American Psycho

If you could only see how I throw up my hands and go “ahhh” when someone mentions the name of this film. AMERICAN PSYCHO is a journey in the days-of-a-life of a day trader turned serial killer in 1980s New York City. It’s an extremely stylized and beautifully crafted cinematographic experience that at times will blow your mind out of the back of your skull. Getting it on blu-ray was another excuse to pop it in and enjoy the trip all over again. The HD transfer to 1080p was a success I believe and the visuals are sharp. Some of the white screens look a little pixilated in some of the shadows, but the food, suits, and cars look beautiful in true HD.

American Psycho Trailer Here

I won’t talk story too much with this film, because I don’t want to allude to anything that might be considered a spoiler. A VP of a financial firm takes out his worldly aggression on the ‘scum’ of the world as deemed by him. During his nights he roams the city taking the lives of those that do not deserve life. This is the first film that made me fall in love with Christian Bale as an actor. He plays the part of average guy / sociopath serial killer to a T. It is truly exhilarating to watch him work his craft in this film. This is one of those films where the audience members become hypnotized by the killer and begin to fall into his world of incessant psychosis. Do we dare say that we cheer him on while he rips apart these women to satisfy his animal instincts? I would make the leap to say that we do indeed love how ruthless he is. It challenges you on a personal level – how does this character sit with you?

It is intriguing to watch Christian’s characters transformation throughout this film. He slowly becomes more and more disgusted with the people of the world, and then the world in general. It’s an emotion that resonants with all of us. The fake hypocrites that we deal with everyday have no problem floating through existence, not questioning, or changing to the garage filtrations in our society. For me, this film is a subtle battle cry for the “normal person” to stand up and make a difference. I love the irony in that the main character is that which he despises and hates so much – people who wear masks. He cannot become them, so he must destroy them. Wearing masks: is also a reoccurring theme throughout the film that you should look for.

Also, the 1980’s soundtrack is melded together with the film. In fact, so meticulously so that it becomes a character as well I would argue. You’ll never think of Phil Collins the same way after seeing this film. Watch this movie on a night when you’re mad at the world. Christian will take it out on them for you.

Rating: 8.75/10

The Blind Side

I can’t believe that I watched this film, let alone am writing about it. So I will keep this little review brief to spare myself the anxiety. It was overall a good film. It had a decent story (similar to DANGEROUS MINDS), but whatever. It’s always nice for the white over-privileged lady to come in and save the underprivileged kid(s) at the very right moment in their lives. How incessantly touching! Yeah right. Most of you will like this film, but I’m not like you. Towards the end it tried to turn itself into a sports flick, but no one could take it that seriously. It’s like considering VARISTY BLUES a solid football film. Fat chance. VB is like Dawson's Creek meets American Pie with a football.

The acting was sincere and heartfelt. Sandra Bullock didn’t overly impress me with her performance. Her character was suppressed throughout most of the film. And we were never given any character motivational rationale for picking up the homeless child in first place. It just kind of happened, and for me that was a little choppy. The story really didn’t touch me all that much – it seemed like the kid DID have a place to live, but he didn’t want to because it was in a bad neighborhood. And maybe I’m too numb to these urban miracle stories. Idk. At the end of the day it was just a good popcorn flick with some legitimate humor sprinkled throughout. The younger son was probably the best part of the film. He was definitely the comic relief.

Rating: 7/10

Ginger Snaps

Forget TWILIGHT, this is the real teen / romance / drama / horror film you should see. It has the remnants of an indie film, but you can tell it was backed with a large budget because the quality of the effects, sets, and actors. It is an awesome ride and reminds me very much of AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON and AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN PARIS. Probably more of the latter because of the comical elements to the film. AWIL has some very humorous moments too, but overall is more serious.

Ginger Snaps Trailer

Two sisters are the social outcasts at school because of how weird they are. They stage suicides and photograph the scenes in their free time. They also have a pact “out by 16, or dead at the scene, but together forever.” Definitely your oddballs for sure. But we love them. From the first few scenes we side with them and hate when they are picked on at school. One night they are out for an eerie stroll in the woods and the older sister is attacked and bitten by some large, wild animal. (It was a werewolf – sorry for the spoiler, but honestly if you didn’t know that you’re a tard foreal)

They barely get home and she is bleeding profusely. But the next day the wound mysteriously healed up and she is almost 100% better. Then the sister begins to change. She sprouts a tail, starts to get really hairy, and grows fond of boys and actually turns into a hot temptress at school that makes the boys heads turn as she passes by. Her sister knows that something is up. Throw in a revenge under-plot, a romance subplot that the other sister has, and you have an entertaining film.

