Friday, July 17, 2015

Netflix This Movie! Vol. 138


You've got good choices in theaters this weekend! Here's what to watch when you come home.

Adam Riske: Da Sweet Blood of Jesus (2015, dir. Spike Lee) Spike Lee's latest is sure to be polarizing, but if you're in the mood for something shaggy and idiosyncratic then you might enjoy Da Sweet Blood of Jesus. As a fan of the director I found the movie to be fascinating with a great soundtrack and some standout sequences. The whole movie isn't a success and it's far from one of Lee's classics, but there's more than enough here to warrant a watch.
Adam Thas: Hits (2014, dir. David Cross) David Cross is one of those guys you are either a big fan of or he’s “Hey, that guy!” I am definitely in the former camp. I’ve been a fan of Cross since his Mr. Show days and, of course, as one of the greatest characters in TV history (in my humble opinion), Tobias Funke. However, many people may not be a fan of his stand-up, which comes through the most in Hits. It definitely has the feeling of the small indie comedy we’ve had thrown at us every year since Little Miss Sunshine, except it’s funnier. Hits' underlying theme is “fame” and how in the day of Youtube it’s easier to attain it, but usually for the wrong reasons. Cross does make sure to take the time to throw stones at everyone, so while the movie does have political themes throughout it, you get the feeling that Hits is annoyed with everyone. I think what I enjoyed the most about Hits, though, is that you can definitely see Cross’ improv background, as the movie is great at giving every single character, no matter how small, a character trait that instantly makes him or her more interesting. Additionally, there are moments in Hits where you can tell that Cross is just letting his actors improvise and be funny with a very loose script. Hits was charming and sweet where it needed to be, while still making me laugh, with very fun lead performances from Matt Walsh and Meredith Hagner.
Heath Holland: Crime of Passion (1957, dir. Gerd Oswald) This late-fifties crime film stars Sterling Hayden (The Asphalt Jungle) and Barbara Stanwyck (Double Indemnity), two actors who made massive contributions to film noir during a relatively short window. Raymond Burr also co-stars in this tale of love and murder in the cruel city. The screenplay for Crime of Passion is written by Jo Eisenger, who had previously penned Gilda, one of the best noir films of the whole cycle. Crime of Passion doesn't quite rise to the heights of Gilda, but it's still a compelling story filled with strong characters and excellent performances from its cast.
JB: The Hustler (1961, dir. Robert Rossen) One of the great films of the early sixties, The Hustler tells the story of professional pool shark “Fast Eddie” Felson (Paul Newman), his sometimes girlfriend (Piper Laurie), his “manager” (George C. Scott), and billiards champion Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason). The Hustler is one of those dark dramas that recreate a specific place and time so vividly you can almost smell it. Newman, Laurie, Scott, and Gleason would all be nominated for Academy Awards-- and all lose because Oscar never gets it right (and because Scott and Gleason were both nominated in the same category). Twenty-five years later, Paul Newman actually won the Best Actor Oscar for the sequel, Martin Scorsese’s The Color of Money, his sixth nomination. Talk about delayed gratification.
Patrick: Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau (2015, dir. David Gregory) I was a fan of this documentary when I reviewed it earlier this year, mostly for the way it illuminates just how many things can go wrong on a movie no matter how promising it starts our or how much Hollywood muscle is behind it. While Lost Soul certainly makes it seem like Richard Stanley's Dr. Moreau would be much more artistic and memorable than the one we got, the doc has the advantage of never having to prove that because we'll never know. Still, there are incredible stories throughout this film and it lets us get to know Richard Stanley a little better...at least, as much as anyone actually can know Richard Stanley. If you love movies (and it's safe to assume you do if you're here), you'll probably enjoy this.

12 comments:

  1. Oh hey, coincidence, I just watched Lost Soul last night. I think it's fairly standard, but the stories are so...weird, leading up to that story at the end that I wouldn't believe if everyone didn't agree on the basics of it.

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  2. I watched Hardware for Junesploitation and I'm not convinced that it would have been any good. It would probably be better than what we got. It would have been a more artistically shaped turd but a piece of shit nonetheless.

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  3. After you watch "Da Sweet Blood of Jesus" dig up a copy of "Ganja and Hess"..the movie it was based on.

    Personally, I'm going to be watching Kaiju on Shout Factory TV Saturday.

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  4. Had a busy day today and the kids are already asleep! Marisa agreed to a movie so I jumped on your site. Have never heard of Hits before, but gonna give it a spin.

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    2. I enjoyed it. Took a minute before I got in the zone, but was able to appreciate it for what it is. Marisa fell asleep... :)
      I didn't laugh as much as I was hoping, but I would rather watch something unique that I didn't really connect with instead of something lazy.
      Thanks for the recommendation!

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  5. Had a busy day today and the kids are already asleep! Marisa agreed to a movie so I jumped on your site. Have never heard of Hits before, but gonna give it a spin.

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  6. "Creep" needs to be on this list now. As the per usual hate, that I can at times definitely share, from Patrick about found footage-esq horror movies, this is not one of them and I must highly recommend this film. Added plus Marc Duplass is the main character and he totally kills it, no pun intended. This is on par with The Taking of Debra Logan for the same genre. I'd love a review, or podcast on this film cause it was so fucking fun and creepy with one of those endings that made me cringe, laugh, and feeling just off enough to turn on the lights in the house and possibly never answer an ad on the internet again. Watch it if you haven't yet, now streaming on Netflix.

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    1. Agreed. "Creep" is pretty great. I understand that most of the dialog is improvised, which really works in the movie's favor. Especially in Duplass' performance, since it just reinforces the impression that he's lying all the time and makes you ask, over and over again, "what's up with this weirdo?" Plus, the movie doesn't overstay its welcome. Pretty great.

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    2. I didn't realize it was mostly improvised, but it doesn't surprise me as you say Duplass really does ace it when it comes to this kind of sociopathic liar. I went into it knowing it was some sort of horror or thriller but when you first meet his character I was so like wait wtf? *Spoiler*He seems so genuine, and when the camera guy drugs him to find his keys I was almost convinced he was the "bad" guy, but then the phone call just amped everything up, that whole scene creeped me the fuck out. Yea, when it was the final scene, I checked the time stamp for how much longer the movie would go on and realized it was practically over, which felt nice because it totally fulfilled what it was and I was highly entertained, also very happy with the ending. Glad to see someone else enjoyed it. I hear it is a trilogy or something of the sort form a netflix review, not sure if it is true, but I'd be totally down for two more. Then again, totally possible it could lose the same vibe. But damn, what a pleasant surprise.

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  7. Also Hits was pretty good, I actually didn't realize it was a David Cross film till the end, so it oddly gave me a bit of a different perspective on it. The ironies and little character quips seemed to make a lot more sense to the over all portrait of the film. I love David Cross, and nothing really beats Mr. Show, it's no Run Ronny Run, but I like that it isn't anything like is other stuff, and the punch line of the whole movie made me laugh so hard at the end. Plus you get all these great actors brining to life characters that could otherwise seem rather dull if not casted correctly. I dug it.

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