Burn After Reading

The film after the Coen Brothers masterpiece No Country for Old Men, that didn't sit to well with people for some reason. Sadly, it's highly underrated but, only because it came after that monolith of a film that it did. You don't see films like Burn After Reading anymore. It's classic Spy vs. Spy type plot only it's the biggest spoof film of the genre, ever. It's a bunch of normal civilians running around playing espionage and the CIA isn't even involved. This just proves that the Coen Brothers are ready to make whatever film they want whenever they want. People were so anticipating something as incredible as No Country for Old Men but, good God, have people for gotten their list of films and the pattern in which they flow? Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, Miller's Crossing, Barton Fink, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, O Brother Where Art Thou?, The Man Who Wasn't There, Intolerable Cruelty, The Ladykillers, No Country for Old Men, and now Burn After Reading. Can you kind of see the pattern? If you don't you aren't a Coen Brothers fan.

The story follows a group of people loosely related to one another in some connection other than they live in the Washington D.C. area. Osbourne Cox (John Malkovich), is a newly unemployed American from his position at the CIA who denies to admit he was fired to his wife Katie (Tilda Swinton). Harry Pfarrer (George Clooney), is a married Treasury agent who brags about having the license to carry a gun but has never had to fire it in his years of being with the Treasury who is having an affair with Osbourne's wife Katie. Harry leads an additional life to his job, and affair, and meets ladies online through online dating websites. Through this he meets a middle aged woman named, Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand), who works at a local gym. Linda is looking to reinvent her self through cosmetic surgery so she can feel young again and find that special someone to feel complete again. While at work her friend and fellow co-worker, Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt), find a disk in the Hardbodies ladies locker room in which they believe contains valuable information into CIA secrets. A name is found among the disk's gibberish, Osbourne Cox. They decide to hold the disk ransom so that the two can get money for Linda's surgery. After that shit hits the fan.

Forty years from now this film will be regarded as a cult classic. That's at least my prediction of course, I can see to where it wouldn't become one but, I have hope that it will. Sure it flew under the radar but, it just adds on to the deck of wild cards the Coen Brothers have up their sleeves. The characters crash into one another like waves in the ocean to create a climactic unfold to a very serious but, unfortunate turn of events. If I had to highlight any single thing in this film I'd say it was a triumph for John Malkovich. This is the best thing that I believe he's done possibly since Being John Malkovich, and in the same year he was cast in the Clint Eastwood film along side Angelina Jolie in The Changeling. I'm sure a lot of people were undermined by the usage of Brad Pitt in the film but, hey, it proves to me that Brad Pitt can be funny as well as, serious.

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Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

Once...Twice...Three times a lady. It has been years, upon years that I've been trying to see this film. It's hard to find a legit copy and I found a site called Veoh that someone had uploaded it on there. I risked getting a trojan on my old Dell computer just to watch it but, I got to see it. White Zombie used a few samples from this film in the album, La Sexorcisto Devil Music: Vol. 1 which I guess got a big interest for a lot of people in the film unless you were fans of Herschell Gordon-Lewis already. It's just an exploitation film much like any other but, this one didn't get a big run around the theater circuit in it's time and was soon forgotten and sought as one of Russ Meyers best works.

Three thrill-seeking go-go dancers (Billie (Lori Williams), Rosie (Haji), and their leader, Varla (Tura Satana)) encounter a young couple in the desert while drag racing. The three challenge the boyfriend (Ray Barlow) to a race and as the boyfriend is winning, Varla cuts him off nearly wrecking him. They all get into a skirmish about foul play and Varla begins to attack the boyfriend. After killing the boyfriend with her bare hands, Varla and he girls drug, bind, gag and kidnap his girlfriend, Linda (Susan Bernard). On a desolate highway, the four stop at a gas station, where they see an old man (Stuart Lancaster) and his muscular, dimwitted son, known as the Vegetable (Dennis Busch). The gas station attendant (Mickey Foxx) tells the women that the old man and his two sons live on a decrepit ranch with a hidden cache of money. Intrigued, Varla hatches a scheme to rob the lecherous old man, who is confined to a wheelchair.

The first immediate thing about this film that is most distinguishable is that the women are hot as fuck. Especially for that time. Much more than most of the women in Orgy of the Dead or She Devils on Wheels or even Switchblade Sisters. The film is the ultimate fetish for lovers of violence, girls, and fast cars. Very entertaining film and it fits in among the top of the 'B' class genre of film making and a major imprint on the grindhouse line ups of the 60s. Unlike the long dismay that some other films that of this stature leave you with feeling drowsy or unfulfilled this one pops your cherry everytime.

