Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Vincent_Wolfe's LiveJournal:

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Sunday, July 5th, 2009
3:11 am	Dillinger returns to the big screen "Public Enemies" (2009) Starring: Johnny Depp, Marion Cotillard, Jason Clarke, Christian Stolte, Christian Bale. Directed: Michael Mann. Periodically filmmakers go back and make movies based around classic criminals. Whether they are the tales of Robin Hood, Jesse James, or Bonnie and Clyde filmmakers periodically go back to the well offering various accounts as to how events went down. Sometimes they expand the legends other times they bring them back down to Earth. This movie is a little of both. Johnny Depp plays John Dillinger a bank robber who in the early 1930's had a year and a half run of robbing banks until he met the fate of really all bank robbers at the time. During this time period he was pursued by the FBI. This pursuit led to what became the first national police agency and allowed for cops to chase criminals beyond state and city lines. The agent who helped hunt down Dillinger was Melvin Purvis (Bale). This movie is a lot more accurate as to the events surrounding Dillinger. From his various escapes from law officers to the color of the dress the woman who sets up his downfall wears, the movie tries it's best to get it right minus a few details for dramatic license (Pretty Boy Floyd died after the Dillinger story not before). With that in mind and considering the director this movie should be a slam dunk classic. On the good side is the acting. Depp does a wonderful job as Dillinger and Cotillard proves to be up to the task as his girlfriend Billie. Costuming and dialog are both on par and the film itself is entertaining enough to keep the audience's attention (unless you have people sitting behind you who you have to tell to shut up which I did). Bale does what he does with his role as Purvis but, plays a role that pretty much anyone could have been hired for. Ultimately it's the Purvis role that might be the weaker part of this film. While the character isn't as much of a distraction as say Crowe's in "American Gangster" I wasn't so worried about the feds storyline. Now, the way this movie is done it does make sense and it does work, but, you also find yourself pulling for Dillinger a bit more because he really seems to have more personality and has frankly more fun. There are two things about this movie that keep it from being a classic film. First off is the use of a hand held digital camera for the movie. It doesn't work. In fact it ruins whatever mood the characters are trying to create. Because of this we end up sitting there muttering "Stay still damn it," more than necessary. The only times one should use a hand held in such a way is to create a sense of confusion or realism. In this case it does neither and is simply annoying. The second problem is the ending drags on a bit to long. While it can be said that they tie up all the loose ends of the story, it doesn't really matter. The movie ends when Dillinger meets his fate. After that the rest of the film is just superfluous and could have been summed up in a line or two after things fade to black. Then again it could be left out completely and been fine too. In the end this is one of those movies that is a good movie that could have been great. Unfortunately it just misses the mark on a few key areas. If you don't see it in theaters rent it. You won't lose anything going from big to small screen. *** out of **** (Comment on this)
Saturday, July 4th, 2009
4:03 am	Hercules versus Stuff and things and all weee "Hercules" (1997) Animated. Directed: Ron Clements and John Musker. This is the Disney version of the trials of Hercules. This means that a whole bunch of stuff is left out altered and such from the original legends. In this instance our boy Herc has to train to be a hero and hope to stop the evil Hades from taking over Olympus and all that sort of thing. Fairly typical Disney stuff here. The animation is high quality for the most part. There are plenty of silly gags in here and one liners. The voice acting is quite good for the type of movie this is (really it's the 40s 50s B-movie boxing/wrestling film with a Greek theme). Finally Pegasus is one of the more expressive characters I've seen in a Disney film in awhile. On the downside this movie has pacing problems. A whole lot of things wrap up real fast. Even the romantic angle is kind of wishy washy. The songs for the most part are uninspired. The Gods and Goddesses are just kind of one note beings that do really nothing. Finally some of the 3D CG animation in there is ... real obvious. Overall, this is a fun film. It's just not a great one which is unfortunate because it could have been more than just a fun film. It could have been a good one. ** out of **** (3 Comments |Comment on this)
