Heya Gang.

I'm back with another group of movies I watched over the week, most of them last night. I ended up going to the Jack Johnson/G. Love & Special Sauce concert on Saturday, so I spent a full weekend away from home. But when I got back on Sunday night, I made sure to get right back to Tiger Woods 2K5 and watching my movies. We have some interesting ones for you today, including one that everybody has seen. So, let's start with that one ...

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope - imdb - d. George Lucas - What can you say about Star Wars? For most people it's one of the single greatest movies of all time, single-handedly launching the big blockbuster movie phenomenon. I've seen it quite a few times, and I see what everybody likes about the movie, but to me it's just so hokey. I'll spare you from the usual synopsis, since everybody knows what it's about, and get right into the heavy criticizing. There are things I like, the two robots (R2D2 and C3PO) are constantly funny, and continue to remind me of the classic film the Hidden Fortress. But outside of that, everything is pretty general. Going back and watching it now I still enjoy it, but there are things about it that make me laugh; such as seeing Vader cramped into the tiny spaceship at the end going all Top Gun on us. For me there are just too many moments like that, and it just seems to silly for me. Perhaps that's the appeal, but I still contend that Alien is a much better science fiction film. B

Super Size Me - imdb - d. Morgan Spurlock - Warning: If you eat fast food, you probably won't want to watch this! Super Size Me is the story of a simple man with a vegan-chef girlfriend who decides to give up the good life ... and start eating at McDonalds for every meal. The theory being, with a McDonalds on just about every block, it's easy for a lot of families to eat two, or three times a day there while doing little to no exercise. And since McDonalds said that their food was healthy, Morgan Spurlock wanted to put it to the test. For 30 days he ate nothing but what was on the McDonalds menu. If they didn't serve it, he didn't eat it (or drink it). Over the course or the 30 days he gained 25 pounds and did amazing damage to his liver. He also mixes in some of the other negative things associated with fast food ... convincing even the most hardened American that McDonalds is NOT the place to eat. This is a film everybody should see, especially if you're young enough to stop this madness. A-

Intolerable Cruelty - imdb - d. the Coen Brothers - Ever since I first saw Blood Simple I have loved the Coen brothers. Their movies are smart, witty, memorable, and full of good laughs. When they succeed, they do it in glorious fashion -- such as Fargo, Barton Fink, Raising Arizona, or even the Big Lebowski. But it's clear from Intolerable Cruelty, when they make a bad film, they really make a stinker. Catherine Zeta-Jones plays Marylin Rexroth, a woman more interested in money than she is about marriage. Her scam seems to be marrying the extremely wealthy, and then divorcing them to get half of their money. She meets wealthy lawyer George Clooney as she's divorcing her latest victim, and they both realize there's something special here. Of course, just like all romantic comedies, things get in their way, people are uses, and a asthmatic hit man muddies things up. But the movie never become entertaining, and I never wanted these people to hook up. Catherine is just plain mean in this film, and George is so clueless, you almost feel bad for him ... almost. It showed promise early on with entertaining courtscenes, but it went nowhere after that. C-

Heya Gang.

The three movies I'm talking about today could not be more different. One is exessively violent, another is a comedy, and the third, well, the third is a little bit violent and a little bit funny. I don't want to talk too much about it, no use in giving things awaybefore you read them. So read up, and judge for yourself whether or not you think this is a good combination.

Irreversible - imdb - d. Gaspar Noe - Now this is a movie you're either going to love or hate, there's just no inbetween. This is a French film, a SERIOUS French film that tells a story of a brutal sexual assualt and the revenge one takes. It's told backwards, in a similar style to that of 2000's Memento (d. Christopher Nolan), but that's where the similarities end. As the story opens we see two men desperately searching for a man in a, let's just say, alternative club. But these men aren't looking for a drink, they have something far more sinister in mind. As the we learn more about these two men we see what led them to take such drastic action, and how some thing can never be reversed. This is a violent film, some of the scenes are among the most disturbing I have ever seen. There's a 10 minute long assault sequence that is trying and unforgettable, it brings the full impact of such a crime without actually hurting you physically. This is a severe film, it's hard to watch, and some people will absolutely loathe it ... but I enjoyed it, and found it to be an intersting story with a unique way of telling it. This is a movie you will never forget, in the same way Deliverance will always stay with you. A-

Spaceballs - imdb - d. Mel Brooks - With everybody buying up the new Star Wars DVD set, I felt it was time for me to revisit Spaceballs. This is arguably Mel Brooks' final decent film, and in a lot of ways I enjoy it more than the overdone Star Wars films (the new ones, at least). It's a parody of Star Wars, but at the same time manages to get its fangs into a few other famous sci fi gems, like Alien. It's amazing how well this film hold up; thanks in large part to a talented cast and topical jokes that still make sense. It's not quite as good as Brooks' 1970s fare, but Spaceballs does a great job of lambasting films that took themselves much to seriously. B+

