A Fistful Of Media!

Because of my sickness this past week, I sadly had to miss what was one of my most anticipated episodes of The Criterion Cast. Mainly because this film is the epitome of controversy. A love story like no other (unless you look into the darker canals of Nazisploitation), The Night Porter shows a Nazi SS officer (played by Dick Bogarde) and a concentration camp prisoner (played by the stunning Charlotte Rampling) and their relationship together, in flashback mode and in present day. It’s dark as can be, yet still doesn’t necessarily exploit anybody like future films of this ilk would. Which is why I’m sad I couldn’t wax poetically about this one. I like Cavani’s film but feel bad that this is the one she’s most famous for and that some people hate it just because of the initial topic on display here. 

Here’s one I haven’t seen in years. All I remembered was it was a semi-remake to Seven Samurai, but in space instead. A Corman production, it actually feels a bit meatier than some of the later sci-fi fare that followed. A great little cast (with Robert Vaughn, John Saxon, Sybil Danning, George Peppard and many others) that pushes the strange story along. A bunch of great (and a bit tedious) space battles round out a fun time. Would be better if about 15 minutes were cut from the film to tighten it a bit. Definitely owes a lot to Star Wars, but it’s one of the better poor man’s versions. On Netflix Instant Watch now.

Wow. That’s what I said during and after this amazing Steve James documentary. Showing what the Violence Interrupters, three that they focus on, deal with over a year’s time on the violent gang infested streets of Chicago, we learn about them and what they go through with situations that most others would balk at if confronted by. Just a relevant piece of film that should be up for the Oscar. Amazing stuff and you can check it out right now on PBS.com in 9 parts, I believe. 

One of my top 5 slasher films of all time, the original My Bloody Valentine is just a fun ride that many other people have gushed over already. Watched it with someone who had never seen it and they enjoyed it a lot, which is always a joyous occasion for me to share with someone. Has the right amount of character development, a killer with a cool look and some of the best gore in 80’s slashers (which is sad that a majority of it was stripped from the original theatrical run). Luckily for us, on the latest release those scenes, while not as clean as the rest of the film, are to be seen in their bloody glory. If you’re a slasher fan and haven’t viewed this one, watch it pronto. It’s not just for the holiday. 

One film I had been wanting to watch for quite some time was this one, a nod to 70’s style film, one that had probably been tape traded for a decade before it got to you which is why the quality is a bit off key. I liked this film and is a better representation of that era of film than Machete. I think with all of these ‘nostalgic’ looks to genre films of yesteryear, the problem is that they feel the need to dirty it up and have bad acting because, well, that’s how it used to be. But sometimes those old films didn’t have horrible acting because it was intended. I feel I have to point that out more often than not. But this one was more fun than I expected so there’s that. It’s on Netflix Instant Watch, so check it out if you have 80 minutes to kill. 

A Discovery Channel documentary (also on Netflix Instant), it basically shows how beer was at every huge point of history and how it brought great scientific merits to humanity. A fun hour that packs a lot of info in that time. Still intrigued to try that zero gravity beer one day.

Another Netflix Instant documentary, this time about the greatest arm wrestler of all time, John Brzenk and where he is in his career a quarter a century later. We also get the stories of two powerful up and comers, Russian Alexy Voevoda and American Travis Bagent. Alexy is in tune with his body, training nonstop and becoming an unstoppable powerhouse. And Travis has a big mouth but he backs it up with his ability as well. A really fun doc that also, happily, shows where Over The Top places in the history of the sport. 

Netflix Instant documentary about roller derby gals who kick super ass. Watch it too. ‘nuff said. 

Another Netflix Instant Watch documentary (I was on a huge kick for a day or two). Sad and frightening at the same time, this doc follows two people who are huge fans of Tiffany. So much so, both of them claim to be in love and to have more of a relationship with Tiffany than meets the eye. It’s one to see to be believed, showing what obsession and fandom can do to some people and makes me look at my film collection and wonder if I have a problem. Then I realize I don’t actually think I have a love affair with Mary Elizabeth Winstead. 

A fantastic documentary showing Iranian film history and what they’ve had to go through and still go through today. It was enlightening and showed me over a dozen films I need to find and watch. Which is what any fantastic film history documentary does. Check it out on Netflix Instant Watch now. 

Watched this at a friend’s place for his birthday. Simply put, it’s one of the best action sci-fi films… ever. I will fight anyone about that fact. I can’t wait for the reboot/remake or whatever you’d like to call it that José Padilha is in the works right now to do. You feel for Peter Weller’s Murphy throughout. And one of the most quotable villains in Kurtwood Smith’s Boddicker. I’m just telling you everything you know already. If you haven’t seen it yet, then get on it already.

