SMC Radio 1.1

So, the first show went off incredibly smoother than expected. The audio quality less so. Still, not bad for the first go.

In case you missed it, head over to the show page and download the experience.

Let us know what you think.

Playlist: Buried

Hey Y'all...would you like to be close to this guy for an hour and a half...as in buried in a coffin with him for and hour and a half deep under the Iraq sand (or Hollywood lot where it was filmed)? And by the way he won't look this hot...he will play some dumb truck driver that tries to lose all his oxygen and waste cell phone battery life by calling strippers and trying to burn snakes with vodka. The film is entirely in the box and I got to hand it to those who made this...can a modern audience sit through 95 minutes of this when it is a long test for all us ADHD types. Box Office MoJo actually reports that in America this film made $1 million (which is ridiculous)...but the foreign gross is over $17 million...I guess the rest of the world has things like patience. Sure it's claustrophobic (I get that but I can do the same my locking myself in my trunk)...but I gotta tell you that I used the 1.5 fast forward button constantly on this one just to get some of my life back. The best actor in it is the one you don't see...Robert Paterson...his list of roles isn't much...I just like his voice. Ok so the end right...does he get out of the box? Do you want to know?....well there is no twist...so is that a spoiler?

Radio Free SMC

Hold on to your eardrums, SMC Nation, because we are at t-minus one day until the debut of the zeitgeist-busting phenomenon known as SMC Radio. You've loved our podcasts, but now you get to live your fantasy of listening to us live. Well, we were always live, and you were when you were listening, but now we get to do it at the same time. Also, don't literally hold your eardrums or really touch them in any way. Not only will you not be able to hear us, but you'll probably lose your balance and may possibly go deaf. Though Beethoven was deaf, so I guess you too could then wear a wig.

Ok, here's what you need to know. This Friday night @ 11 PM, go to http://www.blogtalkradio.com/singlemaltcinema/2011/01/29/single-malt-cinema
and listen to our debut show. That's it.

But, wait, that's not it!

Call 1 (760) 283-5147 and talk to us in person between 11 and 11:30. On the air. Live! Seriously, this could be very cool. And, yes, I am factoring in the potential for it to be a complete disaster.

Talk to you soon.

Playlist: The Kids Are All Right

I didn't want to see this. Just what I needed, another Hollywood lecture on the new reality of America. Did you know 67% of all children born after 1990 are being raised by same sex parents? That figure is completely fabricated, but you get my point. All mathmaticians are liars. Or gay. I'm not sure I really have a point.

But my point is that award season hype has a way of filtering out what films to catch up with on DVD. This has gotten a large percentage of said hype. So, I caught up with it. As it turns out, the film is all right. (Alright, as it turns out, is not. It is not a real word. It does not exist. Please stop looking at it.)

Director Lisa Cholodenko does not use this platform to preach the Liberal gospel, but choosing instead to simply tell a straightforward story about family. The performances are what separate this from the pack (and what are filling the trophy case). Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, and Annette Bening, one of my favorite actresses, are all as good as usual, and Mia Wasikowska finally showed why she's so highly thought of in the industry (and got a few layers of the dreadful Alice in Wonderland off her skin). Solid and enjoyable.

So, solidify and enjoy.

Big News!

Just so you wouldn't read that title wrong, I included an exclamation point. You're welcome!

The new year has gotten off to a slow start here at SMC, what with holiday hangover and a mole people infestation in our underground bunker/studio. But rest assured, loyalists, we have some interesting changes cooking and we'll be serving them up in the coming weeks.

For now, here's four and a half minutes of Leo cursing:

Playlist: The Expendables

I never thought that I would say that the best part of this film was Dolph Lundgren...but the best part of this film was Dolph Lundgren...and Dolph Lundgren was in this film for like 3 minutes...the rest was terrible and I fast forwarded through it...the end.

Playlist: Catfish

Considering this was one of both my (and Vin's) most anticipated films of last autumn, I did a remarkable job of failing to have any idea what it really was about.

What I knew was that it revolved around a photographer (Nev Schulman) who begins receiving paintings of his pictures from a young girl named Abby and who then begins a relationship with Abby's older sister, Megan, via the phone and Facebook (you know, the other Facebook movie). In fact, the two fall in love. 

