THE LIFE & TIMES OF IRISHMAN (2006) - **

Acclaimed writer/director/editor/composer/producer Richard "Dick" Hed wants to tell us a self-glamorized story about a guy that after going to a nice college, and after graduation, working his movie tastes out at a homely Blockbuster workplace. Hed wants us to experience an uplifting story about a film buff turned critic that attacked the elitism among movie critics, the snobbery of their self-perceived knowledge.

Dick Hed wants to give us a true movie hero that loved film, but not snob on the latest "crappy" blockbuster picture released by Hollywood.

Instead, Hed gives a shallow, illogical, and mediocre effort that much like the subject of his would-be epic drama, never explains exactly why this critic was a true rebel proletariat for folks on the "street". The protagonist supports THE FANTASTIC FOUR or X3 because he simply liked it, but Hed never bothers to explain why. One must have characters that, if they believe in an concept or idea that is rather stupid to everyone else, at least be understanding as to why they decide as they do.

In a way, Dick Hed is more clear as to why other critics of the protagonist's time and region of the internet are critics worth listening to. TomHagen is punchful and potent. Capo is intelligent and suave with his dash of his Euro-centric mental matrix. DonVercetti's love of music, an audio poetry, has a clear effect on his reviews. RRA is well, the smartest dumb guy that one always finds at those local liquor joints, smarter than the average yokel, but still a hopeless yokel.

Too bad Mr. Hed wasn't so illustrative of his "hero".

That actually sounds like a pretty shitty movie.

Not shitty, but mediocre and really, a waste of time.

Thing is, I liked Dick Hed's previous work, so yeah I'm very disapointed.

P.S. - I still wonder what that raging Dick Hed's idea was in casting that hack of an actor Paul Walker in the lead. A pretty boy that a paper bag full of moth balls could appear more personal.

Hmm ronnie, I checked at work today and I didn't see that movie anywhere in our system. Has it been released in theaters yet or even DVD?

Rest Stop * 1/2
(First Viewing)

I want the 85 minutes of my life back. This is one of the reasons why I don't like low-budget movies because they're corny and have crappy writing

Great generalization there.

Totally Awesome **
(First Viewing)

Saw III ** 1/2
(First Viewing)

Saw III ** 41/80
(First Viewing)

Irish, even the low budget but great efforts of writer/director Dick Hed?

Dick Hed??? That's really his name?? LMAO



TIS

No silly. His real name is Richard Cranium.

You see, Richard Cranium changed his name to a pen name when he entered porn...

Little Man **
(Second Viewing)

John Tucker Must Die * 1/2
(First Viewing)

Black Rain
(1989/Scott)
Perhaps one of the most visually brilliant films I've ever seen. When you combine the late 80's, with Ridley Scott, and Tokyo, it's a serious formula for success. The generic action movie plot doesn't help, and I'm not quite sure Michael Douglas can play the tough guy role, but overall, very enjoyable.

I watched all of these films yesterday:

À bout de souffle Breathless
Ace in the Hole
Adventures of Robin Hood, The
After Hours
Aladdin
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
Alien
All Quiet on the Western Front
All the President's Men
American Graffiti
Amores perros Love's a Bitch
Amputee, The
Andrey Rublyov Andrei Rublev
Animal Crackers
Année dernière à Marienbad, L' Last Year at Marienbad
Annie Hall
Ansiktet The Face/The Magician
Apocalypse Now (and Apocalypse Now Redux)
Auch Zwerge haben klein angefangen Even Dwarfs Started Small
Badlands
Ballon rouge, Le The Red Balloon
Bambi
Bande à part Band of Outsiders
Barton Fink
Battaglia di Algeri, La The Battle of Algiers
Beauty and the Beast
Before Sunrise
Before Sunset
Ben-Hur
Berlin Horse
Big Sleep, The
Birds, The
Birth of a Nation, The
Bleeder
Blow Up
Boot, Das
Boucher, Le The Butcher
Bride of Frankenstein
Brighton Rock
Bringing Up Baby
Broken Flowers
Bronenosets Potyomkin Battleship Potemkin
Brown Bunny, The
Bullitt
Caché Hidden
Cape Fear
Casablanca
Chong qing sen lin Chungking Express
Cercle rouge, Le The Red Circle
Charme discret de la bourgeoisie, Le The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
Chinatown
Children of Men
Cinema Paradiso (and Cinema Paradiso - The Director's Cut)
Circus, The
Citizen Kane
City of God
Clockwork Orange, A
Closer
Color of Money, The
Crimes and Misdemeanors
Crossfire
Day of the Jackal, The
Dead of Night
Deer Hunter, The
Dekalog The Decalogue
Deliverance
Die Hard
Dinner Rush
Doctor No
Dr. Strangelove
Dogville
Dolce vita, La The Sweet Life
Don't Look Back
Double Indemnity
Du Rififi chez les hommes Rififi
Duck Amuck
Duck Soup
Duel
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
Easy Rider
Easy Street
Elephant
Elephant Man, The
Elizabeth
Empire Strikes Back, The
Et Cetera
Être et avoir To Be and To Have
Eyes Wide Shut
Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain, Le Amelie
Fanny och Alexander Fanny and Alexander
Fantasia
Fargo
Fate Morgana Mirage
Femme est une Femme, Une A Woman is a Woman
Festen The Celebration
Finding Nemo
Finding Neverland
Fistful of Dollars, A
Fitzcarraldo
Five Easy Pieces
Fliegenden Ärzte von Ostafrika, Die The Flying Doctors of East Africa
Flora
Fly, The
For a Few Dollars More
Foreign Correspondent
Frankenstein
From Russia With Love
Full Metal Jacket
Funny Games
Gangs of New York
Garden State
General, The
Gerry
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
Gladiator
Godfather, The
Godfather Part II, The
Goldfinger
Gone with the Wind
Good Night, and Good Luck.
GoodFellas
Gosford Park
Graduate, The
Grapes of Wrath, The
Grease
Great Dictator, The
Great Escape, The
Great Race, The
Greed
Große Ekstase des Bildschnitzers Steiner, Die The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner
Groundhog Day
Hannah and Her Sisters
Happiness
Hauz aus Glas Heart of Glass
Heat
His Girl Friday
Horse Feathers
House of Games
How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck
Hudsucker Proxy, The
Hustler, The
I am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang
Idioterne The Idiots
Ikiru Living/To Live
In Cold Blood
In the Bedroom
In the Heat of the Night
In the Mood For Love
Incredibles, The
Inherit the Wind
Insider, The
Insomnia
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Invisible Man, The
Irréversible Irreversible
Jeder für sich und Gott gegen alle Every Man For Himself and God Against All of Them/The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser
Jétee, La The Jetty / The Pier
Jules et Jim Jules and Jim
Julien Donkey-Boy
Kabinett des Dr. Caligari, Das The Cabinet of Dr Caligari
Kagemusha The Double/Shadow Warrior
Kárhozat Damnation
Killing Fields, The
Kes
Kid, The
King Kong
King Kong
King of Comedy, The
Kiss Me Deadly
Klute
Kongkabale King's Game
Krótki Film O Zabijaniu A Short Film About Killing
Kumonosu-jo Throne of Blood
LA Confidential
Lady Vanishes, The
Ladykillers, The
Lantana
Last Resort
Last Seduction, The
Laura
Lawrence of Arabia
Leonidestorm Leonid Shower
Letter from an Unknown Woman
Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The
Lion King, The
Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Lord of The Rings: The Return of the King
Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers
Love is the Devil - Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon
Los Amantes del Circulo Polar Lovers of the Arctic Circle
Magnolia
Maltese Falcon, The
Man in the White Suit, The
Man Who Knew Too Much, The
Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The
Man Who Wasn’t There, The
Manchurian Candidate, The
Manderlay
Manhunter
Marathon Man
Masculin Féminin Masculine Feminine
Mean Streets
Medium Cool
Meet Me in St. Louis
Memento
Mépris, Le Contempt
Metropolis
Miller's Crossing
Misery
Mississippi Burning
Modern Times
Monkey Business
Mothlight
Mulholland Dr.
Murder, My Sweet Farewell My Lovely
Music Box, The
My Darling Clementine
Mystery Train
Narrow Margin, The
Neighbors
New World, The
Night at the Opera, A
Nightmare Before Christmas, The
No Man's Land
Noon va Goldoon Moment of Innocence
North by Northwest
Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens Nosferatu
Notorious
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Odishon Audition
Old Dark House, The
Oliver!
Once Upon a Time in America
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Otto e Mezzo Eight and a Half
Out of the Past Build My Gallows High
Paris, Texas
Performance
Persona
Petit soldat, Le The Small Soldier
Pianist, The
Pierrot le fou
Pinocchio
Player, The
Pledge, The
Plein solei Purple Moon
Prénom Carmen First Name: Carmen
Psycho
Pulp Fiction
Quatre Cents Coups, Les/The Four Hundred Blows
Rabbits
Raging Bull
Ran Chaos
Rashomon
Rear Window
Règle du Jeu, La The Rules of the Game
Reservoir Dogs
Return of the Jedi
Rope
Run Lola Run
Salaryman 6
Sånger från Andra Våningen Songs From the Second Floor
Sans soleil Sunless
Save Me
Saving Private Ryan
Scenes From a Marriage
Schindler’s List
Seconds
Se7en
Shadow of a Doubt
Shichinin no Samurai Seven Samurai
Shine
Sib/The Apple
Singin’ in the Rain
Singing Detective, The
Sjunde Inseglet, Det The Seventh Seal
Smultronsället Wild Strawberries
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Solyaris Solaris
Some Like It Hot
Sorrow and the Pity, The
Soufrière, La
Southern Comfort
Spider
Spiral Staircase, The
Stagecoach
Star Wars
Straight Story, The
Strangers on a Train
Steet of Crocodiles
Strictly Ballroom
Stroszek
Su Zhou He
Sunset Boulevard
Sympathy for the Devil
Team America World Police
Terminator 2: Judgement Day
Terminator, The
Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The
Thin Red Line, The
Third Man, The
39 Steps, The
This is Spinal Tap
Trois Coleurs: Bleu Three Colours: Blue
Trois Coleurs: Blanc Three Colours: White
Trois Coleurs: Rouge Three Colours: Red
Three Kings
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Titanic
Torn Curtain
Touch of Evil
Towed in a Hole
Toy Story
Traffic
Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story
Truman Show, The
12 Angry Men
2046
21 Grams
Twin Peaks
2001: A Space Odyssey
Unforgiven
United 93
Unknown White Male
Uzak Distant
Vertigo
Videodrome
Voksne mennesker Dark Horse
Vozvrashcheniye The Return
Walkabout
Werckmeister harmóniák Werckmeister Harmonies
Wesele The Wedding
West Side Story
West Wittering Affair, The
When Harry Met Sally
White Diamond, The
White Heat
Wicker Man, The
Window, The
Wings of Desire
Withnail & I
Witness
Wizard of Oz, The
Wolf Creek
Wolfman, The
Woodstock
Woyzeck
Zamilované maso Meat Love
Zatoichi

