Tuesday, January 20, 2009

*no quote*

The Day of the Triffids, 1981. Zero Stars.

It's not even fair that I even mention the possibility of stars. My boyfriend Tim and I rented this TV miniseries, and it was so frustratingly boring that we stopped watching after the first episode and returned it.

So all I can say is, it's so boring that I couldn't watch it. And that's saying something, because even if something's terrible, my need for closure keeps me watching movies and such until the bitter end.

Monday, January 19, 2009

"Look! I'm sorry about the balls!"

In the Mouth of Madness, 1994. Three Stars.

First saw with my cousin Em because she had a crush on Sam Neill. Couldn't remember much of the movie, so watched it again. And I totally liked it!!

Julie Carmen freaks me out in this! But that's awesome.

The "hard rock printing press" during opening credits is pretty funny! It's like hard rock was the 90's way of expressing evil in horror movies.

How much different would finding Hobbs End be now, with internet, cell phones, and GPS... would this change the story at all??

Sam Neill's not listed in end credits. Was this on purpose? Like, he's just a character, even in our reality, so the reality in the movie will soon become real life? Or, am I reading to much in to this... ?

At the end of the credits:
"Animal interaction was monitored by the American Humane Association with on set supervision by the Toronto Humane Society. No animal was harmed in the making of this film. Human interaction was monitored by the Inter Planetary Psychiatric Association. The body count was high, the casualties are heavy."

I can't seem to find any info on why this was there, I'm assuming it's just a weird, funny thing!

"Go ahead. Laugh. Laugh, and you won't hear us coming."

Pressure Point, 1962. Four Stars.

Awesome movie. Everything about it is brilliant. The acting, the story, the interaction with The Doctor and The Patient, and even the sad ending of The Patient. Yeah it's a movie about race, which when the movie came out was so taboo (heck it still is for some people!), but one of the most interesting aspects of this movie is the way the audience is led into The Patient's life and his history that ended him up where he is today. I looooooved the way the flashbacks were treated, almost like little plays going on in the same room as the characters. Everything about this movie was right-on.

Also, you can't beat the tagline: "FILMED IN BLACK, IN WHITE, IN RAGE!"

"Better bring out the big guns on this one. She's crazy with a side of crazy!"

Reign Over Me, 2006. Three Stars.


Sooooooo good! Awesome to see Adam Sandler play a pretty serious character. He was actually a little attractive in this...

The ladies love Don Cheadle!! THEY ARE OBSESSED.

"Make me a mah-tini, you fah-kin retah-d!"

Gone Baby Gone, 2007. Three and a Half Stars.

I'd heard that everyone loved this movie, and I'd been meaning to see it. So I finally rented it. Wasn't expecting much because of all the hype, but it actually turned out to be really good!

Yeah the actor's are great. And the characters are interesting. Coming from and still living in Boston and the surrounding area, I can say the shitty local characters were dead on. :D But the most impressive thing about this was the complex and heart-breaking story. Patrick does everything in his power to uphold the law that he holds so near and dear, but in the end, was is REALLY the right thing to do? Maybe I don't know how DSS works, but, couldn't they have rescued her from her neglectful, shitty mom and placed her in the loving care of Morgan Freeman? Was the kidnapping and fake murder really necessary? Perhaps I am naive.

"Keep behind me. There's no sense in getting killed by a plant."

The Day of the Triffids, 1962. Three Stars.

Yeah!!! Totally awesome!! KILLER PLANTS FROM SPACE!

I love that people, deprived of their sense of sight, become incapable, bumbling idiots! And hot damn, that scientist dude was a bit abusive, eh? Though I guess I should be glad to see that back then, a lady in a movie would even be allowed near science-y equipment.

Super fun movie. But I heard there's an British 80's miniseries that's more true to the book, so Tim and I are gonna check that out next.

"I've never seen a face like that before. That must be the look... the look of being old."

Logan's Run, 1976. Three Stars.

Yeah, I can't believe I hadn't seen this before now either! This is my kind of flick: a dystopian utopia with people willingly flying to their deaths. It's funny how they picked a dude that always looked pretty old (Michael York) for the lead in a movie where everyone's young! Also, the 70's-ness of everything makes the movie even more bizarre! Like the "hologram" of Logan's head? Super crazy-looking!

