Contagion

Contagion
(2011) [Trailer]
Director: Steven Soderbergh (IMDB)

I really wanted to check Contagion out this year, but sadly, never got around to it. I love Steven Soderbergh's direction and Matt Damon never fails to impress. The last time these two were working together brought forth The Informant!, which I loved, so I was very pumped to see this.

Contagion is a classic outbreak flick. It basically starts with Gwyneth Paltrow cheating on your boy Matt D. She's a dirty whore who picks up a disease because she's unfaithful. Actually she picked it up somewhere in China. Anyways, The disease spreads across the midwest like warm butter on toast. The Government rushes to find a cure and everyone starts to lose it in the aftermath of the illness.

This movie is amazing. It's like a pressure cooker. It starts off pretty tame and then the anxiety keeps building and building. Soderbergh really captures a realistic portrayal of an overall break down of society under a pandemic situation. This movie makes me not want to touch you. Or your family. Or your friends. Or anything you own. It makes me want to lock myself up in my apartment and not see anyone ever...wait I think that's where I'm at already in my life...shit.

Alice In Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland
(1951) [Trailer]

I haven't seen this since elementary school. And even then I'm not even sure if I really watched it. I mean shit, as a kid who knows what's going on. Your parents throw your dumb ass in front of the tube and you veg out. With that I wasn't too sure how much I remembered. So I figured, or actually my wife figured, we should re watch it.

Alice in Wonderland is a classic and I think most people are familiar with the story. Just in case you're not, let me fill you in. Alice is hanging outside a castle one day with her cat. Some rabbit runs by and Alice chases it. She falls down a magic hole and lands in a fucked up alternate reality filled with lots of crazy shit (Wonderland). God only knows what the heads at Disney were smoking when they made this, and it was the 50's. You got: talking doe doe birds, talking flowers, a talking rabbit, a talking cat with stripes, talking playing cards and a bunch of other talking stuff. I would try to explain exactly what happens while she's in Wonderland, but I'd just sound like some doped up hippy.

This movie holds up insanely well for how old it is. The blu-ray looks incredible. This came out in 1951 and it looks like some thing that could be released today. The colors are vibrant and the animation is superb. The story really isn't the best but everything else really keeps it cohesive. If you're into art, especially Disney stuff, check it. I don't smoke the weed, but I would imagine this would be a pretty good time if you were blazed.

Raising Arizona

Raising Arizona
(1987) [Trailer]
Directors: Ethan Coen (IMDB), Joel Coen (IMDB)

Raising Arizona is in my top ten best movies ever. I love it. LOVE IT! I find it to be one of the easiest movies to watch and everything with it... is flawless. How's that for an opener?

Raising Arizona is about an ex con named H.I. (played by the great Nicolas Cage.) H.I. meets the girl of his dreams while in prison, she (Holly Hunter) was a guard there. H.I. is now a free man and decides to go the straight and narrow, but not before stealing a baby. He stole the little guy because his wife is barren and the biological parents had quintuplets. The biological father is Nathan Arizona, who is a rich local furniture king, and he's pissed about the whole ordeal. Meanwhile, Cage and Holly Hunter pretend they adopted the runt but it's not long until their friends start to figure out the truth. Eventually a bounty hunter and some of H.I's prison buddys get into the mix and it gets real fun.

There's nothing wrong with this movie in my opinion. It's perfect. The Coen Brothers, who are also on my best directors list, really knocked this out the park. The camera work is great, some of the angles and special shots they picked are incredible. The score is one of the most memorable in film history. Also the art direction and set pieces are the best ever. But what seals the deal is the casting and acting. Seriously next level. Cage and Hunter are impeccable together, and Jon Goodman and Will Forsythe are hilarious. It was great getting to finally check it out on blu-ray. I would definitely recommend, if you're some weirdo who hasn't seen this, to watch it immediately.

The Matrix Trilogy

The Matrix. You love it. You hate it. You could give a shit about it. I'm into it. So when I saw the complete set on blu-ray for $30, I picked it up, cause son loves a deal.

The Matrix
(1999) [Trailer]
Directors: Andy Wachowski (IMDB), Lana Wachowski (IMDB)

This is the best of the series and the movie that shook up the modern action flick. I really love this film, and it still holds up nicely.

Neo (Ted Logan) is a hacker working a shitty desk job who gets a rude awakening by Lawrence Fishburne (aka Morpheus.) He finds out the world he lives in is a sham put on by machines who took over years ago and enslaved the humans. This world is called The Matrix. In reality, not The Matrix, you're either living in a cocoon plugged into a network the machines feed off of, or you're a freedom fighter in the resistance ...pretty heavy shit right? Morpheus takes Neo to meet the Oracle who tells him what he wants to hear. Neo learns Kung Fu and helps Lawrence fight back against the Agents (bad guys) in the Matrix. All kinds of craziness happens. The End.