The best parts of this film really lie in the interactions these sisters have with the “natives”, whether it is boys, parents, etc. They are so awkward and blunt that it is impossible to turn away. Their bond is also something that propels the film. We’re on board with their deep connection in life, and when obstacles are thrown their way we are ever so engaged to see how they will make it out to the other side.

The film takes a turn towards the 3rd act and actually turns into a straight laced horror film with cat-and-mouse games, tons of blood, and those tense moments of silence followed by heightened horror. They did a really good job with the makeup and look of her as a werewolf when she finally turns into it fully. I was very impressed. They must’ve spent a large chunk of their overall budget right there. It looked very similar to the werewolf in AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, and that one was believable for me too. Watch if you’re into blood and comical outcasts. Come to think of it, it had a vibe like that of GHOST WORLD.

Rating: 9/10

Otis

If you honestly enjoyed the disturbing journey that was VERY BAD THINGS, than OTIS is a film that you will absolutely adore. It falls perfectly into the black comedy genre and floats along the Horror, Romance, Action, and S&M genres as well. What a mix, eh? Yeah, it’s a pretty exciting film. I almost bought this on blu-ray several months ago after just seeing the trailer, but my rare self-restraint kicked in and I didn’t. This is another film that I watched while training in Flint. Oh, and by the way, Flint is the most boring city in a of Michigan. Just an FYI. There used to be like 12 theatres in town, but one by one they all shut down. I spent my nights running, hot tubing, eating steak, shopping at Meijer, and watching movies. Not too bad all in all.

Watch Otis Trailer Here

The film is about Otis who kidnaps a young high school girl. He keeps her chained in a bunker area under his garage. He then forces her to reenact scenes from his high school days when he would call girls, play football, and go to the senior prom. It’s downright funny and extremely twisted at times. Kind of like the dichotomy of life.

Daniel Stern and Illeana Douglas are familiar faces, and they work perfectly in their roles. They play the parents of the kidnapped and are a lot of fun to watch progress as characters. The most memorable scene is when they torture and kill Otis’ brother by accident and then the realization that comes over them once they know what they’ve done.

The Raw Feed label has put out some awfully horrible films, like REST STOP and SUBLIME, but they’ve redeemed themselves with OTIS. If you’re kind of twisted and like these dark humor comedy films, this one is for you. It was definitely for me. Enjoy.

Rating: 8.5/10

Irreversible

On my journey to watch the most intense and disturbing films available, I came across this little gem of a film. I don’t even know where to begin when discussing this film. Where would one begin? First off, it’s in French, so some subtitle work is needed throughout the film. Although, for the main scenes that make this film so amazing no subtitles are needed to be read. Jeez. I don’t even know how to start and tackle this one.

Irreversible - Trailer Here

The storyline is set up very uniquely. It is not straight narrative story. The film begins at the end and then every 20 minutes or so we jump back 20 minutes before that scene. It’s similar to MEMENTO, but uses the backwards story MO much more effectively I believe. With MEMENTO it begins to become gimmicky and it is almost laughable by the end of the film. IRREVERSIBLE is not laughable by any stretch. The film starts off in a dark sex club where graphic acts are depicted (how about that for PC?), and a man is murdered. Then we continue back in time throughout the events of the day.

The scene that everyone talks about and created the hype around this film is the 9-minute, with no cuts, rape scene. And it is incredibly hard to bear. The acting is top notch and we are left feeling dirty and abused. If for one second there wasn’t the amount of intensity that both actors gave out, we would be left not believing. But we believe it. Indeed we do. The camera sits on the floor for the entire scene and we the audience are left to take it all in (whoa. Bad pun. Sorry). Towards the end the camera abruptly jerks to life and flies right into the action as the woman is beat. I definitely want to discuss the camerawork in this film.

From the very opening minutes of this film we are strikingly aware of the non-traditional and obscure camerawork that we are in for. The first 10 minutes is one-shot that travels throughout the neighborhood in the dead of night, twisting and turning all around as to completely discombobulate the viewers, and it does just that. If you juxtapose the images/content from the first act of the film with the camerawork, it makes complete sense. We are supposed to be left extremely disillusioned, unaware, and confused. We are thrown into a surrealist world of extremities and unspeakable atrocities.

