Go See Killing Them Softly

It's official: Gray picks all the movies.

Killing Them Softly was another aftercare flick, which we saw on the Sunday of the London Grue. After Grue-cakes, extra poi practice, and more leather fun. After hugs, and thank yous, and goodbyes. After the Grue was officially over, Gray, Hedwig, and I ventured back to Hedwig's place for quiet time.

As we all decompressed, Gray looked up what movie we would go see. Somehow he found Killing Them Softly.

The best way to describe the movie is by comparing it to another. Killing Them Softly is like an American version of Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, but so much darker.

The showing wasn't until late, around 9pm, so our trio first headed out to find dinner first. We walked to a restaurant near the theatre, only to find it was closed down. Internets fail. Instead we dined at a small Chinese restaurant a few blocks closer to the movie.

After dinner, we then searched for the theatre, hoping the internets did not fail us twice. We found Shortwave tucked inside of a block composed of multiple tall apartment complexes the surrounded a large bricked area. The offbeat establishment was a combination cocktail bar/theatre. I liked the modern style and atmosphere of the place.

The movie theatre itself was small, maybe seating fifty people. We picked seats in the middle and waited. Gray and I had a few chuckles while viewing the British commercials before the film began.

And then it started.

Going in, I didn't know what to expect. I had heard the description I gave above (minus the darker tilt). I also knew the film starred Brad Pitt, Ray Liotta, and James Gandolfini. Those three names were enough to get me in my seat, but the film far surpassed any of my meager expectations.

The basic premise is this: A small group of people conspire to rob an illegal cards game frequented by mobsters. Brad Pitt is called in to figure out who the thieves are and kill them. Ray Liotta plays the person who ran the game. James Gandolfini is another hitman.

So many aspects of this movie impressed me.

First, there is an interweaving of CNN/radio/news clips that not only sets the time of the movie but also stands as a great juxtaposition to the actions of the characters. Many poignant notes hit as I heard a radio clip being played right before someone was to get shaken down, or right before we met characters, or at the very end of the movie.

Fuck, the end of the movie. I will not tell you who says what, because this is a movie I do not want to spoil. It was just so good. But I can give you the quote.

A certain person is giving a speech that is broadcast live and being shown on a television in a bar. One of the characters cynically quips, "Watch, he's about to say some shit about how America is a community." There is a pause. Something to that effect is said. The character then replies, in just a cynical a fashion, "America isn't a community; it's a business. Now pay me." The threatening undertone in his voice, the anger, frustration, and willingness to get what he wants right now sold this movie for me.

Second, the cinematography in this flick is gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. One scene in particular which I loved features a drive by shooting. The actions in the sequence are slowed down and set to music (oh my god, the music*).

As bullets fly, everything is just so beautiful. The bullets crashing through the glass or puncturing the doors of the vehicle. The holes appearing in the victim. His brains bursting from the back of his head. And then the victim's car drifting forward and being crashed into by traffic. The cinematographer made this brutal graphic death scene look like a dance, a slow waltz with lovely partners gliding across the floor.

Third, the acting. Each of the men cited in the description of this movie play their parts so well. It is my sincere hope that at least one, if not all three, are honored from their work.

One of my favorite moments was the introduction of Brad Pitt. He pulls up, parks his car, and gets out. The camera starts low and then slowly pans up. The boots. The pressed pants. The leather jacket. The hair. This man, though he had a brutal job, was impeccable.

And, throughout the movie, he was always honest, even when he lied. Brad Pitt's character was by far my favorite. The movie is so named because of a line he says early in the action. He talks about the difficulty of killing a man. No one is the same when you are about to kill them. They beg. They cry. They yell for their mother. They wet themselves. He advises against any of the normal ways, of beating someone up, of teaching them a lesson first. He says you should kill them quickly, softly, one last gift before their death.

This movie is my gift to you, my fair readers. Excellent acting. Excellent writing, with crisp dialogue and a story I loved. Cinematography that made me want to weep. And a soundtrack I will be buying.

