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.

Playlist: Quick

Sorry I haven't reported in recently. I saw "Brooklyn's Finest" This weekend...which featured a great opening scene with a great acting duo of Vincent D'Onofrio and Ethan Hawke...remember they were great in "Staten Island"...The film also features other great actors and at least 3 "Wire" folks...I thought it as a real good cop film...Ethan Hawke and Richard Gere were real good

The second flick was " Wreckmeisters Harmonies"...I cant remember why I got this...its an Hungarian film by director Bella Tara...composed of 2 Hours and 19 minutes he only has 39 shots, so the average shot length is like 8 minutes...its a tough film...but very philosophical...and thought provoking about a stuffed Whale, Circus and the problems a "prince" creates in this small town...Wreckmeisters was a musical theorist who surmised that music is controlled chaos made by God...similar to Pi I guess...but very European...I think it was an interview I read by Van Sant, Lynch or Ebert that got me to watch it

Playlist: The Losers

I suppose it speaks to the maturation of graphic novels as a source material that our expectations have now become aligned with the mainstream. We've reached the stage where not every adaptation is an event onto itself, much the way audiences grew into their comfort with noir or sci-fi or western stories.

For a convenient example, The Losers is a lesser known comic, and rather pedestrian as far as inventiveness. It's simply a story, and for all the bemoaning the death of originality in Hollywood (it was a suicide), the men with the money are in the business of selling us stories. Right now that resource is in greatest supply in the pages of comic books. Of course, the more they exploit this resource, the more product quality will regress to the mean. Listen, if Christopher Nolan made six movies a year, they're not all going to be good. That's not how it works.

Which isn't a long and winding way of saying The Losers isn't good. It's not, but it's not bad either. It sort of falls into that grey area fattening the middle. It reminded me of a second-tier 80s Schwarzenegger film (think Commando). It's back-up entertainment. Fun filler. If we insist on watching as many movies as we do, we can't also insist on brilliance every time out. You can be picky or you can sleep around. You can't do both. Unless you're rich.

As for the movie, we have a Special Ops squad called The Losers for no explained reason--Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Watchmen's Comedian, who looks like Robert Downey Jr.'s older brother), Idris Elba (the great Stringer Bell whose charisma is sadly underused), Chris Evans (who builds on his reputation as someone who makes anything he's in better), Columbus Short (the guy who I didn't like in Armored), and Oscar Jaenada (the silent sniper, but shows enough to bear watching)--who get screwed over by Jason Patric's ultra-hammy CIA psychopath. See, even though The Losers have probably killed countless people through the years, they secretly all have hearts of gold. And, yes, this does sound like The A-Team.

Now, in order to get back their good names as professional murderers, they team up with the unnaturally attractive (almost annoying so) Zoe Saldana who just so happens to have her own anti-Patric agenda. A lot of punch-shoot-boom follows. There is a very cool scene with Evans (of course) shooting security guards with his fingers.

My only real gripe is with director Sylvain White, who you might not know from anything. Unlike those 80s action films, White cannot just let the ridiculousness of the story carry the show. He has to "direct." It's over-stylized to the point of distraction as if White was determined to go upside our heads with his bag of tricks like Sean Penn and his pillowcase full of soda cans in Bad Boys. There's even a slo-mo shot of the whole gang walking which was cool as hell when Tarrantino did it and funny as hell when Swingers did it. 15 years ago.

Playlist: Clash of the Titans

So how bad was it? That's all it comes down to, right? This thing was panned more than Northern California in 1849. So? So, it was ok.

I think most of the derision for this came from the fact that it was released as an upconverted 3-D money grab by a desperately clueless studio. You'd think these geniuses would have learned from their past attempts at colorization--half-assed products will always look half-assed. Not that this was whole-assed to begin with.

