Friday, September 22, 2006

JACKASS: NUMBER TWO

Movie #63



While most of my classmates were presumably cramming for our final exams, I was in a theater watching Jackass: Number Two on opening night. This movie is so, so funny. It’s way more over-the-top than the first one, and the audience was basically laughing or screaming at every moment during the entire 1 and ½ hour running time. It’s absolutely worth watching in a crowded theater. Of course there were many moments that made me feel completely nauseous – but the overall endorphin release from all the laughing made up for it. Way better than the “profound” Russian downer I saw earlier in the week, although they both had naked old ladies (although in this movie, it’s Spike Jonze in a costume).

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

This Isn't Toronto, You Know

Movie #62 – ‘4’
It was bound to happen. I saw a foreign art flick that I didn’t really like. It started out quite good, following three apparently random people in Russia (a piano-tuner, a meat-seller, and a prostitute). Yes, of course the only female lead in the movie is a prostitute. What other job could a woman possibly have? The three leads happen to frequent the same bar late at night and tell elaborate lies to one another, which is pretty interesting. Then the film takes a sharp turn into extreme misanthropy, and was unpleasant enough that I kept wishing for it to hurry up and end.
The female lead finds out her sister is dead, and goes to the town where she lives, which is solely inhabited by a bunch of 90-year-old, alcoholic cronies and her suicidal boyfriend. The director lets us watch these ancient women screech, drink insane amounts of alcohol, take their clothes off (!) and pour wine on themselves while singing untranslated songs for about an hour. They also make hideous dolls out of chewed-up bread crumbs. I couldn’t decide if the director is a misogynist or a misanthrope (I guess a little of both). Anyway, I’m glad I don’t share his insanely dark worldview. Yes, I get it, humans are really greedy animals (parallels are constantly drawn between the human characters and a pack of wild dogs). To see a much better and more humanist treatment of this same thesis, watch Birdie.

This Isn't Toronto, You Know

Movie #62 – ‘4’
It was bound to happen. I saw a foreign art flick that I didn’t really like. It started out quite good, following three apparently random people in Russia (a piano-tuner, a meat-seller, and a prostitute). Yes, of course the only female lead in the movie is a prostitute. What other job could a woman possibly have? The three leads happen to frequent the same bar late at night and tell elaborate lies to one another, which is pretty interesting. Then the film takes a sharp turn into extreme misanthropy, and was unpleasant enough that I kept wishing for it to hurry up and end.
The female lead finds out her sister is dead, and goes to the town where she lives, which is solely inhabited by a bunch of 90-year-old, alcoholic cronies and her suicidal boyfriend. The director lets us watch these ancient women screech, drink insane amounts of alcohol, take their clothes off (!) and pour wine on themselves while singing untranslated songs for about an hour. They also make hideous dolls out of chewed-up bread crumbs. I couldn’t decide if the director is a misogynist or a misanthrope (I guess a little of both). Anyway, I’m glad I don’t share his insanely dark worldview. Yes, I get it, humans are really greedy animals (parallels are constantly drawn between the human characters and a pack of wild dogs). To see a much better and more humanist treatment of this same thesis, watch Birdie.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Movies #59-61

Three Film Sunday! Steve and I went to River East cinema downtown, and paid for entry to World Trade Center (only $5 for showings before noon!) Then we walked into two other movies. It was perfectly timed – one of the screenings was even directly across the aisle from the previous one. Five bucks for three movies – that’s even cheaper than the Logan Budget theater. And Steve is now my official Movie Buddy. We also saw a ton of trailers for the fall season (including several that we missed in Toronto) – so I’m officially still excited about movies (in general) at the moment.


WORLD TRADE CENTER
I actually liked this film quite a bit. Somehow I managed not to cry even once. Maybe it was too early in the morning. Oliver Stone did an admirable job of restraining his normal over-the-top impulses, and the acting was all around great. I knew what was going to happen at the end (concerning the main characters), which may have sapped the film of some of its power. I was also very annoyed with Maria Bello’s blue contact lenses. She has beautiful, expressive brown eyes, but with the lenses her eyes looked dead and Marilyn Mansonish. I wouldn’t have thought that colored contacts could have that effect, but apparently they do. Anyway this is definitely worth watching, if nothing else for the superb atmosphere (both in the streets, where no one knew what the hell was going on, and in the cramped rubble of the buildings). I know it’s awful to express pity for the survivors, but all I could think about was the horrible variety of respiratory diseases they were struck with after spending days exposed to all the chemicals and debris in the air.


THE BLACK DAHLIA
This movie gets an A++ for style, but not much else. I always think Brian De Palma’s movies are worth watching, because he generally knows what he’s doing, and his best movies are both gripping in the Hollywood sense and artistic in the independent sense. This film was overly ambitious, and there were far too many plot lines that supposedly came together tidily at the end (but didn’t in reality, at least for me and Steve). Some of the dialog was stilted and ridiculous, and often something really “dramatic” would happen onscreen, but I had no idea why it was significant. Josh Hartnett was surprisingly good, and his face and acting style (or is it lack of style?) actually suit this genre. So, to sum up, I would recommend this movie only to those who can admire a film for its look while simultaneously being mired in confusion.


