I really know nothing about this series other than A) its existence from it popping up on Netflix as an original series and B) my knowledge of the original movie that I just watched. I'm a little excited to truly and completely have no clue what's coming. I also haven't really seen any of the DTV sequels, so if anything that pops up is a reference to those, I'll completely miss it. Most of my experiences going into some show or movie without any preconceptions / seeing any sort of trailer have gone pretty well.
The first episode does a pretty good job of setting up some of the major characters despite some of the head-scratching changes and additions to the original story. I'm not sure if this was produced as a pilot, or with the knowledge that it would be completed. Either way, any first episode has to be good enough to convince you to watch the rest of it. The entire episode takes place at a liquor store in Texas, but the episode still makes sure to show the evil Aztec horror to come through the cold open and some of the small touches and moments creeping in the periphery.
Once it's established as a standard retelling of the Gecko Brothers fleeing the law to the Titty Twister bar in Mexico, it makes a lot of sense to expand the opening liquor store robbery/shootout into its own standalone episode. However, it's anticlimactic even to someone that had never seen the movie. The old grizzled Texas Ranger is immediately shown in some pointless, boring flashbacks giving his rookie partner sage advice. By the time he reveals that he's counting down "how many good days I have left", he should have a gaping chest wound already. There's still the exact how's and the why's of the Brothers' escape, and the show milks some tension from that. Despite some mildly egregious slow-motion and bad one-liners, the ending shootout and payoff for the simmering tension is well-done.
Most of the changes from the movie creep in somewhat slowly. The biggest is that there is no twist regarding the supernatural here. The cold open features a truly horrifying ritual involving snakes that basically shows what would have happened in Raiders of the Lost Ark if Indiana Jones wasn't a superhero. Richie Gecko's role seems to be beefed up as well - he spends most of the episode switching between generic leering at the (thankfully) older female hostages and being tortured by demonic images. Seth Gecko's boss in Mexico advises him to take Richie's visions seriously, because he has "the sight". It's a good tease of what's waiting for them in Mexico seeing him working alongside Aztec symbols briefly.
Is Richie having a bigger role in the second half of the story a good thing? The actor comes across like a bit like a cross between Cillian Murphy and Michael Shannon. If he can bring half the intensity to Richie's "sight" as Michael Shannon, it'll be a treat. Seth Gecko's a little harder to read. Sometimes he seems like he's trying a Clooney impersonation, sometimes he's NAILING a Clooney impersonation, and sometimes he's in between. Don Johnson is great as the ill-fated Earl McGraw Texas Ranger character, but the flashbacks and pumping up of his story came off as padding. Also, John Hawkes was dearly missed as the liquor store cashier.
The younger ranger, Freddie, gets the most problematic start. He's set on a path of righteous vengeance on the brothers for killing his partner. However, not content to let this easy setup be enough, the near-death partner orders him to "follow them to the gates of hell". This is unforgivably bad and on-the-nose even for a pulpy TV show like this. What should be a good and defining character beat for him is made laughable when the exchange from not 5-10 minutes earlier in the episode is repeated in ghostly voice over before he sets out after the brothers. Freddie is a good addition to the show at large though, having a law enforcement pursuit with a face and a character is a good thing. Here's hoping he evolves into more of a character as the show goes on.
I'm going to keep watching! I don't know when, or if there will be entries for the later episodes, but I'm curious to see where this goes and what more changes. The cast list showed Robert Patrick (presumably as the Harvey Keitel father role) coming up later. I tried to avoid any looking up on the internet about this so I wouldn't spoil how many episodes someone may or may not be in. Also, Wilmer Valderrama was unrecognizable as Seth's Mexico boss. That will also probably be a decent and much-expanded role now that he is in on whatever horror is going on down south.
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Friday, October 3, 2014
October 2nd: From Dusk Till Dawn
If you've ever been in a nerdy movie conversation, you might have heard someone talk about wishing that a movie could surprise us, could shift gears wildly, to a completely different genre midstream. There might be a few examples that fit the bill, but probably the one that comes up the most would be From Dusk Till Dawn. I first saw and really liked this years ago, when I was at that perfect age where I was old enough to love Tarantino, but not yet old enough to realize his pal Robert Rodriguez was a hack. I remember most of the broad plot, some of the individual moments, and of course, the pivot twist from a Tarantino tense crime thriller to a Rodriguez high-budget B-movie gorefest.
