Green Zone (2010)

This one is pretty bad. It's a propaganda film about how there were never WMDs in Iraq (not news at this point). Matt Damon is a soldier on the ground in Baghdad working with bad intel sending him to empty toilet factories in search of non-existent WMDs. I'll watch propaganda, sometimes you learn something - at least someone's point of view. Although a one-sided movie is not my favorite (I prefer having to think), what what I really don't like is bad movies.

Matt Damon is great - I generally like him. But he has nothing to work with here. The dialog is so bad it's a bit insulting. Every single sentence is a revelation. If two sentences are put together they're a speech. Apparently none of the soldiers or admin people in Iraq have regular conversations about the weather or sex or the incredible amounts of dust, for example. But they often say grandiose phrases such as, "I came here to save lives, why are you here?" I believe the response to that one was, "Don't be naive."

Anyway, I had a hard time even paying attention after a while. Hurt Locker is way better. Watch that.

Mother (2009)

OK - do you want to watch a fantastic movie? Watch Mother by Bong Joon-ho; you will not be disappointed.

This is only Joon-ho's fourth movie as director. I have not been able to see the first, Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000), but I have now seen movies 2 through 4 and they are amazing. Memories of a Murder (2003) is an intense story about a serial killer, and you won't see a movie like this in the US. It is substance over flash, performances over tricky camera work. The Host (2006) is a horror film and family drama about a big walking, man eating fish / mutant.

And then comes Mother. There is a crime here, but the story is about an overly dedicated mother trying to free her son from prison. It's got a nice twist to it (I didn't see it coming!) and one of the best performances I have ever seen. I hope Kim Hye-ja as the mother gets a lot of awards for this one. Just watching this woman's face is an acting lesson.

I was telling my friend D about Mother this morning, and I said it was hard to categorize. It's a drama, and a murder mystery, and a family story. She said it sounded like Lives of Others or I've Loved You So Long. Both these movies are fantastic, and I'm not sure either fits into a single genre.

Watch any of these movies, and if you like it, add the rest to your queue. This is a great bunch of films.

The Losers (2010)

This is a really fun time-waster. The premise of the Losers is, I suspect, very similar to the premise of the A-team. There is a team of super secret military guys who get betrayed by a super rich and powerful CIA higher up (how did he get all the money and power? Does that really happen?) and are dead in the eyes of the world. They must have revenge. They must avenge the lives of the 25 children they saved only to watch them get killed by the super villain. They must.

Jason Patric is the villain, and he has a blast in this movie. I think he plays the villain as OCD crossed with metrosexual. The loser group seems to be having a lot of fun, and I thought the guy playing Jensen (Chris Evans) was hilarious.

I read one review that said this movie couldn't decide if was comic book silly or if it wanted to be taken seriously. I did not see that conflict: it was comic book silly. Since it's based on a comic, I figure that's OK.

Also, gals, Denny from Grey's is in this one. Nice.

The Runaways (2010)

My niece and I watched a piece of crap movie last night: The Runaways. We were both complaining, so I feel comfortable that N was also disgusted. Let's see:

1. The camera work and editing were boring and amateurish. It reminded me of an after school special in terms of production quality and sets, etc.
2. The characters were broadly portrayed. The producer Kim Fowley in particular had bad dialog and stupid scenes. If he was really that pathetic, I don't see how the man made a living.
3. The acting was bad except for the two leads, and they weren't so great. Kristen Stewart played Joan Jett as uncommunicative and surly; a real stretch for Ms. Stewart. Dakota Fanning played a character drugged out of her mind a good portion of the movie. She did not do as well as Brad Pitt in True Romance.
4. The supporting characters were thrown in almost like they were supposed to be humorous. They weren't.
5. The opening scene was supposed to be deep; it wasn't.
6. The closing scene had no weight.

Save your time on this one.

Marty (1955)

Marty is a classic for a reason. It's a short, sometimes sweet, sometimes sad, but always honest look at the life of one of the lonely, ugly guys. Marty came home from the war, wandered for a while in a suicidal haze (not shown or part of the movie, just mentioned), and fell into a job at the butcher. As his brothers and sisters married off, Marty was left home alone with his mother. Marty is a very nice guy, and straight up with the girls, and they treat him like shit.

By chance, and under crappy circumstances, he meets a girl who is possibly perfect for him. And guess what? Do all the people who were pestering him to find a girl and get married (his mom and his best friend) really want things to change? Watch it and find out.

