Movie of the Day – American Splendor

This particular selection today came from me thinking about a missed question I had at our weekly Geek Trivia competition.  While American Splendor nor Harvey Pekar was the answer, a question pertained to the underground comic artist Robert Crumb and Fritz the Cat.  Now I am a comic enthusiasts and it shamed me to not get this question right, but then for some reason I thought about American Splendor as Robert Crumb was part of the artistic team that brought Pekar’s writings to life.  If you aren’t familiar with Pekar, don’t worry as not a lot of people are.  As a biographic picture, this can be about as close to reality for Pekar as his comics can even get.  This movie really is basically a comic of his brought to life.

Movie of the Day – Black Sheep

You know, I am not sure what to really write about this particular selection.  I mean, it’s a horror movie about genetically altered sheep that go crazy and start killing the country side of New Zealand.  I guess there is some social commentary about genetic experimentation that could lead to future issues down the road or maybe that the play on our general conceptions about New Zealand is refreshing and is the focal point of parody.  I mean all I know about new Zealand is that Middle Earth existed there and I want to visit some time and that they also have a lot of sheep.  So I guess that is what they are going for.  No maybe the movie is nice little twist on the horror genre which has gotten ridiculous and upped the ante by throwing their creature horror film into the mix.  All I know though, for certain, is this is fucking awesome!

Movie of the Day – Fast Food Nation

So I like to think in some weird way, that someone who might stumble upon reading this blog post, is eating some form of fast food.  Is it ironic, meh, but if anything that tells about our love of the fast food culture.  Even on our downtime reading a blog about movies, we still find a way to squeeze in that burger or chicken.  While the book, Fast Food Nation, is more of an expose on the fast food industry and all the working cogs that go into getting us that burger and fries, the movie is more of a drama that weaves together the humanistic side of all the cogs that produce our meals.  It some aspects, it frames the way we perceive the food we eat and in other ways, skirts the real issue of the fast food industry.  The story none the less is important and timely given our love of fast food.

Movie of the Day – Eagle vs Shark

Nothing like a quirky comedy to lift the spirits.  In the spirit of romance and love stories, the quirky comedies are by far the best representation of relationship movies.  Love is supposed to be awkward and about this two-step dance that the two awe struck leads are supposed to follow.  I don’t care what the current romantic comedy with Kate Hudson or Sandra Bullock or Sarah Jessica Parker tells you, that sets up this unrealistic portrayal of romance.  I have been to my fair share of romantic comedies, namely because my then girlfriends ate that stuff up.  They are too pretty, too perfect, too just unrealistic.  We all want to meet our special someone, but I doubt we are all meeting them at loft parties in New York or at the latest club hotspot in Los Angeles.   Sorry to break that reality (not really).  So I find my hope and expectation met in the romance department with these quirky love stories like Eagle vs. Shark.  It’s not a perfect movie, but the characters are entertaining, full of quirk and affable.

Trailers of the Week – 13 & Knuckle

Wahoo more trailers to feast your eyes on.  One of the latest trailers to come out this past week or so (not keeping track) is actually a remake of movie from 2005, done by the same director and now in English for the lazy shits that don’t want to bother reading subtitles.  So 13 Tzameti got remade to suit the tastes of American audiences and with a more friendly faced cast in 13.  Last is a trailer entitled Knuckle.  It’s about bare knuckle boxing, so that pretty bad ass.

13:

If you haven’t read my Movie of the Day post about 13 Tzameti, please read it here.  Basically the movie is just an English (from what I have seen from the trailer) sort of shot for shot remake of the movie, but the nice thing is that they got the original director to do this.  Just replace the previous cast with action stars and done.  Still, I am interested in seeing the movie if they kept the tone of the 2005 film.

Knuckle:

This is how you settle disputes, like Irish, sweaty gypsies.  Knuckle is a documentary about the trails and tribulations of two rival clans known as Travelers.  Essentially these two clans have a mutual hatred of one another and settle disputes by pitting different men into bare knuckled boxing matched for honor and money.  Director Ian Palmer has been granted a glimpse into the lives of these closed off people and has done so for over 10 years.  Aside from the sweaty boxing, this look fascinating, like glimpsing into an unknown society.  I haven’t seen it on VOD, but I will check it out once I get the chance.

