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Archive for the ‘movies’ Category

Wow. Quentin Tarantino delivered an “expletive-laden” speech at the Cannes Film Festival. Ummm…QT using foul language? Gosh, didn’t see that coming at all.

Mind you, I’m not a huge fan of foul language in everyday speech. There is a time & a place for it. And QT is a expert at knowing when and where in his movies.

May 14: Today marks ten years since we lost the greatest singer - perhaps the greatest entertainer - of the 20th century: Francis Albert Sinatra. Ol’ Blue Eyes. The Voice. The Chairman of The Board. The Legend. Frankie. Sinatra.

Frank, you did indeed do it Your Way. And you helped to create the modern-day America along the way, epitomizing so many things that are good - and a few that aren’t - about America.

Wow — doing some YouTubing on a lazy Friday afternoon and stumbled across this amazing Python versus Tiger video. I’ll admit to cheering for the tiger; something about wanting a fellow mammal to prevail must be hard-wired into our brains. It’s pretty dramatic, and the outcome isn’t certain until near the end of the 4+ minute clip:

And yes, this is a real video; it was shot in 1932 (!) as part of Frank Buck’s “Bring ‘Em Back Alive.” The incredible story of the movie and how this particular scene was captured are detailed here at Modern Mechanix.

My favorite film critic is Roger Ebert. I’ve been reading his stuff since 1990, and I’ve learned so much about movies from his reviews. Ebert’s reviews are entertaining and worthy reads on their own; he doesn’t just review a movie - he analyzes it, explains what makes it good, bad, or ugly, and does it with humor and insight. He’s a keen student of culture, politics, history, and society, and he is able to integrate all of that into most of his reviews. I don’t always agree with his assessments (or his politics), but I always appreciate reading what he has written. Simply put, he taught me how to appreciate movies, not just enjoy them.
Oh, and if you think that MetaFilter doesn’t have enough posts about Roger Ebert, well, you better think again.

I’d seen snippets of “Shaun Of The Dead” on cable, and the bits I saw were pretty entertaining. So when I had the opportunity to watch “Hot Fuzz” yesterday, I was optimistic.

My optimism was well-placed. This is a funny movie, and full of twists and even some pretty gruesome (albeit brief) bits. This could easily spawn a sequel or three, as Angel and Butterman get sent to other locations to solve crimes and fight bad guys.

The editor of “Hot Fuzz” should get some sort of special award, by the way.

It somehow just doesn’t seem true: Patrick Swayze is dying. It’s being reported that he has been diagnosed with what is probably the scariest and deadliest form of cancer: pancreatic. And that he only has weeks to live. Look, I’m not a huge Swayze fan - only seen a few of his movies. But one of them is “Road House,” and despite being the butt of many jokes, that is a damn fine movie, and his Zen-like character - the bouncer Dalton - was pretty damn cool. And besides that, it just seems weird: Swayze is supposed to be one of the guys that doesn’t really age, and therefore shouldn’t die. He really doesn’t look too much different than he did 20 years ago; like only a few famous people, he seemed invincible. And this news comes, sadly, just days after Jeff Healey - the famous blues/jazz/pop guitarist who led the band in “Road House” - passed away at the way-too young age of 41.

What the hell is going on? Was there a curse on the set of “Road House?”

Finally - FINALLY - saw “Planet Terror!” It’s one half of the Rodriguez/Tarantino “Grindhouse” double-feature. Sadly, I wasn’t able to see it in the theatre when it was released last year, but now I can report that it is AWESOME. Now keep in mind that I don’t generally like (a) zombie movies or (b) splatter movies — but after discovering the awesomeness of “From Dusk ‘Til Dawn” a couple of years ago, and ranking “Kill Bill” as my favorite movie, it was perhaps inevitable that I think “Planet Terror” was incredible.

To clarify: until this evening, there were only two “zombie” movies that I enjoyed. The first is the hilarious “Return Of The Living Dead” from 1985, which transcends the genre due primarily to the humor and the story involving a “Breakfast Club”-assortment of older teens. The second is “From Dusk ‘Til Dawn,” which is unlike any movie I’ve ever seen: the dichotomy between the first half and the second half, the delightful splatter, the strong performances - it is simply great.

And now comes “Planet Terror,” which doesn’t waste any time bogged down in character development or gratuitous sentimentality. This is pretty much a non-stop gore-fest, loaded with subtle humor, and featuring the “grindhouse” atmosphere that Rodriguez and Tarantino were aiming for. It also featured a remarkable performance by Rose McGowan as a go-go dancer named Cherry Darling who lists her useless talents (by number), and also provides some dead-pan laughs. And “El Wray” was portrayed by the Freddy Rodriguez, the junior mortician from “Six Feet Under,” and he was surprisingly convincing as a semi-legendary fighter, shootist, and knife-guy.

Lots of other great stuff, too, including a Bruce Willis near-cameo, a BBQ chef always in search of the perfect ingredients, QT as a sadist who is falling apart in a critical place, and of course the wonderful Michael Parks, again portraying a Texas lawman. Oh, and if you enjoyed seeing Beatrix Kiddo squash Elle Driver’s eye, there is a similar scene in “Planet Terror” that will give you a chuckle.

If you like QT and/or Rodriguez, I don’t see how you can not like this movie. If you’re the least bit squeamish, however, you should either skip it, or prepare to spend most of the movie with your hands over your eyes.

Next week: “Death Proof!”