Jimmy's Juke Joint

Iron Man 2

Rocked. Robert Downey, Jr. knocked it out of the park again as Tony Stark/Iron Man.  

Mickey Rourke was menacing and freaky as the villain. I liked his Russian accent even though his Russian girlfriend thought it was shit. 

Gwyneth Paltrow was great again as Pepper Potts. They made her role a bit meatier and even more commanding. And super sexy in that "hot for teacher" kind of way.   

Flat out dripping sexuality was Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow. She had some kick ass scenes where she literally kicked ass. And did I mention the hotness? 

Other notables were Sam Rockwell as a bumbling business rival to Tony Stark, Don Cheadle taking over from Terrence Howard in the role of Stark's best friend/future War Machine James Rhodes, Garry Shandling as a conniving & skeevy senator, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and director Jon Favreau as Stark's driver. 

Great effects and action sequences! Some will complain that the middle was a bit slow, but it didn't bother me too much. It kicked ass! Go see it! 

p.s. Stay til after the credits, nerds. You'll thank me after. 

Dragged to the Dark Knight

I saw The Dark Knight at the Friday, 4 a.m. showing with my friend Mike. I took this shot of him before the film. Well, I was just using him as a decoy since I was really taking a pic of the passed out girl next to him. Next to her, you can see her douchebag boyfriend who clearly dragged her there against her will. Seriously, she was OUT. And look how he's looking at her. As if he's thinking, "Look at the power of my trust fund. I can make my hot girlfriend go anywhere I want!"

I hope she got him back by taking him to a late night showing of Mamma Mia.

The Dark Knight

Fucking epic. Details to follow. Meanwhile, amuse yourselves.

provided by flash-gear.com

Indy's Death Note

Yesterday, I did a double feature movie fest with my buddy, Mike. First up was Death Note. It was a special 2 night only screening. Based on the incredibly popular Manga and then Anime of the same name. Basically, a God of Death, or Shinigami (named Ryuk), drops his notebook, called a Death Note, into the earth. Light Yagami finds it and reads the rules inscribed. The main one being, the human's name you write in the book...will die! Light makes it his duty to rid the world of criminals and starts crossing the line as the power begins to corrupt. It threw me off at first because I didn't realize that it would be dubbed. Now, I don't mind dubs on animated films, but live action? It sort of took me out a few times and reminded me of those good ol' Saturday mornings of Kung Fu Theater. Still, it didn't mar my experience. It strayed quite a bit from the manga and anime. The manga was 12 volumes and quite dense. So, understandably, they had to narrow that down. I knew there was a 2nd movie but heard it really strayed from the manga. The changes were nice, especially the addition of the girlfriend figure and her storyline. However, Light is portrayed as pretty ruthless. And even the director said he wanted it that way in the short documentary shown after the film. In the manga, I sympathized with Light. In the movie, he's kind of a cold hearted bastard. Again though, really dug it and am now anxious to see the 2nd film. It was well shot, acted and directed. I'm curious to see a sub-titled version though. Released in Japan in 2006, it will finally be available on DVD this September here in the U.S. So, go get it.

Next up at midnight, we saw Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It just opened, so I'll be pretty spoiler free here. Suffice it to say, I really dug it. I'm a big Indy fan, so I expected to. There were certainly a few moments where I thought, "Hmm....Indy is pretty spry for an old man." But then I thought, heck, if George Foreman can box at 60 years old, why can't Indy adventure around the same age? Shia Lebeouf was a nice addition to the mythos and handled some of the action sequences when Indy couldn't. "And it was very nice to see Karen Allen back. That's been announced for awhile, so unless you've been avoiding all Indy news for the last year, then it's not a spoiler. And Cate Blanchett as the big bad. Both sexy, evil and awesome!

Quickly, the story ages as Indy does. Kind of. We are now in 1957 and dealing with Communists instead of Nazis. There's still lots of mystical and fantastical elements involved. I worry that young viewers who've never seen and Indy movie may not get that. An Indy movie is shot with beautiful locations, but many of them look like sets. Especially background. Just how it's always been. And the harrowing adventures might seem a bit unrealistic at times, but hey....it's Indy! The plot involves Indy and company being forced by/working against the Commies to return a crystal skull to a hidden palace in South America. The hat, the whip and yes....bugs and snakes make an appearance.

