FOLLOWING FILMS - Podcast, Movies, Music, and More

Lets go back to where it all started. To a diner with a group of working class thieves wearing black suits and talking about Madona's big dick. We had no idea that what we were watching would help to change the course of modern film making but we knew we were witnessing something special. I discovered Reservoir Dogs on VHS. It was one of those movies that got passed around my circle of friends. This is before VOD and only one video store in my town carried it and they only had one copy. So it took me what felt like forever to catch up with this one. I was one of the last of my friends to see it and I even lied about having seen it when people would talk about it. I said that I thought it was just ok better than average but nothing great. It was no Terminator or Bloodsport. I was an 80s action/martial arts junkie I didn't really give a shit about this dog movie. When Directors Chair finally got in a copy I had no idea what was in store for my 14 year old brain. It was like...

I graduated High School the same year Pulp Fiction was released. That was the same year The Shawshank Redemption, The Professional, Natural Born Killers, True Lies, The Hudsucker Proxy, Serial Mom, The Crow, Forest Gump, Killing Zoe, Quiz Show and Ed Wood were all released. Something had changed in Hollywood. All these strange little "Art House" films started getting wide releases, nominated for Oscars and they were financially viable. It felt like we were in a golden era of film and we where. It was the explosion of independent cinema and Pulp Fiction was at the center of the eruption. Its easy to focus on the time a film is made. The political climate or social unrest that influences a film but a film be able to stand outside its time and be judged on its own merit. The only reason I listed all the films above was to illustrate how tough the competition was at the box office and the awards ballot box that year. Do awards shows use ballot boxes? Probably not, lets mov...

Jackie Brown is by far the most under rated Tarantino film. Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs are near perfect films with tons of supporters so I don't really need to shed a light on how important and wonderful those films are and the same goes for Kill Bill and Inglorious Bastards. It feels like Jakie Brown has been forgotten and that is a damn shame. I first saw Jackie Brown on Christmas day back in 1997 and the film has remained my favorite film of Tarantino's since that day. The man has done some remarkable work since but his best film has somehow gotten lost in the shuffle of the last 17 years. Tarantino has said Jackie Brown is the least favorite of his films but I'm fairly certain that's because it was an adaptation of an Elmore Leonard novel, he didn't create the characters so he doesn't hold them as close to his heart. The film takes over the hill forgotten characters and makes them cool as hell. In a lesser film the stars of Jackie Brown would be...

Get off my lawn you darn kids! So, yes its official I am a grumpy old man. I thought Guardians of the Galaxy was a charming, funny, thrilling big budget extravaganza and it more or less bored the shit out of me. I get it. This is not like Transformers 4. GOTG is a well made film but I didn't care about anything on screen. The villains in the Marvel movies are getting worse and worse and the stakes are constantly so high that I think I've been burned out and don't care what happens to any of the characters. The villains. Who are they? What are they doing? I have no idea. I pay attention and try to follow the story but the big blue guys and the petite blue woman are so devoid of nuance or subtext that you don't really need to pay attention to follow the story. They want to blow up the universe, spoiler alert. That's all you need to know. The rest of it is a bunch space talk that sounds like nonsensical garbage to my ears. Look I'm aware that I am rarely if ev...

This movie would have been directed by Brett (shrimp cocktail) Ratner based on a screenplay by JJ Abrams

This 13 minute short film from writer/director Steven DeGennaro is fantastic. He is currently completing post production on his first feature length film Found Footage 3D. NSFW... don't watch this in the cubicle where the boss could walk by at any moment, unless he/she is cool with potty humor, in that case gather up your co-workers get out that flask of whiskey you have hidden in your desk and let her rip.

To celebrate the tenth anniversary of Saw Lionsgate   will be re releasing Saw for one week. Its hard to believe that was only ten years ago. I think people have forgotten how fun that first film is and I'm looking forward to seeing it in a theater again. Here is the Lionsgate press release about the re release. Saw spawned 6 sequels in 6 years. A box set of all 7 films is available for pre-order on Amazon for only $22.49, that comes out to less than $3.25 per film

This gives us the best look we've had at the Man of Steels new costume

Alexandre Ajas latest film is found footage... another found footage horror film... the maker of High Tension has made a found footage horror film called The Pyramid. Oh well, Bobcat and Ty West showed us there are still interesting things to be done with found footage so I have my fingers crossed for Aja on this one. good looking poster interesting trailer... fuck it I'm in. 

