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