The full spectrum of the human experience in regards to intimacy and love is seen throughout this film. In the beginning you have the perverse and wicked, where people are treated as unloved rag dolls; raped, murdered, and abused. In stark contrast to the end where we see true love between a young couple that is enjoying each other on a Saturday morning at home. The acting is superb throughout this film, and it really is the driving force that allows the audience to believe and wholeheartedly commit to all of the images we see.

Only see this film if you know going in that it will in some way affect you. Definitely not on my top 20 list of disturbing, impactful films, but it’s up there. It is a beautiful film, but a heavy one too.

Rating: 7.5/10

Rounders

Why do I keep writing about movies that I love so much? Hmmm… I guess it is better than the contrary – writing about films that are terrible? I should do a Michael Bay series. He has this strange fetish with animals humping in films. Look for it! (BAD BOYS2-rats, TRANSFORMERS2-dog, and there’s others but they slip my mind right now – how could that happen!!!) So I definitely will NOT be doing any series around that pompous LA director. There was a great bit in last weeks 30 Rock where Alec Baldwin walked over and turned off the TV when they started to brag about LA and how great it was, and they even mentioned MB’s name. So great. Ok I guess I could talk about this film some.

Watch ROUNDERS Trailer Here

I love cards. Euchre, Pinochle, Casino, Hearts, Rook, Canasta, Gin, Go Fish, War… But the mother of them all has to be poker. And within poker: Stud, 7-Card Stud, Texas Hold-Em, Omaha, Shantghai, Razz, I love them all. But the one we always play is Texas Hold-Em. As Mike McDermant says, “it’s the Cadillac of poker.” And it truly is the most entertaining to play. No-Limit Texas Hold-Em is where it’s at. I don’t play as much as I used to, but every Friday night there’s a home game that I’m in. The stakes are low, but there’s always good action.

The film followers Matt Damon’s character Mike McDermant, who loses everything when he’s beat by the better full house at Teddy KGB’s (John Malcovich) Russian mob den one night. He then has to get a real job delivering off a truck all night long. Matt’s bff, worm (Edward Norton), gets out of jail and Mike picks him up and they go out on a night of card hustling. His girlfriend finally catches on and leaves him, he loses his shot at a law school internship, and Mike and worm go on a gambling streak to help worm remove the debts he owes. In the end Mike gets what he wants: some much warranted revenge on Teddy KGB and a trip to the big times – Vegas – during the WSOP (World Series of Poker).

This film really strikes at the hearts of all true card players. The nights that blend into the next day’s morning, the incredible swings of good/bad fortune, and the women that inherently hate poker. I want to discuss this for a second. Why do all women hate poker so much? I know my wife has played in our home games before, but she despises it when I go out to play for a night. I understand that it’s time where I am away from you and with the boys, but there always seems to be extreme tension and anger associated with my weekly or bi-weekly all-night poker game. Well at least Mikey D feels my pain as well. At least I didn’t lose 30k when my 9s full of Aces were beat to his Aces full of 9s. Bad beat for sure. And Teddy KGB slow rolled Mike there too! Just like Mike slow rolled him at the end of the film.

I struck me so hard when Mike was unloading the truck the first night – it sounds like the score straight from TAXI DRIVER when Travis is driving the streets of NYC for the first time and describing all the filth and disease he sees around him. Is there a parallel between Travis and Mike – both working mundane jobs at night in order to try and escape from the world that they obviously don’t belong in?

If you play poker or just love either one of these actors – see this film. It truly captures the life and times of a rounder, if you will. And Matt and Edward are in their best acting form I believe. It’s truly a film with high repeatability and pay close attention around the 54-minute mark. This is the best moment of the film. When the hero gives in to his destiny. Every time I get goosebumps when Mike jumps in feet first and says “let’s play some _____¬_ cards.”

Rating: 9.5/10

The Virgin Suicides

One of my favorite films of all time, which I suppose I say a lot, but seriously I love this film and the repeat-viewing is very high for me. I revisited this film while I was away for a week long training for my new job in Flint, MI. Not a lot to do in Flint, so watching 3-4 movies a night became my safe haven and escape. I was extremely excited to revisit this film again, even after having watched it about 5 times prior. I even suffered through watching it on MegaVideo where you can only watch 72 minutes of a film and then you have to wait 54 minutes before you can watch anymore. A very clever ploy. Well played MegaVideo, well played.