Go see Killing Them Softly.

*Footnote: The music was so good, Gray was actually occasionally pissed when they changed scenes because he wanted the music to finish. I'd say that's an excellent recommendation for the soundtrack as well.

Go See Loopers

Go see Loopers.

GO. SEE. LOOPERS.

Gray wanted to see a movie to help with his event drop, his normal salve to ease the pain. When spit balling on what movie to see while I drove us away from camp, he suggested Loopers. I had vaguely heard of it, but was mostly ambivalent about the flick.

And then he looked up the movie's rating on Rotten Tomatoes: 93%.

"Okay, let's go see Loopers."

Yeah.

Wow.

When the film ended, I sat there in the theatre not speaking for a few minutes. I only pulled out my phone because I wanted to Shazam the song playing during the closing credits. I had no desire to really do anything but sit and process.

Gray left me, saying he'd meet me in the lobby. When I did eventually join him, I still couldn't speak. It wasn't until I was in my car driving, leaving the parking garage about five minutes later when I could finally start verbalizing the storm in my head.

That movie cracked my brain in the best possible way. It was the type of movie that made me want to write more, made me want to be better at my craft. Holy shit, it was just that good.

I know as I write this I may being doing you, my readers, a disservice. I went into watching this movie not expecting much. In fact for me it was even more of an escape than usual as I was on an emotional roller coaster, having just left Rope Camp.

Still, I loved this movie.

Without giving too much away, let me make a few points.

1- The script for this was amazing. Amazing. I say this as a writer, as a story teller. The tale they crafted was spun so well, I was in awe. My loyalties changed at least half a dozen times throughout the movie, if not more. I loved someone, hated them, and then loved them again multiple times. I was always trying to guess the ending, hoping for some resolution that would save the people I loved. I never got it right, not even in the end.

2- This movie made me cry. Not sobbing, but a hurt-my-heart cry for the characters I was so invested in, for the life I wanted to imagine them having long after the lights came up. I shed no physical tears, but instead my heart wept at the end for their plight.

3- One sequence will never leave me. It was scary and twisted and dark without ever showing any blood. It lasted less than two minutes. It still haunts me, still needles at the back of my brain, still makes me think "What if...?".

So, in this person's humble opinion, Loopers was the best movie I've seen all year. And yes, I loved The Avengers. And no, Twilight can go fuck itself. (Haven't read any of the books or seen any of the movies.)

I don't know if Loopers will get any nominations, don't know if it'll win any awards. But, in my humble opinion, Loopers is the shit.

Hands down.

Mic dropped.

Go see it.

Oh My No

SPOILER ALERT!!! SPOILER ALERT!!!

In the following review of the movie Prometheus, I may give away plot points. I may, in fact, reveal the entire plot to this film. I don't know yet. This is one of those times where I am so put off by a movie, I just start typing and see what happens.

For those who care as I do about such an offense, revealing the entire movie and all, I give you this SPOILER ALERT to deter you from reading on.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!

Prometheus. The first words that come to mind about this film, which I saw about twelve hours ago, are Oh my no.

Once again we have another film that I suspect was funded somewhat by the Christian right. There are many parts that bother me, but none so much as the female lead's trial of extricating an alien baby from her womb.

Through the malicious intent of a psychopathic robot, played wonderfully by Michael Fastbender, the female lead gets pregnant with an alien spawn. Instead of allowing them to put her in cryogenic stasis, she fights back and is able to get herself to a machine that performs surgeries all on its own.

When she approaches, she asks the equipment for a Cesarean section. Did you get that? Not an abortion, but a Cesarean section.

The machine, however, is only calibrated for men. This seemed like utter bullshit to me, considering it negates half of the human race and it was housed in the lift support vessel for another woman.

But I digress.

Unable to get a Cesarean section (the word abortion was never, ever used in the movie; ever), the lead is able to trick the machine by asking for abdominal surgery to remove a foreign body.

