lack of updates

sorry about this. im traveling around a bit.
i ll resume normal updates from next week on

The Wackness (2008)

The Wackness is a little gem which won the Audience Award at Sundance.

It's about Luke Shapiro (As played by Josh Peck), an outcast and drug dealer, who during his graduation summer of 1994 enters into an adventure to get the girl of his dreams and deal enough weed to pay for tuition.

His sidekick in these times of mix tapes, gangsta rap and heat waves is Dr. Squires (played by Ben Kingsley), a stoner psychologist with marriage troubles (his wife is played by Famke Janssen - hmm, makes me dream of incredible achievements) who has Luke pay his sessions in ounces of weed.

Ben Kingsley's performance is OUTSTANDING.

The whole story is completely out of this world.
absolutely refreshing.

Straw Dogs (1971)

Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs is considered to be a masterpiece on the topic of violence.

In short it is the story about an american (Dustin Hoffman) and his english wife, moving to a small rural vilage in England.
As expected, their integration with the locals is difficult, and they end being harassed to the point where a nice intellectual man becomes an animal of vengeance.

Did I mention that the wige gets raped?
ah, sorry, I forgot.

Yeah, she gets raped.

Of course, the world being what it is, the rape scene created a huge controversy (people need to watch more porn - seriously).
It ended getting banned in the UK in 1984...for some years.
It also had a huge impact on its editing.
The irony is that because of the scenes getting cut, the rape scene ended showing a scene which gave the impression that Amy, the wife, actually ends up enjoying getting raped (its true, it kinda gives this impression). This, of course, created more controversy.
In the 2002 version, the new edition tried to solve this issue by clearly showing scenes where Amy enjoys the rape a lot less.

Did I mention the rape was gang rape?
ah, sorry, I forgot

In any case. I have read plenty of reviews about this movie. But none of them (the ones I read) come to the conclusion I came.
Everyone points out the fact that they get harassed, and how the transformation of Dustin Hoffman is an amazing piece of interpretation, direction, and everything else (which is true).
Few notice that Amy had flirted with the whole village.
It seems somehow that in general culture, it is widely accepted that women should flirt with men and then be a victim if it creates sexual desires in men that where not, in their education, prepared to handle (as city boys are) such flirting.

I am not saying that they were right to rape her, nor that she deserved it, but I am saying that she provokes it, from beginning to end.
The whole conflict that ends up in the death of several persons is clearly the cause of an attention whore.

While most "intelligent" critics praise Peckimpah's exploration of human violence, it is clearly one of the most machistic movies I have ever seen.
Only two types of women are depicted in this movie
1-good servile women (from the village)
2-an attention whore

I am still to read about the fact that when an american an a pretty city girl come to a rural town, in England, (or almost anywhere), the chances of them being well welcomed is almost none, NONE!!
All of Amy's attention whoring is the most destructive behavior possible in such a situation.

In any case, and however you look at it, Straw Dogs is a classic that deserves to be watched, so that you can make your own opinion.

Kidulthood (2006) and Adulthood (2008)

Kidulthood is the story of one day in the life of a group of teenagers in contemporary London.
by teenagers, I mean conflictive youngsters confronted with a world of drugs, violence, sex, gangs, crime and whatnot.

Noel Clarke,who plays the "Sam" character in both movies, the writer of both movies is certainly one of the UK's most promising actors/writers/directors.
While he did not direct Kidulthood, he did go on to direct Adulthood

Adulthood takes place 6 years after the final events of Kidulthood.
The whole story line is also fitted on the timelapse of one day.

Both movies deserve to be watched back to back.

Kidulthood Trailer:


Adulthood trailer:

The Wanderers (1979)

Another Gang movie released in 1979.
Except this time, the story is set up in The Bronx in 1963.

The Wanderers are an Italian gang, the only gang to be in, if you're Italian.

A story about racial conflicts and solving them for a common cause.

By the Way, they really insist on making a statement about The Baldies, a group of skinheads who shave their heads so the hair wouldn't get in front of their eyes (in true Rude Boys' spirit), not being racist as they have...ONE token black guy in the gang (well, he's not really a token).

