The Departed

Stranger Than Fiction

good idea...

will ferrell is great in this film as harold crick, a fictional character made up by an author (emma thompson) who's a very boring mild mannered IRS worker. his organized life starts spiralling out of control when he hears emma's voice narrating his life. there is a lot of win in this film, but sadly some fail. films like this always have a strange need to fill casting spots with weird out of place actors. like having queen latifah as the author's assistant. her character was completely unnecessary and just annoying. dustin hoffman was actually pretty good as another quirky professor (similar to his role in i heart huckabees). the unexplained stuff was kinda weird, like how did harold become real and was the author some sort of god? who cares, will ferrell was great in a mostly dramatic role, and his romance with maggie gyllenhaal's hippy character was enjoyable. more good than bad overall.

Kenny

the best mockumentary ever?

kenny is a mockumentary, but if you didn't know that going in, you may never know it. it's the story of kenny, an australian plumber who delivers, installs, and services porta-johns. he takes us on a journey through his world. from the small details of the toilet business to his real life problems with his ex-wife and having a not so respectable job. shane jacobson plays kenny, and fleshes him out brilliantly. the character is so real and fleshed out, it's amazing. there were plenty of times where i laughed, and at least one time where i almost cried. a big part of the film is paying respect to those who do the world's dirty jobs, and that they should be given their respect. i have had less than perfect jobs and assignments, and i completely sympathize with this character. great job all around.

Wristcutters: A Love Story

unique take on suicide and romance

zia (Patrick Fugit) and desiree (Leslie Bibb) break up... zia ends up killing himself and wakes up in some strange new world with other people who offed themselves. in this place no one can smile, and there are plenty of strange happenings at all times, including a black hole that is located within a car that eats anything that is dropped. zia finds out that desiree has also killed herself so he and his friend eugene (Shea Whigham) embark on a road trip to find her. on the way they meet mikal who believes she is there by mistake. the film is very enjoyable, and unique, but not annoyingly quirky. tom waits and will arnett show up in smaller roles, but it's always fun to see either of them. i was kinda hoping this film would be very dark and morbid/depressing, but it was actually fun and somewhat lighthearted. but it worked well.

The Tripper

political horror? this may get ugly...

so david arquette decided to make a horror film that is a scathing expose on the right wing conservative movement. we end up with the tripper... which features a serial killer who dresses up like ronald reagan, anti environmentalist loggers setting booby traps, a greedy concert promoter, a jealous right wing ex-boyfriend with a gun, and many more retarded little elements that don't do anything but push the agenda of the film (which i have no problem with btw). all this is supposed to be gripping political fodder... but of course it is not. it's just another slasher film, and some disjointed hippie vs. redneck mayhem thrown in.
the story is simple: group of teens head into the woods for a woodstock style festival with a bunch of hippie people. but there may be a killer on the loose, so the show gets shut down and people still party and die anyways. blah blah blah. seems like any friday the 13th film.
arquette has nothing original to say, and his direction was quite amateurish to say the least. the shots of hippie after hippie getting high was very lame. now there are some good things in the tripper to be sure. including jason mewes as a stoner who gets his hand cut off. his response to this act is, "WHAT THE FUCK, MAN?" and paul reubens is good as the sleezy festival promoter. david arquette has a small role as a redneck, and has top billing in the final credits as it is 'alphabetical'. what a douche.

Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead

TROMA DELIVERS AGAIN!

i'm a huge troma and lloyd kaufman fan. i remember renting horrible films like redneck zombies, sgt. kabukiman, and cannibal the musical as a teen, and i still am an avid fan. poultrygeist is an epic film, much like terror firmer before it. lloyd and his wife even spent their savings to make this awesome horror/comedy musical! the story is amazing, a fast food chicken place moves into tromaville, and build the newest store on an indian burial ground. all hell breaks loose soon as the chicken starts infecting people turning them into chicken zombies. the film is actually a very smart satire on the fast food industry, and the treatment of native americans. arbie and wendy are former high school lovers who find themselves on opposite sides of the chicken/indian debate as wendy turns out to be a militant lesbian out to crush megacorporations. while arbie wants to win her back by working at the very restaurant she hates! the music in the film is actually really catchy and i liked it all. lloyd himself gives a great performance. of course there are TONS of gross out moments, lots of boobs, shit splattering all the walls, the infamous car flip scene, and other atrocities that make troma films great! its a shame that this film was pirated so early on, hopefully more people will choose to support independent art by purchasing poultrygeist from troma.com. i sure hope lloyd keeps making films, because this may just be his best to date.

Casino Royale

pretty good new bond

daniel craig is james bond in this prequel to the james bond franchise. he's still wet behind the ears, but has plenty of skill. he's after a big time banker/poker player who invests money for terrorists. the story unfolds rather well, and craig does a good job as the leading man. i didn't really believe the romance between him and vesper however, which made the final act hard to swallow. otherwise it was a good action movie, and i'm looking forward to seeing quantum of solace soon.

I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK (Saibogujiman kwenchana)

korean yodeling? awesome!!

i'm a cyborg is about as unique as you can get for a comedic romance set in an insane asylum... and for an asian film that's saying a lot. young-goon has a secret, she is a cyborg, and she is on a mission to kill all the doctors who locked her granny up for eating radishes all day, because she is a mouse. that's not all that absurd when in fact there is a guy who steals days of the week and people's ping pong ability, a large woman with magic static socks that make her fly, and one amazing pair of dentures. the film is just full of crazy, but that's not a bad thing. lots of asian films, and some wacky indie american ones, try to go overboard with nuttiness with no purpose. i don't think this is one of those. plenty of drama and romance between the 2 leads, even if it seems like the girl is robotic. the dude in the film cares so much for young that he goes through many great lengths to get her better and make her happy... its pretty touching actually...

also there are lots of great scenes involving special effects including young-goon shooting up the asylum with finger guns multiple times... lots of good music as well. worth seeing.

Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

very original horror movie... finally

in a time where the only good original horror films are made in asia, only to be remade by shitty hollywood execs... we get behind the mask. very entertaining comedy/mockumentary/horror film. we get plenty of 'behind the scenes' info on psychotic movie killers like jason, freddy, and chucky. many of the silly horror film cliches are explained in great detail by the main character leslie vernon. he's working on a big massacre while a film crew documents the events. very original and creative plot. my only real complaint for this movie is the lead actress. i wanted to chop her fucking head off. she is so damn ugly and annoying! otherwise, very cool movie. also robert englund is pretty good in a smaller, but pivotal role.

The Foot Fist Way

surprisingly good

i didn't have much as far as expectations for this film coming in. danny mcbride (hot rod, tropic thunder, etc.) is one of the funniest guys i've seen in films lately. everything he says is hilarious. in foot fist way he's pretty good as not only being funny, but also human with some good dramatic performances. the foot fist way was kinda touching in a way. the dude gets his life shattered, but overcomes. pretty fucking cool. lots of quirky shit goes on, and plenty of laughs are had, but overall the story is pretty damn good and kinda inspiring.

hope i'm not looking too far into this one, but i digress. kinda reminds me of 'the promotion' with john c. reilley. another good low budget flick.