Zombies of Mass Destruction

	Rating: 3 out of 5 Release Date: 2009 Director: Kevin Hamedani Netflix Link IMDb Link

Zombies of Mass Destruction definitely had potential, but it didn’t quite make it there. Unfortunately, it tried to cover too much ground, especially for a zombie movie. Sexual orientation, politics, racism, ignorance and religion are all covered. Romero was known for throwing social commentary in his films, but Kevin Hamedani is no Romero. Not to mention that Romero’s commentary was a lot more subtle. You can’t try to be a serious political/social issues drama AND a comedy at the same time. Pick one. At best, the acting seemed very high school drama class with the exception of the Iranian girl, played by Janette Armand. I didn’t dislike it, but I found it mildly disappointing. Strangely, for a low-budget film, the best thing about it were the effects.

I Sell The Dead

	Rating: 4 out of 5 Release Date: 2008 Director: Glenn McQuaid Netflix Link IMDb Link

I Sell The Dead was not quite as good as I had hoped it would be. It was disjointed at best, deadly dull at worst. It’s a period piece, yet, incongruously, it features such items as vampires, zombies and aliens. To its credit, it does have a fairly entertaining and unique story with a really good cast. Honestly though, I felt like I had seen it before. I didn’t dislike it, but it could have been a whole lot better. Normally, I’d give this 3 stars, but in comparison to all the claptrap to come out of Hollywood in the last few years, I’ll give it 4 stars for at least attempting to be original and for being the most original American movie I’ve seen in a while.

Black Dynamite

	Rating: 5 out of 5 Release Date: 2009 Director: Scott Sanders Netflix Link IMDb Link

Black Dynamite accomplishes what other tribute films have tried to do and failed. It is everything it should be. I was expecting another half-heated spoof of a beloved genre, but it far exceeded my expectations. Homage, parody, satire: it’s all in there. The dialog is so cleverly subtle that it might take several viewings to catch it all. In fact, this is the type of film you can watch over and over again, and still find it enjoyable. It is evident that the people who wrote it know every blaxspoilation movie by heart. It is expertly crafted with a rambling story, some laugh out loud moments, and a cast that is so invested in their characters it’s a wonder that they managed to perform it all with a straight face. Black Dynamite sets the standard for homage films.

Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters

	Rating: 3 out of 5 Release Date: 1985 Director: Paul Schrader Netflix Link IMDb Link

A visually interesting depiction of the life of one of Japan’s most celebrated authors, yet most of the film seems more like a dream sequence; a two-hour long dream sequence. While all the events depicted are supposedly true, it seems rather embellished and stylized. Unless you have a pretty good understanding of the widespread political unrest in Japan during the 60′s and 70′s, most likely, this film will leave you wondering what the hell is going on. Ken Ogata is brilliant, as usual, but he’s not quite enough to carry the film. It is a gorgeous piece of cinema, however, the wiki entry on Mishima seems more accurate and interesting. In any case, I would recommend reading up on Mishima since you won’t glean much from the film itself, besides a beautiful and intricate stage-playish interpretation of the events of his life.

The Long Goodbye

	Rating: 3 out of 5 Release Date: 1973 Director: Robert Altman Netflix Link IMDb Link

I don’t know why I keep torturing myself with film adaptations of books I’ve just read. I keep hoping that somewhere there is a film version of Chandler that does justice to the book, but I’m not sure it exists. The only issue I have with this film is the story, but it’s a BIG issue – enough to drop a star off my rating. Chandler wrote a book full of wry humor, clever dialogue and opaque motivations, but the film bears little resemblance to the book. The screenwriter, Leigh Brackett, turned Marlowe into a babbling idiot who constantly mumbles to himself and his cat (Marlowe has a cat??). He does little to no detecting other than hiding in bushes and peeking in windows. By completely changing the story, it loses all the momentum and character motivations, and it drops all of the good parts. That being said, Altman’s direction is superb with fluid camera work and interesting shots. The cast is excellent, particularly Gould as the bumbling detective just floating his way through the story like driftwood. If this was just a no-name detective yarn and you removed the name Marlowe, it would be a good film, but as a Chandler adaptation, it fails. If you’ve read the book, I would not recommend seeing this film. If you haven’t, it’s worth a watch.

