Being bored last Thursday I was in the mood to see some violence Japanese style.  Only in Japanese film have I seen the most horrific violence alongside the weirdest humour.  Love it.

Anyway saw Battle Royale II Requiem and it’s taken a more serious tone.  All the meaningless violence of the last film has become meaningful.  It opens with a scene mirroring the attacks of 9/11.  Japanese teenage terrorists are at war with the adults.  Under this bizarre premise the film explores the current political turmoil- who are terrorists?  how are they made?  how do you deal with them?  are we the real terrorists?

The first film was fun, pointless violence.  Kind of like a one-night stand with Japanese gunplay and grotesque humour.  Battle Royale II Requiem still has that, but it also has a strong strain of political insight and even activism.  You may hate it for that.  It’s long.  It is trying to teach you something.  But all the things that made Battle Royale are carried into the sequel.  The battle sequences, like a mock-D-Day are even better, with even bigger budgets (and that means explosions).

See Battle Royale II Requiem if you have a few hours to sit back and watch.  The film has the gratuitous amazing violence that you’d want out of any respectable Japanese film- but it also has more depth (or pretension depending on how you look at it).  Let me know what you think, just leave a comment in the Club Columbia DVD comment box!

Technorati Tags: asian, battle royale II requiem, japanese

Anyway, I saw Paranoia Park yesterday.  First off, the main guy looks exactly like a friend of mine.  He has a great band called The Kahoos.  He probably skateboards too.  It doesn’t matter too much.  Honestly the main guy looks like every 13-16 year old boy I’ve ever seen with hat hair.  Maybe that’s the point.

I wasn’t expecting anything from this movie, which is usually the best way to watch.  Hamlet 2 wasn’t as good as I thought it would be- because I thought it would be the funniest thing ever made.  (For the record one of the funniest things ever made is Tropic Thunder which I’ll review in a bit.)

What I thought would be a cheap, slasher skateboard-movie turned into an astonishing dark psychological look at adolescence.  Other blogs will write longer words about the theory behind it, but I won’t go into that- the point is this film is definitely a film and not a movie.

The camera work is excellent.  Whatever you think of Gus Van Sant, in this film he captures some kind of profound beauty.  His camera glides along with the skateboard and you see why these kids are drawn to it- a culture of escape from the numbing existence in real suburbia.  

The film is based around the death of a security guard on a railroad by a skatepark.  We follow Alex and live his predictable existence until he goes to Paranoid Park one evening.  The film reveals little bits of the story over time, and it comes together at the end perfectly- this is a beautiful story, well-told.  Here’s a good trailer:

The music is wonderful.  It’s like flicking through Alex’s iPod- it has a variety of music that adds nothing but value to the emotional charge of the film.

Barnes and Noble has it for $25, but you’ll be better off just renting it from Blockbuster.  If you know of any a movie dvd club that carries it already, feel free to leave a comment.  It’s not the kind of film you’ll watch over again, but it’s a unique experience in film- whose atmosphere will stay with you forever.

Technorati Tags: gus van sant, movie dvd club, paranoia park, the kahoos

There is something about John Carpenter.  The special effects are so bad they are cool.  Go a step further- they’re so dated that they actually seem more realistic.  The CGI of today’s big action films, while looking close to reality, stink of fake explosions and animation.  The special effects in Deju Vu were impressive, but they weren’t as fun to watch.  There’s something about real special effects- real explosions, models, special makeup- and The Thing is the best film to see this in.

Even though I’d love to talk about The Thing more, this post is about Escape From New York.

There are a couple of movies I’ve seen which have a very similar style- Escape From New York, The Warriors, Clockwork Orange- these films take this dated 70s look to the extreme respectively.  It’s a stylised urban theme with a tight budget.  Although they fail to depict reality, they take you into this fantastic world of their own.

Street gangs, dirty streets, night violence- these films capture a urban wild west.  And the sheriff in town is Kurt Russell.

Let’s get one thing straight.  Kurt Russell with an eye-patch and a gun is awesome.  Not in the ‘dude’ way.  In the true meaning of the word- awesome.  In this gritty city world he is Clint Eastwood.  

Ex-special forces turned bank robber, Snake Plissken (yes, that is the best name ever created) is given a chance to get a pardon for his crimes if he completes a mission.  New York has been converted into a maximum security prison to cope with the crime epidemic sweeping America.  Manhattan Island is full of hardened criminals.  But a terrorist act crashes Air Force One right into the prisoner island- with the president on board.  The only man who can rescue the president from this mess- is a veteran mercenary, renowned within the criminal community…called…Snake Plissken.

