Marley & Me

New Release Tuesdays Presents:

Marley & Me
A suprisingly good movie.
It's a movie to watch with a loved one.
It's that kind of a movie.
There's some funny parts and some sad parts.

Anyone who has or ever had a dog in their life
will most likely enjoy this flick.
If you're not a dog person, I say, don't
waste your time with this.
My wife Linda and I, saw this with our little mutt,
"The Pepster."
There was just some minor errors with the plot,
but what can you expect from a big hollywood movie?
Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson are
good actors with good chemistry.
Of course all this is my opinion.
You be the judge?

Sophie Scholl: Final Days

Sophie Scholl: The Final Days
This is a great German film I never heard about
until a few days ago when I was researching
films from Germany.
Sophie Scholl is an anti-Nazi activist who
died for her freedom of speech.
This movie hit me from the start.
Excellent acting by everyone.
Great direction.

I highly recommend this movie. A must buy.


A double feature with this and the movie Downfall
is also recommended.
So if you got 5 1/2 hours to spare,
check it out.

Mongol

Mongol
This film from Kazakhstan came out early last year
and was nominated for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars.
It is the early life of Genghis Kahn.
It was entertaining. There was some good battle scenes.
It made me appreciate Genghis Kahn a little more.
As far as world conquerors go, if I had a choice between
Genghis Kahn and Alexander, I would choose Kahn.
Unlike Alexander the Great, Genghis Kahn started out
from the bottom and moved his way up.
Here's a still image of the film when Genghis Kahn
was a slave when he was a kid.

I think its worth to rent. Maybe to buy if
you love epic movies like Gladiator,
but definitely worth your time.
This is part of a trilogy, the next one comes out
next year.

Fudoh: The New Generation

Fudoh: The New Generation
A brilliant yet bizarre Japanese film.
What can I not expect from director Takashi Miike?
This is the 6th movie I saw from him and
he has not dissapointed.
He's probably my favorite director from Japan.
It's a yakuza film with extra blood.
This one is probably my least favorite
of the movies I've seen from Miike.
But this movie still has its moments.

It has a good revenge story with some
messed up shocking scenes.

I couldn't find the trailer but if you go to
the 2:30 point of this clip, you'll see some
bloody stuff. If that's what you're into, of course.
If not, I recommend staying away from Takashi Miike films.

Cinema Paradiso

Today is New Release Tuesday
but I wasn't feeling in the
mood to watch any of the movies
that came out today.
The only movie I would of picked
was, "Bolt." But I wasn't
in the mood for animation.
So then came the screening of this classic:

Cinema Paradiso
This is an excellent classic from Italy.
There's a lot of hype in the film world
that this is one of the best movies ever.
After seeing the director's cut, I was amazed.
To me, it's not one of the best movies ever.
But it is very inspiring and has a decent story.
I say, it is one of the best movies from Italy.
I usually don't write what the movies are about,
I let the imdb link (above) and trailer (below) tell you that,
but here's a quick rundown for this one:
It's a long journey of a boy growing up loving movies
and falling in love, moving away from tragedy,
and coming back as a successful filmmaker
to remember the past.

Even though is about 3 hours long, I recommend
the directors cut version. It tells you a lot more
that went on. My grade for this is a straight on A.
No not an A+, but simply an A.

La Vendedora De Rosas

La Vendedora de Rosas
This is a Colombian movie
about kids living the street life.
This looks like a made for tv movie
with a documentary feel to it.
All the actors are real people.
This film overall wasn't as good as I thought
it was going to be.
There was moments that were predictable
and others that were dramatic.

The grade I would give this movie is a C.
If you're interested in these types of movies,
and those familiar with these movies,
I say "City of God" is probably the best movie
out there in this genre.

I couldn't find a trailer but here's a short scene:

Role Models

Role Models
This is an alright comedy.
Nothing really special.
There was a few laughs here and there.
My favorite character of this movie was
that lady that runs the role model organization,
she is played by Jane Lynch.
All the other actors are cool with their parts as
well. I just didn't find the story very good and most of
the jokes aren't as funny.

If you haven't seen it, don't expect some good
comedy like Superbad and Knocked Up.

Punisher: War Zone

Punisher: War Zone
The Punisher was always one of my favorite
characters. And I was one of the few that enjoyed
the movie that came out few years back.
So when this one came out, I knew I wasn't going
to see it in the theater because I have this thing with sequels.
So I waited patiently for it on DVD.
This movie is not really a sequel.
It can stand on its own.
This movie was very entertaining.
A lot of bad ass action scenes.
Lot of blood.
And the dude that plays the Punisher,
I think he plays it better than the previous
movies.
The only problem I had,
was the main villains.
They were annoying me
through the whole thing.

Overall, a good satisfying experience, this movie was.
I say, I like it equally to The Punisher movie
that came out in 2004.

Game of Death

Game of Death
This is an alright martial arts flick with Bruce Lee.
This is actually Bruce Lee's last film.
He died during the production of this movie.
So what the producers did is they finished the movie
using a guy that looks like Bruce Lee
(Which is the majority of the movie).
You see glimpses of the real Bruce Lee here and
there. But the rewarding part comes in 20 minutes
before the movie ends.
That is when the real Bruce Lee kicks the
living shit out of 3 people.

Not recommended for the average viewer,
must like old school martial movies to enjoy.

