A Better Tomorrow (aka True Colors of a Hero, Hong Kong, 1986).
I'd seen this before but thought I'd re-visit it, since it's such a classic. A "this-is-my-last-job" story of a gangster torn between his brother (a young cop trying to prove himself), and his best friend (a charismatic triad criminal). Brought Chow Yun Fat, Leslie Cheung, and John Woo into the limelight, and is the cornerstone on which the slick, lightning-fast, both-guns-blazing genre of HK action was built. I saw a dubbed version, which surprisingly wasn't too painful. One thing that stuck out was the use of two distinct pieces of music over and over...sometimes one right after the other. It got a bit tiresome and silly, but it's a great film and the synth music's good in small doses.

The Acid House (UK, 1998)
Three twisted tales from Scottish writer Irvine Welsh (think Trainspotting). I haven't read the book, but have heard good things about it. This tryptich shared many of the visual, stylistic, and linguistic qualities that made Trainspotting such a smash. Basically 3 stories of working-class twentysomething Scots who speak in accents so goddamn thick that subtitles are required, with gratuitous use of all expletives, but "cunt" in particular. Very rich in colorful vernacular that delights the likes of my midwestern ears. Drugs, hot sex, scumbags, good music, soccer (sorry, "football") freaks, ravers, defecation-porn-loving parents, creepy (talking) babies, lame whole-wheat parents... the list goes on and on, but a good spread. I was highly entertained and I think most anybody who can read the subtitles and decode the speech would be too. Thoroughly hilarious and at the same time depressing, a dark bunch of vignettes from an isle across the pond.

A Great Ride
Mediocre dirtbike-themed movie by maker of Breaker, Breaker!; too obscure for IMDB! Two yokels travel cross-country on dirtbikes, lots of chase scenes, etc.

Amelie (France, 2001).
A charming, feel-good sort of movie, I can see why it's been such a hit. Nice scenery, colors, schemes, etc. No major gripes w/ this one. I can't believe that it came from the same pirates who did City of Lost Children and Delicatessen, as I utterly hated both of those (visually). Saw it twice.

American Roots Music (2001)
A delightful 4-part documentary by PBS chronicling the dominant genres of what are broadly labeled "Roots Music" (i.e. Blues, Country, Folk, Zydeco, Bluegrass, Gospel, Tejano, Native American, etc.). Definitely of interest to fans of the recent O Brother-inspired roots revival. Sheds light on how/when all of these genres first appeared and later borrowed from each other, producing along the way artists like Robert Johnson, the Carter Family, Woody Guthrie, Bill Monroe, Clifton Chenier, Hank Williams, and scores of others. Evenly-paced, with lots of archival footage, thoughtful interviews with some of the wiser folks who are still alive, with a solid narration provided by Kris Kristofferson. Available at the Naro, see link for more details: pbs.org/americanrootsmusic

A Scene at the Sea (Japan, 1992)
Starring the Pacific Ocean. Stands out from the rest of Takeshi Kitano's films in its minimalism. Almost completely silent, except for ocean sounds, because the two main characters are deaf. Not my favorite of his films, but poignant and worth seeing at least once.

Babette's Feast
Charming, human, and feel-good. Visually pretty nice, esp. the interior of the Spinster Aunt's palace. Quote: "What is Fame, in the End? The Grave awaits us all."

Belle de Jour
I liked it better than Diary of a Chambermaid. Sexy, a bit humorous, mildly disturbing, and visually beautiful.

Biggie and Tupac (USA, 2002)
Documentarian Nick Broomfield examines the deaths of fallen rappers Tupac and the Notorious BIG. Makes a convincing argument that it wasn't simply an "east-west" rivalry, as we have been led to believe, but rather sinister inside jobs by Suge Knight (president of Death Row records) and his thugs (both murders). Sometimes hilarious, sometimes trite...but constantly ballsy, Broomfield did a nice job with this film. Recommended.

Breakfast With Blassie
I was a bit disappointed to find out that this wasn't all improvisational, but it was still good enough to warrant a viewing. I'm not too crazy about Kaufman, but Fred Blassie is truly the King of Men.

