Biutiful: 2010

None of Alejandro Gonzalez Inarittu's previous three films (Amores perros, 21 Grams and Babel would ever be considered happy films but they are in no way a preparation for the onslaught of depression that is Biutiful. This is a classic "see it once but never again" film. There are a ton of great things about Biutiful and the main one is Javier Bardem. Playing a good hearted criminal who's just trying to support his two children, protect them from his bi-polar wife who's cheating on him with his brother (though they are technically separated) and who has just been diagnosed with terminal cancer, Bardem has never been better (including No Country For Old Men, though these are very different characters). He brings a much needed grounded humanity to the film that could easily be lost as there are very few good times to be had. Inarittu also films this cycle of despair and wreckage beautifully. The story may be an ugly one but the visuals are genuinely stunning. On the downside, while this is a very powerful film, it's also a very long film. At almost 2.5 hours and without a whole lot of uplifting moments, Inarittu basically dares the viewer to keep watching and I suspect a lot of people will be very turned off by this. Bardem's performance and Inarittu's direction make Biutiful practically a must see film but I can't imagine too many people wanting to take this journey multiple times.

Rating: 4

Fucked Up: David Comes to Life (2011)

If there's one generic (and slightly hyperbolized) term I could use to describe David Comes To Life, it would be EPIC! Everything from the sound of the music to the length, scope, audacity, indulgence and ambition that Fucked Up display on their third full length album is so huge that there's no other way to describe it. David Comes To Life is a 80 minute hardcore punk rock opera about a guy who falls in love with a political activist, only to be rejected, give up on life and finally realize that life goes on. At least that what's I think it's about. Truthfully someone would need far more than the one week I've had to fully take in everything that the band attempts (and largely pulls off) on this beast. The music is a giant punishing wall of guitars and gravely shouted vocals (if you've heard Fucked Up's music before you know what I mean) with a fair amount of tempo changes. This album will hit you hard and pummel you into being a believer in the power of being Fucked Up. Talking about individual tracks is pretty much worthless as they consistently bleed together. David Comes To Life is really meant to be taken as a whole. It certainly is a bit overwhelming and not everything works (mostly the sheer length is just too much) but David Comes To Life will most certainly be a staple on year end best of lists from all over! EPIC!

Rating: 4

Track Listing:

1. "Let Her Rest" (3:23)
2. "Queen of Hearts" (4:26)
3. "Under My Nose" (3:29)
4. "The Other Shoe" (4:57)
5. "Turn the Season" (4:02)
6. "Running on Nothing" (4:46)
7. "Remember My Name" (5:09)
8. "A Slanted Tone" (3:40)
9. "Serve Me Right" (3:49)
10. "Truth I Know" (4:34)
11. "Life in Paper" (4:38)
12. "Ship of Fools" (4:02)
13. "A Little Death" (4:36)
14. "I Was There" (3:19)
15. "Inside a Frame" (4:18)
16. "The Reclusive Girl" (3:34)
17. "One More Night" (5:36)
19. "Lights Go Up" (5:30)

Just Go With It (2011)

I won't lie, I used to love Adam Sandler movies. I'll still laugh heavily at Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, The Wedding Singer and Big Daddy but somewhere along the line either I matured (not likely) or Sandler's movies have just plain sucked (with some notable exceptions Punch Drunk Love, Funny People). I was hoping Just Go With It would break that trend. It didn't. Aside from a few funny moments (mostly involving the children) Just Go With It is filled with terrible sight gags (Nick Swardson giving the Heimlich to a obviously fake sheep, Sandler mocking a largely unseen mans facial hair), unbelievable and completely predictable plot lines, forced sentimentality and half-assed "acting" (Jennifer Aniston looks completely bored the entire time). On the plus side there's a lot of scenes of Brooklyn Decker in a bikini and even though she's a terrible actress, she fills that particular piece of swim-wear beautifully. Just Go With It is certainly not as terrible as lets say, Click but aside from hardcore Sandler fans, I can't imagine too many people having a great time going with it.