Watch this old trailer to see what I mean- if you like cult films, you’ll love this.  It’s a cult flick on steroids.

The late and great Isaac Hayes is the Duke of New York.  Kurt Russell is an ex-special ops mercenary who’s become jaded with the government.  Manhattan Island has been turned into a maximum security prison where criminals have made their own city.  Seriously.  What more could you possibly want?

Amazon has Escape From New York for $12.99, but get this- it has Used Copies for $0.01.  A cult classic for 1 cent?  Please.  Don’t ever tell me I’m not looking out for you guys.

Enjoy the movie and feel free to leave some feedback on Club Columbia DVD.  We love the attention.

Technorati Tags: escape from new york, john carpenter, the thing

His dialogue has pace, rhythm, violence- and he got this from Martin Scorsese, Terrence Malick and Quentin Tarantino (all personal favourites of Club Columbia DVD), not from playwrights like Tennessee Williams or John Osborne.  This guy was brought up on film, and finally he has made the transition from the stage to the screen, where he really belongs.

He’s Irish.  He’s rude.  He’s offensive, but intelligent.  His name is Martin McDonagh.  For the record you’re going to hear a lot more from this man, so watch out.

This year his first feature film was released called In Bruges.  The poster made it seem like a Colin Farrell action picture- but I don’t think anyone was prepared for what the film actually was.  It starts off in Belgium.  Quaint.  Slow.  Martin McDonagh’s writing slowly warms up- mostly I think so that the audience can get used to it- most films advertised have such bad writing, that people just expect it now.

Not in this movie though.  Not by a long shot.  In the beginning we hear this introduction:

After I killed him, I dropped the gun in the Thames, washed the residue off me hands in the bathroom of a Burger King, and walked home to await instructions.  Shortly thereafter the instructions came through- “Get the fuck out of London, you dumb fucks.  Get to Bruges.”

I didn’t even know where Bruges fucking was.

[pause]

It’s in Belgium.

This film is amazing.  Colin Farrell and Ralph Fiennes play roles you wouldn’t expect them in, and they are hilarious.  This film won’t be for everybody- this is another movie you should miss if you attend church regularly and have more than 3 cats.  There are midgets, prostitutes, drugs, guns, violence and gore- all dealt with in the funniest way possible.

This is one film that you may have missed.  Go see it.  Unplug the telephone when you see it.  It’s that good.  Amazon has In Bruges for $19.99 which is a bit much, so you may want to rent it.  Whatever you do, go see it.  Club Columbia DVD forbids you to watch it twice in a row though- it’s such a good film that you may never leave the house again.  Seriously.

Technorati Tags: belgium, colin farrell, comedy, in bruges

The months leading up to The Dark Knight were pretty dry- 10,000 B.C. for example- oh man, that was bad.  In those desperate times I found myself struggling to find entertainment.  Without the distraction of amazing cinema, I looked in on myself, and looking in my reflection in a puddle like Ben Stiller I began to wonder- ‘Who am I?’

This led me to start finding out about the world.  I wanted to know about politics.  I wanted to understand economics.  I wanted to learn about philosophy.  Naturally I’m too lazy to read all about that- so I turned to documentaries.

Documentaries are great because they are usually no longer than 2 hours.  You get an overview of the topic, and if it interests you, you can look into it further.  I would hate to start reading a lengthy book on the Illuminati only to realise half-way through that I really didn’t care in the first place.

The place I’m talking about is freedocumentaries.org.  They have a fantastic selection of popular films like Sicko and Super Size Me, but that’s not why I like it so much.  This site has some older gems that would be hard to find elsewhere.  Some of these films will completely change the way you view the world.

The Corporation is a famous documentary that takes a look at the origin of corporations- the massive power structures that have enormous influence over our lives.  It’s one of those films you have to see to even begin to understand how the world works today.

Noam Chomsky’s Manufacturing Consent is also a true classic.  Even if you don’t agree with his views, you can learn a lot from this film.  The other film that changed my perspective was the Century of Self- a look at how the discoveries of Freud were adapted to marketing and changed our culture forever.

