Friday Night Round-Up

It's that time again. What all did I watch this week?

Ninth Gate - A- , a thoroughly enjoyable movie from Johnny Depp that was way better than Secret Window

Clay Pigeons - C- , Vince Vaughn plays a creepy guy from Montana in a city that is very offbeat. You think this might play in the same way a Coen brothers movie like Fargo does. But it gets lost somewhere along the way.

His Girl Friday - B+, classic romantic comedy with Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell

Pan's Labyrinth - A, it may have some slow spots but there isn't anything I walked out hating about this Spanish Civil War pic that is spiced up by some dark fairy tale magic. This movie is a gem that is full of originality and brilliance. See it just for the dinner table scene.

Belle de Jour - A, this could be the most pornographic film you ever watch where nobody ever takes off their clothes. The movie is an enthralling piece of French cinema.

M- A, I love this Fritz Lang classic for it's story line and how applicable it is to today. Like the flap says, except for it being in black and white, this could have been told and released today and still had the same effect.

Conformist - B, a thriler on Italian fascism. The thing about Italian fascism flicks is that they are sophisticated more so than, oh, 24. And I think I expected something else going into this film due to what I had read about it.

True Romance - A, how does this stack up against Pulp Fiction or Reservoir Dogs? This film written by Quentin Tarantino features a star-studded cast and a director named Tony Scott and seriously kicks ass.

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning- B+, good piece of work thanks to British actor Albert Finney

Inland Empire- A, as moviegoers we often hate films we cannot understand. I love this David Lynch film, like most people, for how it plays with your mind.

La Sorta- B+, a cult-y Italian fascism thriller about bodyguards who guard a judge. With some pulp scenes, it's pretty cool. But it doesn't quite spark like you want it ever.

Coffy- A, love this! This soul cinema classic with Pam Grier is a slice of unforgettable entertainment.

That's this week. I recently got in to checking out some grindhouse and cult films and also have been checking out some of Quentin Tarantino's favorite films courtesy of this posted list.

Friday Night Round-Up

Films watched this week were:

Crank- B+
Payback- B+
Laura- B-
Insomnia- B
Narc- A
Simple Plan- C
Return to Paradise- A-
Vanilla Sky- A

Those are the films that I watched this week. I finished the second season of Boston Legal and have to say it was way better than the first season. I wish I would have been caught up in time to catch the beginning of the the third last year but when the third season comes out, I will be ready.

Oh, and here's a thing that blew my mind away...again after it was blown by Vanilla Sky.

Idiocracy: I'm Not Sure

I watched Idiocracy, which was directed by Mike Judge. It starred Luke Wilson, Dax Shepard, and Maya Rudolph. Justin Long appears in it. You say you didn't hear about it? Well, I did. And there is only one reason I heard of it. Being in Chicago, it was released for a few weeks in the fall. Chicago was one of a few places that saw it. It was not even released in New York City. What is up with that?

As a movie, the film is an average film with a very good concept. The idea is that people 500 years from now are stupid because they have become sexxed up, reality show-lovin' capitalistic-driven idiots. The movie is entertaining yet after reading about how Mike Judge and FOX got along during production and when it came time to release it, I can't help but notice how the cut of this film is poor. The film is only 80 minutes long which is not standard for most of today's flicks. We all know that when we go to see a movie nowadays it averages about 100-120 minutes in length. So where is the 20+ minutes that is missing? I would venture to say if you pay attention you can see how some of this seems choppy where there are undeveloped sections of the movie that were doctored. The film was cut. And Mike Judge did not have final cut.

I did some research on this because the fact that FOX would play games with something that could be successful (IT'S MIKE JUDGE WHO DID KING OF THE HILL AND BEAVIS AND BUTTHEAD!) is strange. So, here are a some places to read about what happened with the film: Dude Where's My Film? / Mike Judge Should Go Indie / Stupid Fox

The more I think about this film the more I like it because of what Fox did to it. And the more I want to praise it so people will see it. I want people to buy it just so Fox can look extremely stupid for playing games with Judge's movie. But really what I want is to see this uncut like all true lovers of cinema. We want what the director wanted. Fuck the corporation that released it! And see...this is the perfect movie to go with that sentiment.

WHAT ELSE DID I WATCH THIS WEEK?

Looking For Comedy in the Muslim World - C
Lewis Black: Red, White, & Screwed - A-
Lost City - B
Detour- B-
39 Steps - A
Charlotte's Web- B+
Good Shepherd - A-

Outside the realm of film but in the realm of entertainment, I am loving Battlestar Galactica Season One, Extras Season One, and Season Two of Boston Legal right now. I am going back and forth between those. I'd recommend all three shows to anyone as I feel they are all grade A television shows.

An Array of Flicks Seen

I set out to chronicle the films I watched. That would be where the title for this blog came from. And I was also going to talk about upcoming movies and other movie news, etc. Being a college kid, this blog took a severe hit and I just forgot to post after each film. I also keep a political blog (Patriotic Intellect). This has been more important than keeping a blog about film as I was more interested. I am taking up the challenge of keeping two blogs. While these are basic Blogger blogs, I am looking to read up on Wordpress and design a better site. I have always prided myself in my knowledge of technology but lately have fallen behind.

