Week off Movies

Taking a week off has given me time to watch some movies!

Date Movie - Scary Movie, although never consistently funny, really took off with 3. Horror movies are perfect fodder for parody. By definition, horror movies have to take themselves seriously to convey their spookiness, so it's perfect to make fun of. Date Movie tries to do the same thing, only they take their subject matter from relationship comedies. (Mostly the Farrely Brothers.) The problem? Instead of coming across as a parody, it's a rehash of better jokes. It's hard to make fun of something that was already hilarious. Stll, I never get tired of Ally Hannigan, no matter what she's in. Most of the jokes are still funny and there's some really gross stuff that is hilarious. I'm glad I watched it, but it's nothing worth going out of one's way for.

The Producers - On the other hand, the Producers was a riot! Beautifully shot, I got the impression I was watching a classic musical from the 60s! I had more fun watching it than any movie I've seen in a long time. It's obvious why the play has become legendary. This movie is the real deal, the great American Broadway show. It's hilarious, and I was smiling from beginning to end. Uma Thurman proves definitively that she can do anything. She's come a long way since playing Aphrodite in Terry Gilliam's Baron Munchausen.

Underworld Evolution- Better than the first. It actually makes the first seem less hollow. I always thought that Underworld SHOULD have been a great movie, but the story never quite caught up with the brilliance of the effects. In Evolution, the story is a bit more solid and actually sheds new light on the events of the first movie. Plus, most importantly, we figure out how to take off her rubber suit.

What the Bleep Do We Know? - This one took some patience to get into. A collection of scientistists, mystics, and philosophers explain how the reality we know is a reflection of our consciousness. It gets pretty deep, but a story thread with Mary Maitland keeps the story moving along. Mind expanding if you can stick with it.

The Quartermass Experiment- 1955 Hammer House movies. A rocket crashes to earth with a single survivor who begins to change into something more than human. This is an adaptation of the purportedly classic BBC Quartermass Experiment TV series (1953.) This movie is drawn out and lacks focus...it was hard to watch. Not recommended.

Laserblast - I met Charles Band at DragonCon last year. He told me that if I insisted on seeing his first movie "Laserblast," I should watch the MST3K version. That's exactly what I did, and thank goodness! Chuck was right on the money...Laserblast is not a movie to enjoy, it's a movie to sit aside and avoid. (The stop motion aliens WERE cool.)

Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream - An interesting documentary about the original cult midnight movies: Rocky Horror, Night of the Living Dead, The Harder They Come, Eraserhead, Pink Flamingos, and, a movie I'd never even heard of before, El Topo. This movie is the best explaination I've seen of the rise of the cheap-ass movie. I've acquired El Topo, apparently, it's an acid western. It's super violent, viscious, and full of allegory. I'm excited to watch it.

Unknown White Male - The story of the filmmaker's friend who was found on Coney Island with retrograde amnesia. He then has to rebuild his life not knowing who he was or remembering any details of his former life. I thought it was a bit self-indulgent, but an interesting view of where personality comes from. After the amnesia, one of his old buddies says that he misses the cynical nature of who he used to be, he said the new guy was mush more easy going and optimistic. In the end, the documentary ends, having no resolution.

Those are all I can think of. More when the urge hits me!