Where to start with this? First, It really did change the direction of action movies in the 2000s. Now I will be the first to admit, not everything in the Matrix is original. It definitely borrows from Hong Kong action flicks and they should be paying Bruce Lee's relatives royalty checks. However, they really took all of that and a lot more then elevated it to the next level. It truly is unlike any sci-fi action flick before it. The Wachowski Brothers (now brother and sister) made their directing stamp with this in many ways. Not only is the energy incredible, the cinematography, writing, and art direction are all amazing. I would say Keanu would be my least favorite thing about this, but even he's serviceable for the most part. On the other hand Hugo Weaving makes up for it with an awesome performance as Mr Smith. I would recommend revisiting this movie if you haven't seen it for a while.

The Matrix Reloaded
(2003) [Trailer]
Directors: Andy Wachowski (IMDB), Lana Wachowski (IMDB)

The follow up to 1999's blockbuster hit. Not only is this the second installment, it's also personally in second place for me.

Neo and Morpheus are back at it again. This time the story isn't so straight forward. Actually it's a bit convoluted. You finally see Zion. There's a hippy rave. Neo is looking for the Oracle again. There's a lot of Mr Smiths. There's a Frenchmen. There's a key master. There's two twins with gray dreads. Cornel West is counsel member? Neo is basically Superman. There's an architect and yeah...

There's a lot going on in Reloaded. The story is a little confusing at times but not impossible to follow. There's tons of cool action scenes and more of the same from part one. But...some things were annoying. Like Neo can fly away now. Why doesn't he just fly away from all the Mr Smiths right away, instead of fighting them for an hour. The dance scene is lame. The two twins are basically indestructible? There's some other smaller things, but I digress. I'll give it a passing grade.



The Matrix Revolutions
(2003) [Trailer]
Directors: Andy Wachowski (IMDB), Lana Wachowski (IMDB)

The final chapter in The Matrix epic. It's in my opinion, and I think in the opinion of most, the worst of the three.

This time around the movie starts with Neo, who is stuck in a train station. He's gets saved by his girlfriend and leaves the station. Zion prepares for a war. There's a new Oracle (you mean to tell me they couldn't get the original one back, what's she doing that's so important.) There's even more Mr Smiths. We find out Mr Smith is Neo's opposite or something along those lines. Neo goes to the machine city. And I wont ruin the rest for you...actually I will in the next paragraph.

There's a lot that's wrong with this. The first 20 minutes of the film are completely unnecessary. Actually if you were to start the movie right after the scene when Trinity saves Neo from the train station, it wouldn't have affected the movie at all. Why couldn't they just keep pushing that EMP button over and over and just keeping killing the machines once their ship lands inside the hanger? Why didn't the humans just make ships that could fly above the clouds all the time? Then BAM! No machines to worry about. What the hell happens after the machines make peace? Do they free the humans in the cocoons? If they did, how could the survive? If they didn't, why the hell would the humans be cool with a bunch of other humans being slaves?

The action scenes were still OK, but by the 3rd movie the whole schtick starts to wear itself out. I just started to find myself getting really bored with it. The sad thing with this is, I had thought before watching it "It's strange that I never saw the last Matrix." Then as I started to watch it, I realized I had seen it before. It's definitely forgettable.

Ghostbusters & Ghostbusters II

These are two classics from the 80's. I love them dearly and will be basically laying down my puff piece about them right here..or should I say 'puft' piece.

Ghostbusters
(1984) [Trailer]
Director: Ivan Reitman (IMDB)

I have fond memories of this film as a child and I have seen it too many times to count. A lot of people would say they don't make films like this anymore, and a lot of people are right.

The Ghostbuster's story doesn't really need to be told but just in case you were living on a stranded island over the last 30 years, I'll give you a quick recap. Three guys (Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis) start one of the coolest business endeavors ever...ghost busting. They soon realize, once business starts booming, that there's a paranormal shift in the world and the dead are coming back to life in record numbers. After the crew catch a shit ton of ghosts some asshole from City Hall comes to Ghostbuster Headquarters and releases them all. The mayor finds out, gets pissed and hires the Ghostbusters to save the day once the city starts going to hell, literally.

Ghostbusters has everything you need in a block buster film. Great special effects (for the time), a great story, great comedy, and plenty of great action. Bill Murray (probably my favorite comedic actor ever) is amazing in this. I couldn't honestly imagine anyone coming close to filling his shoes (Hollywood take note if you're deciding on casting anyone else for part three or a reboot.) The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man scenes are amazing, absolutely amazing. If you don't agree, you're insane. What a genius idea for a bad guy. This is one of the best action comedies of the 80's, if not, ever.



