mario10zeus Reviews

Any Given Sunday (1999)

Good plot, script, cast, but a bit bizarre

[8/10 · 15 November 2008]

Still, the bizarreness doesn't take away the positive points of this film. Al Pacino stars as Tony D'Amato, Miami Sharks football coach. Dennis Quaid is his aging quarterback Cap Rooney, Jamie Foxx is Wiliie Beamon, backup QB who must step in and takeover when Rooney is injured. Cameron Diaz is the team owner who believes D'Amato's style is old school and is waiting for a chance to sack him (literally). Among others the cast includes James Woods (sleazy team doctor), Lawrence Taylor (linebacker about to have his head popped), Aaron Eckhart, Matthew Modine, LL Cool J, Jim Brown, Lela Rochon and Lauren Holly (Rooney's slut wife who still thinks she's in high school)and some dude with a huge apparatus that the ladies will love. Being a Miami Dolphins fan, I couldn't help but notice the similarities between this movie and the Dolphins 99' season.

Don't miss Pacino's "inches" speech before the final game, nor his talk with Jamie Foxx at his residence. Among the bizarre and downright hilarious scenes (maybe coke ain't that bad for Oliver Stone after all): Jamie Foxx making a rap video with bikini-clad girls and a Sisqo look-a-like (it was 1999, Sisqo and Dru Hill were the shiznit); one heavy-metallish linebacker having his eye pop out of it's socket (no one would survive that one); Lawrence Taylor using a chain-saw to cut Beamon's car in half because Willie dissed the defense (never talk bad about the "D" in front of LT); Elizabeth Berkley cameo playing, you guessed it, a hooker.

The football scenes are fast paced and relentless; this movie is equally an expose and a satire on the world of modern football. Besides LT and Brown, keep an eye out for several other football greats.

The Dark Side of the Heart (1992)

Inspirational

[9/10 · 9 November 2008]

Subiela combines the poetry of Benedetti, with an unusual plot which combines elements of surrealism and magic realism. Dario Grandinetti (who also appears in Almodovar's "Talk to Her") plays Oliverio, a poet who freelances for advertisers in order to survive. Several elements are left to the assumption. We don't see Oliverio's family. He always seems to wear black. Oliverio walks around the dirty streets of Buenos Aires, rarely encountering sunlight, always raining. These areas are metaphors which are supposed to represent the darkness inside his heart. Oliverio is searching for a woman who is capable of making him levitate. Soon he meets a prostitute with a penchant for poetry who fulfills this needs. she becomes his muse, but for her he is only one of many clients. An excellent movie that for some reason is particularly unknown for those outside of Argentina.

The Spanish Apartment (2002)

I want to visit Barcelona after this movie!

[8/10 · 7 November 2008]

Interesting film about student life in the Erasmus program.

Romain Duris plays Xavier, a French man who decides to study in the Erasmus program for a year in Barcelona. Xavier is in the midst of searching for his identity and deciding what direction his life will take (like so many of us at 25). While initially feeling sad about missing his girlfriend and his home, Xavier find new friends in his flatmates and experiences a different life in Barcelona. Some of Xavier's actions might seem un-noble, but the idea is that this character is human and has flaws. Overall, a fun quirky film. Audrey Tattou plays the girlfriend. A diverse European cast play the part of the flatmates. William, Wendy's annoying Brit lad brother, steals most of his scenes, and Soledad and the French physician's wife are beyond hot.

Rounders (1998)

Great movie

[8/10 · 7 November 2008]

This movie seems to be quite overlooked. While I am not a fan of poker, blackjack or gambling in general, this movie actually made it seem great. Even though the story might have seemed predictable at certain moments, the acting, the plot, scenarios and dialogue compensated for any error.

Matt Damon plays Mike, a law student and gambling ace. While trying to stay away from the action and the dangerous underground poker sites, the arrival Worm (Ed Norton), Mike old school buddy, thrust him back into the gambling world. Worm is sleazy, unreliable and has a penchant for trouble. John Malkovich, Famke Jannsen, John Turturro (who never seems to get starring roles), Martin Landau and Gretchen Mol all provide strong performances. Hollywood generally never gets it right when it tries to portray certain subcultures. The fact that several former World poker champions have endorsed this movie, speaks to its authenticity.