My biggest problem going in with this state-of-the-art CGI extravaganza of a remake was that I enjoyed the original so much precisely because it was so old school lo-fi. And that is what ultimately kills this movie. Now, that's not nostalgic bitterness. By all means, take the new technology and make a full-throttle adventure film set in that world (though considering how rich Greek mythology is, why not take a weekend and come up with a new story. Or why not just make a God of War movie?.) Technology is good. But stop using your computer as a storytelling crutch. SFX characters do not automatically equal characters. At least not characters anyone cares about (or as in the case of monsters, characters anyone is scared of). And, no, I have no idea who I'm speaking to right now. As FOB (Friend Of the Blog) Paul has said about video games, too much realism blurs the line of fantasy, which is what games and movies like this should feel like. I think we may have reached the technological event horizon of fun.

Speaking of CGI characters, I have to call a time out on Sam Worthington. I liked him in Terminator Salvation, but it turns out there was a reason he was so effective as a robot. Here, just like in Avatar, he's screen filler. He looks like a leading man, but he has the personality of background scenery. Maybe that's just how he's being directed. Maybe it's just about hitting his marks against the green screen and looking tough. But he sums up the ultimate problem with this movie: it looks fun, but it's not.

And director Louis Leterrier doesn't help. This is an action movie and the action scenes are forgettably dull. Poor editing and worse musical choices. That's a little surprising since I thought he did a good job with the last Hulk film. One of the only good things this has going for it is Gemma Arterton, who's an actress to keep an eye on. Not that she has much to work with here.

So, yeah, it's not awful. But it's not necessarily good, either. If it were on TV, there would be worse things to watch.

Playlist: In the Loop

If you like the British "The Office," you'll...well, you know the rest. And you will. This is classic Brit satire, this time in the world of politics. Specifically, in the State Departments of both Great Britain and your United States of America. Even more specifically, a fictionalized take on the build-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. It's funny in that scary Strangelove way in that, yeah, this is probably how it all really did go down.

Actually, if you like ranting, cursing Brits in general--and who the hell doesn't--then you'll love this. Specifically, the f-carpet bombing Peter Capaldi as pro-war Director of Communications Malcolm Tucker. Capaldi (who I loved as Sid's dad on the BBC's "Skins") is worth watching this for by himself. Not that you have to because the whole cast is good, including a very un-Tony Soprano James Gandolfini as a skeptical U.S. general. But my favorite bit of casting is this: Anna Chlumsky. Yes, the return of My Girl herself. And it's about damn time. Thomas J. would have wanted her to keep acting.

Playlist: A Prophet

This French crime drama was the front-runner for Best Foreign Film Oscar last year, but ended up losing to another crime movie, Argentina's The Secret in Their Eyes. Not that its shelves are empty: it cleaned up in Europe, including winning the Grand Prix at Cannes, which from what I hear ain't too shabby. Also, do films have shelves?

Tahar Rahim plays Malik, a young Arab sentenced to six years in prison for beating up some cops. French cops, but it is France, so it's all relative (and get this: French prisoners get full baguettes. I know, right? I bet their prison rape is even romantic.) Anyway, Malik's young and weak and gets dragged deep into the crime world by the Corsican mafia boss inside. Two things: one, the Corsican mafia is like the real Mafia of France, and two, there is no such thing as the Mafia.

To me, it felt a little like Goodfellas in a French prison. The young ethnic outsider gets caught up with Le Famille and slowly makes his way up the ranks. The endings differ and I won't say any more because this should definitely be seen. It's long--155 min--but plot-driven so it moves fast. Director Jacques Audiard is now on the Watch List.

Bonus: a very cool cover of "Mack the Knife" at the end.

Playlist: Kick Ass

Ok this is a film that was independently financed and so you gotta give props for the team that put this together. No company seemed to want to touch the harsh subject matter for some reason...I mean 300 was violent..I guess it was the 11 year old girl who swears a lot and kills people violently...because that's it...that's the reason. This film is good...but not as good as I thought it would be.

