Films non stop

The Town - This film which stars and was directed by Ben Affleck is quite good. Films about bank robberies are always tricky. It’s based on a true story, but still, you see one bank robbery… you know how that goes, but that’s not always true. From the Inside Man, To Set it Off, films about bank robberies can be interesting depending on how it is done. Remember Dog Day Afternoon?

In The Town the robbers are bold and inventive in their approach to getting what they want. I really enjoyed this film. The film also stars Jeremy Renner and Blake Lively.
I found out recently Jeremy Renner played Jeffery Dahmer in the film Dahmer and he was quite good in the role. It’s funny how people go unnoticed and then all of a sudden you had seen films that had done that the face just didn’t stick out at all.

That was the case when I met Josh Evans. I met Josh at the Seattle International Film Festival when he was promoting the film Inside The Goldmine. It was sort of artsy with a lot of dialogue like that of Quentin Tarrantino. Josh wrote, directed and stars in this film. I learned a lot about Hollywood and getting films made while doing SIFF. Josh Evans is part of a legacy he still needed a name to get his film made. Drew Barrymore got attached and though she is only on the screen for a couple of seconds it was all that was needed to get the film made. Once a film is made then you need distribution and an audience to buy tickets. Film festivals help films get noticed.

I watched The Doors for the first time this weekend and to my surprise Josh Evans appears in the film as the manager of the group. There were many actors in this film giving incredible performances. I’m guessing the only reason I never saw this film before is because I really didn’t know who Jim Morrison was. I don’t recall hearing much about him after all I was only a kid in the 60’s. Val Kilmer gives an incredible performance as Oliver Stone gives his take on the troubled singers life.
Crispin Glover pops up as Andy Warhol. I think Andy Warhol has been portrayed by more actors than any other person. Mimi Rogers takes the screen briefly taking those iconic photographs. There’s Michael Madsen as one of Andy Warhol’s discoveries.
The music, the cinematography all come together to tell an amazing story not only about Jim Morrison, but of the 60’s and 70’s. Kevin Dillon, Kyle Maclachlan, Frank Whaley and Meg Ryan round out the lead cast.
The one thing I liked about this DVD set was the extras. It is rare that you hear anyone talk bad about a director or what they didn’t like about the film. It took a long time to get this film made because a lot of people had to sign off on it. Even after they signed off there were still things they didn’t agree with. In the end they all enjoyed working on the project and I’m sure they’ve learned something about the world of make believe.

RED - Retired, Extremely Dangerous. The film stars Bruce Willis, Mary Louise Parker, John Malkovich, Morgan Freeman and Helen Mirren. It’s about a group of ex CIA agents that know just a little too much and they need to be retired permanently.
A few scenes were shot in New Orleans and it was quite interesting to see what they did. It’s always fun to see people go from any point in the city and always end up in the French Quarter in a flash. Once again, the magic of movie making.
The film has its moments and is very entertaining. I think John Malkovich steals the film.



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Coming up: Filming in New Orleans, The Social Network, The Trial, The Fighter




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Disturbing Images

I’ve seen my share of films that have some disturbing images, but recently I saw some films that triggered those memories.

One of the first films that I thought was gross was the film Xtro. I’ve never seen this film again and I’ve never even seen it advertised on DVD. It is possible it could have been renamed. It was an alien type picture. I’m sure you guessed that from the title. I have no clue what it was about, but the scene that stays in my head is where a woman is on her kitchen floor and she gives birth to a full size alien creature.

The next film that would keep me awake at night was Friday the 13th, the original with Kevin Bacon before Footloose and the game six degrees of Kevin Bacon. The ending scene when Jason comes out of the water was just horrifying. I remember one of the movie magazines decided to make that image their cover so I had to see it whenever I was in a store for an entire month. And you know when you try not to look at something it seems to be in your face even more.

Another film that had a disturbing image was I spit on your Grave. There is a scene when the victim begins to get revenge and she castrates one of her attackers in the bathtub.

I also must not forget Blacula. Black people make some ugly and scary looking vampires. Especially to a kid of 11 or 12 years old.

The Anti Christ is a bizarre film that stars Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Rampling The visuals in this film are stunning at times. There’s not a lot of dialogue and a good bit of sex. There is this one scene where the wife cuts off her husbands penis after bringing him to orgasm. Talking about being cruel.

The Killer Inside Me stars Casey Affleck, younger brother of Ben. I’m not sure why he hasn’t done more mainstream films, but perhaps he’s happy with the obscure stuff. There is a scene in which his character attacks Jessica Alba’s character and it is brutal. I had to turn my head. He just keeps hitting her in the face until she is unrecognizable.

It reminded me of Jared Leto’s scene in Fight Club, in that instance it was a fight so you were expecting blood. This was totally unexpected. I guess also it was the fact that he was hitting the woman the way you would hit a man. It made me cringe.


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When The Levees Broke

I finally made myself watch the documentary by Spike Lee of the traumatic aftermath of Katrina. I had been putting off watching the DVD that I had borrowed from a friend until I felt I was ready. I wasn’t sure what type of emotions would come out of watching the documentary, but I’ve done a good job at getting myself over that hurdle. By not blocking things out I can deal with things that bring back the memories of that week of being in NOLA.

The documentary gives me a different perspective on the days that followed and the views of celebrities who are from NOLA and their families along with some average people and politicians. The documentary also captured how some of the stories were escalated into incidents that didn’t actually take place. It also caught people in the act of looting for survival and out of stupidity. It was understandable when you heard someone stole water, clothing, food, diapers, etc., but it made no sense to see someone stealing a television when there was no power. In times of disaster people don’t always think clearly. There were many mentally disabled people roaming around the city. Their medications had run out and there was nothing that anyone could do.

When the Levees Broke is a 3 disc DVD told in four acts with two additional segments.
The DVD includes, Spike Lee’s commentary which is optional. Phyllis Mouton LeBlanc, Wendell Pierce, Terrence Blanchard, C. Ray Nagin, Louella Givens, Dale Girard, Sean Penn, Fred Johnson, and many others. The DVD doesn’t sugar coat anything, even from the people that are talking.

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Time to get back to reality. Rebuilding my life, one step at a time.
Thanks for stopping by; keep an open mind. What is meant to be…