One of the first things that hit me about this movie is that I had kind of forgotten or not noticed how nasty it was. The bank-robbing brothers Rickie (Tarantino) and Seth (Clooney) amass a pretty huge body count of innocents before the credits even start, and then add another dozen in a news report on their exploits further north in Texas. This makes it hard to figure out who is the main character, who are we supposed to be rooting for in this. Seth seems like he has a conscience, but on the other hand, he enables Rickie to do a few really gross things. I try not to bring the outside world into a movie, but I can't stop myself from retching as Quentin Tarantino as Rickie keeps staring at teenage hostage Kate (Juliette Lewis)'s feet, and then drinks whiskey flowing from vampire sex goddess Salma Hayek's foot. October is for horrific stuff, don't get me wrong, but those two scenes were hard to watch. There is some great tension between the brothers' liquor store shootout, kidnapping Jacob (Keitel)'s family, and the border crossing into Mexico. Tarantino is amazing bringing a scene right up to the boiling point without drawing it out too far. I'm not going to say the border crossing is on par with his opening scene from Inglourious Basterds, but it's at least from the same DNA.
All that being said about the Gecko brothers, Rickie in particular, being loathsome - I still bought Seth's frustration, rage, helplessness at the situation because, hey, George Clooney is a great actor. He didn't win the MTV Movie Award for "Breakout Performance - Male" for this movie for nothing. He fits in perfectly as a Tarantino character, buying Big Kahuna burgers and co-opting "Ramblers, let's get ramblin'" from Reservoir Dogs. Keitel and Clooney mostly have really clunky dialogue about faith and how to do what's right, but they make it not as bad as it could be. Keitel takes a really weird monologue near the end as he makes his children swear to kill him, and somehow skirts the line between touching and absurd. Fred Williamson and Tom Savini are pretty good in their one-note quirky violent survivors. Williamson in particular sells his insane Vietnam monologue, and has a couple great subtle scenes early as he tries to stack Chinese Checkers or something while the stripper/vampire dances and shakes his table.
Salma Hayek is billed pretty high for being Quentin Tarantino's whiskey funnel. She doesn't do much other than gyrate in a bikini with a snake and turn into a special effect. There was an inkling early in the vampire turn where it seemed like all the vampires were women. But then there were men too. But on the other hand, "Sex Machine" literally has a gun in his crotch. Despite all that, Rodriguez isn't really interested in the subtext of vampires being seductive and representative of lust or sex. There's no appeal to these vampires, they are simply monstrous demons. Once they turn, they become grotesque monsters. They're not as much sucking blood as they are ripping people apart and eating them like dogs. Sex Machine even turns into some sort of devil dog in a really cool special effect that made me instantly think of The Thing. There's no hook or appeal to the vampires at all. They could just as easily be zombies, aliens, gang members even. The weapons montage and climatic vampire ass kicking goes along mostly predictably, lacking any of the gonzo action of the first huge vampire attack scene. One touch I loved was the few beams of light coming through the boarded up building being a sort of laser defense system to help our heroes escape.
From Dusk Till Dawn's mean streak is slightly forgiveable in the context of it being a horror movie and black comedy, but it feels like a little much when the movie goes on to have nearly every speaking role eaten alive. Tarantino as actor and director does his best with his parts, and Clooney and Keitel are as good as you'd expect them to be. But all of the interesting bits get dropped in favor of sprays of blood once the directorial hand-off and genre shift is obvious. It's worth watching for the novelty and sheer energy of the first vampire scene, but it's in no way a classic.
Random other things I liked/noticed:
The liquor store in the cold open has a sign out saying "If we don't have it... you don't get it!", and in Cheech's pussy monologue he says "If we don't have it... you don't want it!". I am not sure what this means, I just noticed it.
That's also the great actor John Hawkes in that first scene as the poor liquor store cashier.
"Welcome to eternal slavery.
-No thank you, I've already had a wife" Just an awful kind of try-too-hard one liner.
"I'm a bastard, but I'm not a fucking bastard." I rather liked the ending, and Seth not wanting to go as far as quasi-adopt Kate, but did give her a big bundle of stolen bank money as an apology. It was one of the few not-corny things in the latter parts of the movie. Also, the last shot panning behind the establishment to show the ancient temple stuff was great.
Up Next: From Dusk Till Dawn, the original Netflix series. However many episodes I want to watch. I've never seen it!
One of the first things that hit me about this movie is that I had kind of forgotten or not noticed how nasty it was. The bank-robbing brothers Rickie (Tarantino) and Seth (Clooney) amass a pretty huge body count of innocents before the credits even start, and then add another dozen in a news report on their exploits further north in Texas. This makes it hard to figure out who is the main character, who are we supposed to be rooting for in this. Seth seems like he has a conscience, but on the other hand, he enables Rickie to do a few really gross things. I try not to bring the outside world into a movie, but I can't stop myself from retching as Quentin Tarantino as Rickie keeps staring at teenage hostage Kate (Juliette Lewis)'s feet, and then drinks whiskey flowing from vampire sex goddess Salma Hayek's foot. October is for horrific stuff, don't get me wrong, but those two scenes were hard to watch. There is some great tension between the brothers' liquor store shootout, kidnapping Jacob (Keitel)'s family, and the border crossing into Mexico. Tarantino is amazing bringing a scene right up to the boiling point without drawing it out too far. I'm not going to say the border crossing is on par with his opening scene from Inglourious Basterds, but it's at least from the same DNA.
