Ratas, Ratones, Rateros

Ratas, Ratones, Rateros
Badass genre film from Ecuador.
It's little bit of gangster in there.
There's certain moments that make this badass.
I can't really explain it all but sometimes
there's a shot that goes on forever
and instead of cutting to the next scene,
they focus on other details within that scene.
In average movies, they cut to the chase,
right here they make the moments longer
and they seem more real (kinda of like Pulp Fiction).
I came across this movie at I Luv Video.
Didn't know anything about it.
I just looked at the cover and read the back
and said to myself that I'll check it out one day.
Favorite scene: they hide a body underneath the bed,
before doing so, one of the guys removes everything
underneath the bed including a rim.
That rim was mentioned earlier in the film when
another guy said someone took his rim.
Little details like that makes this film worth it.

Stamp of approval. Going to buy this for the collection.
It's going to be either in the Foreign section or the Gangster section.

A Call Girl

A Call Girl
This film from Slovenia was good.
With a title like that and with that poster
and trailer, one would expect a big raunchy movie.
But, I'm here to report that this is not at all raunchy.
There's hardly any nudity or sex scenes.
Those happen off-camera.
It's a film about the dangers and experiences
a call girl goes through.
My favorite scene is probably the only suspenseful scene,
is when our call girl gets captured by these pimps
and she ends up escaping and they start chasing her.
That was a cool scene.
Good characters and good performances.

Fans of foreign films, check it out.
Good drama.

Night of the Living Dorks

Night of the Living Dorks
A zombie movie from Germany=I'm sold.
I don't care to see reviews or ratings or a trailer,
if it's a genre film from another country, I'm there.
Now, this movie here tonight, was alright.
I mean, because I knew nothing about this movie,
I didn't have any expectations.
The only zombies here are these three high school kids.
There were some good scenes and a lot of cheesy
high school humor scenes.
I like the stoner aspect of it as well as some
of the dark comedy on here.
But, overall, nothing special.

Not a must for the zombie collection.
This reminded me of a better zombie teen movie
called, Dance of the Dead. Now that one is worth seeing.

Hobo With A Shotgun (2011)

Hobo With A Shotgun
Finally got to see this movie
after a couple of years of waiting.
It was okay.
Takes place in a Troma-like universe.
Over the top violence and typical cheesy B-movie acting.
I like some Troma films so that's why I thought
this was alright.
It was missing some good grindhouse dialogue.
Wish, this would of been like Robert Rodriguez's Machete.
Probably would been total badass, if it were.
This felt more like movies from the 80's rather than the average
grindhouse movies from the 70's.
Still, a fun concept.
What grindhouse fan wouldn't want to see a movie
with a title like this one?
Favorite gore scene: the main girl gets her hand cut off
nicely towards the end.

I feel like watching Machete now that I've seen this.
Might make a decent double feature.
The only reason to watch this is if you're a fan of the
original trailer, fan of Grindhouse, and fan of Troma movies.
I wouldn't recommend it otherwise.

Chawz

NEW RELEASE TUESDAY


Chawz
Nothing interesting came out on DVD today.
I was about to pick a straight to video movie
called, Sacrifice, until I decided to go to I Luv Video
at the last minute.
That's when I saw this one.
I double checked and it came out today.
New release Tuesday.
Awesome.
This movie wasn't awesome but it was better
than watching Sacrifice, in my opinion.
Here we have an alright creature flick
from South Korea. My complaint is that
this was 30 minutes too long.
If they would of made this shorter,
the flow and the movie would of been sweet.
It reminded me of The Host (another Korean movie).
Except this one didn't feel as special as The Host.
I kinda wanted to see a lot of gore with this.
So, a little disappointed in that department.

I feel that if this would of been made in America,
it probably would of sucked big time.
Leave it to South Korea to make any movie
a little special.

The Extra Man

The Extra Man
Great original little comedy.
I didn't know what to expect.
This is underrated.
There's quite a few memorable scenes.
There's John C. Reilly in a small role
but quirky and funny.
The beach scene was interesting.
The main lead actors, Paul Dano and Kevin Kline,
have good chemistry.
Katie Holmes, any other actress could do her little role.

If you're interested in this, it's worth a rental.

The Resident (2011)

The Resident
This was alright for a stalker movie.
The story felt a little to easy.
I went in with low expectations so
I don't have any major complaints.
This is a one time entertainment movie.
So, okay to check out once if you're into these kinds of stories.
But, if you don't check it out, you're not missing anything.
My favorite part is the final scene where Hilary Swank's character
uses this nail gun to attack her stalker landlord.

