Don’t You Forget about Hughes: A Fond Farwell

“Most of my characters are romantic rather than sexual. I think that's an essential difference in my pictures. I think they are more accurate in portraying young people as romantic - as wanting a relationship, an understanding with a member of the opposite sex more than just physical sex.”

--John Hughes

John Hughes, 1950-2009

This summer continues to take celebrity icons away from us. John Hughes passed away Thursday morning of a heart attack while taking a walk in Manhattan. He was only 59.

Hughes was the director who helped make the MTV generation who it was. His comedies helped to foster a sense of fashion, music taste, and humor. He did it so effortlessly, giving the appearance of true to life tales. His characters were relatable, loveable and really seemed to speak to the teen angst, human condition.

Very few moviemakers can say they made movies as timeless as The Wizard of Oz. But Hughes is one of those special people, and it was not just one movie but dozens. Fifty years from now people will still be able to watch his movies and not just enjoy themselves but also relate to them.

Hughes had an innate ability to capture the multi-faceted lives of teenaged kids growing up in the age during a time of excess. Movies such as Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, Uncle Buck, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Pretty in Pink, Vacation and of course Home Alone really struck a chord with the 1980s youth. But even now 20 years later, these films are still entertaining to watch, because even though the decade is different. The angst is not.

Hughes can even be seen as a contributor to the recent hipster boom as people who were mere children during the heyday of his filmmaking careers can look back and relate to how his characters felt, or at the very least how they looked.

Not only that but he put child stars on the map. Molly Ringwold, Macaulay Culkin, Anthony Michael Hall, John and Joan Cusak, Judd Nelson, Emilio Estevez, Matthew Broderick all became household names in part to their roles in Hughes’ movies.

It wasn’t just his ability to capture teen angst and create a complete, beautifully crafted film; it was his attention to detail and more importantly his ability to find humor in the mundane, films like Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Mr. Mom, and The Great Outdoors are prime examples of his craft. His writing was spot on even though he only directed eight films in his career. As a former advertiser turned movie household name, he achieved so much in the family comedy genre. His films never offended, they dealt with important topics but always made sure they were gently wrapped in comedy.

John Hughes had a gift of making movies that anyone from any generation could watch and laugh at. There were times when my family and I would watch these movies and everyone could always be on the same page because the humor was ageless. So John thank you for creating films that were memorable and could bring people closer to one another. You will be missed.

Mrs. Frisby to Return to the Big Screen

“I say, if you believe what you read in the comic strips, then you believe that mice run around with little gold buttons on their red pants and drive cars.”
-- Mort Walker

The movie world sent me some great news this week, with the announcement of a new adaptation of one of my favorite childhood books. That book is none other than “Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.”

I was very excited to hear that this movie was announced for several reasons. The first being the animated film, The Secret of NIMH, (1982) was a phenomenal movie and really captured the essence of a haunting story. The second reason, is the fact that in a new era, the spin and interpretation of all of the intense sociological and political commentary that takes place in Robert C. O’Brien’s, Newberry Medal winning, book will show much this book stands the test of time.

Originally written in 1971, and inspired by the work of John B. Calhoun at the National Institute of Mental Health or NIMH (you see what O’Brien did there? Pretty clever!). Mrs. Frisby, has to deal with being a widow trying to protect her home from destructive humans, and enlists the help of Nicodemus and other Rats who escaped the research facility with knowledge comparable, if not exceeding, that of humans.

There is very little information out about this movie though rumor has it this film should be released sometime in 2013. Thus far Neil Burger is the only person attached to the film. Burger will be writing the screenplay, but in all reality he may direct as well, since that has been the case for all of the movies he has made, even though that is not a very long list.

Burger does have a knack for writing and directing darker films. To his credit, he has written and directed, Interview with the Assassin, The Illusionist, and The Lucky Ones. He is also in the process of making a remake of the 1935 classic Bride of Frankenstein. He took over directorial duties on this film after Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini both dropped out. To his credit Burger has worked with some great actors even if his movies have not been great successes. Tim Robbins and Rachel McAdams (The Lucky Ones), Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti, Jessica Biel and Rufus Sewell (The Illusionist), have all worked with Burger, so it shows he can bring in big name talent if necessary. It would be interesting to see Edward Norton or Tim Robbins doing voice acting for this movie too.

At any rate this will definitely be a movie to look out for, especially if Where the Wild Things Are turns out to be as big a hit as I think it will. But until then I highly recommend reading “Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH” or checking out The Secret of NIMH before the new edition comes out. You won’t be disappointed. Secret of NIMH is comparable to other fantastic, animated mouse movies like The Great Mouse Detective and The Rescuers Down Under for its darkness, or The Rescuers and An American Tail for their political and social commentary. Needless to say I am excited.

A Review of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

“Doing is overrated, and success undesirable, but the bitterness of failure even more so”
--Cyril Connolly

Yet again it becomes quite clear that Hollywood is relying on a big-named series to make money, while leaving movie patrons grasping for more yet happy it is over. In a nutshell when I went to see the midnight premier of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the experience went something like this. It started late, more people clapped and cheered at the end of the Where the Wild Things Are trailer than they did at the end of the film, and one of my friends literally snored her way through Dumbledore’s death. So if you haven’t guessed by now, this will not be a very positive review.

