Room 237 (2012)

Director: Rodney Ascher

Writer: Rodney Ascher

Composers: William Huston, Jonathan Snipes

Starring: Bill Blakemore, Geoffrey Cocks, Juli Kearns, John Fell Ryan, Jay Weidner, buffy Visick

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Some movies stay with you forever...and ever...and ever.

Plot: A subjective documentary that explores the numerous theories about the hidden meanings within 'Stanley Kubrick (I)' 's Kubrick' 's film The Shining (1980). The film may be over 30 years old but it continues to inspire debate, speculation, and mystery. Five very different points of view are illuminated through voice over, film clips, animation and dramatic reenactments. Together they'll draw the audience into a new maze, one with endless detours and dead ends, many ways in, but no way out.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again? No.

Wow.  Where to start and finish this up quickly enough so I can move onto something else.  Hmmmm.  The theories espoused in this flick are off the charts.  The subjects that have them are looking waaaaaaay too much into THE SHINING (1980), finding all kinds of off the wall stuff.  One guy sees this as Kubrick's examination of the Holocaust.  Soak that in a little.  One gal sees a poster of a downhill skier as a minotaur instead, helping her assertion that the picture is steeped in Greek mythology (look, I'm making this sound far saner than it really is - there's a lot more to it but you'll need to watch it to find out).  But of all of the crackpot theories, the one that takes the cake is Kubrick included clues in the film to let viewers know his biggest, most explosive secret...that the U.S. government hired him to film the fake moon landing.  I know, right?  There's so much goofball shit in this picture that it's making me dizzy trying to pick out the weirdest shit.  Here's one:

That's right, someone sees the paper tray as an erect penis of the guy to the left of it.  He's not saying it is his dick more than it's suggestive.  While this may sound wildly entertaining (I suggest watching it with friends familiar with THE SHINING and spend the duration of the film picking the theories apart between bouts of laughter), it's not all that good.  Not once do we get to see any of these folks and everything we're getting visually is clips from Kubrick's films, other films, images, etc. that are manipulated to ape what's being said and some of it poorly. It felt like a missed opportunity.  For the first third I thought this was for real, that the documentary is siding with its subjects but after a while I kind of felt that maybe it was just showcasing how far people will go looking for conspiracies and perceived hidden meanings in things where they just don't exist.  If I ever met anyone like these people I would be overjoyed to be able to sit with them and pick their brains.  I'd sit there the entire time with the world's biggest internal grin but it would be an experience.  Maybe I should have watched this one with friends and then cleansed the palette with THE SHINING as Kubrick intended. Great fucking trailer. I had a hard on for this ever since I saw the trailer about a year ago.  Sigh.

Cease Fire! (1953)

 Director: Owen Crump

Writers: Owen Crump, Walter Doniger

Composer: Dimitri Tiomkin

Starring: Roy Thompson Jr., Henry Goszkowski, Richard Karl Elliott, Albert Bernard Cook, Johnnie L. Mayes, Cheong Yul Bak, Howard E. Strait, Gilbert L. Gazaille, Harry L. Hofelich, Charlie W. Owen, Harold D. English, Edmund Joseph Pruchniewski, Otis Wright, Ricardo Carrasco, John Maxwell

More info: IMDb

Tagline: REAL because it's in Life-size. REAL because it was actually filmed in Korea!  REAL because it's Stars are Real Fighting Men!

Plot: In this documentary, actual American soldiers and others re-enact a real Korean War operation, with some real battle footage, filmed some time before the actual truce. The story: with peace supposedly imminent, Lieut. Thompson and 13 men of his platoon are ordered on a deep scouting mission to check for last-minute treachery. Assorted perils are encountered, ending with a decidedly un-peaceful battle.

My rating: 7.5/10

Will I watch it again? Maybe.

I was fortunate enough to be in Los Angeles recently at the same time the World 3D Expo was happening at the famous Egyptian Theater.  Sadly I was only able to attend the final day of the Expo but at least I was able to see this and the Martin & Lewis picture, MONEY FROM HOME (1953) on the big screen and in their original 3D format.  The presentation was spectacular. Before this film began there was someone, I forget her name, who spoke to us at length about the story of one of the soldiers in this picture, Carrasco I believe, who impressed Hal Wallis so much in the dailies that Wallis offered him an acting contract.  He was going to groom Carrasco into a star.  Carrasco (while just behind the front lines in the Korean War) flat out refused.  All he wanted was to get back to the front line with his buddies and kill the enemy.  He hounded his commanding officer for days and weeks, and after filming his death scene and thus the picture, he was released to the front line.  That very night he was killed on patrol, hours before the war was officially over.  It was a heartbreaking story.  Out of respect for Carrasco's mother, Wallis had Carrasco's role reduced and another soldier shoot the death scene.  The result is Carrasco is barely in the picture.  It's a shame Wallis didn't leave Carrasco's substantial role alone.  Diminishing it feels like an insult.  But it's still a compelling story, one that screams out to be filmed.  I encourage you to read a much more detailed account of this at WarChick.com HERE.

