year 5 day 179

movie: Sausage Party
starring: Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill
genre: Comedy,
year:2016
format: Shaw Video On Demand

plot: When a grocery store full of food items discover that their lives are build on a lie, they begin to break the rules of their packages in order to find the truth.

So I had mixed emotions about this film. When I first saw the trailer last summer for it, I was looking forward to it. It looked really funny.  I watched this the other night on rental, and I don't remember laughing more than once. If it wasn't for the fact I had paid for the rental, I would have turned it off. I did not find it funny.  This is basically one continuous penis joke after another, which normally I find penis jokes hilarious, but it got old quick.
But, with that said, it lingers in your mind. Sure, it's "packaged" as a "fresh idea"; which it is but not in the way it was expressed in the previews. As I said, it lingered in my mind a bit. This is a real slap in the face social commentary on religion, politics and sexual identity. Which, were this a live action film would never have made it to the cinemas. It's too over the top at times, but that is almost what is needed to make the points.

You've got a set of characters here from the typical hot dogs, buns, a bagel, bottle of alcohol, twinkies, to the people who buy them. Then there is the big bad, who is a douche. No, I'm not being sarcastic, the villain in this is a cartoon feminine hygiene product that has one thing on his mind. To get up in there. That, and "kill the sausage." Which you can take anyway you want.
I sort of walked away from this film disgusted at first, then as it rolled around a bit in my brain, sort of got why the humour was as blunt as it was.  I really could have done without the poop or the big sex orgy, that was both a bit much for even me. The talking condom was funny, that was the one real joke I laughed out loud at.

There is a speech one of the characters makes in the film about how they knew the truth of what happens to the food when it leaves the store, but created a happier myth for the others, and how they are disappointed by the way their harmless story has become twisted. I think that sort of summed up everything in one sentence, as being the core of the movie. The opening scene has all the products in the store singing in praise of their "gods" in hopes of being picked that day. Which, rapidly snowballs into each section of the store's "neighbourhood" declaring themselves better than the rest of the products.

what did I learn? Would I sit through this again, honestly I'm not sure?

Random movie Jan 21st 2015

The Man With the Iron Fists

plot: A group of warring clans all plan to steal a vault of gold from each other, destroying a village in the process.

This is a 2012 action movie starring Russel Crow and Lucy Liu.

I rented this for one reason, it had Quentin Tarantino in the title. Ends up, not one of his per say as much as distributed by his label.   With that said, major martial arts movie.
It's another one of those that I didn't really hate but didn't really love either.  Did not want or need to see Batista's ass, but there it was at the end of a fight scene. Pun intended.

For a sci-fi/comedy, it was pretty good. For an action film, it covered the bases. It says it pays tribute to the genre from the 1970s, translation exploitation film. Which it captures well. 
The fact it's writer/producer/director/star is rapper RZA...leaves a bit to be desired. I have no clue if this was his first movie/acting job, but it sure felt like it. He looks so bored. No seriously, he's suppose to be the center of the story, and he comes across like he could care less that he's there.

I would have liked an explanation as to why wrestler Batista was the gold platted hulk? If there was an explanation to his character, it was so quick I missed it. Did it have to do with him being the killer of his clan? I have no clue.

There could have been a little more plot but otherwise not horrible. 

Random movie Dec 25th 2014

The Interview

plot: Two lowbrow reporters are given the chance to go to North Korea to interview their leader. The CIA contacts them, asking them to be part of a murder plot.

This is a 2014 slapstick comedy starring Seth Rogen and James Franco.

Like millions of people in the last 24 hours, I just saw the now infamous The Interview. 
I have to say, when I first heard about this film back in the summer, and saw the original trailer for it at the cinema, I thought it looked like a funny waste of time. Then all that happened happened, and I was bummed to find out Canada wasn't going to get a release for it. Dude, that sucks.
Then, hey last second we get it online. Yay!

