"There are stories of coincidence and chance, of intersections and strange things told, and which is which and nobody knows; and we generally say, 'Well, if that was in a movie, I wouldn't believe it.'" - Narrator (Ricky Jay) MAGNOLIA (1999)
SUPER SIZE ME (2004) Dir. Morgan Spurlock.
"Michael Moore Kicking Self For Not Filming Last 600 Trips To McDonald's"
- The Onion 6/04
I went to McDonald's 4 days ago. It was around 9:30 AM and I was getting breakfast before I went in to work. I had an egg and cheese biscuit. It was satisfying and filling at the time and I thought it would propel me through my retail duties. A day later waking up to go in the same time to work the same shift I could still taste it. It didn't sit well with me obviously and I opted not to go back for breakfast there again. You see the 3-4 block radius in which I work doesn't have many cheap options for working class food. There's a Panera Bread across the street but a meal there runs like 5-7 bucks. So what can ya do?
Morgan Spurlock decided what he was gonna do is do a Michael Moore on McDonald's ass. So to speak - he was gonna do a documentary with quick cut sarcasm, lots of graphic statistic info, and catch a lot of people off guard with a damning expose. His premise : to eat at McDonald's for one month - every meal and going for the super size option only when they offered it. This caused unsurprising weight gain and liver troubles. He consulted 3 different doctors and numerous dieticians both before and during the experiment. One doctor even advised him 21 days in to stop the regiment for his own good. He wisecracked around the evidence and seemed proud to stick it out.
That's all well and good and at the time I viewed this film I found it amusing but like that before mentioned biscuit later it didn't sit well with me. Spurlock never comes off as funny as he thinks he is - there was a preview for Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 911 that had the audience I was in bellylaughing while SUPER SIZE THIS in full only coaxed occasional chuckles. Really what the film proves more than anything else is that apparently you can make a documentary about anything these days. I mean is it really that revealing that fast food is unhealthy? For years and years we've seen calorie and fat break-downs in magazines and newspapers. His simple premise has merit but a lot of the filler around it seemed like magazine news show blather. And like many critics point out one of the key questions Spurlock asks in the first 10 minutes "Where does personal responsibility end and corporate responsibility begin?" he never answers!
That said I would still recommend this flick. It's always interesting to see somebody follow through on an extreme physical regimen over a self imposed time period whatever his agenda. To question a corporation's power of a large portion of the populice is always a noble cause. So overall with creative use of paintings, old Ronald McDonald footage targeting toddlers, and a good ear for choice of punctuating music (Curtis Mayfield's "Pusherman", Ohio Express's "Yummy Yummy Yummy", and even "Fat Bottom Girls" by Queen) this is a filling piece of film food. It just might upset your stomach and mind later.
More later...
is the Green Art Nail
Sunday, June 13, 2004
Tuesday, June 8, 2004
More New Release DVDs
"I tried to stand up and fly straight, but it wasn't easy with that son' bitch Reagan in the White House. They say he's a decent man so I dunno...maybe his advisers are confused."
- HI McDunnough (Nicholas Cage) RAISING ARIZONA (1987)
We Here at film babble salute Ronald Reagan - as actor.
He was quite an actor from '37-'64. Man whatta body of werk! He also was involved in politics or something I dunno. I just love his acting in classics like HELLCATS OF THE NAVY and of course the immortal BEDTIME FOR BONZO. Method actors take note - this is the real shiznit!
Some new DVD Reviews by the film babble blog :
ALONG COMES POLLY (2004) Dir. John Hamburg. Along comes another stupid Ben Stiller-as-punching bag romantic comedy. They seem to appear every few months. This time he's a risk management analyst who falls for a flakey artsy Salsa loving Jennifer Aniston and of course wackiness unsues. Not exactly high concept. At least there's a above par supporting cast - Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Alec Baldwin, and Bryan Brown make this at least a notch above DUPLEX. Hoffman provides one of the only reasons this movie is not a complete waste of time playing a washed-up almost ran brat pack actor. To make the most out of a routine best-friend part in a routine formula comedy is quite a feat.
