Idiosyncratic and Inappropriate

My quest for all of Charlie Kaufman’s work ends here with Human Nature, his first follow up to Being John Malkovich. This film certainly has his usual creativity and unusual premise, but it lacks a certain something that his other films seem to have. 

This 2001 film is directed by Michael Gondry and stars Tim Robbins as Nathan Bronfman, a scientist who is trying to bring an uncivilized wildman, Puff (played by Rhys Ifans), to become a proper gentleman. At the same time, he’s also trapped in a love triangle between his French assistant (Miranda Otto) and his girlfriend, Lila Jute (played by Patricia Arquette). Did I mention that Lila is covered in hair like a monkey? Or that the whole film is told from Tim Robbins’ character in Purgatory, Rhys Ifans’ character in front of a jury, and Patricia Arquette’s character from a prison interrogation room? Like I said, classic Kaufman.

The film is certainly charming, it’s totally different from anything I’ve ever seen before, which is to be expected from Kaufman’s work, but it lacks a certain thing that his other films have. I just haven’t been able to put my finger on it. The plot isn’t as engaging, the  premise is so out there that maybe it isn’t as intriguing, I’m not sure what it is. It’s a totally fun watch, and the acting is great, and the twists and turns are fantastic, but this is definitely my least favorite of his movies.

I like the relationship and the internal and external conflict of suppressing animalistic nature that Tim Robbins’ character struggles with. I didn’t dislike anything about this movie at all. I just think that when compared to his other films (which, admittedly, isn’t fair) it doesn’t hold up as well. 

The movie definitely shows that it was made over ten years ago too, look no further than the CGI mice. 

I am a big fan of the first Men in Black. It came out in 1997, and I have a very vivid memory of my father taking me to see it (me, at the ripe old age of 5) and I remember telling him, “If it gets too scary you’ll have to hold my hand.” 

Fuck you, that’s a touching father/son moment.

Anyway, the second one was okay. I didn’t think it was bad, in fact, as far as sequels go, it’s a pretty good way to do it. But this third installment? Well…

This 2012 movie stars Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones (barely) with Josh Brolin playing a younger version of Jones’ “K.” Jermaine Clement also stars as the movie’s Macho Man Randy Savage-looking villain who starts all of this. Smith has to go back in time to 1969 in order to save K from the villain who went back in time to erase him from history.

Tommy Lee Jones has been seemingly phoning in every performance since No Country for Old Men. Captain America, Men in Black 3? He’s putting in a really half-assed hollow effort into all of these roles and just playing a grizzled old man over and over again. To be fair, he’s only in this movie for maybe fifteen minutes tops. Brolin takes all of his screen time. It doesn’t seem like Tommy Lee enjoys doing this anymore. It seems like he’s bored. And it’s a real shame because it shows.

The villain is really stereotypical and cliche. There’s very little explanation for his alien species (like…y’know, what the fuck was that thing in his hand?) and his motivation in the 60s is the same as every other alien in MIB trilogy. Why do so many aliens just want to take over Earth over and over again?

The worst thing about this movie is the ending. The ending of the first movie was touching, somewhat sad, and fulfilling. Then they made all of that go away when they un-mind wiped K in the second one. And with this one? It’s all too fucking convenient of a plot to make the whole series tie together when it was really fine the way it was. There’s also no mention of K’s wife in this one, in favor for a British woman.

The tone is off too, it doesn’t follow the typical MIB thing. Since it’s the 60s it doesn’t have that dark and gloomy tone that the rest of the movies had before. It makes it seem strange. The 60s is a totally fun time for this movie, and little things (like Andy Warhol, and even more genius, playing “I’m Waiting for the Man” in the background) are really satisfying and awesome. But overall, I didn’t feel like it was taken as far as it should have.

The movie is played out. Smith having the run in with two police officers and doing his usual smarmy thing is not nearly as fun or enchanting as it was when he was a kid. Now he’s old as fuck and you can’t help but think, “You should really know better…” I really hope that it’s the last installment to cap off this series. They left it with a Lifetime movie ending that was just way too cheesy.

I’m well aware that my general audience of readers are those that are between the ages of 12-15 year old girls, so it wouldn’t surprise me if none of you have ever even heard of this movie. Well, like most great things that you’ve never heard of, this is a cult film. It’s gathered quite a loyal following of people, and it’s from the 80s. It also just got added to Netflix Instant Stream, so check it out there. I recommend seeing it.