Garden State (2004)

Stop saying this is the movie that defines my generation!!

[4/10 · 7 November 2008]

This movie has a great soundtrack if you're indie. I'm not really, my ex was. Garden State is excessively melodramatic and tries to hard to be deep. Other reviewers correctly pointed out that it is a Wes Anderson rip-off, that Natalie Portman's character is a copy of Alyssa Jones from the much better Chasing Amy, that the scream scene is suppose to mean that Largeman's life is an infinite abyss. All I can say is that excessive existentialism will kill any movie. The initial scenes of Zach Braff's lost stare can get on anyone's nerve. Honestly, if it weren't for Natalie Portman's character (who in reality would be too fun and lively too find anything interesting in the dull and boring Largeman), I would have turned off this movie after 30 minutes. And I'm tired of stupid reviewers saying this movie is emblematic of young twentysomethings. They're basically saying that my generation is nihilistic, only cares about getting wasted and laid, is self-centered and loves to whine over everything.....Oh well.

Smokin' Aces (2006)

Right up there with Goodfellas........Not

[3/10 · 7 November 2008]

Jeremy Piven plays Buddy Israel, Las Vegas magician who's going to turn in some mob buddies to the feds. The mob puts a bounty on his head and all sort of hit-men and hit-women respond to the call. Meanwhile the FBI must get to Buddy before the contract killers do. Sounds simple, right?

This movie tries very hard to include every cliché available, every ethnic gangster around. It is a basically a rip-off of Guy Ritchie's "Snatch" while trying to achieve the edginess of Tarantino. While the cast and cameos seem good on paper, this movie turns into crap after 30 minutes. Watch it on cable if you have nothing better to do on a Friday night. but more for laughs than anything else.

The good: 1. Ray Liotta, who somehow has fallen low or needs money. Him and Ryan Reynolds seemed believable as FBI agents. 2. Jason Bateman's short cameo and dialogue is hilarious. 3. Alicia Keys looked hot dressed as a hooker.

The bad: 1. Neo-Nazi skinhead psychotic killers who look straight out of Mad Max , The Doom Generation, or the Devil's Rejects. Were they supposed to be comic relief? 2. The Master of Disguise manages to creates these masks in like 5 minutes and no one ever detects him. 3. Cops and security guards are beyond idiocy. 4. Female empowerment rant made no sense. 5. Dramatic music didn't fit into this movie. 6. When the final plot is revealed, you're left thinking WTF?.. 7. Story is too outlandish. 8. what was the purpose of the ADHD kid? 9. Was the Estrago or the Nazis supposed to represent for this film, what Bullet Tooth Tony meant for "Snatch"?

Good luck, gents.

Sex: The Annabel Chong Story (1999)

Tragic and depressing

[6/10 · 26 October 2008]

This un-erotic documentary shows the life of Grace Quek, otherwise known as Annabel Chong, star of the World's biggest gang-bang. Quek seems to be a contradictory character. Even though she is doing graduate studies at USC and many of her teachers and friends refer to her high intelligence, she doesn't mind filming pornography and degrading herself. I'll give a semi-biographical synopsis of the movie's view of Quek from my personal perspective: Quek was born into a middle class family in Singapore. Her life seems OK. She decides to move to London to start college. One night she is brutally raped in an alleyway. Later she moves to LA, and while majoring in Gender Studies at USC, she decides to film porn as an experimentation against the anti-feminist views of society. The gang-bang is supposed to show her as a female stud who should be admired the same way as Hugh Hefner. I believe that first, Quek must have suffered from severe insecurity as a teenager due to her appearance(she does have rather bad teeth, and she feels that the porn community sees her as a beauty queen. Second, the rape she suffered extremely lower her self-esteem, to the point where she probably believes she has no worth. Hence, the porn makes her feel powerful. Still, she has extremely erratic behavior. When she is on Jerry Springer, she resembles a porn bimbo instead of a supposed graduate student. She attentively follows any order given by her porn producers, which are portrayed as they are, shameless pigs. Later she is discarded by them, and replaced with a better looking gang-bang girl.