- Bertie Shafer
TRAINSPOTTING (SPECIAL EDITION DVD) Dir. Danny Boyle.
"Small time wasters with an accidental big deal"
This British cult classic from the mid 90's is now done right by a domestic DVD release that contains extras long available on overseas formats. It's about freakin' time! The commentary recorded in '96 has Ewan McGregor, director Danny Boyle, screenwriter John Hodge, and producer Andrew MacDonald is a funny insightful listen. Struggling with heroin addiction, Renton (McGregor) and his scraggly crew slum through episodes of petty theft, nasty squalor, and refusal to take part in any part of normal society and it's a stone cold blast! A few then and now retrospectives, scratchy deleted scenes, and Cannes film festival interviews round out this essential package. Essential that is if you don't have an import version that has this stuff on it already.
- Daniel Cook Johnson
LIVE FOREVER - THE RISE AND FALL OF BRIT POP (2003) Dir. John Dower. Mostly covering Oasis, Blur, and Pulp this loose documentary also touches on the Verve, Stone Roses, and Radiohead. Oasis makes their TV debut just weeks after the death of Kurt Cobain heralding the end of the grunge ara and start of the Brit pop period. Just as new Prime Minister Tony Blair represented a new way of government these shiny updated slices of Beatlemania re-ignited English culture if only for a moment. A well sequenced thesis but sadly lacking more on-screen identifications of the interviewees - is that a member of a Oasis tribute band or is it an actual member of Oasis? I'm not sure. The humor and pretensions of the key players especially during the Blur Vs. Oasis chapter make this a worthwhile watch.
- Anderson Moran
I forgot how much I liked :
BARFLY (1987)Dir. Barbet Schroeder.
Tully: Why don't you stop drinking? Anybody can be a drunk.
Henry: Anybody can be a non-drunk. It takes a special talent to be a drunk. It takes endurance. Endurance is more important than truth
Charles Bukowski's loser poet lifestyle made for great drunk cinema by way of Mickey Roarke and Faye Dunaway in this unfortunately overlooked gem. Frank Stallone holds his own as well as a bartender Roarke is in constant battle with. Funny at parts when it's trying to be serious and severely stoic in sequences in which it's trying to be funny BARFLY is nevertheless a great movie.
More later...
- HI McDunnough (Nicholas Cage) RAISING ARIZONA (1987)
We Here at film babble salute Ronald Reagan - as actor.
He was quite an actor from '37-'64. Man whatta body of werk! He also was involved in politics or something I dunno. I just love his acting in classics like HELLCATS OF THE NAVY and of course the immortal BEDTIME FOR BONZO. Method actors take note - this is the real shiznit!
Some new DVD Reviews by the film babble blog :
ALONG COMES POLLY (2004) Dir. John Hamburg. Along comes another stupid Ben Stiller-as-punching bag romantic comedy. They seem to appear every few months. This time he's a risk management analyst who falls for a flakey artsy Salsa loving Jennifer Aniston and of course wackiness unsues. Not exactly high concept. At least there's a above par supporting cast - Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Alec Baldwin, and Bryan Brown make this at least a notch above DUPLEX. Hoffman provides one of the only reasons this movie is not a complete waste of time playing a washed-up almost ran brat pack actor. To make the most out of a routine best-friend part in a routine formula comedy is quite a feat.
- Bertie Shafer
TRAINSPOTTING (SPECIAL EDITION DVD) Dir. Danny Boyle.
"Small time wasters with an accidental big deal"
This British cult classic from the mid 90's is now done right by a domestic DVD release that contains extras long available on overseas formats. It's about freakin' time! The commentary recorded in '96 has Ewan McGregor, director Danny Boyle, screenwriter John Hodge, and producer Andrew MacDonald is a funny insightful listen. Struggling with heroin addiction, Renton (McGregor) and his scraggly crew slum through episodes of petty theft, nasty squalor, and refusal to take part in any part of normal society and it's a stone cold blast! A few then and now retrospectives, scratchy deleted scenes, and Cannes film festival interviews round out this essential package. Essential that is if you don't have an import version that has this stuff on it already.
