TVBronson (DVD)
Nicolas Winding Refn, who made the absolutely brilliant Pusher trilogy, directs a film about Britain’s most known jailed criminal, Charles Bronson. I liked this film a lot, but it’s a huge departure in tone from Pusher. This is a lyrical, downbeat and sometimes hard to follow folly of a man who doesn’t know who he really is, and is happiest destroying his own life by getting into endless fights and crime sprees. I did not come away from this film loving it, but I did admire the filmmaking. Next up for Nicolas Winding Refn: supposdedly a reboot of Wonder Woman.
Grade: C +
TV's Greatest Surprises (CBS)
A pretty fun trip down memory lane and Jeff Probst did a very nice job hosting. Some of the clips were odd choices to say the least, but all were entertaining on some level.
Grade: B
Taken (HBO)
Liam Neeson is afraid to let his daughter (played by the worst actress of the moment, Maggie Grace (Shannon from Lost), go overseas because as a former government spy Liam has seen it all and doesn’t trust his girl being alone overseas. He relents, and a day later she calls him just as she is being kidnapped for sale in the white-slave prostitution market. He knew it!
Snarky remarks aside, this gets pretty great once Liam is in motion. SPOILER ALERT:
Why doesn’t anyone care about the girl that died?
Grade: B
Jesse James on NIGHTLINE (ABC)
Pathetic. Not only did he start the interview by claiming that he first thought Sandra Bullock was some “Hollywood bitch” before he met her. Then he met her and discovered she really had some smarts in her!
Then he started crying about child abuse he suffered that has since been refuted.
My guess: Jesse James has some nice guy persona that shield the fucking asshole that he really is – and this interview proved what a moron he is.
You had it all, Jesse. But as Elvis Costello and Bob Dylan before him once said” You threw it all away.”
For a tattooed Nazi.
Jesse James: F
Hot Tub Time Machine (DVD)
One of the real surprises in the last few months of onscreen comedy, Hot Tub looks and feels like an 80s movie with a modern sensibility. John Cusack’s presense only intensifies the 80s feel, and Craig Robinson just keeps getting better and funnier in every role. This is not a picture-perfect clever time-travel film that pays so much attention to the minute details of time-travel so much as it pays attention to the emotional core of these characters, and still has quite a few 80s suprises up its sleeve. There are some real belly laughs, Chevy Chase makes a memorable cameo, and the cast gels together wonderfully. The unrated version is what I watched. Completely profane, and I loved it.
Grade: B +
2012 (DVD)
I rented this and blasted the sound, ready to give myself over to a two hour world-ending bonanza. What I got instead was John Cusack running around and a lot of miserable scenes to accompany the destruction. This had to be one of the most poorly plotted and routine action pictures I have ever seen. Every other scene was “just because this man is a janitor, that does not mean he doesn’t deserve to live!” I wanted to love this because there is a great film to be made about the end of the world. This is about as far from it as you can get. The funniest thing about this film is that whenever it’s about to get interesting, the director would cut to something else. There is so much bad in this film, so little good, that I have nothing to really say except avoid this unless you like just-okay special effects.
Grade: D
2010/07/06
Cabin Fever
Cabin Fever (IFC)
I finally caught this genuine creepfest of a horror film. The first scary movie directed by Eli Roth, this was the film that caught the eye of Quentin Tarantino who later would lend his name to HOSTEL, the torture-porn masterpiece Roth later wrote and directed. As for this movie, five friends take up in a remote woods cabin for a weekend getaway. What they encounter are very strange rednecks and flesh eating diseases. None of the horror comes from expected places and the film builds genuine tension. If the last 20 minutes get a little haywire, it's still quite a nice balancing act the director keeps for an extended eerie time. Far from a perfect film, this is a pretty terrific creepy rental.
Grade: B -
I finally caught this genuine creepfest of a horror film. The first scary movie directed by Eli Roth, this was the film that caught the eye of Quentin Tarantino who later would lend his name to HOSTEL, the torture-porn masterpiece Roth later wrote and directed. As for this movie, five friends take up in a remote woods cabin for a weekend getaway. What they encounter are very strange rednecks and flesh eating diseases. None of the horror comes from expected places and the film builds genuine tension. If the last 20 minutes get a little haywire, it's still quite a nice balancing act the director keeps for an extended eerie time. Far from a perfect film, this is a pretty terrific creepy rental.
Grade: B -
2010/06/21
Friday The 13th, Orphan & The Last House On The Left remake.
