Playlist: Public Enemies

I've always been fascinated by the now near mythic outlaws of the 1920s and 30s. Not that I'm alone in this considering the countless books and movies documenting--and too often glamorizing--their exploits. I still remember watching the 1988 TV movie about Al Capone's enforcer, Frank Nitti. I have no idea if it was any good, but it was the first thing that popped into my mind when Nitti made a cameo in Michael Mann's pretty close to historically accurate tale of the era's most famous most wanted, John Dillinger.

Dillinger was nothing short of a celebrity, with his media flair and Robin Hood-esque gimmick ("-esque" not because he actually gave the money he stole to the Depressed poor, but because he opted not to waste time taking the change from farmers' pockets while robbing the tens of thousands from bank vaults). As played by Johnny Depp, you can understand the public falling under the spell of this larger than life character. Unfortunately, as a viewer, I can't say the same. I never felt charmed by this well-made and stylish, but clinical and cold film.

That sentiment wasn't helped by Christian Bale's FBI Agent Melvin Purvis, hot on Dillinger's tail, but without any connection to the audience other than his job. Bale, strong in so much recently, feels wasted here. Depp is given more room to work, but it feels as if he is being restrained as well. The only person to rise above the conservative script is the always enchanting Marion Cotillard as Dillinger's girlfriend. (She's going to be in Woody Allen's next movie, Midnight in Paris, with Rachel McAdams and, in all seriousness, I'm not sure I'll be able to handle it.)

As for Mann, I certainly didn't dislike this film, but I'm less certain if I can give it a positive distillery score. And, as he most definitely will be distilled in the future, I have to look back to see if this sort of emotional detachment is common to all his films. Is it usually effective and appropriate to the material? We'll find out, though Vin may let us know the answer before then.

(One more: there is a seemingly un-Mannish scene at the end when an FBI agent tells Cotillard's character that Dillinger's last words were "Bye, bye, blackbird," which just so happened to be the title of "their" song. It just reeked of cheese.)

Lifetime Films: 2001

No, not that film..it's 2001 like for real and it was 9 years ago now. Looking at this year's films I see some that I caught in the theater and more and more films I find on DVD after the fact or on cable. Let's get down to my 3 top choices and then the winner shall we

Fellowship of the Ring

The Royal Tannenbaums

Mulholland Drive

Fellowship of the Ring: I knew nothing of the books, I barely knew what the story was about...and went to see these films with my buddy Jeff, who knew the stories and helped me along with what would happen. I loved these...I can only say that knowing we would get 1 film a year and the story continued was a great experience that has not yet been duplicated...I can also say that of the 3 films they did get better, as did the CGI and the story got tenser and the battles better...so for me this film is my least favorite of the 3 films...but still one of my favorites of the year...also I cant watch the theatrical version...for me its the extended cut or nothing.

The Royal Tannenbaums: This film just feels a lot older then 2001...with the success of Bottle Rocket and Rushmore I looked forward to this film...especially with a bigger cast and all the great set design and quirky lines and great characters...this is a quintessential Wes Anderson Film...

WINNER:

Mulholland Drive

OK...so it's Lynch again...This film is like his others...as we get into the plot...the plot becomes irrelevant and the dream takes over...we see this done for the masses in Inception...but here it balances the line between reality and dream so well...I think Lynch went into total dream with Inland Empire...but here the story of a hopefully naive starlet struck with obsession by another woman becomes a nightmare. This film introduced us to Naomi Watts who is brilliant and the sex scene is intense...the color is great...the score is awesome by Angelo Baldamenti...easily my favorite...and to think this was supposed to be a made for TV series...what a joke...this was the best film of 2001.

Others:

A Beautiful Mind: I liked it...glad that Jen Connelly won...but I cant help but thinking that Ron Howard just makes the same film over and over again...by toying with our emotions so blatantly...see Cinderella Man and Far and Away

AI- Stanley Kubrick's story done by Spielberg...I liked it and maybe most of my like is that we will never see a new Kubrick film again

Donnie Darko: Richard Kelly has good ideas...too bad they are convoluted and hard to figure out...the look of this film and soundtrack is great...but so did he time travel?..or it was a worm hole?

Black Hawk Down: Love a good gritty war film

Monsters Ball: Found this one years later...Heath Ledger is great and so is that Sling Blade feller...Billy Bob Thornton is very good as well as Halle Berry...great story set during a weird time in America

So as 2010 is closing I reflect on 2002...an easy one for me to love...but you know what they say, so happy together (hint for 2002 best film)

Playlist: The Black Swan

This is a psychological thriller. A moment in the life of a deranged , obsessed dancer and her spiral out of mental control while her physical control is at its peak. Ballet is the scene, the dancing is great, the music is great, the acting by Natale Portman may be the best of the year. The Film is by Director Darren Aronofsky, Aronofsky for me is like following a great baseball player that you saw his first at bat and then that player got better and better and eventually becomes great... I have followed Aronofsky since seeing PI at the Tampa Theater when it came out...I was blown away ever since. Sure The Fountain is confusing and may be incomplete in some ways...and it did take him 6 years between films, coming off of the Wrestler I was expecting something big...something great...and what I got was a ballet film...I like ballet, I like the acting but I wanted something big...maybe thats what we will get in the new Wolverine Film...but I am still waiting for my favorite director to take a chance on a big epic...the last 2 films have been small but kept tight in the Aronofsky cannon, these are films he cares about and so I respect that...I loved the wrestler and I loved Black Swan...I just hope Aronofsky gets to make the type of films he wants to..and that means more money...both the Wrestler and Black Swan were done on the cheap ...and maybe they deserve to be..the score by Mansell is great but of course borrows much from the Tchaikovsky score.

While writing this it seems like I am ragging on the film...I loved it...and in my mind am ranking it in the Aronofsky list of films...while this film I may give an A-, or 8/10 stars...or whatever ranking...in list of Aronofsky films it comes in low

1.Requiem

2. The Fountain

3. The Wrestler

4. Black Swan

5. Pi

So not bad I guess...I did not expect it to be high on this list but it will make my top 3 films of the year...