Rating: 2

The Late Show (1977)

I'm a sucker for a good private eye flick and for movies that mix a bunch of genre's together and pull it off so it was with great hope and glee that I popped The Late Show into my dvd player. This mix of noir throwback, comedy, action and inside an look at 70's Los Angeles ("this place never changes, they just move the people around") is a vastly overlooked film that did not disappoint me in the least. Art Carney plays aging private eye Ira Wells who's former partner shows up at his door dying of a gunshot wound talking about a big score he wants to cut Ira in on. Soon Wells is caught up investigating the murder, looking for a lost cat and hanging around quirky pseudo hippie Margo Sperling (Lilly Tomlin). The plot is an intricate and layered mystery that holds up well on it's own but the key to the Late Show's success is the characters. Carney is fantastic in a role that is both funny and at times painful. Tomlin's character is fairly annoying at first but after a while she grows on you and the emotional attachment the two form is the most worthwhile aspect of the film. Add in strong supporting roles from the lies of character actors Bill Macy and Eugene Roche with Robert Benton's (Kramer Vs. Kramer) strong direction and you have a smart, funny mystery that is well worth checking out for genre fans.

Rating: 4

Ranking the Films: The Coen Brothers Version

With the blu-ray release of True Grit tomorrow there is no better time to do a good ol' film ranking for one of my personal favorite filmmakers, the Coen Brothers. I can honestly say that I at least somewhat enjoy every single film they've ever made even though a few are only just o.k. Throughout their career they've often been accused of being more style than substance and while there is certainly some truth to that, when the style is as awesome as theirs a lack of pure substance is easily forgiven. With a film canon that runs the gamut from screwball comedies to westerns and film noir (usually mixing a bunch of styles in the process), Joel and Ethan are not afraid to take chances and have firmly established themselves as not only distinct voices in underground cinema but as excellent commercial directors as well. Click on the jump to get a rundown on how I humbly view each of their 15 films.

The Green Hornet: Blu-ray (2011)

I enjoyed roughly 30 seconds of The Green Hornet's two hour runtime. At least someone made the fine decision to include Sam Cooke's "Twistin' the Night Away" on the soundtrack. Other than that, there was nothing redeeming about this mess. I had very low expectations going in and still came away disappointed. The movie focuses as much on comedy as action but is too filled with bad visual gags lame one liners and fake awkward dialogue to actually be funny. Director Michel Gondry has a nice flair for interesting visuals but there's very little of that on display here with a focus on standard action movie quick cuts. Seth Rogan is a good comedic actor (and since he co-wrote it that explains a lot of the films failed attempts at humor) but not an action hero. Christoph Waltz is utterly wasted as the paper thin villain and Cameron Diaz is really annoying. I guess Jay Chou isn't terrible and for this movie that's pretty high praise.

Well at least the blu-ray is pretty sweet. Being a new release action movie one would expect the presentation to feature great visuals and a booming soundtrack and the disc does not disappoint on a technical level. If you have completely different tastes than me and liked this piece of trash you should feel free to enjoy it in all it's horrible hi-def glory.

The Green Hornet may be the worst movie of the year so far and will most likely go down as one of the worst superhero movies ever made. I mean at least Catwoman had Halle Berry in that tight black suit, Elektra had Jennifer Garner in whatever she was wearing (sidenote: I never saw Catwoman or Elektra) and Batman and Robin had.........well alright, The Green Hornet is better than Batman and Robin.

Ratings:

Movie: 1
Blu-ray: 5

Drive Angry: Blu-ray (2011)

Lets just get this out of the way right now, Drive Angry is not a "good" movie. It's actually pretty terrible and not in a schlocky low budget way. That said, I enjoyed watching it and think it's one of the better ridiculous Nic Cage movies to come out in a while.

Cage is John Milton, a recent escapee from hell who is out avenge the murder of his daughter at the hands of cult leader, Jonah King (Billy Burke) who has also kidnapped Milton's granddaughter and plans to offer her up to Satan as a human sacrifice. Along for the ride is random waitress Piper (Amber Heard) with The Accountant (William Fichtner) giving chase along with a slew of cops. Oh yeah David Morse shows up for a while too, even though he doesn't actually do anything.

