Entries Tagged 'Movies' ↓

And finally, Part III:

And here’s Part II for you:

Of all people, you would think that I would have seen all of the 9/11 documentaries out there. Apparently not though, as I somehow have missed 9/11 Mysteries. Some of my friends were given a DVD when they were at Ground Zero a few months back, and were just talking about it the other day. I figured I should check it out, so I did. Not a whole lot of new information, but there is some good stuff to be had. Take a look:

I’m just about finished watching Jamie Johnson’s documentary The One Percent. If that name sounds familiar, it should. Jamie is the heir to the Johnson and Johnson fortune, and apparently loves driving his dad nuts by questioning his good financial fortune.

In this documentary, Jamie examines the ever-growing divide between the rich and the poor in the United States. Along the way, he meets some creepy fucking rich people, many of whom make me insanely embarrassed to live in the same country as them.

Following Jamie’s journey is interesting to say the least. We really get a peek into the psychosis of wealth, and the insecurities of the wealthy, especially the almighty Warren Buffett.

I’m not exactly sure if Jamie really gets the seriousness of the situation, but he’s trying. I think if he keeps this up, he’ll truly gain an understanding of where this country is headed if things don’t change.

Over the weekend, my wife and I went to see Charlie Wilson’s War. On the outside, it’s a film about a Congressman from a tiny part of Texas with a penchant for women, booze, and whatever other vices might come his way. But underneath it’s the largely-true story of how the United States pumped money into the Mujahideen to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan, then failed to follow through with a rebuilding effort, thereby indirectly allowing the Taliban to come into power. In addition, it explains exactly how the weapons that are killing American soldiers today in Afghanistan ended up there.

Charlie Wilson’s War tells an essential part of American history, but unfortunately it’s a part that very few will ever truly understand. Most of the audience at the movie theatre was older folks who probably distinctly remember the Soviet threat, and the fall of the Soviet Union. My wife and I were the youngest people there by far.

My guess is that even if younger folks were to see this movie, they wouldn’t understand what the events portrayed in the film led up to, and why it’s so relevant to what is going on today. As good as the film was, and as great a job as they did telling the story, the film unfortunately falls short in linking up those events to their relevance today. I would still highly recommend this movie though. Check it out, and follow it up with some good old fashioned education.

Johnny Depp has been making movies for quite some time now. And ever since Johnny came onto the film scene in 1984 as Glen Lanta in A Nightmare on Elm Street, Depp has been synonymous with movies that are a little out there. Of course, this tendency toward strange films drew Depp and Tim Burton (and don’t forget Danny Elfman, a personal favorite!) together. Together they have made some amazing films, and I trust their newest effort will not disappoint.

Two of my favorite Depp films have been Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. But which one is really my favorite?

In Pirates, Depp plays everyone’s favorite drunken pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow. There aren’t many who can deny Captain Jack’s irresistible drunken charm, and who can deny the utter coolness of 19th century guyliner? And who can’t sympathize with Captain Jack’s classic lament: “Why is the rum always gone?”

In Fear and Loathing Johnny Depp plays Raoul Duke, the drug fiend journalist from Hunter S. Thompson’s novel of the same name. Along with the help of seemingly infinite amounts of booze and drugs, the strangely charismatic Duke and his equally drug fiendish attorney seek out the “American Dream.” Even though Depp’s character spends the entire film wasted out of his mind, it’s hard not to love him. And with the scene with him swatting at invisible bats in the middle of the desert, and lines like “This here’s bat country,” the battle between Captain Jack and Raoul Duke is a tough one indeed.

In the end, I think I have to give the win to Captain Jack. Even though the last two films in the series didn’t exactly live up to the first, Captain Jack was strong throughout.

As good as those two roles were (not to mention many other great ones) I have high hopes for Johnny playing Sweeney Todd in the new Tim Burton film. I decided to visit the official Sweeney Todd movie site, just to get some insight into the upcoming film, and was certainly not disappointed.

It looks to me like Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is going to be a classic Depp/Burton film. Dark, freaky, scary, and impossible to take one’s eyes off of. I will definitely be checking this one out on opening day. If you want more info, you can also visit Sweeney Todd on MySpace.

