Falling Down (1993)

A desperate man gets into violent altercations while trying to get home to his family.

Bill Foster (Michael Douglas) is a smart but disturbed man who is fed up with modern society's greed, callousness, and cruelty.  He abandons his car in a traffic jam on the thruway, walking through a dangerous area of L.A., getting into one altercation after another.  He accumulates an increasingly lethal array of weapons along the way, which he is not shy to use.

On his trail is Detective Prendergast (Robert Duvall), a gentle cop on his last day before taking his clingy wife to Arizona for their retirement.  His gung-ho commanding officer despises him and wants him to go quietly, but Prendergast cannot let it go.

What's really interesting is that we are made to empathize with Douglas' situation, but not the man himself. His complaints are all of ours.  We've been layed off.  We've been refused breakfast at McDonalds at the 10:31 cutoff.  We've all had the bait and switch pulled on us by corporate business. We've dealt with rude, greedy shopkeepers, and bullies.  And we all just want to get home to our family.

But we are not empathetic to the man however. He's violent and gets an empty satisfaction out of giving people their "just desserts".  So you can't root for him. You can't take your eyes off him either.   This is my favorite Michael Douglas role (and his as well).

Quickie Synopsis

I'm
the
bad guy?












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Wing Chun (1994)

Female Kung-Fu expert protects her village from bandits.

One of the best all-around Kung Fu flicks you will see. Michelle Yeoh  is perfect as a calm, melancholy kick-ass tofu chef.  What's nice is a lack of blood and gore, and superb slapstick kung fu action.  Lots of slobbering local men and a wacky tofu-shop lady for a little silly comedy thrown in.

By the way, the kung fu choreography is top notch.  If you don't know Yuen Woo-ping, learn him now.....(choreographer and action director for Kill Bill, The Matrix, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Drunken Master, Iron Monkey, Kung Fu Hustle, and a score of others)

My wife is not a huge Kung Fu fan, but she greatly enjoyed this one.

Quickie Synopsis

Smash This
Pan of Tofu
If You Can

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Minnie and Moskowitz (1971)

2 unlikely damaged people fall in love.

If you're looking for a love story waaay off the beaten path, this is a good one. Minnie is a damaged lady working at a museum.  She has no luck with men, hangs out at the movies with her elderly co-worker, and has been falsely lured by Hollywood romance.

Seymour Moskowitz is a broke, aimless car valet with an impulsive personality, long hair, and a hell of a mustache.  These two tug, fight, and scramble their way into a relationship.

The original indie director John Cassavetes unleashed this on the heels of Easy Rider.  This director is known for improvisation and rough filming style, so beware, this is not a polished looking movie.

That being said, Gena Rowlands is strikingly beautiful and shows so many facets. Seymour Cassel goes balls out with his heart on his sleeve ("I think about you so much I forget to go to the bathroom.")   and looks like a desperate, aging hippy.  What a couple these 2 make.

Seymour says the line, "If you think of yourself as funny, you become tragic.", which kind of defines the movie for me.  It is funny, but you can't laugh.  Very sweet romance and watchable for sure.



Quickie Synopsis
Gritty
Quirky
Sweet


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The American (2010)

A hitman does one last job in Italy.

Don't watch this film if you're looking for a glossy, trendy action flick.  This is a different kind of movie. There's minimal dialogue.  The pacing and plotting are somewhat more along the lines of a 70's Charles Bronson film.  It takes its time, doesn't reveal too much, and doesn't foreshadow the action.

George Clooney is good for the most part-- don't go looking for Seth Gecko here. His character is calm, competent, and thoughtful.  But it does fit with the style of the movie, and it works.

Also, check out the stunning Italian actress, Violante Placido....nom nom nom...

You'll not find any major revelations, lessons, or crazy plot twists, etc.  It's a simple story. And overall a pretty good movie.  So eat a bowl of polenta and enjoy.

Quickie Synopsis:

Hitman
In
Italy

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Bad Grandpa (2013)

Johnny Knoxville plays dirty 86-year old Irving Zisman, who begrudgingly drives his 8-year old grandson Billy across the country to live with his lowlife father.

 This plot is used to tie together a bunch of mostly physical gags pulled candid-camera style on real people (ala Borat). The twist is Knoxville, who has a penchant for crashing shopping carts and taking hard shots to the nuts. Add some extreme prosthetics and a remarkably ballsy 8-year old kid and well, you get the idea.

