Drive 114 (A-)

I like this movie because of the odd sense it gives off, very quirky yet still appeals to the general movie goer too I'd assume.  Kind of like Bad Lieutenant: Port of New Orleans.  It isn't a cookie cutter hollywood action flick, rather, it's both bizarre and plentiful.  I actually thought going into the movie that it took place in the 80's, but apparently not??  I do still feel a bit confused about that part though.  R. Gosling had on an 80's jacket and presented an 80's 'look' the entire movie, as well as drove cars around from the 80's.  But then I saw people texting on iPhones (c), and new mustangs and Chrysler (c) 300's etc...so, I guess it did take place in current times??  Strange.  How can we find this out?

This is my favorite gaff that IMDB decided to capture:


During the initial sequence, Driver is listing to the Clippers game on the radio, but the XM radio is tuned to the 60s on 6 channel, which plays music from the 1960s, not current sports.

Technically this is the 2nd movie I've seen with Ryan Gosling in it, but I thought it was the first until I just looked his career up.  I've seen Remember the Titans, but I don't really recall it.  Anyway, I like him and want to see some of his other works like The United States of Leland, Ides of March, and Half Nelson.  I just watched a few YouTube (c) clips and apparently they had him talk less on purpose.  My feel was they were going for a Sly type of tough guy role by having limited dialogue.  It worked I suppose.

There were two scenes which were totally crazy and one reminded me of Irreversible and Pan's Labyrinth.  If you get the connection here you will know the scene type I'm referring to.  Basically something which is totally over the top, brutal and graphic.  No, not that scene from Irreversible.  The other scene is when they said bye-bye to Blanche.  That scene reminds me of a movie I'm about to see soon called Rise of the Footsoldier.

The main bad guy - not Ron Perlman but his boss - was he trying to sound exactly like Gene Hackman in Get Shorty?  His voice was basically the same and his hair was similar too.  Sort of odd.  Almost like he took an inspiration from that performance and they built this character from Drive around Hackman's Harry Zimm.  Just something I noticed.  And Ron Perlman, man, that guy is a definite freak of nature.  He's fun to watch and I think he should be in more movies where he is the bad guy.  I like his acting.

Good to see Bryan Cranston getting a huge movie role - good work buddy.

Lastly and most important - can't Ryan Gosling take off his jacket once it gets bloody?

The I Inside - #113 (C+)

Funny enough, I enjoyed this movie.  It definitely starts off well and might fizzle a bit by the end.  There was something pushing me towards liking it...probably because it was my favorite kind of plot and done semi-well to boot.  This kind of plot is what I talked about with The Matrix.  The main character doesn't know what's going on and the other supporting cast does.  Love that stuff!  However, this one wasn't ranked up as high as: The Wickerman or The Truman Show - but rather ranked up there with movies similar in nature to: Shutter Island, that one I recently watched with what's her name from Alpha Dog where she's in a mental ward and is having issues remembering and/or she is crazy....ugh, I just recently watched it and can't remember the name!?!  *I just looked back at the qlog* Ah yes, it's The Ward by John Carpenter.  So, what am I'm rambling about here?  The basic idea is this flick is semi-clunky but my favorite plot type, so it's not up there with the best in this "genre" but in the 2nd tiered category.

I do recommend this movie though, for sure.  It's tricky but also doesn't require too much mind function to get through.  I like Ryan Phillippe from an overall stance yet something in me thinks I might have liked his other movies better, all of them.  Says pretty good things for Ryan since I just rated this a high C.  (Actually I just looked it up and I didn't like The Way of the Gun, Antitrust, or Breach as much)

Handso, remember that movie you recently asked me to view where Paul Walker was in a cottage but also in a mental ward?  And he kept going outside and seeing a dog that he called "Dog" in the front yard trying to dig something up?  And Thelma from Scooby Doo was his love interest.  Lazarus Effect!  That is it!  (Man, this post is not going well) Well, The I Inside reminds me a lot of The Lazarus Effect.  So, since you liked that one - give The I Inside a chance.