In one scene, when she starts yelling at someone on the streets and then runs, I get the sensation that she is extremely ashamed of herself and wishes to completely disappear from public view. But later, she is seen at an academic conference in London, again taking pride in her gang-bang. Either she's bi-polar or she suffers from multiple personality disorder. This documentary shows a lonely woman with extreme self-destructive behavior. She only has one friend, she doesn't seem to have a real emotional relationship, the porn community totally rejects her. As a viewer I ended up feeling sorry for this "porn star".

Alpha Dog (2006)

Does it job slightly better than Havoc, Black & White and Kids.

[7/10 · 14 October 2008]

Nick Cassavetes manages to helm a story about teenagers trying to act like adults with bad consequences. Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsch) is a 20 year old suburban drug dealer (yes, such thing exists) working for his career criminal dad. After a run-in with psychotic Jewish neo-nazi Jake Mazursky (yes, that also exists, oddly enough), Johnny and friends kidnap Jake's kid brother Zach to force Jake to pay up a debt. The plot revolves around this kidnap.

Hirsch has never really convinced me. I think he was miscast; his role should 've been played by a tougher actor, someone more menacing looking. I wouldn't think twice about knocking him out and jacking his stuff. Justin Timberlake is surprisingly a good actor. His character Frankie,is genuinely likable. Shawn Hatosy as usual, is typecast as a jerk. Ben Foster does a decent if highly histrionic job as Jake.

As with any movie about decadent youth, drugs and sex are everywhere. The difference is that some of these kids seem too young or from too nice families (Keith, Zach, Amanda Seyfried). Parents are druggies too and are mostly absent except for Zach's. Everyone is tattooed and high. Still, the movie's likable because it doesn't over do it and try to be preachy, unlike Larry Clark's Kids.

Watch out for several scenes such as Jake channeling Bruce Lee at a party, Jake trashing Johnny's house and taking a dump in the living room, Zach being invited to skinny dip with two cute girls.

Black & White (I) (1999)

Black, White and crap

[3/10 · 13 October 2008]

The idea of the movie sounds interesting, white kids who imitate black hip-hop culture, but that's it. Toback is a 60 year old man who doesn't anything about the youth at the time this movie was made, and was simply trying to cash in on the hip hop craze. With the help of Wu-Tang clan. We have a series of vignettes ,where these characters interact. Few scenes are memorable like Robert Downey trying to pick up Mike Tyson or Claudia Schiffer's ramblings. But many parts have simply to much holes in the plot,..oh wait, there is no plot, just htese vignettes.

This movie is racist. Blacks are all thugs, rapper, who want to have sex with white women and smoke weed. All whites are losers, posers and have no personality. There are no Hispanic nor Asian characters, even though it's supposed to be New York. They are no Black females either. Kidada Jones plays Power's love interest, but her character seemed Puerto-Rican to me, and in real life she is biracial. The threesome in the park seemed odd,..who the f*** has sex in Central Park in broad daylight? Can't they go to a motel room? Power is supposed to have money. I'm not from New York, I'm from Miami and the only public place I know people have sex at is a beach at night, but Central Park? Is Claudia Schiffer's character a psycho? she gets her boyfriend killed by his best buddy, whom she later hooks up with. She is evil incarnate. What would she find in Ben Stiller? She is several inches taller. and even her character is a feminist, she ends up with Mike Tyson?

Rent this movie only to make fun of the idiocy of Toback, and the stereotypes.