Combat Shock (1984/6 USA).
One of my all-time favorites for the relentless downward spiral into Hell it delivers. I always come away from this one feeling I've been dealt a pretty good hand in life. Highlights include a wooded (deciduous) part of Staten Island being passed-off as Vietnam, Paco and his thugs, and the haunting/infectious original Casio score by lead actor Ricky G.

Commando and First Blood
Saw both again recently (edited for TV) thanks to UPN 9. Still as great as when I was 8 yrs old, but this time around I appreciated them more for their genre-defining, mind-numbing clichés and contrived one-liners.

Dare mo Shiranai (Nobody Knows) (Japan, 2004)
I'm a sucker for almost any Japanese movie (with the exception of Anime), so when I saw the trailer for this at the Music Box I made a mental note to come back and see it. It's gotten lots of acclaim and praise, and deservedly so, because it was a great film. Based on actual events, it's the story of four children, ages 5 to 12, who have no father figure and a mother that likes to stay out drinking, dating, or doing god-knows-what while the eldest son takes care of the other 3 kids. I found myself empathizing with these kids, growing up myself with a mother who was a bit on the wild side (though not irresponsible and negligent in the way this movie mother was). The kids are all by different fathers and she can't seem to latch onto a man, so she dates in hopes of finding a suitor to cover her financially and assume some responsibility for her children...however the kids continue to be the dealbreaker and she's resigned to keeping them a total secret from the newest guy. She starts "going away" with the guy, first for a few nights, then a few weeks, and eventually in self-interest she betrays them and moves away entirely, leaving the kids for dead in their Tokyo apartment. The child actors who play the kids are all brilliant and adorable, and they cope as well as can be expected with self-sufficiency on a budget of nothing. The film is visually captivating, with plenty of scenes of quiet Tokyo street life; full of tragic, beautiful, funny and banal moments rendered magical through Kore-eda's lens.

Dark Days (2000)
Wonderful B+W documentary about homeless people living under New York City in abandoned train tunnels. It sounded creepy and awful but I immediately warmed up to the colorful group of characters who had built a life of relative luxury and independence compared to their street-dwelling counterparts. They constructed sturdy one-room "houses" from abandoned wood and materials, and diverted, free of charge, electricity and water from nearby Amtrak pipes and circuits. Some were crack addicts, but many were clean; some had companion animals, and most were fairly content in their environment. Many had TV, portable heaters, did their own cooking, and enjoyed a wonderful sense of community. The filmmaker, a novice, lived underground with these people for several years and employed most of them as his film crew, so their presence in front of the camera is natural and not at all forced. Beautiful score by DJ Shadow and a very satisfactory ending are the icing on the cake. Highly recommended. Fore more info, see www.darkdays.com

Day of the Survivalist (USA, 1985)
Taglines:
It's Not a Game Anymore! and Fletcher looked for a paradise a thousand miles away; and 11 bodies later...he found it.