I didn't really understand that robot guy in the ice. Was he a guard trying to keep people from escaping? Or was he just his own, weird thing? Also, so there's no "Sanctuary"... or, because at the end everyone broke free on their own, was the movie trying to impart on it's dear viewers that one must make their own Sanctuary? Think about it. Deep stuff.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

"Lemme tell ya, I'm from Buenos Aires, and I say, 'Kill 'Em All!'"

Starship Troopers, 1997. Three and a Half Stars.

My friends love this movie... and now I do too! Pretty fun!!

The cool elaborate and appropriate DVD menu was a great way to introduce the viewer to the "propaganda" and feel of this culture.

Surprisingly awesome cast: NPH! Rue McClanahan!
Lassiter from Psych!!! And Denise Richards?? Totally weird that she's in it. Her character sucked.

The "Fade Into You" fight scene was pretty amazing. Because it's a fight scene that uses this song.

And woah, YUM Casper Van Dien. This movie got me to really appreciate this dude. Woah. Such a cute little man.

Friday, January 16, 2009

"If you piss in your pants, you only stay warm for so long."

We Own the Night, 2007. Three and a Half Stars.

I didn't know what this was about at all until I saw it. Gotta say, I was indeed riveted!! The portrayal of the time period felt genuine, and the actors were very believable as these characters (At first I wasn't sure Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg could pull off being brothers. But it was cool!). And Eva Mendes was good.

That's all I can say. I dug this movie.

"Randy, I'm trying to sacrifice my life for our love. Stop being a dick."

Balls of Fury, 2007. Two and a Half Stars.

Totally funnier than I expected! But then again, I wasn't expecting much... some genuinely funny parts, sprinkled with some pretty messed up humor. Christopher Walken's character was enjoyable, though not that inspired. Probably enjoyable because, have you ever not enjoyed a Christopher Walken performance??

Catch this if you can view it for free and feel like a dumb movie to make you chuckle!

"Give us a hand. Pick up that arm and find out who it belongs to."

Starship Troopers 3: Marauder, 2008. Two stars.

This movie tried to do many things. But it was pretty fun! EVEN THOUGH THE SPECIAL EFFECTS AND COMPUTER ANIMATION WERE AWFUL. LIKE, REALLY COMPLETELY TERRIBLE. Like, ever hear of "rendering??" The makers of this movie haven't!

I hadn't seen the first Starship Troopers, so I wasn't familiar with this universe. Because of that, I probably missed some self-references and the general feel of their society. But whatever, it's not like I missed out on much. The movie's basically them killing big bugs still.

Tim and our friend Alex totally dig the first one, so that's one of the next flicks on my list. And I've been told to stay away from the second one...

Sunday, January 11, 2009

"Helena? Je vous aime."

Subway, 1985. Two and a Half Stars.

I borrowed from my sis Sara, because, heeheehee, it has Christopher Lambert in it. As a punk! I AM FOREVER!!

So this is totally a French 80's movie. The cops chase around a secret society of subway dwellers (the cop music is super funk-ay). Christopher Lambert, one of the new subway dwellers, keeps blackmailing this rich woman because he's in love with her. And then he creates a rock-n-roll band and gets them a gig in the subway (great scene!). Then he dies.

Catch this gem if you can!!

"Hey, don't hurt me. I'm brittle."

Rocky Balboa, 2006. Three Stars.

I'm gonna get shit for saying this, but, I've never really cared for the Rocky movies. I've seen 'em multiple times since my childhood, but I just can't seem to remember what happened in which movie. I know they're good and everyone likes them, I just can't keep all the different versions straight.

I decided to check out this movie anyways. Why not; it's Rocky, it's harmless. Maybe it's because I wasn't expecting much, but, this movie ended up being pretty good! I liked seeing what happened to Rocky, and it was fun seeing him train again. And yay, Peter Petrelli's in it!

I won't tell you if he wins or not.

"But the one thing they can't stomach is the image of a vice president with a mouthful of cock."

The Contender, 2000. Four Stars.

Awesome movie!!!!!!!!! A very cool story, with a kick-ass actors. Joan Allen did a heck of a job as Laine Hanson, who is such a strong and inspiring character.

