I really enjoyed this movie. To me, the movie is about "love" and how the character's perception of "love" are different, yet they are all looking for the same thing ... a connection with someone. The connection can be physical, mental or emotional -- it has the same effect. Just when you think you found what you are looking for, you realize that you may have made mistake ... but making that mistake helps you realize what you are actually looking for.

Labels: movies

Boy A is a UK film about a young man trying to rebuild his life after some terrible events in his youth. In secrecy, he had relocated and is now living under an assumed name in order to be given a second chance at life. This is pretty much all I can say about the film without giving too much away. It is limited release and you should see it if it is playing in your area. It's kind of a downer movie, but it well made and very interesting.

Labels: movies

I saw the trailer for The Last Mistress when I was at the Angelika to see Tell No One. The film was interesting, although a little bizarre. The film is about the love affair of two characters Ryno and Vellini over the course of ten years. Ryno is set to be married to Hermangarde, who is a virginal member of the French aristocracy, who is the complete opposite of Vellini. Ryno marries Hermangarde, but he continues his liaisons with Vellini. The end of film makes you ponder the question: who exactly is the last mistress?

Labels: movies

Brideshead Revisted:


What's better than a British period costume drama? A British period costume drama with gay subplot, that's what. I enjoyed the film even thought I have never read the book or seen the 1981 TV series of the same name. The full extent of relationship between Sebastian Flyte and Charles Ryder wasn't clear from the film -- well, at least to me. Emma Thompson is all over this poster, but her role in the film rather limited. I guess once you win an Oscar, you can demand that type of thing. The film gets kind of slow near the end, but overall, it was good.

Tell No One (Ne le dis à personne):


I went to this French thiller on the suggestion of a friend of mine. This film is a murder-mystery about a man whose wife was murdered and 8 years later his is forced to revisit her death. From there, the film take many twists and turns that may leave you scratching your head. However, everything becomes clear and things make more sense at the end ... like most films do. The movie is two hours long because the story was so entriguing that the time just flew by.

Labels: movies

Mamma Mia!:


Mamma Mia! is a movie that didn't really draw my attention when I saw the trailer. When I saw a clip of Pierce Bronson singing (bless his heart) on The Daily Show, I decided that the movie was not for me. Yesterday a group of people decided to go see it, and I tagged along. And I am glad that I did. The first 10 minutes of the movie were really frantic and nothing really made sense. As it progressed it was clear that I had to stop trying to make sense of the movie and just enjoy the camp-y ride. Acting was okay, the direction was a bit off, but the ABBA songs made up for what the movie was lacking. I would recommend this movie but you can't go in with any expectation (even if you saw the play). Just go to have fun.

The Dark Knight:


The Dark Knight was really good -- but to me the movie isn't about Batman or Bruce Wayne. The movie was squarely on the shoulders of the late Heath Ledger. His portrayal of The Joker was riveting and Aaron Eckhart did a great job as Harvey Dent/Two-Face. My only issue with the movie is Batman. Christian Bale is a great actor, but he is stuck in a suit for most of the movie. He is also doing this weird raspy voice which is a bit distracting. When Christian Bale is Bruce Wayne he has very little to do, almost as if he is a supporting character. With that said, I still enjoyed the movie.

Labels: movies

I just bought my ticket for a tomorrow morning showing of The Dark Knight. I found this iPhone App where you can Joker-ize your photos. Just thought I would share.

Labels: movies, photos, Random

I decided to use the long weekend to see movies that are on my viewing list. With my buddy Paul visiting from Toronto, Onatrio, Canada, in tow we headed the local multiplexes to take in what Hollywood had to offer.

Hancock


I was really excited about this movie because I am a fan of Will Smith, and I was in downtown LA when they were filming some of the action sequences in July 2007. Unfortunately, the movie did not live up to my expectations. The basic premise of the movie was interesting, but the executed was really poor. The acting was sub par, the direction and special fx weren't the greatest, and the storyline wasn't focused. Hancock becomes a very different movie during the second half and the real story should have been PR makeover by Ray Embery (Jason Bateman) and how Hancock handles being the toast of LA. Instead we get a weird, complicated relationship between John Hancock and Mary Embery (Charlize Theron) that doesn't really pay off in the end.

This is not a typical Will Smith considering isn't the stereotypical "good guy" and he uses expletives throughout the movie. Sure, it made a lot of money over the long holiday weekend -- but the movie lacks quality. If you want to see this, I say wait until it comes on DVD.

