12 Monkeys

12 Monkeys
1995 [Trailer]
Director: Terry Gillam (IMDB)


Synopsis: Bruce Willis travels to the past to try and unlock the mystery behind a plague that almost wiped out the entire human race.

This was one of my favorite movies back in high school... but that doesn't mean much because I was a retard back then. I'm kidding, I was fucking awesome and liked radical movies. Anyways, I had not seen 12 Monkeys since the 90's and I figure it was about time to revisit it, so I picked up the blu on the cheap from the old trusty amazon.com.

This is my favorite Gillam film and it really showcases what the director is all about. Huge visuals with a strange tone that rides the line between acid trips and nightmares. I would recommend you check out the behind the scenes documentary that's in the extras, it'll provide amazing insite to the whole film and give you a better understanding of the kind of perfectionist Gillam is. Bruce Willis and Madeline Stowe are both excellent, but Brad Pitt steals the show for me and would have fit nicely along side the cast of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

This is an incredible film and it really holds up nicely, I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it.

Blow Out

Blow Out
1981 [Trailer]
Director: Brian De Palma (IMDB)

Synopsis: A movie sound guy (John Travolta) stumbles across an accident which he recorded. Turns out it wasn't an accident and he starts to put the pieces together to solve a murder.

John Travolta seems like a cool guy or at least he used too. Now he seems like a weird airplane pilot with a creepy grin. Blow Out shows Travolta at his best... well... second best next to Pulp Fiction. If I were John Travolta and I was on Facebook, I would make this image my cover photo.

Visually this movie is pretty impressive. I loved a lot of the cinematography and De Palma occasionally incorporates the use of this split screen effect that really worked for me (reference that image above for an example.) There's also a lot of interesting mechanical shots interwoven throughout which gave this quasi training video feel to the film at times. The story is something out of an old crime noir but set in late 70's Philadelphia. There were some slow moments here and there but overall I'm glad I picked this up on Criterion Blu!

Bernie

Bernie
(2012) [Trailer]
Director: Richard Linklater (IMDB)

Synopsis: Bernie (Jack Black) is a eccentric funeral director in a small town in Texas who befriends the most hated woman in town... Shirley Maclaine.

10 minutes into this film and one thing was overly apparent, Dick Linklater is paying heavy homage to Errol Morris. This feels like a fictional film blended with a nice dose of Vernon, Florida or Gates of Heaven. Just like those two films, this movie is chop full of quirky characters and small town charm. I thought it was cool that he mixed up professional actors with real people, kind of a blend of fiction and documentary. I generally like Linklater's films and this installment is really no different. It's not laugh out loud funny, but pleasant and easy to sit through. Jack Black really pulls out a very impressive performance, I'd say one of his best that I've seen. This is available on blu-ray and VOD now.