The Jeffrey Dahmer Files

The Jeffrey Dahmer Files IMDb
Lately, a lot of documentaries have been doing a lot of dramatizations.  Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't.  This one was okay using that.  This documentary covers the day and the days after Jeffrey Dahmer's arrest.  It is short and simple.  It doesn't mention a lot of details like cannibalism and so forth.  Some of the interviews here were funny.  The main cop who got the confession was definitely a character.  I wouldn't recommend this doc to anyone who is unfamiliar with serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.  This is not an in depth look at Dahmer and his background and etc.  I remember back in the late 90's, I saw a made for tv movie about Dahmer.  That was pretty cool.  It showed how he lured men and how he killed them.  This doc does an outline of certain things.  I was wanting more out of the documentary.  That's it.

New Release Tuesday: Assault on Wall Street (2013)

Assault on Wall Street IMDb
Not terrible.  It was a long dramatic set up for the actual crazy assault.  The first big thing happens about an hour in.  From that point on, this movie got on my good side for a bit.  I could of done it without the cheesy "vigilante" narration at the end.  That ruined it.  Other than that, it was okay to see on a night where there were no other interesting new releases (unless you're a big G.I. Joe fan).  My first pick would of been "My Awkward Sexual Adventure."  That movie wasn't available anywhere so my  headache began.  Luckily, I made it through this movie.  It sucks how the big CEO's screw everything and make the lower class pay for it all.  This movie got me a little angry.  There were a few things I didn't understand, like why this guy had to owe 60 thousand when he lost everything else?  Nice to see a washed up Edward Furlong trying to make a comeback. 

Oscar Sunday: My Fair Lady

My Fair Lady IMDb
I left it up to my girlfriend to pick this month's Oscar movie.  We usually pick most of them together.  One of her favorite movie icons is Audrey Hepburn, so we went with this Award winning movie.  Surprisingly, I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected.  The songs were pretty cool.  The movie was funny.  The characters were cool.  I like that the humor in this movie was a little to the dark side.  They were some bastards in this movie with hardcore language for this type of story.  The only complaint would be the last final scene.  After 3 hours long of a movie, I was expecting the ending to be great.  It ended with a "huh?  That was it?" kind of an ending.  Gotta love Hepburn.  Very cute woman.  I think my favorite performance of her is still the home invasion movie: Wait Until Dark.  Good experience watching this Oscar movie.  During intermission, we went for a frozen yogurt break and made sure we had lots of chocolate.

The Wolverine (2013)

The Wolverine IMDb
The trailer was promising for this one but it quite didn't deliver it to me.  It had lots of cool little scenes and the first half was pretty awesome.  Love Japanese stuff.  The second half started getting a little predictable and some of the characters were annoying like the Viper Girl.  Don't get me wrong though, I thought as a whole this movie was okay.  Didn't disappoint me.  Just felt like it needed more to deliver.   Cool little tease there after the first credits rolled.  Nice closure.  My favorite moments were the bar scene near the beginning and the train action scene.  Others were so and so.  These comments are coming from a guy who loves movies but who is not familiar with comics and their methodologies.  Hell, my favorite X-Men movie is X-Men: First Class. That one kicked a lot of ass.  Kudos to this movie for having samurai, ninjas, and yakuzas all in one movie.

Let It Be

Let It Be IMDb
This documentary was shot and made in 1969 while The Beatles were working on their "last" album before they broke up.  This documentary is mainly just them working on their songs and performing them.  No interviews and no narration.  I'm a big Beatles guy so I didn't mind it that much.  This includes their famous Rooftop concert act.  You see, The Beatles quit touring and doing shows for years now.  They were tired of it.  They released like 4 albums since without playing any shows.  This rooftop scene moment was a big deal.  There was a lot of tension between the band during these times but somehow, I didn't really see that in this documentary.  This covers almost all the songs from the "Let It Be Album."  I checked this DVD out from Vulcan.  It's a bootleg copy.  This movie has not been officially released yet. Must see for Beatles fan. I'll buy it whenever it comes out one day.

The Way Way Back (2013)

The Way Way Back IMDb
This was an awesome coming of age comedy.  Had some laughs.  It was cute and smart just what you expect from these kinds of movies.  Man, Steve Carell is more of an asshole here than he was in "Knocked Up."  Sam Rockwell plays a cool dude showing the main the ropes.  Loved it.  I knew from the trailer I was going to like it.  Thank goodness for my girlfriend who suggested in going to the movie theatre to see this.  Some of the soundtrack was also good.  This movie made me want to go to a water park or little town with a water park and just hang out there all summer.  Don't I wish?  This movie is worth your time if you're into smart coming of age comedies. 

