Rambling Film

Ôdishon   Happy Halloween! I hope everyone has a fun evening. In true Halloween spirit, I decided to review one of my favorite horror movies; Japanese 'Audition.'   Shigeharo Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi) is a widower who takes up an offer from a friend to hold "auditions" for a new wife. Of course, the girls auditioning think they're going for a movie role and one girl catches Shigeharo's attention. She's the mysterious Asami. (Eihi Shiina) Too bad Asami is not what she seems.   This is what I tell everyone who's about to watch the film for the first time: Stay with it. It starts off really, really slow. When you get to a scene of our two main characters on the phone, THAT is when the film grabs you and takes you down a path of "ohh what the fuck" for the rest of the film. The last 20 minutes are probably some of the most intense minutes I've ever experienced watching a film. Audtion may get off to a rough start, but the pay off

I know this sounds nuttier than squirrel shit..   I'm slightly confused with director Gregg Araki. On one hand, he makes this beautifully done, tragic film in Mysterious Skin, and on the other he makes totally random shit like Smiley Face. Kaboom falls more into the latter category.   Our main character is Smith. (Thomas Dekker) He describes himself as sexually "undecided." He hooks up with London (Juno Temple) on a regular basis, but he also lusts after his straight roommate Thor. (Chris Zylka) His best friend is snarky Stella, (Haley Bennett) who ends up in a strange relationship with witch Lorelei. (Roxane Mesquida) There's lots of bold colors, lots of sex..LOTS of sex. Seriously, these kids get around. Things start to get weird when Smith realizes that Loereli has been in a reoccurring dream of his.   Kaboom feels like an acid trip. Like everyone was on drugs when they shot it. It's not a bad thing, it's fitting for the style they were going

Inside, I'm dancing.   Michael (Steven Robertson) is a man with cerebral palsy that can barely speak. He lives in a home for the disabled, his life is routine. Then he meets Rory O'Shea, (James McAvoy) a young man with muscular dystrophy that can understand Michael. He convinces him to live his life on his own terms. They move to Dublin and hire Siobhan (Romala Garai) to assist them.   Robertson and McAvoy give strong performances. The subject matter could easily end up in inappropriate territory, but it does not. The film changes tones very quickly. It starts off quirky, happy, full of hope, then ends up in completely depressing territory. That's life, and it made the film feel very real to me. I've been a fan of McAvoy for awhile, and I'm a little ashamed that it took me so long to see him in this. He's fantastic. Prepare to cry like a baby.   Grade: B-   Memorable Quote: "You have the future, Michael." - Rory (James McAvoy) 

Lancaster Dodd doesn't care about your opinion.   Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix) has just returned from service in the Navy. He suffers from PTSD and is an alcoholic. He's not above drinking gasoline or house hold cleaners to get a little buzz either. He drifts from job to job and eventually comes across Lancaster Dodd, (Philip Seymour Hoffman) his wife Peggy (Amy Adams) and their family. Lancaster is a leader in a practice (or cult) that uses special exercises to clear emotions, and possibly to look in to past lives. It's all very strange, but Freddie becomes intrigued. Will it save him?   Many reviews I've read rave about Phoenix's performance. While he was good, playing a drunk isn't really a stretch for him. Especially if you saw I'm Still Here. This film, in my opinion belongs to Philip Seymour Hoffman. He's perfect as Lancaster. He's inviting, charismatic, and at times horrifying. He's a man that's unwilling to defend his be

I love horror movies, and I started watching them at a very young age. Young enough for the simplest of things to scare the crap out of me. Actually some of these I saw as adults, so I can't really blame all of these on age. When I look back on it now, I find it pretty funny, but here's 10 things horror movies have "ruined" for me at one point or another.  1) Candyman ruined parking garages. Being in a parking garage late at night is creepy in it's own way, but even being in them in the middle of the day makes me feel uneasy. All because of "Heeelllen...Heeeeeeeeeeelllllllllllleeeeeeeeeennnnnnnn." Creepy bastard. 2) Candyman (also) ruined park bathrooms. I'm a lady, so obviously I don't have the exact fear of what happened in that film, but seeing that poor boy lying on the floor in a pool of blood, screaming for his mother is heartbreaking. 3) The Poltergeist ruined Clowns. Most people say the movie It is what made them afraid of

