The Filmcake

August 17th – August 23rd

Plan 9 From Outer Space (RiffTrax Live) - This was pretty cool. The RiffTrax guys (formerly of Mystery Science Theater 3000) did a live Riffing of Plan 9 that was broadcast in theaters throughout the country. I wasn’t super blown away with it. It was funny enough. But I’ve seen funnier MST3K’s. That being said, I hope this becomes a regular occurrence (with a different movie getting Riffed). It was well worth the $12.

The Room – A movie so hilarious it doesn’t even need to be Riffed (though it was; slightly better but still not great upon a second listening). This time, we had the pleasure of introducing The Room to my brother-in-law who absolutely loved it. It just doesn’t get old. I think the thing that sets it apart from other horribly bad movies is that it’s very well paced. There aren’t too many boring stretches, which can make a good or bad movie go south quickly.

Inglourious Basterds - Tarantino’s latest. Don’t know if it’s his greatest. And saying it’s “up there” isn’t saying much because he’s only directed 6 films (and they’re all great). It’s offensive, sure. But it’s delightful. It’s a QT classic.

Grindhouse – After Inglourious Basterds, we all needed some more QT brilliance (w/ Robert Rodriguez). And since my DVD Tarantino collection is lacking (I have 2 copies of Reservoir Dogs on DVD, but nothing else), we went with a copy of Grindhouse I’d DVR’ed a few weeks back. This is the first time I’ve revisited the movies in their original Grindhouse format since the movie opened. I like all of the trailers and the back-to-back movies, but I do miss Vanessa Ferlito’s dancing (which appears on the DVD).

The Gore Gore Girls - The last of Herschell Gordon Lewis’s films until (30 years later) 2002′s Blood Feast 2: All U Can Eat. It’s offensive and gross and disgusting. But its so offensive and gross and disgusting that it’s kind of wonderful. For me, the offensiveness of a movie like this (or even Inglourious Basterds) is something completely different than the offensiveness of a movie without a brain for people without brains. The clueless violence and misogyny of mainstream fare approaches a level of offensiveness that truly repulses me. This movie is particularly notable for the bizarre chocolate milk scene and the appearance of Henny Youngman, the rapid-fire comedian most famous for the classic “Take my wife–please” joke.

December 22nd – December 28th

House of Saddam – A somewhat interesting (but not profound) HBO miniseries about the former Iraqi dictator. It was good enough, but it suffered severely from myopia. Taking place almost exclusively at one of Saddam’s palaces, it kept everything focused on Saddam (and his sons). But Iraq is not Saddam only. The Iraqi people were given absolutely no voice in this miniseries. The latest Iraqi invasion wasn’t given much more than a few seconds montage until we abruptly move ahead to “Six Weeks Later.” But, Saddam’s post-invasion hiding out got a whole boring hour. I look forward to seeing real Iraqi stories, hopefully told by Iraqi filmmakers. I’m sure there’s an Iraqi Persepolis out there waiting to be made. I can’t wait for it.

Juno – I’m a bit embarrassed as to how much I like this movie. But not apologetic.

Death Proof- There aren’t a whole lot of filmmakers who can get away with staring at the asses of their leading ladies and still come off as deeply respectful and admiring of the same women. Kudos Tarantino. Your women are, as the saying goes, the type of women that other women want to be andmen want to be with.

Dr. Strangelove – Now that we have a new HDTV in the living room, the old TV has migrated into the bedroom (replacing the 12″ TV that had been wasting away in our bedroom for over a decade) making watching movies in bed suddenly a lot more plausible. Dr. Strangelove is the first movie we’ve watched in this new situation. It’s ridiculous how good and watchable this movie is. This one would definitely be one of my desert island movies.

Celebration – A short documentary on the Disney-designed city in Florida. The documentary didn’t take sides, but it didn’t really have a whole lot to say either. Still, it revealed enough for me to know that the town of Celebration and the type of people who would inhabit it are some things to stay very, very far away from.

Duets- So, sometimes you get roped into watching a movie kicking and screaming (no, not the Noah Baumbach written film which would have been infinitely more bearable). This was one of those times. The in-laws saw this movie on TV and just had to buy it off of e-Bay. And because they loved it so much, they wanted us to see it because they figured we’d like it as well. Oh. My. God. Likely the worst movie I’ve seen in the last year…at least since Shooter(the movie we watched with the in-laws the last holiday season) and Indescribable (the holiday season before that). Horribly written. Horribly acted. Tonally confusing. Morally disgusting. Eck. I almost need a shower after that one.

Starting Out in the Evening- Another one of those movies (along with say Baumbach’s latest stuff) that makes me wonder (fantasize, maybe) about what it would be like to have parents andfamily who are literate, with whom I could really discuss films, books, and art. I wonder if it would be fulfilling or just stifling. At least I have somebody. Anyway, great performances from Frank Langella, Lauren Ambrose, and Lili Taylor.

Taxi to the Dark Side- Last year’s Oscar winner for Best Documentary Feature (Alex Gibney). Another in a line of damming documentaries that illustrate just how horribly the Bush Administration has behaved on their watch. Like the response to Hurricane Katrina, this is one of those stories that doesn’t sound believable in this country. Some where else, but not here in America. I’ve moved Errol Morris’ Standard Operating Procedureto the top of my Netflixqueue. But after that, I think I’m just about done with these depressing docs about the insanity and stupidity of the Bush White House. Maybe Gibney’s most recent one about Hunter S. Thompson will be a lot more sane and comforting.

The Dark Knight- The 2nd Blu-ray in our collection. And, the second viewing of this one. It seems to hold up even after the months have passed since its summer blockbuster run. I was less impressed with Ledger’s performance this time around but more impressed with the screenplay (even if it’s not quite profound, it still seems solid).

A Christmas Tale – This one may become a part of a new holiday tradition. Granted, I won’t be watching this one with the in-laws (see above). But I will be watching it again (and again) because it gets at what I often feel during the holidays. A beautifully dense and performed film that gets at an honesty about families (esp. during the holidays) that is both comforting and maddening. May very well end up as my best film of the year.