Hellboy

When I saw this in the theatre I didn't care for it too much. Not that I disliked it, I just didn't like it much either. Pan's Labyrinth floored me though, so I decided to take a second look and I'm glad I did. Although it seems like there is a bit too much crammed into this film (I think he felt like it was his only shot to make a Hellboy life action movie) the film really shines at times. The motivation for Rasputin (HELLBOY WE NEED YOUR MITTENS!) is kind of cheap but otherwise a very well done film with the occasional spark of brilliance.

A- and I am excited to see the sequal, although I'm waiting for HD. Also, if you liked this film at all you should watche the animated ones (also by DeToro). Good stuff.

Rambo

Well it's better then I thought. It's a man-fantasy of one man takes all, but a well done one. Still not a huge STalone fan but he does a good job in this film even if most of his lines are grunts. At least most of the characters have beliveble motivations.

B+ for taking the pure action movie genre to it's limit in a semi belivable way.

Battlestar Galactica (Remake)

My sister was the first person to tell me about how good this series is, and I can see why she likes it. They manage to crank up the suspense every episode, but it's not done subtley. In fact I feel like I've been beat with a psychic hammer after watching a few episodes. The actors for the most part don't have the chops to pull off some of the scenes that are written for them and there are invariably some really bad spots in each episode. That being said they do a great job showing the interpersonal dynamics of people under immense stress. I really enjoy the father-son interaction between the commander of the shop and his son, the portrail of the chain of command and personal responsibility and the fight that the XO has to live up to the expectations of the CO he obviously idolizes. Certainly good for television, but it's no Heroes season 1

A-

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

This movie was a delight. It's basically a tounge in cheek take on film noir and the pulp detetive films of the past (think Mike Hammer). If you like that kind of thing and are willing to take meta-cinema with a grain of salt this is a great film where the people are real people, just a bit smarter (and braver) then most.

An A

Highlander

A cult classic I loved as a kid (I think I saw it when I was 14 or so), this film has aged reasonably well. Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery both do a decent job but I think that Clancy Brown (the evil Kurgan) is probably my favorite, walking a fine line between camp and horror. This film could use a remake with modern fight scenes and special effects, but it's still a great flick. And a remake might fail, although you could get the brothers W to do it and have a fantastic film.

A-

Pirates of the Caribean:At the World's End

I liked the first movie in this series and didn't care for the second at all. This film lies somewhere in between, taking advantage of the moral abiguities between the main players to decent effect, but a deep film it's not. Lack of focus really hurts this film and the fact that it's a purely fabricated sequal made to cash in on the franchise in Holywood style shows. Still it's not boring so I'd say it's a B-, which I am pleasantly suprised at, mostly due to Depp.

Conan the Barbarian

This was pretty much what you expect...but a well done version of it. If you ever wanted a simple life of rutting like a dog, killing anyone that pissed you off and drinking yourself into a stupor then this will appeal to you. The granddaddy of epic fantasy, don't watch this film if you're looking for good acting or deep characters, but if you want to see bad guys get chopped to pieces and check out Arnie back in the steroid days this is not a bad flick.

B+, just keep in mind the genre.

More movies faster

For some reason I think I should post this, even though I know I'm the only one that reads it. But hey, what the hell. I upgraded my netflix account to 2@time so should have more films then before.

100 Girls

This is a movie I never heard of before, and that's a shame. It's a sometimes pedantic and at times really crude look at the roles of men and women in our world. It's also really funny, as the main character says, he's "tragically glib". I really enjoyed watching this film, something I'd recommend my sons watch once they are old enough to be confused about man's greatest conflict.

An A film.

Sin City

This was a dark movie about bad people doing really bad things to even worse people. Don't look for knights in shining armor, although generally the protagonist has a solid reason for his actions. Generally fast paced, this film is a series of short stories all set in the same city but never really intersect. I really enjoyed it, if you saw 300 and thought it was meh (I figure it's a B- at best) this is much better.

