Movie #27: Away We Go

Her Take: I saw this movie for the first time at the theater. It is an indie darling of a film. It felt just as powerful the second time, bringing tears to my eyes and a lump to my throat even though I’d seen it before. Maya Rudolph and John Krasinski are a couple expecting their first child in three months. Rudolph’s parents are dead. They go to visit Krasinski’s parents and find out their moving to Brussels for two years before the baby will be born. So, they decide to go on a trip, visiting friends and family all over the country to find a place that feels like home. What ensues is an awesome collection of vignettes featuring Allison Janney as an insane motormouth who talks shit about her own kids and Maggie Gyllenhaal as a crazy liberal feminist who won’t use strollers because she doesn’t want to push her kids away from her. The scenes featuring Gyllenhaal are over the top and hilarious. Not every scene is funny. There are some tender moments between Rudolph and her sister discussing their parents’ death. A couple in Vancouver discusses their five failed attempts at having children. Those scenes are pretty powerful. Overall this movie feels genuine and awesome. There are a lot of movies out there that are indie for indie’s sake and get too pretentious for me. This did not feel like one of those films. I give it 5 stars. Check it out!

His Take: There is a risk this movie takes. And that risk is of being too indie. Being too pretentious. I think casting John Krasinski is what perfectly keeps the film in check. He is soft and understated, but with just enough quirkiness to keep the film from losing its indie cred. I’ve loved watching him for years on The Office and have developed a slight man-crush on him. He is at least in good company. My other man-crushes include Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ryan Reynolds. Rest assured, should I ever get the opportunity to make movies I’ll be casting all three in a buddy-cop movie. It might even include a dog. Wait. Scratch that. Have you seen Turner and Hooch? Rough. I love how this movie is about searching for a home. I love that it comes from the perspective of the unborn child. When they do finally make it home, it makes me cry. It is pretty powerful, and the music is well cued. I love that it handles questions that I’ve always had about people who have children. It is very human, especially when they visit Canada and their college friends who cannot have children of their own. Plus, I don’t know if you’ve ever slept on a trampoline at night before or not, but this movie knows what’s up. Its got it. Now all that is left to be said….how come I never thought to wear goggles to my self defense classes? 4.5 out of 5.

Movie #26: Apocalypse Now Redux

Her Take: Perhaps it is because I am not a dude, but I have to admit I wasn’t really taken with this movie. Apocalypse Now is Francis Ford Coppola’s re-imagination of Joseph Conrad’s book Heart of Darkness in the context of the Vietnam War. We watched the Redux version, which adds 49 minutes of movie that was cut out of the theatrical release. As a result, this film felt incredibly long. We watched the two halves on separate nights. The basic plot is that Martin Sheen is sent into “the shit” to assassinate a rogue colonel, played by Marlon Brando. Lots of things occur along the way. Don’t get me wrong, there are some great scenes in this movie. The scene where Laurence Fishburne is shot and killed while listening to an audiocassette from home, his mother’s voice telling him to come home in one piece. The scene where Martin Sheen meets Col. Kurtz for the first time. Still, the movie altogether did not really grab me. It felt too long, too stylized, too something. Still, I think I can muster 3 out of 5 stars.