On one level I see that it is an anti-superhero film...pretentious folks will say "the deconstruction of the super hero phenomenon"...others said that about Watchmen...I think the film Defendor...and I haven't seen it yet...but that film with Woody Harrelson probably is better suited for that tag line...this film tries to say..."what would happen if you became a super hero" and you really had no powers...at least that's the way it starts off...I wish it would have stayed there...but no one had the reigns on this film...because it was financed independently...and that reason alone is not a reason to just make whatever crap movie you want to make...not that this is crap...but we just have way to many story lines that we have all seen before thrown together...the bad guy...the dead wife..the revenge...the kid is a wuss..the girl is the killer, the evil bad guy and how he became evil...this film starts out as a salve for all the bad superhero films of late and by the end becomes a crappy super hero film...as for the violence and language..Punisher Warzone was much much better..

As for the acting...the kid who plays Kick Ass is just OK...McLovin is terrible..the bad mafia guys are terrible...the great part ..the true greatness even is not with this "Hit Girl"...although I like her storyline best and if they make a sequel she will be worth it...but the best of course is Nic Cage...he has had a re-birth of good old school Nic Cage Craziness...He does an Adam West impersonation here...not over the top..but if you know Adam West as Batman...you will recognize it...remember in Bad Lieutenant he does a Jimmy Stewart impersonation out of no where?...here it works just as well...this guy plays memorable characters that you say.."What the Fuck was that?"...and that's the point..he is in the prime of acting again...maybe not Leaving Las Vegas...but at least Wild at Heart...his story line is the one most like a super hero story line...and the film uses that to say "look this is a typical story line and we will show you that we are making fun of those films by showing ultra violence, and what a real Batman would do"...but it winds up being bad ass and cool and instead of winking at that cliche...the film actually does a great job to promote that type of film to us, and by the way didn't The Dark Knight show us that a guy wearing hockey pads and a shot gun will get his ass handed to him by the real Batman?...we want to see Nic Cage kicking ass..and not this gay ass "Kick Ass"...

Overall I enjoyed it...Big Daddy was the best...real superheroes would simply have guns...that's why we have Police...in real life Batman would be dead in like 4 days...but Big Daddy he will not be in a sequel for "spoiler" reasons...the director is now getting ready to make X-Men First Class...great..he made an independent anti-superhero film...just to make a mainstream piece of steaming crap that we all see coming...sure the Twilight Tweens will watch that garbage...but not me...there are too many superhero films these days..and the critics are right..its overload..I have a feeling that Iron Man 3, Thor, and Green Lantern will all be terrible..I really do...I have hope for Captain America...but that will probably be just OK..The Avengers will be watered down..and all these independent graphic novel films will eventually dry up...we will be left with the hopes that Batman 3 is good enough to push for the Nolan inspired Superman...Nolan is our Only Hope.

Playlist: The Damned United

I thought I'd check out this film about English football while I am still recovering from World Cup fever. In all seriousness, I should be bed-ridden. But I soldier on for you, dear reader. Up and at 'em to the ol' desktop computron (No laptop for me. I have a water bed and don't want to get electrocuted).

The Damned United is an account of famed (and controversial) manager Brian Clough (Michael Sheen, as good as he has been in everything lately) and his obsessive battle to prove he was England's best manager. At the time (early 70s), English football was dominated by Leeds United and their manager Don Revie was a national hero. Clough was the up-and-coming small club wondercoach who would finally get the chance to eclipse Revie only to be damned by his own ambition. From what I've read, they played a little loose with the facts, but they got their point home. Which was to shed a little light on a lesser known personality--or a completely unknown one in God Bless America. These are the bios we need because while it may be worthwhile to read a 400 page book on Lincoln or DiMaggio, chances are I'm not going to be reading one about Brian Clough.

Ok, I'll cut to the chase: where does this place on the All Time Soccer Movie list? I'll tell you: I don't know, third? Fourth? Shaolin Soccer is One. Victory is top three, though I don't remember if I've ever seen the whole thing. Bend it Like Beckham is probably Two. Oh, wait, what about Ladybugs? Ok, I'll stick with Four. Maybe Three.

