ALIENS VS PREDATOR: REQUIEM 1/2
(First Viewing)

Was lighting too big of a cost or what? Goodnight this movie was dark and really ruined it because half of the time you couldn't see what was going on. A weaker film than the original, if that was possible because I know a lot of people had problems after the first one. I wonder how they feel now?

That was Martin Balsam.

JUMPER
(Second Viewing)

Director Doug Liman (THE BOURNE IDENTITY and MR. & MRS. SMITH) adds another enjoyable action flick to his resume. I enjoyed Samuel L. as usual but was probably impressed the most with Rachel Bilson. I've never really seen THE O.C. so I was looking forward to this to see her acting abilities and she didn't disappoint. I also am really happy that they left room for a sequel or even trilogy (hopefully they will do so because I'd love to see more). Finally, I am so jealous of Hayden Christensen for now hooking up onscreen with Natalie Portman and Rachel Bilson

I knew you'd know SC!! I want to say he was on a tv show in the 60's or 70's but can't think of which one????? Am I right? Perhaps a comedy? His name is more familiar to me than his face.


TIS

I don't remember him from any tv shows. He was a pretty good actor and played decent roles in many movies (among them "Hombre", "The Bedford Incident", "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and "All the President's Men").

I just re-watched "Angels in the Outfield" (1951) - the original version - and was reminded that its a charming movie (MUCH better than the Disney remake).

The movie is somewhat dated (but that's part of its charm) and the characters have depth that is sorely missing in many more recent movies.

Its a little sappy, but its a lot of fun.

"Fields of Dreams" was on TV last night, this film gets better every time i watch it..

One of these days I have to watch it. I heard a lot of good things about it.

if i remember, isn't that one of your fav films..

I was joking with that response. "Field of Dreams" is my all-time favorite movie.

I've only seen the Disney remake. Is there alot of differences between the two?

Yes it is, and to think Costner's grown-up-hippie wife is Amy Madigan. Yeah, she's almost a completely different actress in STREETS OF FIRE.

I believe the original involved the Pittsburgh Pirates, because the Los Angeles/California/Anaheim/Los Angeles of Anaheim* Angels didn't become a franchise until the 60s.

*="Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim"....man that's so damn stupid. LAAA?

I saw State of Grace the other night (cost me 50 cents for the VHS at a garage sale) and I have to say what a piece of crap.

They took some Westies stories and fucked them up Hollywood style. It's not realistic which I wouldn't mind if it was a good movie.

I'm currently watching the 1982 versionof John Carpenter's "The Thing." I do enjoy this movie. Kind of creepy, but very good.



TIS

It's great TIS. I didn't think so the first time but after a second viewing I became a fan. I think it's loads better than the original 50's version, but that's just me.

Carpenter at the peak of his Hollywood career...and the beginning of the end for him.

At least he hit a masterpiece homerun when given his shot.



Took ya long enough, eh? Now go back to ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK.

but how could you not love John Belushi, who was a Chippendale dancer earlier in life

Speaking of Carpenter, check out what the great Martin Scorsese wrote of ole Carp, which I found on the DirectTV website:

They Live
Reviewed by Martin Scorsese

John Carpenter is a filmmaker who is unashamed to stay within the genres he loves (horror and science fiction) and who practices his trade like a master craftsman. His pictures always have a handmade quality—every cut, every move, every choice of framing and camera movement, not to mention every note of music (he composes his own scores) feels like it has been composed or placed by the filmmaker himself. His sense of composition (nearly all of his pictures are shot in 'Scope) is quite exacting and precise, and his control of movement inside and outside the frame can be hair-raising.

There are so many moments in his films that are absolutely startling—the murder of the little girl with the ice-cream cone in Assault on Precinct 13; the appearances of Michael Myers on the very edge of the frame in Halloween; the appearances of the creature in his truly terrifying remake of The Thing. And the mood of his pictures is so carefully crafted and sustained. I'm a great admirer of The Fog, the mood of it, the sense of mystery. But I also love They Live, in which an alien invasion of America is uncovered by people living on the ragged edge of society in Los Angeles. This movie was Carpenter's commentary on what he saw as the excesses of the Reagan era, and the movie shares many qualities with pictures made during the Depression, such as Heroes for Sale and Wild Boys of the Road.