The Virgin Suicides Trailer

Sofia Coppola directed this film and also rewrote the novel into screenplay format. She also directed LOST IN TRANSLATION, which is also another one of my favorite films – go figure. Both films do share similar tones and overall pacing. LIT is probably slower however. THE VIRGIN SUICIDES centers on a young group of boys who become infatuated with a group of girls who are all sisters. It takes place during the 1970s and the day and time is beautifully recaptured in scene and music. The soundtrack is impressive by itself, with artists such as The Hollies, Heart, Styx, Todd Rundgren, and Al Green. It is the perfect audio track companion for this film. And the music plays a large role in the film. It serves as an escapism venue for the girls and boys to experience together (over the phone when they are under house arrest).

The parents, played by James Woods and Kathleen Turner are extremely overprotective and overbearing. Their strictness eventually causes Lux (Kirsten Dunst) to rebel and stay out all night with Trip Fontaine (Josh Hartnett), the high school heartthrob. When she finally comes home her parents lock the girls out from the entire world. No school, no friends, no music – one memorable scene where Lux’ mother burns all of her rock vinyl records right in front of her. I was reminded of a time when I took was forced to smash my rock albums… Hmmm… Peer pressure can be a pain.

For me, the film is an exercise in looking at the interworkings of a teenage mind. How can those who are so young and innocent feel so burdened with their current stresses of life in which they decide to end their lives? Of course the shocking scenes in this film involve the suicides of these young women – the ending being the culmination of course. But for me it was the journey that left the heaviest impression. We watch these girls really enjoy life and become social butterflies when they are given some slack from their parents. However, when they are treated like jewels that must be kept hidden and safe from the “big bad world” they resort to the only escape they see.

The ending always makes me think. Why didn’t they just leave with the boys that night instead of killing themselves? I’ve landed on the resolution that they couldn’t escape and leave because they were already dead and there was no saving them anymore: The living embodiment of the American dream gone incredibly arye. And by involving the boys in their final suicidal pact they got to share that very intimate act with them. Otherwise their parents would have probably covered the entire event up, as they did throughout the film with other family matters. This was their final scream out to the world to let them know that the young and innocent can still be plagued by the darkness of existence.

Even with all of the nicest things in life – the home, family, relationships; people can still be empty. It’s a scary thought to think that what we’ve been told our whole life could be big air. Finding the flaw within the flaw.

Rating: 9/10

Dumb and Dumber

Ah… The 1994 Farrelly brothers’ classic... Spent some quality time with dad and watched this last night. Again it was on blu-ray. I think I’m becoming spoiled with the quality of these films. Here the 1080p transfer held up pretty well. Some dark scenes are grainy, but overall it looks a ton better than the original DVD release. Watch for the dinner, hotel, and Lamborghini scenes, they truly ‘pop’. Anyways, it was the ‘Unrated version’, which allowed for close to 5 extra minutes of footage throughout the film. It was a welcomed surprise, because I still know this movie like the back of my hand and it’s probably been 6 years since I’ve seen it in its entirety. And just to be random, to other blu-rays I picked up from Blockbuster yesterday: TWILIGHT-NEW MOON and THE INFORMANT. Hopefully you understand my likes enough by now to peg me with the film that I’m truly excited to see. Yes, that Twilight thing is for my girl, not me. I cannot wait to watch Stephen Soderbergh’s new film starring Matt Damon. I’ve watched the first 10 minutes online and I already know that it is for me. Watch the trailer online. I’m sure to be posting a review sooner than later.

Watch Dumb and Dumber Trailer Here

Haha. Just watched the trailer and the first scene where Lloyd yells "go faster" is actually not in the film - theatrical or unrated release. Hmmm... Very interesting. And the scene where Lloyd runs down the jetway and falls off is different too - he holds up his badge differently and how he lands on the concrete is different too. Maybe I'm just a nerd, but I think it's cool how they used different footage in the trailer as opposed to actual theatrical release.

There really isn’t too much to talk about with this film. I know everyone has seen it and either you love this low-brow style of humor, or you turn your nose up to it. Either way, everyone is familiar with this film. I’ll talk about some of the additional scenes they included in the unrated version. During the sexy hotel scene we hear sex sounds from the next room as Jim Carrey encourages him to ‘yeah, get her.’ It actually was pretty funny. The bathroom scene with Seabass is extended and we learn where Lloyd’s happy place really is. When the killers car breaks down on the side of the road, the female killer decides to “squeeze out a lemon” and proceeds to squat down. During the restaurant scene with Flo – Harry complains that his drink is flat and has no bubbles. So she takes it from him and blows into the straw, bubbling the glass up. And finally – during the toilet scene at the end, Harry picks up the toilet and starts to dump its contents out the window.