Playlist: Pandorum

You've been here before: Earth of the future has a foot and 4 toes in the grave and our desperate descendants have to seek a new planetary home to slowly ravage. You know the spaceship, too: all exposed wires and flickering lights (at least our crappy work ethic will survive. Speaking of which, sorta, what are the chances that people will be speaking exactly the same as we speak today centuries into the future? Right, none. I know why movies overlook this. Because it's a movie. I'm just saying). Oh, and since non-hyperdrive interstellar travel is such a drag, someone inevitably gets a case of cabin fever and goes all space Shining. "Three years into their shift, one of their officers had a psychological breakdown. The doctors referred to it as ODS symptom. The privates, we call it Pandorum. It drove him insane. He became convinced that the flight was cursed. Evil."

Ooh, right? Like I said, nothing new. But, and here's where this whole post reverses trajectory, or something. This is a good movie. A goof sci-fi movie, which sadly, is saying something considering the quickie Syfy dreck we have to endure. And by "have to" I mean because we're idiots. No, this is a film that takes a standard premise and just does it well. Nothing spectacular (though I want to shave with one of those laser razors), but a lot that was solid. I didn't even mind that the double twist ending was visible from a light year away (Science in your face!). It wasn't played for shock value so much as just the resolution to the plot.  

That quote, btw, was from Dennis Quaid, who is the big name here, though not really the star. That goes to Ben Foster who has to race to save the ship's reactor (along with Milla Jovovich knockoff, Antje Traue. Seeing as this was made by the producers of the Resident Evil series I can't imagine that was an accident.) Foster's been putting together a nice run of strong performances in smaller movies. (One more casting bit: I hate Cam Gigandet. Not in an Affleck way, but in a this guy is way too good at playing a prick way. he probably gives kittens CPR in real life. Unlike Affleck, who eats them.)

Playlist: Remember Me

OK...so I am talked into this film by my "partner". She of course loves romantic films and due to her (and mine) newly discovered love for "Twilight" and Team Edward...we watch Robert Pattinson and company.

There is a string of films that have been recently out that are romantic comedy/dramas that end badly..or at least the romantic couple either aren't right for each other, breakup or something tragic happens...sometimes these are done well (like The Puffy Chair, 500 Days of Summer, or Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind).

Other times this could be done right but ultimately it's a mess...see The Break-Up..and now add Remember Me.

This film stars three leads (Pierce Brosnan, Rob Pattinson, and Emille de Ravin) who all are from England and Australia...and all play New Yorkers???!!??...Brosnan not only plays a New Yorker...he plays someone from Brooklyn...he even tries a Brooklyn accent???...Chris Cooper who I love also plays a New York detective...his accent is terrible...It throws the movie...but also there is a mess of a plot with multiple stories and family issues and family tragedies that should need like 4 hours to go through...but they don't...then an underlying SPOILER is alluded to sneakily throughout the film...in the back of my mind I see the SPOILER coming...and then this romantic Romeo and Juliet type film built on a heap of lies goes in a direction that staggers my mind...was this SPOILER there to mean something?...no...it just makes a tragic film the most over the top film of the year...I really want to spoil this film..but I want you to watch it and then throw your remote at the screen at the last big SPOILER shot...This got a 28% from Rotten Tomatoes by the way.

There is some good..I really like Robert Pattinson...if he makes good career decisions he could be a real good actor to watch...I think he would make a great criminal or organized crime (Irish) character...I want to see him as a bad ass.

Playlist: Rear Window

Watching this tells me a few things about film and life:


1. Old Movies have some things that pull today's generations out of the film experience like:


- rotary telephones


-no cell phones


- no tv's


-the term "rear window"...no one lives in an apartment like this one...I dont think so at least


2. Things though are also great about it of course


-alot more sex references then I thought


-alot of kissing...Jimmy Stewart is a great actor...but man him and Grace Kelly kiss and talk at the same time throughout..its pretty hot stuff


-suspense is suspense...I mean you know whats coming and Hitchcock is a master of this...and in most films today they drag this part out...they think they are one upping Hitchcock by having you witness something and you know "oh no he's behind the door moments"...but most directors will drag this on till its just unbearable and stupid...Hitchcock does this and its just perfect timing





Grace Kelly:

She is one of the most beautiful women I have every seen...and I havent really seen alot of her films..actually I think this one is it. Lets face it...today everywomen in film is superhot...but she truly is amazing...and its like I know in the back of my head...she is a princess and married a real prince and all...but here she is in this film taking charge at the end of the film obsessed with finding evidence of a possible killer and breaking into his apartment fearlessly...she was great to watch.

