The Hangover

"-'I always wondered why they were called roofies.  

Cause you're more likely to end up on the floor than on the roof.  They should call em floories.'

-'Or rapies.'"

This was by far the funniest movie I've seen this year!  There may have been some predictable bits, but it all worked and still was able to be refreshing without having to be a Judd Apatow movie.  

No doubt Zach Galifianakis stole this movie. 

I've enjoyed his brand of comedy, stand up and tv work, for a couple years.  Especially his reoccurring appearances on my FAVORITE show Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job!.  He has been in a number of movies, but never really aloud to shine like he did in this one.

I've seen a number of these blackout movies.  Dude Where's My Car, What Happens in Vegas, and I was really thinking this movie was going to be another Very Bad Things.  Though the concept is not original, the writing and the delivery is what makes this an instant modern classic.  

One thing after a-fuckin-nother is unveiled about the cah-ray-zee bachelor party that happened the night before.  Their main goal is to find their friend, the groom, who is missing the following morning, and is getting married tomorrow.  

You know it was a crazy night in Vegas when you wake up in your hotel room missing a tooth, there's a tiger in the bathroom, and you find a baby in the closet.  It's great!

This movie is satisfying on all levels.  

Including the BIGGEST payoff of seeing the lost photos of their night during the  end credits.  As if I haven't laughed enough!  I was laughing so hard, it felt like my older brother was tickling me waaaaay passed the point of saying 

"I'm serious! Stop!"  It was hard to breathe through the laughter.  Great movie.  And it's going to be an even better DVD to watch and quote over and over again.  I can't wait to see it again.  I just wish I can see it again for the first time.

The Dead Girl

"-You're not kissing me.
You're just lying there like you
want me to rape you!'

-Okay.'"

4 Stars

I was pleasantly surprised! I didn't think this movie was going to be as class, as it was.
Since the previews, and print show mostly Brittany Murphy I thought it was going to be another on of her movies. Cool thing is, she's in it for a short time, and by the time we meet her, you kinda care for her.

The story is broken up into chapters of different women, and how they are connected to this dead girl.
The Stranger who finds her, The Sister who believes she's family, The Wife who could help her, and The Mother who's looking for her.
Each story is short but just enough. I loved them all. The format really remides me of one of the best films I've ever seen, Nine Lives. Watch it.

I was happy to see so many great actors in this movie.
Who knew? Collette, Ribisi <3, onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiINWC-GFC9QouQM03BeBQtmVd_plIfgn7Xz2jMbhR9mPmp99PVeXMlRXPqIh4a-7Za1PuQyi6WQFWmrYhZxw637aNDlunWF3NTDaWyYDgpctZ_bK1NBZlFTQlBTHrpqvyislejJivf85gS/s1600-h/thedeadgirl3.jpg">

Sex and The City

"Did I dream it?"

4 Stars

First of all, I don't think I've ever been in a room with so many women!
It was really strange.
And these women (humble as they may have been) dressed up for the movie. On a Sunday afternoon! I even encountered some women in the bathroom after the show who were complaining about their feet hurting from wearing their heels that day.

The movie was great. After reading other reviews it seems as though you love it or hate it. Personally I wasn't looking for some brilliant piece of cinema. The show was fluff and I expected the movie to be fluff too.
And majority of it was, but I was impressed with how deep (I felt anyway) Carrie's pain went.
We've seen Carrie low before, but this was LOOoooow. For me that's when it turned into a movie. This went passed girly TV drama. I was feelin' it.
I was also feelin' the opening credits. I love the overture of sorts of each characters story line with footage from past episodes. A great way to put the viewer back in the rhythm of the show.

Surprisingly it wasn't SJP who shined throughout the movie. It was Kristin Davis!
She balanced the difficult tightrope of drama and comedy flawlessly!
In one scene (you'll know it when you see it) she shocks the viewer with her bravery and anger, and exits in such a way that makes you chuckle. I wouldn't doubt if she gets nominated for an Oscar.
Okay, maybe a Golden Globe. Okay, SAG Award at least, but she should totally be recognized!

Cattrall was good at being Samantha, always has always will. But I'm glad the script knows that her shtick is getting old.
Miranda's story was very touching, and at times, yes, brought me to tears.
Also Jeniffer Hudson, who has been slammed in reviews, did very well. She had such a small roll, but it was a great shot in the arm to this cast we know and love so well.
Hey, someone had to keep it real.

Sex and The City did what it knows best. I showed the unexplainable, and rich fulfillment that friendship among women can give. These relationships are a unique, and remarkable experience, and I was warmed to see it reflected in this movie.

