God Bless America (2011)

Back again. To get back in the swing of things I chose God Bless America. There are spoilers in this post and I'm sure it's going to be a little rough around the edges as it's been awhile.

On a mission to rid society of its most repellent citizens, terminally ill Frank makes an unlikely accomplice in 16-year-old Roxy.

Synopsis

This movie starts with a series of sad and unfortunate moments. Frank (Joel Murray) lays awake at night because his noisy neighbors and their kid keep him up, which spirals into him watching bad reality T.V. and cable "news" shows with idiotic commentary. He then goes to work in the morning, where everyone is discussing the bad singer on the notable singing show (modeled after American Idol). "Bro, you think you're too good to watch it?". Frank then gets fired from work because he sent flowers to a co-worker in an attempt to be nice, that came off as harassment. Things only get better when he finds out he has a brain tumor. 

Frank hits a wall, when watching something similar to "My Super Sweet 16" and seeing a girl break down because she got a Bentley instead of an Escalade; which then parallels his own life when his 10 year calls him screaming because she got a Blackberry instead of an iPhone. 

So he steals his neighbors car and drives down to where the brat who just turned 16 lives and kills her. This is where he meets Roxy (Tara Lynne Barr). Roxy is another girl at the school and believes things might be interesting if Frank is really committed to cleaning up the filth in society. She talks him out of killing himself and instead  going on a killing spree to set the world right. Given Roxy is from a trailer park family, where her step-dad abuses her Frank figures taking her along wouldn't be the worst thing she's been through.

Things proceed as planned.

They kill a high-profile figures that spread stupidity across America. Everything is very chaste though. Frank makes it very clear that he has no interest in Roxy. She's 16 and that would be inappropriate.

While stopped at a motel for the night, Frank is half watching the news, when he sees something that changes everything. Roxy's parents are trailer park trash, but a boring middle-class family, that wants their daughter back. Frank sends her packing. After he sends Roxy on, his doctor calls, only to tell him, he was looking at the wrong MRI and that he doesn't have a tumor. 

Frank then makes the decision to finish big.

Spoiler
The American-Idol-type show is having their finale and they singer that they made fun of in the auditions -- the one who can't sing, probably has a mental disability, and now has an album -- is suppose to perform. Frank sees this as intolerable. American making fun of the disabled; a guy who tried to kill himself a few weeks prior. 

So he heads to the arena where the show is, with a bomb and guns and takes the building hostage. He believes he is getting justice for the man they had teased, but comes to find out, he tried to kill himself, not because they were making fun of him, but because they hadn't initially invited him to perform at the finale. 

This is too much. Roxy's there and joins him in this final moment. Police surround the stage, but Frank and Roxy manage to kill the judges, the disabled guy and members of the audience before being brought down themselves.

Thoughts

Frank isn't wrong about the world, but perhaps it has  as much to do with entertainment, as the company he decides to keep. You don't have to be inflicted with bullshit. He choose to. He could have easily immersed himself into quality books, movies, and podcasts. Buck the trends that annoy you, but he didn't. 

Everything about Frank says repressed white guy who can't get it together. 

I have a hard time with people who romanticize American when people lived in the moment and we weren't hammered by what is considered "trash" media. They are partically asking for the world to regress back to virtually no rights for anyone, but straight white males. Sorry, but I find the premise of this troubling. 

All in all, this wasn't a favorite of mine. Bobcat Goldthwait wrote and directed it, I wish he had just made it bigger. Gone further with idea of ridding society of trash, as opposed to focusing of this relationship between 40-something Frank and 16-year-old Roxy. I just found the two kind of boring

A Good Day to be Black & Sexy (2008)

With a week from working from home, I'm trying to move through my queue and this has been sitting. Being black and considering myself fairly sexy, I thought watching A Good Day to be Black & Sexy (written and directed, Dennis Dortch) would be an appropriate movie. Plus, I want to watch more short films and this gave me a look of six at once.

What IMDb has to say:

A between-the-sheets peek at Black Love and Sexuality.

Synopsis

Reciprocity
The movie begins with spiraling music and the view of a woman's lust face as she gets eaten out. After her lover is finished with her. She rolls to the side ready for bed with no desire to give back. 

Her Man

We're transported to the bed of a couple having morning sex. There are taken out the moment of passion by a vibrating phone. The phone is finally picked up you realize the man is cheating and the woman is not pleased being the "side bitch". 

tonite (part i)

Two friends eating burgers on the side of the street hanging out for a woman's birthday. Things progress and the guy kicks the woman out of his car.

Reprise

A couple's in bed and they are experimenting. 

tonite (part ii)

The woman's two friends come pick her up with a guy and baby in tow. The two girlfriends keep leaving her sitting in the car awkwardly with the baby and the guy. In those moments she keeps trying to connect with him.

American Boyfriend

An interracial couple being happy until the woman's family comes over unexpectedly. 

Thoughts

The first couple women in this are spiteful, childish, and manipulative. I was afraid it was going to a portrait of these terrible women and show the community in a very unfavorable light. However, with every story the tone changed a bit.

American Boyfriend one was noticeably different from the others as it used sound effects and image blurs in a way not seem before in the movie. Also, the timeline of effects was scrambled a bit.

I appreciated the varied look of the black community. Light skin, dark skin, soulful, hood. I wished it had been more inclusive in the body type and background though. Being someone of bigger stature and more noticeably, of a suburban upbringing, that doesn't make me any less a part of the black community. But that's more of an overall evaluation of Hollywood's depiction as opposed to an overall critique of the movie.

It comes down to the same thing. The desire to be loved, cared for, and protected, and respected without pressure. The way the movie shapes it within the black community is beautiful, but those visceral emotions can be understood by all.

Between the fifth and sixth movie there is a montage of photos of mostly black woman. Portraits, paintings, candid shots, etc. It was random and seemed like something that would have been more interesting or effective if done differently. Perhaps once in the beginning and once at the end. Or a certain type between each vignettes. One of paintings, real life, actresses, etc. 

Reprise was the shortest of all and was actually the couple I wanted to see more of. I wish there had been more time on their story, then the two part story "tonight". I found tonight's protagonist the most relatable, but the most distasteful. However, that probably says more about me and my personal experience, than the story itself. 

