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Review: Zack & Miri Make a Porno

October 22, 2008
Zack & Miri Poster

Let me start by saying, if I had my choice, I would see EVERY movie at free preview shows. No, not because they are free (though, it’s a nice perk), but because a whole bunch of old people sign up for free movie tickets whenever they get a chance. It was funny as hell to be in line tonight with a group of old people right behind us and hearing old dude #1 say to old dude #2, “So, what’s this movie about?” And, if you read my post about seeing Choke a few weeks ago, that movie had an old lady crying after it was over.

Zack & Miri was written and directed by Kevin Smith, who has written several other movies like Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy & Dogma. I’ve been a huge fan of his (and his movies) for quite a while, so when I first heard the title of this film, I was certain we’d be seeing it opening weekend. We scored some preview passes so we didn’t even have to wait for it to hit the masses. Suck it, bitches! The past few months leading up to the release, we’ve been reading about Smith’s battles with the film ratings board trying to get an R rating for the film rather than the NC-17 rating they gave it originally. After an appeal, he got his wish.

I love the cast of Zack & Miri. Seth Rogan and Elisabeth Banks (HOLY CRAP SHE’S HOT!) are a classic pair. They work really well together and I like they way they played out their relationship. Justin Long’s character is over the top and freakin’ hilarious. Craig Robinson (Darryl from The Office) has some excellent lines in the movie as well. He’s not over the top funny, but more of a subtle humor that had me cracking up. Jason Mewes (Jay of Jay & Silent Bob) is Mother F’n Awesome. This role isn’t much different than that of Jay, and that’s just fine with me. And how could I possibly forget Traci Lords as Bubbles. Her sex scene is laugh out loud funny!

If you are looking for an escape from all the politics we’re currently being force-fed by every possible media outlet, Zack & Miri will do the trick nicely. You may want to leave the kids at home for this one, though. ;) (you probably figured that out from the title, though)

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Choke on THIS!

September 24, 2008

Tonight we got the opportunity to go and see a sneak preview of the new movie Choke. It’s based on the book by Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club and half a dozen other great books. I have been waiting for nearly 2 full years for this movie to come out. I’m quite pleased to say that it did not disappoint. Sam Rockwell was perfectly cast as Victor Mancini, the sexaholic who goes to sexaholic anonymous meetings in order to get laid. Anjelica Huston plays his mom and does a fine job as well.

Since this was a preview showing, there was a rep from Fox/Searchlight in attendance. Before the show he let people know that they would shoot you on sight if you tried to take a picture of the screen during the movie. More importantly, he let everybody know that he’d be waiting around after to hear what everybody thought of the movie. Oh, this is gonna be good.

So we watched the movie and there are several big laughs in it. There’s also a fair amount of gratuitous sex. Victor has sex pretty much anywhere he can. Though, he has trouble getting it up when trying to screw a girl he actually likes in church. I don’t mean he likes her in church, I mean he’s trying to screw her IN CHURCH. “What would Jesus NOT do”, indeed.

When the movie was out I stood around with the group of us that all went and we were talking about the film. We were also listening to the conversations of the other moviegoers around us. It was an older crowed that showed up for the free screening, so I wasn’t all that surprised to hear all the negative comments. However, there was one that really stuck out.

As I was walking over to tell the Fox/Searchlight rep how much I liked the film, I passed by a women who was crying. I paused long enough to listen to what she had to say to her friend. “My aunt died of Alzheimer’s and for them to be making fun of it in that way is repulsive.” So let me get this straight, you didn’t have a problem with all the sex, you didn’t have a problem with all the foul language, you didn’t have a problem with the anal beads… No, you had a problem with the fact that Anjelica Huston’s character had Alzheimer’s? Wow, perhaps next time you may want to check out the trailer for the movie that you are getting free tickets to before you go. Chances are, if you see the name Chuck Palahniuk attached to the movie in some way, you are likely going to be offended.

Go out and see this movie. Just leave the uptight friends at home.

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Cloverfield: 1, Me: 0

January 20, 2008
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This weekend ended up being pretty busy, though I didn’t really start out with many plans. I capped it off with a trip to the movies with Todd & Sarah to see Cloverfield. If you haven’t seen it yet, let me just say…. MOTION SICK!!! The way it’s filmed is very similar to Blair Witch Project. Single camera angle, hand held, bouncy as hell. With about 15 minutes left in the film I started feeling sick. By the time I left, I looked like this:

John Sick 

I am amazed that I didn’t throw up. Seriously, I felt THAT bad. But, I went home, crashed on the couch for a while and felt better after about an hour or so.

“How was the movie?” you ask. It was so-so. The story isn’t new. It was just shot from a different angle. I will say that the new Rave theaters by my office are fantastic! First off, they are all digital projection. Second off, they are hidden away in the back of Town Center and not a lot of people know about them. So even though I went to see the #1 movie on opening weekend, the theater was only half full.

As for the rest of the weekend, on Saturday I spent the morning at work trying to get a head start on the weekend. Then Saturday evening Todd and 4th Place came over to play some Rock Band. Sarah, who had originally suggested we have Rock Band night, pulled a big no-show. She claims to have been sleeping. I don’t know that I buy it, though.

This morning I bailed out on my Sunday run. My knee has been feeling funky still. This week I’m going to make a point of riding the stationary bike at least 3 times to try and build up some strength in my knee. I think I may need to hold off on running until I’ve had a few weeks of the stationary bike under my belt. No sense going out and hurting the knee even more.

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