3:02 am	The Disney Cauldron "The Black Cauldron" (1985) Animated. Directed: Ted Berman and Richard Rich. Double double toil and trouble fire burn and cauldron bubble. Oh what a sad mess of a movie this film is. It really is truly unfortunate that the story tellers and animators lacked the imagination to pull this one off. This movie is the story of Taran who has to protect a psychic pig from falling into the clutches of the Horned King. The Horned King needs the pig to find the black cauldron so he can make an army of the undead and rule the world. It's up to Taran and his band of misfit adventurers to stop him, overcome hardships etc. Okay, lets note what the film does right. It was nice to hear Nigel Hawthorne and John Hurt do some voice work. Both are or were capable actors and it shows with their voices. There are also some decent frames in the movie as far as art goes. Alright now for the bad stuff. The character designs were pretty generic. The animation at times seems to stick with and the characters seem to be placed on objects rather than actually being part of the environment. The writing is at best generic and at times and down right bad at others. The plot is very thin and can be filed away under generic as well. For anyone who has read the books you'll notice that many characters have been deleted, many things that were explained happen and are unexplained, you'll notice that the Horned King shouldn't even be IN this movie and many other things. You'll also notice that Gurgi is a strange combination of a sheep dog, Stitch, and Gollum. Anyway, don't bother with this movie. Read the books if you like fantasy novels. You'll be better off. (Easily the second worst Disney animated movie of all time ... it just couldn't beat The Aristocats) * out of **** (Comment on this)
Sunday, June 28th, 2009
1:14 pm	It's always a strange thing when someone who is well known dies. It becomes a major news story when the person isn't simply well known but famous. It becomes an even bigger news story if the person is famous and dies unexpectedly. That's what happened this past week when in one day Farrah Fawcett died of cancer and then Michael Jackson dropped dead from what is presumably an overdose of pain killers. Farrah's death was frankly expected and so while she got some blurbs in the local entertainment pieces Michael's wasn't. Add to the fact that pretty much everybody knew who Jackson was and you get the big breaking news story. A lot of people will talk about how it was to soon for him to pass or they'll remember fondly the music that he made or his dances and all that stuff. Some people will be happy he's gone because of the negative press and various allegations that dogged him in the 90's and 00's. To me though he probably most represents what celebrity is in a lot of ways. As a child and a young adult he was a bright shining star. His popularity was at its zenith and frankly he could do no wrong. No matter where he went he was mobbed and album sales went through the roof. Yet for as popular as he was cracks started to show. Aside from the allegations of child molestation other weird things started to happen. Lots of physical ailments, his obsession with plastic surgery, failed marriages and controversy surrounding his children and him, spending sprees, and controversial lyrics (Jew me sue me kick me kike me come to mind) all chipped away at what was once the great idea of Michael Jackson. The weirder he got and looked the more it seemed to be an accurate portrayal of what celebrity can and seems to do to a lot of people (even if they don't show it right away). Here was a guy who had been incredibly popular for pretty much all of his life. He'd been packaged as a kid and sold to a demanding public. For years he had people surrounding him who were all about living off of what Michael Jackson did or could do for them. Many of them were just piranha snacking at his buffet. For a good long while every move he made was documented, dissected, and eventually made a joke and when real trouble came along it only got worse. By the end that weird face that looked nothing like what people had grown up with was probably the most accurate depiction of the toll all of it took on him. In the end I think he died long before he actually kicked the bucket. It just took awhile for his body to realize that whatever Michael Jackson was was long gone. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
