Saturday, February 2, 2008

Ain’t no movies out to see.

“Rambo”? I would rather staple my nuts to a park bench.

“The Bucket List”? I’d rather spend 90 minutes making an actual list of my favorite buckets.

“How She Move”? I’d much rather see a movie called “How She Conjugate Verbs.”

23 comments:

justjudith said...

lol. great post, ubm. and i'm with you -- wtf is rambo doing out again? why is stallone remaking all of his movies? i guess tango and cash is next...

Anonymous said...

Isn't that John Sayles movie, Honeydripper, that you were talkinga about a while back opening this weekend?

Anonymous said...

Just curious...have you seen The Diving Bell & The Butterfly? I thought it was pretty astonishing.

Charreah said...

How she Conjugate Verbs?? Love it!! Please, oh please take me.

Saw your comment on Marcus's blog . . .I'm a Hodgkin's beater as well! Not the coolest club to be a part of but definitely makes you appreciate life more!!

Dollar Bill said...

Honeydripper premired last year at the Toronto Film Festival and I heard nothing but good things about it.

I think they have put together a all-star band to tour as well,so hoping that comes this way.

SJ said...

Have you seen No Country For Old Men yet? I know it has been out for a long time now, but was just wondering. I caught it a few weeks and was blown away. One of the best movies I have seen in years (the book was good too).

Undercover Black Man said...

Andrew: “Honeydripper” opened in L.A. in late 2007, to qualify for the Oscars. A week later, it was gone and I’d missed it.

But thank you for reminding me that it is opening nationwide this month. It’s now playing in Chicago, New York, Philly and several other cities. Next week it opens in Detroit, Tuscon, Birmingham and elsewhere. On Feb. 15, it hits Nashville, Minneapolis, San Francisco, San Diego...

No telling when (or if) it’ll be back in L.A. (“Honeydripper” release schedule is here.)

Undercover Black Man said...

Saw your comment on Marcus's blog . . .I'm a Hodgkin's beater as well!

Cheers to you, CJ! As the years go by, it will be like it never happened... or like it happened to somebody else. I appreciate you commenting here.

Undercover Black Man said...

Doug: "Diving Bell" is the only one I'm even mildly interested in seeing. But I think I kinda have to be in the right mood. I'm glad to hear you endorse it.

SJ: I dug "No Country For Old Men"... except for the last 15 minutes or so. I think the coin-toss scene (both of them, actually) will be studied in screenwriting classes for years to come.

Judith: When I first heard that "Rambo" was coming back out, I assumed it was a remake with a young actor... like they do with Superman. That would've been a clever way to keep the franchise alive, and Sly would've still got paid. Instead... hey, whatever. Let's hear it for Human Growth Hormone!

SJ said...

Yeah that last 10 minutes is a let-down. But I read the book and they actually did a very good job of adapting it. So if anything, the book should be blamed for the ending.

Anonymous said...

The Orpanage is still playing in some theaters, I heard that's worth seeing.

Same with The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

You kinda have to look for what's worth spending money on.

DeAngelo Starnes said...

"staple my nuts to a park bench." Tell us how you really feel, why doncha.

Great line. Watched a good indie black flick, Constellation, with Billy Dee, Zoe Saldanna, Gabrielle Union, and Hill Harper, on DVD. Give that one a try.

Also, The Lives of Others - a german piece. Real good.

Anonymous said...

"The Orphanage" is very good. Not as scary as I'd heard, but most horror films these days aren't.

"There Will Be Blood" is definitely the best drama I've seen in years. Intense, well-acted (Daniel Day-Lewis is amazing), beautiful cinematography, and mesmerizing. I also loved "No Country For Old Men"--including that ending :-)

Other movies I've seen recently that I dug include "Cloverfield" (fun, even though the camera is wicked shaky) and "Sweeney Todd" (Johnny Depp is fantastic).

I'd really like to see "Teeth," but I don't think it's playing anywhere near me yet. Can't beat literal vagina dentata for a theme, heh!

Anonymous said...

Can't remember which of these you've seen from prior posts, but here are some recommendations...

