Jason_Alley's Xanga

Friday, November 06, 2009

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:24:02 GMT

MICHAEL JACKSON'S THIS IS IT (2009) ***1/2 Rehearsal footage, backstage action and interviews comprise this moving Michael Jackson experience. He is shown here preparing for a series of 50 sold-out London shows, which were scheduled to kick off in late summer 2009. Singing his numerous hits at the Staples Center in Los Angeles during the days leading up to his untimely death, Jackson is also seen refining cues, delving into dance details and working with director Kenny Ortega.

My Review: Poignant, rousing performance documentary that may not get very deep into Jackson's mysterious life, but has more than enough footage to remind you why he was a genius and that he has literally dozens of the most perfect pop songs of the last several decades to his credit. One great song follows another, and we are privy to many of the show's grand, already-prepped visuals that make you realize just how amazing this finished show would have been.

GOOD HAIR (2009) ***1/2 Actor and stand-up comic Chris Rock hops around the world going from beauty salons to science labs to comb through the mystery of African American hair in this astute, hilarious documentary directed by Jeff Stilson. Rock contemplates the purpose and application of a weave as well as women's self-esteem and their locks. He also gains varying insights from Ice T, Nia Long, Rev. Al Sharpton, Maya Angelou and other celebrities.

My Review: Entertaining, unique and endlessly thought-provoking, Chris Rock's quest to get to the...uh...root (sorry) of the importance of hair in the black community (and the often-important, white-influenced straightening of that hair) makes for one of the year's very best documentaries. Though the film ponders many of the deeper sociological issues at play here, it manages to keep a light, breezy tone throughout.

Watched Monty Python And The Holy Grail again last weekend, for the first time in many years, and it's still just hysterically funny. Some of the gags are more puzzling than funny, but that just adds to the overall absurdism. The humor ranges from extraordinarily crude and simple to complex and cryptic (and everywhere in between), and the visuals are still pretty amazing. And the killer bunny still makes me almost pee my pants.

Another movie I recently watched that I hadn't seen in years was Deliverance. This is quite a strange beast of a film, and watching it this time made me realize what it really is. An extravagantly produced, extremely well-made-and-acted...B-movie. It has the look and feel of a prestige picture, but at heart it's a violent fantasy that earns its reputation as part of the "hixploitation" subgenre. But what I'm saying is not a diss - this is great B-movie. The cinematography is gorgeous, the pacing is snappy, and the acting is terrific. There are also some parts of it that haunt and affect you after the credits have rolled, much like the events in the film haunt the survivors. So it's also a thoughtful B-movie, which is kinda rare.

"Deliverance" got me thinking of classic Jon Voight, so the next day I watched Midnight Cowboy, which I also hadn't seen in several years, and WOW. I had forgotten just how great that movie is. Dated, sure, but its character study of a Texas dreamer ruined by the cold, impersonal city is truly timeless. Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman give two of the the best performances I've ever seen, and the editing is brilliant, giving us snippets of Voight's character's past through mysterious and hauntingly ambiguous dream sequences and flashbacks that purposefully never converge into a whole picture. I also hadn't realized just how much influence "Requiem For A Dream" took from this great film.

Thursday, November 05, 2009

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:22:06 GMT

Halloween was terrific. Chris and I drove up to Yuba City to spend the day at my folks' house. After a brief stop at a couple stores for some last-minute stuff, we went to the house, which was, as it is every year, totally decked out in awesome Halloween decorations.

I hadn't carved a jack-o-lantern in several years and felt like doing one this year. That's me picking one out among the many pumpkins my Mom had bought.

That's the one!

And here are our pumpkins! From left to right that's mine, Chris', and the two to the right are both my Mom's. It was actually Chris' first ever jack-o-lantern, and I think that's a damn fine first jack-o-lantern!

Chris' modified cowboy hat that ably passed for a costume.

My Dad trying to pretend he's not interested in "House On Haunted Hill".

Yes, my Mom goes all out with the candy for trick-or-treaters. I like it because we have enough that we can give all the kids handfuls of candy!

Now that's a spooky porch.

The pizza delivery guy caught unawares.

The awesome cookies made by my bro and the kids - they were delicious!

Yep - jack-o-lanterns, family, fun, pizza, candy and B-movies. A perfect Halloween.

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:17:44 GMT

Ok, folks - slowly gettin' caught up on Halloween pictures. These are from our 4th Annual "Crest Field Trip" to Bishop's Pumpkin Farm! As always, it was a total blast. Because as many people in this area know, it's far from "just a pumpkin farm". It's got a corn maze, train ride, petting zoo, crafts store, candy store, apple cider press, and great, great food. Fun all around!

Sunday, November 01, 2009

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:10:50 GMT

Yo! So here, finally, is a bunch of pictures from the Crest Halloween Party last weekend! The movie I picked this year to be screened on the Crest big screen was the classic 80's gorefest "Re-Animator", one of my favorite films. Beforehand, there was pizza, cupcakes and cookies in the lobby, as well as a bunch of treat bags I made up for everyone.

And as always, I had a brief surprise lined up before the feature, which was...

