Movies Watched The Week of 11/23 - 11/29

WELCOME BACK GANG! Sorry, I got excited.  Had a 4 day weekend, so I'm a bit amped.  Got in a bit more than usual, a nice variety again.  Nothing horrendous this week, so already a jump up on last week.  Two classics make an appearance, so give em a read why don't ya.  Share if you don't mind.  Thanks again and here's to winding down the first year of this blog.  See ya next week.

The Shooting (November 23rd, 2014)

Director: Monte Hellman

Starring: Warren Oates, Will Hutchins, Millie Perkins, and Jack Nicholson

Well lookie here, Jack Nicholson before he hit it big.  Hell, before Easy Rider.  And a bad guy in a western to boot.  This western is unique in that it isn't a big, wild spaghetti western or a typical clean cut american western.  It's a very low key, slow moving western by the well respected Hellman, in his debut.  It's a pretty simple movie, about a man (Oates) being hired by a mysterious woman (Perkins) to bring her to a town for unknown reasons.  But it's done with very minimal dialogue and even less exposition, done much more with visuals.  Which is fine and all, only being 80 minutes.  But it does sort of have a very boring tone, getting to the end a little hard for the lack of any sort of excitement.  But the mysterious tone is kind of entrancing.  The acting is split between pretty good (Oates and Nicholson) and pretty mediocre (Hutchins and Perkins).  It's a fine movie, more intriguing due to its place in history with some of the creative talent involved.  But a classic it is not.  Watch accordingly.  

Rating: 7.5/10

Lone Survivor (November 23rd, 2014)
Director: Peter Berg
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Ben Foster, and Emile Hirsch

Peter Berg has been in a slump for a bit.  After hitting big with The Rundown and Friday Night Lights, he made a good but commercially failed movie with The Kingdom, then making bad and failed movies with Hancock and Battleship.  It seemed like he may have peaked at this point, which was a shame.  But then he comes back to the plate swinging for the fucking fences and hitting it out.  Telling the true story about a group of navy seals tasked with taking out a Taliban leader and the fallout when things go sideways.  Now, the title and the cast listing tells you the basic outcome of things.  But it's the execution and some nice little surprises that make this work.  The cast is outstanding, bringing some humanity and warmth and a bit of nastiness to the roles, making them feel like real human beings.  Kitsch and Foster in particular bring some of the best work of their careers here.  Now this movie could have been a tale of crackers killing brown folk but there is some things here that make that an irritating fucking critique.  One, it's a true story that didn't turn the bad guys from white to brown.  Two, the movie makes it damn clear that these guys are in way over their heads and outgunned.  Thirdly and most importantly, the movie takes a nice little turn in the end to make the point that not everyone in the country are against Americans.  People liked to ignore than aspect so they can put some outrage hats on.  But fuck that.  And if we wanted to ignore that little fact, theres a big discussion where these Seals aren't the clean cut heroes a white washed, jingoistic movie would make them out to be.  It's not a clean movie and the violence hits hard and real.  It's an emotional ride and worth all the praise it can get.  Peter Berg has hit it out of the park again.  Hopefully he can continue this further along.

Rating: 9/10

Dr. Strangelove (November 24th, 2014)
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Starring: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, and Slim Pickens

It's very weird to me that I like Kubricks earliest movies (The Killing excluded) over his later, more acclaimed works.  Paths of Glory is brilliant and then he hits it out of the park with this arguably better movie, the amazing satire of the paranoia afflicted world that was in effect back then.  When a General goes batshit insane and sends orders to nuke Russia, the Governments has to scramble to take care of the problem.  But instead of being a Greengrass-esque thriller, this is a comedy and a damn good one at that.  Kubrick isn't known as the most light hearted guy in the world, so it's surprising to see him go for comedy and nail it so thoroughly as he does here.  It doesn't hurt that he is an all star cast.  Slim Pickens is always a funny guy, just a larger than life guy who makes everything a hoot.  Kubrick manages to make Scott funny, and Scott has never seemed like a lighthearted fellow.  But the real MVP is Sellers, playing multiple roles and doing them amazingly.  The standout is the very big and broad Dr Strangelove, a wheelchair bound German who's hand has a mind of it's own and keeps throwing up the Sig Heil.  Now, apart from being simply funny, this movie is remarkably cutting.  It shoots up the entire world with it's basic premise of "all this is insane bullshit that's just a dick measuring contest that's gonna end badly".  It's insane that this was even made, let alone that it didn't kill Kubricks career for being a dirty commie or some shit.  This is a must see movie that is the tops of a legendary directors career.

Rating: 9/10

Ride In The Whirlwind (November 25th, 2014)
Director: Monte Hellman
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Cameron Mitchell, George Mitchell, and Harry Dean Stanton

Shot back to back with The Shooting, Monte Hellman made a very similar western in tone and structure and even cast.  A very low key affair, but with a bit more moral ambiguity instead of simply narrative ambiguity.  Much like the previous movie, it is very well shot and very short. Also like the last one, the cast is split.  Nicholson does good work again, as does Stanton.  But the others are a bit weak.  And while this one has considerably more shooting and excitement, there's still a disconnect.  Nobody is really very interesting.  As ideas, the situation they find themselves in is interesting.  But nobody feels like a real character.  Its not a killer, thanks to the tone and visuals of the movie.  And while there's more action, Hellman is no Leone or Peckinpah.  Very bland directing there.  Like the last one, this is worth watching for it's place in history.  Other than that, it's good but nothing mindblowing.  Proceed at your own discretion.