Any comedy movie consisting of gags held together by a simple story will be hit and miss, that comes with the dinner. This one is more watchable than most, due to the chemistry between Knoxville and amazing young Jackson Nicholl, who steals scenes regularly.

This is fairly tamer than you would think, and kind of sweet actually, but if your wife doesn't dig the Three Stooges, or appreciate rubber genitalia (in a movie that is), don't take her. Four Giant Smiles from me, well worth a night out for some laughs.

Quickie Synopsis
I'll
call you
Cinnamon



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Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)

A nutty group of California high school students and their shenanigans...

This is the ever loving mother of High School-coming-of-age movies.  It can righteously be called a classic.

Sean Penn gave birth to the definitive "stoner" character, Spicoli, and rules it with an iron fist.  He steals every scene he's in outright.

It's a good mainstream cross-section group of HS students -- Jennifer Jason-Leigh and Brian Backer are the "nice" kids, weaving their way through the search for love.  Robert Romanus is the slick operator.  Sean Penn is the stoner.  Judge Reinhold is the fast-food-working-regular-guy.  Phoebe Cates is the precocious sex kitten. And the wonderful Ray Walston (my favorite martian) is the harsh history teacher, Mr. Hand.

What keeps this film from spiraling out of control, is that just about every character has a distinct shift as they come to terms with the consequences of their actions.

However, life lessons is not what this film is about.  It is about fun, pure and simple.  And it is a hoot to watch.

Quickie Synopsis

Hey Bud,
Let's
Party!


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The Idolmaker (1980)

The Idolmaker (1980)

A music manager turns ordinary young men into singing idols.

Ray Sharky gives a killer high-octane performance as Vincent Vacarri, an intensely driven music manager who transforms a high school kid and a small-time sax player into national superstars.

The ultimate stage mother, he injects every move, every note, and nuance into his performers, and we're all along every step of the way on this ride.  Tremendous supporting cast including Joe Pantoliano, Tovah Feldshuh, and Peter Gallagher.   You can feel the raw nerves the first time this kid walks onto a stage, and the thrill as he breaks through to the audience.

The performance scenes are marvelous.  Hats off to director Taylor Hackford, who pulled them off so precisely.

What rounds this story off nicely is the backstory of Vincent, and the inevitable problems that arise from his obsessive personality.  What could easily have become a happy-dappy one-dimensional biopic turns into a legitimate tale of success, struggle, and redemption.

This one is over 30 years old and still fresh.
A first rate movie from start to finish.

Quickie Synopsis
Baby
Baby
I just wanna take you.....













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Hesher (2010)

Hesher (2010)

An aimless heavy-metal badass infiltrates a grieving family.

I went into this expecting the cliche.  You know, a charismatic good-hearted knucklehead who, through his wisdom and wild shenanigans, brings a family together after a crisis.

Not really.

Well, it kinda goes there, but unlike you would expect.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a reckless, impulsive guy who lives for the moment.  And despite his smiling eyes, he's not all that wise.  And at the moment you expect something profound from him, well....keep waiting.   He's pretty much just a shithead.

Look though in Gordon-Levitt's character for the little slivers of reflection and honor that break through, just barely.  Restrained and well done.

Rainn Wilson plays completely against type, bearded, and morose. Natalie Portman (who produced) plays an unsure, awkward girl and makes it look easy to boot.  Devin Brochu is a 12-year old who can actually act-- go figure.

This is a small indie-type movie that skillfully evades convention.  OK, it does have the standard indie offbeat meaningful gesture toward the end, but it's an interesting watch.

Quickie Synopsis
Badass
Moves
In


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New York Stories (1989)

New York Stories (1989)

Three 40-minute stories set in madcap Manhattan, each by a famous director.  Scorsese/Coppola/Allen in that order.

Interesting pick for a rainy movie night.

First story features Nick Nolte as a successful painter feeding off his obsession with his young, pretty live-in assistant (Rosanna Arquette).  By far the best out of the 3.  A finely crafted angst-fest!

Second tale features a privileged 12-year old girl's mild shenanigans in an upscale hotel.   Fast forward past this.  It is drivel.  Why Francis, why?
Leave this story.  Take the cannolis.

Third gem by Woody Allen features a middle-aged man tortured by his opinionated nudnik of a mother.  Typical Woody here, it is a refreshing dessert after the first 2.