The hype machine sucked me in for this one. Admittedly I have not been a fan of the series as a whole, but I did enjoy watching Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and I expected David Yates to come through again, especially since, I really find J.K. Rowling’s sixth addition to the series to be one of her best Harry Potter books. It had a ton of emotion a very strong love story that did not completely consume the main plot of the book and one hell of an ending. You would think anyone could make a great movie out of her creation, but the movie adaptation fell flat.

The majority of the book deals with three major plot points, who the Half-Blood Prince is, the increased Voldermort/Deatheater presence, and the budding love interests of Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione. Unfortunately most of these major points are glossed over in a few short scenes none of which gives the viewer any closure. Instead the majority of the film is spent watching Draco Malfoy skulk around Hogwarts, with at least four shots of him pulling a dusty rug off of the Vanishing closet (I am almost positive they just reused the same shot for each time), and Lavender Brown fawn over Ron (and if you hadn’t read the book before seeing the movie, you could have easily not known who she was considering they mentioned her name about two times the entire movie.

More disappointing still, was the fact that many of the characters that are already quite popular, were noticeably absent on screen, thus missing out on the immense acting skills of Maggie Smith (Prof. McGonagall), Alan Rickman (Prof. Snape), Emma Watson (Hermione), Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood), Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid), Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom), and David Thewlis (Remus Lupin). All of these actors had very little screen time, Lupin and Neville each had about one scene with a speaking role, and everyone else with the exception of Hermione, Snape and Luna had about two or three scenes with decent speaking roles.

The plot was very hard to follow because much of the important bits of the story were reduced to one or two scenes and never spoken of again, or alluded to much later in the movie. For example, Apparating and Snape teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts were mentioned once. Hermione and Ron’s love relationship was dealt with well as far as acting goes but was restricted due to the writing. Watson and Daniel Radcliffe were able to really stretch their legs in only a few scenes relating to their respective love interests and they excelled, but those scenes were few and very far between.

Most of the new characters were introduced haphazardly and despite all of the early hype around Luna Lovegood’s character, she was hardly developed past an odd behaving sidekick. The new Potions professor, Professor Slughorn (Jim Broadbent, Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull, Vera Drake, Brazil), was a prominent character throughout the movie, but little time was spent explaining who he was, and when it did occur it felt a little rushed.

The most disappointing part of the whole movie was the ending. When I read the book I shed a tear or two for Dumbledore when he died, and was very surprised to find out Snape was the Half-Blood Prince, yet my first thought when Dumbledore died was, “that’s it?” For a movie that had such a jumpy plot, I was very surprised to see how rushed the ending was.

There were still a few bright spots in the movie, Yates was able to capture the darkness and evil that shrouded everything in the wizarding world, and most of the special effects were dazzling and complimented beautiful scenery shots that had a varied depth ranging from desolate beauty of the landscape around the Hogwarts train, to the gorgeous yet dark landscape around Hogwarts. I was very pleased to see how much many of these young actors have matured, Radcliffe, Watson and Rupert Grint really demonstrated their knowledge and understanding of who their characters are supposed to be and more and more quality actors are being placed around them for these films, making a cast of some interest.

Finally, Yates made a good decision to show how much everyone is growing up through subtle shots of couple congregating in dark corners making out, more drinking and lots of sneaky drug references, that made the actors feel more adult than in previous films. These

Unfortunately these positive qualities are blanketed by sub-par writing and plot choices. I can honestly say that this was easily one of the worst films given the potential and if there is one person pleased about how this movie turned out, it was Chris Columbus the director of the first two films, because I am sure he could have come up with a much better plot than this one. I am now even more hesitant to see if Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows can deliver a strong ending to the series, especially since they are cutting it into two movie, but at least they will be able to make a more comprehensive, interesting, and less confusing plotline.

Making the Grade

Acting: Most of the acting was great but severely restricted by the poor plot. B+
Plot: Nonsensical, choppy with a poor focus, predominantly on other characters besides the three main protagonists. F
Special effects/Visuals: The special effects were great and the landscape shots were very enjoyable to watch but several shots were repetitive and unnecessary (read: Malfoy and the Vanishing Closet). B-
Music: Aside from the theme song the music was either ignorable or not present. Thus it did not lend or detract from the movie. C
Re-watchability: None Whatsoever, read the book. Unless, for some reason, you want have a Harry Potter Movie marathon. D+
Overall Grade: C-

David Lynch We Love You

Hello everybody, new blog post coming very soon. But until then here are the true words of Mr. Lynch to pass the time.

10 Underrated Films for Your Viewing Pleasure

"Luke...do not...do not underestimate the powers of the emperor or suffer your father's fate you will."

--Yoda

There are some really great movies out there that quite often get lost in the ether. I constantly hear people mention these movies but either say they think they are stupid, unoriginal, or my favorite, “[place director/actor/producer name here] made a way better movies than that.” Which quite often translates to that movie was more popular than this one. So I have compiled ten movies from various genres that I find quite underrated and deserving of a better rap than they get. There won’t be a recommended movie of the week because this week I am recommending 10 of them.

I am sure you have heard of most of these or even sure that you have hear of most of these or even seen some of them, but the point is, these movies just don’t get enough credit for a bunch of reasons. Most of which cannot be helped. In real estate location is everything, in movies timing can be just as important and a lot of these movies fall victim to their release date. But these are all movies that in time I hope become recognized for their quality and not cast aside without careful consideration. So here is a list of 10 movies that I feel deserve WAY more credit than they get.