The Limey - imdb - d. Steven Soderbergh - A lot of people have their favorite Steven Soderbergh film; some like Sex, Lies and Videotapes while others like Traffic. Some stick with Kafka and then others can't look past Oceans 11 (for some odd reason). Problem is, my favorite Soderbergh film gets almost no respect at all. You can look at the Limey in a number of ways, it's a simple revenge film, but also a reunion of many of the 1960s most famous actors. We have a much older Terence Stamp, as well as Lesley Ann Warren, Peter Fonda, and even Barry Newman ... all picking up right where they left off. But the movie is more than just a bunch of old time actors getting together for good time, it's also an expertly crafted crime film with a great sense of style. Not to be missed. A-

Hey Gang.

It's been about a week since I posted on here, but I haven't stopped watching movies. Most of my time has been taken by games like Burnout 3: Takedown and Fable, but I've worked my way through all of those and am ready to tell you about the movies I've watched. I'll do my best to start keeping this more up to date this week, but it might be hard as I'm going out of town this weekend. Anyway, let's talk about some movies ...

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind - imdb - d. George Clooney - I'm still rather puzzled why this movie didn't make any money in the box office, it has a full cast of people we know and love, it's written by one of the most creative writers in the business, and is all about a moment in pop-culture history we are all familiar with. It really makes no sense to me, but then, it's not like Miramax did a whole lot of promoting it when it came out. It's the story of Chuck Barris, the creator of many of TVs most popular game shows -- shows like the Dating Game, the Gong Show, and many others. But this isn't just about a celebrity, it's about a man conflicted with being a game show host and a CIA hitman. That's right, Chuck Barris was also a CIA agent, and killed many people over the course of his life. This is one of those movies I could watch over and over, I love the scenes of Chuck on the Gong Show, and am impressed with the work of first-time director Clooney, who could actually teach veteran directors a few lessons. B+

Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (aka Amelie) - imdb - d. Jean-Pierre Jeunet - I love Amelie. I love it. It's one of my favorite movies ever made, and I watch it everytime I feel down. It's French, it's upbeat, and Amelie being who she is brings a smile to my face. It's the story of a twenty-something girl who leads a fairly normal life. But when she finds a photo album she starts to become curious about who it belongs to. This leads her on an adventure unlike anything you will ever see, complete with toys that come to life, lucky breaks, and a talking photo album. Although a different story, it's easy to see where a lot of the influence for Fox TV's cancelled Wonderfalls came from. It's a great two-disc DVD set that is dirt cheap these days, don't pass it up. A

After Hours - imdb - d. Martin Scorsese - When you think of Martin Scorsese you generally think of Goodfellas or Raging Bull ... the last thing to come to your mind is 90-minute slapstick comedy. But sure enough, After Hours is about the closest you'll get to a Martin Scorsese romantic comedy. This is the story of a man, Griffin Dunne, who embarks on a cross-town journey to meet up with a girl he thinks he likes. But when things go bad at her place, he finds himself going from one terrible situation to another. As comedies go it's a pretty good one, but maybe not as great as Scorsese's earlier efforts. Still, After Hours will make you think twice about getting stranded late at night in New York City. B

Punch-Drunk Love - imdb - d. P.T. Anderson - Magnolia is one of my all time favorite movies, so I was a little skeptical about Anderson's follow up, Punch-Drunk Love. I got even more concerned when I learned that Adam Sandler, a movie actor I generally cannot stand (though, didn't mind on SNL), was going to star in it. Thankfully all that worrying was for nothing, because Punch-Drunk Love is a fantastic movie that just keeps getting better every time I watch it. Here we have an extremely shy, anti-social Sandler doing his best to make his toilet plunger business makes money. Afraid to find love (especially with the women his sisters are hooking him up with), Sandler calls a 1-900 number for some advice. Not only does this seems to give him the drive to date Emily, but also strange calls from the woman he "paid" to talk to the night before. This sets up a rather interesting, if not sometimes surreal, set of events that shape Sandlers character, and may actually allow him to be ready to date somebody like Emily Watson. Adam Sandler fans should stay far, far away from this movie, it does not feature him doing any of his usual schitck. But if you're like me and just waiting for a movie by Sandler that doesn't bite, Punch-Drunk Love is the movie for you. A-

Trisetta Lilly Barnes

Now that we’ve kicked the company out, it’s time to get back to watching some movies. Problem is, Tuesday is a big day for me and the TV. Between 3 pm and 3 am my ReplayTV has recorded seven hour-long shows and one half-hour show (got to make sure Ken Jennings keeps winning). And as of tonight (right now, in fact) there’s another daily show I started recording … the Al Franken Show on Sundance. Maybe I should save some of these shows until the slow days, like Saturday. And with Burnout 3 today … hmm … let’s just start talking about movies, okay?

