Waterworld (1995)

Waterworld
1995
Dir. Kevin Reynolds

How do you go about expressing your undying love for a movie that most people seem to revile? How do you go about enlightening the nay sayers, the detractors and the haters?
Waterworld has, in many ways, the same appeal as "Starship Troopers"; it's essentially a B movie with a summer blockbuster budget. Watching this movie is like seeing what would happen if you took a "SyFy original movie" script and threw in some talent and $175,000,000.
None of that is a bad thing, by the way.
This is one of the few movies where Kevin Costner isn't a repulsive ass, and one of the many where Dennis Hopper proves he is one of the most entertaining actors in Hollywood (doubt me? check out "Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2").
Sure, there are a couple places where the logic and the reality of the movie don't quite meet: the bad guys travel around in what seems to be an oil-tanker fused to an island, they propel it with massive oars. Kevin Costner has gills. Somehow people are building mini-cities on top of water...
But I ask you this: what about ANY of that doesn't sound fucking great? Seriously.
Lastly though, we must apply the canceled show rule. This rule states that if a cast member from a great, but canceled-to-early show appears in a film, the fun quotient goes up a few. In this case, the show is Veronica Mars and the cast member is Tina Majorino.
There is a lot wrong with this movie, but none of it matters. The movie is too much fun to ignore.




Apologies for rambling

Big Fan (2009)

Big Fan
2009
Dir. Robert D. Siegel

I'll start with the good:
Patton Oswalt is phenomenal in the lead. His situation is absurd, and it took a while for me to realize just how "sick" the character is, but you suffer with him throughout the movie. The supporting cast is also above average, but aside from Kevin Corrigan (his performance is also pretty damn good) they're nothing to write home about.
Now the bad:
This is one of the better examples of a movie not being able to find itself. It's pretty clear they were going for some sort of "dark" comedy, but it just isn't here. The material is ripe for a strong, dark comedy, but there is such an over-abundance of light humor interspersed throughout that the movie just feels confused. I'm sure a lot of this is a result of the focus on Oswalt's character, who is himself extremely confused person, and in that sense the tone certainly fits, but what can I say? it just didn't really work for me...
Over all though, it's definitely worth a watch if for nothing more than Oswalt's performance (and Corrigan's for that matter).




apologies for rambling

Easier With Practice (2009)

Easier With Practice
2009
Dir. Kyle Patrick Alvarez

Independent movies aren't usually my thing. I know how general a statement that is but when you talk about Independent Film as a genre, there is a template that comes to mind and "Easier With Practice" fits perfectly inside that template.
Anyways, I liked the movie. The quiet, contemplating tone (something that lasts for the duration) forces you to wallow in the awkwardness of the movie, and given the movies plot, there's a lot of it.
The movie hinges on a handful of one on one scenes between the main character and various people in his life. For the most part, theses scenes are played very well and as such, were the only thing keeping me from pausing the movie and stepping back from the (using this word to many times) awkwardness of it.
I guess the movie needs to be processed. Frankly, it's a small, short movie but it's very understated and there's a lot to think about here.




Apologies if I rambled

In The Company of Men (1997)

In The Company of Men
1997
Dir. Neil LaBute

I've been looking forward to this movie for a while, after having read good things about it. It always seemed interesting, and it was, but it wasn't exactly what I expected. For starters, it was much crueler than I ever thought it would be (not a bad thing). The characters, their lives and actions... it was all so depressing, but it was presented in this strange, delusional light. No one is aware of just how miserable they are (except for Howard, but he is too weak to ever do anything productive in changing this).
The three performances at the core of the movie are remarkably strong, carrying the brunt of the film. There is nothing here that really amounts to a "supporting role", as it's basically just the three characters.
The movie is presented with this disjointed feel. It's like watching a series of short, connecting skits (a serial would be an appropriate comparison I guess). It works for the most part but it's a bit disconcerting initially.
Lastly, without going into detail, the end of the movie is phenomenal.




Apologies if I rambled

The Idea

It's been a long time coming, but I finally decided to get Netflix. I've been powering through my queue and here I am. The idea is that I'm going to review these movies withing a few hours of watching them. These won't be refined reviews, but rather pretty brief, immediate reactions.
I understand that some movies need to be processed, and that an immediate reaction can not possibly do them justice, but there are other movies that are about the immediate reaction.
This is something of an experiment for me, so consistency probably won't be a major player here, but it's my blog and it's not like anyone's reading it...
(cue sad music)