Okay, now check out the trailer:




Very Blair Witchian, no? I was thinking faux doc, but as always, was still intrigued by just how they were going to twist up the ending. By now we've seen it all, right? Turns out the twist was that there was no twist. How's that for a post-modern swerve? Well, that's not entirely accurate (or, possibly, even an actual thing).

The filmmakers (Nev's brother Ariel Shulman and Henry Joost) have insisted the events depicted in the film are true, so until proven otherwise, that's how it has to be viewed. I don't understand what the critics shown in the trailer were talking about unless they saw a completely different cut of the film (or they just wanted their names in a trailer). The ending wasn't shocking or haunting, but a somewhat natural conclusion to the story arc. Which isn't to say it's not worthwhile. It turns out that the movie they started didn't need a gimmick. The real ending is sad and oddly sweet, and touching in a way more experienced screenwriters of fiction struggle to achieve.

Playlist: The Social Network

Mark Zuckerberg is the Citizen Kane of 2010...and I dont mean that the film The Social Network is on par with the film Citizen Kane...I mean that The Social Network is similar to other well made movies about the origination of an idea and the drama that fame and money brings...so maybe similar to There Will Be Blood or Flash of Genius...But the Character of Mark Zuckerberg as played by the great Jessie Eisenberg is close to Kane...sure the real Zuckerberg is probably not as interesting, but the story of The Social Network is bigger then the people...it is about the American Dream, desire, friendship and greed. I dont think this is my favorite film of 2010, but i really really enjoyed it...the fascination of a close to real life story that is still so contemporary and so present is just very compelling to watch...my problem is that in 10 years will this be important?...or will we move on to something else and the real Zuckerberg will be broke...Facebook will be a fad and some other thing will be important? Either way the ideas of entrepreneurship is timeless..these are friends breaking apart for the rights to make a thing to bring people together...how much better can you get? I wasnt excited to see this film when I found out that one of my favorite Directors (Fincher) was to direct a film about a web site I have always refused to be a part of (its like an Internet of the Internet...some Kaufmanesque reality in a reality...not for me)...but the themes and writing and acting is great...the story could be about 5 guys coming up with an idea about a lemonade stand and it would be just as interesting (but the line where Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake both say "a billion dollars"...is pretty satisfying)...Fincher has made his best film since Zodiac...I also just watched the Swedish version of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"...again I was totally not interested in Fincher making this...then I saw the Sweedish film..its OK...just OK as a story...the real interest is the lead actress...Lisbeth Salander...played by Noomi Repace...she is incredible...I just want her story and not the whole who killed Laura Palmer driving plot...playing the American Version will be Rooney Mara (Named for her grandfathers who own the Giants and Steelers...come on really?)...So I am looking forward to this...Mara actually was in The Social Network and played Mark's long lost love.

What Should I Watch?

OK...I have a few days where I can stay up and watch a few flicks...I will let you the audience, post a message and let me know which film you want me to watch and then report on. I know tonight I will watch the Swedish version of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". Here is the list in no particular order.

1. "Youth Without Youth" with the Coppola commentary

2. Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (Cimino)

3. The Sicilian (Cimino)

4. The Sunchaser (Cimino)

5. Antichrist - commentary by director

6. Someone to Watch Over Me (Ridley Scott)

7. The New World

8. Dementia 13

9. Letters from Iwo Jima

10. Grindhouse (full experience...I never saw Planet Terror)

11. Seven Samurai (pretentious)

12. Hour of the Wolf (see above)

13. Picinic at Hanging Rock (I feel like I should see the classics)

14. Bronson

15. Rashomon

this list looks daunting...the more I type it the more I just want to watch Madmen instead...let me know what I should watch...or if Netflix Watch instantly I can take other requests (by the way I plan on seeing Cyrus again this week and am buying The Social Network.)

