A great suprise.

Debra Granik headed out to the Ozark mountains in Missouri  with nothing more then a few actors, and in the film world, a low budget of 2,000,00 dollars. What became of the time she spent there is the 2010 best picture at the Sundance film fest, Winters Bone. I know I may be behind the times but I just watched this film this weekend and was pleasantly suppressed. The main thing for me that got my goat was the realism of it all, despite the strange solution that comes at the end involving a chainsaw, I did not have a hard time feeling for the characters, and caring about what was going on in there life’s. The fact that this film is very well acted and believable, wich may come as a shock, seeing how several of he main actors have never acted in there life’s, and are true residences of the area of the filming. As a director it would seem rather a huge chance to take, asking people to act who have never read a line in there life, but for Debra, the result was great, earning her the unofficial title of lowest grossing film to be nominated for best picture sense Peter Yates: The Dresser (1983), All in all this is a very good film with tasteful shots and great use of the medium of film to make the audience see how it would truly feel to be in that situation. I would say a GOOD film worth a watch.

A New Medium?

Movies, books, and sometimes the people around you, these are the mediums that are common ways to absorbed a story. Movies. . . great, but very limited, I mean honestly, nowadays if a movie last over an hour and a half, people get very fussy. Most directors are very limited by time, and there audiences are grateful for that, unless your a fan of the film "Modern Times Forever" Running time: 240 Hours, yeah think 240 minuets is long? Try this ten day film. Anyway, moving on to books, well this is as simple as, forgive me book worms, lots of people don’t like to read. Grandpa talking your ear off?? Not bad, but also limited by time, so how then can we get all aspects of a lengthy story, with out going the Peter Jackson route? Videogames. Yes I know parents might yell blaspheme, however if your like me, and in a game for a good narrative, you will know what I mean when I say, often times a game paints a much clearer picture of the story then any movie. I have played many games in my day from, Return to Castle Wolfinstine, Grand Theft Auto, and even Call of Duty, all well over 4 hours long, and all a great and complete narrative. Video games are fun, and that is why you can devote countless hours to them UN like a movie. I recently played Medal of Honor, witch tells a story of some special forces in Afghanistan, and by the end I found myself very tied in, as much, if not more, than any recent war movie. Then I picked up Rockstar studios Red Dead Redemption, and I was again FLOORED by the intense, gripping, and complete nature of the narrative. So think about it, games can cover more then movies, take longer doing so, people will not get bored as easy, and for sum can be much more engaging then a book, or an old time story from grandpa. So open your mind people, and you will see that, today, Videogames stand right next to the next blockbuster hit in terms of expectation, and are a prominent and growing medium for story telling in our society.

Psycho, but good looking.

Based on the novel Aerican Psycho by Bret Eston Ellis which sits rather high on many of the "most disturbing novels of all times" lists the movie is Tame in comparesion, however there are a few rather gut wrenching sceans in the film adaptation. Director Marry Harron made the right choice i think seeing how if she where to portray the EXTREME viloence that exists in the book this film would have easly earned itself a NC-17 rateing without a doubt, however in some regions it was anyway affaixed with this rateing. This movie is a very intersting look into the very heart of insanity. We follow a man by the name of Patrick Batemen (brillirantly protrayed by Christian Bale in some of his best work i have seen along with the remake of 310 to yuma and Public enemies) who dives deeper and deeper into his insane lust for blood throughtout the course of the film. The directing is nothing to rite home about tho is dose hold its own, while the acting is definatly something to get excited about. This film is very acted with William Dafoe as a ditective and Reece Witherspoon (and her chin) as the supposed Fiance of Patrick Batemen. The real gem here tho remains Christian Bale as he takes the role of a Totaly psychopathic killer who, other than that little perk is a totaly wealthy and sucesfull Investment banker. The role calls for the man to remain totaly disconected from emothion trought the entire time that he kills upwards of fourty people and i must say that Christian did a stunning job. This movie is very strange while being very viloent and quite disturbing (tho mostly implyed) the way that the main Character is totaly calm and detatched trough it all. This is a good movie and very intensely psycological, however i must say that the end realy brings no resalution and leaves you feeling a little bit empty witch if i had to guess is exactly the way the director, Marry Harrion and the qustionably insane writer Bret Eston Ellis, desired .

GRINDHOUSE RULES....ENOUGH SAID

Exploitation, "Drive In" Gridnhouse films are in a word EPIC. During the 60' and 70' it was all about the drive in crowd, or more importantly what the crowd wanted to see and what was that??? Ummmmm VILOENCE hello who dosent wanna see pepole getting torn apart, shot to peices, and maimed in every way possible?? Well i will tell you two people who grew up with these movies and thought Hey we should make a grindhouse movie. But first allow me to explain what the term "Grindhouse" entails. A misconseption is that Grindhouse is a style of film, when in fact the "Gringhouse" is a theater or drive in at witch an "Exploitition" film is shown. With a very self explanatory name "explotiation" films are well.. often very Explict, in gore, sexual thems, and just about anything else you can think of and strive to be "shocking" to the aueience. These "shock films" where big during the seventies and eight and during this time two little directors by the name of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez. If you do not know who these two are....well it is not my place to judge why you are reading a film blog.....so please take a second and GOOGLE EM... really i will wait.................................... IMPRESSIVE EH?? yeah so pick you jaw up off the ground time to refocus. When you looked at the list of wors you may have seen Grindhouse "Plant Terror" and "Death Proof" prespectively, well as i was saying during the time these two fine directors where growing up it just happen to be the hay day of slews of twenty day shooting time "explotiation" films. So these two tried ther hand at making there own Exploitition films matching everything from the double feature feel with the advertisements before and between films, to the way these films became battered and often lost reels during the travel from one grindhouse to the next. I must say that they KICKED ITS ASS. These movies Rock and every trailer is just as epic as the film it preseats. With guestdirectors such as Eli Roth, Rob Zombie and Edgar Wright the fake previews have become as much of a cult hit as the two features. Both films bring there own set of gems to the equation such as a mutated Bruce Willis and a Beautyful Rose McGowin with a M4 leg from Rodregiez' Planet Terror to um......Kurt Russle as a Killer Car driver in Death Proof need i say more?? NO is the answer these movies TOATLY RULE and are a good watch for any fan of either Director, my one wish is that i could have seen these jems during its 25 million dollar stint in theaters (should have blown Transformers out of the water) So get em' Dig em' and Comment me PEACE!

