I sit here at my laptop unsure of what to type for this intro. My week was very meh, with few moments of note (just like the movies I watched)… so here’s what I watched.
SHUT UP LITTLE MAN! AN AUDIO MISADVENTURE (2011)
This documentary takes a look at a phenomenon that took over the world becoming a viral hit before the internet ever existed. When these two, just out of college, guys moved into this crappy apartment in California and ended up living next to two of the most surly men imaginable they thought it would be great to record their ridiculous rants, and the result created a cult sensation among tape enthusiasts and a modicum of cultural influence.
A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE (1974)
A film where the acting outshines all other points of discussion. Read my full review.
DOWN BY LAW (1986)
So I’ve now seen three Jim Jarmusch films (Broken Flowers and Dead Man) and I’ve yet to find one that I like. I did find a few moments in this movie funny, i.e. buzz off, but overall it just felt like a story without much direction.
COMMANDO (1985)
What can one say about this little Schwarzenegger feature? He jumps off a plane as it’s taking off and then goes on a murdering rampage for the next eleven hours to get his daughter back. It’s awesome.
GANGSTER SQUAD (2013)
A dull film in most regards. What it tried for was this cool LA noir detective film and it got the look right for the most part. The characters were just shells all over. I find it strange that of the squad my favourite was Robert Patrick, I feel it’s because he played the cowboy/gunslinger and I always like that character from westerns.
THE LAST STAND (2013)
Arnold Schwarzenegger returns to the big screen in a film directed by Jee-woon Kim (The Good, The Bad, The Weird and I Saw the Devil) about an ‘old’ sheriff who’s town is being used as an escape route for a bombastic villain heading to Mexico. It’s kind of awesome and I blame fun characters and pretty good action. The final scene between Arnie and the bad guy is great and it’s good to know that the man can still deliver a fun little action movie.
REWATCHED
Looking for something to remind of fun action I decided to give Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol a whirl. It’s a film that I loved when I saw it first in 2010, but somehow every minute I thought about it after seeing it I immediately started lowering my appreciation for it. Revisiting it was great because the movie honestly is a truly fun action film and I love it. When Benji (Simon Pegg) gets excited because he’s going to be the lead on a play and he gets to wear a mask is so fun.
I put Jeff, Who Lives at Home to play on and I still like it a lot. But I’m yet to decide if I should be sad I left it off my Top 20 of 2012. Somehow regardless I don’t believe there’s anything as good as the scenes of them in the bathtub and then when Jeff finally finds his purpose for getting that phonecall on that day. Probably the Duplass Bros most heartwarming film to date.
With Kathryn Bigelow‘s nominations for the upcoming Academy Awards I revisted her winning film The Hurt Locker and I’m still astounded that I love it this much. For a film which is just a series of set pieces that do so much to have a proper through line I’m happy it exists and horrifies me that Renner isn’t going out and getting rid of bombs right now.
My count for the year of 2013 is updated to 15 First time watches (2 from 2013); 8 Rewatches; 23 Total Films