New Release Tuesday: New World (2013)

New World IMDb
Not bad for a Korean gangster movie.  Original.  Can't believe this one is brand spanking new.  2013.  I usually don't see any Foreign films brand new unless I'm at a film festival.  Which reminds me:  two more months until Fantastic Fest 2013.  Anyways, this movie was pretty long and more dramatic than I expected but there were a lot of twists in this towards the end.  It's got the one dude from Oldboy, except here he plays a good guy cop.  My favorite moments happens about an hour and a half in.  There's a cool elevator scene.  This movie had some good dialogue.  They don't believe in guns, these guys.  Big knifes are the weapons these guys use throughout the film.  Right from the very beginning, it starts with a torture scene.  If you see this movie, don't expect a thriller.  Expect a decent Korean gangster/drama flick.

Made Jeyuk-bokkeum (spicy Korean bbq pork) for this movie.
Served with a Korean Mango Drink.

Magical Mystery Tour

Magical Mystery Tour IMDb
I'm doing a personal research and learning more about "The Beatles" these past few weeks.  It's only fair to see all their films as well.  This movie wasn't what I expected but it was okay.  It's a simple story:  A bus full of people including The Beatles, are traveling around the sites.  Nothing else.  Every once in a while we have a Beatles song sequence.  There's six of them here all from their Magical Mystery Tour EP.  My favorite song from there is "The Fool On The Hill."  My favorite movie sequence is in the "I Am The Walrus" part.  This movie is only 1 hour long.  I checked IMDb to make sure this is still considered a Feature.  It is.  What other bullshit can I say?  This was alright.  Not really into their movies.  They only made four.  Got one more I need to see (Let it Be). I'll check that one out later this week.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home IMDb
Wow! I think this is my favorite Star Trek movie so far.  It was easy to follow for me and I love the story.  Something is interfering with Earth and the Star Trek crew must go back in time and get two whales to save the planet.  Yeah, that sounds pretty wild, right?  Except this story was done with style.  We got our crew in San Francisco somewhere in the 80's.  A lot of funny moments there.  They are so advanced that they have a hard time blending in with the environment.  Love the hospital scene where they go to get Chekov.  The dialogue was awesome.  Everyone here is likeable.  What other bullshit can I say?  Cool Star Trek movie.  Looking forward to the next one sometime next week.

Cult Classic Friday: Flash Gordon

Flash Gordon IMDb
This movie was a good experience under the influence of pizza, special cookies, and a Sweet Leaf Citrus Green Tea.  Wait, did I really just start this post like that?  This is supposed to be at the end along with the picture.  Ok, here we go, this cheesy 80's cult classic was pretty entertaining.  I kept laughing during a lot of moments especially the scenes with the theme song playing in the background.  I just couldn't help myself.  Kept thinking about the movie, "Ted."  Which brings me to the comment stating: I decided to make a double feature with this movie and "Ted."  For those of you in the new, "Ted" references Sam Jones and Flash Gordon in various scenes and with a cameo.  I apologize if
I'm out of place a little.  I'm not in the right state of mind.  Flash Gordon kicked ass under the influence.  Kept thinking that if I was in the right state of mind, I would write "this movie is so bad that it's good."   "Death to Ming! Death to Ming!"  Flash Gordon is the coolest hero ever for not doing a single thing until the very end and even then, he barely moved.  Love the cheesy 80's effects.  Some of the story reminded me a bit of Star Wars.  So this is a good movie for a good time.    I'm writing this post while watching "Ted."  For my original comments on "Ted,"  go HERE.

The Conjuring (2013)

The Conjuring IMDb
Finally a horror movie that gave me goosebumps.  The last horror movie to do that was when I saw "House of the Devil" a few years back.  Loved the 70's feel to this movie including the shots and soundtrack.  Love the build up to all those scary moments.  The only thing I felt needed more was the final scene with the possessed family but no big deal.  The rest of the movie as a whole made it up.  I wonder what other crazy adventures our main ghost hunters are going to be up against.   Could they top this one?  I like this movie more than "Insidious" and all those Paranormal Activity movies.  I'm not a big fan of horror movies but when I do see one every once in a while, I expect it to scare the crap out of me.  And this one did that job.  Going to have the lights on tonight while I sleep and avoid being awake around 3:07am.  If you have a cellar, whatever you do, please DON'T go into the cellar if you hear any sounds coming from it.  "DON'T!"  