Gotta love the 70's

The Movie is based on a novel from Richard Price.
a man responsible for The Color of Money, Streets of Gold, Sea of Love, and Michael Jacksons's Bad 17m videoclip among a few.

It is directed by Philip Kaufman, who went on to directing straight after: The Right Stuff (1983), The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988) and Henry & June (1990)
Philip Kaufman has also written all the Indiana Jones movies.

So, in short, the team behind this movie is pretty impressive.

And it showed...

Millenium Mambo (Qian xi man po) (2001)

Millenium Mambo is a phenomenal movie by Chinese Director Hou Hsiao-Hsien.

It is the story of Vicky.
as played by Shu Qi.
Vicky is a free spirited girl torn between boredom and action, between love and un-love.

The story is mostly set either in the nightclub scene (of Taipei) or in the apartments of her lover.

Most of all from the spectator point of view, it is an extremely voyeuristic movie.
Vick narrates her thoughts as you watch her watch herself in one setting or the other.

between the neons, the saturated colors, the slow motions, the controlled movements of the characters, the overall exuding sensuality, you can do nothing but sit back, and keep your eyes open...observing, waiting...

I won't put the trailer up, you can find it on You Tube yourself, but just watch the opening scene... I dare you not to fall in love.



Side notes:
-80% on Rotten Tomatoes
-Shu Qi was approached by Ang Lee for Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, but her manager pulled her out to do an advertisement in Japan...because he didn't think that the movie would be a commercial success. Hem, I hope that guy has been sent to a torture camp.
-Shu Qi started in softcore porn. She posed for Penthouse too, but you can find all that elsewhere :)

The Warrriors (1979)

The Warriors is the tale of a New York Gang called...well..."The Warriors" - based in Coney Island.

As the story goes, one day, some guy actually decides to do his math.
The result of his calculations are that there are more gang members in NYC than there are cops.
A lot more.
So, if they were to unite, they could run the city.
So he calls for a meeting. a big meeting with all the main gangs from NYC.
And, like any other leader of the US, he gets shot, by a guy from a gang called the Rogues
The guy blames the Warriors.

Now, the Warriors are far away from home, and they have a bunch of gangs after them.

Everything is set for the most epic gang movie of all time.

As the movie starts, in the subway, you immediately know you're in for a beautiful movie.
the style is amazing.
all gangs are dressed in completely ridiculous fashion.
I wasn't there in the 70's, but I have little doubt that plenty of the gangs you cross in the movie would have trouble getting any real cred.

For Example:
The Baseball Furies (my favorite, and I guess everyone's)




The Lizzies (mega bitches on acid)




The Hi-Hats (mimes,...wooo scary)




Satan's Mothers (actually...if I ever had a gang, that would be it's name)




The Panzers



The Punks (eeemmmm, they ride on roller skates...jeez)



The Rogues (the bad guys)



The Savage Huns (no disrespect to asians but...HAHAHAHAHA, have you seen these hats)



However, the whole thing, put together, brings one nice, I mean, THE AWESOMEST action movie, with a 70's slang/feel/in dirty 70's NYC.

One of my favorite movies ever

Christine (1983)

She'll possess you. Then destroy you. She's death on wheels

What can I say about Christine?

I should start by asking: who can I name?

I can name four very special people:
-John Carpenter (Director of hell)
-Stephen King (Writer of death)
-Alan Howarth (Composer of evil)
-Christine, a 1958 Plymouth Fury (the name speaks for itself)
The most terrifying combination in movie history.

Christine SCARED the hell out of me as a child.

First of all,
John Carpenter did a great job. the whole direction is amazing, the story telling, the editing, the photography...everything is top-notch.
The only thing that handicaps how this movie will go down in history is the fact that it is considered as a scary movie.
It is a pity, because from a purely artistic point of view, given the movies that were coming out in that same period, Christine really stands out as a very unique piece of art.

The story is from Stephen King, when he was in his absolute prime as an autor.