This 1984 flick is a really weird mix of science fiction-action-comedy-satire that stars Peter Weller as the titular, Buckaroo Banzai. John Lithgow plays Dr. Emilio Lizardo, Ellen Barkin plays Penny Priddy, Christopher Lloyd plays John Bigbooté, Clancy Brown and Jeff Goldblum also star as two members of Buckaroo’s gang, Rawhide and New Jersey, respectively. To understand this movie, you have to understand that it doesn’t give a shit about you as a viewer, and you are expected to jump in and keep up or to get the fuck out.

It has a really long and complex backstory that you piece together throughout the flick itself. Other than reading the plot online, I don’t think you could possibly go into this knowing the history of Buckaroo Banzai. It’s kind of like picking up a random issue of X-Men and reading it and hopping into whatever storyline or villain they’re trying to fight. You know that there’s stuff you’re not getting, but you get the general idea of it. After several viewings, the whole story should come together nicely.

It’s also a super 80s movie. It’s to be expected, as this was the era it was produced in. The technology, the outfits, the ideas, it’s totally 80s. And the music, oh goodness, the beautiful music. It’s the greatest score ever. The end sequence is heavenly. Watch through the whole credits (as if you wouldn’t anyway).

This is just a fun, silly, cool movie that is so awesome it doesn’t need to explain itself. It’s so weird and untraditional in every way, and is unlike any movie that I’ve seen since. Every time you think you know what’s happening or you catch on to something, it changes or throws something else in there. Like I said, this is a multiple viewing type of film.

The acting is so strange and Lithgow’s performance alone should get you to see it. But then you’ve got the added neurotic behavior of Goldblum, a Southern Clancy Brown, and a badass Peter Weller, in his coolest role other than RoboCop. I couldn’t imagine a stranger movie that I could enjoy as much.

Continuing on my mission to see all of Charlie Kaufman’s films, I arrive here, with Synecdoche, New York, his directorial debut. This movie was produced in 2008 and was also written by him, and is rather…ambitious. There’s a lot to this movie. There’s a lot of themes, a lot of symbolism, and a lot of ideas all crammed into one big long movie. It’s overwhelming at times, and when you reach the end, you look back on everything that happened, and wonder how it got on such a weird path. But that’s kind of like life, isn’t it?

I enjoyed this film quite a bit, I thought that it was extremely well acted. Phillip Seymour Hoffman stars as Caden Cotard, a playwright who finds himself in increasingly more of a strenuous relationship with his wife, played by Catherine Keener. The two of them separate and Caden receives an unexpected grant allowing him to produce his magnum opus. As he continues on with his life, more women enter the picture and he throws himself deeper and deeper into his work, eventually living exclusively in the fictionalized version of the world he created.

This movie, like all of Kaufman’s scripts, is incredibly unique and fascinating to watch. The plot moves through such different phases and has such creative ideas. Even something like a play within a movie is taken above and beyond anything else that’s ever been done in cinema with this film. The names of characters, the things they do, it’s all connected to something even bigger. It’s a refreshingly intelligent story.

The theme I found the most intriguing was probably the struggle between life and death, how we’re all essentially dead/dying at all times. I loved the madness and motivation behind an artist’s work. The inadequacies of Caden and the crazy things it makes him do. It’s a really cool thing to watch. The movie hits a certain point and just jumps off into something I’ve never seen before.

I would absolutely recommend you to go see this movie, my only advice is that you pay very close attention. At times, and with the rotating cast, it gets very hard to keep up. But if you’re able to follow the complex plot and the unique story, you’ll be rewarded with a film that’s unlike anything else you’ve ever seen before. In a lot of ways, this is more of a play than a film, but that makes sense once you see what happens.

If you just read the Wikipedia page for this movie you’ll see that it went through about a million and one directors and leads attached before it was finally made. Johnny Depp, Bryan Singer, Russell Crowe, Kevin Spacey, Edward Norton, Sean Penn, David Fincher, Sam Mendes, and Darren Aronofsky have all been involved with this at one point and time. This movie actually extends so far back that Richard Dreyfuss was offered the part back in the 80s. 

But it was made with George Clooney as director and Sam Rockwell as the lead, Chuck Barris. And I don’t think it could have been better.

This 2002 biographical spy film follows the real life of game show creator, host, and sometime (alleged) spy, Chuck Barris, based on his personal memoirs. Julia Roberts co-stars as a fellow spy and George Clooney is Rockwell’s connection to the CIA. Drew Barrymore is his girlfriend and eventual wife and Maggie Gyllenhaal has a brief role as a girl he has sex with. There are some quick cameos if you’re looking of Brad Pitt and Matt Damon.