If all that sounds pretty stupid, it is but director/co-writer Patrick Lussier (My Bloody Valentine) pretty much acknowledges the stupidity right up front and gives the movie a rather non serious tone that makes the film hard to hate. They're certainly not attempting to make Shakespeare here. Cage gives his usual overacting performance (with requisite terrible haircut) that seems to drive people crazy but it works for the material presented here. He probably kills at least 50 people singlehandedly and in one fantastic scene of insanity, manages to knock off at least 8 opponents all the while still chugging whiskey, smoking cigars AND never removing his penis from the waitress he's pleasuring while still clothed ("I never disrobe before a gunfight"). Heard isn't given too much to do besides look pretty in skimpy clothes and attempt to kick some ass with varying results. Fichnter gets most of the best lines ("Whoa, those are fucked!" before sticking a pole into a dudes shot out kneecap) and is the real highlight of the film. With his ridiculously terrible southern accent Burke manages to outdo Cage in level of overacting and his is the only performance I found to be distracting but I guess when you're playing a David Koresh like figure, overacting is really the only way to go.

The blu-ray is a new release action movie so naturally it looks and sounds great. It probably looks too good at times because the incredible fakeness of a lot of the CGI is readily apparent but mostly that just adds to the films tone. This was also a movie shot in 3D so there are numerous times when things fly at the screen or are obviously meant to be 3D affects that just look really stupid while watching it in 2D but that's not really the fault of the disc. It's as good as Drive Angry will ever get. The audio is a constantly booming track well worth the price of admission in itself. High quality stuff.

Drive Angry is not the type of film thats going to hold up with any sort of scrutiny. You're either going to be into it or not. I fell for it almost immediately and wouldn't hesitate to visit it again. Obviously it's not for everyone but anyone who enjoys Cage, over the top scenes of violence, ridiculous dialogue and general "so bad it's good" type action, Drive Angry is pretty sweet. Just don't think about it too much.

Ratings:

Movie: 3.5
Blu-ray: 4.5

The Stunt Man (1980)

The Stunt Man is one of those cult films that a certain group of people will absolutely love, while a larger group will find worthwhile but not anything to get really excited about. I fall firmly into the larger group. There's a lot of worthwhile stuff going on in this movie but screenplay writer Richard Rush gave director Richard Rush more than he could ultimately handle. The Stunt Man is a about a fugitive (Steve Ralisback) who accidentally wanders onto a movie set, accidentally kills a stuntman and then is bribed to take his place by the films eccentric director (Peter O'Toole). He falls in love with the leading lady (Barbara Hershey) and slowly comes to believe that the director is trying to kill him. The film attempts to blur the line between reality and imagination and does a very good job of doing so. Scenes from the film within the film flow seamlessly with scenes representing real life and do a good job of confusing the viewer much like the faux stunt man becomes confused. O'Toole is fantastic as the maniacal, ego driven, obsessive and manipulative director. He was nominated for an academy award and it was well deserved. He almost singlehandedly carries the movie. On the opposite end of that spectrum is Ralisback. Quite simply, he is not a skilled enough actor to carry a two hour feature film. Some character actors should only be character actors and his performance in the lead role really hurts The Stunt Man. The tone of the movie is also all over the map and while that can work if done right (and is almost assuredly the main reason this movie has a cult following), Rush just couldn't pull it all together and the film as a whole never quite clicks. It's still worth checking out and maybe you'll love it but I personally won't be visiting it again.

