BAD WORDS: Bateman’s “Bee” Movie Will Make Your Ears B-U-R-N

Posted on January 29, 2014 by geelw

It’s great to see Justin Bateman branch out and direct his first film and his upcoming comedy BAD WORDS looks like one of those “so wrong it’s hilarious” non-PC films that might make for a fun watch. Granted, him playing against the sort of clueless and too nice guy stereotype he’s been known for since the Arrested Development days might not convince a handful of fans this is some sort of breakout role, but I’ll give him the benefit of your doubt.

Hey, my doubts are non-existent. I don’t doubt the man’s talent at all and he’s certainly not looking so clueless here. And yeah, kudos to that kid (Rohan Chand of Homeland) and some deft editing that make this look a lot more shocking than it probably was to film. Will I see this? At a screening if one comes to NYC, sure (and definitely when it pops up on cable whenever that happens).

Things I Didn’t Realize Yet That I Should Have #178: Warner Bros. Sells Movies And Such on Ebay!

Posted on January 29, 2014 by geelw

Ha. I knew Warner Bros. had their own vast online shop, but I didn’t know they also sold the same DVD and Blu-Ray movies from on eBay until last night when I was looking up a copy of the 1975 sci-fi/horror flick BUG for a friend of mine who brought up the film in a conversation. Granted, if you’re not used to paying new movie prices or get legitimate NEW discs cheaper elsewhere, most of the prices won’t make you dance around the room. On the other hand, you know you’re not buying up a bunch of bootlegs, they have some nice NICE Turner Classic Movies (TCM) collections, way too many TV show box sets, those fancy steelbooks some love and loads of collector’s editions along with video games from WBIE (their game publishing arm), all with FREE shipping.

Oh, you KNEW this already? Crap. Well, it’s news to me. I got learned (again) and I liked it.

300: Rise of an Empire TV Spots 2 and 3: Don’t Know Much About History (But I’m Not As Bad As Some)…

Posted on January 28, 2014 by geelw

Look, as much as I love Frank Miller’s incredible graphic novel 300 and its amazing (and historically inaccurate) take on the 300 Spartans and the Battle of Thermopylae, both it and this sequel (which seems to be based on Miller’s yet to be released follow up, Xerxes) are turning some younger people into ill-informed dopes. I actually overheard a conversation a few weeks back between some kids who tried to use the film and comic to write up a report a history class and yes, they all failed. One kid tried to blame the history teacher because “He’s old and he never even read the comic OR saw the movie!” which made me dash away to laugh myself silly. Ah, you kids… always trying to find the easy way out of some hard work.

That said, has those meddling kids gone and watched 1962’s The 300 Spartans, they might have failed with a higher grade as their teacher was probably around to see that flick. Or maybe they should have cracked the assigned books and checked out this video instead? Hmmmm. Well, lesson learned, I hope. Yeesh – some of these kids better wise the hell up before history forgets all about them one day…

The Zero Theorem Trailer: Gilliam’s Back Soon, Get Your Money Ready…

Posted on January 27, 2014 by geelw

For me, a Terry Gilliam film is a must-see experience no matter how you feel about it after all is said and done (which usually means you need to see it a few more times). The inventive director’s latest is the soon to be released The Zero Theorem, a science fiction film that features the great Christoph Waltz as a computer whiz called “We” (I think it was something like Quohen Leth before this trailer, but I guess I’ll find out when I see it) who’s trying to discover the meaning of life, but gets a bit distracted by a handful of visitors and situations on a few occasions. I actually dislike finding out TOO much about a Gilliam film before I see it as there’s always the chance that it might (and will) go in a different direction than the trailer shows. That and Gilliam’s films need to be seen from beginning to end and absorbed as whole experiences, not just well-trimmed cuts with a flourish or three.

Anyway, September isn’t THAT long away, people. Some of you can nap until then or take a long stroll for a few weeks poking around for memories or fossils or both while you’re waiting for this one to finally come out of the oven. I’d join you on that nap and/or walking tour but I’ve got stuff to do here and my backlog is actually growing, not shrinking. Boo, but it keeps me busy and out of trouble.

Random Film of the Week(end): Repo Man

Posted on January 26, 2014 by geelw

(Thanks, spamanator666!)

“Never broke into a car, never hot-wired a car. Never broke into a truck. ‘I shall not cause harm to any vehicle nor the personal contents thereof, nor through inaction let the personal contents thereof come to harm’ It’s what I call the Repo Code, kid!”

Even when I saw it back in 1984, I never considered Alex Cox’ outstanding first film Repo Man a purely “punk” movie. Sure, it’s got one of the best (if not the best) soundtracks of any film of that year (some say “ever”, but they’d be dead wrong) and yes, it’s got characters who play “punks” as well as enough of a vibe that makes you think it’s a dopier film than it actually is.

Then, as you’re being entertained by what’s onscreen, one of a few unexpected things happen as the film pops into different genres. As Emilio Estevez’ bored punk Otto Maddox goes from getting fired from his crappy minimum wage job stocking supermarket shelves with generic food to making bigger bucks as a repo man and characters toss out priceless lines like “The more you drive, the less intelligent you are…” or “I don’t want no commies in my car. No Christians either.”, the next thing you know you’re hooked in for the duration… Continue reading →

Random Film of the Week(end): Rollercoaster

Posted on January 26, 2014 by geelw

(Thanks, sideshowcarny!)