Jimmy Stewart is great as always..how can I watch him and not think of Mr Smith Goes to Washington...he's the Tom Hanks of his day (ha).

The set is great...the scenes of watching and voyeurism clearly is referenced in many films after this one...the best example I have is the scenes of listening in Francis Ford Coppola's "The Conversation".

This is a classic and I am glad I got to see it...by the way I had the idea to see this after listening to a David Lynch interview where he actually opens up to a question about his favorite films...he listed:

1. Rear Window

2. Sunset Blvd

3. M Hulots Holiday

So one down in the David Lynch experience

Playlist: The Red Shoes (1948)

Why?

1. It's a Classic, Bitch

2. Really...Martin Scorsese just dumped a ton of money into its restoration and Criterion is putting out a primo set for it

3. I heard Scorsese say this is one of his favorite films

4. Francis Ford Coppola also has said it's one of his favorite films of all time...he also uses it as inspiration for his film TETRO...he takes parts of Red Shoes literally right out and has put recreations of it in Tetro...also the lovers triangle mimics the love story between Gallo, Father and a lady.

5. Ballet...anticipation for Darren Aronofsky's "The Black Swan" coming in December

SO WHAT?
It's tough to watch old films...most times I feel that it's all been done before so why should I watch an old film with the same stories that we get now...and today the camera work and acting is better anyway. Sometimes this is true...other times you get a surprise and see something that no one can duplicate...example you say?...Citizen Kane ...I say

The Red Shoes is also a good example of a story you have seen before...love, obsession, and tragedy...but that's like every film right? Here the music is great...the dancing is real fun and never boring...the 15 minute Red Shoes ballet/film within a film is mesmerizing..and the acting by the villain of the film, Anton Walbrook is spectacular. Old style acting...really anything before 1970 feels dated...even the greats...but then again acting today is getting dated...all the comedians feel like they want to do a retread of Will Ferrell or something...any way back to a good film and a great actor...Anton plays a French Ballet Producer...who is obsessed with these dancers and buries the ones who he can't have...he looks like DeNiro in some scenes and other times looks like famous Italian directors or a French New wave actor...he's got style damn it.

The Red Shoes lives up to the hype set up for me by Coppola and Scorsese...its tough because when you sit to watch a 2 1/2 hour film about Ballet you want to make sure it's good...this my be the best.

Playlist: Bronson

Why? I was impressed by Tom Hardy in Inception. Plus, it looked badass cool.

If I hadn't known this was the same actor going in, I would not have pieced it together. Seriously, take a look:

Pretty, ain't he? Hardy is the whole show here. He is completely taken over Raging Bull-style by the character, the real-life Charlie Bronson, aka "the most violent prisoner in Britain". Bronson is an absolute nutbag who has only been out of jail for four months since 1974. The movie is a very loose depiction of his life, choosing to brush over facts for visuals. Mainly, scenes of Hardy beating the snot out of people. A lot of which he is completely naked. We're talking full-frontal, ladies.

Director Nicolas Winding Refn does a lot of good things here, including framing the story around a stage monologue by Bronson. But the thing is that for all Bronson's nutbagery, he's basically just a thug. There's no character arc, no climax. And he's never actually killed anyone, which, yes, is a good thing, but lowers the stakes a bit. The DVD cover boasts that it's "A Clockwork Orange for the 21st Century" (a quote from some magazine called Zoo). It's not. It looks good and Hardy is excellent, but it ultimately comes up a little on the dull side. Disappointingly so.

Playlist : Double Feature

Real quick. I saw two real good comedies over the last 2 days.

1. 500 Days of Summer: Makes me want to like non-romantic comedies...and Joseph Gordon Levitt even more. Real funny and original style to this...not at all what I expected.