Highs?

1, Vincent Cassel...is a great actor...he is a powerhouse...and I wish I could be that cool

2. Mila Kunis...is hot...but actually I thought she was hotter in Extract

3. Natalie Portman...best acting of the year..her little girl voice was great...the time she put in to learn all the dancing was worth it...I cant wait to see her grow as an actress

The color pallet of the film is striking...the black and white throughout is omnipresent and haunting

The special effects are just that...effective and never too over the top.

So thats it...a great job overall...

Playlist: My Son My Son What Have Ye Done

I have a lot of time off this week...I should be "getting work done"...or "spending time with the family"...or "reading a book"..or "controlling my diet"...but it always comes down to me wanting to revisit some old films or watch extras on dvd's that I never have gotten to...here is a list that always pops up around this time of year:

Schenecdoche NY
Twin Peaks (the whole series to rewatch)
Homicide (I am up to season 3 of 7...the first 2 were amazing...but now?)
The Lord of the Rings ( all three in a row in one day...extended cut only)
The Brown Bunny
Letters from Iwo Jima (until I heard Paul Haggis wrote it)
Thunderbolt and Light Foot
The Sicilian
The Sunchaser (last 3 to complete my Micheal Cimino collection)
Various Commentary tracks:
Youth without Youth with Coppola
The Fog with John Carpenter

But why?...why go through this...why not just watch some new films for a change rather then the old ones or the ones I feel I must watch to be a completest. So why not watch this film:

"My Son My Son What Have Ye Done"
reasons that struck my interest:
1. Directed by Werner Herzog
2. Produced by David Lynch
3. Actor Micheal Shannon
also...Chloe Sevigny, Willelm DeFoe, Micheal Pena, Udo Kier, Grace Zabriske..and based on a true story...according to Herzog 70 % of the story is made up.

Micheal Shannon is incredible as this mad man...obsessed with a sword, prescription glasses, Muslims, ostriches, and God...all the actors are pretty good...Micheal Pena is intentionally unintentionally funny, Willem DeFoe is solid, Chloe is good, and Udo Keir and Brad Dourif as Uncle Ben is a mad man...but the best of the best is my favorite actor of late and that's Shannon...this man seems to play crazy very well..I would like to see him in something other then crazy..so far I have seen him in Boardwalk Empire, parts of Bug, Revolution Road...which I only fast forwarded till I got to his part...

So I take Frank's inspiration and just watch new movies now...say goodbye to those old fossil DVD's

Playlist: Scrooged

Didn't watch many Christmas movies this year, just wasn't in the mood. But I hadn't seen this is a long time and was wondering if it was as good as I remembered.

It is, the parts I remembered anyway. The parts everyone remembers: David Johansen and Carol Kane as the Ghosts of Christmas Past and Present, respectively. I completely forgot the Ghost of Christmas Future segment which looks like deleted scenes from Terry Gilliam's Brazil. And, consequently, I forgot how it doesn't exactly work.

Let me first say that the movie as a whole and Bill Murray in particular are a lot of fun. However, his ultimate redemption comes up short because he's so good as the humbugging prick. After seeing years' worth of pain and misery, his own and what he's caused in others, the scene that makes him a changed man is seeing his own cremation. For some reason, he is shocked to discover that he one day dies. Perhaps it is this glimpse at his own mortality that finally awakens his dormant humanity and forces him to reassess his priorities. I mean, that's it, right? But they don't really sell it that way. It's too rushed.

The other thing I noticed is how fast Bobcat Goldtwait's character--fired by Murray the day before Christmas Eve--spirals into complete desperate lunacy. One day later, his wife and daughter left him and he has become a homicidal drunk. Then again, he is Bobcat Goldtwait.

I'm glad I watched it and I'm glad I got to share it with you. Thanks for reading and Merry Christmas. If you don't celebrate Christmas, it's still Christmas, so Merry Christmas.

A christmas Tradition

Tonight I will watch "A Christmas Story" with the family...once in bed and Santa has brought the presents I will then pop in another Christmas Eve Tradition (Usually while I wrap presents)...and that film is "The Brown Bunny"...director Commentary on from Vincent Gallo...

Enjoy

Playlist: A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

Here's why I can't stand Michael Bay (I'm trying to not say "hate" so much): it's not for the terrible movies he has made, but for the terrible movies he continues to make. At this point he's filthy rich and has enough sway in the industry to make any project he wants, yet time and again he just goes for the money grab. Not that we were exactly lacking in proof, but the man has zero artistic ambition. Why does that matter? Because, goddamit, he's in an artistic profession. (Bay only produces this dreck, leaving the director's noose for music video maestro Samuel Bayer. Bayer gets a pass because he directed "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "No Rain", but then again that was almost 20 years ago. Really, look it up.)

The only reason I watched this was to see Jackie Earle Haley's take on Freddy Krueger. It's a no-win, though, as is reinterpreting any iconic character. Even so, they not only didn't win, but went out of their way to lose. Freddy worked brilliantly, not only at his best, but in spite of several terrible sequels, because he transcended the generic slasher templates he was stuck in. We watched the Nightmare movies because we liked this homicidal madman. So, of course, Team Bay decides to remove any personality from the character in order to give us, what, a more realistic take on a bogeyman that somehow manages to kill teenagers in the dreams?