I picked this movie up as a possible match for Paul's First Blood Knock-Off Collection, and it started out with a lot of promise. I immediately liked Fletcher (the main character), his big nose, his impenetrable moustache and pointy chin. Unfortunately, it turned into a real dud before long. The plot is this: Ex-Vietnam Green Beret Fletcher is trying to forget about Nam and make an honest living as an archery supplies dealer. He grows tired of the rampant crime in Los Angeles. He sees a television commercial urging city-dwellers to move to "paradise" in the Pacific Northwest, where the air is clear and the streams are filled with salmon... This movie doesn't waste time on nuance, character development or backstory; the next scene shows him throwing away the keys to his business and driving a moving truck away (to the tune of a wretched ballad composed specifically for the movie). Next we're in his new archery shop up north, it's all stocked and established while only seconds have elapsed. Some rowdy-looking rednecks come into the store and deride him for not carrying crossbows, but are impressed enough with his deadeye archery skill to invite him out for Saturday "wargames" involving camos and early paintball guns. This is "a test" to see if he's got the mettle to be a part of their elite group of hard-core survivalists. See, they're preparing for the impending nuclear holocaust (it WILL happen) and need men like Fletcher to help them fight off the thousands of hungry people who are sure to invade their valley ("paradise") looking for food and shelter when the shit hits the fan. Through wooden acting the likes of which I've only seen in 80s porno, a skeptical Fletcher turns down their offer but says he'd still like to play paintball with them. Unfortunately, he now knows about the dynamite they've planted on local bridges, so he must be eliminated. It spirals into First-Blood-esque hide-and-seek scenario with a few deaths along the way (police, etc), as well having as a subplot of mid-manhunt romance between Fletcher and one of the most unattractive women ever in film. Novelty death is a guy getting stuck to a stack of lumber via a pitchfork through the throat. Cameo by Johnny Paycheck (played up heavily on the box) offers some of the best acting of the film and the song "I Love Rowdy People." Crackpot survivalists, abysmal acting, a Casio score that makes Combat Shock's music sound brilliant in comparison (with two god-awful ballads thrown in), and the blundering sense of timing/editing make this one pretty painful to watch. As usual, the artist who painted the cover art hadn't actually seen any of the characters, he just knew "dark-haired hero with moustache," "Jaguar Bows product placement," and "helpless woman." He was WAY off on the people, but it looks like he at least got the bow right. Also, I spent over an hour submitting this film to IMDB, and it finally appeared after a few months. Interesting to note that of the hundred or so people involved in making this movie, not one had stepped up to the plate yet to "claim it" for posterity. Hm.

Deadly Prey (USA, 1988)
Tagline: In Vietnam he was the best...He still is!
Bought this one as a candidate for Paul's famous First Blood Knock-Off Collection (soon to be pulled-together and documented online, we promise). Created by no less a studio than Action International Pictures (Elves, Future Force, Alien Seed, Saxman, etc.), it delivers the action-packed story of a Vietnam Vet who tries to live out his post-'Nam days peacefully in suburban LA...until he is kidnapped by a bloodthirsty band of mercenaries and forced to run and fight for his life as "the hunted" in their training camp. Musclebound and mulleted protagonist Danton spends at least 90% of the film wearing nothing apart from a skimpy pair of Daisy Duke shorts, he's not even allowed shoes as he alternately hides and kills his captors in the California woods using skills he learned in Vietnam. In order to keep it interesting he doesn't take the firearms from the ones he's killed; in true First Blood fashion he only uses a knife, brute strength, a fierce growl (see Maniotes) and homemade booby traps to get them one by one. He also grotesquely eats worms and rats (apparently starving after less than 24 hours). Novelty deaths include breaking a man in half against a tree and lurking in a concealed hole underground (baited with a decoy gun) and emerging with a roar to choke the shit out of the unsuspecting sentry. With scenes and dialogue lifted liberally and faithfully from both First Blood and Rambo: First Blood Part II, this one is a sure thing for the collection and entertaining as hell.

Diary of a Chambermaid
Should start watching more French cinema. This film was fairly subtle and refreshingly twisted, with some beautiful exteriors.

Down From The Mountain
Documentary about music from O Brother; too much concert footage, not enough Fairfield Four.

Dreams
Akira Kurosawa's famous film; interesting format, w/ just enough random weirdness to seem dream-like. The socio-political speeches got heavy-handed and should've been more subtle.