All that being said about the Gecko brothers, Rickie in particular, being loathsome - I still bought Seth's frustration, rage, helplessness at the situation because, hey, George Clooney is a great actor. He didn't win the MTV Movie Award for "Breakout Performance - Male" for this movie for nothing. He fits in perfectly as a Tarantino character, buying Big Kahuna burgers and co-opting "Ramblers, let's get ramblin'" from Reservoir Dogs. Keitel and Clooney mostly have really clunky dialogue about faith and how to do what's right, but they make it not as bad as it could be. Keitel takes a really weird monologue near the end as he makes his children swear to kill him, and somehow skirts the line between touching and absurd. Fred Williamson and Tom Savini are pretty good in their one-note quirky violent survivors. Williamson in particular sells his insane Vietnam monologue, and has a couple great subtle scenes early as he tries to stack Chinese Checkers or something while the stripper/vampire dances and shakes his table.
Salma Hayek is billed pretty high for being Quentin Tarantino's whiskey funnel. She doesn't do much other than gyrate in a bikini with a snake and turn into a special effect. There was an inkling early in the vampire turn where it seemed like all the vampires were women. But then there were men too. But on the other hand, "Sex Machine" literally has a gun in his crotch. Despite all that, Rodriguez isn't really interested in the subtext of vampires being seductive and representative of lust or sex. There's no appeal to these vampires, they are simply monstrous demons. Once they turn, they become grotesque monsters. They're not as much sucking blood as they are ripping people apart and eating them like dogs. Sex Machine even turns into some sort of devil dog in a really cool special effect that made me instantly think of The Thing. There's no hook or appeal to the vampires at all. They could just as easily be zombies, aliens, gang members even. The weapons montage and climatic vampire ass kicking goes along mostly predictably, lacking any of the gonzo action of the first huge vampire attack scene. One touch I loved was the few beams of light coming through the boarded up building being a sort of laser defense system to help our heroes escape.
From Dusk Till Dawn's mean streak is slightly forgiveable in the context of it being a horror movie and black comedy, but it feels like a little much when the movie goes on to have nearly every speaking role eaten alive. Tarantino as actor and director does his best with his parts, and Clooney and Keitel are as good as you'd expect them to be. But all of the interesting bits get dropped in favor of sprays of blood once the directorial hand-off and genre shift is obvious. It's worth watching for the novelty and sheer energy of the first vampire scene, but it's in no way a classic.
Random other things I liked/noticed:
The liquor store in the cold open has a sign out saying "If we don't have it... you don't get it!", and in Cheech's pussy monologue he says "If we don't have it... you don't want it!". I am not sure what this means, I just noticed it.
That's also the great actor John Hawkes in that first scene as the poor liquor store cashier.
"Welcome to eternal slavery.
-No thank you, I've already had a wife" Just an awful kind of try-too-hard one liner.
"I'm a bastard, but I'm not a fucking bastard." I rather liked the ending, and Seth not wanting to go as far as quasi-adopt Kate, but did give her a big bundle of stolen bank money as an apology. It was one of the few not-corny things in the latter parts of the movie. Also, the last shot panning behind the establishment to show the ancient temple stuff was great.
Up Next: From Dusk Till Dawn, the original Netflix series. However many episodes I want to watch. I've never seen it!
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
October 1st: Poltergeist
Background: I haven't seen this movie. I think the general consensus is that it's a pretty great / classic horror movie. I vaguely feel that Steven Spielberg is involved, but also Tobe Hooper directed it. And, of course, I know the classic line "They're here". I'm psyched. Happy October. Let's start this thing.
First off, just gonna correct my assumptions above. It's officially written by Spielberg, story by Spielberg, and directed by Tobe Hooper. However, the smallest bit of digging brings up that there was actually a controversy regarding who actually directed it. Several people make comments about Hooper just following Spielberg's lead and accepting all of his suggestions. I don't really have a side in the argument or think I can tell who truly directed it from my first viewing. Anyways, on to the movie.
What a great start to October. This movie was really great, and blew me away. It looks and sounds amazing despite being over 30 years old. A lot of that credit would go to Industrial Light & Magic, who, of course, did all the special effects. Everything sounded great too. I felt every roar and shake to the house. Craig T. Nelson was great as the loving father. I really loved his arc. Especially the physical transformation from how lively he was doing push-ups in bed early in the movie, then a shell of himself, chain smoking, pale, gaunt as the haunting went on.