The Wild Bunch #112 (C-)

I feel really badly about the review that is about to come out of me: drum roll.....I did not like this movie very much.  It reminded me how True Grit (the new one, I never saw the old one) and Butch Cassidy progressed from a plot-building, as well as a cinematic-pace standpoint.  To me the movie was filled with a lot of middle scenes where the characters were moving around the landscape with not much else happening.  Not even bad Quentin Tarantino esche dialog (joke re: Quentin's his comments about his *best ever* Death Proof dialog).  I guess that meandering part of the plot was kind of necessary (?).  But to me - and apparently a minor few other viewers who posted reviews on Netflix (c) - they could have cut about 1 hour out of this movie and still had it be pretty good.  Don't believe me though, as I know I'm wrong.  Hell, I recently watched a movie called Birdemic and LOVED it.  How can I like Birdemic over a classic like The Wild Bunch?  I guess that new thought they have about going back and re-rating movies over time might not be too bad after all.  Once they do that, perhaps the people's ranking will show Birdemic well in front of The Wild Bunch.  Please note, I am being funny here - however, I did like Birdemic better.  That part is not a lie.

I tend to agree nearly 100% with this Netflix (c) viewer/reviewer:

"Considering how famous this movie is I expected something a bit more epic. Very little happens for a two and a half hour movie, it would have been easy to chop it down into an awesome 90 minutes without really losing much in the way of plot. When something does happen (at the beginning and the end) its pretty exciting stuff but there is a long, long gap in between."

A huge handful of scenes reminded me of the game Red Dead Redemption.  I wonder if the movie had inspiration on the game?

111 The Matrix (A-)

Technically I've seen this once in college however I don't recall more than about 10 minutes of it, so I am considering 20 Feb, 2012 the first time I've seen this flick.  And funny enough, I have owned it on Bluray since two Christmas' ago - but my constant loathing for Keanu's great acting skills pushed me away from pushing play for so long.  I was aware that he knew kung-fu; which is undoubtedly the best line ever in cinema even over that 'frankly Scarlett' bit.  But I can officially say as far as sci-fi movies go - this is one of the best.  Although I've heard the sequel and third installment are not worth wasting my time.  

I don't need to do a plot review - that's obvious.  But I can say a few points.  The first 45 or so minutes were awesome to me.  I loved watching the story unfold as Keanu tried to understand what was being presented to him.  That is probably my favorite type of "plot path" when it comes to movies - when the main character doesn't know what is going on but the others in the movie are aware (The Wickerman, The Truman Show, The Village, etc.).   I also enjoyed the constant undertones and play on actual life realness versus the "what if" factor, and that fits in great with the questions I have about what the heck is going on in this world.  They made reality come into question quite nicely - which I loved.  I listen to a paranormal podcast weekly and the web-site for this podcast has in their search bar the words "take the red pill".  I always wondered what that meant?  I get it now.  

Lastly, I wanted to say that this could use a few more good viewings by me.  I probably missed a lot. 

I've done it, not only have I watched The Matrix but I wrote a review without saying the words Neo, Morpheus, or talking about bullets flying at someone and the dodging of the bullets by bending at an impossible manner!  Touche!

Wedding Crashers

Over the years I've given Wedding Crashers a lot of slack, by constantly putting into a category of "hyped-up-comedies-that-really-are-overrated" - along with movies like Tropic Thunder, Step Brothers (well, every other movie with Ferrell in it - let's be honest), Role Models or Old School.   I watched it for the 2nd time last night and it was better than I remembered, containing a lot of classic scenes.  I'll give this one props and accept that it is good.  But I'm not going to cave and put it up there with the greats like Harold and Maude etc.  Sorry.  What's better The Other Guys, Hall Pass, or Wedding Crashers?  That's up for debate.

110 TerrorVision (B-)

A Valentine's Day special...me and the wife loved this journey.  Remember Chad Allen, teen heartthrob from when I was a kid...LOL!  He was one of the kids on Teen Beat along with Milano, River Phoenix, Tracy Gold, and Kirk Cameron.  Such an odd and funny phenomenon, those damn magazines.  But I digress.  Back to TerrorVision.