8 Mile (USA, 2002)
My second hip-hop-themed film in a row was another good one. Before reading reviews of this movie, I dismissed it for a number of reasons, but credible reviews caught my interest and I decided to check it out. And I really enjoyed it, for the following reasons: 1) Great hip hop score featuring Mobb Deep, WuTang, Rakim, and more. 2) Amazing setting: Gritty, nasty, run-down Detroit, complete with derelict buildings, wonderful signage, and a midwestern stamping factory. 3) Solid acting from Eminem and Mekhi Phifer. For being a big-studio release and coming from media whore Eminem, this movie was refreshingly absent of corporate logos and the name-brand bullshit that is a plague on hip hop and the real-life Eminem. The disappointments were: 1) The fact that Kim Basinger played the mom. She's way too pretty, had a terrible fake "hick" accent, perfect hair, and was totally unconvincing. Bad decision to include her. 2) The 3 corny friends, which were the "semi-radical black man," "the fat guy," and "the totally imbicilic, ankle-biting me-too dufus white guy who's such a dumb fuck that he shoots himself in the leg." The rhyme battles were decent and there are many parallels here to Saturday Night Fever, albeit different context. The dumbfuck friend was a carbon copy of the afro-ed, platform shoe-d suicidal idiot friend in SNF, but even his worthless and annoying presence wasn't enough to turn me off of this film, because of the strength of the other factors already mentioned.

Freeze Me (Japan, 2000)
Hardly as good as it was reported to be. Story: a young woman from a small town is raped by 3 men, moves to Tokyo to escape past/reinvent herself, and 5 years later finds herself face-to-face w/ these scumbags, when they track her down her in hopes of blackmailing her w/ a video of the rape. She kills them one by one and puts their bodies in freezers in her apartment. Asinine story, first of all. Second, I wish they would stop playing movies like this up as "erotic thrillers." Star Harumi Inoue is gorgeous, and we see her nude several times, but this film has little to do w/ eroticism. This is a second big disappointment from director Takashi Ishii, who brought us Gonin, which was falsely billed in the US as a bad-ass, Beat Takeshi powerhouse cop movie a la Fireworks, but in reality was a mediocre and visually ugly cop movie where Beat had a minor role. Shallow and exploitive.

Himatsuri (Japan, 1985)
I rented it because I like movies that involve small Japanese villages, but there wasn't much to like in this one. The story of a macho lumberjack/mountain-man who, in-between deforestation, cheating on his beautiful wife and breeding vicious hunting dogs, finds time to shoot monkeys (looked real to me) and deliberately poison whole populations of fish. I wasn't sure if there was such a thing as a Japanese redneck, but now I know for certain. I heartily condemn this one for its detestable lead character and the number and variety of animals that are tortured/killed in the course of the film.

Husbands (USA, 1970)
I've only seen one Cassavetes film prior to this, Killing of a Chinese Bookie at a film series at MCAD, but I remember liking it pretty well and it's always stuck in my mind. I'd often considered other Cassavetes videos at the store, but always ended up passing them up for something else. This time I buckled down and got Husbands, the tale of three middle-aged suburbanite men and their drinking/bonding binge in the days following the funeral of a fourth friend. Some fucking awesome acting by Ben Gazzara and Peter Falk; sometimes so real that it made me uncomfortable watching the very long, largely improvised shots. Both comforting and disturbing in their familiarity, illustrating beautifully a slice of life, the pains of midlife and the demons of alcohol. I wonder if they were really drunk in many of the scenes, the acting is that good. Long and arduous at times, a fine film nonetheless.

Igby Goes Down (USA, 2002)
Story of a spoiled little cocksucker bastard who's had an easy life with neurotic parents, rebels against them and the world by becoming a worthless piece of shit in New York City, imposing his bullshit on others. Boring, familiar story and a slimy lead. Two hot women (Claire Daines and Amanda Peet) and a few interesting supporting characters make it more palatable, but I still hate the main character. The "Silver Spoons" republican brother was handsome and charming and the loony dad was well-acted by Bill Pullman, but it's probably not worth seeing.

Invasion of the Flesh Hunters (Italy, 1980)
Tagline: There are some things worse than death.
Mostly worth it because of the catchy Casio score. From what I've read, I have a severely edited version (Euro version was too gross for US audiences it seems), so it's hard to comment on the "horror" aspect of this film, which is quite limited in my copy. The film combines several familiar elements: Vietnam prison camp flashbacks, Dawn of the Dead-like flesh-cravings, creepy late 70s exteriors a la Amityville, a horny teenage neighbor girl and her crazy abusive mother, angry shiftless bikers, stupid know-it-all police chiefs and the odd detachment that can only come from dubbed Italian films using American actors. More a weird drama revolving around the main character's slow and unwilling conversion to a flesh-craver (while trying desperately to hold onto his banal suburban Atlanta family life) with a couple lame subplots. Not a real screamer, but it does feature a woman's breast getting bitten off and some gratuitous eye removal shots. Has 15 alternate titles on imdb!