Seriously, though, that's what they were trying to do by giving us a sympathetic back story for our ol' pal Fred. Get this: Krueger was a gardener who lived in the basement of a daycare. Please forget that this was the 1990s when there were actual laws in place to prevent such a dangerously creepy situation from ever happening. Then, to everyone's surprise because everyone was an idiot, the little kids started reporting that the gardener was doing a little no-no touching. The suddenly concerned parents then took the natural next step of hunting Freddy down and burning him alive. They covered the whole messy affair up, somehow brainwashing their kids along the way, until for some never explained reason because nonsense cannot be explained, Freddy began murdering the now teenage kids in their sleep. But wait, two of the teens somehow deduced that Freddy was actually innocent! (Full disclosure: I fast forwarded a lot of this, but from what I could tell this assertion was based solely on a wild guess.) How does this game-changing revelation affect the the events of the movie? Wait for it...it doesn't. In any way.

Haley seemed like an excellent choice for the role considering how much he looks like someone you wouldn't want standing next to you on a subway, let alone anywhere near children or small animals. But he's wasted here, reduced to an extra wearing a rather bland mask and growling a lot. That they even ruined Freddy's classic look is just further pointless stupidity.

What makes it even more frustrating is that 2003's Freddy vs. Jason was actually pretty good and opened the door to some interesting directions for the franchise. There was even talk of bringing Bruce Campbell's Ash from the Evil Dead films into the mix. (To see what could have been, check out the comic based on a proposed script.)

Playlist: Documentaries

Saw these two this week on Netflix Watch Instantly and I can recommend both.

Capturing the Freidmans:

Pedophiles, Jews, party clowns and Long Island...sounds like a great weekend at the Birnbaums...but no wait..it's the Friedmans (sorry Paul I couldn't help myself). This is a crazy story some of which I believe and some of which makes me question my own reality and existence...this plays like the This is Spinal Tap Bar Mitzvah edition.

Exit Through the Gift Shop:

Street Art meets "The Greatest Showman on Earth"...this is a wild tale that is similar to the above documentary...people do crazy things in front of a video camera...in fact don't they always act differently...I think I saw this done best this year with I'm Still Here...the Joaquin Phoenix film. In that film maybe Phoenix and Affleck are commenting on this very thing...our "America's Funniest Videos" mentality...life and Humans are changing folks...we do things unnatural now and are evolving...the video camera is our Big Black Obelisk (2001 reference)

Playlist: I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale

Before I begin, yes, that is one too many colons in the post title, and, yes, I'm pretty sure that's the punch line to an awesome proctologist joke that, if you happen to know, I'd love to hear.

Right, so this is a 40-minute doc about the late, great John Cazale who you may know from one of the 5 films he made during his career. Those films? The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, The Conversation, Dog Day Afternoon, and The Deer Hunter. Yes, for you math wizes out there, that is a 100% Distillation. And a strong 100 at that.

This is an A-list affair, from good friend Al Pacino (who said he learned more from Cazale than any other actor) and Robert DeNiro (who rumor has it put up the insurance money so the terminally ill Cazale could be in Deer Hunter) to fans such as Philip Seymour Hoffman and Steve Buscemi. Not to mention Meryl Streep, Cazale's girlfriend at the time. It was strange, as it always is hearing celebrities place themselves in the real world, hearing Pacino tell about seeing Streep in the hospital when Cazale was dying from lung cancer at the way too young age of 42. (It's also pretty clear how much Streep still cares about him three decades later.)

And to think I almost turned it off when the first thing that came on screen was, "Brett Ratner Presents."

Playlist: Battle of the Scott Pilgram reviews

Ok I liked this film "just OK"...my one sentence review..."Scott Pilgram made me realize how much I loved 500 Days of Summer"...The film is made like a new found style of video game, facebooking, hipster generation kids...its for them...I am old now and just dont fit in...right?...then how come no one...like no one...no cool teenage hipster revolution happened...no one saw this film in the theater?...why?..because I am sure there was no buzz...and those that saw it said things like.."Sure it was ok...but it was no 500 Days of Summer"...The film is fast paced with nothing really happening...I think Ramona is hot...Knives is a better actress...even Mackally Calkins brother is a better actor as a gay roomate then Micheal Cera...Cera's schtick is wearing off...Actors like JGL (Joseph Gordon Leveitt)...are just blowing past him...Jason Schwartsman was great in it...but even he is just too old for a part like this...Brandon Routh was great...and a surprise visit from Tomas Jane and Clifton Collins Jr were great...but I could care less for Ramona and Scott...she is not right for him and 500 Hundred Days of Summer was already all about this and done better and with less gimmick...after a while the video game /comic book wolrd was like a bad Ang Lee Hulk Fim...another comparison is with Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind...and for the ending and not just the Hair color of the main girl character...and another thing why not have a film like this with a female lead?...I mean all these teen/young adult films have men as the hero and they chase the girl...its like the girl is just there as the prize/....whatever...I liked this film but I truly belive that I will never see it again and in fact I will re watch 500 days of summer over and over.

Playlist: Winter's Bone

This is the type of film that absorbs you into its world, not through bang wow CGI, but through an undeniable authenticity.

Not that I have any first-hand knowledge of the rural poverty depicted here. How many indie moviegoers do? How many of the judges who awarded it the Grand Jury Prize at this year's Sundance jetted home to a meth-ravaged Ozarks town? That's not how art works. I wasn't at Guernica, Dresden, or, despite rumor, Folsom. And I thankfully don't need to travel back in time to appreciate the art inspired by those events and places.

Good art should seep into a person and settle into all those little emotional cracks we have in our psyche. Winter's Bone is good art. It doesn't hit you over the head with liberal guilt or stroke you with hollow conservative apathy. When I said it was authentic I meant that it's just the story it is with no cheap theatrics or embarrassing grasps at, gag, a message. It's not the best film I've seen this year, though it is one of the most memorable. It's too small to worry about the baggage of greatness. It was made to tell a specific story and it achieved that. (That story, btw, is about a teenage girl struggling to raise her two younger siblings who has to find her bail-jumping father in order not to lose the house and land he put up as collateral. No, it's not a comedy.)

