Movies Watched 9/14 - 9/20

Welcome back folks.  The newest update is quite a small sampling.  Busy week.  But there is a classic, an unappreciated crime flick, and the death of a film maker.  It's a schizo week but not without merits.  So sit back and relax.  I may have something else coming later today.  If not, no worries.  This is all free any way.

Miami Vice (September 14th, 2014)

Director: Michael Mann

Starring: Colin Farrell, Jamie Foxx, Naomi Harris, and Gong Li

I remember really not liking this movie upon an initial viewing around the time it was originally released.  But recently Michael Mann and his visual style has been on the mind, so it seemed time for a revisit.  And it was a total surprise when it turned out to not only be really fucking good, but one of Manns best movies.  An updating of the iconic and trend setting 1980s cop show, Mann set out to bring the show to today.  But since today is no longer dominated by neon lights and colorful suits, he had to work within the newer styles.  Yet, he also had to bring the tone of the show updated too.  The show, despite it's colorful visuals, tended to be a downer of a show.  So what we have is a movie that is visually slick and everyone is dressed to the nines, even the neo nazis in the movie.  It's slick and you kinda want to look like these guys.  The digital photography that Mann spearheaded looks superb, capturing Miami to a tee.  But the tone is super serious.  Almost oppressively so.  But, takin a show that was dealing with drug dealers that ended usually in a loss, this tone is actually well earned.  This movie is grim, brutal and just very direct in that everything in the world of drug dealing kinda sucks.  Farrell and Foxx are great, deceptively so.  There's also a romance at the center between Farrell and Li, that is actually the heart of the movie and is surprisingly strong.  There is a shootout in the finale that is so great, showing off Mann's superb sense of action.  Is the movie perfect?  No.  The movie runs a bit long and the plot is almost too convoluted, with some information not being conveyed properly.  And for some, the super dour tone can really be unwelcoming.  But for me, the tone helped the reality and the tension of the movie.  If there were one liners and the villains were mustache twirling tools, it wouldn't work at all.  This is pretty well made crime fare and is highly recommended.

Rating: 8.5/10




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Tusk (September 20th, 2014)
Director: Kevin Smith
Starring: Justin Long, Michael Parks, Haley Joel Osmont, and Genesis Rodriguez


I was gonna go on a long diatribe about this movie.  Really just lay into it.  But Kevin Smith put absolutely no effort into his movie, throwing every dumb ass pot head idea onto the screen without worrying about quality.  Everything in his head is genius and we just have to deal with it.  If he is gonna be so lazy and show such contempt for the audience, I'm not gonna waste much time.  This movie is a waste, an absolute joke of a movie.  Smith has made some awful movies before, when his lack of directorial talent wasn't mixed together with a mind thats been smoked retarded.  But this is next level awful.  The only things it has going for it is Michael Parks doing that thing he does, and Genesis Rodriguez doing great work with a nothing of a role.  This thing is a mish mash of tones and doesn't do any of them well, just making it a slog to get through.  And if we didn't have enough bad with Smith making another stinker in isolation with no one to tell him no, add in Johnny Depp doing absolutely terrible work.  It doesn't help that Smith can't direct, so Depp is just let loose and it's embarrassing.  This sucked, plain and simple.  Much like fellow 90 indie icon Robert Rodriguez, Smith has fallen very far.  This movie is a warning for having no one keeping a director in check and as an anti drug warning.  Because Smith just keeps getting worse since taking up the weed.  Stay away from this shit pile.  Don't give it money, so this sell fellating fat fuck can stop making movies and just stick to talking on podcasts.

Rating: 2/10

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (August 20th, 2014)
Director: Tobe Hooper
Starring: Marilyn Burns, Allen Danziger, Paul Partain, and Gunnar Hannsen

This was a much needed refresher after the abortion of Tusk.  Talk about a movie that didn't know it's tone, we now go to a movie that is a perfect example of tone.  This movie is just a perfect slice of down and dirty violence.  There isn't much to the plot.  A group of kids going for a ride get attacked by a family of cannibals and survival is the game.  One of the grand daddies of the modern slasher movie, this movie is iconic.  Tobe Hooper has never been better.  He shot his load early.  And I can't blame him for never reaching these heights anymore.  Not many horror movies have.  I really can't say much about this movie that hasn't been said.  But it's been a while and I needed to watch something.  I will just add that the new blu ray release of this is phenomenal, a 4K restoration that makes it like watching an actual film print.  It's stunning and an absolute treat, one of the best classic releases on the format.  This is a must see if you haven't already.

Rating: 10/10






Top Movies

1. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
2. Miami Vice
3. Tusk






Top 5 Performances

1. Marilyn Burns - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
2. Colin Farrell - Miami Vice
3. Michael Parks - Tusk
4. Jamie Foxx - Miami Vice
5. Gunnar Hansen - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre




Top 5 Moments

1. The Skull Crushing - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
2. The End Shootout - Miami Vice
3. The Family Dinner - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
4. The Trailer Park Raid - Miami Vice
5. Franklin Bites It - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 

- Tom Lorenzo