I went into this film with very little knowledge... like I enter all things, with very little knowledge... I only knew that it was a revenge tale, that the director had cashed in his wifes retirement to pay for it and Sundance who had initially rejected the film later went on to say that rejection was a mistake. Those scrappy underdog stories always capture my imagination but its seldom the films live up to the folklore that builds up around them. Blue Ruin not only lives up to the lore, it transcends it. You will forget about the stories surrounding the making of the film/release of the film and accept the movie for what it is, a masterpiece. This is an honest look at revenge. We all like to imagine if we set out on a path of revenge we would react and act like Liam Neeson in Taken but the truth is most of us would act like Dwight in Blue Ruin. We would make mistakes and hurt the wrong people, leave behind evidence and do countless other things that would never make the cut in a ...

Guardians of the Galaxy was a nice way to end the summer movie season. After 4 months of Robots, Monsters and Mutants its time for something with a little more depth. Blue Ruin has been my favorite film so far this year and if any film could knock that film from the top spot it would be this one...

A Prometheus sequel, The Martian and The Blade Runner Sequel... this is a great time for fans of Ridley Scotts science fiction. I didn't have the pure hatred for Prometheus that some people had so I'm personally excited for all these projects. And yes I've seen this

Douglas Gautraud has been making films since he was eight years old and his latest project is called My Mom's Motorcycle. The short film is about how the objects we accumulate during our lives can be artifacts that tell our personal stories long after we pass. The film is clearly influenced by Wes Anderson but this it is far more than just a style exercise. This short could have fit in perfectly with the Showtime version of This American Life. Captured beautifully on the Cannon 6d with a homemade lighting setup the film looks remarkable. When asked about his aesthetic influences he mentioned Charley Harper whose "minimal realism" style is both beautiful and straight-forward. He also said Richard Sweet who founded Marushuka a company whose handcrafted screen prints were so popular in the 1980s they operated five retail outlets. He went on to say "   to be a great film maker, you need to be a great thinker" and cited Sir Arthur Conan Doyl...

I really enjoyed The Conjuring but this trailer leaves me feeling a bit skeptical about the spin-off

Check this out before it gets pulled

Kind of speaks for itself. Sure its tasteless but its a movie about Nazi zombies so yeah it makes sense

Yay for the new suit. Boo for that title.

This already has close to 3,000,000 views and I just saw it. I have my finger on something and its certainly not the pulse. In case you haven't seen it, here ya go

I've always loved the what if/almost movies that could have been. This is one I've been contemplating since I saw Kevin Smith speak at the Academy of Arts and Sciences over a decade ago. Kevin Smiths Superman Lives story about writing a draft of the film

I'm not a fan of film ratings systems per say, the thumbs up, thumbs down, five stars, four buckets of popcorn... I guess the rotten tomatoes system isn't too bad but it removes all insight to the film. If I had to create a system to distill my thoughts on a film I guess I would tell you how much to invest in it. Should you buy it, rent it, watch it, avoid it or burn a copy if come across one. With that system in mind I'd like to tell you about William Friedkins Sorcerer. Buy it. If you haven't seen it, buy it blind. I have that much faith in the quality of this film. This film is about a group of five men who agree to transport nitroglycerin across the South American jungle. To say this film is tense is an understatement. This film is an exercise in white knuckled anxiety. Imagine the opening of Inglorious Bastards stretched out for over and hour and you might have an idea of how stress inducing this film is. That's not to say the film is gratuitous or wanton...

