Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Tac Scope 70's Style

Assault on Precinct 13
(John Carpenter, 1976)

Cholo.

1) Best OST ever. One song. Totally on synths. Totally inspired the music for Doom, no doubt.
2) Actually decent characters, pleasantly surprised.
3) Casting for the main lady theory: Costume found a sweater they liked, casting threw it on girls in their price range until they found one who looked decent in it.
4) Really glad that lady died.
5) At first one would think footage was repeated, but no they just did the same thing over and over.
6) WAAAAAAY better than the newer one (w/ Ethan Hawke?).
7) Intensity traded for short movie experience, thank you.
8) Came in letter box, which I do not like because it cuts off the top and bottom of the picture.
9) First movie from library that wasn't all scratched to hell.
10) Pleasing experience, but I wouldn't rush out for it.

Not recommended

Monday, August 20, 2007

oddly written script or missed cultural reference?

The Univited
(Lee Su-Yeon, 2003)

Architect maddened by dead babies.

Ok, first hour makes sense. What happened to the second half? I fall asleep? Blink? Obscure S.Korean cultural reference? WTF? I mean I was drinking, but not that much. Starts out in a very much Jacob's Ladder/Silent Hill (video game) manner, but quickly strays and offers something different, which is an entirely good thing. AND HOLY COW! Main d00d's fiance is sorta like a babe or somesuch. Yet, as the fellow running BHF warned, Korean women are crazy, pretentious, and used to being treated like a princess, nothing is good enough for them AND HOLY COW was that ever captured. Thanks BHF d00d, I never doubted you, but after such I certainly never will. Oh yeah, the driving depicted in the movie was just about as good as that seen on the northern end of Aurora. Fitting unobtrusive soundtrack, purposeful pace, moments just agonizing enough and then BLAM! it sorta hits the fan and you're all WHAT? Amazing production value, totally creepy wife to be, bizarre xtian references (is that big in S.Korea?), brief and totally untitilating boob shot, but boobs nonetheless. Also, all the main characters looked fairly "normal" as in "oh yeah that's an asian d00d," but the extras... wow, those were some fucked up looking people. In closing, people who own cats and talk to others thru are, yes, truly crazed.

Recommended

Sunday, August 19, 2007

They really made this film back then?

The Bad Seed
(Mervyn LeRoy, 1956)

Retard suspects eight-year-old of foul deeds.

What an unsettling little film. Gets the skin crawling right from the get-go. Radtastic black and white, fitting soundtrack, Nancy Kelly's voice is so hot! I get the odd feeling that I've worked w/ a LeRoy before and jesus what a borderline pederast he is! Credits are simply amazing and certainly npod proof (you'll know what I mean).

Recommended

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Being There

Being There
(Hal Ashby, 1979)

Retard mistaken for wizard.

INSANELY BRILLIANT. Peter Sellers, jeez does that guy kick the crap out of so many other actors that are claimed to be "good." TOTALLY SICK SOUNDTRACK! Shirley MacLaine is a one. Flawless delivery, truly fidelous imagery (suck it magnetic tape!), political intrigue that isn't boring, EVERYONE GOES TO THE SAME BAR! Constantly hilarious, always intriguing.

Recommended

Dandelion

Tampopo
(Juzo Itami, 1986)

Dead alcoholic leaves widow w/ noodle shop, milksop of a boy. Craggy cowboy saves the day.

What a charming little film. Lovely intro, something we'd all like to say to folk at the theatre. Insanely tasteful use of boob shots (I don't understand why they can't be incorporated into every film). Fascinating mix of levels of society and their view of food. Decently heroic/heartwarming w/o being saccharine. Totally down w/ the little boy's Meiji foot soldier style backpack. This film does prove that the only woman who ever looked good in stupid 80s clothes was Gena Davis in Accidental Tourist (I do not fetishize that vision at all).

Recommended

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Tokyo Psycho

Tokyo Psycho
(Ataru Oikawa, 2005)

Twenty-something babe-in-plain-wrapping reunites w/ old flame.

Wait, what did I just watch? Um, jeez. Japanese cinematography flippin' sucks. Could just be this film, however, but I will do like every good little member of the race of man and judge the entirety of the other upon this one experience. Soundtrack is fairly tight at times, distracting at others, wholly appropriate. Thankfully short, not terribly thought provoking, certainly uncomfortable at times. Kinda like it and kinda could have done w/o it. This film has the honor of a new rating being born into the system.

True neutral

Monday, August 6, 2007

When we were Kings

When we were Kings
(Leon Gast, 1996)

Documentary of Ali/Foreman Rumble in the Jungle, Zaire 1974.

Holy cow. Ali, brilliant strategist. Sorta cocky, kind of a dick, wonderfully charming. Foreman, silent, stoic, scary, scary man. Apparently quite a bit of political as well as sports significance to this fight. W/ the incredible spokeness of both men it only reinforces the stereotype that today's athletes are uneducated criminals. Found this film to be quite inspiring and has caused a increase in my physical improvement efforts.

Recommended

Sunday, August 5, 2007

The Fountain

The Fountain
(Darren Aronofsky, 2006)

Dying wife acts selfishly towards sympathetic husband.

Easily one of the most uninteresting films around. Um, lots of CG reminiscent of Magic Eye videos we all saw in Costco circa 1992. Er, bunch of weird new-age-esque bastardized eastern mystic stuff. Yeah just not very good. Not particularly interesting. Too bad CG showed up to perform as band aid for shoddy film making. All boosting C & B titles onto the A list.

Not recommended

Foul Play

Foul Play
(Colin Higgins, 1978)

Borderline ugly chick gets caught up in papal murder.

Peehole axed this one because it wasn't interesting enough. He then proceeded to put on the most uninteresting movie since Steel Magnolias, The Fountain. I fear the day I make this error and people hate me too. Dudely Moore was quite amusing.

Viewing incomplete, rating not possible