10. Reservoir Dogs (1992) Director: Quentin Tarantino

When people think Quentin Tarantino they immediately jump to Pulp Fiction and understandably so, it considered one of the best independent films ever made. It is an Oscar Winner and a Palm d’Or winner. However, I find Reservoir Dogs so much more entertaining, mostly because of the style. A lot of the stylized conversation and action of Pulp Fiction can be found in Reservoir Dogs. But the thing I like the most of about Reservoir Dogs is the way the story is driven. The fact that you slowly learn more and more about the individual characters in little vignettes that are placed throughout a movie that revolves around a single warehouse, shot as a chamber play, similar to Ingmar Bergman’s Through A Glass Darkly. Not to mention the ending to Reservoir Dogs is probably one of the most exciting you will ever see Tarantino devise.

9. Brick (2005) Director: Rian Johnson

I wholeheartedly believe that Rian Johnson will be a great director very soon his second movie just came out a week or two ago, but it doesn’t compare to the neo-noir masterpiece Johnson made using a cast of little known actors that just blew me away when I saw them. This was the movie that sold me on Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s acting abilities. The very fact that neo-noir styles of movies are already difficult to make and succeed on was more impressive by the fact that he wanted this movie to take place around a high school, although due to the age of all the actors it would have been more believable as a community college. Nevertheless this movie was a very impressive debut effort. A side note: Nora Zehetner the leading lady from Brick also stars in Johnson's second movie, Brothers Bloom.

8. Definitely, Maybe (2008) Director: Adam Brooks

As far as romantic comedies go this one is pretty damn good. Ryan Reynolds tells the romantic aspect of the comedy as a bedtime story to his daughter, Abigail Breslin (who have great chemistry on screen, which could be attributed to Breslin being a wunderkind actress and Reynolds for being an underrated funnyman). Nevertheless the story talks about the three women that Reynolds was in love with as his daughter tries to figure out which one is her mother. The thing that I like the most is the whole story is paralleled with the presidential career of Bill Clinton, which makes for a very interesting side story. A great plot, a mixture of good and great actors (Rachel Weisz, Kevin Kline, Isla Fisher and Elizabeth Banks) all make for a fun movie that everyone can enjoy.

7. Starship Troopers (1997) Director: Paul Verhoeven

Some people are going to read this and ask me if I am crazy. To which I case I answer yes, I am crazy. But that doesn’t stop this movie from being amazing and amazingly misunderstood. Most people may not be as big of a fan of bad acting as I am but that is beside the point. Paul Verhoeven, maker of films such as Basic Instinct, Total Recall and RoboCop, purposely made a satire of military propaganda films, and it was genius. Starship Troopers’ influence comes from the propaganda films that the United States and even Germany used during the WWII. Not only is it wildly funny, action packed, but it also provides a serious critique of how people perceive and are meant to perceive political agenda through mass media. However don’t let the second and third Starship Troopers films deceive you they were not directed by Verhoeven and are just generally bad, but still hilarious to watch.

6. Reign Over Me (2007) Director: Mike Binder

When I was younger I really enjoyed Adam Sander movies, mostly because I didn’t know any better. But I very quickly learned that all of his movies were the same. Then he came out with this and I found a new respect for Sander. This was a dramatic movie done by a comedian that eclipsed the Truman Show. I say that because this movie takes place in a real city and deals with a very real events and problems (read: PTSD and 9/11). Adam Sander’s character is heartfelt and enjoyable to watch, for once you actually feel something for his character that he really developed and was passionate about. Not to mention Don Cheadle, Jada Pinkett Smith and Liv Tyler support him. And there is a great soundtrack. There are very few quality Sander movies and this one was kind of passed over because of that fact, but don’t let a mediocre career ruin one great film.

5. Kingdom of Heaven (2005) Director: Ridley Scott

Ridley Scott really set the bar high for historically based fiction movies when he made Gladiator. However, that bar was dropped and then melted down into a puddle of shiny goo when Oliver Stone made Alexander. Troy wasn’t that great either. So when Scott made Kingdom of Heaven many people were turned off to the idea of historical fiction cinema. When in reality Kingdom of Heaven is the most historically accurate and entertaining one of them all. The cast is amazing (Liam Neeson, Orlando Bloom, Edward Norton [yes Edward Norton], Martin Csokas, Eva Green, Jeremy Irons), but the attention to historical detail was phenomenal. The 2-disc special edition of the movie provides a lot of historical background that was used in set design and plot synopsis. There were a few historical errors (which is to be expected), most of them centered around when certain crusade participators were actually fighting together. It is a very entertaining history lessons, despite some of its inaccuracies, about the fall of Jerusalem to Saladin. Even if you were to just watch the battles in this movie you would not be disappointed, because they are some of the most accurate representations of medieval warfare I have yet to see in the movies.

