Scott Pilgrim VS The World

Ok I know this movie has been out for a while, so my review is quite late. But hey, I'm writing a quick one anyways. I saw this movie last weekend for the second time, and surprisingly (because most comedies I'll laugh the first time around then end up loathing every minute of it the second) i laughed almost harder the second time.

Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead) is quite possibly one of the funniest filmmakers alive and he proves it again with Scott Pilgrim. He does what nobody else seems to be able to do....get Michael Cera (Arrested Development, Superbad, Juno) to be more than just the awkward geeky indie kid. Don't get me wrong Cera has plenty of geeky indie awkwardness running rampant throughout the film, but he brings along a wackiness that he has never had before.

If you don't know the story line, its about Scott Pilgrim (Cera) who is the bass player in a band, has had a rough break up and is now dating a seventeen year old Asian chick that goes by the name of Knives Chow....his friends mock him endlessly for this. Then he meets Ramona, that mysterious pink haired hipster chick that captures his attention and affections.

To win Ramona however, he must defeat all seven of her evil ex boyfriends (and one girlfriend). Some of the hilarious evil ex-boyfriends are played by Brandon Routh of Superman Returns fame (he plays a vegan with super powers) and we get Cera reunited with his Arrested Development girlfriend Mae Whitman (she played Ann Veal on the television show) but the best is the main evil ex-boyfriend played arrogantly and brilliantly by my man Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore, The Darjeeling Limited, I Heart Huckabees)

The film starts out like its set somewhere maybe in the real world, just with video game music playing as its soundtrack (yes legit video game music, we get lots of good stuff from the super-nintendo game Zelda: A link to the Past) but the more the story moves along the more crazy and video-game-like every thing gets. And its hilarious.

If you hate loud music lots of colors and fast editing...well you probably will hate this movie. But if you love originality, goofiness and killer good music well you'll probably love it, I highly recommend it if you haven't yet checked it out!

Buckaroo Banzai and the 8th Dimension!!!

I don't know how it happened. I usually consider myself to be pretty knowledgeable and film-literate when it comes to classic 80's movies. But much to my dismay and utter shock, a masterpiece has spent my entire life evading me. But that all ended today, and all I can say is that "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8Th Dimension" is a brilliant work in 1980's film.

Let me tell you a bit of the plot, at least the little of it that makes sense, so that you can understand a little of what makes this film so freaking awesome. We have Buckaroo Banzai, played brilliantly by Peter Weller (Robocop). Buckaroo has the best job title ever, he is an Adventurer/Neurosurgeon/Rock-star/Scientist/Cowboy/Samurai/Comic-book Hero! And he has got his band of men (who also rock as his band) The Hong-Kong Cavaliers. Jeff Goldbloom (Jurassic Park, The Fly and Independence Day) stars as the newest addition to The Cavaliers all decked out in cowboy get-up. We also get Christopher Loydd and John Lithgow as the alien villains exiled to Earth.

The story starts off with Buckaroo being late for some government test of some vehicle, he is late because he is performing brain surgery. Finally Buckaroo Banzai shows up, hops in the car and with the help of a device very similar to the Flux Capacitor on "Back To The Future" Buckaroo ends up travelling to the 8th Dimension by way of travelling straight through a brick wall and coming back, but he discovered life.

Soon Buckaroo can see the evil aliens as they really look like, and the costumes are epic. We also can't forget that all the aliens have the first name of John.......such as John Parker, John Whorfin and.......well you get the idea. Throw in some great scenes of The Hong Kong Cavaliers rockin out in a club, shootin their six guns and lines like -

"You can check your anatomy all you want, and even though there may be normal variation, when it comes right down to it, this far inside the head it all looks the same. No, no, no, don't tug on that. You never know what it might be attached to. " or -

"I've been ionized, but I'm okay now. "

"Buckaroo, I don't know what to say. Lectroids? Planet 10? Nuclear extortion? A girl named "John"? "

Yeah I know what you are thinking.......it sounds freaking incredible! Well just check out the trailer HERE its not that great of a trailer though, some goofy 80's music plus its got Jeff Goldbloom in his outfit. But there is another video I found that they claim as a trailer but its 8 minutes long and it shows some of the best scenes, you can see that one HERE.