Synecdoche, NewYork

Synecdoche, New York
This was an interesting and little bizarre movie
by Charlie Kaufman.
Of course, this is the guy who wrote movies
like:
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Being John Malcovich
Adaptation.
You don't notice anything weird in the first 30 minutes
but then it all starts hitting you.
It's a drama with a little bit of comedy.
I like the surrealism of it.

If you're in the mood for something different,
and you're a fan of Eternal Sunshine, check this one out.

Let the Right One In

Let The Right One In
Excellent and very original vampire flick
from Sweden.
It has a love story and a revenge story
with a little dash of horror.
The movie is slow paced.
I love the pool scene.
It will stick with me forever.
And of course the ending is genious.
Depending on what type of person you are,
the ending is either a happy ending or a tragic
ending. See for yourself.

This movie is recommended to fans of drama,
revenge stories, and of course vampire collectors.
I would give this an A-.

The Boy With The Striped Pajamas

The Boy With The Striped Pajamas
This is a wonderful and original movie
that takes place during the Holocaust.
I'm going to tell you right this second,
you need to get out and buy this
treasure. Warning: It's very sad!!
But there's a lot of great acting and
wonderful shots that tell this story.

The ending of the movie will leave you
with silence.

Milk

(Every Tuesday is New Release Tuesdays)
New Release Tuesdays Presents:


Milk
Gus Van Sant's latest starring Sean Penn.
But if you see this movie,
you will not see Sean Penn.
You will see Harvey Milk and his
quest for equal rights.
If you're familiar with his story,
you know that the ending is tragic.
I found it a little entertaining for a political movie.

I don't think this is worth to buy unless you're collecting
political movies or movies about homosexuals or
Gus Van Sant collection.
But this is worth the rent.

Ashes of Time Redux

Ashes of Time
Wong Kar Wai is one of a kind director.
He takes an epic martial arts story
and converts into a character driven poetic
story.
Just like all his other films I've seen,
it's all human emotions.
I was in the mood for a kick
ass martial arts movie,
I did not get that with this movie.
Instead it was a slow ride into
the mind of these characters.
The colors and the sound was great.

If you're not familiar with Wong Kar Wai's films,
then it's best if you stay away from this one.
If you're willing to try some Wong Kar Wai,
I recommend to start with Chungking Express.
For those of you already familiar, then this one
is worth a peek, if you haven't already.

The Visitor

The Visitor
A sad yet a good drama about
human relationships.
Kudos to Mr. Richard Jenkins who
plays the lead.
Love the ending shot.

This is the kind of movie
you'll want to see on
a rainy day.

Watchmen

Watchmen
I'm not too familiar with the comic book
but I went to see this movie
for the cinematic experience.
Before going, I did a little bit of research
on the story and origin to see what
I got myself into.
I left the theater giving this movie overall
a B+.
This is not your typical superhero movie
with a lot of action.
This is a character driven movie rather than
an action movie.
But the little action that it had was freaking bloody awesome.
I haven't read the comic
but I would of wanted some things to go another way
in the end. But the message was good.

Rorschach is my favorite of the bunch.
I recommend this movie for the entertainment
purpose. Don't go in with high hopes.
Just enjoy the ride. Must buy for any comic dvd collection.

Return of the Living Dead / The Boss

(Every First Friday of every month is
"Friday at the Grindhouse" night)

Friday at the Grindhouse Presents:

Return of the Living Dead
Awesome, quirky, cheesy, and funny
zombie flick.
What an awesome way to start off a grindhouse
double feature.
That's what I like about most of these
kinds of movies, that you don't
really take it seriously.

Get you some nachos with extra cheese and
enjoy this zombie invasion.

and then....


The Boss (Il Boss or Wipeout)
This is got to be on my top 10 gangster
films of all time.
It's a very rare movie to find (once again
I had to rent a vhs).
There some slow scenes and the
action is not as good as in movies today,
but come on, this was made in 1973.
This serves as an inspiration to future mobster films.

JCVD

JCVD
Don't let the trailer fool you,
this is a great Van Damme movie.
It's more of a dramatic look at the actor
than an action movie.
It made me have a little more respect for
the guy.
I liked the style and the colors of the film.
I remember I used to see every Van Damme
movie when I was growing up.
But there was a point when it all came downhill.
This might be his comeback.

This is not a masterpiece that needs to
be in your collection. But it's worth the rent.
Fuck Steven Seagal.

Frozen River

Frozen River
Today is supposed to be New Release Tuesday
but nothing good or at least appealing came out today.
So then came this movie.
Awesome crime dramatic piece.
This is one of my favorite genres.
Frozen River made me feel a little chilly.
Great performance by Melissa Leo who plays the lead.
Some of the other acting was not good
and you can tell it's kinda independent,
but as a whole it's a well made
entertaining picture.

I recommend this one. And if you do watch it,
eat some popcorn and drink some Tang.
If I were a teacher I would give this one a B++.

Choke

Choke
If you really want to waste 1 hour and 30 minutes of
your time watching a movie that is only
going to make you smile two times, then
Choke is for you.
I don't know why I rented this.
Maybe because it's written from that guy who
wrote Fight Club and this is a psychotic satire comedy.
It wasn't really bad. It's just not what I expected.
We know ahead of time of what's coming.
When it comes to the surprises, I wasn't surprised.

Don't recommend it, go see Fight Club again.