I went to see the War of the Worlds last night with Lieza. Scared the stuffins out of me.
BUT! . . . . .
I was just wondering why H. G. Wells didn’t have the aliens that wanted our world so much just take earth way back when they put all those Tripods underground millions of years ago when only sticks and stone would break their bones?
They spent billions of their own money on such an undertaking (let it sit un-invested for millions of earth years). If they had simply invested that money, they would have owned earth lock stock and barrel by now. Free and clear, titled, deeded and theirs.
So I disagree with the guy that went nuts (and Tom Cruise, bless his heart and cock, had to shut the door before he killed him to keep the PG rating) that said it was an extermination.
I think they had set this ole Earth up as a hunting preserve. I bet all the helmet headed creatures had each paid huge bucks to come hunt us, shoot the shit out of everything, and go home with trophies.
Kind of like catching yellow-fever and sleeping-sickness when you go to Africa to hunt Water Buffalo and Springboks.
I have seen things die in strange ways before, but never had to watch their bum open and disgorge their final meals!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
2 comments:
I would like to contribute my movies that I have enjoyed. I love movies a lot. I mean I spend more than I make on movies.
1. SECRETARY: Stars MAGGIE GYLLENHALL, JAMES SPADER. A young woman with low self-esteem and an estranged home life answers an ad for a secretarial position to a businessman with an equally eccentric penchant for corporal punishment, OCD, and B&D.
But instead of painting a bleak and bizarre picture of this lifestyle it becomes an uplifting, redemptive experience for the boss and the secretary.
For the inquistive-minded seeking an introductory primer on the genesis of B&D, I think that SECRETARY is a mildly palatable peek at the lifestyle. I highly recommend it.
2: THE PUNISHMENT OF ANN aka THE IMAGE. Directed by RADLEY METZGER. Starring MARY MENDUM, CARL PARKER, and MARILYN ROBERTS.
First, homage must be paid to avant-garde, visionary director RADLEY METZGER, who had his finger on the pulse of 1960-1970 sexual liberation with such titilating features as TERESA AND ISABELLE, ALLEY CATS, METZGER pushed the envelope to film the most provocative and unsettling portrayal of a suburban woman who submits willingly to a 40ish urbane dominant couple.
Unflinching in its stark realism and restored with all of the unedited material intact, it is a visceral depiction of public humiliation, bondage, submission and an yearning to belong and experience.
I've heard about this movie for a long time and I've been a fan of Mr. METZGER. Initially, I bought this DVD because of the appearance of BRIGITTE LAHAIE, who is a FRENCH pornstar from the golden age of porn. She is a statuesque dirty-blonde with C-cup luscious breassts that are to die for. Ms LAHAIE now enjoys a booming career as a sexpert, author, and host.
But alas, she wasn't in the movie. But I was surprised, nonetheless, at the profoundly shocking, yet, memorably arousing film of unadulterated blissful carnality. I highly recommend this film. I am so enamored by this movie but it is not for everyone.
3. MY MOTHER (MA MERE). Starring the incomparable French grande dame ISABELLE HUPPERT (well, there are some others Madame CATHERINE DENEUVE, Mlle. EMMANUELLE BEART, and Mlle. SOPHIE MARCEAU) But Madame HUPPERT has churned out some sleeper gems in her roster.
MA MERE is loosely based on a novella written by a French poet/philosopher named GEORGES BATAILLE who advocated generally a hedonistic philosophy, among other complicated ideas.
HUPPERT plays the title mother who perpetuates an atmosphere of licentious carnality. She encourages the incestuous yearnings of her grown son.
HUPPERT is a bored, urbane and amoral, yet, emotionally removed from the nurturing maternal instincts of a mother who is grounded. While the son (LOUIS GARREL) begins to question their hedonism he sees the willful degradation of a young female submissive (EMMA DE CAUNES) a gorgeous lithe blonde bombshell of a newcomer begins the slow and inexorable spiraling of their lives tearing apart.
Strange how something so seemingly enjoyable and freeing can be the very seed of that destruction. This movie was sensationalized because of the S&M scenes, the debauchery, exhibitionism, and of course B&D. But it goes beyond that for me. Some critics point out the salacious nature of the movie but I think Americans tend to identify that aspect of our society that cannot be freely expressed without constitutional protections, namely our sexuality, and that makes us uncomfortable. Just for that I like this movie.