I have to say, they had me at the line "Eminem is gay on our show!"  It was funny, like snot out your coffee funny.  This movie, for all it's hoopla, has it's fair share of moments. I kept thinking back to movies like Top Secret and Spies Like Us, pretty much the whole time. The fake fruit was nifty.

What do I think of this movie? To tell the truth, I didn't bother to think as I watched it. The scene where Seth Rogen gets his fingers bitten off was a little extreme, and the tiger was uncalled for but otherwise...it was one of countless slapstick boarding on raunchy films to be produced in the last few years. The rocket up the butt was funny for what it was worth.

This movie will go down in history as a lesson in film making, not because it was particularly good, but because it was the little engine that could. Even if it really shouldn't have.

Year 3 Day 88

movie: Interior. Leather Bar.
starring: James Franco, Val Lauren
genre: Drama, Mockumentary, Documentary,
year: 2013
format: online Netflix Canada

plot: Follows James Franco and Val Lauren on the set of a movie.

Seriously, I wish I could really give you a proper plot, but it doesn't really come across as having a "true" plot.
You are never completely sure if you are watching a documentary that is a little tongue in cheek or a full on scripted mockumentary.  Either way, it's real message seems to be about sexual expression and pushing the envelope.
The "lead actor" is hired to recreate a scene from the 1980 movie Cruising, and the camera follows him around for half the day listening in on his conversations with some of the other actors and about their comfort level with the material. I honestly could not tell if that was the real deal or if the whole thing was scripted? 

There is a few short scenes of real sex happening in this film.  Which, given that there is a scene dead center in the film with Franco fighting for the right to have in mainstream films, what is traditionally pornography, it gives them so much more weight.

I've never personally seen the movie Cruising, so I can't tell you exactly how "true" Franco's "vision" of the missing scene is, but I can say I like his balls for doing this. (pun intended)  I have to admit, when I heard about this film having a bunch of naked men in it having real sex, it's what made me check it out. I'm not going to lie and say that I decided to watch this film for the cause, but I'm glad in the end that I did.
In the speech James Franco gives about how as a society our morals are slightly blurred, he makes a point about how violence has become elevated in everything to the point we're desensitized, and anything sexual still gets shamed. His co-star also makes a great point in saying that there is a time and place for everything, and society needs to find a balance for it all.

Did I think it could have been a bit longer with a clearer message, yes I did. Did it make me want to watch Cruising? Yes it does. And at some point, I'm sure I'll hunt down a copy and watch.

Year 3 Day 1

Movie: Machete
Starring: Danny Trejo, Cheech Marin
Genre:Action
Year: 2010
Format:  online (Netflix Canada)

plot: A Mexican cop has his world torn apart when his wife is killed. Three years later, after going into hiding, he's set up to take the fall for shooting a politician. Soon, he's running with a group of underground rebels and a border cop all trying to prove the city's corrupt.


I ended up really liking this film. Not what I was first expecting, but there were some great moments of laugh out loudness, and the story worked given it was designed to be like the exploitation films of the 1970's. (Which I always found to have little plot.)
This is the beginning of a trilogy... er trilogy and a half...er a spin off ... as the characters were originally introduced in a segment of the movie Grindhouse.  Machete Kills and Machete Kills Again are both slated for production. 

In the what did I learn from this movie part...always trust your instincts. You never know who is really on your side until put to the test. 

Lovelace

Just saw the movie Lovelace.  And it was such a powerful movie.

plot: we follow six years in the life of former porn actress Linda Lovelace as she falls under the influence of her abusive husband and manages to find her way back to her own life.

The list of stars in this - Sharon Stone, Chris Noth, Robert Patrick- alone is worth the look. I can't say what I was expecting of this film, because I wasn't really expecting much of anything because I didn't know much about her to begin with.

