stoned_bunnies Reviews

Fight Club (1999)

Entertaining, haunting & and an instant classic.

[10/10 · 10 June 2006]

The first rule of Fight Club: Don't talk about Fight Club. Well, I'm going to.

Edward Norton plays the main character, a confused, depressed and insomniac man of routine, with nothing to live for but all his stuff (as in the things he buys). His life is so boring and meaningless that he begins attending support groups to listen to people talk about how they're battling cancer or any other disease they may have. He himself doesn't have cancer or any other disease of the sort, but he finds peace and people he likes in these meetings. All of that changes, though, when he meets Marla (Helena Bonham Carter). She is a woman who is also faking her way through the groups. Because of Marla, Norton's character sinks back into depression and insomnia. His life is for an even worse surprise, though, when he meets Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) on a plane trip. Tyler takes everything that is of value from the protagonist (Norton). Tyler and the protagonist then start a new trend that helps them deal with their stress. They fight. They fight each other constantly, and attract other people to join what later becomes "Fight Club". The story goes back and forth from the Fight Club phenomenon to Marla and her a insane affair with Tyler, and things gradually spin out of control. Fight Club grows and spreads and our protagonist here finds himself deteriorating as the movie goes on. There is then more to the story but I can't say much without giving the pleasure of watching it away.

So I think it's needless to say that Edward Norton is simply a godly actor, right? Everyone must know it already. Brad Pitt did alright, I suppose, but he didn't do much for me. He always plays the same type of character in almost every movie he's in and, irritatingly, never has any facial expressions. The fact that he is good-looking is a bonus to the film itself and his character is a riot, but I can't say that he evoked anything in me through his performance. Same with Bonham-Carter, as much as she has been praised for her role in this film.

The cinematography, though, was insanely great as was everything else about the movie. I'm glad I discovered David Fincher (the director), and even after having seen his other movies, like "Se7en" and "Panic Room", I would have to say that "Fight Club" is by very far is best.

9/10 if not more.

Bad Education (2004)

Inredibly entertaining and haunting

[10/10 · 10 June 2006]

"Bad Education" (or "La Mala Educacion") is an amazing film. I'm not that familiar with Pedro Almodóvar's work, but I really enjoyed this masterpiece he has here. It's hard to say whether it is a thriller or a drama, but I think it's a little of both. There's a lot of suspense involved in the general plot and it's overall a very satisfying movie.

The main themes in this movie are love, homosexuality and pedophilia in Catholic churches. Enrique (Fele Martínez) is a homosexual director/producer with a haunting past. Angel (Gael Garcia Bernal), a long-lost lover and friend from Enrique's childhood, shows up with a script he wrote which he hopes to have made into a movie. He is also wanting to play the role of one of the main characters in his script, Zahara, who is a drag queen. Enrique still has a special place in his heart for Angel and realizes, after reading the script, that the entire story is an autobiographical (and partly fictional) story of Angel's. At first, Enrique is ecstatic and excited about the script, but he isn't sure about casting Angel in the movie. As Enrique reads through the script, he becomes more and more overwhelmed with the vivid memories and emotions from his childhood. The film takes us into the script's story and into Enrique's flashbacks of his child molestation within the Catholic Church by Padre Manolo (Daniel Giménez Cacho). After reading the script all the way through, Enrique decides to make the movie but refuses to cast Angel as Zahara. Angel becomes annoyed and upset about not getting his way but eventually Enrique gives up and lets him play the part. From there, we discover more about each character and how their lives intertwine with one another. Lies are uncovered and it becomes very suspenseful as the camera takes us deeper into each of the characters' worlds.

So overall, the plot was amazing, but the acting was too. Gael Garcia Bernal is now a favorite of mine. I'd seen him before "Amores Perros" (or "Love's a Bitch") as well as "The Motorcycle Diaries", but this movie really did it for me. It was absolutely fantastic seeing him play three totally different and controversial characters. There are no proper words to describe the wonderful job he did with "Bad Education", especially the fine work of his newly-developed Spanish accent, which he must have worked hard on what with being a Mexican. Fele Martinez is also a good actor and he and Bernal worked extremely well together. I hope they play together more often in the future. I'll definitely keep hunting for both their work.