Again, don't want to spoil. If you're an Indy fan, you'll love it. If you're new to it, go in with your 10 year old head and prepare for fun! Yes, GO SEE IT!

I'll be awaiting Indy 5. Indiana Jones and the Alzheimer's....Wait...Who am I and Did I Just Crap My Pants?
 

Diary of the Dead

Dear Diary,

Rrrrrrr....brains.....rrrrrrrrr.

p.s. Rrrrrrr.....I love bundt cake.

Jimmy

That's my zombie diary! The end! Okay, fine. You got me. I saw George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead last night. As you know, I'm a huge zombie freak. Romero, of course, is the classic originator of the zombie flick. Night of the Living Dead started it all. Dawn of the Dead followed 10 years later. The recent Land of the Dead was a bit cheesy, but still had some entertaining moments. And that's what I'm gonna go with on this current flick.

Diary of the Dead is similar to The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield because of the handycam film making. Though, the camera work seems much steadier here. We follow a group of film students and their professor as they are shooting a horror movie of their own. Soon, zombie goodness happens and they find themselves on the run. The director of the movie within a movie insists on shooting everyone around them including any zombie attacks. As predictable, some don't survive the zombie attacks. The movie moves along in a slow to medium pace and has a few somewhat scary moments. And a pretty funny character of Amish descent is introduced late in the movie. That's all I'm saying about that one.

It didn't suck. It didn't rock. It was just sort of okay. IMDB has a sequel already listed which is pretty ambitious thinking. If you like zombies, go see it. If not, maybe Hannah Montana is better for you. Now, a Hannah Montana zombie flick would be the shit! Let's get it done, Romero!

Cloverfield

Cloverfield.

Yup. I saw it at midnight. A mere 5 hours ago. And I'm still in awe. Before we proceed, yes there will be some spoilers. So, come back after you've seen it. I'll wait.

Back? Good.

This movie has been highly anticipated since the first teaser trailers last year. All we saw was a shaky hand-cam, the Statue of Liberty head landing in the street, screams and sounds of...something. And then a date appears. 1-18-08. Well, that date has arrived!

Cloverfield starts off with the general "meet the cast" and let's lay down some plot points. At first, the shaky hand-cam was REALLY annoying. But, it soon mellowed out and seemed a bit steadier. We get who digs who, who's together and what's what while witnessing a going away party. And just like that. Disaster strikes! It becomes a frantic and frenetic tale of survival, friendship and love as told from a small group of people running away and sometimes toward a freakish and horrifying monster. And as you've seen in the commercials, the first glimpse we get of said monster is quick. Then, they start showing more. Pretty damn freaky!

At one point, I thought, "Well, that situation seems a bit ridiculous and cheesy". But, then I remembered that my suspension of disbelief was geared towards what is essentially a monster movie. Hey, if I can buy the monster, I can buy the other stuff. And boy, did I buy that monster!

Tragedy strikes quick and hard as the pace just keeps rolling along. Kudos to the shaky hand-cam "operator" who doubled as best friend "Hud" (T.J. Miller) in the flick. He added lots of levity in many a frightening situation. All of the acting is good and they really portray different sides of the human psyche during a crisis. Gotta give some mad love to the director as well! Props for keeping all of the shaky hand-cam goodness together and having it make sense.

Some reviewers suggest that since it takes place in NYC that 9-11 immediately comes to mind and might turn some people off. I don't agree. Sure, one of my first thoughts when an explosion happened or a building fell in the movie was, "I wonder if someone will yell out something about terrorists". Kind of like Dakota Fanning did in War of the Worlds. (She says, "Is it the terrorists?!!" Which came out comical, though probably not intended that way). For whatever reason, I don't remember hearing any character in the film even suggest a terrorist strike. Perhaps, the movie is meant as an analogy, but really...it's just a monster movie!

