Drive Angry (2011)

NEW RELEASE TUESDAY


Drive Angry
Drive Angry drove me a little angry.
I wanted this to be balls out fun.
Stupid popcorn movie fun.
But, it didn't even deliver that for me.
I mean, the first half had lots of potential.
That second half bombed.
I did like some of the characters like "The Accountant."
So even with low expectations and
expecting this to be a modern grindhouse,
this wasn't for me.
The trailer is way better.

Well, at least I gave it a try.
I recommend the grindhouse movie, "Race With The Devil,"
instead.

Charlie

Charlie
Nice gangster film from the U.K.
Didn't know what to expect except
that I took a risk because I didn't know
a single thing about it.
It was pretty decent.
This is mostly about the trial of gangster,
Charlie Richardson. But, in flashbacks,
we get some good gangster action.
I like some of the music on here, especially
when someone is being killed or tortured.
I like some of the acting as well.

Not saying this is a gangster classic,
but for fans of this genre: not bad to check this one out.

Trailer:
Charlie Trailer Link

Alien Resurrection

Alien: Resurrection
What a surprise!!
This movie was everything everybody said it was.
A big mess.
I didn't like any of it.
I know, I'm late into seeing this franchise.
I saw Aliens last year for the first time
and Alien 3 this year.
Having bought the Alien Quadrilogy,
I had no choice but to eventually see this one.
Completely waste of time, talent, and money.
I'm a fan of the director who directed this one
(who also did Amelie and Micmacs).
I know this is a studio film, but
this ruins the credibility of everyone involved.

All we needed was Ripley to turn into one of these
aliens, rule Earth, and later becoming
Queen of the roaches. That might not be a bad idea.
Alien 5, here we go.

Caged Heat / The Big Bird Cage

FRIDAY AT THE GRINDHOUSE

Two Women In Prison films back to back.


Caged Heat
Not bad.
A few good moments with the dialogue
and shootouts.
I liked that it was short and simple.
Lots of nudity, some violence, and choppy editing,
yup, this is grindhouse all the way.
Can't believe this is made by the same
guy who later directed "Silence of the Lambs"
and "Philadelphia."

Good sleazy stuff for a late Friday night.



The Big Bird Cage
I didn't like this second feature as much as the first one tonight.
I didn't know if it's because the time I saw this,
but, it was a bit boring.
I mean, there's some okay scenes.
My favorite part was the climax when they escape.
Pure grindhouse action there.
I wanted to see a lot more with Pam Grier's character.
She was hardly there in the first half.

Maybe not a good idea to watch this at 2am.
See, it's almost 4am and I can't even blog anymore.
Next Friday at the Grindhouse (June 24) will
be two father revenge flicks:
Death Wish and Fight For Your Life.
Can't wait.

The Hangover Part II (2011)

The Hangover Part II
You can't expect this one to top the first one.
This is exactly like the first one except they
made the events crazier.
But it follows the exact same plot and structure.
It's not as funny but there's some laugh out loud moments.
My favorite scene that made me laugh
was the "it's Bangkok, not Bangcunt" scene.
I don't want to spoil the details here but
that was probably the funniest moment in the film.
The rest was so and so.
The last few scenes sucked.
But the credits kind of tops the credits from the first film,
except for the music.

Overall, stupid not so funny moments with a few
badass moments=alright entertainment.
So far my two favorite comedies this year are
"Paul" and "Bridesmaids."

From Beyond

From Beyond
Man, this movie took me back
to the 80's.
Cheesy but memorable.
I saw Re-Animator last year.
Loved that one.
I been wanting to see this one.
Thanks to my friend Mike, for
pushing me to get this now.
It's a nice set-up for that last
climatic special effects stuff at the end.
Of course this was my favorite scene:

A good way to start a day is to watch this little
messed up film. It's not a masterpiece or a piece of crap,
but it's in the middle somewhere.

Burning Palms

NEW RELEASE TUESDAY


Burning Palms
They say this is like the movie Crash but
more twisted and perverted.
So, they were right.
There's five stories here.
Most of the stories kinda suck
but I like what they were going for.
I also like that they kept each story separate.
My favorite story was the last story.
I won't be able to hear the song, "Jingle Bells,"
the same again.
Some of the stories had some dark comedy
but they were mostly drama.

I don't think I'll ever see this again.
If you like the trailer, it's worth a rental.

Down Terrace

Down Terrace
This is supposed to be a somewhat gangster film
and dark comedy but I'm afraid it didn't deliver for me.
Yeah, there were some dark comedic moments but
not enough to keep this movie alive.
Most of it was boring in my opinion.
This played at Fantastic Fest a couple years ago.
When I saw this at I Luv Video today,
I had to see it because the story sounded interesting.
Disappointed except towards the end when it got a little better.
I also give them props for some of the weird moments.

2nd bad movie in a row. Maybe I won't watch The Big Bang
tomorrow for New Release Tuesday.
Maybe I'll go with one that has better reviews like
Burning Palms. We'll see.

