Indie Game: The Movie

Indie Game: The Movie
2012 [Trailer]
Directors: Lisanne Pajot [IMDB], James Swirsky [IMDB]

I feel bad for kids born in the 90's, they missed out on the Nintendo Entertainment System, or NES for short. Sure they can go back now and download the games or even hunt down a console and hook it up, but nothing well ever give them the same feeling I had as a young boy watching video game history unfold before my eyes. So suck it... kids born in the 90's.

Synopsis: This documentary follows three sets of indie game developers on their quest for glory. What is an indie game you ask? Basically, a video game designed by independent developers, verses big studios.

Indie Game strikes at my nerdy nostalgic heart and makes me automatically want to go out and buy 'Super Meat Boy' and 'Fez', which are two of the titles being developed in the film. I think anyone that grew up with Nintendo or Sega will connect with these designers and their mission, but what I also enjoyed was watching their passion unfold on screen. It's not so much what they are making, but the process and the struggle itself that is interesting... it just so happens they are working on cool video games... so it's even better. I think out of three, the two guys that created 'Super Meat Boy' were the most interesting and I found myself pulling for them to make it big.

Technically the film is pretty solid as well. There's a lot of interesting cinematography, especially the scenes filmed at the boardwalk in Santa Cruz, which is one of my favorite places in California. The score is also really interesting and fits the film's aesthetic perfectly.

I'd definitely recommend this, it's one of the better documentaries I've seen this year and it's available on Netflix Instant.

Thriller: A Cruel Picture (AKA They Call Her One Eye)

Thriller: A Cruel Picture (AKA They Call Her One Eye)
(1974) [Full Movie]
Director: Bo Arne Vibenius [IMDB]

Synopsis: A young girl turns mute after being raped, then later in life she's abducted, drugged and forced into prostitution... and you thought your life was hard. She then decides to turn the tide and get revenge on the people who have wronged her.

This was supposedly a big influence on Tarantino when he was making Kill Bill and after watching it, I can see why. This movie is pretty fucked up and includes violence, drugs and nudity... I'm actually surprised it's on youtube (it's down below if you wanna watch it... hurry I'm sure it won't be up there long.) Thriller feels a little more elevated than your normal exploitation film, it has a lot of cool camera work and the score is pretty weird... in an interesting way. There are a lot of plot holes, so you'll have to suspend disbelief a little, but overall it's a pretty cool film. Check it.

Wake in Fright

Wake in Fright
(1971) [Trailer]
Director: Ted Kotcheff [IMDB]

Synopsis: A school teacher heads to Sydney for a holiday but has a stop over in a small town called Bundanyabba that lasts much longer than he anticipated.

Just in case you were wondering, Australia is a fucked up place... watch this film and find out why. Actually it's not, but Bundanyabba sure as hell is. If they were to do a remake of this film in the US, some shit town in the middle of no where Texas might kind of be a similar setting. Wake in Fright does a tremendous job at keeping the viewer unsettled, there are not very many moments where I wasn't expecting something bad to happen. It's cinematography and score help edge the film along a surreal path that also adds to the tension. There's a scene involving a hunt for kangaroos which is like something out of Cannibal Holocaust, it's pretty gnarly. The film is also extremely successful at narrating the protagonist's desperation, fatigue, and ultimate surrender to the situation he's been dealt.

This film's a winner in my book and if you can get your hands on it, I'd recommend you check it out.

Cosmopolis

Cosmopolis
(2012) [Trailer]
Director: David Cronenberg [IMDB]

Synopsis: The guy from Twilight is a deranged billionaire business man who works out of a limo.

It's nice to see Cronenberg returning back to form (after A Dangerous Method) with his newest installment Cosmopolis. He hired on Robert Pattinson, who you know from Twilight, to take the lead and he does an alright job I guess. This film is really out there and definitely not for everyone. It's strange, hard to follow at times, and doesn't really have a strong plot. That said... it's pretty cool for what it is, but it could have been better.

A lot of the dialogue is extremely scripted and didn't seem natural at all. There were a couple of moments where it stood out badly, maybe it was the performance of the material at those moments, but it seemed off.

The front end and middle of Comopolis were so-so, but it really hit a high note for me at the back end of the film... especially the scenes with Paul Giamatti.

If I were to compare it to something... it'd be like if eXistenZ hooked up with American Psycho.

Dredd 3D

Dredd 3D
(2012) [Trailer]
Director: Pete Travis [IMDB]

Dredd 3D is a remake of an 90's film called Judge Dredd, which actually came from a popular comic book. I know a lot of folks hate remakes, I actually use to be one of them awhile back. Within the last few years I've loosened my grip on the whole backlash against remakes and have come to embrace them. More times than not, remakes never live up to the promise of their predecessors but that still doesn't mean a new director can't certainly try and re-imagine a better incarnation of the original. Is Dredd 3D a winner or a loser in the battle of the remakes? Read on... Find out.

Synopsis: In the future judges are also badass cops who take the courthouse to the streets. Judge Dredd and a rookie find themselves trapped inside the building complex of a notorious crime boss who makes this really potent form of blue meth... wait that's Breaking Bad... she makes a new drug called Slo-Mo.

Dredd 3D is pretty awesome and definitely destroys the original. Honestly, I don't even think the original is that amazing of a film to begin with. Karl Urban is perfectly cast and the decision to keep his helmet on the whole time was ballsy, but extremely effective in my opinion. It gives him a definite comic book superhero feel, but also an absurd Robocop vibe at times. The film has also been drawling a lot of comparisons to The Raid... while I enjoyed The Raid and can obviously see the comparions (trapped in a building with drug lords at the top of it) I think Dredd is absolutely the better film.

Here's a list of things that really worked for me:

• Like I said before, the helmet always being on, but also the look of Dredd and his gun.
• The violence is over the top, and it's extremely gory at times. The action is also great.
• The Slo-Mo and all the scenes when people were on it... especially in 3D, it's really a must.
• Seeing Avon Barksdale from The Wire.
• The evil Queen from Game of Thrones makes a pretty impressive drug lord.

I'm not going to say this is anywhere near perfect, there's a few flaws but mostly it's a really solid action flick that's handled well for it's genre. It's in theaters now, but I don't think it has done too well so who knows for how long.

Starship Troopers

Starship Troopers
(1997) [Trailer]
Director: Paul Verhoeven [IMDB]

Synopsis: The earth is united against a common enemy... killer bugs from outer space.

This was a big favorite of mine in my late teens and early 20's. At that point I was (and still am) really into Paul Verhoeven's films and I was really blown away by this. I haven't seen Starship Troopers in awhile and picked it up on blu-ray, so I was curious as to how it held up, especially the special effects. It still looks amazing, dare I say... even better then the first time. It's totally over the top and almost goes for this campy b-movie vibe... I can't tell if the acting is bad at time or if it's intentional. It's violent, gory and satirical... which is what you would expect from a Verhoeven film.

If you liked this before, pick up the blu and give yourself a treat.

I Think We're Alone Now

I Think We're Alone Now
(2008) [Trailer]
Director: Sean Donnelly [IMDB]

Synopsis: People are creepy as shit.

This film follows two guys... well one guy and a guy who is kind of a women but still a guy. They are both certifiably insane and completely obsessed with Tiffany... just in case you think that's some girl that's a sandwich artist at the local Subway, it's not, it's the famous pop singer from the 80's. These two guys are extremely fucked up, to the point where it almost feels exploitative, but it's like a car wreck that you can help watching.

I think the subject matter is obviously worth viewing but the documentary itself is ugly and not very impressive in terms of film making. I'd still give it a poke, it's on Netflix instant.