His Take: Where to begin? (I originally typed “Where to being?” and found it oddly appropriate a typo.) Autobiographical? OK. The first time I saw this was with my best buddy, and it would have been circa the 7th or 8th grade; which, by itself is plenty without this huge beast influencing one’s mental attitude. His dad had actually done tours in Vietnam, and things didn’t go so well for him resulting in his eventual suicide a while after being back in the States. To have seen this right around the time that we were beginning to formulate our identities as men is a pretty daunting exercise. To be able to say I feel we both made it out of our teenage years well adjusted is most likely even more daunting. But in general the whole scene, phrase, and philosophy of “absolutely never get off the boat, goddam right, never get off the boat” has stuck with me all this time. It was years later, when I read Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, I began to understand how Vietnam reflected the darkest parts of our nature, especially as Americans, that we sometimes find ourselves susceptible. There are numerous reasons to count this classic among best of the best, but the most important to me is a reminder to always be aware and wary of our dark depths. That there is a battle that wages within each of us, and that battle is between good and evil.
Also of note is Laurence Fishburne’s screen debut, Robert Duvall with his famous, “Charlie don’t surf!” and the morose death party that gives Captain Willard his grim assignment that includes a youthful Harrison Ford, and every second Marlon Brando is on screen. Brando shines even more once you realize the history behind his performance. This movie has a weight to it that few others do. It is elegant in its implementation right down to the choice of music. The fucking thing begins with The Doors’ “This is the End.” I think the actors in this movie may be too young to understand exactly how powerful their performances are, or maybe it is Coppola’s deft handling of their talents, or maybe they were and will always be just that gifted. I love the scene with the French family as it is stubborn stagnation sticking to its guns dichotomized with acceptance of the carnal pleasures of sex and violence. I don’t see how any Westerner could get away without experiencing this. Perfectly shows the Western dilemma without being encumbered by Western guilt so typical of modern movies. Still as beautiful now as then. 5 out of 5.

Movie #25: Antitrust

Her Take: I think the ridiculousness of this move can be best summed up by this phrase: “Murdered for code.” Yea. This movie is about Gary Winston, a loose amalgamation of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. Except (?) he’s evil. Ryan Philippe is Milo, a Stanford graduate who takes a job for NURV to help program code for their new project Synapse which will connect all mobile digital devices worldwide. Or something. As he begins working, he becomes suspicious of where Gary gets his inspiration to solve coding problems. Then Milo uncovers a criminal underground at NURV and tries to expose it to the world. I know Britt loves this movie, but it is a little silly. I love the scene where Milo finds out someone in the DOJ is working for NURV. The camera does these hilarious quick cuts between Milo’s wide eyes and a photo on the wall. It’s kinda funny. Anyway, the movie is entertaining at least, so for that I will give it 3 stars.

His Take: OK. So I have to admit it. I am a nerd. A geek. A technoweenie. I’m pretty sure I would get kicked out of the club(yes that is the Lamer’s Guild, for all you non-technology geek movie fans out there) if I didn’t at least have Hackers in the collection. That of course is how it all starts. You find Hackers in the $5 bin, oh glorious glorious $5 bin. You begin wondering what other movies out there can satisfy your technolust. A quick google search and another trip to the $5 dollar bin and you end up with Wargames, Sneakers, and Antitrust in the collection as well. This one definitely has its issues. It is more a thriller attempting to make a political statement about technological economies than an actual movie about computer hackers. Though there is enough in here to make it worthwhile. My personal favorite is the “code poet” tshirt Teddy wears that he obv got from Thinkgeek.com. I’m enjoying the bat-shit crazies Tim Robbins is playing later in his career, and I love going around saying, “The compression is great. Who’s doing this?” So in conclusion, you take the thriller out and what you have left left is…well…not a lot. But it should be enough to geek out over. (I bet the grammar geeks are going to love that last sentence.) 3 out of 5.

Movie #24: Another State of Mind

Her Take: Another State of Mind is a documentary about a tour involving 2 punk bands in the early 80s. And, it looks like it was shot in the 80s. By which I mean, the film is fuzzy and shaky. At times, you can’t hear the interviews over the soundtrack playing through the movie. The two bands (Social Distortion and Band of Youth) aim to tour for five weeks and play 30-35 shows. They all travel together in a modded school bus. They look like you would expect 80s punk kids to dress. The music isn’t really my cup of tea. But what I do appreciate are the interspersed interviews with kids that they came across on tour. They talk about how people react to them, how they got involved in the punk scene, etc. There are even some scenes with people who got out of the punk scene and found Christ. Interesting stuff, but overall I only give it 2.5 stars.