A-, would be higher but I enjoy longer stories, or at least an over arcing story line. I think it would also have been better to split Bruce Willis's story so the time he spent in prison was the break, not the death.  Oh well.Publish Post

Mallrats

This a great movie about only the interesting part of pretty much normal people's lives. Really it's what Kevin Smith does very well; presenting the lives of the folks on the cusp of adulthood but not so sure they want to "grow up".  This was the extended edition, but desipte the director's warning aside from some weird bumps in the film it was worth the extra time. I am sure editing it would have made for a tighter movie, but no one watches Kevin Smith for that style of directing. Ambling around a mall with him seems just fine.

A-

Renaissance

This film is a great example of using animation to do things that would be prohibitive or impossible in a live action film. The artists vary the resolution of the different scenes to emphasize action and the use of color has a very specific meaning. With a deep theme this movie will really make you question something we all take for granted. Lots of action but really it's a drama over all I recommend it if your in the mode for something artsy.

I give it an A-, really solid film overall.

Face/Off

My biggest single problem with this movie is that I had to stare at John Travolta and Nicholas Cage the whole movie. They did a pretty good job but there is some quality that they both have in common that constantly irks me, so my views on this film are probably somewhat irrational. The action schenes where pretty good but didnt even pay lip service to reality. If your going to ignore the laws of physics at least take advantage of it. The other thing that bothered me was it got kind of smaltzy at times. Oh well.

Still a solid action film. Entertaining if you at least like the genre, I'd say a B film. Certainly worth the time if you feel like watching stuff blow up.

Speedracer

So this movie was more of a homage to the original, although it has a signifigant re-write (well, it takes liberties anyways), but it's kind of cool the way they did it. I don't think I've ever watched the original cartoon all the way through, but I'm familiar with the basic premise (complex it is not). The race scenes are genius, the rest smaltz.

I'd say it's a B-, if they could have taken maybe 15% out and erased the geeky dude that never had a full shirt it would have been an A-, sorry W brothers, this is nothing like the original Matrix or even V. Not too bad for a movie you can watch with your kids though.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Despite it's rather slow start (and the fact that the main character is not really that likeable, at least not at first) this is a a powerful film that just builds steam as it progresses. It's certainly not an easy story and if you only like action movies then this is probably not for you. Otherwise this is a fantastic picture. The sparse landscapes, difficult visuals and slow pace give you the tiniest glimpse of what it must be like to communicate through such a cumbersome processes and the longer you watch the more you can sympathize with the main character. I can see why this was such a sensation when it came out. Just be aware that it's very slow paced, especially at the start.

A definate A film.

Goodfellas

This is Scorsese's masterpiece as far as I am concerned. I both enjoyed this movie as entertainment and it made me think. Basically it's the story of a reasonably charismatic guy who has no other redeeming qualities. It's like an advertisement for the mob life, but only would look good to someone who really would enjoy living as a parasite on society, his leech friends and no so intelligent wife. The movie is not one I'd recommend to my mom (according to IMDB they say "fuck" more then once a minute) and it's quite violent, but the true interest in this film is the fact that it's closely based on how things really work. It tells the same story as the (much uglier and not nearly as sympathetic) movie on 50cent's life 'Get Rich or Die Tryin', this film does make you understand how a kid could slip into this life. The acting is superb, the cinematography incredible (be sure to pay attention to the shot where he enters the club with his wife-to-be for the first time) and the story as well known ahead of time as a greek tragedy, except he basically has the best of all possible endings, which is not all that great.

Anyways, an excellent movie. I never though I'd find a film that was as good as the Godfather in this genre but this truely is. I wondered what the hubub around Departed ( a decent film but nothing we've not seen over and over before) was, this is it. If you liked Departed but have not see Goodfellas you need to see it, right now.

A+ 

Superman Doomsday

I guess this was recommended since I liked the Hellboy series. Not as good unfortunately. Pretty much a tiny bit darker version of what you saw most Saturday mornings. Entertaining but not anything special, even though I didn't know the deal with Doomsday until I watched this (well, I knew Superman died and eventually there are like 5 of him). A don't get me wrong, it was not bad, it was just weak. B-

Hellboy: Animated: Blood and Iron

See my previous post, swap the Thunder and Lightning to a vampire in a haunted house...that has a history with the Professor. Good stuff although not quite as cool as the Japanese folklore fights in the previous.