Overall, it was really a fun ride! You were made to feel like you were running right along side with everyone. While short, the movie totally delivers on all of the hype. I highly recommend seeing it. I may even go again.   

And while it was a monster flick, don't think I didn't notice the 3 hot girls in the movie! (Left to right) Odette Yustman, Jessica Lucas and Lizzy Caplan to be precise. You can dirty them up all you want but the pretty still shines through! Just like mama used to always tell me.

As for the monster itself...I bet you're wondering what it looked like. Well, HUGE spoiler ahead because I'm going to reveal it to you. Are you ready?

It's the Jolly Green Giant. Apparently, he went on a drunken rampage and left The Hidden Valley looking for something to eat besides, and I quote, "Those fucking canned peas!" Now at least we know why the movie is called Cloverfield. It's the stuff what covers his green junk!

I wonder if Sprout is sitting back at home all pissed off...

Tim Burton's Oklahoma

Tim Burton's Oklahoma

Voice Over: From the director of the smash movie musical, Sweeney Todd. Warner Bros. Films and Dreamworks Productions proudly present a new take on a classical musical. Tim Burton's Oklahoma.

All characters will be decked in black, ruffles. Powder white faces with lots of eyeliner and blackness under the eyes.

Curly: (singing menacingly while shooting his gun). There's a bright golden haze on the meadow. (Shoots. We hear a scream.) A bright golden haze on the meadow. (Shoots. A scream.)

VO: This isn't your gay uncle's Oklahoma. With a dream ballet that turns into a nightmare.

Dream ballet music plays. Laurie sniffs some cocaine and starts dancing wildly. She and Curly grind on each other as Judd sits in the back licking his big knife. Laurie and Curly circle each other and both take turns smacking each other about. Judd interrupts by gutting Curly with a knife and then licking the blood. Laurie licks the blood as well and then takes it and stabs Judd. She is left alone with a maniacal smile.
VO: From the mind of the creepy and gothy Tim Burton. This film will touch you in places that most find inappropriate.

Chorus: (In a line and they all move in zombie like choreography as they sing). Oklahoma! Where the wind comes sweeping down the plains! (Sounds of a tornado are heard and the cast is "swept" away, screaming. Body parts fly across stage from offstage. They end up back in a straight line. Judd comes up behind them and shoots each one as they sing the letters, gradually dying off as he kills the last one.) O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A! Oklaho.......(Last one falls).
Judd: MA!!!! (He shoots himself.)

VO: Tim Burton's Oklahoma: The Demon Sooners of Hate State.

Coming Arbor Day.

Sweeney Todd: It's a Musical?

Sweeney Todd, the new film from Tim Burton, stars Johnny Depp as "Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street", Helena Bonham Carter as "Mrs. Lovett" and Alan Rickman as "Judge Turpin". And yes, I know it's a musical. While I never saw or was all that familiar with the original Stephen Sondheim stage musical, I knew this movie was an adaptation of that. Though, can you tell from the advertising? There's barely a note sung in the commercials. It focuses more on the gothy Tim Burtony horror stuff. While I knew it was a musical, based on the ads, I thought it might have had a lot of the music cut.

Nope. It's a frickin musical alright. Right from the start to the bitter end. I always enjoy the look of Burton's films and have been a huge fan of both Depp and co-star (and Burton's wife) Helena Bonham Carter. That being said, it started off a bit slow for me. I wasn't a fan of any of the songs for awhile. Then, Sascha Baron Cohen enters the scene and everything gets better. He's hilarious in his small role. (And I swear that I saw Anthony Stewart Head - "Giles" from Buffy the Vampire Slayer - in the scene previous delivering one line. Didn't notice him in the credits, so must not have been him).

Depp and Carter are not real singers by any means. But, they can carry the tunes enough. And Sondheim purists will hate me, but I don't care. I just didn't like many of the songs. Perhaps if I saw them sung by real singers, I may have enjoyed them more. The visuals? Stunning. It's bleak and dark and the 2 stars look like something out of...well..a Tim Burton film! There is a really fun moment, but I don't know the song. Carter is singing to Depp about how she dreams of running away with him and living happily ever after. Burton takes us on a jaunt through the scenes described in the song. Depp's facial expressions (or lack thereof) are hysterical.

