Wes Cravin'

The Royal Tenenbaums - Wes Anderson - 2001

I've found my David Lynch replacement. While their film styles are too dissimilar for fair comparisons, I do enjoy Wes Anderson's films better. One of Anderson's best qualities is how he can successfully craft a comedy without resorting to an exhausting amount of profanity and bathroom humor. Gene Hackman plays Royal Tenenbaum whose children are played by Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson, and Gweneth Paltrow. A family broken apart after divorce, Royal attempts to bring everyone back together by lying about dying of stomach cancer. Excellent character development and hilarious scene after hilarious scene. I think I have only good things to say about this movie.

Look out for: I think Wes Anderson's favorite color is yellow.

Rating: []Like It []Love It [X]Gotta Have It





Following - Christopher Nolan - 1998

Inconveniently, the English accents are heavy and Netflix streaming does not have subtitles. Like most effective crime dramas, attention to dialogue is vital. A writer finds his inspiration by following/stalking his subjects at random. One of his subjects figures out he's being followed, and instead of beating the crap out of this creep he befriends him. The followee just so happens to be an unsuspecting burglar and the writer tags along during the robberies. I really would hate to talk more in fear of ruining the plot, but it's directed by Christopher Nolan (Memento, Dark Night, The Prestige) so you know it's good.

Look out for: A great story told in just 70 minutes. A huge plus for me!
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The Darjeeling Limited - Wes Anderson - 2006

Owen Wilson plays Jason Schwartzman and Adrien Brody's older brother who convinces the two to take a spiritual journey through India on their way to surprise visit their mom-turned-nun. The name of this film is taken from the name of the colorfully ornate and picturesque train they board. The brothers grew up distrusting eachother but their compelling adventures in India draw them closer together. In true Wes Anderson fashion, this film is a fun and colorful watch full of witty humor. My one qualm with this film was the baggage metaphor--insultingly obvious and predictable!

Look out for: The short story preceeding The Darjeeling Limited stars Natalie Portman. Not crucial for understanding the film but certainly worth a watch.

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Rap music stole the tear drop tattoo

The Life of David Gale - Alan Parker - 2003

Kevin Spacey and Kate Winslet star in this criminal drama about Professor David Gale (Spacey) who is accused of raping and murdering a former student. Winslet plays the journalist who is trying to snag an unbiased interview from Gale before he is executed. During the process, Winslet finds herself on a quest to uncover what really happened, racing against the clock ticking closer to Gale's execution. This film pushes its audience to morally evaluate capital punishment and the death sentence. Ironically biased with a pretty implausible ending, I think I would have enjoyed this film much more if I hadn't watched the last scene.

Recommended by: M Sage

Look out for: When glass cups and toiletries are not enough, some patrons find it acceptable to take the hotel room TV.

Rating: [If it weren't for the ending I would]Like It []Love It []Gotta Have It



Eraserhead - David Lynch - 1977

I somewhat regret watching this film and I suppose I'm happy it came last on my David Lynch list. I did a little online research and Lynch apparently still will not reveal the meaning behind the film and reports no one else's interpretation has come close. Dream-like, perhaps more appropriately nighmarish, we uncomfortably peer into Henry's bizarre life. His girlfriend is emotionally unstable and burdensome, their mutant-like baby will not stop crying (most online sources say it's a cow fetus), and visits to the parents are like visiting hell. Grotesque, horrific, confusing, and unsettling, I can see this causing sleepless nights for kids watching this in the 70s.

Look out for: Go vegan.

Rating: [Did not]Like It []Love It []Gotta Have It





Cry-Baby - John Waters - 1990

Already a 1950s satire, I feel like this film furthermore spoofed the likes of Grease and other 1950 inspired musicals. Toleration of slap stick, wackiness and exaggeration are necessary to enjoy this film. Johnny Depp plays Cry Baby, the ring leader for his group of greasy highschool delinquents dubbed the Drapes. He falls in love with Allison (Amy Locane), a Square. I'm unsure if Johnny Depp did his own singing but a few of the songs were admittingly catchy. One Drape, Hatchet-Face?, looked like a cross between the Exorcist and what Cyndi Lauper looks like today. Most importantly, Cry-Baby gets a tear drop tattoo in Juvie.

Look out for: Willem Dafoe and a very very fat Ricky Lake...

