Movie Stuff

So, maybe I mentioned it maybe I didn't, last week I bought a number of used movies from Blockbuster; Live Free or Die Hard, The Kingdom, Darjeeling Limited, and The Lookout.

All of those I'd either seen (in the case of the first two) or knew I'd like (since I love Wes Anderson), except one, The Lookout. When commercials for it first came out it was marketed as your standard throwaway action/revenge film. I'm not one for action films and so of course I dismissed the film. However, in the last little while a number of friends have recommended it, and in a movie guide I bought in Florida in Feb. the reviewer, Leonard Maltin, recommended the film as a real under appreciated film of '07 and one of the best films that year. And I'm like what?! So of course when it was $5 at BB I had to buy it.

Suffice it to say, it's one the best films I've ever seen, and it's probably the best film from '07 I've seen so far, and I've seen all the major releases. The plot is basically this (from the back of the box); Chris Pratt (Gordon-Levitt) whose once-bright future has been dimmed by a head injury is a night janitor at a bank. Lonely and frustrated Chris falls prey to a con man's seductive promise of romance and a better life and agrees to help rob the bank where he works.

While it sounds a little 'typical Hollywood' it is far from it. This is probably one of the most moving films I've seen in quite a while, and is superbly written and acted. It's quite frankly phenomenal and should not be missed by anyone who's even moderately interested in a great character study/thriller. A real 5/5 gem.

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Also woke up in a shitty mood this morning (dream about the ex, who is apparently trying to drive me crazy by popping into my head at random even though I don't want to think about her) and whenever I’m having a bad day, or am anxious, there are a number of things that I rely on to get me through it. Sometimes it’s talking with certain people, sometimes it’s music in general, or a favourite brainless movie like 40 Year Old Virgin (which I watch exclusively during panic attacks, and have probably therefore seen it about a dozen times). However, if I ever need a quick fix, and an absolute guaranteed way to pull me out of my funk, I just watch the ‘ABC’ dance scene in Clerks II. I’m not the worlds biggest Smith nerd (though I do think he’s great, even though his films stumble sometimes) but if he were to have had us wait 10+ years for Clerks II only to release this single scene I would call it the greatest film ever made. You can’t not ‘dance’, however small your motions are, along to the video and song. It’s just so damned upbeat, and bright. Not to mention everyone else in the video is dancing. I own the DVD and I still have the scene saved on my computer, and MP3 player, from YouTube. That’s how great it is, not to mention in a world full of necrophilia and beastiliaty, I find it the most shocking thing Smith has ever done. So, next time you’re feeling a little blue, check the video out. I guarantee for at the very least, you’ll be completely cured for those 4 blissful minutes.