Argo Fuck Yourself.   In 1979 the American embassy in Iran was invaded. All inside were held hostage, but six managed to escape and seek refuge at the Canadian Ambassador's residence. The CIA needs to get them out of the country and their best "bad option" is suggested by Tony Mendez: (Ben Affleck) He will go to Iran and they will pose as a film crew scouting locations for their upcoming desert sci fi flick. They enlist the help of some reputable Hollywood contacts. (Played by Alan Arkin and John Goodman) While Jack O'Donnell (Bryan Cranston) stands by at the office, Mendez goes to put this crazy plan in motion.   The funny thing about this film is how suspenseful it felt even though I already knew how it would end. I was literally on the edge of my seat the entire time. As if Affleck was going to pull a Tarantino and re-write the end of history. The true story Argo is based on was always an uplifting one. A perfect example of the U.S and Canada working tog

A simple lie.   Ten year old Laure (Zoe Heran) and her family have just moved in to a new neighborhood. Her hair is short, she prefers boys clothes to dresses and her favorite color is blue. She decides to spend her summer as a boy, and introduces herself is Mickael to her new friends.   I can only guess what is going through Laure's head when she eventually gets caught up in her lie. This young actress displays it well on her face. One thing I really liked about this film was the parental approach to a transgender child. Laure's parents are more upset with the fact that she lied versus the fact that she prefers to be a boy. They accepted her for who she was, and that's how it should be.    Tomboy is a short film, barely 80 minutes, but it works well with the story. At times, I felt Jeanne, (Malonn Levana) Laure's little sister was a bit unbelievable for her age, but that's just a minor complaint. All and all, a great little French film that's cur

Shitty People: The Movie   Let me start out by saying that all of the main characters in this movie are completely miserable. Also the word "bitch" is going to be overused in this review. Fair warning.   Emilia (Natalie Portman) is a schemer who happens to fall in love with a married man, Jack. (Scott Cohen) He's in a loveless marriage to Carolyn (Lisa Kudrow) They have a young brat son named William. (Charlie Tahan) Eventually Emilia and Jack fall pregnant. Jack gets a quickie divorce, they have a quickie marriage, and then their baby tragically dies 3 days after she is born.   I give this film major props for telling the story from 'The Other Woman's' point of view, and also for trying to sympathize with her. I didn't completely write off Emilia as nothing but a home wrecker. In my opinion, she's the only person in this entire movie who's bitchiness is actually justified. She lost her baby, if I were in her shoes, I'd be a rag

Another bullshit night in suck city.   That was the name of the memoir this is based off of. I think it would've been an awesome title, but I see why they changed it.   Nick Flynn (Paul Dano) isn't quite sure what he wants to do with his life. He wants to be a writer, but for now that doesn't pay the bills. Nick's father, Jonathon (Robert DeNiro) has been absent his entire life. He only writes letters. Jonathon thinks he's one of the best writers that America has to offer and that publishers desperately want his novel. When Jonathon abruptly makes contact with Nick, he's not so sure what to do. Later, as Nick works at a homeless shelter, his father shows up and becomes a resident. Obviously, this isn't easy for Nick.   I'm surprised at how limited of a release this film got when it's easily one of the best things DeNiro has done in a long, long time. Jonathon is erratic, preachy, racist, unpredictable, delusional, and DeNiro plays him

We are infinite.   Charlie (Logan Lerman) is a shy freshman that is not looking forward to high school. He has a hard time fitting in and he's haunted by troubles in the past. He takes a chance and approaches a flamboyant senior, Patrick. (Ezra Miller) Patrick introduces Charlie to his music loving step sister, Sam (Emma Watson) and their circle of friends. Charlie finally starts to feel accepted, but he's torn between his crush on Sam, the relationship he's gotten himself into with Mary Elizabeth, (Mae Whitman, who if you remember was bi-furious in Scott Pilgrim vs The World) and the fact that all of his senior friends will be graduating while he's still stuck in school.   Logan Lerman is really starting to shine in his best role to date. While Emma Watson, like in the Harry Potter films is the weakest acting link, the show really belongs to Ezra Miller. His character ranges from being the life of the party to broken hearted and Miller easily pulls it off. H