I like this movie, but the differences in the last 15 mins. Stuck out. Between the montage and the way American Boyfriend was cut together, it seemed off. I think I understand what Dortch was going for, but I wished that all the stories were different in their own special way, or that it was all uniform. The way it was done, seems more like an afterthought, than artistic license. 

I rarely, notice soundtracks, this one, however, was special. It sang to parts of me.

I intentionally didn't dig too deep into each short film, as it's worth watching this for yourself. There's a lot of beauty and meaning behind what's not said, as opposed to what is. This was a movie that would have been more enjoyable to watch with someone. May it be your friends or your significant other, this movie will get you thinking about relationships and how they are handled by those in them.

Heckler (2007)

So, I've been very quite lately. Some because of work, but a lot because of this movie. I choose it because I enjoy hearing basement banter about the comedy world. I also, love documentaries. Documentaries would be hard for me to talk about so, I wanted something that could be enjoyed. It started with the basement banter but the movie, Heckler, is so much more. According to IMDb:

HECKLER is a comedic feature documentary exploring the increasingly critical world we live in. After starring in a film that was critically bashed, Jamie Kennedy takes on hecklers.

Synopsis

The movie is mingling of interviews with comedians and recordings of on stage acts. It starts off with comedians telling what hecklers are, re-telling horror stories of heckling and how they each decided to deal with the unruly. 

There then is a shift in the directions. "Why do people heckle?" Throughout the movie, scenes will stop, have text on them, and present another question. It's with this question in particular that the focus shifts from comedians to comedians and public figures at large. There's even a clip of President Ronald Reagan being heckled and how he responded. This serious shifts occurs only 10 minutes into the movie, but isn't jarring. More and more, we leave the realm of heckling and take a broader look at criticism in general, and the motives those who do it. Up until the last 15 minutes it was a great documentary that offered the "artists'" perspective on criticism. 

Thoughts

One thing that really stood out for me and something that I enjoyed, was the arrangement of the movie. This might be because I'm slightly OCD about organization, but it's something worth commenting on. As I described earlier, there are still shots with questions presented, and then 5-10 minutes of people talking about/answering that specific questions. With each question, the tone of the movie is slightly more somber. Thus, slipping into a conversation about criticism at-large, seems natural. Documentaries should capture real emotions and life how it really is. This movie does that. 

It's easy to be think this movie might be about a bunch of famous people complaining, but it's not. There are times when Kennedy comes off a little snotty, but it seems more as an act, kind of a comedy tick he has a hard time turning off. The people interviewed are all honest about times they bombed or about how, even though they've been in the business awhile, some stuff hurts.

To me, this wasn't really a comedy movie. Yes, there are comedians in it, and just moments are funny, but it's not a comedy. It's an interesting look at the nature of criticism. 

Jamie Kennedy is the tour guide of this movie. He's interviewing people who have gotten heckled, you see him bomb on stage, but he's also goes and meets those who have not just heckled him, but criticized his movie(s). I had mixed feelings about the time Kennedy was on screen. There were moments that were nice, but there were also a few unnecessary moments.

I won't talk about the last 15 minutes. I think the point was made and then someone forgot to edit off the last bit. 

Commandments (1997)

I'm not feeling well but that wasn't a good enough reason to abandon my task so, here goes a simple movie with a simple plot. The Commandments, according to Netflix:

It's pay back -- in spades -- when [an] exasperated and bitter man seeks vengeance against God by methodically breaking each of the Ten Commandments. 

Primer

So a quick list for those not aware. The ten commandments are:

1. Thou shall have no other gods before me.
2. Thou shall bring no false idols before me.
3. Do not take the name of the Lord in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.
5. Honor thy father and thy mother.
6. Thou shall not kill/murder.
7. Thou shall not commit adultery.
8. Thou shall not steal.
9. Thou shall not bear false witness against your neighbor
10. Thou shall not covet your neighbor's wife (or anything that belongs to your neighbor).

Plot

This is a late 90s movie so there are 3 different story lines happening simultaneously. 

Seth (Aidan Quinn) is in a bad place. His wife, Karen, is missing presumed dead, his house collapsed, he lost his job, got struck by lightening and his dog now has one leg that doesn't work. Needless to say, things haven't been going great, and he feels that God is mad at him; but that's besides the point, since he is mad at God too. 

Seth is staying with his brother-in-law, Harry (Anthony LaPaglia) and his wife, Rachel (Courtney Cox), Karen's sister. Harry isn't exactly a stand up guy. He's a journalist chasing a story about the chief of police and his mistress. Oh, but he's sleeping with the mistress, making her his mistress, too. Rachel is cute but a little naive. She's a lawyer for a big company. Currently, she's working a case where an older couple accidentally got an extra $250,000 in their bank account and now the bank wants to press charges in an attempt to get it back.

Now that you have the backbone let me tell you a little more about Seth.  He's Jewish and deeply religious, but with everything that has happened he felt it was time to strike back. He decides to systematically break all of the commandments, there by giving the middle finger to God.  

Seth starts slow and easy with the commandments (1-5) but after a late not fight with Harry, things change. Seth can see the hurt Harry is causing Rachel, but Harry dismisses him, telling him to leave his righteousness behind until he's broken some of the big ones. So Seth does.

Harry has a collection of rare and expensive guitars that he loves more than anything, so Seth steals them, puts them in the mistress' house and goes to the police station to "confess". He says the three of them plotted to move the guitars and call it a robbery just so they could split the insurance money. 

Things begin to devolve fairly quickly. Harry seeing Seth's quest as a personal attack. He can no longer be dismissive, he has to stop Seth.

Everything reaches a climax when Seth and Harry stand-off at a lighthouse at the peak of a storm. . . . but that's enough . . . spoilers.

Thoughts

This is a simple movie. There are no multiple layers here, just a simple story about losing faith in the face of desperation and loss. References to God and a few biblical stories, but altogether, straightforward. It moves at a fairly fast pace, so that there really isn't any opportunity to get bored as there's always another plot point presenting it's self. It's also fairly predictable. Once I knew the premise and the characters, I could see how Seth would begin to commit all his sins. 