Playlist: The Village

Maybe it was my love of Joaquin Phoenix in last years "I'm Still Here"...but I recorded and watched "The Village" last night. This movie makes me realize that M Night is a fraud. Most of us realized this when "Signs" was just ok and then I saw that "Lady in the Water" and knew that I just could not believe in M Night anymore. Something was telling me though that I should look beyond the consensus from most critics and give him another look. (I havent seen them but most say that "The Happening and The Last Airbender" were very very bad)...The Village can not be saved by the good acting...the plot is just a drag and I knew the ending the whole time...the fact that M Night is in the end of the film and even states plot hole filler to fill in the blanks at the end just prove he is weak...he is always beter when he is not explaining ...like in his first 2 films (that Rosie O'Donnel film does not count)...where he tells us very little and they demand and even get better once you know all the twists. The best though is Roger Eberts review for Last Airbender and The Village...I tend to always agree with The E. I always hope M Night can make a come back.

Playlist: Piranha 2-D

How's this for a tone-setter: Richard Dreyfuss in a boat singing "Show Me the Way to Go Home." Then he gets sucked into an embarrassing CGI whirlpool caused by an earthquake and devoured by the piranha unleashed from their underground cavern. Yes, that Richard Dreyfuss.

Actually, this is some cast: Elizabeth Shue, Ving Rhames, Christopher Lloyd (in classic crazy mode as the town fish store owner who just happens to be an expert on prehistoric piranha), SMC favorites Adam Scott and  Paul Scheer ("The League"'s Andre), the adorable Jessica Szohr ("Gossip Girls"), Jerry O'Connell and British model Kelly Brook. Oh, she's naked. Set at a spring break party lake, this is pretty much all giant boobs and blood (and a lot of eyeball shots for some reason). It's not exactly The King's Speech, but it's fun if nothing else.

The more interesting discussion is about director Alexandre Aja. In 2003, he made a name for himself with the French horror film High Tension, a well-orchestrated thriller up until a debilitating illogical cliche ending. But it showed potential and marked that foot-in-the-door crossroads all young directors face. Aja's path? Horror remakes. He followed up High Tension with 2006's The Hills Have Eyes, polishing off all the low-budget gritty appeal of Wes Craven's original, and 2008's forgotten Mirrors, which is essentially an English version of the K-horror film, Into the Mirror. But at least those were in genre. Piranha does not even attempt to scare, opting for the campy tone of the 1978 Joe Dante original (not to be confused with James Cameron's debut, 1981's Piranha II: The Spawning). I'm not sure what Aja's career plans are, but it feels a shame that he wasted the opportunity he was presented seven years ago. Then again, maybe he knew something we didn't.

Un-fun fact: Piranhas don't actual eat people. However, they are, in fact, really very ugly.

Playlist Round-Up

Please note the lack of a colon in the title. I did not recently watch a film about a cattle drive. However, I have mentioned colons a lot recently. Then again, I am getting older. I do eat a lot of cereal, so I hope that counts for something.

But, no, this post is about two films I did not completely watch recently*. Generally, I try to slog my way through these things, but maybe this is a new trend that's another side effect of aging. Life's too short for some of this shit.

The Headless Woman

Film Comment magazine ranked this as the second best film released in the U.S. in 2009 and one of the best of the decade. It's about a non-decapitated woman who may or may not have killed a boy with her car (if you're wondering, she doesn't get out to check). Director Lucrecia Martel has said this is an examination of class differences in her native Argentina and a lot of critics have parroted those thoughts. Maybe it was the language barrier, but I found it difficult to gain any traction with the story. It is a series of slow, meandering scenes with no dramatic payoff, no tension at all, the type of movie where no one talks about anything and everything is implied, but implied under a blanket in a dark room. It got to the point where I had to fast forward to the end. And I don't think I missed anything. (It helps that this art house favorite only scored a 6.4 on IMDB.)

Aaah! Zombies! (or, for some reason, Wasting Away)

I tried to watch this 2007 movie three separate times and combined only made it about halfway. There's a clever hook here: the main characters are all brain-chomping creatures (not really zombies!) but don't really know it. The film alternates between their normal POV and everyone else's perspective of the monsters they have become. And it's a comedy! But it's really dumb. Amateurish acting and an ambition for camp that is undermined by a script that just isn't smart enough to pull it off. This may very well be a fun movie to watch with a group, but since I watch movies alone in my hole, I couldn't get into it.

*And by recently, I mean several weeks ago since that's when I thought I posted this. Oh, me.