Star Jennifer Lawrence, however, is about to get big. She has earned a Golden Globe nomination and will hopefully follow that with an Oscar nod. I don't think she can get enough praise for her performance. I was surprised to read that she's going to be Mystique in the new X-Men movie, but then I saw her here and understood. While Lawrence carries the film, I need to mention another terrific turn by an unusually menacing John Hawkes (Deadwood, Eastbound & Down) as her uncle.

Bonus: there's an unintentional easter egg for Twin Peaks fans: an almost unrecognizable Sheryl Lee. You're all getting older, aren't you?

Paying For It

So I have had my first Redbox experience and:

1. I will refrain from a vulgar analogy to virginity
2. I liked it

Seriously, these things have been around for years but for some reason I have always blown them off as a viable movie procurement option. A solid selection of new releases for $1. I don't know why I didn't put that together before yesterday.

So nothing was now standing in my way of finally seeing Scott Pilgrim. Nothing but the fact that my redbox did not have it in stock. Really? That left me with the always painstaking chore of having to make a decision. It's not pretty. But I was helped along this time by the motivation of not wanting to get mugged, so I settled on a bit of a wildcard, this year's Sundance darling, Winter's Bone.

To be continued...

Netflix Watch: The Keep

For those of you "completest/elitist" film fans like me. This Micheal Mann hidden film as found its way somehow on Netflix streaming Watch Instantly this past week. This 1983 film features a chilling soundtrack by Tangerine Dream...picture Valkyrie meets The Two Towers meets Ghost Busters meets Legend...at least the first 30 minutes of The Keep made me think of those films. This film was released very shortly in 1983 and since has been out of print except for an old VCR and laser disc copy...so if you needed to see that last Micheal Mann film to play the "Distillery" game at home, check this one out...and by the way we here get a piece of that game money.

Where's Casey?

The Assassination of Yogi Bear by That Coward Boo-Boo. Affleck-free, but for Vinny G anyway.

Autumn TV Report

As we approach halftime of the now not so new season, let's take a look to see where we stand. Remember that these are the shows I have been watching. I have no idea what Julianna Margulies is up to on The Good Wife nor do I care that you have subjected yourself to watching Bristol Palin dance.

Monday

House: They've handled the House-Cuddy relationship well in that it has been business as usual at Princeton-Plainsboro. The major change has been that All-Star Olivia Wilde has been off filming a movie and they've called up Amber Tamblyn to fill her spot. No offense to Tamblyn, but this isn't exactly a fair swap. That said, her wholesome med school genius is a good foil for House and a better character for the show. What to do when Wilde returns?

Tuesday

No Ordinary Family: Disappointingly, there's been a steady decline from a very entertaining pilot. The problem isn't with the very likable stars (Michael Chiklis, Julie Benz, and Autumn Reeser, who I'd really like to see in her own sitcom next year). The problem is that in the wake of recent darker adult sci-fi shows like Lost and Heroes (which I didn't watch), there is too much of an ABC Family hokiness vibe here. I was all set to end its relationship with my DVR when they pull out an ace: Amy Acker. That's right, one of my favorite actresses (Angel, Dollhouse) in the mix. So what do they do with her? Have her shot in her first episode. Don't worry, she's alive, but I can't say the same for the show. I think there's potential here, but I only have time for kinetic.

Raising Hope: Staying strong after a good debut. Garret Dillahunt, who has made a living playing creepy sociopaths, has been a revelation as a comic actor. Really, he makes me laugh out loud. Martha Plimpton has been great and I have been won over by Shannon Woodward. Just very good casting. (The senile grandma played by Cloris Leachman feels, not offensive, but cheap and unnecessary. I don't see her going away, though...unlike the live-in cousin who was in the pilot. I remember things, TV.) I'm still worried about its shelf-life, but for now the biggest surprise of the season.

Running Wilde: The show isn't that great and Keri Russell's character is a little on the grating side, but Will Arnett plays obliviously arrogant better than anyone and it's very hard not to appreciate that. He's helped by Mel Rodriguez as his butler and Peter Serafinowicz as his equally clueless rich man-child neighbor (the latter played Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's housemate in Shaun of the Dead). Nothing ground-breaking here, but entertaining enough.

Sons of Anarchy: After Mad Men, the show I most look forward to each week. I was nervous about this season being undermined by the kidnapped baby storyline, but it ended up serving as a catalyst to not only up the ante for everyone on the show but permanently change the landscape. 

Wednesday

South Park: I've been proselytizing for the appreciation of this show for years. Unfortunately, I think the initial hype surrounding it led a lot of people to write it off as a fad. However, I don't know another scripted show that covers current events better, especially with the ability to put popular hysteria into perspective. Sometimes they miss, as with this season's take on NASCAR (people who watch it are poor and stupid--get it?) But their misses are still more relevant than most shows (I even got Vinny Guns to watch--and like--the episode about Inception).

Thursday

Community: This is a very ambitious show and deserves credit for that. However, that also leads to each episode being more about style over substance. It feels like the writers are just trying to one-up each other in who can be the most hip and meta. Though the cast is good, there's just no investment in the characters.

30 Rock: The best sitcom on TV right now.

The Office: Slow, awkward start to the season, but they've rallied in recent episodes by falling back on their strength: Steve Carrell's Michael Scott. He's their Homer and I really don't see how they're going to keep this thing afloat when he leaves. Take Jim and Pam instead.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Suffered the same malaise as The Office, which is typical of successful shows that are on the other side of their fifth season. I think that struggling hunger is understandably gone and it takes a few episodes to get back to full steam. And like The Office and Michael, here more Charlie means more funny. Seriously, no more Mac episodes.

The League: This doesn't have the substance of some of the great comedies, but its in-the-moment laugh factor is pretty high. Second best comedy of the season so far.

Friday

The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret: This six episode series on IFC starred David Cross as a salesman who fakes his way into getting transferred to England to head the campaign to sell Thunder Muscle energy drink. Cross also plays a recurring character on Running Wilde...and Arnett shows up here as  Todd's chain-cursing boss. It was funny and worth catching on DVD, though I think they got all they could out of the plot and I can't say I'm excited about a rumored second season.

