See It 10/30

Taxidermia (2006)
Directed by: Gyorgy Palfi
Written by: Lajos Parti Nagy; Gyorgy Palfi, Zsofia Ruttkay
Starring: Csaba Czene, Gergely Trocsanyi, Piroska Molnar, Adel Stanczel, Marc Bischoff, Gabor Mate, Zoltan Koppany
This sick, vile, disgusting film tells the stories of three generations of men in Hungary. One a soldier in WWII who ejaculates fire, the next, his son, an overweight competitive eater born with a pig tail, and his son, a taxidermist who wants to stuff his own torso, who takes care of his massive elderly father and his obese cats. Not many films these days elicit sickness while watching, but this did it all right. Just bizarre, foul, and unpleasant but strikingly original, surreal and entertaining. A-



Being There (1979)
Directed by: Hal Ashby
Written by: Jerzy Kosinski
Starring: Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas, Jack Warden, Richard Dysart, Richard Basehart, Ruth Attaway
Peter Sellers plays a middle aged gardener who had never stepped foot outside his employers home and received all impressions of the outside world through television. When his boss dies he leaves and eventually befriends a powerful and wealthy man, who thinks the gardeners simple, ignorant statement are genius, as do all the other important people around him, including the President. Sellers is fantastic in this. B+



Deconstructing Harry (1997)
Directed by: Woody Allen
Written by: Woody Allen
Starring: Woody Allen, Richard Benjamin, Kirstie Alley, Hazelle Goodman, Billy Crystal, Judy Davis, Bob Balaban, Elisabeth Shue, Demi Moore, Robin Williams, Caroline Aaron, Eric Bogosian, Mariel Hemingway, Amy Irving, Julie Kavner, Eric Lloyd, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tobey Maguire, Stanley Tucci
Ingmar Bergman's 'Wild Strawberries' on a joint rolled with weed and laced with crack, chased down by a whiskey and acid chaser. Woody Allen plays a writer who is invited to receive an honor at his old alma mater. He reminisces about his multiple marriages and affairs, and the books he wrote fictionalizing his life, while making the trip with his young son, who he kidnapped from his ex-wife, a black hooker and a dying friend. A large, talented cast play the real life characters and their fictionalized counterparts. Of the large cast, Kirstie Alley is the standout. A-

See It 10/24

In the Loop (2009)
Directed by: Armando Iannucci
Written by: Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannuci, Ian Martin, Tony Roche
Starring: Peter Capaldi, Tom Hollander, Gina McKee, James Gandolfini, Chris Addison, Anna Chlumsky, Enzo Cilenti, Mimi Kennedy, Alex Mcqueen
Bitingly hilarious satire of government features some great performances. When an inept low level British government official slips and accidentally says a war in inevitable, all hell breaks loose. Soon the American's are involved, trying to use this official for their own political gain. It's all very fast paced and dry, and sadly realistic. A-



Precious: Based On the Novel Push By Sapphire (2009)
Directed by: Lee Daniels
Written by: Sapphire; Geoffrey Fletcher
Starring: Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Sherri Shepherd, Lenny Kravitz, Stephanie Andujar, Chyna Layne, Amina Robinson, Xosha Roquemore, Angelic Zambrana
A poor, overweight, illiterate, sexually abused girl in Harlem is kicked out of her school when she gets pregnant for the second time (by her abusive father.) When she attends an alternative school, she begins her ascent from her horrible home life and her horrifying past. But it's not all inspiration and feel good scenes from there. Powerhouse dramatic performances from comedian Mo'Nique as Precious' monster of a mother, and newcomer Gabourey Sidibe make this a must see. A-



Broken Embraces (2009)
Directed by: Pedro Almodovar
Written by: Pedro Almodovar
Starring: Lluis Homar, Blanco Portillo, Penelope Cruz, Jose Luis Gomez, Ruben Ochandiano, Lola Duenas, Tamar Novas
A filmmaker reminiscing about a lost love, and an event that caused his blindness. Despite strong performances and some great sequences, the plot lines all seem to hang there, and things get a little boring. Despite that, the acting is wonderful, and the film looks great. But 'Bad Education' and 'Volver' were much better. B



Black Dynamite (2009)
Directed by: Scott Sanders
Written by: Michael Jai White, Byron Minns, Scott Sanders
Starring: Michael Jai White, Kym Whitley, Tommy Davidson, Kevin Chapman, Arsenio Hall, Miguel A. Nunez Jr., Salli Richardson, Nicole Sullivan
Hilarious spoof of 70's blaxsploitation films. A great cast is game with a ridiculous plot about dick shrinking malt liquor that takes detective Black Dynamite from the ghetto all the way to the White House. Imagine all the most absurd elements of films like 'Shaft,' 'Superfly,' and 'Coffy' and you'll get... Black DynAmite. B+