Orphan (Horror (2009) (DVD)
One of the most wretched films I'll ever love. This 2 hour creepfest is a true bad movie masterpiece grounded heavily by a terrific set of performances by the parents, a twisted performance by the lead little girl playing the orphan, an absolutly ludicrous plot that will astonish and inspire some weird sense of awe, and basic good filmaking. As much as I despise the horrifying things that happen to the kids in this, I loved every second of it.
Grade: B +
Friday The 13th (2009 Remake HBO)
Terrible, terrible remake/reboot of the 80s film which spawned more than 10 sequels. The truth is, aside from a 2 minute nonsensical opening which referred to the opening film, there is absolutely nothing original about this. Bad script, bad direction and very bad kills. Worst of all, I can't see what really seperates this from any of the bad sequels, with the one exception that this might be the very worst of them all. BORING!
Grade: F
The Last House On the Left (DVD - 2009 remake)
Another huge surprise. Get the unrated version for all the nastiness in a well-mounted and very well acted film about a gang of hooligans who do the unthinkable to a pair of young women in the woods, then accidentily look for shelter in the home of the parents of one of the missing girls. This is a porn-torture film and particularly grisly in its unedited form, but also glorious in its ideas of retribution. Very well staged and actually improves on the Wes Craven classic from which this is inspired by.
Grade: A
One of the most wretched films I'll ever love. This 2 hour creepfest is a true bad movie masterpiece grounded heavily by a terrific set of performances by the parents, a twisted performance by the lead little girl playing the orphan, an absolutly ludicrous plot that will astonish and inspire some weird sense of awe, and basic good filmaking. As much as I despise the horrifying things that happen to the kids in this, I loved every second of it.
Grade: B +
Friday The 13th (2009 Remake HBO)
Terrible, terrible remake/reboot of the 80s film which spawned more than 10 sequels. The truth is, aside from a 2 minute nonsensical opening which referred to the opening film, there is absolutely nothing original about this. Bad script, bad direction and very bad kills. Worst of all, I can't see what really seperates this from any of the bad sequels, with the one exception that this might be the very worst of them all. BORING!
Grade: F
The Last House On the Left (DVD - 2009 remake)
Another huge surprise. Get the unrated version for all the nastiness in a well-mounted and very well acted film about a gang of hooligans who do the unthinkable to a pair of young women in the woods, then accidentily look for shelter in the home of the parents of one of the missing girls. This is a porn-torture film and particularly grisly in its unedited form, but also glorious in its ideas of retribution. Very well staged and actually improves on the Wes Craven classic from which this is inspired by.
Grade: A
2010/06/15
The Dead Set, Breaking Bad, Confessions of a Superhero
The Simpsons (Fox)
I know this has not been a great season, but I recently caught the episode where Homer and Chief Wiggum get caught up in a bromance. Loved it. Wish the rest of the season was like that. More on The Simpsons and Sunday night on Fox coming.
The Dead Set (BBC)
A great 5 part half hour series from the BBC. It begins as a behind the scenes look at yet another variation of Big Brother. Only then Zombies come. And the cameras stay on. As weird as this sounds, it was terrific.
Grade: A -
Confessions Of A Superhero (IFC)
One of my recent favorite documentaries, Confessions tells the story about the superheroes of Hollywood Blvd. The wanna-be actors (I say that lovingly) who dress up as super heroes and go out on Hollywood Blvd. and shill for money by taking pics with tourists. While I kind of liked the guy that played Superman, fell in crazy love with the bombshell, albeit delusional gal who plays Wonder Woman, I was completely disturbed by the guy that dons the Batman outfit. Listening to him in his Batman suit describing a murder he might have committed - it doesn't get more surreal than that.
Grade: A
Breaking Bad (2nd season DVD)
Still going through, still LOVING this.
I know this has not been a great season, but I recently caught the episode where Homer and Chief Wiggum get caught up in a bromance. Loved it. Wish the rest of the season was like that. More on The Simpsons and Sunday night on Fox coming.
The Dead Set (BBC)
A great 5 part half hour series from the BBC. It begins as a behind the scenes look at yet another variation of Big Brother. Only then Zombies come. And the cameras stay on. As weird as this sounds, it was terrific.