The Anarchist Cookbook (2002)

Extremism mis-portrayed

[5/10 · 24 July 2008]

Let's see, we have Anarchists, Nihilists, anti-government right-wingers, wealthy Republicans, Neo-Nazis, but no Democrats at all. Being a moderate Democrat which at times veers towards Centrism, I found this movie lacking a bit. While some scenes were smart, others came off as stupid, un-original, un-realistic and improvised. Puck lives with his friends in a Anarchist commune somewhere in Texas. These are Anarchist that resemble more flower children. One day, a Nihilist called Johnny Black shows up, offer everyone drugs and violence as a weapon and somehow becomes the leader. Later on, the Anrchist forge an alliance wit other anti-establishment groups such as Neo-Nazis. First of all, not all Anarchists are peace loving intellectuals. Many are upper-class spoiled brats that simply want to vandalize anything (Yes I know plenty of these, they do exist). Many do follow Anarchist theory but fail to realize it's utopianism. Johnny Red the early leader,constantly lionizes Sweden as an exemplary society but somehow Social Democrats are missing from the film's universe. Anarchists tend to be socially liberal and would NEVER form an alliance with Neo-Nazis. If Puck didn't agree with the system, he could of found ways to subvert it by integrating himself into alternative cultures and political movements (YES, lobbying does work). Other reviewers are correct in pointing out the similarities between this movie and SLC Punk and Trainspotting. Despite its plot's weakness, Anarchist Cookbook has a witty script and at moments stylish direction. Gina Phillips as the commune temptress, steals most of her scenes.

Knockaround Guys (2001)

People should give it a chance.

[7/10 · 22 July 2008]

The main lesson out of "Knockaround Guys" is this: if you want to be a criminal or a mobster, you better be a mean and evil son of a mother. Be like Joe Pesci's characters, but a little bit wiser. This film features the sons of New York mobsters who which to emulate their criminal fathers and get a piece of action. Problem is that these young men have been raised in a more privileged upper class manner and lack the brutal attitude found in the older. Matty Demaret (Barry Pepper) wants to be taken seriously by his father Benny Chains (Dennis Hopper) and associate (John Malkovich). Matty send his friend Marbles (Seth Green) to pick up $500.000 in Seattle and fly back in his private plane. Trouble starts once Marbles stop to refuel in a small town in Montana and loses a bag with the money. The ensemble cast is good and solid. While it isn't your average gangster flick, "Knockaround Guys" is good, if albeit under rated. Don't miss the scene where Vin Diesel gives a beat-down to a local tough guy in a bar.

Amélie (2001)

One word describes this movie....Emotion.

[10/10 · 21 July 2008]

Amelie Poulain is a 23 year old Parisian girl who finds enjoyment in the little things of life, and tries to bring that joy to those around her. Due to the dull nature of Amelie's parents and upbringing, Amelie has an imagination that gives her a thirst for life. While this plot might sound strange to the average film-goer, Jean Pierre Jeunet manages to create a story of astonishing beauty and emotion. When thinking of movies that possess incredible emotion and feeling, the only rival I could find for "Amelie" was Steven Spielberg's "E.T.".

"Amelie" is the type of movie that makes you stop and think and value the small things in life. Other films would have to recur to tragedy in order to achieve the same effect. Audrey Tatou is amazing in the title role. To say that "Amelie" is just a feel-good movie is a gross under-statement. Jeunet shows what a director with real imagination and freed from constraints is capable of.

The Ice Storm (1997)

Critics are seeing something that isn't there.

[5/10 · 21 July 2008]

"The Ice Storm" is movie that shows us the dysfunctional members of 2 families and their relationships. The story is set around Thanksgiving 1973 in suburban upper class Connecticutt in the midst of the Watergate scandal. This movie has been often compared to "American Beauty"; in all honesty Ameircan Beauty" is the movie "the Ice Storm" wanted to be but failed to. While this movie boasts of an excellent cast that includes Kevin Klne, Joan Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Cristina Ricci and oddly enough, Elijah Woods and the creepy kid from "Little Man Tate". While national politics may affect society's mood at times, can it really cause adultery, or swinging? Are these characters so spoiled with money and the good material things in life that they turn to deviant actions in order to satisfy their urges? While "American Beauty" shows us the complacency and boredomness of suburban life, "The Ice Storm" didn't create any connection to it's characters. Maybe there were too many. At moments, their motivations weren't explained. The adults seemed too casual about the swinging; are they ready to accept any counter-cultural trend without judging to it's after-effects? If the parents are strange, so are the kids. The motivations behind Cristina Ricci's actions are never explained. And yes, she is creepy in the Wedndesday Addams mold. If you want to see adults swinging try "Bob & Alice & Carol & Ted".

