Machete Review

Wow! Machete was crazy and when I say crazy I mean crazy. First off this movie really isn't for the faint of heart. There's a ton of violence that's consistent throughout the whole thing which makes sense considering that this movie is something of a spoof on exploitation films from back in the day. The violence is really over blown and cartoonish in someways which is sort of the style these days. You either like it or you don't. Personally I found myself laughing at most of it. It's sort of so sick that you have to laugh. I don't know if that's good or bad but I can say I did find myself laughin'.



Aside from the violence the plot is also out of control. Think Charlie Manson type race wars but between Mexicans and Whites instead of Blacks and Whites but if Charlie Manson had more of a self serving drug dealing purposes for starting it all. Yeah, it's out of control.

It's also interesting to note that this movie has a political agenda which is a big part of the theme. It's not subtle about it either(nothing about this movie is subtle). I'm not going to say if I'm for it or against it or even what it is, just letting you know it's there and very loud. I prefer subtle most of the time but it's fine for this movie just because everything else is more of less screamed in your face so for better or worse it fits.

Just some random points of interest. First this movie is random. Steven Seagal is Mexican but for some reason runs around with Samurai swords, Lindsay Lohan gets dressed up as a nun and I don't know. There's a bunch of other weird shit. Oh, and Lohan's boobs are there for the peepin'. So, yeah, that might mean something to ya or not. Have fun!

Suck Review

Suck was another feature I wound up seeing at this years Newport Beach Film Festival. It's a story about a Canadian rock band that sucks. Luckily for them they all get turned into vampires that instinctively know how to kick some ass. This was a fun premise that worked and made for a lot of laughs. Sometimes films at these festivals take themselves a little too seriously. This was not one of those films and I had a great time.

The guests appearances in the movie were cool. Alice Cooper plays the main guru to his rock and roll vampire band and of course they meet down at the crossroads. There are several other classic rockers that make an appearance. Dimitri Coats, Iggy Pop, Henry Rollins and Moby make up all the other musicians that I noticed which is a lot of rock star power if you think about it. Even Malcolm McDowell(A Clockwork Orange) makes an appearance as the killer of vampires.

Another interesting thing to keep an eye out for if as you're watching is the album cover references. They recreate art work of some classic rock records from The Rolling Stones, T-Rex, The Beatles, The Who and probably a few that I missed. I must admit that I do enjoy the post modern reference game.

If you're looking for an independent movie that's straight up fun and has some rocking tunes I'd absolutely have to recommend Suck!

Newport Beach Film Festival Opening Night

Opening night of the Newport Beach Film Festival started off with a showing of the film Five Star Day. The screening was packed and I've reviewed the film in a previous post if you're interested in seeing it. The red carpet was a good time with a strong showing of press and celebrities. Some of the celebrities included the actors from Five Star Day like Cam Gigandet (who was also in Twilight) and Max Hartman. A few of the Real Housewives of Orange County were also in attendance and people seemed to enjoy the fact that they were there. There was also a pretty strong showing of other celebrities and production people like Charles Hambleton, one of the producers of The Cove.

Following the screening was the opening night gala at Fashion Island. First things first the food was great and extremely varied. There were twenty five different restaurants cooking up various culinary delights so it was guaranteed that you'd find something to enjoy. The gala was one of the best places to be if you were looking to schmooze with people in the industry.
The gala also had it's share of events. The first one being the fashion show presented by Fashion Island. The show featured styles from various shops within Fashion Island so if you were looking for a preview of the spring lineup this was it.

Next up was a performance by Cirque du Soleil. I'd never actually seen anything from them before but this was rather interesting. Some of the gymnastic abilities of the performers were nothing short of astonishing. I still can't believe that a guy can do a handstand on another guys feet while he's doing something of a handstand. It looked rather dangerous which made it quite exciting.

The opening night festivities at the Newport Beach Film Festival were all enjoyable and if you missed it this year there's always next spring.

Five Star Day Review

Five Star Day was the opening night film at the Newport Beach Film Festival and it was a pretty solid selection. This film follows a student around (Cam Gigandet) as he tries to prove that astrology is a bunch of bull. He tries to do this by comparing the recent birthdays of three other people that were born within minutes of him at the same hospital. The logic is that they'll all have the same exact horoscope and should all end up having pretty much the same day. Of course since it's their birthdays that they're comparing they should all be having a "five star day".

So why pick such a topic for a paper? Well, there's a girl involved of course. I don't want to give anything away but there is a cool love story here that drives the film along. Along with that there's the ever pressing question of fate vs free will that's explored. So this movie does have several different elements to it that keeps it engaging throughout.

