I wanted to see this in the theater but didn't get around to it. I figure with the Hughes Bros., Denzel, and Gary Oldman in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, how could you go wrong?
Product Description: With unflappable cool and surprising gentleness, Denzel Washington strides a bleak and barren world in The Book of Eli. Eli is headed west, but on the way, he passes devastation and squalor, and occasionally he must mete out some devastation of his own with a sharp blade. But when he arrives in what passes for a town in this dust-and-ash future, the power-hungry owner of the town's bar, Carnegie (Gary Oldman, looking a million years old), covets his one important possession. (Spoiler alert, sort of: it becomes apparent pretty quickly that it's a King James Bible.) Conflict ensues! Though the plot is simple and the "mystery" of the book doesn't last long, The Book of Eli is carried along effortlessly by its star. Washington has always had a compelling mixture of authority and tenderness, and it's this latter quality that makes this contribution to the testosterone-and-violence-drenched post-apocalyptic subgenre unexpectedly human. The script, while not particularly original, has effective dialogue and is smart enough not to explain too much. The supporting actors--including Mila Kunis (Forgetting Sarah Marshall), Jennifer Beals (who hasn't aged a day since Flashdance), and Ray Stevenson (Rome)--are all capable and easy on the eyes. The movie's bleached-out, sepia-tone look isn't new either, but it suits the subject matter. Anyone who wants to be offended by the movie's spiritual conclusion would be wiser to enjoy the subversive insinuation that religion can enslave as much as save. All in all, a competent action movie with some enjoyably atypical elements. --Bret Fetzer
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Youth in Revolt (2009) dir. Miguel Arteta
I like Michael Cera but my waning interest in his work can be blamed on -- what else? -- overexposure and typecasting. I am very much looking forward to Scott Pilgrim, although that's only because of Edgar Wright. I have almost no interest in seeing Youth in Revolt unless someone tries to convince me otherwise.
Product Description: Michael Cera adds to his collection of quick-witted young men with his portrayal of 16-year-old Nick Twisp. Born on the trashy side of the Oakland tracks, Nick hates his name almost as much as his life. Everyone he knows, including his divorced parents (Jean Smart and Steve Buscemi), gets more action than he does, but his luck changes when he meets junior femme fatale Sheeni (Portia Doubleday) during a trailer-park vacation. She may have overprotective parents (Mary Kay Place and M. Emmet Walsh) and a boyfriend back at school, but she also likes Jean-Paul Belmondo movies, Serge Gainsbourg records--and Nick. There's just one hitch--she prefers bad boys, so Nick creates cynical, cigarette-smoking alter ego Fran
Green zone was pretty good, but I like military movies.
She's out of my league was pretty damn funny. I initially wanted to see it, because they filmed some of it at the Penguins game I was at a couple years ago, but I ended up laughing a lot. The slapshot Regatta is probably my favorite scene.
Invasion of the Bee Girls is not really that sleazy...there's lots of tits and some really soft sexual content, but it's not a sex romp or anything. More of a campy sci-fi flick, worth watching if you're into that kind of thing (I am).
I had a few laughs at "She's Outta My League" ... pretty standard fare but there are worse movies out there.
"Book of Eli" was very meh, IMHO. I heard the alternate ending improves on the theater version though. I think "The Road" would be a much better choice for your post apocalyptic movie fix
The dude that "Collapse" centers around is a complete nutter but damn it if he doesn't get you thinking about a few things. He chain-smokes like a champion through out and you get a pretty good idea of how unstable he is as he switches between pompous claims of his own genius, barks at the interviewers for questioning his answers, and breaks down crying a couple of other times ...
Reggie wrote:Invasion of the Bee Girls is not really that sleazy...there's lots of tits and some really soft sexual content, but it's not a sex romp or anything. More of a campy sci-fi flick, worth watching if you're into that kind of thing (I am).
I know, your B-movie thread was very much appreciated. I was hoping for these sleazy sci-fi flicks to be in on the same level as Flesh Gordon.
Reggie wrote:Invasion of the Bee Girls is not really that sleazy...there's lots of tits and some really soft sexual content, but it's not a sex romp or anything. More of a campy sci-fi flick, worth watching if you're into that kind of thing (I am).
I know, your B-movie thread was very much appreciated. I was hoping for these sleazy sci-fi flicks to be in on the same level as Flesh Gordon.
2069: A Sex Odyssey is like that, but much more poorly produced. But it's definitely sleazy, softcore porn. Never saw the Dr. Dildo one.
at not wanting to see Youth in Revolt