The Fountain

The Fountain
Dir. Darren Aronofsky
62/300

One of the most recommended movies by my readers so far, has finally made the list.  Which is something I find funny since Aronofsky is kind of an acquired taste.  I'm not saying that I don't like his movies, just that I have to be in the right mindset before I view one.  Otherwise, I end up watching it like I watch movies in large groups and just end up talking through it or walking out of the room when something else catches my eye.

The Fountain was different than the rest of his movies that I had seen though.  He tends to not mind having very sad, almost hopeless endings to his movies, but this movie was quite the opposite.  Instead, he seemed to take you through sadness throughout the movie, and the ending seemed hopeful somehow.  I'm not sure I even fully understand the end.  It's definitely up for interpretation.  But, the journey to get there was beautiful.

There were a few moments that I didn't really care much for in the movie though.  I had some mixed emotions about the irony thrown into the mix toward the end.  Tom had just about cured the monkey.  It kind of took away from the sadness and made me feel a little more like face-palming.  At the same time though, it was interesting to see Aronofsky play with the idea of being torn between how he spent his time.  Does he keep racing toward the cure, or does he spend time with his dying wife?  I feel like that had to have been emotions that he toyed with within the torn character of Nina in Black Swan too.  It's interesting to follow a director's work from one project to another like that.

This movie is quite the tear jerker.  I'm not sure I really even stopped crying throughout the view.  But, I would recommend this movie if you liked any other Aronofsky movies or you really enjoy arty emotional dramas.

Viewed on DVD
96 min + 6402 = 6498

Amateurs

Amateurs
Dir. Michael Traeger
61/300

Sorry again, about the delay in posts!  There have been a couple bigger projects I've been tackling lately keeping me from blogging.  No worries though, I'm still watching my daily intake of cinema.  A little over a week ago though, I headed for Kentucky to rehearsals for a feature I'm associated with, Intrusion: Disconnected.  And, that begins shooting at the end of May in and around Louisville, KY.  Here comes the selfless plug: Support local independent filmmakers from the midwest!  If you'd like to check that out though, here's the site (that I designed) http://rosebudkiller.com .

So, that has kept me rather busy lately.  Otherwise, if you do not follow my tweets nor check my narcissistic feed of facebook statuses lately, I've also been working my way though the entire James Bond series.  Yeah, I had never seen a Bond movie in it's entirety until last week.  So, when I get through those, there will be a nice big post chronicling my experiences with that.  Currently, I'm about 4 movies in, but I'll be watching other things too during that span.


ANYWAY, on to Amateurs.

This was a fun little movie that I had never even heard of.  I needed something to watch over the 16 hour car ride to Kentucky, so I picked a random .99$ rental on iTunes.  It turned out to be a decent find.

The movie stars Jeff Bridges, Ted Danson, and Joe Pantoliano, quite the eclectic cast, and follows Bridges's character, Andy.  Andy seems to be having a mid-life crisis and is in need of some cash.  So, he bans his friends from his small town together to make a "porno movie".

It has some touching moments, and very good character acting from both Bridges and Danson.  The subject matter stays light hearted and comedic, never really revealing too much to let it get too serious.  The filmmakers in the movie even turn and look away while shooting for the privacy of their actors.

The movie itself was never a huge release, only having made a little over $15,000, and only showing it's opening weekend on 3 screens.  So, maybe you've never heard of it either.  But if you need a little pick-me-up with some recognizable faces and off color humor, give this movie a try.

Rented through iTunes
96 min + 6309 = 6402

La Jetee

La Jetee
Dir. Chris Marker
60/300

When a friend and I were sitting on the couch flipping through the new movies added to Hulu Plus, he said I should watch this film.  I read the words "still images" saw that it was in black and white, and replied, "Yeah...  Right.  Looks like a blast."  He of course replied with "It's only 28 minutes long, you really should give it a try."

After thinking about it for a couple days, and mulling over the idea of making an entire movie out of still images and it somehow ending up part of the Criterion Collection I became curious.  So, this evening I clicked into it and was completely blown away.

The idea of making the movie with pictures rather than a movie wasn't a cop out, but instead a very calculated move on the filmmaker's part.  This movie is a lot about people's memories, and they sort of trick you into testing yours out.  Many people can vividly remember photographs, and then when they put greater emphasis on certain ones with more screen time through longer takes or shorter quick flashes, you begin without realizing it remembering many of the moments.  On top of this, the movie's subject matter is about the exploration of a person's memory for use in time travel to help save the human race just after WWIII.

