mercurial

Under discussion:

Mamma Mia!  (2008)

Anticip . . . ation. The actors. The music. The whole shebang. When everything aligns into the perfectly anticipated film and nothing can go wrong. Until you begin taking those first big gulps of your soda and unexpectedly aspirate a handful of popcorn. The indelible stage play Mamma Mia! wholeheartedly attempts to capture the magic of ABBA and metamorphose it into a cohesive story about life and its many eccentricities. Depending on whether or not you have seen it will undoubtedly effect your subsequent opinion of the filmic adaptation. With a spastic story-line mixed with bewildering musical sequences, Mamma Mia! is constructed for a special someone that can ignore lack of musical talent and focus blithely on superficiality. Equally filled with moments of mild amusement and unbearable pain, it's definitely a sight to behold for all of those that want to "take a chance" on it.

Under discussion:

Heathers  (1989)

Sex and Death 101  (2007)

With divine providence arriving neatly as an email in his inbox, Roderick Blank (Simon Baker) soon discovers that the powers that be have clued him into his future sexual proclivities and provided a list with the names of every person he will have sex with for the rest of his life. Scorned by a fetishisticly minded, abusive husband, Death Nell (Winona Ryder) becomes a champion of womanhood and embraces her own sadistic qualities as she leads the crusade / death march against those penis-wielding individuals that dare to scoff at the almighty power of the vagina. Together they amass a body count of victims (his orgasmic, hers comatose; i.e. Sex and Death 101) in this all too overwhelming slapstick, yet bordering romantic, comedy suffused with bits of erotica and horror that ultimately results in an putrid amalgam almost-could-have-been memorable film by that guy that made Heathers. 

Under discussion:

Night of the Creeps  (1986)

If Roger Corman got together with John Hughes and Clive Barker to create a Sci-Fi / Horror / Gross-Out Comedy sometime in the mid-80's, it would undoubtedly resemble Night of the Creeps. Chubby naked aliens, axe-wielding mental patients, gratuitous breasts shots and turd-like slugs turning drunken frat boys into zombies, WHOOPIE!! Endlessly quotable and completely unforgettable.

Under discussion:

Watching the Detectives  (2007)

A respectable romantic-comedy for cineastes, Watching the Detectives details the spastic misadventures of Neil (Cillian Murphy) and Violet (Lucy Liu) as they attempt to deconstruct each others expectations about life and love. Sappy and loaded with filmic references for those in the know; overall a decent little movie for fans of its ilk. 

Under discussion:

Mama's Boy  (2008)

Gratingly cliched plot and uncomfortable dialogue prevent Mama's Boyfrom becoming the amusing comedy it could have been. With a group of actors amazingly typecast: Jon Heder as the self-deluded social outcast, Diane Keaton as the overbearing mother trying to do what's best for her child and Anna Faris as the quirky pothead, the outcome should have been laughably mediocre yet drags from scene to scene to scene to scene . . .

Under discussion:

The Strangers  (2008)

Expecting a romantic evening alone, James (Scott Speedman) and Kristen (Liv Tyler) are unexpectedly thrust into a torturous game of hide and seek when a band of marauders appear on their doorstep. Undoubtedly influenced by the oeuvre of the Charles Manson "Family" and the events that led to the death of Sharon Tate and three others, The Strangers is surprisingly chilling in its depiction of a couples desperate attempts to overcome a seemingly omnipresent cadre of killers bent on fulfilling their murderous urges. Ultimately an unnervingly candid depiction of the motivation behind such brutality with the horror magnified by the rudimentary mask of the male intruder and the deadened eyes of the females kewpie doll visages.

Under discussion:

Manda Bala  (2007)

Manda Bala effortlessly tracks the evolution of corruption throughout Brazil: from the meandering tadpoles that inhabit the slums to the bullfrogs that fill the seats of Congress. Broad in its scope yet captivating in its detail, this documentary dissects the myriad problems that have transformed such a geographically rich and culturally diverse country into a haven for criminals that populate both sides of the poverty line. Children roam the streets re-enacting the latest kidnapping, businessmen spend their free time learning defensive driving techniques and legitimate government officials bide their time with methods of countering their corrupt counterparts. Brutal and a true revelation for the uninformed.