Rating: 3

Thief (1981)

Thief is probably best known as Michael Mann's first directorial effort and befitting thee first film of a man who would go on to make great films (Heat, The Insider, Collateral) it's a promising movie that doesn't reach masterpiece status. Frank (James Caan) is an ex-con master thief who gets roped into working for the mafia after his fence is killed and as you can imagine, things don't go so well for him after that. The film shares a lot of similarities with Heat (ex-con who refuses to go back to jail no matter what the cost, intricate depictions of robberies and criminal life) and is largely reliant on Caan's performance. Thankfully he is up to the task. While he's always been an actor that got by more on his physical presence than any outward displays of emotional acting, Caan brings a lot more to the character than just a tough guy with a rulebook. There's an early scene in a diner that Caan considers the best acting of his career and I'd have to agree. He's much more than a brute in that scene and it helps to carry his character emotionally through the more action oriented encounters. Mann;s visual style was not yet fully formed at this point but he still does a lot with camera movement, lighting and framing to make Thief visually interesting and unique. The Tangerine Dream score hasn't aged all that well and fully places this film in the 80's and the supporting cast is hit (Robert Prosky, Willie Nelson) and miss (Jim Belushi, Tuesday Weld) making the film well worth viewing but a flawed picture nonetheless.

Rating: 3.5

Hobo With a Shotgun (2011)

I'm guessing that each individual will know right off the bat if Hobo With a Shotgun is a movie they will enjoy or not. I am the sort of person that would and I did. Discussing the inner workings of a grindhouse homage full of over the top violence, gore, ridiculous dialog, and only the slightest hint of a plot is a bit worthless so I'm not going to waste anyone's time. Rutger Hauer is a hobo, he goes to a town overrun with crime and cleans things up with the use of said shotgun alongside the requisite hooker with a heart of gold. Everything is done at such exaggerated levels that attempting to take the movie seriously is futile. If you need your cinema to be serious fare, stay far away from Hobo With a Shotgun. If you're up for a good time and some mindless fun, there are far worse ways to spend an hour and a half.

Rating: 4

Casino Jack (2010)

There was a time when I would have considered any movie with Kevin Spacey in the lead role to be a great movie even without seeing it. Those days are gone and now he's just another talented actor who can't transform a decent movie into anything more than decent. Casino Jack is exactly that, decent. This fictionalized account of "super lobbyist" Jack Abramoff, who did a lot of illegal things while making a lot of money for himself and a lot of government officials, never figures out if it wants to be a sharp political satire, a character piece or an straight biography and in trying to balance all three, it ends up only slightly delivering on all three. The satire never goes far enough, Abramoff is never built up enough to be a overly compelling figure and the story never feels fully formed. Casino Jack is a fun movie to watch solely for Spacey's scene chewing (and any film with Jon Lovitz is worth checking out) but it should be so much more. Instead it's just decent.

Rating: 2.5

Night and the City (1950)

Jules Dassin's first European film after being blacklisted by Hollywood, Night and the City is a bleak affair that has to be one of the darker film noir's to come from the genre's classic period. Lead character Harry Fabian (Richard Widmark) is a small time hustler who thinks he can take over London's lucrative wrestling scene by becoming it's top promoter. He's a largely unsympathetic character who's willing to hustle and steal from anyone to get ahead. It's to Widmark's credit that he manages to make the viewer care about the character at all. The rest of the characters are a collection of underworld types who -- with a couple exceptions -- are just as unlikeable as Fabian. Dassin was obviously angry about what happened to him in America and it comes through in the film clear as day. The result is a solid noir that is just a step below classic status.

Rating: 4

The Big Heat (1953)

Glen Ford has to be one of the most underrated actors of all time. The Big Heat is only the fourth of his film's I've seen (after Glilda and the original 3:10 To Yuma and Superman) but I'll be looking into more shortly. He wasn't a flashy actor by any means but his rock solid performances were always reliable. The Big Heat is another in a long line of old noirs I've been watching and while it took a little while to hit it's stride, when it did, it did so in a major way. Ford plays a hard nosed police detective who get's mixed up in a suicide and sub-sequentially murder scheme involving the city's mob boss (who happens to have the police commissioner in his pocket) and his right hand man (Lee Marvin). It's a pretty brutal film at times and director Fritz Lang (M, Metropolis) shows as much as film standards would allow at the time. While the supporting performances are all very good (and Marvin is excellent as a jealous and unwavering tough guy in one of his earliest films) it's Ford who holds the film together. The Big Heat isn't a perfect film but it sure does have a lot going for it.