Saturday

Saturday Night Live: No, don't worry, I haven't started watching this. I just thought I should mention that, yes, this is still on and I can't even remember when I did last watch (not consistently, but at all) this one time can't miss show. I can't see it turning around as long as Lorne Michaels is still calling the shots. They desperately need a new voice behind the scenes and a fresher perspective on current sketch comedy talent.

Sunday

The Simpsons: The recycling of material is getting more and more noticeable, but what do you expect at this point. If you've watched it this far you're in it for the long haul. However long that haul may be.

Luther: I had moderately high hopes for this BBC detective show starring The Wire's Idris Elba. I watched one episode and was done. It may have gotten better, but I didn't like Elba's character (you know, the guy from the title). And there was a lot of choppy (sorry, cutting-edge) editing that was, well, annoying. Probably for the best. Who needs more TV to watch?

Mad Men: I thought this may have been the best season yet. A brilliant character arc for Don Draper within the overall arc that is the show as a whole. And excellent casting, as usual, for his love interests: Cara Buono (she was Artie's girlfriend in Beer League? Really?) and Jessica Pare. I admit, I was Team Faye, but Megan ain't a bad Option B. 

The Walking Dead: An excellent adaptation of Robert Kirkman's comic series that even zombiephobe Vinny Guns is digging. Ok, so here's a gripe: having read the comics, I'm distracted by the changes they made for TV. Not that they made changes, but that they only changed some things, often for reasons I'm not sure were necessary. And then those changes force other changes and it becomes a whole thing. But that's me. It's been re-upped for a second season of 12 eps. I'm worried about the direction it's going, but I'll watch. For you.

And really, this has all been for you. I wouldn't have wasted my autumn like this if it weren't for SMC. But things are better now. By my count, now that Sons, Walking Dead, and Mad Men are done, I'm down to about 4 hours a week. That's not bad. Maybe I'll cure a disease or learn to spelunk. Or  better, watch some movies.

Lifetime Movies : 2001

This is my favorite film for 2001. David Lynch's Mulholland Dr. What started as a possible new TV show for Lynch, turns into a dream within a dream...an erotic, obsessive, scary film about friendship, stardom, doppelgangers, lesbian love, sex, betrayal...all the things that make a great Lynch film...but also starring two of the hottest ladies on film for 2001.

The Film was the first film (Non Porn)...that I actually thought I needed to relieve myself right in the theater..if you know what I mean...I mean I really liked The Fellowship of the Ring...but the closest I got aroused in that was when Viggo chased off those Ringwraiths. Lynch then went on to make Inland Empire 6 years later...we are awaiting something...anything from the man for the last 4 or so years...

Others:

The Royal Tannenbaums: one of my favorite Wes Anderson Films...the crazy paintings of those bear/people on ATVs made me laugh like a hyena in the theater

Memento: this gave me another director to follow forever...too bad Inception could not live up to the hype...that one will not make best of 2010

Star Watch: Michael Shannon

Boardwalk Empire has become slow, predictive and dull. The first two episodes were awesome...but then they lag on that dreadful Irish "Widow"...and even Buscemi became dull and predictable...but the last two episodes have erased all that...and the true star, Michael Shannon...the next "Daniel Day Lewis" (well maybe not that far...but maybe the next great actor...I knew him from the 2 minutes I watched Bug...then fast forwarded through Revolution Road to see just his scenes...but this guy is on fire in Boardwalk Empire...I don't want to give too much away but it's a must see if you have any interest in the show. The rest is standard mini-series stuff...Like The Walking Dead is now just ok (I heard Darabont fired all the writers on the show.....Boardwalk is one where I really felt like it was too long...and when my DVR was filled with more I felt an empty feeling like, "Do I really have to watch the rest of this?"

Check out Shannon he is great

Apocalypse Wow

Listen: Robert Duvall has decided to drop some posthumous napalm on Stanley Kubrick. I'm not sure if it was in the morning or how it smelled, but I bet it stings a little. Or would, if the dead could feel.

Kubrick was never known as an actor coddler, but are the performances in his films bad? Considering the results, does it even matter? This, of course, is directed to Vinny Guns, the resident expert on Stan the Man. Where will his allegiances fall?

Urkel!

First Annual SMC Pledge Drive

By donating now, you can help your favorite film distillers relocate from their GPS-resistant subterranean bunker to...wait for it...the freakin Godfather house.

That's right, the very Staten Island home you remember from the movie (the greatest of all time? To Be Distilled) is on the block for the bargain price of $2.9 million. That's only $2.9 million each from our fans! And in this market? How can we refuse?

Send Vinny Guns back to Shaolin. Boom!

Distill This!

Calm down, Nic. You're not due for a distillation yet. And a little tip: The Distillery feeds off screams. Screams and Sun Chips.

Playlist: Blood Into Wine

This documentary is about growing wine in Arizona, which if you know anything about wine or geology is unusual. If you are interested in the subject, that's a compelling enough story, but there's a hook. That would be that the leading winery owner is Maynard James Keenan, who you may know better as the leader of the groups Tool and A Perfect Circle (as well as side project Puscifer, featuring Milla Jovovich, who stops by during the film for a glass of wine). This isn't just another celebrity hobby, as Keenan is hands-on and fully committed to the success or failure of his business. While he is almost painfully low key at times in the film, there's no questioning his passion.

As a little added treat, there are clips of Keenan on a fictional talk show hosted by Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim from Adult Swim's "Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!" If you like their show, you'll get a kick out of this.

Back to the wine, check out Keenan's Caduceus Cellars. Maybe he can score Coppola's next film starring Vincent Gallo as a winery owner with a long hidden secret about a woman played by Jennifer Connelly. (That's not a real thing, Vinny Guns. Sorry. Now go change your pants.)

