Leonard, Part Movies-n-Stuff

So, I didn't watch a lot this weekend. I was down in Orlando doin' stuff and eatin' things. It was my pops birthday and we partied hard. I was offered some hash at a Lebanese restaurant. The owner came up to me, raised one eyebrow and said, "So you smoke hashish?".... I got lost in that eyebrow.

Also, I enjoy the word taquito.

Emperor of the North Pole: Lee Marvin as "A#1", Ernest Borgnine as "Shack", and Keith Carradine as "Cigarette". What a cast! And what about those character names! Perfect. How could this movie be bad? Well, just about half way through I realized this movie was "Speed" on a train. Shack is a train conductor with a hardcore no bo's (hobos) policy on his train. A#1 and Cigarette play bo's determined to ride Shacks train. That's it. You've watched the movie. The rest is one big chase scene. Everybody's good in it. It's a fun movie, but there is not much to it. Keith Carradine has big teeth.

The first disc of the first season of Weeds: I have a problem with this show. I want to like it, but there aren't any likable characters. Mary Louise Parker is the cutest person on planet earth, but her character sells pot so that she doesn't have to change her family's lifestyle. So, she would rather risk losing her kids than downgrading into a smaller house or get a real job.
It seems like this show could fall into the Six Feet Under curse. Where its decent for a season and then every character has so many screwed up problems that you can't keep track of who's doin' it with who, or who's killed who, or whos eatin' who's pot brownies and you end up not caring anymore. I'm gonna finish this 1^st season, but I don't know if I'll watch the second.

Movies Rewatched:

Bull Durham: Kevin Costner at his pre-gilled best.

Weve also been watching some Seinfeld on DVD. They were on sale for super cheap at Target the other day, so we grabbed a couple of seasons. We haven't had cable for a while so it was nice to watch some episodes again. I'm kinda feeling like maybe I don't need to review this, though. Unless you think I should.

Taquitos,

Dan

Movies-n-Stuff

So, Leslee and I went to see the documentary "The Devil and Daniel Johnston" on Friday. It is fantastic, and I encourage everyone to go see it. If you are familiar with Daniel Johnston, it gives you a good insight into his personal life and the hell he's caused and been through. If you are not familiar, it's even more exciting. He's an exceptional talent, with a serious bipolar disorder and a crazy singing voice. He's also a pretty amazing artist.
If you live in Tallahasse, it's playing at Miracle 5. Check it.

Also, I re-watched David O. Russell's "Flirting with Disaster". It's still funny, but kinda dated. The soundtrack made me want to gouge my eyes out. Very early 90's crap rock (the theme-song to friends comes to mind). But, overall it's still funny. George Segal and Mary Tyler Moore are great together.

"Bloody Sunday" was the next on the list. It's was a recreation of Bloody Sunday in Derry, Ireland in 1972. It was very well done. It is interesting, though, It made me think more of the director's (Paul Greengrass) other movie "United 93", which I have not, and probably will not see. What I've heard about "United 93" is how he basically recreated the situation as realistically as possible. So, knowing that, almost made "Bloody Sunday" more realistic to me. It made it scarier.
I think it's interesting, too, how I have no interest in watching "United 93", but I will watch "Bloody Sunday" with no problems. I think the reason for that is I didn't know much about Bloody Sunday and I lived through 9/11. I don't feel like going through those emotions again. I think if I lived in Ireland in 1972 I probably wouldn't want to watch "Bloody Sunday" either.

And, finally, there was "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance". Holy crap. One of the most gruesome movies I think I've ever seen. It's the first in Chan Wook Park's revenge trilogy. The second being "Old Boy" (which is fantastic) and the soon to be released "Lady Vengeance" (which I will see, but probably at home,as opposed to the theater, so Leslee can flee into another room during the unbearable parts).
"Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" is by far, much more violent than "Old Boy". The direction in the movie is great. Park has a style all his own. I definitely suggest the movie, but it is not for the weak of heart or stomach. I think this movie has one of the most painful looking death scenes in movie history. Watch it and see which death scene (and there are many....many) I'm thinking of. If you like death and revenge and human kidney-eating and stabbing, you will love this movie.

Anyway, sorry for the long blog. I just figured I watch enough movies, maybe I should put that to good use, and let my friends know which ones to avoid and which ones to see. Sorry for any spelling, grammatical, errors.

"I love commas and quotation marks. Don't You?", Dan said. Then he ate his own kidney.

P.S. Watching the Nicolas Cage movie "The Weather Man" is kind of like chugging a gallon of sour milk.

Movies-n-Stuff: In Space!

Movies watched:

The Passenger

A Scanner Darkly

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Mans Chest

Action Jackson

Harlan County USA

Stuck on You

The Matador

Movies Rewatched:

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl - I'm a dork.

The Passenger: Jack Nicholson re-released this Michelangelo Antonioni directed movie from 1975 this last year. It describes itself as a forgotten classic. I can see why it was forgotten, Jack Nicholson is kinda hammy, Maria Schneider seems like she's had starch sprayed all over her, and the movie is slow moving. Jack plays a reporter who comes across a dead friend and decides to steal his identity and, of course, he gets more than he bargained for. There's also a lot of sand everywhere. The very last scene of the movie made it worth watching, though. Its a beautiful 10 minute long continuous scene, where stuff happens. I dont really want to give it away. You could watch the first 15 minutes, fast forward, and watch the last 15 minutes.