4. Stargate (1994) Director: Roland Emmerich

Sadly this movie is very often overlooked for a number of reasons. People usually jump to the very successful televisions series rather than the movie that started the screen phenomena. But this was a great movie that was surrounded by even greater movies and quite often gets lost in the pack. 1994 alone saw the release of Forrest Gump, True Lies, Dumb and Dumber, Speed and Pulp Fiction. The year before debuted movies like Jurassic Park, The Fugitive, Sleepless in Seattle, Cliffhanger and Schindler’s List. Then in 1995 you get films like Toy Story, Se7en, Die Hard: With a Vengeance and GoldenEye. With movies like that coming out, it's quite understandable for someone to forget about Stargate, and its cast including James Spader, Kurt Russel, Djimon Hounsou and French Stewart. Nevertheless this was a movie that sparked a huge fandom and revitalized sci-fi interest not seen since the start of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," which actually had its run come to an end in 1994. Stargate is not underrated because of misunderstanding; Stargate is underrated because it is seemingly forgotten in the movie world.
3. Tae Guk Gi (2004) Director: Je-gyu Kang

This movie made the list partly because Korean cinema is very often underrated as well, but also because this is widely considered the Korean version of Saving Private Ryan and the few reviews I have seen of this movie call Tae Guk Gi the best war movie since Saving Private Ryan. It covers the Korean War, which begs the question; when was the last time you saw a movie about the Korean War that was not McArthur? But this film is very heavy hitting the combat sequences are stunning to watch, with a few lulls in action and very bloody. Je-gyu Kang really emphasizes how distasteful war is and almost wants to make feel the pain of those who fought in the Korean War, regardless of their countries allegiances. On the other hand you also get to see a bit of the Korean soap opera style as it permeates most of the movie but does not take away from it at all. Underrated in so many ways but a tremendous breath of fresh air in the war movie genre.

2. The Thin Red Line (1998) Director: Terrence Malick

This is another very underrated movie do the success of another movie; in this case it is because of none other than Saving Private Ryan. Of course The Thin Red Line is a remake of Andrew Marton’s 1964 version based off of James Jones’ book, which may have taken away from its box office success but it is still a far superior war movie. Stephen Spielberg put together an all-star cast for his movie and that same year so did Terrence Malick. The Thin Red Line is littered with talent including, Adrien Brody, Jim Caviezel, George Clooney, John Cusack, Woody Harrelson, Thomas Jane, Elias Koteas, Jared Leto, Tim Blake Nelson, Nick Nolte, John C. Riley, John Travolta and Sean Penn. I like this movie better than Saving Private Ryan because of the way it was told. Using vignettes of different soldiers in the same company ranging from unwilling privates to war hardened officers this movie shows the beauty of the Philippines and juxtaposed it against the carnage of the Pacific Theater (specifically in the battle of Guadalcanal). You get an inner monologue documentary feel from the movie and it makes the characters more real easier to relate to. Not to mention they aren’t going on some outlandish search and rescue mission like Spielberg puts you through. The movie is uncompromising and really shows the pain and suffering that soldiers had to endure during WWII, something Spielberg couldn’t completely accomplish in his film. In movie with such a large cast, you really feel isolated from the rest of the world when you watch it. In the end you get a deeper appreciation for what the soldiers went through fighting the Japanese, but you also get no feeling a finality at the end because after the Battle of Guadalcanal ended the war continued and you don’t get the feeling that any of the characters in this movie are guaranteed to survive if the movie were to continue.

1. The Fall (2006) Director Tarsem Singh

Only the second movie ever made by Tarsem, he is not known for making movies with great plots, instead he relies on stunning shots full of color and beauty, in that way he gets an emotional response. However, The Fall manages to develop a better plot than that of Tarsem’s first film The Cell. The story takes place in a 1920s hospital where a drug addict tells a little girl a story using people from the hospital to get her to steal prescription pills for him. Lee Pace is the only actor of much mention in this movie but the little girl he uses (Cantinca Untaru) does a great job as the main character, even though her English is very hard to understand at times through her thick Romanian accent. This is one of those movies where the bigger the screen you watch it on the more beautiful it become. Tarsem has a style of his own but if you have to categorize his directorial style it would be similar to Michel Gondry, Luc Besson, or Guillermo del Toro. A flop when it came to theaters because of American critics not liking it, it still quite an enjoyable film to watch over and over for its stunning beauty alone. A very underrated film by all stretches of the imagination and trust me when I say this film will stretch your imagination.

A Final Farewell to Kwai Chang Caine

“Why would you be afraid of death? It would be an inconvenience. I have a lot of undone things and it's bound to get in the way. But, no, it doesn't scare me at all.”
-- David Carradine

David Carradine, 1936-2009

On Thursday it was confirmed by Bangkok police that actor David Carradine was found dead in his hotel room. He was 72 years old.

In what looks to be a suicide, Carradine was found hanged in his hotel room. There was no appearance of forced entry or assault. Carradine was supposedly in Bangkok to shoot a movie but information as to what movie has not been confirmed. He was starring in six movies that are already in post-production and he was set to star in one more, Portland, which was still in the pre-production phases.

Carradine comes from a great acting family, which includes his father John Carradine, and his brother Keith Carradine, but neither has had the prolific career that David has had. Recently, Carradine had revival of his career after starring in Kill Bill. Throughout his career he continually to make movies that were either western or kung fu themed, he also is one of the better-known b-movie actors. His most famous role was the monk Kwai Chang Caine of the television series “Kung Fu.”

His characteristic lisp matched his somber attitude, it almost felt like he was trying to be a mixture of John Wayne and Johnny Cash but doing kung fu.

A consummate professional, it is always hard to lose someone in the movie industry as respected as Carradine. At one time he had problems with drugs and alcohol but cleaned up his act and did not return to the big screen until he felt ready to do so. Ever since his days on the set of “Kung Fu” he has remained an avid student of philosophy and the study of ancient medicinal herbs.

