October 2011
17 posts
255. The Wild Hunt [Franchi.2009.Canada]
I was told about The Wild Hunt earlier in the year, and was told I would really enjoy it. Little did I know, that I would in fact end up adoring it. This Canadian award winning film has all the makings of such LARPing (live action role playing) documentaries such as Monster Camp only presented in a stylized and dramatic fashion. It basically plays out like an understated comedy or a...
September 2011
30 posts
254. Prom [Nussbaum.2011.US]
Prom is essentially a Degrassi special extended into a feature length movie. It’s centered around, you guessed it, a high school prom and the various characters scrambling to find dates. It goes through all the drama associated with high school life using actors well into their 20’s. It’s a Disney production, but not at all as PG as say, Wizards of Waverly Place or what not. ...
253. Night of the Comet [Eberhardt.1984.US]
Night of the Comet is one of the rare 80’s horror movies that I have never seen. The plot essentially parallels that of Vincent Price’s Last Man on Earth or Charlton Heston’s Omega Man, only with an 80’s tinged twist. It’s fun, it’s campy, and there’s zombie-like creatures. What more could you possibly want? There’s a formula harnessed in the...
252. Leprechaun 5: Leprechaun In the Hood...
As surprising as it may sound, Leprechaun in the Hood is in fact not AS terrible as one would expect. It certainly has that Leprechaun brand of humor only now the jokes are centered around pretty much everything related to hip hop culture. Leprechaun’s patented riddle-like speech is turned into mini-raps and his overall demeanor appears to be subdued. He is far more jokey than he is...
251. Tremors II: Aftershocks [Wilson.1996.US]
Tremors has like 4 sequels, which is quite remarkable given the source material. It’s hard to fathom that the same story arc was stretched out upon so many movies, but then again a bunch of them were DTV so go figure. Having never seen any of the sequels, I decided to start at the most logical point with the second installment. Tremors II: Aftershocks is a mere shadow of its predecessor. ...
250. Orgazmo [Parker.1997.US]
If I’m not mistaken, I believe upon finishing Orgazmo I officially have seen every movie in the Parker/Stone filmography. In regards to the rest of their movies, Orgazmo ranks somewhere towards the bottom. I’m one of the few people who doesn’t like Baseketball, but it would rank somewhere down there with it on the short list. Orgazmo is certainly not a bad movie, just not Matt...
249. The Backyard [Hough.2002.US]
Documentaries come and go, a lot of them I hold close to my heart, but a lot of them remain forgotten. The Backyard will more than likely stick with me for a long time to come. As the name suggests, it centers around the eclectic characters engaged in the art of backyard wrestling. Traveling across the country (and even overseas), director Paul Hough managed to compile a definitive look at what...
248. Mad World [Cataldo.2010.US]
WHAT. THE. FUCK. I’m not sure if I can put into words the absurdity that is Mad World…but I suppose I will try. To say that it is an embarrassing film would be quite the understatement. I haven’t seen acting THIS bad in quite a long time. The plot appears to be barely held together, and a lot of the scenes are strewn together with little to no thought. What stands to be a...
247. Cherry [Fine.2010.US]
Cherry is a refreshing take on the college sex romp subgenre of comedy. It relies upon a decent script and solid actors rather than just tits and fart gags, which I greatly appreciated. That’s not to say it’s a smart film necessarily, but definitely Ivy League when compared to say, Van Wilder or some other cockamamie bullshit. A high school prodigy is hurled into the world of...
246. Howl's Moving Castle [Miyazaki.2004.Japan]
In terms of Anime, Miyazaki is responsible for some of the only movies that I give a shit about. Lucky for me, my girlfriend is a huge Miyazaki fan and brought over some of his films the other night. Not being incredibly well versed in his entire catalog, I delved into Howl’s Moving Castle first. It was a whimsical/visually stunning adventure for any and all ages. My girlfriend urged me...
245. SubUrbia [Linklater.1996.US]
SubUrbia is a punk film for people that don’t know anything about punk. It has all the stylistic components of movies such as Penelope Spheeris’ Suburbia, Class of 1984, and Repo Man…but without any of the same grit and fury that made those movies great. While funny, SubUrbia is just a shallow attempt at connecting with “alternative” youth. Steve Zahn steals the...
244. Eddie [Rash.1996.US]
I have a hate/hate relationship with Whoopie Goldberg, going along with that, Eddie stands the be the most absurd shitshow of her film career. Long time New York Knicks fan Edwina “Eddie” Franklin is given the opportunity of a lifetime when she stumbles her way into the position of the head coach during a fan appreciation night. I mean…it doesn’t get any fucking crazier...
243. River's Edge [Hunter.1986.US]
In terms of minimalistic plot development, River’s Edge has it all figured out. Despite the simplicity of the storyline, the film still manages to stay engaging…dare I say compelling even, throughout. Samson is fed up with his girlfriend, so he decides to strangle her to death on the bank of a river. Complications arise when he decides to show her dead body off to his friends. The...
242. Inferno: The Making of The Expendables...
Upon finishing The Expendables I was flying pretty high in the quest for some more high velocity action violence and happened to stumble upon a “making of” documentary on Netflix. The documentary is of course a behind the scenes look at the making of the film, but it also delves into Stallone’s personal life rather intricately. His side stories that accompany each segment are...
241. Iron Monkey [Yuen.1993.Hong Kong]
Iron Monkey was brought out of obscurity thanks to Quentin Tarantino. The film was re-translated in order to better appeal to American audiences, which makes me curious as to how ridiculous the original version is. In any regard, it’s a brilliantly choreographed Kung Fu action film riddled with unintentional cheese. The script and plot is outweighed by the amazing fight sequences. Iron...