8:10 pm	*Chuckles* My life is slowly but surely becoming a country song. Seriously, I mean I think I've covered most of the bases of a country song the last few weeks. So, let's see: Go through depression, hard time finding/with love, a favorite pet or friend dies, lots of bills (though I'm handling them) and not being able to get ahead. Now let's add on car problems. Right now I have a crack in the radiator it's small so they used sealant on it because the mechanic didn't want to charge five hours of labor (based upon estimated time to do the job) to take it out and put a new one in and all. This is just the latest issue with this car and until this one I'd been getting hit for about one thousand dollars a visit. Thankfully this one just cost 75 bucks so that is a plus. Now, back to the whole country song thing... I think what I need next is a gun (though I do have access to some I don't actually own them), a drinking problem, a scar with a good story, some jail time and then when things finally go as far south as they can I find Jesus. I think that's the way a mess of those songs go. I'd almost rather be doing rap right now. The popular songs tend to be about four things, how tough I am, how much money/bling/property I have, How many women I have, where I go to party. Granted my vocabulary might be limited to grunting often and saying "yeah yeah" but, they seem to have more fun *chuckles*. (Comment on this)
Monday, June 22nd, 2009
3:05 pm	Putting down the cat I've had a cat that has been sick for probably a good year now. His name was Harrison. Aside from a heart murmur, failing thyroid, feline herpes (nobody knows how he got that) and constant breathing problems including mucus build up and a bloody nose he'd also lost well over half of his body weight and weighed under five pounds. Even though other cats in my life have been wonderful it is safe to say he was the friendliest and most personable. He was a runt when he was a kitten and I remember him getting pounced on a lot by his litter mates. I kind of shooed them away and thought nothing over it. Time passes and I come home from school and sit down and this gray cat with the same markings comes running up to me and jumps in my lap purring. I've never had a cat do that before or since. Anyway, he was a good cat. He didn't deserve the physical problems he had and he didn't deserve to waste away like he was doing. Thankfully for him all of that is over now. (8 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, June 21st, 2009
12:22 pm	Graduation Time I'd like to give a special congratulations to those who graduated from the Art Institute of Atlanta. Not that I ever actually went to a class there or anything (though I had been on campus a few times. Good times indeed). I hope that you all are successful in your future endeavors and that you all enjoy what it is you do in life. Some of those who have graduated include the following: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/donryu/ http://www.furaffinity.net/user/jacent http://www.furaffinity.net/user/amonomega (Actually Amon graduated last semester so I'm making up for it now!) http://www.furaffinity.net/user/astrozerk04/ http://matmusada.deviantart.com/ At least those are who I KNOW graduated. Attending artists that I recognized (doesn't mean there weren't others but I saw them) were: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/gunmouth/ http://www.furaffinity.net/user/kamicheetah/ http://www.furaffinity.net/user/bonk/ http://kuroitora.deviantart.com/ http://tempestfury.deviantart.com/ http://luciole.deviantart.com/ Now for the fun part... There were a series of gaffs during the graduation that can only be described as somewhat funny. It started with the guy playing the french horn hitting a wrong note at the beginning of the march. It sounded like something a duck getting strangled and was humorous. I turned to the father of one of the graduates and said quietly, "And he has a doctorate in music!" He got a chuckle out of that. Later, the skinny blond woman next to me ripped a long long long fart. This thing got more gas mileage than an Insight. There was much laughter indeed for the group next time. During the announcement of various degree types, the announcer got tongue tied more than once while the speeches by the first two speakers were... well just special. It was unfortunately obvious that they weren't used to giving speeches to large groups of people with the stammering and incorrect emphasis on certain words. To put it simply... I've seen George W. Bush deliver better speeches on bad days. The third speaker though was in fact quite good and I wanted to thank her for that. Also, what was with the Keynote speaker going on and on about cooking? Yeah I know he was a chef and AIA has a well known culinary school but, most of the folks there were NOT graduating from that school. It would have been nice if he could have given an address that was tailored to fit the entire audience more so. Plus working in lines like, "The customer is not an inconvenience," reminded me of something a former manager of mine might have said. Finally, it was funny to hear a certain graduate yell "Shut up," towards the end of the ceremony when people kept cheering and not allowing the president of the school or whatever she was supposed to be finish her final poorly rehearsed speech. On a final note I'd also just