Movie Review: The King of Kong

It has been a long time since I did a review and this one will probably be on the short side. That said, I watched a movie that many (all) of you have never heard of. The full title is The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. It is a documentary that is like no other. Its appeal is limited in scope to me, the kid in Blockbuster who said it was great at the checkout line, and possibly Jeremy.

Given the small audience, I am suprised at how good this movie is. At the end, I was left wondering. If this movie is a fully true and real honest-to-goodness documentary, I am amazed at how "human" hard-core retro gamers are. If it was a spoof, I am fully impressed at the acting of the no-name characters. Given the fact that all the actors in the movie are portraying "himself", I have to believe this is real.

The movie tells the story of the fall of the high score record in Donkey Kong set in 1982 by some guy named Billy Mitchell. The movie portreys the subculture that still surrounds classic 80s era video games. It was amazing to see all those images of my past still in full swing in 2008. The haircuts, the t-shirts, and the 4-bit video was all spot-on.

If you want a trip down memory lane, watch this movie. If you are Jeremy's parents and/or wife and want to understand him and others like him, watch this movie. If you have a deep fascination with sociology or anthropology, watch this movie.

Movie: My AFI Top 100 Page

I made a new page for everyone (which is almost certainly no one) who is interested. I pulled the American Film Institute's (AFI's) Top 100 American Films and turned it into a check-list of what I have seen. Here is my version of it: http://www.therhodeislandreview.com/?page_id=97. This weekend, I will probably watch American Graffiti, so that will be another one to check off. If this writer's strike continues, I will probably watch a bunch more in the coming months.

As a side note, at some point, I have to make my own personal top 100 movies. My biggest problem with the AFI's list is that it is filled mostly with movies that are of no interest to me. I will probably still watch them, just to see why someone thinks they are so good, but knowing something is good is different than liking it.

Movie Review: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

A few years ago my wife and I went to New York to see the stage production of Sweeney Todd. I have to say, I was highly impressed. The acting, sets, and overall production were excellent in pretty much every way.

That said, we went to see the big screen (aka, movie) version of it this past Sunday. In my opinion, it was a spectacular movie. It had excellent acting from the entire cast. It managed to present the story in pretty much the same way the stage production did. It used a level of in-your-face violent death that hasn't been seen since the classic slasher films of the 80's. Personally, I can't wait until it comes out on DVD. I can't say enough good things about it.

Usually I present my reviews in a more structured form with a basic plot synopsis and leading cast, but I found myself unable to contain my excitement over this movie in order to do so. Anyway, if you have a strong stomach and don't mind a little blood, go see this movie.

Movie Review: 1408

1408 is a story about Mike Enslin (John Cusack) who researches the paranormal. He writes books to help people "stay scared," except that he debunks pretty much every ghost story he encounters. As he goes through another pile of offers to stay in haunted B&Bs, he encounters a post card for the Dolphin Hotel in New York that says not to stay in 1408. Of course, he decides that he, in fact, must stay in 1408. We learn, at this point, that Mike has a past that "haunts" him, and before the movie is done he will be forced to confront it despite his best efforts to avoid it.

Overall, this was a good movie. In this day and age, "horror movies" usually fall into three categories. Some are more like bedtime stories for small children with the occasional startling moments. Others attempt to be intellectual, requiring the viewer to think about what is going on. The problem with these is that they shove everything out in plain sight, leaving you nothing to think about. Still others fall into the hack-and-slash bloodfest. Most people have been so desensitized to things in movies of the 80s that these modern horror movies seem anemic in comparison.

1408 was different. I found it creepy and a little bit scary. It was well acted, and must have been well directed. You could really connect with the story alone in the dark. The only thing that left me a little disappointed was the ending. Without giving things away, there is a moment in the movie which completely disrupts the suspension of disbelief. Even still, I would recommend this to anyone who likes a good quality horror-thriller.

Movie Review: Idiocracy

Luke Wilson stars in this hilarious-yet-simplistic movie about the dumbing down of future American society in the year 2505. Joe Bauers (Wilson) is a go-nowhere completely average military librarian who is selected for a military-run human hibernation experiment which is supposed to last one year. Rita (Maya Rudolph), Joe’s female counterpart in the study, is actually a prostitute. She is selected due to a lack of completely average female soldiers. As expected, something goes wrong causing Joe and Rita to wake up 500 years in the future. As explained by voice-over, the bottom end of the intelligence gene pool out breeds "civilized" society. This results in Joe and Rita being the smartest people alive on the planet.

This movie has quite a few laugh-out-loud moments. If you are up for a good stupid comedy, I can highly recommend this one. While the story is simple, there is almost a scary reality to it. At the risk of turning a simple movie review into a social/political commentary, the dumb far out breed the smart. In a short time, geologically speaking, we will be overwhelmed by those who only speak "Slanglish."

From the title, to the description, to the end credits, this movie delivers exactly what you would expect… 84 minutes of mental diversion and some great laughs to boot.

Random Thoughts: Screen Actors Guild Awards

A quick random thought today...

