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