Mark's Review: Adaptation

So I had heard great things about Adaptation written by Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine, Being John Malk) from co-founder of Wax Idiotical Kyp Pilalas; so I threw it in my netflix quene, and sure enough it finally arrived...
note: that's not a jab at netflix, that's a jab at the fact that i have 300+ movies/tv shows in my quene.

And I loved it. It's edgy and funny, annnnnddd.... strange.

I'm not entirely sure as to why I loved it; but I definitely feel like it was not a waste of my time watching it. Nick Cage does a fantastic job through out both as Charlie Kaufman and his twin Donald Kaufman. Yes he plays Charlie Kaufman, who's a screenwriter... who's VoiceOver often times mentions how narcistic he is for putting himself in his own script... but it works.

I'd say it's like watching a David Lynch movie because of how twisted everything is, not in a weird way... well yeah in a weird way but also in a comical way. At one point you witness Charlie having an epiphany on how to open the movie he's writing... and he's writing the beginning of the movie that you just watched... at another point he's reading into a tape recorder about how he just read into a tape recorder...

confused? bewildered? interested? you should be. Definitely rent this flick, it's a good time, and if for no other reason, Nick Cage returns to a strong acting style that I haven't seen from him in a long time. As well as the hilarious scenes between Nick Cage and.... Nick Cage.
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Mark Reviews: The United States of Leland

 Let's set the stage:

I have NO idea what this movie is about... I turn it on... it opens with a voiceover from a very young ryan gosling... then it's a kid laying on the ground stabbed to death....

ok... yeah... attention grabbed.

It goes on to be a tale of a truly emotionally scarred kid who's made a terrible mistake.  It also follows a prison teacher (Don Chealde who I've yet to see in anything that i didn't love him in!) who wants to get to the core of Leland (Ryan Gosling).

Along the way we also meet Leland's ex girlfriend who i recognized from Donnie Darko, who's sister is Michelle Williams, who all live in a house together with Michelle's boyfriend Chris Kline.... now at the beginning, NONE OF THAT MAKES SENSE... but the director did a good job of jumping around in a timeline introducing all the characters and how they relate to the storyline.

If you're in the mood to watch something heavy with not a whole lot of laughs but with some great acting, and great story definitely check it out.

Mark's Review: This Is England

Alright, honestly... I could review this movie in four words:

SEE... THIS... MOVIE...NOW!

Powerful, great acting, intriguing plot, beautifully shot. I added this to my quene after hearing Matty and Adam raving about it on Filmspotting, and now having seen it, I understand why. This movie was just amazing.

Following a young boy who's father died as he becomes part of a skin-head gang. Now I know what you're thinking... skin-heads?! And that's the weird thing, you see these guys as good hearted people (at times, and by no means am i suggesting skin-heads are good people!) I think director Shane Meadows just completely hit the mark with this film. It's difficult to explain because essentially it is about this young boy who is taken in by this group, and the effect it has on him etc. but it's less about what they believe and more just how they treat the boy.

Really, just see it, you'll understand what I'm talking about. This got a lot of praise at Sundance, and the boy Sean won best new comer for it, and absolutely deserved it. Honestly the whole cast does a bang up job, and this movie's the dog's bollucks (that means good).

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Mark's Review: The Wire (Season 1)

Holy Crap... I've not ever really been one to get into Police style action/drama shows. Tried to get into Homicide, Law and Order's, Criminal Minds, whatever... never got them, never could enjoy them. Maybe it's because I'm watching them on DVD, but The Wire absolutely was awesome. Kept my attention through out.

I guess a lot of people complain that it's just a dialogue heavy show... but yeah... that's bull. Plenty of action, and even the dialogue (while i guess there is a lot of it) grips you.

Characters are just awesome. Some will argue that it's just playing stereotypes and what not, which maybe it's true... but you start to identify with all the characters... and some of them are just....absolutely....bad...ASS. But deep at the same time! arrrgghhhh Can't get my thoughts in order to write them down. Oh well.

Check out The Wire!
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Mark's Review: The Warriors

The year is 1979, all the gangs of New York, no not THOSE gang’s of New York, have gathered 9 ambassadors to meet as Cyrus delivers his message that New York is theirs, they just have to unify. Sure enough, SOMEONE has to ruin it… by shooting Cyrus. The Rogues did it (not a spoiler) but the Warriors get pinned (also, not a spoiler)… that was literally all I knew about this movie going into it.

The main gang which Cyrus belonged to, The Riffs, send out a message via the chief from Where In the World is Carmen Sandiego, who was moonlighting as a DJ at the time, that the Warriors are wanted dead or alive. Now the Warriors are trapped in the city, many much miles away from their home (Coney Island) with every gang looking for them.

Well, the movie basically follows these guys as they try to high-tail it back to CI and run into different problems being it the Baseball Furies, The Orphans, or the Cops. While the writing is dry, and the acting is…interesting, the movie charmed me. Swan (leader of the Warriors) has this dry DRY acting which actually works perfectly. Never really showing emotion, and personifying “strong silent type”.

I’ve heard rumors of a remake… which… makes me nervous. I kept thinking, I’d like to see what could be done with better writing, and maybe just better effects. But if they try to modernize it and set it in the present… it will fail…badly. Part of the awesome of this movie is the stylization of the time it all takes place, and how NYC is shown as gritty and like a war ground just for these gangs.

Anyway, definitely check it out.