In Bruges

"They're filming midgets!"

4 Stars

It's pronounced "brooj", which is a small town in Belgium where two hit men are sent to hideout after a job in London. I guess you would put this under the dark comedy category. I've never been too keen on that term, I don't know why because, well... it fits!

I love the little odd couple thing these two guys got going on. One guy totally loves the town, the other totally hates it. "If I'd grown up on a farm and was retarded, Bruges might impress me, but I didn't, so it doesn't."

The fun really stops for Ray (Colin Farrell) when he accidentally shoots and kills a young boy.
"The little boy..." Unable to cope with his actions he contemplates suicide, while both Ray and his partner Ken (Brendan Gleeson who I totally want to get hugged by) rethink the ethics of their line of work.

There's not too much that can be said about this movie.
It was good, entertaining, and funny, and I would totally recommend it to anyone that asked.
Of course there's more hi-jinks, some drugs and boozin, a pretty lady, and one of the funniest midget scene out there. But in the end, it's a tad forgettable, still a good time none the less.

I have since realised how many people I know that have actually been to Bruges.
Go figure.

Juno

"Oh you think your hot shit 'cause you get to sit over there and play pictionary, well guess what? My five year old daughter can do that and let me tell you, she's not the brightest bulb in the tanning bed. So until you have your own kid, why don't you just go back to nightschool in Manteno and get a real job."

4 Stars

Though the hype on this movie has really died down, I saw it when it was really at a frenzy. During the opening credits, I could feel my eyes rolling a bit, cause it all ready felt like I'd seen this before. But I let it go, took a deep breath, and decided to simply watch the movie. This is a skill I'm trying my best to master.

This movie is the definition of charm. A dry and witty teenage girl, Juno, gets pregnant by her equally cute boyfriend played by Micheal Cena (Superbad). She chooses to give the baby up for adoption, but wants to make sure it will have the best parents she can find.

Ellen Page who plays Juno, has the best delivery which is really what makes the writting shine.
Speaking of writting, the screenplay was written by a first time screenwriter Diablo Cody who began writing Juno on her down time from stripping. (I know, right?!)
Micheal Cena is as cute as ever, but I am concerned that he may be pidgeonholed into the akward teen role much like John Heder of Nepolean Dynamite fame. He should stay away from comedy for a while and wiggle his way into a good drama. Oh oh, and no thrillers either!

Yeah this movie is cute and funny, but it really gave me some thoughts on teen pregnancy. Teens just aren't meant to have babies. As Juno put it she's "dealing with situations beyond [her] copasoty".
Juno really felt she was doing the right thing, and she was. It was just heartbreaking to watch her find out that her chosen parents weren't as perfect as she thought. I remeber being young an thinking, why don't people just do one thing, or stop doing another. It should just be that simple. Since I've gotten a little older I've found that the most simple issue can become really complicated. A lesson that teens who are faced with parental responsiblilty are forced to learn very fast.

When I left the theater I wanted Juno (the movie) to be a little tshatshke that I would put on a shelf. I would look at it and feel a little gooffy for liking it, but it would make me smile. Maybe I would make it in the form of a cheeseburger. Cause there's nothing like calling your best friend on your cheeseburger phone to tell her your pregnant, and need an abortion.
See? Charming.

Pirates of the Caribbean : At Worlds End

"You give an agreeable macabre to any delirium."

4 Stars

First of all, are you sure this movie is for kids? Geeze, the first thing you watch is a massive hanging of people, including a kid!
I tend to have a hard time watching Johnny Depp doing his shtick in each of these movies. If I don't just relax and just watch it, I feel embarrassed for him at times. Is that just me? I guess he's the only kid friendly element. Well, there is that funny monkey though...

One thing is for sure. If it's a Disney movie, it's going to be quality.
They know how to put on a show. I see the Disney logo, and I know I'm in good hands. The special effects are flawless. I really liked the score too! It kept the pulse of an epic adventure and blended Asian influence smoothly. The costumes are beautiful!
Details, details, details. The one in particular I just loved was Keira's Asian inspired captain's costume.
I'm telling you, man... Disney.

This cast is great! I love Jeffery Rush in this role. That man can deliver a line, and has perfect comedic timing. I have a love/hate thing with Orlando Bloom. I liked him in this one, probably because I'm a sucker for proposals, and this had to be by far, the best proposal/wedding scene ever!
Keira Knightley. The whole time I can't stop thinking that she is so Mr. Depp's type of girl, and I'm positive he flirts with her constantly on set. He is a Gemini after all.
I'm always looking for it on screen.
And I was really excited to see Chow Yun-Fat, another fine actor. I would love to see more Asian actors of his caliber. Or just more Asian actors for that matter.

