D.O.A.: Documentary chronicling the rise and fall of the punk movement with rare interview footage of Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen.
Fairly decent documentary on the later years of the UK punk movement withe crux of it being the Sex Pistols ill fated U.S. tour. If for no other reason, this is worth watching for the Sid Vicious / NancySpungen interview conducted in their room at The Chelsea Hotel. Sid is nearly incoherent and keeps passing out during the course of the interview. Both of them would be dead within the year.
WALL-E: In the distant future, a small waste collecting robot inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind.
Again, the first half of this is incredible. Very little dialogue and some amazing visuals make it probably my favorite Pixar movie ever. Then in the second half they start shoving the message down your throat and it gets annoying. We get it, Americans are fat, lazy, and too dependent on the internet. We're destroying the earth, blah, blah, blah. That being said, I do applaud Pixar for getting excellent underrated talents in their movies. Patton Oswalt in Ratatouille and now Jeff Garlin and Fred Willard for WALL-E. Well done sirs.
The Darjeeling Limited: Three American brothers who have not spoken to each other in a year set off on a train voyage across India with a plan to find themselves and bond with each other -- to become brothers again like they used to be. Their "spiritual quest", however, veers rapidly off-course (due to events involving over-the-counter pain killers, Indian cough syrup, and pepper spray), and they eventually find themselves stranded alone in the middle of the desert with eleven suitcases, a printer, and a laminating machine. At this moment, a new, unplanned journey suddenly begins.
The first half of this is awesome. During the second half it gets a little heavy handed and too obvious with the symbolism. Definitely watch this with the short film "Hotel Chevalier" attached. It's not really necessary to see them both but it definitely adds to some understanding of Schwartzman's character.
I think Sarah Silverman is incredibly talented and hilarious but her schtick falls a little flat in this. I can only handle so much material about race and religion before it pretty much just loses its intended meaning. She's much better in small doses such as in The Aristocrats
Field of Dreams: An Iowa corn farmer, hearing voices, interprets them as a command to build a baseball diamond in his fields; he does, and the Chicago Black Sox come.
Two things you should know about me. 1: I love baseball. 2: I hate Kevin Costner. That being said, I loved this movie as a kid and still really like it. Again, it's a simple story about family, mainly the relationship between father and son and how you don't really get a second chance to reconcile once one of you has passed on.
Arthur: Arthur is a happy drunk with no pretensions at any ambition. He is also the heir to a vast fortune which he is told will only be his if he marries Susan. He does not love Susan, but she will make something of him the family expects. Arthur proposes but then meets a girl with no money who he could easily fall in love with.
I really dig this flick. Imagine that. Me liking a movie about a drunk. Not much to say about it other than it's a really solid, simple story. John Gielgud won an Oscar for supporting actor as Dudley Moore's butler, Hobson.
The Dark Knight: Batman and James Gordon join forces with Gotham's new District Attorney, Harvey Dent, to take on a psychotic bank robber known as The Joker, whilst other forces plot against them, and Joker's crimes grow more and more deadly.
This is my favorite movie of the year thus far and probably my favorite comic book movie ever. It totally lives up to the hype and Heath Ledger indeed gives the performance of a lifetime. From the moment he appears onscreen as The Joker you are absolutely drawn into his performance and cannot get out. I had my reservations about him as the iconic Batman villain but I fuckin' loved this movie and him in that role. He absolutely deserves an Academy Award for this. 'Nuff said.
Pineapple Express: A stoner and his dealer are forced to go on the run from the police after the pothead witnesses a cop commit a murder.
Another hit for the Apatow clan. I'm not a huge fan of stoner movies but I am a huge fan of people saying "fuck the system, we're gonna do what we want even if it no one else gets it." You can tell that this movie was made by a bunch of friends who just wanted to see what they could get away with by having a huge budget. It's fun, funny, and Danny McBride once again steals the show.
Clerks II: A calamity at Dante and Randall's shops sends them looking for new horizons - but they ultimately settle at Mooby's, a fictional Disney-McDonald's-style fast-food empire.
Excellent sequel to Clerks. It has the heart that some of Smith's other work (Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back) was missing but maintains the dirty humor that abounds in all his work. The relationship between Randall and Dante and the feeling of being stuck in a place you hate is something everyone can relate to, especially in their mid 20's.
Hot Fuzz: Jealous colleagues conspire to get a top London cop transferred to a small town and paired with a witless new partner. On the beat, the pair stumble upon a series of suspicious accidents and events.
Shaun of the Dead was great and the duo of Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright keep up the streak with this one. I love the mix of awesome action sequences and the hilarious chemistry between Wright and Pegg.
Batman Begins: The story of how Bruce Wayne became what he was destined to be: Batman.
I hated this movie when it came out but I thought I would give it another chance since The Dark Knight comes out this week.
On second viewing I realized that I really enjoy the beginning and the end. The entire time that he is actually Batman I can't stand it. It's terrible.
The Tracey Fragments: 15-year-old Tracey Berkowitz is naked under a shower curtain at the back of a bus, looking for her little brother Sonny, who thinks he's a dog.
I made it through exactly 25 minutes of this before shutting it off. I really wanted to like this because I think Ellen Page is incredibly talented but her performance is completely overshadowed by the editing. It's like the director just got a copy of Final Cut Pro and wanted to show off all the cool shit he could do with it. I can dig on some experimental film making but at least make it watchable.