It's lyrical and tough at the same time, with a strong sense of community among the displaced people living in makeshift homes on the outskirts of L.A. (interestingly, the picture dovetails with Mel Brooks' comedy Life Stinks, made a couple of years later), and the mood is unusually sad and bitter. The science-fiction element reveals itself as the story goes on: The "beautiful people" on TV and walking down Rodeo Drive are actually aliens, transmitting subliminal messages to the hypnotized masses, their true images visible through special glasses that are being handed out at a mission for the poor.

I like the humor of the picture, the hilariously long fight scene between "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and Keith David, and the sense of outrage. They Live is one of the best films of a fine American director.

I forgot about "They Live". I like that movie too. The whole concept was interesting, and yes, it was one of the longest, dragged out fight scenes (what about 10 minutes straight?). Fun, different and just plain entertaining.




TIS

THIS IS SPINAL TAP
(First Viewing)

Call me disappointed just because I know this film has such a big following. I didn't find it at all funny really and while the "documentary" looked legit, I really don't understand why it's so popular? BORAT was a lot better IMO.

Wow, you just made an enemy out of Chris Jericho.

You happy?

MAMA'S BOY 1/2
(First Viewing)

Wow Jon Heder's career has really taken a nosedive since the surprisingly well received NAPOLEON DYNAMITE. I like the underappreciated SCHOOL FOR SCOUNDRELS, but then he's done THE BENCHWARMERS, the underperforming BLADES OF GLORY and now MAMA'S BOY. Even with a cast of Jon Heder, Diane Keaton, Jeff Daniels, and Anna Farris can't save this poorly written script.

KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
(Third Viewing)

Well, third time was a charm for this film as well. I saw the theatrical cut twice (once in theaters and the other on DVD). It's been a while since I'd seen this and decided to give the Director's Cut a chance. It has about 50 minutes of added material but I thought it made the film a lot better and enjoyable (even longer). It wasn't as choppy, somethings made clearer sense, and some minor storylines were brought to light that made the film more powerfuly in parts). If you liked this film, I'd recommend watching the Director's Cut.

THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL
(First Viewing)

A great telling of King Henry's intense desire to have a male heir and the lengths he would go to to secure that. I was somewhat familiar with the story but not intimately. This gave a lot more insight into the politics and lack of religious value given these life changing decisions (even though God is constantly thrown around the film for reasoning). However, what I loved most about this piece was Natalie Portman playing a villain. I've never seen her do it before and I must say I was throughly pleased. I hope she does it again soon as it's a nice change of pace for her.

MIRACLE MILE (1988) - ***1/2

Imagine you're a guy (Anthony Edwards) that while in the heart of Los Angeles you happen to meet the perfect girl (Mare Winningham). She doesn't just share your hobbies, but she also is mutually attracted to you. I'm going to screw your eyes blue! You have a wonderful day together, and you both make plans for a date at midnight, meeting at the "Miracle Mile" neighborhood coffee shop where she works. But the power goes out at your joint, so you accidentally oversleep. You rush down there to find that she's since long gone home hours ago, and her co-workers think you're an asshole for standing her up.

A lousy night gets worse when outside, you answer the ringing payphone, and its from a frantic guy working at a missile silo out in North Dakota who was trying to call his dad. He says that America has just launched a pre-emptive nuclear strike against the enemy. Our nuclear arsenal will be launched in 50 minutes, and the "blowback" against us in 70 minutes. He's cut off by machine gun fire, and a new voice, threatening and ominous, tells you to "forget everything you just heard and go back to sleep."

Was he simply jerking you around, or do you really only have a hour left before the apocalypse?

A better question is......what would you do?

It was that great premise of a dramatic quandary that made Steve De Jarnatt's screenplay for MIRACLE MILE so admired in Hollywood...and De Jarnatt's answer to that last question was why nobody would produce it. It was like everyone wanted MILE to be MILE, without being what made itself MILE in the first place. After a decade of development hell as one of the best-unfilmed scripts around, De Jarnatt said screw it. He bought MILE back from Warner Bros., and Hemdale Film let the dude shoot it himself with a B-movie budget, like they did previously with James Cameron and Oliver Stone for THE TERMINATOR and PLATOON.

If anything, DeJarnatt's MIRACLE MILE is really three different movies, of which MILE skips between without mostly missing a step.

The first 30 minutes is like a very lightweight romantic comedy, what with the couple walking in the park, him buying the freedom of some lobsters from a restaurant, her wacky parents who haven't spoken to each other in 15 years, that sort of fluff. In fact, you begin wondering if you rented the wrong movie. Really, Edwards and Winningham have great chemistry that makes not just the "love at first sight" shtick credible, but arguably make rest of the movie work as well.