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Carnival of Souls

Part of the list of public domain films that are unwanted by production companies and government alike, this film is among one of the best in that whole pile of 'rejects' of the film world. This is typically one of the films you see lying around in a bargain bin in a department store on Halloween. But, it is true there is always a few gems in that pile of rubble. It was one of the films featured on a DVD collection disk along with Attack of the Giant Leeches, The Bat, and BLoody Pit of Horror, I think. It didn't sound as if it would stand out from the others or not so I just watched them all in order and ended up enjoying it the most.

Following up from a tragic car accident, Mary Henry (Candace Hilligoss), moves to Salt Lake City to be an organist for the local church. Mary is strangely attracted to this old abandoned carnival that sits on the outskirts of town. Driving to town as she passes the pavilion to be stopped by this ghoulish figure (The Man, played by director Herk Harvey) who has his eyes totally fixated on her. This figure becomes the main protagonist in the woman's life as he constantly keeps reappearing at any given moment in her reflection and gradually doesn't confine itself to reflection but manifests into plain view. Her emotions fling from one to another having control over the situation being dismissive of anything supernatural and at other times frightened of the unknown and looks at a scientific possibility to the matter. All while the carnival sets within the twilight and beckons at her to come.

Like any film of it's time it's easy to point out film flaws of continuity, repetitiveness, or jumps in film cuts but, it's a truly brilliant piece of work. It's a great classic for the month of October along with hundreds of other essentials for the occasion. The film is all about atmosphere, the whole eerie and macabre presence the film emits from the screen is piercing and just something to cringe about it's so creepy. The ghouls that are depicted in the film have sort of a Gothic sense to them in means of scare factor, meaning it's not a lot of over the top horror it's more or less just a very strange type film that gives you the willies. Worthy enough to get a Criterion release believe it or not, the film is a cult classic and for good reason. I'd recommend it to anyone who is a fan of older horror films. Oh, and by the way, Legend released a color version of the film, fuck that, this film was meant for the black and white medium.

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The Dark Knight

Does this film really need an introduction? Seeing the trailer for the first time of this film was the same reaction as everyone else, "Holy fucking shit!" The thing that I find most shocking is that when I first saw the trailer for Batman Begins I wasn't as exciting as seeing this one. It was just executed so magnificently. The first one was really good but, this film was like dynamite fishing. Batman has always been a dark story very grim. Burton's two versions of the film were very dark and very Tim Burton-ish. They were cartoony and had their own type of dark style to them. Still extraordinary films but, there has always been that demon lying underneath the skin of Batman's story just waiting to be exorcised into the natural world. Christopher Nolan has done the best job I think anyone has done to the story of Batman outside the graphic novels they're loosely based on. The fact that this film was coming out just made you look forward to something in life if you had nothing to look forward to. And sadly, it was the zenith of actor Heath Ledger's short career due to his overdose. Heath had just done Brokeback Mountain and I' Not There even was to be in the new Terry Gilliam film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. This film was a phenomenon among films everywhere and the perfect super hero film and nothing I believe will ever have the ability to out do it for a long, long time to come.

Unwanted vigilante Batman, secret identity billionaire Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) lurks the streets of Gotham City preying on the corrupt, wicked, and evil that run rampant in the city. Since his last escapade, Batman has been on the trail of of a new menace to the society known only as the Joker (Heath Ledger), who has been stealing millions of dollars from the Gotham City mobsters. Mean while a new District Attorney, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) has partnered up with Detective Gordon (Gary Oldman), to bring down the crime rampage in the city by means of court justice. The Joker begins a series of of pre-emptive strikes against Dent, Gordon, and Batman in means to set up more devastating chaotic means of mayhem to unleash upon the city. While Batman deals with the weight load of Gotham's future on his shoulders, Bruce Wayne has to deal with Wayne Enterprises whom he's left in charges of Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) the new relationship between Rachel (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and her new boyfriend, Harvey Dent. Bruce seeks moral help from his friend and butler, Alfred (Michael Caine) on both Bruce Wayne situations and Batman's. Struggling with both life styles between being Batman and Bruce Wayne, Wayne is forced into endless fiasco's which lead him to have to come to many life alternating decisions in life which could cost him the life of others or his own.