Along with the unique premise is some solid acting. I especially liked Max Hartman as the hard partying lounge singer. One of the most charming moments of the film must have been his impersonation of Dr. Strangelove. It was unexpected, fun and spot on. Plus I love that movie. Cam Gigandet was also good and able to carry the lead. So if this seems like your type of movie and you get the chance definitely check it out.

The 80's A Decade In Review

For me the 80's is probably my absolute favorite decade for movies. It just had so many amazingly enduring pop culture films. This list might get long on me as I know there are going to be a ton of movies I feel need to be included. Also, take the numbering with a grain of salt because it was almost impossible to decide which movie deserved the number one spot. Action, comedies, slasher, and some of the best adventure films of all time. 80's films owned. What else can you say?



1. Back to the Future - Heavy
2. Caddyshack - I always thought this was a 70's movie. Nope, 1980.
3. Platoon - Great stuff from Oliver Stone.
4. Die Hard - One of the best action movies ever.
5. Beetlejuice - My favorite Tim Burton film.
6. Ghostbusters - Bill Murray is gonna show up on this list a few times.
7. Raiders of the Lost Arc - Spielberg is also gonna pop up more than once as well.
8. Vacation - Christmas Vacation was also amazing.
9. ET - More Spielberg, naturally.
10. 48hrs - Best buddy cop film ever!
11. Full Metal Jacket - Coolest, most absurd ending ever.
12. Weird Science - John Hughes had to pop up once and since I'm a guy, Weird Science.
13. The Goonies - Great pop flick.
14. Parenthood - My favorite Steve Martin film.
15. A nightmare on Elm Street - The remake comes out soon!
16. Lethal Weapon - The second best buddy cop film.
17. The Terminator - This scared the hell out of me as a kid.
18. Top Gun - "I'll engage when I'm God damn good and ready".
19. Risky Business - More Tom Cruise.
20. Friday the 13th - Scariest last scare when I thought it was already over.
21. Beverly Hills Cop - Eddie Murphy was great throughout the 80's.
22. An Officer and a Gentleman - When you've got no place else to go...
23. The Shining - I don't care that Stephen King didn't like it.
24. Splash - Tom Hanks evolves back into something amphibious for love. Awesome.
25. Fast Times at Ridgemont High - Classic teen flick.

The Men Who Stare at Goats

I must say that I enjoyed this film way more than I expected. It's a funny off beat comedy starring Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey, Ewen McGregor and George Clooney. I really expected this movie to be stupid and in a really annoying way but it turned out to actually be entertaining. I don't know why I thought this going in, I guess the trailer I saw just didn't work for me(maybe I was just in a grumpy mood). Sometimes entering a movie with low expectations can result in a really nice surprise.

Okay, so this movie is rather ridiculous. It's about a team of Army soldiers who are with a special unit that supposedly has super powers. Things like walking through walls, remote viewing, all the normal super power stuff. Ewen McGregor is a reporter that tags along with George Clooney on some random mission into Iraq. It turns out that Ewen McGregor has super powers as well and the universe actually sent him on this mission. Don't ask me exactly what that mission was though as I'm still not one hundred percent certain. It did seem to have a lot to do with taking acid and freeing goats.

Overall the acting in the movie was great. I especially liked Kevin Spacey playing the total dick head which seems to be a role that suits him. I'm not trying to put Kevin Spacey down here, I love watching him play these types of characters especially in a movie that isn't meant to be taken all that seriously. Tricking a guy into taking acid then freaking him out with by flicking a light in his face was pretty funny. The rest of the cast was solid as well. Jeff Bridges was another standout as the total hippie but the entire cast was great.

The only thing negative that I can say about this movie was it seemed a little thin in terms of plot. This caused the movie to slow down here or there. Luckily there was enough goofy humor and old school rock tunes to keep me involved. If your looking for something fun I'd definitely recommend this movie. I give it a B+.

Green Zone Review

This was a movie that I thought had a lot of promise featuring Matt Damon and the director of the Bourne movies. Unfortunately, it isn't nearly as good as any of the Bourne movies. It's about the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Now here's a shocker, they don't find any. This movie was actually a lot like watching the news way back in 2003. Which is to say that it was old news.

On top of that the cinematography was a little annoying. They tried to tie the movie together with annoying camera movements, quick zooms and having weird fast focusing(and a lot of random blurriness). I didn't like this at all and I'm sure they thought it might make it seem more exciting but it really didn't work for me.

In short this movie is a rental. I give it a C overall.