All in all these scenes actually added to the enjoyment level of re-watching this film. It made an extremely familiar film for me something new and exciting to watch because I was constantly looking for that moment when new scenes would slide in. I highly recommend it if you know the film well and love it. It will give you an excuse to revisit it and see new scenes.

Rating: 8.5/10

Grace

I had the unique opportunity to watch this film last night on blu-ray. To say the least it was an extremely unsettling film. First unveiled at Sundance Film Festival in 2008, this film had a ton of buzz surrounding it. During the first screening two men actually fainted from being overcome with anxiety due to the film’s nature and tactics. (Reminds me of The Exorcist days… Hmmm…) So it is a low-budget indie film that makes people faint in the theaters. I was very excited to watch it at the onset after doing a little research.

Watch 'Grace' Trailer Here

The main premise is this: a pregnant mother is involved in a car crash that results in the death of her unborn child. During the crash her husband died, so now the dead child is all she has left. She decides to carry the baby to full-term and then have the child as planned, at home with her midwife standing by. It seems odd, but given the fact that the mother has miscarried twice before, they allow her to wait the 3 weeks. The child is born dead, but then by some miracle of love, it is brought back to life. As the film progresses strange things begin to happen to the child. It’s attacked by flies, develops a taste for flesh, etc. It also begins to love/crave blood, which the mother gathers from raw meat and eventually people too.

The goal of this film is to make the audience as unsettled and disturbed as possible. And it does succeed in its goal. Throughout the film there are random segments of animal torture and slaughtering spliced in with the storyline. It is viewed from a small television in the kitchen, which adds to the realism factor of what we are seeing. And I have no doubt that those images were real. The problem that I have with it that they are so randomly cut-in that it becomes a guessing game as to when we are going to see another animal being tested on in a lab. However, it does add to the consistent disturbing nature of the film. Cheers.

Recently I’ve been fascinated by slaughterhouses and animal cruelty in general. I’m not an advocate of it, but I am intrigued by it. I could possibly be turning into a sociopath or something too. It’s that same mindset that you can’t turn away from a horrific car accident. I guess I like to test my limits. And animal abuse is definitely an area where I find myself cringing. Perhaps I should do a series on films that involve cruelty to animals. Jeez there would be some good candidates. CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST, CANNIBAL FEROX, FACES OF DEATH, NEKROMANTIK, ROGER & ME, TEMPLE GRANDIN – to name a few.

The ending, special effects, and the majority of the acting in the film is horrible. But most of all the ending was the biggest letdown. The whole film did a good job of taking itself seriously, but the whole time there were these undertones of dark humor and surrealism to what we were seeing. The end removed all validity this film had in regards to being an indie, psychological head trip horror flim. It moved the film quickly into the mainstream, bad FX, ‘THE RING” and “THE GRUDGE” market. Some people compared this film to ROSEMARY’S BABY, which is on my top ten list of favorite horrors. All I have to say to that is, really? This is nowhere near to RB. It reminded me of IT'S ALIVE in many ways, which I believe IT'S ALIVE is a superior film. But it did accomplish its goal for being quite well. Watch this film with the lights off by yourself.

Rating: 6/10

Downloading Nancy

I had a sudden self realization the other day. I looked back over the films I’ve discussed so far, and many of them are recent films from the past ten years. At the onset, this hurt my heart. Because my heart truly lies within the 1970’s film era. So I am going to do a full week’s worth of reviews of films from that era. However, I ran into another problem. I need to have watched those films THIS YEAR in order to add them to this film critic blog. So, I will postpone my 1970’s special week until next week. I will continue my plague of recent films that were great.

Downloading Nancy - Watch Trailer Here

Maria Bello is probably one of top ten favorite actresses of all time. Right up there with her would be Catherine Keener and Edie Falco. PAYBACK, A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, and THANK YOU FOR SMOKING are just a few films where we are graced with her acting presence.

I watched DOWNLOADING NANCY on Netflix through my blu-ray player, and I was very skeptical at the beginning of the film. Was this one of those rare films where I was going to donate 20 minutes and then turn it off reluctantly? And to be honest, there has probably only been 5 films in my entire life where I actually shut it off because I came to grips with the fact that I was truly wasting my time watching this film any longer. However, I did watch GIANT OCTOPUS VS. MEGA SHARK all the way through, so you can understand how truly picky I would have to be to turn off a movie mid-run. I live by the mantra that you can always learn something from any film you watch. But sometimes you have to weigh that mantra against the investment in a 90 min film.