Because once the phone call happens, MILE gets deadly serious as a real-time thriller, and damn effective at that. MILE subscribes to my theory that a good suspense movie is one where the narrative grabs your throat once the plot kicks in, and squeezes tighter as the clock winds down to the deadline, which by then you're grasping for air.

You feel this with Edwards after he gets the call, and I'm reminded of how tremendously underrated Edwards is. Yeah people seem to only remember him for TOP GUN and ER, but if every other actor would play a nervous breakdown by shouting and jumping around like a monkey, Edwards does it like any one of us would do if we became an unwilling prophet of doom: your brain would practically shut down as we get nervous, upset, and confused as what to do next, along with a million other things rushing through your mind at once. Then he has a moment of clarity:

Go find her.

Seriously, after seeing this and last year's ZODIAC, Hollywood or some indie filmmakers have to hire Edwards out more.

It's perhaps best that such a story be told with a miniscule approach instead. If this was a major studio project, MILE easily could have faded into being a series of major set pieces strung together with thin storytelling and characterization this side of THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW, and we wouldn't give a shit. Instead, DeJarnatt's forced-focus on the people themselves instead of special effects or the action actually make us care about the fate of Winningham, Edwards, and everyone else. Or to put it another way, its a pretty epic small story.

Take when Edwards carjacks Mykelti Williamson at gunpoint so he could drive him to Winningham's apartment. Turns out Williamson has some stolen electronics in his trunk, and when cops confront them at a gas station, he kills them to escape some jail time. Now you want to hate him for what he does, but when Edwards tells Williamson of the "news"...the guy then demands to go find his sister before they pick up Winningham.

You feel for him, and when he does ditch Edwards, you can't really blame the guy. I mean compare that with the unseen "government VIPs" supposedly behind green lighting World War 3, who apparently are already out of the Western Hemisphere, leaving the rest of us to enjoy their radiation bath.

Now what I really dig about MILE is I guess what I would the call its "third" movie, and that's just the randomness that occurs within the story. Edwards throws out a cigarette of his, which a bird swoops up...later we cut to its nest, which has become a fireball and causes the power outage. He accidentally backs up into a palm tree, and rats spill out (which they've been known to do). Winningham's parents reconcile and try to enjoy perhaps their last day together...and they go back to squabbling with each other. Two Beverly Hills elite women storm a skyscraper with semi-automatics. During the riot, when everyone is looting or killing each other, a couple is humping out in front of a store.

Its not stop-dead "comedy" moments, but just the funny weird shit you just happen to run into at the dead of night this side of AFTER HOURS.

This includes my favorite sequence in the movie, where Edwards is looking for a pilot to fly the helicopter out of town, and he runs into a gym. In a terrific tracking shot by DeJarnatt, you see these muscle men and women pumping iron, with imagery all over the place of peak human physicality...and you realize that within a few minutes, all their hard work will be for nothing.

With the climax, Edwards' original news of Armageddon has spread throughout the city, causing mass hysteria and violent rioting with disturbing shades of what will really happen within L.A. in the Riots of 1992. Yet when we come to the ending, probably the biggest objection Hollywood always had with the script, its really the perfect ending...or at least as perfect as a story mixing romance with nuclear war can be. I mean, this aint the political morality play THE DAY AFTER or the prozac-friendly TESTAMENT.

Yeah I can criticize of sorts how DeJarnatt's directing doesn't equal his writing (and in fact, DeJarnatt hasn't directed a movie since then), but MIRACLE MILE is a pretty cool idea for a movie, that he shot as a pretty good little movie that was the CLOVERFIELD of sorts for its day, but most of all sticks with the right conclusion.

It's a gutsy finale for a gutsy film.

HELLBOY 1/2
(Third Viewing)

More enjoyable after a third watch but I'm still not the biggest Hellboy fan. I also think Ron Pearlman was a good choice to play the character because I don't like either of them: arrogant, cocky, tries to act tougher than he really is. I only watched this because a friend of mine claims he's going to drag me to see number 2. Let's pray alcohol can make the experience more enjoyable in theaters!

Lick My Love Pump!

I find the reverse to be true. Borat wasn't great at all, but Spinal Tap is.

Do you play guitar? I do. I don't know if that helps understand some of the jokes or not. "This one goes to 11" etc.

I think being a rock fan it helps, but you don't for a joke like "Stonehenge."

No I don't play