It took me a while to get the plot down. I just figured it would all explain it's self through the course of the film, which it did. It was good fun, just like the last two.
A quality, quality series. The ships, the lore, the bad teeth (love the teeth), and the action make for yet another Disney classic.

The Proposition

"'Is that what we are? Misanthropes.'
'Lord no. We're a family.'"

4 Stars

First things first. I was already a player for this movie. Ausi western, okay. But then in the beginning credits I see that the music is by Nick Cave, of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds. Awesome. Then I see that the screenplay is by Nick as well! Extra awesome!
Who knew?
After watching the behind the scenes feature, turns out the director, John Hillcoat, is a close friend of Nick. After a camping trip in the Australian dessert (I know right?) John knew he had to make a movie, any movie using this beautiful land.
He first asked Cave to score the music, then asked him to write a screenplay. He says he's always loved Cave's storytelling in his music and knew he could do it for film, and wow, he was right.

Set in the late nineteenth century on rural Australian land, two brothers are captured and questioned on the whereabouts of their eldest brother, Arthur Burns. After a brutal attack of the Hopkins farm, and rape of the pregnant Mrs. Hopkins by Arthur and his gang, the town needs justice. If they can't have Arthur they will have his younger brother Mark instead. The proposition being, middle brother Charlie must find his brother Arthur in nine days, or his younger brother will hang in his place.

Throughout the film I just felt Charlies weight of having to choose one brother's life over the other. What a terrible problem to solve. What he did was right, blood or not.

I really liked the pace of this movie. It had a good rhythm like a metronome. Cave said he'd hoped the film "would generate periods of intense violence followed by periods of intense sadness and loneliness." Perfectly put.

Also a great cast. Guy Pearce, Emily Watson, John Hurt who is one of the greatest character actors around. And Danny Houston son of John and half brother to Anjelica.
I've seen him in so many roles and I really like him, he's a great actor.

This movie has gore and grit, and one of my favorite elements to a good period piece,
bad teeth!!
When I'm watching a real gritty movie and I see the actors with these bright flossed and polished teeth, it pulls me right out of the film.
Thanks for the detail.

The Darjeeling Limited

"I love how mean you are."

4.5 Stars

I love love Wes Anderson! This is definitely a film I need to see again, and is quickly becoming very special to me. I rarely get to go to the movies with either of my brothers, and I was able to see this one with my eldest. I think the last movie we went to was End of Days! We need to improve that M & G.

Three brothers take what is originally thought to be a "spiritual journey" through India. Set up by Francis (Owen Wilson), brother of Peter (Adrien Brody), and Jack (Jason Schwartzman) in attempt to become brothers again.

The more I think about this film I find different meanings, and am struck with different feelings. The most recent being the observation that this movie deals a great deal about grieving. Not only the poignant funeral scene of a young boy, but the loss of their own father that all of them loved dearly in their own way.
A scene in particular keeps coming to mind, of the brothers on the way to their father's funeral. Peter becomes very persistent that he needs to pick up his father's Porsche from the repair shop right now.
I totally understood the need to hold on to anything that a deceased loved one has left behind. And in a way, by picking up the car so soon, he may feel as if his father is still alive to see it delivered. You act strange, and irrational when grieving.
But the part that really got me... The sons all had to be at the funeral right now. Peter was not going to be swayed that this matter could wait, and with a quick glance to one another, each brother was in agreement and they did it together. Although it became a very comical scene, it was really sad and painful.
Just a great example of the talent Wes Anderson has to articulate the bitter and sweet of life.
I love that scene.

Also, I've noticed that most Wes Anderson movies deal greatly with family estrangement. In this case the brothers with one another, and their mother.
Relationships are complicated. Families are complicated. And some relationships, family or otherwise, just won't change. And that's okay. I respect Wes for showcasing such a scenario.

This movie also comes in two parts. The first is a short film titled Hotel Chevalier which acts as the prologue to the feature. For a couple days after seeing the movie, I could not stop thinking of this 13 minute short.
Natalie Portman and Jason Schwartzman share some very awkward and strangely intimate time together in a hotel room in Paris. Nothing too exciting or important to report, but there's just something so delicate about the whole thing. Everything placed in that room has such thought and purpose behind it. As does the actions and words of each actor.
I am simply in love with those 13 minutes.

Maybe I should schedule an Indian train ride of my own with my brothers this year.
We're not estranged in the like, but it may bring us to watch some more movies together some how.
Do trains have theater cars?