Right from the very first scenes of this film I knew I would be in a bad romance with it. Something that pulls so earnestly on the perfect heart strings to make you care, relate, and engage with it. I was right there. The simple premise of the story is that Nancy has become so depressed with her life that she pays a random online-friend-stranger to end it for her. The problem is that they end up falling in love with each other and her husband ends up kidnapping him, etc. The storyline is not what makes this film so powerful. For me, it was the performances that were so believable that I could not turn away.

Nancy cannot begin to accept the fact that this man, who she initially hired to kill her, now loves her and wants to save her. She still attempts suicide, but he always manages to be there and rescue her just in time. What an interesting dynamic relationship, huh? Her vulnerability is what intrigues us so much and we cannot help but watch and sympathize with her. And when she finds those brief moments of relief, whether it be from a mild canning or release in a hardware aisle way, we cannot help but solemnly celebrate with her. Albeit disgusting and inherently wrong, we smile on the inside just the same.

If you are in a deep depression and mulling over the meaning of life, etc., this film is not for you. It heavily reminded me of SECRETARY, with Maggie Gyllenhaal and James Spader. A film where there is so much hard aggression between two unlikely lovers that is expressed in physical domination. It’s the whole pain for pleasure thought. And I love this film because there are a few moments of very real emotion from the characters. Like the husband and boyfriend/killer who you can tell try their best to bottle up their emotions and never let them out. They seem to be off-limits to us throughout most of the film. But when they lose all control and have to let them fly out – those are some of the most powerful scenes in this film; scenes that reward the viewer for sticking it out during the incredibly slow build-up sequences in the first act.

This is an excellent film to watch with a tall, stiff drink. Get ready to throw your life against a wall and see if there relationships are strong enough to stick. It challenges many of the SOP nuances that we live our very mundane day-to-day lives. It really is a mental trip and afterwards you cannot help but be changed in some fashion. Even if it just makes you think, it has then served its purpose. And that is the reason I love cinema so much. These movie images with sound have the power to change our lives and our perspectives by which we see the world. Enjoy.

Rating: 9/10

The Road

It’s probably just me, but I have a huge man-crush on Viggo Mortenson. He’s stoic and unrelenting. And probably above all else, an extraordinary actor. Every character he plays he seems to excel at. He goes above and beyond. From THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, to EASTERN PROMISES, to A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE. I guess I should do some research and find a film where he doesn’t work well. It might be some time before I come across that film however. I unfortunately had to watch this film on a small computer screen, but it was worth it. Granted, it would have been better on my watch LED TV, but I took what I could get. The Bose headphones did increase the sound quality though. Alright, let’s talk about the film.

The Road - Watch Trailer Here

It’s a desolate world now, from nuclear-holocaust, or world war, we are never given the reason for the condition of the world, which is fine. We don’t need/care to know. We’re immersed in this new world where Viggo and his young son are walking about in search of food and shelter. Along the way they encounter other people who have survived in this world. One particular group is out for blood.

The look of this film can be summarized very easily – saturated, dreary, and grey. And I love it! It really adds to the ambience of the film. Some of the CGed cityscapes are a letdown and for me didn’t need to be included. It took me out of the realism of the film. They really could’ve done without them. The soundtrack worked very well too. Very subtle, but carried the tone of the film very well. And during the few moments when it really needed to pick up, it did so, seamlessly.

We’ve seen Viggo play this character before in A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE – the loving father that would do anything in his power to protect his child/family from the antagonists. And again, it hits home with us. We’re on his side and anything he does in the name of protecting his child is OK’ed by us. There are constant flashbacks to Viggo talking with his wife who is played by Charlize Theron. During these flashbacks we see the world just before whatever happened, happened. His wife takes off and leaves him. The rationale for this is shaky, but it gives the audience more reason to be emotionally attached to Viggo.

One of the most powerful scenes is the first time we meet “the others” and Viggo has to stand-up for his and his son’s life. Very powerful. And of course the final scene on the beach tugs directly on the heart strings of the audience. I won’t give it away, but I’ll say that it is moving. Anything dealing with children seems to always increase the level of intensity, because they are innocent and they shouldn’t have to deal with these kinds of situations.

Is it a popcorn movie? Probably not, but for me this did a better job as an end-of-the-world piece than films like THE WAR OF THE WORLDS (remake), THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW, etc. Probably the reason I liked it better is that it focused more on a solid story and characters, instead of the event of how the world ending. Kind of like: the journey was better than the final destination? Some other great end-of-the-world films to check out are: THE OMEGA MAN (I AM LEGEND is based off this film), DR. STRANGELOVE: OR HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB, SUNSHINE, RED DAWN, THE ROAD WARRIOR, and TWELVE MONKEYS.