The music gives you the wrong kind of goosebumps, Alan Howarth truly masters the frequencies that scare a person's soul.



I could watch this movie over and over and over.

The story of a nerd, whose life changes for the best after he restores to pristine condition an old piece of Junk.
What he didn't expect is that the car would return the passion...with a vengeance.

The Spirit (2008)

I've just watched another trailer for The Spirit, due to come out during the next Christmas holidays.

I am not only unimpressed, I am disappointed.



This being said, I will watch it when it comes out. But there is a high lilelyhood that as minutes pass, I will get angrier, and angrier at Frank Miller.

The Trailer starts bragging about Frank Miller and the Fact that he was behind Sin City and 300. I loved both movies

Those two were great graphic novels. But since I refuse to be an pseudo intellectual geek, I still call comics, comics. And I love comics.

Frank Miller is also behind "The Dark Night" graphic novel, but nobody seems to pay too much attention to this since the movie only shared the title with Frank's version of the night avenger.

Anyway,

The new spirit movie is in my opinion, and the opinion of many a violation, or in lamens terms, an "ass-rape" of the work of Will Eisner.

You have to understand, while Frank Miller was all the hype in the comic book world in the 80's, and 90's I guess, Will Eisner, was a GENIUS. Will Eisner is considered as one of, if not the, most influential Comic Bok artist/writer....EVER. EVER !!!!

So, what a coincidence that the movie comes out in 2008, 3 years after Will Eisner's death. and that no single movie saw the light during his lifetime.

First of all, this movie is a total review of the original Spirit plot/story.
You can read about it in detail in this article: "How Miller is ruining The Spirit"

Personally I want to say something about the visuals.
The original spirit comic book is set in the 40's, a time of mystery, smoke, dark alleys and sexy women, think L.A. confidential.
Sure, the movie "seems" to be set in that time, but did they have MG-machine guns then? modern-era military helicopters?....what the hell.

Also, Will Eisner got to be famous for his mastery of black and white drawing. For his art in using shadows to add atmosphere. He has published numerous books on the subject. In time, colored versions of the spirit came out, but they could never match the originals.





Also, The Spirit is a tall, strong guy, he is mysterious, he is scary and seductive. He is a role model for little kids like me.



And seriously, can Gabriel Macht (please check out his filmography and have a laugh) play the role of the main character in the most important comic book of the most influential comic book artist ever?
They have Robert Downey Jr. playing fucking Iron Man (no disrespect to Stan Lee, but even him is little, artist wise, not creative wise, to Will Eisner), and they have Gabriel-fucking-Macht playing The Spirit.

on a side note, I recently noticed that Robert Downey Jr. had a part in Weird Science, and he had a gap in his teeth that doesn't exist today...hmmm,



This reminds me of one thing....When Billy Zane played The Phantom. Ruining it forever.

Then, the female cast.
women in the Spirit are all seductive temptresses, dangerous woman. sexy, shapely, morbid, intriguing, they were the sexy-goths of their time. Black widows.



and seriously...Scarlett Johansson, I mean, ok, she is hot. But she's over-exposed, and not that talented of an actress. She made a career because her eyes and mouth are devastatingly erotic, but everything else about her is completely common. She does not posess the elegance to carry her role.

Eva Mendes is also hot, and is probably more acceptable. But seriously, you need more elgance, you simply do. Charlize Theron would have been perfect.
But Cherlize Theron would be smart enough no to be in a movie where the lead male character is played by Gabriel Macht.

I don't know what else to say except that I feel that Frank Miller raped my childhood days of finding old spirit comics from my parents in the attic.

Fuck you Frank Miller....Fuck you !

Chopper (2000)

Chopper is the tale of Mark Brandon "Chopper" Read (born November 17, 1954)



By his mid-teens, Read was already an accomplished street fighter, and the leader of the Surrey Road gang.

He began his criminal career by robbing drug dealers, based in massage parlours in the Prahran area.

He later graduated to kidnapping and torturing members of the criminal underworld, often using a blowtorch or bolt cutters to remove the toes of his victims before killing them.