His style of acting and his character will not be forgotten. And neither will he. Rest in peace and tranquility David Carradine.

Where Have You Gone Hong Kong?

“American stuntmen are smart —they think about safety. When they do a jump in a car, they calculate everything: the speed, the distance.... But in Hong Kong, we don't know how to count. Everything we do is a guess. If you've got the guts, you do it. All of my stuntmen have gotten hurt. I say, 'Do it! Camera, action, jump!' Boom! Ambulance! Hospital! Next stuntman!”

--Jackie Chan

So I have been watching a lot of foreign films as of late, primarily old kung fu movies. I have also been watching a lot of new kung fu, American kung fu, and I have to say, I really don’t get the same feeling of joy that I get from watching older kung fu. But this tends to for a lot of American imports of older foreign flicks. It can be as simple as altering the ending to fit an American audience as was done in The Descent. Or American production companies just re-write, re-tool and re-market movies as American originals, even though movies like The Ring and The Magnificent Seven or the future release, live action remake of Akira. All three of these movies came from earlier Japanese cinema; The Ring being an adaptation of Ringu, The Magnificent Seven as an entertaining remake of Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai and Akira, one of the most celebrated anime of all time.

This really is an age-old tradition, not just in the movie business. Anthony Burgess’ “A Clockwork Orange,” had the final chapter removed by an American editor before it was published here, because they did not feel an American audience would accept a bleak ending and opted for a happier ending, subsequently affecting Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation for the screen.

Anywho, as I said before I have been watching a lot of foreign movies both imports and adaptations as of late, and there is one thing that I have noticed. Hong Kong cinema is on its deathbed and it is courtesy of the United States. Jackie Chan has come under fire for his comments about China’s necessity for communism, John Woo has moved to the United States, Sammo Hung has not come out with a great movie since the mid 1990s, Jimmy Wang Yu hasn’t made a movie since 1993, and those are just some of the directors. Chow Yun-Fat, Jackie Chan, Jet Li are all getting older and have stopped making movies with jaw-dropping choreography and either retired or are making movies that will let them retire in more comfort. It saddens me quite a bit.

Nevertheless, there are people out there trying to keep Hong Kong’s action movie scene a thriving market. I point to Stephen Chow, who directs, writes, produces and stars in some great movies that seemingly pay tribute to what Hong Kong was. However even he has been drawn into the sub-par American kung fu cinema, with movies like Dragonball Evolution, which he produced, and his upcoming comic book hero film The Green Hornet, which will be directed by Michel Gondry, but will find Stephen Chow’s Kato starring alongside Seth Rogan as Britt Reid AKA The Green Hornet. It really makes me sad just thinking about that. There are a few movies out there that are still worth seeing but they are few and far between, even if you know where to look.


Stephen Chow's homage to Bruce Lee and what he did for the industry. He will never be forgotten.

I can’t even really blame Quentin Tarantino all that much, because he has brought many good movies over to the United States recently. Although it would be nice to not see his name plastered over everything he deems good. Or worse see him just butcher scenes in movies like Sukiyaki Western Django in exchange for his importing them to the United States.

Bollywood has managed to revive itself with renewed interest from the United States, even Thailand has gotten in on the action by riding the coattails of Tony Jaa, whom critics say has inherited the kung fu mantle which was passed down from Bruce Lee, to Jackie Chan, and to Jet Li. I don’t understand why Hong Kong cannot do the exact same thing. The interest is clearly there, people just want to see more movies like Hardboiled, Drunken Master, and The Way of the Dragon, not American drivel like Street Fighter: Legend of Chun Li which stars Kristen Kruek (Smallville), Chris Klein (American Pie), Michael Clark Duncan (The Green Mile) and Neal McDonough (Band of Brothers). Does that look like the cast of a kung fu movie to you?

Hopefully, Hong Kong gets re-energized soon, I miss good kung fu and all of its choreographed glory.

One that note your suggested movie of the week: Hard Boiled



This was John Woo’s last movie to be made in Hong Kong before he moved out to Hollywood. In all honesty, this was probably his last great movie, since the 1992 release of Hard Boiled; Woo has slipped further and further into mediocrity. However, Hard Boiled is widely considered one the greatest action movies ever made, and rightfully so.

The title for the movie comes from the genre of crime fiction literature that began showing up in the 1920s. Hard boiled fiction has a recognizably large amount of violence and sex, and very often the characters are borderline sociopaths. The noir style of literature and film has its roots in Hard Boiled crime fiction. John Woo’s tribute to the Hard Boiled style follows it to the letter the mere fact that there are a total of 307 deaths in the movie, largely taking place during four major scenes, exemplifies this quite well. But it is the acting of Chow Yun-Fat that puts this movie over the edge.

Inspector “Tequila” Yuen (Chow Yun-Fat) is one of those rogue cop, ultimo-badass characters. The movie begins with his partner getting killed during a teahouse gun smuggling bust that gets ambushed by a rival gang. Yuen’s actions during the ambush get him thrown off the case but thrown into the middle of a Triad conflict involving the two gangs at the teahouse. The movie’s dénouement is one of the most famous scenes ever shot in Hong Kong cinema. The epic hospital scene even features a shot, just under three minutes long, of Chow Yun-Fat and Tony Leung fighting off enemies. The most impressive thing about this footage is that it was shot on a single handheld camera. This long take has been recognized as a very impressive feat of cinematography, listed up there with scenes like Alfred Hitchcock’s shower scene from Psycho.

