Movie Extravaganza!

I've seen several movies this past week, some new ones in la theatre, some on la DVD that I've revisited from my movie box, and it's been quite some time since a post, so, yah. It only made sense. Plus I've started reading again. [Does porn literature count?]

No sassy comment. Just no. No. Never. Ever. NEVER!

Anyway, the book series and movie I've been obsessed with is the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Not like Misery obsessed, but almost one step down from that. Douglas Adams is a fantastic author, and I'm starting to dip in his other works. The movie is fantastic [if you've read the book series that is,] and it's just ok I guess if you're going into it blind. The flick is filled with inside jokes and so many references to the book's material that it's almost a different movie entirely if you've read even the first four chapters of the book. Read it. Watch it.

1979 was a crazy, crazy, tie dye-ish time.

Other movies and some "brief," brief, comments... otherwise I'll get carried away and angry:

Bruno: I gave it 2 and a half stars out of five. Hence the rating, I was fifty/fifty on the movie. It succeeded and failed in a cornucopia of ways. I laughed a lot, I did cover my mouth in shock a few times, occasionally my jaw dropped. On the other side of it, sometimes I stared at the screen asking myself 'Is this funny?' and 'Why am I here?' This was a dirtier, less funny version of Borat. I had a feeling Sacha Baron Cohen would not be able to strike gold twice. It didn't feel that short, nor was it too long - it was just right. I don't think it hit Borat's success at all; we loved Borat - he didn't know American culture, he was ignorant, he was pushed around, we almost felt bad for him so when he said something sassy or did something awful, we laughed. Bruno was in-your-face, he was too 'head-on' and the whole gay thing got pretty stale really fast. Plus, his sidekicks were nothing compared to Borats'. I did admire Cohen's technique though - the way it played out and his manipulation is just amazing to ogle at. The movie had a formula just like Borat, but since Bruno didn't have the best turn out, humor like this might only be caught on repeats of Da Ali G Show. When did the penis become so funny? I think it all started with Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Thanks Jason Segal!

This just in: Penises are in and Vaginas/Boobs are out Out OUT!

That was not brief. My apologies - so much to say, so little blog.

In the next Movie post [will be posted tomorrow,] I'll touch upon Public Enemies, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, The Nines, and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.

Papp Schnapp's Movie Recaps: Across 110th Street

"You don't know what you'll do until you're put under pressure/Across 110th Street is a hell of a tester"

The lyrics, which play out over Blaxploitation-style credits overlaid on scenes of a car driving through Harlem, may at first listen suggest this is a movie about "gun-totin gangstas" (a notion which the DVD case would have you believe, but more on that later), but those lyrics say so much about the movie you're about to watch compared to the reputation it has. Or hasn't, for that matter.

That car, though you don't know it initially, is actually the fuse being lit for a movie which is in a state of constant explosion. That's not to say it's some Michael Bay-level pyrotechnic fest (although there is a literal explosion more fantastic in its "simplicity" than any million dollar fireball he could ever ejaculate [btw, see Transformers 2!]), but this moofie has the ability to take your breath away and shock you in every sense in almost every scene.

Y'see, the DVD case would have you suggest that this is "Soul Cinema", which is actually just a nice way of saying it's a movie about gangstas, pimps, and honkies. But this is no Coffy (I loved that movie, too). It's a dense, layered drama that unfortunately got lost in the shuffle and as a result is treated the same way as some bargain-bin Sheba, Baby clone (also starring Yaphet Kotto).

The plotting is fantastic, and like I said before, you're in a constant state of being 'at the edge of your seat'. This is helped by the fantastic cinematography, which uses a lot of experimental techniques to show you the action. Por ejemplo: There's a scene where the Harlem mob is torturing a man in a dry cleaner's, but it's done in one shot, and you don't hear what's going on. You're looking into the shop through the display window while a guard patrols the area. It's so fucking brilliant that I cracked my skull from the force of my jaw hitting the floor.

This reminds me of Vertigo ... but with black people.

The narrative takes a look at a botched robbery through the eyes of three different sets of characters, and all get equal screen time and characterization (a feat for a movie that doesn't pass the 100-minute mark). All of the actors in this are absolutely fantastic, and while it seems surprising at first that Anthony Quinn and Yaphet Kotto don't inhabit every scene (another thing to blame on MGM for shitty advertising), there are characters here as compelling (if not moreso) than they are.

So here's a movie that's lost and forgotten, and really doesn't deserve to be. Also, do yourself a favor:

DON'T LOOK AT THE BACK OF THE BOX

Please follow this advice, for reasons I won't make clear due to spoilers. Just... Rent it from Netflix. It's better that way.

This was released the same year as The Godfather, and a year after The French Connection. To say this movie is in the same league as those would be a bold statement. Well, watch this movie, and that eyebrow you have raised at this "blaxploitation cheapie" will sit the fuck down and pay attention to this absolutely, astoundingly, unbelievably, and ultimately amazing film.

Papp Schnapp's Movie Recaps: The Mist

This is the first of many movie reviews from my friend John Papp! Enjoy the silly title and the review.

I had some wonderful insight when I began to re-re-watch this, but I sort of cut my viewing in half. Two things to make sure of:

1. Watch this in one sitting. You should always watch films in one setting. Interrupting for longer than an hour or two ruins the flow.

2. Watch it in black and white. The 2nd disc contains the black and white version, which is ten times as terrifying, and ten times as harrowing. Desaturate the colors on your TV if you must to achieve the effect.

"Oh my God, it's Kirstie Alley! Ruuuuuuunnn!"

Anyway, Frank Darabont has wrought upon us the single greatest horror film (along with 28 Days Later) since Suspiria and Dawn of the Dead (1977 and 1978, respectively). This is an exercise in extreme terror, and if you can't buy into that terror, then you're not allowed to watch horror movies ever again.

The acting's what helps make this movie as terrifying as it is. Tom "I just want my kids back" Jane is our rock in this affair, leading us through the horrors and inspiring hope. He's helped by Toby "I've absolved myself from Dobby" Jones, who just might be the best actor in this movie. He should be in more shit. Andre "Frank Pembleton" Braugher is great in the short amount of time he's in this (he should be in more stuff, too), and so is Nathan "Commissioner Gordon's son" Gamble, who is amazing as that little kid (It's funny how both of his most high-profile roles involve him crying in most of his scenes, and he manages to sell them both well).

But the most talked about performance is sure to be Marcia "more like Gay Hard-on, lol" Gay Harden, as the most wretched and evil female villain this side of Nurse Ratched. In a way, her character is more frightening than the Cthulu-like monsters that attack the characters, though they're downright horrifying, too.

"Is now the best time to fly a kite?"

Y'see, this is certainly more than just a monster movie. Like Night of the Living Dead, a movie it certainly owes a lot too, and admits it openly, it's about what happens when the skies turn red, but more importantly, it's about how we cope with that. Some lead, some.... Go absolutely nuts.

Uh, anyway, I didn't like it at first, mostly because of the ending. But Michael Messina changed my perspective on it (I'm trying not to give anything away here), and made me realize that this is a horror movie, and horrifying things can't always be pleasing.

So, I would certainly hope that this film be ranked highly in the "Greatest Horror Films of all Time" list, whenever that's made. Because it is. It scares me to the point of shivers and tears, and I hope it keeps you all up throughout the night.