The full 13-minute "Thriller" video - it was a blast to see that on the big screen.

Me and Chris - note the upside-down cross. I'm an eeeeeeeevil priest!

Yes, that's eight pizzas. And by the end of the night, they were almost all gone!

Hey, there's Jesus walking around in the background!

That last picture is my favorite. Such a fun night.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:08:40 GMT

...And my 1st Annual October Horror-thon rolled to a close this afternoon with, fittingly, John Carpenter's timeless seasonal masterpiece, "Halloween"! What a great month for movie-watchin' it's been!

I did pretty good, I think. 28 horror movies in 31 days, not including two repeats (I saw "Zombieland" twice and watched "Elvira, Mistress Of The Dark" twice), and all of them were good! Even "Saw VI"!

Every time I watch "Halloween", I try to force all the hundreds of slasher films that came afterwards out of my mind and watch it as first-time audiences in '78 did, as something bold and fresh and scary in an altogether new way. (Yes, I know it's actually not the very first slasher film, but it was the first to really strike a major chord with such a wide audience) It's truly a remarkable film, nailing in so many different ways the allure of being scared. It's first and foremost a heartfelt tribute to all things Halloween-y, both innocent and unsettling, from the fun of carving jack-o-lanterns and watching horror films on the couch, to the prospect of a madman with a ridiculously huge butcher knife lurking in your yard, waiting for the right time to....POUNCE! (Gotta love those perfectly timed jump-scares, too).

Plus, that music. That gliding camerawork. That cast. That unbelievably haunting ending, which makes it clear that the boogeyman is not only real, he's everywhere. It's a classic in every sense of the word.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Friday, October 30, 2009

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:58:16 GMT

Horror-thon continues with...

1999's The Blair Witch Project, which is still utterly terrifying and seems even more ingenious and influential as years go by, having led to a great deal of imitators, many of which have been quite good (especially "[REC]" and "Cloverfield"). The doomed journey of Heather, Josh and Mike into the woods of Maryland has become a touchstone of the horror genre, and "The Blair Witch Project" will have the power to scare and intrigue audiences as long as people are afraid of the dark and the unknown (forever, in other words).

I must have watched this movie upwards of 20 times over the years, and it still chills me to the core unlike almost any other horror film, especially those infamous final 10 minutes.

And last night I checked out...

SAW VI (2009) *** Special Agent Strahm is long gone, and Det. Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) is now the heir to Jigsaw's (Tobin Bell) terrifying legacy. FBI Agent Erickson (Mark Rolston) is now hot on his trail, but Hoffman is about to reveal Jigsaw's grand plot.

My Review: Well, color me crazy but this movie was actually pretty ok. I've never been a big fan of the "Saw" series (before this, "Saw III" was the only one I even kinda liked), but I'm inexplicably drawn to these films nonetheless, which is why I keep going. Go figure. Every once in a while, though, it's actually worth it!

The first 20 minutes are pretty awful, consisting mostly of laborious flashbacks and expository dialogue tying up loose ends from the previous entries. Since I barely even remember the other films, I just kinda let my eyes glaze over during this part. Once the film really gets going, though, and a morally compromised heath insurance executive must navigate an abandoned-zoo-turned-house-of-horrors (rigged with torture traps in which he must decide which of his co-workers live or die), is pretty damn good. The "trap" sequences alone are spectacular, tense and creative, probably the best in the series (again, I don't really remember).

True, there's plenty of stuff in "Saw VI" that is stupid, but it's much better than I expected. I even got sort of worked up a few times!

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:35:09 GMT

And Horror-thon rolls toward its finish with...

George A. Romero's Night Of The Living Dead. What can possibly be said about this film that hasn't been said already? It is and will always be one of the greatest debut films ever made, a masterpiece not just of the horror genre, but of all genres. A perfect example of truly independent filmmaking, it is rough-edged and raw yet unmistakably made with the eye of a born artist and filmmaker. And perhaps above all, this incalculably influential film still has the power to terrify and disturb; its portrait of a society glimpsed at the very onset of total collapse hasn't dated a bit, and seems somehow eerily prophetic in many ways.

And last night I caught...

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE (2009) *** Max (Max Records) imagines running away from his mom and sailing to a far-off land where large talking beasts -- Ira, Carol, Douglas, the Bull, Judith and Alexander -- crown him as their king, play rumpus, build forts and discover secret hideaways. Producer Tom Hanks and director Spike Jonze bring Maurice Sendak's whimsical story to life; James Gandolfini, Catherine Keener, Forest Whitaker and Catherine O'Hara lend their talents.

My Review: Spike Jonze's adaptation of the classic childrens' book is one of the most visually fascinating films I've seen in a very, very long time. It's a shame, though, that it's also frustrating because the story is so very thin as to be nearly non-existent. Although I admire the attempt to make a childrens' movie without a villain or even an antagonist, the film just doesn't have enough to it. Still, it's magical and solidly engaging about 75% of the time, with several scenes that are truly haunting and beautiful, and Max Records nails the simultaneous wildness and thoughtfulness necessary to play the lead kid.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:32:45 GMT

The last week of October Horror-thon begins with...