Wall-E


Wall-E is another movie I was excited to see. I never seen a Pixar movie in the theaters because I didn't want to be the oldest person there without a child. The premise of a movie that stars a robot that doesn't talk was interesting. There is very little dialogue for the first 40 minutes of the film but the robot Wall-E was anthropomorphic character with it is actions and expressions, that you forget that it isn't talking. The movie was odd due to the anti-corporate tone, considering it is being distributed by Walt Disney Company. The movie was really enjoyable with a great message. It is another Pixar classic, even though it is very unconventional. The visuals were amazing and it should been seen on a IMAX or DLP screen, provided that you have either in your area.


Wanted


I didn't plan on seeing this movie, but I heard good things from people I know so I decided to check it out. At the beginning of the movie, I thought I would hate the movie but after 10 minutes I really get into the story. The best parts of the movie is hearing Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman drop the f-bomb multiple times. I see Morgan Freeman as a elegant guy with this regal presence, but hearing him curse made me like him even more. The movie lacked some back story on the assassins known as "The Fraternity," but it succeeds at being extremely entertaining.

The Incredible Hulk


I am not sure whether or not that this movie is a continuation of the first Hulk movie, directed by Ang Lee with Eric Bana as Bruce Banner, or a total re-imagination of the possible franchise. Ed Norton is new David Banner but this new version is nothing like the first.

Hulk is more of an origin story on how David Banner became the Hulk; and The Incredible Hulk is how Bruce Banner is looking to get rid of alter ego. Hulk was more emotional and gave more depth to each character, the new version doesn't really care about character development and just blows things up indiscriminately. These are two different movies with the same main character, but I much prefer the first Hulk movie because it felt like a comic book come to life and had a cohesive story. I didn't hate The Incredible Hulk but one thing bothered me -- why was the Hulk only about a foot taller than the character played by Liv Tyler? [edit: Hulk is only 7ft tall, so this makes sense.] If you plan on seeing The Incredible Hulk, I recommend seeing Hulk as well.

Labels: movies

I saw this movie this past Saturday, and I must say that I was quite impressed. The only David Cronenberg I saw was "The Fly" with Jeff Goldblum. I've been meaning to see "A History of Violence" for while now, but I have since added it to my Netflix movie queue because of this movie.

Plot Summary via imdb.com:

The film follows the mysterious and ruthless Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen), who is tied to one of London's most notorious organized crime families. His carefully maintained existence is jarred when he crosses paths with Anna (Naomi Watts), an innocent midwife trying to right a wrong, who accidentally uncovers potential evidence against the family. Now Nikolai must put into motion a harrowing chain of murder, deceit, and retribution.

I went with some people who felt that the pace was a bit slow, but I don't feel that way. The film's pace is perfect because it allows the audience to get pulled into the story. The film is, at times, very brutal with its depictions of volience. Oddly, what I like most about Easter Promises is the brutality with the absence of guns. There are a couple of very gruesome scenes, but in the film, it seemed to be necessary in order to give the audience a bit more insight of the characters.

Nikolai's (Viggo Mortensen) fight scene near the end of the film is done completely nude with full frontal nudity. In context, the nudity seems incidental and it barely took me out of the film. The nudity seemed necessary.

The end of the film didn't feel like an ending ... if anything, I felt the movie was too short. I think there was a love triangle between Nikolai, Anna (Naomi Watts) and Kirill (Vincent Cassell). There were a lot of homo-erotic undertones with Nikolai and Kirill. When Anna seemed to get the attention of Nokolai, Kirill got weirdly possessive. I was very intrigued by relationship between all of the characters.

If you aren't terribly squeamish, you should see this movie.

Labels: eastern promises, movies

I was singing (well...rapping) "Top That!" in the shower yesterday for some strange reason. I remember watching Teen Witch with my best-friend from elementary school in his basement, and dozens of times on HBO over the years. Even thought I haven't seen the movie in years, I still know 95% of the words. So when I found this online today, I had to post it.

Teen Witch, for me, was like Showgirls at the time I saw it. It was so bad, that it was so good. I still can't believe that this movie got a PG-13 rating considering that there is a sex scene and a scene where 10 variants of the word penis (in rap form)is used. I never heard of the word "schlong" until I saw this movie.