Spotlight: Charlie Hunnam

Who am I to question the machinations of the gods? Their existence, sure; their machinations, never. So I can only sit back and enjoy this perfect storm of hunky British actor Hunnam, perhaps sparing a moment or two to consider the lazy overuse of the phrase "perfect storm" in the media. Here's how it breaks down:

Hunnam stars in one of my favorite current shows, Sons of Anarchy, which will be wrapping up its third season tonight--Boom! Instantly dating this post! In the time-honored tradition of half of Hollywood, he is in full American accent mode as a brooding biker Jax Teller. I suppose it helps that no one knows what an "American" sounds like, but really it's a non-issue here. In fact, when I first realized back in Season 1 where I had seen Hunnam before, I was shocked that it was as English pretty boy Lloyd Haythe in Judd Apatow's dead-on early millennium college sitcom, Undeclared.

I was a big fan of the show when it aired and for that reason alone wasn't surprised when it followed Apatow's previous show, Freaks and Geeks, to cancellation heaven. And I haven't seen it since. Then IFC goes and not only airs the full run of F and G, but--you know where I'm going with this, don't you--Undeclared. Score! Really, I was excited. Still am as it's currently airing Friday nights at 11 & 11:30. And it still holds up. Maybe it's nostalgia talking or maybe the college experience is a universal constant.

The third Hunnam front hit when I recently watched his 2004 film, Green Street Hooligans. Here we have cute little Elijah Wood going to England and joining his brother-in-law's West Ham football firm. For you Budweiser-swilling Americans, West Ham is a "soccer" team and its firm is basically a gang of violent supporters. You know, hooligans (the original Brit version is just called Green Street). Playing against type (he was best known at the time for his roles in Nicholas Nickleby and Queer as Folk), Hunnam shows the tough guy cred that would lead to his casting in Sons. The movie is good, good and violent at times (director Lexi Alexander--a woman!--would go on to make  2008's Punisher: War Zone), though the end resorts to cheap, and wholly unnecessary, emotional cliches. Ok, one other nit to pick: there's a scene early on where Wood is arguing the merits of baseball using the fact that "the Red Sox have a pitcher who can throw 90 MPH." In the filmmakers' defense, they were foreigners. In Elijah Wood's defense, he's Elijah Wood.

But where does it rank on the list of soccer movies? Tough call. While it is ostensibly about soccer, there is very little actual sport in the film. I'll have to get back to you on this one.

As for Hunnam, he's done some good work and is doing some very good work on Sons. It's all going to come down to how producers see him and what direction he wants to take his career. He has the looks and has shown the range to make him someone to watch.

Distillery: Francis Ford Coppola

Film	Year	Vin	Frank
Dementia 13	1963	x	-
You're a Big Boy Now	1966	-	x
Finian's Rainbow	1968	-	x
The Rain People	1969	+	+
The Godfather	1972	+	+
The Conversation	1974	+	+
The Godfather Part II	1974	+	+
Apocalypse Now	1979	+	+
One from the Heart	1982	+	x
The Outsiders	1983	+	+
Rumble Fish	1983	+	x
The Cotton Club	1984	+	x
Peggy Sue Got Married	1986	+	+
Gardens of Stone	1987	-	x
Tucker: The Man and His Dream	1988	+	x
The Godfather Part III	1990	+	+
Dracula	1992	+	-
Jack	1996	x	-
The Rainmaker	1997	+	x
Youth Without Youth	2007	x	+
Tetro	2009	+	+
FINAL DISTILLATION		71%	47%

Key: + = Film Liked; - = Film Not Liked; x = Film Not Seen

Playlist: The Rain People

Francis Ford Coppola's little known fourth film turns out to be quite a cinematic accomplishment. "Turns out" to me, of course; it's been that way for 41 years. It's another + in his Distillation (yes, I had to fire up Big D during the holiday weekend and, yes, I have the psychological scars to prove it) and raises FFC's score to a robust 60. Still, second place, but Finch is on notice.

The acting of the three leads--Shirley Knight, whose cross country flight from her marriage drives the story in more ways than one, Robert Duvall, of course, and Jimmy Caan, who looks more than a little like Edward Burns--is the centerpiece of a creatively and excitingly shot film. Seeing Caan here makes me wish someone would find a role for him other than the same old Sonny Corleone tough guy. He's earned a late career reanimation.

My only complaint is that the music used to emphasize some of the key emotional scenes only adds a distracting layer of melodrama. Just not a good fit. Still, one of Coppola's best.

Family Fun

Happy Thanksgiving to all our loyal SMoCs from the entire SMC family (except The Distillery who is a dick). Here's a little post-trough treat you can watch with the little ones. I wonder if Vinny Guns likes this better than the original.

Playlist: M Butterfly

I am trying to catch up on all my films...I have tried to start Seventh Seal 3 times...I have fallen asleep to the commentary of Thin Red Line twice...and have made it through a few others...but this one I want to write about real quick. I own all but 1 David Cronenberg film (that is Shivers and is hard to come by)...and I just got M Butterfly a few months ago...but really had no desire to watch it...man was I wrong...it's not great, it's good though...the great part is the direction and acting...the story is nothing new...but that's because how old it is and it doesn't have the effect since we are so jaded when it comes to shock value anymore...before M Butterfly came out we already were exposed to things like The Crying Game (which had a surprise ending similar to this) and Farewell, My Concubine which was similar also ...I guess we had a string of films and the planets aligned for "She's a he" type films...it's interesting ...Cronenberg even states in an interview that this film is laid out where everyone knows that the love interest in M Butterfly is a guy...it was common knowledge...but Jeremy Irons doesn't want to know...by the end Irons is a broken man...the visuals are awesome...Cronenberg is probably the greatest director of all time...I say this because he has changed so much from his first film to his latest...they all are progressively different and evolve but at the same time keep the Cronenberg aesthetic...if you get a chance check this out..its been hard to come by but is worth it if you are a Cronenberg devotee like me.