During Seth's quest, he never really changes. Even though he is working to commit more heinous acts, in a way he's scientific about it.  Removing himself from the actions he feels he must do. I could see how some might see this as a flaw, but I appreciated this nuance. It could be construed as a flaw because it seems as though there are no real stakes. Seth appears to be disavowing religion, but in actuality he's chasing it. 

I enjoy Aidan Quinn as an actor and recognize he has an advantage. His eyes are a stunning blue and extremely captivating. The director took advantage of this. At every moment possible turn they do close ups of his eyes, having them penetrate into the soul of the viewer. I thought this was a little hammy. It wasn't the kind of movie that gained from using this technique over and over again. 

Aside from some of the hokey religious themes, I though this was a pretty good movie to enjoy. (NOTE: religious themes aren't hokey, just the way they are used in this movie was laying it on a bit thick.) It's definitely a movie of its time. Keep in mind, that this is not a serious dramatic work. Stakes aren't as important as moving the plot along to its conclusion. Serious questions are asked, but I can't imagine anyone watching this, can really expecting a thoughtful answer. If anything this movie is not so much about religion, as it is about the transference of fortune. 

The Babysitters (2007)

Yup, yesterday was a freebie. No. . . not really. I meant to schedule it but ended up publishing it instead. Figured that was my mistake and deciding to do another posting for today so that I could honor my Tuesday/Friday schedule. Anyways, I freely admit this movie is a little gross. I tend to watch Netflix on my Kindle and when I look at a movie, they automatically suggest four others. You can go down this rabbit hole of seeing other recommendations for awhile. I think I choose this one a little haphazardly. But I finish what I start, so here is The Babysitters, according to IMDb:

A teenager turns her babysitting service into a call-girl service for married guys after fooling around with one of her customers.

Oh, there will be a spoiler alert. You might not need it. The movie is less than 90 minutes long and could be used to kill time, however, it's also a little creepy and not something everyone would necessarily want to watch. 

Plot

The movie starts with, Shirley in jeans, a see-through white tee with no bra walking through a house full of older men and teenage girls snuggled up together. She narrates that giving fellatio for money is no more demeaning than flipping burgers. She then cuts to the beginning of the story.

Shirley (Katherine Waterston) is a high school student being told to think about the SATs  and college. At home, her parents seem simple but look out for her. She's a bit mousy, with thick pull-over sweaters and plain brown hair parted in the middle. Scheduled to babysit, but not having a car, Michael (John Leguizamo), the dad, comes to pick her up.

On the way back to drop her off he gets her a burger at a diner because her stomach is growling. Not yet wanting to go home, he takes her to this place with abandoned trains. They then proceed to make out. Initially, we never see more than that but it's implied, as the movie cuts to them back in the car. He looks worried, but she looks stoic. After dropping her at home and asking her not to say anything, he hands her a wad of money  totaling $200.

Shirley in a sex-ed class and Michael sitting in a marketing meeting. Other scenes  flash by, depicting  the two living their lives as normal. End of the day, Michael is at the same diner with his kids and Shirley is sitting outside with friends. All of a sudden Michael's wife, Gail (Cynthia Nixon), comes over and asks her to babysit again. This begins their ongoing play-for-pay relationship. 

Shirley's friend, Melissa (Lauren Birkell), coaxes the information out of her about her babysitting job and Michael confides in his friend, Jerry (Andy Corneau). Next thing you know people are getting set up. Shirley asking for 20%, just to keep it far, since she's booking all the gigs. Things keep evolving and Shirley gets business cards made.

After awhile, things start to go wrong. Michael is getting jealous of Shirley seeing other guys, and a girl, Nadine (Halley Wegryn Gross), gets involved. Nadine is Brenda's (Louisa Krause) step sister. She doesn't want to give a cut of her money to Shirley so starts using her own girls. Shirley and Melissa see this as encroaching on their territory and can't stand for it. The two take Michael and proceed to trash the school to make a point. It works though. It gets everyone in line.

After that, all the guys (eight) and girls (six) go on a "retreat". Jerry has a cabin in the woods, and for two days they all take turns having sex and take ecstasy to keep things going. But when everyone comes back, Brenda is different. She wants out, and bails on a babysitting job, calling her step brother to come pick her up. This sparks Nadine to start cancelling appointments out of spite as well.

Thoughts

I think if a movie is going to have a controversial theme then it should be interesting and compelling. I don't know if this is. Maybe. . . kind of. I've seen enough porn and the babysitter theme is prominent. This is the movie version of the surrounding events. The beginning of the movie is uncomfortable. Especially for someone who's not sure what they are getting into watching this.The middle has you kind of wrapped up in the glory of Shirley's business venture and eventually, the sharks involved. The end gets you back to uncomfortable and tense place. 

I wouldn't say this is a bad movie by any means. The men in the movie do an okay job acting (John Leguizamo hits and misses in places). Some of the guys in the periphery of the movie really stand out though. It's all about the girls though. They each have their own personality and are doing it for their own reasons. The actresses who play Brenda, Melissa, and Nadine all bring something interesting to an otherwise sleazy film. 

Some movies are good, but not something you watch twice. Requiem for a Dream, Trainspotting, and now The Babysitters are on that list for me.

After I finished writing this, I realized there as was still something bothering me. A flaw in this movie, I can't really justify or see past. All these guys have a lot on the line; family, jobs, children, and wives. Not mention, all the girls are minors and this is illegal. The girls are enterprising, but not self-reliant. These guys are putting everything on the line by being with these girls and doing things beyond a quick in the car. One scene in particular. I won't spoil it, but I will say it involves masks. I more than understand sex is a powerful desire, but these guys are acting stupidly. At $200-300 a session, they all have money, thus you would think they would be smart enough not to ruin the lives they've built.

Spoiler Alert

Upset at work and at home Michael calls up Shirley, taking her to the train depot again. He asks her to only be with him, but she refuses, getting angry at him for making their arransentimental. When a cop sees him at the abandoned train depot he leaves her there. Pissed, she walks to a pay phone trying to get in touch with Nadine or Brenda, their (step) brother denies her access saying Brenda's busy and Nadine's babysitting. That's the line. With her suspicions confirmed, Shirley calls Melissa, who's with Jerry, and they get Jerry to pick her up and go to the spot Nadine usually works.