A Scanner Darkly: Richard Linklater's second foray into animation. This is different than "Waking Life", mainly because there is an actual plot, and, I think that it actually gets in the way. I really enjoyed the movie and its amazing to look at, but I have programmed my brain to appreciate Linklater's rambling dialogue. This movie does have plenty of that, but it has to compete with the plot. Its definitely worth seeing. Go see it. If you're going to take some acid first, you might regret it.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: The sequel to the little known 1978 original starring Charles Bronson as Captain Jack Sparrow, Burt Reynolds as Will Turner and Marty Feldman as Elizabeth Swann. They have replaced those fine actors with pretty, young people who don't have any body hair. This was a big, fun movie. I had a good time. Leslee had a good time. Johnny Depp melts me like butter.

Action Jackson:

Police Chief: "You nearly tore that boy's arm off!!"

Jericho "Action" Jackson: "So... He had a spare."

Harlan County USA: This is the Oscar winner for best documentary in 1976. When you watch, you can see why. Its incredible. Taking place in Harlan County, Kentucky, which, in the 30's was known as Bloody Harlan, due to the terrible conditions of the mines and the miner's decision to strike. This movie covers the early to mid 70's strikes in Harlan. Most of the footage is on the picket line with the miners. The amazing thing is the determination of these people. Most of them don't have much education or teeth. They live in housing with no electricity or running water and they know that joining the United Mine Workers of America is their best shot at bettering themselves. They'll do anything to get it, but the Brookside Mine Company won't sign their contract if they join. This is good versus evil. Very simple. The music is amazing. Folk songs about mining mostly sung on camera for this movie. Definitely worth a watch.

Stuck on You: I probably laughed more than I should have at this movie.

The Matador: Greg Kinnear, Pierce Brosnan and Hope Davis star in this film about an assassin (Brosnan) on the brink of a collapsing career. Danny (Kinnear) is in Mexico on a business trip and meets a drunk Julian (Brosnan) who immediately starts clinging to him. Julian has realized that he has everything he wants except friends. Hope Davis plays Danny's wife and is kind of wasted in the movie. Her character isn't in the movie much. Julian and Danny eventually become friends and spend some time in Mexico together. Months later Julian gets in some trouble and shows back up in his only friend's life. I enjoyed the darker comedy of the movie. Pierce Brosnan is better in this than anything I've ever seen him in. Theres not much of a story, but there doesn't need to be. Greg Kinnear and Brosnan have a good chemistry together and that makes the movie worth watching. The directing is great too.

Coming up next on the Queueue:

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

The Emperor of the North Pole (1973)

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada

Bio Zombie

North Country

Reno 911 Season 3

Bunny Lake is Missing (1965)

Movies-n-Stuff: Tallahassee Drift

Hey,

So, in between doin' stuff and chillin' out, I watched some movies this weekend. I even went to go see one in the theater! I also ate some stuff and sat around a little bit.

Movie seen in theater:

The Proposition: Some friends and I went to see this on Saturday. It is fantastic! I would really suggest trying to see it in the theater, as it is a "big" sort of movie. It takes place in Australia in probably the late 1800s. Everyone is sweaty, hot, and generally very dirty. The flies should win some sort of best supporting whatever, because there are flies in every scene, climbing all over everybody. The cast is fantastic: Guy Pierce, Ray Winstone, Emily Watson, John Hurt and Danny Huston. One of the best ensemble films I've seen in a while. John Hurt should win some sort of golden sandwich for his portrayal of a bounty hunter who's head could just pop off at any moment. There is some violence. I had heard, before hand, that the movie was super violent, and it wasn't quite as bad as I thought is was going to be, but I did just watch "Cannibal Holocaust" last week. If you enjoy spearing, flogging, gun-totin, occasional aborigine abuse, and flies, this is your movie.

Movies watched at home, while eating fancy French mustard:

The Calamari Wrestler: My nominee for cheesiest movie of all-time. This Japanese gem is about a wrestler reincarnated into a Squid who is bound and determined to win back his crown. The great thing is the squid is just a dude in a huge squid costume. There are no special effects! This movie was made in 2004! The best thing is you see the guys legs walking around and only two tentacles move, because the actor only has two arms (although a real actor would have prepared for the role by growing a few extra). This is one of the most absurd movies Ive ever seen, and for that reason only, I think everyone on Earth should be forced, Clockwork Orange style, to watch it. Shout out to Jackson for the recommendation.

The Dreamers:
Bernardo Bertolucci's most recent sex romp. I have generally not been that into his movies. To much doin' it and not enough plot. This was a little different. Michael Pitt plays an American student in the politically charged Paris of the late sixties. He is a film nut who falls in love with two French film buff siblings (twins, one boy and one girl). The movie is lightened up by clips of classic films, that the kids recite lines or recreate scenes from. Everyone in the movie enjoys political and film debate. Dont get me wrong, there are a lot of boobies, wieners and doin' it, even an incest sort of subplot. So, if your into that, you'll dig this movie.