- Daniel Cook Johnson
LIVE FOREVER - THE RISE AND FALL OF BRIT POP (2003) Dir. John Dower. Mostly covering Oasis, Blur, and Pulp this loose documentary also touches on the Verve, Stone Roses, and Radiohead. Oasis makes their TV debut just weeks after the death of Kurt Cobain heralding the end of the grunge ara and start of the Brit pop period. Just as new Prime Minister Tony Blair represented a new way of government these shiny updated slices of Beatlemania re-ignited English culture if only for a moment. A well sequenced thesis but sadly lacking more on-screen identifications of the interviewees - is that a member of a Oasis tribute band or is it an actual member of Oasis? I'm not sure. The humor and pretensions of the key players especially during the Blur Vs. Oasis chapter make this a worthwhile watch.
- Anderson Moran
I forgot how much I liked :
BARFLY (1987)Dir. Barbet Schroeder.
Tully: Why don't you stop drinking? Anybody can be a drunk.
Henry: Anybody can be a non-drunk. It takes a special talent to be a drunk. It takes endurance. Endurance is more important than truth
Charles Bukowski's loser poet lifestyle made for great drunk cinema by way of Mickey Roarke and Faye Dunaway in this unfortunately overlooked gem. Frank Stallone holds his own as well as a bartender Roarke is in constant battle with. Funny at parts when it's trying to be serious and severely stoic in sequences in which it's trying to be funny BARFLY is nevertheless a great movie.
More later...
Friday, June 4, 2004
The Top 50 Worst Movies Of The Last 30 Years
"Movies - now more than ever!" - Studio slogan from THE PLAYER (1991)
Today for no reason in particular we present our panels picks for ...
FILM BABBLE'S TOP 50 WORST MOVIES OF THE LAST 30 YEARS :
We tried to steer clear of sequels or series movies and go for the stand alone one shot movie messes. Enjoy!
1. BATTLEFIELD EARTH (2000) - So bad none of us could get through the whole thing even as a Mystery Science Theater 3000 joke time yell-a-thon. It other words so bad it's not funny. Travolta squeezes dry his coolness factor as he overstays his 90's comeback welcome with this collasal piece of L. Ron Hubbard space opera nonsense.
2. 15 MINUTES (2001) If only this movie was just 15 minutes. Horrible stupid preachy supposed statement on the media's love for violence. What this movie is saying is disguised with manipulative violent bloody in your face reasoning. In the end you'll feel like you've been beaten up by somebody yelling that they are a pacifist. Robert Deniro, Edward Burns, and even Frasier himself - Kelsey Grammer take part in this fiasco.
3. SCOOBY DOO (2002)- Everyone thought the original cartoon was crap even when I was seven that was understood so why on Earth was this made?!!? Oh yeah - the geniuses at Warner Bros. figured that 70's retro retread mania merged with fake irony might mean kids will pay big to see a CGI talking dog solve mysteries with a bunch of Generation Y'ers TV stars. They were right it did clean up. Disturbing, yes but the fact that the sequel tanked comforts me just a little bit.
4. DISCLOSURE (1994) - God awful strained office place sexual harrasment drama with Michael Douglas and Demi Moore. The twist is she's harrassing him! There's also some high tech corporate thriller nonsense intertwined - I can't remember exactly how and I'm not going back to watch it so let's just leave it at that.
5. ISHTAR (1987) Infamous flop. Let's put Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty as untalented nightclub singers in the desert with a script by Elaine May and we can't fail! Well guess what...
6. THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE (1997) - Famous NY Times critic Pauline Kael admitted in one her last interviews that she kind of liked this movie, that it has a hamboned quality to it. I can almost see what she's talking about - it is more likably bad than others on this list but we still have to say that it's a one way street to Suck City! Idealistic young lawyer Keanu Reeves goes to work for a high powered firm run by Al Pacino who turns out to be Satan himself. Uh huh, you read me right. It's that simple, stupid and and savagely gruesome.
You can understand why we didn't want to write about most of the rest of the list can't you?
7. MAD CITY (1997)
8. THE HULK (2003)
9. ED TV (1999)
10. THE LAST ACTION HERO (1993)- Thank God Arnold Schwarzenegger can't be President.
11. DEATH TO SMOOCHY (2003)
12. VERY BAD THINGS (1998)
13. WHAT PLANET ARE YOU FROM? (2000)
14. 1941 (1979)
15. BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES (1989)
16. LOST IN SPACE (1998)
17. THE RING (2002)
18. FRESH HORSES (1988)
19. PHONEBOOTH (2003)
20. TIE - SHOWGIRLS (1995)/BURN HOLLYWOOD BURN - AN ALAN SMITHEE FILM(1997) - The king of bad movie screenwriting - Joe Ezterhas (also known for such tripe as BASIC INSTINCT, HEARTS OF FIRE, and SLIVER) was responsible for both of these monstousities.
21. FATHER'S DAY (1997)
22. MEDICINE MAN (1992) - Dr. Robert Campbell (Sean Connery) yells at Lorraine Braco "What don't you understand? I found the cure for the fucking plague of the twentieth century and now I've lost it. Haven't you ever lost anything doctor Bronx? Your purse? Your car keys? Well, it's rather like that: Now you have it and now you don't." Says it all, huh?
23. PATCH ADAMS (1998)
24. HOWARD THE DUCK (1986)
25. AIR FORCE ONE (1997)
26. HOT TO TROT (1989)
27. THE MONEY PIT (1984)
28. TIE : WATER WORLD (1994) / THE POSTMAN (1997)
29. SPACEBALLS (1997)
30. TANGO & CASH (1989)
31. PAY IT FORWARD (2000)
32. GIGLI (2003)
33. SGT. BILKO (1996)
34. SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND (1978)
35. RAT RACE (2001)
36. COOL AS ICE (1990)- Vanilla Ice's first and last movie. All you need to do about it is that it gave society the immortal pick-up line "drop the zero and get with the hero."
37. THE CAT IN THE HAT (2003)
38. WILD WILD WEST (1998)
39. TWINS (1989)
40. POPEYE (1979)
41. GIVE MY REGARDS TO BROADSTREET (1983)
42. GODZILLA (1998)
43. ARMAGEDDON (1998)
44. HEARTBEEPS (1981)
45. SOUL MAN (1986)
46. THE LAST MOVIE (1971)
47. THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE (2003)
48. COCKTAIL (1988)
49. THE BLACK HOLE (1979)
50. BEST DEFENSE (1984)
HONORABLE MENTION :
THE SINGING DETECTIVE (2003)
More later...
Today for no reason in particular we present our panels picks for ...
FILM BABBLE'S TOP 50 WORST MOVIES OF THE LAST 30 YEARS :
We tried to steer clear of sequels or series movies and go for the stand alone one shot movie messes. Enjoy!
1. BATTLEFIELD EARTH (2000) - So bad none of us could get through the whole thing even as a Mystery Science Theater 3000 joke time yell-a-thon. It other words so bad it's not funny. Travolta squeezes dry his coolness factor as he overstays his 90's comeback welcome with this collasal piece of L. Ron Hubbard space opera nonsense.
2. 15 MINUTES (2001) If only this movie was just 15 minutes. Horrible stupid preachy supposed statement on the media's love for violence. What this movie is saying is disguised with manipulative violent bloody in your face reasoning. In the end you'll feel like you've been beaten up by somebody yelling that they are a pacifist. Robert Deniro, Edward Burns, and even Frasier himself - Kelsey Grammer take part in this fiasco.
