Into the Wild

I've been lucky to see some amazing films lately. The perks of living in LA I guess. Anyways, Into the Wild (directed by Sean Penn) is one of the best movies I've seen lately. It's the true story of Chris McCandless, a college graduate who gave his life savings to charity and hitchhiked to Alaska to live in a van in the wilderness.

Things I liked about this movie:
-Being almost 2 and half hours long and with only one main character, it had the potential to be very boring. However, it wasn't at all.
-Emile Hirsch makes McCandless so likeable. By the end, you are so connected to his character that it makes the ending that much harder to watch.
-The Alaskan wilderness cinematography is phenomenally beautiful.

Things I didn't like about this movie:
-Naked, middle-aged hippies. Yuck.

I usually can tell if I really liked a movie if it sticks in my head for days afterwards. This movie did just that. In fact, it is still in my head and I saw it a month ago.

Lars and the Real Girl

Okay, so I loved this movie. Ryan Gosling is amazing as usual. Lars is a guy who is lonely. So he orders a life-like doll off the internet to be his girlfriend, Bianca. Of course his family and everyone else thinks he's insane. But this movie actually has heart. It's funny, but sad at the same time when you find out more about why Lars has such intimacy issues.

What did I like about this movie?
-Ryan Gosling. He is always amazing, but he fit this role so well.
-For it being about a sex doll, it wasn't full of sleazy jokes and innuendo, which I feel would have taken away from the heart of the story.
-I love when actors can convey so much through simple facial expressions. The expressions on the faces of people and his family members when he brings Bianca around are priceless.

What didn't I like about this movie?
-That more people haven't seen it!

Seriously, it's a great movie. Go see it.

Session 9

It's almost Halloween, so I'm gonna talk about The Creepiest Movie Ever. Yes. It deserves capitalization. I'm not one for horror movies, mostly because I can't stomach blood and gore. So it literally took me months to get up the nerve to watch this movie. I was intrigued by the plot since it takes place in an abandoned mental asylum...and I'm fascinated by urban exploration and abandoned buildings for some reason.

That's Danvers. It's and ENORMOUS former mental asylum in Massachussetts. Basically, these HAZMAT guys are hired to get rid of asbestos in this old building. They start exploring and go crazy. I would to if I was stuck in that creepy, giant building.

See? You could pretty much not even have people in this movie and I'd be scared to death. That building is so damn creepy.

So things I liked about this movie:
-Scared me without having blood and guts thrown everywhere.
-Josh Lucas plays a good redneck asshole...much better than a pretty boy in a chick flick
-Brendan Sexton III...amazing as always. I love him and his films. Even if he does have a mullet in this movie.
-Is there ANYTHING creepier than those audio reels of old psychiatric exams of a girl with Multiple Personality Disorder?? Seriously. Watch it.

Things I didn't like about this movie:
-It's not for everyone. Either you love it or you hate it. A couple of my friends hated it. Just a warning.
-Don't watch it with idiot friends who think it's funny to call you in the middle of the night quoting Simon. Watch the movie and you'll know what I'm talking about.

New Todd Solondz Movie!!

AHH! I just found out that Todd Solondz is making another movie. It's supposed to tie in with Happiness and Welcome to the Dollhouse (my favorite movie of all time).

King of Kong: A Fistful Of Quarters

So this movie is seriously amazing. It's a documentary about who is the reigning champion of Donkey Kong.

Basically, this guy above, Billy Mitchell, has been the reigning champion of Donkey Kong since the early 80's. You seriously have to watch this movie just to see him and his hair. He is so weird. Basically what you'd expect from a guy who spent his entire life playing an arcade game.

However, then this guy Steve (above) comes into the picture. He has a video tape that shows him beating Billy Mitchell's top score. So now we have a problem. Who is the real champion of Donkey Kong? You'd be surprised at how seriously some people take this.

So, Steve Weibe challenged Billy Mitchell to a Donkey Kong combat. You gotta watch this so see how these two grown men act about this. It's so funny. Basically, Billy Mitchell is the worst. The other guy is actually pretty normal.

Seriously people, watch this movie. It's coming to theaters on limited release soon.

Superbad

Okay, so I figured this movie would be mediocre at best...but I was surprised at how funny it actually was. Basically, these two high school seniors (Jonah Hill and Michael Cera) decide that they need to get girls before they go off to college. They decide to impress them by buying alcohol for the girl's party, even though they're all underage. One of their friends has a horribly made fake-ID which they try to use...and of course everything goes wrong and hilarity ensues.

Things I liked:
-It was hysterical...I haven's laughed that much in a movie in a long time
-Unlike most movies of this genre, the main characters actually learned a lesson by the end
-I love the home-ec scene where Seth is arguing with the teacher...Jonah Hill's delivery is amazing.

Things I hated:
-The one cop (Bill Hader) resembled one of my ex boyfriends
-The 800 penis pictures were a little disturbing...but I guess that's a guy thing because every guy in the theater thought it was hysterical.

So yeah, go see this movie. Prepare to laugh until you cry.

Thirteen

I've put off seeing this movie for a long time for some reason, but I finally rented it the other day. Evan Rachel Wood is incredible aplaying Tracy, as she meets her new friend and enters the dangerous world of drugs, sex, and crime. It's scarily accurate, because that age is usually the turning point for kids.



Things I liked about this movie:
-Very realistic
-It didn't bore me to death like a lot of these "coming-of-age" independent movies do anymore



Things that I didn't like about this movie
-Wasn't as good as Kids, but then again, that's pretty rough to top
-Holly Hunters nude scene was really pointless