IN THEATERS
* There Will Be Blood
* There Will Be Blood (for emphasis)
* Michael Clayton
* Into the Wild
* The Savages
* Taxi to the Dark Side
* U2 3D (white dudes with guitars!)
* Juno
* Charlie Wilson's War (a must-see simply for Philip Seymour Hoffman's electric performance)
* The Great Debaters
* Cassandra's Dream (new Woody Allen better than critics suggest)
* Persepolis
* 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
* The Diving Bell & The Butterfly

ON DVD
* Eastern Promises
* Paris Je'Taime
* Zodiac

I managed to catch Honeydripper at the Music Hall in Beverly Hills. It was nice, but fell short of the genius of Sayles' '90s work. The subject matter -- race, music, self-determination -- and the stellar cast seemed right in the Sayles/Renzi wheelhouse, but it didn't move me to the degree I'd hoped, which was probably a result of my exceedingly high expectations whenever I see a new one coming down the 'pike from that crew.

Undercover Black Man said...

^ Thanks, RP. "Persepolis" moves to the top of my list. Glad it's out. The trailer is absolutely fanstastic.

Anonymous said...

"Juno" is quite funny. Have you seen it?

Undercover Black Man said...

^ Not yet, dez. (And not because my genitals still rise up into my body cavity at the sight of Ellen Page, based on her performance in "Hard Candy.")

It took me a while to get around to seeing "Little Miss Sunshine" too. "Juno" is one of those I'll-get-around-to-its.

Anonymous said...

My mom and I were the only ones in the theater for the wonderful Honeydripper in ATL the other weekend...sigh...heard they tried to get black schools down here involved in marketing/publicity and perhaps didn't quite get the level of anticipated enthusiasm (I could be wrong though)

I too recommend Juno. Found it to be worth the hype.

Keep eyes open for the Brazilian City of Men film to come out this month at least

Anonymous said...

Can I just reiterate There Will Be Blood? I cannot believe how friggin' good that movie is. I'm also hot to see Persopolis and No Country For Old Men. Juno is much better than the seemingly similar Little Miss Sunshine, although you have to get past the weak beginning.

Anonymous said...

I happen to love P.T. Anderson, but I certainly understand why some people don't like him. Not a huge fan of Boogie Nights, except for that amazing sequence with Alfred Molina as "Rahad Jackson." But even as much as I love his other three films, There Will Be Blood was different to me. It's a more mature work. Yes, Paul Dano playing the twin brothers was confusing at first. But it added an element of paranoia and ambiguity that worked for me and it paid off in the end when one brother has succeeded and the other has failed.

The story is told in a style that I've seen on other occasions: You simply see people do things. We watch Daniel Plainview rise in his life and then fall. We struggle to understand his actions and perceive his thoughts, but he must remain a mystery in the end. Anderson resists explaining Plainview to us; that would be too simple to offer some pat answer that explains it all away. Welles said the same thing of "Rosebud" in Citizen Kane: "Anyway, it wouldn't have explained anything... I don't think any word can explain a man's life."

But, to each his own...

Undercover Black Man said...

Oh wow, daughterofthedream... Didn't know about "City of Men." But the trailer does pique my interest. Thanks for that. (Opening Feb. 29.)

Popview and dez... I have issues with "There Will Be Blood." I don't like how P.T. Anderson tells a story. Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano give great performances. There are some amazing stand-alone scenes. But it doesn't connect from start to finish for me as a narrative. And the whole thing about who Paul Dano really is... that confused me for no good reason.

Anonymous said...

But it doesn't connect from start to finish for me as a narrative. And the whole thing about who Paul Dano really is... that confused me for no good reason.


Not sure what to say about the narrative aspect, since I didn't have a problem with it, especially when viewing it as a tale of obsession.

As for the Paul Dano aspect, I found it interesting, not confusing [shrug]. Different strokes and all that :-)

Anonymous said...

I've seen a bunch of good movies in the last few weeks. "The Orphanage" gave me goosebumps for ninety minutes. "Charlie Wilson's War" is quite entertaining, with a fantastic Philip Seymor Hoffman performance. "Juno" is overrated by some but unjustly maligned by others. It's a fresh and accomplished film. "Persepolis" is definitely worth seeing. Fine animation, fun storytelling, and a fascinating look into Iranian society. Let's see, what else? I guess the other good movies I've seen lately were all in revival houses.
I've heard "The Savages" is good. Must see that before it disappears.