Brotherhood

	Rating: 4 out of 5 Release Date: 2006 Netflix Link IMDb Link

Holy crap, talk about a time sink. I was hooked on this show from the very first episode. 900 hours later, I finished all three seasons only to hear that they stupidly canceled it. Good job, Showtime. I’m not sure if it’s the violence, the tragedy, the underhanded politics and back-stabbery, but whatever it is, this is probably the best sleeper show since The Wire. To be perfectly honest, I’ve not been much impressed by what Showtime previously had to offer. It always seemed like HBO’s kid brother, trying desperately to keep up. But with Brotherhood, they manage to hold their own.

Stuck

	Rating: 3 out of 5 Release Date: 2007 Director: Stuart Gordon Netflix Link IMDb Link

Watching Stuck is very much like craning your neck to look at the shattered glass and mangled husks of vehicles in a traffic accident as you drive by; you don’t really want to look, but something compels you to do so. That same rubber-necking instinct is what made me watch this mess of a film. What saves it is the fact that it’s based on a true story. I remember reading about it when it happened. However, the real-life story is far more gruesome than this horrific adaptation for there was no Hollywood ending. The acting is fair to terrible, even by the normally tolerable Mena Suvari and Stephen Rea, and other than the obvious, there is not much action. Really, the only thing that Stuck has going for it is the ability to make you feel terribly wrong for watching it.

Repo! The Genetic Opera

	Rating: 2 out of 5 Release Date: 2008 Director: Darren Lynn Bousman Netflix Link IMDb Link

Twisted Pictures should pack up the script, sets, costumes and, hell, even Sarah Brightman, and ship it off to Asia. Then, maybe, just maybe, they could take it and turn it into something I might enjoy watching. Nobody can make a wacky movie like this better than the Japanese. Had they infused a little bit of humor here and there, cut back on the singing by about 70% and not taken themselves so damn seriously, this might have been worth watching. As it is, Repo! is trying so hard that it fails on all counts. So, my rating is as follows; +1 star for Sarah Brightman, +1 for Alexa Vega, +1 for story, +1 for sets and +1 for visuals. -1 star for the rest of the cast, a separate -1 for putting that overworked hack, Paris Hilton, on film, and -1 for pretty much singing the entire film. Even The Rocky Horror Picture Show has lines of dialogue scattered throughout. Repo!, you disappoint me.

My Blueberry Nights

	Rating: 3 out of 5 Original Title: Release Date: 2007 Director: Kar Wai Wong Netflix Link IMDb Link

I was a little fearful that my favorite Chinese director would get swallowed up by the Hollywood system upon making his first film in the US. I should have known that Wong Kar Wai could never be squeezed into one of Hollywood’s cubby holes. This film is every bit as much a Wong Kar Wai film as any of his others, even if it is shot in the US with Hollywood actors. The wide-open spaces of America seem to strangely fit with his inherent style of filmmaking. While, My Blueberry Nights is no Chungking Express, it has all the sentimentality, philosophy and beautiful imagery that any Wong Kar Wai fan can appreciate, even though Christopher Doyle, his long-time cinematographer, is nowhere to be found. My Blueberry Nights is a fervent tale about heartbreak, loss and letting go wrapped with a love story bow.

The American Nightmare

	Rating: 3 out of 5 Release Date: 2000 Director: Adam Simon Netflix Link IMDb Link

The American Nightmare is certainly not the most exciting documentary on horror I’ve ever seen. In fact, the soundtrack (by Godspeed You Black Emperor) is one of the most interesting things about it. But, if you’ve been living in a cave for the last 40 years and have no idea where to start with the fundamentals of horror, this would be a good place to get some ideas. It briefly covers Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Halloween, The Last House on the Left, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Shivers including interviews with each director. While it’s not as insightful as I had hoped, I suppose it is worth watching if you are a die-hard fan of these films.