like to add something for any and all future graduates. If you have the opportunity to toss your mortarboard (the weird little hat) in the air, meaning they've, done the move the tassel from one side to the other (another thing I didn't see them do)and all and they say you've graduated... do so. They always tell you don't do it someone could get hurt... look it's a piece of cardboard with think what feels like polyester or rayon wrapped around. If someone ACTUALLY gets hurt from that either you throw really hard and should be a pitcher for the Braves or something. Or you whipped it at someone and again throw really hard and should pitch for the Braves. Also mad props for the giant moth that bounced off the professor's face. From where I sat you could tell it was an insect with a plan and it did a darn good job at executing it. So, insect with a plan good job. All that being said I was happy to see some of my friends and acquaintances get their degrees. They've worked hard to do so and I have no doubts that they will continue to strive and grow as artists and people. So, all I'm going to say to all of you out there is give them lots of money for their work and if you're hiring in their field... give them lots of money to work in that field! That's all I've got. Congrats guys. (Comment on this)
Thursday, June 18th, 2009
11:57 am	Slow reconciliation I moved my previous two entries to private mode. The way I figure it nobody really needs to read my disjointed words and worries any longer than necessary. Thank you all for your support. It's been a very rough period of time for me with a lot more downs than ups as of late. Even though I am feeling more like myself I'm still filled with a lot of questions and am left to wonder why certain parts of my life aren't quite the way I would hope they'd be. Perhaps one day I'll go on about it, which would be much to everyone's chagrin I'm sure. Anyway, I'm sorry for putting everyone out. I know I can be a bit much and ultimately just a huge pain in the neck. I also know that the way I feel about some things can be in contrast to some stuff I've done in the past even if when I look back I see at least some emotional connection there. I don't know how I'm going to handle myself these days. All I do know is I have to move on as best as I can and hope for things to get better in the future. Again thanks for putting up with me. (Comment on this)
Monday, June 8th, 2009
12:12 pm	Cut out of Donryu with a spoon! 1. You can ONLY answer 'Yes' or 'No'. 2. You are NOT ALLOWED to explain ANYTHING unless someone comments you and asks— and, believe me, the temptation to explain some of these will be overwhelming. Nothing is exactly as it seems. Kissed any one of your LiveJournal friends? — Yes. Been arrested? — No. Kissed someone you didn't like? — No. Slept in until 5 PM? — Yes Fallen asleep at work/school? — Yes. Held a snake? — Yes. Ran a red light? — Yes. Been suspended from school? — No. Experienced love at first sight? — No. Totaled your car in an accident? — Yes Been fired from a job? — No Fired somebody? — No. Sung karaoke? — No. Pointed a gun at someone? — Yes Did something you told yourself you wouldn't? — Yes. Laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose? — No Caught a snowflake on your tongue? — No Kissed in the rain? — No Had a close brush with death (your own)? — Yes. Saw someone die? — Yes Played Spin-the-Bottle? — Yes Smoked a cigar? — No Sat on a rooftop? — Yes. Smuggled something into another country? — No. Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes? — No. Broken a bone? — Yes Skipped school? — Yes Eaten a bug? — Yes. Sleepwalked? — No Walked on a moonlit beach? — Yes. Ridden a motorcycle? —Yes Dumped someone? — Yes. Forgotten your anniversary? — No. Lied to avoid a ticket? — No Ridden in a helicopter? — No. Shaved your head? — Yes Blacked out from drinking? — No. Played a prank on someone? — Yes. Hit a home run? — Yes. Felt like killing someone? — Yes. Cross-dressed? — Yes Been falling-down drunk? —No Made your girlfriend/boyfriend cry? — Yes. Eaten snake? — Yes Marched/Protested? — No Had Mexican jumping beans for pets? — No. Puked on an amusement ride? — No. Seriously & intentionally boycotted something? — No. Knitted? — Yes Been on TV? — Yes. Shot a gun? — Yes. Skinny-dipped? — No Given someone stitches? — No. Eaten a whole habenero pepper? — No. Ridden a surfboard? — No. Drunk straight from a liquor bottle? — Yes Had surgery? — Yes Streaked? — No Been taken by ambulance to a hospital? — No. Tripped on mushrooms? — No. Passed out when NOT drinking? — Yes. Peed on a bush? — Yes Donated Blood? — No. Grabbed electric fence? — No. Eaten alligator meat? -- Yes Eaten cheesecake? — Yes. Killed an animal when not hunting? — Yes. Peed your pants in public? — No Snuck into a movie without paying? - No Written graffiti? — No. Still love someone you shouldn't? — Yes Think about the future? —Yes Been in handcuffs? — Yes. Believe in love? — Yes. Sleep on a certain side of the bed? — Yes . (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, June 7th, 2009