B+

Hellboy: Animated:Sword of Storms

To tell the truth the Hellboy movie left me sort of "meh" but if you think watching a demon summoned by Hitler but raised to do good fighting gods of Thunder and Lightning with an enchanted sword to prevent the destuction of mankind as we know it sounds like it could be good then watch this movie. If that sounds like something that you didn't think was cool on a Saturday morning cartoon then you should probably stick with a Jane Austen movie.

This film was good enough I promtly downloaded another one. Good stuff, very entertaining and better then I expected since I didn't really care for the life action film (the first one, I do plan on seeing the second). A-

Hogfather

So this is a movie about a world in which you don't fuck with Santa Claus. At times tedious or overly melodramatic it probably could be improved with about a half hour taken out. Otherwise it was actually quite good, certainly (to me) better then the book. Prachett has credits for "Muking About" in the film in addition to his credit for being the original author. If you like Harry Potter meets Peirs Anthony's Xanth world this is something for you (or a Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy but as a riff on Fantasy instead of Sci-Fi).

Anyways it's a pretty decent movie, a B+, tighter editing would have made it an A.

The Graduate

This is a film that I've wanted to see for a while, both because I wanted to see why it was such a big deal in itself and because I like the Simon and Garfunkle tunes associated with it. It was a pretty good film with very strong performances by Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft. I guess you'd say it was a romantic comedy with teeth. 

It's set against the backdrop of wealthy LA families and their kids who are "doing the right thing" going to school and meeting their families expectations. Eventually Hoffman goes all stalker and chases down the girl of his dreams (you'd be hit with a restrainging order doing what he did then now days), as well as breaking from the desires of both sets of parents.

It's interesting to me how strongly this film showed the culteral expectations of the late 60's on top of everything else. I also now understand how my grandmother could like all her awful furnature.

Anyways, it was a very good film, I consider it an A

The Rage in Placid Lake

This is an Australian film that I'd never heard of but Neflix wanted me to watch it. Of course I am always blindly obedient to my Internet based overlords so I checked it out. First it's interesting to see a non-Hollywood film that's done in English from the start. It's not a slickly done as a lot of films but I kind of enjoyed the change. Instead of focusing on the soundtrack etc you can watch the characters develop and interact, which is the point of the film.

In short it's about a guy graduating from high school. His parents are not the greatest but certainly instilled in him a sense of Independence. That added to his absolute fearlessness pretty much makes him an outcast. I can relate, although I certainly was a lot more fearful then he at that age. 

Anyhow, eventually he gets scared shitless (with good reason) and has to decide if he's going to force himself to fit in or live a questionable life on the fringes. 

This is a film I want to watch with my boys once they are old enough to "get" it, hopefully they won't think I'm a retarded father similar to the guy in the movie but oh well.

Definitely an A movie.

Princess Mononoke

This is a really great film, one where just about everyone makes the right choice as they see it but they are all in conflict with one another. I think that Mirimax/Disney dropped the ball on this, probably some execs figured that if Pixar could get adults interested in animated movies so could they but this is a bit strong for kids from a violence standpoint (although it does not glorify it like I expected, which I appreciated). Anyways, this was definately a good movie, I am one of the people that pretty much had never heard of it until I looked at IMDB's top films and that's too bad.

An A+

Brokeback Mountain

So everyone knows this film is about some gay cowboys. It's interesting to me that they make a point out of showing how manly one of the guys involved are, and really to me the central idea you get coming out of this movie is that these guys could have had a decent life if they didn't accept the fact that being gay was "wrong". Fellas, if this ever happens to you move the hell out of hicksville and make a home with the person you love, although I understand that's easier said then done. 

As a film the acting was superb, the direction solid and the landscapes a startling contrast to the plain or even ugly homes that people live in. I can see why someone would rather be out in the forests and praries instead of cooped up in their ugly little houses. 