His Take: This is actually pretty straight forward. It’s very nice seeing a young Mike Ness, back when he was still vibrant and full of vitality. I enjoy the clips of random homeless guys who wander into the free shows and dance. Seems back in my punk rock show attending days those type of quirky people were always showing up and starting a scene. Why, I remember one time these skinheads were there causing a ruckus and waiting in the parking lot to beat up the keyboard player of one of the bands. These days I’m too old to put up with BS like that, but I do still enjoy a good punk show. This documentary captures the right on the edge of despair lifestyle I think too many punks come too dangerously close to, and is a nice vivisection of the particular era. Look for the meetup with Minor Threat and the interview with Ian McKaye at the DC leg of the show. I always love old footage of Minor Threat and listening to Ian speak. Seriously good times for people serious about that time. Solid 4 out of 5.

Movie #23: Anchorman

Her Take: I loved this movie from the moment I saw it. I remember Luke Wilson appearing onscreen randomly during the news team rumble and gasping. This movie came out around the same time as Dodgeball (which is also in our collection), and both are hilarious. The movie is a comedy with Will Ferrell starring as Ron Burgundy and his news team in the 70s. They are living it up because their 6:00 PM news is at the top of the ratings. A woman comes along and shakes things up, enduring pretty ridiculous sexual harassment attempts. If you do not laugh out loud while watching this movie, there is probably something wrong with you. The cast has Will Ferrell, Steve Carrell, and Paul Rudd with a special appearance by Jack Black (“That’s how I roll.”). Sixty percent of the time this movie makes me laugh every time, so it gets 5 stars.

His Take: This falls in the category of “Can’t believe I missed how funny and awesome this is the first time around” which includes Zoolander. I laughed so hard during this watching that you’d think it wasn’t me that watched it the first time. I really think it was just a bias against Will Ferrell. I used to hate his movies, but ever since seeing Talladega Nights, Stranger than Fiction, and Winter’s Passing, I’ve really come around. I would really like more Vince Vaughn and Paul Rudd, but other than that this one is solid. In fact who wants to sign the petition to get them in a buddy cop movie together. Now that would be the Jam. Burt Reynolds could make an appearance, with that kid from Webster and they could show Paul and Vince how to really make a buddy cop flick. Man, does anyone remember Turner and Hooch? Wow. I actually saw Dan Finnerty on Jimmy Fallon and it got me wanting to see Old School again. I love The Dan Band’s rendition of “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” I effin need it more than eva. Seriously though, Will Ferrell is a funny dude, and it’s sad that it took me watching his more serious work to realize the brilliance of his comedic mind. Now if you don’t mind I’m going to go bathe in some Sex Panther. Stay classy, interwebs. 4.5 stars out of 5.

Movie #22: American Psycho

Her Take: After seeing this movie several times, I am still not exactly sure what to make of it. This movie is based on a book by Bret Easton Ellis. The main character, Patrick Bateman as played by Christian Bale, is an investment banker in the 80s. He is engaged to Reese Witherspoon, although he is cheating on her and seems to loathe her. He starts murdering people, beginning with Paul Allen and moving onto hookers and random strangers on the street. Or, does he? I’m still not sure. But what I do know is that Christian Bale is hot and naked in this movie. That about makes it worth it to watch. That and the satire of yuppies in the 80s. I give this movie 3 stars.