The use of light and electricity as constant flourishes of the ghost was a good touch. Many of the shots were flat out beautiful. The weird allure of the static, and watching it flicker over Carol Anne's face was mesmerizing. While the bombastic chase scenes later in the movie were exciting, the quiet horror of the first few instances with the TV blaring static were more interesting to me. Maybe this is from me just recently re-watching Videodrome. Maybe it's because I was up late/early enough a lot as a kid to see that Star Spangled Banner before the static hum. The build up towards the iconic "You're here" was great. I jumped about a foot out of my seat and loved it. There were also great scenes later in the movie with the parapsychologists all watching (or not watching, for dramatic effect) the screens with their cameras set up. It was a nice touch and almost character-building moment for the ghost(s) when they dragged a camera and turned it to point exactly at their "coming down the stairs to go to prom" moment.
It seems almost unfair to compare Paranormal Activity to this, but I feel a few words must be said. I've watched (and disliked) all of those movies. Watching Poltergeist helped me realize why. Poltergeist kept going bigger, more dramatic, scarier as it gained momentum. Those movies really stay in first gear it seemed. They only really have in common with Poltergeist the first 15-20 minutes or so. But the Paranormal Activity series has stretched that 15-20 minutes into four movies, not counting spinoffs.
I kept getting shocked at how far things kept going. I'm no prude, but I kind of expected a bit of a tamer movie. Maybe due to the PG rating, or possibly just my prejudice at it being over 30 years old. The big sequence with the storm and the tree attack was really well set up and executed. The intern with glasses' trip to the kitchen was easily one of the most gruesome things I've seen in a PG movie. I loved the design of all the demon/skull/animal type ghosts that popped up a few times. It really upped the danger and weirdness after one of the interns returned with a huge bite mark on his abdomen. Everything with the portal / going through it near the end was also delightfully gross. The ending sequence was also really effective to hammer home the thesis of the movie: Capitalism is completely awful.
A few random quick hits / ideas / thoughts:
Loved some of the humor in the movie. The ending gag of shoving the TV out of the hotel room and nearly everything the dog did made me laugh. It was kind of cute watching him bark / try to play with the poltergeists. But also awesome when he ran to the cab, stopped and looked back, then jumped in. The husband and wife were really portrayed as equals, which was nice to see. They each had really dramatic parts to play in both of the big, climatic ending sequences. It was probably a great idea to limit the medium/para psych people to the periphery during those. AGAIN to praise the effects - the proto-Nightmare on Elm Street crawling up the walls parts looked great. The final image of the house is also just amazing to watch. A little personal bit - I felt pretty old in noticing I'm way closer to the parents' age / place in life than the kids. That couple could be some of my friends, age-wise.
All that being said, I have to recommend this pretty highly to anyone. It might be a little much for young kids, or if you're squeamish about gore. Like I said above, it pushes pretty much into hard PG-13 / light R territory. No matter who directed it, the movie looks good. Most importantly - it's scary. The slow, creeping dread of the first act pivots to the helplessness of the second, and then finally charges into the violent terror in the third. It's great. I wish I had seen this sooner.
ON DECK: From Dusk Till Dawn
I have a schedule made out, but I reserve the right to move stuff around as much as I want.
First off, just gonna correct my assumptions above. It's officially written by Spielberg, story by Spielberg, and directed by Tobe Hooper. However, the smallest bit of digging brings up that there was actually a controversy regarding who actually directed it. Several people make comments about Hooper just following Spielberg's lead and accepting all of his suggestions. I don't really have a side in the argument or think I can tell who truly directed it from my first viewing. Anyways, on to the movie.
What a great start to October. This movie was really great, and blew me away. It looks and sounds amazing despite being over 30 years old. A lot of that credit would go to Industrial Light & Magic, who, of course, did all the special effects. Everything sounded great too. I felt every roar and shake to the house. Craig T. Nelson was great as the loving father. I really loved his arc. Especially the physical transformation from how lively he was doing push-ups in bed early in the movie, then a shell of himself, chain smoking, pale, gaunt as the haunting went on.
The use of light and electricity as constant flourishes of the ghost was a good touch. Many of the shots were flat out beautiful. The weird allure of the static, and watching it flicker over Carol Anne's face was mesmerizing. While the bombastic chase scenes later in the movie were exciting, the quiet horror of the first few instances with the TV blaring static were more interesting to me. Maybe this is from me just recently re-watching Videodrome. Maybe it's because I was up late/early enough a lot as a kid to see that Star Spangled Banner before the static hum. The build up towards the iconic "You're here" was great. I jumped about a foot out of my seat and loved it. There were also great scenes later in the movie with the parapsychologists all watching (or not watching, for dramatic effect) the screens with their cameras set up. It was a nice touch and almost character-building moment for the ghost(s) when they dragged a camera and turned it to point exactly at their "coming down the stairs to go to prom" moment.