Jungle Assault
One from Toliusis' First Blood Knock-Off Library, featuring the crudest, most offensive Vietnam battle scene ever filmed in Mobile, AL. A total laugh riot!

Kill Bill Vol. I (USA, 2003)
Let me start by saying that I'm a big Quentin Tarantino fan, I always have been. Not obsessive enough to like 4 Rooms or Dusk Til Dawn, but solidly into Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and Jackie Brown. There have been very few movies that I've ever come close to walking out of, but I came awfully goddamn close with this one...I only stayed because I had paid $9 or so for the ticket and wanted my money's worth. I was dumbfounded at how he could make a film so bad, so full of itself, and so monumentally boring given the stars, resources and budget at his disposal. I don't think I laughed once. Dialogue is what makes his other films great, but this one was totally lacking it...what little there was was shite; not bad enough to be ironically-funny, and not good enough to be memorable...just shitty and poorly-delivered. I'm a huge fan of martial arts films, but I tire of their excessive and boring fight scenes, savoring more their dialog, music and sets. This one takes the boring swordplay to a stupefying new level, probably clocking in about 70 minutes worth in the 90 minute film (or so it seemed). I don't think I could've disliked a film much more than I did this one. Such a goddamn shame.

The Killing Fields (USA, 1984)
Since Vanessa had just finished reading a long book about the Khmer Rouge's holocaust in Cambodia in the late 70s, she and I had high hopes for this movie after hearing a lot about what a "moving" classic it was. Instead, we found it to be only a mildly-compelling, overlong movie that while bravely tackling a topic that should have received MUCH more attention, ultimately had its heart in the wrong place. It's the story of an American journalist named Sydney from the NY Times who's covering Cambodia and Vietnam from Phnom Phen, with much help from a Cambodian journalist named Dith Pran. They have run-ins with the militants who are overtaking the country, Dith saves Sydney's ass time and time again, they get crowded into the French Embassy with a bunch of other foreigners, and Sydney and others get evacuated to safety while Dith is left to the mercies of the KR and forced to work in agrarian death camps until he manages to escape across the Thai border a few years later.

It's based on a miraculous true story, but it got off on the wrong foot by allowing the Sydney character to be such a narcissistic asshole, the "driven artist" always screaming indignantly at everyone around him in his quest for "the great story." The film focuses about an hour too much time on his character, just more and more scenes of him yelling at poor Dith Pran and John Malkovich (his photographer), while failing to make several very compelling and more significant points to underscore the brutality and breadth of the Khmer Rouge's genocide. It also fails to give much historical context or backstory, and would've aided tremendously from more voice-over filling us in on what was happening. Fortunately I had Vanessa to ask what the hell was going on, but the movie does a poor job of answering fundamental questions OR illustrating the real brutality of this regime. The music was consistently piss-poor but the sets/locations were breathtaking (shot in Thailand). All-in-all, a subject that deserves more examination and justice, but a movie that's too much a personal story and not enough of a propaganda piece against the atrocities that killed nearly 2 million people while the world stood by and did nothing.

The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (USA, 1972)
I'd been meaning to see this for many years, knowing of it mostly through Joe German's hearty recommendation, even placing it in his Top Five Westerns (quite an honor, if you know the man). After seeing it, I'm curious to know what it is about it that he likes so much. Certainly Paul Newman metes out a decent quantity of Frontier Justice, but he's far from the most sinister character I've ever seen west of the Pecos, and the rest of the film is an odd but not unpleasant mixture of humor, love subplots, vengeance, and clichés. It's hard to take Newman very seriously as a Badman, though he masterfully delivers lines funny enough to make me laugh aloud (that is rare). Familiar "end of the West, here comes Civilization" plot, some great dialogue (mostly by Newman) a couple of female beauties, Anthony Perkins in a short but excellent role, and some of the strangest music I've ever heard in a Western...a really odd clash of about 5 different genres, sometimes within the same piece. Not one of my all-time favorites, but worth seeing once, if only for the beautifully-lettered titles at the beginning.