Worth seeing overall.  Meatloaf hit the nail on the head for this one:

Two Out of Three Ain't Bad

Quickie Synopsis
Scorcese
Coppola
Allen


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Rock of Ages (2012)

Rock of Ages (2012)

Rock of Ages Survival Guide

Ok, I got caught off guard with this one, and here’s some advice that might help virgin viewers of this film.

Prepare yourself, and gear up mentally beforehand.  It is a musical.  Be prepared for all the cliché 80’s songs you can possibly stand.  They will be used, abused, fondled, spindled and mutilated.  That’s a given.   Do not waste your cynicism on this film.  Every affectation will be brutally perpetrated.

Warning:

Don’t base your opinions of this movie on your like or dislike of 80’s music.

Don’t base your opinions of this movie on musical pureness or integrity.

NOTE! 

In the finale you will hear “Don’t Stop Believing”.  This will be your  hardest “suspend your cynicism” test.  I did not put a spoiler alert for this because it’s no big surprise really.  Take the gun away from your head.  This is the inevitable ending to this movie and cannot be avoided.  Just be thankful it does not drag out too long.

If you can follow the instructions above, it’s pretty enjoyable overall.

Quickie Synopsis
Cheesy
80's
Fun



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Food Inc. (2008)

Food Inc. (2008)

A scary look of how a handful of corporations are engineering and mass-processing our food.

Imagine you're a farmer getting sued by giant Monsanto Corp. because you planted your own seeds instead of using their genetically engineered ones. Chickens are now raised in half the time they were 50 years ago.  And twice as big. And re-engineered to have more breast meat.  Cows are being force-fed corn cause it's cheap and makes them fat. And sick.  This is an exploration into how our food is being engineered and mass-processed.

Makes you want to start raising chickens on the fire escape.  And put the kids in bunks, cause you'll need space for the pigs.  Just don't get the genetically engineered ones...

You won't want to eat any more after watching this movie, so get extra popcorn.

Quote:
"The industry doesn't want you to know the truth to what you're eating.
Because if you knew, you might not want to eat it."

Quickie Synopsis
Assembly
Line
Meat

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House Of Flying Daggers (2004)

House of Flying Daggers (2004)

A carefree policeman breaks a beautiful kung fu rebel out of jail. Not much not to like here. It's all good.

Ziyi Zhang (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) plays a blind kung fu expert, Takeshi Kaneshiro as the carefree cop, and Andy Lau (Shaolin) as the intense cop. These 3 super-strong leads mesh well together, each one fascinating and watchable in their own right.

The cinematography is downright stunning, along with the action. Highly stylized, intense beauty of movement, much in the Crouching Tiger way-- if you liked that, you'll love this. Good plot, lots of espionage. And of course flying kung-fu-ers.

Many memorable scenes and images.  If you haven't recently had a fight to the death in a bamboo forest, there's an excellent one here to guide you.   If there was one criticism I could make, it's that they were very liberal with the flying knife physics, but I got over that, gave in to the style, and was enchanted.

Quickie Synopsis:
Stunning
Flying
Steel

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Newlyweds (2011)

A newly married couple deals with the drama sparked by a visit from the husbands' flighty sister.

If you're a fan of Ed Burns, check this one out. The writer/director of The Brothers McMullen, and She's The One offers up this intimate film about, well... intimacy. Buzzy and Katie live in NY. Buzzy loves his new marriage because he works days and she works nights, thus making his new marriage the man's futile dream--one big, no-drama newlywed vacation.

Until, that is, his butterfly of a sister arrives unexpectedly from L.A. to light up the drama. Throw in Katie's bitter older sister and her rocky marriage, Katie's starving artist ex, and you've got the makings of a nice Ed Burns Irish Stew (not too Irish this time...)

Kerry Biche is adorable in this film-- I mention this for when you watch it, smile, and say, "who is this girl?"

This is an obvious love-note to NY and Woody Allen--no problem there. Rumor has it that this film was made for only $9,000 in 12 days. Lots of handheld shots, some of it in semi-documentary style, some of the locations look like someone's apartment...who cares--it works. Burns' script is true, human, and funny and that's all you need.

Quickie Synopsis
Deal
With
Family


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Cedar Rapids (2011)

This is the adventure of a naïve small-town insurance salesman attending a big out-of-town convention. Who better than Ed Helms to play the idealistic, childlike Tim Lippe. He hooks up with a wonderful trio of cronies, Isiah Whitlock Jr, John C. Reilly, and Ann Heche.

