Double Team - 1997 - Dir. Hark

I can't say I really paid a lot of attention to Double Team, I know, I know. I should be a little more respectful of Jean-Claude's oeuvre. But what can I say, the movie was pretty stupid, and I don't think watching it in a respectful silence will change any of that. First of all, there was a decently long argument among friends as to whether or not this took place in the future. Sometimes, I'm still not sure. But it seems to take place in the future, although I'm willing to think that it is just filled with super spy technology. Either way, Denis Rodman looks like a jackass. It's always so baffling in JCVD movies how they always manage to find someone who upstages Jean-Claude in jackassery. And Mickey Rourke is in it too! I would expect a little more silliness from a mid-90's Rourke. But apart from his Facing Off with a tiger at the end, he seems to have some form of dignity intact. But then again, I wasn't watching very closely. He could have very easily been made foolish without anyone noticing. The movie is pretty wacky in general, at one point JCVD is taken to "The Colony" an island prison for secret agents and he is forced to escape. And for some reason, Rodman is running around in a Film Noir get-up for a nice chunk of the film. Tryin' to class it up, big guy?

I had to go through 4 pages of people being "Double Teamed"to get to this picture.

Dillinger - 1973 - Dir. Milius

I liked Dillinger more than I thought I would. I guess I just thought it would be a pretty mediocre 70's gangster flick hoping to be like Bonnie and Clyde, which honestly: didn't leave much of an impression on me. But I really liked Dillinger, it had a lot of humor, a nice chunk of Milius-esqe (ie. violent) action, humor, and a great cast. LIKE FUCKING HARRY DEAN STANTON! But let's not forget about Warren Oates. Sometimes, I get so excited about Harry Dean Stanton being in a movie, I just forget about everything else. But HDS totally had the best death scene in the movie, and there was a lot of stiff competition. It's tough to beat out a Richard Dreyfuss with a tommy gun and a pistol shooting at cops in a bullet-proof vest and bathrobe in a field. It was like a really great B-movie. Not in the Larry Cohen sense. But an "A" movie made on a B movie budget with a B movie focus. Cause it most certainly has a B movie focus. Shootin' fightin' and criminal activities performed with much glee. Warren Oats was tons of fun to watch as Mr. Dillinger. At times, the story felt a little convoluted which is strange considering the amount of liberties that are taken with the actual events. But I didn't have too many complaints with the film. It delivered some straight-up action and god damn it, that's I asked for.

Hey! It's Johnny Depp as John Dillinge- Oh wait, that's Warren Oates. I always confuse the two. Like how Warren was in the original Edward Scissorhands, too.

Killer of Sheep - 1977 - Dir. Burnett

OH MAN! I dug this movie like it was nobodies business! FIVE STARS! I only heard about it cause David Gordon Greene was all about it via George Washington. And it seems like a portion of George Washington wanted to be Killer of Sheep. I mean, in a superficial way, there's the two children wearing masks. Although, that sad dog mask is WAY better than the Dinosaur mask. I mean LOOK AT THAT FUCKING DOG MASK! Killer of Sheep has no real arc or plot, just a portrait of working class African-Americans living in 1970's Los Angeles. There's somewhat a central cast of characters but the film has a tendency to wander a la Italian Neo-Realism. There's some really stunning sequences and shots, like the children jumping between the roofs of two buildings. Especially with a movie like this, it can drag and feel much longer than it is. But I was rapt the whole time. Almost a little disappointed when it ended. Killer of Sheep wasn't released until just a few years ago due to rights issue with the films extensive soundtrack, which is made up of a lot of sweet blues music. So that's it, this movie was great. I'm not going to hunt down any problems with it. I don't want to. I JUST DON'T!

What a weird looking kid! His head is HUGE!

