Movie Review: Fast Food Nation R-4 Strings

lots of interweaved (and developed) plot stories that only led to implied conclusions. underneath it, naturally, is the real face of corporate farming and its marriage to the international fast food industry. bad times. if you value what you eat at mcdonalds or kfc, id recommend you pass on this one.

Movie Review: Jesus Camp PG-3 Strings

well, if youre going to do a documentary about weird Jesus people and still seem normal by not picking 'snake handlers', you've got to go for backwoods pentecostals. either outsiders never seem to 'get it', or insiders never share it properly. obviously a strong anti-church bias...go figure.

Movie Review: A Dirty Shame R-0 Strings

i dont think i even snickered once. maybe its because i live in california (read: seen it all), but im not even sure that the bass ackward people in kentucky would find this offensive. not wicked or even ironic (like 'pecker'). waters is so overbearingly didactic, here, that the film didnt even reach simple 'social commentary'.

Movie Review: Mallrats R-5 Strings

more one-liners than you can shake a stick at...'where? the backseat of a vw?' 'stinkpalm' 'kittykittykittykittykittykittykitty' 'snoochie boochies. ' lafours' 'id do it myself, cept i through my back out working your mom'. this is jason lee at the top of his snide, sarcastic best.

8,000 Hits?

That's almost as many as your mom.

Movie Review: The Prestige PG13-4 Strings

after viewing this one, i now understand why the movie studios burried it with 'the illusionist', a far more digestable flick. hard to follow, and had a convoluted ending. a bit heavy on the sci-fi angle, but it probably didnt help that id been practicing bass the entire time.

Movie Review: Crank R-3 Strings

the film seemed more violent than 'pulp fiction', if you can believe that. it has some different style elements that, believe it or not, were appropriate for the fast-paced action. this film is alot like eating an entire bag of cheese puffs...good, but really salty and gives you bad breath.

Movie Review: 300 5 Strings

pure agro-trash. big, powerful epic fight film. im starting to think that a new genre of film is being invented and i get to witness it. from 'batman begins' to 'sin city' to '300', we are pulling away from comicbook movies, and starting to get into the more sincere 'graphic novel' territory...its about time. thrilling film.

Movie Review: Stranger Than Fiction PG13-4 Strings

this movie was pitched poorly to the pubic ('watch will ferrell deal with the voice in his head!'). it was actually a touching story that reminds me of a sincere woody allen film. i often catch myself narrating in my head, and so much of this feels possible to me. poor latifah, out acted at every turn.

Movie Review: For Your Consideration PG13-3 Strings

felt too scripted. loads and loads of hollywood/movie industry 'irony', and i couldnt help feeling like id seen this before. it watched like an expensive version of 'waiting for guffman', a much stronger film because, unlike this one, it knew what kind of movie it was trying to be, rather than simply stab at irony, improv, drama and/or didact.

Movie Review: Farce Of The Penguins R-2 Strings

tragically unfunny. some of the best comedians in the business do a spoof on the 'march of the penguins' film. nothing sadder than hearing people who are great at being funny but are being forced to read 'funny writing'. no comedic timing...i could almost hear them turning the pages of the script.

Movie Review: Party Monster R-2 Strings

practically droll movie acted by macaulley calkin (sp) about as poorly as ive ever seen him act. the film plays like a stage production, complete with odd dialects that sound strikingly reminiscent of a 1920s gangster flick. passable club kids interpretation, though that level of drug addled life must be hard to recall.

Movie Review: Pulp Fiction R-5 Strings

stumbled upon this one, again, on cable. what a superior film. violent in nearly every way, but so successfully stylized that its practically appropriate. ive always wanted to see a version of this film in chronological order to see if it would hold up as well. i can dream.

Movie Review: The Departed R-4 Strings

woo mamma was this one violent. some moments were hamfisted and failed to achieve the noirish style it earnestly tried to attain (tarantino sort of killed the whole 'neo-retro-hipster' genre). its too bad scorsese won for this one but didnt for taxi driver, good fellas or raging bull.

Movie Review: Marie Antoinette PG13-2 Strings

something about this film was very, very poorly done. it wasnt the 80s music/decadence, nor was it kirsten dunsts' increasingly bizare teeth. the attempted plot (innocent girl caught up in geopolitics) was too subtle, and was eventually lost on bad casting and reliance on visual scenes to carry the day.

Movie Review: Cocaine Cowboys R-5 Strings

if you love documentaries, put this one on your list. a story about how miami became the multicultural drug capital of the world. so much violence all in the name of drugs. its fascinating and depressing to see how these real life 'sopranos' ran shop. not for the faint of heart.

Movie Review: Flags Of Our Fathers R-4 Strings

better than a history class. cant wait to see 'letters from iwo jima'. im always a sucker for ww2 dramas, and this one doesnt disappoint. some of the moments are a bit cartoon-ish and pied-eyed, but i will always be amazed at how willing some people are to run headlong into their own death. the film lacked heft/drama that makes movies like this great.