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Charlie Chaplin's custody battle

Lost Highway - David Lynch - 1997

Recommended by: E Ranz

I haven't watched many movies with Patricia Arquette but I think her acting was great in this one. Lynch must have thought so too because instead of canning her after her murder in the middle of the film, another character manifests itself. Bill Pullman plays her saxophonist husband who is charged with her murder. Unnatural camera angles and elongated pauses between action to create the feeling that the audience is the stalker-murderer. I find that amnesiacs and characters with alter egos or dual personalities are Lynch's favorite. No one whips up a bizarre and horrifying crime thriller like Lynch can. I really don't like heavy metal or whatever genre you'd put Marilyn Manson, but the soundtrack didn't deter my enjoyment with this film.

Look out for: Oh, how I miss Jazz nights at Zorba's...

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The Kid - Charles Chaplin - 1921

Recommended by: E Ranz

An impoverished woman decides she cannot raise her infant so she finds a car and puts the baby in the backseat. 2 robbers see the baby and leave him in an alley so they can continue their theft. The woman sadly experiences no take-backsies as she goes back to car to learn the car and her baby are no longer there. Charlie Chaplin's classic character, "The Tramp" raises the boy into an adorable, mischeivous five year old. The impoverished woman is now a wealthy actress and learns his boy is still alive. My favorite scene was then Charlie got bonked on the head and enters an elaborate dream filled with angels. It totally looked expensive. In less than an hour Chaplin achieves a heartfelt, slap stick comedy with a satisfying ending.

Look out for: The house where Charlie and John, his adoptive son, lived looks strikingly similar to his home in The Gold Rush. I did notice bread rolls on forks as well.

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Princess Mononoke - Hayao Miyazaki - 1997

This is my first anime film that is definitely not for kids. I've always loved how imaginative Japanime films are (ie. Spirited Away, Ponyo) and this one had a diverse collection of characters. Some cute forest creatures, awkward looking forest gods, and grotesque, gory, and graphic forest demons. The plot line was similar to that of Fern Gully or Avatar. In the American dubbing, Claire Danes does the voice of San, who is Princess Mononoke, a girl raised by wolves. Great storyline and visually intruiging. I could watch this again if it weren't 134 minutes long.

Look out for: The trippy forest scene with the hundreds of little forest creatures was used in a Youtube video I watched recently, laid under a Royksopp song. Perfect!

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Yet another Jack White side band featuring Naomi Watts... I see it happening.

The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights - Emmett Malloy - 2009

We follow The White Stripes as they tour each province in Canada. This documentary is pretty trippy, no pun intent, and a lot went into the editing. Much was black and white and lots of color manipulation. Lots of show footage. They apparently don't do set lists, and they just improvise while they're on stage. They also did a bunch of side shows where they wouldn't post their location until 10mins - 1hour before playing. One show was on a bus, one in a dinky coffee shop with an infant front row, and a bowling alley. So sick. They even went to an Indian (Native Canadian?) reserve and played for them, while they shared music as well. Meg White smoked lots of cigarettes so that's my guess as to why she rarely talks and Jack is a mic-whore. How The White Stripes married blues and rock is completely genius and still rank in my top favorite bands. If I were any younger Jack White with hearts over the "i" would be plastered all over my trapper keeper.

Look out for: Caribou sushi with soy sauce for dipping...

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Gattaca - Andrew Niccol - 1997

Recommended by: S Nair

Being conceived the old fashion way may mean you'll live a piss poor life in the future. Ethan Hawke (Vincent) plays an "In-Valid" whose DNA has "no matter how hard I try I will never succeed" written all over it, that is until he adopts Jude Law's urine, blood, hair--the whole package. Jude (Eugene) is "Valid" but unfortunately is in a wheel chair. Vincent desperately wants to fly into space and Eugene's DNA is his ticket there. Vincent goes completely incognito to dupe the space academy that he is Eugene. There's a problem, though. One, just one, of real-Vincent's eyelashes was found at the scene of a murder so they're trying to hunt this "In-Valid" down. I don't recall much humor or comic relief in this film. I think I would have appreciated this movie more when it came out, but it's certainly worth a watch. Aside from the fact that I love Jude Law.

Look out for: Ethan's smoke tricks.

Rating: [Sorta]Like It []Love It []Gotta Have It



21 Grams - Alejandro González Iñárritu - 2003

Recommended by: S Nair

I used to hate Benecio Del Toro but this film completely erased any resentment I had. Conversely, I've always liked Sean Penn and Naomi Watts and this film just reinforces my enthusiasm for their work. I just realized this is my first Naomi Watts film in a few months not directed by David Lynch. Anyway, Penn (Paul) is a professor whose significant other desperately wants his baby, but Paul's life is in limbo because he needs a heart transplant. Watts (Christina) plays an ex-drug addict with a husband and 2 girls. Del Toro (Jack) is a convicted felon who is trying to now live his life under Jesus. These three progressively become a part of eachother's lives. It's a bit confusing in the beginning, but kind of like the down-effect of a drug, the haze clears and things make sense eventually. One of the best drug film plots I've seen in a long time. Watch this one!