Clerks – imdb – d. Kevin Smith - Although Chasing Amy is Kevin Smith’s masterpiece, Clerks is still my favorite. Perhaps it’s because I saw it first or maybe I just identify more with the two characters (or at least what they do). But whatever it is, I seem to be a sucker for every version of Clerks that comes out. I own the original DVD, the Animated series on DVD, and now Clerks X, the ten year anniversary collection. This “First Cut” is nine minutes longer and is the version most of the suits saw before the movie saw a theatrical release. I prefer the movie in its original form (95 minutes), but this was certainly fun to watch. The transfer is from a Super VHS tape, so it’s not very high quality. The picture is shaky, the audio is barely stereo, and there are all kinds of artifacts on the video. But even then, this story of two minimum wage workers is one of the funniest films of the 1990s, and chock full of witty dialog. Outside of the quality difference and extra scenes, fans of the theatrical cut will also notice a major difference in the music. In some cases the music in the same, but a different version of the song, in other places they are different songs or no music at all. If you’ve seen the theatrical cut a good number of times (like I have) you’ll probably be surprised by just how different the music is, and how much it adds to the finished film. The funeral parlor scene seems especially weird with the “different” music. I look forward to going through all the new extras, including a 90-minute documentary about the last ten years of Clerks. B+ (Original Cut: A-)

The Cooler – imdb – d. Wayne Kramer – William H. Macy is one of the best actors working in Hollywood today; he seems to blend into whatever role he’s asked to play and always manages to be memorable in some small way. In the Cooler he plays Bernie, a sad loser-type. From years of disappointment and bad luck Bernie has been defeated, and is nothing more than a shell of a man doing his job. His job? To break lucky streaks with his contagious bad luck. But things take a turn for the worse (or better, depending on how you look at it) when he falls in love. But this isn’t just a romance, it actually has several stories going on at the same time, each fairly interesting and completely played out. My favorite side story was between Alec Baldwin’s character, an ex-mobster who runs the casino the old school way. He feuds much of the film with a younger college graduate who thinks he can run the business more effectively and by bringing in new blood and sweeping much of the old school dust away. This isn’t much of the film, but it’s both interesting and informative. It really shows you the different sides to the people we’re watching, and by the end of the film you feel better having seen it. B+

Trisetta Lilly Barnes

Heya Gang.

My friend from the north ended up staying around until midnight, which didn't leave me much time to watch the shows I recorded and a movie. But I ended up with a short, off beat film that didn't quite get the support it deserved. With all the hurricane stuff happening in Florida, I figured it would be nice to watch a movie set in that part of the country. So, without further ado, let's actually get this show on the road.

Secretary - imdb - d. Steven Shainberg - "Hello, you have reached the office of Mr. E. Edward Grey. Please leave a message and the time you called, along with your phone number and the best time to reach you. And we'll get back to you as soon as possible." Want to see a movie about an self confident young woman who can tackle the world and anything that is thrown at her? Well, you're going to need to look elsewhere, because the characters in Secretary (both James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhaal) seem like the people who can't even decide what to eat in the morning. There are people who enjoy taking punishment and those who like giving it ... and this is the story of what happens when these two storm fronts do when they work in the same office. This isn't a movie about normal people in love, but rather the co-dependant relationships that make for good stand-up fodder. Not everybody will enjoy the film, but it does offer up more inappropriate workplace situations that just about any movie I can think of. While the film holds up even better the second time around, it seems like James Spader gets cast as this jerk-lawyer a whole bunch. Perhaps he needs to find himself a nice romatic comedy or perhaps an action film or something. Regardless, make sure and check the film out if you're into a little pain in your work place. B+

Trisetta Lilly Barnes

Hey Gang.

I meant to spend the whole day catching up on movies, but things didn't turn out like I thought they would. Generally my Sundays consist of watching the big Sunday shows, but this week most of them were off. No season finale of Six Feet Under this week. It was going to be just me and a bunch of DVDs I've picked up, but not managed to watch yet. And then Seth showed up. Here's a guy from over two hours away who shows up only a few times a year, and I felt obligated to show him a good time. So here's what we watched, it's nothing new to me, but something he hadn't seen.