While in Pentridge prison's H division in the late 70's, Read launched a prison war.
His gang, dubbed 'The Overcoat Gang', because they wore long coats all year round to conceal their weapons, were involved in several hundred acts of violence against a larger opposing gang during this period.

Convicted of crimes including armed robbery, firearm offenses, assault and kidnapping, Read spent 13 months outside prison between the ages of 20 and 38, then went on to become a successful author of crime novels, selling in excess of 500,000 copies of his works.

The Movie was based on Read's first book,


Chopper: From the Inside, was collected from letters he sent while incarcerated in Melbourne's Pentridge Prison, and published in 1991. It contains tales and anecdotes of his criminal and prison exploits.

After reading this...all you can expect is one of the greatest crime/prison movies you will ever see.
Eric Bana is ridiculous...by ridiculous y mean ridiculously awesome. He is scary as fuck !
Also, the movies portrays an interesting era: Australia in the 70's. Not too many movies are set there, so its quite a refreshing story.
It is also refreshing because of the amount of blood.
But hey, spilling blood while speaking with a harsh Australian accent is so much more enjoyable !

The Foot Fist Way (2006)

The Foot Fist Way is an amazing little comedy about a Tae Kwan Do instructor as interpreted by Danny R. McBride

Rated R by the MPAA, I suppose only because of the dialog and the child abuse (he's not always very kind to his students, although in a twisted way, he always treats them with some sort of personal set of morals)

This is a little of a nonsense movie.
Total Budget: 70.000 $

The Dialog is pure gold.
It's been written by Ben Best and Jody Hill, who since then have been managing to enjoy some sort of success, both as actors and writers.

Some extracts:

- Do you like Mr. Simmons? Is he nice? Is he talented? Is he good? Is he very good?
- He's one of the best instructors in town.
- He is? Can he break rock?
- Yes.
- He can? With his head?
- Yes.

----

-That's why you're coming back to me, because you've realized how strong I am.
I mean, I know I may seem like I'm the strongest man that you've ever known before or ever met, but the fact of the matter is that I'm penetrable, you know?
I have a human heart that ticks under here and...

-I know. I'm so sorry. You make me feel safe.

-Who doesn't wanna feel safe, you know? But I got to feel safe, too.
And in order for that to happen...I could be the bigger man, but you're gonna have to be the smaller woman, to some extent.

The Commitments (1991)

The Commitments saved me from falling asleep in the middle of the afternoon.

The first 15 minutes of The Death and Life of Bobby Z didn't however. What a piece of crap...Unbe-fuckin'-lievable.

Anyhow, The Commitments movie is based on a novel by Irish writer Roddy Doyle, which was the first episode in The Barrytown Trilogy. It is a tale about a group of unemployed young people in the north side of Dublin, Ireland, who decide to start a soul band.

It's about Ireland in the 80's. How can you go wrong?

it made feel a little good about me-self.

Smart People (2008)

Smart People deeply shocked me.

It shocked me because it's the first time that I manage to go through a movie (or tv show for that matter) with Sarah Jessica Parker in its entirety.
No, don't worry, I am not crazy, SJP was her usual ugly obnoxious persona.
But, she had little dialog, and was surrounded by a great cast.

Dennis Quaid plays a widowed, depressed, unambitious, English-Lit professor.
Ellen Page plays his early-accepted in Stanford hyper smart daughter
Thomas Haden Church plays the "adopted" brother of Dennis Quaid.
And every single character in this movie is depressed.

I guess that since its been fashionable lately to have movies and tv shows about very rich people who also have "real problems", Someone finally decided to do a movie about the "real problems" of smart people.

In one small sequence, Ellen page asks a girl in a bar: "What is it like to be stupid?", the answer "It's pretty much like sitting alone at lunch every day" was quite a good comeback.

The movie is worth watching if only because of Thomas Haden Church.
This guy has true funny bones. he really steals the show.

All in all, a relaxing afternoon.