Ratatouille

"It sounds like 'rat' and 'patootie'.
'Rat-patootie',
which doesn't sound delicious."

4 Stars

A perfect movie for any foodie, or at least anyone in my family.
This picture does a great job of articulating the difficult language of flavor and passion for food. Great food is much more than a simple "Mmmmm" sound.
It affects your whole being.

Remy is a rat who has a keen sense of smell, and an overpowering desire to cook. When he accidentally gets lost from his family, he discovers that he has been living in Paris the whole time, land of some of the best food in the world.
As fate would have it, Remy is unable to leave a helpless kitchen hand, Linguini, and oddly Remy teaches him how to cook. Together they run the most successful restaurant in Paris. When faced with the most important night of their careers, each must prove themselves, and test the boundaries of friendship and family.

This has got to be one of my favorite food films. The other being Big Night.
(Foodies. Watch that movie.)
Now there is one scene in particular that we (family) agree, got us a little misty. It's about 10 seconds long, but it said it all.

(If you care, this is a spoiler, so be warned.)

The feared food critic takes a bite of Remy's peasant dish, Ratatouille.
The moment it touches his lips, he is pulled back in time to childhood, and we see his mom serve him a plate of this simple dish. I've seen it happen.

Having dinner with my mother, we ordered a dessert to share. A simple sundae with extra chocolate sauce on the side. (You can never have enough, right?) As we took our first bites, her eyes widened, and she gasped "This is my mother's hot fudge!". Her eyes may have misted, and it seemed as though she was getting touched, possibly hugged by my late grandmother.
We are all floored how perfectly Ratatouille expressed that.

That is how powerful food can be.

Transformers

"Criminals are HOT."

4 Stars

Okay, truth time. I didn't really watch the show.
I would always catch the last 10 minutes or so because Jem was on next. But I did play with the toys though.
It was cool to have my boyfriend next to me to tell me who each guy was, and what the whole war was about.
I like to see boys get all excited about this stuff.

The planet Cybertron's inhabitants engage in a secret war for control of the Earth's natural resources, which they desperately need for fuel. Able to disguise as cars, airplanes, boats, and more the transformers prove a tough enemy.

I was relieved that I missed this movie in IMAX, the graphics were so impressive it would have given me a heat attack to see it so huge. This had to be by far the best CGI that I have seen so far. Director Michael Bay (Pearl Harbor) has a talent for action. Some shots are so calculated, and precise that my mouth was agape, giving way to a handful of "Oh shit" moments.

Shia LaBeouf plays shock so well. I knew when I saw that kid on Even Stevens that
A: he was going to be super cute, and B: he's talented. Then when he won the Emmy in 2003, I was validated.
And where the hell did Megan Fox come from?! Do they really make chick that good looking? John Voight, John Robinson, John Turturro, and my man Bernie Mac all co-star as well and do great jobs.

There were some things that I just had to look passed. Some of the jokes were retarded and easy, but it's a summer movie though, right? When the robots are "hiding" at Sam's house, I just couldn't believe that no one heard these huge machines outside, or the damages they are causing to their home.
But then again, it's a movie about robots from another planet that can talk, fight, and know hip-hop so who cares about technicalities, right?

Thin

"I want to be thin.
If it takes dying to get there,
so be it."

4 Stars

A truly heartbreaking documentary that follows the lives of four women at the Renfew Rehab Center for treatment of eating disorders.

As I first got into this film I was looking for the painfully thin, horrific bodies. Ready to gasp and point out their jutting bones, and sunken cheeks. But instead, a scarier realisation of how close to death these women actually are, when they have to have their vital signs checked each morning. One woman has her finger tips squeezed to test her tissue and blood flow, and a pulse is searched out as well. These are the things you do when you're not sure someone's alive.
Surprisingly there weren't very many really, really skinny looking people like the twins they show on Access Hollywood when there are no other gossip stories. But the numbers on the scales were 84-91 pounds for each one.

One side I really didn't care for was the staff! They seemed to condescend to their patients, and at times, to me, seemed very insincere. Which I don't feel was any doing by the editing or director. They are just doing their job. Another patient, another problem, another mass of body to weigh and deal with. My opinion.

When the topic of eating disorders come up, I am instantly intrigued. How do they?
What was that first time like? What makes them keep doing it?
Are there any new tricks I haven't heard of yet?
Hey, I'm just asking.
I'm glad this film didn't deal with all of that. It just told their current story of their recovery as it stood right then. It also showed how living in an environment of women, can be hell. We know we can be mean, but put us in an extreme situation of pain and change, and we can get ugly to each other. I just happens.

