11:45 AM
|
By Robert Jay Moore
Written and Directed by
Robert Rodriguez. Columbia Pictures, 1995. Color, 1 hour 44 minutes.
With this sequel to
El Mariachi, Robert Rodriguez employs a similar storyline on a higher budget. El Mariachi, this time played by Antonio Banderas, comes into a town and tries to kill the drug lord. There isn't a mistaken identity in this one, but he still ends up falling for the drug lord's girl and sleeping in her upstairs apartment.
With the bigger budget comes better special effects, better acting, and better looking, higher quality shots. Also, the film isn't dubbed, so for viewers who aren't totally fluent in spanish, like myself, that's a plus.
Rodriguez proves he can make a great action movie just like the best of them, the gunfights are incredible, the explosions exciting, and the tension pretty darn tense. What this outing misses of the heart and soul of the original (probably communicated by the passion needed to make such a low-budget film), it makes up for with the high action and big names (great performances by Steve Buscemi and Quentin Tarantino). Not to mention the big twists at the end that will keep you guessing.
Over all, this movie is very exciting. It is a little strange to see the lead role replaced, especially when the actor who played El Mariachi in the first film has a cameo in this one, but it is definitely for the better. Not saying the original actor was bad, but Banderas is a lot more fun to watch, especially back in his earlier days.
Four and a Half out of Five Stars.
8:48 AM
|
By Robert Jay Moore
Written and Directed by Troy Duffy. Franchise Pictures, 1999. Color, 1 hour 48 minutes.
Wow. My least favorite part about Boondock Saints is the fact that it took me so long to watch it.
Sure, it had a ton of language, and yes it was pretty violent. But in a mob film set in Boston, what can you expect? The "saints" do a fantastic job of bringing about their characters (kind of makes me wish I was just a little more Irish so I could be such a BA), and Willem Dafoe is incredible as the cross-dressing FBI agent. Duffy does an amazing job of making you sympathize and side with the vigilante justice. These guys may as well be the foul-mouthed, sloppy version of Robin Hood and his merry men. The character of Rocco "The Joker" is just like that goofy friend that everyone has, in my case, the roommate, and the sarchastic Detective Greenly is just like that other friend everyone has that no one really invites, he just shows up with his stupid comments.
My favorite part about the film, though, is the device of playing with time. We rarely see any action as it actually happens, and it is all rehashed by Dafoe, Rocco, or someone else piecing together the puzzle. In some scenes there is even crossover between present time and past. This was probably a lot more acceptable to me since I had just finished watching the last two episodes of LOST, but I still think that it was genius.
I don't have anything else to say, except if you haven't seen this movie, you are as stupid as I was. Go see it right now.
Five out of Five Stars.
1:20 PM
|
By Robert Jay Moore
Nothing like a good 80's mystery flick to entertain while doing laundry. I love Chevy Chase, and it was really fun seeing him in a film that probably wouldn't have been a comedy if he wasn't the star. Chase as the wise-cracking investigative journalist Irwin Fletcher never lost my attention for a second.
The mystery was a little convoluted (I'm still not sure what Stanwyck really had to do with the drug conspiracy), but Chase's humor and earnestness makes those little details seem irrelevant. It's no wonder this film has been deemed a Cult Classic, it's campiness and fun, as well as the ever-illusive mystery, keep it constantly entertaining. I would highly recommend it for a laundry night, or maybe even a date-night-in.
Four out of Five Stars.
1:02 PM
|
By Robert Jay Moore
Written and Directed by Robert Rodriguez. Columbia Pictures, 1992. Color, 1 hour 21 minutes, English Dubbed.
This is the film that puts other independent features to shame. For just $7,000, Robert Rodriguez made an exciting, suspenseful, action-filled shootout of Western proportions.
The story of mistaken identity may be frequently used in it's roots, but Rodriguez crafts a tale that keeps you on the edge of your seat and engaged apart from the cheesy dubbing (at least in the copy I watched). This was especially appreciated after the last four movies I watched that didn't have very many original ideas.
Yes, the special effects can be pretty cheesy at times, and yes the acting can be pretty campy, but it's way better than one may expect from such a low budget. And the characters are so well developed and identifiable, it's very easy to imagine Clint Eastwood walking into this drug-owned town with his guitar case. I greatly enjoyed this movie and cannot wait to watch the sequel.
Five out of Five Stars.
5:28 PM
|
By Robert Jay Moore
Written and Directed by Robert D. Siegel. Independent, 2009. Color, 1 hour 28 minutes.
I don't know why all the movies I have watched and reviewed for this blog have been comedies. I guess I've just been in a good mood since I graduated and such. This film also is categorized as a comedy, but it is quite dark. I don't think there was a whole lot of scenes that I laughed at, but the story as a whole was pretty great.
The film follows "Staten Island Phil," played by Patton Oswalt. Think George Costanza with a crazier family and more of a loser. Phil is a huge New York Giants fan, specifically linebacker Quantrell Bishop. He can't afford to get into the stadium to see the Giants play, so he and his buddy watch from the parking lot on a TV hooked up to their car battery. Unfortunately, Phil's love for the Giants and "QB" goes so far that he follow his hero through New York and witnesses what can only be assumed is a drug deal. He mentions it to QB after he stalks him to a strip club, and the enormous athlete beats the crap out of him, landing Phil in the hospital.
Phil is then faced with the moral dilemma: Let justice be served, or stay true to his team? The lengths Phil goes to to preserve the integrity of his beloved Giants is hilarious, as well as unnerving. Oswalt plays the dorky part to perfection, keeping you on the edge of your seat in the climax.
Don't be fooled by the presence of Oswalt, even though this is classified as a "dark comedy," it's not the laugh-out-loud dark style you see in his stand-up. Some parts dragged on for too long, or were honestly kind of boring to watch. But maybe that was just a comment on Phil's pathetic lifestyle. Overall, though, this movie was really entertaining if you give it a shot.
Three and a half out of Five.
8:42 PM
|
By Robert Jay Moore
Written and Directed by Chris J. Ford. Independent, 2008. Color, 1 hour 39 minutes.
When I was in college - way back, oh so long ago - I had a professor who would always complain about myspace. He said myspace was destroying the music industry because so many bands were becoming popular without record labels noticing them, which meant that to find music you actually liked, you had to sift through all the crap first. I never really agreed with him because I have always been a fan of independent music, films, art, etc.
After seeing this film, however, I can see where he is coming from.
I will keep this entry short because I am tired and have to work tomorrow. But I'll sum it up by saying if you want to see a movie about a crotchety old man who is afraid of change who meets a youngster who turns everything around for the better, bypass and just rent Up. This movie employs terrible lighting, terrible shot framing, and terrible acting. It feels like a bad credit report website commercial on local cable. The best acting award definitely goes to John Ratzenberger of Pixar fame (the voice of the piggy bank in Toy Story, among others). That being said, Ratzenberger should definitely continue doing voice-overs and stay out of the gaze of the camera from now on. And he was the best. Don't even get me started on Shelly Cole's utterly failed attempt at being the cute, adorable, spunky, Juno-esque pregnant girl. This movie was a waste of my 99 minutes, and just goes to prove that if you have the money to make a full-length movie, that doesn't mean you necessarily should.
One out of Five Stars.
Written and Directed by Robert Rodriguez. Columbia Pictures, 1995. Color, 1 hour 44 minutes.