Anyone who can sit through a good, foreign movie with a lot of gay sex in it should watch this. If this sounded good to you at all, then watch it. You probably won't regret it because it's a favorite of mine, and that says a lot.

Big Fish (2003)

Beautiful but too corny at times.

[7/10 · 10 June 2006]

"Big Fish", as most people know, is a Tim Burton film. Tim Burton proved himself a great director with movies like "Edward Scissorhands" and the recent "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". So when I sat down to watch "Big Fish", I expected magical and enchanting characters to float out of my screen and set my imagination off to a different planet. But it seriously disappointed me and here's why.

The movie is about William Bloom (Billy Crudup), a married man with a baby on the way, who finds out that his father, Edward (Albert Finney), is dying. He returns home to see him as he feels very distant from his father and wants to reconnect with him before he dies. The reason he is so distant from his father is because his dad is always telling exaggerated stories of his magical past and William doesn't appreciate the fact that his dad can't be normal and serious like everyone else. (I know, what an idiot.) Most of the movie shows us Edward Bloom's wonderful tales, with Ewan McGregor acting as young Edward (with a Southern accent!). So the story is basically about William Bloom trying to decode his father's complicated past. What he's really trying to do though, subconsciously, is to prove his father wrong about his "made-up" past, so that he can rightfully accuse his father of being a liar since everything he ever said was just triggered by his wild imagination.

So that's my first negative point. I hated the concept of getting all teary-eyed over a guy who can't connect with his dad. Alright, so it's nice to have an old man tell stories of his past but why add on tasteless, corny sequences of sons and fathers fighting and not talking for three years and then meeting in a hospital as the father is dying and etc., etc.!? WHY RUIN SUCH A (potentially) WONDERFUL MOVIE? The magical characters of Edward Bloom's stories were all amazing, though. Danny Devito played an eccentric circus owner while they got a real-life giant man to play the Giant in the movie. Also, Danny Elfman was great with the music as usual and Burton did an *ASTOUNDING* job with the visual effects. The only thing that TOTALLY ruined the movie for me was the corny Hollywood plot. But two thumbs up, to quote my fellow reviewers Siskel & Ebert, for everything else, especially the casting.

Spun (2002)

A little typical for a drug movie, but worth watching

[7/10 · 10 June 2006]

Spun is basically a movie about six methaphetamine addicts. Their life stories are sort of strung together to create a chaotic plot that is the movie. The protagonist, Ross (played by Jason Schwartzman), becomes his Crystal Meth cook's personal driver in exchange for free drugs. During this time, Ross gets lost in the crazy mess of methaphetamine as he tries to struggle with his love life and with these unstable new people he is meeting.

The cast is pretty all-star, with Mena Suvari, Patrick Fugit, Mickey Rourke and Brittany Murphy all playing main characters. Also, the soundtrack is by Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan, and Blondie's Deborah Harry plays the protagonist's lesbian neighbor.

I thought that this movie was a good portrayal of the bizarre and incomprehensible world of drugs. There are no inhibitions, principles or limits. For instance, there are some pretty in-your-face bondage scenes and great hallucinations presented through cartoons (sometimes erotic cartoons). The cinematography was my favorite thing about the entire movie. I loved how the camera took you inside the peoples' minds. The whole mood of the movie changes with each character's view of life.

I fell madly in love with many actors after having seen this movie. Jason Schwartzman, for instance, has gained my approval as an actor now. He did an exceptional job in this movie as a junkie who lets himself fall deeper and deeper into Crystal Meth addiction as his life "spins" out of control (hence the title, I suppose). As for Suvari's character, Cookie, she grossed me out. Honestly, by the end of the movie, I could not stand her anymore. The character was the junkie girlfriend of the drug dealer (John Leguizamo) and you get to watch her chewing gum compulsively and then interrupting sex with her boyfriend to take a constipated dump, which you actually see as it plops into the toilet water. That's exactly what I meant by the movie has "no inhibitions." Plus, I hear that the characters are based on reality. Creepy? Indeed.

