The Man with the Golden Eyeball

As my summer comes to an end, I admit, I am sad to leave behind the lazy days of watching movies, writing, basking in the sunlight, and going to movies with friends, I can't say I am completely depressed, because, as school starts again, I will see my friends basically everyday, and have a lot more things to occupy my time.

However, as I now look back on the summer of 2010, I am still surprised by the sheer number of great films released over the last 2 1/2 months. In June, we were graced with the presence of, in my opinion the second best music comedy ever made, Get Him to the Greek. Russell Brand's hilariously quintessential, self-important Aldous Snow is the perfect match for Jonah Hill. A great soundtrack, surprisingly excellent performance by Sean Combs, and great mixture of both physical and dialogue-driven comedy make it one of the best so far this year.

Then, two weeks later, the film that I, and millions more children of the nineties, had been waiting for since we were wee lads was released. Toy Story 3 opened, kicked the ass of any component brave enough to challenge it, and delivered in a way few sequels of sequels can, it surpasses the original in emotional impact, characters, and humor, in my opinion, of course.

The next film I bothered to see after that was the completely badass, worthy sequel, Predators. I will admit, immediately after viewing the movie, I sort of though, "That was it?", but soon afterward re-evaluated it, and have come to the conclusion that, of what I've seen, it's the second best thing Robert Rodriguez has ever put his name on. It excelled at being just what it wanted to be, one of the most entertaining action film in years.

The next weekend, America's mind was blown by Christopher Nolan's Inception. Prior to seeing the film, I was very excited, since I loved The Dark Knight, and thought the trailers looked quite thrilling, but after I saw it, I honestly thought it didn't live up to the hype. Okay, I know what you're going to say to me, "You just didn't understand it.", but, the thing is, I really did, and personally think that the whole dream-within-a-dream's-dream's-dream's-dream plot device did nothing more than alienate a good majority of its audience, turn some away completely, and muck up a story that would have been good enough to stand on its own. This could have also been avoided by cutting out at least a good 20-25 minutes from the film. The entire snow-capped mountain scene serves no purpose and fells very out of context here. In essence, Inception was a film that could have been so much more, with less.

After that, for me, was The Other Guys. Say what you will about Will Ferrell, but his schtick never seems to get old with me. Of course, I don't watch one of his films every day or anything, but really, who does?

Immediately after that came my favorite film of this past summer, and one that surpassed the hype, in my humble opinion, Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World. Where can I even start? This is easily Edgar Wright's best film to date, and one that breaks free of its cutesy premise because of its fantastic characters, made even better by great performances all-round, quite original style, and excellent soundtrack. It really does make me lose all hope in US. audiences when Lottery Ticket, Vampires Suck, and The Expendables all manage to out-gross a film with more of a soul than any of them, I'm sure, could ever even think of possessing. Here's to hoping Edgar Wright isn't shelved because of indecisive theatre-goers.

Then, to round out my summer, last night I saw Piranha 3-D. If you want my thoughts on the film, you can read the review below. In short, a great film, with decent 3-D, and a surprisingly good cast.

So, we had some good films, and some great ones, readily available at our local chain theatres throughout the summer. The past few months did reaffirm my hopes that mainstream cinema is not completely worthless, if you know what to see. We can only hope that Autuman will bring the volume of quality films to a Cinemark near you.

Wholesome Family Fun

A few months back, I started hearing news about Alexandre Aja directing a 3-D remake of "Piranha". Of course, the first thought that came into my head, as I'm sure it did yours, was "This is about the last thing anyone every wanted to see remade, in 3-D nonetheless." Then, the news settled for a while, until the trailer was released. "Fake and gay." does not even begin to sum up the comments responding to it. Apparently, absolutely no one wanted to see it, my self included, I will admit. However, a couple of days ago, I started hearing fantastic things about this film, so I was convinced it was more worthy of my time than any other film currently running at my local multiplex. I will be the first to admit, I am not a fan of most critics. They can completely over-analyze a film, therefore, in some cases, over-looking its brilliance. However, one source I do trust is my local paper's Friday Entertainment section (they seem to have their heads screwed on pretty tightly, with room for enjoying films for what they are), so when they printed a 3 1/2 star review of this movie, I needed to see it immediately.

