Coming-of-Age at Camp

Little Darlings (1980)
Dir - Ronald F. Maxwell

Wow! I loved this movie.

This is one of those types of movies I see every so often that I'm almost upset I'd never seen it before. It has so many things I love – a coming-of-age tale, takes place at camp, sex comedy moments, shirtless Matt Dillon. Ok, so maybe that last one isn't one of the selling points but he is great in this movie. It's as funny as it is touching and I look forward to re-watching for years to come.

Also, all of the girls are pretty cute in this but the young Cynthia Nixon is just goddamn adorable. I want to scoop her up and put her in my pocket.

Aloha

The Descendants (2011)
Dir - Alexander Payne

Went in knowing very little about this film but head very high praise. I was pleasantly surprised by the film and loved every minute. Clooney continues to rock and young Shailene Woodley is spectacular. Some great comedy and some quite touching moments. And to think Dean Pelton from Community (Jim Rash) is one of the scribes behind all this!

She Don't Do Drugs, But She Does the Pill

Young Adult (2011)
Dir - Jason Reitman

Another triumph for Jason Reitman in my book!

Charlize is wonderful, though her fluffy dog steals every scene they share. Love Patton Oswalt's stand-up and this proves that his great performance in Big Fan was no fluke. People give Diablo Cody a bunch of greif but I don't really have a problem. When I saw Juno I loved it right away. Yes, there are some annoying "teenspeak" moments, but it's like that in real life too. Her writing here is definitely a little more grown-up.

One of the greatest things about this film is some of the soundtrack. Lots of great 90s bands and that Teenage Fanclub song "The Concept" is not forever stuck in my head. Love how much play it gets in the film and over the very cool cassette tape opening credits. In fact, I love it so much that I'm going to add it just below this sentence.

Those Damned Liberals

Christmas with a Capital C (2011)
Dir - Helmut Schleppi
Xmas Insanity 2011

I've been waiting over a year to see this, ever since I saw the first trailer on YouTube. This is a Christian made family drama about the horrible "war on Christmas" that everyone is always so worried about. Ted McGinely plays a small Alaskan town mayor that is mostly Christian and a prodigal resident returns from the big city now ready to fight the public Christmas display and wanting to get rid of their beloved holiday (played by professional Alec Baldwin impersonator, Daniel Baldwin).

First you have to realize this is a movie based on a song, that was based on a stand-up routine by a Christian comic. It's not good and VERY one-sided - not that I expected any different. The liberal is made out to be the bad guy and everything is happy in the end. It's as bad as I hoped and unintentionally funny. A good time to have with a beer or two.

Side note: While watching I found that the comedian who is one of the co-stars is also in another Christian family film dealing with abortion. This will be watched ASAP!!!

Skin Crawling But Great

In a Glass Cage (1987) aka Tras el cristal
Dir - Agusti Villaronga

Watched this Blu and did a write up for Freakin' Awesome Network. READ IT HERE!

Big Brother is Watching You

Nineteen Eighty-Four (1954)
Dir - Rudolph Cartier

I had never heard of this version but a friend bought a bootleg of it at a recent comic convention so we gave it a go. Originally made-for-TV by the BBC for their program BBC Sunday-Night Theatre this is a fantastic telling of Orwell's classic tale. Cushing is fantastic and it proves that TV movies can be awesome.

Cancer Sucks

50/50 (2011)
Dir - Jonathan Levine

I would have seen this no matter what because of my man-crush on Joseph Gordon-Levitt, but the plot intrigued me too. This is pretty damn funny in parts but will pull on your heartstrings quite a bit. I'm glad I saw it alone and the only other moviegoer was quite a ways away from me in the theater.

Drug Child

Party Monster (2003)
Dir - Fenton Bailey & Randy Barbato

Not sure why I wanted to watch this again but the moment hit me and it was on Netflix Instant but I did. Really is a good movie and I'm planning on watching the brief documentary on Michael Alig soon. This also got me hyped for the upcoming documentary on the Limelight. Eek!

You've Got 5 Minutes

Drive (2011)
Dir - Nicolas Winding Refn

All of the good word I was hearing about this film is rightly justified. Stylish, intriguing, and surprisingly (at least to me) violent. Gosling is fantastic in the lead and his performance really helped bring a some of the few lesser parts of the film, or more predictable moments.

Go Speed Racer

Hot Rods to Hell (1967)
Dir - John Brahm

This evidently sat on the shelf for about ten years and if they would have left it there for another ten there may have been a great 70s exploitation flick to be had. Instead we get a film about hot rodding teens in the 60s that feels rooted in the 50s. There are some really interesting moments, some things that could be kind of scary, but they are ruined by the overacting and cheesy elements of the script. It does have Mimsy Farmer though, and that's a big win.