Also some things to look forward to in the future on this blog, as Halloween gets closer I am gonna be watching lots of the best horror films in existence, then immediately reviewing them here so keep checking back for that! And possibly in the next little bit I'll have a review up for "The Town" but who knows about that!

The Fighter

Every year a movie coasts for most of the year without being talked about much. Every year the trailer gets released and generates a little buzz and lots of the time the film doesn't live up to that buzz. But sometimes it does, and I personally think the film "The Fighter" will exceed any amount of buzz it gets. Already I am calling it for awards, not only noms, but wins.

I have mentioned this film before as one to look forward to, and finally I have a trailer to help back up my claims. "The Fighter" stars Mark Wahlberg as real life boxer "Irish" Mickey Ward who boxed in the mid 1980's. Amy Adams stars as the love interest and a skin and bones Christian Bale plays his troubled drug addicted brother.

The movie has everything that a good movie has going for it. A story about an underdog fighting against all odds to make his dreams come true, the tragic family member holding them back but only trying to help, the supporting but sceptical love interest and the world cheering against him. Yes it sounds a bit like "Rocky" but fortunately its based on a true story and we don't have to hear Stallone mumble his lines and get depressed while Talia Shire looks like she is about to cry while she whispers her lines. Instead we get Wahlberg doing a film he really honestly believes in (lets forget about "The Lovely Bones" "The Happening" and "Max Payne") while working with a talented director like David O' Russel whom he worked with on "I Heart Huckabees"

We also get Bale in the kind of role he dominates. It is a fact that when he loses weight and takes a pay cut he puts in the best performance, for proof go rent "The Machinist" and "Rescue Dawn" his two best performances of his career. He lost all sorts of weight for this and has put a lot of work into it. So the films has everything going for it, literally everything.

The trailer is gritty yet inspiring, the kind that only an award movie can truly look like. I will bet money that this is going to be one of the huge awards contenders, fighting mainly with "True Grit" for the top awards in acting and picture. But then again, I can't be sure of that yet until I see actual footage of "True Grit" but its the Coen's and they never lead us wrong. All I can say at this point is that "The Fighter" looks incredible, and I have no doubts it will be anything but.

watch the trailer HERE: http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2330986777/

Buried

I know I talked a little about this movie before, but I gotta say I am downright stoked out of my mind for this film. Granted its not as much as "Inception" but my anticipation is getting pretty dang intense for this film.

If you haven't heard about it, "Buried" stars Ryan Reynolds ("Just Friends", "The Proposal" and "Definitely Maybe") as Paul Conroy, a contractor working in Iraq who is attacked and wakes up to find himself.........buried six feet under. He has a lighter, a cell phone and 90 minutes of oxygen left.....start the countdown.

The premise alone seems filled with promises of suspense. Its got the perfect countdown situation, the claustrophobic feel. Add in the talent of Ryan Reynolds, add in the bit from the new trailers that hints their might be more going on than meets the eye (who doesn't love a good mystery). It all adds up to be an intense, edge-of-your-seat film. Plus we can't forget or ignore all the overly positive reviews that not only flowed out after its Sundance screenings last winter, that are pouring out of screenings right now.

Now I can't say that this movie is bulletproof, after all it is quite risky. Asking an audience to be buried for 90 minutes plus in a coffin is asking a lot, especially today's audiences. People are so used to being fed mindless junk, yes I am talking about the never ending superhero obsession that has plagued cinemas ever since "Spider-Man" did well, oh and I can't leave out the always headache inducing films based on 80's action figures or cartoons (yes "Transformers" and the upcoming "Smurfs" films.....I am looking at you!) So are people who are so used to being spoon fed trash going to be open to a smart, intense thriller that doesn't include 80 explosions within twenty minutes and 900 screen cuts during each fight seen.........well the same worries were buzzing before "Inception" and look how that turned out.

Also we have Spanish filmmaker Rodrigo Cortes behind the cameras, and he just might be young enough and gutsy enough to pull this off. The risk all adds to my excitement...after all what is life without a little risk? Sometimes you just gotta roll the dice, take a breath and dive in....or in this case get buried in.....

see the new trailer here: http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2845247769/