2. The Promotion: I have had this love fest with Seann William Scott and John C. Reilly ever since "Cop Out" and "Cyrus" respectively. Real underrated film here...very funny and almost "Office Space" quality about two nice guys turning bad and trying to go for the same promotion at a grocery store. Both actors really do a great acting job and not just for the laughs...also look out for a good Jenna Fisher, a great and subdued Fred Armisen and Randy from "The Wire". It really gets sad for our favorite slubby guy Jon C Reily especially all his weird tattoos

Playlist: COP OUT or A Couple of Dicks

Ok...Kevin Smith made this movie...he knew he had to do something and the world of film was just not going to make the films he had in his pipeline..I can forgive him for it...but damn I wanted him to stick to his guns and write/direct all his films...this is a cop action comedy with Bruce Willis...I mean that's pretty cool...but who are these writers?...and will K Smith put in his patented K Smith style...you know the cool pop references and nostalgia for being a Gen X'er...and blatant sexual content etc etc

THE GOOD1. Seann Willam Scott is really funny. Every time I see this guy recently he is MONEY. He is here as the Shit Burglar...a Parkour shit leaving criminal who will help the cops once caught

2. Guillermo Diaz as Poh-Boy..the baseball lovin bad guy

3. The Kevin Smith Touches...the pop references and bad language...at one point Tracy Morgan goes into an interrogation room and pretends to be a "crazy criminal"...he just lets loose on film quote after film quote...from Star Wars to Scarface to Mr. Tibbs to The Color Purple.

4. Side character Adam Brody as a secondary cop partner team ...he is the young cop partnered with Kevin Pollack...this guy is genuine and funny and not afraid to look stupid...he shines here.

5. The soundtrack: Opens with "No Sleep till Brooklyn"...continues with classic Run-DMC, and the score by Harold Faltermeyer who came out of retirement...he did Beverly Hills Cop, the Running Man, Fletch...etc...this score feels so good and so comforting for a 35 year old man who yearns for those action cop films of the 1980s

THE BAD

1. Sadly it's these two...not to be pun-ie...but Bruce Willis just phones it in..and Tracy Morgan is incomprehensible..I really have to watch the film with the subtitles on...Morgan just talks too fast and mumbles and actually spits all over the place...instead of saliva I think this guy secretes milk out of his mouth...thick gobs of mucus milk

2. The Plot: It makes no sense, it should not be hard to follow a comedy cop film...think back to Beverly Hills Cop..the plot of the crime was simple--an exporter put drugs, German counterfeit money, and I think drugs covered in coffee to throw off dogs into America..that's it...in this film there is a woman locked in a trunk, a baseball card, stolen phones or equipment, drugs, money, gangs..it's a mess.

3. The Editing: A lot needed to be cut or rearranged or something..it feels choppy and not paced well...well guess who edited it?..Kevin Smith..I mean if he directs it..fine...not write it..Ok..but why couldn't they get a real editor?

4. Jason Lee: As the new husband of Bruce Willis' wife...he is not funny anymore...plays a faggy jerk (thanks Louie C.K. for bringing back faggy)...Memphis Beat is a joke...Earl sucked at the end, his last big role was Almost Famous which was 10 years ago...I love him in Mall Rats and Chasing Amy..I guess that's enough

5. The Writers: The Cullen Brothers..what's up with Brothers..no one can follow in the Coen Bros footsteps..wait...except for the Duplass Bros..these guys are no Duplass Bros.

6. Kevin Smith: I feel bad and I don't...I was real upset about this not writing thing..now I don't..this film is sub-par with or without him..there are flashes of Smith's best work here...I take this as one of those thing that you see actors do..they will make a big dopey film to then pay for something better later on...with Red State in the works now I feel good about that one and can understand doing Cop Out..although Cop Out made very little money, made for 30 million, and made an OK 44 million)...Smith also has the hockey film "Hit Somebody" in the pipeline with a potential to team up with Seann William Scott.