Lolita (Dominique Swain version).
Not really impressed after seeing Kubrick's. The characters seemed flat, it lacked subtlety; the professor had no class and was quite unlikeable compared to the original.

Lord of the Rings I (USA, 2002)
Jesus Christ, I can see why I never got in to Dungeons and Dragons bullshit. Not my bag. Some decent special effects, but overlong and just not my kind of film.

Monster's Ball (USA, 2001)
Star-studded cast, racial tension, story of redemption, yadda yadda ya. Had many of the symbols of a "great movie" without much of the feeling of one. The best perfomance in my opinion belonged to Mos Def, who had about 40 seconds of screentime. Most of the other characters were too fabricated and not really believable. Not too bad a film overall, and it does have some revealing scenes of the beautiful Halle Berry (which are unfortunately balanced w/ revealing scenes of B.B. Thornton), but not a great one either. Puffy's a lousy actor and a fur pimp.

Mulholland Drive (USA, 2001)
Saw it once and was confused and intrigued enough to see it again, if only for The Cowboy's 2-minute appearance. I like that Lynch can make movies this inaccessible and still be really popular. Some great shots, a few memorable characters, beautiful people, hot lesbian lust, The Cowboy, and good music.

One-Armed Boxer vs. Flying Guillotine (Hong Kong, 1975)
I was first exposed to a snippet of this masterpice during an MCAD Film Series in 1995 or so. It stuck in my mind as one of the most amazing pieces of cinema I'd ever seen, and I searched in vain for it for a few years. I finally found it, at the local Vietnamese video store, where it was dubbed into Vietnamese and had Chinese and English subtitles which bled well-off the screen thanks to poor video transfer. Regardless, it was so goddamned good that I rented it repeatedly and offered to buy it from that store (no deal). Pissed, I went a few more years w/o seeing it, until finally finding a 3rd-generation bootleg (complete w/ illegible color xerox cover and completely different title) at a Norfolk martial arts store. My video version is dubbed in masterful english. Now a genius has "re-released" a dubiously "remastered" film print of it to select theaters. While I was shocked by the beautiful clarity of the first-generation picture, I doubt that anyone who would take the time to remaster a film wouldn't think of color-correcting a whole lot of scenes with bad color shifts. Sadly, there was no additional footage, but who cares, the movie is perfect as-is. Badass vegetarian antagonist, a cast of fighting-expert characters that would make your mom shit her pants, and creepy metal/synth music that is unlike anything else you've ever heard all combine to form one of the finest kungfu films ever. See it if you can. Note: Also known as "Master of the Flying Guillotine" and "One-Armed Boxer II."

Sex and Lucia (Spain, 2001)
Pros: striking photography, decent music, 2 or 3 very beautiful women in various states of undress and sexual ecstasy.
Cons: a convoluted plot that lost me several times, sort of redeeming itself in the end...it would benefit from a second viewing, but unlike the similarly challenging and overlong Mulholland Drive, which captivated me, I couldn't watch this again. It was waaaay too long, (could easliy be cut by 30 mins.) dragging on and on. The male lead lacked charisma and was not worthy of the beauties that swarmed around him. Some good moments, some trite moments, some hot sex. You decide.

The Man Who Wasn't There
I saw this twice in the theater. Thornton's character reminded me of Paul Toliusis in a way; a man of few, carefully-chosen words. I admire that quality. Likeable characters, good story, and some classic Coen moments.

The 13 Cold-Blooded Eagles
Had to finally see it since Kiyo and I named our 1999 apartment after it. Lots of nice jumping, precious subtitles, some beautiful landscapes, and plenty of wire-work flying. Other than that, fairly average. You nuts fight so hard, does it worth?