Rating: 9/10

It Might Get Loud

I’ve been excited about this film for a long time. First off, as an avid guitar player myself, Jimmy Page has long been one of my guitar idols if you will. Ever since I learned the little E riff from Whole Lotta Love I’ve been a stone cold Led Zeppelin fan. They revolutionized Rock’n’Roll from the ground up and created hybrid genres along the way. Anyways that’s enough of musical talk in a film blog, right? Whatever, I really don’t care what you think. This is my stage. I do like the White Stripes and appreciate Jack White’s diversity and musical abilities. I mean the guy went from lead singing and playing guitar for White Stripes, to lead singing and playing guitar in The Raconteurs, and now playing drums in The Dead Weather. He’s definitely a talented dude. He actually reminds me of Dave Grohl’s musical progression. Nirvana (drums), The Foo Fighters (drums, bass, guitar, singer), Them Crooked Vultures (drums). And actually Paul Jones, bassist player for Led Zeppelin is now playing bass in TCV. Funny how things cross-reference sometimes… And then we have U2’s guitar player, The Edge, who has been a tour-de-force behind U2 songs and their sound. Put these guys together in a room for a few hours and magic is bound to come from it, right? Right??

It Might Get Loud - Watch Trailer Here

The film revolves around these 3 guitar virtuosos and their get-together jam session. So far, I’m in! Sounds like a good premise to me. Each of them have their own playing style, and throughout the film we become more aware of what life experiences helped craft their styles and hone them as musicians. And for me this was the most rewarding part of the film. Peeking behind the curtains to see what made them tick. I love documentaries – could you tell?

Jack is the edgy, raspy, rough cut guitar player. One who’d rather make a guitar out of an old piece of wood and a glass pop bottle than buy a new one. (A great start to the film by the way. We know exactly what we are in for afterwards). The Edge is the guitar player that meticulously hones his sound through hundreds of effects pedals, equalizers, and amps. Making sure each chord progression and note falls perfectly into the song. And of course, Jimmy Page is the classic rocker with the chops to make little boys cry and piss their pants simultaneously. I’ve seen this happen.

The actual moments when they are all together are sadly kind of a letdown. There was so much build-up and for me the actual jam sessions were anti-climatic. But maybe that was the point. Each one of them takes a turn and throws down a little guitar riff from one of their classic tunes, while the rest watch and occasionally join in too. Watch for the part where Jack tries to coax Jimmy into singing along. And Jimmy resists saying he can’t sing. I think Jack continues to pester him to sing along. Kind of an awkward moment I thought. The end jamming to The Band’s – The Weight, a classic rock song that seemed appropriate. I wish they would’ve chose a song where there could be a little more lead work during it, but Jimmy still delivered in The Weight, but he was the only one soloing there.

If you love any of these musicians, or appreciate a good documentary that deals with the road that led to their virtuoso statuses, you will enjoy this film immensely. For me, 90 minutes wasn’t enough. I wanted more and more. I like what they did with the credits, because it kept me tuned in until the screen faded black.

Rating: 9/10

The Taking of Pelham 123

Is it kosher to only write briefs reviews of films that have already wasted enough of my life? I think so. To summarize this film in two words, I would have to say – Wasted. Talent. For the first two acts we have Denzel communicating with the madman that has taken over train Pelham 123, and Travolta who parades around the traincar yelling, cursing, and randomly killing people so that we know he’s serious. Ooohhhh, he’s serious now! The last act is Denzel delivering the ransom money, chasing Travolta throughout New York, and then ultimately facing down with him on top of the Manhattan Bridge. That’s the whole film. There is a non-cute little tie-up regarding Travolta’s past and how he’s taking revenge on the system for making him lose money or something. But we don't really care anyways. Don’t waste your time.

Tony Scott, world renown director (TRUE ROMANCE, ENEMY OF THE STATE, MAN ON FIRE) misses the mark here. The film of course is beautifully shot, and luckily watching it on blu-ray had some saving quality for me. However, a beautiful film doesn’t make up for a lack of story and emotional attachment to the characters. Honestly, at the end of the film I could’ve cared less if everyone died. I had no bond to them whatsoever. P.S. If you want to really get the most out of your nice 1080p LED HDTV, watch films that have heavy building-scapes, and cars in them. Buildings and cars look amazing in pure HD.

