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Near Dark "Director of Point Break," right at the top of the resume. Directed by: Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) Starring: Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton Country: USA Year: 1987 Genre: Vampire/Romance The Plot: Small town kid makes out with a hot vampire, who reluctantly bites him. Soon, her "family" of vampires is after his family, and he has to choose: destroy his family, or destroy his fellow vampires. Why You'll Love It: It's at 90% on RT. Ultimately, it's about belonging and identity. There is a sexually frustrated "child" vampire who, from spending centuries in the body of a child, feels alone and alienated. Paxton plays a lunatic villain. It never gets too Twilight, or too Point Break, if you know what I mean. Terrible trailer, but maybe check out the related videos for more.
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| # ¿ Sep 30, 2010 02:33 |
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| # ¿ May 23, 2013 09:50 |
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We Jam Econo Directed by: Tim Irwin Starring: D. Boon, Mike Watt, George Hurley Country: USA Year: 2005 Genre: Doc The Plot: Three weird friends form an unusual, deeply personal "punk" band in 1970s San Pedro. They influence hundreds of musicians and artists before their lead singer dies tragically in a car accident in 1985. Why You'll Love It:You may not know the Minutemen, but if you've ever watched the tv show Jackass, you've heard an instrumental version of their song Corona. And even if you don't know the Minutemen, one of your favorite bands knows the Minutemen. They were doing punk, not in the sense of fellow SST labelmates Black Flag. No, it was the kind of music played by true outsiders, the type of people who you'd sooner think work construction than have a band. Songs were melodic, thrashing, short, political, personal, meandering, unfocused, and diverse. They were never the best band, or the best-selling band. But somehow they were always shockingly good. And if you watch We Jam Econo, you'll feel that same sense: it's not the best doc, but you'll watch the whole thing and like it. A good trailer
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| # ¿ Sep 30, 2010 17:41 |
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Fresh Directed by: Boaz Yakin Starring: Samuel L. Jackson (briefly) Country: USA Year: 1994 Genre: Crime/Drama The Plot: 12-year-old drug mule and sometimes-dealer Fresh executes a strategic plan to save his sister -- and himself -- from a life of crime. Why You'll Love It: Fresh could best be described as a modern, urban take on Yojimbo. Armond White hates it, so it must be good. A scene
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| # ¿ Oct 4, 2010 05:10 |
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Overnight Directed by: Tony Montana, Mark Brian Smith Starring: Troy Duffy, many surprising cameos Country: USA Year: 2003 Genre: Doc The Plot: Troy Duffy works at a bar and is writing a screenplay in his spare time. In unprecedented style, Harvey Weinstein gives Duffy free reign to write, direct, and even score, his feature film debut: The Boondock Saints. The dream falls apart, and the friends he hired to shoot his ascent instead see something perhaps more interesting. Why You'll Love It: Did you like Boondock Saints? You'll be interested in the backstory. Did you hate Boondock Saints? You'll be interested to see exactly the type of blowhard rear end in a top hat that Troy Duffy becomes (or always was?). And whether you like it or hate it, you'll love to see exactly how a true Hollywood story plays out behind the scenes. Trailer
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| # ¿ Oct 5, 2010 01:41 |
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Two-Lane Blacktop Directed by: Monte Hellman Starring: James Taylor, Warren Oates, Dennis Wilson Country: US Year: 1971 Genre: ...arthouse? The Plot: Two gearheads pick up a hitchhiker and "race" a driver cross-country, putting their only possession on the line: their car. Why You'll Love It: It's in the Criterion Collection, but don't let that scare you. The first time I saw it, I randomly caught the first few minutes on TV. I was riveted to the next scene, and the next, and it was over. I was blown away. But I was confused as to why; only Oates can act, nothing really happens, there's no real resolution. I can't describe what is so magnetic about this movie, other than perhaps its perfect pitch. Somehow I can't help but think that this is everything Repo Man aspired to be. Trailer
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| # ¿ Oct 15, 2010 05:52 |
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Paris, Texas Directed by: Wim Wenders Starring: Harry Dean Stanton, Dean Stockwell Country: Germany (filmed in English) Year: 1984 Genre: Mystery, Drama The Plot: A man disappears into the desert, leaving his wife and child behind. 4 years later, he wanders back out of the desert, and tries to recover his life. Why You'll Love It: It starts with a compelling mystery, and it takes a sudden turn in the second act. And the turn it takes is unexpected, unconventional, and utterly unHollywood. Co-written by Sam Shepard and directed by Wim Wenders and starring Harry Dean Stanton, this movie gave Roger Ebert multiple orgasms. Dated trailer
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| # ¿ Oct 16, 2010 23:20 |
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The Thin Blue Line Directed by: Errol Morris Starring: Actual Murderers Country: US Year: 1988 Genre: Doc The Plot: Through the stories of the involved parties, we investigate a murder. Why You'll Love It:A watershed in documentary filmmaking, Errol Morris jumpstarted the modern obsession with true crime by producing a documentary that made audiences question the guilt of a convicted murderer. For those of us who are more familiar with the Michael Moore school of docs, this may be jarring: Morris doesn't insert himself into the narrative, doesn't provide a voice over, and doesn't appear in the film at all. But not only is it not necessary, you'll feel like a part of an impartial jury that should have been present in the courtroom. The last minute of film is a revelation. No trailer, let it surprise you.