HOLLYWOODLAND
Two movies set in old-timey Hollywood back-to-back… A little confusing. This was much more straightforward than The Black Dahlia and is pretty entertaining throughout. There are two separate plot lines: Ben Affleck as George Reeves, and Adrien Brody as an investigator looking into the mysterious circumstances of Reeves’ death. Oddly enough, the storyline with the investigation was the weaker of the two. It was elaborated in a way that didn’t seem necessary for the development of the movie arc in general, and there were several occurrences that could have been left out altogether for a tighter and more interesting film. The half of the movie that was straight biopic was better, or at least more convincing. Ben Affleck does a thoroughly decent job as Reeves, especially in his weak, tired, broken-down moments. He’s also quite funny. Overall the film was well-done but bland. Or maybe it seemed bland because I had just watched two movies by Oliver Stone and De Palma.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

The Last Kiss

Sandy's movie #27
(#26 was The Illusionist)

This movie made me want to move back to Madison! Not just because it was filmed there, but because in Madison, people know how to shut the fuck up in a movie theater!! Whereas here, no matter what time or day I go or what I'm seeing, I end sitting directly in front of some morons who don't know the meaning of the word "shhhh" and even talk to themself when their friend goes to the bathroom.

Yeah anyway, this movie takes place in Madison. Which is cool. Note to Tony Goldwyn: no self-respecting Madisonianwould wrap his lips around a Budweiser. Put that in your script notes.

Its trailer kind of makes The Last Kiss look like a chick flick (starring Zach Braff.) But it's more of a dick flick, actually. Zach's character is morally depraved and pretty unsympathetic. Er, but since it's Zach Braff, we like him anyway (right, Maya?) The casting was pretty tight; I love me some Tom Wilkinson. But you know who has really sucked for a while (like, since 1998?) Casey Affleck. Not funny. Not cute. Beady eyes, elfin nose. Can't stand him.

This is probably a good candidate for a rental. Or a Video On Demand selection. Or the Budget Theater-- if you are feeling nostalgic for Mad Town and you're pretty sure you won't wind up in front of some chickenhead who thinks she's in her own living room. Oh if only I'd had some steaming hot noodle soup...

Friday, September 15, 2006

A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION

Movie #59



Wow, I’m doing pretty good this year… last year I only cracked 66 movies in the theater, and here it is only mid-September and I’m about to hit 60. If that’s not exciting, I don’t know what is.

Thanks to the Logan Budget theater and my strong desire not to study, I went to catch a screening of this film. I try to see all of Altman’s work in the cinema – even when he doesn’t exactly nail it, the end product is always interesting. I enjoyed this movie even though it was not exactly earth-shattering. Probably the biggest problem I had was the fact that it’s mainly a filmed stage show, and I have an aversion to movies that resemble a play in any way. There were enough story lines and interweaving characters to keep it moving along though, and I loved Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly as Dusty and Lefty. I was pretty ambivalent about the role of the Angel played by Virginia Madsen (although an angel in a trenchcoat is a nice nod to one of my favorites, Wings of Desire).

That’s about all I can think of at the moment. I did find the ending to be rather sad, and want to ask other people about how they interpreted it (but without spoilers here).

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Movie #57

The Illusionist



This was a pretty good movie. I was somewhat underwhelmed, but that’s probably due in large part to the fact that I was no longer watching a film with a packed house full of super-hyped film fanatics, the cast, and the director. I was just watching a regular old movie at Webster Place Cinema with a handful of weirdos. To be fair, the movie was quite good – I was completely surprised by it on more than one occasion. A Hollywood movie that can pull the rug out from under you is quite a feat. I guess that’s why it’s called “The Illusionist.” Acting was great all around, and the soundtrack was beautiful (Phillip Glass), but it was slightly boring at moments in spite of all this.

The best part about going to see another movie right after the Toronto film fest – I found out that the parking lot near the theater is free Mon. through Wed., and I found ten dollars on the bathroom floor!

Monday, September 11, 2006

MOVIES 43-56

TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL


Please go to my website, Gin Soaked World (link on the bar). I am posting about my Toronto experience there. Best vacation ever, best cultural experience ever, best anything ever.

Monday, September 04, 2006

Sorry so slacking

Dudes, sorry I have been neglecting to log my movies-books-events lately. Looks like we've all been caught up in our own shtuff. Just wanted to drop a placeholder here to remind myself to fill in some details later:

Movie #25 - The Descent
Book #16 - The Asian Mystique by Sheridan Prasso
Cultural Event #10 - Pendulum Aerial Dance
Cultural Event#11 - India Festival

To be continued...

Saturday, September 02, 2006

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE – Movie #42



Wow, Sandy and I are agreeing a lot lately. This movie was thoroughly enjoyable, and managed to be touching without being too syrupy. Even though each character was quirky in his or her own way, the actors were of a high enough quality to make them seem like fully fleshed-out people, and not just a collection of annoying personality traits. I had a slight problem with the ending (Olive’s routine was a little unbelievable – yes, it highlighted the absurdity of child beauty pageants, but I think we all already got that point). Also, what mother doesn’t know anything about her child’s routine and/or costumes? Anyway, I guess that’s a plot hole I can overlook. Alan Arkin was great as always, the unknown (to me) child actors were terrific, Greg Kinnear was super and has awesome legs, and Toni Collette and Steve Carrell are perfect. Add a great script that isn’t even boring at two hours long, and what more could you ask for?