My second favorite song of the movie, "I Like Boys":


I love it when people randomly start dancing and singing in unison for no apparent reason.

Labels: collegehumor, movies, nostalgia, teen witch, video, youtube

I am alive and well, just have been really busy with a bunch of things. I will give a brief rundown of what I have done since I last posted.

Parties: Pool party, House-warming party, Tennis viewing parties
Going to the Movies: The Bourne Ultimatum, A Death at a Funeral, Hairspray
Watch TV shows on DVD: House, M.D - Season 2, Footballers' Wives - Season 1

I have been also working a tennis tournament website which required me to build a online registration system using PHP and MySQL. It has been a while since I've coded so it took a bit of time but it is finally up and running.

Speaking of tennis, I had a tournament August 10-12 and I ended up placing 2nd. I lost to a guy that beat me once before. His style of play frustrates me which causes me to commit a lot of unforced errors. I have 4 tournaments scheduled between now and December, so I have tighten up my game so I can end my 3.0 career on a high note before I move up to 3.5 in January.

I return to regular posting this week and hopefully finish my Road Trip 2007 posts. In order to finish them, they will be shorter with less detail. I will just get to the good stuff.

So I am fine (for those who were worried) and doing well.

I may have a new crush developing but I am not quite sure if there is any interested on his part. There is something keeping me from exploring it further: he's in the military. This guy invited me and a select few to a pre-Labor Day BBQ. So I will test out the waters.

Labels: dvd, footballers' wives, house, movies, television, tennis

Last week I got to see Michael Moore's lastest "documentary" film SiCKO. I didn't hear much about this film until there was a controversy about Roger shooting parts of the film in Cuba, which cause him to be investigated by the US Treasury Department. Also, a master copy of the movie was stolen and place in the Internet a couple weeks before the scheduled release. This prompted conspiracy theorist to believe that this was done deliberately but the Bush administration. I don't know that, but any way you see it, it is a good film.

The film shows how the privatization of health care in the United States compares to (universal) national health care systems of countries like Canada, England, France and Cuba. After see how other industrialize nations treated their citizen in terms of health care, I walked out of the theater feeling disenchanted. Watch the trailer:


The film is humorous and informative, but it also has heartbreaking stories of health insurance battles people suffered through which in some cases lead to the death of a loved one. It's shocking.

I have been lucky enough in my life to have alway have some type of health insurance. I've had surgery twice to remove Chalazions from my eyes: once under general anesthetic and once under a local. My mother's insurance covered nearly all of costs.

The only time I haven't been covered was when I moved from Buffalo, NY to Dallas, TX and I was in the process of looking for work. When I became eligible for health insurance at my currently job, I went to a doctor to an annual check-up and was told that all of the procedures where covered (excluding a $20 co-pay). A couple of months later I received a bill for almost $400. I shocked because my friend had the same check-up that I did (same hospital, same doctor, same blood tests) and he was only charged his co-pay. This was a year and a half ago, but I am scared to go see another doctor because I am not sure how much will cost me.

I always thought that if anything serious happened to me I would be okay because I got health insurance. Now, I am not so sure. I am plotting a move to another country with national health coverage so I could have only less thing to worry about. Since gays can marry in Canada, I might end up there. As I type this, I feel the onset of a severe cold and I am taking Zicam to help lessen the symptoms. I hope I don't lose my sense of smell as a result.

Any (preferably gay) Canadians looking to get married? I need to see a doctor.

edited: because Michael Moore made this film, NOT Roger Moore. What the hell was I thinking about? Thanks for the correction, Anonymous ... if that's your real name.

Labels: movies, video, youtube

I love the movie Glitter for all the wrong reasons. I never thought I could love it more, until it yesterday with Rifftrax.

[source: Rifftrax.com]
Rifftrax is the brainchild of Michael J. Nelson. Michael J. Nelson was the head writer and host of Mystery Science Theater 3000 during seasons 5-10, and a writer of show since it premiere. I have been fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000 for many years and it is good to see some of the actors and writes from MST3K participating. Mary Jo Pehl (seen above giving her best Mariah face), Kevin Murphy (voice of Tom Servo), Bill Corbett (voice of Crow T. Robot) have all provided commentary for Rifftrax.

Click here to view a sample of Rifftrax'd version of Glitter.