The Amateurs - 2005 - Dir. Traeger

I sorta stumbled upon this one. It seemed like a middling low-budget comedy with a cast made up of enough names that it's a little baffling as to why they signed on. Which is exactly what it is. After watching the movie, I was incredibly interested in learning how exactly it got made. I still can't really find any answers. It's not a bad movie. It's a movie movie. You basically know how everything is going to pan out by the end of the first act. Like, you really know how the fucking thing is going to end. The cast, naturally, carries the movie. I mean, its basically anyone I would love to watch in a movie (See below). They seem to have a lot of fun. The writing isn't awful. It can pull a few nice punches every now and then but mostly is bolstered by the cast and hampered by the editing, which is pretty uneven. I mean, like most movies like this, there's some interesting ideas and a lot of boring ideas that we've seen before. I'm not sure I'd really recommend the film to anyone who wasn't REALLY into seeing Jeff Bridges, William Fichtner, Joe Pantalioanoao, Ted Danson, Tim Blake Nelson, and then a bunch of other people who you'll recognize but probably not exactly know the names of like PATRICK FUGIT! He snuck up again! And I wouldn't've mind seeing more of him. Like his fellow Wristcutters alum John Hawkes. Ted Danson is slowly becoming a favorite actor of mine to watch though. That guy makes me wish I finished Damages.

Look! A pack of roaming actors!

Tron - 1982 - Dir. Lisberger

You know, any movie that stars David Warner as ALL THREE ANTAGONISTS can't be all bad. In fact, Tron ain't so bad at all. With a movie like this, where individual sequences stand out and the rest of the movie is promptly/mostly forgotten in the public eye, well, you don't realize there's a whole story going on. And you now, there's a lot about Tron I thought was neat. I don't think I was ever blown away. The movie feels like it had great potential to be know for more than the Lightcycle races. We never really do anything more than scratch the surface of this computer world, and from reading about the making of, it doesn't really seem like they were too interested in doing anything more than that. Perhaps its for the best, because the movie really is quite goofy looking. I'm sorry, it's tough to get behind these special effects. Sure, they really are pretty innovative for the time, but they look silly. Throughout the movie, you're constantly aware of them. They aren't visually stunning... or (for the most part) visually appealing. There are moments where you're like... Cool, but I always had a nagging voice in my head wishing it looked a little better. Tron had a lot of promise... it actually gets me really excited for the sequel. I like to hope that it will move in the direction I would like. Who knows what the fuck that will end up being though? An engaging enough movie, I also want to thank Jeff Bridges for being in it. His tongue in cheek manner kept the movie too dire and too self-important. He's also just fucking great, y'know?

Well, saaaay, pal. Where'd you get that Information/Identification Disc Frisbee Weapon thing? Seems pretty handy.

Serpico - 1973 - Dir. Lumet

I'm not really one for... uh... I don't know. Cop dramas? Who knows. For a I while, I was really behind Serpico, which is big to say because I really didn't like it or have any interest in it at first. The counter-culture angle certainly helped win me over. He's such a silly man, at first. Showing off ballerina moves and attending NYU and whatnot. And Al Pacino is charming as hell. Naturally, the actually conflicts kick in and his general quirks are pushed aside. I rooted for Serpico at first, but I wonder if we were supposed to get a little impatient with him after a while. Or at least, I wasn't feeling Serpico's rage anymore. Al Pacino seemed to be kicking and screaming like a little baby. It made me care a little less, or at least sympathize as much. This must have been somewhat premeditated in some sense, and I certainly don't mean to say anything to detract from Pacino's performance, which is outstanding. It is a really interesting arc of a fairly honest and laid back man becoming and raging Pacino asshole, but at least he's still honest! Pacino seems incapable of playing a decent man, every time he has a chance to play a protagonist, the sonuvabitch explodes. Lumet is a fine director, and perhaps is what keeps the film from being a mediocre cop movie with a fine lead. He also keeps the two plus hours running smoothly.

Al Pacino keeps his acting underneath his hat.

Airplane! - 1980 - Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker

I've watched Airplane! like a million fucking times. I sorta took a break after a while so it was my first time in a while. I do consider this cheating my new movie a day thing. But hell, this movie is just too funny. And it remains so. I was a little afraid that I might not think it was funny anymore but damn, the movie still had me laughing relentlessly. Smile pasted on my face through and through. Not only that but there's still jokes that I'm just getting after x-times having watched it. Also the fact that a great deal of the actors are serious dramatic actors gets funnier and funnier. The movie just gets damn funnier and funnier! FUCK THIS MOVIE!

Instruments!