Film is Pwn

There are two types of movies I particularly like blogging about. 1) Fun/bad movies like cheesy Jean-Claude Van Damme action movies ; and 2) Movies that I personally really like that I think the majority of people are not aware of. Shattered Glass and Abominable are good examples of the second category, flicks that I get to empty my adjective bazooka (astounding!). So getting back to more of the second category, let’s talk about comedies in general and a little gem I stumbled over quite by accident, 1997’s The Wrong Guy.

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Superheroes are always a delicate balance in story telling. While we want and expect them to be – well – super, but we really love them because of their weaknesses. Peter Parker (Spider Man) for example, we love his reluctance to accept all of the details that come with being a super hero. We enjoy that he can’t accomplish the basic things we easily find time to do, like make it to a play at 8pm or attend a college class. Superman is complicated because he is so all around powerful that his weakness like Spider Man is really in his ordinary life as an ordinary person.

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Generally speaking, movies don’t change lives. At best, a really powerful movie that catches the right person at the right time can persuade them on a certain issue or convince another person to change in one aspect or another. Movies can inspire people in some cases and many people help learn languages from watching movies from that country, but more often than not a motion picture is little more than a pleasant (or sometimes not so pleasant) diversion. One movie that most definitely changed a life is Errol Morris’ documentary “The Thin Blue Line.” This movie got a man who had been convicted of murder acquitted. Now THAT is impressive.

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 This is a rather momentous occasion for film.ispwn.com, because I am posting the very first review of a movie currently in theaters: Anamorph. Strangely, it is also the first blog on a film in which I fast-forwarded to get through. You see, Anamorph is currently in limited release in select markets, and is available on my cable’s Movies InDemand service, i.e. pay-per-view. And that’s why, as I laid on my couch with an aching back from helping a friend move and therefore unable to do anything physical beyond clicking the remote, I sadly clicked and bought this little waste of time. I can summarize the movie in five simple words: I Hated It. A Lot. And this isn’t the kind of “Bad Movies We Love” hate; this is a more visceral hatred.

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I am writing this portion of the blog in anticipation of watching the monster movie Cloverfield. I’ll review the movie in a second, but I wanted to try something different and record my thoughts prior to seeing the film itself. For those who don’t know, Cloverfield is not a movie about Lucky Charms or a magic cornfield where Irish baseball players emerge, it’s a monster attacks New York City movie. I remember seeing the theatrical trailer and being very intrigued. It was a very good trailer for the express purpose that it gave next to nothing away.  It’s a teaser, which is my kind of preview, to be sure.

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I’ve said it before: I love spy movies. When the first Bourne movie came out I liked it a lot. But there are better spy movies out there, The French Connection for example, so when the second was announced I was excited but not too excited.

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Let me start by saying that the latest attempt at catching on the Jane Austen classic Pride and Prejudice was my first experience with the story. When I saw this movie the first time I knew nothing about the about Liz and her feistiness, nor did I know about Jane’s subtle manner. I didn’t understand quite what kind of person could take a certain pride in their prejudice as Darcey does. I never considered a silly, kindly man of the classic British aristocracy a possibility like Bingley. I suppose what I’m saying is that this was a complete surprise.

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This is the second in the series of blogs on the movies that didn’t quite make my personal top ten favorite films of all time (in a coming soon film.ispwn.com podcast).  The last one was Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie, which was based on my favorite TV show ever but I couldn’t bring myself to place in the top ten simply because it would have been for the love of the show more than the movie.  Another personal favorite is . . . (dramatic pause) . . . THE THREE AMIGOS.  Yes, the ’86 comedy starring Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, and Martin Short.  This is one you probably won’t find on any legitimate film critic’s list of top thousand favorite movies, but I am fortunately no legitimate film critic.  If I were a paid critic, I’d have actually have had to watch grotesque movies like Hostel 2, which I’ll never do.

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In order to explain why I am writing a public request for forgiveness to a movie I absolutely adore, I must allow to slip a little bit of film.ispwn.com news: Tom Stephens and I recently recorded the first in what we plan on making a weekly series of movie podcasts that will * knock on wood * available in a matter of hours on the website.  The first podcast was a lot of fun to do, and I hope everyone checks it out as we discuss what we think is an interesting topic, how evironment, mood, and circumstances impact your enjoyment of movies. We laughed with each other and at each other, so if you don’t laugh that makes us very sad.

Although not in the first podcast but in the very near future we will cover each of our ten FAVORITE movies.  Well before recording the podcast, I began to cull the proverbial herd of the dozens upon dozens of movies that I treasure and whittle it down to ten, which isn’t an easy process.  And, I’m sorry, Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (a.k.a. MST3K: TM for short), you are not on the list.  This hurts me more than it does you.

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The Proposition is a movie few of you have even know the title; yet it was definitely one of the best westerns I’ve ever seen. I call it savage because I can’t think of anything else that fits. The opening credits are ominously foreshadowing as a small child, innocent sounding sings of a better land far far away. The Proposition is violent because the world the characters live in is no different.

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Few would argue that the vast majority of Hollywood, big studio releases is less than original. Here on the eve of Summer 2008 blockbuster season we’re looking at months of big-time movies either based on comic books, popular novels, old TV shows, old movies being remade, and the never failing sequel. Many are combinations of two or more of the aforementioned “safe bets.” Why just to hammer my point home, 2007’s Will Smith picture I Am Legend was actually based on a novel and happened to be the THIRD film adaptation of said book.

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In an earlier review I spoke fondly of Abominable, a monster movie that debuted on the Sci-Fi Channel one Saturday night and took me by surprise by its multiple redeeming qualities. Another monster movie making a similar premiere with similar budget constraints is perhaps the epitome of the wonderfully awful monster movies that I love so much. I am talking about none other than the 2005 direct-to-the-discount-dvd-bin Pterodactyl.

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