Look out for: Plenty of parallism and motifs to shoot through your veins.

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The Blind Side --> =[

Layer Cake - Matthew Vaughn - 2004

Recommended by: C Slager

Daniel Craig plays a drug dealer/"businessman" who is trying to find a buyer for 1 million extremely potent ecstasy pills. There were few, but one of my qualms with this film was the performances by just a couple of the actors. A few of the actors I feel over exaggerated, but that doesn't take away from the entertainment. It's a challenge to talk about this film without ruining anything. Action and suspense are crucial ingredients in drug movies and this film cooks everyting up very decently. I also applaud the moments of comic relief in this film--witty, subtle, and very conducive to both plot and character development. I definitely downloaded this film.

Look out for: The house with the sweetest selection of guns.

Rating: []Like It []Love It [X]Gotta Have It



Shop Girl - Anand Tucker - 2005

Recommended by: S Nair

Based on Steve Martin's novella, Clair Danes plays a Saks Fifth Ave sales associate selling gloves with ambitions of becoming an artist. She flocks between two guys: Jeremy (Jason Schwartzman), an awkard guitar amplifier designer and font inventor, and Ray (Steven Martin), a charming and absurdly wealthy symbolic logician. This was a refreshing romantic comedy--cheesiness was at a minimal, managable level, Mirabelle (Danes) did not have the maturity of a high schooler, and the humor was witty. A few scenes I inaccurately predicted might be deeper or more shocking than they actually turned out, but that's probably because females my age are wired to suspect drama and paradox in every romantic situation. This film satisfies both indy-flick and chick-flick audiences--nice job Steve!

Look out for: The color green

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The Blind Side - John Lee Hancock - 2009

"You're kidding me," says my dad after I told him Sandra Bullock won an oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role for this film. This was like watching 2 hours of Seventh Heaven--grimeless and ironically unconvincing. It should have also won an Oscar for Most Beautiful Portrayal of Project Housing. Big Mike's mom, a crack addict who literally cannot keep track of all her babies' daddies, lived in a well furnished apartment somehow. One of my film pet peeves is 7 year old characters who have the vocabulary and wit of someone 20 years their senior. Mrs. Tuohy's clever-mouthed young son, SJ, apparently did a stupendous job privately coaching and transforming Big Mike from a football dimwit into varsity superstar. Unrealistic. Sandra, if you're driving down to the projects to single-handedly interrogate the thugs that possibly beat up your 300lb son, please do not wear a low cut, above the knee, skin tight sexy dress. The story itself is remarkable, but the Hollywood presentation was too angelic and predictable. The screenplay needed more conflict and more antagonism.

Look out for: Please try to compile a list of things you didn't like about this movie that's longer than mine.

Rating: [I did not]Like It []Love It []Gotta Have It



Caddyshack - Harold Ramis - 1980

Recommended by: A Callahan

Rodney Dangerfield is hilarious. Concluding everything he says with "...will ya?" is the perfect compliment to all the slap stick antics. Dangerfield's character is a mega millionare who owns a boat load of real estate and is filthy rich, much to the chargrin of the stuffy, conservative country club members. Bill Murray plays a slow-in-the-head grounds keeper trying to eradicate a gopher from demolishing the golf course. Murray is also attracted to women in the 65+ age range which is a bit strange but added to the hilarity. Murray vs. Gopher was actually a side-story that didn't really weave into the story lines of the main characters. I can't think of any other film right now that does this and I think it's pretty sweet. The soundtrack is killer and this film has high replay value. As far as golf movies go, this one even beat Happy Gilmore.

Look out for: A golf bag with fantastic acoustics and sound quality.

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Before Facebook, stalking could get you killed.