Rickman turns in another menacing role as the vision of Todd's vengeance. Though at times, it's both evil and comical. His right hand, "Beadle Bamford" (played by Timothy Spall) adds to the danger. Spall also walks that line of funny and scary. Though, does come across in that sinister scary way that is always a bit off-putting. In other words, great job! The young lovers are just advancers of the plot and don't really add much to it. They can actually sing though, which is a nice change. The young boy who becomes Mrs. Lovett's helper, is also quite good. Especially in his devotion to her. So much so, as we find in the end.   

It's creepy and funny when we get a montage of slayings as Depp sings and slashes away. And it's a blood bath. I love how Burton uses a bright red color for the blood to contrast the dark setting. The quick build (so it seems) to his vengeance still pays off in the end. Though, does seem to happen quite swiftly. The subplot of the daughter adds that hint of humanity still left in Depp's portrayal of Todd. But, he's so far gone near the end. And when he realizes his seeming betrayal by Mrs. Lovett, his actions are again...eerily humorous. The reveal at the end was pretty easy to see coming and I'm not familiar with the show. Didn't lessen it's impact as Sweeney Todd learns just how far gone he is and in a moment of clarity...poetic justice is delivered.

Overall, I thought it was good. I didn't love it, but enjoyed it. Perhaps had I been a fan of the original musical, I might have liked it more. Actually, I'm sure the big fans of the original will be on both sides of loving or hating it. "Some cuts, but a perfect homage to Sondheim!" Or "A complete degradation of Sondheim's masterpiece!" I would almost prefer a non-musical version (which this is freakin practically advertised as!) to see where it goes. Go ahead Sondheimers, hate on. Just not a fan of the music in it that much. I didn't hate the music and there were certainly some numbers I enjoyed. The only memorable one was the one I recognized, "Johanna". Props to Burton for taking this on. Seems to fit his style and methodology. If you don't like musicals, go see it for the visuals. If you don't like Burton, then you're fucked.

I wonder how he would tackle the classic Broadway hit, Oklahoma. Everyone would have whiteface and dark eyes, wear leather and ruffles, and blandly sing, "Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweeping down the plains". Visuals of a tornado ripping up land and houses would be shown as this was sung. The "dream ballet" would turn into a "nightmare ballet" with blood and ghosts and the like.

Hey, I could be on to something. Quick, call Tim Burton!

Zuzu's Petals

Best movie ever. Absolutely my favorite.

Like every Christmas, I've been immersing myself in this film. I've watched it twice already. And, I recently downloaded 2 radio versions of it that I've listened to repeatedly. Both starring Jimmy Stewart. The shorter one seems more comical in nature, but still a gem! There's also a great audio book based on the book by Jimmy Hawkins ("Little Tommy Bailey") called Wonderful Memories of It's A Wonderful Life that I've also been listening to over and over. Plus the soundtrack. And I found my old trivia book! And I just ordered some more memorabilia books through Amazon. There was also a staged reading of the old radio show that PBS showed about 10 years ago. It starred Bill Pullman, Nathan Lane and Penelope Ann Miller. But, it's only on VHS and good luck finding that. If you have one, send it my way! Yes, I'm an IAWL nerd.

But, I defy you to feel down after watching this movie. Go on. Try it. See? Can't do it, can you?!!

If you've never seen it, go rent/buy and watch. It's already been shown in it's annual spot by NBC. I miss the days when it was in the public domain and it was all over the cable channels. I could have it on one channel and then switch to a different scene on another channel and even another scene on yet another channel! Those days are gone, but you can find the DVD for cheap. And remember, "No man is alone who has friends".

Atta boy, Clarence. 

30 Days of Night: The Movie

Oh yes, there will be SPOILERS!!!

30 Days of Night opened at midnight last night here in NYC. Of course, I had to go see it. Unfortunately, the only theater in Manhattan was in Times Square so I had to deal with the idiot crowds. Laughing at inappropriate moments, making fun of stuff that either scared them or they didn't understand, etc.