Thunder Warrior III (1988, Italy/Germany)
I got this based on the cover depiction of a man in knee-high moccassins flying through the air on a dirtbike. The tagline didn't hurt ("They put him through Hell... Now he's sending them there"), as I love any and all references to sending things to Hell. But the real kicker was that based on the synopsis, it looked like a match for Paul's famed First Blood Knock-Off Collection. And it didn't disappoint. Gist: A (nomadic?) Native American warrior named Thunder just wants to live in peace, in a trailer court w/ his people in the desert. A rowdy gang of rednecks from the nearby town who "liked to play war on the weekends," come in hollering drunk, in jeeps, shooting wild horses. Clash of cultures ensues, each side painted comically w/ very broad strokes, the dialog trite but rich. The magic starts when Thunder gets hell-bent on revenge, weilding a Louisville Slugger in town and destroying everything in his path. Paul noted that he is probably the most merciless hero ever. With its great pyrotechnics, hilarious battle scenes and First Blood similarity, this one is not to be missed, if you can find it. Going to look for parts I, II (and maybe IV, based on ending).

Tree Lounge Advantage 3 (USA, 2001).
A 60-minute infomercial for a deer-hunting rig that allows the Hunter to be even lazier and stack the odds ever-higher in his favor in the quest to kill the deer with the most sought-after antlers. No more falling out of the tree when you doze off (improved safety features), no more spilling your beer while fumbling for the Slim Jims (optional cup-holder). Jean said it was more of a "holocaust" than Combat Shock, what with it's More Than 50 Explicit "Harvest" Scenes. Starring a redneck Fred Trost knock-off who is syndicated somewhere and gets paid to shoot deer in the name of TreeLounge. Listen for the disclaimer at the start that the video might not be appropriate for kids. Thanks for this one, Ken.

21 Grams (US, 2003)
Based on the trailer for this film, I had no interest in seeing it. The art of crafting trailers has apparently been lost in most Hollywood productions, typically either spreading themselves too thin by giving too much info, or in this case, picking moments and schlocky voiceover (always in the same fucking voice) that misrepresent the film. I won't even get started on how bad film posters have gotten... Anyway, this was a very well-acted movie by Sean Penn (who has gotten so much better with age) and Naomi Watts (the cutie from Mulholland Drive), a complex yarn that is revealed piece-by-piece over time, shifting a bit confusingly in spots from backstory to nowstory, about the lives of 3 characters connected through a car accident and a heart transplant. I suppose Benecio DelToro was decent, but I disliked his character and face, and he reminded me too much of Brad Pitt in Kalifornia to appreciate his role here.

The Vertical Ray of the Sun (Vietnam, 2000)
I saw this film when I lived in Norfolk and it made a HUGE impression on me. I swear I wrote a review of it somewhere, but I can't seem to find that, so I'll touch upon it again since I caught an hour or so of it on IFC at 6am this morning. It's set in Vietnam, which is basically the story. The plot involves three sisters and their relationships with each other and the men in their life, but this film is almost entirely about aesthetics, a mood created by color, pacing, music and simplicity. Full of very attractive people, beautifully-acted and masterfully shot. My first impulse upon seeing it was trying to figure out how I could move to Vietnam, immediately. I've never had a movie captivate me in quite the same way... Chungking Express always sends a chill up my spine when I hear the music and makes me want to return to Hong Kong, and plenty of other movies are visually beautiful, but this one...really is a must-see. I think you'll thank me if you haven't seen it.

Waking Life (2001, animated).
A bit pretentious in some of its writing, but not bad overall. Visually one of the most beautiful and captivating things I've ever seen. I sat in awe.

Wild At Heart (USA, 1990).
This one was amazing for about 30 minutes, during the dancing-and-getting-to know-the-more-potty-mouthed-version-of-H.I.-from-Raising Arizona parts... but it really went downhill in a hurry by getting stuck in a rut and spinning its wheels on the same tired, boring plot. A few memorable lines, but too contrived and lifeless overall. Definitely not Lynch's best work. Could be edited down to 5 worthwhile minutes.