One of the most interesting choices that the movie makes is including real life interviews with the people involved in Barris’ life. Dick Clark, Jim Lange, Murray Langston, Jaye P. Morgan, and Gene Gene the Dancing Machine sit down and talk about Barris’ personal life and their own interweaving part of his story. They’re brutally honest, they don’t hold anything back, and Jaye P. Morgan goes so far as to call him a prick. Even though this story gets incredibly unbelievable at certain points, the grounded real-life characters help lend some credibility to the whole thing. The eventual conclusion of Barris himself really brings the whole thing full circle.

Sam Rockwell is up to his usual antics of the charismatic sleaze who dances when there’s nothing else left to do. He really inhabits his characters and delivers the best performance of the whole thing, a real credit to his ability when he’s up against such big name talent. He manages to play such an unlikeable character that you can’t help but love. He plays the action parts with suave mystery and intrigue, and he plays the loser parts with vulnerability and insecurity. It’s a perfect balance, and the perfect casting choice.

There are some strange shots and some weird angles that the camera does, most likely attributed to Clooney’s inexperience as a director. They’re not bad, but they’re unusual and don’t do a whole lot to add to the experience or the storytelling. Clooney’s personal experience with game shows certainly helps flesh out the world that Barris made and lived in.

While I’m not positive that any of this actually happened, it sure was fascinating to watch. The story had lots of twists and turns and intrigue, just about everything that you’d expect from a spy film. Rockwell delivers an incredible performance, and one of my personal favorites from him. This is a really great flick, and I’d recommend it if you’ve never seen it before.

Take every stereotypical military idea and blend it together with an alien invasion, and you get Battle: Los Angeles.

This 2011 science fiction-action film is directed by Jonathan Liebesman and written by Chris Betolini and stars Aaron Eckhart as a Staff Sergeant who comes out for one of his last missions to help a young group of soldiers fight against an incoming alien invasion. The premise seems somewhat promising, the idea isn’t horrible, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired.

The character development is, at first, admirable, with the way that they introduce a shit ton of characters and give them all a motivation and personality trait. It’s just the way that things end up happening with them that is so incredibly cliche or boring that ruins the groundwork of what was laid down before. The supporting cast is filled with people you’ve seen in a few other things but haven’t necessarily broken out as a star yet. Michelle Rodriguez and the big stupid guy dating the red head vampire in True Blood jump to mind.

Aaron Eckhart does a pretty good job, and the aliens are very cool looking, but when they abandon any semblance of the film being unique or different, they trade it in for a video game-like war movie without creativity. This could have been a cool expansion piece of something like Independence Day, but it falls way short. 

Most people have been waiting for this movie since 2008 when Iron Man was first released and broke down the barriers for what a superhero movie should be. I, on the other hand, like so many others, have been waiting for a much longer time. The Avengers movie had the potential to tank, big time. It could have been horrible, it could have been the death of superhero movies if it went poorly. Years and years of inter-movie build up to have it flop and prove that superhero team movies can’t work would have been…just horrible.

But luckily that didn’t happen.

Instead, the GREATEST superhero movie ever produced was born.

This is a groundbreaking film. Absolutely groundbreaking. This shows that a Justice League, Teen Titans, Defenders, Invaders, whatever team you can think of, can work on the big screen. This shows that the Fantastic Four and X-Men should be a lot better than what they were. This should be an example to all other superhero films in development that it CAN be a comic book movie and keep the aura of the comic book.

The acting is fantastic, but the real home runs were Loki, played by Tom Hiddleston, and the newest Bruce Banner, played by Mark Ruffalo. Everyone is great, but these two really stand out. Hiddleston is brilliantly menacing and sophisticated, and made Loki a villain that is legitimately interesting and captivating. He is easily the best villain ever put on screen since Heath Ledger’s Joker in Dark Knight. Ruffalo on the other hand is brilliant for a different reason, he put in nervous tics and slight twitches to the Banner character. For some reason, and they’re very slight so you have to watch carefully for them, this adds a whole different dimension to Banner. I was apprehensive at first, I thought for sure Ruffalo would be the worst incarnation of Bruce yet, but he really won me over and while I think Norton looked better (and I’m a stickler for continuity), Ruffalo is the best Bruce Banner of all time.