A very good film, I'd consider it an A

Chinatown

Chinatown is currently listed as #52 of the greatest movies of all time on Netflix. That and the fact that it's one of Jack Nicholson's earliest leading roles made me interested in seeing this film. It's set in 1950-ish Los Angeles, which is interesting since the main focus of the movie is one of the same issues that is near and dear to anyone living in LA county now - water. Aside from that and stellar performances from both Nicholas and Dunaway this film is good but not great. The story is pretty much run of the mill and anyone that's watched a lot of movies has already seen the area around LA a zillion times. I guess it does not help that I was born there either, but it's hardly an exotic local. Since I watched this between the incredibly detailed Apocolypse Now and the beautiful landscapes in Brokeback Mountain the salt pans of LA county just don't hold up. Still it's got some great performances, is well paced and very interesting to see how social interaction worked in the 50's (where it was "ok" for a man to his his wife for cheating on her and cops took a business card as a form of ID).

I'd give it a B+

Lethal Weapon 3

See the Lethal Weapon 2 review. Add a chick and a hokey scene in a boat and you've got the idea.

Not a bad movie, just pretty uninventive. Worth watching, but not going to expand your mind.

B-

Apocalypse Now

I can understand why people discuss this film, but I don't understand why people consider it difficult to follow. It seems to me that most of the things delt with are archtypes that are pretty common across literature. I certainly found it more approchable then Heart of Darkness, which it was (loosely) based on. It's not a happy movie by any means but it's not as soul shattering as The Deer Hunter, a movie with a similar motif set at the same time. This movie certainly lived up to it's excellent reputation. The only (very small) gripe I have is that portions of the soundtrack have aged noticably.

A true A+ film

Bad Boys

This is a popcorn flick with a suprisingly deep look at how friendships work. Other then that there are a lot of explosions, some funny moments and a caper with plot holes big enough to drive a Mac truck through. Not a bad movie over all and it's interesting to me that Martin Lawrence seems to out act Will Smith, something I didn't expect. Anyways, worth watching if you are bored and want to see stuff explode but not much past that. If you are looking for a good funny cop film I recommend Hot Fuzz.

C+

All the President's Men

What a beautifully done movie. Not only is this a subject that every American (heck, everyone that is interested in preserving democracy) should be interested in, it's beautifully acted and directed. The only major gripes I have are 1) Redford seems a little stiff and 2) The ending is a touch abrupt. I know this is a blur between documentary and fiction but it seems to me that there could be more closure at the end. 

Anyhow, it's still a great movie. A definite A 

Juno

What a great film. A lot of folks will go into the theatre/rent the disk with preconceptions about this movie, but I highly recommend watching it for itself. I don't know if there is a deep political message under the covers but taken at face value this is a mostly light hearted look at how a brave girl can take on one of the "worst" things that can happen to her and with the help of her friends and family come out OK.

If anything the biggest hole in this film is the fact that the folks around her are too caring and wise, but who knows, maybe a lot of folks could be this way given the chance.  Anyhow, this was a great movie about people almost all doing the right thing...at least after the forgetting a rubber part. I really enjoyed it. An A

Welcome to the Dollhouse

I'd never heard of this movie but Netflix gave it high ratings so I figured I'd give it a try. This is no light hearted teen comedy, more about how shitty Junior High School is and how hard the transition from kid to adult can be. There are plenty of funny scenes, but most make you cringe at the same time you're laughing.

The acting was good and the story rambled, a lot like someone reminiscing about the past. A decent movie, just don't look for any neat end resolution or clear roles of who's the good or bad guy. A good enough flick about growing up, especially from a girl's point of view.

I'd say B-

Blue Velvet

It's like Scooby Do on acid, but without a dog. Weird story that kind of dragged at times, but maybe I'm strange enough that the minor strangenesses in this movie (yeah, strangenesses is a word) didn't register on my radar. There was certainly some major freakage going on but for the most part it was just a semi-amature movie about how damn weird people can be. No shit, this guy should have met some of the people I knew when I flunked out of college. 

Anyhow, it was entertaining in a Donnie Darko WTF, did I just waste 2 hours watching that sort of way. I have to say I expected it to be better then it was, but it didnt live up to it's opening scene (which was much kickass). Sorry, just a C

Spiderman III

I had low expectations for this film after reading so many poor reviews but I actually enjoyed it. It did loose it's focus and tried to be too many things and ended up being ill defined, but as far as an action movie with lots of eye candy it did a good job. My main gripe is we know the characters too well to have them fit in with the stuff that happened in the movie, people's actions swung so wildely that literally anything could happen, so all the character's cohesion was lost, not to mention Peter Parker and MJ both acted so much like jerks you gave up caring about them.