New Release Tuesday: Wild Bill

Will Bill IMDb
Never heard of this movie until this past weekend while deciding which New Release to go with.  It was a tie between this one and "42".  I'll check out the latter soon.  This movie was pretty good for a British drama.  The trailer made it seem like it was going to be a fast in your face comedy/drama.  It wasn't.  It was all about the story of one washed up guy who gets released from prison and tries to redeem himself and become a good father.  His two boys have problems of their own.  Good little plot.  My only complaint and I complain about this every time I see a British film: hate it when the movie comes with no subtitles.  It's pretty hard to follow their accents and slang without subtitles.  Other than that, this is pretty good flick.  Good performances.  Not a must buy but good for if you want to throw a British night.   This was served with the limited edition Bombshell from NewCastle.  Good little buzz.

Help!

Help! IMDb
I've been in a Beatles craze lately.  Basically, went to collect every single song from The Beatles's core collection.  I been listening to one album a day.  I would listen to that album over and over again.  Today, I'm in the 7th album.  Anyways, this film here takes place during their 5th album also by the same name (Help!).  It is a big time cheesy 60's fictional film centered around the band.  This cult group tries to steal this big ring from Ringo.   They try everything to get it.  Along the way, we have a few songs from The Beatles.  All of the songs are found in the Help! album (the first 7 tracks).  My favorites are: Help!, You're Gonna Lose that Girl, and Ticket to ride.   The movie is silly most of the time.  Nothing serious.  I don't think I would recommend this movie to anyone other than fans of The Beatles.  I'll be watching the rest of their movies soon. 

Music and Lyrics

Music and Lyrics
This was a cute romantic comedy that I never had the chance to watch until tonight for my movie date night.  A co-worker of mine let me borrowed it after talking about boy bands and the movie, "This Is The End."  I like Drew Barrymore but I'm not a fan of Hugh Grant.  Here, they both did great together.  Had no idea what the story was about.  I like the boy band parody part of it.  See, I'm not a boy band or pop group fan at all.  Never have been and probably never be.  But, I do like when movies make fun of them, like this one.  Here we basically have a simple story about a former pop star who tries to get any project to pay the bills.  He is given the job to write a song for a popular pop artist.  Along the way, he meets this one girl who happens to be a natural born lyricist.  Boom! Match made in heaven.  Don't need to tell you what happens.  You already know.  A romantic happy comedy.  I liked it.  There was just a couple of scenes that I didn't like in the story: Drew Barrymore's character was speechless when she encountered her ex lover after a year of writing what to say.  In another scene, she is so strong and talkative and wants to express her opinion about a song to the pop artist.  I didn't buy it.  No biggie, though.

I might not watch it again or alone for that matter, but, I'm glad I was able to see it for my movie date night.  This movie was accompanied by a dish made by my girlfriend, Yari.  A dish of sauteed shrimp, onions, poblano, tomatoes over rice and with Coppola White Wine.

Godzilla

Godzilla IMDb
You know I had to see the original Godzilla for the first time as a whole after watching Pacific Rim last night.  Well, here it is.  I enjoyed it.  Love that it wasn't all about Godzilla but about H-Bomb testing and a new possible weapon of mass destruction.  I kind of feel sorry for Godzilla.  He's out here because of mankind.  In a way, it tells you who the monsters really are.  Cool little moments like when Godzilla first appears at the island.  Or even before that when something weird is happening in the middle of the ocean causing different ships to sink.  I smell a Godzilla or a Big Monster Movie Night one of these years soon.  I have the perfect stores nearby that can hook me up with this fix (Vulcan and I Love Video). 

Pacific Rim (2013)

Pacific Rim IMDb
Guillermo Del Toro strikes gold again with this big monster/robot movie.  This was one of my most anticipated movies this year and I'm thrilled to have seen it tonight.  I was literally smiling like a 8 year old kid the whole time holding my girlfriend's hand.  Kick ass fight scenes.  Cool little surprises.  Movie this big and good, I rather not give anything away.  Not even a hint.  Maybe some non-spoiler stuff.  Man, those monsters were so hideous.  It made me cheer for the giant robots a lot more.  Every fight scene felt intense.  I walked out of the theater after all the credits ended thinking this is how the Transformers movies should of been like.  A prime example.  Every detail counts.  Love the science and explanations.  I'm still stunned.  Favorite movie of the year so far.  But, I don't want to hype it up too much for anyone.  I personally loved it.  I got excited about seeing this one that I did a Guillermo Del Toro movie  countdown, but, I should of done a giant monster movie marathon instead.  Oh well, at least I picked up the Criterion version of the original Godzilla.  Going to watch it tomorrow.  For now, let's hope this world is safe for at least tonight.

