I really enjoyed this movie. The first time I saw it though, I was a little skeptical (and annoyed at first at the black & white). But, that was a long time ago ... i ended up really liking this film. I have mixed feelings about the sequel — I'm sure it will be fine, but it worries me nonetheless. Why do they have to ruin perfectly good movies with sequels? Maybe this will be more of a Godfather II sequel than a Caddyshack II sequel.

-Rocky

No matter Rocky, I'm sure CLERKS 2 is better than the fucking disagrace to cinema that was JERSEY GIRL, aka Kevin Smith's would-be mainstream breakthrough, which instead became AOA (Abortion on Arrival).

Clerks II ***
(First Viewing)

Don't worry Rocky, Clerks II is more like Godfather II than Caddyshack II A very good continuation of the story that is Donte, Randall, Jay & of course, Silent Bob. I think this remained true to the original and it followed the same formula that made the first film a success (the writing and the characters).

Aliens **
(First Viewing)

Well you were wrong again ronnie as I enjoyed Alien more than Aliens. I felt it was too long but I'd also need a rewatch because I was very tired while watching it and also was talking with my brother during the beginning of the movie (and had to turn it wayyyyyyyyyy down to finish it because he was sleeping). But, through the first view, yes I would agree with you that Alien is more enjoyable.

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
1972/Buñuel

A surrealistic satire that tells the story of six bourgeoisie French citizens trying to share a meal together but end up being constantly stopped by a series of increasingly absurd interruptions. Overall, I didn't like the way the whole thing looked like an episode of Happy Days as far as its lighting and camerawork went, and despite Buñuel presenting some interesting symbolism through his use of characters from all classes of society, and experimenting with the blurring of dreams and reality more thoroughly embodied in films such Last Year at Marienbad, I ultimately didn't feel like the end product came out all that thought-provoking or innovative.

2/5 Stars

Irishman, why the hell do you even bother watching movies if you talk and have to lower the damn volume?

Really, you didn't do such nonsense with NETWORK, so dear lord I know you're better than that.
Oh well, next time then!

Aliens was garbage anyway. I wanted to strangle myself in that scene where the family finds the alien.

"Oh no Daddy wait! Don't go out there alone!"

"Don't worry kids, I'll be fine, you stay right here."

Goes out, Cameron cues his gay action movie music. Oh, I wonder if an alien is going to pop out.

Shit, there it is, now an alien's got Daddy's head. Kids scream, bla bla bla, who gives a fuck.

I agree that whole sequence from the Special Edition was....pointless. Hell, that's the only sequence that Cameron was wise to have edited out of the original theatrical edit.

A Scanner Darkly
2006/Linklater

A strangely satisfying expierience. Linklater's choice of the painted-over method wasn't distracting and added some interesting depth altering effects at times, which helped the drugged out feel of the whole film. Good thought-provoking story, an interesting film with a lot to say. I'm interested in seeing more of Linklater's work.

4/5 Stars

The only problem I saw with Scanner is that it rushed in to the 3rd act. Up until then the movie was very mellow and then it gives you a ton of shit to handle in the 3rd act. Still, I thought it was pretty good and Keanu did surprisingly well.

I agree. Right around the time they bust Keanu's character in the office, I kind of lost the plot. Still a good movie though.

Considering that Phillip K. Dick, legendary sci-fi author and noted drug addict, wrote this book based on his own fucked-up drug experiences, the fact that the plot loses track in the 3rd act isn't very surprising.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind **
Very novel concept and good acting from Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. But somehow I did not like it so much.

Me too. I always thought it was a bit overrated myself and never saw what others saw in this film

Me too. I always thought it was a bit overrated myself and never saw what others saw in this film [/b][/quote]I am not a Jim Carey fan, but ESOTSM is the most original, and thought provoking film in the last five years. great film.

even better then Alien

What's a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This?
Martin Scorsese 1963 US (1st time; YouTube)
A writer moves into a new apartment and becomes enthralled by a painting on the wall.
Scorsese's early passion for film is evident much in the same way it is in Godard's early shorts; a fine visual storyteller even then, and very witty.

It's Not Just You, Murray!
Martin Scorsese 1964 US (1st time; YouTube)
A hoodlum remembers his rise and fall as a bootlegger.
Early Scorsese tricks: voice-over narration, frantic information overload, and rapid, succinct editing; which film student [i]doesn't go through an "I love [/i]La nouvelle vague" phase?

The Big Shave
Martin Scorsese 1967 US (1st time; YouTube)
A man shaves himself in the mirror, slowly cutting himself more and more.
An ultimately harrowing short film, quite ambiguous as it moves into some kind of surreal horror to an upbeat tune; filmed like a Gilette commercial, is it the mirror image of masculinity, a theme Scorsese would later tackle in his Mob films?

Kagemusha ***
(First Viewing)

This is one of the best (if not the best) shot movie that I've seen by Kurosawa. It was shot so beautifully, which even though it ran 3 hours, didn't matter to me as much (I was ready for it to be over, but I was enjoying viewing the images onscreen).

Lady In The Water ***
(First Viewing)

Opened up #3 in the box office this past weekend so my expectations were a little low for it (considering M. Night Shyamalan last outing, The Village). This surprisingly was a good movie, although a little silly. Paul Giamatti was enjoyable in the lead as Cleveland Heep. I'd rank Shyamalan's work from best to worst as:

1) The Sixth Sense
2) Unbreakable
3) Lady In The Water
4) The Village
5) Signs

LADY IN THE WATER (2006)

Total Budget, including Advertizing: $130 million
----------------------------

Production Budget: $74 million
Shymalan's payday for Script, Producing, and Directing: $18 million(!)
Advertizing budget: $20 million
The Rest - Crew payments

This weekend's box-office in America: $18 million(take 55% that the studio only gets back after the theatres get their slice, its only $9.9 million).