Even so it was not that bad of a movie. I enjoyed the CGI stuff and if it was not for the fact that we are all (over) familiar with the backstory it would have been a good B grade. This would have been better with superheroes we don't already know the backstory of, as it is I don't think it quite made it, so I'm saying a B-, or a C if you are a big Spidey fan.

Se7en

I liked this movie a lot. Brad Pitt and  Gweneth Paltrow are actually kind of bland characters. Not really their fault (although Pitt's first scene is flat for someone of his talents), the script makes them rather vanilla, but Morgan Freedman and Kevin Spacey are both superb, the script is interesting and the ending well done. I also am proud of myself for getting the clues from the start. Apparently I'm smarter then Brad Pitt and Morgan Freedman combined. Maybe I should become a detective. 

Anyways, it was a decent movie. Not great but quite good. Right on the border of a B+/A-

The Deer Hunter

Made while Vietnam was still a taboo subject in Hollywood this movie is more about the depths of depravity and the extent friendship can push us then any political statement about the war itself. It could have been set in any war, so it's odd that after hearing about how it's a Vietnam movie over and over I see it and it could be any time where the world is in flux enough that how fragile the lives we live are  gets pushed into the spotlight.

De Niro is fantastic, as is Christopher Walken. If you ever thought that Walken was just a hack who did odd villans in B movies this will be an eye opener for you. This really is an incredible movie, although not always easy to watch. 

A true A+ film.

Superbad

What a great movie. On an enjoyment level I give this top grade. In some respects I was these guys, but I think that's true for most guys in High School. I do have a few gripes. Anyone female in this movie is pretty much reduced to a vagina with legs, but since it's from the viewpoint of a 17 year old male I guess that's pretty accurate. The acting is excellent, the plot is well worn but instead of feeling rehashed it just feels comfortable. To me the one central theme of this movie is we're all as cool as we let ourselves be. Too often (especially in High School) we focus on who we aren't, when really it's who we are that makes us pretty much all awesome in one way or another.

Great movie, really enjoyable, definately an A

Orgazmo

This movie was not as funny as some of the South Park episodes. There where moments I chuckled, but over all it was just another B comedy.

Don't go out of your way to watch it, but it's probably worth seeing if you like raunchy humor, have a thing for Mormons or like to watch people running around with dildos stuck to their head.

C

Stardust

I've been a Neil Gaiman fan for quite a while. Not only does he do excellent novels but also has written the excellent Sandman series of graphic novels. I enjoyed the book when I read it and have looked forward to seeing Stardust for quite a while. One of the things that puzzled me was all the buzz around Robert De Niro's performance. To me, after recently watching Taxi Driver this was a real treat. I'm not going to spoil it for you, but let me just say he looks dashing.

This movie was no classic, but it was a cute movie with solid acting  a decent riff on the novel's story and some nice looking special effects. My 5 year old wanted to watch Spongebob but the 9 year old really enjoyed it and asked some interesting questions afterwards (like where the witches based on specific elements).

I'd give it a solid B.

Big Fish

What a great movie! Beautiful cinematography, an interesting story and a lot of things that I'd wished I'd learned as a kid (i.e. take your own path and don't assume that what people expect from you is the right way to go). I didn't like the son so much, it's interesting (to me at least) that I've started (or at least in this movie I do) identifying with the father. Guess I'm old. Anyhow, this is something I'd definitely like to watch with my sons once they are old enough to appreciate it. It's a great representation of how much potential is in all of us, and how easy it is too get lost and miss the chance to make use of it to it's fullest.

A solid A-, the only thing that prevents it from an A is the weak performance by Billy Crudup.

Heroes Season 3

There's a lot of back and forth on the 'net about if this season is good or not. As far as plot we'll have to see but it certainly has brought back the delicious ambiguity that S1 had, not to mention totally gross pictures of people's brains. Good stuff. I'm really looking forward to the rest of the season, something I didn't say at all last year.

Hurrah!

