Iron Man 3 (2013) I came out satisfied, but that’s because I went in drunk.  Drunk and with a head filled with a bad NPR review.   All that going on, all I wanted was some Boom Boom and some Yuck Yuck.  Which I got, and was happy about.   Then I sobered up and started thinking about it.  More I think about it, the worse it gets.  I was John the Baptist on the way out of the theater that this was the best of the three Iron Man films, the action’s loud and crazy, it’s got Don Cheadle instead of Hustle & Flow guy (who I never care for, Ever.  Fuck Hustle & Flow), Gweyneth Paltrow actually gets to do some action stuff, I’ve always liked Rebecca Hall, and how can you not like something Ben Kingsley’s in.  But the more I think about it, the more I find it’s not all that difficult to not like something Ben Kingsley’s in.  The motivations are supermodel-thin, I’m rather sure Guy Pearce’s character actually had No Reason Whatsoever to be a bad guy (had he just given it some time, he’d have gotten everything he wanted through entirely legal means), Tony Stark gets some vague Anxiety disorder that’s fixed Because and that, apparently, is his entire character arc this time around?  AND WHY IS THERE A BUDDY COP MOVIE WITH TONY STARK AND A KID IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS FILM? The kid did just fine, but what? Why? The entire movie is a series of Because The Plot Demands It, rather than things springing organically from each other.  More I think about it, more it turns to dust in my hand.  Thinking about this movie is the wave, and the movie itself is a shitty sand castle made by your brother, who you love deeply, but who was never very…you know, good at anything.   Damn movie swallowed Shane Black whole, while we’re at it.  Not as bad as Branagh with Thor (which I consider the worst of the Marvel Studio films, just everyone involved on autopilot), but bad enough. This one reeks of Lethal Weapon 2, where the serious/comedy balance was all out of whack, and it’s similar here, where folks are cracking wise at all the weirdest times.  You can tell he polished the dialogue, it’s smarter than anything it’s referring to in the actual film, but the story itself, the plot and characters? Either he didn’t bother working on ‘em, or he realized it just wasn’t necessary.  It was enough to not mess anything up.   I’m sure, as always, that the cast & crew worked hard on this film, and it is a big success, they should take pride in that. But as cinema? It is a machine and nothing more.  Which may be all they’re after for the “we are here to keep Marvel in your thoughts until Avengers 2” films, but damn, that’s some pathetic shit.  ”Let’s go make us a placeholder! And remember, we just have to make it not awful, gang!” That should not be the rallying cry each day they begin filming.  And yet that’s exactly what it feels like.   Grade: C+ View high resolution

Iron Man 3 (2013)

I came out satisfied, but that’s because I went in drunk. 

Drunk and with a head filled with a bad NPR review.  

All that going on, all I wanted was some Boom Boom and some Yuck Yuck.  Which I got, and was happy about.  

Then I sobered up and started thinking about it.  More I think about it, the worse it gets.  I was John the Baptist on the way out of the theater that this was the best of the three Iron Man films, the action’s loud and crazy, it’s got Don Cheadle instead of Hustle & Flow guy (who I never care for, Ever.  Fuck Hustle & Flow), Gweyneth Paltrow actually gets to do some action stuff, I’ve always liked Rebecca Hall, and how can you not like something Ben Kingsley’s in. 

But the more I think about it, the more I find it’s not all that difficult to not like something Ben Kingsley’s in.  The motivations are supermodel-thin, I’m rather sure Guy Pearce’s character actually had No Reason Whatsoever to be a bad guy (had he just given it some time, he’d have gotten everything he wanted through entirely legal means), Tony Stark gets some vague Anxiety disorder that’s fixed Because and that, apparently, is his entire character arc this time around?  AND WHY IS THERE A BUDDY COP MOVIE WITH TONY STARK AND A KID IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS FILM? The kid did just fine, but what? Why? The entire movie is a series of Because The Plot Demands It, rather than things springing organically from each other. 

More I think about it, more it turns to dust in my hand.  Thinking about this movie is the wave, and the movie itself is a shitty sand castle made by your brother, who you love deeply, but who was never very…you know, good at anything.  

Damn movie swallowed Shane Black whole, while we’re at it.  Not as bad as Branagh with Thor (which I consider the worst of the Marvel Studio films, just everyone involved on autopilot), but bad enough. This one reeks of Lethal Weapon 2, where the serious/comedy balance was all out of whack, and it’s similar here, where folks are cracking wise at all the weirdest times.  You can tell he polished the dialogue, it’s smarter than anything it’s referring to in the actual film, but the story itself, the plot and characters? Either he didn’t bother working on ‘em, or he realized it just wasn’t necessary.  It was enough to not mess anything up.  