Cat People (1942)

It came! I sat down late last night to watch 15 minutes of The Cat People, Val Lewton's most famous movie, and of course I watched it all. It is spooky and fun, but I liked The Body Snatchers much more.

In Cat People, a simple-minded ship designer (he is so mellow he almost seems impaired) marries a woman from Serbia who comes from a mysterious village that worshiped false gods. She is really sweet - until she gets jealous or you try to kiss her. Then she turns into a panther and will try to kill you.

Anyway, this was 1942, before CGI, etc. In the grand tradition of noir, lights and shadows are used to great effect to imply / hide / set the mood. It's a lot of fun. Really - nobody believed that she was telling the truth about the cat business! She showed them.

The sequel, Curse of the Cat People, is not scary at all. It's actually a sweet movie with many of the characters from the original.

Cat People was remade in 1982 with Nastassja Kinski. Is this the movie that ended her career? I don't want to watch it to find out.

The Girl Who Played With Fire

OK - I just love this series. The books are great, and so are the movies. They switched directors for the second movie, there was more of a budget, but they didn't mess it up. I'm hanging waiting for the third.

Go see it before the English version is out.

The Cincinnati Kid (1965)

This movie was OK. If you're a big Steve McQueen fan, you've probably already seen it. It is a stylized version of a big poker match, where the young, upstart five-card stud player gets a chance to be number 1 by playing the great man - Lancey Horward. Lancey is played by Edward G. Robinson, and he's gracious and stately and getting on in years. Ann-Margret plays a gal who's no better than she should be, and it's fun to watch her. The cast is generally fun, but for great movies of this type, instead try:

The Sting (1973) - also stylized, but much, much more fun. Also, Paul Newman is way better than Steve M.
The Hustler (1961) - Better in every way, with Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason.

Val Lewton and Horror

Oh my goodness - I watched a couple of great movies tonight! Both were by Val Lewton - a great director of horror.

First I watched I Walked with a Zombie, a wonderful film with voodoo, family strife, a tropical island and romance. It was moody and dark and well acted with beautiful camera work. It was made in 1943, and it's a better movie than much out there since 1943.

Then I watched The Body Snatcher (1945). This one is even darker - and it has an incredible villain - because he's played by Boris Karloff. If you have never seen Boris Karloff in action, this is a great introduction. My God, that man had presence. There are some amazing shots and use of shadows in the film, and I loved the cinematography. By the way, this movie is twisted.

Val Lewton started as a journalist, wrote publicity for the movies, wrote pulp fiction, then moved to screenplays and producing. He is most famous for his RKO horror films. Have you heard of Cat People? I've heard of it for years but never seen it. I just moved it to the top of my queue. Not the remake - the original. The original is Val Lewton.

Mata Hari (1931)

I just watched a crappy movie: Mata Hari with Greta Garbo. It was made in 1931 (the same year as M?) and it does not hold up. The dialogue is poor, it was apparently filmed on two stages so everything looks the same, and the acting blows. The worst part for me though was the lack of accents or identifying markers. There were Russian, German and French characters in the film, but they all sounded exactly the same - except for one guy. It appeared that one of the Russians was a Mexican actor. Yep - I just verified. Ramon Novarro played a Russian, but his accent was very distracting.

The costumes were cool - really cool. I would love to have some of the clothes from this movie. But I can't recommend it just for the clothes. If you want an interesting comparison, watch M and then Mata Hari. What a difference! If you want a good Garbo film, watch Grand Hotel.

Hot Tub Time Machine

I actually went to the video store today. I was hoping to get the new Matt Damon movie, Green Zone. Green something. It was out, so logically I picked up Hot Tub Time Machine. It is actually a little logical, because I'm a child of the 80's, and I adore John Cusack. I also adore Joan Cusack. She is so funny. I watch most of their stuff.

So here you go - the opening scene has poo in it. Next scene - urine splashed around. At that point I started reading the paper and doing other things while watching the movie. I guess devotion comes with a price. Crispin Glover is in this. No shit. That's cool, but the infamous hot tub has a dead raccoon in it. Do you see the theme? Excrement and dead animals. This movie sucked. It is not the Hangover with a hot tub. It's the Hangover without dialog, sets, cleverness, unexpected humor, or any kind of budget. This movie is cheap shit. If you're looking to see a glowing red hot tub and projectile fake vomit, though, this is for you.