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| # ¿ Nov 14, 2010 01:16 |
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Joe Versus The Volcano Written & Directed by: Notable playwright John Patrick Shanley Starring: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan (x3) Country: USA Year: 1990 Genre: Comedy The Plot: Suffering from a fatal "Brain Fog", unhappy everyman Joe (Hanks) gets an offer from an eccentric billionaire: live in luxury for a few weeks, then jump into a volcano to satisfy a superstitious tribe. Why You'll Love It: Initially, it out-Office-Spaces the legendary Office Space. It has incredible, surrealist cinematography and set design. It's written by a world renowned playwright, and starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan back when that double bill could eclipse "world renowned playwright". And it flopped. Not even epically, like Heaven's Gate; no, it flopped in that familiar "nobody gives a poo poo" way. At times, the pacing is glacial, the plot lacks conflict, the jokes are middling, and the pacing... But part of that is Shanley taking the conventions of film and utterly bending them to his will. He consistently defies expectations, and he mixes tones -- two very difficult and risky strategies. But in the end, it's an interesting and worthwhile film, if only to experience something unconventional. The first 6 minutes in horrendous quality
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| # ¿ Jun 28, 2011 01:10 |
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Sonatine (Sonachine) Directed by: Takeshi "Beat" Kitano Starring: Takeshi Kitano Country: Japan Year: 1993 Genre: Gangster (Yakuza), Drama, Existential comedy (?) Musical Score: Great score by Joe Hisaishi The plot: Weary Murakawa (Kitano) is considering leaving the Yakuza. Before he can, he is asked to help a country branch of his crime family that is involved in a turf war. Things go badly, and his crew hides out at the beach. Why you'll love it: It's not an action movie. In fact, besides a few brilliantly minimal action sequences, it's meandering and relatively action-less. It's a movie that, if released today, would probably suffer the same fate as Drive: it would befuddle the marketing department at whatever studio decided to take a chance on a genre-defying feature. Don't get me wrong, it's not as tight a film as Drive. It's not as funny as In Bruges (another "bored gangsters" film). It's not as balls-to-the-wall nihilistic as Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia. It's minimalist, confusing, and brilliant. If you're into that sort of thing. edit: just realized that it reminds me a lot of Badlands, another amazing movie. nocal fucked around with this message at Mar 26, 2013 around 01:42 |
| # ¿ Mar 25, 2013 20:23 |
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| # ¿ May 23, 2013 09:50 |
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Cure Directed by: Kiyoshi Kurosawa Starring: Japanese people Country: Japan Year: 1997 Genre: Mystery, horror-Trojan-horse The plot: A man walks alone in a dark underpass. He picks up a pipe. In an apartment, he casually beats a woman to death. The police find him soon after, with no motive; no feelings at all, really. But this murder is similar to another: the victim had a large X carved into her neck. The lead detective gets deeper into the case when another victim turns up with an X, the result of yet another apathetic murderer. They seem to have in common a mysterious stranger with no internal life. And then it gets weird. Why you'll love it: Like another Kurosawa work, "Bright Future," this movie isn't what you might think it's about at first glance. It keeps getting more obscure while it reveals more, and it'll leave you thinking about it for weeks after. Also it's not steampunk. trailer
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| # ¿ Apr 26, 2013 04:17 |
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