The movie has garnered much success and has a very loyal cult following. Tequila Yuen is even featured in the John Woo collaborated video game “Stranglehold,” which is meant to serve as a sequel to Hard Boiled. Sadly Hard Boiled was the beginning of the end of the “golden age” of Hong Kong action cinema, but still well worth picking up and watching, over and over.

Day of Reckoning: The Summer Playbill Preview

“Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability.”
--Sam Keen

Okay since the summer blockbusters have started rolling out here is a quick hit of all the movies that I am interested in or think will be total failures this summer. Let’s look….but please note this is not an end all be all list of good and shitty movies there is always that surprise movie that catches you off guard, but if you want to challenge me on this, comment away. This should serve as conversation starter.

Good:

- Year One (6/19): Jack Black and Michael Cerra in a History of the World Pt. I style of comedy
- The Orphan (7/10): It is Carrie meets The Shining in little creepy little girl form. A rare horror movie with a plot, and the girl is very, very creepy.
- Night at the Museum II: Escape from the Smithsonian (5/22): The first one was very cute and the majority of the cast of the first film returns in a bigger museum, probably one of the better family movies this summer.
- Up (5/29): Pixar’s summer movie has been getting great reviews and looks absolutely adorable. How can you not like crotchety old men and talking dogs?
- The Brothers Bloom (5/29): A comedy con movie, with a great cast including, Adrien Brody, Rachel Weisz, Mark Ruffalo and Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane).
- The Boat That Rocked (8/28): A film that looks loosely based on Radio City the 1960s offshore Pirate Radio station. This is also a brilliantly cast film, starring the likes of Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy and Nick Frost. The director also called this film a romantic comedy for guys. Though most critics have panned this film, I think it shows great promise, especially for music lovers.
- Bruno (7/10): Putting this in the good category shocked even me, because I hated Borat. This looks like it has some hilarious promise.
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (7/15): Dark and wizardy, these films have gotten progressively better from the Chris Columbus disaster pieces that signified the first two films.
- District 9 (8/14): The directorial debut of Neill Blomkamp and produced by Peter Jackson, this is sci-fi film with an interesting social justice twist, dealing with Apartheid in an out of this world manner. The social justice and morality spin of this film should be able to do things that Star Trek could not accomplish.

The Sleepers and Dark Horses:

- The Proposal (6/19): This movie has the possibility to be dreadful, but Sandra Bullock has the ability to save stupid and predictable plots by her great acting, and she looks to have some great on screen chemistry with Ryan Reynolds. Not to mention Betty White clearly has zero inhibitions at her age.
- Drag Me to Hell (5/29): The first horror movie of the summer should set the bar at a decent height with its interesting plot (woman getting cursed) and looks to be well written, but as always trailers can be deceiving.
- Post Grad (8/21): Alexis Bleidel is really starting to develop as an actress and this could be an interesting romantic, date movie, given the relevance of college students not being able to find work anymore. But a stereotypical rom-com plot could make this a snoozer.
- The Time Traveler’s Wife (8/14): Eric Bana’s third of five movies to come out this year, runs the risk of being a phone-in job. But the book comes highly recommended and that could translate to on screen success. Then again, the movie rarely stacks up to the book.
- My Sister’s Keeper (6/26): This one probably has the most promise out of this group, but it could fail by being a preachy adaptation of another bestseller dealing with overcoming the suffering of dealing with a dying loved one. Very "Tuesdays With Morrie." A wealth of talent (Alec Baldwin, Abigail Breslin and Cameron Diaz) should help this film’s cause. I recommend if you see this movie in theaters bring sunglasses and tissues so you can hide the fact that you were bawling during the better portion of this movie.
- Public Enemies (7/1): Nothing goes better with the Fourth of July weekend like gangster film starring Johnny Depp as one of America’s greatest anti-heroes, John Dillinger. Again a great cast, (Depp, Christian Bale and Marion Collitard) will help this movie beef up its ticket sales. But I see there being a definite risk in the quality of the plot courtesy of Michael Mann’s directing and choice to yet again shoot the film in digital, when this film clearly deserves a grainier touch given that it is a period piece biopic.
- All Good Things (7/24): I dunno a mix of so-so actors (Kirsten Dunst, Ryan Gosling) and great ones (Frank Langella, Jeffrey Dean Morgan) mixed into a reality based murder mystery makes for a very possible, “meh” of a movie.
- Funny People (7/31): This movie looks like a blend of Adam Sandler’s talents as a comic and dramatic actor. It has the desperate feel of Reign Over Me, with the comic feel of Punch Drunk Love or Click. The only problem, it is a Judd Apatow movie and Seth Rogan might just compete a little too much with Sandler to make this movie a great one. But the premise is intriguing. Oh and Eric Bana is in this one too.
- Julie & Julia (8/7): While Julia Childs lead an interesting life, I dunno that a movie about a woman trying recreate everything in her cookbook “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” would make for a good movie, despite Meryl Streep’s best efforts of course.
- Shorts (8/7): Robert Rodriguez is making yet another family movie, with some interesting names participating in the film including, James Spader, Jon Cryer and William H. Macy. A movie about wish making gone awry in suburbia could be fun and provide a great social commentary or fall flat on its face.
- Inglorious Bastards (8/21): Tarantino has been working on this movie for years. There are a lot departures from his usual work, he is dealing with a completely new cast, so don’t look for Michael Madsen, Uma Thurman, or any of his other regulars. There will still be gratuitous amounts of violence, bordering on torture-pornography (a subject of much interest for Tarantino). Simply put this movie has a lot of boom or bust potential.