Skip It 10/22

Little Ashes (2009)
Directed by: Paul Morrison
Written by: Philippa Goslett
Starring: Javier Beltran, Robert Pattinson, Matthew McNulty, Marina Gatell, Adria Allue, Simon Andreu, Ruben Arroyo
A biopic where the supposedly brilliant real life characters go around constantly spouting supposedly brilliant things. In other words, a real snore. D-



Tormented (2009)
Directed by: Jon Wright
Written by: Stephen Prentice
Starring: Alex Pettyfer, April Pearson, Dimitri Leonidas, Calvin Dean, Tuppence Middleton, Georgia King, Mary Nighy, Olly Alexander, James Floyd
A bullied teenager comes back from the grave to terrorize and kill the popular clique who tormented him while alive. None of the character are likeable, and the film doesn't offer any twists or innovations on this familiar plot. But if you're looking for a fast paced, brainless revenge teensploitation flick, seek this one out. C+



Scenes From A Mall (1991)
Directed by: Paul Mazursky
Written by: Roger L. Simon + Paul Mazursky
Starring: Woody Allen, Bette Midler, Bill Irwin
A middle aged couple in Los Angeles visit the mall on Christmas Eve and confess to eachother their infidelities. Then they argue, make up, bicker, fight, make up, have sex, becker some more and get drunk, all the while being stalked by an annoying mime. Allen and Midler are both alright, but things are pretty predictable and by the end you've just watched Bette yelling for an hour while Woody spouts out little Woody-isms. C



Funny People (2009)
Directed by: Judd Apatow
Written by: Judd Apatow
Starring: Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Eric Bana, Jonah Hill, Jason Schwartzman, Aubrey Plaza
Unfunny, overlong, self-indulgent movie about a megastar comedian who finds out he's dying. It's like a Lifetime movie with dick jokes. So far, the most disappointing movie of 2009. D

See It 10/20

The Addiction (1995)
Directed by: Abel Ferrara
Written by: Nicholas St. John
Starring: Lili Taylor, Edie Falco, Annabella Sciorra, Christopher Walken, Paul Calderon, Fredro Starr
Unique twist on the vampire mythos features Lili Taylor as a newly turned vampire struggling with her addiction to blood. It's more of a drug addiction movie than a vampire movie. Sciorra and Walken also play vampires. In black and white. B+



Interview With the Vampire (1994)
Directed by: Neil Jordan
Written by: Anne Rice
Starring: Brad Pitt, Christian Slater, Tom Cruise, Kirsten Dunst, Antonio Banderas, Stephen Rea
Decent adaptation of the novel. Brad Pitt is awful though, and nearly ruins the movie. Despite his terrible acting (and wig) there are enough things to recommend about this film to any horror/vampire fan. B-



Wolf (1994)
Directed by: Mike Nichols
Written by: Jim Harrison + Wesley Strick
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Michelle Pfeiffer, James Spader, Kate Nelligan, Richard Jenkins, Christopher Plummer, Eileen Atkins, David Hyde Pierce, Om Puri
Instead of focusing on gore and transformations, this werewolf film focuses on the human aspect of things. It gets a bit slow every now and then and the makeup effects are dated, but the chemistry between Nicholson and Pfeiffer is great, and Spader makes a great villain. B+



Nadja (1994)
Directed by: Michael Almereyda
Written by: Michael Almereyda
Starring: Elina Lowensohn, Nic Ratner, Karl Geary, Peter Fonda, Martin Donovan, Galaxy Craze, David Lynch
Weird black and white quasi-remake of 'Dracula's Daughter' walks the fine line between the weird and sublime. Peter Fonda is fucking nuts in this as Doctor Van Helsing. It often has a cheap film school look though, which takes away from the overall effect of the film. B


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Listening to: John Barry - The Knack
via FoxyTunes

See It 11/13

(500) Days of Summer (2009)
Directed by: Marc Webb
Written by: Scott Neustadter + Michael H. Weber
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel, Geoffrey Arend, Chloe Moretz, Matthew Gray Gubler, Patricia Belcher, Clark Gregg
A plodding, routine story is saved by the two leads, who are great to watch, and an interesting non-linear structure. B



Julie & Julia (2009)
Directed by: Nora Ephron
Written by: Julia Child, Alex Prud'homme; Julie Powell; Nora Ephron
Starring: Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci, Chris Messina, Linda Emond, Helen Carey, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Jane Lynch
This would have been so much better if it were only about Julia Child, instead of jumping back and forth between the 50's and the 00's. The storyline with Streep is really entertaining, and I would have liked to see more of it. B



Aisha Tyler Is Lit: Live At the Fillmore (2009)
Directed by: Kerry Asmussen
Written by: Aisha Tyler
Starring: Aisha Tyler
Tyler is hilarious in this filmed performance in San Francisco. It's not as funny as one of Wanda Sykes or Kathy Griffin's numerous specials, but it's definitely up there. B+