Rock School

Net Flix: At Paul Green's Philadelphia music school for kids, the "three R's" are rhythm, rock and roll, as the energetic ex-rocker teaches kids the essentials of playing, singing and performing rock music. This documentary captures him working with his students, including a talented 12-year-old guitarist who just might be Hendrix's reincarnation. During the film, Green's top band is invited to perform at Zappanale, Germany's annual Zappa cover-band fest.

My Take: A great documentary, in many respects. After viewing this film, I declared "Every parent in the US should be required to watch this movie." Clearly, we as a product of being raised by our parents, are certainly subjected to their influence. In some cases that can be good, in other cases less positive. Why are these kids capable? Some have talent, some work hard, but most importantly in many cases, they've not been told "they can't" or "if it gets too hard, you can quit." Check out this flick and I suspect, you'll find, the evidence speaks for itself.

The Conversation

NetFlix: Gene Hackman set the standard for 1970s film acting with his portrayal of Harry Caul, a surveillance expert obsessed with his privacy. A past mistake -- and the fear that he may repeat it -- haunts Caul. The Conversation benefits from tremendous supporting performances (especially that of the late, great John Cazale), excellent use of San Francisco locales and Walter Murch's sound editing.

Hmm...This was an OK movie. Reminded me of streets of San Francisco with Karl Malden, a hit TV show in the 70's. It was Coppola written and directed, so that certainly has some bearing and weight. I did enjoy the time (and effort) the director and story line took to develop. As the observer, I got a clear sense of why the protagonist did what they did and why. That simple fact seems missing in so many feature films these days.

Eddie Izzard: Definite Article

Recorded on Dec. 16, 1995, during the last night of his sold-out 12-week run at London's Shaftsbury Theatre, Eddie Izzard's Definite Article show demonstrates the sometimes-controversial comedian's unique talent for improvisation, as well as his wry wit and humor. Izzard covers such topics as the Crusades, mad European cows, sharks, the Death Star canteen and more.

I'm a pretty big Izzard fan. His mannerisms are unique, and his Brit based comedy certainly is different and refreshing. However this stage show wasn't one of my favorites. Being nearly 12 years old I'm gonna caulk it up to growing pains. Not sure how long he did stand up prior to this show, but looking and reviewing most of his more recent material, this doens't stand out.

Eddie Izzard: Unrepeatable

Recorded at London's Albery Theater in 1994, this sold-out show was part of a limited seven-week run of Eddie Izzard's celebrated stand-up routine. A completely new collection of skits, imitations and free-form rants, this side-splitting performance from the award-winning transvestite comedian (which was originally aired on British television) covers a wide range of topics at a pace brisk enough to keep even the quickest viewers on their toes.

Dunno, but I think Izzard really worked on his material and his craft as a result of this 2 year period between the previous show and this one. I'm giving it another star.

Long Way Round

A sort of The Motorcycle Diaries for the Hollywood set, this documentary miniseries chronicles the cross-continental adventures of actors Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman as they set out on their BMW bikes to travel round the world. Embarking from London and arriving 115 exhausting days later in New York, the duo tackles 20,000 miles of tough terrain, explores offbeat destinations and takes in colorful local culture.

I found this to be one of the most facinating docu-dramas I've ever seen. I think this is for several reasons.
1. We've seen and know Ewan McGregor. His "familiarity" helps us as an audience. Plus, he's Obe-Won for fuck's sake.
2. They took a long time to tell the story. I think this is what, we miss with many many movies today. How can you really tell a story, develop a story, build a story with 80-90 minutes of film time?
3. We all subscribe to the great "adventure." All are snowflakes and really reflective of personality but we all want to discover more about our lives, our friends, our selves.

Highest rating on this one......

Home Fries

Dorian (Luke Wilson) and Angus (Jake Busey) try to "scare the devil" out their stepfather by chasing him with a helicopter -- but in an unplanned accident, it kills him. To make matters worse, the old man has been having an affair with Sally (Drew Barrymore), a young employee at the local Burger-Matic who's now pregnant and searching for a substitute father for her child. Things really get complicated when she thinks Dorian could be the one.

We'd seen this several years ago, but I'm a complete space cadet and forgot and added it to the list. I suspect this was before I started blogging my movie reviews.

This wasn't a bad movie....Kinda bizzare and unique in it's story line. The director Dean Parisot has directed Northern Exposure and Monk, but TV series which are good and poor respectively. He also directed Galaxy Quest, which wasn't really terriffic, but not the worst Sci-Fi I'd ever seen. Once again, middle of the road on this one, 3 stars.