The Rite (2011)

The Rite
I was waiting for this to get a least a bit
entertaining. I waited a while.
Couple of scares but most of it
was a little ridiculous.
Now, I knew that this wasn't going to be great.
I still wanted to see it for myself.
Anthony Hopkins didn't really impressed me
but he had a few funny moments (not on purpose).
Typical exorcist story. Typical non-believer priest to be
that becomes a believer at the end kind of story.
Nothing new except there were evil frogs
all over.

I guess stay away from this one and rent
The Last Exorcism instead or something similar.

Get Low

Get Low
Robert Duvall rules.
Man, I would love to have a funeral party too
before I die.
I would spill out any secrets and stories
I may have to everyone who attended.
Nice little old fashioned story we got here.
Reminded me a little of "A Straight Story" by David Lynch.
Would of wanted Bill Murray's character
to be more involved but this is Duvall's movie all the way.

If you're in the mood for a straight up drama
about getting old and forgiveness, check this one out.

The Mechanic (2011)

The Mechanic
Action packed explosive remake.
I haven't seen the original with Charles Bronson
but I was entertained with this one with
some beers and pizza.
Some of the dialogue was a little too easy.
But, we're not here for the dialogue.
We're here for the action.
Which delivers in that department in any way
a regular Hollywood action picture can deliver.
My favorite thing I like about the story was how precise
"the mechanic" a.k.a "the hitman" did his jobs.
Very cool.

You want a good old fashioned popcorn movie,
check this one out. Now I want to see the original.

Tokyo Drifter

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.


Tokyo Drifter
Good yakuza movie from the 60's.
The beginning to this movie with the opening shot
and the music was a beautiful moment.
Great music throughout the film.
Lots of killing but no blood until the end.
Love the costume and set designs.
It's not rough or gritty like the yakuza films
from the 70's.
But, good experience it was.
Short and simple.

Worth checking out for yakuza fans.
The director also did another yakuza movie
called, "Branded To Kill."
Haven't seen it. Don't know if I'll get a chance to see it this year.

May 18

It's been a crazy week in both my personal and work life.
But, things will get back on track.
New Release Tuesday yesterday was supposed to be The Mechanic.
That movie has moved to this Friday.
Late tonight is this Korean movie with the same name
as today's date.


May 18
I wanted to watch this movie for a few months already
but decided to hold it for May 18,
This has a little bit of everything:
tragedy, drama, comedy, and war.
I kind of like some of the moments on here.
But, overall, it didn't win me over.
That's a surprise for a Korean movie.
But, I did like the flow of the story and the tragic ending.
This is a based on a true story that happened on May 18, 1980.

This is good for a rental.
Now for a good Korean movie worth buying is:
J.S.A. (Joint Security Area).

Persepolis

Persepolis
Sweet yet real political Animation.
Enjoyed the little moments.
And I also love the style.
So original.
I like the growing up part.
I like when our main character buys an Iron Maiden
tape and jams to it at home.
This is based of an autobiographical graphic novel.

A must see Animation if you haven't seen it.
Drama with a little dash of comedy during
dark times in Iran.

Map of the Sounds of Tokyo

Map of the Sounds of Tokyo
Somewhat decent drama!
It's poetic and wonderfully written.
A little depressing.
I wasn't too thrilled about it but
I wasn't too disappointed either.
Definitely a movie you want to drink
a red wine to.
I was wanting and expecting something different.
So, this movie is not for me.

If you're in the mood for a drama that takes place in Japan
with some good performances, check this out.

Bridesmaids (2011)

LINDA'S SATURDAY MOVIE PICK


Bridesmaids
Very funny movie.
I heard this is a movie that guys will like too.
So, when Linda picked this out, I said to myself,
"I hope the rumors are true."
And they were right.
I was cracking up a lot.
This has the same amount of funny moments as
"The Hangover" but with girls instead of the guys.
Man, lots of favorite moments:
The food poisoning scene, the getting the cop's attention scene,
and the tennis scene just to name a few.
The cast was perfect for this.
Especially Kristen Wiig (she plays the main character)
and Melissa McCarthy (she plays the big girl).

Definitely makes my top 10 so far in 2011 and
I would put this up there somewhere in my top 5 for now.
If I have to give it a number, I would say number four.
That would put this movie just above Hanna. Check it out!!

Robogeisha

Robogeisha
This was already expected to be a cheesy silly flick.
I knew what I was getting into.
My overall experience, it was a little too silly
even for me.
I like the first scene and my favorite
scene is when these "robogeishas" were fighting
these samurai androids.
I like some of the fake blood on these scenes but
honestly, this wasn't all that bloody.
Maybe my time has come up, but,
I'm not feeling these types of movies anymore.
Like I said before in another post to a similar movie like
this one, you seen one and you've seen them all.
I didn't really like the overall story.

There was some parts that made me giggle a bit,
but, maybe I should had a bottle of sake to go with this.
If I could recommend a movie similar to this that's
more enjoyable, I would recommend "Meatball Machine."

