Eye of the Tiger

From 1986 (were you even born then Joe?) with Gary Busey.

Did you ever see a movie so bad it was good? I don't think this was meant to be a comedy, but after a couple of glasses of wine and a bowl, that is just what it is.
Gary, a vietnam vet, has been released from prison and goes back to his hometown only to find out it has been taken over by dirt bike riding drug dealers. Not that I expect reality, especially from a movie like this, but I didn't expect the ridiculous. I lost track of the things that made no sense.

Netflix does have this movie and I was confounded by the positive reviews. They were almost as funny as the movie itself.

In the mood for some low brow goofy entertainment? Eye of the Tiger is for you!

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Fantastic Mr. Fox is nominated for the Best Animated Feature category of the Oscars. This is a film that I was afraid to watch for several reasons and also the one in which I had the most hope for. Allow me to explain. Growing up I was a book worm and there were a few books that were particularly special to me. Island of the Blue Dolphins, Where the Red Fern Grows, Shiloh, and Matilda. If you ever get bored go and pick up any of these books, I'm sure they are an easy read now and the stories still hold up, especially Island of the Blue Dolphins which is based on a true story. After reading Matilda I had read like 6-10 of Roald Dahl's books and that author was as special to me as Shel Silverstein. He also wrote Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Now, I never read Fantastic Mr. Fox, but I am extremely familiar with Roald Dahl's flair and every movie I've seen based off his work have failed miserably to capture his brand of wimsy. So I was scared walking into this film.

It just so happens that Wes Anderson, the director is pretty much tied for the best director in my mind with Spike Jonze (Where the Wild Things Are, Being John Malkovich), Michael Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep), and David Fincher (Panic Room, Fight Club, Seven, The Game, Zodiac, Benjamin Button). BTW, I recommend all of those films. In fact if I had to sit down and honestly pick what my favorite American film, considering all Oscar catagories, could be, Royal Tennenbaums (Anderson) would likely be #1, but it is a close tie with Stranger than Fiction. Anderson Focuses on his characters and has said in several interviews that is where the scripts come from. He gets an idea for a character and writes up profiles almost like they do with serial killers and the story just writes itself. His films have a distinct visual tone and like all the other directors I listed, he creates his own world almost like he were an animator. Well, he finally quit walking the line and crossed into animation with Fantastic Mr. Fox and made a stop motion film based off a book by my most beloved childhood author and casted Meryl Streep, Jason Shwartzman, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson (always fantastic with a good director), George Clooney, and Willam DeFoe.

Less than 5 minutes in, my affection for his work was quickly re-affirmed. The stop-motion was so insanely beautiful that I quickly remembered why I see Anderson as a visionary. The film industry has taken a turn in the last 10 years to pump out the quickest, most clean cut, easily marketable bastardized scripts and force feed the public muted stories with a bland atmosphere. This was like adding some ground garlic and minced onion to store bought spaghetti sauce. The animation is breath taking. The world was created from the ground up and based off all the actual surrounding to Roald Dahl's house, from the furniture he sat in to the hills that surrounded his house. The animation itself kind of messes with your mind in a way that I can't really put my finger on, which is a compliment in my book. The audio was different as well. In animated features the sound is so crisp and manufactured. The actors are shoved into isolated rooms and often don't even work with the other actors. They just come in and lay their own crisp tracks. Anderson took a different approach.

He made all the actors come to Dahl's country estate and live together for weeks and they acted out the parts together and he explains it as recording the audio like a "radio play." When Mr. Fox is rolling around or digging, George Clooney was actually rolling around in the grass with Meryl Streep and digging in the dirt in a furry with his hands. It seems miniscule just from hearing the description, but believe me it added a layer of realism and set this film further apart from the animation we are used to. I'm going on and on about the directing, but the story and acting were awesome too.

You couldn't ask for better actors. All of the talent he called on, are extremely picky about the projects they work on. Meryl Streep, Schwartzman, and Murray don't work on anything that is less than brilliant in there eyes. If a project does not challenge them, their field, or social norms they turn the roles down. This film was based off a book by an author that wrote because he wanted to, directed by a man who works because he loves it, and actors who have an obsessive approach and really only do ground-breaking work.

As I said earlier, I have not read this book, so I'm not sure how closely it stuck to the story. Judging from the work and interviews with Dahl's kin, I would say it was spot on. It wasn't overly dramatized. In fact it was somewhat muted. The script itself wasn't something I'd say was particularly great, but the narrative was just...... Charming. It was full of feeling in a way that has been becoming less and less common over the years, which I would blame on our corporate culture. Can you really explain why Princess Bride is set apart from other films? If you can, then I would say that this had a lot of those same qualities. I just feel I imagine someone from Sierra Leon would feel after seeing snow. They literally just don't have the terms to describe it. This movie is innocent and charming. I loved it. I'd say the moral of this story is to appreciate the things that people may make fun of you for, because we are all different for a reason. Our "downfalls" are actually our strengths.