Rating: 7.5/10

Enough Said (November 29th,  2014)
Director: Nicole Holofcener
Starring: Julia Louis Dreyfus, James Gandolfini, Catherine Keener, and Toni Collette

This was a nice little surprise.  I'd probably have never watched it if it wasn't for Gandolfini's passing.  But I have and it's actually really solid.  A very low key romance about two middle aged divorcees who spark to one another.  There's no big acts, no cliched romantic comedy antics.  Just a nice, pleasurable and at times funny look into these peoples lives.  Dreyfus is great, playing a more realistic person than Elaine Benes or Selina Meyer.  She's a bit worrisome but not annoyingly so.  It's a nice performance. But the standout and kind of surprise is Gandolfini.  It's no surprise that he's a great actor, but it's a surprise to see him play such a regular guy who doesn't have any big moments of rage. The role he plays is a laid back guy who doesn't really worry too much about things, sort of just living.  He's pretty happy for the most part.  And the way the story unfolds, he could have gone big at the end.  But he stays human and focused on the character.  It's kind of a marvel to see a man so good at being larger than life coming down from the clouds to play a mere mortal.  There's a point where it gets rom com silly with a big coincidence coming into play, but its not game breaker thanks to the execution.  For those interested in a relaxed time and/or seeing one of Gandolfini's last roles, this is a damn good time.

Rating:  8.5/10

Prom Night (November 29th, 2014)
Director: Paul Lynch
Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Eddie Benton, Anne Marie Martin, and Leslie Nielsen

I threw this in because I wanted to watch something a bit stupid, so an early 80s slasher with Jamie Lee Curtis that was directed by Carpenter felt like a good idea.  And while the movie wasn't some great, genius game changer of a movie it wasn't the brain dead movie I was expecting.  This movie is barely a slasher movie, only having slasher elements in the last 30 minutes or so.  Maybe even less time.  What the movie feels like is a high school movie that came in under time and a murderous subplot was thrown in.  The murder plot is actually pretty decent for the kind of movie it is, but it becomes pretty obvious what's happening quick.  The kills are pretty solid, save one that is good until the punchline throws it into comedic territory.  This isn't high drama and barely stands out with the others of the time.  Hell, there's no nudity and barely any violence (aside from a glorious decapitation at the end) to make it stupidly watchable.  But there's a nice tone to it and the aforementioned killer plot.  Unless you're a die hard horror fan like myself or interested in seeing Jamie Lee Curtis' beginnings, this isn't for you.

Rating: 7.5/10






Top Movies

1. Dr. Strangelove
2. Lone Survivor
3. Enough Said
4. The Shooting
5. Prom Night
6. Ride In The Whirlwind





Top 5 Performances

1. Peter Sellers - Dr. Strangelove
2. Taylor Kitsch - Lone Survivor
3. James Gandolfini - Enough Said
4. Ben Foster - Lone Survivor
5. George C. Scott - Dr. Strangelove




Top 5 Moments

1. You Can't Fight In Here - Dr. Strangelove
2. The Entire Mountain Fight - Lone Survivor
3. The Fluids Speech - Dr. Strangelove
4. The Moral Debate - Lone Survivor
5. I Can Walk - Dr. Strangelove

- Tom Lorenzo

Movies Watched The Week of 11/16 - 11/22

Welcome back gang.  It's a short week, life interfering and all.  But there's some good stuff here, but also something really bad that it's crazy.  Again a decent group of genres and tones, so give it a go and share if you please.  Thanks.

Riot In Cell Block 11 (November 16th, 2014)

Director: Don Siegel

Starring: Neville Brand, Emile Meyer, Leo Gordon, and Robert Osterloh

Not many directors were able to make the transition from the old studio system of Hollywood to the new way things were done.  But Don Siegel was one of them, and in his debut you can see why.  This is a gritty ass movie, a movie about rough men doing rough things.  What sets it apart and what would be a trend with Siegel is that we end up sympathizing with these men, so the unhappy ending is kinda upsetting.  Which is really quite the feat, cause we're sympathizing with unforgiving criminals leading a riot and holding innocent men hostage.  There's really only one problem with the movie and that is it's too short.  I really wanted to know these guys, good and bad, a little more so the story could have worked better.  That could have also given the prisoners claims of terrible conditions and crooked corrections officers.  But despite that problem, the movie works.  Siegel lets us see the nasty side of these men and forces us to think real hard about our loyalties.  And it is also surprisingly violent for a movie from the 50s, the most shocking of which being a pretty graphic shot of a man being stabbed in the chest.  All in all, if a movie about prisoners starting a riot to try to get better conditions is intriguing to you, this is a solid movie.  Even if it isn't, give it a try to see the start of the man who helped make Clint Eastwood an icon.  

