Cinema Outcasts » DVD / BluRay

Whatever Works

joseph — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:18:06 +0000

There are certain kinds of people who would appreciate this straight-to-DVD release from director Woody Allen, but unfortunately very few of them will ever watch it, because they would have to not be familiar with Allen’s films or Larry David’s HBO series. Whatever Works lacks the edginess of both David and Allen’s better work. Not to say there isn’t a certain charm to the film, or that it’s all bad. Based on a story Allen wrote decades ago, Whatever Works is centered around an aging quantum physicist named Boris and played by that guy from Curb Your Enthusiasm. He is kind of an asshole, you know, like that guy from Curb Your Enthusiasm, and a lot of situational humor and hilarity ensues, you know, like that one show, How I Met Your Mother. Because he is, as he often reminds us, a brilliant physicist with a deeper understanding of reality, Boris has a bleak view of life mirroring Sartre’s existential nausea — in essence, “Everything that exists is born for no reason, carries on living through weakness, and dies by accident,” though he says it in a somewhat more terse way. He constantly suffers panic attacks about death and is hostile to friend and stranger alike, but despite all of this, he still is able to find love and friendship in the most random of places. Years after attempting suicide and divorcing his wife, he lets a desperate young girl live in his home, and despite Boris’ best efforts, an unlikely romance begins to kindle.

It hardly needs to be said that David’s character is basically a stand in for Woody Allen, as he has everything, from the death-obsession to the marrying-of-a-barely-of-age-girl, down to a tee (Allen himself would be unable to star in this role for obvious reasons). The rest of the characters in this story, however, seem far too flat to be based on anyone in reality, they are more like sitcom archetypes — the young, naive girl from the sticks moving into the big city, the charming male actor who lives in a house boat, the conservative Christian who is secretly gay — the characters and situations in the film seem more suited for an episode of Caroline in the City than for a feature film, but this seems to be acknowledged by Larry David’s character when he speaks to the camera despite the confusion of the other people in the movie. He is a genius, after all, and unlike everyone else, he knows this is all a big joke, he can see beyond the curtains to the theater full of cretins and mouth-breathers watching him. Unfortunately audiences didn’t find the joke funny enough for a theatrical release.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

lefrenchie — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:00:24 +0000

For all those who were fans of the toys and the cartoon, and GI Joe the movie… here is a live action featuring our favorite American Hero…

Filled with a dream cast of amazing actors, the director of the Mummy, and being shot all over the world, the movie sounds like the perfect popcorn blockbuster movie…

But that ends here… Following the bad buzz that trailed around the movie, from the director being fired, through the distributor pushing it back to recut it to other bad stories about it; let’s just say GI Joe is not a great movie… and it’s a fan writing this…

Despite some really talented actors being in there, from Dennis Quaid to Channin Tatum, and with a stellar John Eccleston as Destro, the movie is such a waste of talent, and it’s so difficult to watch those actors trying to do there best while wrestling against a terrible script which includes nano machines and super exo skeleton body armors… a whole bunch of non sense that makes the movie goes to places where the Joes should have never gone…

If you’re thinking of buying it… wait… it will be in the bargain bin soon enough…

Assassination of a High School President

lefrenchie — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:19:11 +0000

This comedy starring Bruce Willis and Mischa Barton is the tale of a Catholic high-school newspaper reporter who stumbles upon a disturbing conspiracy. Prompted by the most popular girl in school to investigate the theft of the SAT exams, an ambitious young fact-finder discovers that the school’s president — a disillusioned Gulf War veteran — and the top jock are responsible for the crime. As if this information wasn’t unsettling enough, it appears that both have been in operation under the direction of an even higher power.

Let’s face it… Despite being released in very selected theaters, this movie has been shelved by the studios, then released straight to dvd… despite the fact that Bruce Willis is amazing… Is this movie bad? Far from it… It’s not Citizen Kane or the Godfather, but in the same vein as Brick was a good neo-noir movie, and Veronica Mars a cult neo-noir phenomenon, Assassination of a High School President is a film noir that revolves around teenagers, in a dark crime convoluted story which is a great fun to see taking place…

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen

lefrenchie — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:24:32 +0000

Back with even more action and more Autobots and even more Megan Fox, the highly anticipated sequel to Transformers depicts the Decepticon forces return to Earth on a mission to take Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) prisoner, after the young hero learns the truth about the ancient origins of the Transformers. Joining the mission to product humankind is Optimus Prime, who forms an alliance with international armies for a second epic battle.

Michael Bay delivers us an over colorful, and over the top action packed flick, which without being as crazy as the Wachoswki’s Speed Racers, is not too far from the frenzy of it… Is it a good movie? Well not really but it’s a lot of fun… plus behind the shallow premise, the movie answers a very fundamental question: how much Megan Fox is too much Megan Fox???

If you like good crazy action flicks that don’t take themselves too seriously, this one is for you… but if you just like intellectual flick… more than likely you won’t.