Does anyone really care about the SAG Awards? Really? All they are are a chance for actors to sexually gratify each other without anyone having to take their cloths off.

The only argument that I can think of to justify this awards show would be that an actor is the most qualified to judge the performance of another actor. Of course, if said actor was such a good judge of acting, he should be the recipient of the award instead of the judge.

Just imagine what kind of fantastic entertainment would be produced if all these "expert actor judges" put their knowledge and expertise into acting instead of awards shows. We would probably get at least 3 movies a year that would be worth watching.

Movie Review: My Super Ex-Girlfriend

Jenny Johnson (Uma Thurman) plays the role of unsuspecting art gallery owner or coordinator or something in this ultra-predictable, but fast moving movie. Little do we know, she is also known as G-Girl.

Super powers aside, Jenny is super jealous and super controlling and super annoying. No one who is so self absorbed would ever even think about helping anyone other than himself (or in this case, herself). Taken as a generic movie, the characters are completely unlikable, other than supporting characters Vaughn Haige (Rainn Wilson) and Hannah Lewis (Anna Faris). Taken as a comedy, the only real scene that deserved a chuckle was the shark-through-the-window scene which was shown in the trailer.

Matt Saunders (Luke Wilson) rounds out the cast of jerks in this movie. While he is usually a decent straight-man comedy actor, you can only play the role you are given. Unfortunately this was a very one-dimensional role and the greatest acting in the world could not save it.

The one saving grace, as I said, was that this movie was fast moving. One reason for that was the length. At 96 minutes, one barely has time to finish an extra-large bucket of popcorn. Fortunately, the worst this movie will cost you now is rental price. With a lot of movies at Blockbuster going for $1 per day, it is almost worth it to see this movie.

Movie News: It feels like someone hit me on the head with a wrench

Oh my frikkin god! I just found out something that completely blew my mind out of commission today. (That’s pretty bad considering that its only 9:00. Anyway, here it is…

They are making a ‘Three Stooges’ movie!

By “they” I mean the (in)famous Farrelly Brothers. Yes, those champions of comedy who brought us ‘Dumb & Dumber’ and ‘There’s Something About Mary.’

Ok… Try to focus your thoughts… Breathe… Breathe… Ok.

Now, I don’t really know what to think about this. Generally, I like the Farrelly Brothers comedy style. I don’t particularly like their casting choices, but that is a different issue. The biggest thing that is screaming in my brain is the question, “Why?” Why would they make a movie that couldn’t possibly succeed?

I feel confident making that statement for a couple of reasons. First, there will be the purists who refuse to even accept Shemp, Joe or Curly-Joe as true stooges. These people will surely be the loudest critics.

Then, there are the people who have never watched The Stooges. This may be due to the fact that they were born after 1970. It may also be due to the fact that Vaudeville-style slapstick humor went out long before 1970.

Finally, there are the people who just don’t understand Stooge comedy. These people have seen several episodes. They may even have chuckled a few times at a slap or a poke. When it finally comes down to it, though, they just don’t get it.

With all that opposition, the only people you will have left who want to see this movie will be single white males, aged 30-50. So, to summarize, the Farrelly Brothers are make a movie for all those sad lonely guys who eat alone in their apartments with all the lights out watching TV and playing computer games. On a plus note, the DVD sales/rentals will be through the roof.

Movie Review: Sin City

Frank Miller's "Sin City" gets better with each passing day since I saw it. Fans of Robert Rodrigues' unique style of visual storytelling will not be disappointed. Those who have seen his other works (Desperado, Once Upon A Time Down In Mexico, Spy Kids, etc.) will instantly recognize his form and format. Those that haven't seen them or don't recall them will be equally impressed.

This movie, based on the comic book of the same name, is black-and-white with splashes of color that really make things pop. Compound that with surreal gun fire effects and scantily clad women and you've got a sure winner.

The story to this movie is more accurately described as three stories (five if you count the opening and closing bits). The stories are well formed with sometimes heavy dialog. If you enjoy 30s/40s gangster stories, you will probably really enjoy them. Each part is loosely tied back to the rest of the movie visually, which is what this movie is really all about.

The cinematography and visual effects for this movie were excellent. In fact, I would have to say that, by far, this was the best visual movie I have ever seen. One could almost turn the sound off and still know what was going on. (When I get the DVD, I plan to try that.)

I can't quite figure out what it is about this movie that makes me like it as much as I do. When I left the movie, my initial thought was that it was good, and certainly worth the money. After letting the movie sit in my mind for a while, I can't seem to think that it was anything less than spectacular.

The movie possesses an all-star cast of Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Clive Owen and many others. Rosario Dawson was especially good. In a surprise to me (I hate Gillmore Girls), I really liked Alexis Bledel. Its not that she is a good actress (she really isn't). Its not that she is so attractive (Ok, she is cute, but nothing special). What really did it for me was the effect that they used on her bluer-than-blue eyes.

When it really comes down to it, that is what this movie is all about… the visual effects. I can see this movie being a likely candidate for best director and best cinematography in the various film awards.

Overall, this was a great movie. I can't wait for the DVD.