Jerry busts into the guys truck and Melissa and Shirley yank Nadine out and hold her over a bridge. A moment happens, with the two, being so ruthless, they almost drop her, but Jerry pulls her back over. When the scare is over, Shirley looks over to realize the guy who was in the truck with Nadine is her dad.

Assassination of a High School President (2008)

So, I've decided that I'm doing to try post regularly on Tuesdays and Fridays. This particular movie has been in my queue for awhile. It looked fun and corny, plus I'm a fan of Bruce Willis. The older he gets the more fun he has with roles. Assassination of a High School President according to IMDb:

At a Catholic high school, the popular girl teams up with a sophomore newspaper reporter to investigate a case of stolen SAT exams. Once the duo target their suspects, a larger conspiracy is unearthed.

I again will forego providing any spoiler alerts. The ending of this movie needs to be watched. There's a slight twist that I don't want to spoil. Also, if you enjoy quirky mysteries you'll probably end of enjoying this too.

Plot

Bobby (Reece Thompson), a sophomore and aspiring journalist starts by setting the scene for what his high school is like. He narrators his life as though he's Dick Tracy. He's a part of the school newspaper, just barely. He's never completed a story, but is trying to get into a Northwest University Journalism Program. He's assigned the task of writing a puff piece on the student council president, Paul Moore (Patrick Taylor), but changes his course when the SATs testing booklets go missing and the president's girlfriend, Francesca (Mischa Barton), asks him to look into it. Upon some light digging he finds Paul has been acting suspiciously and doesn't have an alibi. He writes a piece implicating him. This piece gets Paul removed from office, suspended and detention until the end, and kicked out Cornell for which he was already accepted. The piece has the opposite effect on Bobby. It helps him get rocketed in the popular circle, short listed for the Northwestern program and dating Francesca. 

However, Paul's cry of innocence still ring in Bobby's ears so he keeps chasing the story. After checking out the story's of all the "delinquent" students, he moves on to those who seem above suspicion. His new placement with the inner circle allows him greater access to the people Bobby believes is at the heart of this mystery, the rest of the student council.

By pursuing this story Bobby has made the decision to antagonize the most powerful group in his school, but aside from Paul's insistence that he's innocent, he also has to prove to Northwestern that he's a good journalist and will check his facts until the story is solid. 

Thoughts

So I enjoyed this movie and if I were the type of person to movies on repeat would. But I get why this movie wasn't received with open arms. Plus, I am very aware that my taste in movies isn't necessarily for everyone. There are a lot of adult themes that enter this movie about high school. Gambling, rape, drugs, alcohol, nudity, the sexualization of minors. This is definitely an adult movie that just happens to be set in high school.

The are a lot of red herrings in this movie, and I actually enjoyed them. Most of them were divergent story lines that served the purpose of world building. This also would terrify any parent. In this story lines we see Bobby:

• Visiting a public high school, where Paul had a secret black girlfriend
• Going to a fraternity house where game fixing and gambling help keep the brothers stocked in beer
• A high school party with lots of sex, drugs, and beer

Out of all of the cast I thought Bruce Willis really shined in this movie. As the only adult with a reoccurring presence it's hard not to notice him, but the earnestness he brings to his character is fantastic. He is the high school principle, a former marine, slightly racist and someone will NOT tolerate gum chewing in school. While this character is tough on the students I think Willis brought this kindness to the role that another actor may not have. Instead of being this truly hateful character through and through, he gave you something to like about Principal Kirkpatrick. 

The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle (2009)

So this movie left me a little confounded. I suppose sometimes that's a good thing, but yea . . . still not sure what to make of this. I'm going to avoid a spoiler alert, since if I do this right, I think you'll want to watch this until the end. The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle according to IMDb:

After he loses his high-paying job, Dory takes a gig as a night janitor in order to pay rent. Alone late at night inside a market research firm, he soon discovers the company is experimenting on their other janitors ...

Plot Points 

So Dory's (Marshall Allman) sitting on the bluffs of a cliff reading the Bible and sees a message in a bottle floating up. He goes to reach for it, but falls in; can't get the bottle uncorked, so he smashes it and cuts his hand on glass; and when he finally reads the message, it says, "Fuck You". Thus starts Dory's meltdown. At work the constant office chattering leads him to freaking out and quit his job. On the way out a guy gives him a card where he can get a job as a janitor. After countless interviews, Dory caves in and goes to get a job with Spiffy Jiffy Janitorial Services.

At SJJS he meets a group of alternative-punk outsiders. There's O.C. (Vince Vieluf) who shows him the tricks and tips of the building. How to clean the bathroom, where to get thrown out food, rooftop access. Then there's Methyl (Tygh Runyan) and Ethyl (Tania Raymonde). They get the job done, but also find time to fuck on conference tables.

Soon into the story, Dory finds a wrapped cookie in the trash and tries it. Tracy (Natasha Lyonne) works at the office and catches him eating the cookie. She jokes that they are thermal cookies that are suppose to give you the feeling of warm home-baked cookie with every bite. Tracy mentions how a new batch has been tested and invites him to attend a focus group to determine the best taste. Dory and O.C. attend and from their, and other's expressions, many of the cookies are not good but one stands out.

Back at work, Dory is catching on. He quickly finds his rhythm and how to get a job done quickly. He's busting through his work one day, when a bathroom stall, with a huge mess, seriously alarms him. There's blue goo in the toilet and Dory believes something's moving around in it. He calls the others to help. They are in awe of the mess and call it a "Grade A Blowout".  They take a picture, flush, and move on to complete their tasks. 

Cut to Tracy and her boss talking about the results. They have found the right formula for the taste, however, are still concerned about one little testing abnormality. It seems that men test subjects experience serious stomach trouble from eating the cookies. To get a closer look at what happens Tracy proposes "giving" the cookies to the janitors. They leave them in bowls around the office and place a garage bag full of the them in the trash. They can't get enough. 

Overtime, you see the group eating the cookies, but the relationships start to alter. Tracy has been working her way into the group by getting closer with Vince. Methyl and Ethyl have had some problems. Aside from all the drugs, Dory slept with Ethyl. And them Ethyl goes mysteriously missing. Vince then comes into some money that lets him pursue his post-modern toilet art, effectively quitting SJJS. All this happens while the guys are dealing with constant stomach problems and vibrant hallucinations. 