His Take: When I was in the Netherlands and it was awesome and we went to a library and as expected they had mostly books in Dutch and I was still learning Dutch, but not that I’ve actually mastered it or anything, and am totally thinking about learning Spanish now instead, there were a few books in English. So few in fact that I ended up reading Bret Easton Ellis’s Rules of Attraction. Being a fan of Hubert Selby, Martin Amis, and Chuck Palahnuik I fell in love immediately. So it’s no surprise that I’m into American Psycho in a big way. Christian Bale is always amazing in everything he is in. (Why do we not have El Maquinista in our collection?) The movie is pretty standard fair. You’ve got anti-Reagan, anti-80′s yuppie coked out scum. It’s very interesting thinking of this piece as a period piece, but ultimately I think that is exactly what it is. More appropriately, an indictment of that particular period. it might be sick, but my favorite parts, as any of my friends can attest to as we generally quote them, changing them to fit our own contexts of course, include “Don’t just stare at it, eat it!” and the moment he drops the chainsaw and it hits the blond call girl. I love how comical the film is, which further adds to how ridiculous the 80′s were. Seeing Christian Bale doing a bunch of crunches is pretty rad too. Man that dood is buff. Not as badass!(TM) as when he drops down from standing into a pushup in Batman Begins though. The other part of this movie is discussing with your friends if you think the guy is really pulling off these murders or if he’s just insane. This particular viewing I have to go with, he’s just insane and no one is actually dead. But this is one of those movies that I keep flip-flopping around on like Total Recall in what is actually going on. Some people have told me to look for the bloodstain on the collar, but I actually couldn’t see it this time. A fantastic view of how disturbed and out of whack modern capitalist America has become. Love its darkness and comedy. 4.5 out of 5

Movie #21: 28 Days Later

Her Take: Let me just preface my review with the fact that I do not like scary movies. I will have nightmares. Yes, even at 28 years old. I also do not really like zombie movies. Although, honestly this didn’t feel like a true zombie movie. The premise is that some hippy animal lovers let some research chimps loose in a lab in England, setting lose the “rage” virus. Humans are infected through blood (usually a bite) and turn into crazed, blood-lusting attackers in 10-20 seconds. Cut to 28 days later, and Cillian Murphy (oh beautiful Cillian Murphy) wakes up in a hospital with no idea what has happened. Honestly, the shots of him being alone in the middle of a city are pretty terrifying. How scary would it be to think that everyone was dead or gone and you were left alone with no explanation. Cillian teams up with two people and finds out what happens. I don’t really want to give a lot of the plot away, but there is a lot going on in this movie beyond your typical zombie movie. Are humans actually infected? Or, are they just acting like humans do all the time? The climax of the movie is pretty awesome to illustrate this idea. Despite being terrified for good chunks of this movie, I would give it a 4 out of 5. My main complaint is that the way the movie was shot leads to a kinda grainy picture with blurry coloring sometimes, and I found that annoying. Other than that, it was a good watch.

His Take: When I first saw the previews for this movie, it seemed more like a post apocalyptic sci-fi romp to me. It was only about halfway through, when they are in the tunnel changing the flat tire, and the shadows of the infected are on the wall at the other end, that I realized this movie is in fact a zombie movie. I have a love hate relationship with zombie movies. When I was little, I saw a zombie movie late at night and at the beginning they plastered “based on a true story” and that blew my mind. I’ve always really liked horror movies, even though sometimes they really creep me out. 28 Days Later is one of the few times I’ve been really creeped out by a horror movie as an adult. I think the main difference there is the whole ultra fast z-boes. I can deal with some Romero era z-boes, just run past em. But Danny Boyle’s zombies are no trivial affair. I think this is what it takes these day and ages. I mean when I watched The Exorcist and Rosemary’s Baby a few years back, it was hard for me to believe that anyone was ever frightened by those films. So this is where we’ve arrived. The ante has to keep rising in order to get our blood pressure up. Just so long as it doesn’t end up at actual snuff films or anything like that. The beauty, to me, of movies is that it is make believe. Once we actually start watching Running Man for real is when I check out.
At any rate this movie is masterful. there are plenty of skewed angles to build tension and heighten the sense of claustrophobia. The grainy voyeuristic hand-held dv look the movie has makes me feel like I’m right there in the shit with them (something that also worked to great effect in Cloverfield and Blair Witch Project) and made me constantly want to look over my shoulder. The music is spot on and adds to the effect of building tension, especially at the climax fight with the soldiers. Cillian Murphy is pure gold in anything he’s in, and he’s not a bad spot to look at, if you know what I’m saying.You’ve got the nod to I Am Legend and Last Man on Earth at the beginning. Little known nerd fact, when I Am Legend first came out in 1954, even though it called them vampires, the story set up, what with disease causing apocalypse and all, was the actual first zombie survival horror genre entry, so Resident Evil, have you paid your dues? Plus, this movie got me to thinking about keeping a machete beside my bed instead of a katana. What? You can never be too prepared for the Zombie Apocalypse, can you? Just remember, if Zombieland taught us anything, its Rule #1: Cardio!
My favorite horror/zombie movie of all time. 5 out of 5.