Here is how I am going to do this review.  Ready?  This happened:

And then this happened:

Then this:

And then this:

After that, things got weird.  Mom and Dad brought back another couple to "swing", but the guy swinger was really only interested in Dad.  After a few drinks and alien attacks, this happened (I wish you could see the slime on their face better):

The lovely story ends with the rocker guy and his crazy Cyndi Lauper girlfriend, and Chad Allen, befriending the alien beast (who is actually a pet on his planet) by feeding it yummy Earth snacks.  There is some more plot, but if you are cool with the above screen shots then watch this movie.  Bye.

109 Flesh for Frankenstein (B-)

So much for showing your buddy a good time...Yikes - Party fail!  Big time.

Thanks for the recommendation Greg...only took approximately 10 minutes to get odd, and by approximately - I mean exactly.  This flick was a mix-up similar to The Room coupled with a touch of Repo! The Genetic Opera.  The acting was slow and odd, and the plot was just bonkers.  I would only recommend this to my odd friends.

Great line from the part of the movie when the Baron was looking for a part for his Frankenstein, "Two girls, one man....look at his head.  That is the man we want."  Haha!!  Then, they classically hide in trees waiting for the dude to come out of the bordello - only to greet him with a giant pair of vintage garden shearer-scissors.  Off with the head.  Don't worry, he didn't die.

What the hell was up with the armpit scene?  For those who don't recall this wonderful scene from this totally whack movie, the sister/wife was sucking the armpit of her new lover, aka the only friend of the male Frankenstein.

I must comment on the end of this movie.  It wins big time - from a crazy movie standpoint.  What the heck???  Seriously, the last 4-5 minutes were completely ridiculous.  Good work director man.  I took a picture of the end but don't want to plot spoil - so I won't be adding that.

The first 5 Netflix (c) reviews rip this movie a new one.  Holy crap, I'm very surprised to see that.  I expected people going on and on about it being a cult classic and wonderful for a sick and demented castle Euro-trash movie....but instead, they let it out - and slam the movie in its face.  Even with the Andy Warhol association they playa hate on it.

108 Dawn of the Dead 1978 US version (A-); series part 1/12

I have to say - going in to this I was worried.  I haven't had the best 'Romero-experiences' of late; specifically with his more modern work (i.e. Land of the Dead with Leguizamo and Diary of the Dead).  Not the best flicks if you ask me - essentially I'd bill them as semi okay with some good gore-zombie scenes, but overall not my favs.  Throw in the acting of Leguizamo and subtract points.  I recall Night of the Living Dead from the 60's, just a bit, which I also didn't love but it certainly was a genre changer and thus I appreciate and respect it.  Ultimately I had hopes for Dawn of the Dead to be way better than Night of the Living Dead, especially with the rave reviews from everyone.  In the end, I definitely was happy to experience this epic and can confirm that this is the best of Romero's lot thus far.

With the new fan-dangled TVs however, I think the make-up was laughable at times.  It looked like they were smeared with battleship grey paint and you could also still see the skin color outlines around their lips and eyes.

What's up with the EU version of this versus the US version?  I believe one is longer than the other and one has some cut gore due to the time of it's release?  Is that right?  Perhaps something about the helicopter scene (which was great).  I think if I had a helicopter at my disposal I would use it to escape somehow.  I guess they were pretty safe so it was cool that they didn't.

The 'sex machine' Tom Savini http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0767741/ showed up at the end as part of the 2nd wave of craziness.  Which I appreciated in the movie, all the various layers.  Basically there was a first wave of insanity - where the four main characters had to deal with zombies and then find a place to live etc. - and then they bunkered down for a good portion of the movie and made the mall their home.  Way more so than was portrayed in the Sara Polly epic from 2004.  And finally Tom Savini and his horde of crazy rebels opened the doors again and allowed another wave of zombies to enter their abode.