Dory soon gets suspicious of Tracy's presence and the constant availability of the cookies. He imagines they are being used as guinea pigs and that the blue goo in the toilet is only a glimpse of what's going to happen to them. 


Afterthoughts

Something that's not really explored through conversation, but rather subtext and imagery is Dory's longing for peace and guidance and answers. He dabbles into several difference religions including what I assume is protestant Christianity to Hare Krishna. The beginning of the movie even has images of a T.V. evangelist preaching and kind of breaking the fourth wall by goading Dory into action.

I'm pretty sure I would recommend this movie. Not to people who see only what's popular and critically acclaimed. I don't think they would appreciate this. This is for people who like movie's with something to say. Now I'm not sure that the movie delivered what it hoped to, however, it's an original movie that allows you to walk out and discuss. You can discuss the layers or simply say, "What the fuck did I just watch?"

Riese (2009)

I'm Back

I know. I've been gone and completely inconsistent. I have a few days off and will be blasting through my queue on Netflix. The first one I chose to re-emerge with is Riese. As IMDb says:

Riese, a seemingly random wanderer, is being hunted by a terrifying religious cult, The Sect. Traveling from nation to nation for years, she is accompanied only by a wolf, Fenrir. Together they must evade the assassins sent by the Sect - who'll stop at nothing to complete the task they failed to achieve many years ago. 

Before I explain anything I need to admit something. For this blog I work hard not to look into any details at all. I choose the movie and as I'm writing I get on IMDb quickly to find the synopsis and links. But that's it. I cheated with this one, but mostly because once I was a half hour in, something felt wrong. The creation felt disjointed and incomplete. In fact, as I was watching I took the note that a lot of world building needed to happen and that it was better suited as a mini-series on Encore. Turns out this is a prelude to a webseries. You can probably find the rest of it on Hulu and/or YouTube. All that to say: I would spoil this movie just to save you from it, but I can't because that would require me to watch the rest of it and I'm not doing that. 

Synopsis

So, before I tear into this movie I'll give you a brief synopsis. Riese (Christine Chatelain) is a princess and on her 16th birthday her family is slaughtered so that her cousin, Amara (Sharon Taylor), may rule. Many years later, it is discovered that Riese is still alive. Amara, enraged, tells The Sect to find her. Since the beginning of Amara's reign, The Sect has infiltrated many villages, but a Resistance arose. They believe Riese to still be alive and fight to restore Riese to the throne and the tyranny of The Sect.

Soon into the movie, Riese suffers an injury, but avoid death because of her loyal wolf Fenrir. She asks for a room at a near-by village, but before she can be properly shooed away, she passes out. She awakes bandaged in a hospital bed. Though she is weak, she knows the Royal symbol on her back makes her a target for any Sect spies and thus works to leave hastily. On her way out she sees a room full of babies, which is unusual in these times. The doctor explains that women in the village are to give birth within the same month. At that moment a woman comes screaming in that someone took her baby. 

This sets the scene for Trennan (Patrick Gilmore). He is a Sect member who liaises between Amara's court and The Sect. He is cruel and disregards much of what Amara says but wants to find Riese. When she looking for the secret of babies, Trennan is on her trail and comes close to finding her, but she eludes him.

Next Riese is off to another township. However, when she arrives, it is obvious that this place has been abandoned for along time. Her and Fenrir stay the night to rest up. When she awakes she realizes she may not be alone. A young boy shows himself and lures her to where many others await. They are demented and have weapons, but she finds a building where a man lets her in and rescues her. 

However, it is soon clear this man is not friend, but a member of The Sect. He tells her how her little brother survived and was taken by The Sect. He is the chosen one but first they had to "fix" him. They tested the operation on a boy they referred to as the prototype and then executed the surgeries masterfully on him. It is then revealed that Trennan, the man who has been searching for her, is actually her brother. He works for The Sect, but his intentions toward Riese are still unclear. 

The prototype still lives in the village and barges in on the man and Riese. He kills the man and then runs after Riese when she attempts to escape. Fenrir wards off the boys and when Riese and the prototype fight she has no choice but to kill him. 

Riese goes off into the woods, but is confronted by Sect henchmen. When she thinks she is about to die, members of the resistance appear and save her. The movie ends with a stand off of the resistance and The Sect, with both Riese and Trennan facing each other.  

Thoughts

So, this movie has elements of a steampunk, dystopian world that is set in Sherwood Forest. Dystopianism, while always a genre, seems to have become quite in vogue the last five years, plus I enjoy the creativity that steampunk brings out in designers. Unfortunately, this movie let me down in the first ten minutes. Here my list of troubles:

• Exposition with obvious narration throughout. My God this was annoying. If a movie has to use narration, it should tell me something I don't know, or is hard to understand. In this instance it was used to restate facts that the characters had JUST spoken. Narration can often add to the essence of a movie by giving you knowledge from a wise, unseen storyteller. It didn't work in this case. It really just distracts.

• A map as prop used ineffectively. This may be a new tick I formed by watching Game of Thrones. GoT uses the map well and does a good job of dividing the land and helping the viewer/reader understand how the kingdom is divided and the characteristics of those particular people. The movie did not do that. The map was an ill-properly issued visual.

• No real sense of the antagonists. When Amara was the main antagonist it was clear what her motivation was. Get rid of Riese once and for all. However, when the new element of The Sect began to emerge it was not really clear who they are. I understand they wish to undermine Amara, but that's it. The tag line talks about a religious cult, but all you ever see is a simple secret ceremony. I think the story would have done some wonderful things by exploring the workings of The Sect. As it is now, the writers would have done better by calling them a dissenting regime, or given the group a name like the Bolsheviks.

• A resistance that exists but that is of no use until the end. Self-explanatory. The movie would cut to them for two minutes to check in. But it was actually distracting to the story. It would have been interesting to make them a mythical group that emerges at the end.

• Plot goes no where. When Riese is at the hospital and finds that the babies are being shipped to another lcoation I thought this would be a major item to explore. They did not. I don't understand what they were trying to do, but it would have been interesting to see what was happening with the babies and maybe it tied into the demented boys at the second village. This simply asked more questions than were answered.