The Life and Times of Irishman
2006 / Dick Hed / USA
Another reason why IMDb isn't the most reliable source on the web: the release of this film has been so limited (two screens in America, one in the UK) that it hasn't reached many sources on the Internet. My curiosity was aroused when I saw it was showing at the National Film Theatre in London, so I travelled down there yesterday to see it. £11.00 in (average cinema costs over here are £5), and it was a very amusing, low budget effort, with corny acting and risible dialogue, which added to the charm of the film.

The leading actress, the one whom our hero fancies, was HOT HOT HOT, and just another reason to watch the film again and again.

I'll definitely be buying the DVD when it comes out.

Nowhere
(1997/Araki)
A group of teenagers try to sort out their lives and emotions while bizarre experiences happen to each one, including alien abductions, bad acid trips, bisexual experiences, suicides, bizarre deaths, and a rape by a TV star. All of this happens before "the greatest party of the year".
A colorful barrage of violence and sex, fast-paced and disturbing. Described by critics as "90210 on acid," "MTV meets Requiem for a Dream," "a complete waste of time," as well as "a bizarre masterpiece." Polarizing to say the least, it may seem to lack substance on the surface, and contain a whole lot of symbolism that represents little to nothing, but overall it's a hell of a viewing experience, cheapened only perhaps by the cop-out-to-humor ending.

Would you mind buring me a copy? I'd love to see it but it's not playing anywhere near me, Blockbuster doesn't have it yet and I can't find it anywhere to download it on the Internet

I think I understand what you mean

Invocation of My Demon Brother
(1969/Anger)
Anger takes us on a psychadelic trip through the occult, touching on themes of death, drugs, and the supernatural. Mick Jagger does the score and the Stones make an appearance. Anger's use of rapid cross-cutting, superimposing several seperate shots, and just his editing in general makes this a masterpiece for its time.