Kiltro

Blogger was temporarily out of service yesterday
so I was unable to blog.

So here's my initial comments for yesterday's movie, Kiltro.


Kiltro
This martial arts flick from Chile kicks ass.
This is from the same director of Mirageman as well as the same
main actor. The first half was cheesy and a bit too easy.
The second half provides a lot of bloody action.
Love the final scene with spaghetti western type music
during the final standoff.
Saw this while it was raining outside.
It was the perfect Thursday morning movie.
I prefer Mirageman over this one, but this
was better than expected.

Check this out for your low budget martial arts fix.

To Kill A Mockingbird

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 May is the month for Drama.
The following five dramas I've never seen before:

The Grapes of Wrath
Serpico
To Kill A Mockingbird
Good Will Hunting
Awakenings

To Kill A Mockingbird wins by
majority votes from certain experts.

Runner Up: Awakenings

To Kill A Mockingbird
It was good for its age.
I liked the ending.
I never read the book but I always
hear about this movie.
A lot of people always mention this movie
so it was kind of shame on me for not having
watching this movie earlier in life.
Now that I've seen it, my feelings towards it:
it was a decent drama.
Now if I picture this back when it came out in the 60's,
I can imagine this had a lot of powerful impact in our society.

Would make a decent double feature with
A Time To Kill, in my opinion.
There, now I've seen this. Another one bites the dust.

The Illusionist

NEW RELEASE TUESDAY


The Illusionist
Very sophisticated and very careful animation from France.
Loved it a lot.
This is the same director and creator who did
Triplets of Belleville (another great animation I recommend).
Just like Triplets, this one has almost no dialogue,
just pure sounds and music.
Every character carries the movie very good.
No wonder this was nominated for Oscars.
It went to Toy Story 3.
I think this one is very close to beating Toy Story 3,
in my opinion.
I love movies like these that pay a lot of attention to details.
Seriously, there's hardly any movies with this kind
of dedication.
Lots of great moments but one of my favorites that come to mind is:
A drunken depressed clown is about to
hang himself and he hears a knock on the door.

Highly recommend this and Triplets of Belleville.
Both provide a good cinematic experience.

Caracas: Amor a Muerte

Caracas: Amor A Muerte
This was supposed to be last night's movie but
I had to work very late at the legislature.
But, I made time to see it this morning.
This is a drama from Venezuela.
Let's just say the back cover to this looked interesting
when I saw it in I Luv Video.
So, I decided to check it out.
For the most part, it was boring for me.
There's some good scenes.
Couple of shootouts.
But, that's it.
It mostly dealt with this girl who wants to get an abortion.
I expected to see more of the gangster aspect.
That's the main reason for checking it out.
But, it didn't quite deliver for me.

I haven't seen a lot of Venezuelan films.
The only one that comes to mind besides this one is Secuestro Express.
That one is worth checking out.

Amreeka

Amreeka
Nice little drama here about an immigrant single
mother and her teenage son and their experience
in the U.S.
It felt right to watch this on Mother's Day.
Single mothers always have my sympathy.
Of course they do, because my mother was a single mom.
Being a parent myself, now I realize all the hard work.
The whole story here deals with cultural differences
and adapting to this country (post 9/11).
Some scenes make me mad because
of how ignorant people are.
But, love the characters.
The story was short and simple
and had that personal authentic touch.
At the end, I was like, that's it?
It ended fast.

Good to see once, especially if you're in the mood
for a family drama.
Another recommendation that's similar to this is the
movie, The Namesake. The Namesake was more
emotional, though.

Salvage

Salvage
Decent genre film from the U.K.
This played at Fantastic Fest in 2009.
I been wanting to watch it for a while but
I waited for Mother's Day weekend this year.
Not bad at all.
Lots of unexpected scenes.
A few crazy gore scenes.
This actually reminded me a bit of a German zombie
movie I saw at last year's Fantastic Fest called,
Rammbock.
Love the concept here:
Mother and Daughter have a fight.
Daughter leaves and hides in a nearby friend's
house. Military men raid the neighborhood.
Killing people and looking for this "creature."
Mother goes out to find daughter.
Crazy stuff happens.

Recommend this underrated little film the only complaint
is that lack of English subtitles.
It's hard to understand people with their British accent.

La Ultima Y Nos Vamos

Cinco De Mayo Special


La Ultima Y Nos Vamos
Man, this was fun.
I didn't know anything about it.
Never seen the trailer.
My brother, Erik, recommended this movie.
I went in with no expectations and I was entertained.
At first I thought this was going to be some kind of soap opera
or "novela" kind of acting. But after a while, the acting was alright.
The stories are alright.
What I love about this movie was two things:
the music and the time frame this takes place.
The music was non-stop, one song after another.
I love movies that have their stories take place
within a 24 hour time frame.
When movies like this one do that, you follow
the characters more closely.
For being mostly a drama, not bad.

Good drinking movie.
Need to add this one day to my everlasting Foreign film section.
Some of the music makes you want to say,
"Happy Cinco De Mayo."