Before I can press on, I must list out the films that were saved as drafts but never posted. This list is only a few of the films I watched from September '06-November '06. From the best to the worst, here it goes.

A+ to A- Films

Aquirre: Wrath of God
Cache (Hidden)
Carnal Knowledge
Carnival of Souls
Conversation, The
I Am Curious (Yellow)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Last Tango in Paris
Night Moves
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Requiem for a Dream
Schindler's List
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
Taxi Driver
Tsotsi

B+ to B- Films

Ai No Corrida
Bicycle Thief
Deer Hunter
Eraserhead
Frenzy
Harder They Fall
Havoc
Natural Born Killers
Talk Radio
Wild Bunch

C+ to C- Films

Contempt
Freaks
Long Goodbye
Plan 9 From Outer Space
Raising Arizona
Yellowbeard

F Film

Easy

I watched all of those and more. And I left out the fact that I gave special attention to David Lynch and Errol Morris while during that time too.

Mulholland Drive was breathtakingly amazing to me and I give it an A. I watched Eraserhead (as seen above) and found it to be very interesting for a debut film. I have Straight Story, Wild at Heart, and Dune on my list of films to see as well as his TV seris Twin Peaks and his latest film Inland Empire.

Errol Morris is a man I went to hear speak in Chicago and he talked about his upcoming documentary on Abu Ghraib and the iconography of the photos. I did a detailed post on this on my political blog. For pure entertainment purposes, this led me to see his three classics before Fog of War, which are Gates of Heaven, Thin Blue Line, and Mr. Death. All three flicks are B+/A- flicks and for documentaries, are amazingly superb.

And now that's done move on down to the first post of this resurrected blog.

Coen Brothers Movie Coming in 2007 PLUS Upcoming Movies to See in First 3 Months of Year

Let me tell you what really has me excited in the first three months of 2007.  I'm going to take this year three months at a time.  So what do I expect to have enjoyed by the time April rolls around?

For January

I'm tempted and would like to see Happily N'Ever After to see what the makers of Shrek have served up this time.  The week after I think I will see Freedom Writers for the fact that I dig movies that involve at-risk students being uplifted.  But I pray that this is not a regurgitation of Finding Forrester.  I don't expect it to be as good as Lean on Me when tackling at-risk students.  Going in to the third week, I'll take care of unfinished business and see The Good German, which will be in wide release.  Next week gets interesting as there are three films that I am seriously intrigued by and then there is one that tempts me.  Those three are:  Catch and Release, Seraphim Falls (which will be in limited), Smokin' Aces .  I am tempted to see Blood and Chocolate also.  That rounds out January.   Oh, one last thing...The Amateurs has no release date but with Jeff Bridges and a dirty plot like this, I can't miss.

For February

I don't want to see anything the first week.  All that is opening is crap and well, more crap.  The second week I would like to see The Lives of Others, which will be in limited release and would really like to see this new film by David Zucker called Superhero! with spoofmaster Leslie Nielsen appearing but after viewing the status of this film on IMDB I do not know if it will be coming to a theatre anytime soon.  I don't want to see anything that opens on Valentine's Day but that's alright because two days later, Breach and Ghost Rider open.  That'll quickly stunt the success of any cheesy romance flick released this Valentine's Day.  Come February 23rd, there are four films coming out that I am very interested in.  They are (in order of desire to watch):  Black Snake Moan, Number 23, Reno 911: Miami, and Astronaut Farmer.  That does it for that month. 

For March

For the first week, I'm diggin' the comedy Wild Hogs and then Zodiac.  I'm also liking The Wind That Shakes the Barley, which will be in limited release that week.  Next week I would like to catch Reign Over Me, Fido, which features Billy Connolly as a Zombie (awesome!), and Virgin Territory (the synopsis sounds good).  Really, the best thing about this week won't just be the Don Cheadle/Adam Sandler flick but the 300, which is sure to be visually stunning.  That following week I would like to see Chris Rock's latest I Think I Love My Wife and 28 Days Later-director Danny Boyle's latest Sunshine.  March 23rd will feel like a memorable weekend in February where I really wanted to see nothing.  With the exception of First Snow, which will be in limited release, I want to avoid the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and any other movie despite the fact that the Great Kevin Smith is adding his voice to TMNT.  The last weekend in March I will probably catch the comedy Blades of Glory and Rescue Dawn, which should be a great Werner Herzog flick especially since Christian Bale is lending his talent to it. 

That does it for my picks for the first part of 2007.  I expect to have seen a couple movies that will be in my top ten at the end of the year.  But as usual,  the films of 2007 will only improve as the year goes on. 


Plus, back up top I mentioned the new Coen brothers movie. The plot outline for this , after seeing Fargo, Big Lebowski, and Blood Simple, already has me psyched. This looks great. I will point you in the direction of a site to get more information on this.

No Country for Old Men