Puce Moment
(1949/Anger)
More from the avant garde, some of Anger's early work. We watch as an old fashioned Hollywood starlet flips through her multitude of dresses, looks at herself in the mirror, perhaps hallucinates, and then takes her dogs for a walk. I read that due to the need to overexpose the film, Anger had his star move very slowly and then sped it up in post-production. This adds an eerie sort of quality to her movements, as evident in her rapidly swinging earrings. The highlight is the soundtrack, which consists of a Mick Jagger-like singer over an acoustic guitar, although this music was supposedly added some 15 years later, which accounts for the fact that it's very much 60's-sounding. Overall, interesting. Anger's body of work is very much worth exploring for those who haven't. Youtube has a lot of his stuff.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - ****/4
(4th Viewing)
Probably my 2nd or 3rd favorite movie of all time and my favorite score of any movie.

The Shining
(1980/Kubrick)
My 2nd viewing, this time on the big screen. Nicholson and Kubrick are masters of their respective arts. This is one of the very few films which I feel benefits from being shown in fullscreen for some reason. I get the sense Kubrick just knows how to make better use of the frame. Also really enjoyed the score much more this time around, especially the Tangerine Dream opening number.

The Exorcist
(1973/Friedkin)
Didn't live up to the hype for me. Repetitive and predictable, the thrills are cheap and drama is forgettable. Maybe it just paled in comparison, since I saw it directly after The Shining, but this just didn't do it for me. For any fans of this film, I was watching the "Version You've Never Seen." Is the theatrical release any better?

Six Shooter
(2005/McDonagh)
Winner of the Best Live Action Short Oscar last year, Filmed and set in Ireland, comical and yet morbid, reflecting the traditional Irish pessimistic point of view on life. McDonagh revels in the awkward silences. Well worth a watch on Youtube if you've got the time.

Prestige ***

Interesting throughout, but way too complex. This is similar to Illusionist in theme which I liked more. Acting wise, both Jackman and Bale do a good job. One funny thing was the characters of Tesla and Edison. My school text books only showed their scientific achievements, little did I know that they were doing some rather nasty things

AFSANEH: A TRUE STORY (2006) - ***1/2

A cultured girl in the very religious-government of modern Iran that tries to exert her love for movies, despite the authorities pressuring her and others of this age group to think outside of western pop culture.

Mary Juana, most noted in the past for the allegations of drug and alcohol abuse as reported by the media, has made a comeback from the tabloids and once again made me realized why she was considered a rising writer/director star years ago, when she made "Honey Deal".

What she does is make a touching, little drama that despite my fears that I was stuck having to watch a melodrama chick teen angst flick....I connected with. Maybe its the premise that people over in regimes that our government is opposing, also dig the same movies we do, but unlike in America, to do such things isn't a time-killing past time. Its defying a government trying to impose its moral, religious, and political will on the youth.

Thanks for your review. I'll be sending complimentary DVDs to anyone else who cares to write a review as well.

I just finished Syriana over the weekend. I thought it was good, but not great. There were a couple of really compelling scenes and I thought Clooney's character was well played. I have never been a huge Matt Damon fan, so he sort of brought the movie down IMO. All in all I liked the multiple storylines and would recommend the film.

3.5 out of 5 stars

The Black Imp
(1905/Melies)
Enjoyable Melies piece, notable for its use of cinematic innovations to create humor. He uses some of the same effects here as he does in A Trip to the Moon.

A Corner in Wheat
(1909/Griffith)
My introduction to Griffith. Decent.

The Lonedale Operator
(1911/Griffith)
Griffith moves into more complex editing and scene framing techniques. Interesting to see the films that would come to define the informal set of rules by which films are still shot and edited to this day. This film contains one of the first ever instances of a moving camera, as one shot is taken from a moving train.

Scream ****
(Nth Viewing)

Definitely my favorite horror movie of all time and I got to see it on the big screen for only the second time! I gave it 4 stars in terms of being one of the greatest horror movies of all time, IMO.

I watched "Fever Pitch" (starring Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon) for the first time earlier today. I was greatly disappointed.

Its a light-hearted romance about a die-hard Red Sox fan (Fallon) meeting and falling in love with a business woman (Barrymore) just before and during the World Championship 2004 Red Sox season.

Being a Boston fan myself I loved the references to and coverage of the Sox but the rest of the movie fell totally flat. There was absolutely no "chemistry" between the stars, the script was weak and it was way too predictable.

The movie had lots of potential but Fallon couldn't rise to the occasion (I could picture Adam Sandler doing a much better job).

I give it one star (only for the Red Sox connection).