Movie #20: American Ninja

Her Take: I have to admit, I did not watch this movie very closely. The plot was ridiculous, the ninjas all appear vaguely Hispanic, the fight scenes are fake as hell. I can’t believe there are several more movies that follow this one. I’d say more about this movie, but I’ll save all the funny lines for Britt. I don’t want to spoil it for him. I’d rate this movie a 1.5 out 5.

His Take: My life long obsession with cheesy martial arts movies began when my father put me down in front of Game of Death when some of his friends came over for card night. I remember jumping off the couch and kicking the air, and doing flips and other nonsense. I wanted to be a ninja. So, if its bad and martial arts, I’ve seen it. Well, except for the import of really badly dubbed hip hop influx of kung fu thats taken place in the past decade. Though I did download this one movie thinking it was another and ended up watching it because it is a vampire-fighting-with-kung-fu-chinese-porno. No, I did not make that up, and yes, I will give you copies if you want. It was so odd I couldn’t take my eyes off. Man my love of bad martial arts movies gets me into some sticky situations from time to time. Anyway, I got excited when I saw this in the $5 dollar bin at Walmart(yes blame that bin for the bulk of my collection) because I had loved it as a kid and watched all 5, or how many ever they actually made. With a set up like that you know that only tragedy will come from it. All was not lost however. Even though this movie is bad, especially now that I actually have some martial arts history and training under my belt and realize half the stuff they do in the movie is bo-bo(Hackers computer screens anyone?), and it has Micheal Dudikoff as the action star of all people, and Steve James as the poor man’s Carl Weathers sidekick, this one has exactly one redeeming quality. When I first popped it in and watched it after finding it in The Bin, I’d forgotten all about it. There is a scene where the Bad Guy is showing off his team of ninja’s which will ensure his victory to a potential buyer of some armaments he is selling. Yeah, this plot is that awesome. So the camera pans this field, with all these obstacles set up, and ninjas fighting each other, and they are all in different colors. Yellow, blue, Red. So my first thought was, “What are with these colors? What are they on teams?” And then the obv follow up to that, which makes me LOL to this day was,”Holy Shit! Its Ninja Field Day!” This crapfest is worth that one moment. Something that did catch my eye this time that I didn’t catch the first rewatching because I was too busy LOLing at Ninja Field Day(seriously, how could that not be an awesome band name? Everyone in the band in a different color ninja outfit doing field day stuff while rocking out) is this little nugget of funny. You may not know much about ninjas, and that’s okay because neither do the people who made this movie; when Dudikoff and the main bad ninja(who is very Hispanic looking, actually, Adr. How odd) finally face off, the Bad Ninja Guy gets frustrated(probably because he was never actually in Japan learning Ninjitsu and neither was Dudikoff, but he’s so much better at Ninjitsu)so he resorts to some nontraditional weapons. So, apparently to be a ninja these days, or rather circa 1985, you have to have some tricks up your sleeve. Like your literal ninja gauntlet. Imagine if you will for a minute, the Late Billy Mays. Yes, that’s fine, you can put him in a ninja suit, but by Jehova his beard better be showing. Heh, Ninja beard. “If you call now you too can have the Ninja Flamethrower(TM). But wait. We’ll throw in the Ninja Gauntlet Hand Cannon(TM) complete with 5 bullets. But that’s not all. Act now and we’ll double your offer and you can be the proud owner of the Ninja Gauntlet Hand Laser(TM).” That’s right, a mother frakking laser. I mean, because nothing says authentic ninja more than Hispanic Bad Ninja Guy whose never been to Japan like the Ninja Hand Laser. I don’t think anyone in the world has an actual weaponized laser, but Ninja Bad Guy does. The best part is he missed with it too. Take that home, it’s for you, enjoy that. 1.5 out of 5.

