Oh Yeah...

Film/TV:
The Game Plan(dir. Andy Fickman)[rewatch]
I will continue to champion The Rock's performance until another rewatch convinces me that it's not one of the most entertaining performances of last year, but during this viewing, I actually started to become emotionally involved with this story more than I would have liked to the point that I almost started to cry at given moments. Nothing profoundly depressing really happens, but father-offspring relationships in film, when done well, often have a tendency of getting me emotional beyond belief. The last time I ever cried at a movie was Flags of Our Fathers because of some of the father-son relationship moments, but that was actually understandable. This, he just gets the kid taken away and predictably gets her back, but there's something about this film that I found profoundly touching and heartwarming about its view on familial relationships and how we should cherish these relationships more often. It's not exactly a new message, but the way The Rock and company handle it is most definitely heartfelt and that's all that really matters in my eyes. It does stumble with some of it's comedic moments because it's a fucking PG-rated Disney film with The Rock in it, but The Rock's ability to elicit laughs through what I assume is purposeful hammy delivery of some of his lines like the soon-to-be-legendary "#1 on the field and #1 in your heart" catchphrase his character constantly recites and his genius facial expressions makes it a performance worth cherishing and once, the film turns somewhat serious, his performance actually improves immensely. It's this adaptive element to his performance that makes it fascinating and what I deem more interesting than DDL's in There Will Be Blood. This movie definitely puts the heart at #1 and the mind at maybe #532, but in a way, I think it's some sort of family film masterpiece because of it. It's not considered a guilty pleasure by me any longer. I wholeheartedly recommend.
*** out of ****
Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Volume 2[TV]
When I was watching one of the new episodes recently, it donned on me: Aqua Teen Hunger Force is my favorite TV show. Sure, there are other shows that have vied for this position like Curb Your Enthusiasm, Seinfeld, and some other sitcoms, but this is the show that consistently amazes me with its bizarre artistry and happens to make me laugh more often than any of those others shows. It has had its ups and downs like any other show and this season had some lows like the surprisingly lame and tame Super Trivia and the obligatory obnoxious episode with MC Chris's MC Pee Pants character, but for 13 episodes, this season is the pinnacle of television comedy that opens and closes with a bang. With great episodes like Mail Order Bride, Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past from the Future, Super Squatter, Super Bowl, and the list goes on, it's hard not to regard this a masterpiece of television art and entertainment.
**** out of ****
The Hunting Party(dir. Richard Shepard)
A film so satisfied with itself that if it was able to suck it's own dick, it would very well do so and afterwards, start making fun of itself for doing so. The film's deconstructive elements don't come off as witty and clever like the filmmakers probably thought they would, but come off as a depressing form of preemptive defense to criticism. You could imagine one of the individuals involved in the production responding to criticism with, "Well, didn't you see the title cards that show that the film is aware that it's not honest and truthful?" In the film's realm of logic, a woman would pride herself for being gang raped for hours at a time to the point that she gives out this information as a display of authority over our central protagonists who are journalists portrayed as adrenaline junkies that find some sort of sick satisfaction out of being around death and war until one of the bitches they were banging turns up dead because of this bad dude's ethnic cleansing campaign. The proceedings are watchable to a degree, but you have to wonder what the fuck were the people making this thinking? The protagonists are as smug as the filmmakers so it's hard to really give a shit about any of them and probably the most infuriating aspect of the film is a title card at the end that puts quotations around searching in a sentence similar to "The U.S. are probably busy 'searching' for Osama bin Laden." I'm fine with people criticizing the U.S., but the image of the director patting himself on the back for being such an awesome rebel rouser is simply inescapable. Fuck you Richard Shepard and fuck your film.
*1/2 out of ****
Blue Velvet(dir. David Lynch)
Usually, I go out of my way not to look at the reviews on the Blockbuster Online site not because I might be influenced and steal someone's ideas for these reviews, but because they're usually so goddamn stupid that it simply astounds me that there's people out there that actually write those horrible reviews. A lot of the users on there wrote about how this film was too weird and I'm properly in the minority that thought it wasn't weird enough at least in relation to Lynch's current output. I just find it difficult to regard this film in a very positive light knowing that he made what I feel are much better films. This whole muckraking theme of digging up the dirty little secrets in suburbia is not an exactly profound one and Frank Booth is such a stereotypically evil dude that he even have lackeys that cackle a bunch. Most interesting aspect of this story is the character of Dorothy, but the film doesn't focus on her all that much at least in comparison to Jeffrey and Sandy that are so golly gee wholesome that they verge on parody. I still enjoyed the film and there's a technique that is employed near the end that makes it seem like we're not supposed to buy into the ending too much so maybe a rewatch would start to unveil something resembling a masterpiece. The ending, while maybe a little too pat, is mainly noteworthy for its final shot of Isabella Rosselini hugging her son and the music of Blue Velvet playing hinting that she will never be able to forget all the abuse that Frank has put her through. It starts to make you question the film as a whole and provides a lot of food for thought that was severely missing in the rest of the picture. I slightly recommend.
**1/2 out of ****
The Brave One(dir. Neil Jordan)
It wasn't as godawful as I was expecting and it remains ultimately watchable throughout, but it just feels so bland and most of all unnecessary that I simply can't recommend it. In a world with Ms .45, I have no idea why I would recommend this. A scene from the film even reminded me of a scene from another Abel Ferrara film, King of New York, with the two black hoods approaching and harassing Foster's character on a subway, but the result is predictable and dull, while the result in King of New York was slightly ridiculous yet totally awesome. This film also leaves really no interpretation for the viewer as it questions its protagonist's actions rather bluntly and a call-in radio session that provides all sorts of angles for this situation for the viewer in probably the most asinine way imaginable. Its not a painful watch or anything, but it's hard to imagine having a desire to watch it ever again or remembering it at all in the coming weeks. It was mediocre.
** out of ****
Music:
Drive-By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark
** out of ****
Against Me! - New Wave
**1/2 out of ****
Blonde Redhead - 23
**1/2 out of ****