What you watchin' tonight?

Raiders is hella perfect! As for Jurassic Park, yeah that script is very much David Koepp--dude has a broad, heavy hand when it comes to characters. I really wish the film would have explored the central themes more like Crichton did--anything related to Chaos Theory and the cloning science ends up being throwaway and taking a back seat to the action segments. By God, what glorious segments they are. Lost World really had the same pro's and con's, if you think about it. As for III, I'd like to visit it again. I remember it being a fun, brainless popcorn movie.

Speaking of the utterly jaw-dropping Julianna Moore...

Don Jon - Joseph Gordon Levitt has yet to let me down. Dude has to be one of the hardest working and versatile actors to emerge the past couple of decades. Here he writes, directs, and stars as the titular character, a macho chauvinist obsessed with porn. It's a good little character study with a decent message. I wouldn't call it great--there's no subtlety here and the message is basically thrown like a dart at the viewer--but what really made it interesting is the Boogie Nights-style relationship that Levitt's character develops with Moore. She's brilliant in this, by the way. Recommended.

Australia - actually didn't make it through 30m of this, we both hated it. Talk about your indifferent movies. This one tries to mix Gone With the Wind with The African Queen with, well...Moulin Rouge, without the music. It's because of that last one that what we saw of the movie was messy to say the least. Too much of Luhrmann's slapstick and Kidman's overacting (and those fucking squeaking noises she makes) derails everything early on, and that's just the start. The magical realism was of zero benefit, Hugh Jackmanwas nondescript with his acting, and the editing was so rapid fire that I found it oddly difficult to register any one scene, like I was being thrown around. I thought the Outback had a beauty to be contemplated? Anyway, after reading reviews of this one, it looks like there's no chance of me ever finishing this near three hour debacle.

I've decided to start digging into the stack of DVD-Rs on top of my TV containing stuff I've recorded off of TV over the past couple of years. I have a DVD recorder and yep, just like the VHS days, I've had a bad habit of recording random movies off the various cable channels and then never getting around to watching them. Of course I never bother to label the discs, so I honestly have NO idea what's on any of these damn things. Some of them date back two or three years!

Anyway, for the foreseeable future I'll be pulling a random DVD out of that stack each night, throwing it in the player, and watching whatever comes up. It'll be like "Movie Roulette!"

Tonight will be either "Easy Rider" or the 70s "Rollerball," which apparently ran back to back on Turner Classic Movies on some long ago Saturday night....

Fat Freddy wrote:

I've decided to start digging into the stack of DVD-Rs on top of my TV containing stuff I've recorded off of TV over the past couple of years. I have a DVD recorder and yep, just like the VHS days, I've had a bad habit of recording random movies off the various cable channels and then never getting around to watching them. Of course I never bother to label the discs, so I honestly have NO idea what's on any of these damn things. Some of them date back two or three years!

Anyway, for the foreseeable future I'll be pulling a random DVD out of that stack each night, throwing it in the player, and watching whatever comes up. It'll be like "Movie Roulette!"

Tonight will be either "Easy Rider" or the 70s "Rollerball," which apparently ran back to back on Turner Classic Movies on some long ago Saturday night....

Then you're in for a good night either way. Easy Rider is great and Rollerball is criminally underrated.

Don Jon was great fun. It took some risks, was fairly blunt, the movie & the character both hinge on the entrance of Moore's character. Once she comes in around the halfway point it becomes a deeper and more satisfying film (not saying it was bad prior to that, it's just her character is the one that makes the main character finally take a look at himself). It kept taking left turns I didn't expect, allowed Johansen to play a basically unlikeable character and managed to have quite a lot more to say than I initially thought it would.

A good film.

S.D. wrote:

Don Jon was great fun.  It took some risks, was fairly blunt, the movie & the character both hinge on the entrance of Moore's character.  Once she comes in around the halfway point it becomes a deeper and more satisfying film (not saying it was bad prior to that, it's just her character is the one that makes the main character finally take a look at himself).  It kept taking left turns I didn't expect, allowed Johansen to play a basically unlikeable character and managed to have quite a lot more to say than I initially thought it would.  

A good film.  

Yeah he really went unorthodox with this one and made it his own. One doesn't find that sort of boldfaced profundity in the cinema these days. Another reason to love indie film, and Levitt for being a forerunner of it with his HitRecord effort.