Honeymoon will be released on VOD and theatrically Sept 12th Leigh Janiak the writer director of Honeymoon described the film below:  HONEYMOON is a transformation tale. It tells the story of newlyweds Paul and Bea and how something beautiful can become monstrous. I wanted to tell an intimate, grounded genre story. I was inspired by Polanski’s paranoid thrillers where the horror gnaws from within. Paul and Bea share an intimacy that only couples can. They know each other’s minds. They know each other’s bodies. Their emotional endurance is tested as the narrative explores how far love can be pushed when it’s tortured and under attack. Rose Leslie and Harry Treadaway hadn’t met prior to being cast, but their talents created an on-screen relationship that reflects the nuance of a couple who has known each other for years. The chemistry they share as Bea and Paul is imbued with youthful energy and desperate fear. HONEYMOON is an exploration of how the famili...

1944 Starring Fred MacMurray and Barbra Stanwyck  Directed By Billy Wilder What can I possibly say about Double Indemnity that hasn't already been said? Nothing. I have absolutely nothing to add to the conversation. So why even bother writing a review that has nothing to say? Thank you for asking. Sometimes watching a film can feel like homework. A film that is widely regarded as a classic can feel daunting. This film is in no way homework. Watching it was a blast. I had a great time. Billy Wilders dialogue is like poetry (much better than the kind you wrote in high school) and the performances from Fred MacMurray and Edward G. Robinson are career bests.  In short watch this movie. I don't want to write anything about the plot other than its a classic film noir, people are compelled to do terrible things because they are motivated by greed and lust. The thing most people seem to forget about film noir is how fun they were. This is a funny movie. The fast paced ...

if you are not aware of the Angry Video Game Nerd youtube series check it out below

  AP  is reporting Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson will be deciding between two comic book characters in an upcoming DC film. Apparently he will either play Shazam or Black Adam. Shazam is a character who has been introduced since the 1930's to mixed results. When Billy Baston says the magic word "Shazam!" he turns into Shazam and gains the following powers: S for the wisdom Solomon H for the strength of Hecules A for the stamina of Atlas Z for the power of Zeus  A for the courage of Achilles  M for the speed of Mercury  When Teth Adam says the magic word "Shazam!" he is transformed into Black Adam and gains the following powers derived from ancient Egyptian gods: S for the stamina of Shu H for the swiftness of Heru A for the strenght of Amon Z for the wisdom of Zehuti  A for the power of Aton M for the courage of Mehen 

Glad to see Ving Rhames is back for this installment. With the exception of MI:2 these films have been pretty damn good and Christopher McQuarrie did a great job with Ghost Protocol, so this is all good news.

Laying the dead to rest has never been so much trouble. This Oscar Nominated short is directed by Smith & Foulkes and written by Foulkes, Smith, and Christopher O’Reilly, and produced at Nexus by Charlotte Bavasso and Christopher O’Reilly, the film follows two dour unfortunates as they battle a series of misadventures while trying to deliver a coffin to the graveyard. The animated caper is a series of emotional and literal pitfalls for the pall-bearing team, as their journey and relationship unravel on an epic scale culminating in the pair joining the old lady in a trip through the underworld. ‘This Way Up’, was nominated for an Oscar® for best animated short at the 81st annual Academy Awards. Before its Oscar win, “This Way Up” won numerous awards at film festivals around the world, including an Official Selection at the Sundance Film Festival, the Public Prize for Best Short Film at the 2008 Ottawa Animation Festival, the Audience Award for Animated Short at both the Pal...

Film set to the Girl Talk album All Day. I'm in no way the target audience for a film like this. I don't care for dance music and find DJ culture annoying. The closest thing to a musical that I like is The Blues Brothers but damn it this thing works. The pure joy of this movie is infectious.Trust me this is something you should check out. A truly beautiful movie here is part 1 of 12 Girl Walk // All Day: Chapter 1 from Girl Walk // All Day on Vimeo . This is part 2 of 12 Girl Walk // All Day: Chapter 2 from Girl Walk // All Day on Vimeo . Part 3 of 12 if the "All the single ladies" part doesn't make you smile, you have no soul and I feel sorry for you Girl Walk // All Day: Chapter 3 from Girl Walk // All Day on Vimeo . you can find the full film  here

2012 Directed By Chris Tevebaugh This is the first film I've seen from South Carolina based director Chris Tevebaugh. I was impressed with the beauty of the short film when I first saw it and when I found out the film was made for $100 I was absolutely floored. This film is a perfect example of shooting with what you have. Much like Robert Rodriquez when making El Mariachi took an inventory of what he had (a guitar, a bus and a dog) and made it work. The film is shot on a 5D Mark II DSLR and it feels like it could have been shot by  Emmanuel Lubezki or John Allcott. Seriously it looks that good. Not only does the film look spectacular it wrestles with a tough subject. The film is essentially about racism and how it is spread. If this is what Chris Tevebaugh can do with $100 I would love to see him with a full length feature and a budget. Enough of my yammering, watch this movie.  Whisperings from Chris Tevebaugh on Vimeo .