Rating:  8/10

War Horse (November 16th, 2014)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Jeremy Irvine, Peter Mullan, Emily Watson, and Tom Hiddleston

I really couldn't believe the movie I was watching.  This was so wrong headed a movie, so stupid a premise that it feels like an elaborate joke.  It has to be.  Spielberg has had a rough patch since Munich, but he couldn't have fallen this far.  He made Tintin the same year.  But my god, this is the worst thing he's done since ET.  The idea of him doing a WWI movie isn't a bad idea at all.  But making a movie about this magical fucking horse that everyone falls in love with as if it's something greater than a fucking horse is one of the lamest ideas ever.  The whole time, my sentiment was "But it's a fucking horse" as a held my head in my hands.  People literally care more about the horse during a fucking battle in no mans land than other people dying.  It's all so god damn cloying that it's sickening.  That boy who owns him is such a ridiculous characters, spending literal years upset that the horse was sold to the army and is such a mope and holy shit it's a fucking horse.  Seriously, this is insane that anyone liked this.  That the man who made Saving Private Ryan though this is a worthy war follow up.  It doesn't help that no one in the movie is a legit character, just showing up for 5 minutes to fall in love with the horse, than either die or just get left behind by this fucking horse.  The technical merits are stellar, but at this point it goes without saying with Spielberg.  But everything else sucks.  Stay away.  This movie is a joke.  The hardest viewing of my Spielberg kick.

Rating: 5/10

Paths of Glory (November 17th, 2014)
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Starring: Kirk Douglas, Ralph Meeker, Adolphe Menjou, and George MacReady

Well, it seems like I have a new favorite Kubrick movie.  This movie was great.  Surprisingly great too for a few reasons.  One, its a war movie made in the 50s so I didn't think it would be able to convey the feeling of battle well.  And 2, I've been pretty cold on Kubrick so the fact that I kinda loved this movie is really surprising.  Set during WWI, we follow Kirk Douglas as he leads his men through an unwinnable mission.  When the mission does indeed fail, the leader of the mission brings up three of his men on cowardice charges to make himself seem like a better leader, to get himself a promotion.  What's kinda surprising is that such an anti war movie was made in the 50s.  I didn't think that would be allowed, and its box office failing kinda proved that.  But there's a reason this lives on.  It shows us that to the higher ups, the men they are fighting with aren't as important as their image.  They'll be willing to sacrifice these men for no reason other than publicity.  It's a very cynical movie like that, a constant Kubrick trait.  But what sets this apart from Kubricks other joints is there is a humanity here.  Douglas is the one man who sees what's happening and is trying to fight for his men, but ultimately fails.  Douglas is great in the role and grounds the movie.  There's really only two problems I have with this movie.  One, I wish the movie was longer so we could know the men a bit more so their deaths would hit a little harder and drive the point home.  Secondly, am I really supposed to believe that Kirk Douglas and all these men are French?  I honestly didn't know they were supposed to be French until the court scene.  These things don't ruin the impact of the movie though.  It's a great damn film and one that everyone should see.

Rating: 9/10

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (November 22nd, 2014)
Director: Philip Kaufman
Starring: Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum, and Leonard Nimoy

I felt a bit bad after watching this movie, because while I liked it I thought it was a bit rough.  Some elements haven't aged well and kinda makes the movie a bit goofy in parts.  That may be in part to the fact that some of it hasn't aged well, but there's a part of me that feels a little less than wowed with this movie due to the fact that I've seen The Thing.  They aren't too similar, but they are both about aliens that take over human bodies.  Both are also attempting to make the audience feel very paranoid at the idea of being taken over.  It's here that I think that The Thing tainted this a bit for me.  The Thing is a masterclass in paranoia, never letting us know who is who until it's too late.  This movie isn't as ingenious like that.  The mood is pretty odd at points, helping along the paranoia.  But then the score kinda undercuts things at points.  It doesn't help the movie that it becomes a bit of a love story that just sorta happens.  The cast is good for the most part but something is missing here.  It's still good and hits its points well.  But between some goofier elements and some silly character decisions, it stops this from being great for me.

Rating: 8/10






Top Movies

1. Paths of Glory
2. Riot In Cell Block 11
3. Invasion of The Body Snatchers
4. War Horse



Top 5 Moments

1. The Execution - Paths of Glory
2. The Breakout - Riot In Cell Block 11
3. The First Pod Scene - Invasion of The Body Snatchers
4. The Court Scene - Paths of Glory
5. The Battle Scene - War Horse




Top 5 Performances

1. Kirk Douglas - Paths of Glory
2. Neville Brand - Riot In Cell Block 11
3. Donald Sutherland - Invasion of The Body Snatchers
4. George MacReady - Paths of Glory
5. Adolphe Menjou - Paths of Glory

- Tom Lorenzo

Movies Watched 11/9 - 11/15

Welcome back gang.  I'm back at it yet again with a new, different batch of films this week.  Sadly though, there are two duds within.  But that's fine as theres two great films at play and a smart sci fi flick.  So strap in and give it a whirl.  Enjoy and share if you don't mind.  Thanks again.

2010: The Year We Make Contact (November 9th, 2014)

Director: Peter Hyams

Starring: Roy Scheider, Helen Mirren, John Lithgow, and Bob Balaban

Hold onto your butts, because I have something to share for the purposes of this post.  I can't stand 2001: A Space Odyssey.  It a technical marvel, a masterpiece in that respect that still holds up today.  But there's nothing else to it, a story hidden in there with long and boring silent intervals and no soul at all.  The only reason I decided to watch this sequel was because it was being compared to Interstellar a lot, a movie I really enjoyed.  Roy Schieder being in it didn't hurt.  So it is with some surprise that I quite enjoyed this movie.  It isn't the game changer in any way that the original was.  And not being directed by Kubrick, it lacks some precision and artful compositions.  But it adds a story that isn't buried underneath the surface.  There are actual humans in the movie and not just cyphers to make a thematic point.  It is still very much apart of the world of the last, feeling worthy.  And like the last one, it has a pretty trippy ending.  Not as trippy because it makes sense without putting a puzzle together or having to read a book.  I'd recommend this for those interested in brainer than usual sci fi and/or those who dug Interstellar.  Again, not a game changer but worthy nonetheless.  

