Drive Angry
Fast cars, hot chicks, satanic demons, and Nicolas Cage. Sounds like the recipe for a hit. Maybe not a box office smash, as Drive Angry bombed big time, but if you're in the mood for something that takes the Grindhouse model and smashes it through a plate glass window, then this is the film for you. An instant buy.
Biutiful
Famed Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu takes a break from the fractured storytelling style he established with Amores Perros, 21 Grams, and Babel, instead giving us the tragic story of Uxbal(a somber Javier Bardem). Uxbal is essentially a middle man to the criminal elements. Not a killer, but basically a man willing to scam the system. He'll do whatever it takes to see to it that his family is taken care of, especially in light of his recent cancer diagnoses. The risks he takes to secure a better future for his kids are great, and don't paint Uxbal in the best possible light. Bardem should have won an Oscar for this perfect performance, as it is truly the best part of a film that I think glosses over some pretty tough questions.
American Graffiti
Any collaboration between Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas is bound to be epic, and in the case of American Graffiti that is certainly true. Now on Blu-Ray for I believe is the first time ever, the film follows a bunch of recent high school grads spending one last night of freedom in 1962 before heading off into whatever direction life takes them. For some, that means college. For others, the path is less visible.
Stanley Kubrick: Limited Edition Collection
Want something to buy me for Christmas? This pack collects a number of the legendary filmmaker's best films: Lolita, Spartacus, Full Metal Jacket, Dr. Strangelove, Eyes Wide Shut, A Clockwork Orange, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Barry Lyndon, and The Shining.
Passion Play
Mickey Rourke famously referred to this recent film as "a terrible movie" that was only released on a limited basis because "it's not very good". Y'know, despite the presence of Bill Murray I'm going to go ahead and take Rourke's word for it.
Kaboom
Fans of experimental director Gregg Araki's "Teenage Apocalypse Trilogy"(Nowhere, Totally Fucked Up, The Doom Generation) will no doubt love Kaboom as it follows some of the same destructive themes. Thomas Dekker(A Nightmare on Elm Street) stars as a college student trying his best to figure out his sexual place in the world. Is he gay? Lusting after his hunky roommate seems to indicate so. But then why is he so attracted to the sexy, and very free spirited London?(Juno Temple). Throw in a weird cult, some sci-fi bits, and other assorted weirdness and you have Araki's most entertaining film in years.
Cross
Brian Austin Green. Michael Clarke Duncan. Vinnie Jones. Jake Busey. Tom Sizemore. Danny Trejo. If that's not enough to make you want this movie, then how that Green plays a superhero who gets his powers from a Celtic cross he wears around his neck? Nuff said?