This is a 2011 movie. It went straight to DVD.
This is my 11th 2011 movie to see this year.

Fair Game

Fair Game
Good political drama.
Would make a great double feature
with Green Zone.
Love the ending when they showed the real Valerie Plame.
Basically, if you believe in all these conspiracies
behind the War in Iraq and the Bush administration,
then this movie is for you.
I enjoyed it and I think it was well made.

Nothing new we haven't heard before,
just another perspective.

Run Angel Run / Psychomania (a.k.a. The Death Wheelers)

FRIDAY AT THE GRINDHOUSE

Two Biker Movies Back to Back


Run Angel Run
Badass biker flick.
Love all them split screens.
Good times with this movie.
It's more of a love story than a biker story
but still a lot of fun. Love the editing.
One second you're with the couple the next
there's a guy showing a picture to someone off-screen.
"You seen this guy?"
Cheesy bar scene fight.
Awesome grindhouse kind of ending.

Glad I picked this out. Saw my first biker exploitation film
couple days ago and decided to do this month's
Friday at the Grindhouse with two biker films.
I never thought I would get hooked into this particular genre.
There's over 25 biker films listed in the Grindhouse Database.
Little by little.

Psychomania (a.k.a The Death Wheelers)
The trailer to this is a thousand times better.
Cheesy flick but nothing special.
They're kinda like zombies but not really.
A little disappointed that we don't get enough
motorcycle scenes.
I like some of the dialogue but
the good ones are on the trailer.
Kudos for being original.
Favorite scene is towards the end when the
gang trashes the grocery store.

The trailer here shows you all the good stuff.
How typical for a grindhouse trailer.

Rainy Dog

YAKUZA NIGHT THURSDAY

Every third Thursday of every month of this year,
I'll be watching a yakuza flick.
Love the yakuza genre but haven't really seen a whole lot.
There's a lot of classics out there.
This will help me explore these Japanese movies.
I'll be watching a few from directors,
Kinji Fukasaku, and Takashi Miike, as well other
yakuza flicks from the 60's and to the present.



Rainy Dog
Straight and non-bizarre Yakuza flick
from Takashi Miike.
I write "non-bizarre" because those familiar
with his films, you know that Miike loves to do
over the top crazy movies.
This is one of Takashi Miike earliest films.
It was mostly a drama.
Almost half of it focused on this yakuza hitman guy and his relationship
with his son. A few killings here and there.
Sometimes didn't feel like a yakuza movie
but then it picks up.
I personally wasn't blown away like I was with
other yakuza movies.
The ending was alright.

My opinion is, if you're considering in watching this one,
see Miike's Graveyard of Honor remake instead.
A lot more rewarding. Rainy Dog was so and so.

The Savage Seven

WEIRD WEDNESDAY

Every Wednesday at midnight, the Alamo Ritz has Weird Wednesday.
Depending on the movie, my personal life, and my schedule,
I'll be able to attend a few of these screenings.
For more on Weird Wednesday go here:
Alamo Drafthouse: Weird Wednesday

For tonight's event go here:
Weird Wednesday: The Savage Seven



The Savage Seven
Awesome grindhouse experience.
This was hilarious.
Kudos for the badass soundtrack.
Every song here makes the movie memorable.
No wonder this is one of Quentin Tarantino's
top 20 favorite grindhouse films of all time.
It's got a lot of memorable moments.
My favorite moment is the kid wanting candy at the store.
They spend almost three minutes for that moment
that had nothing to do with the rest of the story,
just building great cinematic moments.
Little quirky random moments like that
makes this movie badass.
Good funny characters.
Half of it felt like a Western but with motorcycles
instead of horses.
This movie also has an influence to a modern movie
called, "Hell Ride." The director and star of Hell Ride
(Larry Bishop) also comes out in this movie.
What a good way to introduce myself to the bikersploitation
sub-genre.
Love the ending.

I'm crossing my fingers for a DVD release of this one.
A must for all grindhouse fans.

The Way Back

NEW RELEASE TUESDAY


The Way Back
Excellent flick.
I especially loved the first half of this film.
Second half was okay.
This is more of a survival movie than a war movie.
Love all the landscapes.
I heard they shot this in a lot of countries.
It sure felt authentic.
Acting was good.
Nice to see Jim Sturgess in a good role (since Across the Universe).
I wasn't a big fan of his roles in 21, Heartless, and 50 Dead Men Walking.
His performance here rules.
Good casting for reals, I mean we have Ed Harris, Colin Farrelll,
and even that one girl from "Hanna."

Overall, good movie to watch if you're in the mood
for a survival/man vs. nature/drama.

