New Movie Releases for the Weekend of 8.07.09

1) Gi Joe: The Rise of Cobra

- an elite covert military group called GI Joe (what does it stand for? You’re better off not knowing) tries to bring down the evil organization Cobra, who appears to be lead by a Scottish arms dealer. This is a very good looking cast of actors, but frankly the film looks like a green screen cgi mess. However, as long as it can provide over the top action without trying to get all plot heavy (ie, the cartoon) then yeah I’m all aboard this live action Team America remake.

2) Julie & Julia

- a story of two Jules, one who taught me how to cook in college, the other, well, fictional. This one’s about a secretary named Julie Powell (Amy Adams) who tries to shake up her life by attempting to cook all 524 recipes from Julie Child’s (Meryl Streep), Mastering the Art of French Cooking cookbook in one year. Julia Child’s will always hold a special place in my heart since she in fact was my cooking instructor in college for a semester. She was always kind and caring, and wow what a wonderful chef, but yeah, this film looks terrible. I hold this up there with the My Sisters Keeper movie, movies released this year that I do not want to see.

3) Shorts: The Adventures of a Wishing Rock

- another kids movie following the Spy Kids trilogy from grindhouse/Desperado director Robert Rodriguez. This one’s about a kid who finds a wishing rock and the chaos it cuases when the evil, selfish adults get their hands on it. I mean yeah, this movie isn’t for me and I’m sure not for you, so let’s just move on.

4) A Perfect Getaway

- this is the of two pairs of lovers on their Hawaiian vacation, who discover a psychopath is killing tourists on the Island. Yeah I know, sounds like every other horror movie, but this one’s a thriller. Every time I see the trailer for this I always ponder, “the question should be not who the murderer is but how did Steve Zahn’s character get Milla Jovovich.

5) Cold Souls

- Penny and I reviewed this movie a few months back about an actor (Paul Giamatti) who feeling drained by his upcoming performance of Anton Chekov’s Vanya, decides to store his soul at a soul storage facility. However when it goes missing, we along with Paul are left to ponder, what are we without our souls? This movie is amazing, like a cross of Woody Allen neurosis with a dash of Charlie Kaufman absurdity. This is easily the best film to be released this week bar none, so if you’re looking for an intelligent and thought provoking film that will make you laugh as much as think, then check out this film.

What I Think Of: The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)

Now, from the title, you might be thinking, "Is Greg reviewing another MST3K movie?" However, despite it's title, this movie is not an MST3K gem. Surprisingly, this movie is actually quite awesome, and one of my all time favorite movies from the 80's. To say that this movie is out there is an understatement. This movie is a tour de force of adventure, sci-fi, and comedy all rolled into 103 minutes of pure awesome. Essentially, evil Red Lectroids from Planet 10 need Team Banzai's now perfected Oscillation Overthruster to pass through solid matter and into the 8th Dimension, in order to free their captive comrades and wage war against the Black Lectroids from the planet of the same name. It's up to Scientist, Brain Surgeon, Rock Star, and all around grand adventurer Buckaroo Banzai and the Hong Kong Cavaliers to stop the evil Lord John Whorfin from succeeding before the Black Lectroids trigger the Cold War in order to make sure he doesn't escape the planet.

No really, this isn't an MST3K movie. It's just pure fun, it really is. What makes me love this movie so much is that it doesn't take itself seriously at all. I mean, there are sequences in the movie that make little sense to anyone but the Hong Kong Cavaliers themselves, but it works so well. Another thing that makes this movie so great is the casting. Peter Weller puts in a great performance as Buckaroo himself and Jeff Goldblum is great as New Jersey. However, the two who really steal the show are John Lithgow as Dr. Emilio Lazardo/ Lord John Whorfin and Christopher Lloyd as John Bigboote. They truly bring the humor to the movie, especially towards the end of it when they interact more.

Now, this was W.D. Richter's directorial debut, and only one of two movies he's ever directed, with his other being Late For Dinner. I'd like to think that he knew he couldn't top this awesome of a movie, so he just wanted to do one more as a director, then call it quits. Really, I don't see how he can top this. What also made this movie so good, in my eyes, was that it's non-stop. The movie just flies by, and doesn't let up in it's silly premise at all. There is no dull point at all, from beginning to end. Speaking of the end, this movie has one of my favorite ending credits ever, if not my favorite of all time. I won't spoil it, but I think it's so hard not to whistle or hum the Buckaroo Banzai theme after you're done watching it. I highly recommend this movie to anyone looking for a fun time. It's one of the best and one of my favorites.

