Here's Comes Me, Fellas!

Well now that I have achieved my life's goal of being invited to contribute to Allison's movie blog I don't know how my life can go anywhere but downhill. I was wondering what sort of epic and profound first post I could make and decided on making a list of my favorite director cameos, but then decided I would include major roles by typically non-acting directors as well. So I don't know what the hell kind of title you could give to this list. Also it's in no particular order.

1. Tim Burton's appearance in the video dating shop in Singles. "He's only, like, the next Martin Score-seeeze."
2. Basically any Alfred Hitchcock cameo, but I particularly like the double bass he lugs around in Strangers on a Train.
3. François Truffaut in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I hate the movie, but his cheerful Frenchness makes me watch it every time it's on TV. He also makes a funny appearance in his awesome movie The Story of Adele H.
4. Roman Polanski slitting Jack Nicholson's nose in Chinatown. That might actually be my favorite.
5. David Lynch as FBI Bureau Chief Gordon Cole in both the show and movie Twin Peaks. Hi-freaking-larious.
6. Sydney Pollack as the American director in Avenue Montaigne. This is pretty much the only time I can say that Sydney Pollack pleases me.
7. John Huston playing Noah Cross in Chinatown, although I hesitate to put it on here since he did act semi-regularly unlike the other people on here.
8. Terrence Malick playing a detective in Badlands, giving us a nice little look at him before he decided to tantalize the world by making only a single, always completely awesome movie every ten years.
9. Francis Ford Coppola as the TV news guy in Apocalypse Now.
10. Jean-Luc Godard, looking very French and brooding as usual, as in the informer in Breathless.

So, if you haven't seen these movies and have no idea what I'm talking about, I guess you will just have to watch them and see.

But seriously, François Truffaut is the most adorable director ever.

"Igby Goes Down"

This dark tale of money, sex, drugs and self-destruction is so perfect that it cannot be missed. Kieran Culkin plays Igby, a Holden Caufield-esk boy who hates his mother (Susan Sarandon) and the cold world of privilege that she brought him into. In order to escape this world and his fate, he dives into New York City for a year of self-discovery. Along the way, he meets interesting characters such as a neurotic dancer (Amanda Peet), a strung out performance artist (Jared Harris), the love of his adolescent life (Claire Danes) and occasionally runs into his stuck-up older brother (Ryan Phillipe) who embodies everything that he does not want to be. Whether you loved The Catcher in the Rye or are simply a fan of dark comedy in general, this is the movie for you.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country - The Rifftrax Edition

Click on the title of this post to see what I'm talking about.

First, let it be known that I AM NOT A TREKKIE. Despite popular belief, although I am a big geek, I do not claim to love Star Trek. I actually find it quite boring. Correct labels for me would be "Ringer" (LOTR Fan) and "Star Wars... er.. person." But lets move on from scrutinizing the extent of my nerdom. Please.

That being said, I rented Star Trek VI for the sole purpose of viewing it with the Rifftrax commentary. For those of you who don't know what Rifftrax is, leave now. You're no friend of mine.

I'm kidding. No really, we're still friends. I promise.

Rifftrax is the rebirth of my favorite TV show of all time, MST3K. Basically, the entire premise of the show is a bunch of dudes sit in front of some of the most horrible movies ever made and rip them to pieces. Hilarity ensues.

Star Trek VI, although not as awesomely bad as Star Trek V (affectionately called "Shatner ruins the franchise"), is pretty hilarious when you add commentary. Mike and Kevin just rip it to pieces... "Dueling Shatners" is a classic moment in cinema history. As Mike says, "He can't even out-act himself!" Which is just so true. So true.

If you're a nerd, a wanabe nerd, a Trekkie, a Star Wars fan, or just a person who enjoys a good laugh - I highly recommend Rifftrax. They have a whole bunch of movies up on the site, so far I have watched Star Trek V, IV, and X-Men. All were hilarious. The Star Trek ones were the most ab-crunching since they're just so ridiculous.

Hard Candy

I recieved this movie in the mail yesterday (via Blockbuster Online's free trial month offer). I was hoping that one of the more innocuous movies on my queue would have arrived - unfortunately, my mother saw it and immediately wanted to watch it with me.

Let me tell you a few little facts that I knew about this movie before I rented it:
- It's about pedophiles.
- It was one of the most controversial movies of 2005.
- It was not a movie I was planning on watching with my mother.

You can see why this might not be a movie to watch with your mother. But with the risk of being "secretive" ("What are you hiding from me?!") and after trying for at least 10 minutes to dissuade her, we began to watch the movie together.

Hard Candy takes a conventional movie theme and turns it on its head. Predator turned prey has long been a device of storytelling, albeit this movie seems to take it for a ride. Certainly not for the squeamish, it keeps you guessing - where is this movie taking me?

The fun in this movie is the suspense, the horror and the complete and utter feeling of "What the fuck?!" during the entire course of the movie. I have a feeling that many people will not "get it." From what I can gather from a single viewing, this movie isn't out to make a statement - it uses conventional suspense tactics except in an entirely new area - which in turn makes the viewer uncomfortable and shakes their sense of security.

The Bottom Line: Hard Candy isn't a movie you're likely to run out and buy the DVD for... that said:
- I certainly recommend watching it.
- Don't view this one with your mother, brother, sister or other familial figure. It would probably be awkward to watch with just about anyone. Leave this one for "private viewing" just to save yourself the embarrassment.
- This movie doesn't have any huge gory scenes, but still, you don't want to be munching on popcorn and candy during this one.

Until another movie drops into my mailbox - Sayonarra.

Keepin' It Real...JC style

First of all, I would like to thank my partner in crime for creating this blog and making me a contributor before I even knew about it. Allison, you are completely genius so I figured that I would make a nod to our bad-ASH viewing habits with my very first post. Anyone who ever ate lunch with us knew of our undying love for the Saturday New Classics on TNT and, of course, Mr. John Cusack. In true High Fidelity fashion, I will now list my all time, top-five John Cusack movies of all time.

5. Runaway Jury- street cars, sticking it to the man and John
4. Being John Malkovich- weird, sometimes uncomfortable but with John
3. Anastasia- animation, singing Russians and John
2. High Fidelity- music snobbery, Jack Black and John
1. Say Anything…- Pete Gabriel, a boombox and John

So now that you know my weakness, you will understand that despite the future snobbery that I will exhibit, I am human too. So read on. Until we meet again….

Huh?!

If you're visiting this blog for the first time, there may be many things pressing into your mind:

• Why am I at this stupid website?
• Why am I wasting my life on the internets?
• What is this stupid website about anyway?
• What do I want to eat for dinner?

I realize these are pressing matters. Allow me to help you settle a few of them. This is a blog where Glinkster and I will post little blurbs about movies we've watched recently. These will either be recent movies in theaters, or just movies we've rented. We love movies, you see. Our little reviews will then save you the time and money of renting or screening a bad movie. It will also serve to help you make better film choices.

So sit back, relax and get ready to read some delicious reviews written by none other than yours truly and the Glinkmaster.