3. THE MONKEY'S MASK.Starring KELLY MCGILLIS, SUSIE PORTER. Monkey reintroduces the lovely sex symbol MCGILLIS. We all recognize the role that made her famous. About her Amish role, and as JODIE FOSTER's attorney but then she dropped off from Hollywoodland. In this 2002 Australian film McGillis is the sultry suspect in a strange murder of a young latchkey kid in the grungy underground of sexual revisionism. McGillis is a professor who seduces the young women for her own sexual deviance. This film has an undertone of S&M that is interesting.
4. I LOVE YOU TOO. Starring ANGELA SCHIJF,ANTONIE KAMERLING.A Dutch film involving the actors as BF and GF. A chance meeting between the devout KAMERLING and the bewitching SCHIJF, after a broken relationship pulls KAMERLING into a dangerous world of obsession and posession. The girl cannot hide her anger and annoyance at the guy's interludes or innocent contacts with other girls and she will stop at nothing to posess him. Available for her and for her only to the point of exhaustion and insanity.
5.QUIET DAYS IN CLICHY. A novel by the controversial American author HENRY MILLER as he is driven out of America by the authorities only to land in Paris where there is a large expatriate American literature community. This film details in proabable truth the sexual romps of HENRY MILLER.This is before he meets ANAIS NIN who would later become instrumental in searing his name and books into the American psyche. Bawdy and roguish it is an unapologetic adventure of a kid in a carnal candy store.
6. HENRY AND JUNE. Starring FRED WARD, MARIA DE MEDEIROS, and UMMA THURMAN. The first movie ever to receive what at the time was a brand new rating of NC-17 (not for children under 17) based on this rating alone the film generated interest. Details Henry Miller's most significant event of his entire career, that of meeting literati's luminary of sexual freedom and openness, Madame ANAIS NIN. Miller is a sometime, inconsistent writer riding the wave of the ban of his books and interested more in the pleasures of the flesh than caring about his imminent legacy. That is where Madame Nin's intervention and shepherding, let alone her amourous fawning grew into an I love you/hate you need and disdain of each other that would last their entire lives.
I saw a photo of Madame Nin and the lovely Portuguese actress almost singlehandedly put the film at the top of the erotica heap. Ms MADEIROS does have the remarkable likeness of Madame Nin. Gorgeous sceneries, true tempestuous ardor, attention to the period, and Ms MADEIROS' lovely accent just makes this a must have film.
7. AGES OF LULU. Directed by Spanish director BIGAS LUNAS. A sheltered Catholic girl is seduced into the netherworld of submission and B&D. She is slowly revealed as a new person enjoying the new sensations (at first because of her BF) but later through sheer enjoyment. Simultaneously, she has an alternate life that her conservative family does not know of and it is the difficulties of being a good Catholic girl and the pleasures gained in the netherworld that is her fight.
8. DOOR IN THE FLOOR. Starring JEFF BRIDGES, KIM BASINGER, JON FOSTER. Based on the book by CIDER HOUSE RULES author, JOHN IRVING, this film is an unsettling examination of history repeating itself and a crumbling marriage. Unbeknownst to the young asssitant who is hired to help a local celebrity children book author BRIDGES, the young man is the epicenter of a long running catatonia and despondence seen through the husband and wife.
Because of a tragic accident the parents cannot let go of their apparent responsibility or lack thereof and dive headlong into things taboo all to the destruction of a marriage that was struggling to survive. Very good.
9. SIDEWAYS. Starring THOMAS HAYDEN CHURCH, VIRGINIA MADSEN, SANDRA OH, and PAUL GIANATTI. Two buddies with nothing left to do decide to go on a wine tasting tour of Napa Valley. Along the way in this darkly comical, hilarious film about friendship and love the buddies meet OH and MADSEN and together they hook-up, separate and hook-up again. Only to find the road-trip reveals certain human truths about everyone inovlved. I didn't know that wine was such a truth serum. I best not drink any before I strip bare the cleverly hidden. Great movie. I read that MADSEN was near the breaking point before she got the role that would put her back on the pedestal among the stellar company of her peers. And to think of what kind of movies her brother Michael does. It makes you think, doesn't it?
10. FLIRTING. Starring a very young cast including THANDIE NEWTON, NICOLE KIDMAN, NOAH TAYLOR, and NAOMI WATTS. An Australian film detailing the travails and the sometime unsettling jabs and slanders of youth in a boys and girls boarding school.