-Greg

What I Think Of: Land of the Lost (2009)

I must admit that when I first saw trailers for this remake of the classic television show, I was far from impressed. The trailers made this film look campy and crappy, and not in a good way. However after watching it, my initial impressions were totally off base. Shame on whoever cut the trailers because far from just being a stupid comedy, Land of the Lost is a dark, subversive comedy with a very British sense to it. As the film progresses things get zanier and crazier, but there's an undercurrent of dread, like at any moment our heroes could get eaten, or rather eat something and crap themselves to death. In this world violence is a way of life, a means to an end.

Land of the Lost feels like a living breathing Salvadore Dali painting, a cross between 70's television and the surreal "Escalator" photo from Scott Mutter. The backdrop of the world is just beauty in color. Frankly, more so than just being a movie, it's a wonderful piece of art.

Still, there's a lot wrong with this movie. Not all the jokes hit and some are frankly just too deadpan. And the four main charcaters are just the biggest of idiots causing you to wonder how they survived in the real world let alone in a "lost" world. However, I still found this movie to be a very entertaining, fun and creative romp through a lost and imagined world. Again, shame on whoever cut the trailers because this movie deserved to make more money at the boxoffice than the no money it made. So yeah, check out Land of the Lost if you're looking for an offbeat, different king of comedy.

Episode 41: Funny People

Hello there and welcome to the 41st episode of the Cinema Cafe Podcast: the new weekly film podcast by the fans, for the fans. Join us each week as we review new movies releases, look at some dvd's, talk some film news and share our general love for all things cinema. The main goal is to have some fun and hopefully provide the listener with some helpful insight. We are back and the podcasting world is alight once again. This week we have a treat: a look at 1 movie that has been recently released, as well as a quick look at a few other films. With that said here's a look at what we discuss on this weeks podcast:

* Funny People
* A quick look at the 2009 Korean vampire movie from director Park Chan-Wook, Thirst and of the 2009 romantic comedy with a different outlook on life, Adam.
* DVD Review of the 2002 dark surrealist comedic drama starring Adam Sandler and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, Punch Drunk Love
* Upcoming movie releases for the weekend of 8.07.09

Also, film news and more, only on the Cinema Cafe Podcast. We hope you enjoy and happy movie watching.

We're now on Itunes so head there and subscribe to the Cinema Cafe Podcast. Thanks!

What I Think Of: Aliens Vs. Predator (2004)

I decided to finish off the week, as well as what little credibility I have, with a film that has the word Alien in it's title. Okay, it's technically Aliens, as was the first review this week, but we'll let that slide. As for my credibility being finished, well that's because I actually like this movie. Now, I'm not saying this is a great movie or that it can hold a candle to the first two Alien movies or the first Predator movie (sorry Danny Glover), but I got exactly what I wanted to see out of this movie, which was Aliens vs. Predator. That's all I was expecting. The plot didn't have to make too much sense, nor did the acting have to be all that great either. And it wasn't, on both counts. However, the scenes with the Aliens & Predators were very well done, and didn't rely heavily on CGI either.

Honestly, there are times where I think that CGI has taken some of the luster, the magic, and the glory out of films of any genre, especially the action, horror, and sci-fi genre. I mean, look at Aliens and then look at Alien: Resurrection. The Aliens in Aliens looked and felt more real than the CGI ones in Alien: Resurrection. Of course, that's also thanks to the genius of Special Effects wizard Stan Winston, who won an oscar for his work on Aliens. May he rest in peace. It's a shame that director Paul Anderson did not go to Stan to work on Aliens vs. Predator, since Stan created the Alien Queen & the Predator.

Back to the movie. As I said, it's not a very good movie, but it is a fun movie, if you want to see Aliens and Predators go at it, with foolish humans along for the ride. What I love is reading some reviewers who said that this film destroys the Aliens & Predator franchise, which is hilarious, being that the Aliens franchise was already butchered with Alien 3 & especially Alien: Resurrection, and the Predator franchise hasn't had a movie since Predator 2, which wasn't really good in the first place. The plot is acceptable and makes sense, which is really the best you can expect from this kind of movie. If only Transformers 2 plot made more sense, or any sense at all, I would've enjoyed it more. Needless to say, I enjoyed this film, as well as it's sequel.

-Greg