I think the biggest success, like you said, was how he portrayed a type of character that I am completely intolerable of, yet ended up gaining my sympathy. That's skill.

It is also extremely rare to see a younger man sleeping with a woman 15 years his senior. That's no big deal when it's an older man dating a younger woman, in fact that is the norm with older actors. That's a subtle thing that probably some people wouldn't notice (plus Julianne Moore looks younger than 48) but I thought it was a cool touch.

^^Yeah that was my favorite part of the movie. It carried so much depth and complexity, especially with how unorthodox it is compared to common plot devices.

Today with the kids: Cars 2. Not sure why the press poo poo'd all over this one, although it certainly is the weakest Pixar film I've seen (haven't seen Brave yet). But that's not to say it's bad, I loved it (especially being a fan of all things with an engine). Some of the animation is spectacular and the plot has some real zing even if it is pretty Saturday-morning. The problems are numerous--Giacchino once again delivers a mediocre score; the film's tone is fairly loud and busy compared to the pensive atmosphere of the first; and whereas the first films was about trying to establish a truly believable world, the contrivances go too deep here (i.e. Mater's chameleon abilities), jerking you out of the immersion. Plus, some of the dialogue gets rather clumsy compared to the first. All-in-all (get it?), almost direct-to-video material except for the rather stunning aesthetics.

Escape from Tomorrow

In an entirely unprecedented move by an art standard, a first-time director makes an adult movie in Disneyland and Disney World--without their knowledge or consent. It makes for some fascinating viewing. The film comes off as sincere filmmaking even though one would expect something much more gonzo. The droll story--a family trip to Disneyland and the father's blurred reality as he progressively loses his mind--is pretty thin and esoteric, almost as if the narrative was made up on the fly and the movie was made purely for the Disneyland slant. Either way, it's a fascinating ambition, and shocking how Disney's lawyers never touched it (even more shocking is how they went as far as endorsing the film on their D23 website for a time). How they pulled this off is nothing short of amazing--having to prestage and block scenes in their hotel room, planning for the position of the sun to rely on natural lighting, hidden microphones, and most bizarre, filming a shouting match between the family in front of a merch kiosk and ending on the awkward glance of an unsuspecting cast member. If you're a Disneyland fanboy like myself, you'll want to check this one out. Streaming on Netflix.

Source Code: a fun ride, recommended by S.D., and my type of sci-fi with its Groundhog Day/Philip K. Dick premise. The science is pretty preposterous and it's best not to think of it too much, but it's a great mindfuck regardless. Awesome.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol: standing ovation! One of the best action/adventure films to emerge this millennium with tight direction, an intriguing script, wonderful choice of locations, heart-stopping stunts, great cast, and more. By far the best of the MI movies, and Cruise really outdoes himself with the stunts. What I really like about this movie, however, is how the team is heavily involved rather than Cruise receiving the spotlight.

Star Wars Episode IV: been reading the old 70's storybook to my oldest for bedtime and he's been harvesting a great fascination with it, so I decided to show the movie to him. What's cool is I found out about Harmy's Despecialized version--this forum user named Harmy took the original 70mm elements and remastered the whole movie with the original color timing, audio tracks, and noise (no DNR to be found here). It looks AMAZING, the best I've ever seen of ANH, with no added shit from Lucas (Han shoots first!). It's available as a torrent, something I usually don't endorse, but this is an entirely different case.

Been slackin on the movie watching lately so I made up for it this past weekend:

Machete Kills: another uber-violent hoot starring Danny Trejo as the "Grindhouse" inspired badass. Dumb as a box of rocks but the massive amounts of blood, bullets and babes kept me entertained.

Salt: Angelina Jolie as a CIA agent who goes on the run when she's accused of being a deep-cover Soviet operative. Fast moving, entertaining stuff.

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters - Fantasy/action mashup with the fairy tale tykes all grown up and kickin' massive amounts of witch ass. Almost plotless, but fun in a stupid sorta way. Directed by Tommy "Dead Snow" Wirkola.

Get Thrashed: Fun little documentary about the rise and fall of 80s thrash metal. Longtime metal nerds (i.e. me) won't learn anything new but it's a nice trip down memory lane.

All The Boys Love Mandy Lane: Disappointing slasher flick that took forever to get going, and once it did, my wife and I predicted the "twist" ending before the movie was even half over. Skip this one unless you're obsessed with Amber Heard (yum).