Dazed and Confused (1993)

Dazed and Confused is awesome.
just awesome.



The best teenage movie I've seen, and the best teenage movie anyone I've ever met has ever seen.

It is the tale of what happens to a group of teenagers after their last day of school.
Half of them are seniors, the other half not.

I have seen my share of teen movies.
probably because I refuse to grow up.
probably because they tend to be the movies that allow me to simply relax, watch and giggle.
In particular, If you've watched Jacob's ladder the day before.

But this movie has a special feel about it.

First of all, it is like the mega casting of hell.
There are so many stars in secondary roles in this movie, it just doesn't make sense.

Second of all, the MPAA has rated it R for pervasive, continuous teen drug and alcohol use and very strong language.

Third of all, the Directing and the photography are OUTSTANDING.
you really get that 70's, careless feel.
why? because of the overall thing.
everything is smooth, calm, you're on a train ride with everyone, going from one character to the other, from one scene to the next.
every transition is flawless. So you barely even notice that so many things are happening.
The movie is very dialog-based, which I appreciate

You follow so many characters, all of them being very interesting, that you don't have time to get bored by any.
At the end however, you regret not having seen a little more from this one, or that one...

the characters are also an almost honest representation of teens.
Following a decade (the 80's) of teen movies played either by 30 year old actors, either being movies that made little sense.
with the exceptions of the movies Directed and/or Produced by John Huges (The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Ferry's Buellers Day Off, Career Opportunities...), The Goonies, and the movies with the Two Coreys
Ok, so maybe the 80's was the best decade for teen movies.
One day I will try to make some consistent review of this.

AAAAnyhow, Dazed and Confused paved the way for a lot of people who went on to make decent careers further on (i.e. Ben Affleck, Matthew Mc Conaughey, Milla Jovovich, Joey Lauren Adams or Jason London - although none of them, except Jason London had a lead character in this movie)

The soundtrack is also quite great, and contributes in great effect to the success of this movie.
Alice Cooper, Deep Purple, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Black Sabbath, Kiss and others are in there, played in the background as if not only a soundtrack of the movie but as the soundtrack of these youngsters lives.

Jacob's Ladder (1990)

Jacob's Ladder is some freaky shit as a movie, otherwise, at its origin, it is a religious concept that appeared in the book of Genesis. It is supposed to be a sort of bridge between heaven and earth.



Lead by Tim Robbins, Jacob's Ladder is the story of Jacob a Viet Nam vet who comes back from the war with a little more baggage than he thought.

He starts feeling scared, he is followed by dangerous mysterious people.
He has nightmares.

The whole thing is like the poster.

You are thrown with Jacob in a world of distorted visions.
And it's really impressive. Emotion wise you are in a constant state of anguish throughout the whole movie.

Robbin's interpretation is top notch.
But I would give all the credit to the Director on this one: Adrian Lyne (9 &/2 weeks, Fatal Attraction).
Given the result, I am not sure than any other person could have done the same movie based on the script from Bruce Joel Rubin

It is also a very interesting story about the ordeals of a certain group of Viet-Nam vets. But I don't wont to spoil the movie.
It's a little gem.
Oh, and forget about having dinner while you watch this one.
And don't do what I did, don't watch it alone, at night, and try to go to sleep right after.

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986-1990)

Henry is without a doubt the most disturbing movie I've ever seen.



Well, there's Henry, and there's Audition from Takashi Miike.



Both movies are violent, but not that much, much less than any Rambo movie, or any Paul Verhoeven movie.

I just kept reading reviews about Henry, all of them great, all of them riveting.

I finally got a hold of it and boy oh boy.

As I started watching it all I could think is: "This is just a piece of crap". Acting seemed bad. Photography was bad. Filming was bad. There was no plot. nothing.

But, I had read such great things about it.

So, I held on.

As time goes by, you get swallowed by the movie.
The bad acting becomes more and more intense.
The Photography and the Filming actually feel like a documentary - You are IN the movie.
There is no plot. Because in real life, there is no plot. Things just happen.