As for the picture, I loved it.  There were a couple of actors in the bunch (that were in the war) who were great but then so were the soldiers acting for the very first time. Yeah, there were some clunky line readings but it's easy to overlook that because you know they were the real deal.  I dug the action, fighting, suspense, etc. but it was seeing real soldiers firing real weapons (they weren't actually fighting the enemy as they were quite a few miles behind the front line so it was staged) very close to the real action itself AND it's in 3D!!!  Seeing this in that format and on the big screen was stunning. It blew me away.  It will be interesting someday to revisit this film.  I'm sure I'll never get the opportunity to see this in 3D again, making me wonder how it will hold up in 2D and on a MUCH smaller screen.  We'll see.

Tucker and Dale vs Evil (2010)

Director: Eli Craig

Writers: Eli Craig, Morgan Jurgenson

Composer: Mike Shields

Starring: Tyler Labine, Alan Tudyk, Katrina Bowden, Jesse Moss, Philip Granger, Brandon Jay McLaren, Christie Laing, Chelan Simmons, Travis Nelson

More info: IMDb

Tagline:  This Year Spring Break is Cut Short!

Plot: Two lovable West Virginian hillbillies, are headed to their "fixer-upper" vacation cabin to drink some beer, do some fishin', and have a good time. But when they run into a group of preppy college kids who assume from their looks that they must be in-bred, chainsaw wielding killers, Tucker & Dale's vacation takes a bloody & hilarious turn for the worse.

My rating: 8.5/10

Will I watch it again? YES!!!

Hysterical!  It doesn't take long before this ride gets going full force and once it does, it doesn't let go.  The dynamic created between these doomed kids and the hapless Tucker and Dale is wonderful.  I love how the slasher genre got turned on its head.  Not only is it gory as hell but there are some tremendous laughs.  The one that made me laugh so hard I cried was the bee attack and the chainsaw bit.  I had trouble breathing after that one.  This is one of the funniest horror comedies I've ever seen.  Don't miss this one.

Still Making Moonshine (2007)

Director: Kelly L. Riley

Writer: ???

Composer: (no score but songs)

Starring:  Jim Tom Hendrick, Jerry Jumper, William "Birdman" Bird, Pat Williams, Gilford Williams, Corey Stephens

More info: www.highprooffilms.com

Plot: Documentary filmmaker Kelly L. Riley returns to the mountains of North Carolina and discovers more than just whiskey being bootlegged. Jim Tom smiths a still from a roll of copper at his creek-side camp. In a dry county thick with prying eyes and tee-totalers, Jim Tom slips around making a run of moonshine. Jerry Jumper and William Bird explain how the old spirit allies of the Cherokee, “the little people”, still live in the nearby woods and streams. As a feature length sequel to the critically acclaimed short documentary “Moonshine”, “Still Making Moonshine” is a drunken tale of lost language, severed limbs, buried shine and blackouts.
 

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again? No.

Here's more wacky adventures with Jim Tom and his moonshine-making shenanigan's.  Like the the previous documentary, MOONSHINE (2000), we hang around him, his friends, kinfolk, etc.  There are some colorful folks out there.  For as fun as it is to hang out with these people I found it lacking.  I wanted to know more about Jim Tom's background and more about the particulars of making moonshine like with the crapload of sugar and cornmeal, time, etc, how much liquor does it yield?  I'd like to get an idea of how much it's worth it.  It would have been nice to see the film maker's reactions to tasting the stuff.  Also, how much could you sell it for?  Is he just making it for himself?  I don't recall finding out if he does anything with it but drink it himself.  There was another man who says he gives it away to folks who need it for medicine (colds and such).  The rotting foot was gross.  So while I didn't get as many details as I would have liked, it's still a fun ride, hanging out with these people and spending time in a place that for some is a world away. For me, I just have to drive a few miles.  Road trip anyone?