A powerful scene in particular for me was that of Brittany and one of her therapists. She was asked to draw a realistic outline of her body. The therapist points out that it sort of looks like a stocky man. She then has Brittany stand in the drawing as she traces her true figure over Brittany's outline. It is far smaller in comparison, and Brittany proceeds to write on this canvas all her "problem" areas. With each label you could see how dire this situation is. For her and many other women, and men, this is a life or death issue. Give me thin, or give me death. It's that black and white for them.

After this I am so happy to be in the healthy grey area.

Blow : Summer Pick

"El... el weed."

4 Stars
Summer movie pick

It's summer time and that means good times. This movie has some of the best 70's and 80's good times montages put on film. And I'm all about the good times montage.
Cocaine, disco, cash, and Cuban music. Yessss.
During this time of year I also breakout the soundtrack and cruse. There are some awesome tracks on it, and you should do yourself a favor and buy it.

Blow is the true story of "Boston George" Jung, played by Johnny Depp. Moving to California from Boston in his late teens he quickly became one of the most success full drug lords of the 70's and 80's.
Yet George's true addiction is the high he gets from being the best at what he does. When he truly feels that he can give it up, it's too late, and looses everything.
Jung is currently in prison and is scheduled for release in 2014.

Penelope Cruz co-stars as his Colombian wife Marta. It was after watching this movie that I really recognized her a talented actress. Since then, I've been slowly working through all of her work.
A true talent.

Also my favorite character is played by Paul Reubens, as gay hair dresser Derick, and George's "business partner" for many years.
He has some great lines, and at the time the film was released it was great to see him really act! He's great.
Love, love, love him. "Barbie!"

The many other names include Ray Liotta, Rachel Griggiths, Franka Potente, and Bobcat Goldthwait.
Directed by Ted Demme who ironically died less than a year after making the movie while playing basketball, and cocaine was found in his system. He was 39 years old.
He was really passionate about this movie, and telling Jung's story. This DVD includes the infinifilm feature that lets you click on an icon during the movie, and watch behind the scenes clips of that particular scene. It even includes interviews of the real George Jung, and his real experience of that scene.

This movie is so cool! When it's super sunny and hot, I put this flick on and watch George prance on the California beached in the 60's, and feel the heat of a big money Colombian wedding in the 70's.

That's hot.

Transamerica

"'-Beauty is relative.'
-Not my relatives.'"

4 Stars

I didn't want to see this movie for a while. Honestly I was afraid of how the transgendered would be portrayed. I don't feel it's a joke, and when I first saw the previews, it looked like a comedy. After some time, and listening to the great reviews it got from my trusted movie buddies, I said yes.

Transamerica is not only a portrait of a transgendered man but, a great road picture as well.
Bree (Falicity Huffman) is a week away from her final gender reassignment surgery, which for her is the final missing element in her life to make her feel whole. She receives a strange phone call from a Toby, apparently her son, who must be the product of a somewhat clumsy sexual encounter years ago when she was a man. He's in jail in New York, and hoped his father would bail him out. Bree tries her best to sweep the issued under the rug, but her therapist won't sign her surgery approval until she faces her past.
She bails out her son for one dollar, under the guise that she's from the church. Hoping to drop him off where he was raised, they hit the road.

I guess a story like this is predictable enough. They bond, the kid finds out, they have car trouble, tears, rage, laughs, the gamut. Doesn't mean it's not entertaining or moving.
She now has a son, who has no one, and believes his father is a rich playboy in LA.
What a huge change for someone whose never had to care about anyone but themselves. When you have a child, the child comes first, and that lesson was a fast and hard fact for Bree to grasp.

Now there was a little Victor/Victoria thing going on in the movie. Huffman, a genuine woman, plays a man, who is living as a woman. I thought it would be hard to look passed that, but she did such a great job! A very deserved Oscar nomination for her.
The subtleties of Bree's insecurities where great. She is constantly primping, tugging at her top, making sure that she is presentable. Even more, to be acceptable as a woman.
Her voice was great, and so what the greasy make up. It has always fascinated me why men or women who've had plastic surgery have oily, shiny faces!
Get some blot sheets girl!

Transamerica really reminded me of another great road flick, Around the Bend.
Though not the same situation, it did deal with father and son issues. In both films the sons have one idea what their father is, and they don't want to hear different.
From personal experience there is something magical about a road trip, that opens a person up. Maybe we feel this way on the road because it feels like we're never going back.

Children of Men

"Very odd, what happens in a world without children's voices."

4 Stars

That quote has left a stain on my memory.
I can't stop thinking about that statement. These sounds that we may find annoying or intrusive are given new meaning after this film.

