Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Dark Shadows (2012)


I'm not going to lie, I was really hoping to enjoy this.  I haven't enjoyed a Tim Burton film since, oh I don't know, "Corpse Bride."  Prior to that, "Mars Attacks."  Even though Burton has basically become a parody of himself, there was a part of me that was rooting for him in this one.  In the end, the real problem with "Dark Shadows" is that there are just way too many ingredients in the pie and not enough room in the pan.  To be honest, it's just one big mess.

Bernie (2012)


Always been a Linklater fan although he's had a few misses over the years.  He's an interesting filmmaker.  Jack Black & Shirley MacLaine are both very good in this.  A lot of the times whenever a comedic actor takes on a dramatic role there's usually a lot buzz calling for Oscar noms and such, but I doubt that will happen with Black's performance, but it is quite good.

The use of the real residents of Carthage, TX in the movie provides an inspired mix of documentary and narrative.  On a side note, Matthew McConaughey is not very good in this, but he did remind me of my former boss, complete with the same hair, huge glasses, jacket, tie, and even the gut.

Cabin In The Woods (2012)


I'm sure you've been there before; you're thoroughly enjoying a clever movie and then the credits roll, the lights come up, and the people behind you open their big dumb mouths.  "I would of rather watched 'Spongebob," the person behind me said to his friends as "The Cabin In The Woods" ended.  Now I have nothing against our yellow spongy friend, nor do I really have anything against others opinions about art, I mean it's all subjective.  That being said though, it is daunting sometimes when someone has such an opposing viewpoint to yours when you both just experienced the exact same thing.

I don't watch a lot of modern Horror films, so to be fair I'm not exactly in-tune with what the modern Horror fan likes.  My big criticism of modern Horror is that it tends to lack any sense of fun or originality, two things "The Cabin in the Woods" has no shortage of.  Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard's satire of Horror tropes is both fun and original, but unfortunately for some, it's not very scary.  Once again, I suspect that expectations will play a big part in how much you enjoy "Cabin in the Woods."   

Monday, May 28, 2012

Straight To Hell (1987)


So much fun!   Great cast including Joe Strummer, Sy Richardson, Courtney Love (original face), Dennis Hopper, Grace Jones, Jim Jarmusch, Shane MacGowan, & Elvis Costello.  Free-wheeling and cool-as-fuck.

Defendor (2009)


I liked this better than "Super." 

Friday, May 25, 2012

A Blade In The Dark (1983)


I liked this a lot, it reminded me of the kind of Horror friends would make, shot on location in a single house.  The plot concerns a musician hired to score the soundtrack for Horror movie, working in a secluded house.  He meets strange people, some of which disappear and he fears have been murdered. 

The visuals and music are top notch Giallo stuff, the women are all very attractive, and the horrible English dubbing at times results in hilarious dialogue.  Fun stuff.

The Mexican (2001)


Re-watch.  Okay, real talk:  I love this movie.  I always have and I've never understood the negative reputation it has.  The most common complaint about this movie is that it has two huge stars in it but chooses to separate them for the whole duration of the film.  While that's true, I don't think that it's to it's detriment.  If you've ever seen the movie, you would know that the most obnoxious relationship in the movie is that of Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt in the first 10 minutes.  The truth is, if the whole movie was built around their relationship I probably wouldn't love it. 

The only other criticism I can understand about the movie is that Brad Pitt's performance is a little douchey, which it is, but he's supposed to be a really dumb American, so I don't think that it's that bad.  Either way, this movie, despite how the poster looks, is a fun little crime film, filled with clever twists and turns.     

Saved! (2004)


Re-watch.  Holds up. 

Thursday, May 24, 2012

American Grindhouse (2010)


This was pretty good, though by the numbers.

The Avengers (2012)


This was basically what I expected.  Every Marvel movie since "Iron Man" has been fun, smart, and competently made.  The one thing that they really haven't got a lot of credit for is how funny they are.  Even the worst of them, "Iron Man 2," was really funny (intentionally or not). 

Anyway, this was a lot of fun.  I'm not going to lie though, after a decade of superhero films, I'm pretty burnt out.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired (2009)


This was very sympathetic to Polanski.  It does a good job of illustrating how royally fucked the court case was, but in the process it really whitewashes the whole rape thing. 

Candyman (1992)


Somehow, I never saw "Candyman."  I really really liked it a lot.  Maybe it's the Phillip Glass score that makes this film seem so much smarter than the average Slasher film, or at least classier. 

Greenberg (2010)


Meh...

Saturday, May 12, 2012

The Brothers Solomon (2007)


This movie still makes me chuckle.  Plus, the ending sequence where they're trying to get the word out is very funny and super sweet. 

Zandalee (1991)

Continuing my exploration of all thing Nic Cage, I finally got around to watching "Zandalee" last night, a film that I once racked up $35 late fee for despite never actually watching it. One third 90's Independent, one third 90's Skin-a-max, and a third New Orleans Southern Gothic, "Zandalee" is definitely a guilty pleasure (emphasis on pleasure). The cast is filled with familiar faces, Judge Reinhold, Marissa Tomei, and Steve Buscemi among others. Buscemi plays a sleazy wise-cracking garbage man/thief. Joe Pantoliano is in drag for most of the movie. Judge Reinhold and Nic Cage both wear ridiculous facial hair and hair styles in the movie. The dialogue is actually pretty good and Cage delivers lines like "“I wanna shake you naked and eat you alive" better than anyone else. And of course, Cage plays most of the movie way over the top.
Photobucket

Friday, May 11, 2012

Beyond The Black Rainbow (2012)


This took a fully 30 minutes to really get going, but I thought it was an interesting ride in the end.  The aesthetic is great, both visually and musically.  For some I imagine it will be a case of style over substance, but I wouldn't mind watching it again.


Empire Records (1995)

Not as good as I remembered, but it was an interest trip down memory lane.  The deleted scenes with Rex Manning should have been in the movie.  Also, I didn't realize that the director of this also directed "Times Square."

--Popkoff

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

You know this is a movie I've seen a few times and was never really that impressed with.  That being said, seeing it on 35mm really kind of won me over.  Hard to explain why, but it did.  I enjoyed it a lot more this time around.

Casa De Mi Padre (2012)



This was a lot of fun.  I appreciated that it wasn't necessarily a straight-forward Comedy, there's subtle bits of Drama mixed in.  I have a feeling it will age very well.