I’m sure, as always, that the cast & crew worked hard on this film, and it is a big success, they should take pride in that.

But as cinema? It is a machine and nothing more.  Which may be all they’re after for the “we are here to keep Marvel in your thoughts until Avengers 2” films, but damn, that’s some pathetic shit.  ”Let’s go make us a placeholder! And remember, we just have to make it not awful, gang!”

That should not be the rallying cry each day they begin filming.  And yet that’s exactly what it feels like.  

Grade: C+

heyheyadi: Lou O’ Bedlam came by my studio last week to do a little shoot.  We walked around the charming neighborhood of the fashion district and he eased me into taking some portraits.   I wasn’t worried about Adi’s unease with having her picture taken, mainly because I was wondering which of the downtown folk we were walking by I’d have to stab.   Downtown LA, sure sure, they’ve got it all gentrified, got all the hipsters living in the fancy converted lofts, dropped a Ralph’s supermarket and a new-fangled Targe right in the middle of it, but I know, I know the REAL downtown.   I know that even though all we got were grins and the occasional odd glance, behind every charming piñata store is a town seething with violence.  I remember the downtown of old, where Skid Row was miles long, and you never went near the joint unless you had diamonds to sell or a transexual prostitute you wanted to buy.   Hell, my dad still goes down there for $50 suits.  YOU CAN’T TRUST A NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE YOU CAN BUY AN ALL-WHITE SUIT FOR $50, DON’T YOU SEE?  With all that on my mind, it was easy to shoot Adi.  She’s lovely and free baked cookies can’t give you as warm a feeling as chatting with her for an hour.  Her slight discomfort in front of a camera is nothing compared to sizing up every stereo salesman for that glint in the eye that tips you off to his imminent attack.   View high resolution

heyheyadi:

Lou O’ Bedlam came by my studio last week to do a little shoot.  We walked around the charming neighborhood of the fashion district and he eased me into taking some portraits.  

I wasn’t worried about Adi’s unease with having her picture taken, mainly because I was wondering which of the downtown folk we were walking by I’d have to stab.  

Downtown LA, sure sure, they’ve got it all gentrified, got all the hipsters living in the fancy converted lofts, dropped a Ralph’s supermarket and a new-fangled Targe right in the middle of it, but I know, I know the REAL downtown.  

I know that even though all we got were grins and the occasional odd glance, behind every charming piñata store is a town seething with violence.  I remember the downtown of old, where Skid Row was miles long, and you never went near the joint unless you had diamonds to sell or a transexual prostitute you wanted to buy.  

Hell, my dad still goes down there for $50 suits.  YOU CAN’T TRUST A NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE YOU CAN BUY AN ALL-WHITE SUIT FOR $50, DON’T YOU SEE? 

With all that on my mind, it was easy to shoot Adi.  She’s lovely and free baked cookies can’t give you as warm a feeling as chatting with her for an hour.  Her slight discomfort in front of a camera is nothing compared to sizing up every stereo salesman for that glint in the eye that tips you off to his imminent attack.  

(Reblogged from heyheyadi)
“
I was sure it was the last article I was ever going to do for anybody,” Thompson said in a 1974 interview with Playboy. “Then when it came out, there were massive numbers of letters, phone calls, congratulations, people calling it a ‘great breakthrough in journalism.’ And I thought, ‘Holy shit, if I can write like this and get away with it, why should I keep trying to write like the New York Times?’ It was like falling down an elevator shaft and landing in a pool full of mermaids.
Looking back at Hunter S. Thompson’s classic story about the Kentucky Derby - Grantland
Having an assistant is very helpful: “What am I doing, what’s this called? Where I make the shot all cock-eyed and the thing and with the background not being straight?” (looks at me like I’m crazy)”Dutch angle?” “Yeah, that.  I wanna do more of that.”  View high resolution

Having an assistant is very helpful:

“What am I doing, what’s this called? Where I make the shot all cock-eyed and the thing and with the background not being straight?”

(looks at me like I’m crazy)”Dutch angle?”

“Yeah, that.  I wanna do more of that.” 

“
I don’t like being manhandled, even by young women who look like something out of mythology when they’re steamed up.
Dashiell Hammett, RED HARVEST (via thoughtpeach)
(Reblogged from thoughtpeach)

Samantha Wright (photos by Kait Privitera)

(discovered via Laurenn and Meredith)

Strength is impressive.  More than that, competence is impressive.  More than that, mastery of skills is very impressive. 

And yes, physical beauty (a form that is both visibly powerful and graceful, preternaturally blue eyes) is also impressive, though not as much so, because hey, that one’s just a random gift from the god that is genetics.  

Dead lifts, gymnastics, handstands, cartwheels…some ladies I would like to meet and woo.  This lady I would like to watch Do Her Thing until the sun tipped its hat and exited the stage. 