2027. The human race has been plagued with a mysterious affliction that has caused all women to be infertile.
We are introduced to this new world by the tragic news that the youngest living human has been killed at the age of 18. Making it even more painfully clear that the human race is quickly dying with him.

The ongoing phenomenon has resulted in rioting, terrorism, and protests. The world is so hopeless, the popular pharmaceutical is Quietus. A peaceful at home suicide kit.
There is also a large problem with immigrants in the picture, which I didn't feel was fully explained. But after watching the special features I understand. The special features by the way are real downers. Failing Eco-system, end of the world. Bad times. The short of the problem, people are illegally migrating to better ecological countries. Too many immigrants mean less resources available. So they've got to go.

Our hero, Theo (Clive Owen) was once an activist with his ex-wife Julian (Julianne Moore). After the loss of their son he lost all the fight he had. Julian "reconnects" with Theo (We're not talking a chat over coffee.) asking for his help to transport a young immigrant Kee (Claire-Hope Ashitey) out of the country to The Human Project. Not really knowing why, Theo agrees and is quickly overwhelmed with the consequences.
He soon learns the truth of Kee's significance. She is pregnant.

This movie has had my mind racing. No more children.
I have never wanted to have children. Still don't. But this movie has me asking, if the world depended on it, would I try? I've had 2 dreams so far, that I am trying to get pregnant by strange means and keep failing.

A scene in an abandoned elementary school had me thinking, "I guess so.". No need for them anymore. Along with playgrounds, toys, or pediatricians. Kee is so young she has never seen a pregnant woman before, and has no idea how long she'll be pregnant for. I would think most prenatal care has been forgotten or at the least very hard to find.
Very thought provoking.

I had read a profile of Claire-Hope Ashitey in NYLON a year or two ago. I was so intrigued by the plot of the film she was working on, I wrote it on my movie list. Imagine my surprise during the preview to see Clive Owen starring. I thought I was in, but now I was all in. Hands down one of the best looking men I have ever seen.
And his voice? Like butter.
Michael Caine is fantastic as Theo's elder pot growing hippie friend. I was really close to choosing the quote "Pull my finger. Quick!" for this review.

The special effects are few but quality. The details of the environment put the viewer in the future.
Forget flying cars, I agree the future is going to be all about advertising.
Last about the effects, two words. The Birth.

Not only thought provoking, but exciting! A great action movie as well. My boyfriend pointed out that most action shots were one long take.
Very impressive.

Great movie. The missing star is for the cinematography. I really didn't care for
"the look" of the film.
That's just me.

Whitney was right. The children are our future.

Of Mice and Men

"I'll break that god damned cat's neck!"

4 Stars

What are the odds? I just said in my Places in the Heart review that I wanted to revisit Of Mice and Men, and it was added to my On Demand this weekend! Cool.
I remember seeing this film with my mom in the theater. My mom was a big John Malkovich fan, still is too, and was really excited to see this when it came out.

Most folks know the story but just in case you missed class that day here's quick summary.
The classic John Steinbeck tale of two friends - George (Gary Senise) and Lennie (Malkovich) - who wonder the country during the Depression. Lennie is mentally retarded and doesn't know his own strength causing frequent problems for his companion George.

Gary Senise not only stars but directs. Sherilyn Fenn (who will always be Audrey Horne from Twin Peaks to me) is in this as well. And for the record, she is quite simply one of the most stunning women I have ever seen. Gorgeous! Also Casey Siemaszko stars. He has been in so many movies Biloxi Blues (one of my favorites), Back to the Future, and Stand By Me just to name a few. Not too well known, but he always stands out to me for some reason. Great face on that kid.

Recalling the movie, I was always more sympathetic for Lennie. Killing animals by mistake, and not quite understanding his strength, but the facts of life as well. I'm pretty sure because I was a kid watching or reading the story I was able to identify with a guy who was as mentally developed as I was.
But this time around being a little older, I really felt for George being Lennie's caretaker. Much how I've seen my mom take care of her parents, it can be at times a physical and emotional burden. But as so many people do, they put that aside to care for someone they love.
George was sick of not being able to work on his own, to go out on the town with out making sure Lennie stays out of trouble while he's gone. He has given up a part of himself.

Honestly I had forgotten the ending. My mouth was genuinely agape!
He had to do it.

Here's to tending the rabbits.


Plot summary courtesy of iMDb.com

Reno 911! : Miami

"Sheriff's Department!!"
4 Stars

Anyone who has watched this show has a favorite. Raineesha has always been my girl. The spit curls, the booty, and her trademark "Haa!" just kill me. But whom ever your favorite is you will no doubt get the best of them in Reno 911! Miami and even fall in love with some others too.