It's about saving lives.    Mike (Chris Evans) and Paul (Mark Kassen) are two young personal injury lawyers who take on a tough case. Nurse Vicky (Vinessa Shaw) contracted AIDS a few years back when she was accidentally pricked with an infected needle in the ER. A man named Jeffrey Dancort (Marshall Bell) has now invented a one time use needle that could save millions of lives, but no one will buy it. Mike, who is a struggling addict himself is determined to win this case, but he has a lot of hurdles to leap through.   This film is based on a true story, and an intriguing one at that. It's sad that so many needles are being reused around the world when one exists that would prevent disease from spreading. Chris Evans really nailed this in my opinion. This movie could've easily come off as a longer episode of Law and Order, but his performance saved it from being just that. He's really growing on me as an actor and not just as a piece of eye candy.   Grad

Pressure?   I finally got around to watching The Artist. Last year during awards season, I attempted to see this a couple different times. Every time I was ready, I'd change my mind. As much as people raved about it, I had no interest in seeing it. Even now, I feel like I'm obligated to see it because it was a Best Picture winning.   George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is a famous silent movie star. One day, he randomly bumps into vivacious Peppy Miller ( Berenice Bejo) and after their picture appears in the papers, everyone is wondering "who's that girl?" Eventually Peppy makes it big into the film business, and the silent screen is dwindling and being replaced by "talkies." George doesn't want any part of this, and slowly goes in to a downward spiral.   Maybe I was too cynical going in, but I couldn't really find anything to like about George. He makes so many poor decisions all because he won't evolve with his industry. When he

David from Taste of Cinema started a relay race we share some of our favorite quotes from filmmakers. Stephanie, from On Page and Screen has passed it on to me. This was definitely tough! My comments will follow in green. Here it goes.. Here's David's explanation of the relay race: People love wisdom from great minds. As a cinephile, I prefer director quotes more than words from any other group of people in the world. Their thoughts on cinema not only provide insights into a deep understanding of cinema, but also open the window to their own films, their genres, and their filmmaking methods, thus the need to receive more exposure as their films did. The rules have been altered, but basically the one rule is simple: Replace one director and their respective quote with one of your own. Here’s who's participated in the Relay Race so far: David at Taste Of Cinema Chris at Movies And Songs 365 Alex at And So It Begins... Josh from The Cinematic Sp

As if 9th grade wasn't hard enough.   In Japan, a 9th grade class is picked at random to fight in a Battle Royale. All 42 students are fitted with an explosive collar, given a bag with one random weapon, a map, and some food rations and sent off on an isolated island. Their objective? They must kill each other one by one in 3 days time. There can only be one winner. If more than one person is still alive by the end of the 3rd day, they all die. The film spends time with the different students. We learn who they are and where they came from. Not everyone is meant for this game. I first heard of Battle Royale when The Hunger Games came out. Many accused the film/novel of ripping Battle Royale off. Really, there's only a few similarities. The biggest being there's kids killing kids. Battle Royale is much more brutal. Not just the gore factor, but the fact that unlike The Hunger Games these kids actually knew each other prior to the game. (In The Hunger Games, only the

MILF! MILF!   I see American Pie as the teen movie of my generation. I was in middle school when it came out and nobody's parents wanted us to see it. The nostalgia factor is strong with this one.   East Great Falls High is having their 13 year reunion and we meet up with our former horn ball teens and see where they have ended up in life. Jim (Jason Biggs) is still married to Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) and they have a young son. Oz (Chris Klein) is a famous sports anchor who appeared on "Celebrity Dance off" and has a hot young girlfriend. Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas) is an architect who works from home and dotes on his wife. Finch (Eddie Kay Thomas) is mysterious as ever, and Stifler (Seann William Scott) is exactly the same. Apparently that reality check he got in American Wedding didn't work out. They all meet up back home and of course, things get out of control.   It's nice to see where they all ended up, and American Reunion does it's best

Mindless fun.   It's painfully obvious who this film is marketed to, but because of that, we don't have to take this film seriously. At all.   Six years have passed since their stint in Guantanamo Bay and Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) have grown up and grown apart. A mysterious Christmas package brings them together again, and soon they find themselves burning down Harold's father in law's (played by Danny Trejo) prized Christmas Tree. They are now on a mission to replace it, and they run across a few familiar faces along the way.   If you ignore the obvious 3D pandering shots, Harold and Kumar is still pretty damn funny. Of course Neil Patrick Harris makes a womanizing appearance, and his real life husband David Burtka does too. It's hilarious, and easily one of my favorite cameos ever. The plot is ridiculous, beyond ridiculous in fact, but you can't help but love the chemistry that Cho and Penn have. I do enjoy watching them.   Reco