Rating: 8/10

John Carter (November 11th, 2014)
Director: Andrew Stanton
Starring: Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Dominic West, and Willem Dafoe

This managed to somehow be very disappointing and not disappointing at all.  The movie bombed at the box office and reviews were pretty bad.  But then there was a contingent online that said the movie was actually pretty solid.  So I decided to give it a shot and I gotta agree with the initial response.  This isn't a good movie.  It isn't awful by any means.  Its well made and the acting isn't atrocious.  There's just a lack of energy or drama in any second of it.  The acting is also pretty bland, giving no real weight to anything they are given to do.  The script is pretty mediocre.  It does a lot of telling and not showing.  We're told that West is the bad guy, but I don't really see how aside from the constant lines about him being bad.  The titular character is unbelievably bland.  He's supposed to be this grizzled war vet, a bad ass who want to be left alone.  But Kitsch, who has been good in stuff, is just miscast.  He's way too young/young looking to bring the weight needed to the role.  Maybe the biggest sin this commits is being a gigantic blockbuster with pretty mediocre action.  I'd go so far as to say it's bad.  It all really boils down to Kitsch jumping high and landing, then jumping again. It's kinda wild how repetitious it is for being so boring.  And for the craftsmanship at work technically, it's all way too clean to really make an impression.  There's nothing really here worth singling out.  If it's on late at night and literally nothing is on the 1000 channels available, give it a shot I guess.  Otherwise, not worth it.

Rating: 6/10

All That Jazz (November 12th, 2014)
Director: Bob Fosse
Starring: Roy Schieder, Jessica Lange, Ann Reinking, and Leland Palmer

This movie has cemented an opinion I've had for a while now.  Roy Schieder is the most under rated actor of the 70s.  He had consistently done great work throughout the decade and was essentially gifted with the best role he'd have.  It was a role that one wouldn't think of him to play.  But he knocked it the fuck out of the park, playing one of the richest characters of the decade.  Joe Gideon is a train wreck of a man.  A film and stage director/dance choreographer who is a perfectionist as well as a drug user and serial philanderer, he is constantly courting death.  And it seems like he wants to.  The movie is a gorgeous look at this mans life, complete with show stopping dance numbers and immaculate choreography.  Fosse directs the hell out of this movie, a semi autobiographical piece that is Fosse basically admitting he's a gigantic piece of shit.  It's really remarkable.  He pulls no punches at revealing the broken soul of the man and Schieder is more than up to the task.  This is a rich film that is one of the highlights of the legendary 70s.  Pick this up and bask in Schieders performance, if not also Fosses honest and visionary directing/writing.

Rating: 9/10

The Midnight Meat Train (November 15th, 2014)
Director: Ryuhei Kitamura
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Leslie Bibb, Roger Bart, and Vinnie Jones

I don't think Clive Barker stories should be made into movies.  Aside from Hellraiser, none of his stuff seems to really work on screen.  And even then, Hellraiser could be argued that it too barely works.  It seems like either the stuff he's writing doesn't translate to the screen well due to his writing style, or the movie is hastily made with a mediocre script.  I might go with the latter.  For this movie seems to have been thrown together in a hurry just to get a movie going for Kitamura to visually show off.  The story appears to be Cooper investigating killer Jones, taking photos and uncovering the crimes.  But then monsters show up at the end and it's just ridiculous.  Also, Cooper is getting brainwashed for some fucking reason, because script.  The script could have been overcome, like with Nightbreed in a way, but Kitamura is more concerned with showing off some annoying visual flair and some horrendous CGI blood.  It doesn't help, it's just distracting.  This movie could have been a decent little flick if it just stuck to a human story and not involving the supernatural, but it falls apart.  Not comically bad, just boring.  Don't even bother.

Rating: 5/10

The Hidden Fortress (November 15th, 2014)
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Misa Uehara, Minoru Chiaki, and Kamatari Fujiwara

There's two reasons why this movie is special, aside from being another damn good Kurosawa movie.  1. It is Kurosawas first movie shot in widescreen, giving it even more of a visual florish than he usually employs.  2. It is one of the movies to inspire Lucas in the making of Star Wars.  His main inspiration was in having the movie seen through the eyes of two comic relief sidekicks.  The two here are peasants trying to get home across enemy territory after a war and are unwittingly brought into a plan hatched by Mifune to bring the thought dead princess of the losing side back to friendly territory.  It's a very solid story, one that allows some tension to grow throughout the proceedings as the group makes its way across the land.  Visually the movie is striking and the performances are all good across the board, not surprising from Mifune.  There's only two problems I have with the movie and they are related in a way.  For one, the movie runs a little too long.  That is due to issue 2, that the two peasants are almost too stupid to believe.  The movie spends alot of time in the beginning with them, trying to build them up as characters.  Which is fine in theory, but these two are almost cartoonishly dumb.  It takes a bit away from the movie but not enough to ruin it at all.  It's still a great time and well worth the trip.  