• Mislabeled as fantasy, barely science fiction. No elements of this story ring as fantasy and not really science fiction. I suppose the operations on Trennan and the prototype make it kind of sci-fi, but it feels like a stretch. Steampunk to me is a fashion statement, but not a genre of movie and literature. Categorizing it as such, seemed like a way to lure in a certain audience and frankly, it was a cheap trick. 

Overall, I think it's obvious I think this is a waste of time. It's probable that a lot of my complaints and questions are answered in the webseries, however, I'm not invested enough to seek it out. I will say this though. This movie had a very ambitious story to tell. I don't think all was executed properly, but I think in the right hands it could be a fantastic movie/mini-series/book. 

The Sorcerer and the White Snake (2011)

I have a younger brother. We tend to live out lives on opposite schedule's so when we get a chance to chill we tend to maximize our time. After talking about what's been going on we decided to watch a movie. I only  had two rules, nothing too serious, and something under 90 minutes. He came back with The Sorcerer and the White Snake. There will be a spoiler alert below.

A master monk tries to protect a naive young physician from a thousand-year-old snake demon. A contest of psychic powers results in mayhem.
Summary
The first scene of this movie is how I thought The Last Airbender was going to be throughout. Magnificent battle scenes using magic while flying through the air. We introduced to a monk --Abott Fahai (Jet Li)-- and his assistant-- Xu Xian (Raymond Lam)-- and what it is they do. They capture demons who harm/would harm humans. 

Next we meet a green snake and a white snake. They take the form of a woman's head and torso and a long flowing snake body. They are playing on there own in a forest when they take a moment to rest on a cliff and see some humans digging for herbs.The green snake knocks a man into a river and the white snake transforms into a human to dive down and rescue him. 

The white snake is smitten with this herbalist, and her and the green snake go to celebration in town to seek him out. He is there but so are the two monks seeking out another demon. The White Snake manages to get time with the herbalist and reminds him of who she his. She only is in human form with him and thus he never really knows her true identity. During this time the Green Snake and the young monk talk a bit and joke, but then the monk has to get down to business. He goes to fight a bat demon. He successfully kills the minions, but the demon grabs him and bites him, forcing him to call of the help of his master.

The next morning the young monk wakes to learn he his transforming into a bat demon himself. Abbot Fahai knows of his plight, but let's him go off on his own.

From here it gets a bit boring. A lot of plot that doesn't necessarily advance the storyline. One thing of note is that the Abbot Fahai visits the herbalist about a village that is falling ill. The herbalist pledges to try to find a blend of medicine that will help the villagers. The White Snake hear's this and sets out to help her now husband. She uses her life source force in the blend. This helps the village, but she is weakened. 

When the Abbot goes to the village to see the recovery of the people he immediately knows that magic is involved. He gives the herbalist a special knife and tells him to be careful. He then warns the White Snake off and tells her to leave. Despite her doing good, she is still a demon and must leave, before he makes her do so.
That night see goes home and her husband unknowingly poisons her with a traditional wine that wards off snake bites. The Abbot and his disciples then use magic to capture her in the house. Weakened she forms into her true snake form. Her husband, not knowing it's her stabs her with the knife given to him. 

There long is strong and a back and forth ensues, with them trying to save each.


Thoughts
The movie came off as a spoof. I don't think that was intended, however, the first half of the movie seemed to be like Kung Fu Hustle.

I'm not sure if it's how the movie was written or the editing, but the movie had such a staccato pattern. Jumping from idea to idea and adding attributes to the story that were unnecessary. The movie was right around the 90 minute mark, but it could have easily been shorter, if the story had been tighter. 

Given personal experience, this movie spoke to me on a difference level. It seems to be kind of a commentary on interracial relationships. Mainly the intolerance for them. Abbot Fahai is a conservative traditionalist, and refuses to believe that the relationship between the herbalist and the White Snake, could ever work. He bases this belief on those demons what have done the world wrong, however, if the White Snake's friends (woodland creatures who can talk) are anything to go by, demons are all around the world, and don't seek to trouble others. Yes there are those who do, but that can be said for the humans as well. There is never a real resolution to this. It seems that humans and demons can live side by side, but the idea of loving each other is still taboo. 

The problem with this may stem from the word demon. Such a harsh word, in encompassing those things that are born magical and different. 


Spoiler Alert
The herbalist goes to the monks temple to get a special root that will save her. He finds it but a bunch of demons enter his body. A mouse demon take the root to the White Snake. The monks try to restore the herbalist. The White Snake, now recovered, comes to get her love. The monks won't let her, since they are doing a ritual that can't be interrupted. She becomes an even larger snake and her and the Green Snake wreak havoc on the village where the monks live. The herbalist is free from the trance, but doesn't remember her at all. Furious, the White Snake seeks vengeance on the Abbot. The Abbott beats her and seals her into a temple. Realizes the trouble she has caused she asks Buddha forgiveness and the chance to see her husband once more. This chance is granted to her. She kisses him and he remembers her. She then this pulled back into her tower, where she is sentenced to be for the next 1000 years. The herbalist, makes a new home outside her temple.

The movie ends with the Abbot and his young assist (that turned into a demon) finding a way to live in peace and help each other.

Luv (2012)

Expectations

I haven't really watched a "black movie" in awhile. I want to support the actors and actresses doing good things on behalf of the community I belong to, but I also will not support watching caricatures presented in Hollywood as gospel. It does nothing to advance the race and people outside of cities never get a chance to understand who we are and the struggles we go through. So in the Netflix indie category I found Luv and decided it was time to try again.

So, according to IMDb:

An 11-year-old boy gets a crash course in what it means to be a man when he spends a day with the ex-convict uncle he idolizes.

In a Nutshell

The film takes place in Baltimore, Md and starts with a young boy -- Woody (Michael Rainey, Jr.) -- going through his morning routine with a bit of a voice over. He then goes down for breakfast with his grandmother (Lonette McKee) and Uncle Vincent (Common). Within the first five minutes you start to understand the world you are about to be immerse in: 

• Vincent is recently out of jail. 
• The paper Vincent's reading tells of a gangland rivalry heating up and becoming deadly.
• Woody idolizes his cool "Unc". 
• Woody's mother is in North Carolina, for reasons we don't know, but can speculate are because she's dealing with personal issues. 
• Woody's grandmother is getting too old to take care of him. 
• Vincent, now out of jail is looking to get a loan and start a business; he doesn't want to be beholden to a boss, but run things himself.