I really did love this movie and have seen it twice already, but I couldn't give it more than a 7/10. Acting, plot and visual added together creates a pretty good movie but not something I imagine most people, or myself, sitting through multiple times.

Battle Royale (2000)

A compelling & haunting masterpiece.

[8/10 · 10 June 2006]

Based on a Japanese novel by Koushun Takami, "Battle Royale" is the story of a group of ninth graders who are transported to a small isolated island with a map, food and different arms. They are told to fight each other for three consecutive days until there remains but one student, who will then be named the 'winner'. All students are forced to wear a metal collar with a radar so that their teacher is aware when a rule is being broken.

The film is set in Japan and is in Japanese (and if you do come across a dubbed version, dispose of it immediately because it's only worth it to watch the original). It's hard to classify this film, as despite the extreme violence in it, it isn't action and despite its nightmarish feel, it isn't horror. It's just in between. There are many themes to this story; from to trust to complete selfishness (killing your best friend to save your own life) to suicide to disloyalty, and the list goes on.

The actors in Battle Royale were amazing. It is rare to find young talents like these, for instance, in Hollywood. These actors were by far the best young actors I have seen in all my life (though most of them weren't as young as their characters were). Tatsuya Fujiwara plays the main character, Shuya, a young man who is struck by tragedy when he becomes an orphan. All he has now is his best friend and the girl with whom he is madly in love. Fujiwara did a great job of transmitting the feel of despair that one would probably feel if he/she were to see his best friend die before their eyes, or to have to see classmates killing each other and then to portray that never-ending trust that two lovers share. The other actors all did a generally good job as well.

The first actor I'd like to criticize is Taro Yamamoto, who played the compassionate Shougo Kawada, who helps the protagonist and his girlfriend as the game of Battle Royale goes on. I thought that Yamamoto overplayed the character's casualty and I didn't feel as attached to him watching the movie as I did reading the comic book. The other actor I thought did a terrible job relative to the other actors was Masanobu Ando, who played the haunting character Kazuo Kiriyama, who basically seemed immune to everything. While reading the book, that guy really creeped the sh*t out of me. But in the movie, he just basically did the "undercover" thing and sort of leaped from place to place and tortured and killed people and that was it. You didn't feel anything, and in my opinion, that character was one of the most important so it was pretty disappointing. But putting those two aside, the acting WAS splendid, just as the directing of (sci-fi/Japanese gangster movie director) Kinji Fukasaku was.

I thought that the story was very haunting and compelling, and that you should read the novel or the comic book before watching the movie because just the use of your imagination and attachment to the characters while reading the books is so much more real. I really enjoyed the movie too, though, and would recommend it to anyone who has the stomach for constant shootings, hangings, blowing-up, abandoned corpses and a lot of blood squirting everywhere.

And so if it fits the shoe, rent it out. You probably won't regret it.

Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Maybe Tarantino's best...

[10/10 · 10 June 2006]

"Reservoir Dogs" is, of course, the movie that lifted the legendary director Quentin Tarantino up to the A-list and is what paved the path for such movies as "Snatch". I suppose I do have a biased opinion of the movie, as Quentin Tarantino was on my list of favorite directors from having seen his other movies (Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, Jackie Brown) but I also have legitimate reasons to have absolutely adored this one.

There are seven main characters in all; Mr. White (Harvey Keitel), Mr. Orange (Tim Roth), Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen), Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi), Mr. Brown (Quentin Tarantino), Mr. Blue (Eddie Bunker), Eddie Nice Guy (the late Chris Penn) and finally, Joe Cabot (Lawrence Tierney).