MOM??

The Kids are All Right.... A film by Lisa Cholodenko if this is a direcotr that you have never herd of you are not alone my freind. However i was drawn to this movie (not just beacuse it is about lesbians) but more importatnly i saw the name Julianne Moore. I mean come on Children of men, Hannibal, And the Big Labowski need i say more. There is not much of a doubt in my mind that Julianne Moore is one hell of a actress right up there with Jody Foster (sorry babe) and Maryl Streep. So i was interested and i watched. I was pleasently suppriesd, this film has one of the most intristin plots i have seen in a length of time. A lesbian Couple Nic and Jules have two teenage kids, a son and a daughter thanks to there sperm donor Paul portrayed by Mark Ruffalo. The relation ship is good all around but something goes asque and sorry no spoliers here just watch the movie it is worth your hour and a half. Other than a pridictable ending and some laugh worthy acting, over all i must say i will be looking into veiwing more of Lisa Cholodenko's work.

Like and Old Friend....

   The end of the world....A popular topic amoung film makers of our time. There are many differenty way portrayed in cinema today such as Cataclismic events in 2012...Giant Freezes in The Day After Tomorrow and last but not least alien apocalypse in the film up for inspection Independence Day. Written by Dean Devlin and Ronald Emmerich and directed by Rondald Emmerich a director who has much experience in the genre of Apocalypitc nature in fact has directe all of the movies listed above. I remember watching this movie when i was much younger and of course I loved it then, lots of killing, lots of epic explosions, and Will Smith. That was a never miss formula for me when i was younger, and watching it now these are many of the same reasons that I enjoy the film. I find myself very inpresed with the amount of convienceing special effects, seeing how this movie was made in 1996 it would seem that there would be some corny effects however i relize as i think about it that the year '96 brought us such gems as Michale Bay's The Rock, Brian De Palmas Mission Impossible, and Jan De Bont's Twister all of which have well done effects. So good visually and the soundtrack is what your would expect from a ninties blockbuster hit with lots of orcastrated music and dramitic builds, However now we must adress the acting. Independence Day has some well acted moments...as well as the complete contrairy with many corny one liners and just giggle worthy acting. Moments such as Bill Pullmans "Independence Day" speech (he plays  President Thomas J. Whitmore) redeem many of the films painfull one liners such as Will Smith's (Who plays Captin Steve Miller) "Now that is what i call a close encounter" which at the time in 96 may have not been a joke in it self but now just provides laughs. Despite the many chuckel worthy oneliners soild proformances are givin my most actors involved. And as im a sucker for most things with Jeff Goldblum signed on (have you seen his pecks) I must say between Bill Pullman, Randy Quaid, and him he acting is saved. I can totaly see why i dug this movie as a child and i can say now that i still am a fan, well done, deciently acted, good score, and verry cinematic direction. I can promise you that his will not be the last time in my life i say "hello old frind" to Independence Day.

28 Days...Then Weeks...Then Days??

I found my self greatly imersed in a film today...one that i honstly did not know much about, however what i did know was that said firm was in fact, a zombie movie. I must say i am a fan of the genre, however it is rare, (with the excption of the recent Zombie land which i highly recomend) that i find myself deeply engauged in a film of this type. Over the course of this film, between the quite disturbing and realistic "infected" and about twenty of them being chopped to bits by a hellacopter blade, i found my self genuine careing about many of the Characters. While i was rather impressed by the amount of well exacuted drama i also enjoyed the abilty of director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo to pick up on the feeling portrayed by the first movie in the series. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo has not made many movies that stick out in my mind as "gems" however he is signed on and in the pre-production phase of a film adaptation of the smash hit video game "BioShock" witch if done well could very well make his career. Juan Carlos Brings us an intresting style with many hand held or sholder mounted "shaky" cams much in the style of Paul Greengrass. A switch in Directors for a Sequel can often be a risky and damageing move *Cough..Saw Movies...Cough* espically when you go from a man like Danny Boyle (who made history with his Slumdog Millioniare) To a much less known artist such as Juan Fresnadillo. I must hand it to the men who made this risky discion that it was not a porr one and the feeling and integrty of the series remaind intact after the great switch. You must keep in mind that this is in fact a "Zombie" film no matter how well acted or truely dramatic it may be. Over all i feel compeled to say that i was a little comfused by the ending but over all 28 Weeks Later was a well directed and supreising well  acted fikm and worth the 100 minets.