It seems almost unfair to compare Paranormal Activity to this, but I feel a few words must be said. I've watched (and disliked) all of those movies. Watching Poltergeist helped me realize why. Poltergeist kept going bigger, more dramatic, scarier as it gained momentum. Those movies really stay in first gear it seemed. They only really have in common with Poltergeist the first 15-20 minutes or so. But the Paranormal Activity series has stretched that 15-20 minutes into four movies, not counting spinoffs.
I kept getting shocked at how far things kept going. I'm no prude, but I kind of expected a bit of a tamer movie. Maybe due to the PG rating, or possibly just my prejudice at it being over 30 years old. The big sequence with the storm and the tree attack was really well set up and executed. The intern with glasses' trip to the kitchen was easily one of the most gruesome things I've seen in a PG movie. I loved the design of all the demon/skull/animal type ghosts that popped up a few times. It really upped the danger and weirdness after one of the interns returned with a huge bite mark on his abdomen. Everything with the portal / going through it near the end was also delightfully gross. The ending sequence was also really effective to hammer home the thesis of the movie: Capitalism is completely awful.
A few random quick hits / ideas / thoughts:
Loved some of the humor in the movie. The ending gag of shoving the TV out of the hotel room and nearly everything the dog did made me laugh. It was kind of cute watching him bark / try to play with the poltergeists. But also awesome when he ran to the cab, stopped and looked back, then jumped in. The husband and wife were really portrayed as equals, which was nice to see. They each had really dramatic parts to play in both of the big, climatic ending sequences. It was probably a great idea to limit the medium/para psych people to the periphery during those. AGAIN to praise the effects - the proto-Nightmare on Elm Street crawling up the walls parts looked great. The final image of the house is also just amazing to watch. A little personal bit - I felt pretty old in noticing I'm way closer to the parents' age / place in life than the kids. That couple could be some of my friends, age-wise.
All that being said, I have to recommend this pretty highly to anyone. It might be a little much for young kids, or if you're squeamish about gore. Like I said above, it pushes pretty much into hard PG-13 / light R territory. No matter who directed it, the movie looks good. Most importantly - it's scary. The slow, creeping dread of the first act pivots to the helplessness of the second, and then finally charges into the violent terror in the third. It's great. I wish I had seen this sooner.
ON DECK: From Dusk Till Dawn
I have a schedule made out, but I reserve the right to move stuff around as much as I want.
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Starting Over
Obviously, the movie a day thing from 2011 did not take off. In April 2014, I also tried this - http://539daysoffrasier.blogspot.com/ - and didn't complete it / follow through. I'm going to just put whatever movie or TV critical writing I want to try my hand at here going forward.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Here We Go
What is this? This is me, Joe, writing about movies after I see them. I hope I have fun doing this, and I hope you have fun reading this.
Why am I doing this? That's probably a good question, too. I've always been drawn to movies. A friend of mine was talking about why history is so awesome. He said it was because all it is is stories. I thought about it a little, and he was close. It's all good stories. You don't get into history without doing something important, having an interesting story that would last the test of time. No one remembers the boring stuff from history. We likely won't learn anything from the boring stuff in history. So, movies. They seem to me to be a little window into a different world, every time. They're all small snippets of bigger stories, but just showing the most interesting parts. The best movies are ones that are able to create those worlds in which you want to spend more time. With sequels and remakes, sometimes, for better or worse, you do get to spend more time there. Also, movies just rule. I'm lucky to live in the country/home of most movies. I'm not trying to discredit foreign movies in any way, but Hollywood is right here. The Oscars are the only award show that matters. Would the ratings of the Emmys, Tonys, Grammys, and Golden Globes all added together equal the Oscars' rating? The Oscars are always the second-most-watched-event right behind the Superbowl. I kind of like knowing a lot and being well-versed in something that most everyone else has in their life in some way.
I watch a lot of movies at home. With Netflix, cable TV, and my somewhat compulsive Blu-Ray purchasing habits, it's incredibly easy. But none of those hold a candle to the theater. I love just being sucked into that experience, and just for 100 minutes, there being absolutely nothing except for you and the screen. I made a crack today when I was the first person in theater for a movie about hoping no one else joined me and I got a private screening. But thinking about it - it doesn't matter. Others showed up, but I still got the whole experience of just myself and the screen. This isn't meaning to sound like I watch movies with my friends in abject silence. No, I like having a good time. And I also don't want to discredit the audience experience, and how it can enhance a movie. People screaming at a jump scare in a horror movie, people laughing uproariously at a comedy that's just hitting every mark, and everything like it are fun in their own ways.