Grade: A -
Confessions Of A Superhero (IFC)
One of my recent favorite documentaries, Confessions tells the story about the superheroes of Hollywood Blvd. The wanna-be actors (I say that lovingly) who dress up as super heroes and go out on Hollywood Blvd. and shill for money by taking pics with tourists. While I kind of liked the guy that played Superman, fell in crazy love with the bombshell, albeit delusional gal who plays Wonder Woman, I was completely disturbed by the guy that dons the Batman outfit. Listening to him in his Batman suit describing a murder he might have committed - it doesn't get more surreal than that.
Grade: A
Breaking Bad (2nd season DVD)
Still going through, still LOVING this.
2010/06/07
True Beauty, Irene In Time, The Bachelorette, Breaking Bad.
True Beauty (ABC)
A new show in which the gorgeous young contestants think that they're on some kind of beauty/reality show. But there are hidden cameras and they are really being tested on their "inner beauty." I love the idea of this show, and its fun to watch beautiful people be total assholes, but something about the setup keeps this from really testing these people. They end up faced with these weird setups where you don't even blame them for doing the wrong thing. Making this a bit more interesting is the presence of Beth O., also known as the wife of Howard Stern. She's beautiful and fun and seems unusually nice, and her presence here is quite a welcome relief from the usual TV stiff. I like this show, but I think by the end it gets kind of hokey. At least it did last season.
Grade: B -
Irene In Time (Drama 2009 DVD)
I LOVE Henry Jaglom movies. Last Summer In The Hamptons is one of my very favorite films. That said, this one is a total failure. It's about these women and their daddy issues, but every conversation is an emotional catharsis, none of the improv seems remotely believable, and the lead actress gives a twitchy, disturbing performance that is hard to watch.
Grade: D
The Bachelorette (ABC)
I find her completely annoying and I loved the initial weirdness with the Weatherman and that older, aggressive angry guy. But now that he's gone, it's already a bit ho-hum. And the Bachelorette herself is a real bore.
Grade: C
Starting Out In The Evening (HBO)
Frank Langella is a famous author and Lauren Ambrose is a pretty young student doing a paper on him. Langella is solid as a rock here, but its a badly overly written role, with every writer cliché in the book present. Lauren is even more annoying here than in 6 FEET UNDER. She plays this girl like she's Woodward in All The President's Men. It's a really badly observed acting job. There is also some hokum involving some ludicrous and boring plotline about Langella's daughter, and by the time this thing rolls around to the end...it's not good. Only worth it if you are a Frank Langella completist, and he is good here but un-served by the production.
Grade: D +
Breaking Bad (2nd season DVD)
I'm in the middle and will report back once I'm finished, but so far, so great.
A new show in which the gorgeous young contestants think that they're on some kind of beauty/reality show. But there are hidden cameras and they are really being tested on their "inner beauty." I love the idea of this show, and its fun to watch beautiful people be total assholes, but something about the setup keeps this from really testing these people. They end up faced with these weird setups where you don't even blame them for doing the wrong thing. Making this a bit more interesting is the presence of Beth O., also known as the wife of Howard Stern. She's beautiful and fun and seems unusually nice, and her presence here is quite a welcome relief from the usual TV stiff. I like this show, but I think by the end it gets kind of hokey. At least it did last season.
Grade: B -
Irene In Time (Drama 2009 DVD)
I LOVE Henry Jaglom movies. Last Summer In The Hamptons is one of my very favorite films. That said, this one is a total failure. It's about these women and their daddy issues, but every conversation is an emotional catharsis, none of the improv seems remotely believable, and the lead actress gives a twitchy, disturbing performance that is hard to watch.
Grade: D
The Bachelorette (ABC)
I find her completely annoying and I loved the initial weirdness with the Weatherman and that older, aggressive angry guy. But now that he's gone, it's already a bit ho-hum. And the Bachelorette herself is a real bore.
Grade: C
Starting Out In The Evening (HBO)
Frank Langella is a famous author and Lauren Ambrose is a pretty young student doing a paper on him. Langella is solid as a rock here, but its a badly overly written role, with every writer cliché in the book present. Lauren is even more annoying here than in 6 FEET UNDER. She plays this girl like she's Woodward in All The President's Men. It's a really badly observed acting job. There is also some hokum involving some ludicrous and boring plotline about Langella's daughter, and by the time this thing rolls around to the end...it's not good. Only worth it if you are a Frank Langella completist, and he is good here but un-served by the production.
Grade: D +
Breaking Bad (2nd season DVD)
I'm in the middle and will report back once I'm finished, but so far, so great.
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