The film was nothing short of perfect. Well developed story line, well thought out. Marvellous acting, eye popping action sequences, minimal CGI, amazing cinematography, all around ideal film. There wasn't a boring moment in the entire episode and it didn't try to cram so much into one two hour and thirty minute reel of film. Every moment of it was executed to make every second last a lifetime. The film got a lot of criticism from the typical soccer type mother with the typical complaints about it being too violent for their little children. This isn't your Adam West Batman, they should know. But, what's a film without a little criticism? The case of the film being too violent wasn't held onto long because of the huge box office that the film raked in. And regardless adults and kids enjoyed it both equally. The story was compelling enough to not bore someone of an older age and exciting enough to keep the attention of a little child glued to the screen (as if that's hard nowadays). The film tackled the the classic issue in the super hero tale of choosing which side to be. Bruce must choose his life as Batman or Bruce Wayne and in truth it should never really become a definite decision. But, at least that struggle remained a constant factor throughout the entire length of the film. It has little plot thickening ingredients to make the film more emotional, it let us in on a few secrets that some of the characters will never know in the film so that gives us the feeling that we're now a part of the story line in a way. And who will ever forget that star studded performance by Ledger as the worlds number one villain, the Joker? Cult figure to the max. The ideal villain in any case, wants nothing more than to watch things burn up. No desire, no pleasure, no moral, just sheer chaos. I, as many others, only regret that his character will never be reprised and if reprised will never again be as filling as the performance Ledger did. Sadly, acting legend Jack Nicholson was furious at the fact Ledger was playing the Joker which is saddening since Jack is a giant in the acting world but, I guess Nicholson is known for that behavior as well.

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Big Fish

A spectacle that I didn't know about until about a week or more after it's initial release. A group of friends and I were talking at the lunch table and everyone was mentioning Big Fish and I had no clue so I asked and they said it was Tim Burton's new film. So, soon there after ward my friend Martin and I, went to see it at the Toccoa Big FishTriple Cinema and when we were in there we ended up being the only ones. Toccoa is a shit hole nowadays for those who are unaware. It was something that I had no idea what it was about, I'm just a fan of Tim Burton so I look forward to seeing anything he does. I liked seeing it with no one else except one person in the room it kind of makes me feel like it's a special screening of the film in a way. Plus, you don't have to hear anyone else's dumb ass comments. I think the last thing Burton had done was the Planet of the Apes remake which looked good but, it wasn't such a good film some had thought. So, I'm sure a lot of people were sort of sceptical towards his next plunge into film. After I finished this film my eyes were wet with joy.

Big Fish is a beautiful film that follows the many tall tales of, Ed Bloom (Albert Finney-Senior, Ewin McGregor-Young), which explains a specific reason as of to why some things are how they now or, how they happened in his own personal perspective. The stories range everywhere from the birth of his son, to the meeting of his wife, to the hundreds of people he had met on his travels, from the time he was growing up, and times during war. His son, Will (Billy Crudup), has listened to his fathers false stories his whole life and for once would like to know 'the truth' for the sheer fact that his father is nearing his final days. The harder Will tries to get the truth from his father, his father stand by is story as the solemnly sworn truth and doesn't back down from his word. Will continues to believe his father is a liar and tries to piece together the truth on his own but, slowly starts to realize the man that his father really was which he never was able to know until now.

The film is my second favorite construction by Burton next to Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. It's a one of the most beautifully thought out story lines from a very unlikely, yet equally imaginative director. The cast ranges all the way from Danny Devito, Steve Buscemi, Jessica Lange, Matthew McGrory, and Helena Bonham Carter. The name is nothing short of a oxymoron to the old saying a fish gets bigger every time you tell the story about how big the fish was and that is the best way to describe the character, Ed Bloom. The man starts telling the tales so much he becomes them. It to me is a gorgeous concept challenging the idea of why does all everything have to be so boring when you tell the story? A story is only as exciting as important it was to you and Ed Bloom made clear that every single moment in life was important and it was as exciting to him as it was to the people that listened to the stories he thought up to go along with them.

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Brazil

I think this was the film ever film to make me feel overly depressed. Primarily because, of the ending that is most well-known out of like three different endings.It made be fear the future and how one day this might be me in that world. It just reflected on me at such a young age (maybe 9) the feeling of what I now know is totalitarianism thrown in with just whacked out science-fiction tale. To me Brazil along with others that came out in the 80s like, Scanners, Toys, Akira, Blade Runner, etc.was one of the greatest times for science-fiction to be released. It was so dark, and morbid, and depressing all roled into one because the story was so far out and full turmoil and the endings were not usually you're usual fairy happy endings. Never. This was a whole new era of science-fiction of it's own and I sort of feel that Terry Gilliam isn't recognized enough for this masterpiece. I dare even challenge whether or not I prefer this over Blade Runner.