Vincent is a loving but hard-edged uncle. He jokes with his nephew and asks him questions about his life (and the world at-large since he was away eight years), but expects Woody to be a man. Unafraid, proper disposition, and good with the ladies. Vincent takes Woody to school and upon Woody posturing about "shorties" he "hollas at" and then not being man enough to talk to the cutest girl at school, Vincent drives off. He tells Woody not to lie to him and that they would hang together today so that he can teach him how to be a man and how to handle business. Woody becomes Vincent's shadow.

This journey begins mild enough with trips to a tailor and visiting an old friend (Charles S. Dutton) to get a fake ID, which he then takes to a bank. Vincent is hoping to refinance his mother's house so that he can open a crab shack on the harbor. Good music. Great vibe. Upon hearing from the bank manager that the house is leverage up to its eyes and needs a payment of $22,000 before Monday to stay foreclosure, Vincent starts making moves. He begins to re-enter a circle of friends he had left behind for jail.

He goes to see Mr. Fish (Dennis Haysbert) for the initial money to pay the house down. He's not home, but his older brother Arthur (Danny Glover) tells where he can be found. It's obviously Fish runs things. Legit and illegal. Before Fish will even think about helping Vincent, he expects him to do a run for him like back in the day. Vincent's determined to make this happen and agrees. This movie then descents into Vincent exposing his nephew to this drug world. Picking up the drugs, almost being killed making a drop off, old rivalries with guys who wonder how he got out of jail 12 years early.Through all this Vincent takes time out to teach Woody how to shoot a gun, drive a car, and to not wear skinny jeans too tight so he can "protect his balls".  

I really don't want to give away too much because I want to encourage everyone to see it. No spoilers from me.

I will say this, Woody's last lesson in this movie is about how to crack a crab. Having lived in Northern Virginia most of my life and having family in Maryland. I have indulged in crabs every summer since I was five. Cracking crab is a lesson that not just a man should know, but everyone.

Extras

Throughout this movie it's easy to get caught up in Vincent and his story, but don't. This is a coming-of-age tale for Woody. You have to remember to see things from his eyes. As an 11-year old boy, people often talk over him or not at all. You won't get all the answers, because Woody doesn't have all the answers.

While the ending came a little fast, hard and leaving me with questions about these characters, I really loved this movie. All the acting was brilliant. There were moments when actors were truly distraught and I was too. The ending leaves a little to be desired, but you can't always tie endings into a neat package.

As for this being a "black movie", I don't want to condescend and put this movie into a box it doesn't deserve. This a great movie with a black cast. I do wish it weren't told around the tale of drugs and gangs, however, everyone needs their story told. For someone out there, I have no doubt this is their story -- if not slightly fictionalized. These characters weren't over written or over acted. The presence of some of the smaller roles wasn't embellished to make this world seem more dangerous. Quite the opposite. I believe the danger was embellished by the quiet that was used.

The Stuff (1985)

Expectations

I'm back! So, I think I've mentioned this but horror movies aren't my thing; however, after missing last week I felt kind of obligated to find something within the genre. I watched the most ludicrous B horror movie: The Stuff. Came out the same year I was born, and yes, it is painfully obvious that this is an 80s movies. So according to IMDb:

A delicious mysterious goo that oozes from the Earth is marketed as the newest dessert sensation. But the sugary treat rots more than teeth when zombie-like snackers begin infesting the world.

The name of the movie alone helps you understand how generic and lazy this movie is, not to mention once you start watching and realize why it's named "The Stuff". Since I know some people are into old 80s horror, there will be no spoiler today.

In a Nutshell

The movie gets started quickly, with the first ten minutes introducing characters and foreshadowing how it's about to get freaky.

The movie starts with a worker walking through some industrial area where it's snowing. As he's walking he sees some white stuff moving around, that's clearly not snow. He touches it with his finger and then does the most logical thing possible.  He eats it. He discovers this white stuff taste pretty good.

Cut to a young boy, Jason (Scott Bloom), about 10 waking up in the middle of the night and going down to the kitchen to get a snack. He opens the refrigerator door to find a carton of "The Stuff" (now referred to as, TS) spilled out of the container and moving around. A second later his father appears and TS is back in the container, still, albeit turned over.

A quick commercial about TS, with a woman saying how she now loves TS more than ice-cream now.

Next up, we see business men on a yacht out on the cusp of some harbor. They're ice-cream men and are worried about their profits with TS coming into grocery stores and winning consumers over. They bring on Mo (Michael Moriarty) to help them with a little company espionage. They tried to go through the regular routes of asking the FDA, but mysteriously everyone that helped get TS approved is unavailable for some reason or another.

Just so you can have a visual, TS looks kind of like Fluff.

Dafuq?

Now it starts to get "good". We follow Mo and Jason as they are both ever more skeptical about TS and searching for answers about what it does, where it comes from, and resisting eating it.

Mo enlist the help of Nicole (Andrea Marcovicci) the ad/pr/marketing exec who helped launch TS. Jason? Well Jason resist eating it at any cost. He's even in the grocery store and flips out in a big way. He goes through wreaking displays, breaking the glass to the coolers and allowing displays to be spilled all over the floor. Once at home, he fakes eating it, by filling a carton with shaving cream instead.

Mo goes around to chemist, the one FDA official available, and going through to the small town where TS was originally found. He meets Chocolate Chip Charlie (Garrett Morris) down here. CCC was drove out of business because of TS.

Little by little we start to see how TS is making people crazy. This low-fat, delicious choice is making everyone neglect all else. No real food. They don't get tried and are neglectful of everything that doesn't help them get more of TS.

Eventually Mo, Andrea, and Jason, go to Georgia to go to the plant and figure out what's really going on. Yup. They bring a 10yr old along. Safest place? Debatable. 