Rating: 9/10






Top Movies

1. All That Jazz
2. The Hidden Fortress
3. 2010: The Year We Make Contact
4. John Carter
5. The Midnight Meat Train





Top 5 Moments

1. The End Dance Number - All That Jazz
2. The Spear Duel - The Hidden Fortress
3. Dave Appears - 2010
4. The End Escape - The Hidden Fortress
5. Joes Loved Ones Put On A Number For Him - All That Jazz




Top 5 Performances

1. Roy Schieder - All That Jazz
2. Toshiro Mifune - The Hidden Fortress
3. John Lithgow - 2010
4. Helen Mirren - 2010
5. Roy Schieder - 2010

- Tom Lorenzo

Movies Watched The Week of 11/2 - 11/8

It's a new week ladies and germs, and this is a unique week.  Unique in the fact that three of these movies are still playing in theaters right now, so you can see one/all 3 or not see any or just tell me to fuck myself.  Either way, lets engage man.  And a preemptive fuck you too.  But thanks for the view and share if you can.  But mainly, enjoy.

Birdman (November 2nd, 2014)

Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu 

Starring: Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Zack Galifianakis, and Emma Stone

This movie has had a lot of hype leading up to its release.  For one, Inarritu is a guy who tends to make movies the Academy likes even if they don't break out in the world.  Secondly, rumor had it that it was going to be filmed to look like it was all done in one take.  But thirdly, and most importantly, it was the leading man return for Michael Keaton.  Not only that, but the movie is about a washed up actor who was a comic book movie star 20 years ago.  So it may not be completely autobiographical, but there is some life leaking into the art here that was fascinating from the go.  Now, the good news is that Keaton is electric.  He is really on fire and gives on of the best, if not the best, performance this year.  The academy will be calling with a nom soon enough.  Secondly, Norton and Stone manage to keep up with Keaton and elevate the movie above one man performance piece.  Norton in particular is great as the asshole actor who can only be alive on the stage. And thirdly, the movie is visually gorgeous, the long take aesthetic working really well with the seams being hidden very well.  But that third point kinda plays into the negatives.  By being too worried about the technology of the movie, the movie is a bit hampered in the emotional story being told.  Hell, the technology itself is kind of the problem (much like Gravity last year, by Innaritu associate Cuaron).  By sticking to the long take aesthetic, it severely limits the storytelling possibilities.  Aside from the three actors I mentioned, the cast is severely underused and underwritten because of this and it is kinda odd.  And even the other two not Keaton are a tad underserved.  There's an emotional story in there about a mans struggle between his art and his life, but it is all a bit one sided with his art because we can never see him outside the job.  Innaritu does his best with the very experimental technique, but it hinders the movie.  Now, the movie isn't bad.  But it could have soared, because Keaton kills and the movie has some pretty good laughs in it.  It does feel, though, like it is all about Innaritu going for the throats of critics here so theres a whiny element to it.  But it works in the end.  For those who wanna see Keaton more alive than he's been in a long time, this is heaven.  For others, it might not work too well.  But I'll recommend it, because even if it doesn't work completely, the world needs more experimental movies like this.  

Rating: 8/10

Amistad (November 2nd, 2014)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Djimon Honsou, Matthew McConaughey, Morgan Freeman, and Anthony Hopkins

Spielberg has a reputation for making movies for kids.  Having seen the vast majority of his movies, that is absolute bullshit and if you believe that then you're a pretentious jerkoff.  Does he make blockbuster movies every now and then?  Yeah, and he's the master of them.  But even movies like Jaws and Raiders of The Lost Ark are dark as fuck movies that only get seen by kids because they are transcendent pieces of cinema.  Just go to his output in the 90s and you can see a growth as he went to specifically adult oriented movies.  Schindlers List was a sobering look at the Holocaust and the first sign of the leap he made.  Sure, he made Jurassic Park the same year (fucking, seriously).  But that was no child like movie.  His next grown up film was this fantastic look at slavery, again making a Jurassic Park the same year (what a tonal fucking whiplash that year was for him again).  This is a fantastic movie, and it's fucking wild that this isn't the best movie he made in the 90s.  What is really interesting about the movie is that it takes the form of a courtroom drama, similar to Lincoln.  But where Lincoln was a movie about the abolishment of slavery without dealing with the effects of slavery and the horrors, it was a clean movie about how the Civil War was an irritating event for white folk.  This has so much heart and so much emotions, showing the absolute horror of the practice.  Also, by making it a courtroom drama, it highlights the mind boggling way that blacks were looked at back then.  They were just property and had to be fought over in property disputes.  McConaughey knows this, as a property lawyer who realizes how the case has to be fought.  Not with logic or emotions, but with the mind to realize how things were seen.  Freeman is the free man who McConaughey comes to help in the trial trying to free the slaves.  Freeman doesn't have much to do, but there is a powerful moment where all the history of the practice hits him like a fresh wound.  McConaughey shows that he was always talented, another in a string of good 90s flicks before the romantic comedies lured him away.  He brings to life the man smart enough to realize how to fight the case.  Hopkins brings some old man fire as John Quincy Adams.  But the highlight is Hounsou, the heart and soul of the film.  He is the slave who is designated the de facto leader, the one who works with McConaughey and Freeman and Hopkins.  The pain and intelligence he shows is astounding.  Without him, the movie would work significantly less.  This is a powerhouse of cinema and comes highly recommended.