Bullocks

Made in Britain (1982)
Dir - Alan Clarke

A very interesting tale about a skinhead teen out of control in the early 80s. This was made-for-TV in the UK for a series on troubled teens and I can't see how any of the others could be this good. A tale that really makes you feel for this piece-of-shit kid who has really nothing to offer, no remorse and no desire to change. It's frustrating and slightly heartbreaking with a masterful hand at the helm. Lengthy scenes really add to the real life feel like the lecture Trevor gets after attacking a cook. The real highlight is a freaking perfect breakout role from Tim Roth. He's truly amazing.

A Real Shame

Bloody Sunday (2002)
Dir - Paul Greengrass

Been in my Netflix disc queue for quite sometime and finally made the cut to come home. This is kind of a punch in the gut. I knew a little - very little - about this story ahead of time but Greengrass' documentary style of this horrible story from Derry, Ireland hits hard. I can see some of the Brit's side, but very little. Because of the IRA (a group I do not agree with overall) and their extremist tactics they were afraid, but they went way too far. Firing many, many live rounds on a group of unarmed protesters. Sure, they were getting out of hand and throwing stones but the excessive firing on the Brit's part is absolutely ridiculous. This is highly emotional and somewhat hard to watch but I'm very glad I did. An important time that need not be forgotten, especially for those lives lost.

Maurice Rules!

Rise of the Planet of he Apes (2011)
Dir - Rupert Wyatt

I really had no interest in seeing this. If I've seen any of the original series, aside from the famous ending on the beach, then I was too young to remember it. I did see Burton's version but don't remember anything about it other than I wasn't too impressed. Then when I started to see the FX work I decided would go eventually before it left theaters, but the rave reviews I was hearing about during opening weekend bumped it up high on my list.

I'm so glad I saw this movie!

I loved everything about this, even the few cheesy parts like "Draco's" throwback line. All of the apes are so wonderfully crafted by the Visual FX team and acted to perfection by Serkis and company that I fell in love with all of them. Caesar is fantastic but my favorite is still Maurice the circus orangutan.

I've already watched a brief YouTube video about the FX but I can't wait for the Blu-Ray to, hopefully, see a lengthy making-of doc.

Got the Brass

Monamour (2006)
Dir - Tinto Brass

Watched Cult Epic's new Blu release and this is one of my first Brass films - definitely the first non-classic Brass film. There are some highly erotic moments but it's quite boring other than that. Some quite beautiful cinematography though.

Full review coming soon to Freakin Awesome Network.com

Palance Poliziottesco

Mr. Scarface (1976) aka I padroni della citta'
Dir - Fernando Di Leo
Weird Wednesday

This week's WW pick took us to the world of Italian crime films. In this one Jack Palance is a dirty boss who our main characters are trying to rob to retire to Brazil. I know this because Tony wears a Brazil shirt, his apartment is covered in posters from the country and he mentions it repeatedly. I thought his cohort, played by Al Cliver, looked really familiar and when I checked him on IMDb it's because he was  in tons of Fulci's films. Can't believe I didn't recognize him. While parts of the film get a tad slow the end shoot-out and chase scenes more than make up for it all.

Yakuza-rrific

Outrage (2010)
Dir - Takeshi Kitano
AFFD

Check out my thoughts HERE on Gordon and the Whale.

Fallen Very Far

Fallen Angels (1995)
Dir - Kar Wai Wong
AFFD

Here is one of the repertory films I saw that people praised. I don't get it. There are some great moments in this film and I can appreciate some of what Wong did but it just didn't really do it for me. There was some quality, something very mid-90s indie, that just rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe I wasn't in the mood for this type of film at that point in the day. I'll give it a shot some other time and see if my opinion changes.

Island Livin'

Bedevilled (2010)
Dir - Chui-soo Jang
AFFD

Check out my review of this fantastic film RIGHT HERE!

Breathtaking

Seven Samurai (1954)
Dir - Akira Kurosawa
AFFD

Believe it or not, this is the first time I've seen this classic. What a great way for a first viewing - 35mm print on a large screen. This is amazing as everyone has said and it's easy to see how it influenced so many films that would come later.

Great acting, story, cinematography, directing - everything. This is why I love film so much. Three-and-a-half hours and not a single wasted or dull moment in there. Amazing.

Brotherhood Means Everything

Monga (2010)
Dir - Doze Niu
AFFD

Check out my review HERE!