Not as good as the first, but quite entertaining (more so than I remembered). This one is the ridiculously doofy one, but I can’t see them doing it any other way. The wigs are worse in this one, but I take it as a joke on itself as well. Not as original, but more along the lines of a film that throws comedic ideas on a wall and sees what sticks in any way possible. 

Still one of my favorite comedies of all time. What else can I say? 

Last week’s Criterion Cast episode. Damn, I’m really behind on my Tumblr. I think we all were on the same page with this one. It looks beautiful and is an interesting way to showcase her life, but ultimately the titular role played by Martine Carol is a bit wooden. It might be Ophuls’ intent due to the fact that he wanted her to be portrayed as a living doll. It just wasn’t my cup of tea. Will be watching other Ophuls films soon.

Part two to our Lee Chang-dong/Korea Blog-a-thon episode. Seeing complete sorrow on screen is what one sees throughout this film. The sadness Shin-ae goes through when she loses someone so important to her (again), you see the roller coaster of emotions she goes through. I compare it a bit to Bjork’s performance in Lars Von Trier’s Dancer in the Dark, but this is even more heartbreaking. I don’t want to say too much and the truth of the matter is that you should all pick up the Criterion release of this film. The first South Korean film in the collection and hopefully they’ll follow up with a ton more asap.

Part of our upcoming Korean Blog-a-thon cineAWESOME! episode, which just so happened to be a Lee Joon-dong double feature too. One of the most heartbreaking tales I’ve ever seen unfold on screen (well, beside the second part of this episode). Beautiful, moving and one thread that is quite horrific, Poetry was everything I had heard it was and so much more. I went in as blindly as possible except for the fact that I saw a few of my most trusted friends online loving it. The film has still stuck with me these couple of weeks since seeing it. Can’t wait for everyone to listen to this episode. An emotional ride for the three of us. 

The second film for a future episode of cineAWESOME!, coupled with Flatliners. Another one that hasn’t aged well and I think I keep mixing it up with the more enjoyable Innerspace. Dennis Quaid is an asshole who has psychic powers and who’s squandering them on race track betting. Highlight of the film was David Patrick Kelly as a prick who has vast dream powers as well. Also uncanny that both Christopher Plummer and Max Von Sydow, who are both up for an Oscar this year, are in this. Just a wasted opportunity in my opinion. 

Joel Schumacher’s 1990 film starring some of the hottest actors in Hollywood and Oliver Platt, Flatliners was a film that I loved when I was younger. We watched this for a future cineAWESOME! episode, and I have to say it’s a bit too long for my taste and seeing Kiefer Sutherland getting his ass kicked by a crazed looking child is not scary, but hysterical instead. What is death really like? They want to find out in what has to be the most bizarre college around, with horrible lighting and abandoned buildings on campus. I still enjoy it, but this time around, with so many years removed, I was definitely looking at my watch. 

I should have known better. A Fred Olen Ray film tends to mean disappointed James, but I decided to go against my better judgment and put this one on. And it had Roddy McDowall, Zack Ward and Sean Donahue as well. How could it go wrong? Just a slog of a film, with bits and pieces taken from other films to pad it along. And the main baddie in the picture is a costume from the far superior Masters of the Universe film from 1987. Yes, you read that correctly. I’m guessing it was in storage and picked up on the cheap. Had some funny awkward moments, but something I’ll never watch again.

The other day I noticed this was up on Netflix Instant Watch and I hadn’t seen it since it came out in theaters back in 1999. I enjoyed it enough back then, being a fan of shark attack movies. This one had super smart sharks, almost like Jaws in the new video games. No key cards, though. Still a lot of fun, but with some horribly dated special effects, even for that time. Renny Harlin knows how to give an enjoyable genre ride, and the film has a fun cast with Thomas Jane, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Rappaport, Saffron Burrows and even LL Cool J. I don’t like the rap he came up with that plays on the end credits. That’s pretty awful.

This was a random watch on Netflix Instant. I love Penn and Teller to death. Everything from their magic specials to their Showtime series Bullshit!, I will check it out. This is the third part of a three part series they did where they went to China, India and Egypt to see where magic originated from and if it was still being practiced. This is the Egypt one and it’s very fun and enlightening. Talked much more about it on The Golden Briefcase, which you should definitely check out. Click that link and listen to the episode I was on and earlier ones as well.  