V/H/S (2012) This one snuck up on me.  It starts off whatever, then a bit too much whatthefuck, but ends ohwhat! enough that I dug it.  The individual stories began to gather steam, first getting me used to the Found Footage approach, then bringing me into the increasingly interesting stories themselves.    None of them were Great, but by the end I noticed I’d stopped rolling my eyes and was, rather, waiting to see what happened next.   Had me interested enough to go see when the sequel comes out.  Because as annoying as Found Footage Films can be, there is an element that makes me feel closer to what’s going on, and when it’s done even halfway-right, I gotta find out how it all resolves.  Also, I love this poster. Back in the 80s, my mom had…hm, thinking back on it, my mom had an unusually high number of film nerd friends who’d have shelves and shelves of VHS tapes.  But instead of it being creepy (as it is now that I remember it WHAT THE FUCK), it was insanely cool to li’l me. All those movies, all those stories, at their fingertips whenever they wanted.  It was like Scrooge McDuck’s vault of gold coins.  MMMmmmmmmm.  Grade: B- View high resolution

V/H/S (2012)

This one snuck up on me.  It starts off whatever, then a bit too much whatthefuck, but ends ohwhat! enough that I dug it. 

The individual stories began to gather steam, first getting me used to the Found Footage approach, then bringing me into the increasingly interesting stories themselves.   

None of them were Great, but by the end I noticed I’d stopped rolling my eyes and was, rather, waiting to see what happened next.  

Had me interested enough to go see when the sequel comes out.  Because as annoying as Found Footage Films can be, there is an element that makes me feel closer to what’s going on, and when it’s done even halfway-right, I gotta find out how it all resolves. 

Also, I love this poster. Back in the 80s, my mom had…hm, thinking back on it, my mom had an unusually high number of film nerd friends who’d have shelves and shelves of VHS tapes.  But instead of it being creepy (as it is now that I remember it WHAT THE FUCK), it was insanely cool to li’l me. All those movies, all those stories, at their fingertips whenever they wanted.  It was like Scrooge McDuck’s vault of gold coins.  MMMmmmmmmm. 

Grade: B-

Jenny is far braver than I. Oh sure, I SAID I’d be glad to climb up onto that rock, BUT THAT WAS A LIE, I USED FALSEHOODS TO GET HER ONTO THE GREAT ROCK GOD OF ROCKS, TO LURE HER INTO ITS NEVER-SATED MAW.  That the Rock God of Rocks refused my tribute…well, rock gods are fickle, and I got some good photos anyway, so all’s well that ends well! View high resolution

Jenny is far braver than I. Oh sure, I SAID I’d be glad to climb up onto that rock, BUT THAT WAS A LIE, I USED FALSEHOODS TO GET HER ONTO THE GREAT ROCK GOD OF ROCKS, TO LURE HER INTO ITS NEVER-SATED MAW. 

That the Rock God of Rocks refused my tribute…well, rock gods are fickle, and I got some good photos anyway, so all’s well that ends well!

View high resolution
The Lords of Salem (2013) I know, I know, why would I bother with this.  This is Rob (House of 1000 Corpses, Halloween remake and Halloween 2 remake) Zombie.  This is the guy who took the worst parts of Gwar and made a band out of ‘em.  But he also made The Devil’s Rejects, and I enjoy the hell out of that film.  It’s a greasy burger at a diner in the middle of a shitty town, you’re expecting it to suck ass but it surprises the hell out of you by not only not being awful but actually being pretty damn tasty. (i can describe ANYTHING in burger terms) The Devil’s Rejects is a quantum leap of cinematic quality from House of 1000 Corpses.  Entertaining, visually engaging, pulpy, it’s a good ride.  It’s not The Seventh Seal or anything, but it’s delicious.   THAT’S why I watched The Lords of Salem.   It’s also why I sat through the last third of The Lords of Salem even though it had gone sour, turned into an annoying mess of cliched satanic imagery, Shining shot rip-offs and lots of old lady breasts.   Lots. It’s weird.  The set up is decent, the eerie tone Zomb…Mr. Zombie sets (I can’t refer to a man, any man, as Zombie) is effective, I was into the movie, at first. I was fine with its methodical pace, with the understated acting, with the focus on mood rather than plot.  But at the end of the night (which was a risky venture, horror before bed, I should’ve learned my lesson after Paranormal Activity 2…Nightmareville, USA) I was just shaking my head and “tsk”-ing, I think I even reprimanded the film out loud at one point.  This movie turned me into my mother.  SHAME on this movie.   Read some Rob Zombie interviews afterwards, sounds like his re-writing during shooting drowned any good story, left only weirdly ineffective “EVIL” images to get the whole thing over the finish line.   Grade: D+ View high resolution

The Lords of Salem (2013)

I know, I know, why would I bother with this.  This is Rob (House of 1000 Corpses, Halloween remake and Halloween 2 remake) Zombie.  This is the guy who took the worst parts of Gwar and made a band out of ‘em. 

