Friday, December 4, 2009

how 'bout these for heavy films???

But first! Modern Family is simply the funniest show of the season, if not on network tv. It's bad when I can't iron while watching this show because I'm laughing so hard, the water comes spilling out of my iron and I have to put it down to laugh because I can't iron straight. Serioulsy, every single character, even the annoying husband who thinks he's Mr. Cool Dad has his moments. This is the funniest sitcom since Arrested Development and we all know how that one ended ... at least IFC is rerunning the entire series, yes, I'm tivo-ing that one too.

Californication is turning into a show that is more about Hank's witty little ghetto talkin', which is amusing, but after awhile, it seems like the show is dependent on it.

Nip/Tuck is sputtering to a close. I still think that Julian McMahon would make a fantastic Montgomery Clift.

30 Rock ... I still find Tina Fey annoying, but all the other characters, even Jane Krakowski is funny ... but I wish they would stop inventing scenes for her to sing in. That gets old. More Kenneth!!!!

Ok ... movies.

I watched Slumdog Millionaire. Ok ok ok ... yippee .. yes yes yes, it was good! But the hype machine behind it, ugh!!! It almost took on a Titanic feel. That being said, the film was wonderful! But what is it with Danny Boyle and poop? Seriously, dude has a poop fetish. In both Trainspotting and this film, the main character ends up covered in poop. In Trainspotting, a guy comes out of a toilet covered in poop so he doesn't lose his drugs ... in slumdog, the main character jumps down a toilet in order to get an autograph from a hero of his.

I guess what I liked about it was the way the story was stitched and woven together scene by scene. Each question had to do with something that happened to him and he won the girl! I loved the dance at the end.

And in my revolutionary film festival, I watched Che. Where to start with this film ... this piece of art ... well, we'll start with a criticism. Hellloooooooooo!!!!!! Belgian Congo?????? Congo????? Where was this segment of his life????

ok, this film altogether is 4.5 hours long. It was directed by Stephen Soderbergh, with whom I have a love hate film going thing with him. He makes art like this film, Bubble & Traffic, but then he makes pure crap like Erin Brokovich and Ocean's movies ... blech. But here's my biggest beef ... WHY WASN'T BENICIO DEL TORO NOMINATED FOR AN OSCAR FOR THIS FILM??? Seriously. This was a role of his career and he played it flawlessly. He doesn't speak one word of English either. The film is in Spanish.

It's split into 2 parts ... the first part takes place during the Cuban Revolution and focuses on his speech to the UN, which, again, was magnificent. You can feel any way you want about Che Guevara, but you cannot deny that this film was powerful and the performances were career making. Shoot, even Matt Damon had a cameo as a Bolivian man who didn't want Guevara's men to come to their village.

Part 2 takes place entirely in Bolivia. Again ... Congo????? Part 2 had a completely different feel from part 1. Part one, you felt like Che was in total control, but in part 2, you really see how it all falls apart and it's really sad. The fighting scenes which take place in the jungles of Bolivia are incredibly realistic. But the most masterful scene of the film was his execution. Masterful in a sense that I've never seen an execution filmed in such a way. It's like the executioner is shooting the audience. There's such a sense of finality in that scene ... it sounds corny, but it's true ... it was truly over. The film was over, Che was over, the revolution was over. This is easily in my top 10 films of all time.

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