Of course there are some more crazy documentaries on there- the usual line up of conspiracies, but these are worth a watch at least for the entertainment value.  The fact is that watching a documentary here is far more well-spent time than watching some new blockbuster like Fool’s Gold.  The best documentaries are entertaining as well as informative, so that you don’t feel like you’re sitting in a classroom all day.

Anyway, freedocumentaries.org is non-profit and has some great films on there.  It gives a short review for each one so you know what you’re getting yourself into, and the layout is very easy to navigate.

Check out the site- it’s like 300 excellent films for free.  Club Columbia DVD thoroughly recommends it if you feel like learning something about this world.  Who said the internet wasn’t good for something.

If anyone knows of any other legal, decent streaming films sites, feel free to leave a comment below.

Technorati Tags: corporation, documentary, free

Anyway, let’s get on to the main topic.  Team America, World Police is a film I will always treasure.  It’s by the guys who do South Park.  For some it’s a crude, rude, hilarious and insightful cartoon about a bunch of kids- like Rugrats but jaded, adult and very, very funny.

For others it means rude, crude, deeply offensive and full of childish toilet humour.  I think both views are right- and that’s almost everything I love about South Park.  It’s genius.

So let’s talk about Team America, World Police.  This film is amazing.  The market for films forces comedies to either be dull- like most romantic comedies- or really, really stupid in an attempt to be popular- like the never-ending stream of parody movies like Date Movie.

Thankfully the South Park crew thrives on sticking a big middle finger up at the conventional.  Sure, sometimes they may take it too far- but if they can’t take it too far, they won’t do it at all.  You might call them crusaders for comedy, but that’s a totally different post.

So, back to Team America, World Police.  Politics, Hollywood, acting, Matt Damon, action movies- this film has all the ingredients for greatness.  And it’s with puppets.  While the infamous puppet sex scene is really more about publicity, the puppets make some of the best physical comedy scenes I’ve ever seen.

While the focus may be the satire of American foreign policy for some people, I liked it more as a parody of action movies and Hollywood.  There is some competitive acting with the great Alec Baldwin (puppet) and one of the greatest speeches ever captured on film- and it’s about dicks, pussies and ass.

If you go to church regularly, this may not be the film for you.  But I thoroughly recommend this film many times over.  Again and again.  Amazon has Team America, World Police for $9.99, and if it suits you it’s available used for about $4.

Technorati Tags: rugrats, south park, team america

I’m going back to London soon and am looking into some martial arts to take up- they’re more fun than football and you learn how to fight while keeping fit. I had seen posters for Redbelt on the shelves but had dismissed it as some cheap Rocky knock-off.

I could picture the studio heads round a shiny black table, nervously fidgeting with their water bottles until one of them sparked up with “How about like Rocky, but make the main guy black. It can be like a black Rocky.

“Yeah, Obama, race, fighting- great idea Chad!”

No thank you, I thought.

Then I looked closer and the main actor was Chiwetel Ejiofor. Remember him? He was Denzel’s detective pal in Inside Man. Great actor. So I decide to go with it. Plus it had Tim Allen in a drama which I figured would either be really good, or really bad and really funny.

Redbelt was AMAZING. I hate phrases like tour de force. But this movie genuinely deserved all the usual praise films get. It was actually one of the best films of the year.

If you’ve seen some samurai films, you may see them in this. The lone warrior, living by the code. Living with honour. Chiwetel Ejiofor captures this spirit without being bland. He has this serene outside, while he harbours all this potential violence underneath. Crazy good.

The main credit has to go to David Mamet though. I remember his name from some plays a while back- didn’t think twice about it when I was choosing movies.

Then I looked him up on IMDB- he is responsible for so many great stories, and films that I want to see- The Untouchables, Glengarry Glen Ross, Wag The Dog and The Winslow Boy? This man is total genius.

David Mamet is what they talk about when they say you can’t make a good movie without a good story. He isn’t some annoying obtuse art house man- he knows how to tell a story- simple and powerful. I’ll review the films I’ve seen of his soon enough- but if you have to see one right now- go get Wag The Dog. I had never heard of it, but this film is so good, and even more bizarre… it’s so true.

Anyway, Club Columbia DVD definitely recommends Redbelt today. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Hollywood, fight promotion and David Mamet- go see this movie as fast as you can. You will not regret it.

Technorati Tags: david mamet, redbelt, wag the dog

Heat is a masterpiece. With another director this film would be an average action movie, but with Mann this becomes a tragic film with depth. That’s not the only reason I like it though. It has pace. It has energy. It has a lot of fireworks.