The Simpsons Movie

I remember watching the Tracey Ulman show on my black and white TV when I was a kid and seeing a rude cartoon called the Simpsons. Ever since then I've been a pretty big fan of the sometimes witty show and looked forward to the movie. Like many things the Simpsons started out good, quickly peaked and then started a slow downward decline, but there where still occasional flashes of brilliance. This movie is not one of them. Sure there are great parts, some extremely funny scenes but for the most part it's nothing you've not already seen before. Except Bart's penis.

It was entertaining but there are better episodes. I'd say it's a C+

Weeds Season 2

More of the same, although things are getting crazy out of control. No one should be surprised that if you are going to be a moderately large time drug dealer and decide to grow it as well that chances are you're going to bump into organized crime. Basically the entire season focused on how she was a pretty horrible mom. All the situations that they are getting into (or at least almost all of them) stem from her decision to sell pot. I guess it's a pretty strong message that parents should not become illegal substance sales persons. Duh

Anyways, it's interesting if a bit unrealistic (the main character is extremely smart but almost psychopathic as far as denying the eventual end that pretty much anyone dealing that quantity of drugs is going to meet. Still they do a great job of keeping you interested in the next episode, even if things are extremely unlikely to happen in real life.

Taxi Driver

I wish I could have seen this movie when it came out. NYC was at it's apex (nadir?) of crime, Vietnam vets all over the US where still trying to come to terms with "loosing" a war that the public didn't really support in the first place and porn was still something that you snuck into dirty theatres to watch. Vietnam has been replaced by a war even more openly for matieral gain, NYC is clean and victimized (odd that today is when I post this) and porn is something common place to any American kid with a computer. It's odd, when I was a 13 or 14 a Penhouse was a really big deal. Now you can download any kink you want after 30 seconds of googling the right terms. How the world has improved in 32 years.

This was a beautiful movie (cinimatagraphically, if that's even a word) and the acting in it is first rate, but unfortunately I've seen every copy cat director's version of this story so it didnt have the impact it must have had in the mid 70's. The music is dated and no one with a half a brain is suprised that there are 12 year old hookers, although they probably look closer to 40, not fresh off the farm like Jodie Foster.  This was a good movie but still, I can't wonder what it would have looked like with a fresh mind. I did enjoy the set and stages. It's a lot like the world looked like when I was a young kid and that's kind of cool. This is a movie set in a time where you'd get beat up for wearing a bicycle helmet, doctors smoked in between seeing pacients and no one imagined you could become a millionare for getting hot coffee.

It's an interesting contrast with Cool Hand Luke. In Taxi Driver the protagonist is pretty much a dumb psycho, but ends up with everyone proud of him. Cool Hand Luke is more about a guy who is nice but just does not know when to quit. Similar in that neither fit in, but there is a lot more sympatico in CHL.

Anyhow, it's certainly a solid B but I can't help but wonder what it would have been like to see this fresh, a lot of the visceral effect is gone from both the obvious age of the scenes and the really dated soundtrack.

Weeds

So I finished Season 1 this weekend. For the folks who have not seen it Weeds is a dark comedy/drama about a chick who lives in an upscale suburban neighborhood. She was a stay at home mom and her husband died and she decides to sell pot to maintain her lifestyle. Yeah, she's crazy, and more then a little bit. It's a well written show with lots of cinimatic tricks and nods (the final episode is a great riff on the end of The Godfather for instance). There are certainly some laugh-out-loud moments but this is not a light weight comedy, everything from underage sex to addiction to the simple problem of fitting in with your peer group is scrutinized on this show.

It's amusing to me to see the depiction of suburban life in this show, maybe because it's reasonably accurate. I have friends who live there so to speak. Maybe they should start selling pot. The last rather interesting thing about this show is that although it's a Showtime produced series there is not a whole lot of sex on the show, more then you'd get on CBS but not anywhere near the Soprando's level...but there is a TON of drug porn. Seriously, someone there has a hard on for pot because it's shown and shown frequently in the show. I don't really have a problem with that except it's kind of funny to have so much screen time devoted to dried plants.