Memories of Murder

Memories of Murder

Badass movie.
We have ourselves another great Korean flick
by Joon-ho Bong (the same director as The Host and Mother).
I think this is my favorite film from him now.
It's kind of like Fincher's "Seven"
without the deadly sins.
Totally different story.
Even though the running time is little over 2 hours,
it went by quick.
It grabbed me from frame one.
Few intense scenes but nothing too brutal.
Enjoyed it.

Must have for the Asian collection.
I think I need to start a Joon-ho Bong collection.
I already own two. I've seen all his movies
and they all been good to me.
Here's my most favorite to least favorite:
1. Memories of Murder
2. The Host
3. Mother
4. Barking Dogs Never Bite
5. Tokyo (Sharing Tokyo segment)

I Love You, Phillip Morris

I Love You, Phillip Morris
Crazy con-artist film.
Jim Carrey is not new to this (he did Fun With Dick and Jane).
Here he plays a gay character.
One-third of the film has gay jokes and etc.
The rest of the film focuses on all the cons
this character does. Based on a true story
of a real life con guy. My favorite is when
he lies to get a Chief Executive job position
and is able to maintain that for a bit longer
than expected.
This would make an alright double feature with Liar Liar.

Overall, nothing really funny or special.
Just a movie to waste an hour and forty minutes.

It's Kind Of A Funny Story

It's Kind Of A Funny Story
Left me with a nice positive feeling.
I'm a sucker for mental institution movies.
Hell, I wrote a first draft feature film that takes
place mostly in a mental institution.
I enjoyed the concept here.
I like the karaoke scene.
Like all the unusual characters inside this hospital.
This reminded me of the movie, "Manic."
Manic is another mental institution movie but
the mood and story is the exact opposite of this one.

If I ever start a Mental Institution Movie section,
I might add this one next to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,
12 Monkeys, Manic, Shutter Island, maybe Sucker Punch, and more.

Your Highness (2011)

Your Highness
Wow!! What a trip this was.
I'm glad I was able to watch Sword and the Sorcerer and Krull
yesterday. Those gave me a little more understanding
of the sword-and-sorcery genre.
I was able to get in the right mood for this one
and I ended up liking it a lot.
Your Highness it's a tribute to sword-and-sorcery movies.
The whole thing felt like an 80's flick but with a lot bad words.
Laughed just a little more than I expected.
From the beginning where we were in a small people village
(like from Willow) to the wizard weed scene and the five headed dragon (hand).
Crazy stuff.
My favorite scene was the wizard weed scene.
That whole sequence was hilarious.
Danny McBride is the show in this movie.
I like some of the gore here.
Didn't like the main bad guy being a dorky bad wizard
but got to make it cheesy.
While this is not as good as Pineapple Express,
it was still good to see. It met my fair expectations.

A must see for stoner fans and sword-and-sorcery fans.
I'll make sure to one day own this for the Stoner section.

Krull

Krull
My next warm up before "Your Highness."
This one was a little crazy.
Reminded me of the original "Clash of the Titans."
I wanted more out of this one.
This has the typical plot and typical ending.
Cool to see a young Liam Neeson here.
The last climatic battle felt like a Super Nintendo game
I used to play (I forgot the title but it deals with a knight going
to different stages. It's not Zelda).
Your average flick I guess. I wasn't much into it,
but, I saw it because this film inspired "Your Highness" a lot.
Maybe if I would of saw this as a kid, I probably would
of enjoyed it a lot more.
Love the beginning.

We'll see how I react to "Your Highness."

The Sword and the Sorcerer

The Sword and the Sorcerer
Alright stuff.
I'm planning on seeing "Your Highness" tomorrow.
Alamo Drafthouse had a special screening last week
with Danny McBride live in person.
I couldn't make it.
In that special screening, they did a triple feature.
It was this movie first, then Your Highness, and after they
finished the night with Krull.
Since I've never seen all these movies before, I might
as well check 'em out.
This morning I saw this flick.
Started out a bit weird and then it became straightforward.
Serious feel to it except that certain parts looked cheesy.
I enjoyed the story a bit.
This reminded me of The Princess Bride a bit.
Good drinking movie.

This movie is hard to find since it's out of print.
But if you live in Austin, Vulcan Video has it.
Worth the peek if you're into these kinds of movies.

National Lampoon's Vacation

SHAME ON ME WEDNESDAY

[The second Wednesday of every month
I'll see a movie that I am ashamed
to admit I've never seen before.
A movie that most have seen
and it's usually referenced in pop culture.
As a fan of cinema, I shouldn't have missed
these movies, but I did, so shame on me.
This will give me the chance to catch up on those
movies.]