Trainspotting - imdb - d. Danny Boyle - I had seen Danny's first film, Shallow Grave, before Trainspotting and expected good things, and I certainly wasn't disappointed. It's an anti-drug film, but it's not an anti-marijuana film. It's about people more than actions, and has a whole lot of great music. In fact, both of the soundtracks have found their way to my iPod for walking music. Anyway, this was the first time I had seen Trainspotting since I bought the two-disc DVD set, which features the international cut of the film. From what I could tell, the only difference was the self-made porno, the audio mixing, and more Jedi private parts. Still a great movie, and one I shouldn't have waited so long to re-watch. I guess it's time for me to go through the extras and the audio commentary that came from the Criterion laser disc. A-

Trisetta Lilly Barnes

Hey Gang.

I ended up watching two movies last night, one before I walked and the other right after that. Both funny, and both more upbeat than any of the other films I watched last week. It really got me in a better mood, but I think I'm ready to be bummed out again tonight. Regardless, here's what I watched last night (today).

American Splendor - imdb - d. Robert Pulcini & Shari Springer Berman - Here in lies the life and times of Harvey Pekar, a depressed, anti-social file clerk who can't seem to get a break. After meeting and becoming friends with a young Robert Crumb, Harvey decides to write all of his stories down and try to turn them into a comic book series. The film has an interesting feel to it, as it uses an actor (Paul Giamatti) as well as the real person and his comics to tell the story, it's unlike any other comic book film you've seen before. It's hard not to feel for Harvey, even if you know he's not somebody you would want to hang out with. It's an extremely funny film, but has a core and a romantic side, too ... even if it's not very romantic. A-

Anything Else - imdb - d. Woody Allen - Although I'm a huge Woody Allen fan, I seemed to have missed this in the theater. I ended up only being reminded about this the other day while searching the archives of Ebert & Roeper at the Movies. It's the story of a young writer (Jason Biggs) and his mentally unstable girlfriend. He's the kind of person who can't say no to anybody and in turn allows people to walk all over him, his girlfriend (Christina Ricci) is the kind of person who wants to walk all over him. After he meets up with a fellow (although much older) writer, played by Woody Allen, he starts to look at his life completely different, and might even have enough strength to start over completely. It's one of Woody Allens best films recently, but doesn't quite have the wit and power of the Mighty Aphrodite. Still, it's well worth your time and effort. And I really wouldn't mind seeing Jason Biggs playing the Woody Allen part more often. B+

Trisetta Lilly Barnes

Hey Gang.

I doubt anybody is going to read this, but I was going write down all the movies I watched already, so why not do it here? Maybe somebody will actually have something to say about the movies I watch, or even go out and see them! But probably not. Hopefully I'll be able to look back and see what I watched and be proud. Anyway, to get the ball rolling, I have the three movies I watched last, one last night, one the night before, and one the night before that. I would have started this sooner, but I was lazy. So here you are, the last three movies I watched, enjoy ...

Straw Dogs - d. Sam Peckinpah - Dustin Hoffman plays a shy, pacifist who moves to the UK with his wife. His is tormented by local ruffians, and eventually has to stand up for his family in ways he would never have imagined. An effective film that really keeps you on the edge of your seat for the last thirty minutes. Dustin Hoffman is known for good performances, but this is one of his finest. I watched the Criterion Collection DVD, however, I see that it is currently out of print. Well worth checking out, no matter which version you see. A-

Dead Ringers - d. David Cronenberg - Jeremy Irons plays dual roles in Dead Ringers, one of Cronenbergs more subtle films. It's about two twins (the Mantle brothers) who are both gynecologists and have some radical desires to how they want to go about helping women. Since they look exactly the same, one uses the other to get women, and eventually falls in love with a drug addled actress. While trying to put up with her, the brother gets addicted to drugs and eventually loses his grip on reality. And then it gets strange. It's an effective film that is very well made, but there are things about it that are really disturbing (though, maybe not to both sexes). This is one of my least favorite films by Cronenberg, but it's still worth pulling out every few months. B

Videodrome - d. David Cronenberg - It would be fun to pretend I can explain what Videodrome is about in a few words, but I can't. It's just not that kind of film. It's a film about video violence, and how it impacts people (or can be used to brainwash people, as is the case here). Released 21 years ago, Videodrome features Deborah Harry in her first movie and a lot of make up to show this hyper-real world these people are living in. Like A Clockwork Orange years earlier, Videodrome makes more sense now than it did back then, and should not be missed. The effects hold up surprisingly well, and the acting is all superb. The new Criterion Collection DVD also has a second disc with a lot of cool extras. I am looking forward to checking out the two commentaries, especially to see what Ms. Harry has to say about her performance. A

Well, I guess that's it. Now you're caught up over the last three days. What will I watch tonight? I guess you're going to have to wait until tomorrow to find out! Hopefully it will be something good, maybe something a little lighter after those three movies.

Trisetta Lilly Barnes