2014 Starring Steven Patrick and John Gaffney  Directed by Andy S McEwan  Broken Record is the story of two middle aged men who find a box of old records (LPs) during a house clearance. The men act as if they have found a bag of gold even though they have no special knowledge or interest in vinyl. The records must be valuable because they are old. Steven Patrick and John Gaffney both play their roles fairly straight and only occasionally slip into farcical performance.  Andy S McEwan has made good little film here. I'm not in any way condescending to the movie when I call it a good little film. The story is small, the aesthetic is small and its nice little film. I have a feeling this is the exact film he wanted to make. The following is a small tangent that really has nothing to do with the quality of the film I am reviewing: This is the third Scottish short I watched this week and I noticed something really strange about all three films… t...

If you're not familiar Mr. Plinkett's reviews are NSFW at all seriously don't watch this at work

Monster Squad turned 27 today. I saw this film opening weekend so I can more or less pinpoint exactly what I was doing this weekend almost 30 years ago. I haven't gotten around to opening my Blu Ray copy of the film because I'm not sure I want to revisit it. I have such a perfect memory of this film and I'd rather not have my old man cynicism tarnish that memory. Time hasn't been kind to some of my childhood favorites and I think I'll leave this one alone. At least for now. I have a four year old son and I've been introducing him to my childhood favorites one at a time. As of right now I'm batting a thousand with him. He loved Star Wars (Darth Vader is his favorite), thought Herbie The Love Bug was hilarious and my wife plans on showing him 3 ninjas tomorrow (my wife is a few years younger than me). I assume in another year or two he'll be ready for Monster Squad. For now this will do yup, the Wolfman does have nards

From the Ragnarock Press Release Archeologist Sigurd Svendsen (Pål Sverre Hagen) has for years been obsessed with the Oseberg Viking ship. The only inscription found on the ship is the enigmatic ´man knows little` written in runes. Sigurd is sure that the Oseberg ship contains the answer to the mystery of Ragnarok, the end of days in Norse mythology. When his friend Allan finds similar runes on a stone from the north of Norway, Sigurd becomes convinced that the runes are in fact a treasure map. Together they mount an expedition group and their adventure leads to “No man’s Land” between Norway and Russia, which has been deserted for decades. Here Sigurd learns the true meaning of the runes – a secret more terrifying than he could possibly imagine.

Glory Hunter is a 2014 short film from director Craig Maclachlan . The film tells the story of an aging fighter ( Duncan Airlie James ) and the relationship he has with his much younger girlfriend (Elanor Miller). I watch a ton of short films and you would be surprised by how many of them feel long. A twenty minute film that should have been five is a painful viewing experience. Fortunately Glory Hunter is not one of those films. It suffers the exact opposite problem, the film is too short. I was left wanting to spend more time with Duncan James' character. I wanted to see the character fleshed out a little more. I wanted to see the minutia of his day to day life. This is the second film I've seen with Duncan Airlie James and I'd like to see more. The first I saw was The Greyness of Autumn  and is also a film I highly recommend. Scott J Hunter shot a good looking film on what I can only assume was a shoe string budget. The film was shot on the Cannon C100 and is a ...

I think the title of the post pretty much sums up the whole story. I can't find the source of the photo to give proper credit but these two pictures have been all over the internets in the last 24 hours.

Mortdecai is the story of an art dealer searching for a stolen painting that's reportedly linked to a lost bank account filled with Nazi gold.  Johnny Depp will star as Charles Mortdecai alongside Aubrey Plaza, Ewan McGregor, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Goldblum and Oliver Platt. The film is directed by David Koepp and will be released by Lionsgate in February 2015.