My wife wanted to watch this and for some reason it took me about half an hour to find it on the shelf, even though it was where it was supposed to be. Maybe that's in spirit of the movie, or maybe I've gone blind. I don't know. The movie was a nice change of pace. The whole thing reeked of nostalgia. It felt breezy and light, almost as if the viewer was watching something drawn up from their own hazy memories. Garrison Keiller felt like a natural in the film and was the one character you wanted to see more from, even more so than Woody Harrelson and John C. Reily. I really liked how the camera never stopped but instead floated lazily through each scene, as though it were just a passerby. The only thing that took me out of it was Virginia Madison's character whose purpose is telegraphed pretty on and after a while felt like it was distracting from the rest of the movie. Even though the overall theme of the movie is dealing with death I just felt that she was hitting it a little too on the head compared to the rest of the film.
Grade: B
Having been a fan of Sam Mendes from what I've seen (haven't checked out Jarhead yet), I've been looking forward to watching this. Even though it's set in the 50's, the relationship in the film isn't a whole lot different than what it could be today, though I would think Winslet's character would have more options now. The film is nothing more than a depiction of a marriage falling apart, yet it's fascinating to watch. Everyone likes to watch a train wreck and this film plays into that. People are drawn to conflicts by nature. Who doesn't stop and listen to the neighbors arguing next door or how about those goddamn endless reality shows strung about TV showing couples at their worst? This film places viewers pretty much front and center to the showdown with the only levity brought by Michael Shannon's few appearances which are downright hilarious in a sick way. The only thing that brought me down was that the ending was telescoped way too early and it was pretty obvious how things would go. It actually reminded me of the ending of Little Children with how it approached it. Other than that, it was an engrossing film that wears you out emotionally.
Grade: B+
I think there's some kind of rule where for every three dog-shit Robin Williams movies we get, there's one great one to make up for them all. This film goes beyond black comedy, it's just fucking darkness. Though Bobcat Goldthwait is mainly known for being a goofy guy in the 80's, his directorial films are works of genius (still waiting on a DVD for Shakes the Clown...). This ranks as one of Williams's best performances, with one scene probably being the very best he has done. Just when you really get into the dynamic between Williams and his nasty, rotten, freak of a son, the film throws a curve-ball with the singular most fucked up twist I've ever seen in a film. I really don;t want to ruin anything about it for anyone who hasn't watched it so I'll shut up about it for now. I will say that this is one of those films that reminds you that sometimes, the world is just as horrible and shallow as you secretly believe it is. One of last year's best movies.
Grade: A
It's hard to give a review to a Mystery Science Theater episode. You're already paying to see the movie reviewed and torn apart by the guys so you can't really bitch about the movie since you knew what you were getting into. The only thing you can really comment on is how funny the comments were. This episode is supposed to be one of the landmark shows and I don;t know if it's because Joel left or if it was actually for the movie itself. The commentary isn't one of their best in my opinion. It's funny but there were long stretches where they only elicited a chuckle out of me. If you want to see a great episode with Joe Don Baker, check out the set where they watch Final Justice, which is probably my favorite episode at the moment. And check out Framed for more classic Joe Don action, one of cinema's greats. He's almost a sub-genre on his own. The sad thing is I'm going to have to watch the full version of Mitchell just to find out what the hell happened to John Saxon who's set up the be the movie's main bad guy than completely forgets him for the rest of the running time. No one fucks with John Saxon.
Grade: C+
Movies Watched: 4
- A Prairie Home Companion
- Revolutionary Road
- World's Greatest Dad
- Mitchell- MST3K Version
New Movies Bought: 11
+ Mitchell- MST3K Version
+ Eegah- MST3K Version
+ The Beginning of the End- MST3K Version
+ Sometimes They Come Back Again
+ Death Mask
+ Alice, Sweet Alice
+ Jaws 2
+ Charisma
+ The Tenant
+ The Transporter (Blu)
+ The Transporter 2 (Blu)
Unseen DVDS: 2954
Unseen Blu-rays: 47
Unseen VHS: 119
It's like pissing in the wind.
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