Movie #19: American Beauty

Her Take: I still remember seeing this movie at the Tate Theater at the old UGA student center when it was released. It still feels as powerful now as it did then. Kevin Spacey plays a middle-aged suburbanite with a picture-perfect family that is anything but happy. Things fall apart, and he begins to say what he thinks and do what he wants, frustrating his crazy-ass wife played excellently by Annette Bening. Wes Bentley (has this dude been in another movie worth seeing?) is really good as well as the drug-dealing neighbor that dates their daughter. It is really hard to describe the movie without giving away the ending. Most of you have probably seen this movie, but just in case I will avoid spoiling it. A lot of people have described this movie as depressing, but I don’t think it is. The ending still gets me every time, and I cried watching it today even though I’ve seen it a dozen times. I give this movie a 4.5 out of 5.

His Take: The years 1997-1999 have to be the greatest years for cinema. Take that 1982! In all seriousness, when I went off to college in 97, it marked the time in my life when I began seriously watching movies. It didn’t hurt that I had some friends who were really into movies and you could catch a matinee for around 3 dollars back then. Some of my fondest memories of thinking about life come from watching some wonderful movies and then chatting for 8 hours afterward. American Beauty is on that list. It sort of came out of no where and sucker punched me right in my post-modern existential head. It most likely had to do with who I was at the time, but that movie really touched a brother with its suggestion of never being afraid of anything in this existence. Wes Bentley’s character is the pinnacle of confident living in American society these days,an exercise in true Zen. (And way better than Soul Survivors or Ghost Rider by a long shot. Seriously, Wes, seriously?) And the message of the film is one that will never be irrelevant. I just wish that I hadn’t watched it 16 times back in 1999 and I might be able to feel it a little more this time around. Still very beautiful scene work, the actors are all powerhouses; it’s the first time that I actually felt inspired by an Annette Bening performance. It was one of the first movies I can remember that began with showing you how it was going to end, and that has gotten really old these days. But at least no one has played out the “bullet-time” camera work the Wachowski brothers came up with for The Matrix, so I guess I still have that to hold onto. This is one of the highlights of modern cinema, and were it science fiction, it would be my favorite. As it stands, though a solid 5 out of 5.

Movie #18: Amélie

Her Take: Now, I know I’ve seen this movie before, but apparently I did not remember any of the plot. Oops. The basic premise of the movie is that Amélie is raised without any playmates by her grieving father. As a result, she has a difficult time relating to people. She discovers someone she feels to be a kindred spirit and spends the rest of the movie playing out complicated methods of finally meeting him. She also does weird things for her neighbors and family to make them happier (as an aside, I want to know if Travelocity stole their gnome idea from this movie or vice versa). The description doesn’t sound that interesting, I guess, but the movie is ridiculously cute and charming. Made me want to go to France. It helps that Audrey Tatou is as cute as a button. Some may not want to “read” a movie, but this is a cute French film that shouldn’t be missed. I give it a 5 out of 5.

His Take: This one is too cute to miss. Audrey Tautou is seriously adorable, and not just because she speaks French. Such a light-hearted good natured movie that you can’t help but feel good about the human condition and your place in it. This, I think, is the task of good fiction. I love how serendipitous the story is. I love how it says, “there are no coincidences” in a much-less-dark-way than Magnolia. I love all the little quirks throughout the movie that help to make the characters come alive. They have human flaws as a result of these peccadilloes that set the background for Amelie’s charity. I love the music, the pace, the scenes. I love that everything works out in the end. And I love that it makes me weep tears of joy like a lil babe. 5 out of 5.