Sometimes I’m not sure what to watch, so I tend to gravitate toward the documentaries on Netflix Instant Watch, and this is one I was interested from the word go. I adore the book and film of To Kill A Mockingbird and this doc has a ton of information packed in its 80 minute running time. Just knowing that this is the only book Harper Lee has ever written and probably ever will, it just goes to show that she got the whole masterpiece done in one shot. Also gives insight into the Truman Capote debacle, where he accused her of not giving him any credit for helping her write it, but that might be because she won a Pulitzer and he didn’t. A fantastic group of talking heads, from Oprah Winfrey, Roseanne Cash and Tom Brokaw, we see all different types of people from all over the country being connected by this book at a young age and how it shaped their lives in ways they didn’t even realize. Definitely check it out as soon as you can. 

Another Netflix Instant Watch. A fun documentary about the decline of record stores and the music industry in general. A lot of great talking heads, such as Ian Mackaye, Mike Watt, Thurston Moore, Legs McNeill and even Noam Chomsky. Makes me sad thinking about my college days when there were 5 times as many record stores here in NYC and I could peruse for hours, searching out for the perfect vinyl and sometimes discovering something brand new. I haven’t felt that excitement of music discovery in quite some time. 

One I really wanted to see but sadly never got around to doing, Moneyball was a film I had been following way back when Steven Soderbergh was supposed to do it and then that fell apart. I was sad to think this film was going to get shelved, but luckily it got back on track and now we have quite a few Oscar nods going on, and rightfully so. Not sure why it took Bennett Miller 6 years to follow up his Oscar darling Capote, but he did a great job of keeping the pieces together of this real life occurrence where the game of baseball was changing and how most people didn’t want to go along for the ride until it was proven to work. This was around the time when I stopped being into baseball but it’s not necessarily a ‘baseball film’. It’s about these people, especially Pitt’s Billy Beane who has a lot on his plate and has to prove himself, not only to himself, to his team, to the fans of Oakland but also to his daughter and to rectify his past. With Hill’s Peter Brand who shows him this newfangled way of putting together a team, they set out to prove the world wrong. Just exciting stuff and like Sorkin’s script for The Social Network, this one (which he co-wrote with Steven Zaillian) feels as if it will be timeless as well. Even if you aren’t into baseball, I think you’ll be into this one. Stellar work all around.

Sorry, I spelled that wrong. SCRE4M. Is that better? Well, this is another of my 2011 catch up, and I have to say it wasn’t that bad. I liked it more than the third one, by far. And possibly more than the second. The first still holds a special place in my heart, but this one might warm up to me more over time. We shall see. The original trio are back, and I have to say Neve Campbell still looks quite beautiful. Courtney Cox is down on her luck and trying to write a book while David Arquette is probably the most subdued I’ve seen him in awhile. Wes Craven has had a string of real stinkers, but this one showed some talent again. And getting back Kevin Williamson made sure the script was a bit punchier. Was it great? No. But it was serviceable and had some good kills. And the intro is a nice riff on what’s real and what’s a film. Also, the concept of a killer with a camera was done in the very blah duo of films, Laid to Rest. So maybe they should have steered clear of that concept. Or were they making fun of the found footage craze that was gaining steam? Will have to check out the commentary to see what they have to say about that. 

Just got the Skynet Edition Blu-ray in the mail. Wanted to just check it out, see how it looked. Which was quite pretty. But then the film took a hold of me, like it always does, and I ended up watching the whole theatrical cut for the hundredth time. I remember seeing this in theaters, which was a big deal for such a violent film (I was 11 when it came out) but my parents took me because I was good or something. Also remember the quicker than usual turn around for the VHS release. Still dig the film. Sad to hear that the first Terminator film looks kind of like shit on Blu-ray. Will just keep the DVD.

I wasn’t expecting much from this film, only seeing the trailer once and this same poster around NYC for the last 2 months. And it wasn’t horrible. But it wasn’t that good either. We’ve seen the story a million times; who can you trust? The government has a mole or two. Denzel Washington elevates the material, being the badass Tobin Frost (such a great name) but Ryan Reynolds isn’t too stellar as the guy who has a boring job in a safe house in South Africa and then his life gets flipped upside down when Frost makes himself captured. Action is pretty good, pretty brutal, but with shaky cam being the choice of shooting, it reminds me of my problems with the action in Batman Begins. Who is hitting who? Did that guy get stabbed? Why did he die from that? You’ll be asking those questions, I believe. Daniel Espinosa, unknown here for the most part (having directed in his country of Sweden), directs this $80 million film. The locale of South Africa, especially Cape Town, was nice. Just didn’t wow me the way action films like Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol and Elite Squad II did in 2011. I’d call it a letdown, but I wasn’t really thinking much of it in the first place.