The politics of the separate boarding schools is upset by the arrival of an African student and the small struggles of a non-conformist boy who has yet to find his footing in the machismo of rugby football. All of the principals later re-examine just what is most important to them and what they do hold dear is not all that important as a scadal unfurls as the non-conformist and the outsider meet. Lovely movie. Had it for a long time. I highly recommend it.
11. THE RED CHERRY. A Chinese film based on real accounts of a young girl uprooted from her home because of the Japanese invasion of China and sent to the Soviet Union during WWII. The danger in watching a Chinese film is often the propagandistic basis of the film and not any artistic or professional merit. But I find RED CHERRY to be that but much more.
It is a harrowing experience lived by a young girl in a foreign land forced to make changes against her will while simultaneously attempting to survive the Nazi invasion of Western Russia. The inherent barbarity, while evident, is not overly examined here. Rather, what is examined is the interest of the Nazis in the occult and the assorted beliefs of the Nazis.Yes, there are harrowing moments of survival, I suppose itinerant in most WWII films but in RED CHERRY there is a fetishistic basis to the film. The Chinese girl is forced to undergo an unwanted operation which labels her for the rest of her life. It is a tale of survival.
12. LIES. A Korean film that was immediately banned in that country because of its overt sexuality and taboo subject matter.The story is directed by a first-time director and first-time actors with much of the footage secretly filmed and smuggled out of Korea.
The story centers on an illicit affair between an 18-year old student and a 35-year old man. From the very start, the relationship devolves into a S&M themed film with amazing candor and frankness not normally found in any Korean film.
There is the bamboo and cane thrashings, mutual whippings and degradation, and unusual sex. It ran afoul of the Korean film board but it is now a cult classic.
13. IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES. Based on a sensationally real event in 1930's Japan where a disgraced geisha is arrested holding a bleeding penis. The story is of obsessive love (no, fucking ad infinitum). So much sex that it is basically a one-room play. An interaction of monumental proportions.
A disowned girl is forced to become a prostitute to support herself in 1930's Japan. Finding security and love from a wealthy lord, she demands upon pain of death the total posession and loyalty of her master body and soul. In this binding flesh contract the couple pursues a kind of relationship that can only be described as loving. They live a frugal existence and spend all of their earnings on food and sensual pleasures. Truly a wonder.
14. BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM. Directed by Gurinder Chadha, a director with a knack of assimilating Indian pop culture into British culture. Starring Parminder Nagra (the actor who plays a doctor on ER as Neela Rasgotra, and was born in UK), Keira Knightley (Pirates of the Caribbean) and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers (MI III).
BEND IT is a girl's homage to the greatest footballer in modern UK sport memory, David Beckham. Beckham does not make an appearance in the film but Beckham is the titular inspiration for this Indian girl who suffocates under the traditional demands to conform to Indian ways. It is a story of fitting in as well. Although being an Indian girl playing football is an obstacle seemingly uncrossable she manages to do just that with the help of KNIGHTLEY's sponsorship and the football coach's support. It is a fun movie to watch.
15. LA BELLE NOISEUSE (THE BEAUTIFUL ANNOYANCE)Stars EMMANUELLE BEART, MICHEL PICOLI, and JANE BIRKIN et al.
About a formerly great painter uninterested in painting again because he hasn't the right muse and he is afraid of the reception. He is introduced to a young woman (BEART) who is petulant, pouty, and uppity. Initially, unreceptive to being a muse and being a painter, they eventually find a rhythm and cautiously revere each other.
Gradually, they grow fond of each other and they mutually support one another. Great movie with EMMANUELLE BEART sans clothing for most of the movie. No redeeming reason otherwise than to admire her flawless beauty. Can you blame me?
COROLLARY TO THE FIRST LIST:
16. XUI-XUI: THE SENT DOWN GIRL: Stars LU LU and LOPSANG. Directed by JOAN CHEN. Everyone knows JOAN CHEN from THE LAST EMPEROR, THE HUNTED, and the AK movie starring STEVEN SEGALL. The name escapes me. While in my opinion she is a fair actress regrettably choosing uneventful films with the exception of EMPEROR, she is a remarkable director.
Remarkable because XIU-XIU (pronounced SHI-SHI) was her debut film. Predictably, the film was banned because of political overtones unfriendly to the communist state and sexual content. Secretly filmed inside the China (ostensibly aided I suppose by those officials and actors who were told only half-truths).