It's a little movie that doesn't seem to be much in theory, but really packs a punch.  A must-see in my opinion.  I feel like I can definitely find inspiration in this, I hope others can too.  It begins a little odd and slow, but just give it the full 28 minutes, and you won't regret it.

Viewed 4/9 on Hulu Plus
28 + 6281 =6309

Oldeuboi

Old Boy
Dir. Chan-wook Park
59/300

This film was recommended by Mr. Pfister a while back, but it took me a while to get to it.  So, sorry and thank you!  Hope life is going well for you back in Indiana!

I like how this movie is as a revenge movie, but not in the way you'd think.  It seems simple enough.  Guy is locked up for seemingly no reason, and when he gets out, he's after his captor.  But they decide he's not out for blood necessarily.  I mean, he'll get blood if anyone gets in the way, but he's more after information.  What can happen to a person that makes them feel like that was warranted?  They play on the human condition of curiosity.  It also holds a very interesting commentary on what sins are worthy of punishment and stretching people to a point where revenge is their only motivating factor.  What can come after it's taken?

The movie features some very epic fight scenes.  Although a little slow at the beginning, it really picks up in the last hour.

And a side note, don't try watching this movie dubbed (as this is how it's on Netflix watch instantly)  I started watching it like that, but within about 5 minutes couldn't stand the Tommy Wiseau sounding voice actors.  Just suck it up and turn on the subtitles!

Otherwise, I'd recommend this movie for sure!  Not for the conservative audience necessarily, but even still.  Thanks for the recommendation Ryan!

120 + 6161 = 6281

His Way

His Way
Dir. Douglas McGrath
58/300

This was a made for TV documentary about a very lucky guy.  Jerry Weintraub is a legend is the movie producing world.  This guy knows everyone in the business and then some.

I feel like this was a very interesting piece, because as many documentaries go, it could have gone a lot of ways.  It reflected on his luck, and the celebrities he was and is associated with, but over all, the filmmaker managed to make it circle back around.  It seemed that in his digging, the filmmaker found the true reason that a man that somehow finagled a deal to be Elvis and Frank Sinatra's promoter to making the Oceans trilogy.  And as easy an out as it would have been for the filmmaker to chalk it up to "it's who you know" or "some people are just lucky", he finds that it was the way he was raised.  He was told at an early age that to get what you want, you have to do whatever it takes to make money.

Anyway, an amazing story about an amazing man.  If it comes up on HBO or whatever channels it's on, definitely worth a watch.

87 + 6074 = 6161

Your Highness

Your Highness
Dir. David Gordon Green
57/300

I was a little sad to see that the trailer gave away a lot of the good parts of this movie.  It seemed also like the audience was with me on that one.  We laughed, but a lot of the jokes fell flat because they were every commercial break.  The movie was pretty funny over-all, but it was long winded between those parts.

There are reasons to go see this movie anyway though!  First off, after Portman and Franco had some stellar oscar nominating and winning performances the year before, it's fun to see them let their hair down at the beginning of blockbuster season.

Franco sings.

The special effects, and shooting style are pretty epic.

and Danny McBride does have some pretty funny moments.  You can see his hand in this entire film from the writing to the physical humor.  I'm sure if you watch Conan, Letterman, or really, any talk show lately, you've heard him talk about this project as if it's his baby.  But at the same time, he has also been talking a lot about other ideas for movies he has up his sleeve.  So, I hope this movie does go over well for him, so that he can work on making some more of his stuff.

102 +5972 = 6074

Tell Your Children/Reefer Madness

Tell Your Children/Reefer Madness
Dir. Louis J. Gasnier
56/300

One very funny propaganda film.  I had to read up on this movie to be sure as to what exactly the point of it was.  From my perspective, it seemed like a satirical take on people who think of marijuana almost the same way they think of the boogyman.  Instead though, in it's original form, it was made to be a movie seriously dedicated to warning people of the troubles of the drug.  The trouble though, with this interpretation is that their portrayal of the drug and it's effects on the users becomes so over-the-top it's laughable.  The joke, in turn, ends up the filmmakers as it it still viewed as a cult classic to this day.

Of course, this movie will forever be known for this reason.  So, who knows, maybe the joke is on the audience.  But, I'd like to think not because this movie instead had to have been an influence on Dr. Stranglove and other dark comedy satires like it.  Basically, some of my favorite kinds of movies.

Can't wait to see the musical.

The original tag line is: Adults only!
But I'd like to change it to: Drugs, Sex, and Jazz!

66 min. +5906 = 5972