Rating: 9.5/10

Nightcrawler (November 4th, 2014)
Director: Dan Gilroy
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, and Bill Paxton

Jake Gyllenhaal has seemingly been on the warpath to show what a talented actor he is after a bad few years of trying to be an action hero.  And he's been delivering with some great performances.  He just got better.  This is an amazing performance.  Lou Bloom is a creeper for the fucking ages.  Jake brings out the lack of humanity in him.  He's not even hiding.  Anyone with some good sense in them can see something is off.  But like any one desperate enough to start a career, he goes above and beyond what he sets his sights on.  Only in his case, he breaks the law.  A lot.  In his case, he decides to take a video camera and film crime scenes and accidents.  If blood is involved, he is there to film and send it to a news station for money.  Lous desperation to climb the ladder is the crux of the movie.  The movie is an indictment of the news media, as the desperation for ratings allows Lou to sell law breaking materials.  He crosses the line, but no one will stop him because it makes money for the media.  But what's really being attacked is capitalism, the idea of careerism.  Climbing the ladder by any means necessary, the idea that you can better yourself by bringing others down is really kinda potent in a world where kids are finding it harder and harder to find work.  We're all told that we deserve everything if we work hard enough.  All this works through the movie.  And it's all fantastic.  This is mainly Gyllenhaals movie, but Rene Russo and Paxton do really good work as well.  Only problem, not enough Paxton for my tastes.  But seriously, this comes recommended.  I wish it was a little longer though, only because I was so entranced.

Rating: 9/10

Interstellar (November 6th, 2014)
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Jessica Chastain, Anne Hathaway, and Michael Caine

Not many movies this year come with the hype and baggage that this does.  The marketing materials haven been amazing and got everyone in a tizzy.  But it also comes from Nolan, a man who is simultaneously loved and hated in equal measure.  Coming off the last Batman movie where the reputation hasn't been so kind as time goes on.  People are ready to get their knives ready to carve into him, rightfully or not.  And the release has shown that they are cutting into it.  It's a shame that these miserable cunts are gonna ruin it for some, as this is a really damn fine film.  The bitter irony being that it is very much a Nolan movie in execution technically, but it is so different narratively and tonally.  Nolan is usually a detached and cold director, not getting very sentimental.  That and his knack for technical wizardry have brought about comparisons to Kubrick.  Being that this is very similar to 2001 on first glance, people expected 2001.  But something must have happened to Nolan, as this is more in line with Spielberg than Kubrick.  He is trying to work the heart of the viewer and it's a bit jarring.  That isn't to say this is not an icy, technical movie.  It is the majority of the ride.  But anchoring the movie in McConaughey's relationship with his daughter, the emotions can come out.  And without an actor with the blue collar every man appeal of McConaughey in the role and had a typical Nolan lead performance, the movie would fail.  Matt is great and nails the emotional scenes, some of them absolute killers.  The rest of the cast works well enough, but the other MVP is Mackenzie Foy as the daughter at 10.  She helps sell the connection and gives Matt a real anchor.  But besides the emotional work at play, the science stuff is real heady.  Worm holes, black holes, and the theory of relativity come into play and add to a mind fuck of an ending.  Attention must be paid or one could be lost easily.  Does everything work?  No, mainly some stuff on Earth later in the movie as it cross cuts between the mission.  But overall, this is some real smart film making and a real achievement for Sci Fi.  Recommended with an open mind and without the hate ready to be stoked.

Rating: 9/10

The Color Purple (November 8th, 2014)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, Margaret Avery, and Oprah Winfrey

Spielbergs first foray into serious movie making and it is pretty solid stuff.  It's a decades long look at a black woman growing into herself in the early 1900s.  Goldberg plays that girl as she deals with the abusive kinda husband she lives with (Glover).  She is a bit of a wallflower, afraid to do anything but be subservient.  She had two children by her father before being sold to Glover.  Being separated from her sister hurts her to the core, leaving her alone in the world.  But growing up around these people she slowly starts to grow, mainly due to the character of Shug (Avery).  The only real problem I had with the movie is that Spielberg didn't have complete control of the adult nature of the story, so it at times feels a bit light.  But then he can drive right into a heavy scene and nail it.  Without this movie, we wouldn't have the 90s stuff so I'm ok.  But I'll admit that by the end, I got a bit emotional.  So it works very well.  It'll also probably work well for other people with a leaning towards these kinds of films.  It shows the power at hand if it effected me, since these don't usually work for me.  Highly recommended.