The real BEST thing is the Blu-Ray Comedy Mode in the DVD...it's Kevin Smith using Blu-ray technology to dive into commentary, deleted scenes and bloopers..he's great at this..I just wish there was a straight up commentary with him and Seann William Scott.

Woo..that was in depth..I say check it out to complete your Kevin Smith films..but if you like extras, definitely check out the Blu-Ray

Playlist: Party Down (Season 1)

Why? Recommended by a few people, including our very own Vin

If you don't know (and you might not since this was on Starz, which you may also not know is a cable network), this comedy follows a small catering team to a different event each episode. It's L.A., so the charcaters are all trying to break into or back into the Industry. Fittingly, the show works because of the actors.

The thing about ensemble casts is that you need to start everyone off as a broad charcater type in order to ground the audience. Look at Kramer from "Seinfeld." he started as "the goofy neighbor." No one knew anything about him so they had to play it a little obvious at first. He was still funny, but he became funnier as he took on more layers. And, as is the case on "Party Down," those layers are exposed during interactions with the other characters. Good shows are self-feeding organisms: they make they're own jokes.

As for those actors, I didn't want to like Adam Scott--he has one of those punchable faces--but he centers the show with his low-key charm. I also didn't want to like Jane Lynch--for personal "Glee"-backlash reasons (man, I'm a jerk)--but she's undeniably naturally funny. PD's Kramer. And Ken Marino, as the team leader, is so sweetly desperate that you feel bad for laughing at him. Not that it stops you.

SMC Bonus Cool Point: Director Fred Savage is also a regular director on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." Who needs Winnie, right?

Favorite Episode: "Celebrate Ricky Sargulesh" (Guest-starring Steven Weber as an Eastern European gangster who just got off for murder. Most out loud laughs of the season.)

Favorite Guest Star: Kristen Bell, "Stennheiser-Pong Wedding Reception" (I'm not usually a fan of hers, but she was spot on as the anal-retentive team leader of a rival catering team)

Playlist: Pontypool

Why? One of the most buzzed about "zombie" movies in years

Damn it, this was so close. Helluva set-up: Grant Mazzy is a veteran radio personality stuck doing the morning show in a small, snowy Canadian town. What plays out next is pure Orson Welles as reports start to trickle in about strange occurrences in the area, including a gathering mob that soon turns violent. All the time, we see nothing but the inside of the studio as the tension builds through the reactions of Mazzy (character actor Stephen McHattie--think Lance Hendrikson mixed with Hugh Laurie) and his staff.

Which brings us to the crossroads. Go one way, director Bruce McDonald maintains the movie as a study of paranoia and the unknown, relying on his storytelling to escalate the terror. It's risky, but where else to take a narrative leap but in a low-budget genre film. The other way, which you probably guessed is the way we went, is to bring on the zombies. One choice isn't better than the other. It's what happens after the choice that counts.

To McDonald's credit, he has gone on record as stating that the infected people in this film are not zombies. He refers to them as "conversationalists" because the disease is language-based. Certain words--different for everybody--trigger a neurological lockdown where "you become so distraught at your condition that the only way out of the situation you feel, as an infected person, is to try and chew your way through the mouth of another person." It's always interesting to see a new twist, but there's no science here to back it up in the slightest. That's not even the real problem. There's not even any pseudo-science to back it up. The "why" is never fully revealed. Again, this is okay if you are confident to leave your story shrouded in mystery. Which leads us back to the choice to reveal the "zombies."

The radio station is soon overrun by infected townspeople as well as a doctor whose connection to the epidemic is never explained but who is presented as the key to solving the puzzle. The character (or the actor, or both) is a mess. He's goofy and babbling and kills the carefully-developed tone of the film. And adds nothing. At this point the whole concept breaks down and the resolution feels made up on the spot. It feels like no one had any idea what to do in the second half of the film. Still better than Dead Snow, though.

