The 2009 Movie Genre of the Month

[slayrrr666]

The Opera-1987
After the Elvis movies, I wanted something a little more traditional, and this one certainly fits. So far, it's chronologically Argento's last masterpiece, at times even giving a master-class in suspense here with some of his all-time greatest set-pieces ever recorded, including the basement attack with the ravens while she watches helplessly or the signature bullet-through-the-keyhole sequence, which serves as the conclusion to one of the best sequences he's ever done. The kills are fantastic and bloody, the music is tolerable, with the final performance at the end giving the incredibly shot through the raven's eye-view. Still suffers from the unmistakeable Argento flaw (trying to rationalize what's happening logically leaves a headache the size of Texas) and the true finale doesn't do a whole lot after the gloriousness of what came before, but it's still a fun ride.
9/10

[Heineken Skywalker]

Jan 11, 2009 4:28:25 GMT -5 raina said:

Shine a Light (2008)

If you are a Rolling Stones fan and a Martin Scorsese fan this is pretty much a must see. Very well done concert film.

8/10

Saw it in IMAX last year. Great! Will be picking up that one on dvd.

HUSTLE & FLOW (2005)

Terrence Howard stars, in a fantastic performance, as DJay, a Memphis pimp with aspirations of making it as a rapper. He runs into an old friend who happens to be an engineer and convinces him to help him record a demo, which he plans to get into the hands of a successful rapper from the old neighborhood.
Simple story, but well-written and features good performances all around. Not a huge rap fan, but the music's good and it was fun to watch the creative process of the songs coming together.

8.5/10

[Heineken Skywalker]

EL CANTANTE (2006)

Biopic about Hector Lavoe (1946-1993), who helped create and popularize Salsa music in the U.S. The story is told in flashbacks, from the point of view of his widow Puchi, and details his rise and eventual fall due mostly to drug abuse.
Real-life married couple Mark Anthony and Jennifer Lopez do a decent job as Hector and Puchi, but the film seems kind of superficial, as it doesn't go too deep into the man's psyche and mostly just gives us the "Behind the Music" moments.

5.5/10

RHINESTONE (1984)

Dolly Parton plays a country singer (Shocking!) who, in order to get out of her terrible contract, makes a bet that she can turn the next regular Joe who comes by into a country singer. Up drives loudmouth New York, Italian cab driver, Nick (Sylvester Stallone), and let the shenanigans begin. No, not really.
No real chemistry between the two leads, but Parton is at least likable. Stallone's performance is just all over the place. When he sings the first few times, to show Dolly what she has to work with, he's a complete spaz and just so awful that you wonder if his character has ever even heard music, and why he's running around free in public. Funny thing is, later in the film, when he's supposed to have improved, his singing isn't much better, but at least he's not waving his arms and shaking his head quite as much.
Awful, awful movie.

2/10

STANDING IN THE SHADOWS OF MOTOWN (2002)

Now this was more like it.
Documentary about a group of studio musicians known as the Funk Brothers, who were employed by Berry Gordy/Motown Records. Over a fourteen year period, they were the backing band for such Motown artists as Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross & The Supremes and many, many others. This film finally gives them their due, and the spotlight. As the film tells us, "this unheralded group of musicians had played on more number ones hits than the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones, Elvis and the Beatles combined - which makes them the greatest hit machine in the history of popular music."
The film is a combination of interviews with the surviving members, quick re-enactments of a few moments, and footage of a reunion concert in Detroit.
Having grown up in Detroit, I've been exposed to Motown music most of my life, but had no idea that the same group of musicians played on almost every song. A real eye opener and a good movie.

7/10

[slayrrr666]

Airheads-1993
A lot closer in style to what I usually watch, compared to Rock Star, as this one is pretty fun to watch. Really funny, with lots of great humor (Richards is a blast, I thought much more than Buscemi although he is the funniest among the three) and a story that just spells tons of opportunities to be funny and stupid. The music isn't bad, better than expected and much more in style to my taste than Rock Star but not enough is spent with it. A little sad, but much better than expected, and still holds up nicely.
8.5/10

[Heineken Skywalker]

Slayrrr, sent you a pm.

[Heineken Skywalker]

TENACIOUS D IN THE PICK OF DESTINY (2006)

Jack Black and Kyle Gass bring their folk rock heavy metal duo to the big screen in this sometimes hilarious, sometimes so-so, movie that tells the story of the coming together of the band and their attempt to get their hands on a magical guitar pick, which can make them rock megastars.
Some of the song lyrics are outrageous, and there are some pretty decent cameos by Ben Stiller, Tim Robbins, Meatloaf, Ronnie James Dio, and unrecognizable under their makeup, John C. Reilly as Sasquatch and Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) as Satan.