She slips inside, after having doped herself, and we watch as a laser (yes, a freakin laser) slices open her abdomen and pulls out the alien fetus. It is very much alive, thrashing about, as the machine staples her abs shut and she slips out, pressing the decontamination button on the way.

And here is where I get pissed some more (because the none use of abortion had already gotten me peeved). Like another movie I reviewed, this woman is able to make her way to another part of the ship, seemingly only with the dope-pen she keeps using. That had better be some amazing drugs cause this woman just had abdominal surgery. Abdominal surgery, with muscles intricate to, yah know, moving.

Later on in the movie, as in maybe an hour or two later, she is walking around outside only with what seems like the occasional slouching over in pain. She just had an abortion, barely medicated, and yet she is doing this.

Really Hollywood? Really?

The kicker for me, though, was at the end. This woman who has seen her lover killed, the crew killed or kamikaze sacrifice themselves so that this alien ship cannot get back to Earth (told you I might spoil the whole thing). After seeing all that, what does she want to do?

Find the aliens' home planet, go to them, and ask them why.

Really.

Not, I don't know, kill them like they were going to kill our home world. Kill them like they did to the people on the ship. Kill them because obviously they didn't want us anymore.

No, she wanted to ask why. When the robot, who had his head riped off by one of them but is obviously still functional, says he doesn't understand why she wants to do this, the woman replies that no, he wouldn't understand because he's not human.

Um, lady, I don't fucking get it either. You watched your boyfriend morph into some crazy strong mutant beast, get burned and shot to death, crew members get killed, and all you want is to know why.

Ah, no.

I was highly disappointed by this flick. I personally love Idris Elba, Charlize Theron, and Michael Fastbender. With that trio in significant roles in the film, I had high hopes for this movie. But, of course, they were dashed.

The two guys who left when a huge dead body was found, the two we all thought were the smart ones, ended up getting lost, even though one of them was the guy who worked on mapping the area. And then, fuck, and then one of them is all, "That's a pretty girl," to something is obviously about to kill them.

Idris Elba and Charlize Theron supposedly have sex off screen, but my friend commented that they couldn't picture them fucking. And, frankly, from their character development, neither could I. Throughout the film there is a constant power struggle, so much so I just couldn't figure who would be on top. And, well, Theron almost seemed cold enough to not want sex in the first place.

I did enjoy Michael Fastbender's portrayal of David, the robot who feels more than anyone else notices, because he was creepy in a way that was, well, sympathetic. When everyone keeps giving him shit, I understand when he basically poisons the boyfriend to make him all mutant-y. Asshole kinda deserved it. And when he helps wake the alien, and gets his head riped off in return, I almost felt sorry for him.

But, overall, I'm just really glad I saw Prometheus as a matinee. $8.50 for a C- movie (my friend's rating) is more than enough.

In Praise Of A Crappy Movie

"Honey 2?"
"Yes, they made a sequel."

"It got two stars."
"Ah, there's more there."
"It got two point two stars?"
"It got two point..."
"Something stars."

Honey 2 never won an Oscar. I don't think it was nominated for anything either.

I didn't care.

I knew going in that the acting would be, most likely, sub par, along with a flat predictable plot.

I didn't care.

I love dance movies. LOVE dance movies.

When I selected the feature on Netflix, I knew what to expect.

Down on their luck lead, often a female but not always, seeks a new life, but the ghosts of their past often haunt them. Or our lead makes a mistake in the first few minutes of the story (See: Exposition, for those learned among you) that follows them throughout the film.

The nemesis/bad guy/villain is also a dancer, often viewed as better. Our lead must prove that they are in fact the superior performer, which is mostly likely accomplished through a dance competition or audition or a big dance showcase. At the end of the competition/audition/showcase, our hero ends up on top, whether by winning or choosing their own path in their art.

Like I said, I love dance movies. And, of course, it has nothing to do with the plot.

It's the dancing. It's seeing these amazing performers move their bodies, conveying all their emotions in their leaps, dives, back bends, flips, spins, tricks, turns, and booty shakes.

I own Center Stage and Save The Last Dance.