Let's just say that at this rate, Night may have his first big failure.

Casino
Martin Scorsese 1995 US (Nth time; DVD)
The rise and fall of a high-earning gambler put in charge of a Las Vegas casino by the Mafia.
Scorsese, throughout his career, has always had a knack of telling inevitably tragic, somewhat predictable narrative arcs and making them engrossing, mostly by having the right actors in all the right places; we know fine well these characters don't really have anywhere to go but a hole in the desert, but we keep watching anyway, seduced by the director's always-moving camera, a fine soundtrack, and Technicolor which would have Sirk smiling throughout. Nevertheless, it remains a rambling extension--though not expansion--of themes covered in his previous films, a kind of three-hour epic consisting only of surface exposition; the final third tries to inject some character into these anonymous faces, but it is, for the most part, like reading a novel without any dialogue, and thus lacking in life.

Syriana-
One of the best films to come out of America in recent years. Though I'm probably going to have to watch it a lot more before I catch all of it.
4/4

I saw Syriana in the theaters and thought it sucked. Too long, hard to follow, and I thought the guy tried to make it too much like Traffic

Citizen Kane
1941/Welles

Just finished my sorely needed 2nd viewing. Hadn't seen this in probably a couple years at least. Definitely solidified as four-star, masterpiece film. I'm usually very critical of directors who seldom use camera movement but Welles is a clear exception. His shots are so well framed, so well planned and constructed, the camera doesn't need to move. Thanks to his pioneering of the universal focus technique, Welles can set up one shot that works on three levels simultaneously and just hold it while the viewers marvel at how much there is to look at. A true cinematic genius. I got a hold of Touch of Evil not too long ago but the copy was so scratched it didn't work. I'll have to get back to that at some point as well as The Magnificent Ambersons.

Paris, Texas
Wim Wenders 1984 France/West Germany (2nd time; DVD)
After being missing for four years, a long lost brother returns to his former life in search of his wife and son.
A film-lover's film, in that it must be seen to be appreciated; the use of colour is extraordinary, and in many ways it may well be Robby Müller's picture. But there are other elements at work here, so elusively woven together by Wenders that the finished product is a decidedly odd affair, and if Cinema is a catalyst for emotions deep within us rarely touched upon, this is essential viewing.

The Brown Bunny
Vincent Gallo 2003 US/Japan/France (3rd time; DVD)
A motorcycle racer travels across America to meet with his girlfriend; along the way, he tries to fill in her absence.
An oddly beautiful, moving exploration of the self-desctructive result of sexuality and guilt, which, stripped to its bare bones, is a road movie with an interesting closure; captivating for those who can take the director's heavy self-indulgence.

just watched Pulp Fiction again last night after almost 2 years from the last time I seen it. man, what can I say... this is my all time favorite number one film, to start. I've come to the conclusion that it's even better than The Godfather and GoodFellas and Taxi Driver and Fargo and all the other films I love.
Quentin Tarantino delivers an outstanding plot that, although unlinear, it's easy to follow, mostly because it's driven by the dialogue. oh, the dialogue. Tarantino's cinematography is perfect, and along with the non sense-intriguing-funny dialogue, it makes Pulp Fiction the only film I remember that has got no bad scenes. not a single one. it may seem slow paced, but we're always interested in the bullshits the characters talk about. it builds up and then breaks the momentum, and when you think it's done, there is one more unpredictable occurance. watch it and notice how many times Tarantino builds up a climax, then breaks it, and when the characters cool off, that is when things happen. interesting character keep coming and going, memorable quotes are said every minute and the way Tarantino shows it makes you glue your eyes on the screen.
it could be only me, but I doubt someone one day will make a better movie.

The Benchwarmers * 1/2
(First Viewing)

Wow, what a piece of sh*t. 3 (at one time) good comedians in such a trainwreck of a movie. Rob Schneider I don't think has EVER made a decent film in his life (looks like he needs to just go back and stay at Saturday Night Live). David Spade needs Chris Farley more than A-Rod needing a hit in the clutch. And Jon Heder looks like he had a one-hit wonder with Napoleon Dynamite. This movie was NO GOOD

Gerry
Gus Van Sant 2001 US/Argentina/Jordan (2nd time; DVD)
Two friends on a day's hiking trip casually stroll off path and become lost.
A film largely improvised and ironically dealing with the perils of improvisation; it is astonishing to look at, with many long takes giving otherwise ordinary images of two men walking a surreal, unfamiliar edge. A bleak film with a lasting gravity, wherein the anonymous characters become slowly overwhelmed by the harshness of nature.

My Super Ex-Girlfriend **
(First Viewing)

Knew it'd be silly and a little stupid and I wasn't disappointed. I think the theater closest to me is going to stop showing it after tomorrow (didn't even last a week)

Paradise Now ****/4

Two childhood friends are recruited for a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv

I just saw A Short Film About Killing and I feel as if Jacek didn't necessarily experience a transformation. Rather, I think he is a complex character, capable of both love and murder. The final scene simply provided an opportunity for him to pour his soul out. I don't think that Jacek should be restricted to being a one sided character. That's what I love about this film: it's realistic. The cabbie is not a nice person, yet he shouldn't die. I feel as if Kieslowski was making a similar point with Jacek.