Powerful. Touching. Visceral. Amazing. Those are a few words I’d use to describe Joe Carnahan’s film The Grey, which is a far cry from his last movie, The A-Team (which I enjoyed for it’s ridiculousness). Liam Neeson looks to be Carnahan’s muse of sorts, and I hope they keep working together for a long time, because he is a flawed leader, who wants to protect the few men who survived a plane crash from the cold, lack of food and wolves that are hunting the wounded one by one. I liken this film almost along the lines of The Thing. Not only because of the wintry setting but because of the relationships between men and trust issues which delve deep within their minds and fears. People have been calling it the Liam Neeson beats up wolves film, but it is so much more than that. And I loved it.

A re-watch with Danyell, who hadn’t seen it. Saw two of the bigger plotholes like mack trucks this time around, but that still doesn’t take too much away from the emotional roller coaster this film presents. Andy Serkis does wonders with motion capture, giving everyone a character in Caesar who is sympathetic and we root for, even when he and his army are against humankind. Rupert Wyatt is one director I can’t wait to see follow-up this film, and as I said on our year end wrap up episode, I hope he does something else (like Nolan) and then a sequel to this great addition to the Ape mythos.

One of, if not my favorite Albert Brooks film (meaning his written and directed efforts). Randomly saw it was on TV while at a friend’s house and again was as involved in it back in the later 90’s as I was today. Such a great fantastical romantic comedy, which seems to be a put down to some, but it has that great balance of love and sadness, this time dealing with a schlub who needs to defend his life and try to go on with the universe’s plans for him. High concept as only Brooks can deliver, it makes one wonder what the afterlife has to offer and what moments, no matter how trivial one might see them as, are truly important when the time comes. Meryl Streep and Rip Torn also star and give this film a sense of sincerity that I continue to fall in love with. Rudie Obias and West Anthony had a great episode of the Auteur Cast that dealt with this film. Listen to it now.

Here’s a film that I simply adore and love to have the excuse to show to anyone for the first time and see how they react and feel about the film. Luckily everyone I’ve introduced the film to has fallen head over heels for it and this time was no exception. How much more can I say? I poured my love into my For Criterion Consideration series. One of my favorite DePalma films. Also one of my favorite rock operas, which is still in my opinion ahead of its time. Paul Williams delivers both as the devilish Swan and as the songwriter and composer. The soundtrack is a constant play on my iPod. I will continue to bring the cult of the Phantom to everyone I know. 

A re-watch of one of my favorite slasher films, this one is one of the better ones to come out of the onslaught of the Halloween and Friday the 13th ‘rip-offs’. Out of many throwaway films, this one is one of the keepers and for good reason. The killer is pretty intimidating and scary. A Canadian production (and I love that I can hear the accents like crazy now), this one was the little slasher film that could. I’m glad it’s gotten more love over the years and even though it was killed by the MPAA back in the day, we get to see it as close to the original intent with the uncut version that is in print now. Some of the gore is spectacular and sad that for years nobody got to see the way it was supposed to be. In my top 10 slasher films of all time, with a ‘who’s the killer’ story that was a surprise to me by the end of them film. For the few of you who haven’t seen it, that’s all I’ll say.

Is it weird that I didn’t hate this film? And in fact, kind of liked it? More so, found it an enjoyable ride, with a great charismatic lead actor in Jason Momoa, who to me at least, felt like an ideal Conan. Some of the CGI was a bit off (like in Drive Angry, another 2011 film that got shitty reviews that I put off for a long time and then fell a bit in love with). Not sure if that means I’ve lost some credit with the masses, but I’m just letting everyone know the truth. And when you have Stephen Lang and Rose McGowan (with a creepy head) being our main villains and Ron Perlman being Conan’s dad, you have quite the adventure. Went in with an open mind and was surprised. 

We covered this Masahiro Shinoda film this past Friday on the Criterion Cast. You can hear that episode very soon but I think we were on the same page with this one. I’m being coy because I want you to all listen to our podcast and leave us feedback as well!

Here’s a film I haven’t seen in years. I was scared that it might not live up to my nostalgic expectations, but it threw that away and reminded me why I loved watching this on WPIX Channel 11 here in NYC. Robert Forster is a cop with a past involving a partner who was shot with his gun and other cops blame him for that. And there’s a giant killer alligator in the sewers, eating that one guy from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and others. Just a great killer animal film, with some special effects that are fun to watch (even when they’re a bit wonky). As my friend Steve said so great on a review back in the day, “Alligator? More like AWESOME-gator!” I agree wholeheartedly. 