The sets, the costumes/wardrobe in this is pitch perfect and you forget that you are watching a film that was made in the last year.  There is one scene and I was just in awe of the wallpaper and details that made up the background of the kitchen while the lead and her mother were talking. One of the most powerful scenes, breaking down the relationships between Lovelace and her family, her crossroads, and her bravery.

till later

Coffee Talk Feb 23rd 2013

I wanted to bring up the topic of American Psycho.  (which I covered the movie version here )
And basically, everything I said in that post about the movie, times that by 50 and you have what I think about the book.

You might remember back in early January, that I mentioned it was the selection for this month for book-movie club. One of the reasons it was chosen was because the movie has become a cult classic, even though the original book was said to be controversial.

I wanted to know what could have been in the book to make it so controversial?  Well, I've read the book, and now I know.

If you've seen the movie then you know it's packed with dark humour, the script is witty and the notes it hits are perfect to describe the metaphor of trying to keep up with the greed and shallowness that society hit back in the 1980s.  In the movie, the horror is there but it's not as in your face as it is in the book.
Not too mention, the movie can feel disjointed at times, but still flows in a way that makes sense. Although the movie is laid out in a slightly different order then the original book.

The book, is ten times more graphic in everything, from the sex scenes, to the murders, to the way the lead character describes everything his buddies and he are wearing. The grotesque and the mundane are equally important to the lead character. (like when he can not find a particular movie at the rental store then freaks out when he can not see what kind of shoes the sales person is wearing from where he is standing)
I'm actually left wondering if the character of Patrick Bateman is really a psycho killer or just a plan old junkie having drug induced nightmares?  You're witness to more then a few moments of pure madness, which seem to happen when his routine is disrupted (work out for two hours, watch his favourite show, pull money out of the bank machine, then go for dinner and drinks every day) or when he simply can not find something to keep him distracted. (Bateman and his buddies are constantly trying to score drugs) The sex and the drugs seem to keep him normal, and when they are removed he has a meltdown and goes on a killing spree.

There is a weird balance to this book as well.  Half this book is a strange nightmare induced horror story and half this book is like a memoir of a socialite.  Roughly the first 100 pages is filled with three (I think was what I counted) men who do nothing but talk about the women they are sleeping with, the food they are eating and the clothes they are wearing. It literally plays like a male version of Sex and the City for the first 100 pages, then the hard core stuff begins.

There is one chapter that I found particularly jarring.  And not because of any of the violence either, but from the simple fact the author goes from the first person to the third person for a few paragraphs. (I'm still not sure if that was a mistake no one's ever caught or if it was on purpose to really make you understand what the character is doing is "real" compared to the rest of the novel which is "all in his head" ?)
Like the movie version, you are left at the end wondering what the end really means. Did he do it all? Was it in his head?  Is he even really Patrick Bateman or one of the many guys people mistake him for through the book?

All in all, this is a good book. There were moments when I wondered how certain things got into print, but mostly it was brilliantly written.
For me, what I got out of it was the feeling of complete isolation, loneliness, insecurity, and boredom of the lead character.  A sort of backwards shot at feminism, and an unclouded fear of "they're not like us" that more then bordered on racism (which you could point out at times Dracula and Frankenstein both had)

If you are not easily offended, this is a book you should give a chance.


*Note- Yes the post date is 24th Feb, and the post title is the 23rd.  It took me nearly 45minutes to write the post*

Swap Meat

Movie: The Casserole Club

Where: my sofa on Netflix Canada

Reason for seeing it: the title got my attention obviously, and bonus when I found out Kevin Richardson of the Backstreet Boys was a lead actor.


Holy cocktail weiners Batman. Where to I start on this one.  When I heard about this film's title, of course I went looking for the trailer.  It made it look like a really low budget film.  But so many movies are being done lately that are so, nothing new. Then I read the reviews others had of it on Netflix Canada, and most were just nasty.  One person had something nice to say about the film. Mostly about how the settings and costumes were bang on for the decade it's set in. They even went on to talk about how it's faded in that style of a 1960's/1970's film, which is the time frame of the film.  Which, I have to hand it to the film maker, is brilliant. If for no other reason see this film for the set design and costumes and take it as a really great slice of history in review.