Currently I'm watching this Australian teen drama called Dance Academy. As with all teen dramas, as you can imagine, the acting is... meh. The storylines are predictable, mostly. But there is ballet every episode. The solos. The pas de deux. I love the show. Love it, even though the dumb teenage shit drives me crazy. (Just get to the damn dancing!)

Long lines, effortless movements, contemporary pieces mixed with classical masterpieces. Yes, I am hooked.

So, when I ticked my way through Netflix selections, and finally fell on Honey 2, I knew what I would watch.

Back when I had cable, I loved America's Best Dance Crew on MTV (yes, it still exists). Many of the crews I loved from the show are in Honey 2: Beat Freaks, Fanny Pack, Quest Crew, Super Crew.

And though it is one hour and fifty minutes of my life I will not get back, I don't regret my decision to watch yet another dance movie. Because even though the plot was so very predictable. Even though the acting was so poor, I didn't care. The dancing, in any dance movie, is why people watch.

The rest is just an excuse to put it on a movie screen.

Gasland: America's Inconvient Natural Gas Truth

I know it's been almost a month since I last posted, but this topic is so important I let go of my petty little life problems and sat down to write about it.  If you are subscribed to HBO, record and watch Gasland.  If you're not, find a friend who is.  This is a story every American needs to know and, having learned the truth about another dirty little secret from the previous administration, everyone needs to work to stop the increase of natural gas production.

Like most, I believed the hype.  I saw T. Boone Pickens on TV advocating for natural gas as a way to bridge our country's transition to clean renewable energy.  I thought, "Maybe this man isn't as crazy as he sounds?"  Of course, then I learned how much money he was making from natural gas and I became suspicious.  Tonight, I watched the documentary Gasland on HBO.  My suspicions were confirmed still further, with horror and fear to top it all off.

I'm sure everyone has heard about people who can light their water on fire.  Personally, I thought it was an urban legend or just some dumb joke.  Instead it is a waking nightmare for thousands of people in the Midwest and Middle South, from New Mexico to Colorado, Utah, Texas, Arkansas, and yes Louisiana.  Contaminated drinking water, not fit for anything living to drink, pours into these people's homes through their faucets.  When you watch the documentary, you'll see many people light their water on fire.  And by many, I mean just about every person the director/writer interviews.

There are jars of murky water.  There are dead animals who drank the contaminated creek or river water.  There are chemical emissions hundreds of times above heath standards.  And there are companies (and yes Halliburton is one of them; they even have a loophole named after them) who are involved, but they constantly deny all of it: the problems faced by the victims, the toxic chemicals they refuse to disclose, the harm it is all causing.

Watching this movie was like watching An Inconvenient Truth, but going 100mph.  Neurological problems, cancer, loss of hair, deaths.  It's all happening right now.  And the public at large just doesn't know.

This is the type of movie that makes you want to scream, to hit someone or something, and then ride your bike to work.  If you watch this movie, you will not want to use any natural gas.  I say this as a person who is about to move into an apartment where my heat is created through natural gas (and yes, it gets very cold in the winter where I live).  I say this as a young America who wants her future children to have clean air and clean drinking water.  And I say this as a person who votes.

Watch this movie.  It is yet more you need to know and more you need to work towards fixing.

At the end of this movie, I remarked how I would love to see wind turbines on the sides of highways, out in the ocean in the horizon, in back yards, in fields, anywhere you could fit them.  The same holds true for solar panels.

I can't remember what I was watching, but a gentleman remarked you could almost create universal clean energy just by paying every household $7000 to put solar panels on their roof.  This also included apartment buildings and the like.  And he said how absurd this was because it cost too much to implement.  But what he didn't ponder is the cost we are already paying because we have not converted to a clean energy society.

If anything, I believe everyone in the Gulf region would argue for a better way to find energy than what we are doing now.

I suppose this is all to say: I'm willing to pay to have clean air and clean water for myself and my future family.  And I believe others are willing to, as well.  Because I don't want to pay for my lifestyle the way our country currently is.