Watched this on February 2nd, of course. And it shouldn’t just be an annual tradition but one that one watches a few times a year to see one of film’s perfect comedies. Yes, I do mean that sincerely. I love the concept alone of a man who has to live for centuries upon centuries, almost god-like but in his own personal hell. Unless he tried to do something vastly different and better himself, which is a fantastic philosophical question to ask, especially from a comedy. This is why the Bill Murray classic will forever be timeless. Harold Ramis directs a pretty spot-on script, which was luckily changed quite a bit before the cameras rolled. Grateful we didn’t get an actual explanation on how this ‘curse’ occurred. (In an original draft, it would have been a curse put on him by an ex-girlfriend who was wronged. Lame.) If you haven’t seen this film for some reason, drop everything and watch it now.

A re-watch, one I hadn’t seen in quite some time. I was in the mood to watch a former favorite of mine, something that I was far removed from. I mean, hell, when I lived at home many years ago, that picture above was one of the posters on my wall (the other being a Reservoir Dogs poster). And watching it again, I forgot how well it was made, how this was Brandon Lee’s star making performance before a freak stupid accident took his life and how the story of Eric Draven is tragic on Shakespeare levels. And when you have Ernie Hudson, Tony Todd, David Patrick Kelly and Michael Wincott (where has he been??) rounding out your cast, you can’t go too wrong. Also the film that made me look forward to Alex Proyas’ career. 

Essential documentary dealing with the making of one of my favorite horror films of all time, Return of the Living Dead. Two hours of all the people involved with the film. Especially Dan O’Bannon, who was supposedly a tyrant on set. Didn’t know that, but everyone still had pretty much good things to say about him. If you’re a fan of the film, this is a no brainer. Even if you’re not, it’s such a fun documentary on the highs, lows and in between during the making of this influential horror classic.

The last film I saw for the month of January is this ‘film’, Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie. I watched it so I could talk about it but my mind is still trying to comprehend what I saw. It’s a 15 minute sketch somehow spread over an hour and a half with multiple smaller sketches shoved inside. Nothing is sacred and I’m going to write a lengthier review. It’s an experiment not only in filmmaking but with the idea of comedy as well, which I have to tip my hat off to the both of them. I just wish they had a few more writers with them for checks and balances. As I said earlier, I’m still not sure if I hated it or liked it. Hopefully I’ll come to that conclusion soon.

Look at that amazingly bad Laserdisc cover. One of beauty. The sequel to the original Cage, Reb Brown and Lou Ferrigno have been doing well since the first film but Evil Takagi is back and has Brown look like he gets killed so he can take away rage induced Ferrigno to kick everyone’s ass in his highly profitable cage fighting pay per view shows. Even Malibu from American Gladiators is fighting there. It’s up to a poor disguise by Reb Brown, some help from a couple of badass Asian guys and Bruce Lee’s daughter to stop the fights before it’s too late. This one is just a bit more insane, in completely different ways, and deserves a watch. Especially if you can get a bunch of friends together and pound a few drinks before, during and after this double feature. A possible cineAWESOME! episode, perhaps?

One I learned about due to this internet funnyman Spoony, Cage stars Lou Ferrgino and Reb Brown. If that’s not reason enough for you, there’s also a little bit of the Vietnam War in the beginning which feels very much like Tropic Thunder. Not enough still? Underground illegal cage fighting? To the death? Oh! And James Shigata (who most know from Die Hard as Mr. Takagi) is the ultimate asshole villain running the show! If you aren’t intrigued by all this, just know that Ferrigno’s character is mentally handicapped due to a bullet he took to the brain saving Brown’s life in Vietnam. You’re welcome.

Loving Mark L. Lester’s original Class of 1984, a film ahead of its time, for years I had heard about his follow-up to that film, a more Terminator induced film where three robotic teachers (played by Pam Grier, John P. Ryan and Patrick Kilpatrick) are transplanted into a school to make sure discipline is conducted. Sad thing for the roaming band of teen gangs that these teachers have a blood lust about them, killing kids left and right because at first you think it’s part of their programming but soon enough you know they have evolved and just love snuffing out someone’s life. Now one of my favorite 80’s movies in the 90’s (another being Stone Cold), this was a fun breath of fresh air. Especially seeing Malcolm McDowell as someone sort of good and Stacy Keach as a crazed albino scientist with a bleach blonde rat tail and white eyes.