If you’ve seen a Michael Bay film, you’ll know that this isn’t enough to make a good movie though. A great action film needs great characters, not just explosions. Die Hard was the best because of McClane.

With Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Val Kilmer this film is filled with gravitas. Whatever you think of the actors in this film, they sure do know how to play criminals.

Heat has Mann’s dynamic camera-work and rhythm which inspired Christopher Nolan when he was filming the robbery in The Dark Knight. Below is a clip from Heat which captures the fast pace and tension of the movie:

Los Angeles, crime, guns, heists- these have been used to make a lot of bad movies, but Mann knows what he’s doing. Club Columbia DVD definitely recommends Heat if you want something to pump your adrenaline up. What holds Heat together is the emotional ties between the characters that bring drama and meaning to the film. Without that, it would just be a well-shot fast-paced action thriller. With the emotional story it’s one of the best films of the 90s.

If you’re interested, Heat on DVD goes for $7.99 on Amazon.

Technorati Tags: al pacino, club columbia dvd, dark knight, heat, mann, robert de niro

There are a few films that you have to see before you die. I’m not being morbid- they are just amazing and totally unique experiences. I feel that if you don’t see these films you are truly missing out on something. Now narrowing these films down to five is impossible, but this is a blog and that’s what blogs do best.

So if you’re bored and wondering what to watch tonight- go get American Psycho. This is one of the great movies that may have slipped by you. Video stores often put this in the horror section. It was years before I saw if because I thought it was a cheap rip-off of Hitchcock’s Psycho. I was completely and totally wrong.

American Psycho is so much more than an everyday hack’n’slash. It’s a comedy, it’s satire, it’s tragedy- don’t let all of this put you off though. It’s not overwhelming with pretentious bullshit like a lot of art films. You don’t have to have a PhD in Sociology to understand what’s going on. It’s a damn funny and gory film by itself without any help from intellectual ideas.

At the same time it’s one of the most profound films you’ll ever see if you want it to be. I’m not going to delve into all the theory behind it- other people have written books that will be a far better read than this about the ideas behind the film. Also I can’t really convince you how good this film is by talking about it. It’s not one of those films you can describe by saying ‘Well, it’s kind of like a cross between Charlie’s Angels and Titantic.’ It’s American Psycho. The film is in a league of it’s own.

Below is a short clip from American Psycho. While it doesn’t capture the violence of the film, it has the tone. On that note, if you don’t like the sight of blood, stay far far away from this film.

I rarely buy films- it usually doesn’t make any sense because I only watch them once or twice- but every time I travel I make sure to carry my copy of American Psycho with me. It’s so good that, who knows, maybe one day I’ll even read the book!

Amazon has the film for pretty cheap if you’re interested. American Psycho on DVD goes for $3.99, and if you’re lucky enough to have Blu-Ray, American Psycho on Blu-Ray goes for $14.99

Technorati Tags: 5 films for life, american psycho, club columbia dvd

Whatever your philosophy on film, they make a great way to just get away from it all.  Some of my best memories are of sitting around on a sofa watching a film with friends.  Seeing Martin Sheen drop with a huge splat of blood in front of Leonardo DiCaprio in ‘The Departed’ will always be imprinted on my mind.

Even the more annoying movies have a place in my life.  Every girlfriend I’ve ever had as tried to get me to watch ‘The Notebook’.  None have succeeded.

One of the first things I’m interested in when I meet a person is what films they like.  You can tell a lot about a person from what they choose to watch when they want to take their mind off things.  You can get a feel for their humour, their personality, their values- ask someone if they laughed throughout ‘American Psycho’ and you’ll see what I mean.

Now while I love films, today is a strange place in the industry.  With Blu-Ray, DVD, piracy, Blockbuster and Netflix all over the place it’s hard to know what’s the best way to get a movie.  Going to the cinema is getting expensive as well as annoying.  I’m one of those people who can’t watch a film with the backlight of a mobile phone shining in my face as I laugh about how Jess said that to Brian and then she was like all pissed and whatever and then oh my God you won’t believe what happened next.

I just want to watch movies.  With Club Columbia DVD I’ll lay out what has worked in my experience.  What films to see.  Which to miss.  The where, how, when and why of the DVD world.

Technorati Tags: american psycho, club columbia dvd, departed