Labels: dvd, movies, rifftrax

To be quite honest, I didn't know Spider-Man 3 was opening on May 4th, 2007 until about a week prior. I remember seeing all of the promotion for the movie but I never paid attention because I didn't want to have the movie spoiled for me. From my quick glimpses I thought the movie was going to be really dark -- the mood to match Spider-Man's newly acquired black costume ... but it wasn't. The movie turned out to be far worst than I imagined.

I will try not to spoil the movie for those who may be reading, but here are a list of my grievances:

1. There was far too much crying from all of the characters.
2. Sandman was real let down. He only had about 10 lines in the entire movie, which I think was done on purpose to setup a possible spin-off movie.
   
3. Venom is only in the movie for about 20 minutes (another possible spin-off) with hardly in background information.
   
4. The film was a live action cartoon instead of superhero drama/origin story like the first and second films.
5. The action scenes were very boring and some seemed like they were recycled from the previous movies.

Spider-Man 2 > Spider-Man 1 > Spider-Man 3, in my opinion. This movie cost in the neighborhood of $260 million to make, and it has broken many records (highest one-day gross, highest weekend gross, etc...) but I don't think it was money well spent. I will assume that most of the money went to the CGI production which looked a bit fake and wasn't really used effectively.

I don't know what went wrong with this highly anticipated movie. I am thinking that Sam Rami's involvement in the writing of the movie have been its downfall. The was some weird hybrid of Spider-Man and Evil Dead (there was far too much of Bruce Campbell), which perverted the feel of the movie. I don't know. Maybe I was expecting too much after the very well done Spider-Man 2, which set such a high bar for any future superhero movie . I guess I was doomed to be disappointed.

With all that said, I can't recommend this movie to anyone to see in the theater. Wait for the DVD and watch it at you leisure.

Labels: movies

My DVD of Dreamgirls arrived from Amazon.com today. Luckily I have dual monitors at work, or else I won't be able to get anything done. I will have to watch the movie this weekend.

Labels: dvd, movies

This past Tuesday, I had a free ticket for a preview screening of the movie Hot Fuzz.

I was looking forward to seeing this movie since I really enjoyed Shaun of the Dead. When I went to go see Grindhouse this past Saturday, I saw that they were giving away free passes and I grabbed a bunch to distribute to some of my friends. Sadly, I was the only person who attended the screening because it conflict with my tennis club's play session.

I arrived at the theater 30 minutes early and the it was packed. When I went to look for seats, there was nothing left but seats in the first and second rows from the scene. At first I was not happy, but when I sat in my chair (located in the second row on the left-hand side) I found that my view of screen was actually rather good. The only trouble I had started when I decided to be a nice guy when I moved over a seat to allow a couple to sit together. I regretted my decision 10 seconds later.

THEY WOULDN'T. STOP. TALKING!

She was a purported screen writer, and her companion (husband? boyfriend? friend?) was an alleged actor. I swear, I never wanted to chastise anyone in a theater for talking before more than these two. The movie was so good, that I decided to not make a scene.

Hot Fuzz is a lot of things, and dull isn't one of them. It's a cop drama-action-mystery/whodunit comedy ... if that makes any senses. My favorite thing(s) about the movie is how mundane tasks are give a sense of heightened drama to them. The opening a dooring is done in a fast-zooming camera motion accompanied by a swooping, bass filled sound effect. It's hard to described, because I am horrible writer, but if you have seen Shaun of the Dead then you know what I am getting at. If you haven't seen Shaun of the Dead, rent it immediately.

If the movie is in your city on April 20th I recommend that you see it.

Labels: movies

Blades of Glory

Let me say this ... I am not the biggest fan of Will Ferrell, but the movie looked interesting and I was on the fence about seeing. It wasn't until I saw this picture that I knew I had to see it:


I have a big crush Will Arnett and I have liked Amy Poehler since her Upright Citizen Brigade days, so the picture above compelled me to see this movie. Alas, the movie was not good. There were a few good jokes, but they were few and far between. Anything with Amy and Will was hilarious but everything else fell flat. I wouldn't recommend seeing this movie in the theaters.

Grindhouse


This movie was awesome. I was expecting to leave the theater at some point during the 191 minute movie, but I couldn't leave because I didn't want to miss anything. The faux trailer for "Machete" (which may actually become a real movie), Robert Rodriguez's "Planet Terror" starring my other crush Freddie Rodriguez, the faux movie trailers, and Quentin Tarantino's "Deathproof" were just a spot on throwback to the exploitation movies of the late 60's and 70's. In both films I loved the uses of bad continuity, missing reels, and poor lighting found in most B-movies.