Everyone played their roles with just the right tweaking that made it work so well for a team mash up. Thor was god-like in every way, and definitely concerned about the well being and sanity of his brother, but he seemed to have a deeper care for the Earth in general. I only wish they could have taken five minutes to have him go and see Jane Foster so that their love story wouldn’t have been put on hold for this (you’d think since they fell in love with each other over a day that the first chance he gets to be put back on earth he’d make the time to see her?). Tony Stark was the dynamite of the group, and my only gripe with his story was that they would have done more with the Howard Stark/Tony Stark/Captain America parallels in the script. Cap could have been comparing him to Howard or something, I’m not sure what, but I needed more proof that Stark was being a pain to Cap because he had dad issues.

Samuel L. Jackson is really starting to show his age because his Nick Fury never runs very fast no matter how pressing the issue. It’s a light jog, and his action scenes were a little heavy handed as well. I’m not complaining because everything else was perfect about him, but I really wish we could somehow rev up the Delorean or the Tardis and steal away a younger SLJ to put in this spot. Mainly so that we could have a super badass SHIELD movie with Hawkeye and Black Widow.

Hawkeye being used as a pawn for most of the movie was a bit depressing, and I really would have enjoyed seeing more of him, but the same could be said for anybody. I could watch the Avengers fighting forever. Literally forever. That is what my idea of heaven is like. Hawkeye is definitely the one who could be taken off the team and turned villainous for most of the movie. I won’t say he’s expendable, but because he was the least developed out of everyone else in the movie before it, he didn’t have the same type of stake as everyone else. Black Widow was greatly expanded and improved upon from her prior small role in Iron Man 2, and is much more likeable. She’s got that Whedon female voice now. They definitely hinted at a love story between Natasha and Clint, but they never fully committed to it. If they did do a Shield movie, the romantic tension could easily be explored.

Captain America has my favorite subtle change from the other movies though by being a lot more quiet and reserved, almost like he’s waiting and watching and trying to soak everything up from the new world that he’s been reborn in. It’s so interesting. His little one liners like, “There’s only one God, ma’am, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t dress like that,” are so fucking old fashioned America that it is perfect. It is so perfect in every way.

Everyone fights everybody, and it’s so much fun to see. Thor and Hulk fighting was probably my favorite of the battles, but when it gets to the third act and we see everyone with their full power unleashed…it’s just perfect. The aliens weren’t very developed, but they were developed enough to be known that we needed to have them all killed and it didn’t matter what happened to them.

Now, if you haven’t seen the movie, turn back here so that I could talk some spoilers.

SPOILERS. You’ve been warned (and seriously, if you weren’t one of the $200 million opening weekend, you were probably the only one):

Caulsen dying was the best way to unite them and it makes the most sense, even though I will be extremely bummed to not have him in any Marvel movies anymore. If they wanted to though, I would be TOTALLY okay with introducing the concept of Life Model Decoys and have him show up. Colbie Smulders as Maria Hill doesn’t have the same personality, in fact, she’s probably the MOST expendable character in the line up. Not only is she new and doesn’t have any backstory given to her, she’s just Fury’s bodyguard for most of the movie and doesn’t do anything all that cool. Add her to the SHIELD movie.

Hands down, the greatest part of the whole movie was Loki demanding the Hulk to stop and Hulk slamming the fuck out of him. It gets laughs, it’s so cathartic, and it says so much about both of them. I loved it. Puny God, indeed.

Whedon has proven now that he can do big budget, mainstream, awesome things to the movie going public. Prior to this, Serenity was his only cinema venture, and I think that dude is about to get very busy.

So let’s take a little survey at everything the way it ended and see where things could go. Obviously, a SHIELD movie should happen. They could explore the return of HYDRA or some shit like that with Fury, Hill, Hawkeye, and Black Widow. Perhaps a LMD of Caulsen.

Iron Man 3, which I believe just went into pre-production is going to be great, because they’re going with the EXTREMIS storyline. If you’re unfamiliar with it, Tony Stark goes from being a guy with Iron Man armor to being a guy who can literally become Iron Man at any second, without the restriction of having to build one of those new fancy ways to put it on (which gets cooler and cooler each time). In a world where everyone else is a superhero, it makes sense that he would want to essentially become a super powered individual.

Captain America 2, the sky is the limit. Cap has to become reacquainted with the world, and how is he going to react to all of the things that America has done and become? It was hinted at briefly in Avengers, but obviously a whole movie could be made exploring that. What does his return mean for America? The sky is the limit, I tell ya.