1:01 pm	Quick Reviews... of your mom! "Drag Me To Hell" (2009) Starring:Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver, Dileep Rao, and David Paymer. Directed: Sam Raimi. A woman (Lohman)decides not to extend anymore credit to an old gypsy woman (Raver). The woman loses her home and puts a hex on Lohman. Now it is a race against time for Lohman to avoid being dragged to hell and have her soul eaten by the Lamia. Well paced, with plenty of jump out and grab you scares along with some humor. Drag Me To Hell is a rare film now-a-days and what it lacks in all out slash 'em up gore it makes up for with its own brand of tension. The acting is up to par and while you can see the ending coming a mile away it's still satisfying. *** out of **** "Up" (2009) Animated. Directed: Peter Docter and Bob Peterson. An old man decides to strap a bunch of balloons to his house and head for South America to finish out his days at Paradise Falls, a place where he and his wife had always dreamed of going. Unfortunately for him (but fortunately for us) a young boy is accidentally taken along for the ride and an adventure of a life time that includes talking dogs and prehistoric birds. The movie does everything right within the context of the film. It's sweet, funny and unlike Pixar's previous effort develops its characters beyond that of mere concepts. There really isn't much more to say about it other than it's a really good movie and probably the third best Pixar film. **** out of **** (The list is as follows) Finding Nemo The Incredibles Up Ratatouille Toy Story Cars Bugs Life Toy Story 2 Monsters Inc. Wall-e "Sharky's Machine" (1981) Starring: Burt Reynolds, Vittorio Gassman, Brian Keith, Charles Durning, and Earl Holliman. Directed: Burt Reynolds. A police sergeant (Reynolds) is demoted from Narcotics to the Vice Squad after a shoot out on a MARTA bus (the film takes place in Atlanta which is different). Eventually Sharky has to solve a case involving 1000 dollar a night prostitutes and murder as he and a team of cops he trusts (his machine if you will) work to do so. The fact that this takes place in Atlanta is interesting considering most cop dramas take place in places like New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Los Angeles. Another interesting part of the movie is when Sharky gets a couple of fingers cut off. What makes that interesting is the fact that these days most heroes may get roughed up but it's nothing putting on a new shirt can't cover up. So, the acting for the most part is fine. The writing very cliche, the direction and editing though are all pretty lousy. If you're interested in this movie because you like Reynolds go for it otherwise it's best to just pass it up. * 1/2 out of **** (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, May 28th, 2009
2:03 am	We Have to Kill Hitler... "Valkyrie" (2008) Starring: Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Thomas Kretchmann. Directed: Bryan Singer. Valkyrie is the story of what was probably the single most successful attempt to assassinate Adolph Hitler. The modifier of most should let you know what the outcome of that attempt was. It is this knowledge that is the biggest obstacle the film faces. Technically this movie is sound. The directing and acting are good. The writing is alright too. In fact this movie should by all accounts be a well thought of World War two thriller. Unfortunately there is something important missing from this film and it has to do with that large obstacle of knowing what the ending is. By knowing what the end result is it takes away from what the music wants me to believe which is that this is a thriller and that this can work. If we already know it can't why do we care? The fact is we really don't outside of a, "Well to bad for them," sort of a way. For this film to really work, it would required something we as an audience could hold onto and really want to see happen. For example, in United 93 we know that the plane is going to crash and everyone is going to die. But because of the way the film is shot, because these are normal people, not military officers we as an audience can connect. We as an audience really want the passengers of that plane to take that cockpit even though we know that in the end it doesn't matter, that their fates are in fact sealed. Another example is Titanic. We all know the boat is going to sink and a whole bunch of people are going to die. The reason this movie makes one billion dollars at the box office though is because audiences (women generally speaking) wanted to watch the tragic romance between Rose and Jack. Because those two films could connect completely with the audience and make them care about the characters they are successful. Valkyrie however, while it does everything right in a lot of ways forgets one of the most important things a movie like this needs and that is sympathy for it's protagonists. Without a heart, no film, no story no matter how slickly made or technically competent it is can be great. ** 1/2 out of **** (Comment on this)