Not that this movie needs much of a plot, but they did their best and it's just loose enough to keep it funny.
The Reno Sheriff's Department have been invited to a police convention in Miami.
Due to terrorists poisoning the convention center, all the officers inside are quarantined. A registration snafu prevents the Reno Sheriff's Department from entering the convention center making them the only officers available to patrol all of Miami.
See, just enough plot.

This has got to be one of the best comedic troupes assembled since The Kids in the Hall. Though some of you might remember this cast from the short lived 90s sketch show The State. I've always been so happy to see Thomas Lennon (Dangle) get work in either commercials, or small movies. As well as Kerri Kenney (Weigel) who has had bit parts, and I remember seeing her band Cakelike at the Warfield in the 90s too.
Micheal Ian Black, Ken Marino, Joe Lo Truglio, Micheal Showalter, and the director of
Reno 911! Miami Ben Garant (Junior) have all come from The State.
Puddin' any one? Awwwww yeeeeaah.

To tell you the truth I'm still not done with the disc. The movie was way too short in my opinion, so I'm going through each and every special feature the disc has to offer. The outtakes and deleted scenes are so funny. I love these guys.
And yes, although Raineesha is my homegirl, I now have a fat crush on Dangle. Awwww yeeeaah.

Shogun Assassin

"Today I will begin walking
the road to hell."

4 Stars

I'm a loyal fan of Quentin Tarantino. I've seen his films many times over with and without commentary. With special features now available on DVDs, I get to know Quentin and his work in depth.
To learn more about his filming style I watch films that are a great influence to him. For example the movie Blowout by Brian De Palma influenced him a great deal making De Palma his favorite director.
Revisit Scarface and you will see what I mean. I hope.

My purpose for watching this film comes from my heavy summer viewings of Kill Bill Vol. II (Vol. I is best at the end of winter.). In it, as The Bride puts her daughter to bed, they cuddle and watch Shogun Assassin. From watching KBII so many times, I had the beginning dialogue of Shogun already memorized!

Going into this one I really didn't think I would last 15 minutes. I'm not a huge Kung-Fu movie fan, and know little about the genera. I tend to get bored with them, but this one was cool! Released in 1980 this movie hold up as an honest classic.

This story is but one of the many Lonewolf and Cub revenge series. A great warrior (Lonewolf) looses his wife by the blades of the Shogun's ninjas. This warrior is the only man the Shogun fears, and will stop at nothing to see him, and his infant son dead.
But you can't stop The Wolf!

The kid is adorable, the music is rad, and the whole film is framed and shot like a comic book! Okay, graphic novel. My favorite shots are of the Shogun. Yellowish nasty hair, against blue blue sky, and lit with what looks like a flood light. Awesome.
The fight scenes aren't elaborate, but again comic book fights aren't either. It's more about the facial anguish, and carnage. Ears, noses, and limbs are lopped off and bright red blood ridiculously sprays out of people, but it works!

When watching these particular chosen movies, I am looking for their impact on Quentin's work. I'm pretty sure he used this film as a template of sorts for Sin City.
Don't get me wrong, I don't love everything Tarantino related. I saw Blowout, and it blew. After seeing this one, I would love to tell QT,
I get it.

Glory

"If I should fall, remember what you see here."

4 Stars

Are you thinking what I'm thinking? "Didn't she just say in her last review that she doesn't like war movies?" Well I don't...but I liked this one! I am particular when it comes to war movies. Pretty much anything WWI or II to present, I'm out. But from the Civil War back, I'm cool. I really like these period pieces, and that how I choose to see it.

Based on the letters of Colonel Robert G. Shaw (Mathew Broderick). Shaw was an officer in the Federal Army during the American Civil War who volunteered to lead the first black soldiers. Shaw was forced to deal with the prejudices of both the enemy (who had orders to kill commanding officers of blacks), and of his own fellow officers.

Also starring Denzel Washington, and Morgan Freeman which proved to me without a doubt that these two are classic American icons of acting. Flawless.

When I first sat down to watch it I was worried it wouldn't hold up. I thought that Matthew Broderick looked too young and fresh to be in a Civil War movie. But then I read the prologue and learned that Colonel Shaw was only 23. That helped.
The scene that really got me into it, was the morning after Colonel Shaw informs his troops of their fate if they are caught training as US Army men. He wakes to survey how many men have left to discover not one has left the camp. Chills.

