Welcome to reality, baby

Wasn’t s as breathtaking fun as it was ten years ago, but an entertaining and visually invigorating action-packed fucker still.

No time to wallow in the mire

Some rare exclusive footage of The Doors or Jim Morrison in special, but if any historical values are concerned, this documentary merely scratches the surface. As a matter of fact, it was surprisingly uninformative a movie.

Walk it off

I don’t know what compels me to watch these totally average wishy-washy semi-comedic dramas?

Update

The past week, I've mostly been listening to:

The silent war

An okayish film of an Australian tunnelling company in WWI. Based on factual events in Belgian soil, Battle of Messines and such, jada jada jada.

Eldorado

This movie had the makings of a decent outcome, but with flashbacks aplenty, it was quite of a messy clusterfuck. The problem (according to IMDB) lies herein: “Although the film was conceived of as an indie drama, when producer Elie Samaha took control of the film, he attempted to change the film to fit the action genre. Samaha recut the film against the wishes of the director and cast. This included shooting new action scenes. Since Val Kilmer refused to shoot these new scenes, Samaha used a stunt double to play the part of Kilmer. There are now two versions of the film: The director's cut (a quiet, character-based drama intended for film festivals like Sundance), and Samaha's action-based cut, intended for a video release in Eastern Europe.” I saw the action-based cut.

Empty city

A tad too sentimental bullshit for my everyday liking, but I was tied to a chair of its two hours or so. Also, I was surprisingly impressed my Adam Sandler, not an actor I’m jazzed about too often, but here his Bob Dylan-looking character did some miracles.

Karate kids on acid

Total waste of my time, but at least I’ll die happy knowing I don’t have to watch it ever again.

Imperial life in the emerald city

Electrifying war movie, but I got somewhat irritated at the plethora of swaying shots in almost art house quality, maybe it’s effective to some, maybe it portrays the action and movement of war, but it’s confusing fucken blur most of times.

The neurotics

A rather enjoyable movie of the lives of people in tinseltown. Pretty forgettable as it is, but an entertaining watch nevertheless.

Nefes nefese

A little bit too preachy for my liking. It felt that action was thrown in just for action’s sake and the outcome stood out rather messy.

Quote of the day

“As he looked down at her face, first light was slanting through the room. He would have said she was at peace, except that there was no one there. A skull. Some skin.” 

(John Harvey – In A True Light)

 

And those who can pluck the kantele are so few

A very human portrayal of a legendary and enormously gifted Finnish actor, singer, athlete or, as one Lappish wolf put it, extension to the trash bag.

I live in snow

The author of more than twenty novels, yet this is the first one I’ve read from Tom Piccirilli. Shadow Season is a charged violent thriller, but don’t quite compete with them very best out there, not quite in the league with the works of, say, James Crumley, Jim Thompson or George V. Higgins. Above average a story, nicely constructed, decent dialogue, but, dunno, a bit messy, somewhat busied at times.

Update

This week, I've mostly been listening to:

Death comes to all except those who deserve it most

The story here is a bit weak to be honest, but this is bloody cool film noir and Jeff Bridges, as always, is in an amazing form.

I have a bunch of savages out there just aching to splatter you all over the place

Not a classic but a gem in its own right. Oddball of a movie of a posse (led by Marvin) after a wanted man (Bronson) in British Columbian wilderness.

The nights are warm and the roads are straight

A cult classic, they say. Yea, why not, it’s quite good one at that. Beautiful landscapes, engine sounds, automobiles, gas stations & diners, buddies, something like that. Tho’, had they made it happen with the first cut, clocking in three and half hours, I’d probably died of boredom.

Fat men and iron

Haven’t seen the Coens’ True Grit yet, I have read Charles Portis’s book, never liked John Wayne. The book was close to brilliant, this movie somewhere there in ok.

Quote of the day

"On January 4, 1993, the cat in this book and the books that preceded it was put to sleep in Kerrville, Texas, by Dr. W.H. Hoegemeyer and myself. Cuddles was fourteen years old, a respectable age. She was as close to me as any human being I have ever known.

Cuddles and I spent many years together, both in New York, where I first found her as a little kitten on the street in Chinatown, and later on the ranch in Texas. She was always with me, on the table, on the bed, by the fireplace, beside the typewriter, on top of my suitcase when I returned from a trip.


I dug Cuddles' grave with a silver spade, in the little garden by the stream behind the old green trailer where both of us lived in the summertime. Her burial shroud was my old New York sweatshirt and in the grave with her is a can of tuna and a cigar.


A few days ago I received a sympathy note from Bill Hoegemeyer, the veterinarian. It opened with a verse by Irving Townshend: "We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own live within a fragile circle..."


Now, as I write this, on a gray winter day by the fireside, I can almost feel her light tread, moving from my head and my heart down through my fingertips to the keys of the typewriter. People may surprise you with unexpected kindness. Dogs have a depth of loyalty that often we seem unworthy of. But the love of a cat is a blessing, a privilege in this world.


They say when you die and go to heaven all the dogs and cats you've ever had in your life come running to meet you.


Until that day, rest in peace, Cuddles"



(Kinky Friedman - Cuddles Epilogue)

Update

This week, I've mostly been listening to:

Something is rotten in the state of…

I was speechless after this - documentaries of some serious calibre make it happen.
The current Afghan War, the enormity, the complexity, it’s so difficult to comprehend, that it’s almost surreal. You’re out of words of its fucken absurdity. Armadillo doesn’t give us a big picture, it’s a bit messy, misleading perhaps if you think it that way, but it’s really a depiction of a group of enthusiastic boys turning into warmongering men in a strange new hostile world.

No-one has power over the hour of death

There is not much to write about a movie with paper-thin characters and no real substance whatsoever, is there? Sure, I could fuck about the insanely stupid lines in the script or bad acting, but I'll leave it as it is. Funniest thing is the DVD cover with Malkovich holding a piece - I don’t recall seeing a gun anywhere in this film, or maybe I just dozed off that part.

There is no hope, there never was

Quite a bit different to the original comic series, perhaps not so action-packed and surprising in turn of events, also, definitely not that bloody, but some real good TV here. Although, I must say that after the first couple of episodes the show took a nosedive of some kind.

Don't fuck with Captain Mahmoud

Started off efficiently, and almost carried it through the entire film. All in all, a well done TV movie that, I reckon, is based on factual events.