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.

Zenith (2010)

So, I'm a little late in posting this. Let me explain: 

1. When I started this project I wanted to review all genre of movies. While I hadn't pre-selected my movie, yesterday I wanted to do something in the horror genre. I just couldn't do it. I will at some point, but a lot of stuff is torture porn, which I just can't watch.
2. The movie I did end up choosing is Zenith. Once I finished watching it, I had this, "What the fuck did I just watch" feeling. Not because it was super weird or gross. It's a convoluted story with multiple framing (story telling) tools that left me extremely confused. I thought I'd better watch it again just so that I can explain how bad it is properly. And because I felt this way, you better believe there will be a spoiler alert at the bottom.

According to IMDb.:

A retro-futuristic steam-punk thriller, about two men in two time periods, whose search for the same grand conspiracy leads them to question their own humanity.

The movie begins with an older man, Dale (Raynor Scheine), turning on a camera and recording another man, Ed (Jason Robards III). The Ed begins to explain the Milgram Experiment. They then "muscle" their way into a house. A gun shot is fired, and the camera is dramatically rustled about and then goes to black.

We then cut to the main character, Jack aka Dumb Jack (Peter Scanavino). He begins to explain his story. The year is 2044 and the world has been genetically engineered to be happy. However, with this happiness,  the world has also become numb. Emotional words and feelings are lost to the world as no one has reason to use them anymore, except Jack knows these words. "Virtue, Comfort, Curiosity, etc". Jack is a med school drop out turned drug dealer. In this dystopian world, the drugs of choice are emotions; epiphany, pain, etc. Ed is Jack's father, now dead, and one someone he still resents. The movie captures Jack, falling down the same conspiracy rabbit hole that his father fell down.  

Jack searches for these tapes with the help of his mute friend, Nimble (Al Nazemian), random old-timer friend Mateo (Arthur French) and eventually a bookkeeper, Vito (Michael Cates)

We being to see that Ed, once a preacher, has become wrapped in the conspiracy theories of the world and it began with him happening upon a book called Zenith. He records his thoughts on VHS (really???) and subsequently numbers them. At least that's what I believe the tapes are.

Jack finds a tape years later and then begins the hunt. Not just for the tapes but for the answers to the questions Ed had been searching for. Along this search he meets Lisa (Ana Asensio). A woman who "knows words too." She is the wife of a very rich and powerful man. When she predictably finds herself in trouble, Jack rescues her and they then begin a romance.

Literally, mid-way through the movie (minute 40) they begin to share the plot.  Up until this moment it was all background and build up. But wait, there are no real new plot points.  The only thing new thing is that the beginning moments of the movie (when Ed and Dale go into the house) are explained and Lisa and Jack's love really begins to bloom. We are given more about how Lisa's trapped in the marriage and how there is virtually no way to get out.  

Before I spoil this movie let me air a few things out.

Let me tell you how many elements you'll have to deal with if you watch this.  Ed in live action. Ed through a camera. Jack reciting words in a camera. Jack in live action. Jack doing voice overs throughout. Jack speaking in the third person. Cuts to numbers meant to show you the order of these mysterious tapes. A search for the truth and the conspiracy that's covering this up.  The obligatory love story that gets intertwined.

This movie is billed as being made by Anonymous.  I don't know if this is the hacktivists group (whom I do have the utmost respect for) or some other entity that didn't want their name out. Either way, this movie is awful and I don't blame people for not wanting their name attached.  But perhaps I'm not being clear.  The acting is fantastic. Perhaps a bit forced at moments, but believable. My problem comes from the story trying to hard. to be too many things. There are so many ideas in this movie that the viewer gets a bit lost and having to focus on so much that is only peripherally related is dizzying. 

Lastly, I have a problem with dystopian story-telling. They chose the year 2044, which seems lazy. VHS's are not still a thing, let alone VCR's to play them on. It's almost as though they chose a time so close to the current date so that design of costume and creativity wouldn't be necessary. They could have taken a huge leap forward and said 4167. Design aesthetics could have been explained by a halted society.  With numbness comes a lack of beauty and a reverse evolution of society. Not a big deal, but an annoyance throughout. The movie relied so heavily on dark, muted colors and run-down abandoned environments. This, to me, didn't feel like a strong story-telling point of view. Just a personal opinion though.