Still, I would not allow it to deter my enjoyment. And enjoy I did! I was a huge fan of the original comic series which was then put into a trade paperback. NOT a graphic novel. Though, I get that it's a term that Hollywood uses to make comic books sound cool. A real graphic novel does not start as a series first. Anyway, I'll admit I was happy to see the phrase used in the advertising.

I was going to re-read the trade paperback before seeing the film. I did it with 300, but that made sense since it was almost replicating the page. With this flick, I knew that the story had changed a bit. So, I didn't want to go in with a different frame of mind of what I think the story should be.

I immediately noticed a change in the relationship of the 2 main characters, Eben (Josh Hartnett) and Stella (the lovely Melissa George). In the comic, they're happily married. Here, they are separated, but clearly still love each other. Beyond that, everything else seemed to move along as it did in the comic. Though, I did flip through it when I got home and noticed changes.

The comic was so haunting. Both in words by Steve Niles and the terrifying art of Ben Templesmith. How could they transfer this to film? Well, let me tell you. Quite well! I'm glad they kept Niles on as one of the writers as it was his baby.

The story gets you right into it. The town of Barrow, Alaska. The northernmost city in the U.S. of A. Due to it's location, it experiences...you guessed it...30 days full of night. No daylight at all. The town is buzzing on the last day of daylight. Many are leaving and rushing to get out as they don't like it. The ones that stay are gearing up for it. As the night falls, Sheriff Eben gets a call about murdered dogs. A strange event for a small town where most seem to know one another. Then, he runs into a stranger in town at the local diner. Stella, stuck in town after missing her plane, decides to tag along with Eben and take the troublemaker in. In the local precinct, Eben's little brother and grandmother are present as the stranger gets locked up. Immediately, the stranger starts spouting off, "They are coming. Nowhere is safe to hide."

And, sure enough. It starts happening. First, people on the outskirts of town. Then, Eben and Stella go out to investigate and their truck is attacked. The attacks are shot frenetically with the creatures moving in such a blurry speed as to seem supernatural and animalistic. Totally works.

The creatures are finally shown. And it's not your daddy's or Anne Rice's idea of a vampire. More like Nosferatu with a modern twist. In the comic, they spoke English fine. Here, it seems to be some sort of Slavic tongue or perhaps even a made up language. Makes it all the more frightening. Also, as in the comic, after an attack, the mouths and bodies stay covered in blood. Completely drying on their skin and clothes. The teeth are all jagged and sharp. Both male and female vampires. And a creepy kid one. *shudder*

Various other characters eventually start to gather as the vampires openly attack the town. The sequence of attacks is quite horrific and made to seem like a pack of wild animals have overwhelmingly attacked the town. Some fight back to no avail. Survivors soon hole up together and make a play for survival. Time passes and slowly through different circumstances, people are picked off. Some doing stupid things. Others sacrificing themselves to help others. Somehow, a small group of survivors makes it to the 29th night. One more day.

Eben and Stella get separated and Stella is left outside hiding with a surviving child. As the vampires decide to burn everyone out and destroy the town. Eben sees no other option to save both Stella and the town. He makes a logical yet insane decision on how to fight them. I'll save that part for you. If you've read the comic, you know what it is though. Same as the movie. I was glad to see the ending of the flick seemingly mirror the ending of the comic as it was hauntingly beautiful and sad.

Hartnett and George do a fine job as the troubled couple who find their love back in this horrible tragedy. Other characters are minor and serve more as fodder than exposition. One big bear of a character, Beau (Mark Boone Jr.), was great and had a couple of cool scenes to chew up with the vampires. But, the show was stolen by the vampires. Especially their leader, Marlow (Danny Huston). Great dark and snowy setting. Finely directed by David Slade. And mucho kudos to the makeup/effects team for creating the vampires following Templesmith's original vision. They were scary as a motherfucker!

While the movie may only startle you and not outright scare you, it is pretty creepy. I will bet that you'll be seeing those images of the vampire attacks in your heads for days!

Find sunlight. Don't stay in one place. And pray.