Jeff, Who Lives at Home

Jeff, Who Lives at Home
(2012) [Trailer]
Director: Jay Duplass (IMDB), Mark Duplass (IMDB)

I've only seen two other movies by the Duplass Brothers, which were both ok I guess. They are widely known for being pioneers in the mumblecore genre and are now starting to go "mainstream" or whatever. Fucking sell outs.

Synopsis: Jason Segel plays a 30 something who still lives at home. Good thing I told you that, otherwise you might not have been able to figure it out.

I find the writing of the Duplass Bros to be a bit refreshing, you could say this is a dramady, but it's feels a bit different than the average film in this category. They interject this weirdness to the story which I really enjoyed. Kinda like how Jeff is on this spiritual journey, but it never feels too serious. This wasn't very laugh out loud funny, just entertaining funny, if that makes sense.

The two things I didn't like in this film: The mom's secret admirer stuff seemed a bit pointless in the narrative, also the camera zooms way to much in this.

This just came out on blu-ray and on demand, give it a go.

Magic Mike

Magic Mike
(2012) [Trailer]
Director: Steven Soderbergh (IMDB)

As I noted in my last review, Magic Mike was up next in my movie viewing rotation, I'm no damn lair... so let's start this party up!

Synopsis: Channing Tatum is a stripper who befriends and brings in some new blood into his male erotic dance crew. Sounds rad right? Well it's not all fun and games man, taking your clothes off for women is hard work.

As a straight male I can not stress this point enough... you should absolutely go see this movie in a theater filled with women ASAP. It was awesome. Horny ladies (and gays) definitely make this film better and as funny as this movie is, it's even funnier with a good audience.

Steven Soderbergh's direction is solid, it's not extremely Soderberghesque, but you still get a lot of his style that seeps out, especially during the more darker parts of the film. Tatum is pretty good but the show stealer without a doubt is Matthew McConaughey. He is seriously fucking awesome in this film and I honestly can't envision any other person playing his roll as successfully.  

For any straight guy that's reluctant to go see this, don't be a pussy, watching nude dudes is fun! Plus you get to see Olivia's Munns! Bonus!

Haywire

Haywire
(2012) [Trailer]
Director: Steven Soderbergh (IMDB)

My next review on EVFS will be for Steven Soderbergh's new film Magic Mike... Channing Tatum stripping...yummy. In preparation I decided to check out Haywire, his last film, released earlier this year. I love Soderbergh and have been looking forward to checking this out since I missed it in January.

Synopsis: A secret agent seeks vengeance after she is set up to be killed on a job.

I've yet to see a Soderbergh film I didn't like and Haywire continues that streak. I had heard that Gina Carano was the weak link to this film and a shit actress. I would disagree, she's definitely not bad and got the job done. The fight scenes were well executed and seemed very realistic. Gone are the overly loud sound effects and the quick cuts, instead Soderbergh chooses longer takes and normal sounds you'd actually hear when someone gets punched in the face. I should know, I punch lots of people in the face.

The movie's only real flaws for me were the pacing and this weird dark shadowy effect in the corners of the frame use though out the movie. 

Check out my bro bros review as well: Steve's Haywire Review.

Tiny Furniture

Tiny Furniture
(2010) [Trailer]
Director: Lena Dunham (IMDB)

I remember hearing mixed things about this film last year, many loved it, many hated it, many couldn't have given a fuck. The director's new show Girls on HBO, also gets the same reaction. I figured it was time to see for myself... No I lie... I had no choice as my wife had picked this out for us to watch.

Synopsis: Aura has to learn how to deal with life after college when she returns back to NYC to stay with her family.

The main complaint I heard about this writer is that she's a spoiled trust fund hipster and unrelatable... haters gonna hate. Who cares if she's a rich kid, maybe she's got an interesting story to tell. I mean, people come from all walks of life and each of us have our own voice... Jesus, that sounded like some hippy bullshit. Actually the problem here for me is... her story isn't interesting. Nothing really happens, she's not really having a hard time as the poster over there would lead you to believe, there's just not a lot of depth to this movie. I don't necessarily need a deep and meaningful plot, a film can be about nothing, but if it is you have to anchor it with interesting characters and good visuals. The way Dunham writes for other characters isn't too believable at times, like her sister's dialog and the little boy she babysat for.. kids aren't that intense. There is a lot of whitty dialog coming from Aura however; sometimes amusing, sometimes not, but it all just starts to get repetitive after a while. As far as cinematography goes, it's very boring. I'm not gonna say I hated this, but I wouldn't really recommend it.