For the record, Martin was okay.  Since we are discussing Romero.

Vertigo

I tried to watch Vertigo last night and made it about 28 minutes.  I thought, "it's Hitchcock ...gotz to be legit, right?"  Man, I couldn't get into it but I think that guy from the holiday movie with the angels was in the movie.  Has anyone seen it?  Should I continue to give it a chance?  Help??

Moneyball #107 (A-)

As a fan of baseball I thought this movie was great!  I've heard others in the world liked this too.  I wish it wasn't so focused on Hatteberg though, no offense to the guy...I guess I realize it's based on a true story.  Also, I thought a lot about (and asked people about it prior to seeing the movie) the players not being the real players but rather being actors.  They pulled it off pretty well and it wasn't that noticeable to me, but I'm pretty confident that Dave Justice, Jeremy Giambi, and Scott Hatteberg are doing nothing right now and could have played themselves in the movie.  I'm sure they could have all used a payday.

Has anyone seen Janet Jackson's Nutrisystem (c) commercial?  I just saw it for the first time.  I thought stuff like this was below the Jackson family?  Could you imagine Princess Beatrice of York did an infomercial?  Janet's tone and message (if you don't listen to the words) seem like she is begging for funds for a group of victims or something malnourished.  So soft, so nicely put...very gentle....and about a DIET SYTEM.  Crazy.  Here is it: Is Michael really dead?

106 / John Carpenter's They Live (C-)

Roddy Roddy Piper at his acting peak finest, laughing out loud!  Damn, the scary parts are really well done, where people's faces look like skeletons when Roddy puts on "special glasses" - aka this is when he knows that they live...but the rest of the acting is SUPER corny.  It's like good plot meets bad plot - and good filming/scenes meets bad filming/scenes.  Also, they play the same damn background music the ENTIRE movie.  Five total individual notes repeated - three total different tones/keys played - and then a computer generated snapping sound to finish it off...then repeat that multiplied by one plus hours.  Awful!!  Damn, once I focused on that sound, I almost turned it off or pushed mute.  Totally awfully bad movie producing decision with that music.  But, to give some credit here I'll take a bit of a softer stance.  From a uniqueness standpoint, this one is definitely unique.  From a, 'I-like-horror-movies-and-want-to-see-even-the-bad-ones-because-I-don't-care' side of things, this one is worth watching...thus, if you can look past the cheesy humans and their acting, perhaps you should give this one a try??

At one point, Roddy Roddy is trying to convince his buddy (played by Keith David who I definitely recognize from somewhere) to wear these special 80's looking sunglasses and his buddy doesn't want to, so they fight on the street for about 27 minutes...almost like something out of a wrestling match.  At the end, Roddy says, "Brother, life's a bitch...and she's back in heat."

Don't watch this movie - rather watch this youtube (c) video of this awesome cinema fight scene: They Live awesome fight scene - 27 Minutes LONG (just kidding) courtesy of the MovieExpressPodcast guys from Youtube (c).

If they remake this, I would watch it....bet it would be 1,000 times better.  Here is a shot of the badass bad guys:

Sixers, look at em

Bro, they are for real.  Peeps keep saying that they have a "tough" schedule in the 2nd half, but they look really good, and they are doing it without Cactus and the Rook 3rd base coach.  I'm in, always semi liked b-ball...but I'm in with this team.  Haven't quite had this excitement  since when I was a Heat fan and Bimbo, Steve Smith (car lover), and Grant Long were around....or when the Sixers had Geiger....shit going down.  Watch out, fun times ahead.  Please please please make the playoffs.  I do believe I'm slowly turning into a half philly team lover.  Watch out.  Bye.