So here's the main summary: Joe, the boss, has assembled all the other main characters to steal a bag of diamonds for him. He assigns them color-coded aliases to hide their identities from being known even to each other, just to avoid any slip-of-the-tongues with cops or maybe even a rat in the group. But something in their plan to steal the diamonds went very wrong. One by one, the surviving men find their way back to their warehouse hideout, which is where almost the entire movie takes place. There, they try to find the traitor among them who tipped off the police and chaos strikes. There's a lot of blood, sudden outbursts, confrontations, disloyalty, unexpected fights and a lot of dark humor during this time. In all, it is a violent movie with clever and funny dialog, and with a great "Sounds Of 'Seventies" soundtrack. The ending is also unexpectedly moving (well, I haven't really given anything away!). No one could ever get bored during this movie (or any other Tarantino movie for that matter) because the dialog is just so perfectly conversational and spot-on. I know that I said this before, but I had to say it again. The witty and realistic conversation in the first scene in which Tarantino's character, Mr. Brown, dissects Madonna's "Like a Virgin" is simply hilarious. You'll find yourself laughing smugly during the entire movie.

Also, every single one of the actors portrayed their characters extremely well. Harvey Keitel really proved himself an amazing actor to me in this movie. I was never much of a fan of his until I'd seen "Reservoir Dogs" (his role in "Taxi Driver" wasn't too challenging and in "Mean Streets" he was just annoying really). His character was compassionate and bad-ass all at once, and both those adjectives are very contradicting so for him to have done the amazing job he did do by playing them at the same time, I would have to cheer loudly for Keitel. Tim Roth was also wonderful and I can't say why without having to give most of the movie away. But if you watch it, you'll know what I mean.

To be honest, I don't have a single negative thing to say about this movie. (Okay, so seeing an ear being cut off wasn't exactly my cup of tea but that's probably the only criticism.) A definite favorite, and a classic.

Donnie Brasco (1997)

Astounding and different

[10/10 · 10 June 2006]

I sat down to watch "Donnie Brasco" with the idea of a typical mafia movie in mind. When the movies was over, I decided that it wasn't exactly what you would label as, "A typical mafia movie," because there is a whole side of the movie that involves, more than any Mafia movie does, a lot of sentimentality.

The plot is pretty basic and it is based on a true story. It's about an undercover agent for the FBI, Donnie Brasco, who joins the mafia in order to find information about it and completely infiltrate it. (Johnny Depp plays the undercover agent.) Donnie is practically adopted by Lefty Ruggiero (Al Pacino), who is a lower-class Mafia man. Lefty guides Donnie through the New York gangster scene and they develop a very strong relationship. But as Donnie loses himself in his job, he becomes distant to his wife and kids. (The wife is played by Anne Heche). This causes problems with the family. Donnie turns into a confused, guilty, lost man as he goes on to mix his professional and personal life up and create one hell of a mess.

The story itself, I found very interesting. Then there's the perfectly chosen cast.

Quite frankly, there's nothing negative I can say about either Johnny Depp or Al Pacino in this movie. I've already decided that Johnny Depp is a generally a splendid actor (though a little too underplayed/subtle if that makes any sense at all), but I think that he did an exceptionally good job on this movie. I don't recall ever seeing him in a gangster movie, but he was in this one and he really captured the role and created a masterpiece of a character.

As for Al Pacino, he is most definitely on my Top 10 list of favorite actors, no doubt about that. And this movie only makes me think even more of him, so you can imagine how good he was. After having seen Donnie Brasco, I thought for the 100th time to myself, "Al is untouchable." The way he talks, walks, acts, laughs and moves with the other actors is simply astounding. He really makes you feel for him, which he hadn't been able to do since his classic performance in the "Godfather Pt. II".

Then comes Anne Heche. She used to be very popular around the '90s, and I was wondering what had happened to her. Well, now I know what happened to her. People got sick of Anne Heche. Her roles are never exceptionally challenging, and although she played a very believable role in this movie, her character wasn't a very powerful one. Many would disagree with me, but the whole concept of a wife scolding her husband every two scenes simply bored me and therefore the character became banal in my eyes. So although Heche did a good job in playing Donnie's wife, I'm not going to give her a standing ovation because she mostly annoyed me.

All in all, I would probably give this movie a 10/10.