Pretty much just a vehicle to show off a slick combo of parkour and martial arts. The action sequences are enjoyable, but the acting is pretty hard to take most of the time. If you dig parkour, you’re probably better off checking it out through youtube or some other video site. There’s some amazing stuff out there.

No way did I intend to watch this flick, but at a friend’s insistence, I did and I’m very glad. Much better than I expected it to be. Some truly hilarious moments. “Who the f* is Marvin Hamlisch?” Sweet.

Not a lot to say about this one except it was better than I thought it would be; not spectacular, but a fun movie if you accept it for what it is. The folks who made this movie knew what they were making and don’t seem to apologize for it. In fact, (SPOILER ALERT!!!) the best line in the movie has got to go to L.L. Cool J. as he’s watching the in flight “T.J. Hooker: The Movie.” My man says under his breath something about these people making all these movies out of old TV shows. Freakin’ priceless.

Gilliam, as a member of the Python troupe, has always been great at funny and quirky, of which this film certainly has its moments. In the Fisher King though, Gilliam shows that he can handle other emotions with equal adeptness and with more subtlety than his previous films. The first 9 min. and 2 secs. of this film are a brilliant setup for what follows and Gilliam doesn’t dissappoint with the rest of the film. He still manages to get some of his trademark visuals in, but has really seemed to refine his filmmaking skills with this flcik and continues to do so to this day (12 Monkeys, Fear and Loathing, Tideland…) There are some extraordinany sequences (like the waltz in Grand Central Station) that amaze me when I think about Gilliams beginnings as the animator and token American of Python ( and clapping together those freaking coconuts in The Holy Grail.) As for Williams performance, I have to say that this is one of my favorites. I’ve always liked him better in the roles where he gets to show some depth in his acting abilities. Not everyone agrees; one of my fellow ‘consumers’ longs for the younger, coked up Williams. Now that I think of it, that’s what I kept saying to myself while watching Awakenings. “Shucks, this movie would be HILARIOUS if only Robin Williams was strung out. Maybe more of a Patch Adams in a Mental Hospital kind of thing.” Seriously though, this movie wasn’t intended to be a Robin Williams stand up routine, nor was it intended to be one of those screwball comedies that Hollywood churns out for the mindless masses that think Maritn Lawrence is actually funny. The comedy is more subtle, and the performances have depth, particularly Jeff Bridges. Of course I believe he is one of the most under appreciated actors out there. Great movie.

A return to the hip, slick and ultra cool style of Richie’s “Lock, Stock…” and “Snatch” that is reportedly the first in a trilogy. I really enjoyed getting to know this batch of quirky London criminals and will be looking forward to their continued exploits in the films that follow. “Revolver” was definitely an interesting and enjoyable departure for Mr. Richie, but this film is a definite refinement of what he does best; good dialogue surrounded by soundtrack driven action and mostly comical violence. Now that he’s split with the trailer trash disguised as a pop music superstar, I’m hoping we don’t have to wait so long between films.

Absolutely a must for anyone with any interest in independent American film. The autor, John Pierson, provides an amazing insider’s insight into the making, selling and distribution of the low budget indie. Pierson is the producers rep who sold the debut films of Spike Lee, Michael Moore, Richard Linklater, and my personal favorite, Kevin Smith (among many others.) He is regarded by many in the industry to be the master dealmaker, and the analysis and anecdotes presented in this book are fascinating as well as educational.

Maybe it has something to do with funny, overweight white men (I am also a huge Kevin Smith fan), but I loves me some Tenacious D. I myself could definitely stand to drop a couple (ahem) pounds and I like to think I have a pretty good sense of humor, so on the surface, that would seem like a plausible explanation; however, I really don’t think that’s it, at least not entirely. I think it has something to do with the fact that underneath the crassness and the vulgarity, there lies some amazing talent. This could certainly be said for Kevin Smith as well, and I think that’s probably what I identify with more than the obvious, aforementioned qualities. K.G. and J.B. are both damn fine musicians apart from their irreverant sense of humor and this collection gives a chance to see them in the early days when they were pretty much an appendage to “Mr. Show” with Bob Odenkirk and David Cross. (Also extremely funny stuff by the way…check it out.)

So, I have a lot of movies, and I have pretty much anything that Kevin Smith has been even remotely involved with; that is how I came across this flick. It was written and directed by one of his friends, Bryan Johnson, and Kevin’s production company, View Askew, produced it. Anyway, I have a lot of friends that like to borrow movies and this flick has become a kind of initiation for the new cat over at the house looking to borrow a flick or two. It goes something like this:
“Hey, you mind if I borrow a movie?”
“Um…not at all. Have you seen Vulgar?”
“Vulgar? No. Is it good?
“Oh, it’s a must see man, why don’t you start with that one.”
“What’s it about?”
“Brother, I wouldn’t want to ruin it for you. Trust me…”
At this point, anyone in the room who has seen the flick is either groaning or snickering, but of course they all agree that this is a movie that must be watched…I mean, they had to…and no one likes to suffer alone. It’s not that it’s a particualarly bad film; actually it’s a pretty damn fine effort in a lot of ways, but there are these 10 minutes or so that really live up to the title.
Upon returning the flick (no one has thought to burn it yet) the reaction is generally the same: “Dude, that’s Vulgar.” They will then usually ask to borrow something else and after watching this flick, the rest of my collection probably won’t scar them much further. There is the occasional cat that doesn’t ask to borrow anything else, but I figure that’s probably a pretty good barometer of our potential friendship. If this movie is too twisted for you, then I probably am as well.

I keep reading people’s take on this flick and how the characterization of W was somehow compassionate and humanizing. Maybe I’m way off base, but I didn’t get that at all. As I was watching this film, I kept thinking that it was like watching Dr. Strangelove, only based in reality rather than fiction and more of a tragedy than a comedy…unless you think the abuses commited by his administration under the pretense of protecting the American People are somehow funny.
Anyway, it wasn’t really Stone’s best work, but some of the actors did a pretty admirable job portraying personalities we’re already pretty familiar with (Dreyfuss in particular.) I have to agree with the take that the soundtrack was pretty weak; usually one of Stone’s stronger points, but it just didn’t seem to do much to drive this one.
Really though, check out the scenes in the war room again and tell me they don’t SCREAM Dr. Strangelove…

Let me start by saying that, for what I admit are somewhat smartass philosophical reasons that I won’t expand upon here, I almost always choose the ‘worth consuming’ option when I consume something on this site. This film has most definitely made me rethink that approach.
That being said…Heavy Metal 2000 is, quite simply, a piece of crap. I suppose part of my strong negative reaction to this film is that the original holds a special place in my heart…this film felt like a violation of that memory. It really seemed like it was phoned in for the sake of making a quick buck off the name. The story is weak, the dialogue is horrible, and the two things that should have been the foundation and saving grace of this movie, the animation and the soundtrack, were pretty freakin’ lame.
The animation was a poorly executed combination of traditional and computer generated work and left much to be desired.
And then there’s the soundtrack. Dont’ get me wrong, I am a HUGE fan of some of the bands represented, but the use of the music during the course of the film was weak. Most of the time it appeared that random samples of songs were just thrown at the movie’s action sequences in the hope that they would stick. They didn’t I’d be willing to bet that the folks in bands like Monster Magnet, Queens of the Stone Age, Pantera, etc. were, like many of us, huge fans of the original and I can only hope that they got an enormous payday in exchange for their names being attached to this collossal piece of garbage.