Feeling Minnesota

NetFlix: Steven Baigelman makes his directing debut with this offbeat lovers-on-the-run yarn set in the rural Midwest. Drifter Jjaks Clayton (Keanu Reeves) returns home for the wedding of his brother Sam (Vincent D'Onofrio) to a woman(Cameron Diaz), who's only marrying him to pay off her debt to a gangster (Delroy Lindo). When Jjaks and the bride-to-be escape the nuptials together, Sam plans his revenge. Tuesday Weld appears as the boys' mother.

I'm going high on this quirkly little flick. The director has done nothine else and frankly this may be his one hit wonder, but a cute and quirky movie.

Clay Pigeons

Death seems to follow Clay Birdwell (Joaquin Phoenix), a small-town Montanan who tries to end an affair with a woman (Georgina Cates) after her husband -- his best friend -- commits suicide. But when fast-talking serial killer Lester Long (Vince Vaughn) forges a friendship against Clay's will, the death toll climbs even higher. Now, a feisty FBI agent (Janeane Garofalo) has Clay in her sights as the prime suspect.

I'm going 4 stars on this movie. I found Vince Vaughn to be quite good in this role and frankly it would seem to be a stretch for him as he's always plays the screw off role in most movies I've seen. Anyway, interesting story line, good plot, funky twists, mildly bizzaro humor. Good movie all in all.

Eddie Izzard: Circle

Actor-comedian Eddie Izzard stops in at New York City's Town Hall on his "Circle" tour, a hilarious and highly original one-man show that pokes fun at Charlton Heston, Darth Vader, Jesus, Machiavelli, Leonardo da Vinci and others. As always Izzard keeps his audience laughing by delivering a unique perspective that only his particular brand of no-holds-barred flamboyance can pull off.

Having now watched what was available for Mr./Mrs. Izzard, I have to say clearly his material and his delivery is becoming better and better. I'm no critic (or am I) but the harder I laugh, the better the rating. Simple and straightforward.

The Constant Gardner

This tale of political intrigue centers on Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes), a member of the British High Commission based in Africa, and his quest for truth. When his wife (Rachel Weisz, in an Oscar-winning turn for her supporting role) is murdered, Justin begins his own international investigation. Not even the rumors of his wife's affairs will stop him from uncovering the truth -- a conspiracy much larger and more dangerous than he'd imagined.

I don't remember a fucking about this movie. 2 Stars.

Fido

Fido is a typical movie about the boy next door and his pet -- except in this case the loyal "pet" is a lumbering zombie named Fido (Billy Connolly). Problems arise when he breaks loose and noshes on the next-door neighbor, forcing owner Timmy Robinson (K'Sun Ray) into damage-control mode while he tries to persuade his parents (Carrie-Anne Moss and Dylan Baker) to keep Fido in director Andrew Currie's imaginative horror-comedy.

This movie was quite a weird little crack and everything we view in society. Do yourself a favor and rent it. It will twist your mind a little.

Garden State

Andrew Largeman (Zach Braff, who also directed) returns to his hometown in New Jersey after a decade away to attend his mother's funeral. Having just weaned himself off antidepressants, the young man begins to see his life in a new light, which leads him to confront his psychologist father (Ian Holm) and forge a connection with a new friend (Natalie Portman). This whimsical comedy premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival.

Great little movie. 4 stars.

Code 46

In this futuristic sci-fi romance, William (Tim Robbins) is an insurance examiner whose company assigns him to investigate the use of papelles, fake travel insurance papers required by the strict government. Along the way, he meets Maria (Samantha Morton), the woman responsible for the phony papelles. Although he knows who she is, he engages in a fiery affair with her … but he'll have to end it within 24 hours, when his own papelles expire.

I dug this movie for it's little bizare story line and sci fi theme, which always will score points with me. I'll go 3 stars on this one.

The Yes Men

Net Flix: This humorous documentary monitors the exploits of a group of jokester liberals who make names for themselves as they mimic members of the World Trade Organization at various venues across the globe. The absurd facade gets started when two members of The Yes Men create a web site that looks quite similar to the WTO site, resulting in the group being invited to high-level meetings and being mistaken for WTO officials.

This was a documentary CLASSIC. This just shows us that there are a percentage of the population, a very small percentage, who live off the true cream of the crop and as a result have no understanding of daily life. This was cleary evident by audience responses. My highest rating.

Kung Fu Monks - 4 Stars

On the one year anniversary, I've decided to resurrect my movie Blog.

NetFlix: If you get a kick out of kung fu, you'll love this exhilarating film that traces the journey of five kung fu monks in search of the American dream. Hailing from China's legendary Shaolin Temple, these Zen masters and kung fu stars have left their homeland to forge a new life and bring their special brand of martial arts to the west. Hear their personal stories (narrated by Beau Bridges) and watch in awe as they display some of their best moves.

I found this movie quite interesting. I really liked how the monks told the stories of how Shaolin monks came to America and have created a school for their way of life. Wow