The Hurt Locker - Kathryn Bigelow - 2008

2009 Academy award for Best Picture, we enlist with an Army troop of elite bomb techs. Our protagonist, James, has deactivated nearly 1,000 in his time and keeps a few disembowelled bomb widgets under his cot as souveniers of things that "nearly killed him". Included in this treasure are actually a picture of his son and ex-wife (Evangeline Lilly). I've never been a war movie junkie but I didn't get that dragging feeling with this film as I get with some films about war. A few of the bomb deactivating scenes felt like I was watching the last 5 seconds of an NBA game with the scores off by 1 point--mega suspense and cringing. Central to the heart of war movies, in my opinion, is to capture soldiers' human emotion and insecurities and put that to combat with the cunning and cut-throat requirements of warfare survival. I had to turn my head away at some of the gory scenes, but at the very least the scenes I did have the stomach to watch were very convincing.

Look out for: Evangeline Lilly AKA Kate from Lost plays James's wife.

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Walt Disney Pictures Presents: Pixar Short Films, Volume 1 - John Lasseter - 2007

Watching this collection I was surprised to discover I've seen almost all of the 13 short films. It doesn't go without saying the shorts were excellent, you just don't enjoy them the second time around. That's probably because I'm not as enthralled by kid-friendly slap stick and exaggerated facial remarks as I was when I was younger. This collection showcases Pixar's dramatic evolution in computer animation; presenting the films in chronological order makes the technical progress very noticable. Some shorts that I always thought were created in the early to mid '90s were actually done in the '80s. Very impressive. The vibrant colors, condensed action, and quick laughs of these shorts are what originally drew me to short films.

Look out for: You should Youtube "Jack-Jack Attack" and "Mater and the Ghost Light".

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Rear Window - Alfred Hitchcock - 1954

Watching this film I realized there is a Shia Labeuof (sp?) film that's an exact modern day knock off, trading a man in his 40s/50s with a high school underclassman with a behavioral disorder. I watched it in college and the film was not compelling enough for me to remember the name let alone search for it to properly reference it here. Anyway, Hitchcock did a spectacular job filming a movie almost entirely from the perspective of a peeping tom, distantly intruding into the windows of those across the block. I didn't suspect the majority of this film to be framed shots; scene after scene framed by brick and window sill with our visibility limited to an unsuspecting, gaping portal into private lives. Our protagonist broke his leg during a photoshoot so he is confined to a wheel chair for several weeks. This being, the entire film took place with him sitting in his apartment, reminiscent of those Sunday morning college hangovers.

Look out for: Grace Kelly!!

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Everyone Nose Nicole Kidman is a Starlet

The Hours - Stephen Daldry - 2005

Recommended by: S Nair

Nicole Kidman won an Oscar for playing Virginia Woolf in this film and even had an anti-nose job to more accurately mirror her character. The brilliant Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore also star in this film. We follow 3 stories lead by our tragic heroines living in the 1920s (?), 1950s, and 2000s. This film is a must for any feminist or anyone looking for a drama and heart ache. The soundtrack was an exceptional complement for each of the time periods--music always knows how to penetrate an audience's heart. If a film can be both floral and dark, this one achieved it. While this isn't the type of film I'd watch twice, I was very impressed with how each story line exposed feminist highlights of the 3 eras.

Look out for: Toni Collette, Ed Harris, and Claire Daines

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Blue Velvet - David Lynch - 1986

Laura Dern for president! At my age, my peers probably know her best for her sensational role in the Jurassic Parks, or as Ben Harper's wife. She is to David Lynch what Johnny Depp is to Tim Burton, or something. A first for David Lynch's work--I think I followed the story line and understood it almost completely. That's probably because our protagonists were in highschool so they had to reiterate and verbalize everything they were thinking all the time. The boy found a human ear and is trying to trace it back to its owner. Things go from bad to disturbing when he breaks into a suspects apartment and hides in the closet. The villian in this film got high off helium, I believe was sadistic and masochistic, and victim of the Oedipal Complex. Definitely not a flattering Halloween costume idea. Several scenes in this film were personally uncomfortable to watch, but when it's all said and done, thrilling and momentous.

Look out for: Some scenes appeared to have been shot in Champaign.

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Moulin Rouge - Baz Luhrmann - 2001

This is one of those films that reveal the ending in the very beginning. I suppose this is effective in trying to rule out pretentious viewers' complaints that sequences or outcomes were predictable. The focus of this film is not how it all ends, but the beauty of the mise en scene and the rivetting, dramatic performances of our characters (namely the beautiful Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGreggor). I can't believe I haven't watched this sooner. The song selection and how clever it was laced into dialogue was simply mad and genius. I can only imagine how exhausting it was to shoot this film. Fascinating and compelling, almost any freeze frame in this film would make a killer movie poster or wallpaper for my Blackberry.

Look out for: Nirvana and Madonna

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