Rating: 4.5

Blow Out: Blu-ray (1981)

Brian DePalma's career has been filled with movies that often have met criticism for containing more style than substance as well as too much in the way of homage. While both of these things are true, when a man as talented as DePalma makes a film as good as Blow Out, it really doesn't matter.

Low budget movie soundman, Jack Terry (John Travolta), just wants to record some new natural sound affects when his night is interrupted by a tragic car accident. While the driver is beyond rescue, he does manage to save the woman passenger (Nancy Allen). Little does he realize the dead man is the current Governor of Pennsylvania and a front-runner for the upcoming presidential election. What follows is part conspiracy movie, part inside look at filmmaking and one of the finest thrillers of the 80's.

DePalma's visual flourishes are in full force in large a number of scenes throughout Blow Out. His ability to use the camera as a free flowing device capable of showing both beautiful and horrific images simultaneously is matched by only a few other directors in history and in Blow Out he has characters that make it mean all that much more. I don;t think Travolta has ever been considered a remarkably skilled thespian, but his performance here is a good argument against that theory. Jack Terry is a man of great conviction and Travolta caries that through to the very end but also shows off the characters soft side as well. Allen's character seems to be just a old fashioned damsel in distress at first but her ability to transcend that is a key to her and Travolta's on screen relationship and ultimately the film itself. Add in a couple fine supporting turns from John Lithgow and Dennis Franz and you have a film that works on a personal level as well as a visual one.

No one is ever going to confuse the blu-ray transfer of Blow Out with a new release blockbuster but as usual the folks at Criterion have done an outstanding job with this release. Colors are very well represented, there are no issues of dirt or specking and the films grain structure is full intact. Detail is generally excellent but Blow Out was filmed to be a little soft and that comes through on the transfer. The audio is nothing fancy as the only options is a 2.0 uncompressed mono track but dialog is always clear, Pino Donaggio's score is full and there are no issues of cracking or popping. The blu-ray isn't going to blow anyone away but it's a very good representation of the film.

Blow Out just might be the finest film Brian DePalma has ever made. It's certainly one of his better ones and well worth picking up on Blu-ray without hesitation. I was a big fan of this film the first time I saw it years ago and seeing it again has been a revelation. It's a fantastic film.

Ratings:

Movie: 5
Blu-ray: 4.5

The Dilemma (2011)

Wow, The Dilemma is a mess. In trying to mix a wacky buddy comedy with dark undercurrents as well a serious look at friendship and relationships, director Ron Howard has given us a film that doesn't do any of those things very well. Vince Vaughn and Kevin James do their best with what they're given but there's really no way to salvage a movie that is so tonally all over the map for more than a moment here or there. The biggest crime is that The Dilemma is just never very funny. Aside from a few chuckles, it's a joyless and dark affair. This could work if it was played as a straight drama with some humor sprinkled in but it's obviously trying to make people laugh as much as possible. The movie just doesn't work on any level. Skip it.

Rating: 1.5

Kiss of Death (1947)

There aren't too many old film noirs that have as sadistic and insane a villain as Richard Widmark's Tommy Udo. A man so evil, he's willing to do physical harm to handicapped elderly women if they happen to cross him. While he's not the main character in Kiss of Death -- that honor goes to Victor Mature who's solid performance as a crook turned snitch is the films anchor -- he steals every scene he's in and makes the film work as well as it does. With shades of the Joker running through his giant grin and maniacal laugh, Widmark earned a well deserved academy award nomination (in his debut nonetheless). While the ending of the film is a little anti-climactic, the ride to get there is well worth the time.

Rating: 4.5

Odd Man Out (1947)

Odd Man Out is a real solid Irish film noir set in a unnamed town (Belfast) who's lead character (James Mason) is an escaped convict and sector head of an unnamed criminal organization (The IRA). Mason is fantastic as a wounded man on the run and director Carol Reed (The Third Man) uses some nice visual tricks (for 1947) and religious imagrey to convey Mason's slipping grip on reality. It's a little too long and the pacing drags at times but the supporting characters are strong and Reed's visula style holds up really well today. Well worth checking out for fans of the genre.