^^I think I'm gonna buckle down this weekend and finally see those Machete movies.

Mission Impossible III: decided to go back to this one after Ghost Protocol. GP definitely is the better movie, but I find MI3 to be JJ Abrams best movie, believe it or not, which is ironic considering it's his big screen debut. The dynamic of Hunt's marriage and field life is an interesting one, and the stunts and locations still feel fresh. Some of the exposition is weighed down in artifice--the opening engagement party feels more suited for TV--and once again Hunt's 'team' is thin and superficial, but the story moves briskly and is much more modest than the first two entries, which I feel are nothing short of pretentious and bloated. The late Philip Seymour Hoffman makes for the BEST villain of the franchise, and doesn't get near enough screen time. A memorable role.

Night of the Creeps: Haven't seen this one since I was a kid, and beinga fan of Dekkard's Monster Squad, I thought I would love this. Not really. Typical zombie plotting in a typical fraternity setting that starts out inventive but quickly descends into--well, typical territory. Got bored and nearly dozed off several times. The detective's role is really hard to digest as well. A disappointment.

Space Rangers: Before the awesome Firefly, this short lived (read: 7 episodes) network series took the whole rugged-captain-leading-a-motley-crew-in-space premise for a good ride. Really good stuff from the late 80's with imaginative storytelling and memorable characters, it's a shame this never really took off. A favorite from my childhood.

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Night of the Creeps: Haven't seen this one since I was a kid, and beinga fan of Dekkard's Monster Squad, I thought I would love this. Not really. Typical zombie plotting in a typical fraternity setting that starts out inventive but quickly descends into--well, typical territory. Got bored and nearly dozed off several times. The detective's role is really hard to digest as well. A disappointment.

Fo'realz? "Creeps" is a great flick. I love the constant in-jokes to classic horror and B movies (i.e. everyone attends "Corman University," all the major characters are named after famous horror directors ("Carpenter," "Hooper," etc.)...plus, it has the always welcome Tom "Halloween III" Atkins in it.

Oh, and I borrowed the new "RoboCop" remake from the library yesterday. Didn't have a chance to watch last night, will likely get to it on the weekend.

I watched Near Dark for the first time since the 80s. Still a very entertaining movie (despite several how-did-they-miss-that continuity errors) and actually quite reminiscent of The Terminator in how it looks visually (director Kathryn Bigelow was married to James Cameron at the time). I also realized that John Carpenter basically ripped it off for his Vampires movie. If you ignore the modern day setting and the bloodsucking it's really just a western in disguise.

^^I'd love to revisit that one. Love the Aliens cast lol. That movie had a lot going for it. I'll never forget that death-by-spur scene.

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Fo'realz? "Creeps" is a great flick. I love the constant in-jokes to classic horror and B movies (i.e. everyone attends "Corman University," all the major characters are named after famous horror directors ("Carpenter," "Hooper," etc.)...plus, it has the always welcome Tom "Halloween III" Atkins in it. Very Happy

I think it was cool how much energy he put into making homage, but kept wishing he would've put some into the story. It seemed to drag too much. Funny thing about Atkins was how terrible he was compared to his HIII role, which is saying a lot.

The wife bought me Gravity on Blu for Father's Day, hooray...shame I gotta wait for tomorrow to watch it...meanwhile...

Mission Impossible II - I had seen this in the theater and hated it. Now I'm trying to remember why. This movie smokes, and is even better then III (but almost as good as Ghost Protocol). Woo is in top form, although the Western censorship is pretty obvious. Even though the story strays into 007 territory, Woo manages to keep things fresh and intriguing throughout. Towne's script is much stronger and coherent than the first. The chemistry between Cruise and Newton is decent for at least the first half of the film (before she becomes a footnote), the scenes are handled with flair--LOVE the 2001 homage when Ethan is destroying the virus--and I finally realized where that second gun came from. Really solid action escapism. I take back everything bad I said about it. Now I wanna watch Hard Boiled.

Colombiana - A client had me over for dinner and he chose this Luc Besson project for our evening movie. A generic film that is raised a bit higher thanks to the beautiful Zoe Saldana and a emotionally charged, if not somewhat boneheaded, revenge plot. Really it's just big budget exploitation, and the payoff happens so quickly that I felt hungry for something more by the end credits. Of course, what really bugged me was the 300 shots-per-minute and the resulting disorientation. Do they really have to cut away so much?? Overall, wasn't as bad as it could have been, but wasn't as good as it should have been either.