#105 / Cowboys & Aliens (D+)

This is my own dumb fault for renting a hollywood blockbuster "attempt" that already looked awful from the previews, not to mention the reviews.  I thought...well maybe because I enjoy high-strangeness and didn't hate the Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull movie...just maybe it would be okay and the critics and masses were wrong.  Just maybe I'll enjoy this...Guess what?  It was like Outlander.  Crap.  I didn't love the aliens and what they looked like or how they were portrayed, I didn't love Harrison Ford's acting or his neckcherchief used to hide his blubbering neck, I didn't love the kid from Little Miss Sunshine - at all, I didn't love how Daniel Craig was wishy-washy...starting off standoffish for 38 minutes and then decided to himself "you know what?  I guess I will be friends with you, let's team up and be besties and I'll even show emotion as well as hold your head as you perish, ye towns people I was just hating on".  Crazy BS for a plot.  Jon Favreau fail.  Olivia Wilde - I love her....normally.  Why did she also (plot spoiler) have to be an alien, yet still loves James Bond somehow?  You know what I did like about the movie though, the reason it got the "+" up there on that D?  I loved the first few minutes when Jake Lonergan was in full amnesia mode, punching everyone.

104 / The Accused (B-)

I don't generally love court room drama movies - mostly because the action has already occurred or is referred back to with reminiscing by the characters - however this one was good.  Jodie Foster plays a woman who is having a bad go with her current boyfriend and is blowing off some steam by drinking it up at a local dive bar.  She's as much a local as the fellas at the bar, however, things get out of hand per her and the drama begins.  She claims she's been raped and thus the courtroom drama begins.  The movie thrives on character building and a he said/she said story line.

Christian Slater and Kevin Bacon were not in this movie....nor was Jack, Tom, or Demi Moore.  Judge Harold T. Stone and Bull were not in this movie.  I didn't see Pesci or Macchio either, and no Erin Brochovich.

It's worth a watch.  Overall well done and a bit gripping.  A good story was developed and followed through.  And, Kelly McGillis makes you remember the 80's hardcorps.  Look how old Kelly looks now, it's crazy how that girl from the movies in the 80's is now older.  IMDB (c) K. McGillis link

103 / Naked Lunch (B+)

Like Videodrome and the Fly...Naked Lunch manages to pour out phallic references, slimy alien/bug orifice scenes (emphasis on the slimy ooze and orifice), and creepy-dark-well-thought-out characters with major issues in their lives.  This David Cronenberg "masterpiece" takes place in 1953.  I list it as a masterpiece (per me) because I liked it equally to the Fly and the Brood and better than Scanners and Videodrome.  Perhaps due to the time period the movie is set in, Cronenberg can get away with normal everyday life occurring in the background without any notice to extreme oddities that occur in plain day.  The pedestrian pace and slow overtones of the plot and characters seem to fit perfectly with the visual landscape he created.  And within a few minutes, the movie takes off (albeit at a slow pace) with a very....shall I say Eraserhead-type turn. Basically typewriters turn into bugs and eat each other and everyone ODs on centipede bait.  Also, Robocop is the main actor in this bizarre experience so that's a bonus.  He goes to bed in a hotel room each night and wakes up in a pile of soot and dust on the side of the street.  What an odd movie.  I feel like Roy Scheider should be in this movie.

Part of me wants to say, "What the hell just occurred?"  But another part of me gets it.  If you understand Brazil and Eraserhead, you'll get this movie.  But not Lost Highway, Eyes Wide Shut, or other Lynch films....no one gets those.  Basically, this one isn't THAT mentally challenging.  But I caution those that think because I mentioned the Brood and Videodrome that it automatically makes this awesome.  I actually don't think this movie will suit everyone, so go more off the other movies I've mentioned before pushing play.

Steven Wright?  Man...I don't recall him sounding like Steven Wright in Robocop.  Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen all of Robocop.  Only the few scenes as a kid.

Note: David Cronenberg movies I've seen that I didn't love are Crash, Spider, and Eastern Promises.  All were okay, but not among his best in my mind.  This is the guy who put together other potential greats (not seen yet) like Rabid, Shivers, Nightbreed, and Dead Ringers.  I think Cronenberg is just twisted enough for me to bump all of these up in my queue.  Well, maybe not Rabid, that looks pretty whack.