Lifetime Movies: 2000

2000: it's like a futuristic time...a year in which we were all to have flying cars and the future was unknown and going to be awesome...For me it was the true beginning of having come out of 1999 being floored by the great films of that year...I was looking forward to Gladiator, X-Men, and Unbreakable...these were very good films...but One got me hook, line and sinker...We remembered him from Pi...which was a great independent film that made me feel good and smart since I knew and feel like I found that film...but little did I know walking into the Tampa Theater...I was a changed man coming out of Requiem For a Dream...the best film of 2000.


Darren Aronofsky made this film because in college he read the Hubert Shelby novel about a New York gang of low lifes who are drowning in their humanity and obsessive addictions. I too read many books in college rather then study like I should have...I never made movies...but now I write and talk about them. Aronofsky off a great try at Pi made this film again in Brooklyn, NY...specifically Coney Island...a place I grew up around for years...I never knew any heroin dealers...but I knew the feeling of addiction...it wasn't heroin...but pick your poison..food, women, movies...whatever

The cast is incredible...Jared Leto is fantastic and every time I see him all I think of is this film...Ellen Burstyn was robbed of an Oscar, Marlan Wayans in his best performance...and the beautiful and wonderful and gorgeous Jennifer Connelly I am now forever in love with...

The film was known for its NC-17 rating which it deserves...it might have been my first NC -17 film...I remember seeing a few of them around this time...like Cronenberg's Crash...I rewatch Requiem about once or twice a year...it always makes me feel dirty and sad...I feel like I really understand addiction and the ills of our society...what David Simon's "The Wire" does in 5 years of 60 episodes...Aronofsky does in the first 5 minutes of Requiem...take your pick...both are great...the end result is an empty feeling of loss.

Requiem has been my second favorite film of all time since 2000...it probably always will be...it's not a quotable film..it's a dangerous film...every young person should be forced like Alex in A Clockwork Orange to watch this film and be as far away from drugs as possible ..Aronofsky uses every trick in the book to masterpiece levels.

The streets of Coney Island, the language that is Shelby's and specifically street New York, the effects, the acting, and Ass2Ass...all adds up to a glorious film..and we only had to wait 6 years for the next Aronofsky film.

Distillery: Brett Ratner

Film	Year	Vin	Frank
Money Talks	1997	x	-
Rush Hour	1998	-	-
The Family Man	2000	+	x
Rush Hour 2	2001	-	-
Red Dragon	2002	-	x
After the Sunset	2004	x	x
X-Men: The Last Stand	2006	-	-
Rush Hour 3	2007	x	x
FINAL DISTILLATION		13%	0%

Key: + = Film Liked; - = Film Not Liked; x = Film Not Seen

Distillery: Michael Bay

Film	Year	Vin	Frank
Bad Boys	1995	-	-
The Rock	1996	+	+
Armageddon	1998	-	-
Pearl Harbor	2001	-	x
Bad Boys II	2003	x	x
The Island	2005	+	x
Transformers	2007	-	x
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen	2009	-	x
FINAL DISTILLATION		25%	13%

Key: + = Film Liked; - = Film Not Liked; x = Film Not Seen

Podcast Monday

It's cruel, isn't it? We get you hooked on our intoxicating voices and then make you wait for more. But think of it this way: we could probably charge you an arm and a leg (literally--don't ask) and you'd pay it and ask if we wanted more. But all we want, all we ever wanted, was for you to be our friend. So, plug in, pal, and enjoy.

This installment of the 'cast found The Distillery feeling a little blue. Vinny Guns and I didn't even try to wrap our puny human brains around the situation, but we knew we had to do something. We were running out of interns to sacrifice assign to the problem. Finally, we thought that some things may just be universal and while we couldn't cure what was bothering Big D, we could help ease its grief with a little comfort junk food.

So we crammed its gullet with the movies of Michael Bay and Brett Ratner and lo and behold I think The Distillery smiled a little (it was actually gas and we had to clear the studios for a week before it was safe to return without a mask).

Playlist: Dead Set

Sometimes it's best to stick with the basics. Charlie Brooker did just that with his 5-part British TV series about a night of the living dead. That's right, zombies, but the hook here is that the action is centered around an episode of Big Brother, which is stupidly popular across the pond (see they're not better than us. They just sound as if they are).

Zombigeddon quickly and unexpectedly sweeps across the country, and probably the world, leaving the isolated BB contestants uninfected in their TV set stronghold. It actually looks a lot like another Brit end of times story, Survivors, but, you know, with reanimated cannibalistic corpses roaming the land. It also has a strong connection to that touchstone of all things zombie, Romero's Dawn of the Dead, not just in the underlying commentary about the shallowness of society, but in the simpler, claustrophobic setting. When in doubt, giving your characters nowhere to run always works in horror.And that tact is particularly effective in traditional zombie stories where the terror from the slow moving killers comes from their overwhelming numbers. You can outrun the shuffling dead, but you can't run through them.

Yet Dead Set's dead set are new school sprinters, essentially negating that logic, so why is it getting a pass? Calm down, I'll tell you. Brooker has said that he only made his zombies fast-moving because he needed the outbreak to spread quickly so the BB contestants wouldn't have time to know what was coming. While I don't think compromising to fill in a plot hole is good practice, it works here because he remains true to the other tenants of Zombiedom.

This is good stuff and the final half hour is some of the best zombie action I've ever seen.

Playlist: Cropsey

Jasper Cropsey was a 19th century Staten Island resident who became well known for his Hudson Valley School paintings. The name Cropsey also is a name of an avenue in Brooklyn, New York that I lived near for years. Apparently, it is also the Name of a New York urban legend that says a crazed man who has a hook or knife for a hand kidnaps little children and kills them in the woods in many New England and Mid-Atlantic states. This documentary is about the Cropsey legend that apparently the directors of this film were aware of as they grew up in Staten Island. The director and producer are about my age and I have never heard of this legend...maybe other Staten Islanders can let us know if they have heard of this legend.