The month of April feels like
a month for comedy (April Fools).
The following four comedies I've never seen before:

Caddyshack
Animal House
National Lampoon's Vacation
Blues Brothers

National Lampoon's Vacation wins by
majority votes from certain experts.

Runner Up: Blues Brothers


National Lampoon's Vacation
Man, this was a big time Shame on Me.
I mean, of all the Shame On Me movies so far this
year, Vacation did it for me.
I've seen about 20 minutes of this movie before,
but never the whole thing.
After watching it, I must say this is a true classic.
A lot of comedies referenced this movie
(like Dumb and Dumber for "the mockingbird song").
I like the dark comedy parts too like when Aunt Edna dies
in their car (Little Miss Sunshine referenced this).
Love the whole movie.
It makes me want to drive cross country with the family
and make some stops and drink a few Coors.

There, now I'm not left behind with this one.
And for the record, I've seen and have Christmas Vacation
in my collection. I saw that one for the first time a few years
back thanks to wife.

Heartless

NEW RELEASE TUESDAY


Heartless
This came out at Fantastic Fest last year
and it came out on DVD today.
That was the reason to see it.
This didn't get good for me until halfway through
(after he makes the deal with "the devil").
The moments after that were fantastic.
My favorite part is when we meet "Weapons Man."
Very cool scene. I wish there was more scenes
with "Weapons Man." It would of made this movie
a whole lot better. Sadly, the ending was predictable
from the start.

If you make a deal with the devil, make sure you know
that he's full of b.s. I mean, he's the devil, for goodness sake.

Kill The Irishman (2011)

Kill The Irishman
This was a free screening for me
(I got in through a contest).
I been wanting to see this gangster film
since I first saw the trailer last year.
I was a little disappointed.
I expected a lot more.
The problem I had with this were the performances
and the character development. It sucked in those departments.
There were some good moments that
will make gangster fans proud.
But, overall, it was just average.
If they would of made this as a cheesy 70's style flick,
it would of kicked ass.
It was trying to be too much like "Goodfellas."
My favorite part was when John (Vincent D'Onofrio)
stabs the crap out of this guy in the trunk
Joe Pesci style.
Danny the main guy felt like a 2-D character.

For certain moments, I say it's okay.
As far as movies of 2011, I put this under Battle: Los Angeles.
It's nothing special for the Gangster section, but,
if I were to buy it one day, I'll make sure to get it under five bucks.

Tron / Tron: Legacy

Tron
This is my first time seeing this original movie.
I wasn't brought up with it and I had no idea
what was it about until last year when
the sequel came out. I decided to check it out tonight
before the sequel. This is kind of like a Shame on Me.
I'm not a big fan of game and cyberspace movies
but I respect them. Throughout this film,
I had to remind myself that this came out in the early 80's.
Having that mindset, this movie is good for its period.
I like the style of the movie.
This is the pre-Atari age.
The animation and effects were cool.

I like that the story was at first complicated and
ended with a straightforward ending.
Like I said, I'm not a big fan of these kinds of movies,
but it has my respect.



Tron: Legacy
Good visuals.
This one was high tech. The story reminded me a bit
of "The Matrix." Performances were okay.
This is mainly about the visuals (just like Sucker Punch).
Good sequences.
I just didn't like that the son was right away a badass
from the second he enters the system.
Other than that, this was an entertaining flick for me.

I personally preferred the first movie more,
but, this one is worth the time.

Paranormal Activity 2 / The Switch

LINDA'S SATURDAY MOVIE PICK

(Tonight, Linda couldn't decide on one movie.
She's been curious about both of these movies.
I wasn't interested in either of them, but,
it's her night to pick movies I wouldn't
normally pick. So we saw both of these.)


Paranormal Activity 2
I wasn't fan of the first one and I'm not a fan of this one.
It's the same thing, the same gimmicks,
the same feeling.
These actors aren't believable.
The characters are stupid.
I would of left the house the second I encountered
something like this. But, no, not these people.
They stayed there for days after some crazy unexplainable stuff.
I guess we need them to be stupid
or else the movie would be 10 minutes long.
Supposed to be "real footage" but they add
noises and sounds to enhance that something is about to happen.

Linda agreed with me on this disappointing flick.
She's still wanted to see it because ghosts movies
are her favorites.





The Switch
We went from a "supposed horror" to a "supposed comedy."
This wasn't funny at all.
There were funny situations.
But, I liked this movie more than the last one.
It's the typical romantic comedy with a typical ending.
At least it was a bit enjoyable.
I like the parts where he hangs out with his son.
The kid is a good actor.

Just okay!!