Drag Me To Hell (Director’s Cut)

joseph — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:01:48 +0000

In general, watching horror films these days is like watching a virgin couple making love on their wedding night: there may be some initial titillation, but there isn’t enough to keep you interested. Because these films are cheap to make and are an easy draw for teen and twenty-something audiences, they are more often than not the first film of an “up-and-coming” filmmaker, which used to be a good thing, but now-a-days, it seems to result in a movie that’s amateurish, ultimately forgettable and derivative of what people think is popular these days. Because of this, it’s a breath of fresh air to watch a horror flick that is made with the eye of a seasoned pro.

After finishing the recently-released director’s cut of Drag Me To Hell, I’m tempted to say this film is Sam Raimi’s return to form, but the career of the man most known for the Spiderman movies is hard to pin down. Outside of the Evil Dead Trilogy (which may become a “quadrilogy,” according to IMDB) Drag Me To Hell is the only other horror film he has directed, and when you consider that Army of Darkness has more in common with his respective fantasy/comedy series’ Hercules and Xena than it does with the previous two Evil Dead films, Raimi has only really done two horror flicks his entire career until now. That said, he has never really disappointed in this genre.

Admittedly, Drag Me To Hell is pretty formulaic, plot wise — it’s your basic woman-gets-cursed-and-has-only-so-and-so-days-until-something-horrible story — but there is a sense of purpose and attention to detail that pays off in a terrifying and grotesquely-funny way. From the opening scene and the title sequence which recalls Sergio Leone, to the gruesomely chilling climax, this movie hits every note with near pitch-perfection, making for a deeply satisfying filmgoing experience that will be familiar to fans of Evil Dead, and also of arteurs like Dario Argento.

Home

lefrenchie — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 22:54:31 +0000

Yann Arthus-Bertrand is reknown for his book Earth viewed from the Sky, and Home is no less and no more than the film version of his book. It is superb imagery that remind us that our Home is really a beautiful place. The big problem with this documentary is that like many of its environmental friends; it’s voiced by a Glenn Close preaching for the whole length of the movie about, how living in the city is bad, etc… Truly annoying especially when you think that the every single shot has been taken from an helicopter, which I believe has a certain carbon footprint… But’s be nice; if you really would like to enjoy Home the best is to buy it on dvd or bluray, put it on, turn the sound of your tv off, and put Radiohead’s Amnesiac album on your city player and just enjoy the beauty of our planet while listening to good music.

Cría cuervos…

joseph — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:33:06 +0000

Decades before the critically acclaimed Pan’s Labyrinth elevated director Guillermo del Toro from “comic book movie guy” to “serious film maker,” Carlos Saura had already made a film dealing with the subjects of fascism and death as seen through the eyes of a young girl in Spain after the Civil War, and while Saura’s film lacks the visual flair that marks del Torro’s work, it has a maturity and depth that the former lacks. It is the haunting story not of the loss of innocence, but of an innocence that is forced to deal with a tragic reality that surrounds it, and subsequently becomes morbidly ambivalent towards these very “grownup” concepts. Young Ana, the middle sister to three orphaned girls, fantasizes about death as a way of getting closer to her deceased mother, and as a way of escaping the stifling life as the daughter of a late military man in Fascist Spain. The story paints a candid picture of childhood as “interminable, sad, full of fear, fear of the unknown,” but this picture is painted at times with moments of humor and affection. What this film lacks, however, is a cloying quality that most films about childhood have, which makes the sense of loss all the more real and haunting.

She’s the Man

lefrenchie — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:26:45 +0000

Once upon a time someone went to watch a movie that he was sure was so bad, he would regret ever spending 2 hours watching it… Turned out he enjoyed that movie so much that know he is writing this very little review, full of shame and guilt… So let’s talk about She’s the Man, where Amanda Byrnes is joined by Chaning Tatum to deliver a very enjoyable twist on a Shakespeare play… The story is too convoluted to summarize, and part of the enjoyement is the never ending and unexpected twists and gags from the movie… Unplug your brain and let this weird and goofy world sink into you…

Bender’s Big Score

lefrenchie — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:31:35 +0000

Futurama is back!… straight to DVD, the love child of Simpsons’ creator Matt Groening and David X Cohen, is coming back to life like a zombie robot from its space grave; and it is not a regular half assed bargain bin quality release, but an outstanding feature that will rejoice the fans as well as setting new standards when it comes to approach time travel in a storyline. Quick recap, Philip J Fry, a pizza delivery boy from the 20th century is frozen to awaken in the year 3000, and befriending, alcoholic and cigar smoking robot, Bender, and falling in love with mutant cyclop Leela. In this 2 hour episode, after losing the Earth to scammers, the secret for time travel is discovered on Fry’s ass, and that’s when mischief starts… What happens when you send a homicidal maniac robot back to 2000, can you escape fate, who is responsible for Al Gore losing the presidential election, what was the secret of time travel doing on Fry’s ass, what happens with time paradox? All those questions will be answer with a logic that will leave nerds in an estatic state as well as scratching their heads.