Almost Famous

What a great movie. My biggest 2 gripe about this film are 1) at the very ending when Billy Crudup calls Kate Hudson to tell her he wants to meet with her one last time. For some reason the dialogue there was really stilted and 2) the band sounded more like a Creed wannabe then a true classic rock band. Both of thse are pretty minor things, over all this was a fantastic film, easily one of my favorites. It does not hurt that it has a Led Zepplin heavy sound track either.

Kate Hudson is fantastic, you'd have to have a heart of stone not to fall in love with her character a little bit. Patrick Fugit does a great job and Frances McDormand is outstanding as a driven mom just trying to do the best for her kids. What a great film.

A true A movie!

Half Baked

So Dave Chappelle is obviously a funny guy and there where some parts to this film that made me laugh really hard (the different types of stoners for instance, anyone who's been to high school or college can relate), but over all this was only a 2nd rate comedy. With all the hubub around Chappelle I was hoping for better. The fact that he pointed to pot as a "gateway drug" is kind of sad, especially since later he makes a point that the level that it's users will stoop to is nothing like harder substances. And much of the acting is horrific. I wanted this to be better but it was only somewhat funny and mildly interesting.

Just a C

if you want something much funnier in the same category I recommend Grandma's Boy.

Empire Records

Not a bad movie. Sometimes it's a bit formulaic teen/twenty something movie (yes, the guy gets the girl) but it certainly brings back the sense of being a cool 23 year old - I *knew* these people, or maybe was one of them, albeit not as photogenic. Basically this is a movie about being young, doing what you want and how damn cool it would be to work in an independent record store, with a nostalgic nod to the "underground" culture of the mid 90's. At it's worst this movie was entertaining.

B-

Unbreakable

M Night Shyamalan is truly a fantastic director and it showed in this movie. He does a great job of threading out a story and his pacing is well done. Unfortunately the story for this movie was a lot weaker then 6th Sense although Shyamalan does a great job of keeping the viewer interested. I heard a lot about this movie but was disappointed, I actually think Lady in the Water is a better flick, but keep in mind I really liked the feel of wonder he managed to evoke in his modern fairy tale. Unbreakable was not a bad film by any measure, I just had really high hopes.

I'd say it's a B-

The Malazan Book of the Fallen

Steven Erikson's fantasy epic The Malazan Book of the Fallen takes the form of 10 (8 finished as of Sept 2008) hefty tombs and covers a convergence of powers from across his extremely detailed history. You can tell this guy has spent a ton of time imagining all the places, peoples, gods and other in his world. This is fantasy on a truely epic scale. Pretty much the first 5 or so books are just a description of who the players are and in book 6 things start to happen. I am re-reading the first 7 books in anticipation of #8 which comes out in the next few weeks in the UK.

If you liked Tolkien Morecock, Cook and Brust you'll likely love these books. At time the writing can be a bit dense (not dumb, just really thick) but there is more to the series then you may notice at first. These are as good as any fantasy I've read and that's a lot.

Crank

So this is a man fantasy. Like "if you had 24 hours to live and where somehow forced to do so as a psychopath, what would you do?" fantasy. Even so it's fun and I like Jason Statham. Not only is he a RL bad ass but his mix of thug and lost little boy work well in this movie. Just don't expect deep themes or multiple layers. It's not really misogynistic but it certainly objectifies women (the longest scene with a woman in it is the hero bending her over a mailbox in front of a crowd of applauding tourists. Really).

But if you are not easily disguested by a film that's like Grand Theft Auto brought to life (a fact played up by the film) this is a lot of fun and probably even worth watching more then once.

A suprising B+

Lethal Weapon

So this is an older movie that I've seen a few times before. It's also in some respects the epitome of the action movie. Super buff guy gets a reason to do all the things that would get a normal person incarcerated. In fact if cops did what they show in this movie they'd be out of a job and in a jail, but that does not ruin the fun of the movie. With less funny and more emo then it's sequal this is still a very solid movie. In fact I'd say it's better then LWII although #2 is more "fun".

The dynamics between old and tired and new and trying to prove themself, dealing with grief and how things change with perspective are all dealt with pretty well in Lethal Weapon. Occasionally Mel Gibson's mugging gets tiresome enough to pull you out of your suspention of disbelife, but over all it's a enjoyable movie...and much deeper then most action flicks.