So, I have noticed this last year or so, I've really slacked off on seeing new movies. This is a little bit of a jumpstart just to give me another reason to watch movies. Also, an excuse to think and write about movies, which is something I've wanted to try in some form or fashion for years now. I'm abandoning the rigid "watch one movie a day" thing. I'd love to do that. I might end up doing that. I'm still going to try to keep this one post a day on a new movie I saw. I can put them in a can, watch a lot of movies on a weekend, and have all week already done, just waiting to post. That's how I invision it going anyways. If 2012 ends with me seeing 300 new movies, this will be a huge success. I'm also going to play around with the format. I don't know exactly what every post is going to be. I don't want to call them all flat-out reviews. Just some sort of kind of organized thoughts, maybe just some stuff about how I saw the movie, what I thought about the movie before I saw it, WHY I chose it to watch, some things like that.
With this post, I suppose it starts tomorrow! I'm really excited to do this. I hope you're excited to read this. All feedback, good or bad, just put them in the comments here, or email me at joseph.p.rand@gmail.com.
Thanks!
Why am I doing this? That's probably a good question, too. I've always been drawn to movies. A friend of mine was talking about why history is so awesome. He said it was because all it is is stories. I thought about it a little, and he was close. It's all good stories. You don't get into history without doing something important, having an interesting story that would last the test of time. No one remembers the boring stuff from history. We likely won't learn anything from the boring stuff in history. So, movies. They seem to me to be a little window into a different world, every time. They're all small snippets of bigger stories, but just showing the most interesting parts. The best movies are ones that are able to create those worlds in which you want to spend more time. With sequels and remakes, sometimes, for better or worse, you do get to spend more time there. Also, movies just rule. I'm lucky to live in the country/home of most movies. I'm not trying to discredit foreign movies in any way, but Hollywood is right here. The Oscars are the only award show that matters. Would the ratings of the Emmys, Tonys, Grammys, and Golden Globes all added together equal the Oscars' rating? The Oscars are always the second-most-watched-event right behind the Superbowl. I kind of like knowing a lot and being well-versed in something that most everyone else has in their life in some way.
I watch a lot of movies at home. With Netflix, cable TV, and my somewhat compulsive Blu-Ray purchasing habits, it's incredibly easy. But none of those hold a candle to the theater. I love just being sucked into that experience, and just for 100 minutes, there being absolutely nothing except for you and the screen. I made a crack today when I was the first person in theater for a movie about hoping no one else joined me and I got a private screening. But thinking about it - it doesn't matter. Others showed up, but I still got the whole experience of just myself and the screen. This isn't meaning to sound like I watch movies with my friends in abject silence. No, I like having a good time. And I also don't want to discredit the audience experience, and how it can enhance a movie. People screaming at a jump scare in a horror movie, people laughing uproariously at a comedy that's just hitting every mark, and everything like it are fun in their own ways.
So, I have noticed this last year or so, I've really slacked off on seeing new movies. This is a little bit of a jumpstart just to give me another reason to watch movies. Also, an excuse to think and write about movies, which is something I've wanted to try in some form or fashion for years now. I'm abandoning the rigid "watch one movie a day" thing. I'd love to do that. I might end up doing that. I'm still going to try to keep this one post a day on a new movie I saw. I can put them in a can, watch a lot of movies on a weekend, and have all week already done, just waiting to post. That's how I invision it going anyways. If 2012 ends with me seeing 300 new movies, this will be a huge success. I'm also going to play around with the format. I don't know exactly what every post is going to be. I don't want to call them all flat-out reviews. Just some sort of kind of organized thoughts, maybe just some stuff about how I saw the movie, what I thought about the movie before I saw it, WHY I chose it to watch, some things like that.
With this post, I suppose it starts tomorrow! I'm really excited to do this. I hope you're excited to read this. All feedback, good or bad, just put them in the comments here, or email me at joseph.p.rand@gmail.com.
Thanks!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Movies at my fingertips - a loose queue
Here is a queue of sorts. A handful of lists of a LOT of movies I have easy access too either though ones I own, Netflix Instant Watch, or Netflix mailed blu-rays. This is not a promise that I will see all of these. Just maybe a starting point, or something I can go to if I’m at a loss for something to watch.