If you’re a movie freak like myself, you’ll love this stupid website. It’s a site where you can take a quiz about trivia on fairly recent movies, and it will drive you freaking nuts. I got 80%, gotta go back and try again!

80%The Movie Quiz

FilmCritic.com - Movie Reviews

For some reason, I have been on an on-demand documentary rampage this week. First When the Levees Broke, now American Hardcore. American Hardcore is a story of the hardcore punk scene during its heyday from 1980 to 1986. The documentary goes into the political and social climate during this era, and is told through interviews with some of the major (and many not-so-major) players in the scene.

I have always been a fan of 1970’s punk, and bands like the Sex Pistols (obviously), the Ramones (also obviously), X-Ray Specs, the Buzzcock, the Damned, and all those folks. But when it comes to bands like Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Gang Green, and Flipper, I am pretty clueless. Which is exactly what made this documentary great for me, as it was an excellent primer on these early 80’s American punk bands, many of whose members went on to bands that are still popular today.

Even if you aren’t a fan of loud, fast, three chord punk rock, this documentary is great for any rock fan. The attitudes that went along with this era in music have never ever existed, and even though American hardcore punk was a fairly small scene in the grand scheme of things, it certainly made its mark.

As you may know, we are quickly approaching the two year anniversary of the tragedy and national embarrassment that was wrought by Hurricane Katrina. I am currently watching “When the Levees Broke,” and HBO documentary by Spike Lee about the tragedy. It’s a four part series, and I have just finished the second part.

Our human brains work in interesting ways. They somehow find a way to bury bad memories, and make us forget the anger, pain, and dispair that we previously felt. Like they say, time heals all wounds. Watching “When the Levees Broke,” I am reminded of how I felt at the time - just the bitter, helpless feelings that the whole situation brought on. Seeing the footage that was not broadcast by the mainstream media, and hearing the stories of what really happened makes it that much worse, and makes me that much more angry.

Seriously, how this could happen in our country is beyond me. How could our government fail to respond to this disaster in an effective way? This is the United States of Fucking America, for piss sake. Land of the unfree, home of the war profiteers. Yup, that’s us.

Our government responded worse than any third world government, let alone a dictatorship, would respond. Those who were fortunate ended up in the Superdome without any kind of communication, no way to find their lost friends and family, no food, no water, no plumbing, and people in various stages of dying all over the place. The unfortunate ones were stuck in their homes without any of the previously mentioned benefits, but they were even worse off.

The fact that no one has been taken to task over the American government’s utter failure is truly embarrassing. I have been embarrassed to be an American many times over that past six years, but this is by far the worst. People’s lives have been literally destroyed, families have been ripped apart, and it’s still happening. Two years later, these people’s lives are not the same as they were before the storm, and they never will be because of the utter failure of that American government to respond.

Like one of the interviewees in the film said, this is a rich country. We find the money to do what we want to do. We found the money to put a man on the moon (well, maybe), and we are currently spending billions on the Iraq occupation. But for some reason, we couldn’t find the money to help out our own citizens.

If you haven’t yet seen this documentary, you really need to. It’s not a pleasant experience, and it won’t leave you with a warm feeling. But as an American citizen and patriot, it is essential viewing to truly understand what we are up against.

In possibly the most hypocritic move of the 21st Century, the Bush Administration has issued a subpoena to Michael Moore in regards to his visit to Cuba during the filming of his latest film, SiCKO.

After spending the last few weeks denying multiple subpoenas from Congress, I am shocked that the Bush Administration can pretend like a subpoena actually means anything anymore. Actually, I’m not shocked. Just extremely bothered by the Administration’s double standard.

Even more disturbing is the fact that this is a direct attempt to stifle real investigative journalism. Michael Moore researched and filmed an excellent and damning exposá on our pathetic excuse for a healthcare system, and this is what he gets.

Hopefully, Michael Moore will take this opportunity to have a productive conversation with the folks who are really screwing the American People. Unfortunately I fear that this may be his ticket to take a peek at the inside of Guantanamo, instead of just checking it out from outside. I truly hope not.