Rating: 8.5/10

Nightbreed (November 8th, 2014)
Director: Clive Barker
Starring: Craig Sheffer, David Cronenberg, Anne Bobby, and Charles Haid

This is an interesting little movie here.  Released in 1990, Clive Barkers follow up to Hellraiser was butchered by the studio and released in a compromised form, tanking at the box office and essentially being disowned by Barker.  But over time, rumors of a longer cut would surface but never come to fruition.  But recently, Barker found all the old footage he shot and assembled a cut to tour with.  Not an official cut, just everything filmed.  So fans hopes of a directors cut seemed very possible.  And thanks to the B movie Criterion, Shout Factory, it has come out.  20 minutes longer than that original cut, it truly resembles Barkers original vision.  So it's nice to see that.  And it's nice that it's his true vision finally, so I can critique a true product.  This is barely a good movie.  There is a story in here, but Barker either purposefully left it ambiguous or he just lost the thread in the movie.  I think he lost the thread.  There's stuff about this hidden city for the monsters named Midian and the main guy (Sheffer) is looking for it.  But Cronenberg is looking to destroy Midian for some damn reason.  Then it all ends in a shootout and ends with the main guy with his girl and they're monsters now.  It's all a little half assed in a way, Barker not being able to properly convey what is going on and why we should care.  But Barker is a very good visualist and production designer that the movie has something to it that makes it at least entertaining to watch.  The acting is fine.  In Cronenbergs case, he speaks english so that's good enough I guess.  Idk.  This one is really only for horror and/or Barker fans.  For others, stay back.

Rating: 7/10







Top Movies

1. Amistad
2. Interstellar
3. Nightcrawler
4. The Color Purple
5. Birdman
6. Nightbreed




Top 5 Performances

1. Djimon Hounsou - Amistad
2. Jake Gyllenhaal - Nightcrawler
3. Matthew McConaughey - Interstellar
4. Michael Keaton - Birdman
5. Oprah Winfrey - The Color Purple



Top 5 Moments

1.  Overboard - Amistad
2. Trying To Reconnect The Ship - Interstellar
3. "You say I don't understand people..." - Nightcrawler
4. Celie Stands Up For Herself - The Color Purple
5. Birdman Arrives - Birdman

- Tom Lorenzo

Movies Watched The Week of 10/26 - 11/1

Welcome back gang.  The month of horror comes to a close and you can see the move from horror to other such stuff.  That other, non horror stuff, comes in the form of Spielberg flicks I had yet to see.  And I gotta say, it was some damn good stuff.  So sit back and enjoy the ride as we wave goodbye to the month of mayhem, and look towards a bright future of whatever the fuck happens.  Enjoy.

Terror Train (October 26th, 2014)

Director: Roger Spottiswoode 

Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Ben Johnson, Hart Bochner, and David Copperfield

There's really not much to say about this movie.  It's a fairly typical slasher movie of that era where they were a dime a dozen.  The most spectacular thing has to be that it isn't obnoxiously bad like most are.  It also has a unique setting, a train instead of a typical suburban shit hole.  It's not Snowpiercer or anything, making the train feel visually appealing or different from area to area.  It's a tiny difference that makes a big difference in tone.  Ie, there's nowhere to fucking go.  Jamie is her typical Jamie self, not as good with a director that isn't even a quarter as good as Carpenter.  But she's good enough to keep you interested.  Johnson is the best of the bunch, a genre vet who brings a warm and wizened presence to the proceedings.  The rest of the cast is ok, nothing special.  Some are typical slasher movie bad, but they get dispatched or ignored quick enough.  Now, the movie is kind of a whodunit.  That's admirable enough, but it has a prologue that pretty much tells you who it is.  So these scenes with people trying to look for the killer is a bit of a non starter.  But then the ending comes, and kinda sucker punches you with a nice little reveal.  The movie is entertaining enough, but doesn't transcend the genre enough to make non genre fans interested.  But if you wanna see Jamie Lee in her horror phase or are interested in the slasher era of horror, you could do worse.  

Rating: 7/10

No One Lives (October 26th, 2014)
Director: Ryuhei Kitamura
Starring: Luke Evans, Adelaide Clemens, Lee Tergesen, and Derek Magyar

This was a nice little surprise, being that it was produced by the WWE and is not a complete shit pile.  But more than that, it is an actually really interesting B movie.  This isn't high art, will never win itself some prestigious awards.  But it has a hell of a twist in it to make the proceedings a lot more interesting that the normal run of the mill it seemed like initially.  To spoil it here would be unfair, since it is a relatively recent movie and is not in the public consciousness.  But I will say that the movie plays in a very murky area, morally speaking.  There is a conflict at hand of where to put our loyalties, and there is only one person to do that.  It is a really sort of brilliant idea and I loved that it did it.  The movie is really well shot and the violence is particularly nice, bloody and over the top.  The acting is all serviceable all around, with Evans and Clemens doing the best work.  It's a shame Evans can't get work in good things, being stuck in the likes of The Hobbit movies or Dracula Untold.  He has a good energy and charm here.  And Clemens does really good work, playing the only real character with a wide range of emotions going on.  And she nails it.  This isn't a movie that's going to change the world, nor is it going to be liked by everyone.  It is a big movie with a lot of crazy things going on that may make people scoff.  But it plays with a little wink in its eye, letting you know it's in on the joke. That being said, I really liked it as a genuine B movie that knows how to entertain.  If you can open your mind to a wild movie, give this a shot.