Thor 2, Loki clearly needs to have his shit checked, but something tells me that isn’t going to happen. They knocked out Thor’s two big villains in the first movie, so I have a feeling Loki’s going to keep going as a bad guy. It makes sense, and I’d love to see it. Thor needs to return to Earth somehow, he needs to see Jane Foster, and he needs to rekindle that love. Even though this was my least favorite Marvel movie, I think the sequel shows a lot of potential.

The Incredible Hulk 2, or whatever they want to call it, has to have Ruffalo. What does it mean now that he is better able to control the Hulk? Fuck up General Thunderbolt Ross and go steal Betty back, that’s what I’m thinking. Make a return to America instead of running off, perhaps with a job at the top ten levels of Stark Industries R & D department? 

Avengers 2. Avengers Tower. LMD of Jarvis or Caulsen? Ant-Man? Wasp? Black Panther? Scarlet Witch? Quicksilver? Vision? Could Agent Caulsen become Vision via an android body? So many opportunities. They definitely have to expand the cast, add more people, but does that come at the risk of leaving some of the others out? And how could they possibly balance all of these people and still keep it successful? Well, I think that answer is simple: Whedon. Much in the same way that DC is using Nolan as their architect, Whedon should be the go-to guy for Marvel’s movie-verse. It makes sense, and he definitely proved himself.

Avengers was a perfect movie with a perfect cast, story, and execution. Everything about it was perfect. It had jokes for those that were into the comics, jokes for those that were into the movies, and was so much fun to watch unfold. With such a big running time, I’m certain it could keep even the most ADD of young children entertained all the way through. This movie is the first one that has ever been a comic book brought to life. Dark Knight wasn’t a comic book film, it was a cop movie. Avengers? That’s a comic movie. 

And the end had two post-credit scenes. Hopefully you saw them both. Who was that red guy at the end of the first one? Thanos. Wiki that shit, or better yet, read the Infinity Gauntlet. It’s dope. And he’s got to be the villain for the next movie. 

Make mine a Marvel.

If there’s anything we can learn about Edgar Allan Poe from the movie The Raven, it’s that he was kind of weird, a bit egotistical, he loved alcohol, and never passed up slamming a writing utensil or scalpel into a desk. He also had a pet raccoon. This guy sounds like a good time.

The Raven is a 2012 thriller mystery that revolves around the plot that someone out there is committing murders based around Poe’s famously gruesome stories. Poe (played by John Cusack) is a misunderstood genius who becomes Inspector Fields’ (played by Luke Evans) only hope in solving the crime. Unfortunately for Edgar, his bride to be, played by Alice Eve, is kidnapped by the murderer and her disapproving father (Brenden Gleeson) becomes even more disapproving of Poe and holds him personally responsible. With only hours left to save his love and stop others from being slayed, Poe must team up with the police to outwit a fan.

There are a few flaws in the story, like Gleeson’s character suddenly becoming completely aware that Poe and his daughter were in love when the whole movie before then they were at odds and it was a big deal to keep it secret. But overall, this flick has a few pretty cool moments.

The idea of it is fantastic, and it shows a lot of potential, but the resolution is very unfulfilling. They manage to weave in the mysterious circumstances of Poe’s death into the tale and it really just peters out instead of ending with a bang. And the set up for Jules Verne would have been weird and boring for a sequel. 

This was a very mediocre movie. It could have been a lot better but the ending lacked and it failed to maintain the high concept that it started off with. At times, this rings eerily similar to Tim Burton’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and if it took more pages out of that book, it could have been a lot more enjoyable. Cusack was a fine Poe, but he wasn’t quite creepy enough for me. 

I first heard about Buried right before it was being released two years ago and it’s taken me this long to finally get around to seeing it. The premise is intriguing, the actor is charismatic, and the production is minimalistic in every sense of the word. But somehow, Buried manages to be thoroughly engaging, extremely stressful, and totally effective in every way.

This 2010 film is directed by Rodrgio Cortes and written by Chris Sparling. Ryan Reynolds stars as an American truck driver in Iraq who awakens to find himself in a coffin buried underground. As the film continues, he uses his small amount of items (a cellphone, a flashlight, a lighter, glowstick, pencil, and flask) to help piece together what happened and find a way out before oxygen runs out.

The film is super unique and different from anything else I’ve ever seen. It really is just Ryan Reynolds buried underground in a coffin with tight shots for ninety minutes. You’d think that after a certain point it would get boring or repetitive or old, but they manage to find ways to freshen it up. Whether it’s a startling new development of the story, something from his past, or a threat inside of the coffin, it’s fascinating to watch.