Then I watched the film. And seriously, I wasn't sure I was going to make it past the first 15 minutes, but ironically, I'm glad I did.  I think if it had been me, I wouldn't have edited it in a liner form but done it with intercutting flashbacks...but that's getting off the point.

The first 15 minutes is the big set up for the film, and is just a cocktail party of drunks who are acting like fifteen year olds.  So you think at first. 

plot: Five couples living in the same suburb neighbourhood, get together one night to have a casserole contest, with the wives cooking and the husbands picking the winner. After supper, everyone gets extremely drunk and decide to have an orgy in the pool. The next day, as everyone tries to pretend it didn't happen, we start to see the break down of four of the five marriages. Over the course of the next few weeks, they all decide to have another dinner party, which ends with one wife having an affair with one of the men in the group and ends up pregnant. One more party happens a few weeks later, this time they've introduced another couple, which doesn't go well with half the group, and someone ends up dead.

Seriously, at first glance, this film seems like just a made for tv porno. But once you get past that first party scene and into the grit of the dynamic of the couples, you understand why the film was made. Everyone of them have major insecurities that seem to affect how they treat each other (from the husband in couple A being a self mutilator and rejecting his wife over and over, to the husband of couple C who is a bisexual trying to convince everyone he's a straight stud because of his wife) the cruelty they subtly and not so subtly inflict on each other at times, all leading to the breaking down of most of their marriages. 
This is an excellent story of pulling away the curtain to see the plastic forest for what it is, and the masks they all wear.

Were this set in this decade, it wouldn't have worked as well as it did.  Just the use of the casserole scenes themselves were a great metaphor. (the women talking about the easiness of canned soup and spam which little to no real prep time but yet no one discussing anything of real value)

I know some of the reviewers were talking about how bad the acting was, and yes the first party scene I think had some lame ducks in it, but as the movie continues, you see it for what it is; following a recipe laid out in the 1960's/1970's  when acting really was that cardboard and flavourless. It really feels like you're watching something from the Exploitation era.

I only wish there were more dinner table scenes.

Day 363

movie: Jawbreaker
starring: Rose McGowa, Julie Benz
genre: Comedy, Crime,
year: 1999
format: online

plot: A group of girls kidnap their friend on her birthday, only the jawbreaker they use to keep her quiet gets stuck in her throat killing her. They make a pact with another student to keep it all silent but the truth has a way of making itself heard.

Some would say this is a mild rip off of Heathers.   I can see the elements in it. 
This movie is hard to really place in a solid category.  It's dark humour has lent it to cult status, but at the same time, the core of it is a serious story about jealousy.

Most of the actresses went on to make a name for themselves in the horror genre, most notable Benz for her role in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel tv shows.

This movie really nails it for me, on how brutal high school can get. The competition, specially between women can get very close to the way it's portrayed here. The need to be the queen of the scene, can bring out the devil in some people. That's why there are so many movies on the topic of mean girls.

what do i think i learned from this film?
It's movies like this that remind me why I choose not to have any female friends

Quote of the night

I have no idea why this quote popped into my head, but here it is.  From the movie Big Money Hustlas from 2000

Catus Sac -"Did somebody order a steak out there?" (as he's looking at SugerBear with a broken piece of wood in his leg) "Chair, chair  please. This is going to hurt. Would you like some squash with that steak? Bang Bang." (he jumps from the top rope into a splash on SugerBear who has removed the broken wood and has it as a weapon) Oh a stake through the heart, that's the second time this week"

From the scene near the end when they are in the hide out, in the wrestling ring.

Halloween Night part 4

My blog's Rocky Horror Picture Show party... sort of.

Hallowe'en's biggest tradition in the last 37 years, is the midnight showing of the sci-fi musical Rocky Horror Picture Show.   Starring Tim Curry and Meatloaf.

I've been to a few of the parties over the years, and some were great, some were drunkenly put together and not so great.