Spoiler Alert

Jack is prepared to leave the area with Lisa, but destiny intervenes   Another tape is found and it traces back to Lisa's husband. In the last 20 minutes of the movie we are given back and forth few of Jack and Ed confronting the same man, Lisa's husband, Berger (David Thornton) or is it Schleimann, because at this point the story is so confused it's hard to know who everyone is and what the truth really is. 

Ed is brought to Berger. When speaking to Ed, it seems it is at the beginning of the moment when happiness is going to be pumped throughout the world and genetic engineering will allow people to live for 300 years. Ed is told there is no conspiracy, that it's all about happiness and that we now has a choice, he can leave the house and go back into the world where everyone thinks he's crazy, or he can have a new life. This new life would give him a new face, a job, a new chance.

On the other side there is Jack. He enters Berger house with a gun not wanting answer, but Lisa. See Berger tries to give Jack the same chance as Ed, but Jack leaves no room for discussion.  Oh, by the way, Jack has epilepsy. It's mentioned in passing throughout the movie but does not become a main tool of the story until this moment. When Berger sees Jack won't listen to reason, be pushes a button and turns the room into a strobe light, that severely cripples Jack. In this moment, while the strobe light is flashing a few things come out. Vito, the bookkeeper, is really Ed. Lisa is pregnant but doctors are giving her an abortion at this very moment. He could have had eternal life with them, but he decided to be dumb.

He wakes up in a hospital room unable to remember much, but being addressed as Ed Crowely. According to the calendar, the year is 2012. Apparently he had a brain tumor which caused a brain tumor and the epilepsy. It's weird, it seems we are meant to believe that all that transpired is a brain malfunction in Jack (Ed's?) imagination. Or has he been exiled from his world so that his mental balance is always called into question?

Neo Ned (2005)

Neo Ned is a love story. I don't typically go for those, and perhaps the cover should have tipped me off, but it didn't. Also, I was intrigued. Gabrielle Union has done some terrible, straight to DVD stuff, however, as a Tumblr user I thought I was pretty up on most of Jeremy Renner's flicks. Apparently, I was not. I have a spoiler alert at the bottom, because, while I enjoyed this and recommend it, it is slightly uncomfortable and not necessarily for everyone. This page on IMDb isn't set-up quite the same way as others, so here's the abbreviated summary they provide:

Like most kids, Ned idolized his father and dreamed of following in his footsteps. Unfortunately, his father was a two-bit crook who spent most of his life in jail. Without a family of his ... 

So, yea, given that I had no real idea what I was in store for.

Renner's character is Ned Nelson. We meet him in a mental institution where he's been placed instead of jail.  He and his neo-nazi brethren beat a black man to death. Ned was charged with second degree murder, however, because of a disability Ned is institutionalized instead. He has tantrums that are physical and sometimes a little violent, and counselors question his placement at the facility. Union's character, Rachel, makes an entrance at the facility by having a dramatic outburst and having to be carried in. She has delusions of being Hitler. We later learn she's self-admitted and faking the delusions, however, she was sexually abused by a photographer who had her mother believing he could make her a star. She now has a daughter and lives with the nightmares of the abuse.

Ned and Rachel's relationship grows during the week they are in the institution together. Ned is a talker and he is interested in the new girl.  He uses the word "nigger" recklessly and Rachel will randomly yell at him in German. Over the week though, they grow to have a weird bond and Rachel seems to be having a good affect on him. The facility has planned a trip to the zoo and Ned has been on his best behavior so that he can attend with Rachel. A pretty awesome quote from Ned is: "Just because I'm racist doesn't mean I'm not sensitive". 