Sunday, May 24th, 2009
1:30 pm	Unfair Termination? "Terminator: Salvation" (2009) Starring: Sam Worthington, Christian Bale, Moon Bloodgood, Anton Yelchin, and Helen Bonham Carter. Directed: McG. Finally, we've made it to the war against the machines. Let's forget the previous movie, I know it was painful for me too but, we can do it. Here we have a bright new shiny post apocalyptic world to deal with and a cast that features some of the better actors in film today. So why is it that critics are panning this film left and right? We'll get to that in a second. First, let's say what the film gets right. The action scenes are good, the fights, special effects, and all are on par and unlike some movies look like they fit into the universe. The acting is up to snuff and is believable which is important. On the middle ground the writing is fairly average. At times it may even remind you of Fallout 3. That's not to say it's bad, just that some of the scenes kind of made go hmm. Weakest area is the editing. In a couple of spots it suffers from Transformersesque continuity errors or jumps. However, unlike Transformers these issues are limited to a couple of scenes and are not a constant thing. This also brings me to the direction which I suppose I should throw under the average category as well. McG isn't a great director but at least he pretty much stays out of the way of the film for the most part. So why did the critics rip on this film? Most of them say tend to say that the movie lacks heart. In the first two you had three parts that were heart felt. In the first movie it was the scene in the hotel room leading up to the sex scene and then that scene itself followed by the eventual death of Reese. In the second movie the big heart felt scene is when they kill the protecting android. Another less said reason is the fact that this isn't a James Cameron film. It's not fair to judge this movie along those lines. Every filmmaker brings their own voice and abilities to the table. In this case what you get is a fun sci-fi action film that while it may not have the emotion of the first two movies is more in the spirit of those two movies than the third one ever was. So, my suggestion is go see it if you like sci-fi action movies. In this one you'll get one that delivers the goods. (on a side note it's interesting to see Anton Yelchin in his second blockbuster film of the year, In this one he plays Kyle Reese as a teenager while in Star Trek he played Chekov. Oddly enough he handles both roles pretty well). ** 1/2 out of **** (Comment on this)
Thursday, May 21st, 2009
1:21 pm	To Boldy Redo where nobody has gone before "Star Trek" (2009) Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Eric Bana, and Bruce Greenwood. Directed: J. J. Abrams Romulans from the future wage war against Kirk and company. A whole lot of folks die and history is changed. More importantly it's a heck of a ride. This is probably one of the few Trek films that isn't boring. The movie is successful in creating a dynamic young Kirk and a Spock who is both logical but trying to get better at dealing with controlling his emotions. The acting is good and all of the characters are believable. The special effects are very pretty and fit into the world. There are a couple of minor negatives. First off the Beastie Boys song, while it does represent teenage rebellion pretty well probably wouldn't be something a teenager hundreds of years in the future would listen to or even be aware of. Secondly there are a whole lot of shine effects that can be a little hard on the eyes of the audience. Again these are just minor quibbles. So go watch the movie if you haven't. *** out of **** (2 Comments |Comment on this)
12:51 pm	Someone stole his heart... he wants it back. "Crank 2: High Voltage" (2009) Starring: Jason Statham, Amy Smart, Dwight Yoakam, Efrem Ramirez and Julanne Chidi Hill. Directed: Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor. The last time we saw Chev Chelios he fell from a helicopter bounced off of a car and hit the pavement presumably dead. Well, he wasn't and the Triads took his battered body and stole his heart. Chelios wants it back and will go to any length to get it back and to get rid of the artificial heart that's keeping him going. One of the problems Chelios faces is that the heart keeps running out of juice so he needs to keep doing things to keep it electrically charged which leads to many seemingly awkward situations. This is one of those ridiculous movies that could have been a guilty pleasure film. It's got a lot of weirdness going on including