The plot of this seems like a mess when you first view it.  Aliens, Frankenstein monsters, zombies, cannibals, vampires, geeks and greasers.  The brilliant Richard O'Brian took something from every genre out there and mashed it up in a tasty cocktail.
But after viewing it a few times, you start to unravel the threads that combine to make Rocky who he is.
So to speak.

A story about innocence lost and even found, of hope and doubt and desires that many people are afraid to admit they have or even might have.

The cult following didn't come until 1977, two full years after the movie version was released, and four years after the original stage play made it's debut.

I have to admit, my favourite songs from the soundtrack are "Sweet Transvestite"  and part one of "Floor Show-Rose Tint My World"  though I would be amiss if I left off "Going Home"from my personal list.

Everyone has a character that they really connect with, usually the more aggressive characters like Frank n' Furter or Magenta.  I have to say, after one party I went to as the character Eddie, you have to appreciate the role a bit more. (we had five Magenta's that year, one Columbia and two Frank'n'Furters but no Brad, no Janet and no Riff Raff or Rocky)
I had rice down every part of me that particular night, which was not fun at to clean up. 


Columbia's rant in the pool room really shows the vampiric undertones to the Frank'n'Furter character.  She always put me in mind of the character Lucy from Dracula.

Let's make a toast, do a little dance, and have some dinner... the menu is meatloaf, roasted not baked heavy on the cheese.Then settle back for a midnight double-feature.


I hope that anyone who might be reading this feels free to share your memories of Rocky Horror... I'm sure they are groovy.  Happy Hallowe'en.

ED D WOOD JR

Ed D Wood Jr  Oct 10th 1924- Dec 10th 1978

The man who will be known for the rest of movie history, as creating the worst film in the world.
He's also one of the few movie makers who truly created his films from the heart.

His most famous movies of course being Plan 9 From Outer Space and Glen or Glenda  and The Bride of the Monster.

Known also for being the man to have the final performance by Bela Lugosi, and many would even say, Ed Wood helped to create cult classics as we know it.  Without even trying.

You know a guy is cool, when decades after his death, not only is he remembered as the father of cult films, but has a whole religion based on his idealism. ( Look up Church of Ed Wood. I think it's a major statement on how important films are in society.)

Day 246

Movie: Kill Bill Vol 2
Starring: Uma Thurman, Michael Madsen
Genre: Crime, Action
Year: 2004
Format: Shaw Video On Demand

Plot: The Bride has managed to get revenge on the members of the group that destroyed her life, and is now able to get her hands on her ex, Bill.

This is the western part of the movie.

I liked this half much more then the first half. (Day 245) This part was funnier for starters, and actually had more of the story to it. You're given more of the back story of the characters and you end up connecting more with them.
And Michael Madsen is in this half of the film, I've always been a fan of his.

Because this has more of the storyline to it then the first half, it also makes a bit more sense.  You really do have to watch both back to back in order to get the full scope of the plot.

What do I think I learned from this film?
Sometimes the lessons we learn along the journey are truly a scrabbled puzzle until we get to the end of the journey where they make sense.  And there is no excuse for controlling and abusive behavouir as you will get what you deserve in the end.

Day 245

Movie: Kill Bill Vol 1
Starring: Uma Thurman, Lucy Lu
Genre:Action, Crime,
Year: 2003
Format: Shaw Video On Demand

Plot: After having been in a coma for four years, a woman sets out for revenge on the group who put her there.

What  Quentin Tarantino will go down in history for creating.
This half of the film is the Kung Fu half of the movie, while the second is the Spaghetti Western.

I liked much of this but have to admit, I was put off by the animation segment.  I have just never been one for Japanese Anime.
I actually found myself laughing out loud at some of the over the top blood soaked scenes.

It's been years since I first saw the Kill Bill movies, and had forgotten how good the writing of the characters actually were. At first glance, you get the impression it's just a shoot em up - in this case a slice em up- film, but after a bit, you realize how much of a web has been spun around the characters.

What do I think I learned from this film?
Revenge isn't always what you thought it was.