A Little Rant

I know I haven't posted anything in a while. It's not like I haven't watched any movies or anything;  it's just that I don't have the time to write about them. I've had a CRAZY, movie filled summer. And now, it is back to the grind of school and procrastinating doing my homework by watching movies.

Of course, my routine is going to be a little bit more difficult as I will be deleting the streaming portion of my Netflix account sometime in the next seven days. I know, there are probably already a million blogs out there on the Web bitching about Netflix's price increases. You are probably also thinking to yourself, "Aren't you a little behind in writing this. I mean the price increase was announced ages ago."

Well, you are certainly correct in thinking that. The thing is, it just now started sinking in that I will no longer be able to watch a movie or tv show whenever I feel like it. I will have to wait for it to come in the mail. 

You might then wonder why I am choosing to delete the streaming and not the DVD option, if I am not patient enough to get my movies in the mail. My response to you is that I have 300 movies on my DVD queue and only 11 of those I can watch streaming. Which seems like it is worth the $7.99 price tag to you?

I really don't understand why people are choosing to go with the streaming only option. That's where Netflix is screwing everyone over with this upcoming price increase.

Oh well, I will enjoy those $2 that I will be saving every month on my Netflix bill. Maybe when I graduate college and get a full-time job (maybe, hopefully) I will be able to afford that $16 price tag. But for now, I am going to have to make sacrifices.

Who knows, maybe now I will be more active instead of watching movies all day....Who am I kidding? I'm just going to start watching more of the crap on youtube. Thanks Netflix, now I'm going to be watching some fat guy and his family on youtube instead of watching classic cinema. 

Ok. End Rant.

I'm sorry if you actually read all that. It probably wasn't all that interesting...

Midnight in Paris

I went to see Woody Allen's new movie Midnight in Paris this past weekend. I really LOVED it. It is probably my all-time favorite Woody Allen movie, and easily one of my favorite movies. I seriously can't wait to see it again (which may actually be a while because I'm not one to go see a movie multiple times in theaters).

I may be a bit sacrilegious here, but I'm going to be honest. I actually think that the newer Woody Allen films are much, much better than his earlier work. To be fair, I've only seen some of his films and not all of them. So I should probably just shut my trap, while I'm still ahead...

Thinking about it, I think I should probably rephrase my last paragraph to say I prefer Woody Allen films that incorporate the supernatural. Seriously, my favorite Woody Allen films (in order) are Midnight in Paris, Scoop, and The Purple Rose of Cairo. What do all of these movies have in common? The supernatural.

Getting back to Midnight in Paris, I should just say you should go see it. Seriously, I mean it. Especially if you know any major figures from the 1920s. If you don't thats ok, you might learn something interesting. If you do, the caricatures are hilarious.

I really never know how much to say about the movies I am writing about. I mean, I want to say what I think about them and justify my opinions, but I don't want to go into too much detail and give the movie away. This is the first "new" movie I am writing about, so I feel I should be extra cautious of this line.

I think I'll probably leave you with this. Owen Wilson does a superb job playing the "Woody Allen character," the setting is gorgeous (to be fair I am a total francophile), and the plot and dialogue were both brilliant. Seriously, find a theater near you that is playing it and go see Midnight in Paris. You won't regret it!

New Favorite Movie

There is something you should probably know about me. I do not have a favorite movie. If you ask me what my favorite movie is, I will stammer until you give upon getting an answer to the question.

I do have a list of favorite movies. When I see a movie I really love, I exclaim (usually in my head), "New movie added to the list!" Of course, about a day or two later I completely forget that there is a movie on this list. See, this list is in my mind and nothing really sticks in my mind. So therefore, I have no answer for people who feel the need to ask me what my favorite movie is.

Anyways, I saw a movie last night that immediately made it onto my (nonexistent) list of favorite movies.

This movie is a little flick called Illusion by Michael A. Goorjian (who is really hot by the way). Its basically the story of a dying film director who watches important scenes from his son's life. I don't really want to say anything more about it because I don't want to ruin it. Its truly superb, and beautiful. I won't go so far as to say masterful, but it should certainly be more well known.