Let me say this. My thoughts might be choppy, but that's because the movie is edited that way. Very choppy. Also, I'm not really sure how this is a true horror movie. More of a cheap thriller. I'm use to horror movies that scare you (psychologically or with gore) within the first 20 at the most. This movie never really got scary. At times, it even seemed like a propaganda piece about American consumerism and eating.

Once down in GA, the three realize that TS comes right from some weird geyser in the earth. They're out of their depth when it comes to getting rid of it all so enlist the help of  Colonel Malcolm Grommett Spears (Paul Sorvino). Spears is an army colonel who lives with his troops off the beaten path. He's also, fascist, racist, conservative and paranoid about the government he works for.

I'll stop there.  I don't want to give too much away. There's still a fun-filled 30mins I haven't described yet.

Extras

For those who enjoy terrible old horror movies, I can't recommend it. This movie manages to move fast but still too slow where the action is concerned. Plus no questions are answered. 

There are a lot of famous people in this movie. Fun fact. Three Law and Order alums appear in this movie. Michael Moriarity, Paul Sorvino and Eric Bogosian (who initially went uncredited). I can't imagine why they all did this movie. I don't know if they were slumming it, or if they genuinely thought this move was to be an awesome horror movie.

Finding Bliss (2009)

Expectations

I'm so sick of these gloomy movies. I wanted a comedy. Hence, I found Finding Bliss. Which, P.S. Netflix has a sub-genre of comedies called "Late-Night Comedy". Perhaps you knew this, I however, did not, expect me to be pulling from this category more frequently. There will be a spoiler alert at the bottom, however, this movie is quite predictable, thus you could probably figure out the ending on your own. (BTW, I'm trying a new format) Finding Bliss, according to IMDb:

A romantic comedy that explores the adult film industry through the eyes of an idealistic 25 year-old award winning film school grad.

This movie is kind of what I hoped Elektra Luxx would be. A funny take on the porn industry. Maybe some behind the scenes action.  

This movie is actually why I started this project. Well, not this movie specifically, but I wanted an eclectic mix of good and bad movies that were worth watching.

This might not be for everyone as far as the love stuff goes, but it has some fun comedy moments that kind of gave me what I needed after a long week.

Oh and let me say here the film art is not at all indicative of the movie, at least, not with those characters

In a Nutshell

Jody Balaban (Leelee Sobieski) is an ivy-league film graduate determined to make it in the industry. The movie starts with her showing the downfalls of her sexual history; talking openly about sex to her parents, failed spin the bottle, an awful de-flowering story (but let's be honest, who's first time is all that magical?). Yeah, Jody is sexually repressed, but okay with that. She's far more focused on her career anyway. 

After sending her screenplay and the student film she created out to everyone in the industry unsuccessfully she finally receives a call for an interview. Within the first five minutes of the interview she realizes that while she's being asked to be an editor, she's also in a porn -- excuse me, "adult entertainment"-- studio. The director of this studio has a vision of creating a porn that can be seen in art houses and thinks Jody will help him accomplish this goal. Horrified at first, she soon accepts, as she figures she'll work during the day and create her own movie at night.

She begins the filming process illicitly after hours and soon gets caught. The actors she hires get scared off from the movie once they realized that they are even tangentially linked to a porn studio. Jody is in a bind and hires the pornstars to be the actors in her movie as well. Oh, and her boss, Jeff Davis (Matthew Davis), whom she has some serious unrealized chemistry with, once he finds out, allows her to continue filming provided she buys her own film and and helps re-write his movie, which, by the way is called, "Finding Bliss"

In case you're curious, Finding Bliss is about a woman who voluntarily gets gangbanged just before her wedding. Classy stuff. Jody's movie is art imitating life. It's about a sexually repressed idealists who doesn't want to have sex too early and be considered a slut.

The rest of my synopsis will be at the bottom in the spoiler alert.  It's not a deep movie and fairly predictable.

DaFuq?

I'll be honest, while I enjoy occasionally acting really snooty and bourgeoisie, I enjoy a good (or bad) dick joke more. This movie did not disappoint. Right away they poked fun at porn titles: Gladiator = Glad He Ate Her and Charlie's Angels = Charlie's Anals. They even made a "dick in the box joke". No, it's not comedy gold, but it is a nice pop culture reference. And every time they said "come", I could just hear the double entendre in my head.

Aside from Sobieski, you'll recognize Denise Richards (who didn't do a bad job); Jamie Kennedy (who really just played every role he's ever done; and you may recognize Davis. He's done some movies and T.V. but he honestly he just looks like every cocky guy at a bar. Go out tonight, you'll see what I mean.

This movie is the lowest common denominator and that's what I enjoyed about it, but what I didn't like, is that they didn't play that up. The movie is too long. this is a semi-filthy, dumb movie, you don't have to give me some great closure and ending with a tiresome build up. I get it the Princess will end up with her Prince some way or another. I just stopped caring at a point. I'm realizing that I just got sick of Jody. Whimpering women wear me down. Yes, I respect the career-woman-driven-young-and-hungry attitude. I get it. I live it. But at some point I get sick of watching you fail at love. Especially when you're hot and people would be dying to be in your position.

I enjoyed Jody's BBF Kathleen (Donnamarie Recco). She's successful, sexually open, and totally okay with the knowledge that some of the guys she's been with have been absolute losers. There's always a colleague of Jody's who quite entertaining: Gary (P.J. Byrne). He's awkward, an over-sharer and has weird sexual quirks.  Naturally he and Kathleen make an awesome couple. 

On a totally separate note, what happened to Leelee Sobieski? I remember her being touted as this rising  star who was on the verge of true Hollywood acclaim. 

Spoiler Alert

Jody's sexually repressed. Jeff's cocky (see what I did there?) but not what he seems to be. At some point they're going to want each other, but first, their love has to struggle. They decide to be official, but then at a drunken party, Jeff is hit on by another woman. Jody walks in not even bothering for an explanation. She proceeds to say some hurt things

Cut to the premiere of her movie which is received well, but no one from the studio attends. This turns out to be because they're at the AVN's Annual Award in Vegas and Jeff is slated to win an award. Jody rushes out to Vegas and there and on stage, her and Jeff reconcile. I imagine they live happily ever after

Oh, and you will see Jamie Kennedy's cock. As if there where any doubt.