In a highly structured and bureaucratic state, the government has installed extreme and highly counter-productive measures for which to track down terrorists. A "bug" in the system mixes up the last name of a terrorist (Tuttle) and an innocent man (ironically enough Buttle). Thus, the wrong man (Buttle) is arrested and killed while Tuttle continues to roam free. Sam Lowry (Jonathan Price), an average man with a mother who "knows people" and is always trying to set her son in a higher ranking position in the government to which he always declines, is assigned to investigate the error. At the same time, Jill Layton (Kim Greist), Buttle's neighbor, is trying to report the mistake to authorities. Due to the extremely inefficient bureaucracy, she finds the process to be very tedious. Meanwhile, Sam, who has been dreaming about Jill, gets sidetracked by his fantasies and ends up also being a victim of the counter productivity of the government. The government soon sees Jill as befriending the terrorist, Buttle, and suspects her of aiding him and makes it the mission to apprehend and kill her. One day, Sam returns home to find that his air-conditioning is broken and he calls for Central Service to come and fix it. The terrorist, Archibald 'Harry' Tuttle (Robert De Niro), intercepts his call and comes and installs a type of device that messes with the governments bug devices and befriends Sam.

The worlds technology is by far a spectacle of retro 70s technology just a way more grimier. It's almost as if the entire film was set up to be a sort of slap stick cartoon. The comedy in the film is very open despite the depressing atmosphere in which it is surrounded by. I suppose that this film wouldn't be as depressing as, Dark City, per say but, it has it's moments. The the idea of the government surrounding you and your own family is far past caring about your own personal concern or feelings is awful. It's such a beautiful balance though between the harsh truth of reality, and the limitless extent of imagination that lies within the head of Sam. It's like Terry Gilliam was trying to tell us no matter what happens with the world in the future the one place they can never control us at is in our minds. That, that is what holds us so unique to everyone else in the world.

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Taxi Driver

This film kicked me in my teeth. It's one of the only films I've seen where a on the edge psychopath is the hero and is actually awarded for it. First of all, the whole film is simply psychotic. Even with the cameo of director Martin Scorsese following his wife to her lovers home and talking to Robert De Niro about putting a gun in her pussy and pulling the trigger. It was a gritty film with a lot of recognition. The whole story, all the characters seem as if they came from rust on the bottom of a toilet. I first saw this film back in high school and again it's one of those that you have to get around seeing before you get out of high school and afterwards it becomes the one that you want to get around seeing again but, never can find the time. I'm glad that this film was made and in a way saddened that this film didn't get an Oscar just more proud that it was recognized at all. This film has the a extraordinary story and it's seems like something you'd see in an old grindhouse type of feature show. And a lot of those types of films a gems in the film world but, go unrecognised, so it's good to see something so brutal and dark get a thumbs up from a lot of people.

Robert De Niro plays a mentally unstable Vietnam war veteran named, Travis Bickle, who was discharged from the service honorably. Travis drives a taxi cab during the night, due to insomnia, in the mean streets of New York City's five boroughs and is a frequent regular at porn theatres in his off time. One day, Travis notices a campaign volunteer named Betsy (Cybill Shepard) and asks her out on a date even though he has never really been on one before. Not knowing what to do he takes her to a Swedish porn in one of his regular theatre picks and Betsy becomes disgusted and walks out. Betsy avoids contact with Travis at all costs and due to all his attempts at redemption he starts to become angry and frustrated. He starts to becomes sickened by all the decaying crime that constantly swarms around him and decides to try and take matter into his own hands. He buys a few guns from an illegal arms dealer and practices threatening gestures in front of his mirror at home and later starts sporting a new Mohawk hair-do. One day a 12 year old prostitute named, Iris (Jodie Foster), jumps into Travis' cab in order to escape her pimp, Sport (Harvey Keitel). Travis fails to drive away and Sport reaches into the cab and grabs Iris out and gives Travis a 20 dollar bill for his troubles. Travis is shocked at his failure to drive away and feels obligated to help her at any costs once he sees her again.

The preparation that De Niro went through to do this role was simply God-like. Studying mental-illness and above all driving a cab in 12 hour shifts around New York so he could get more of that cab driver feel. De Niro has always taken a large preperation in his roles, most notably Raging Bull another Scorsese film. The film in short was a monster to me it was powerful in the form of being set in such a jungle that New York City was portrayed as in the 70s. We learned that the .44 magnum could strike fear into the deepest, darkest, depths of men as the cannon stared it's victim in the face being wielded by a crazed man who has nothing to live for other than to blow the streets filth to smithereens. It was controversial and offensive as many of the films by Scorsese are. Scorsese is not one of my favortie directors but, he has always had the balls do such films as these and that to me is being a renegade when he's able to take a story filled with so much turmoil and turn it into film and send it all the way up to Academy recognition. He isn't afraid to raise the bar at all. To you Scorsese if I wore a hat, I'd tip it to you.

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