SEA OF LOVE 1/2
(First Viewing)

One of Pacino's forgettable B movies. He plays the drunk cop character well because he's Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin looked beautiful, but the movie was still average at best.

WEDDING DAZE
(First Viewing)

This is Jason Biggs first film I've seen of his since the AMERICAN PIE trilogy and it looks like he'll be remembered solely for those three films. I continue to enjoy seeing Isla Fisher's work even though it's fair and few in between.

ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS rated higher than SEA OF LOVE ... 'nuf said.

Like I said, I'm biased towards it and it surpassed my expectations

Geoff, be careful or Don Cardi/DMC will bitch you out.

I12 is a good sport, unlike some others here

The Bells of St.Mary's (1945) **
A story of humanism and faith, narrated quite simplistically and all too sentimentally to appeal to the mind. It is effective in its message though. Ingrid Bergman is convincing as a nun who truly believes in her prayer and the goodness of humankind.

The China Syndrome (1979) ***
This is a movie that shows the power of Hollywood in creating a tension filled plot but avoiding its cliches as the same time. Characters in this movie fight the constraints of their professions while trying to hold on to their beliefs. Lots of tense moments and very little of explosions, chases etc.

He's also pretty fucking ignorant in answering my legit questions.

Irish, since you asked (though you won't reply): Soderbergh's Solaris is more of an adaptation (of the original novel) than a remake. I like it very much.

I'm curious: what drew you towards Tarkovsky's film?

I disagree with RRA: the traffic shot is beautiful; my favourite of the entire film. He does a similar transition-between-worlds in Stalker, too.

Rather than making a (mean) blanket statement like that, have you ever considered the possibility he may be ignoring you on purpose?

Wasn't there an old TV show called It Pays to Be Ignorant?

Yeah, I'm pretty sure he is, actually. That would fit in with my definition of ignorance.

If anything, that's why I'm partial to mean blanket statements these days.

WALK HARD: THE DEWEY COX STORY
(First Viewing)

I was very surprised and disappointed with this film. For once, Judd Apatow who co-wrote this, didn't strike gold with me. Also, this was the first starring role for John C. Reilly and I suppose it wasn't entirely his fault the film wasn't that funny. It does its best to poke fun at WALK THE LINE but rather it plays like a SCARY MOVIE 3 or 4.

Could it be that Reilly's schtick just isn't enough to carry a film?

Not so much that. Like I said he was good and I was glad to see him in a starring role, but it just wasn't that funny. As a comedian, you're only as good as your jokes and this wasn't that good.

I finally saw The Last Castle (2001) last night w/ Gandolfini and Robert Redford. Redford was great, but I had a hard time getting over Gandolfini's accent. After 8 years of The Sopranos it's tough to hear him talking any other way. Ironically I said the opposite here when I said that he sounded too much like Tony Soprano.

As fine an actor as he is, typecasting is going to be a MAJOR problem for him. I can't get used to him in any other role.

JUNO
(First Viewing)

Wow, Ellen Page was very impressive and capable of carrying this film by herself. She's quite a talented young actress. More of a dark comedy but still somewhat moving.

I wanted to see this movie when i saw it advertised


So it's worth seeing then Irish?

If you can see it for free online it is

THERE WILL BE BLOOD 1/2
(First Viewing)

After watching this, I can say now with certainty that Daniel Day-Lewis deserved his Oscar. Man he put on another great performance. It was right on par with his job in GANGS OF NEW YORK. I was a little surprised Paul Dano wasn't able to snag at least an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his Eli Sunday character. The scenes with him and Lewis were IMO the best of the show.

Fuck GONY, this was better...including Lewis.

But yeah, I agree with you on Dano/Lewis.

STEEL DAWN (1987) - ***

I'll be right honest up front: I hate Patrick Swayze, or the one everyone remembers. When his career highlights are a creepy-as-hell dead chick flick (GHOST), a Reagan Decade pedophilic romancer (DIRTY DANCING), and the mother of all mocked-camp classics (ROADHOUSE)...why should anyone give a fart about him?

I would argue instead that he has been in some decent pictures in spite of that crappy resume. He was the hypocritical morality leader in DONNIE DARKO, the "kid" archetype soldier in UNCOMMON VALOR, and the teenage American guerilla leader in RED DAWN. Though considering the last two were John Milius productions, its no surprise they're ignored.