A lot of the scenes seemed useless, like the ridiculously lame police car racing scene where they had to get the money to the station - just unrealistic and too long. Another sequence that bugged me was where the traincar was runaway and everyone inside was freaking out. I understand why it was needed for the film, but there was no need for those cheesy b-film shots of the traincar in ultra, choppy slow-motion. It looked terrible and removed probably that last guy who was on board with this film.

There was one scene that was kind of fun. The one where the two other villains get their due. It was kind of like an amen for the police officers of New York City. I felt as if those two embodied all of the hate, terrorism, and evil people have been dealing with in NYC and the PO’s really let them have it. It was gratifying.

I guess I will watch the original and see if there is a story there, because for me, this film lacked story, character development/change/attachment, and overall substance. I’ll give it 2 out of 10 stars - One star for each top-brow actor as a condolence for taking part in this film.

Rating: 2/10

Into The Wild

How do I even begin to approach this film? Honestly this film toggles amongst my top 5 favorite films of all time. If you put a gun to my head I’d probably spew out 22 films that are in my top 5, but that’s neither here nor there. I finally got it on blu-ray, so I had to indulge in viewing it as soon as I got it. And the blu-ray quality of 1080p really makes the experience beyond comprehension. From the wide-shots, to the aerials, to the final shot (which I’ll discuss later), to the life-changing story – this film is jam-packed with pure amazingness.

Sean Penn, director of MYSTIC RIVER, spent months digging into the real-life story of Chris McCandless and meeting with his family to start and develop this script. The story is simple, but within its simplicity lies its power. Emilie Hursh plays Chris McCandless who has recently graduated from high school and has a promising Ivy League collegiate roadmap laid out for him. (His father is probably reminiscent of every over-bearing father who wants his son to follow in his footsteps). Instead of taking that path he takes the road less traveled, which is induced by his love in the classic pieces of literature that encourage getting back to nature and experiencing it for all it’s worth yada yada(Tolstoy, Emerson, Hemmingway – that’s probably the extent of literary authors I know. Sorry Timmy). He drives West, burns his cash, ditches his car, and begins to “hoof it” hippy style towards his goal of the Alaskan outback.

The film is setup where flashbacks are interwoven between Chris’ adventures in Alaska. We’re shown how the people he meets begin to mold him into his new alter ego Alexander Supertramp. Eddie Veder wrote and performed several original tracks for the film and they are very fitting. His raspy voice belting out as the camera swirls around young Alexander standing aside a mountain – probably one of the most iconic and memorable scenes in the film for me.

The film heavily touches upon some of the most basic elements that make us up as humans. And one of the main takeaways from this film deals with the realization Chris has regarding finding true happiness. The scene where he discovers this is during the climax of the film. He then knows that he’s dying and he finally understands what he was searching for for so long. How to find happiness in this world. “Happiness only real when shared.” And it’s so devastating for the audience to endure, because we’ve seen Alex/Chris leave all of the people that he met along the way. The relationships and people that made him truly happy he willingly left to continue on to Alaska because that is where he felt he could find true freedom and bliss. It hurts us because we know he had already found what he was searching for, but he didn't realize what he had.

I have to discuss the final shot of the film. It honestly is one of the most mind-blowing and beautiful shots from any film I have ever seen. Whoa… I know. You obviously have to see if for yourself, but it starts in so close on Chris’ face and then spirals and moves out thousands of feet into the air. I still am searching to find out exactly how they did this. It doesn’t look CGed, but that could be a part of it I suppose. It’s an amazing bookend on a life-changing film.

This film is also an amazing battle cry for those looking to drastically change their lives. It reminds me a lot of FIGHT CLUB, which is also one of my top 10 films. The central premise is also reminiscent of ABOUT SCHMIDT. The recurring theme from fight club reigns true here: “the things you own, end up owning you” and “it’s only after we’ve lost anything that we’re free to do anything.” Powerful truths that should make us uncomfortable about our perfect cookie-cutter lives. It also reminds me of films like BLOW where young George’s dad tells him that money isn’t real, and that it doesn’t matter at the end of the day, or your life. Only people matter.

At the heart of this film is the minimalistic lifestyle, which many associate with the hippie community. To take it to extremes, dumpster diving could come into the picture. One of my favorite bands, mewithoutYou, front-man, Aaron Weiss, is a huge proponent for this movement and over the past year his beliefs and songs have challenged me in that similar realm. Even if you never run off into the wilderness, burn all your money, and throw away all your worldly possessions, INTO THE WILD will still challenge your way of thinking and the Americanized system we’ve become embedded into.

Rating: 10/10