October 2011
17 posts
HEARTLAND 2011 FILM FESTIVAL
As part of my internship with Heartland Film Festival I was granted an exclusive look at a number of films. An opportunity I of course took full advantage of. If anything, I wish I had seen more films from the festival, but of course I was all too busy making an assortment of other things happen instead. I DID manage to watch a total of 10 films including both shorts and full length features. ...
271. Conan O'Brien Can't Stop [Flender.2011.US]
Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop easily wins funniest documentary of the year in my honorary opinion. The title refers to Conan O’Brien’s inability to “turn it off” almost to a fault. The documentary follows him as he brings his show on the road having been banned from appearing on television for 5 months following the aftermath of The Tonight Show fiasco. If I...
270. Bikini Girls on Ice [Klein.2009.US]
For a film with a title such as Bikini Girls on Ice, I was at the very least expecting girls in bikinis. On the plus side, nearly every girl in this movie is in their bathing suit for the entire 90 minute span. On the down side, there was nearly nothing to this film substance wise. You have pretty much your standard slasher movie here only minus any remnants of a coherent thought. A serial...
269. The Perfect Host [Tomnay.2010.US]
I remember seeing a preview of The Perfect Host several months ago and being thoroughly intrigued. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out to be the film that I was anticipating. Instead of a cerebral thriller I was surprised to find a cockamamie pseudo-thriller with shades of dark comedy strewn throughout. David Hyde Pierce is at times just painful to watch in this. His counterpart on the...
268. Card Subject to Change [Disbrow.2010.US]
I LOVE me a solid wrestling documentary and Card Subject to Change is no exception to this. This incredibly depressing look at the independent wrestling community is brilliantly structured from beginning to end. One of the more interesting storylines that exists among professional wrestlers is this idea that for a majority of wrestlers your career essentially begins and ends in the independent...
267. The Hurricane [Jewison.1999.US]
The Hurricane is the true story of Rubin Carter, a talented young boxer who was sent to prison after being convicted of a triple murder. It’s a biographical film that needs no embellishment given the incredible nature of the story itself. Unfortunately, the facts are purported and misinterpreted. It comes off as a fairytale rather than a true retelling of the life of Rubin Carter. Many...
266. Restless [Van Sant.2011.US]
Enoch is a funeral-crashing dropout whose best friend is the ghost of a WWII japanese kamikaze pilot. Annabell is terminally ill and only has three months to live. The two share a love for funerals and quickly form a tight bond.
“Restless” is your typical romantic comedy with a twist. Of course, the whole quirky-love-story-ironically-kindled-at-a-funeral shtick has been done time and time...
265. Barely Legal [Montesinos.2011.US]
Barely Legal is basically the farm league of National Lampoon’s movies. Three supposed high school virgins throw a party in order to celebrate their first time having sex. The film suffers from the quintessential syndrome of a cast of 30 somethings trying to pass as teenagers. It’s obnoxious, but common faire for a film such as this. The gender roles are flipped from your...
264. The Troll Hunter [Øvredal.2010.Norway]
Set in the tree-laden mountains of north-western Norway, The Troll Hunter is as stunningly beautiful as it is magnificently whimsical. Marked by it’s incredible on-location shooting, the cinematography is truly awe-inspiring. If it weren’t for giant trolls ransacking the landscape the film would make the perfect companion piece for anybody thinking of traveling to Norway. The CGI...
263. Go For It! [Marron.2011.US]
When it comes to dance battles and hip-hop culture in general, I will be the first to plead ignorance. Yet, I was lucky enough to watch a movie like “Go For It!”, which is essentially a diluted version of “You Got Served”.
Despite never having seen a “dance” movie before in my life, I felt as if I was already privy to pretty much the entire story arch before the movie even began. This type...
262. The Butcher, The Chef, and the Swordsman...
As the title would suggest, “The Butcher, The Chef, and the Swordsman” is a film split into three overlapping segments detailing the plight of the three title characters — all of whom are integrally connected without even knowing it. The three stories in question are aptly entitled “Desire,” “Vengeance” and “Greed.” The butcher desires the love of a prostitute he’s never met, the chef seeks...
261. Prince of Darkness [Carpenter.1987.US]
Prince of Darkness is actually the second installment in what Carpenter refers to as his “Apocalypse Trilogy”. The first of which being The Thing and the third and final movie being In the Mouth of Madness. Of course the three films are in no way connected aside from the fact that they all deal with the end of days. The Thing is The FUCKING Thing so I will leave it out of this...
260. White Chicks [Wayans.2004.US]
White Chicks is surprisingly one of the best worst movies I’ve seen in a while. It’s dedication to stupidity should be applauded. I foresee aliens picking apart what’s left of our planet some thousand years down the line and stumbling across a copy of White Chicks. Upon which they will feel immense sadness and pity for our collective culture…or better yet they will laugh...
259. Set Up [Gunther.2011.US]
When it comes to heist films, the motivating factor that drives pretty much every plot is quite simply revenge. “Setup” is your basic revenge film in the same vein as “Get Carter” or “Edge of Darkness.” And by “basic,” I mean “run-of-the-mill.”
It’s not a bad film per se, just painstakingly average. Curtis Jackson (aka 50 Cent) is the star of the film and, consequently, one of the only...
258. The Puffy Chair [Duplass.2005.US]
I was delighted by this little indie comedy gem starring Mark Duplass and Katie Aselton of The League fame. It’s charming, authentic, and incredibly funny. Understated comedies being my main jam and all, this really stuck a chord with me. The plot centers around a young couple on a road trip to retrieve a couch. Along the way Mark Duplass’ character picks up his hippie brother, and...
257. Saw 3D: The Final Chapter [Greutert.2010.US]
There was a point in time in which I swore off the Saw movies altogether, that definitive marker was upon completing Saw III and not knowing what the fuck was going on. Four sequels later, and we’ve finally reached the conclusion of one of the most abysmal horror franchises ever. Child’s Play has it’s laughs, Nightmare on Elm Street has its icon, and Friday the 13th has its...
256. Hide and Seek [Furie.2000.US]
For what it’s worth, Hide and Seek is basically a ripoff of Misery, replacing Kathy Bates character with Jennifer Tilly. It’s about a deranged couple who is unable to conceive a child of their own, so they kidnap a woman and inseminate her with their seed. If that isn’t absurd enough Jennifer Tilly practically goes berserker at the end of this thing trying to run down the...