3. SCOOBY DOO (2002)- Everyone thought the original cartoon was crap even when I was seven that was understood so why on Earth was this made?!!? Oh yeah - the geniuses at Warner Bros. figured that 70's retro retread mania merged with fake irony might mean kids will pay big to see a CGI talking dog solve mysteries with a bunch of Generation Y'ers TV stars. They were right it did clean up. Disturbing, yes but the fact that the sequel tanked comforts me just a little bit.
4. DISCLOSURE (1994) - God awful strained office place sexual harrasment drama with Michael Douglas and Demi Moore. The twist is she's harrassing him! There's also some high tech corporate thriller nonsense intertwined - I can't remember exactly how and I'm not going back to watch it so let's just leave it at that.
5. ISHTAR (1987) Infamous flop. Let's put Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty as untalented nightclub singers in the desert with a script by Elaine May and we can't fail! Well guess what...
6. THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE (1997) - Famous NY Times critic Pauline Kael admitted in one her last interviews that she kind of liked this movie, that it has a hamboned quality to it. I can almost see what she's talking about - it is more likably bad than others on this list but we still have to say that it's a one way street to Suck City! Idealistic young lawyer Keanu Reeves goes to work for a high powered firm run by Al Pacino who turns out to be Satan himself. Uh huh, you read me right. It's that simple, stupid and and savagely gruesome.
You can understand why we didn't want to write about most of the rest of the list can't you?
7. MAD CITY (1997)
8. THE HULK (2003)
9. ED TV (1999)
10. THE LAST ACTION HERO (1993)- Thank God Arnold Schwarzenegger can't be President.
11. DEATH TO SMOOCHY (2003)
12. VERY BAD THINGS (1998)
13. WHAT PLANET ARE YOU FROM? (2000)
14. 1941 (1979)
15. BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES (1989)
16. LOST IN SPACE (1998)
17. THE RING (2002)
18. FRESH HORSES (1988)
19. PHONEBOOTH (2003)
20. TIE - SHOWGIRLS (1995)/BURN HOLLYWOOD BURN - AN ALAN SMITHEE FILM(1997) - The king of bad movie screenwriting - Joe Ezterhas (also known for such tripe as BASIC INSTINCT, HEARTS OF FIRE, and SLIVER) was responsible for both of these monstousities.
21. FATHER'S DAY (1997)
22. MEDICINE MAN (1992) - Dr. Robert Campbell (Sean Connery) yells at Lorraine Braco "What don't you understand? I found the cure for the fucking plague of the twentieth century and now I've lost it. Haven't you ever lost anything doctor Bronx? Your purse? Your car keys? Well, it's rather like that: Now you have it and now you don't." Says it all, huh?
23. PATCH ADAMS (1998)
24. HOWARD THE DUCK (1986)
25. AIR FORCE ONE (1997)
26. HOT TO TROT (1989)
27. THE MONEY PIT (1984)
28. TIE : WATER WORLD (1994) / THE POSTMAN (1997)
29. SPACEBALLS (1997)
30. TANGO & CASH (1989)
31. PAY IT FORWARD (2000)
32. GIGLI (2003)
33. SGT. BILKO (1996)
34. SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND (1978)
35. RAT RACE (2001)
36. COOL AS ICE (1990)- Vanilla Ice's first and last movie. All you need to do about it is that it gave society the immortal pick-up line "drop the zero and get with the hero."
37. THE CAT IN THE HAT (2003)
38. WILD WILD WEST (1998)
39. TWINS (1989)
40. POPEYE (1979)
41. GIVE MY REGARDS TO BROADSTREET (1983)
42. GODZILLA (1998)
43. ARMAGEDDON (1998)
44. HEARTBEEPS (1981)
45. SOUL MAN (1986)
46. THE LAST MOVIE (1971)
47. THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE (2003)
48. COCKTAIL (1988)
49. THE BLACK HOLE (1979)
50. BEST DEFENSE (1984)
HONORABLE MENTION :
THE SINGING DETECTIVE (2003)
More later...
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