Friday, July 17, 2009

Deepthroat



You can't find this anywhere, unless you download it on a torrent or a .rar file. I don't even think this film will see the light of day. It's only an hour and I had no other real purpose of watching it than to watch the first porno ever to hit the big screen. After, watching this is good to watch the footnote film Inside Deepthroat and see why many considered this film a very important advancement in American film. John Waters described buying a ticket to the film during it's original release as, "it turned buying a ticket into an act of revolution." What corporate and 'descent' America sees as a stain on the American society of pureness was a multi-million dollar phenomenon. The film was removed from screen out of indecency, the filmmakers and actors arrested. Though this would not be the only time in history for this to happen for example the film, Cannibal Holocaust, it was one of the first major known film to be removed. Off the top of my head the only one before this one that I can even guess was removed was Birth of Nation but, I doubt that statement after claiming it. It was the golden step to a long staircase into the American pornography film industry and a large step into the continuation of underground rebel cinema.

A sexually frustrated woman, Linda Loveless (Linda Loveless), asks her friend, Helen (Dolly Sharp), for advice on how to achieve an orgasm. Linda says she feels 'tingles' all over but, has never experienced an orgasm to it's fullest potential. Helen decides to throw a sex party for her friend to see if her pleasures can be finally be fulfilled possibly by trying different men. After the party provides no help, Helen recommends that Linda visit a doctor (Harry Reems). The doctor discovers that Linda's clitoris is located in her throat after an examination. The two then perform oral sex where Linda finally achieves an orgasm and wants to marry the doctor but, the doctor denies for his dick is too wore out to handle anymore deepthroating. She then goes on to work as a therapist for the doctor and performs a particular technique of oral sex - thereafter known as "deep throat" - on various men, until she finds the one to marry.

The 61 minute film is intended to be humorous with highly tongue in cheek dialogues and songs; fireworks going off and bells ringing during orgasm as well as, rocket ships shooting off during climax. The film is short lived but memorable. Some say it's immoral I say it's a rebellion against modern censorship and an underdog of the modern film world. Maybe a remake will come into view Lindsay Lohan in the lead role. Oh, dream I may but, happen it never will.

trailer

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan



This film was a blast, all the way from the beginning all the way to the end. I had first seen it when I took an old friend named, Kelsea, out on what wasn't neither an outing nor a date. I don't know what it was. None the less, she didn't want to go see it out of respect for her friend Sabila. I talked her into it because, she had a vague interest and had heard it was pretty good. We went to Gainesville to see it and ate Quizno's and ventured into the odyssey that is the World of Sacha Baron Cohen. Never before has a movie made me laugh so hard. I laughed until I was coughing, and my ribs hurt from over exertion, my cheeks were sticky with dried tears, the same for Kelsea. I hold this film as one of the funniest films ever, up with, Love and Death, The Big Lebowski, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, A Shot in the Dark, and Blazing Saddles.

Sacha Baron Cohen, stars as his character from his old sketch comedy show, The Ali G Show, named Borat Sagdiyev. Borat is a reporter nominated for several award in his home country of Kazakhstan who is sent over by his agency to do a special report on the country of America to see why they're so successful and then bring the glory back to Kazakhstan. Borat is accompanied by his colleague, Azamat Bagatov (Ken Davitian) who is in charge of managing the on the road show and coordinator of where Borat will be reporting. After arrival in New York City, the first few reports prove unsuccessful Borat is discouraged in and is sitting in his hotel room watching American television. Upon it an episode of Baywatch comes on and he sees the star, Pamela Anderson. Borat instantly falls in love and learns that she lives in California and convinces his partner Azamat to take the show on the road so he can secretly come in contact with her so that he can marry her.

The movie is an amazing exploration of all the stupid shit that makes America so embarrassing to live in. Sure, we have our proud moments but, as of lately not a whole bunch and Borat takes those and cuts them open with a surgical knife and tosses all the organs around for those who've forgotten what we're made out of nowadays. One of my personal favorites is the stunt he does where he sings the national anthem at a rodeo in Texas and meets the owner of it. That's a 100% Texan for you, anti-everything non-Christian American. If anything that man deserved a punch in the chin with a quick thrust in the penis from a swift right heel. Ignorance is no where near bliss and this ignorance is very common to come across in America. I guess that's our biggest downfall as a country is our ignorance. I wonder what it is in our blood that makes us so intolerable to reason or common sense. A majority of Americans are not open to new things and they make other peoples personal lives a huge mishap on their lives. It's not worth it to make such a big deal that two men in love when you only have your one and only life to live. So, on top of being funny as hell, it's sort of a well hidden exposure of our beautiful country. Upon the recent release of Cohen's next dive into major film, BrĂ¼no, I much prefer Borat. It seems much more controversial and much more diverse. Borat didn't leave anything untouched or sacred he attacked all the habitats were use to today.

trailer

Thursday, July 9, 2009

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.

trailer

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

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.

trailer

Thursday, July 2, 2009

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.

trailer

whole film

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.

trailer

Sunday, June 28, 2009

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.

trailer