Ghostbusters II
(1989) [Trailer]
Director: Ivan Reitman (IMDB)

The team returns five years later to do battle with the dead. All the original cast members are back except that dick, he was replaced with another dick. Ghostbusters always has to have a dick.

It's a few years after the boys saved the entire city of Manhattan from evil, and now they're all doing bullshit jobs. You would think that they'd be heralded as kings and be given the royal treatment; however, they are not. They are a joke now...so that's what being a hero gets you. Nothing! Well turns out, there are no more ghosts to bust...until one day when there's something strange in the neighborhood (get it? Ray Parker Jr baby!) Well the busters find out there's a river of slime that's running under the city and it's feeding off NYC's negative energy. The river leads right to Vigo, who's a Carpathian war lord whos come back from the dead and resides in a Van Gogh at the local museum. The shit hits the fan when New York's anger final reaches it's boiling point and the boys have to come save the day.

Part two, in my opinion, isn't as good as part one, but it's still pretty good. The Statue of Liberty just doesn't live up to Stay Puft and the beginning drags a little at first. Other then that, it's pretty amazing. Everything direction-wise I liked about the first, is definitely in the second. I enjoyed my rewatch, these movies are a good time, go watch them now.

Stanley Kubrick Double BiIl - The Killing and Killer's Kiss

Stanley Kubrick is one of my favorite directors of all time. I was very pumped to sit down with one of his older numbers, The Killing. I was even more pumped to find my Criterion blu-ray also has a bonus copy of Killer's Kiss included in the supplements...NICE!!!

The Killing
(1956) [Trailer]
Director: Stanley Kubrick (IMDB)

This movie is extremely cool. It's rad to think it came out in the 50's. You may be familiar with Kubrick's later releases like "2001: A Space Odyssey.", "A Clockwork Orange", or "The Shining" but this movie is as equally as impressive.

It's about a group of men who plot to rob a racetrack. The heist is one of the biggest ever and requires a lot of planning. One of the robbers runs his stupid mouth to his ungrateful wife. She's banging some other guy. Her booty call talks the info out of her and decides he wants in on the action. The plan goes off but not without a hitch.

This movie looks so good. The use of heavy dark tones and shadows give a really classic film-noir look. I could see the likes of Tarantino or the Coen Brothers directly being influenced by this. Also, the acting is great, especially Sterling Hayden as Johnny. There's tons of twists and turns, and like any good noir, keeps you guessing what will happen next. This movie is a real good time and a fun watch. Definitely highly recommended, and Criterion don't play on the transfer to blu-ray.



Killer's Kiss
(1955) [Trailer]
Director: Stanley Kubrick (IMDB)

I wasn't expecting to watch this but as I sifted through the extras of The Killing I found it. I went ahead and took full advantage of it and decided to roll with the punches, literally.

The movie is about a fighter who falls for the wrong girl. She's a dancer and her boss, a gangster, is in love with her. The fighter decides to quit boxing and move to Seattle. When the boss finds out that she wants to leave to Starbucks City with the fighter, he flips. From there the movie gets wild and you'll just have to see who ends up with the girl.

Again, Kubrick's direction is next level, especially for the 50's. The look of this movie is great. Simply great. The film is so gritty and the way he shoots NYC is captivating. The use again of dark shadows and tones makes for a very unsettling feeling throughout. Plus, the ending scene in the mannequin warehouse is bad ass. The action is almost psychotic, especially with that back drop of the creepy mannequins. I loved this flick, for an hour running time it packs a hell of a punch (no pun intended.)

My Kid Could Paint That

My Kid Could Paint That
(2007) [Trailer]
Director: Amir Bar-Lev (IMDB)

Marla Olmstead is a 4 year old. She makes more money then her parents. She make more money then you. How you ask? Well she's a famous painter.

My Kid Could Paint That is the story of Marla and her rise to fame. This documentary follows her and her family as they deal with her stardom. She is considered a genius and people pay thousands for her work. All seems great for the Olmsteads then 60 Minutes drops a bomb and claims the obvious...that her dad is really the Renoir of the clan.

This is a great documentary. The idea alone is really interesting and the way it's pieced together is great. It's not really taking sides just showcasing everything involving this child sensation and the fact that the Director was able to get involved so early into the development of the story is really impressive. Now, I have a 4 year old niece, I think of her becoming a famous painter and it seems insane...and that really is the case of Marla too. If her dad really is the one behind the scenes doing most the work...he's the greatest painter of all time. That's art. Not only did he paint the pictures...but he painted the fabrication that all those rich artsy fucks wanted. The fabrication of some child superstar sent by God to paint the next Guernica. It's a brilliant idea, now if we could only know the real truth. Watch the movie and form your own opinion.