March of the robots

Under discussion:

The Transformers: The Movie  (1986)

Transformers  (2007)

So I was feeling down on the new Transformers flick. That is, until I read this review over at Geeks of Doom (http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/06/29/movie-review-transformers/). Here is a short expert:

"Well thank GoD I wasn’t forced to settle! This summer’s blockbuster has finally arrived people. Only it’s not a mere blockbuster, it’s a two and a half hour atomic bomb… strapped to a roller-coaster… filled with snakes… on fire!"

I read that and was in. Nerds love it. I'm in. I will be there July 4th with my friends and we will love it. To get ready, we are watching this tonight: http://www.spout.com/films/35751/default.aspx 

Under discussion:

The Graffiti Artist  (2004)

This was a really good movie that surprised me in that it dealt with a lot more than graffiti. There are other good hip-hop graffiti flicks out there like Bomb the System and Style Wars, but The Graffiti Artist ends up being more a  story about sexuality and finding your place when you are alone and poor.

Another interesting tid bit about The Graffiti Artist is that you have probably heard the soundtrack even though you have never seen the movie. NPR and This American Life use Kid Loco's powerful soundtrack constantly. You can get it on the cheap at emusic. 

Under discussion:

The Fountain  (2006)

I liked this movie, I really did. It is very slow, very tense, very emotional, very deep, very very. It is an Aronofsky movie. Somewhere I read that many view him to be the "next Kubrick." I think comparisons like that are generally unnecessary, but I can understand the desire to say that. Darren is definitely a director who values the lasting importance of his films. He is very choosy and generally hard to work with from what I have read. It is rare that a writer / director as young as him can get away with that anymore. He is one of a very few modern directors that seem completely in control of his cache of work. Wes Anderson is another that seems to be in that group.

 That said, The Fountain, big ideas, that almost go over the brink into self-indulgence. But he holds it together. Looking forward to more.

Under discussion:

Double Dare  (2005)

What could be better than Grindhouse this year? Seeing a documentary about the star of Deathproof is what could be better. This is a really incredible story. The documentary starts off as two stories. One about Jeannie Epper, the stunt double from Wonder Woman and member of a legendary family of stunt-people. The second is about Zoe Bell, the stunt woman who began her career as the double for Lucy Lawless on Xena.

Their paths cross when Zoe is looking for work and Jeanie has her stay with her in California. The movie culminates in Zoe being discovered by a certain director and cast to double in a very popular 2-part epic. 

This movie is just so good. I hate to say heart warming, but it really is. To see an out of work young woman, and a 60 year old experienced stunt woman come together like this is just really amazing. You feel like you are there at the beginning of something really important. After it all I just want to meet Zoe Bell. I want to shake her hand, give her a hug, she is such a positive and impressive person. 

Under discussion:

Bloody Reunion  (2006)

I think Korean directors have an incredible eye. Almost all Korean flicks I watch just look so damn good. Bloody Reunion is no exception. Aside from the unfortunate American title that is just too easy and obvious, this movie is a really entertaining ride. Well worth the watch.

Students get together, students argue, teacher demonized, really disturbing things happen (or do they). This has some good twists, and as is very common in asian cinema, a very BIG twist at the end. 

Under discussion:

Perth  (2005)

This movie is gold. It features the conversational tone of Tarrantino. The plot of Taxi Driver (sort of). Crazy cast of mismatched characters, but not how you would expect.

The main character in this movie twists and turns from being likable to loveable to completely awful and back again. Along the way he encounters many strange characters. My favorite being his best friend Selva. Selva is an Indian man working in Singapore. You would never expect a character like this since Asian movies are often so culturally specific. In Perth, you get all types of people from the asian peninsula uncomfortably colliding in the seedy lower class. And in the end, many of them are really likable characters.

The description basically tells you the plot. All I want to tell you is that this is one of the finest movies that I have seen recently, and one of the finest examples I can think of when I want to tell people about a really damn fine asian flick.

Under discussion:

Four Eyed Monsters  (2005)

Four Eyed Monsters. It's a Myspace inspired movie... first full-length of its kind. And yes, its pretty good. Good enough to see, and good enough to buy the feature crammed DVD the creators are peddling at http://www.foureyedmonsters.com.

The reason I plug the sale of the DVD is that this has been a labor of love in more ways than one for Arin and Susan and they can't start their next project without earning enough money off their DVD. They want to sell 5000 copies... but I will let them tell you:

"So far we've sold 603 DVDs and have been written up in blogs and
people have also posted some cool videos of getting the DVD in the
mail all of which is helping us big time get the word out.  See
everyones reviews of our DVD and videos they've posted here on our
comments page.

Our goal is to sell 5,000 DVDs which will get us out of the credit
card debt we are in and get us in a situation where we can put all our
focus into making new content.    So finally, if you haven't bought a
DVD yet, this is it, the time is now, pick up the DVD off our website." 

Under discussion:

Grindhouse  (2007)

Everything about this movie is snapping. Both flicks are spectacularly entertaining. The point here is exploring action, editing, and just... fun. The point is that neither goes anywhere and that that is cool. The trailers before and in-between movies only add to the stew. Friends of Rodriguez and Tarrantino put in time on fake (?) trailers for movies like Don't, Machete, Shewolves of the SS, and my favorite by Eli Roth, Thanksgiving.

This really is a movie for people who revel in and adore "bad" movies. These guys really understand what made the source material so great and I think it shows the background that they bring to their more dignified longer form films. This is the raw stuff that they've wanted to do but there wasn't a place for.

The downfall that I can see is that people like sputnikjm3000 just won't get it. This is a movie that is meant to be shouted at and laughed at. It is big, loud, raunchy, vulgar, and fun fun fun. I think you need to have a certain amount of training in bad 70s schlock to really appreciate it. But I really really dug it.