But which movie is better?

The movies complement each together well, but for me, I think I like Tarantino's "Deathproof" a bit more than Rodriguez's "Planet Terror". There is far less action in his film, but there is more character development and great Tarantino dialogue to enjoy which all builds up to a great car chase scene.

These movies are best enjoyed on the big screen. It is a must see.

Labels: movies

When I saw the trailer, I had a premonition that the movie would suck ... and I was right.

The Greek and I went this past Friday, and I was actually had high hopes for the movie. Too bad the trailer showed me everything interesting about the film and for most of the film I was commenting how pretty Sandra Bullock looked. Seriously. Her bone structure is amazing. But her looks didn't distract me enough to overlook how contrived and convoluted the plot of the movie was.

My major issue is the lack of continuity with the time-space shifts.

[****SPOILER ALERT****]
How time shifts in the movie:

Thursday(husband dies), Monday(husband alive), Saturday(husband's funeral and older daughter has scars on face), Tuesday(husband alive and daughter goes through glass window requiring stitches)...

By my logic the daughter should have scars on face the day the dad dies but she doesn't for some reason. Possible parallel universe?

Sandra Bullock's character listens to a message on the answer left by her husband apologizing for something but is interrupted by another call. The person on the other line ... Sandra Bullock. So there are two Sandras existing at the same time? How can the husband call between parallel universes? His cellphone bills must be high as hell.

This movie doesn't make any sense logically. I tried to like this movie but my brain still hurts with all the inconsistencies. Rent The Lake House, also starring Sandra Bullock, which uses a time-space shift as the plot device but it does it far better.

It is probably a good rental on DVD, but don't waste your money seeing this in the theater.

Labels: movies, the greek

No surprise to me that Dreamgirls was not nominated for Best Actor (sorry Beyonce, but it wasn't going to happen), Best Picture or Best Director. Even though the movie was very enjoyable, it was far from the best picture. Jennifer Hudson got her nomination for Best Supporting Actress and should take home the award barring any kind of upset from Cate Blanchett. I am very happy that Eddie Murphy got his Best Supporting Actor nomination ... to bad Norbit will probably hurt his chance of winning. Three songs from the movie got nominated for Best Song but will probably not win because they are up against Randy Newman (for Cars) and Melissa Etheridge (for The Inconvenient Truth).

I am so glad that Little Miss Sunshine got recognized because it was in my top 5 best movies of the year. Abigail Bresil was a surprise for Best Supporting Actress, but she deserved the nomination. You know Dakota Fanning is pissed she didn't get nominated. Watch you back, Abigail.

And the biggest surprise to me is the Borat got nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay. Seriously!?!?! That's all I am going say about that.

I watched the nominations live this morning, and Selma Hayek was moved to tears that her friend Alejandro González Iñárritu got a Best Picture nomination. AWW! She cheered loudly when her lover friend Penelope Cruz was nominated for Best Actress. Homegirl better wear some waterproof mascara at the live show in case they win.

I still have to see four movies (The Departed, Notes on a Scandal, The Queen, and Babel) before making my predictions before the awards are handed out.

For all the nominations, click here.

Labels: awards, movies

Edited:I was 11/18 in my Golden Globe choices. I went against my gut regarding Ugly Betty winning Best Comedy, and America Ferrera for winning Best Actress (comedy).

Labels: awards, movies

Since I saw the teaser trailer online last year I knew it was movie a had to see. Maybe my affinity for girl groups in the 60s fueled my desire to see Dreamgirls or the fact the Usher was no longer in the film. Either way I think it was worth the wait.


I got the theater about 30 minutes early only to see that the AMC parking garage was empty. It seemed odd to me but I just figured that since it was Christmas morning the showing would sparsely attended. It took a couple of minutes to realize that I was at the wrong entrance and I had to go to the main entrance to get into the theater. It would have been nice to put that information on the locked doors. We get into the theater and fortunately I had to foresight to purchase the tickets the night before because it was packed. I got seat way in the back because I like have the entire screen in view so I don't have to turn my head. Yes, I am that lazy. The lights dimmed and the film started to roll.

I am not going to give a full review of the movie but I give some of my personal highlights on some of the actors.