The doc goes on to tell of the link between the Cropsey legend, The Willowbrook State School for mentally handicapped kids, the Geraldo Rivera expose in 1972 that exposed the Willowbrook atrocities, the Greenbelt forest, the disappearance of many missing kids in Staten Island including the Jennifer Sweigart case (which I do remember from 1987), and a man who many believe to be Cropsey, but they never come out and say it. The doc is very loose and vague at times...it made me interested again in my old hometown, it also reminded me why I wanted out of there...the garbage, the dumps, the bad accents...etc.

The directors show the old Willowbrook (where I used to play soccer all the time and had field day once)...and to think, the doc exposes the fact that dead kid bodies were found throughout, including Jennifer Sweigart. Let us know if you have heard of Cropsey.

Poll Results

In what can only be described as a shocker (due to deadline, not vocabulary, constraints...parentheticals, as you know, are outside the space-time continuum) Kate Winslet is the People's Choice to be the first actor, excuse me, actress to be Distilled. Not only is this a landmark victory for women everywhere, but it should be quite an interesting discussion considering Vinny Guns has gone on the record numerous times as saying he doesn't like actresses. Eh, oh, don't get me wrong, he likes actresses. He is Vinny Guns, after all. The Italian Stallion. The Big Capicola. The Human Vesuvius.

Then again, maybe this is a misogynistic referendum. I wouldn't wish my worst enemy into The Distillery. That's not true. I hate my worst enemy. That's a stupid expression. Anyway, I have confidence in our gal, Kate. And I am CPR-trained in case mouth-to-mouth is required.

Breaking News

Vinny Guns has informed SMC that he has watched 28 Days Later... and enjoyed it.

Danny Boyle could not be reached for comment, but there's no doubt he will bloody well pleased to move out of the Distillery basement.

Lifetime Movies: 2001

Getting to this year has certainly become an odyssey. Not that it didn't have enough to contend with already. You know, a certain aviation mishap in September. That's the one. And since all of this year's films were either in production or in the can when it all went down, this year is also the end of an era. Everything from here on out has to be viewed through soot-colored glasses.

Movie-wise, there was a lot to like (or at least a lot that I liked). A Beautiful Mind won the Oscar, and while it was good, I would have went with Moulin Rouge which I thought was a more daring, imaginative achievement. I'm not a big fan of traditional musicals, which I think made me enjoy this that much more.

Speaking of creative visions, Amelie gave us a beaucoup serving of charming French quirk, not to mention Audrey Tautou. Not to be outdone, we got two very good films from Mexico--Alfonso Cuaron's Y tu mama tambien and Guillermo Del Toro's The Devil's Backbone--that brought that country to the artistic forefront of the new decade.

Some really good small movies like Donnie Darko and Ghost World; a small movie director getting big in Wes Anderson's The Royal Tennenbaums; and a small movie director getting huge in Steven Soderburgh's incredibly cool and fun Ocean's Eleven.

But if 2001 is remembered for anything (again, movie-wise), it's that it kicked off two hugely successful book adaptations. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (hey, it wasn't called Philosopher's Stone where I saw it) actually lived up to fans' seemingly impossibly high expectations. And it was directed by mainstream what'sanotherwordforhack Chris Columbus no less. The whole series has been a spectacular success, particularly the consistency of look, tone, and quality. Which raises the question of how to handle a finite series such as this on a countdown such as this. It's hard to view each of the installments as a separate movie, so do I honor it here, later when it's more convenient, or at the end (2011)? I really am struggling with this one.

Ok, you got me. While I did like Harry Potter, my real dilemma is with a certain other epic, Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring. The Lord of the Rings trilogy as a whole is by far the cinematic gold medalist of the decade. But how to judge the individual films? I think one of the things I'm hesitant about is picking LotR for three different years. The truth is there wasn't a bigger or better film in any of the years in question. So, this is just me wanting to mix it up a little and continue my lifelong mission to promote diversity in all walks of life and all human endeavors. We'll give it '01 and then retire its number.

Winner: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

But, wait, what about David Lynch's Mulholland Drive? This may well be the best movie of the year especially since it has topped several critics' Best of the Decade lists. I don't know. I'm sure Vinny Guns will let me know, but I think I need to revisit all of Lynch's films. I remember the film losing its way toward the end, but the first half (which was originally conceived as a TV pilot) was fascinating. Plus, it gave us Naomi Watts. But for now I'm sticking with the hobbits.

Playlist: Lethal Weapon 5

It's been 12 years since the last entry in this film series, the original of which became the template for every buddy cop movie since. Not only have the stars gotten that much older in the past decade plus (Danny Glover is apparently still alive), but Mel Gibson has gone completely train wreck nuts. So the only hope fans had for a sequel at this point rested on some precision recasting of these popular and recognizable characters. Fortunately, that's just what they got.

In an artistic move perhaps not seen since the hey day of Ed Wood, the directors of LW5 decided the best way to fill Danny and Mel's shoes was with four pairs of feet. Not four actors, but two trading roles mid-film. That's right, Detectives Murtaugh and Riggs were given new life by Dennis Reynolds and Mac (who I should also mention co-directed the movie). The result was actually a film within a film. Aside from the explosive action we have come to expect from this series, we were treated to a thespianic clinic. Mac and Reynolds gave us completely different and original takes on the two characters, essentially treating the audience to four unique characters to enjoy. (As for some of the pre-release concern over Mac's choice to don blackface, I can only say an NAACP Image Award for the courageous actor wouldn't surprise me at all.)

All that plus a bravado villain turn by Frank Reynolds (apparently no relation to Dennis). His corrupt Indian tribal leader made me want to put on a badge just to bring him down. But the proof of his acting prowess came in the way this despicable man was able to flip our feelings on their head and seduce us with his five-alarm love scene. I had to take a cold shower before I could even think about writing this post.

What's left to say other than I can't wait for 6.