Naked States (2000)

Interesting portrait of an artist....or a photographer?

[7/10 · 15 July 2008]

Good documentary where the audience meets Spencer Tunick who asks people to pose nude for him in public areas. While some would say that most photographers of nudes are pervs, Tunick comes across as a serious artist even if not everyone would consider his work art. Tunick sees beauty in the different shapes and colors which the human bodies form in his pictures. While it may be argued that he didn't create the human body nor the backgrounds, he does manage to fuse them and convert them into an object of beauty. Some pictures do look plain as in, oh! a naked person in front of a church. Still other impress a lot, as in the picture of participants at Burning Man. For many people, Tunick doesn't provide art but experience. Participants decribe taking off their clothes in public as exhilarating and amazing. While Tunick's art is interesting, the man himself comes off at different times as shallow, clueless, annoying, diva-like (some people say he should come out of the closet) and arrogant. When describing his art, his vocabulary resembles someone on Quaalude. The interviews with the participants and their reasons for posing as opposed to Tunick speaking, are excellent.

Pumping Iron (1977)

Seize the muscle, seize the ego.

[9/10 · 15 July 2008]

Pumping Iron is a great documentary. A rather revealing look at the then smaller world of body-building. Audiences are introduced to the charismatic, brash and overly-confident Arnold Schwarzenegger. Later we see the camaraderie between the muscle men at Arnold's gym in L.A. Thereis a huge contrast between the fun atmosphere of L.A. and the austere and dark gym where Lou Ferrigno trains under the rather obsessive watch of his father, Matty. While Ferrigno is bigger than Arnold, Arnold is considered to have the body with best symmetry and alignment, not to forget those 25 inch biceps. The scenes with Mike Katz, an amateur body-builder and former NY Jets player with an enormous chest are quite memorable and inspiring. Katz talks about the taunting he received as a kid and how this pushed him to train hard to achieve his goals. Try to watch the DVD which includes an update 30 years later. Included among several memorable scenes are: Arnold smoking a joint; Arnold talking about the pump and "coming" feeling; Arnold giving tips on how to pose; after Lou Ferrigno has finished an impressive set of military benches, his father tells that Arnold might be training twice as hard as he is; some body builders who can barely run normally thanks to so much muscle. Great Documnetary, don't miss it.

Prey for Rock & Roll (2003)

Weak, bad music., bad plot.......where do I start?

[3/10 · 15 July 2008]

Oh Gina, my lovely Gina, how bad have you fallen? Then again, you were never really an A-lister. Prey for Rock n' Roll features an all-girl punk rock band, but maybe hard rock too, in LA, supposedly in the late 90s or early 2000s. Jackie (Gershon) is the lead singer, who is turning 40 and still doesn't have success or a respectable recording contract. While the cast looks the part and the acting is decent thanks mostly to Gershon and Drea DeMatteo, the plot has several odd and un-realistic situations. 2 of the girls are lesbians, while another is bi-sexual. I didn't know straight rocker chicks didn't like punk. 2 of the bandmates were sexually abused when young, then one of them is raped, another dies in an accident, while the remaining one is a drug addict. The rapist has the word "rapist" tattooed to his forehead (oh wow). Why not send him to jail? According to the writers it seems, people in rock bands lead trash existences and suffer constant calamity. Funny, I've had many friends who were in rock bands and I can't recall any having such a decadent band history. And at least their music was decent. Clamdandy (where did they get that name?) had terrible music, I believe courtesy of Linda Perry, formerly of 4 non blondes (East Village crackehead supreme if there ever was one). Their songs simply weren't.....great. Also, the characters kept talking about the rock n' roll lifestyle that they ended looking to much like poseurs wanting to look like rockers. We never find out Animal's real name. The girls seem to have only one connection in the recording industry. The band performed too many of their songs on screen. Who becomes a rocker after watching Tina Turner? That would be R&B. One of the few bright spots is that Gershon's voice over narrative seemed cool and had some good lines. Oh and did I mention she looked hot in those pants!