Cronenberg Fest

This really isn't a fest, it's a viewing of multiple movies by a favorite director of mine. I started with John Carpenter and Werner Herzog, now I'm moving onto David Cronenberg. I remember going to music "fests" as a teen/20something and thinking... what's this a festival of... a bunch of shitty bands? I guess you could say that about these posts.

The Brood
(1979) [Trailer]
Director: David Cronenberg (IMDB)

Synopsis: A man and his daughter cope while mommy is getting therapy... whats wrong with her you ask? Watch this movie and find out, you inquisitive fuck.

Kids are assholes. If you follow this blog, you know my stance on this subject. If you think I'm wrong, just go ahead and pop this bad boy in, it'll get you on my side by the end. You're not going to do that are you? Fine... just watch THIS VIDEO... they suck.

This film isn't perfect, but pretty close. Think slow paced thriller mixed with scary movie. It's a thinking man's horror film... I have no idea what that means, but I like it.

It stars Peter Dinklage's non-little person doppleganger, I decided to give you an example: Peter Dinklage vs Art Hindle.

 

Scanners
(1981) [Trailer]
Director: David Cronenberg (IMDB)

Synopsis: A man with extraordinary psychic powers is hired by a corporation to track down others like him, they're called Scanners.

Scanners is a pretty decent film and given it's age, it holds up nicely. I had read going into this that it's a horror movie, I'd disagree, it's more of a psychological thriller.

It's practical effects are awesome, so awesome that there's a pretty famous gif from this film that floats around the internet. 

The film's protagonist looks just like my friend Scott Meyer, I decided to give you an example: Scott and his Doppelganger. Unfortunately, he's not the greatest actor and his performance took me out of the film a lot. The film tends to drag on a little in the middle, however the ending is amazing. I wont spoil anything but I loved it.

The Dead Zone
(1983) [Trailer]
Director: David Cronenberg (IMDB)

Synopsis: After rising from a 5 year coma Christopher Walken gains the ability to read people futures. Is this a gift or a curse? Hmmm... guess you'll have to watch the film won't you.... no... okay... it's a curse.


This movie is my least favorite Cronenberg film to date. It's not bad, just not really Cronenbergesque. Besides that, there are a few other things I wasn't a fan of. The story and tone start in one direction, then switch gears midstream. I also felt like it had an almost made for TV feel to it, which seems to happen a lot with Stephen King's adaptions. The ending was pretty interesting but overall I would pass on this and watch another Cronenberg release.

eXistenZ
(1999) [Trailer]
Director: David Cronenberg (IMDB)

Synopsis: As told by my wife, "A game designer designs a disgusting clitoris that brings you to another world."

This is up there as one of the strangest films I've seen and I think it rules. It leaves you with questons: "What was real?", "Who was the bad guy?", "Was that an umbilical chord?" 

The effects in this are incredible. They're absolutely nasty and slimy and creepy and.... ahhh they're the best, seriously I loved it. I'm pretty sure my wife hated it.

Jude Law, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Willem Defoe were spot on and helped deliver a great story that kept me intrigued for the whole ride.  Be warned.. this is a weird one, but if you're into stuff that's outside the box... give it a poke.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
(1974) [Trailer]
Director: Tobe Hooper (IMDB)

Synopsis: A group of teens get stranded in the countryside of Texas and stumble across a family of killers.

This is considered a horror classic and for good reason. I've seen this film a handful of times, but never on blu-ray, I can say it's never looked better. The graininess of the film is still there yet everything is very clean looking... which helps it maintain its rough aesthetic.

I never realized how awesome the cinematography was until this viewing. The interesting camera work also helps elevate the creepy ass set pieces used throughout. This is a illegitimately scary movie and I could imagine seeing it in '73, I probably would have shit myself. Still, it ages quite well and is still extremely effective, I love it and would recommend you check it out if you haven't seen it yet.

Insomnia

Insomnia
(2002) [Trailer]
Director: Chirstopher Nolan (IMDB)

Synopsis: A hot shot detective from LA is flown to the middle of nowhere Alaska to help solve the mysterious death of a local girl.

Sometimes I feel like dropping out of my life, packing up everything, and getting the fuck out of dodge. Society is a sick joke and it seems like there's only a few untapped locations left to live in the U.S. Alaska seems like one of those places. This movie helps me believe in my off kilter idea.

I saw Insomnia awhile back and remember liking it, recently I found the blu-ray for $5 and picked it up. I remember Robin Williams actually didn't annoy me in it and he still does not. Al Pacino is Al Pacino, which means he was good.

Nothing earth shattering for me here, just a really solid film and very entertaining.