Recent Viewings!

[Mr_Vindictive]

I finally buckled down and watched some flicks this week.  Here's the list:

Beyond The Sea (2004) - Dir. Kevin Spacey - Decent little biography/drama about the life of singer Bobby Darin.  Kevin Spacey plays Darin quite well, but the film was a bit sugary for my taste.  Sure there are a few depressing bits, but most of Darin's life couldn't have been so....good.  Oh well, the music was good but I could have done without the dance numbers.  Decent rental if you're into that type of music.  6/10

Frailty (2001) - Dir. Bill Paxton - I absolutely hate it when a great flick like this goes completely unnoticed by the average movie viewing public.  I picked this one up out of the 5.50 bin at WalMart and couldn't be happier.  I had rented it a few times in the past, and it's great to see again.  Film revolves around Paxton and his two children.  He's a religious man and believes that God wants him to kill "demons" disguised as regular people.  Fantastic film with quite a few twists.  8.5/10

Repo Man (1984) - Dir. Alex Cox - Picked this one up along with Dinner For Five on DVD from Deepdiscountdvd.com after someone made a thread about it a few wks ago.  Eventhough I hadn't seen the film in nearly a decade, it is still great to this day.  Emilio Estevez plays Otto Maddox, a suburban punk rocker who is starting to lose interest in the punk scene.  He then becomes recruited by Harry Dean Stanton to be a repo man.  Add in a Malibu with aliens in the trunk and you have one hell of a movie.  My wife had never seen the flick, so she sat down and watched it with me.  Unfortunatly, she felt it to be one of the worst films she had ever seen, which led to an agreement between her and I which I will mention in another movie review.  9/10

Dinner For Five - Season 1 (2001) - I actually only started watching Dinner For Five last season, so I have completely missed the entire first season.  Picked it up from Deepdiscountdvd.com for 10.00 eventhough it is a 2 disc set!  Fantastic show and well worth shelling out the 10.00 for!  If you have seen the show and love it or have never seen it - pick it up on DVD!  10/10

The Pacifier (2005) - Dir. Adam Shankman - This was my punishment for getting my wife to watch Repo Man.  I really loathe Disney....no I really really do.  This film is even more reason!  Vin Diesel plays a navy seal who is sent to guard a family of children from any type of attack that might occur.  Not even Brad Garret could save this one.  And I was actually expecting something good from Thomas Lennon and Ben Garant's (Reno 911, The State) script.  3/10

The Machinist (2004) Dir. Brad Anderson - So, this flick was released on DVD back in June and I went to my local Blockbuster on it's release date.  I asked the manager if they had any copies since I could not find one.  The manager for whatever reason lambasted me for asking and said that they did not carry it and probably NEVER would because SHE had never heard of it.  You should never work at Blockbuster if you don't know crap about films!  Anyway, this film is amazing.  It follows Trevor Reznik (a very skinny Christian Bale).  He hasn't slept in over a year and one day at work is distracted by a new employee, and acidentally cuts off the arm of a co-worker.  The problem though is that the new employee that distracted him apparently doesn't exist.  Nobody has heard of him or has seen him other than Trevor.  Could a game be being played on Trevor or is he losing his mind?  Amazing flick directed by Brad Anderson, who directed one of my  other favorite thrillers - Session 9.  The only thing I didn't like about the film was that it was filmed in Spain (no offense Neville).  Whenever a location in the film didn't look quite right, I would remember that it was filmed in Spain and it would take me out of the film a bit.  Overall though, the film is a great experience and the perfect film if you're in the mood for a dark thriller.  9/10

Thats it.  It's been a busy week.

[Zapranoth]

She didn't like Repo Man?!?

[Mr_Vindictive]

Zap,

Nope, she disliked it quite a bit.  I'm not quite sure why.  She normally likes quirky strange flicks, but this just wasn't one of them.

[Scott]

Sounds like some good ones Skaboi. The only ones I've seen are REPO MAN and FRAILTY. Liked both films.

The Machinist sounds interesting.

[Mr_Vindictive]

Scott,

I would highly recommend The Machinist.  As I mentioned, it's directed by Brad Anderson who did the extremely overlooked Session 9.

I would recommend renting Session 9 and The Machinist and have a great little double feature night.  Both are dark, creepy and have some great twists.

[odinn7]

"The manager for whatever reason lambasted me for asking and said that they did not carry it and probably NEVER would because SHE had never heard of it. "

I think I'd be looking for someone to complain to about that.

Anyway, I think I'll rent this one. You said Session 9 was good and I rented it because of that and it turned out great. You like the Machinist that much? I'll be renting it this week sometime.
And don't worry about the wife not liking Repo Man. I think, for some reason, it must be a guy thing...my wife hates it also. In fact, now that I think about it, she hates most of everything I like.

[Mr_Vindictive]

Odinn,

You must be right about it being a dude thing.  It is one of those great "guy" flicks.  It doesn't have much point but it does have some badass characters and punk rock.

As for complaining about the Blockbuster thing...who exactly do you complain to when the complaint is against the manager?  LOL  I'll get over it.  Most of the people that work there are jerks anyway.

But, The Machinist is worth a look.  It's not as strong of a film as Session 9 (for me atleast) but it's quite good.  It is really quite amazing though when you go back and look at Brad Anderson's flicks considering how young he is.  Guy Is A Genius.

[Chopper]

i liked the Machinist a lot also. very dark film, considering the way it was photographed and the scenery, and definitely rich with story and characters.

i'd recommend the Jacket to everyone also if they digged the Machinist.

[odinn7]

"As for complaining about the Blockbuster thing...who exactly do you complain to when the complaint is against the manager? LOL I'll get over it. Most of the people that work there are jerks anyway."

I hate people like that and if it were me, I'd complain. It may not do any good but I'd give it a shot anyway.
Where You Complain

[trekgeezer]

Bale dropped 67lbs to play the part in the Machinist. Then had to gain that plus about 20 more to play Batman in 5 months.