I liked the range of characters as well. The troop wasn't solely former slaves, but men of all kinds. Free, slave, or educated. Thank you. That was very refreshing to see in a Civil War era film.

Glory was filled with touching, and inspiring moments, and yes it really has held up. I was however disappointed in the special features on the DVD though. Win some, loose some. Right, 54?


Plot summary courtesy of IMDb.com.

The Bridges of Madison County

"This kind of certainty comes but once in a lifetime."

4 Stars

I never got around to seeing this movie. It was always billed as the quintessential "chick flick". And well, it was. But "chick flick" makes this movie sound cheap, and cheesy. This was well written, flawlessly acted, and painful all at once.

Housewife Francesca Johnson (Meryl Streep) gets four days to herself while her family is off at a state fair, and meets a passing stranger (Clint Eastwood) who is photographing the covered bridges of Iowa for National Geographic. As romance ensues this becomes four days that she will find herself obsessed with till the day she dies.

I love that this movie is told through Francesca after her death, and is slowly unfolded in journals for her grown children to discover. Yes, it is a love story, but it's also about the moment of discovery, I feel we all have at one point, that a mother is a woman. Just an individual woman, who had wants, disappointments, and the most hardest to grasp, sex! The son and daughter reading these accounts by their mother was great to watch. They got angry, they felt lied to, and then they accepted her. Forgave her. In her death, and through her story she was able to teach them her last life lesson. To love with everything you have.

I have a movie project which I touched on in my intro, that I am slowly working to see all Meryl Streep's films. She is just ...you know, I don't even have a word for how talented she is. There were a few scenes in this film, where through just her eyes you can hear everything she is thinking. How does she do that?!
Watching her hand on the car door, you just want to scream "Go! Go!". Even her hand is great at acting!

This movie felt the same to me as The Notebook. I was all ready for that to be violin strings, and the teary "I don't want to leave you." scene, but that movie wasn't like that either. Thanks mostly to Rachel McAdams who is a phenomenal young actress. Which brings me to my final thought, that these great performances make the difference between a "chick flick" and a really great movie.

300

"Only Spartan women give
birth to real men."

4 Stars

Pure majesty. Everything in this movie is on a grand scale. Let me give you the definition of the word majesty (it is everything this movie is).

Maj.es.ty
1. regal, lofty, or stately dignity; imposing character; grandeur
2. supreme greatness or authority; sovereignty
3. a royal personage; or royal personages collectively
4. Christ in Majesty, a representation of Christ as ruler of the universe

Zack Snyder directs this faithful adaptation of Frank Miller's (Sin City) graphic novel about the storied Battle of Thermopylae, a conflict that pitted the ancient Greeks against the Persians in 480 B.C.

If you've seen the previews, you have noticed it's very stylized. I never thought someone could make so much gore and horror look so beautiful! The chiseled bodies next to floating crimson fabrics as they dance a ballet of battle. You could pause any part of this movie and frame it, much like Marie Antoinette (Read my review under the month of February). Saturated in a copper and bronzed palette the art direction is strong. I got the feeling early on that the director is a sketch artist. The human body was a key element to this movie. One shot in particular showed this to me. A rear shot of Leonidas' wife (Queen Gorgo) looking into a water well. Check it out, it looks just like a still life sketch.
More details were in the jewelry, and I couldn't get over the whites of the eyes! They are brought up just a bit, but enough to really make these faces so striking.

I knew going in that it was all Bluescreen but I didn't care. Stunning, stunning, stunning. I was able to watch this by myself and sat in the 4th row from the front. I wanted to be drenched in this movie.

Highlights:
The oracle.
Xerxes. Even though he looks like a bad trani (or even that guy from the Street Fighter game. What was his name?), he's a cool looking character. And how do they make the illusion of someone being a giant?
The wall of bodies.
And of course...THE BODIES. This movie has abs, abs, abs. For real eye candy. The Spartans are descendants of Hercules after all. They must all work out at Club Sparta. You can smell these dudes! It was hot.
The end credits are worth watching too.

Low lights are few. I found one scene really hokie. Queen Gorgo makes a plea to the court, and Theron sarcastically claps afterward. Oh please.
Last, the plot is kinda "eh". I understand it's all about the war scenes which I loved. But if it had more of a plot, it would be the movie of the year.

I think that Leonidas has replaced William Wallace for this decade. Lets face it, Mel Gibson is older now and not hot, but the same hunter like quality that he conveyed in Braveheart is much like 300. A strong leader, that has followers that consider themselves lucky to die at his side. We may not know what he is fighting for but he believes in it with every fiber of his being. And in those costumes you can see every fiber too!

Plot summary courtesy of Netflix