Rating: 9/10

1941 (October 29th, 2014)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: John Belushi, Dan Akroyd, Christopher Lee, and Toshiro Mifune

This movie has a pretty negative reputation in the annals of history.  After coming of the successes of Jaws and Close Encounters, Spielberg went stupid big for this movie and it failed.  Critics didn't like it, nor did audiences who checked out.  This movie changed how Spielberg made movies, so it's kind of directly responsible for Raiders of The Lost Ark.  And even before I saw it, I was glad it existed just for that reason.  But now having seen it, I gotta say that is is actually a great deal of fun.  The movie is still a big, bloated mess with so much going on.  It's kind of like an anthology movie in the sense that some of the stuff works, while others don't.  The cast is huge and everyone seems to be game, with the highlights being Belushi and Akroyd.  Belushi is just a god damn treasure, playing a crazy pilot who thinks he has been trailing some Jap pilots.  He just goes big and it works.  Akroyd is great as a tank operator who likes to give speeches, until he gets concussed and goes a little nuts.  The rest of the cast is great, with Mifune and Lee doing some really good work as well.  Even Slim Pickens shows up to do a great cameo with those two.  The movie takes a while to get truly revving, but there is a moment when the movie just clicks into place and goes completely insane that is so wild, it's really just amazing.  From that point, the movie is pretty hilarious and finally works.  Now, watching this movie, there was some pretty surprising stuff in it that I did not expect to see.  For one, there is period appropriate racism in it.  A lot of slurs towards the Japanese and one really fucked up but amazing joke at their expense.  Hell, there's even some humor about blacks having to sit in the back of buses.  Really kinda crazy shit I never expected to see in a slapstick comedy from the really sentimental Spielberg.  Also, there is a really rapey subplot that really threw me.  And when I mean rapey, I mean Treat Williams plays a soldier who spends a lot of time trying to kidnap a girl who doesn't wanna sleep with him, so he can force her to sleep with him.  It's fucking nuts and it's all played for laughs, which is really kinda insane.  That story is fucked up and wrong, but in a way helps make the world seem all that more bent and warped.  Something else that works here is the idea of panic that this country feels about invisible enemies, hiding in every dark corner.  Not to say it's a prescient movie, but it does make a good anchor to hang a slapstick comedy on.  Especially when this country still gets itself worked into a froth over nonsense.  This movie isn't going to work for everyone, but it made me laugh a whole lot.  So give it a try and watch what is considered to be Spielbergs first failure.  And jack, most would wish this was their worst movie.

Rating: 8/10

Duel (November 1st, 2014)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Dennis Weaver

Most people would assume that Jaws was the first time people got to know who Spielberg was.  And they would kind of be wrong.  That was his first big hit and the movie that captured the public consciousness, but people in the 70s probably heard from him before.  He made a made for tv movie that was so good, he was allowed to film more scenes and it was released in theaters for a bit.  That movie was Duel, a masterful exercise in tension.  This is the movie that probably got him Jaws, since it is very similar movie where it's a big truck instead of a shark.  This is a very simple movie.  Dennis Weaver is driving to meet a client about some work stuff when he pisses off a trucker for some reason that he or we don't understand, and that trucker decides to terrorize him.  That's it, very simple stuff.  Weaver is the only real character in the movie, and he carries it really well.  The paranoia he feels is palpable, constantly worrying about why this is happening and how he's going to survive this.  It's not a surprise that this kid went on to be the biggest director ever.  He had a real talent early on, knowing how to work a camera and how to wring tension out of some run of the mill elements.  Tension is so thick in this movie that it feels like it could be cut with a knife.  The fact that he pulled this magic trick off on tv is insane.  And its the 70s, so it's all practical.  Just genius stuff and re energized my love for Spielbergs work.  Highly recommended.

Rating: 9/10

The Sugarland Express (November 11th, 2014)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Goldie Hawn, William Atherton, Ben Johnson, and Michael Sacks

Well now we get to the big screen debut for Spielberg, and it's a pretty solid ride.  Here we follow a dopey young couple as the woman (Hawn) breaks the man (Atherton) out of prison to try and get their son from foster care.  What follows is essentially a road movie as they drive across Texas to get to the boy.  The rub?  They took a cop hostage and are now being trailed by what appears to be the entire Texas police department, led by Ben Johnson.  Now, this movie is a bit of a step back from Duel, but only a bit.  Where Duel was a unique exercise in tension, this is his version of a bunch of other movies combined.  So it lacks a bit in originality.  But it still shows his talents behind the camera immensely.  He gets good performances out of everyone, including Hawn who has always been an annoying screen presence to me.  Spielberg shows a real maturity in this movie that most fresh faced directors wouldn't have.  He shows that these two kids are simple and pretty stupid, but doesn't excuse their actions.  They are wrong, through and through.  It's pretty refreshing to see a movie like this that doesn't canonize the criminals.  Also, in Ben Johnsons role is a nice change of pace.  He knows these kids aren't bad, that they really just are overgrown children.  He tries his best to save them from a bigger world of trouble, despite the best efforts of the other cops around him.  There's a lot of humanity in this movie and it helps to sell the movie.  It's a rather low key affair, and this is not the kind of movie I'd think of as a precursor to Jaws, but there you go.  It may not be his best, but it's essential in seeing the path of his career.  Give it a spin and see the legend start to form.

Rating: 8.5/10






Top Movies

1. Duel
2. No One Lives
3. The Sugarland Express
4. 1941
5. Terror Train




Top 5 Moments

1. The Entire Third Act - 1941
2. The Final Showdown - Duel
3. Checking The Trunk - No One Lives
4. Slim Picken and Mifune Interact - 1941
5. The Reveal - Terror Train



Top 5 Performances

1. Dennis Weaver - Duel
2. John Belushi - 1941
3. Luke Evans - No One Lives
4. Adelaide Clemens - No One Lives
5. Dan Akroyd - 1941

- Tom Lorenzo