2002's underrated Resident Evil. It may lack the deep thoughts or social commentary of, say, a George Romero film, but as a slick, straight-ahead , no-frills action/horror film, it's pretty excellent. In a way, it's like the flipside of the recent "Zombieland". Both are zombie movies that eschew many of the more thought-provoking elements of the great zombie films in favor of its pure entertainment value, but "Resident Evil" is the action version whereas "Zombieland" is comedy.

"Resident Evil" is a blast, plain and simple. Reminiscent of "Aliens" in look and style, it's fast-paced, gruesome and tense, and it looks frickin' amazing. The sets are imaginative, fascinatingly detailed and perfect backdrops for mucho zombie-blastin'. It ain't deep and there isn't much in the way of character development, but sometimes you just want 100 minutes of cool-looking mayhem with characters you like, and "Resident Evil" fits that bill to a T. After all, there wasn't much character development in "Predator" either.

And I finally caught...

A SERIOUS MAN (2009) **** Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) has hit a "rough patch," according to a colleague, and it would seem so: people are dropping dead all around him, his wife (Sari Lennick) wants a "get" and his whining kids (Aaron Wolff and Jessica McManus) only add to the heavy load. Larry is just looking for some help. Can a few rabbis guide him to life's answers? Richard Kind co-stars in Joel Coen and Ethan Coen's 1960s-set, dark Jewish-culture send-up.

My Review: Brilliant, funny, and subtly devastating, "A Serious Man" is a great film and one of the Coen Brothers' best, which is really saying something. This is one of those rare films that seems to truly understand life itself, in all its contradictions and messy confusion. It's also a refreshing return for the Coens to the dark and menacing surrealism of 1991's great "Barton Fink". Like that film, it leaves you pondering a great many things about life's mysteries. A terrific ensemble that doesn't feature a single star (and only one recognizable face: the great character actor Richard Kind) all deliver terrific performances and, of course, it wouldn't be a Coen Brothers' film without another excellent Carter Burwell score.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:13:21 GMT

It's been a very busy weekend. The Crest Halloween party I'd been planning for weeks was on Friday night (and was awesome), on Saturday work totally kicked my ass, and Sunday was the annual trek out to Wheatland (a Crest field trip, you might say). I'll write more about the party and the pumpkin farm and post pictures and stuff, but right now I just wanna play some Horror-thon catch-up!

Here's what I've watched in the last few days...

Stan Winston, the special-effects genius who helped create some of the most memorable movie monsters in history (the films he's worked on include "Aliens", "T2: Judgment Day", "Predator" and "Jurassic Park"), only stepped into the director's chair a couple times, and his first and best was Pumpkinhead, a unique and atmospheric creature feature.

Pumpkinhead, the titular beast, is not just scary and a wicked-looking special-effects creation, it's a genuine original with a richly-detailed mythology, giving the film the feel of a good Grimm fairy tale you've never heard. It's also got a never-better Lance Henriksen in a rare leading role, interesting characters, and some of the best sets and visual design of any horror film of the 80's. If you haven't seen this gem, do yourself a favor and rent it!

Moving on with...

...another childhood favorite, 1987's The Gate. As far I'm concerned, this one has a plot that in simply infallible. After a large tree is chopped down and uprooted, two suburban kids (Louis Tripp and a very young Stephen Dorff) discover that it's left a hole that goes all the way to...well, Hell. Ghosts, little knee-high claymation demons, levitation, a Satanic heavy metal band, angry moths, remote-control rockets, and creepy hallucinations all play a part. What's not to like? "The Gate" is certainly cheesy at times, but it's fun, fast-paced, imaginative, and even though it's only PG-13, it makes a shift from kid-friendly to actually unsettling and scary in its last act, which certainly gets your attention. Another under-the-radar 80's gem.

And lastly...

2002's excellent The Ring, a remake of the Japanese hit "Ringu" that, in my humble opinion, is better than the original. On visual terms alone it's alarmingly well-made. The camerawork and cinematography is simply breathtaking, and it's so densely atmospheric you can practically feel the ever-present damp chill in the air. As the unlikely family unit at its center, Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson and David Dorfman give us a human presence to feel for, and the suspense pulled from the film's seven-days countdown is palpable. Of course, none of it makes much sense if you really think about it, but it's so absorbing and hynotically eerie that it doesn't matter.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:45:16 GMT

Horror-thon continues!

Ahhh, I love those old clam-shell VHS covers. It's a shame that 1983's One Dark Night isn't more well-known than it is. Though it's been assembled from a myriad of influences, on its own it is one of the most unique supernatural horror films of the 80's. A young Meg Tilly stars as an insecure teen desperate to join a popular clique. Vicious clique-leader Carol (charismatically bitchy Robin Evans) demands she spend the night in a creepy mausoleum as a final initiation, which turns out to be a very, very bad idea.

One Dark Night is spooky, funny and deeply atmospheric, with some great camerawork and a terrific, moody electronic score. Despite its low budget, the film has a distinct look, engaging cast, and a genuinely strange, highly enjoyable story. After all, can you name one other movie with psychic vampires and floating zombies? Didn't think so!