Movies I own
The Bank Job, True Crime, Komodo, All the King’s Men (2000s), Black Supaman, Ocean’s 11 (1950), Ocean’s 12, Ocean’s 13, Sex Drive, The War of the Roses, Cold Creek Manor, A Prairie Home Companion, Appaloosa, Trapped in Paradise, I am Omega, Monster, AVH Alien vs Hunter, Matchstick Men, Planes Trains and Automobiles, Point of No Return, A History of Violence, High Tension, Be Cool, Blade Runner, Cursed, Disaster Zone, Absolute Zero, Porky’s, Police Academy, Redbelt, Pitch Black, My Super Ex Girlfriend, Reefer Madness (1930s), Get Shorty, The Lost Boys, Zombie Honeymoon, Santa Fe Trail, Alone in the Dark, Doom, Quicksand, Ticker, Fall time, Beyond the Law, Return of the Living Dead, Match Point, See No Evil, Easy Rider, 1408, The Black Dahlia, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Doomsday, Slither, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Panic Room, Poltergeist, Jackie Chan’s First Strike, Mr Nice Guy, Freddy Got Fingered, Gigli, The Ruins, One Hour Photo, The Lookout, Winter Passing, Good Night and Good Luck, Amadeus, Missing in Action, MIA 2, MIA 3, Delta Force 2, Tora Tora Tora, The Longest Day, Patton
Movies on Netflix Instant Watch
Visioneers, Harry Brown, Four Rooms, World’s Greatest Dad, Men Who Stare at Goats, 8 1/2, Winnebago Man, The Expendables, Starman, Interview with the Vampire, Jack Goes Boating, Last Action Hero, Hellboy, Diner, Brothers, Thieves Like Us, Capitalism: A Love Story, Crusiing, King Corn, The Boxer, …And Justice for All, Drunken Master, Constant Gardener, Driving Miss Daisy, Primary Colors, Bangkok Dangerous, Presumed Innocent, Reprise, 4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days, No End in Sight, Rabbit Hole, Fearless, Limitless, Insidious, Take Me Home Tonight, The Game, Panic Room, The Man Who Wasn’t There, Irreversible, Superman, Black Snake Moan, A MAn for All Seasons, Slacker, Midnight Cowboy, Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop, Gentelmen Prefer Blondes, Middle Men, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Awakenings, The Last of the Mohicans, Buried, The Machinist, Mother, Pitch Black, Airport, Hatchet, Tangled, The Dirty Dozen, Paranoid Park, Slap Shot, Trainspotting, I Love You Phillip Morris, Hobo With a Shotgun, Hoop Dreams, Uncle Boonmee, Malcolm X, The Hustler, The Fighter, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Stone, Howl, I am Love, Sin Nombre, Syriana, I Saw the Devil, Enter the Void, The Girl Who Played With Fire, Red Riding Trilogy Part 1-3, Man on Wire, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, The American President, Raging Bull, Mesrine Part 2 Public Enemy #1, Southland Tales, Wendy and Lucy, Punch-Drunk Love, Rio Bravo, Let Me In, Exit Through the Gift Shop, Restrepo, The Girlfriend Experience, Brokeback Mountain, Antichrist, The Messenger, Anvil! The Story of Anvil, When we were kings, Mesrine Part 1 Killer Instinct, Four Lions, 21 Grams, Half Nelson, Encounters at the End of the World, Letters from Iwo Jima, Arthur, Moulin Rouge, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, A Christmas Tale, Kramer vs Kramer, The Right Stuff, The Last Temptation of Christ, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
My Netflix Mail Queue
No Strings Attached, Love and Other Drugs, Going the Distance, Blue Valentine, Leaving Las Vegas, The Beaver, The Lincoln Lawyer, Better off Dead, I Spit on Your Grave, Wall Street 2, Harry Potter 8 P1, Another Year, Faster, Rango, The Mechanic, Drive Angry, Inside Job, The Visitor, Spartacus, Three Days of the Condor, Menace II Society, King of New York, Animal Kingdom, Season of the Witch, Crazy Heart, American Gangster, Never Let Me Go, Death at a Funeral(UK), Unbreakable, Assassination of Jesse James, A Single Man, District 9, Magnolia, It’s King of A Funny Story, Kung Fu Panda, Frozen River, Salt, Away We Go, The Killer, Get Low, Sophie’s Choice, Greenberg, Despicable Me, Conviction, Rescue Dawn, Edge of Darkness, The American, Monsters Inc, The Losers, Pirate Radio, Ratatouille, The Ghost Writer, A Prophet, Extract, The Slammin’ Salmon, Flags of Our Fathers, Basic Instinct, An Education, The Reader, Where the Wild Things Are, Coraline, The Damned United, Unleashed, Date Night, Cop Out, Daybreakers, Bull Durham, Layer Cake
Movies I own