Shit

- Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (6/12): John Travolta needs to retire from films and stick to being one of the many wealthy poster-boys for the Church of Scientology. Even the big name cast cannot save this train-wreck of a movie; yes the pun was intended there.
- Land of the Lost (6/5): Nothing will top the show and Will Ferrell makes no sense as the lead role here.
- G-Force (7/24): There are so many problems with this movie. First, Jerry Bruckheimer needs to stop making movies with Disney, because now he cannot even quit while he is ahead. Second, Disney needs to realize there is no appeal in watching cute CG animal secret agents save the world, if I wanted that I would watch Agent Cody Banks and I don’t want to do that. Third, Nicholas Cage? Really? Finally, I hate seeing funny people like Will Arnett and Tracy Morgan waste their talent doing children’s movies because the money is great, why don’t people realize how much of a career killer that is? Just look at Eddie Murphy.
- Halloween 2 (8/28): There is no need to ruin the first one by making a second one; it just won’t live up to the standards. Don’t get greedy Rob Zombie.
- Final Destination: Death Trip 3D (8/28): OH MY GOD WHY?!?!?!? This movie franchise hasn’t been good since the first one. How many teens have to die before people realize this, just because it is in 3-D does not mean it will be good. At least Halloween 2 will look better because of this piece of garbage.
- Goose on the Loose! (8/21): Who knew Chevy Chase was still making movies. All the same I would rather stay home and read “Because of Winn Dixie.” Most parents should follow that decision and steer clear of this one, plus reading doesn’t rot the brain so much, and trust me this one will liquefy the mind from sheer boredom.
- Transformer’s Revenge of the Fallen (6/24): The first one was the worst, highest grossing movie EVER made. I guess Michael Bay’s rationale behind making this film is that his directorial career has hit rock bottom and he can only go up from here, even though he is still somehow making money hand over foot. When will people learn to stop supporting this bad habit? Although if you want to watch a good Transformers movie, I recommend Transforminators.

- The Hangover (6/5): All the publicity in the entire world could not save this movie from being a train wreck. I recommend just watching Very Bad Things, which looks to be the exact same movie, just made 11 years earlier.
- Dance Flick (5/22): Something has to keep the Wayans brothers occupied I guess, since none of them have any talent anymore.
- My Life in Ruins (6/5): Mama Mia meets every other fucking Romantic comedy ever.
- Imagine That (6/12): When was the last Eddie Murphy made a good movie…really?
- Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (7/1): Pointing out the errors in their timeline would be just too pretentious of me. But seriously these movies need to die like the dinosaurs, and this movie may just be the gigantic asteroid that does it. The squirrel thing is still cute though!
- I Love You Beth Cooper (7/10): Chris Columbus strikes out yet again and Hayden Panettiere plays another cheerleader (don't save her this time, please). If I wanted to watch a nerd try and date the “hot girl” then I would watch…I dunno any other teen comedy ever made.
- The Ugly Truth (7/24): An ugly rom-com. The plot goes like this, pig-man pisses of single attractive white female. SAWF falls in love for pig-man. Something bad happens, movie ends with happy kiss. This is the real inconvenient truth…(see what I did there?)
- The Came From Upstairs/Aliens in the Attic (7/31): They haven’t even decided on a title yet, why bother see it.
- G. I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (8/7): The only bright spot is Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Cobra Commander. Why must they destroy so much of my youth? At least it wasn’t made by Michael Bay.
- When in Rome (8/7): The guy who is responsible for Daredevil and Ghost Rider tries his hand at romantic comedy. This either means he was kicked out of the action film director's club, or he is trying to destroy another film genre that is already on shaky legs.
- Bandslam (8/14): Lisa Kudrow and High School Musical make for an annoying and unfortunate combo.
- The Goods: The Don Ready Story (8/14): A lack-luster cast and a plot about a struggling used car salesman, makes me think this movie is a lemon.
- A Perfect Getaway (8/14): From the director who brought you Pitch Black come another piece of crap about scared tourists being hunted down by their tour guides in the rough and tumble wilderness of…Hawaii? Really? Hmmm okay…

All Photos courtesy of Wikipedia

Shakespeare working magic: Movies of the future

"If you can look into the seeds of time, and say which grain will grow and which will not, speak then to me."
--Macbeth (Shakespeare)

So I saw news last night that they finally announce who would play Thor, in the upcoming movie of the same name, scheduled for release sometime in 2011. I like how Marvel is approaching this movie, but I will come back to that in a second, because I have to preface this post.

This posting is a fun one because I am going to give you a rundown of some of the movies coming up that I have to say I am pretty excited for and a few that I am not so excited for. Anywho shall we begin?

Ok great.