Westbound (1959)

Director: Budd Boetticher

Writers: Berne Giler, Albert S. Le Vino

Composer: David Buttolph

Starring: Randolph Scott, Virginia Mayo, Karen Steele, Michael Dante, Andrew Duggan, Michael Pate, Wally Brown, John Daheim, Walter Barnes

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Hellbound for Vengeance for the Flaming Redhead Who Betrayed Him!

Plot: In 1864 Cavalry Captain John Hayes reluctantly follows orders to become the civilian boss of the Overland Stage Line, which keeps the flow of Western gold to the Union and will help it win the Civil War. Headquarters for the stage line is a small Colorado town with Southern sympathizers who will do anything they can to sabotage his mission. Resistance to his efforts is led by former friend ad colleague Clay Putnam, who has taken advantage of Hayes' absence and married his former sweetheart.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? No.

I've seen some Randolph Scott Westerns over the years and they're pretty entertaining. This one is no exception.  There's a lot of gunplay in this one which is a good thing. It's also only 72 minutes so you're not giving up a huge chunk of time to digest it.  What you get is a good, better than average B-Western with a good cast, nasty villains and a little romance (but not much so as not to scare off the men folk from watching it).  I did find it curious as to how quickly a certain gal got over her man and throw her attention toward a certain dude at the end of the picture.  That just added to the fun.  Oh, when you watch it, did this scene strike you like it did me?  Hmmmmmmm.

 

OH, YEAH!!!

Escape from Alcatraz (1979)

Director: Don Siegel

Writers: J. Campbell Bruce, Richard Tuggle

Composer: Jerry Fielding

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Patrick McGoohan, Roberts Blossom, Jack Thibeau, Fred Ward, Paul Benjamin, Larry Hankin

More info: IMDb 

Tagline: No one has ever escaped from Alcatraz... And no one ever will!

Plot: A group of inmates attempt a daring escape from the notorious Alcatraz prison island, from which no-one had managed to escape before. Based on a true story.

My rating:8.5/10

Will I watch it again? Yes.

I recently took a trip to San Francisco, my first.  In the short time I was there I made it a point to visit Alcatraz.  It...was...fucking...amazing!  I ended up going twice just to catch more of what I missed the first time and I STILL didn't get to see everything.  Next time.  A week later the gang comes over and we're watching this movie.  Everyone dug it but the two of us that were just there REALLY friggin' loved it and visiting the island gives you a much larger appreciation of the film. 

I'm a big fan of Don "DIRTY HARRY" Siegel's work. He's made some really good movies, movies that feel edgier but still maintain their large budgets and big name casts.  Eastwood's just great.  There's enough dialogue to keep things moving and to fill the audience in with everything you need to know to understand how things were in the prison and how difficult it was to bust out.  It's very relaxed and I can see how you could be bored by it but it's so much more than that.  The life of Alcatraz prisoners was one of monotony and repetition and it seems like the movie gets a lot right. The focus of the picture is clearly dictated by the title but there's only so much you can do in such a short time frame.  If you ever get the chance to visit Alcatraz, do whatever it takes to make it happen.  It was a tremendous experience, one I'd like to have again.

Suburbia (1983)

Director: Penelope Spheeris

Writer: Penelope Spheeris

Composer: Alex Gibson

Starring: Chris Pedersen, Bill Coyne, Jennifer Clay, Timothy O'Brien, Wade Walston, Flea, Maggie Ehrig, Grant Miner, Christina Beck, Andrew Pece

More info: IMDb

Tagline:  The kids from ... The Wild Side ... The Side You've Never Seen.

Plot: Evan and his younger brother leave their broken home in an attempt to escape their alcoholic mother. They fall in with The Rejected (aka T.R.), a group of punks who live as squatters in an abandoned home by the side of the highway. With T.R., the boys find a new family. But their new found family will be tested when they become the target of Citizens Against Crime, a group of unhappy suburbanites.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again? Maybe.

If you don't dig on punk movies you at least owe it to yourself to watch the opening 5 minutes.  A toddler gets brutally eaten by a large dog!!!  Let that digest a minute. It's fucking awesome.  If I ever make a movie I want to start it off with a bang just like this one. One thing that's interesting about this picture is that nearly the entire cast are non-actors and it works.  Doing this gives the film a different vibe than what you'd normally get.  Spheeris made an interesting film for teens during a time when most teen movies went for something a lot more clean cut and safe.  And the soundtrack is very well handled, giving me a vibe of FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH (1982)...not a bad thing at all.

Kids teaching other kids on how to blow a snot rocket.  How fucking adorable is that?