7/10

[Heineken Skywalker]

THE DOORS (1991)

Oliver Stone biopic of 60's rock group The Doors, and especially enigmatic lead singer, Jim Morrison (Val Kilmer). Yes, at times it's overblown and overwrought, and there's a lot of mysticism and symbolism, but it also features some great concert scenes and a stunning performance by Kilmer, who not only looks a lot like the real Morrison, but also sounds so much like him, that he did most of his own singing in the film. Truly one of Kilmer's best performances, up there with his Doc Hollliday from TOMBSTONE, imho.

7/10

[ZapRowsdower]

Yeesh, took me forever to catch up, but it's good to be back.

Coal Miner's Daughter (1980, Michael Apted)

Very entertaining. Great music, great script, great performances by Sissy Spacek and Tommy Lee Jones. It was also a nice touch to see Beverly D'Angelo as Patsy Cline. 9/10

[slayrrr666]

Rhinestone-1982
Due to past experiences, I've always thought that Dolly Parton always had a wonderful sense of comic timing (or maybe it's just the accent which makes everything sound funny) but whatever, she's always been one to make me laugh, and is one of the few women who can lay claim to that. With that out of the way, this was a huge disappointment, as outside of a couple of her traditional rapid-fire oneliners and some from Stallone playing "the stereotypical loud-mouthed Italian Nu Yawker" as Heineken said earlier on, this was a quite dull affair. Frankly, Stallone can't sing at all, and nothing that he does before or after show much of any improvement. After reading Heineken's reveiw of it, I was expecting some chuckles from what he sounded like, but it wasn't all that great, and lead to a rather dull experience.
4.5/10

[Heineken Skywalker]

Re: RHINESTONE
See? Every once in a while I know what I'm talking about.

8 MILE (2002)

Fictionalized account of Eminem's early days before he made it. For a first time actor, Em does a pretty good job of playing B-Rabbit, a white wannabe rapper living in Detroit and trying to break-out in the predominantly black rap scene.
B-Rabbit works in a factory, lives in a trailer with his alcoholic mom (Kim Basinger) and little sister, hangs out with his buddies, and pursues an aspiring model (Brittany Murphy). In his spare time he writes lyrics based on all the things going on his life.
The movie features good direction by Curtis Hanson, a gritty look, and the rap battles are a lot of fun.

7.5/10

[ZapRowsdower]

Sigh... I may have to bow out of this again. It's a great idea, but I'm in three classes this semester that assign a tremendous amount of films to watch per week, and my Netflix account is gonna have to accomodate that. I'll keep you posted on the Just Watched Movies section, and in the off chance one of those movies happens to be within the genre of the month, I'll definitely post it here.

[Heineken Skywalker]

Well, you gotta do what you gotta do, right?
If something you have to watch for school happens to fit into a Genre of the Month too, then for sure post it here too.

[Heineken Skywalker]

THIS IS SPINAL TAP (1984)

Mockumentary about film-maker Marti DeBergi (Rob Reiner) who is filming a documentary, or Rockumentary if you will, about legendary British heavy metal band Spinal Tap, as they attempt a comeback American tour.
Everything that could go wrong on tour does, from canceled shows and deserted record store appearances, to malfunctioning stage props and dissent among the band members.
The band themselves (played by Michael McKean, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer) are extreme rock star clichés who don't realize how preposterous their lives are and who think their lyrics are deep.
Which brings us to the songs. The film showcases in-concert performances of such Spinal Tap "classics" as "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You, Tonight", "Big Bottom" and "Sex Farm". The songs, and their hilarious lyrics, are reason enough to watch this movie.
Easily one of the funniest and most quotable films ever made.

10/10 But this one should go up to 11

[Heineken Skywalker]

In honor of The Academy Awards, airing on February 22nd, the genre/category for February is...

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO...

Films that won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Only Oscar winning films, not films that won in other categories, ie: Best Actor, Director, Animated Feature, Visual Effects, etc.

That's pretty much the only rule for this month as it's pretty self-explanatory.

You can see a complete list of every film that has won Best Picture right here:
www.netflix.com/AwardPage?awardId=50

And if you happen to see this years winner anytime during the month of February, that'll count too, even if you saw it before the actual winner was announced.
This category runs through February 28th and then on March 1st I'll announce the next genre or category.

[raina]

I'm actually kind of surprised that I have seen most of these. But I have been meaning to watch Out of Africa and A Man for All Seasons forever and there are many I wouldn't mind re watching (a few I am sure my husband has missed).