Right, I guess the biggest news for me does involve Shakespeare quite a bit. First we go to Thor and the choices they made for the guys they have playing Thor and Loki. Marvel made the right decision to pursue little known actors, I am always a fan of it, and always will. It worked quite well in The Descent, which is one of my favorite horror movies. So the executives in control of the casting signed Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston to play Thor and Loki. For those of you that have seen the latest Star Trek movie, Chris Hemsworth plays George Kirk; the father of James Tiberius Kirk who meets a quick end after their ship is attacked by “time-Romulans.” Tom Hiddleston is a little more obscure than that Hemsworth, seeing as he has only done a handful of television shows, of which the vast majority are guest spots. However, he happened to do a show called Wallander with one of the greatest Shakespearian actors of our generation, Kenneth Branagh. Fortunately for Hiddleston, Branagh is directing Thor. Are you getting the Shakespeare influence yet? Anyway this exciting because if anyone knows acting it is Branagh and with his tutelage, these two young actors should do quite well, and hopefully add another great comic book movie to a very short list of them. Not to mention Samuel L. Jackson is rumored to be playing Nick Fury, but we will see about that one once it becomes official.

A quick side note, Hemsworth is also going to be starring in the remake of Red Dawn, which is scheduled for released in 2010, also pretty exciting considering how awesome the first one was.

Next thing to get excited about involves Ralph Fiennes (The Constant Gardener, Harry Potter Series). Fiennes is going to be making his directorial debut with a very challenging piece, the lesser-known Shakespearian tragedy, Coriolanus. Fiennes will direct and star in the film along with Vanessa Redgrave (Atonement, Deep Impact, Mrs. Dalloway) and it is rumored that William Hurt (Syriana, Tuck Everlasting, Artificial Intelligence). So if all of this remains true by 2010 we could have a very interesting directorial debut from an already talented actor and I wish him all the success in the world.

On that note, for my recommended movie to watch this week is: The Constant Gardener.

The movie based on the book of the same name by John le Carré sports an amazing cast highlighted by Ralph Fiennes (Harry Potter), Rachel Weisz (The Mummy), Bill Nighy (Shaun of the Dead) and Danny Huston (X-Men Origins: Wolverine).

The movie is incredibly powerful and it really makes you want to get off your ass and do something to assuage the suffering in Africa. Hell, immediately following the first time I saw the movie I started looking at social justice and environmental groups that did work in Africa.

The basic plot is Justin Quayle (Fiennes), a low level British diplomat and Tessa (Weisz), an outspoken activist fall in love and move to Africa when Justin gets transferred. Their love is juxtaposed against corporate greed and governmental conspiracy. Inevitably their working lives and their love life become intertwined and Tessa ends up dead in the desert of Kenya. Justin pursues the truth of Tessa’s death and stumbles across corporate and governmental secrets that tear his life asunder.

This movie deals with many issues including epidemics and anti-colonialism and the macrocosm/microcosm storyline makes for a very entertaining movie. Even though the macro-antagonist is Britain, this movie is very, very relevant to countries all over the world whether they are dominant or submissive and even though the focus is on one reluctant hero, the movie reveals a very important message of corruption and exploitation.

This movie deals with very heavy topics and you really need to be in a mood to deal with the subject matter, so take that into account. I would not recommend this as a movie you would want to watch when snuggling up to your significant other but it can be done. It is more of an eye opener than a romance, but very entertaining.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

"Hold Onto Your Butts"

"I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying."
-- Woody Allen

So this is my movie blog. I decided to start this blog after several people have come to me for advice when choosing movies to watch. My main hope is to have this blog give people better awareness of the film industry from someone who is obsessed with movies but is still very much an industry outsider.

I love movies; it is second only to baseball as a passion of mine. My ideal heaven would be one where you could watch any movie and play baseball to your hearts content, and when you are finished sit back to a nice meal and an Anchor Steam or Guinness. They don’t call me a nerd for no reason, but I digress. My own personal collection of movies is somewhere upwards of 200 DVDs and a few remaining VHS tapes that still work. All the same I am constantly watching movies and the only reason my collection is not even bigger than 200 is because I had a netflix account for quite a while, which is great and all but it lacks when you want to watch tons of bonus features. So your first lesson of this blog is when there is a two disc, special edition, do not get it from netflix, go somewhere else because when the back of the box says there is a lot of great material not seen before 8 out 10 times they are not lying.

Anywho…a little about my movie tastes I suppose, so I don’t look like I am completely talking out of my ass. Currently my top five directors are Stanley Kubrick (Full Metal Jacket, Dr. Strangelove), Akira Kurosawa (Seven Samurai, Ran), Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire), David Fincher (Fight Club, Se7en) and David Cronenberg (Eastern Promises, Scanners). I recommend any of those directors to anyone. My top movies currently look like this:

1. Star Wars- Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
2. Jurassic Park
3. Seven Samurai
4. Watchmen
5. High Fidelity

Honorable Mentions go to: The Thin Red Line, Slumdog Millionaire, Amelie and The Fall

The intent of this blog is to provide a place where you can get reviews of movies that have been in existence for a long time as well as new releases. I also will supply you with fun and interesting trivia and movie news. Of course, I will recommend a movie each week for those who are cinematically challenged…because we can get though that together.

But why is all of this so important? I dunno have you ever been to a trivia competition and not been able to keep up with everyone? Or what about those long late night discussions that always lead back to movies for some reason, now you will be able to throw your hat in the ring and maybe pwn a few n00bz in the process. I hope after a few weeks of reading this no trivial pursuit game will seem as daunting, no conversation seem as boring, and no director seem as bad as Uwe Boll…without good reason. “Hold onto your butts,” and welcome to Aeschylus and the Missing Reel.