XIU-XIU is based on a novella recounting true events of aforementioned young girl who unknowingly signs on to become a member of a Girls Youth Brigade during the period between the late 1960's and 1975. During this period of the Cultural Revolution, the people were never told of the true intent or purpose of the programs of the Revolution. As if the Party is more honest and open today. Ha!!!
XIU-XIU signs on and is sent to the hinterlands bordering Tibet, a region that needed to be populated and settled. Ostensibly to become a horse herder, she instead becomes a de facto wife to a quiet, unassuming, lonely Tibetan horse herder/breeder.
Expecting to be relieved of her duties she slowly realizes that nothing of the kind will happen. So she becomes a prostitute to pass her time all the while believing the lies of the bureaucrats aid and rescue.
In the meantime, the Tibetan and Xiu-Xiu form a grudging friendship and comfort level that will put them to the test portenting of a last heroic act that will both surprise and sadden. Truly remarkable product.
17. EMMANUELLE: JOYS OF A WOMAN 2. Starring SYLVIA KRISTEL, UMBERTO ORSINI, LAURA GEMSER et al.
Need I say more? I truly loved this film. But one of the most surprising thing about it is the lovely score. It is both soothing and melodic. Also, the sequel is the better of the five or six original Emmanuelle's that Sylvia Kristel is credited as appearing in. You can tell the entire budget ballooned for the sequel. I'm sure the sequel has made more money, too.
Sylvia again titilates and teases as she has always done but the location is changed from Thailand to Hong Kong. I can sense the libertine aura of the 1970's in this film. It's great and Sylvia never looked better. Reportedly, she has written an autobiography of her sexpot image. But no matter what else she does, she will always be forever known for this movie.
18. DODGEBALL. Starring BEN STILLER, VINCE VAUGHN, and Ben's wife.
Hilarious beyond comparison is all that I have to say. It wouldn't be a trademark Ben Stiller movie if he did not take ordinary subject matter and allow the rest of us to savor victory but in a way that only Ben Stiller can bring it. Somehow playing the loveable, clueless loser has always worked for him gaining more and more fans.
19. THE COOLER. Starring MARIA BELLO, WM MACY, and ALEC BALDWIN
MACY is THE COOLER. A man with an unenviable propensity to be miserably unlucky. So unlucky, in fact,that he is hired by old-school casino hood, BALDWIN to dispense MACY's unlucky streak, therby cooling the winning streak of the patrons saving money for Baldwin.
Everybody has a story to tell when they come to Vegas. Just like California. And the two places aren't all that different. Meeting such a waiter, Macy begins to change his losing streak. All to his detriment. They make it out alive.
I appreciated the miserable solemnity of both characters. How they needed each other symbiotically feeding off of each other. Both knowing that somehow there was a greater good that neither of them were aware of on their own or painfully unable to uncover on their own. That left to their own devices they would not survive.
How endearing is that? In Sin City where one can cave into their vices and never acknowledge reality, there is truth out there to found after all.
We all search more diligently than others for that one special person. Some of us are more successful than the rest. What about you?
20. A TAXING WOMAN. Directed by JUZO ITAMI. Starring NOBUKO MIYAMOTO (ITAMI's wife), RENTARO MIKUNI, and TORU MASUOKA.
JUZO ITAMI is Japan's most famous slice-of-life director. His films have been the highest grossing films in Japan partly because of the credibility of his actress wife. He tackles real issues but in a light-hearted way. His films have been such an effective forum of public discourse that the Yakuza has reportedly threatened his life for one of his other favorite films MINBO. ITAMI reportedly committed suicide after an affair was discovered by falling.
A TAXING WOMAN tells of a story of a female revenue agent who fights against the testosterone laden bureaucracy only to find herself one of the boys and very adept and resourceful.
The taxes in Japan are very high with land prices soaring through the roof and business taxes unmanageable for many citizens. Paying taxes is such an onerous task that many Japanese find inventive and sly ways of hiding their income.
The female agent is new to the job but has already proven that she can play ball. Soon she is promoted to investigate the incomes of the Yakuza who are hiding their income in sex hotels and other fronts. Using her intuition she sidles up to the Yakuza boss and convinces him to do the right thing. The agent is diminutive and unassuming all pretenses she uses to get the job done. This is a funny look into the often tedious, number crunching world of the revenue agent. A thankless job indeed. Highly recommended.
Post a Comment