must have been what Rob Reiner envisioned when making This Is Spinal Tap, it had to be.  The similarities between the fictional band Spinal Tap and Anvil areA mighty just too close to be coincidence.  This is such a tragically funny movie, I had trouble watching it at times.  Steve "Lips" Kudlow and Robb Reiner (really!) are the only remaining original members of the 80's heavy metal group Anvil, and they want to regain the relevance the had in the 80's when they were opening acts for such heavyweights as Metallica and Anthrax.  After a completely insane, disastrous Eastern European tour (they played a gig for 3 people in a bar an one of the people was the bartender), they decide to go back to the studio for one last shot at fame with their album "This Is 13". 

This is a niche movie, if you are not a fan of metal, you may be turned off by the music, but the story is about the band and their relationship with their music and dreams.  Like I said before, this is heartbreaking to watch at times, as these guys have been friends and playing since they were teenagers.  Now in their fifties and with families, they are visibly desperate (especially Steve) for one last gasp of heavy metal glory.  Short and sweet, Anvil clocks in at only 80 minutes, but it is packed with the kind of raw emotion you rarely see in any modern documentary not about the Holocaust.  If you enjoyed Metallica: Some Kind of Monster or any of the mockumentaries by Rob Reiner or Christopher Guest, see this movie.  It is in no way a fake documentary like Spinal Tap or A Mighty Wind, but the laughs and the tears are there, and, being real, are that much more touching.  7.75/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!

P.S.- I saw these guys in 1985, they were great on stage, and their music is great.  The new album was a throwback to the days of my youth and worth a listen.  Check it out too.