Beyonce Knowles: I am confused by all the negative reviews she received. She did a good job with material that was given to her. During the film you can see a progression from girl to woman to superstar. The only issue I have it that she being billed as the lead actress in the movie and she only has like 15 lines in the film. But she did a good job in the performances and is basically Diana Ross in some of them. Her hopes of winning an Oscar/Gloden Globe for her performance seems slim, but she did a good job.

Jennifer Hudson: Amazing! The minute she walked on the screen the other girls faded into the background. I think the hype about her performance was deserved because the movies is basically about her character Effie. The theater erupted in applause twice after her "And I Am Telling You" and "I Am Changing" performances. Beyonce sort of gotten some applause after her "Listen" performance, but it was like 5 people. Ouch.

As a Supporting Actress I think she is a lock for the Golden Globe award but I think she will be robbed of an Oscar to Dame Judy Dench (assuming she is nominated). If she continues with a movie career she should just do dramatic roles, and stay away from parts where she has to sing to avoid being type casted.


Eddie Murphy: Another amazing performance. I was surprised how good he was in his James Brown/Marvin Gaye character James 'Thunder' Early. I knew Eddie could sing but he was sounded really good in the movie. The people in the theater just loved it when he performed.

Jamie Foxx: He didn't have much to do except be stoic, which he did well. It is nice to see him "normal" instead of over-the-top. But his character is basically used as the bad guy to advance the movie's plot.


The movie has some continuity problems but it was still really good. I liked how the songs integrated themselves in the movie. I am not sure if that is due to the writers of the play, or to the writing and directing of Bill Condon. Everything seemed to fit without it being extraneous.

I will have to see it again this weekend as well as the 5 other movies I haven't had the chance to see. This is a movie worth watching again in the theaters ... but at a matinée price.

Labels: Dr. Rx, movies

This past Saturday I decided head to a movie with Dr. Rx. I was invited out to dinner with some friend but it decided that I didn't want to be part of a big group. Also, I just wanted to hang out with Dr. Rx.

Coffee Date


I wasn't exactly sure what this was about, but some friends told me that it was a "cute" movie. It is about a straight guy who is setup as a joke by his brother with a gay guy. The straight guy didn't know that this was a joke and was excited to meet his date Kelly. Kelly, played by Wilson Cruz, meets Todd, played by Jonathan Bray, at a coffee shop while waiting for their dates to arrive. Oh, did I mention Todd is a bit homophobic? They find out they were actually there to meet each other and hilarity/tragedy ensues. They hit it off as friends and from that point that were the story takes a turn. I will leave out all the details because I don't want to spoil anything. The movie is actually pretty good, even though it borders on cliche, but it's worth seeing.

Dr. Rx and I had dinner before the movie where we talked and had a good time. I sort of had a ulterior motive when I asked to see a movie with him. I my favorite thing in the world to sit next to someone I am interested in and our knees touch. It makes me feel all warm inside. But my plans were foiled when we ran into someone we knew and felt obligated to sit next to him. I had to behave myself while in the theater. DAMN IT!!

Dreamgirls

I actually was offered free advance passes for yesterday's screening in Plano, TX but I had to work late. DAMN IT!!! I guess I will have to wait until Christmas Day. I will get a second chance for knee touching since Dr. Rx and I are going together.

... 5 more days to Dreamgirls.

Labels: Dr. Rx, movies

Movies I saw during the Thanksgiving weekend, and I am finally getting a chance to post this.

The Fountain


I have been waiting to see this movie for a couple of years. Since Brad Pitt abandoned the project to the that [sarcasm]awesome[/sarcasm] movie Troy. I am going to even try to describe this movie because I am not even sure if I complete understand it. Go here for a synopsis of the film. I really enjoyed, and it is artsy and dark with a good performance by Hugh Jackman. It is worth checking out in the theater or on DVD.

Stranger Than Fiction


I was pleasantly surprised how much I liked this movie. I found the trailer very misleading because it only shows the comedic moments of the movie but it is much more than a comedy. I guess when your star is Will Ferrell, who is known for his comedy movies, then I guess is probably the best way to get people in the seats.

Borat


I saw this movie because I felt I had to. The people who saw said it was the funniest movies they have ever seen, and with the media wondering if it is "...the funniest movie every made" I had to check this out for myself. Yeah the movie had its laugh, but there was no substance here. There were people gasping for breath because they were laughing so hard but I was just confused. Not confused, as in I didn't know what was going one; more in the "why is everyone finding this movie so hilarious and I'm not" sort of way. I like crude humor, but I like GOOD crude humor. This documentary movie is way overrated.