Playlist: American Radical: The Trials of Norman Finkelstein

Why? Interesting sounding documentary

And it was. Finkelstein is a professor and author who has made his career criticizing Israel's treatment of the Palestinians. Ok, more than criticizing. He compares them to the Nazis, his argument given a certain legitimacy by his being the son of Holocaust survivors. Surprisingly, some people disagree. This film does a good job of presenting both sides of the debate and not simply shooting the subject in a glowing light.

Unfortunately, it could have been about 25 minutes shorter. Like I said, Finkelstein is a complex personality and someone I didn't know anything about--the perfect docu mix. A tight hour would have done the job without all the filler that dragged this film down at times. It's a problem with a lot of documentarians. This may be a strange criticism, but I think they focus too much on "making a film" instead of simply tackling a subject as efficiently as possible. It's what gives good documentaries a bad name. So, no, I wouldn't necessarily recommend this film so much as I would suggest reading up on Finkelstein. Don't worry, online reading counts, too.

Playlist: Alice in Wonderland

Why? Because 15 years ago, this would have been brilliant

Now, however, well...in the last ten years, Tim Burton has made one original movie (Corpse Bride, 2005). His upcoming movies? Frankenweenie (based on his own 1984 short), Dark Shadows (based on the TV show), Maleficent (based on Sleeping Beauty), The Addams Family (based on another TV show and already made into a series of films), and Monsterocalypse (based on a game, so that's different). It's sad, and I'm sad, because another talented artist has apparently lost his way. (Check out his Web site for a reminder of his unique imagination.)

Alice is the culmination of this slide into corporate mediocrity. The film, based of course on one of the most fantastic stories of all time, is lifeless, and even worse, heartless. I had zero investment in the story--it's just a lot of CGI and not much else. Even the acting was a mixed bag. Mia Wasikowska showed a strong presence as Alice and Mrs. Burton, Helena Bonham Carter, was entertaining as the oddly big-headed Red Queen. Anne Hathaway, as the White Queen, came off as a stoned Goth witch. No idea what was going on there. And then there's Johnny Depp. Ouch. This may be the worst performance of his career. I feel like I must have blacked out at some point during this movie because I cannot understand what the point of his character was. He was a relatively sane Mad Hatter with a boring back story that was forced to the main storyline for no other reason than they had to justify Depp's salary. Again, imagine this casting 10-15 years ago. Imagine how insane Depp would have played the Hatter.

I genuinely felt my time was wasted.

(Though check out this picture of Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. Tell me they don't look like Jonah Hill.)

Playlist: Exam

"Do you have any questions?", "What's the question?", "What's the answer?", I have more questions?", "Does this film have an ending?", Will we be in this room the whole time?"

Films like this are great, they either are throwaway films, (see CUBE 2)...or great films..(see CUBE)

Movies this is like...Usual Suspects, Saw, Cube obviously, Primer (kinda without time machine stuff), puzzle solving films are fun if done right...maybe even memorable...but if done wrong...they just are terrible...this one is done right but is closer to Cube then say the greatness of Usual Suspects or MOON which uses a small space and limited actors to tell a puzzling story. It's terse, small, a good Saturday Night Thriller.

Stuart Hazeldine is a new British director that's been around. He is king of British Spec scripts...things like Blade Runner 2. Also he wrote Knowing and is pals with Dark City's Alex Proyas...which I love that film but Proyas' next few films were just ok.

EXAM is like that thing the substitute teacher did in your class when you were in middle school. Write a bunch of questions on the board and then make you feel stupid later for answering all the questions when the answer was at the start...believe me I looked for the answer and felt stupid I didn't get it the first time...but this film goes through all the rules and reminds you how the logic works...it's simple and easy.

The acting is good...it varies from REAL good to student film level..

The best acting is by Luke Mably...playing the role of "White"...he stereotypes everyone and calls them by how they look...like "Black", "Blonde"...kinda like a racist Reservoir Dogs...

My new favorite word is "INVIGILATOR"...which sounds awesome...but in British just means Exam Proctor...I always had an idea for a film called "PROCTOR"...and it wasn't as good as this film...maybe more like "One Hour Photo"...anyway that word is awesome and I will use it at least once a day now.
The film is now $5.99 on pay per view...it's worth a rent.