Drugs are bad, mmmmkay

Phillip Seymour Hoffman's drug addiction related passing saddens me  He was a great actor.  I always felt like I would have had a career like his had I stuck with acting when I got out of college.  Rest in peace sir.

Monkey movie reviews

I had resisted seeing Doubt because I'm not really into any kind of religious films whatsoever, but seeing as how we've been on an Amy Adams movie binge lately I rented this one the other day and we watched it Saturday night. And my bottom line is, it's damn good.

Without delving into the plot too much, because I don't want to give anything away to those who have not seen it, the film is about a miserable nun (Meryl Streep) who's twisted brand of religion is stuck up her ass so far it comes out her mouth, who clashes with a priest Phillip Seymour Hoffman) who wants to modernize his church. Stuck between them is a young black boy (Joseph Foster), his mother (Viola Davis), and a young nun (Amy Adams).

It's a well written, superbly acted gem of a film. All the main actors turn in stellar performances but the one that really stands out and shines so bright that it will blind you is that of Viola Davis. Her screen time is minimal and her lines are few compared to her co-stars but boy fucking howdy is she great.

This is the Streep/Adams film you need to see if you haven't seen it yet. Avoid Julie & Julia and see Doubt.

I highly recommend this film not only because it so good and because of the twists in it, I actually recommend it because it should be a mirror to you church going people. In it you'll see all kinds of people in your church, even if you have never been to a Catholic mass in your life. Meryl Streep's character is every sanctimonious judgmental church going prick who ever clucked their tongue at someone they disagreed with. Her character is universal in church circles, she's the one who acts like she's better than every one else in your church or synagogue and she's the one who wants to be the moral compass of your house of worship even though she embodies none of whatever are the best qualities of your specific religion are. And no matter how cool or hip you think your church is, no matter how progressive your pastor is, there's at least one of Meryl's character in your church right this minute.

John Patrick Shanley, the screen writer and director of Doubt, says in one of the DVD featurettes that he envisioned this story as a very specific story about the nuns who taught him in his youth, but what he's given us is a universal story filled with religious and societal archetypes.


In a much lighter vein, I watched Trekkies 2 this past Friday night. I saw Trekkies many years ago and I loved it, so I was skeptical about a sequel. I wondered if there was enough material there for another feature length film about obsessed fans.

I needn't have worried. There's probably enough material about people who obsess over the various incarnations of Star Trek for fifty more films.

This film is about the foreign Trekkies, and I know they prefer the term 'Trekker,' but as is pointed out in the film Gene Roddenberry, the man who created the Star Trek universe, coined the phrase Trekkies so that's the one I'm going to use. The film shows us Aussie fans, British fans, German and Italian fans, Brazilian fans, and even Serbian fans of Star Trek. Some are into the first incarnation, some are into The Next Generation, some are into Deep Space Nine, and so on and so on. It's a hoot seeing Denise Crosby, aka Tasha Yar, interact with German Klingons, Italian Kirks, and British Frengis. The film also catches us up with a few of the people from the first film and it showcases the various Star Trek bands that have sprung up, both rock and folk.

Having been a fan of the original, The Next Generation, and quite a few of the films, I found this film and the first one as well, highly entertaining and kind of heartwarming. The fans who go the extra mile and dress up as various characters and who face the scorn and derision of those who aren't into Star Trek are kind of heroic I think. They put it all out there on the line for all to see and make fun of and they get called all kinds of names and face all sorts of mockery, and let's face it, you and I both have made jokes about them, but still they do what makes them happy. For them Star Trek is a not only a TV show, it's a way of life and a way to meet and connect with others.

This film is a sweet Valentine to the oddballs and nerds who love and live Star Trek. I recommend this one highly.

Monkey Movie Review

They took away our free HBO and Cinemax channels but they left us with The Movie Channel On Demand and I caught this last night on it:
This film is about what happens when two brothers who need lots of money to correct their sorry lives decide to rob their parents jewelry store. The robbery goes wrong and it starts a tsunami of bad shit that eventually catches all the characters in it's wake.

It's hard to like any of the characters in this film because they are all so morally repellent. Even the one character who tries to do the right thing ends up doing the wrong thing. By the end of the film you are rooting for everyone to be killed off or imprisoned for their crimes.

Having said that, I'll say this, I liked all the performances in this downbeat heist gone wrong film. Phillip Seymour Hoffman, or Phil Sey Hoff to his buddies, turns in his usual stellar performance. He's playing the opposite of the lovable loser he played in Owning Mahowny. In Mahowny at least his character knew he was doing wrong and tried to do something about it. In this film his character knows he's doing wrong and he keeps on piling more wrong on wrong.

Ethan Hawke manages to shake off his post Uma divorce depression long enough to turn in a gritty performance as the whiny younger brother who is roped into his big brother's scheme.

Marissa Tomei shows off her natural assets through out the film and I for one was glad to see them, both of them. But all kidding aside she's very good in the film as well and I'd say that even if she wasn't topless in parts of it.

Albert Finney is also good despite doing most of his role with his mouth hanging wide open. It's as if ol' Al is giving a master class in mouth breathing acting for future generation of actors. But you know what? If' I can do a third of what he does when I get to be his age, I'll be doing good.

This film is not for the faint of heart or those who don't like seeing seedy criminals get their just rewards. If you like movies about petty criminals that have no honor then this film is for you. I recommend it but be prepared to not like any of the characters in it.