Reviews
Boogie Nights (1997)
The best film related to porn ever
This movie is so different than any movie that exploits pornography simply because it doesn't exploit the industry with sex and pornography, but rather treat as an industry, and that Jack Horner's company is like a family. This is an epic of a movie, and is ten times better than 'Titanic' in terms of the overall picture.
Every actor, actress, editor, cinematographer, screenwriter does their job, and does it extremely well. Paul Thomas Andersen shows his creativity and subtle genius on his first movie. This was one of the only movies made in the last five years that I had found an attachment to all the characters. William H. Macy, Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore, Burt Reynolds and all the other characters everyone portrayed were well rounded. The cinematography, the soundtrack. This is a must-see movie. Enough brown nosing from me, just go rent it. Look for the wide-screen.
Just One of the Guys (1985)
Funny Underrated Movie
This movie is one of those movies I can watch when it's on HBO or rental, but I doubt would ever consider buying it. The concept has been done before, but the situations remain fresh with funny writing and funny acting. The quotability was great, and the infamous breasts shot and awkward kiss that follow remain etched in my childhood memory. Funny moments make this movie enjoyable.
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970)
Roger Ebert on shrooms?
Roger Ebert and Russ Meyer are as compatible as orange juice and tooth paste, but they come out with one of the classics of camp in this movie. If you rent this movie expecting a celluloid masterpiece, you picked the wrong movie. The dialogue is funny when good, but painfully annoying when bad, especially the final narration. The plot is intricately woven, juicy and is as unbelievable as a soap opera. The acting is pure camp, with the exception of standouts.
The plot is so freaking long I'll simplify it by saying it's about three girls and a manager who venture off into L.A. in hopes of making it big. They fall into the cesspool that is showbusiness. All plots connect together at the end, which the cheesy narrator mentions anyways before the credits. I'd have to say the movie was good for what it was and the quotability was good (Watch for scenes sampled by various groups [Roni Size, Sublime, etc], and movies[Austin Powers]). Very funny, very shocking, something Roger Ebert sober would give a thumbs down.
Phat Beach (1996)
By far the worst movie in the history of filmaking AND skin flicks
Watching this movie was the biggest waste of time and 2 bucks for rental in my life. If nothing catastrophic happens before I die, this will be the biggest regret of my life. Who ever even thought about this movie, or financed deserves a kick between the legs, because that's where they were thinking when they made this movie. It's about an overweight guy who is a hopeless romantic, and writes pretentious drivel that tries to pass off as poetry. He joins his amorous friend in a trip to the coast. Where they meet girls and such. Only the fat guy doesn't get a girl. Skin flicks don't annoy me, I take 'em for face value. But this movie tries to be more than a skin flick. It's about Fat guy looking for love in some girl, but then meets another bikini silicone girl that enjoys his poetry. He finds his talent for volleyball which gets money for his family and impresses the ladies, only he has his lady anyways. The dialogue is super-horrible for even a C movie. It supports a ton of black stereotypes, no character development, it's a glorified porno movie, without any porn in it. Never ever watch this movie.
Little Man Tate (1991)
Treads the fine line of sap, but doesn't cross it.
Little Man Tate is a very good movie. Jodie Foster's debut as a filmmaker shows a little boy genius, who we've all seen before. The difference is the little boy is human, and not just a brain. He worries about people dying, envies the popular athletic boy, all the while plays music in competition form and forms math problems on his head. The conflict between Jodie Foster, the mother, and Dianne Wiest, the child genius grown up, is somewhat annoying, but it makes sense, as they are both extremes of parenting. The child in this movie plays it superbly, as does Foster and Wiest. Some points of this movie I was about to worry that the emotional music was coming and we'd see some sappy speech. Thankfully that never happened. What this movie is, is an emotional movie that doesn't have a bad guy or good guy to root or cheer for. Everyone here's prerogatives make sense, and it's up to you who you support, and what you think about Fred Tate, the little genius.
Lost Angels (1989)
Beastie Boy Ad Rock puts on a surprisingly good performance
I only watched this movie because Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys was in this movie. What I found is a very realistic (until the end) movie about suburban teenage angst. Horovitz plays the lead, who ends up getting institutionalized because his parents are too busy. Horovitz surprised me by his acting skills as his anger was shown strongly. He is in need of fitting in, and that's where his step-brother comes in and influences him to get out of the institution and wreak havoc with him. His love interest is institutionalized too, but when she is free, she is stuck at home drugged out, with her mom not caring for her. Donald Sutherland plays the institution's only caring person. He says "Yeah, they care. They care for a couple hours because they're paid to care." That's another conflict in this movie is his caring for his patients, but it strains his relationship with his real family. This movie is very strong, and shows the pain of being a rich teen in suburban L.A. with no support of the family. I just feel the ending was a cheap cop out to a very good movie.
One Crazy Summer (1986)
Where art thou Savage Steve?
Savage Steve Holland was a director and writer in the 1980s that made three of my favorite teen movies (One Crazy Summer, How I Got Into College, and some other movie. oh well, two of my favorites).
This movie stars John Cusack as a Hoops, but he doesn't play basketball going to Nantucket with a friend after graduation. They meet pre-implant Demi Moore whose a singer and lives in her estate. Some rich preps try to take the estate, but Moore fights 'em off with Hoops. This movie, although the beginning of the plot was akward, is very funny, with a little of that 80s emotion that made you smile. I am big fan of Holland's movies, and I wish he made one more 80s type movie, because all the John Hughes rip-offs right now (except for Kev Williamson) are annoying the hell out of me. Worth a rental.