*Movie Club

If you like this classic clip from Fawlty Towers and Absolutely Fabulous, then you should check out the Catherine Tate Show. It's the same British humor but with super high quality sketches. I feel like I may have already posted this next clip, but I may not have. It's one of my favorites from that show.



Here is more of the gay irish skit. Those were a bunch of different but continuous sketches mashed together and the link has more of them. I thought Kerry might like it being Irish. I think it might answer your questions about comedy at the expense of gays. It's completely fine so long as it isn't hateful.

Modern Family Trailer - Very Good Trailer, except the show doesn't use that music. It is an intro for the whole show. The clip after this is my favorite to date. Look at the guy from Married with Children's eyes at 1:03 - that's a good actor... I could write a term paper on the gay couple in this tv show. Also I would drink the straight dad's bath water.

A trailer doesn't really work for Galaxy Quest (I was spelling it wrong), but here is one anyways. Basically they are the actors of Star Trek doing whatever they have to do to make money, which is doing conventions. They hate their fans and they hate Shatner. Then real life aliens catch the tv transmissions and think the episodes were "historical documents" so they find them at a convention and the actors think they are getting offered another gig (convention nerd stuff) so they take them up on it. Then they really go to space and have to save this race of people, while lying to them about being actors. They try to play it cool because their egos need boosting. It all sounds cheesy, but it is a great comedy.

The Piano

The Piano (1993)

I've decided I liked this movie, but it is only a one time watch. The scene where the girls come in on the boat was great. The part where she was running through the forrest to see Keitel and her husband caught her, and they showed the close up of her face and she knew she was caught, was inspiring. Then the fingers scene was just horrific. While I liked all these things there are a lot of criticisms I have. It's going to sound like I didn't like the movie, but the parts I did like were so good that it makes up for the rest. Overall, I feel like the story was too one-dimensional.

I have issues with Holly Hunter because she always over-acts and that was the case in this movie as well. Although, to her credit, she was obviously directed to do so. I don't know any mute people at all, but I'm guessing that just because their mouth is shut they don't always have their lips clenched in a scowl. This is all minor, but the character didn't seem to make sense to me. She was a woman who knew what she wanted and was VERY impatient and what's the word.... Awe, fuck. I hate when this happens. She was impulsive? There was so much evidence of this, but she was in a loveless relationship forever. If this were a real person, she would not have had a bout of impulsiveness before this point and never moved like that. She also would not have not given up so easily on letting the piano go in the first place. There was a lot more, but I feel that if I continue it will just sound like complaining. The character only had two emotions angry or really pissed off.

It was a beautiful film with lots of wide-shots, which I love. It looked like the director was experimenting with showing 1st person too, which is bold and something I also love. Like when her husband was drinking tea and they showed his view into the cup. Personally, I feel that shots like that make the viewer feel like they are there, which is very important in period pieces like this.

I can't tell if I thought the symbolism was great or too much. Like when the piano went overboard and pulled her down with it. I can't really put into words why that made me uncomfortable. It was brilliant but I think the way it was directed made me feel uncomfortable. It pulled wide and showed it in an artsy way to kind of over-emphasize the symbolism. I think it should have been more graphic and realistic to maximize the drama. I'm not sure why I have a bug up my ass about this movie.

Here's what I appreciate about the story though: It really highlighted how women weren't people, but property. Not even just in the context of her marriage, but in society too. Even her daughter didn't view her as an authority figure. I feel like people don't really understand what it was like for women. Since I am a huge music lover, I was kind of wanting them to really show how music was her only way of expression to those who couldn't sign. They only seemed to focus on how she was obsessed with the piano, but not WHY she was obsessed with it. I don't know.

I promise I liked the movie. Especially when she realized she was caught running to Keitel. That was masterful film making. I appreciate the fact that the writer was also the director. You can't make a movie like this if someone else wrote it. I have a lot of criticism for what I would do differently, but I give props to the writer/director because she knew EXACTLY what she wanted. I've honestly never been so torn over a film. I just wish it had more depth and was less focused on the obsession. I'd give it like a 7 on a scale of 10. Without those 3 scenes it would have been a 4 or 5 though.

