Smooth_J

Member since 2/8/2008, last signed in awhile ago.

"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."

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Personal statement:

I'm afraid to lose my obscurity. Real genius only thrives in the dark--like celery.

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Interested in:Action, Adventure, Avant-garde / Experimental, Comedy, Crime, Epic, Fantasy, Historical Film, Music, Nature, Science Fiction, Spirituality & Philosophy, Spy Film, Thriller, Visual Arts, War, Western

Smooth_J's movie tags

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Re:Weekly Theme for August 3: H ...
By Smooth_J in Weekly Theme
"Fargo features a rather memorable home invasion, both hilarious and unsettling--everything you'd expect from those dastardly Coens. It's probably one of the best scenes in that movie. " [More]

A Serious Man
By Smooth_J in Trailer Park
"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =7iggyFPls4w Is it just me, or does this look AWESOME? " [More]

Hard Eight

Re:Which of these film director ...
By Smooth_J in Movie Polls
"Although PTA is an incredible film-maker, and I love each and every movie he's made (but, alas, I have not seen Hard Eight/Sydney/his first movie), Wes Anderson has always hit home with me. Regardless of critical opinion on some of his films, I have adored everything he's made, and found the re-watchability factor with his movies to be better than most other idiosyncratic directors. So, my vote went, hands down, to Wes. I haven't had a chance to see any of Lindsay Anderson's films, but I've been eyeing up If... for a while and have This Sporting Life in my Netflix queue. " [More]

Re:Weekly Theme for July 20: Te ...
By Smooth_J in Weekly Theme
"That one movie about a kid in India on a gameshow that came out this year was all about his experience on a TV gameshow in India. I forget what it's called. Apparently it's pretty good. Oh yeah! Slumdog Millionaire. (Once again, I cannot figure out the link feature) " [More]

The Big Lebowski

Re:Weekly Theme for July 6: The ...
By Smooth_J in Weekly Theme
"[quote user="Risselada"] I love the "music video" montage in The Naked Gun to the song "I'm Into Something Good" by Herman's Hermits. I always picture it when I hear the song. Jim Jarmusch films were my introduction to Tom Waits music. Love the songs from Rain Dogs on Down by Law. The Coen brothers O, Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack was all individual songs, mostly new recordsings of old favorites, but some classic archives too. The thing won a Grammy for Best Album of the Year! Not that I take much stock in Grammys, but I love the songs and the film because the songs are so critical to the film. And their soundtrack for The Big Lebowski is just as great! From the front and center of Kenny Rogers' "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" to the Creedence Clearwater Revival Permiating the film, to the little songs you catch in the background like "I Hate You" by the Monks playing over bowling lanes speakers in one of the bowling scenes. The Fear and Loat ... " [More]

Re:Which of these recent Chines ...
By Smooth_J in Movie Polls
"I've only seen House of Flying Daggers and Crouching Tiger, and of the two, the latter was far superior in almost every way. It was deep as shit and still had kick-ass wuxia fight scenes. " [More]

Up
By Smooth_J in Smooth_J Blog
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"With Up, Pixar has pulled off something magnificent--and old-fashioned adventure story and an aching comment on aging packaged in a family friendly studio film. Don't get me wrong, Up works brilliantly as a film "for the whole family," sacrificing none of Pixar's inherent charm in order to make a mature film (much like Wall-E, which addressed similarly advanced themes whilst maintaining the slap-stick, love-sick aura of a children's movie). However, what amazed this reviewer the most was the fact that the adult's in the multiplex, my mother included, and the children, my brother included, enjoyed the film equally and non-equivocally; the themes of the film appealed to both the adults and the kids, and both seemed moved, often to the point of tears. (My mom, as well as several elderly members of the audience, were moved to tears by several sequences.) One can only imagine the excitement the Pixar creative team must have felt when they nabbed the idea of an old fart flying away in hi ... " [More]

Million Dollar Baby

Re:Which of these movies about ...
By Smooth_J in Movie Polls
"[quote user="Risselada"] [quote user="mercurial"] Well I have only seen Million Dollar Baby but I will not give a vote for it. I almost got thrown out of the theater because I was laughing so hard throughout the entire film. I know, I'm evil. [/quote] Have you seen Scary Movie 4? It's pretty mediocre overall, but the Million Dollar Baby pariody in the ring when everyone's necks keep getting snapped is so funny it's almost worth just renting the movie and fast forwarding to that moment if you don't want to watch the rest. Or you could just rent Million Dollar Baby again and laugh at it some more. [/quote] Yeah, Million Dollar Baby sucks pretty hard. I don't know if I've ever watched a movie that's supposedly "good" and hated it so much upon first viewing. I voted Raging Bull because in my mind, it's one of the greatest movies of all time, and by far the best boxing movie. I debated whether or not to give Cinderella Man a vote though, because I feel like it's way underappreciated. " [More]

Re:What is your favorite movie ...
By Smooth_J in Movie Polls
"I'd say my favorite is City of Lost Children because it's the most interesting and shows a more comprehensive dystopic vision than Delicatessen. However, you could also say that Delicatessen tactfully avoids most contact with the outside world and unravels like a play in a very limited setting......but despite my second-guessing, I still like City of Lost Children better. I just bought Amelie and am going to watch that within the next week or so, so maybe that'll change my opinion. I haven't seen the Alien movie, or A Very Long Engagement. " [More]

Re:Weekly Theme for May 18: Hea ...
By Smooth_J in Weekly Theme
"I liked Johnny Depp's CIA agent in Once Upon a Time in Mexico...although the movie was cheesy as hell. " [More]

Re:Weekly Theme for May 4: Expr ...
By Smooth_J in Weekly Theme
"A film-maker that I've really got into that utilizes expressionist techniques in almost all aspects of his work is Guy Maddin. And to make his movies even more awesome, he throws in themes of metaphysical significance and subdued incest and other fun things of that nature. The film that pops instantly to mind is Careful, which is more or less a modern entry into early expressionist cinema, complete with hokey coloring techniques, a northern European mountain setting, elaborately bizarre set-pieces, and, of course, melodrama. Cowards Bend the Knee is also pretty expressionist influenced--it's a black and white silent film, complete with poor film quality, filmed about 6 years ago. The Saddest Music in the World is also a trippy addition to his modern-expressionist-throwback repertoire. " [More]

Re:What is your favorite movie ...
By Smooth_J in Movie Polls
"I went ahead and voted Stranger Than Paradise because it hadn't received any love and I really loved the film. It's overbearing meaninglessness really struck a chord with me, although Down by Law did the same and I didn't like it as much. Dead Man is another favorite because it's probably the weirdest of all the films of his I've seen (Night on Earth, Coffee and Cigarettes, Down by Law, Stranger than Paradise, Permanent Vacation), and I loved the Neil Young score. Cool poll, man. I would consider myself a fan of his, although I've yet to see his entire body of work. " [More]