Movie of the Day – Confessions of a Superhero

We all have dreams that we would like to see become a reality one day.  Something almost grandiose for our own good, but dreams that seem so real to us that we can make them a reality.  It seems attainable and possible that it could happen to us.  Dreams are made every day somewhere in the world and why not my dream?  Why not something that I want in life becoming a reality?  We think about them daily, some people make a list of goals to get to that dream job or car or lifestyle.  We can the small steps to hopefully achieve the outlandish dream we have built up in our minds.  Some can achieve those dreams, others well, dreams are dreams for a purpose.  In relation to movies, some of us had dreams of becoming the next best thing.  A leading actor or actress, a director or successful writer, all glorious dreams.  There are people who have achieved that and there are some that haven’t.  Maybe their time will come some day or maybe it will leave them behind as time slips away.  Confessions of a Superhero is a documentary that explores the lives of those who come to Hollywood in hopes of their dreams coming true.  Instead of making it big in Hollywood movies, they are left dressing up as these larger than life characters in front of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  It heartbreaking to know that their dreams are right beneath their feet.

Movie of the Day – Bulworth

Anyone  remember this movie from 1998?  Come on, you have to remember this movie where Warren Beatty plays this rapping senator and he spitting out truth bombs and getting some new found popular support?  Yeah kind of one of those here and there movies that just pops up once in a great while.  Maybe this movie should get a bit more praise cause, given our current volatile political climate, some free styling shit guys rapping out truth bombs might be a much better change of pace for our current politicians.  I know if there was a Republican politician doing this, I would have some more incentive to watch the debates, instead of the the standard debates where the candidates are just trying to out white one another.  Anyways, continue reading and see me drop some lyrical rhymes to dazzle the masses.

Movie of the Day – Fanboys

Alright so this is movie panders to my nerd side and it succeeds.  Sure this movie was that great, but as a nerd who loves nerdy jokes, this is really for me.  I can’t fault my own love of the culture to dismiss a movie, more so I must embrace it and learn to appreciate that these sort of a movies are cherish-able.  So this is a road trip movie for nerds, one that has a lot more sight gags and geek centric jokes, which I love.  So taking it easy today with the post, I decided to just feed my sensibilities and pick a movie that doesn’t require to think about, but mainly just sit back and enjoy an entertaining comedy about some nerds want to see the first cut of the Star Wars Phantom Menace.

Movie of the Day – Total Recall

SEE YOU AT THE PARTY RICHTER!!!  Yep that’s right folks, time to get ridiculous with Total Recall.  Now I have a certain affinity, as does everyone else, with the form Governor and his macho movies.  There’s a certain “fuck it all” attitude with his movies and frankly, between the one-liners, violence, Arnold emoting, and just flat out cavalcade of villains, there is an underlying joy to his movies.  It’s not that they are bad, it’s just that you have be in the right frame of mind to enjoy them.  For me I enjoy them with lots of beer and BBQ.  Then again these are just testosterone filled movies and vehicles for ridiculous action premises, but hey to each his own.  What got me to come back to this movie is the fact that they are remaking the movie with Collin Farrel and also it’s based off a Phillip K. Dick novel, which I have been on kick lately reading his writings.  So come take a ride with me and Johnny Cab through the alien world of Total Recall.

Movie of the Day – The Frighteners

A forgotten gem, which happens to be one of my favorite Michael J. Fox movies (next to Back to the Future series, obviously) is the horror, comedy movie The Frighteners.  Along with Michael J. Fox, this was also Peter Jackson’s fifth movie before going off to make the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.  Sadly, this movie ended up being bittersweet as it was Michael J. Fox’s last leading role in a live action movie.  The Frighteners is one of those movies that almost just flat out didn’t get made.  The production of the movie was marred with time constraints and up until that time, it required a large amount of effects shots done for the movie.  The distributors wanted the movie out early, but a series of fortunate events ended up helping out the movie and giving us what we see today.