Please. I beg you to go and watch this movie. I don't care how you get your hands on it, just watch it.

If anything, just watch it to see Kirk Douglas.

Blood, Gore and More

I know a guy who absolutely worships Quentin Tarantino. Like, seriously. He tried to make his thesis film as a rough adaptation of Reservoir Dogs (fortunately he ended up doing something else).

At the time, I hadn't really seen a whole lot of Tarantino films, so I just kind of went along with it. Well, if you didn't know, at the beginning of the month Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs were added to Netflix's Instant stock. So I figured I would watch them.

They are supposed to be some sort of classics of deconstruction, right?

Honestly, I got nothing of the sort from them. Both films simply seemed like they were the work of an immature boy who likes guns and doesn't really know what to do with them. They are chock full of violence, people being shot throughout the vast majority of the films.

I am clearly not a guy. I am a girl. An extremely pacifist girl to be exact. I did not get the appeal of either of these films. I will watch Kill Bill once my Netflix queue gets around to it, but I know I probably will not enjoy it.

Benny & Joon

Why have I never seen this movie before? Seriously, why?

It has everything I love in a movie all wrapped up into one:
-a quirky love story
-a young Johnny Depp
-a cheesy happy ending
-a young Johnny Depp
-lots of references to old movies
-oh yeah, did I say a young Johnny Depp already?

Its a wonderfully cute little movie that is so sickly sweet you can't help but walk away with a sugar high. I mean seriously, Johnny Depp portrays the most adorable illiterate young man in the history of the world.

There is only one question I have about this movie, that has really been bugging me since I watched it the other day. Was Sam (Johnny Depp's character) actually illiterate?

I mean, the first time you see him, it appears that he is reading a book on Buster Keaton. Then they say he is illiterate, and it is shown several times throughout the film. As Sam imitates Buster Keaton throughout the film, I feel this just might be another imitation. Does anyone know if Buster Keaton was literate or not?

This will probably bother me for a while, but it really does not detract from the movie. If anything it adds an additional layer of intrigue. If you like romantic movies, then I highly recommend this film to you.

Big Nothing

I just watched this little film called the Big Nothing.

The story is about a man who gets sucked into an endeavor to extort $100,000 from a local reverend. Unfortunately (for the characters, not the viewers), things quickly escalate to levels completely unexpected. Things quickly go from bad to worse, and it is an incredibly entertaining ride. Simon Pegg and David Schwimmer work wonders together.

This film is pretty amazing--if you like dark humor, that is. I'm kind of depressed that I had never heard of this film before.

I found it at my neighborhood Blockbuster's going out of business sale for a buck. I figured, "What the hell, it's only a dollar right?" I am so glad I spent that dollar on this film.

Is it the best movie ever made? No. Is it fun and a great way to spend an hour and a half? Absolutely.

I meant to post something about Funny Girl on this blog, but I ran out of time to write about it after I watched it yesterday. I think I'll just say that I really enjoyed it, even though I was raised in a house where we did NOT like Barbra Streisand (I don't know why).

The thing is, while I kind of want to talk about that movie, another part of me feels like this post should be dedicated to what I did today, which was work on my first ever feature film shoot.

Decisions, decisions.

I suppose I'll just leave it at the fact that I'm tired and don't really feel like I have anything to say about either experience. Maybe later I'll say something more substantial.

Just for kicks, here is a clip from Funny Girl.

I think its time for an Intervention

I just got back from seeing The Hangover: Part II

That was an awkward film. I'm pretty sure I'm scarred for life, now.

Like any other review you will find of this movie, I am going to point out that it is almost a complete carbon copy of the original. Substitute a monkey for the baby and a prodigal son for Doug, and it is literally the same movie.

I guess if it works, keep remaking it until it stops working...

What made the first one great was that it was fresh. No one had ever seen anything like it before. Part II doesn't have that going for it.

Honestly, it did have some funny parts. My favorite scene from the entire movie is at the rehearsal dinner. It was hilarious. After that scene, the film just progressively got worse.

I personally do not recommend this movie. Just go watch the first one again, because it really is better. A sequel should at least be somewhat original. Jon Lucas, Scott Moore, why oh why did you not come back to write the sequel. It was your genius that made the film great in the first place.

