SXSW part deux

Capsule movie reviews...coming soon to a theatre near you.


21: About some MIT kids and their professor who have a system to beat Vegas at Blackjack. I remember really liking the story when I first heard about it - unfortunately the movie didn't quite live up to my expectations. The action scenes didn't quite work for me and the movie's pacing wasn't quite right. Still - entertaining. 6.5/10

Run Fatboy Run: Simon Pegg trying to get back in shape to win back his girl. Although the filming got switched from New York to London, the humour only half got translated between american and english. Some parts were a little too 'hollywood' for me. Still - Simon Pegg is hilarious and makes up for any shortcomings in the script. 7/10

Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Another comedy along the lines of 40 year old virgin or Superbad - neither of which I thought were great, so I didn't have any expectations for this one but I was pleasantly surprised. One of the funniest movies I've seen in a long time. Jason Segel does a great job - and if you like musicals about Dracula - well, this movie is for you. 8.5/10

Battle for Seattle. Unfortunately I saw this after Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Boy did I do that in the wrong order. This movie is a fictionalized account of the WTO riots in Seattle in 1999. Terrifically shot movie, but depressing when you realize how little has changed with the world since then. 8/10

Second Skin. A documentary look into people addicted to MMO (massively multiplayer online games). Amusing, but I just find the people in the movie who blame games for their problems kind of sad (not that that was the central thesis of the movie). Maybe I'm biased about stuff like this, but I think an addictive personality is going to find an outlet no matter what. I think the problem lies deeper than the games. 6/10

Frontrunners. An amusing documentary following a SU election in an elite high school in New York. It tried to mirror some of the issues you might see in the larger elections in the states - race, personality vs issues. Not a bad movie, but not as good or amusing as some of the other documentaries of this type from the last couple years (the movie about scrabble players, the movie about spelling bees). 6.5/10

Joy Division. A documentary looking back on the life of this seminal punk band. Quite good - kept me interested in a band I didn't know. The surviving members of this band went on to form New Order, if that name might be more familiar to you. A good period piece on Manchester in the late 70's. 6.5/10

The B-Movie

Did you know that there's a new Rambo movie openning tomorrow?

God bless that Sylvester Stallone. 61 years old and still doing action movies. He's gotta be one of my favorite cheesy movie actors. Demolition Man (who can't appreciate Stallone knitting and a very perky Sandra Bullock), Cliffhanger (who was that girl from Northern Exposure? I always had a crush on her) - heck - let's go back to Death Race 2000 for the ultimate in cheese.

Got a favorite B-Movie?

Refund please

Have you ever been to a movie so bad, so incredibly stupid - that you've actually walked out on it? What happens if it's a stupid dream? How do you walk out on that?
I had a dream where I was back working at my old job. Managing at some crummy retail store. And I was reciting the corporate line - trying to convince the other employees what a great place to work it was. Trying to get them to drink the corporate cool-aid, as it were.
What a crappy waste of a dream that was.
There's an hour of unconsciousness I'll never get back.
I think there's only ever been one actual movie that I've walked out on. Madonna's first movie. What the hell was it called? Desperately Seeking Susan? Don't ask what prompted two teenage boys to go see that - maybe it was the vague hope that she'd get naked. Add that to the list of disappointments about that movie.

Songs on repeat

How often do you get a particular song stuck in your head?

I saw this wonderful movie when I was over in London - 'Once'. Basically, it's about an irish street musician who falls for the right girl at the wrong time - a topic I know absolutely nothing about...
Anyway - the whole movie is filled with fantastic, passionate music - the main actor is the lead singer of the Frames and does an amazing job. I love finding little movies like this - ones that you know nothing about going in, but that captivate you from the first shot till the final credits.
Hopefully it'll be out in Canada eventually...

So I guess it could be worse - I could have some shitty song rattling around up there.