Lord of War: Nicolas cage is one of those actors who is great and totally sucks all at the same time. This is somewhere in the middle. The problem with the movie is you could montage it down to about 30 minutes. How many times do I have to watch a dude sell a bunch of big guns? I get it already, he sells guns. Here's an idea, get a plot.
It's got a cool opening and looks pretty great. Mr. Cage is not quite down at the Face Off level here, but its cutting it close. The one thing that I loved was the opening. They follow a bullet from creation to being shot out of a gun. Even with that, its probably not worth your time.

Dear Wendy: Lars von Trier wrote it and some other Danish dude directed this social commentary on guns and gangs in America. American critics ripped this movie to shreds. Probably because here is a Danish dude telling us how bad we suck, but I don't see it that way. All of Lars von Triers movies are devastating, no matter what country they're in. The point of almost all of his movies is that there is evil in just about every person. If you put them in a certain situation, that evil is gonna come out. Well, the moral of this movie is: Where there are guns, there is violence. Jamie Bell plays the leader of a passivist gang called The Dandies. They each carry a gun, but it is just to give them confidence. They only shoot the guns in their hideout. Eventually, though, guns cause trouble and the doody hits the fans. If you know what I mean.
One of the interesting things is the time period and city is kind of nondescript. Its a small mining town, and the clothes, cars and guns are from all different time periods. In one scene you can clearly see an Axe body spray sign hanging in a store. Maybe thats just another social commentary on American body odor.

Movies Re-watched:

Back to the Future Part 2 & 3 (when referring to multiple Back to the Future movies, would you say, Backs to the Future or Back to the Futures. I dont know.) These were fun to watch again, but very unrealistic. I mean come on, a flying Delorean! I shouldnt say much more, I dont want to risk a rift in the space-time continuum.

So, it turns out, Im still alive. for now. Who knows what Leslee has up her sleeve?

-Dan

Movies-n-Stuff: In 3-D

I spent this long 4th of July weekend with my sister, Anna, and her brand new husband Gary (also known as "that hairy mexican guy", although he is niether hairy nor Mexican). We had fun! We ate alot and sat alot. We even played video games while we ate and sat...It was fantastic!!

So anyway, since the last blog, I've watched a crap ton of movies.

Movies watched:

Three...Extremes
Superman (2006)
Dave Chapelle's Block Party
The Red House
Cache (Hidden)
Cannibal Holocaust
The Dying Gaul
Wolphin Vol. 2 (a collection of short films)

Movies Rewatched:
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Back to the Future
Night of the Living Dead

As much as I know everyone wants me to write a whole paragraph on each of these movies, I just don't have the time. Stop pressuring me, people. I'm only one man.

Movies liked:
Cache (Hidden) - I loved this movie. But, without giving anything away, it does not end the way you want it to end.
Dave Chapelle's Block Party - Although, it is recommended that you like some of the bands in this movie to really enjoy it. He's not really being the same Dave Chappelle from his TV show.
Wolphin Vol. 2 - A great collection of short films. Just the menus on this DVD are worth checking out. This is another great product from Mcsweeney's . The name Wolphin comes from an animal that actually exists. When a Bottlenose Dolphin and a False Killer Whale get it on, they can actually spawn a Wolphin. Is that not the coolest thing ever?
Three...Extremes - Three short films, all very extreme. They start out great and get sequentially not as great, but this is definitely worth checking out. Leslee only had to cover her eyes 2 or 3 times.

Movies felt indifferently about:
The Dying Gaul - I was expecting a lot more from this movie. I love peter Sarsgard, Patricia Clarkson and Campbell Scott, but this was not up to their standards. I wasn't bad, but there are some plot holes. Patricia Clarkson's character goes from nicest person in the world to most evil in a matter of seconds. The way she handles the situation she is put in is just not believable at all.
Superman - Kevin Spacey is the perfect Lex Luther, but, I felt like Brandon Routh was doing a Christopher Reeve impression, which was weird, and worst of all, I thought what's her face who played Lois Lane had about as much screen presence as a dead flounder. She just about ruined it for me. I did like the story, though. It seemed like it came straight out of a comic. Very simple and fun.
The Red House - Although this title starring Edward G. Robinson is not the best in the box I've been wanting to tell you guys about these cool box sets you can get from Amazon. 50 movies for about $15. I've gotten the "Dark Crimes" box and the "Horror" box. This movie was from the "Dark Crimes" box. So far, I've really enjoyed the "Horror" box. It's got the original "Night of the Living Dead", "Carnival of Souls", "House on Haunted Hill", "Nosferatu", "The Brain That Wouldn't Die", and many more. If you watch a lot of movies they're perfect. Mostly in black and white, and mostly off titles that I've never seen. I'm stoked.
Check'em.

Movie not liked:
Cannibal Holocaust - bad dubbing, bad acting, very offensive (and not in a good way). Just don't bother. I was VERY disappointed.

Let me know if you've seen anything good. If you can't tell, I'll watch just about anything.