The Hangover - Oh come on. I waited years to see this after hearing about what a laugh riot it is--and was utterly let down. I'm a fan of funny movies, but this was just not a very funny movie. It has its moments, but in those moments I was merely cracking a smile rather than busting my gut. I'm really shocked about the praise this one received. None of the situations the group gets stuck in are very cataclysmic to begin with. It's just a ring of idiocy. The pedestrian direction doesn't punctuate any of these events; they just happen with a bunch of overacting in an attempt to force laughter from the audience. It's no different than an Adam Sandler movie-of-the-week. As for Zach G, perhaps it's because I've seen him in so many other movies and shows where his roles were riotous, but here he comes off as bland. This whole shebang was just an annoying venture into fast-food comedy, and it didn't help that the soundtrack had to bludgeon us with a fucking top 40 rap song every five minutes. I'm not even gonna give II or III a chance. Disappointing.

World War Z - I fell asleep and had to restart this sucker three times. And not because it's bad, mind you. But because I have thoroughly milked the zombie genre (seen every effort made up through 2007 to my knowledge) and this one felt no different than the rest of the horde. There are problems with the movie itself, of course. I'm really bewildered how Marc Forster, the man who is known for distant shots to establish observational intimacy (see Monster's Ball), could frame every shot here so tightly in dim lighting. It gives it a generic feel, like he threw away his style in exchange for an audience pleaser. Also, it's bloodless, and I watched the unrated cut. There's just nothing new here, and I miss my lumbering, lethargic, slow-witted undead. These 'runners' are pretty inane (especially considering muscle atrophy wouldn't allow such action, as well as lack of a functioning adrenal cortex). Pass.

^^ I loved "The Hangover," but then I have a severely low brow sense of humor...

Last coupla things seen:

RoboCop (2014) - Some of y'all know that the original 87 "Robo" is my favorite movie of all time, so I'd been waiting for this remake with equal shares of curiosity and dread. It's... ehhhhh. Not the abomination I was dreading, but nothing to shout about either. It's shinier and more high tech than the original, but it's not nearly as much fun either. The villains are bland, the (bloodless) action sequences are like watching a video game, and in short, it takes itself way too seriously. It could've used a heavy dose of the original's black humor. One word: "forgettable."

13 Ghosts (1960) A down-on-their-luck family thinks their troubles are over when Dad inherits a huge mansion from his long lost uncle - till they move in and have to deal with the house's large collection of spectral occupants. The charmingly cheesy ghost effects are the highlight of this drive-in classic from gimmick kingpin William Castle.

The Heat (2013) Sandra Bullock's a tight-ass FBI agent who gets paired with a foul mouthed, slobby Boston police woman (Melissa McCarthy of "Bridesmaids") to bring down a drug cartel in this crude but funny formula buddy-cop flick.

I watched both seasons of Better Off Ted and I wish it hadn't been cancelled, my kind of weird ass humor.

Watched the last half-season of Warehouse 13, the show went downhill fast after season 3 but they still managed to wrap it up in a mostly satisfactory fashion.

Now starting season 4 of Breaking Bad.

You haven't seen all of Breaking Bad yet?? Ooo you're in for a treat...

I've never seen a single episode of Breaking Bad...or Game of Thrones... or 24... or whatever else all the hip kiddies are watching.

^^I don't pay much attention to most of those shows either, but Breaking Bad was in an entirely different class, especially with it's attention to detail and cinematic aesthetics. Akin to top quality filmmaking.

Fantastic Voyage - PRIME science fiction, a flood of nostalgia as I haven't seen it since I was a young lad. Even better viewing today. It's easy to pick out the mile-wide plot holes, but the direction (Richard Fleischer, one of my favorite classic directors, who also helmed Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea) is so riveting and imaginative that the sheer joy overcomes such obstacles. Leonard Rosenman's score, while sparse, illuminates certain scenes with his abstract approach. I can't recommend this wonderful film enough. Going to sleep well tonight.

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I don't pay much attention to most of those shows either, but Breaking Bad was in an entirely different class, especially with it's attention to detail and cinematic aesthetics. Akin to top quality filmmaking.