Bram Stoker's Dracula: The vampire comes to England to seduce a visitor's fiance and inflict havoc in the foreign land.
Somehow I never saw this when it first came out so this was first viewing. Gary Oldman man. Fuckin' a. The guys is so good. I've always been a fan of the Dracula folklore and Oldman nailed this performance. As always a nice cameo by Tom Waits doesn't hurt either.
Be Kind Rewind: A man whose brain becomes magnetized unintentionally destroys every tape in his friend's video store. In order to satisfy the store's most loyal renter, an aging woman with signs of dementia, the two men set out to remake the lost films.
I really dig Michel Gondry and Mos Def and I really wanted to like this but I got totally bored. The premise is good and I like that it's basically a love letter to VHS but I can only handle so much Jack Black.
Batman (1966): The Dynamic Duo faces four super-villains who plan to hold the world for ransom with the help of a secret invention that instantly dehydrates people.
Batman is my favorite comic book character because, unlike most superheroes, he is just like us. He deals with the same problems that the rest of us do: guilt, depression, uncertainty about his actions, remorse, etc. He's a flawed individual with a dark side that I can relate to more than any other comic book character. That being said, I will always have a soft spot for the campy 1960's batman since that was my initial introduction to the character. I would watch the television show every day after school on my family's black and white TV when I was 8, 9, and 10 years old. The original movie is just as awesome as I remember it from when I was a kid and hopefully at some point we can get a DVD set of the entire series.
You're Gonna Miss Me: Documentary about rock n roll pioneer Roger Kynard "Roky" Erickson, whose band the 13th Floor Elevators coined the term "psychedelic rock" in the 60's. Struggling with drug abuse and schizophrenia, he spent 3 years in Rusk State Hospital after pleading insanity on marijuana charges. His new band, Roky Erickson and the Aliens managed to stay vital during the 70's with a darker and more aggressive rock sound. After losing interest in music, he became a recluse, living in poverty and filth. The movie details the rise and fall of Roky Erickson and his brothers struggle to get Rokys life back on track.
This is one of the most heartbreaking movies I've ever seen. RokyErikson was an amazing talent and pretty much single handedly started the 60's psych rock movement. Through his years of drug abuse and shock treatment in a mental institution he became a shell of who he once was and battles, to this day, the demons of schizophrenia. It's no surprise he ended up as he did after watching this. A crazy mother, a fucked up childhood and an equally crazy brother / caretaker left him no chance at all. A truly sad tale of one of rock n' roll most under appreciated talents.
Super High Me: Determined to find out the true effects of marijuana on the human body, stand-up comedian and former Stoner of the Year Doug Benson documents his experience avoiding pot for 30 days and then consuming massive amounts of the drug for 30 days.
I love pot and I love Doug Benson but the premise wears thin after a while. It's cool that they spent some time on the legalities of California's medicinal use laws and featured cameos by some other hilarious comedians however by the end I was just bored and wished I had smoked some weed instead.
The Addams Family: Con artists plan to fleece the eccentric family using an accomplice who claims to be their long lost Uncle Fester.
The 10 year old Christina Ricci steals the show in this. Could have done without all the MC Hammer music thrown in throughout but otherwise it's still a pretty good movie.
Raiders of the Lost Ark: Archeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the US government to find the Ark of the Covenant, before the Nazis.
It's been years since I've seen this and I enjoy Temple of Doom more but this is still a fun movie. My only real complaint is that the last chase scene drags on a bit long.
Night of the Creeps: Alien brain parasites, entering humans through the mouth, turn their host into a killing zombie. Some teenagers start to fight against them.
This is a really good friend of mine's favorite horror movie and I finally watched it after years of him telling me how awesome it is. It is as good as he said. This is the reason I love 80's horror movies. It's incredibly gory, funny, super cheesy and has just the right amount of obligatory T & A.
Tennis, Anyone?: Two mid level Hollywood losers attempt to find redemption, revenge and meaning in their lives through celebrity tennis tournaments.
I hate it when kick ass people make shitty movies. Donal Logue and Kirk Fox wrote and starred in it. Danny Trejo and Paul Rudd both have parts in it and the movie is still a piece of shit. Major drag.
Totally Awesome: A spoof of typical 1980's teen movies. The idea is that VH1 found a "long-lost", never-released teen film made in the 1980's and decided to air it now in 2006.
Betty Blowtorch (And Her Amazing True Life Adventures): For two years a filmmaker follows the all girl rock band Betty Blowtorch documenting the bands ferocious sound and dangerously low-tech pyrotechnic show, unaware of the turmoil and tragedy that he will ultimately capture.
Excellent music documentary about a band that is always almost there but can never quite cross over to have mainstream success. At the same time inspirational and heartbreaking, this is a must see for any music fan.
Gonzo: A portrait of the late gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson.
The best thing about working at a movie theatre is seeing movies before they are released. I saw Gonzo the other night and it is spectacular. It covers all the bases including some things I didn't know before (he backed Jimmy Carter?). It also has one of the best soundtracks in recent memory. CCR, Janis, Buffalo Springfield. Awesome.
Smiley Face: After a young actress unknowingly eats her roommate's pot cupcakes, her day becomes a series of misadventures.
Typical stoner comedy but with a kick ass cast. John Krasinski is awesome and Anna Faris is a comic genius. I really hope that she and Michael Cera star in a movie together some day.
This is basically a documentation of my goal to watch (at least) 1 movie a day for an entire year.
I give it a week before I get bored and decide to do something else.
