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Smooth_J

Member since 2/8/2008, last signed in 2 days ago.
"I am the wallwalker!"
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Barton Fink
Barton Fink
Look upon me! I'll show you the ...
By Smooth_J in Smooth_J Blog
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 "This is one of my new favorites of the Coen Brothers’ films. Which isn’t really saying much, considering I’ve loved every single one of them that I’ve seen (I have yet to see The Hudsucker Proxy, and Intolerable Cruelty/Ladykillers—not in much of a rush for those). I found this to delve just as deep into the mind of a writer as Naked Lunch, which also was greatly successful in that aspect. There are a good amount of similarities to each one—most noticeably the insanity and bizarrity brought about by the writing process, but something that I really noticed was the fact that Judy Davis was in both of them. And, even more curious, the fact that her characters’ deaths in both films bring about a new life into the writers minds, and helps them to finish their respective pieces. The film is really meant to be a satire on the process of getting a script approved in Hollywood, though the theme of a writer’s torture is just as apparent. ... " [More]

Re:Criterion Goes To Blu-Ray
By Smooth_J in Criterion Collection
"That's some good news...now do you know if this means they'll still come out on regular DVD though? Because I saw somewhere a while back that Bottle Rocket was coming out in Criterion, so I've been holding out to buy that. But if I don't have a Blu-Ray player by that time, I'd probably just get the regular. This seems like it's going to be a huge step for Criterion... " [More]
A Clockwork Orange
A Clockwork Orange
After a prolonged hiatus, numbe ...
By Smooth_J in Smooth_J Blog
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 "This was one of my most difficult decisions…there is an undisputed number 1 spot, which will be revealed when I get to writing something that will successfully pay homage to the film itself, but this spot was tough. I thought it was clear-cut for a while, but then I recently saw a film that I really wanted to add. Both films are pretty bleak, pretty disturbing, and pretty strange; and both are definite classics, outstanding films from legendary directors. So, after much deliberation, here is number 2 and number 2½. 2. Apocalypse Now I have always been intrigued by this movie. I saw a good deal of it on AMC when I was about 12 years old, and promptly set to begging my parents to let me go out and buy/rent it. Finally, after ragging them for the better part of two years, I bought a copy of it. It completely and utterly blew my mind. Never had I seen such brilliant film-making. The viewer is sucked completely into the unstable mind of veteran special-ops agen ... " [More]
Being John Malkovich
Being John Malkovich
A great surrealist comedy
By Smooth_J in Smooth_J Blog
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 "I believe it is very relevent to mention the main reason why I love Charlie Kaufman's writing so much; and that is because he tends to write his main characters as strange, socially awkward, self-loathing outcasts, which is what makes them so understandable to me. That being said, I also found Being John Malkovich to be a hilarious and stylish study of the intricacies of the human psyche. Not only does the film perfectly portray what it would actually be like to see the world through someone else's eyes (literally), it also subtly questions the role of the human mind and soul, and what seeing something like this might do to one. Spike Jonze's direction is superb, and I finally see why he received such accolades for the film...I found this to be even more enjoyable than the also superb Adaptation, the other Jonze-Kaufman collaboration. John Cusack was surprisingly awesome in the main role, as was Catherine Keener as his seductive business-mate. John Malkovich is, of course, the m ... " [More]
Naked Lunch
Naked Lunch
A Hallucinatory Masterpiece
By Smooth_J in Smooth_J Blog
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. [What do you think?]
 "I somehow discovered this movie on Amazon a few weeks ago, and after reading up on it, I bought it out pure curiosity, and based on the fact that I had loved all the criterion films I had bought before this one. I’m still amazed at how much I liked this movie. I would like to start off by mentioning that William S. Burroughs is one of the most interesting people I have ever heard of, and I plan on reading his work very soon. What is most fascinating about him is trying to decipher what about is actually true, and what about him is myth or fiction. He actually reminds of a more literary Hunter S. Thompson, one of my favorite characters in writing (or even history). However, it was not only these few reasons that I found the movie so exceptional. The exposition is especially well-done, introducing you to Peter Weller’s Bill Lee character and his deadpan delivery of exterminator lines. Even when the film is anchored in reality, it has a strange, surreal feel to it ... " [More]
No Country for Old Men
No Country for Old Men
Re:Some quotes I use a lot
By Smooth_J in Best movie quotes
"That was sort of an ironic jibe on my part, Anchorman has some of the greatest quotes... And I forgot to add a couple of my personal favorites: "Never get out of the boat."-Captain Willard, Apocalypse Now "Order some golf shoes, otherwise we'll never get out of this place alive!"-Duke, Fear and Loathing "Is that what you're asking me? Is there something wrong with anything?"-Anton Chigurh, No Country for Old Men (That and basically the entire exchange with that gas station guy.) "Don't fight it son. Confess quickly! If you hold out too long you could jeopardize your credit rating."-Brazil " [More]
I Am Legend
I Am Legend
Pleasantly surprised
By Smooth_J in Smooth_J Blog
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 "I had basically zero expectations going into this film...it looked intriguing, but reading about led me to believe that it was just another Will Smith blockbuster. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, as he tends to make above average blockbuster movies, but I really didn't expect to be as impressed by the film as I was. The story is familiar, everybody has seen or heard of the various versions of it (the 60s one is apparently better). And though the film is meant to be a big-budget, box-office juggernaut film, I found that it never really dipped into the conventional crap that plagues most other action movies of today--at least until the end, where it painfully strays from the plot of the book. The suspense built is extremely intense, especially in a scene in one of the "hives" of the vampire-zombie-people. The feeling of loneliness and isolation is what really gives the scenes like that the terror that you feel for much of the movie. The ideas of a cure for cancer causing such ... " [More]