This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

Quite funny indeed

[8/10 · 15 July 2008]

After watching "This is Spinal Tap", I have added Christohper Guest's other films to my Netflix Queue. This mockumentary captures many aspects of modern rock from a sarcastic view. Being that it is done in a documentary style makes it even funnier than if it were a movie, say like "Rockstar" with Mark Wahlberg (haven't seen it yet, so I I'm not aware if its comedy or drama). Since TIST was released in 1984, it doesn't include the alternative rock period, nor the current indie rock nor sub-divisions such as emo, brit-pop, industrial, etc. Hair metal and spandex are widely lampooned, especially in the "cucumber scene". The Stonehenge scene along with the midgets had me falling over the floor in laughter. This ancient Britain dictum is a swipe at Led Zeppelin's black magic along with Manowar's knight cult. The vacuous song-writing is even prophetic as it resembles the songs from many late 80s bands (e.g. Rock me like a Hurricane from Scorpions, I want Rock n' Roll from Joan Jett, and anything from KISS). Finally, the scene where the rockers snub their New York limo driver due to his appreciation for Sinatra is utter genius. I think the writers could have explored more the themes or drug use and groupies, of course from a humorous POV.

Woman Is the Future of Man (2004)

Evocative tale of love, lust and loss.

[7/10 · 15 July 2008]

I admit I was expecting more after Scorsese's introduction. Still ,the film captivates the viewers emotions. At times, it seems a character study of Hyeon-gon, the painter/college professor, or a neutral view of the object of attraction, Seon-hwa holds on both male leads. Initially, Mun-ho and Hyeon-gon, old friends meet for a drink. Mun-ho has just returned from film school in the United States. Both decide to visit their shared love interest, Seon-hwa. The movie is intercut with flashbacks and Hyeon-gon's interactions with his students. Mun-ho and Seon-hwa were together until he left for film school. Later she has an affair with Hyeon-gon. Seon-hwa is the unconditional ever-loving person, Mun-ho is the man with deep love but not very sure of himself, while Hyeon-gon is the man who's love is cheap but somehow appreciated. This view of the film might remind some men of the dictum, "nice guys finish last". Mun-ho and Seon-hwa are together. She is raped under odd circumstances by an earlier flame. The film doesn't explain why she decided to go to a motel with him, even when he seemed violent and over-assertive. I'm not sure if this is common in Korean culture or if female obedience is encouraged, or if Seon-hwa is simply weak-willed. Later Mun-ho bathes and cleanses her of impurity, followed by sexual intercourse and the professing of his true love for her. After he leaves, she starts an affair with Hyeon-gon. While he seems attracted to her, he comes off as a selfish character who only thinks of his own needs. In the present, while he is married, he claims to have no love for his wife. He also engages in an affair with one of his students. Oddly enough, Seon-hwa holds no ill will towards him, reserving her anger for Mun-ho. At their reunion, Mun-ho reveals his guilt over abandoning Seon-hwa, while she berates him for the pain he caused her. All characters feel a sense of loss for what they once had. This is comparable to having coffee with a woman whom you deeply loved several years back but for whom you don't feel anything anymore.

Empire (2002)

Look promising, but falls short

[5/10 · 13 July 2008]

Hispanic gangsters crash with Wall Street yuppies, a plot that is given away in Empire's trailers. A story that starts out interesting, eventually falls short. Victor Rosas (Leguizamo)is a gangster with only 3 guys in his crew? Wouldn't "La Colombiana" have her own Wall Street broker for laundering purposes? If "La Colombiana" is so powerful how come she only has one hit-man, her brother? Rosas keeps his cash in safe vaults? I'm used to the Italian gangster film where the characters have a restaurant usually, in order to cover their money's tracks from the feds and the IRS. The problem between Rosas' and Tito's (Fat Joe) gang could have been solved with a phone call. Sarsgaard's and Richard's characters are one-dimensional caricatures of yuppies. For all of Rosas' street smarts, he severely lacks common sense. After a trivial argument with his then pregnant girlfriend he kicks her out of the car and leaves her on the street. Franc Reyes should stick to music videos, as the mix of music in many scenes is one of the few bright spots this movie has. Overall, a weak plot and script. Only Leguizamo shines in his role, all the other actors lack charisma.