I won't bother giving you a synopsis of this film, because well, other than this: ancient underground thingy opened= very angry, hungry piranhas+ beach town in the midst of its annual spring break celebration= mesmerizing carnage, there isn't much of one. The bulk of the enjoyment derived from the movie, beyond the seemingly endless nudity and gore, comes from the pitch-perfect performances by most of the cast. They never even seem to think of taking themselves too seriously, and that, in turn, keeps the film from descending into a completely mean-spirited tone. Beyond that, Aja seems to have done his research, because, in my eyes, the movie, while not delving into the whole fake scratch, trying-too-hard syndrome, excellently captures the spirit of B- Crearture Features. Even so, his gift for suspense is still here, and the cinematography, while a bit more bland than his other films, is till better than expected from a film of this nature.

So, as this post winds down, I will leave you with this: "Piranha 3-D" is an absolute blast from start to finish. As well, the 3-D is actually very serviceable for a "smaller" budget film like this. See it you are a fan of the films it strives to emulate, or if you just want a good time at the theatre with a couple of friends. It is very much worthy of both your time and money.

P.S. Bring the kids, they'll love it.

Review: "Loose Screws: Screwballs 2"

In the eighties, there was an influx of sex comedies spurred on by the release of "Porky's". In the opinion of many, there were not many finer than "Screwballs". This film was a huge success because of its many similarities to "Porky's". And, of course, when there is success, it is not soon after that a sequel comes around. In my opinion, there is no better example of a sequel that is completely unnecessary, but a whole lot of fun than this film.

The film begins with four troubled teens at the end of their senior year. They get called into the principle's office. This man lays down the law and lets them know that the only way for them to graduate is to attend a boarding school over the summer. As is expected, they are not thrilled. However, when they arrive there, they perk up at the prospect of getting some ladies. Some not-so-hilarious and genuinely funny (in a cheesy eighties way) scenes and scenes of gratuitous nudity follow, and they make this film a fun way to use your 77 minutes.

Sure, it's not a masterpiece, it's not even up there with the better eighties comedies, but that is not what it sets out to be. What it is, however, is a hidden little gem that will surely make you laugh, whether it be due to the accents, the eighties fashions, or the great over-all feel of the movie. You can really tell that everyone involved had a great time filming this.

As for the DVD, Severin gives us a very clean 16x9 transfer and decent sound mix. Also, they give us a commentary featuring director Rafal Zielinski, interviews with produce Maurice Smith and Ken Gord, and the 88 minute international version of the film.

In all, "Loose Screws" is a very fun film that will keep you laughing throughout. As well, Severin gives it the Criterion treatment.

Film Rating: 3 out of 4
DVD Rating: 4 out of 4

"Joy" (1983)

Alright, I'll be the first person to admit, I am not, by any means, a sexploitation fan. However, when I received a package from Severin containing a couple of films in the genre, I thought I'd give it a try. Why was I so naive?

Right, the story. The films begins with a young girl being woken up from a dream about a roaring tiger. She goes downstairs, on;y to be even more terrified and awe-struck at the sight of her mother and father humping ferociously in the firelight. Cut to years later, that girl is now a famous model that also happens to be a ravenous exhibitionist. In other words, she falls for any man who can half-ass his way through a conversation about modern art. Anyway, back to the story. One night, while at an art gallery, she, for some reason, falls for a man who is obviously much older, and to be honest, sort of creepy. As the story progresses, she finds out that her new lover basically expects to chew her up and spit her out, but no, Joy won't stand for that.

There is not much reason to continue attempting to describe the story of this film, because, other than what I have just mentioned, and a sort-of twist at the end, there isn't much of one.

I guess I'm not the target audience of a film like this, but really, who is? To me, this films seems like overly- pretentious porn made by people who were too afraid to go hardcore. I hate to be blunt, but they could have done so many great things with the core story of this, but they just don't. There are near brilliant moments sprinkled through-out, like the aforementioned twist ending, but other then those, there is not much here for fans of films where the heart is clearly visible.

As for the DVD itself, Severin presents us with a very good transfer that accentuates the film's at-times beautiful cinematography, a very clean sound mix (French audio with optional English subtitles), and last, but certainly not least, an interview with the film's star, Claudia Udy. On a quick note, I must say, after watching this interview, I heard why they did some of things they did, and I must say, I gained a new appreciation for the film.

In closing, see "Joy" if your a fan of sexploitation, buy this DVD if you are a fan of the film and want to see it presented in the best way possible.

Film Rating: 2 out of 4
DVD Rating: 3 out of 4