Basically, the Vice President dies, the the dude who was the top pick to replace him is a dick. The President (played by The Dude!!) picks this lady senator (Laine Hanson) to be his VP because she's so awesome. But Gary Oldman can't handle having a chick in office, so, hoping to disgrace her, he digs up evidence that in her college years, Hanson was in a 3-way at a party. And there's like video evidence to back it up. It's pretty nasty and embarrassing.

Well, Hanson refuses to comment on this. Why should she; it has nothing to do with her cool politics skillz. Plus it was in college, and it's not like no one in political office has never had a three-way before. Someone's personal life should be completely separate from their political life.

In the end, The Prez chastises the stupid media and Gary Oldman, and sings the praises of Hanson's abilities as a soon-to-be VP, and then everyone ends up loving her and she gets sworn in. But the kicker: that wasn't even her in the triste. Her belief that someone's personal life should remain separate from their political life is so strong that she refuses to comment on it, even to save face. Because it's nobody's damn business, and there are more important things that people should focus on. Damn she's cool.

I saw this movie before the recent U.S. Presidential race, and it was interesting to compare the character of Laine Hanson to Sarah Palin.

"How do you spell that?" "How do you... with an 'S' for shithead!"

Frantic, 1988. Two and a Half Stars.

Visually? Sooooooooooo late 80's. But not fun late 80's; more like boring-people-with-no-personality late 80's. Harrison Ford and his wife were so icky.

But the movie picked up after she got kidnapped. And watching Harrison Ford run around trying to find her was kind of fun. But I don't recommend watching this unless you're bored and it's the only movie on and you feel like watching a movie.

Friday, January 9, 2009

"You're in love. Have a beer." OR, "I'm not a baby. I'm a tumor."

Hellboy II: The Golden Army, 2008. Four Stars.

Such a gooooooood movie!!! And I totally agree with my friend Alex: Ron Perlman doesn't play "Hellboy;" Ron Perlman IS Hellboy!

I'm totally okay with the story line in the movies being different from the comic book. It's actually a necessity. And for some reason I'm okay with Hellboy and Liz having pyro demon twins.

The ONLY bothersome thing in this movie is Hellboy as a little kid, it looked too weird!

"You dropped my baby, bitch!"

Resident Evil: Extinction, 2007. Three Stars.

Life after zombies, eh? This was actually way less oppressively disheartening than The Walking Dead (which I can't even read anymore, because it's reaaaaally depressing and I can't handle it. Awesome comic though!) Alice still kicks major butt, so the action was pretty good. And she has rad hair.

So, this movie was okay. I enjoyed watching it, though Tim, who started out watching it with me, left the room after awhile because he didn't have the patience for it. It was better than the sequel. Though I don't really remember the sequel... just that I didn't like it nearly as much as the first one. The first one's still the best. I think, however, I'm always going to enjoy Resident Evil movies, even if they make more and they are absolutely terrible...

I just can't get over Milla Jovovich!! She's sooooo pretty and such a good actor! And she always does cool roles. My faves: Katinka and Leeloo!

"You either surf or you fight."

Apocalypse Now: Redux, 1979. Three and a Half Stars.

Wow, what a long, epic movie!! I didn't realize it at the time though. I stayed up late watching it, but, I didn't even realize it. It was so engrossing. This movie rules. If you've seen this, and I'm sure most of you have, then you probably agree that nothing more needs to be said. Unless, you DO have more to say, then feel free to leave a comment.

Hey now I know where the following quotes come from!
"The horror... the horror."
"Charlie don't surf."

"Snow cone?" "Yuck." "No, no, no, don't worry. It's lemon."

Monsters, Inc., 2001. Four Stars.

Tim warned me that this was the only movie in a long time to make him cry. Since I HATE SPOILERS, I wouldn't let him tell me why! I wasn't really interested in seeing it because I thought a kids movie about monsters would be stupid and boring.

But he finally got me to watch it, and, IT'S AMAZING!! Super funny, and a fun, imaginative story. Plus the animation is stuuuuunning.

So, I'd noticed a few tender, heart-warming scenes throughout the movie, but nothing that would make me cry (and I'm very sensitive), let along world-weary (haha!) Tim. But at the very end, when they fix Boo's door, and Sulley pokes his head through, and she goes, "Kitty!," that's when I cried my eyes out. Holy shit.