Re:Top 5 Title Sequences
By Smooth_J in Top 5
"The one that really stands out in my mind is the opening to Casino Royale...I'm not sure if that was taken from some earlier Bond film, but it was pretty awesome. Also, would the opening credits listing in Pulp Fiction edited to Misirlou by Dick Dale be considered a title sequence? Because that is just perfect... " [More]

Re:Manda Bala
By Smooth_J in Spout Mavens
"My review is posted on my blog... http://www.spout.com/blogs/smo oth_j/archive/2008/4/20/27560. aspx " [More]
Manda Bala
Manda Bala
Very good doc.
By Smooth_J in Smooth_J Blog
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. [What do you think?]
 "As it was a documentary, I held off from watching Manda Bala for a pretty long time, despite the intriguing cover art and synopsis. I am sort of mad that I held off for so long, since I was surprised to find that it was really quite good. In Brazil, especially the Sao Paulo district, political corruption runs rampant, as do the equally powerful kidnapping and crime rings in the city slums. The film begins by introducing a frog farm owner, who claims he would “never harm frogs in the wild”, but harvests them for various reasons at his business. The scenes and descriptions of how the farm works are extremely well-done, and are the most stylistically done sequences of the film. In the beginning, it’s hard to figure out just where the film is going, since so many different themes are presented, and it’s difficult to tell how they’re tied together (such as a woman describing her experience in being kidnapped in contrast with the frog farm). However, o ... " [More]
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
List
By Smooth_J in Smooth_J Blog
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 "My entries have been spaced out of late, as I have not had very much time to post. I’m almost finished watching Manda Bala, so I’ll have a review of that posted soon. 3. 2001: A Space Odyssey/Dr. Strangelove I don’t think I’m alone in proposing that these are a couple of the greatest films ever made. I’ll begin with the first. From the opening sequences of “the dawn of man”, to the final climactic warp scene, everything about the film is haunting and entrancing. So many moods and so many different styles are experimented with in this film, and every single one of them works (my favorite being the space-shuttle nutcracker scene in the beginning). No other movie has taken me to a higher level of thinking than this film, which I thought about and tried to sort out in my mind for weeks after watching it. It is one of the greatest film experiences I have ever had. Dr. Strangelove is my second favorite Kubrick movie, which puts it righ ... " [More]
Adaptation
Adaptation
Re:Top 5 Films That You Had to ...
By Smooth_J in Top 5
"This film was definitely the same way for me, as it was really my first Lynch film I'd ever seen.Another I would like to add is Adaptation...it seemed so plausible in the first half, then when it later slipped into absurdity I really lost focus on the film. After researching it though, I realized how great a movie it actually was. " [More]

Lists

Films I want to see (119)
Films I want to see
Films I've seen (259)
Films I've seen
My favorite films (59)
My favorite films
Films I Own (142)
My 30 (or so) Absolute Favorite Movies (35)
Also known as the 30 greatest films ever made...but not really.
Films I want to buy (41)
Films I want to buy