So I've heard, I just never got on the bandwagon with it and now that it's ended, I'm not likely to start on it anytime soon.

Shoot, I just discovered "Supernatural" recently via Netflix and that show's been going since 2005 or '06, so I got enough on my plate right now without adding any more series to it.

Oh, and as long as I'm talkin' about TV series on Netflix...

FUCK "THE VAMPIRE DIARIES!"

My wife discovered that f*ckin "Twilight-Lite" show a couple of weeks ago and was so enthralled with it that she watched it all the way thru (3 or 4 seasons' worth) in a matter of days. While I was at work, "Vampire Diaries." I come home from work, "Vampire Diaries.". After dinner, "Vampire Diaries" again. I have no idea why my wife liked "Twilight" so much, nor do I understand the fascination with this ripoff soap opera. Seriously fellas, WORST. SHOW. EVER.

...and just to add insult to injury, they spun off a couple of the characters from "Vampire Diaries" into their own show, "The Originals," so she's added that to her viewing slate as well.   

...and yet I get the stink-eye when I tell her I'm going upstairs to watch a "Simpsons" rerun. Wimmen folk!! Sheesh!!

Fat Freddy wrote:

Oh, and as long as I'm talkin' about TV series on Netflix...

FUCK "THE VAMPIRE DIARIES!"

My wife discovered that f*ckin "Twilight-Lite" show a couple of weeks ago and was so enthralled with it that she watched it all the way thru (3 or 4 seasons' worth) in a matter of days. While I was at work, "Vampire Diaries." I come home from work, "Vampire Diaries.". After dinner, "Vampire Diaries" again. I have no idea why my wife liked "Twilight" so much, nor do I understand the fascination with this ripoff soap opera. Seriously fellas, WORST. SHOW. EVER.

...and just to add insult to injury, they spun off a couple of the characters from "Vampire Diaries" into their own show, "The Originals," so she's added that to her viewing slate as well.   

...and yet I get the stink-eye when I tell her I'm going upstairs to watch a "Simpsons" rerun. Wimmen folk!! Sheesh!!

Lol I hear ya. I got one worse over here for you: AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL. My wife is nothing like these chicks yet she can't get enough of it. The lame humor, the multiple uses of "bitch," the snarky attitudes, the dimestore philosophy, the pretense, the overt enthusiasm, and worst of all--these chicks are all fucking ugly. Everytime she throws it on I grab my headphones.

I don't get women, how they embrace complete mediocrity on film and TV. There is so much out there with greater reward. Shows like Vampire Diaries and Next Top Model and Gossip Girl (okay, so I sorta got sucked into that one) are best left for inducing medical comas.

corplhicks wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

Oh, and as long as I'm talkin' about TV series on Netflix...

FUCK "THE VAMPIRE DIARIES!"

My wife discovered that f*ckin "Twilight-Lite" show a couple of weeks ago and was so enthralled with it that she watched it all the way thru (3 or 4 seasons' worth) in a matter of days. While I was at work, "Vampire Diaries." I come home from work, "Vampire Diaries.". After dinner, "Vampire Diaries" again. I have no idea why my wife liked "Twilight" so much, nor do I understand the fascination with this ripoff soap opera. Seriously fellas, WORST. SHOW. EVER.

...and just to add insult to injury, they spun off a couple of the characters from "Vampire Diaries" into their own show, "The Originals," so she's added that to her viewing slate as well.   

...and yet I get the stink-eye when I tell her I'm going upstairs to watch a "Simpsons" rerun. Wimmen folk!! Sheesh!!

Lol I hear ya. I got one worse over here for you: AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL. My wife is nothing like these chicks yet she can't get enough of it. The lame humor, the multiple uses of "bitch," the snarky attitudes, the dimestore philosophy, the pretense, the overt enthusiasm, and worst of all--these chicks are all fucking ugly. Everytime she throws it on I grab my headphones.

I don't get women, how they embrace complete mediocrity on film and TV. There is so much out there with greater reward. Shows like Vampire Diaries and Next Top Model and Gossip Girl (okay, so I sorta got sucked into that one) are best left for inducing medical comas.

NO, NO, NO! ANTM is the BEST unintentional comedy EVER! I used to watch that show all the time and it just cracked me up how overly serious these girls took themselves. If you view it with that mindset, its a very enjoyable show....the photography can be really cool, too. I never took it as a serious show............