The Informers

80's debauchery and numbness

this film was made rather poorly. a few times during the screening i laughed at how bad some of the acting was. and the 'in your face' message the film tries to get across is just so dumb and out of date. oh man, we need to know right from wrong, we need to not be numb to what's going on around us!' its been done to death, and much better than this. the informers is based on the novel by bret easton ellis, who i definitely respect if for nothing else 'american psycho' was awesome. this film melts a bunch of stories together, and each person crosses paths in some way. most of it is pointless, and not shocking (as the filmmakers obviously seem intent on making it). its sad that this is brad renfro's last film before he died, because he didn't really go out with a bang on this one. mickey rourke is decent... playing himself basically. kim basinger and wynona rider look like shit, but that's not a bad thing. chris isaak was just annoying as a dickhead father trying to pick up teenagers in hawaii. mel raido was pretty good as bryan metro, a popular rock star. the ending was just retarded, and i just asked myself... "what's the point?"

5 stars because it exceeded my expectations based on the horrible reviews i had read going in.

Gomorra

good italian crime drama

apparantly based on the very real and serious camorra gang. the film features 5 different stories that involve the gang and other insidious acts. the most interesing story in my opinion is the tailor who gets involved with chinese gangsters to teach. he goes from creating hollywood gowns to working as a trucker, to escape the gangster life. the film was made with a documentary style, using virtually no music. there is a lot of win in this film, and each story holds on its own. it gets a bit slow at times, but there is a lot of violence and nudity to break up the boredom. this film is far more powerful than most gangster films being made today.

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.

Sin Nombre

depressing, but important

sin nombre is the story of a honduran family attemtpting to get to the u.s. by any means necessary. the girl sayra meets a young mexican man who is also trying to escape his situation. willy is a gangbanger who kills his boss when he attempts to rape sayra, and she is forever grateful. willy and sayra end up on an adventure north, while trying not to get killed or caught. the film is really beautiful in many ways. the scenery, but also the actors. sayra and willy's girlfriend look amazing. this is a little distracting to the film, but not too bad. the film ends rather ubruptly, which isn't bad either, but i can see how it may not satisfy everyone. there are many good performances as well. the 2 leads did a great job.

sin nombre shows (again) the harsh realities that south/central americans face today. seeing things like this make me very upset... for one thing, the united states should be doing more to help mexico to improve thier conditions and solve the gang problems. instead we're waging wars across the world and trying to help people that aren't even close to being our neighbors. oh, they have resources we need? fuck it, let's do something. its upsetting as hell.

my ex was a mexican immigrant and i know many are good people in search of work/money that they can't get at home. no wonder so many people want to come to america. i just wish more was being done to improve their country, instead of blaming the individuals who want to escape from it all.

Observe and Report

tragedy and comedy collide

first off, i fucking love jody hill now. first he made the great film "the foot fist way", then he created the hilarious hbo series "eastbound and down", and now he presents observe and report. the guys who produce these films really know how to make a funny movie, and add tragedy while making the audience care about everyday assholes! seriously, the main character in all 3 of these projects is a jerk by most standards, but has redeeming qualities that make us want them to succeed. in observe, seth rogan plays a rent-a-cop at the local mall. he wants more in life, and is given a golden opportunity by pursuing a flashing pervert. oh, and he's bipolar, which is a big problem that he struggles with. he's also trying to win the heart of a slut who wants nothing to do with him and become a real police officer at the same time. the film is hilarious! however, there were a few parts where i could feel my eyes start to swell with faint tears. even during these tragic moments i didn't want the laughs to flare up, they were welcome. seriously, this is a good movie and the best of jody hill's works so far.

watch for an awesome cameo from longtime jody hill collaborators ben best, and danny mcbride.

Harvard Beats Yale 29-29

boring, slight and pretty dumb sports doc

harvard beats yale is the story of the impressive comeback TIE between the 2 ivy league schools in 1968. the story is pretty cool and historic, but the execution of this documentary is not. the interviews aren't very informative or entertaining, and the only real footage shown is from the actual game... grainy film from the 60's. there isn't much to this one at all. tommy lee jones (who played for harvard) is wasted as well. i enjoyed seeing the important parts of the game, and i appreciated the story as an avid football fan, but this was overall a waste.

Adventureland

more drama than hilarity

adventureland is a comedy about growing up, figuring it all out, and the complicated nature of relationships. james is a grad school student who is forced to take a shitty theme park job to pay for his education. there he meets lots of people and has many experiences that shape him, although it is all around horrible. there is a fair amount of drama for this seemingly hilarious film, including a love triangle, a cheating husband, anti-semitism, and other highly volitile material. it works great. bill hader shines as the park manager.

We Own the Night

decent cops vs. drug dealers drama

i was interested in seeing we own the night after i saw james gray's two lovers. jaoquin phoenix is pretty good once again as the son of a lifelong cop who is trying to run a successful brooklyn nightclub. drug deals go down, but he doesn't get involved... until his cop brother mark walberg forces his way into his life. robert duvall and eva mendes give the best performances in this film, while walberg and phoenix are on and off at times. the film is gritty, but forgettable and the ending pretty much sucked.