...12 more days until Dreamgirls.

Labels: movies

Well, I am not sure if this will happen but it seems likely. If the first Survivor winner Richard Hatch can get convicted of tax evasion, then Wesley better settle his affairs and get is prison commissary account well stocked for his long vacation in the clink. But if R. Kelly still isn't in jail for child pornography charges years after finding video evidence, then he may have a chance of avoiding jail time.

But in case he does go to federal prison I think he will be the most popular inmate. Why, you ask? Because 11 years ago, Wesley was ...


...Noxeema Jackson.

I have been trying to do a post about To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar for the longest time but I never got a chance to do it. At one point a screen capture was a banner on this blog. Since he is back in the news, I thought now would be a good time to make a post about the film.

I remember when the movie was released in 1995 and the cast members which included Wesley, John Legizamo and Patrick Swayze were on the Oprah Winfrey show promoting their movie. They were being asked about their experience wearing make-up, dresses, and tucking back their huge schlongs to remove any unsightly bulges. The people who were watching the show with me mentioned that Wesley made the ugliest woman out of the three guys.



At the time I agreed but now I think he was being judged too harshly. Granted, I didn't actually watch the movie until 2000 because I was deep in the closet and I wouldn't rent it from the local Blockbuster. Also, I didn't even know what a drag queen consisted off.

Being from Syracuse, NY I didn't get the chance to experience much gay culture. There were a couple of clubs, but it wasn't much. There was a lot of bad drag which turned me off to drag queens in general. It was until my trip to NYC in 2001 I saw real drag queens. On our last day in NYC we all went to brunch at Lips, a restaurant where you were served by drag queens. I remember being shocked, embarrassed, and fascinated all at once. I didn't know what was going on but I found extremely entertaining. So knowing what I know now, Wesley Snipes performance was highly under-rated, in my opinion.

John and Patrick were give props because they looked somewhat like "real" women. But I think they (and I) missed the point. Wesley is clearly a man in the movie, but it is the whole persona of Noxeema that makes me forgot that it is Wesley in drag.



I don't know, maybe I am not just not cultured enough on the whole drag queen experience. But there are scenes in the movie where I think he looks flawless:





Anyway ... if Wesley ended up going to prison for tax evasion I really hope her remember to pack this number:




He can be the head cheerleader when The Blacks play against the Aryan Nation for control of the west side of the prison.

But it all my be moot because I think this whole ordeal is a misunderstanding. He will find all of the missing receipts in a box of his unsold Demolition Man action figures. The Feds will let him go with a letter of apology and he can go back to Africa to finish his movie. I really think this because ...


...would these eyes lie to you?

Labels: movies, Random

Movies I saw this weekend:

For Your Consideration


This movie was a real letdown. I know it is supposed to be a dig on Hollywood's obsession with awards, but it just wasn't funny. I really loved Best in Show and it is hard to believe that was made by the same director. I ended up winning a signed poster from Popbytes.com, so I guess that's something.

Casino Royale


I seen GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough, and Die Another Day in the theaters but I am going to say this was the best Bond movie I have seen. And no, it is not because of the new Bond Daniel Craig. I am not a big fan of action movies but the first major action sequence was amazing. The parkour/free running stunts were just crazy. And besides the action sequences it was funny and dramatic. Daniel Craig was a great choice for the new Bond because he is a good actor. I think most people are going because they find Daniel Craig "hot" -- I went because the movie got glowing reviews -- but will get drawn into the film because it does have a bit of depth to it. I didn't know it was 2.5 hours long until I looked at my watch because it was really engrossing. If you haven't seen it already, check it out.

Shut Up & Sing


I am not a fan of the Dixie Chicks but I am a fan of documentaries. The documentary chronicles the fallout after lead singer Natalie Maines stated "...[she] was ashamed the president was from Texas" in 2003 and the making of their 2006 release Taking the Long Way. I heard about this when it happened but never heard out it played out. It was interesting to see how the band stuck together, and how the founding members (and sisters) Emily Robinson and Martie Maguire felt. They seem not to blame Natalie but it's hard to believe them, Martie in particular, when she is explaining how this group means everything to her. I wasn't a fan before, but I think I may pick up that latest album. FUTK, indeed.

Labels: movies