240. The Expendables [Stallone.2010.US]
I finally watched what was helmed to be the coup de grace to action films. Starring in and directed by Stallone himself, The Expendables purposefully blows it’s proverbial action load in one of the most ridiculous casting efforts maybe ever. You know a film is stacked when all you need to do is list last names: Stallone, Staham, Li, Lundgren, Austin (3:16), Rourke, Crews, not to mention...
239. Knockout [Wheeler.2011.US]
Stone Cold Steve Austin stars as a school janitor who takes a clueless nerd under his wing in order to show him a thing or two about boxing. The nerd in question takes this opportunity to try and join the school’s boxing team whilst standing up against his school tormentor. It’s an extremely run of the mill effort from long time made-for-TV movie director Anne Wheeler. Obviously, I...
238. Cecil B. Demented [Waters.2000.US]
Cecil B. Demented is a John Waters turn of the century epic adventure about a starlet who gets kidnapped and forced (at gun point) to star in a rogue film production run by a cast of underground misfits. It’s star studded with everyone that seemingly made a career in the 90’s and thusly faded away after Y2K. Melanie Griffith stars opposite Stephen Dorff in the two lead roles, both of...
237. Confessions of a Porn Addict...
This movie reminded me a lot of a less funny and poorly written version of Registered Sex Offender. It stars Kenny (or maybe it’s Spenny?) from Kenny vs. Spenny as a porn addict looking to break his habit. It’s a mockumentary that tries too hard to fit the nitch of a understated comedy. There are some clever gags strewn throughout, but for the most part it was pretty underwhelming. ...
236. Alix Lambert's The Mark of Cain...
In one of the toughest and most depressing docs I’ve seen this year, director Alix Lambert takes an in depth look inside Russian prisons. If you hadn’t guessed yet, Russia is pretty fucked economically and politically and their laws are further proof of that. A man who is caught stealing a chicken can easily face more jail time than a murderer, who is often given 5-10 years. ...
235. The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu...
This was every Lovecraftian nerd’s wet dream. It’s a perfect culmination of nerdy pop culture humor and even nerdier horror fiction. For any fan of Cthulhian mythos, this film delves deep into the folklore behind the overlord demigod. The Last Lovecraft plays out like if Hellboy was directed by Judd Apatow. That’s probably a terrible description, but you’ll just have to...
234. Gnomeo and Juliet [Asbury.2011.UK]
Gnomeo and Juliet is definitely up for cutest movie of the year. It’s an animated retelling of Shakespeare’s tragic love story told with lawn gnomes…what more could you want, really? When it comes to animated pictures such as this, a film is only as great as its voice actors. Luckily, Gnomeo and Juliet is stacked with loads of vocal talent. Hulk Hogan, Dolly Parton, Ozzy...
233. Norwegian Ninja [Malling.2010.Norway]
It’s hard to fathom how an action comedy that promises ninjas and all the makings of a spy thriller could fail to entertain, but “Norwegian Ninja” still manages to fall flat. I just don’t see this Norwegian comedy translating well with American audiences or at least not nearly as well as it did in its native Norway.
The film is very loosely based off of real-life Cold War spy Arne Treholt...
232. Blood Games [Rosenberg.1990.US]
Blood Games is a delightful sexploitation romp about a foxy baseball team who lands themselves into some trouble after defeating the local rednecks. Hellbent on revenge after the death of their leader’s son, the rednecks hunt down the girls one by one…little do they know the babes are fighting back. The film is chock full of rape, murder, and overtly sexist rhetoric…so...
231. Our Idiot Brother [Peretz.2011.US]
Paul Rudd has gained the respect of frat boys and seasoned film critics alike. From his ”Clueless” days to “I Love You, Man” and every horror franchise in between, his career has certainly run the gamut. Yet I’m not sure how his newest role in “Our Idiot Brother” will sit with most Rudd fans.
To start, the plot behind “Our Idiot Brother” is about as simple as the name insinuates. Rudd plays...
230. The Rise of the Planet of the Apes...
It’s a little late in the summer for blockbusters, but The Rise of the Planet of the Apes managed to exceed my expectations. James Franco was magnificent as was John Lithgow. The first hour and a half was super epic, but it kind of fell apart in the last half hour. It was less of a rise and more of a minor upheaval, to be more accurate. It was difficult to keep a straight face once the...
229. The Crow [Proyas.1994.US]
The Crow has to be one of the most overrated comic book films ever made. I’ve always heard great things about it, so now I’m wondering if I just took too long to finally watch it…because I just wasn’t into it. The cloud of infamy that surrounds the film, in regards to the premature death of Brandon Lee, is what seems to drive the cult fandom. It’s hokey, not...
228. Cold Weather [Katz.2011.US]
I stumbled across this pseudo dark comedy the other day and ended up falling in love with it. Cold Weather is a quirky indie film with not a heck of a lot going on. It centers around a former forensic scientist named Doug who is forced to move back in with his sister Gail after quitting his job. When his ex-girlfriend goes missing, Doug, along with Gail and his work sidekick Carlos, team up to...
227. Two Days in April [Argott.2007.US]
Two Days in April is a documentary about the months leading up to the NFL Draft, and the scrutiny that four NFL prospects undergo during their journey. The draft in question is the 2006 NFL Draft and the players focused upon are Derek Hagan, Clint Ingram, DonTrell Moore, and Travis Wilson. Of course the title is a reference to the two days in April in which the draft takes place. There are two...
226. Registered Sex Offender [Byington.2008.US]
With one of the funnier tag lines of any movie I’ve seen as of late, “A story that will touch you…inappropriately”, Registered Sex Offender is up there as one of the funniest movies on my list this year. In terms of quotable films, this is about as good as it gets. It’s a mockumentary blended with shot compositions similar to that of The Trailer Park Boys and...