The Great Buck Howard

john malkovic is good at least...

the great buck howard is the story of troy (annoyingly played by colin hanks) and his job working for the formerly famous mentalist buck howard (john malkovich). the main problem with this film is that the focus is on colin hanks and his attempt to become a writer, even while having a shitty job as buck howard's travel assistant. john malkovich gives another great performance as the mentalist who was based on the amazing kreskin, and the story is based on director sean mcginley's real experience with kreskin. the narrative should have been focused more on buck, and less on troy and his whiney ways. what has colin hanks done that didn't have him a whiney little bitch? seriously.

Sunshine Cleaning

dark, unsettling, and enjoyable

sunshine cleaning is certainly an enjoyable film. even though it focuses on 2 sisters who clean up crime scenes (mostly suicide victims) for a living. its quirky and funny, as well as tragic and dramatic. it all works pretty well. it was produced by the same people who made little miss sunshine, and it shows. alan arkin is good as usual, and the kid who plays oscar is a stand out.

Waltz With Bashir (Vals Im Bashir)

unique take on a war docu-drama

waltz with bashir is an animated film about director ari folman's experience during the israeli invasion of lebanon in the mid 80's. he doesn't remember much about the events and subsequent massacre of innocent palistinians, so he embarks on a quest to find out information from his fellow soldiers from the time. he is still haunted by dreams and memories of the bloodshed, as well as his former comrades. the animation is similar to cel-shading or the techniques used for waking life. it can get kinda annoying after a while in my opinion. i understand why they used animation... it makes the reenactments more believable and the overall film work. the interviewees are real as far as i know, and the story is all true, which makes it important. i felt myself becoming somewhat annoyed and disinterested as the film went along.

Lupin III: Dead or Alive (Rupan sansei: Dead or Alive)

decent, not amazing

lupin is on the hunt to discover treasure hiddin within an amazingly well guarded island. in order to uncover its secrets he must impersonate a dead prince of sorts and he almost gets killed a few times. its all fun and games, but nothing too original to be added to the series. but hey, its Lupin the 3rd! Awesome.

I Love You, Man

buddy comedy extraordinaire

paul rudd stars as peter, a man getting married who has no male friends. he feels he needs to have a best man, and therefore must make guy friends before the wedding. he ends up becoming good friends with jason segal, and it eventually causes some pre-marital problems. there are lots of laughs, and plenty of good gags. there are many cameos, and recognizable faces in here. a few guys from 'the state' appear, as well as two thirds of human giant! overall irs another crude comedy with a heart, much like 40 year old virgin, role models, etc.

Lupin III: The Fuma Conspiracy (Rupan sansei: Fûma ichizoku no inbô)

another great lupin film

lupin and the gang are at it again. this time goemon is getting married, and his fiance's family vase has a secret to uncovering a fortune. the animation is very good, almost as good as a miyazaki film. for some reason zenigata has gray hair however. no worries, its fucking lupin III!

Smiley Face

gregg araki attempts a stoner comedy

unfortunately it isn't that great. anna farris seems to be trying way too hard in this silly little pothead movie. she plays jane f. a pothead who is trying to get from point a to point z, as the narrator tells us. she accidentally eats all of her roommates' pot cupcakes and is therefore really high throughout the day. her adventures include paying the utilities bill, going to an acting audition (with the woefully underused jane lynch), hitting the cash machine, giving money to her pot dealer, and of course baking more pot cupcakes. sounds hilarious, and i love these kinds of movies... but anna farris isn't that great (she usually is!), and a lot of the jokes seem to miss the mark. i love gregg araki, but this was a misfire.

Wendy and Lucy

slow, and slight, but pretty enjoyable

michelle williams does a great job as wendy in wendy and lucy. she plays a poor struggling woman trying to make her way to alaska for work with her dog lucy. during a series of events things go downhill fast for the two and the film is mostly about wendy trying to locate her best and only friend, her dog. the film could have ben a 10 minute short feature, but it works fine as an 80 minute film, mostly because of michelle williams' performance. i must warn you, nothing substantial happens in this film.

Two Lovers

wow

jaoquin phoenix gives his best performance ever in two lovers. he plays leonard, a bipolar, depressed, anxious man who is living with his parents while trying to move on with his life after his fiance left him. he is powerful as hell. he has two women show up in his life and he ultimately falls for gweneth paltrow, who has the most problems and baggage. leonard is self destructive, and his choices seem irrational, but his character is so believable and true that it makes sense. there is one glaring problem with the film that bothered me a bit, but did not ruin the film at all: gweneth paltrow ends up in the hospital after miscarrying, but the nurse tells leonard all about it even though he's just a friend! that just doesn't happen, and kinda broke the sense of realism that the film had otherwise portrayed. overall the film is great.