He's very hit or miss with me. Total Recall and The Fourth Man are really good and Showgirls and Hollow Man are utter trash so he really runs the gamut
not even talking about the quality of his films - they're certainly influential and artistically innovative - but like Hollow Man actively participated in its sexual victimization of women and i seem to recall some of his other films similarly dealing less with sexuality (which his films do examine) and more with exploitation
Showgirls is great, but Starship Troopers is one of the greatest films of all time. It is required viewing at least once a year, and it still loses nothing. In fact, it only becomes more resonant over time, and I suspect watching it in the age of Trump will reveal more connections between media fanaticism and the human desire for authority.
Dog Eat Dog is a totally unhinged crime film with multiple references to Taylor Swift and Nicolas Cage doing a Humphrey Bogart impression. I recommend it.
It's that time of year guys: Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas: 6/10 Christmas with the Kranks: 4/10 Starting things off slow
The Skeleton Twins isn't very funny. I liked it anyway, though. Between this and Welcome to Me, I really like this side of Kristen Wiig and I hope she does these kinds of movies more often. I couldn't stand the little I saw of Bridesmaids and she's pretty forgettable in her supporting roles (more so because they're supporting roles. You don't really think of Kristen Wiig when you think Adventureland or The Secret Life of Walter Mitty). I don't watch SNL, so I don't know her from that.
Macgruber is all my friends have talked about for the last 6 years and the its why ive stayed friends with them
The scene where the guy from Cruel Intentions dances around naked with the vegetable is arguably the greatest pure comedic scene of the century.
My brother said of The Skeleton Twins, "All the funny parts are in the trailer." I haven't seen the movies @Your Milkshake mentioned, but I don't think Wiig is the main character in any of those? --- Anyway, I forgot to mention, I also saw Moana yesterday. As a film about API culture, I am aware that Maui's character is a bit controversial. I'm not Pacific Islander myself, but I am Asian American, so fwiw, I thought the movie did a good job of representing the culture, joining the likes of Mulan and Lilo and Stitch (and to a lesser extent, Big Hero 6). I like how these films don't have romance at the forefront, if it's even there at all. In terms of Disney Princess films, while Moana isn't as fun as Tangled, it does get more emotional. I thought Tangled was underrated and Frozen was overhyped. But, like Frozen, Moana is more about family than about romance, so that's a plus. (While I enjoyed the live-action Cinderella, I have mixed feelings about it and the upcoming Beauty and the Beast adaptation, how this revamping of old narratives kind of goes against this trend among new princesses who aren't all about getting the guy being the happily ever after.) One thing Moana does have over Frozen is that a lot of the music actually sounds like it comes from the time and place of the story. Comparing it to other recent Disney films, since Moana takes place in nature (much of the action happening on a boat), it's very visually pleasing throughout, whereas Wreck-it Ralph and Zootopia, as fun as they are, can at times become sensory overload with just how much is taking place on screen. Moana is a complete and total badass. I love that she's so brave even when she's scared out of her mind and feeling unsure of herself. I also love that her motivations are two-fold, doing what's best for the people of her village as well as following her dreams of exploring the ocean. Maui is kind of a jerk and full of himself at first, but, as you could probably guess, he does redeem himself by the end. He's definitely a very charismatic character and so fun to watch. The grandmother character was perhaps the most surprising. I was for some reason expecting to see more of the pig than the chicken, but I think the chicken did a fine job of providing that comic relief animal characters are known for. The ocean itself as a character was a nice touch. I did guess correctly pretty early on that Ta Ka was actually Ta Hiti without her heart, but that didn't take away from how emotionally impactful (and visually stunning) the revelation was. All in all, Moana was everything I wanted it to be. I'm hoping this catapults Auli'i into a long and successful career. --- I've been collecting DVDs of my favorite movies (I usually get them for ~$5 each or less, sometimes used), but recently, I started buying DVDs of movies I haven't seen: Children of Men and Eastern Promises, which I've heard were really good. Also, The Spectacular Now, The Fault in Our Stars, The Duff, and The Breakfast Club, really going for that teen movie thing we were talking about. (I know, I know, "OMG YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE BREAKFAST CLUB?!?!") Really looking forward to watching all of these.