The Wild Angels

Fallow Heavenly Blues (Peter Fonda) and he rebellious rabble of “wild angels” on a road trip to get a stolen chopper back that belongs to his best friend the angels lovingly refer to as “the loser” (Bruce Dern). After a fight with immigrants, a police chase ensues and the loser steals a cops bike after his chopper is found in pieces. Opening fire on the loser, the police stop the young rebel, hospitalizing him. The Angels, know that once the loser is all healed up, he’ll be headed for prison so the best thing to do is bust him out while he’s on life support right? The Angels anti-authority attitude get the loser killed and so the only thing left to do is bury him. But what’s a funeral without a drunken riot when the angels are told that they must succumb to “the man” and integrate themselves within society to make anything out of there pointless lives consisting of violence, hate, sex, drugs and “being free to ride, without being hassled by the Man”. One of my favorite movies of the 60’s. If you love films about the rebellious youth of the 50’s and 60’s, this movie falls right in with Rebel without a Cause and Easy Rider. A 10 in my book and the best film made by legendary director Roger Corman! Corman Also asked some real members of Los Angeles's own Hells Angels to give the film authenticity as a "biker film"! (Known for being one of the most liberated countries in the world, Denmark banned the movie when it was first released!)

The Fountain

Transcend time and space in a quest for one couples search to discover the meaning and purpose of death in this mortal existence we call life. Darren Aronofsky has done it again, with his uncanny ability to weave intricate story lines defying conventional means of wrapping ones self completely in, and around the emotions and deep thoughts of his characters, leaving past, present and future to be defined simply as the means and not the path by which all the great unanswerable questions can be easily unraveled and ultimately be understood.
Hugh Jackman (Tom) a conquistador in the past searching for the tree of life, a modern day scientist seeking a cure for brain tumors and a futuristic astronaut seeking the dying star thought to be an Ancient Mayan afterlife, desires one thing, to destroy death before it destroys his beloved wife Rachel Weiss (Izzi). Again Aronofsky captures human emotion in such climactic and cinematic brilliance that I cannot describe. A definitive 10 out of 10 all around.
Is Death something we should fear or embrace…decide for yourself as you whined yourself through, myth, legend and modern science in The Fountain! If you like this film watch Stanley kubricks 2001: Space Odyssey or Aronofsky’s PI.

I Heart Huckabees

Everyone searches for some kind of meaning in life. Albert Markovski (Jason Schwartzmen) Has decided that his destiny is hidden behind three coincidences. So naturally he does what any normal, grounded human being would do by hiring existential detectives (Dustin Hoffman & Lily Tomlin) to discover the fate that is his life and watch him in the bathroom. Between saving open spaces, discovering that the universe is simply and best explained as a gigantic blanket, on top of fighting an evil corporate entity like the Huckabees Corporation and befriending a Fireman (Mark Wahlberg) obsessed with the emptiness of the universe and how it all ties in with small African children working in dark factories so his daughters mommy can have cheap tennis shoes, and the worlds “so called” Oil crises. Albert will have to decided if looking too deeply into the “big picture” is worth all the trouble. This is one of the smartest comedies I have ever seen. If ironic sarcasms is your kind of humor, this will be a personal favorite of yours. A definite 10. If you like this film check out The Royal Tenenbaums or anything by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson!

Taxi Driver

Loneliness has always been an interesting human trait, combine it with a sleeping disorder and confused morality caused by service in the Vietnam War and a general hatred towards a morally degenerate society and you get Travis Bickle (Robert Deniro). Just trying to find his place in the world after fighting for a country he believes in, Travis is drawn to a New York City Cab company for work because the nights just don’t put him to sleep anymore. Night after night, Travis drives the slums of NYC, picking up and dropping off drug dealers, Users, prostitutes and other generally scum ridden “people of the night”. After running into a 14 year old prostitute (Jody Foster) trying to escape her pimp (Harvey Keitel), Travis decides he has seen enough and is driven into the idea of making a change in big tough NYC. But how far would you go to make your point, to make a change in a world full of callous, seemingly uncaring human beings. Is vigilante justice enough to make Travis the hero he seeks to be or just another hate monger using blinded violence to make the front page of the New York Times.
The best Vigilante movie ever made. Martin Scorsese (director) does such an amazing job of letting his audience fill Travis’s Loneliness and despair that leads you to one of the most climactic endings in cinematic history. It was no joke when The American Film Institute named this movie one of the 100 best films of all time. If you like vigilante justices try on: The Boondock Saints, Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Begins and One hour Photo.

Ed and his Dead Mother

Ed (Steve Buscemi) is a "momma's Boy" who has to coup with the recent death of his mother. Struggling to move on and run the family's hardware store in a small town, Ed is confronted by a salesman that has an offer that Ed just can't resist. What if there was a way to bring the dead back to life... is it worth the price, Ed is about to find out how much he really misses his mother! The movie is an 8 in my book, Steve Buscemi has played such Phenomenal roles since this movie was made (1993) that it shines kind of a bad light on Chuck Hughes, the writer and Jonathan Wacks, director of the film. But Its Steve Buscemi so its entertaining anyway. If you like this, Try the Evil dead trilogy on for size. No gore that i can recall though but what can you expect for a pg 13 rating, Lot's of female butt shots (lame), I don't get it. A movie is rated R for fake blood, but you can throw as much sex and sexual innuendoes into a flick and it gets a pg 13 at best...our society is F**ked!

Best of Show

Their are events in each of our lives that are pivital in determining our futures...even for Dog lovers and their dogs. Done in a "mockumentry" style, this movie fallows the events of the dogs and there owners before and after one of the most prestigious Dog shows in the world, and gives you an insight into the blood sweat and tears that go into being worthy of the a blue ribbon and a title that any dog anywhere can appreciate, "Best of Show". If you love sutle humor, this movie is right up your ally. Sometimes theres nothing funnier than the habits, intrests, and obssesions of people who might just be your neighbors. I give this movie an 8. It's not quite as funny as something like the Royal Tenenbaums, but its definately worth watching if your in the mood for comedy. If you liked this film, check out A Mighty Wind, another "mockumentry" By Writer and Director, Christopher Guest.

R-Point

9 soilders are given orders to go deep into the jungles of Veitnam, right in the middle of the war and find a missing group of soilders thought to be all dead, but after a mysterious Radio signal comes into to headqaurters, the commanding officers want some answers. Sounds a little like Saving Private Ryan right? Think again. There is something at R point, the last point at which the missing soldiers last made contact. And all the men in the "search and rescue party" are going to need all the guts they can muster to make it through this mission...maybe because something waiting for them on the other side of the Bamboo forest is going to spill what guts they've got left...You've got to love a good Asian flick because they never let you down when it comes to gore, or making you jump. If you liked this, check out Stanely Kubricks, Full Metal Jacket.