Kick the Amp Over

(If, for some reason, you’re thoroughly interested in my Netflix activity, I’ll be posting it here from now on, possibly with short reviews for each film.)

Waiting for Guffman 6/08

Absolutely hilarious.  A mockumentary about putting on a musical in a small Midwestern town?  Yes, please.

2001 A Space Odyssey 5/12/08

I never managed to sit all the way through this film until just recently, and it was beyond worth it. It’s got some of the trippiest effects of all time, and it literally came out 40 years ago.

I recommend falling in and out of sleep during it for some fucking crazy dreams.

There Will Be Blood 4/19/08

I finally got to see this contender for Best Picture, and honestly thought it was just as good as No Country for Old Men. There are some flaws which have been frequently addressed (no plot conflict, but more of the story of one man), but fluctuating between subtlety and explosive (so to speak) moments backed by the genius composing of Radiohead weirdo Jonny Greenwood, this film is 2.5 hours of non-stop fascination.

I can’t see myself getting sick of it even if I watched it nightly, and I’m going to look into more Paul Thomas Anderson films as well as Daniel Day-Lewis.

Also, the silent intro is breathtaking and possibly the best intro to a movie since 2001. This and No Country will undoubtedly be the movies of the decade.

Idiocracy 4/15/08

Hilariously stupid. I’m not going to pretend that I’m too good for it. Between a movie called Ass, a TV show called Ow, My Balls, and a super-hero-esque person named Beef Supreme, it’s so fucking stupid I can’t help but laugh.

This is England 4/13/08

Snore.

The Apartment 4/10/08

The Best Picture winner of 1960, this film did not in any way disappoint me, even though it violates my rule of disliking any film pre-1983. It was fun to follow, hilarious but not necessarily in a laugh-out-loud way, and overall a well-told story. I apologize for such a shallow comment, but Shirley McClaine is smokin’ hot in this film.

Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb 3/14/08

With midterms, the GRE and whatnot, I haven’t had time to view to many films. Fortunately, I kicked off my re-entry into film-land this week with Kubrick’s classic.

This black comedy about war even seems controversial today. Kubrick ties in war, insanity, sex, politics, capitalism, jingoism, and just about every aspect of American Life and effectively makes fun of it. There’s nothing more to say about it than it’s a damn good film.

Plus, there’s a young James Earl Jones. I just always thought that guy was like 60.

Planet of the Apes 3/2/08

This continues to be one of my favorite stories of all time. There’s simply nothing more that I can say about it other than it’s a true classic, right down to the musical score.

Brothers Solomon 2/20/08

First of all, I swear I don’t view movies in any form of alphabetical order.

That said, Brothers Solomon is one of the most delightfully awful films I’ve seen in ages. I rented it for the sake of viewing Will Arnett beside Will Forte (as if there’s any other reason whatsoever to rent it) and was not disappointed. The movie is exactly what I expected: The Wills playing the same characters they always do. The only other driving factor of this movie is that it’s directed by Bob Odenkirk of Mr. Show and Adult Swim fame.

While watching this film that features the Wills awkwardly smiling, dancing, and running to cliche, over-inspirational, cheesy ’80s “montage” songs, I highly recommend you drink. That way at the end of the film at least you’ll be buzzed from alcohol if nothing else, and the evening isn’t considered an entire waste.

Still, I literally laughed until my sides hurt. But that should only reflect my own personal poor taste, not the high quality of the film.

Broken Flowers 2/18/08

This is the first Jim Jarmusch film I’ve seen after hearing about him for years and it lived up to my expectations. I enjoy serious-Bill Murray from time to time. It’s almost always the same, but he’s great in certain contexts. This film has a great story as Bill Murray tracks down five of his past lovers, all of whom are fascinating characters in their own respects.