The problem is, his best work was in a movie not good enough for mainstream acceptance, nor bad enough to be celebrated as a great bad film by those freaks like me. Talk about being stuck inbetween Iraq and a hard place.

STEEL DAWN is like every other post-apoticlyptical movie where the future after a nuclear holocaust sucks, and human race de-evolves into traveling tribes, fighting rival outfits for scraps across the desert.

Such Z-fare usually are shot for cheap out in Italy or Eastern Europe, or out in California if they slightly more cash. The wardrobe is bought from a nearby flea market, the props are retrieved from a junk yard, and the sets are either abandoned warehouses or buildings long since condemned. The budget is about as much as a John Edwards haircut, and save for maybe MAD MAX, all these movies show their limited financial resources.

The Swayze is a mullet-wearing soldier warrior roaming these wastelands when he comes upon a village who are defiantly defending their well of uncontaminated water from some evil thugs. How do I know they're evil? Because a boss with a name like Damnil doesn't sound like a Peacemaker.

Anyway, The Swayze befriends (and bangs) a MILF, and becomes a surrogate father for her boy. Of course a kid would think Swayze was awesome if he owns the baddies in kicking their ass as much as he does. Too bad the antagonists' hired mercenary just rode into town, and he's just as damn good...

Now if you're a fan of westerns, you'll immediately noticed that STEEL DAWN is a MAD MAX rehasing of the classic SHANE. While George Stevens' masterpiece being superior was never in doubt, I'll give STEEL DAWN something in the creativity department.

There is a nutty sequence when The Swayze is showing the kid this whole meditation/praying routine that amounts to drawing a circle in the sand, ground your head within it, and pull a headstand. Yes its a damn goofy concept, but the way Swayze is so damn serious about it, you'll definately remember this scene, for better or for worse.

Back in the days before the internet, when you go to a video storeand see a VHS box of a movie you've never heard of before and headlined by a movie star, you're rolling dice. Certainly that's why I avoided STEEL DAWN for years, and having seen it now......I actually sorta liked it.

As visitors of the Agony Booth, badmovies.org, and other Bad Film Buffs across the internet can tell you, most post-apoticlyptical action flicks outside of Mel Gibson and George Miller suck. Not just suck, it blows...and not just blows, it swallows.

Now trust me, STEEL DAWN is not good per say by any means but unlike most such pictures of this extinct genre, DAWN is primitively entertaining as a trash adventure. Save for that head-stand scene, this movie is uninspired and is rather routine in director Lance Hool's shooting of the action, and you definately won't brag about it to friends. But for the genre, it is a decent breadwinner.

Someone at another website asked me why I review movies that nobody gives a damn about, and I answer:

(1) That I take the bullet for everyone else.
(2) Because I believe that you can learn as much from bad movies as you do from good pictures in how to make films.

Interestingly, while this movie did nothing for Swayze's career after DIRTY DANCING was a blockbuster in theatres, it was a chance for him to act with his wife, who was the previously mentioned MILF character.

Good for him, even if I wonder how his mullet survived the radiation.

STRANGE WILDERNESS (2008)
(First Viewing)

Happy Madison makes another fine film sans Adam Sandler. The last film I remember them doing was GRANDMA'S BOY which was surprisingly good as was this. The crew was all back together and they added Justin Long and Jonah Hill (great choices BTW).

I AM LEGEND 1/2
(First Viewing)

It's always a treat to watch Will Smith do his thing onscreen, however I have been somewhat disappointed with his projects as of late. I had hear some good things about this prior to viewing but I didn't think it lived up to it. In fact, the last Will Smith movie that I really enjoyed was either BAD BOYS II, ALI or ENEMY OF THE STATE

Have you seen "The pursuit of happiness" thats a great film

I've just come back from seeing Rambo. It's quite possibly the worst film I've ever seen.

MAGNOLIA
(Second Viewing)

PTA does a great job balancing two interwoven stories and his use of those long one-shots (mostly noticeably towards the beginning) were well enjoyed on my part. It can be quite a task to divide proper time to develop each story throughly but this works for him much like it worked for Steven Soderbergh in TRAFFIC but failed for Stephen Gaghan with SYRIANA. Tom Cruise was great as the male motivational speaker

I did and thought it was good not great