After this initial week, Ned is brought to the head administrator and told he's being discharged. Ned is not happy about this. An orderly drops him off at a bus stop with a ticket and tells him to take care. Ned proceeds to steal car and go the zoo on his own. He proposes he and Rachel run off together. She agrees.  They go to meet Ned's mother and start playing house. Ned frequently tells play that they are married. They get an old trailer and start making a life for themselves. Ned gets a job at a diner upon Rachel's request.  

Let me say, that I really enjoyed this. Renner acted Ned so perfectly. He is completely unfiltered but not outright rude. His emotions are for everyone to see. Even when he was being guarded  it was in this childlike way that felt right. It's obvious that Ned's a good guy at heart, he just didn't have the greatest environment to grow up in.  The relationship that blossomed between Ned and Rachel seemed so appropriate. While Ned joined the brotherhood, he was never of that life. He was searching for family and acceptance. Rachel needed a break from life. Their romance, which seemed to last a few weeks, allowed her the escape from reality she needed.

Now for a touch of criticism. This movie has moments that are beyond belief. You don't simply steal a car and no one ever looks. You don't simply get released from an institution if you are charged with a criminal act. You don't simply get to move into an empty trailer just because it's available. The list goes on.  I felt the acting --especially from Renner-- was exceptional, but there are so many plot holes that just weren't considered. I don't know if that was on purpose or not, however it's a bit distracting to the story. With all that said, this movie is meant to be out of its time. It was out in 2005, however, from the clothing and the way it's shot it appears to be invoking a vibe of the late 80s, early 90s.

Spoiler Alert

Ned runs into some old friends of his at the diner where we works. He leaves work to go out to a party and proceeds to stay out all night and sleep with some random chick.  He arrives home to Rachel mad as hell.  There's no yelling (which is how you know the rage is serious). She tells Ned it's time for her to leave and go back to her daughter. Ned is unhappy and wants to go with her, so that they can be a family. Rachel tells him no.

Ned still insist on giving her a ride home and Rachel accepts. Ned has done his homework though and found the photographer that abused her. He goes in to rough him up. Rachel, frightened, stays in the car at first and but then goes in after him.  There's a bit of a struggle, but Rachel has a gun. She confronts him with his sick past and the last thing he says is "You didn't say no."  Rachel shoots him.  Ned tells her to go and that he would stay. He has a plan and Rachel has to go look after her daughter. 

Ned is put in jail, but joyfully reunited with his father.  Rachel ends up driving down the highway, with her daughter by her side (still in the stolen car).

Repeaters (2010)

So, the last two movies were "comedies", I thought I'd switch it up and do something a little darker, so I went for a sci-fi thriller. Repeaters. It wasn't a wholly bad movie. I actually recommend this to people interested in the genre. Although, let me say it's more thriller/drama than sci-fi. So, the plot according to IMDb:

A gritty mind-bending thriller about three twenty-somethings who find themselves in an impossible time labyrinth, where each day they awaken to the same terrifying day as the preceding one.

The three twenty-somethings are Kyle Halsted (Dustin Milligan), Sonia Logan (Amanda Crew), and Michael Weeks (Richard de Klerk). They're in a rehab center, counting the days until they get out. It seems to be a fairly large center but these three in particular have gotten close. They are in their third month at the the facility and in a group therapy session, the counselor is telling them that it's time to start making amends. While they live on the grounds, they are granted day passes to see family.  Making amends is a new policy required by the facility they attend.

Kyle is the main protagonist. We watch his little sister shun him in front of her friends at the school he use to attend.  A school administrator obviously aware of his troubled past, threatens to call the police. We see Sonia unable to talk to dying relative.  Lastly, Michael visits his father who is in prison for something Michael did because of the drugs.

After their first unsuccessful day, they gather for another group session to talk about the process. Everyone is stoic and Michael lashes out and leaves the meeting. The three gather outside and bemoan the life they currently lead. They recognize the harm they done to themselves and their families, but have yet confront the damage. 

Night falls and during a rain storm there appears to be a power surge.  All three are shocked in some way.  It takes a few hours but it starts to become apparent they are caught in some kind of loop where the day keeps repeating.  Resetting itself each night.  