This could’ve been an easily forgettable romp--there’s plenty of sex, drugs and debauchery to go around. But it’s not. There’s a real solidness to it; a sweetness to the story. A man’s (albeit a goofy man’s) coming of age, and the value of friends, honesty, and ethics.

It’s a well-woven blend of really hysterical moments and also some very tender ones. It can go slightly over the top at times, but hey, it all works. Not preachy or overly sugared with sentiment. But you feel it. Ed Helms has a big part in that, his genius is making you feel sorry for him while you’re laughing at him. Wonderful stuff.

And he can rock the lame sweaters as well as Pacino can rock the shades.

John C. Reilly really nails the obnoxious jerk/goodguy combo role, and thank you lord, Ann Heche in a part that I could actually tolerate her in. Sigourney Weaver, Kurtwood Smith (the bad guy in RoboCop), and freckled Alia Shawkat are 3 very nice treats as well.

This is a fine popcorn or date movie. Very gentle with good laughs and a feel-good vibe. And it ended perfectly by the way.

Quickie Synopsis

Manchild
Comes
Of Age


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The Paper Chase (1973)

The struggles of a Harvard Law School student. Timothy Bottoms is solid and thoughtful as James Hart, a first-year law student. He is completely awed and terrified to the point of puking by the dreaded Professor Kingsfield. John Houseman won an Oscar for playing this sarcastic, intelligent and caustic giant. If you want essential John Houseman, this is the movie to see.

Lindsay Wagner plays Hart's love interest and daughter of the feared professor. Some very fun characters show up in the likes of Graham Beckel, Edward Herrmann, and Craig Richard Nelson as Hart's study group partners.

Love that early 70's feel-- kind of a laid-back outer coating revealing a ball of stress nestled on the inside. Even if you are not a law student, this is a very smart movie with some characters you will not forget, trust me. An overused word these days, but Kingsfield is EPIC.

Quickie Synopsis

I
Train
Your Minds



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Smoke Signals (1998)

Victor, a young troubled Coeur D'Alene Native American, travels off the reservation on a personal quest for some kind of truth about his estranged dad.  Tagging along is his cousin, Thomas, a chatty, bespectacled Indian storyteller.

Ultimately this is a story about love, regret, and redemption.   All wrapped up in a tongue-in-cheek, yet reverent  look at modern Native American life on a reservation.  Victor is  bitter and angry--annoyed to no end at Thomas’ chatting and storytelling, his nerdy look and medicine-man-wannabe persona;  yet something in Thomas is pure and wise, containing ancient wisdom.

One of the beautiful things about this film is the ability to focus on something that would initially seem trivial, especially when larger issues are at stake.  Of course this would be frybread.  Frybread is a simple dough of flour and yeast, fried in oil, and is a Native American staple.  Victors mother, Arlene,  is proud of her frybread.  Thomas tells grandiose, epic stories about Arlene’s frybread.  Suddenly it’s not so trivial anymore.

Evan Adams, who plays Thomas, gives one of those performance that might seem caricatured and over the top (you will be mimicking him after the movie, I promise you), yet is formidable and captures the truth at the same time.  Hard to do, and he nailed it.

This is a sweet and lovely film that is haunted with ghosts of the past and the future.  As a father, the ending got me pretty good.   Not one to be missed .

PS, after watching this again, I actually tried making frybread, and it was AWESOME.

Quickie Synopsis

Fry
Bread
Power

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Jeremiah Johnson (1972)

A man heads deep into the hills to become a mountain-man and tangles with nature and hostile Crow Indians.
Wow.  Magnificently filmed, with a great story, and directed by Sydney Pollack, so there is no way yer going wrong with this one. 

Robert Redford makes the handsomest mountain man you'll ever see.  Will Geer and Stefan Gierash are 2 very memorable fur-clad pals.  These are men that have chosen the life of hunting, bushcraft, and trapping in solitude; in one of the most glorious and dangerous places on the planet.

It's not about sitting cross-legged around a fire and singing Kumbaya.  Johnson must deal smartly with various tribes of local Indians, the US Government, dangerous animals, the harshness of nature, and people he meets along the way. You get the very real sense of constant urgency, danger, and beauty.  From the seemingly small act of making a fire, to making life and death decisions--it's constant.  He's surviving.

Forget garbage like Bear Gryllis climbing a rock wall behind a McDonalds in Aspen.  This movie puts you right up in the Rockie mountains close up, and it's fantastic all the way around.

Quickie Synopsis
Day
To
Day

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