Under discussion:

Recount  (2008)

The controversy surrounding the electoral votes of Florida in the 2000 presidential election has amazingly turned into a story of legendary proportions in less than a decade. Recount attempts to deconstruct the chaotic events that led to George W. Bush defeating Al Gore by a margin of less than 600 votes to become the 43rd president of the United States. From the hilarity that was Katherine Harris (Laura Dern) to the shockingly bad design of the butterfly ballot, Recount is an unbiased detailing of just how dizzyingly complex and borderline absurd the laws that govern this country are, especially in the hands of those with ulterior motives. With an incredible cast and intriguing subject matter, this made for cable production is definitely worth checking out.

Under discussion:

An American Crime  (2007)

Recounting the horrific details of events that have actually occurred in our history is a delicate undertaking. From the greatly exaggerated stories of human chop-shops to the more realistic accounts of child abuse, a film attempting to depict these injustices can be one line of dialogue away from being unnervingly lurid to profoundly sincere. In this tale of woe, the last few months of a young girl's life are brutally reconstructed according to the startlingly true testimony of those that watched and appallingly participated in killing her. Unremarkable in its presentation, An American Crime is guided by the gut-wrenching story and its ability to draw you into the pathetic world of a monstrous human being and her helpless prey.

Under discussion:

King Corn  (2007)

The proliferation of corn in America is a cause for concern in King Corn as two twenty-somethings explore how this once rare plant has exponentially grown into one of the largest and economically viable agricultural crops in the United States. Hokey and bordering on trite, Ian and Curt's journey is laden with faux-shocking statistics about the dangers of corn and its role in perverting American values and how it is slowly killing the citizenry from the inside out. Informative at its core but blanketed in tawdry sentiment by phlegmatic documentarians.

Under discussion:

The Silence of the Lambs  (1991)

Seven  (1995)

Antibodies  (2005)

Owing in large part to tomes of modern serial-killer lore as The Silence of the Lambs and Se7en, Antibodies attempts to weave a twisted epilogue to such tales of woe in a visually alluring, yet bemusedly hackneyed way. Featuring a murderer with a stare that will produce nightmares in the most thick-skinned of horror fanatics, the film follows the events after his capture and the mysterious circumstances around a police inquiry into one of his victims. A slew of plot twists keep the dramatic tension palpable without flirting too much with the unbearably implausible - all leading to a barrage of revelations that will keep you guessing till the closing credits.

Under discussion:

Teeth  (2007)

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the . . . wait, wrong movie. Or is it? Teeth, or The Life and Times of an Ultra-Modern Feminist Superhero, follows Dawn on the perilous journey into womanhood and the dangers that lurk in a person's naughty places. The product of natural selection, nuclear fallout or good 'ol fashioned incest, the origins of Dawn's new powers remain a mystery, but one thing is for certain, with great power comes great . . . nope, wrong movie again. Struggling with her newfound power, Dawn must face the plethora of evil villains (mainly erections and curious fingers) that threaten to destroy the sanctity of her vajayjay. Both hilarious and frightening, Teeth embraces its schlocky B-movie roots and shines its pearly whites for the whole world to enjoy and simultaneously recoil in fear.

Under discussion:

27 Dresses  (2008)

Always a bridesmaid and never a bride, Katherine Heigl shines as the self-effacing best friend to everyone that reaches her boiling point when her younger sister steals the love of her life. Looking for an exploitative hot story, James Marsden finds it in Heigl and her collection of heinously ugly bridesmaids dresses, but alas, romance blossoms and the fun begins. Far from perfect but not a complete failure, 27 Dresses manages to combine the two key elements necessary for a modern romantic comedy: fresh slapstick and two lead actors that just seem to mesh.

Under discussion:

Music Within  (2007)

The struggle for equal rights is quite a daunting one, especially if you're deaf or have cerebral palsy. A touching real-life story drives this relatively bland film about a Vietnam veteran attempting to change societies perceptions of people with disabilities. Driving past the typically shlocky disabled jokes and moving into gut-busting moments of absolute hilarity, Music Within works well enough for those in search of some good 'ol fashioned visceral emotion with a gentle sprinkling of laughter.