In some parts of America during the summer of 1977, you either got very lucky and saw Star Wars, or you got very unlucky because that flick was sold out when you wanted to go and had to settle for something like Rollercoaster. Now, on it’s own merits it’s a passable “disaster” flick that’s a wee bit too long and wastes the talents of a few major stars at the tail ends of their careers. On the other hand, it’s about a unnamed home-grown terrorist who decides to seriously vandalize amusement parks and kill people (at least in the first big accident in the film) in order to extort money from a mega corporation just because he can.

There’s no motive other than profit, he’s not some crazed maniac out for revenge whose daddy and mommy were killed in a freak amusement park accident, and the film relies on some dopey luck and dumber plot holes to speed things along as it hopes you won’t notice under all that Sensurround booming your eardrums into submission. But none of this will matter to some people who see this flick today and think it works on the level of a decent thriller. It sort of doesn’t in my old eyes because the film not only shows you the culprit right at the beginning, it tends to drag out scenes just to show off some fancy camerawork and some nice amusement park real estate instead of add depth to the characters it needs to… Continue reading →

Random Film of the Week(end): Planet of the Apes (2001)

Posted on January 25, 2014 by geelw

Thanks to reports from around the internet and a few periodicals about all sorts of problems during the pre-production phase and more issues during the rather speedy shooting schedule to meet a July release imposed by 20th Century Fox, I certainly didn’t want to see the otherwise reliable Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes remake, but my mother sure did.

I was camping out at her place during that summer after a breakup and on the day the film opened, she pretty much rolled up on me and said we were going to the movies, so off we went. The funny thing was 33 years earlier, she took me, my older brother and sister to see the original film (my first movie experience), so I guess she was trying to jog my memory a bit out of the funk mode it was in. Well, that worked to a point as we both ended up not liking this remake much at all.

Of course, I ended up heading back to that theater a few days later to make sure I was sure I didn’t like the film… Continue reading →

Random Film of the Week: PRISON

Posted on January 24, 2014 by geelw

Let me tell you, kids… Scared Straight has NOTHING on Renny Harlin’s PRISON. Hell, If they showed this released in 1988 flick on TV and in schools, instead of some hard-timing losers screaming at kids about staying out of trouble, I’d bet you a hot nickel that the rate of incarceration in America would be at an all-time low. Seriously, this film is SO messed up and mean and shot in an actual closed prison with actual inmates from another joint so there’s a solid sense of verisimilitude here that’s amplified into the haunted realm by the ghost of an executed killer out for some bloody reeeee-venge.

This film is also important for a few reasons horror and fantasy fans should appreciate. For one, it got Harlin the job directing Nightmare on Elm Street 4 which was his “big” American genre film break and led to others over the years both good and bad. It’s also Viggo Mortensen’s first movie appearance in a leading role and we all know where his career went as the years went by. As for this nugget of methodical madness, it’s a pretty effective blend of genre jail flick and atmospheric horror featuring some nicely gory moments plus one of the funniest random deaths I’ve ever seen in any film… Continue reading →

Random Film of the Week: Iceman

Posted on January 24, 2014 by geelw

EDIT! It was THAT cold in the library that I got Tim Robbins and Timothy Hutton confused. Heh. Corrected! The funny thing is that mistake most likely came out of a conversation last night with a friend who started that confusion as we were discussing movies both actors were in and I must have retained that up in the vaults as a frozen memory. OOPS. Ah well…

Yes, it’s still winter outside, so I’m tossing this forgotten flick up with the hope you check it out because it’s actually a great and thought provoking sci-fi drama. This may or may not be a short post because it’s FREEZING in the library (seriously, NYPL? What’s up with this indoor cold?) and my brain is flipping on and off in deciding my word count. Anyway, excellent performances from Timothy Hutton as Stanley Shephard, an anthropologist who helps a defrosted prehistoric man (John Lone) as he struggles with the new world he’s been awakened into.

Sure, the “science” here is immediately questionable as to how that caveman survived 40,000 years in that block of ice, but the film works because of the performances that have you believing everything it throws at you. Besides, as I’ve said before, if you’re going to see a sci-fi flick for the “science”, you’re not going to be enjoying much with a too-critical set of eyes… Continue reading →

Clip Joint: ROBOCOP (Give It Away, Give It Away, Give It Away…)

Posted on January 22, 2014 by geelw

So, the clips are rolling out and some would say “spoiling” this reboot, but I don’t quite think so. In fact, I think they go a long way in showing the film is going to be better than some jaded online wags have been saying. Granted, the original is hard to top on a few KEY fronts, but from what I’m seeing here, this doesn’t look bad at all. Heck, I’ll buy THAT clip above for a dollar!

Some are griping about he black suit over the silver/opalescent color from the Paul Verhoeven film, but I think the new flick’s black outfit is pretty cool in its own right. Sure, if this was “real”, a more matte finish would be the way to go for night ops, but that’s only something I’d heard in a conversation and not my own opinion. It was a pretty hilarious discussion, though.

This one’s my favorite clip because we ALL have those dreams that are nice and lovely and getting to the good part and then *BOOM*, you get knocked awake and you’re back in the real world with your day screwed up because your sleep was interrupted. Stupid alarm/hungry pet/cranky kid/spouse/boss/person yelling at you to wake up because you’re napping when you’re SUPPOSED to be steering that bus! Anyway, welcome back to the real world. Now keep those eyes open until you get home, pal.