Because I do recommend this, I am going to avoid as many spoilers as possible.  What I will say is that because the day repeats they begin to get reckless.  No thought is given as to why the day repeats, just that it will and that fact allows them to live without consequence.  Following back into old habits that got them there in the first place we start to see a different side.  

Michael, while his styling is slightly rougher, in the first ten minutes it's easy to seem he's a user confronting his demons and fully intends to get better. Instead he lets his deviant side ring. Kyle, clearly positioned to be the more sympathetic character tries to hold him back, but has already crossed the line himself.  And there's Sonia. Sonia's character bothered me a little. She advanced the movie, but not as a character, but simply as an object.  We get to see her have some kind of closure at the end, but the reality is that she has no evolution.  She is Kyle's "damsel in distress".  

I'm going to avoid going on a feminist rant since I enjoy the "damsel in distress" troupe in most movies.  I really do.  It's just, usually there's more substance to the damsel and in this instance, the character of Sonia fell flat for me.  It's probably worth noting, there's a far amount of violence in this movie. 

All in all I really enjoyed the movie.  I needed something a little deeper and darker than some of the other stuff I watch.  I know the idea of repeating days is not new, but I enjoyed how it's framed in drug addicted.  Often times movies about repeating are shlocky comedies, but I like that this is more a movie about redemption.  And I don't feel like it hit me over the head with the message either.  

You have to fall before you an rise and sometimes that means falling multiple times.

Elektra Luxx (2010)

I chose "Elektra Luxx" inadvertently as my next movie. I say inadvertently because I had actually watched this (at least parts of it) on some random weekend on HBO. I'm trying to watch movies that are new to both you and me, but as I'm trying to post consistently, I didn't have time to selecte another. The plot according to IMDb:

"Life for porn actress Elektra Luxx gets turned upside down when she finds out she's pregnant."

I liked this much more than "How to be a Serial Killer". It had a bit of wit that kept me entertained. I'm a fan of Joseph Gordon-Levitt 'cause, who's not? And I recognized Carla Gugino from the few things she's done that I've seen.

Now with all that out of the way, let me really tell you about this. Don't watch this movie based on the tag line. It is not exactly accurate. It would be far me appropriate to say "Life gets complicated for retired and newly pregnant pornstar Elektra Luxx."

There are so many thoughts and subplot lines. I'll try not organize them a bit:

• There's Gordon-Levitt's character Bert Rodriguez. He is a vlogger who reports on porn stars and the industry at large. He is obsessed with Elektra. He has an annoying slightly younger sister. You are lead to believe he's in his 30's living in his mother's basement. 

• Next is Adrianne Palicki's character Holly Rocket. Holly's a disgraced porn star who previously worked on a movie with Elektra. Holly's dumb. Like one's of those people who you get tired of correcting because they always say or misunderstand a word that's a little too big. She's also attracted to her BFF (another character entirely) and doesn't know how to handle this. The two are going to Mexico. 

• Lastly, there's Elektra. Newly pregnant. Running a workshop of how to be a pornstar in bed, previously linked to a now dead rock and roller. Has a sister in jail. Is visited by the Virgin Mary (Julianne Moore!) in an hallucination. 

Got all that? Fantastic, because that doesn't even seem to be the main plot line. The main plot seems to be how all these random people in Elektra's life are making an impact on her and how she's making an impact on them. By the last three quarters of the movie you realize that Elektra's in a kind of dark place and the people in her life really aren't helping her positively.

Now let me say this. I said this movie had wit, but it's understated and definitely not a laugh-out-loud comedy.

I don't recommend this out right. I moderately enjoyed it, and if I'm super bored again, I might re-watch it. I intentionally didn't put spoilers in this post though. I figured if you wanted to watch this and find out what happens you could, but this post should give you a good sense of whether it's worth seeing.

Oh, and for anyone not sure and hoping for some moments, You don't even really see side-boob.

While I appreciate the concept, it was not executed properly. You're left wondering why Holly Rocket and Bert Rodriguez needed a whole subplot. It would have been better to keep the characters and her interactions with them short and neat.