Rating: 4

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: Criterion Edition Blu-ray (1998)

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a tough film to review since it's not really a film as much as it is an experience. There is no plot, little character development and no discernable structure. It's basically 2 dudes doing a lot of drugs, having adventures, running into a lot of recognizable actors making cameo's and generally fucking around. It's also a whole lot of fun.

There's no point in trying to describe the plot because, as stated, there isn't one. Director Terry Gilliam uses Hunter S. Thompson's source material as a jumping off point but never really explains the motivations of Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo like the book does. That's fine because the film he presents is a journey of two whacked out guys who's motivations probably wouldn't matter all that much in the end. What does matter is the visual trickery Gilliam uses, the often hilarious dialogue Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro spew and their drug induced actions. This isn't a film that's going to hold up well to intense scrutiny, it's best just to give up and go along for the ride.

Fear and Loathing is far to soft of a film to ever be considered a demo choice but the Criterion version is far better than the original blu-ray. Colors are strong, detail is pretty good and in general there is little to complain about. There are two different lossless audio options available, a 2.0 track and a 5.1 mix. I watched with the 5.1 while switching over to the 2.0 on occasion. Neither one is going to blow anyone away but they are both solid choices. The film is almost entirely dialogue based and on both tracks that comes through loud and clear. This just isn't a film with a great surround track mix and that's fine.

While It's hardly for everyone, Fear and Loathing is a fun, weird and dark trip that is unlike almost any other movie I've ever seen. Instantly quotable, visually impressive and just plain fucked up is the best way to describe it. There's nothing wrong with that.

Ratings:

Movie: 4.5
Blu-ray: 4.5

The Man From Nowhere: Blu-ray (2010)

I've long maintained that in music you don;t have to be overly inventive to be awesome and I believe that to be true with films as well (though to a lesser extent). There's something to be said for making something that stylistically has been made before but as long as you do it well, it will be well worth checking out. The Man From Nowhere is further proof of that theory. There's very little on display here that hasn't been done before but everything is done with a style and energy that is impossible to not get caught up in. This South Korean film is a dark, violent and moving film. It may take it's cues from films such as Leon as well a host of revenge flicks but there's enough style and substance to make it stand out as far more than a generic, bloody, affair. It's not a perfect film -- most of the bad guys are stock types and often cross the line into bumbling fool territory -- but it's one the finer ones to come out of South Korea in a long time.

The blu-ray transfer is quite strong. The film was shot with a heavy blue tint to everything and while that color scheme may not result in an overly colorful look, it fits the film well. Detail is strong and focus is sharp. The film looks about as good as it ever will. The audio track is quite dynamic. The numerous action scenes come alive with both heavy low end and consistent surround usage. Directionality and dialogue are excellent throughout the movie. This is a fine way to view The Man From Nowhere.

The Man From Nowhere may not be the most original movie you'll ever see but it's still a very good one. Dark, violent, stylish and with a surprising amount of heart, it's a worthwhile way to spend a couple hours.

Ratings:

Movie: 4
Blu-ray: 4.5

The Woman in the Window (1944)

Let me just start by saying that Edward G. Robinson was awesome. If there's a movie with him in it on the TV, I will watch it. Such is the case with The Woman in the Window which I had never seen but was pleasantly surprised by. This early film noir is the story of a middle aged professor (Robinson) who becomes enamored with a woman who's photo he see's in a store window (hence the title). It's a story of murder, cover-ups and double crosses that feature great work from not only Robinson but also Joan Bennett and Dan Duryea. Combine the performance's with director Fritz Lang's (Metropolis, M) excellent use of odd camera angles and shadows and The Woman in the Window is a pretty fantastic noir. The only downside is the terribly stupid ending that was obviously tacked on to make the film work under the strict production codes of the time. This ending does keep the film from being a perfect film but for the better part of an hour and a half, it certainly is.

Rating: 4.5