But he also made The Devil’s Rejects, and I enjoy the hell out of that film.  It’s a greasy burger at a diner in the middle of a shitty town, you’re expecting it to suck ass but it surprises the hell out of you by not only not being awful but actually being pretty damn tasty.

(i can describe ANYTHING in burger terms)

The Devil’s Rejects is a quantum leap of cinematic quality from House of 1000 Corpses.  Entertaining, visually engaging, pulpy, it’s a good ride.  It’s not The Seventh Seal or anything, but it’s delicious.  

THAT’S why I watched The Lords of Salem.  

It’s also why I sat through the last third of The Lords of Salem even though it had gone sour, turned into an annoying mess of cliched satanic imagery, Shining shot rip-offs and lots of old lady breasts.  

Lots. It’s weird. 

The set up is decent, the eerie tone Zomb…Mr. Zombie sets (I can’t refer to a man, any man, as Zombie) is effective, I was into the movie, at first. I was fine with its methodical pace, with the understated acting, with the focus on mood rather than plot.  But at the end of the night (which was a risky venture, horror before bed, I should’ve learned my lesson after Paranormal Activity 2…Nightmareville, USA) I was just shaking my head and “tsk”-ing, I think I even reprimanded the film out loud at one point. 

This movie turned me into my mother.  SHAME on this movie.  

Read some Rob Zombie interviews afterwards, sounds like his re-writing during shooting drowned any good story, left only weirdly ineffective “EVIL” images to get the whole thing over the finish line.  

Grade: D+

Continuum (2012)

City Protective Services (CPS) law enforcement officer Kiera Cameron (Rachel Nichols) lives a quiet and normal life with her husband and son in 2077-eraVancouver. Under thecorporatocraticandoligarchicdystopiaof the North American “Corporate Congress”, life goes on in apparent freedom under a high-surveillance and technologically-advancedpolice state.

When a group of self-proclaimed freedom fighters known as “Liber8” escape execution by fleeing to the year 2012, Kiera is involuntarily transported with them into the past. Joining with Detective Carlos Fonnegra (Victor Webster) and theVancouver Police Department, and enlisting the help of a teenaged computer genius named Alec Sadler (Erik Knudsen), Kiera works to track down and thwart Edouard Kagame (Tony Amendola) and his followers in the present day while concealing her identity as a time-traveller from the future.

Kagame and the members of Liber8 plot to alter the past to avert the rise of what they see as a dictatorial andOrwelliancorporate regime to be stopped at all costs. Meanwhile, Kiera learns that Alec is none other than the inventor and master businessman who will rise to become the head of Sadtech, one of the mega-corporations that dominate the world in 2077.

Fighting to return home to her family, Kiera finds that her presence in 2012, and that of the members of Liber8, may be no accident at all.

What the hell is going on up in Canada? They’re making all kinds of wacky tv shows and not telling anybody! Is this legal? 

Also, isn’t this Timecop? 

Also, since when did Canada have its own tv shows???

Also, SADTECH? whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat

View high resolution
View high resolution
(Reblogged from californiahighwayparties)
gatsbymovie: Prepare for the Summer of Gatsby - in theaters May 10! Follow us on Tumblr. You had my curiosity, but now you have my need to reinvent myself and be with the woman who was denied me in my earlier incarnation.  

gatsbymovie:

Prepare for the Summer of Gatsby - in theaters May 10! Follow us on Tumblr.

You had my curiosity, but now you have my need to reinvent myself and be with the woman who was denied me in my earlier incarnation.  

(Reblogged from gatsbymovie)

Freedom - Richie Havens

My mom took me to see Richie Havens play about 20 years ago, over at McCabe’s Guitar Shop.  In addition to a fantastic set (man’s voice was captivating, just a raw heart beating in your hands), he told us to stop paying taxes, that it wasn’t in the Constitution.  

He was a folk singer, kids.  They’re wacky.  

The small audience laughed, enjoyed the set, letting his improper reading of U.S. law slide because this was the man who played Woodstock, who opened the concert with a THREE HOUR SET because many performers were late.  

I listen to this song all the time, never gets old, powerful, soulful, back of his shirt covered in sweat, playing for a crowd that was just beginning to watch the best concert ever.  

Richie Havens died today, but I’m not sad, man.  Richie Havens got to leave it all on the stage at Woodstock.  Had that been all he’d done (and it was not), he had himself a fine run.