Solid B

Pan's Labyrinth

This is the first movie by Guillermo del Toro movie I've see and it was fantastic. I honestly didn't expect to like it going into the film (it was free on Netflix) but I'd say it's my favorite or 2nd favorite film (Along with American Beauty). The film is beautiful, thought provoking and has a story that's not what you've seen 10,000,000 times already. Although like most great movies it's open to interpretation I'd say this is a film about dealing with perseverance and how sometimes you have to sacrifice to do the right thing. This was probably the most powerful movie I've ever seen. I choke up a lot but I cried like a baby at the end. Hopefully you will to.


Highly recommended. A solid A!

Oh Brother Where Art Thou

I love Coen brother movies. Both Fargo and Hudsucker Proxy are to films that I consider some of my favorite comedies. I look forward to their movies because ususally it's not the same story you've heard before (with the possible exception of No Country for Old Men, which was good but disapointing) and Oh Brother does not disapoint.

Loosely based on Homer's Oddesy it follows a group of 3 misfit convicts as they follow Clooney's character on a quest. The story blends the plausable and outright unlikely with a Deep South that may never have actually existed, but still has some of the right flavor. The film is also chock-full of nods to previous movies, possibly most notably Cool Hand Luke and the Wizard of Oz.

I'd rate this film a solid B+

School Daze

This is the first Spike Lee film I've watched in years and years and I can see why he's known for being controversial. He does not shy from racial themes and in fact most of the tension in this film comes from them. I spent most of my formative years in a lily white part of West Virginia, but this film gave me a bit more insight to what it must be like growing up as a thinking black person. Not only do you have to deal with racist whites who judge you by the color of your skin but other folks with mixed heritage may buy in to that BS as well.

The depiction of life at a black college seemed quite accurate. I went to a big state school with a reasonably mixed student body, but most of the folks in my Marine Corps Reserve unit went to one of two black colleges and the stories they told match with what this movie depicts. The ending was very abrupt and unorthodox but was also fitting. The title does not refer to a Cheech and Chong like daze but the willful blindness that many folks have towards the problems with racial inequality in the US today.

This was actually a very entertaining movie AND I feel like I learned at least a little bit. The only major drawback I see is that at one point the protagonist (who was cool as hell through out the rest of the flick, to an almost superhuman level) was deriding his enemies as being "gay". I guess Spike Lee wants us all to be equal, except for the homos.

I give it a B+ and that surprises me.

No County for Old Men

Finally saw this last night. The Coen brothers don't fail to deliver in their disturbing manner, but it's not as good a movie as I had hoped. Tommy Lee Jones's performance was usually good but there where a few scenes where you could see "I should get an Oscar" as the look on his face. Not so in character. Josh Brolin was much stronger in his role in my opinion.

It was solid but for those looking for a Fargo or even Raising Arizona you're likely to be disapointed. It was a good flick but sometimes it seemed a bit contrivied (not just TLJ's performance). I do prefer my movies to have happy endings. The final lines from TLJ drive home the point that things do not always turn out the way we want and reality can be cold and stark...but reality can also be noble and good and if I'm going to spend my lesiure time in another person's reality then I'd prefer it to riff on the best in mankind, not the worst. My other gripe with this movie is that the story is far more conventional then I've come to expect from the Coen brothers. Once again it's a good solid movie, but not a great one.

I'd give it a B+

Cashback

On the surface this is a movie about how it feels to break up. The protagonist is a good guy, he breaks up with his girlfriend because he does not think he can make her happy, and the way it's portrayed it seems like he thinks that honestly and is not just trying to play the field. Reasonably piquant and spot on when it comes to how it feels to break up a long term relationship it then veers into the bizzare when lack of sleep causes the protagonist to develop an odd perspective on life.

I think this movie makes the point that we don't really see the things we look at. Too much of the world is taken for granted and beauty is all around us. That being said I like naked ladies, but a few less would probably have improved the movie, and the fact that all the women where hot detracted from it more then added.

I'd say it's a solid B

First post!

I watch a ton of movies, so I figured I'd start spewing my thoughts out to the Internet incase anyone with similar tastes is interested. So here it goes.