Another Movie Recommendation Post

Stranger than Fiction
Will Farrell
Dustin Hoffman
Emma Thompson
Queen Latifah
Maggie Gyllenhaal

Do not look up a trailer to this film - it gives away HUGE spoilerS. It is true fiction in that it couldn't take place in real life, but it isn't science fiction. It is narrated and very contemporary and artsy. You'd think it would be comedy because Will Farrell is in it, but it is like Robin Williams doing a dramatic role. There are hints of comedy, but the overwhelming story is a dramatic tragedy. He is an IRS agent who is sent to audit Maggie Gyllenhaals character who is a baker who has only paid the percentage of her taxes that do not pay for war and he gets caught up in his own 'coming to terms' sub-plot. I can almost garauntee that you will love this based off what I know of you. Emma Thompson's performance should have been nominated for an Oscar. I say that a lot, but I promise I don't throw those words around. I really mean it when I say it.


The Game
Michael Douglas
Sean Penn

A very good psychological-thriller that is actually unpredictable until the very very end. It's a true mind-fuck. You can't distinguish reality from neurosis. Again, I'd avoid watching this trailer because the mystery is a big part the overall experience. It's from the director of Seven ("What's in the box??!!"), David Fincher.



Tea with Mussolini
Judi Dench
Cher
Lily Tomlin
Maggie Smith
Joan Plowright (best speaking voice ever)

Drama - Exactly what the trailer shows. Nothing more and definitely nothing less. Check out the scene where Cher sings "smoke gets in your eyes" after the trailer.







In Dreams
Annette Benning
Robert Downey Jr.

Thriller/Suspense. This seemed to get bad reviews on IMDB but I thought it was very good. It's about a psychic who's daughter is kidnapped and she has a psychic link with her kidnapper. The directing is stunning. I mean this film is so visual and has great performances. Come on, it is Annette fucking Benning and Downey Jr. The story sounds kind of trite, but I think this movie is made by the director and performances. I literally had nightmares after seeing this. I haven't seen it for years, but I'm willing to bet I would feel the same now. I'm going to look and see if I can't find it online to watch tonight actually.



It is rated well on Netflix apparently.



Playing by Heart
This is the biggest movie you've never heard of
Angelina Jolie
Sean Connery
Gene Rowlands
Gillian Anderson
Dennis Quaide
Ryan Phillipe
Madeline Stowe
Jon Stewart
and even more...

Drama/Rom Com- This is one of those segmented movies where there are like 5 story lines and you are trying to figure out how they and their characters all intertwine with each other. This is a hidden gem of a movie. I'm not sure how that is possible with this cast, but its good and very well written.

City of Ember

What a surprise this movie was. When it started I was dissapointed because I could tell it was a kids movie. Without even trying I got caught up in the story. Something as important as light and the generator that produces it is breaking down. Politicians who are getting fat off the system ignore the urgency (appoint a task force to study the issue!) and most people just blindly go about their business. I was impressed how, as a kid's movie, intelligent it was. Have you read the book Joseph? I bet it was great.
Even after it was over hubby and I were talking about it, wondering if everyone else got out.

Edit: I wish I could describe and notice things about films like you do Joseph. I never even made the mental note about Harold in "Harold and Maude" not have a speaking line for 15 minutes.

Harold and Maude

This film is right up my alley. Conformity is a theme that I always enjoy. I must admit I was skeptical about watching this film because it was older. My favorite part is when everyone was giving Harold their judgements on his wanting to marry Maude and behind each person was their idol who shaped their opinions. Their leaders if you will. The pope, Nixon, and Freud. BRILLIANT commentary.

It's helpful for me too because I want my main character to turn into a Maude-like person, but receiving less joy out of her growing eccentricities. If you've read my comments I left in response to you guys, I shared how that song by The Boss describes my personality. My main character (probably named Vera) will uproot herself after a tragedy and run with a large inheritance. My story will likely be a tragedy as well. Basically I'm writing myself into a fictional character.

I lied, my favorite part might be that Harold did not have dialogue for an entire 15 minutes. It takes talent to pull that off. Great recommendation. Which one should I do next? BTW, did you really like Toys? It'd be ok if it was too cheesy. I wouldn't take offense.

The Union

Have you seen this yet Joseph? It was one of the first things I watched on the PC right from Netflix. I can only assume you have but if not....

"Filmmaker Adam Scorgie explores the illegal marijuana industry in British Columbia, revealing how the international business is most likely more profitable than it would be if it was lawful in this enlightening documentary. Marijuana growers, law enforcement officials, physicians, politicians, criminologists, economists and celebrities -- including comedian Tommy Chong -- shed light on this topical subject in a series of compelling interviews."

Totally worth your time and makes you proud to be a smoker.

PS I got Toys tonight. I'm going to have a few drinks and a smoke before I watch it. I will return to this post tomorrow for my review...

Kerry/Jophus Movie Club

I thought we could start a new thread that was tagged so if we make suggestions we could find the posts easily when it came time to add to the queue. I never added the ones you suggested bc I just couldn't find them quickly. I'll make the Tab "*Movie Club." The asterix will put it at the top of the tag list on the right, I believe so it will be even easier than just having a tag.