MovieComment

Basic Instinct 2 Trailor

Posted by GardenHead under MovieComment

Okay not much to say about this one that isn’t already out there. You put out a hard R trailor, (do not open up this vid at work!) to generate the buzz that a fifteen year old sequel starring a 50 year old Sharon Stone; the reason being I guess to show that even at the half century mark Ms. Stone’s breasts seem to still maintain a cheerleader type perkiness, and if all that is all you have going for a movie, then well you got the fine makings of an Skinamax Andrew Stevens like crapfest.

After watching the trailor, you really don’t get a sense of what the movie is about, yes Stone’s character still likes dangerous sex and to flash her cooter at a room. She still gets turned on by chicks, and works herself into a tither by taking a wicked looking ice pick to a big block of ass, er I mean ice.

Now Sharon Stone has proved that she is a talented actress. Her turn in Casino was an inspired piece of acting. And in Hollywood once you reach a certain age the roles start to come less and less, so maybe Ms. Stone is taking a risk with this one, and maybe it will be good, or maybe it’ll be another Sliver, guess we get to wait to see!

Female Prisoner 701 Scorpion

Posted by Player under Foreign

This 1972 Japanese film will seem a bit dated by today’s standards, especially if you have seen any of the Kill Bill films which borrow heavily from Japanese films as this one. Female Prisoner 701 Scorpion is suppose to be a graphic view of women in prison but today’s sensibilities being what they are, it may actually cause some laughter if you do not take the plot too seriously. And the plot is classic revenge, in which Meiko Kaji plays a young woman betrayed by her first love, a cop who uses her as bait to blackmail the crime syndicate. This leaves the young woman shattered and when she tries to kill her lover, she is then sent to prison where she is known as prisoner 701. In prison, she must survive even more betrayal, and eventually escape to seek revenge on the crime syndicate leaders and ex-lover.

The film features multiple scenes with violence, rape, and nudity. Although much of the violence seems obviously fake, the tempo of the story never wanes, and the film still manages to be disturbing on many different levels. Towards the end, Prisoner 701’s revenge kills are some of the best scenes in the film, for example the crime lord is hung outside his office using his own telephone’s wires is an incredibly powerful statement. Other than the horror, the film tries to present a picture of feminism that is quite daring and open. Prisoner 701 does not only kill men, she no longer needs them either as what little love she has left is only for other women like herself.

Underworld: Evolution

Posted by Player under Action

Kate Beckinsale is back as Selene, a vampire who has betrayed her kind along with her mutant boyfriend, Michael (Scott Speedman). Evolution picks up right after the first Underworld film. Selene and Michael have fled into the country, where they seek refuge in a hideout, but back home, Evolution’s bad guy Marcus wakes up and will quickly search out the two. From that point on, the story does not matter, because, essentially Underworld Evolution tries to copy Blade II and become just another special effects action film, even if it’s plot fails to make sense and Kate Beckinsale is not much of an action star.

And this last point, I want to emphasize, if you want to be the main star in an action film, you have to be convincing. Beckinsale was a lot better in the first Underworld film where we kept thinking that the Michael character would blossom into something better in the final battle scenes, and much was not expected from the Selene character. Overall though Beckinsale is disappointing in Evolution, where it definitely is seen that Selene is the main star of the film and Michael is more of her sidekick. Not that I have anything against female action stars, but they do have higher expectations. Very few female actors can pull off the action star role, my personal favorite is Geena Davis in The Long Kiss Goodnight and Uma Thurman in Kill Bill. Beckinsale just did not do it for me in Evolution, and maybe it is also because everyone keeps saying how great it is to see Beckinsale, a supposedly accomplished actress, in a latex suit, to be honest I cannot remember one film I have seen Beckinsale in where I said, “Wow, Beckinsale is a great actress”. As an action star she’s decent but not memorable and she certainly does not even come close to Carrie-Anne Moss (Trinity in the Matrix films).

As for the rest of Underworld Evolution, it’s a decent attempt at an action movie, but it is not better than Blade II or Blade III, which are also over the top action films based on vampire themes. The action scenes are a little gory and the werewolves are awesome, and so yes, you can find some entertainment in Evolution. I just wish they would have had a more compelling plot and added some drama instead of more senseless shots of Beckinsale’s backside as she jumps yet again (for no other reason than to show her backside I guess).

Mix Tapes Part Deux…

Posted by GardenHead under MovieComment

“I will kill you till you are dead from it!” (HotShots anyone? Ah Saddam, how you used to make me laugh…)

Okay this might rob me of my “street cred” nonetheless I admit, to having totally overlooked this guy.

Thankfully it was SPIKETV that turned me onto the brilliance of “Beat” Takeshi Kitano.

The SPIKE show Most Extreme Elimination Challenge, is frackin’ hilarious! I for one cannot get enough of watching large-ish Asian women bang their poor bodies off of a couple of big rollers before doing a face plant in a big pile of mud, or toxic ooze as they say on the show. When watching the show I could not help but wonder who in the corn bread hell is this Vic “Right you are Ken” Romano guy? If like me you are on the short bus, and behind the curve on this dude, let me tell you Takeshi is as great as a film maker as anyone making films in America right now.

I’m gonna wax on just a couple of Kitano’s recent films Kikujiro,and Zatoichi.

When I saw the box for 1999’s Kikujiro, a story about a guy taking a trip with a young boy the first thought that came to mind was that icky Al Bundy vehicle, Dutch, which if you haven’t seen, don’t cos it really really sucked. But I really dug the whole SPIKE thing, so I gave Kikujiro a chance. Watching this movie reminded me of all the reasons I like foreign comidies. Don’t get me wrong, I love the hyper-kinetic energy of Vince Vaughn, praticulairly in Wedding Crashers, where he seemed wound so tight he was about to explode, but the whole Adam Sandler yelling thing is not comedy, it’s crap. And when you take in a character driven comedy like Kikujiro, it really shows you a film that works on so many different levels, it’s sweet, sad, dark, funny, and innocent, and when someone in Kikujiro yells it has meaning behind it, and not shtick.

Zatoichi is a different bit of film making. This is a remake of the Blind Swordsman series of t.v. shows from back in the 1960’s. Watching a film like Zatoichi reminds you of who’s shoulders Tarantino was standing on when he concieved his great Kill Bill movies If you don’t mind your over the top violence and bucket upon bucket of splattered blood paired with interesting character driven conflict and “a plot” than watch this film with your buddies. If you like your stuff a bit fluffy but can still digest some adult themes smattered with a a well made dissertation on play and innocence then kikujiro is for you. But I think you should watch both films, cos they on my list, holla!