a bunch of porno actors going on strike demanding better wages, a large display of horse penis (briefly mind you) and a Godzilla type battle at a power station. The movie really is just an over hyped testosterone fest that has a couple of fatal flaws. The first flaw is the way the film is shot. I understand that they are trying to be hip and are catering to a specific segment of the teenage twenty something audience, but, the camera work is dizzying and at best vomit inducing with the sheer amount of cuts and "Domino" type edits. The other problem is that several of the jokes if you will, take way to long to develop and lose their punch while at least one character you'd love to see get shot real quick lasts for far to long. In the end I can see the ADD generation really enjoying this film. Beyond that though, I'd say steer clear, especially if you like not seeing your lunch more than once in a day.. * 1/2 out of **** (Comment on this)
12:22 pm	Of Dead Aliens and a Chevy Malibu "Repo Man" (1984) Starring: Emilio Estevez, Harry Dean Stanton, Tracey Walter, Olivia Barash, Sy Richardson. Directed: Alex Cox. Otto is a young punk high school drop out who lacks direction and money. His girlfriend (I guess) dumps him for a friend of his who's just out of Juvie, his parents give away his money to a tele evangelist, and nobody seems to quite be on the same page as him. Then he becomes a repo man and has to contend with weird government types and dead aliens in the trunk of a car. This is one of those movies that has been given the cult classic status. What this usually means is, the film isn't that good but people still like it and it maintains a following long after it's "expiration date." That isn't to say this movie doesn't have its good points. The soundtrack is good especially if you like that 80's punk type music. Another positive is the fact that the movie does have its funny moments and ultimately the movie makes sense. All that being said it's not exactly a good movie. A lot of the dialog and conversations really don't feel like they are building to anything, they're just characters talking for the sake of talking. Another factor is that it's difficult to care about any of the characters because frankly, none of them are compelling enough to care about. They're all just varying degrees of weird. Finally, the film isn't consistent with the funny moments or even dare I say the serious ones. In the end this movie is probably most notable for its premise and its soundtrack than it is for anything it does. This is a shame because a lot of neat possibilities with the subject matter. Unfortunately, much like the characters they focus on the movie lacks focus and I didn't really care in the end. * 1/2 out of **** (Comment on this)
Sunday, April 12th, 2009
3:58 am	Not so calm... "Dead Calm" (1989) Starring: Nicole Kidman, Sam Neill, and Billy Zane. Directed: Phillip Noyce. After losing their son in a fatal car crash the Ingram's decide to sail around the south pacific on their giant yacht. Rae Ingram (Kidman) is having trouble getting over it while John (Neill) seems to be coping with it and trying to help her as well. One day they find another yacht with a man (Zane) paddling away from it. It turns out that Zane is a sociopath and the problems for the Ingrams are just beginning. This is a fairly typical psychological thriller. To be honest, there is very little about the movie that screams originality other than the fact that the cast really is just three people. The acting for the most part is solid with Zane being the most obvious weak link. I was never really sure if I was supposed to be scared of this guy, I mean yeah he's a killer and all but Zane never really had an heir of menace about him. The writing also could have been a bit better especially with the sheer number of, "yeah right," moments that happen towards the end. Overall, it's not a bad film. It's not a great film either. The only real notable thing about this movie is the fact that it does help kick start Kidman's career and you do get to see her kind of naked. Beyond that, it's probably best to rent something else. ** out of **** (Comment on this)
3:40 am	Compliance! "Flight of the Navigator" (1986) Starring: Joey Cramer, Paul Reubens, Veronica Cartwright, Cliff De Young, Sarah Jessica Parker. Directed: Randal Kleiser. A boy decides to cut through the woods to go get his younger brother from a neighbors house. He falls down a hole and loses consciousness. He wakes up to find that eight years have passed and while everyone around him has gotten older he's still the same age. He needs to find out what happened. Meanwhile, NASA has discovered a spacecraft that crashed into some power lines. Are the two cases related? Would I have mentioned it if they weren't? This is really two movies in one. Most of the film feels like something out of the Twilight Zone, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if