Redrum

Today, I was looking at my Netflix Instant Queue and noticed The Shining won't be available after June 1st. So of course, I decided I should watch it while I can. Mistake? Perhaps.

See, I am currently home alone, and will be for another couple days. So I might have some difficulty sleeping tonight. Oh well. Who needs sleep anyways, right?

I'm not actually a big fan of Kubrick, but I do feel the need to watch his films. Probably something to do with the fact he is a film god or something like that. So, I watched the movie.

Actually, I was really excited for the first half of the film. This could have something to do with the establishing shot of the apartment. Yeah, that 2 second shot within the first 5 minutes of the film. I've lived in that building. It was exciting.

Unfortunately, my enthusiasm waned as the film progressed. I mean, its not a bad movie. It's a classic for Christsakes. It's just I really don't like horror movies. To be fair, films like these are so much better than Saw 3d or whatever horror movies are in theaters nowadays, but still.

All I could think about while Shelley Duvall was running around flapping her arms was, "Didn't anyone tell you not to run with sharp objects that could kill you?" I mean seriously, I was kind of hoping she would die by the end. And I'm not the kind of person who likes it when everyone dies in a movie. That says a lot about how obnoxious her character was. I was rooting for Jack Nicholson's character! Eeek...

As for Jack Nicholson, oh boy. Jack Nicholson has always creeped me out. I never really knew what about him was so creepy, until I watched this movie. He just has the crazy person look or something. Which I suppose says a lot about the casting director for this film. Way to go--lemme look it up---James Liggat. You go James Liggat! This film was perfectly cast.

If you want to be seriously creeped out, this is one of the creepiest films I have ever seen. So I recommend it. If you are like my roommate and hate being scared, stay far, far away from this movie. I would post the trailer or something, but I figure most people already know what it's about. If you really need to see one, leave a comment and I might get back to you. Or just look it up on Youtube.

Unconscious

Unconscious is a Spanish film from director Joaquin Oristrell.

This film is an homage to psychoanalytic theory and Freud. It is a pretty crazy film that ends up in places you would never begin to imagine--like a porn studio and a transvestite party.

One would imagine that a film about psychoanalytic theory would be pretty heavy, which it can be. Some of what occurs in this film hearkens back to Greek tragedy. Overall, though, this movie is really a comedy. There are some very funny parts.

While not particularly revolutionary in any way, it is certainly well written and well acted. The dialogue (well, at least the subtitles) was incredibly witty. It was also an intelligent film, not assuming the audience would not get any references to the classics like most of the drivel coming out of Hollywood nowadays (don't get me wrong, I like that too). 

It was well composed in every way imaginable. If you enjoy adult (very adult) humor, his is a great film to watch. If you are uncomfortable with sex, you should stay away from this film (as well as many European films).

You are probably thinking something along the lines of, "Gee thanks, Kim. Now I know what your opinion of this film is, but for God's sake what is it about?"

I'll tell you. This is a film about a woman whose husband, an important psychoanalyst, leaves her and disappears. She enlists her brother-in-law, her husband's best friend, to help her find him. Along the way, they get into some very interesting situations. I would tell you more, but it might ruin the movie for you if you are so inclined to watch it. I have attached the trailer for your viewing pleasure. 

Intro

Hello, vacuum that is the Internet.

After keeping up with my last blog failed miserably (I had nowhere near enough time to post once a day for a year) I thought I'd try this thing-y again. Instead, giving myself a more open guideline for what to write about.

Seriously.

The goal of this blog is going to give me an outlet to post my thoughts about movies. Both movies that I have seen recently (which may or may not be new releases (most likely not)) as well as my experiences in the film world. I will not be posting every day. I might post every month. We shall see.

I just wanted to form a creative outlet for me to talk about what I am the most passionate about--movies.

And (for anyone who happens upon this blog) hopefully I will be able to introduce you to some unique movies that most people haven't heard about, and maybe some you have heard about.

I currently have 320 movies on my netflix DVD queue. Not that I am saying I will post on every single one of them, but that may be my current goal.

Let's begin, shall we?