The Bank Job, True Crime, Komodo, All the King’s Men (2000s), Black Supaman, Ocean’s 11 (1950), Ocean’s 12, Ocean’s 13, Sex Drive, The War of the Roses, Cold Creek Manor, A Prairie Home Companion, Appaloosa, Trapped in Paradise, I am Omega, Monster, AVH Alien vs Hunter, Matchstick Men, Planes Trains and Automobiles, Point of No Return, A History of Violence, High Tension, Be Cool, Blade Runner, Cursed, Disaster Zone, Absolute Zero, Porky’s, Police Academy, Redbelt, Pitch Black, My Super Ex Girlfriend, Reefer Madness (1930s), Get Shorty, The Lost Boys, Zombie Honeymoon, Santa Fe Trail, Alone in the Dark, Doom, Quicksand, Ticker, Fall time, Beyond the Law, Return of the Living Dead, Match Point, See No Evil, Easy Rider, 1408, The Black Dahlia, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Doomsday, Slither, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Panic Room, Poltergeist, Jackie Chan’s First Strike, Mr Nice Guy, Freddy Got Fingered, Gigli, The Ruins, One Hour Photo, The Lookout, Winter Passing, Good Night and Good Luck, Amadeus, Missing in Action, MIA 2, MIA 3, Delta Force 2, Tora Tora Tora, The Longest Day, Patton
Movies on Netflix Instant Watch
Visioneers, Harry Brown, Four Rooms, World’s Greatest Dad, Men Who Stare at Goats, 8 1/2, Winnebago Man, The Expendables, Starman, Interview with the Vampire, Jack Goes Boating, Last Action Hero, Hellboy, Diner, Brothers, Thieves Like Us, Capitalism: A Love Story, Crusiing, King Corn, The Boxer, …And Justice for All, Drunken Master, Constant Gardener, Driving Miss Daisy, Primary Colors, Bangkok Dangerous, Presumed Innocent, Reprise, 4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days, No End in Sight, Rabbit Hole, Fearless, Limitless, Insidious, Take Me Home Tonight, The Game, Panic Room, The Man Who Wasn’t There, Irreversible, Superman, Black Snake Moan, A MAn for All Seasons, Slacker, Midnight Cowboy, Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop, Gentelmen Prefer Blondes, Middle Men, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Awakenings, The Last of the Mohicans, Buried, The Machinist, Mother, Pitch Black, Airport, Hatchet, Tangled, The Dirty Dozen, Paranoid Park, Slap Shot, Trainspotting, I Love You Phillip Morris, Hobo With a Shotgun, Hoop Dreams, Uncle Boonmee, Malcolm X, The Hustler, The Fighter, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Stone, Howl, I am Love, Sin Nombre, Syriana, I Saw the Devil, Enter the Void, The Girl Who Played With Fire, Red Riding Trilogy Part 1-3, Man on Wire, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, The American President, Raging Bull, Mesrine Part 2 Public Enemy #1, Southland Tales, Wendy and Lucy, Punch-Drunk Love, Rio Bravo, Let Me In, Exit Through the Gift Shop, Restrepo, The Girlfriend Experience, Brokeback Mountain, Antichrist, The Messenger, Anvil! The Story of Anvil, When we were kings, Mesrine Part 1 Killer Instinct, Four Lions, 21 Grams, Half Nelson, Encounters at the End of the World, Letters from Iwo Jima, Arthur, Moulin Rouge, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, A Christmas Tale, Kramer vs Kramer, The Right Stuff, The Last Temptation of Christ, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
My Netflix Mail Queue
No Strings Attached, Love and Other Drugs, Going the Distance, Blue Valentine, Leaving Las Vegas, The Beaver, The Lincoln Lawyer, Better off Dead, I Spit on Your Grave, Wall Street 2, Harry Potter 8 P1, Another Year, Faster, Rango, The Mechanic, Drive Angry, Inside Job, The Visitor, Spartacus, Three Days of the Condor, Menace II Society, King of New York, Animal Kingdom, Season of the Witch, Crazy Heart, American Gangster, Never Let Me Go, Death at a Funeral(UK), Unbreakable, Assassination of Jesse James, A Single Man, District 9, Magnolia, It’s King of A Funny Story, Kung Fu Panda, Frozen River, Salt, Away We Go, The Killer, Get Low, Sophie’s Choice, Greenberg, Despicable Me, Conviction, Rescue Dawn, Edge of Darkness, The American, Monsters Inc, The Losers, Pirate Radio, Ratatouille, The Ghost Writer, A Prophet, Extract, The Slammin’ Salmon, Flags of Our Fathers, Basic Instinct, An Education, The Reader, Where the Wild Things Are, Coraline, The Damned United, Unleashed, Date Night, Cop Out, Daybreakers, Bull Durham, Layer Cake
New Things Coming - Movie a day project
I'm going to use this space to start a pretty ambitious blog sort thing sometime soon. Most likely before the end of the year. It will be where I watch one new movie every day and write about it. I'm still toying around with the specifics, but the rules will likely be something like this:
1) 1 Movie every 24 Hours ; 1 Blog Post per 24 Hours
2) Movie must be one I haven't seen all the way through. Ones I've seen some of but don't remember are cool.
3) Must be the full movie- via in a theater, DVD, Blu-Ray, Netflix streaming, Premium TV channel, etc
4) Blog must be about said movie I just saw, and be 250 words minimum
1) 1 Movie every 24 Hours ; 1 Blog Post per 24 Hours
2) Movie must be one I haven't seen all the way through. Ones I've seen some of but don't remember are cool.
3) Must be the full movie- via in a theater, DVD, Blu-Ray, Netflix streaming, Premium TV channel, etc
4) Blog must be about said movie I just saw, and be 250 words minimum
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