Vampire Thursday: Blacula

Blacula IMDb
Surprisingly awesome blaxploitation vampire movie we got here.  Decided to do Vampire Thursday this morning in order to watch Pacific Rim tonight.  High on my coffee fix, I ended up liking this movie.  It was cheesy and cool at the same time.  I love that there was a detective sub story.  It reminded me of an idea of a story I began writing a few years back (maybe I should continue and finish that story).  Blacula is about the black Dracula.  Actually, it was this innocent black guy who gets turned by the real Dracula back in the day.  He got locked up in a coffin to suffer for centuries.  Centuries went by and now we are in the soul 70's and somehow his coffin gets unlocked and now starts the bloody rampage.  I kind of feel sorry for him, though.  It wasn't his fault.  This is a tragic story.  Love the grindhouse/blaxploitation feel with dialogue and all.  Might have to add this one to my To Buy List.

Star Trek III: The Search For Spock

Star Trek III: The Search For Spock IMDb
This one is a bit slow but it was a nice touch in the Star Trek universe.  My favorite parts were in the second half.  "You Klingon Bastard! You killed my son."  Gotta appreciate Christopher Lloyd playing that Klingon bastard.  This movie was easier to follow than the previous two.  It had some weird moments like when they found this kid and he's supposed to be Spock.  Every few minutes, he ages.  Kirk was pretty cool here.  Beginning to like the character more here than I ever did.  This movie picks up right after the previous one.  And the adventures continue.  This is all about friendship, life on a dying planet, and of course more space explorations.  Unlike the last two, here we have more Klingon action.  Still, it was a bit slow but good thing the movie is short.  Another one bites the dust.

New Release Tuesday: Spring Breakers

Spring Breakers IMDb
The latest trippy movie by indie director, Harmony Korine (Director of Gummo, Julien Donkey Boy and Writer of Kids) was a bit disaster, a little too artsy, and I didn't feel it as a whole.  Yes, there's a lot of T & A, which helps with eye candy.  I didn't really care about these characters.  All of them should of died in the end and that would of made it a little better for me.  I've seen my fair share of hot women kicking ass and pulling a bunch of crime in movies (Faster Pussycat, Kill, Kill and I Spit in your Grave), this was trying to be too poetic and serious at times.  Other times seemed like a bad joke.  Cool to see James Franco in a role I've never seen before.  The award for a white guy playing a pimp, hustler, and hardcore gangster still goes to Gary Oldman for his role in "True Romance."  This movie here wasn't for me.   I should of put on one of the "Girls Gone Wild" videos instead.  That will make it up for this movie.  As a matter of fact, that sounds like a good idea right now.

Sleeping Dogs Lie

Sleeping Dogs Lie
Bobcat Freaking Goldthwait!  He strikes again with this one.  He directed this one before "World's Greatest Dad."  While I do prefer the latter and God Bless America more than this one, this one still kind of rules.  Dark romantic comedy.  How open can you be in a relationship?  That's the moral of the story. The main girl has a dark secret.  She gave a blowjob to her dog when she was in college. Is that something you should let your partner in life know?  Or some things are better left alone?  This had some cool moments.  Don't worry, nothing graphic.  The acting is a bit amateur and most of it feels like a home video (no, it's not my blu-ray player or tv).  That's just the way this movie was made.  Low budget!  Had a great time watching this.  And what a coincidence, last year for 4th of July, I saw "God Bless America."

New Release Tuesday: Tower Block

Tower Block IMDb
This movie had me stressed out.  Never knew who was going to get shot next.  So, kudos, for keeping me on my toes.  This was shown at Fantastic Fest last year but I was unable to make it to this screening.  Either I went into another screening or something else.  Pretty awesome flick.  The only part I thought was just okay, was the part when they reveal who the sniper is. It kinda makes the movie a little less awesome.  Still, I thought it was good overall.  I should see it again in the future to see if I like it as much even if know who the sniper is.  I like that there was a character that I hated so much in the beginning but later on I ended up liking that character.  Good writing!  As for our main character, the blond girl, she's badass as well.  Good British thriller.  

Samurai Monday: Swords of Vengeance

Swords of Vengeance IMDb
Long but awesome samurai movie.  This came with the Sonny Chiba Shogun Collection (even thought Sonny Chiba is hardly in these movies).  I saw two other movies from that set and I have to say, this one is probably my personal favorite.  I like the story.  Tragic!  It's hard for me to get into samurai movies.  That's one of the reasons for having Samurai Monday, to make myself watch them.  There's some that I love and others are just okay in my book.  I'm more into Kung Fu and Yakuza films when it comes to Asian cinema.  I like that this one starts off with the conflict.  It slowly develops to a great battle.  Lots of hara-kiri here (honorable suicide by a samurai).  This is directed by Kinji Fukusaku.  He's responsible for many great yakuza (gangster) movies and Battle Royale.  

This movie was served with Fried Rice, bloody Cherry Pie, and hot tea.