More than physically violent (and it gets quite violent), the worse part, or should I say the best part is its rawness.
Henry is a Serial Killer. No doubt.
He just says things as they come to his head.
However as he kills, he seems to be professional, methodical, and to have some perverted sense of justice and morals.

His pal Otis, is a whole different case.
He has no morals
He has become addicted to the game of violence
But he has no method, no sense of direction.

The MPAA refused to give Henry a rating for over 4 years. It wanted to give it an X rating, but it doesn't deserve it, and yet they thought that an R rating was not enough.
This, for a movie that is less violent than half the movies of its time.
Probably, the guys at the MPAA simply got as disturbed as I.

Even Siskel and Ebert gave it a great review in 1990 (date of its final - limited - release in US theaters).
They say its a work of art, and that it deserves to be seen.

So there you go.
Who am I to go against Siskel and Ebert?



I hope you will enjoy this movie

Black Irish (2007)

Black Irish is something special.



I really picked this one up because I have Irish blood and family ties in Boston.

Also, I noticed that the main character is played by Michael Angarano, whom I remembered from Lords of Dogtown (although his role in that was quite deplorable - in his defense, the whole movie was).
His father is played by Brendan Gleeson, who you may recognise from In Bruges (note to self: I need to make a post about this one) or from any of the memorable roles his played (to name a few: (Braveheart, Michael Collins, Gangs of New York, The Village, Harry Potter).
What an amazing guy, what on-screen presence.

I suppose he must be quite "present" off screen too.

Anyhow, the whole thing happens in South Boston.
South Boston is an amazing place, one of the historic US East-Coast classic neighborhoods.
Dirty bricked walls, dirty wooden walls, dirty narrow streets. The whole thing reflecting the sun as its rays strike on the surfaces soaked by the recent rain.
At least that's what it looks like in my mind.

It's a tale of two brothers, raised in a poor traditional black-Irish-catholic family.
One of them is good.
the other, ...the other is less good let's say.

And shit happens.

7.5/10 seems fair



NB: Lords of Dogtown has a 6.8 on IMDB. This, is not a reflection of reality, and no, I don't mean that it deserved more.

Rescue Dawn (2006)

Rescue Dawn



the movie is from 2006, but got released to theaters in 2007.

it barely had any promotion

Yet, it's a fucking great movie.

Why it didn't get more recognition is beyond me.

I started watching the movie knowing NOTHING about it except for one fact.

the lead character was played by Christian Bale

He plays the role of Dieter Dangler, a US pilot, on a secret mission in Laos who gets intercepted, crashes, but survives.
The whole thing is a true story.
A story that blew my mind. especially the beginning of the movie, where right after the crash you follow him, in silence, as he moves through the Jungle, trying to escape enemy fire.
The whole thing with minimum special effects, very realistic. Documentary style, with a matte image (as opposed to glossy, nice production, lets make this look good thing).

I still don't understand why NO-ONE I know has ever heard of this movie.

What the fuck happened during promotion? seriously?
or am I completely wrong, is this a piece of garbage?
All I know is I loved it

Nave #527 (2008)

Nave#527
Which I would translate to "Warehouse n°527"

Kai wakes up in a strange place. He's confused and feels sick.
He can’t remember anything,
He can’t find his way out.
A strange man dressed in black appears suddenly,
asking him about a girl: Luna.
Kai doesn’t know what he's talking about.

This Short is Directed by a friend of mine: Ivan Castell
a promising talent from Spain
I love the guy, so I can't be very objective about this.
there's a pretty strong atmosphere in the story.
it makes you feel as though as if you were inside the warehouse, witnessing it all, powerless.
The photography is excellent
the acting is decent
enjoy

Nave #527 (english subtitles)

Descent (2007) vs Irreversible (2002)

Last weekend I watched Descent



It's the story of a beutiful girl who gets raped and gets her revenge.

It's all quite dark, and calm.