it were an episode at some point. The rest of it when the kid gets on the spaceship is really more for the kids and completely changes the tone of the film in a way that hurts it but, being that this IS a kids film makes it more interesting for them. The acting in this one is a lot better than I remember and the writing is appropriate for the most part. The movie also boasts some decent special effects. On the downside the writing isn't consistent and film does have that Disney sheen about it that prevents it from being more than it is. Another problem with the movie is the fact that the entire beginning of the film is nothing but filler. After all, it really isn't important to the movie to show a bunch of dogs catching frisbees. All that said this is probably one of the better disney kids film efforts. While the movie itself isn't the greatest thing ever, it's not so bad to take the occasional stroll down memory lane with it either. Plus, really every kid would probably like to fly that spaceship. ** out of **** (Comment on this)
3:19 am	We're Oldboys! "Oldboy" (2003) Starring: Min-sik Choi, Ji-tai Yu, Hye-Jiong Kang, Dai-han Ji and Dal-su Oh. Directed: Chan-wook Park. A man gets drunk one night and ultimately is imprisoned for fifteen years on the trumped up charge of murdering his wife. After he's released he goes looking for who set him up with the hope of getting revenge on him. Unfortunately, for him he's in for more than he bargained for. This is probably the best Korean movie I've seen. That being said that's not saying to much. I've seen a few and while I would find parts of them entertaining for a bit I would often end up bored or just not giving a flip as the film went on. So, to be fair I had low standards initially for it. The movie itself is put together pretty well. It has one epic fight scene where the camera pans across the hallway as our protagonist fights his way through a bunch of thugs. The neat thing about it is that this entire fight is done in one take and is more believable than most fight sequences in Hollywod. The acting is also good. The writing isn't bad but it does have its problems. It isn't to hard to figure out the real reason as to why our protagonist was imprisoned. There are also points where while I understood how or why what happened happened I just didn't really care or worry about it. The ending is also kind of weak but, there have been worse. Anyway, overall, this is an entertaining film with some blood including the eating of a live octopus (a dangerous thing to do by the way should you ever try). Another film to give a chance if only for some of the action sequences and ... dare I say some of the funnier parts. *** out of **** (Comment on this)
2:50 am	When Oskar met Eli "Let the Right One In" (2008) starring: Kare Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Henrik Dahl, and Karin Bergquist. Directed: Tomas Alfredson. Oskar is a skinny kid who gets picked on at school. He lives alone with his mother who is absorbed in her own world of sitcoms and work while his father lives in what can be called the country and seems nice enough to a degree but has his own problems with the bottle. Oskar is lonely and one night meets a girl named Eli who is a vampire. These two become friends and the monster turns out to be the best person Oskar could have ever met. There really is so much to like about this movie. The one thing I could call this movie is good. Unlike certain other vampire movies that came out that year this one actually has heart and three dimensional characters. The writing and acting are such that it is near impossible not to care about what happens to Oskar and Eli, mostly because it's believable. For example, the bullies do a variety of things to Oskar. It isn't always physical but, name calling, destroying his clothing a few different ways are included. Oskar wants to fight back but really lacks the courage to do so. Eli helps him with that. In turn he becomes a close and honest friend, something she's lacked for a long time. Finally the film has some really nice clean camera work something that other vampire movies should look into. This was one of those movies that didn't get a wide distribution and in turn nobody saw stateside. It's a shame because this was one of those films rare films that successfully brings out a fresh honest and in a strange way touching film. Unfortunately, nobody got to see it. Instead they got the gap vampires walking in slow motion and whining about their hair and a lot of bull crap. If you get a chance watch the movie and do it via subtitles (the dub is okay but it's nice to hear the original voices). *** out of **** (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, April 9th, 2009
12:43 pm	Your result for What Circus Performer would you be?... The Mighty Magician! You scored 31 percent on Magician. <img (Comment on this)