Rosario Dawson is gorgeous.
Going from prude, to traumatised, to angry, to sensual, to angrier

Only a few elements saved this movie
-the photography and filmography are really good.
-Rosario Dawson is great, I mean, she looks great

However
-the acting is overall just horrible.
-the reason you don't notice that the acting is that bad is because there is very little dialog. the movie is really saved because of its soothing visuals.

This movie got an NC-17 rating. Sure there is no gore, and no explicit sexual content. However, the ending of the movie requires a rather "open mind".
I am surprised it didn't get an R rating to be honest.

I will give it a 6.0 (6 is my passing grade), just because it managed to keep me entertained enough to watch it all the way through.
It's a good movie to empty your brain on.



In any case, it reminded me of Irreversible
Another movie about a hot girl getting raped.



I had never been a fan of Monica Bellucci until I saw this movie.
This usually gets me into trouble with all my female friends as they all keep ranting about how horrible the rape scene is, and how horrible the violence is.
But "it's a movie !!", it's "fiction", and I have almost never seen a woman be so attactive EVER!

This being said,
-yes the level of violence is particularly spectacular.
-the opening scene got me so dizzy I almost puked (camera movement along house walls). And I felt nothing when I watched Blair Witch Project in a theatre.

And, Irreversible has one of the BEST soundtracks in history.
Composed by Thomas Bangalter (the better half of Daft Funk)
Listen to the OST Here

In short, Irreversible is a must watch.
but I will conceed that it is a "hard" watch

I give this one an 8.
for:
-it's original narration
-the crude style. mostly steady cams, long one-shot sequences.
-monica bellucci's dress
-the music (if you're intro electro/french touch that is)

Scum - 1979

Scum is really a little treasure of a Movie

It is set in a British Borstal for young offenders.
By offenders I mean thieves, killers, rapists, assailants of all kinds and other examples of teenage psychotic idiosyncrasy.

I really stumbled upon this one
I really enjoyed it
It takes about 15 minutes to settle into the accent. Once you're in...you're hooked.

The violence is absolutely primitive.
No time for CGI nor censorship.

These guys hate each other and its all about survival.

Bonus points for
-Drugs
-Violence (all kinds of beating)
-blatant display of racism
-blatant display of responding to racism
-the most awesome cursing in history
-The UK in the 70's, the only worse place in the world at the time was probably somewhere around Congo, or maybe Central Eastern Asia, or Chile or....well, you see what I mean, it kinda sucked balls.
-oh, and gang rape (if you find me a recent non-pornographic movie where 2 teenage boys gang-rape another one...i'll send you a medal)

It's the kind of movie that was once made, and would never see the light today under the current PC climate.
according to imdb, they tried to ban it. I am not surprised. I am glad they didn't though.

I have to give it a personal 8.5, only for the language.
I was amazed from beginning to end.

And Justice For All - 1979

And Justice For All

I decided to watch this movie for 2 reasons
1)I knew the name from the decent Metallica album (not their best, I know, I know, but there's some great stuff in there, like "Blackened" but this is a whole different story
2)Al Pacino - Yes, although he now spends his career either resting or overacting, in the 70's and 80's he was fucking awesome
3)It's a lesser known movie for those of my generation, I discovered it by chance
Did I say 2 reasons?

Anyway

The movie tells the tale of a lawyer who believes in helping people.
A rebel in the courtroom, litigating against tough unfair or bizarre judges.
One of these judges is an absolute asshole.
Another one wants to kill himself and keeps displaying heavy suicidal behavior.

The lawyers are also pretty crazy
His best friend ends up in the loony bin after one of his clients kills again
Another of his colleagues is too busy to do his job - hence the moral lesson.

Overall, it was a way too moralistic movie about how crooked the legal system is and how the real heroes (lawyers) can save the values of the founding fathers of the great U-S-of-A.

However, the setting
-crappy courtrooms
-dirty streets, corridors, people
-the slang...aah the slang of the 70's, I could write a thesis about this
-no gratuitous token black guy
-the cars
makes it all worthy.

On my personal barometer I would rate it as a 7/10. On IMDB it's at 7.2.
definitely watchable, educative (especially if you love the period), but not legendary.

Trailer