I have a feeling this is a one time deal. I don’t think it could hold the same level of intrigue like it did the first time after another viewing. Once you know what’s going to happen, it’s kind of over. From the very opening though, even if you’ve never had the feeling before, you become claustrophobic. It is horrifying. There are times where your blood pressure will shoot through the roof and you may even wet yourself a little. (Not that I did.)

This is an intense movie. I remember when I saw Kill Bill Volume 2 with my dad, and during the buried scene, he got up and walked away from the screen because he was unable to watch it. My mom told me later that it was one of my dad’s biggest fears to be buried alive. That has always stuck out to me. I could only imagine how something like Buried would mess with him. There’s no way he could make it through it. Do yourself a favor and check out Buried, if for nothing else that it’s different from everything else you’ve ever seen.

I’m kind of biased to dislike this movie. I have a burning hatred for Aziz Ansari. I find him to be one of the most annoying and unfunny comedians that has ever gained notoriety. He was the worst part of Human Giant. He’s the reason I haven’t given Parks and Rec a chance, and his minor cameos in Funny People was my least favorite part of the movie.

So I must admit, I am surprised that I found this movie as watchable as I did. It’s weird because there wasn’t one part that I laughed at. I didn’t find it particularly funny. I didn’t like any of the characters. I guess I just really wanted to see the story unfold and figure out how it all ended.

This 2011 flick is directed by Ruben Fleischer with a story by Michael Diliberti and stars Jesse Eisenberg as a suave but loser guy working a dead end job at a pizza place. His best friend, played by Aziz Ansari, has a twin sister that Eisenberg is in love with. Meanwhile, Danny McBride and Nick Swardson are two friends who hatch the idea to kill McBride’s father (who won the lottery) and inherit his money. McBride gets this idea after talking to a stripper. They get the idea to force someone into stealing $100,000 so they can pay an assassin to kill the father and nothing goes as planned.

Even telling you the plot right there, it’s clear that it’s a bit convoluted and ridiculous. It’s overly complicated for no real reason, but it is so very crucial that it is such a tangled mess, otherwise the movie would have lost my attention. To see all the twists and turns and the desire to see just how the resolution would play out was the only way I made it to the end. And I thought it was a pretty satisfying ending. The writing for the plot was tight, the comedy lacked severely though.

If you’re into McBride’s character, you know the one that he does in everything, then I’m sure you’ll laugh at a few of his lines. But for me, his Kenny Powers character just doesn’t work in every movie. I wish he could do something different. Swardson had a few one-liners that were really the only thing that got me close to laughter, and the two of them play off one another well. This was the first movie where I ever felt like Jesse Eisenberg was actually acting. For once he didn’t get typecast as the nerdy socially awkward sarcastic guy. It was more of an extension of that. And everyone already knows what I thought of Aziz Ansari.

If you remember the trailers for this movie, I’m sure you know exactly how it’s going to be. There aren’t really any surprises to it. It’s pretty forward with the delivery. The only thing that’s really interesting is the plot, but for a comedy film it’s a bit too light on the laughs. With a better cast and more improv, I’m sure it would have been a bit better, but it isn’t horrible for what it is. 

Who the fuck doesn’t love Bruce Campbell? Who doesn’t love him? Hm? Hm?! Is it you?! No. No one doesn’t love Bruce Campbell. He’s the man. He’s the King of Cool. I don’t think there’s ever been a person in existence that has ever earned such a cult following from something like him. He’s Sam Raimi’s good luck charm. He’s Ashley J. Williams. Anything he does is worth watching to see him alone. That’s why My Name Is Bruce is a wonderfully self-indulgent vehicle that satirizes his career, his characters, and himself. 

This 2007 low-budget film follows a fictionalized version of Bruce Campbell who is a washed up has-been that took his lucky break and broke it in two and now works exclusively on really bad D-list sci-fi movies. When a small town unleashes an evil god of war (and bean curds) they turn to the real life Bruce Campbell to be just like his on-screen personas.

There is certainly an Evil Dead/Army of Darkness tone to this film. It gets real slapsticky at times, and it never takes itself very serious at all. It knows that it’s supposed to be a stupid, silly, small cult flick. It never forgets it. And it never stops reminding you either. But for only a budget of $1.5 million, I think they made a really impressive looking flick. 

Bruce Campbell not only stars, but directed this bad boy, and I think it’s really well done. There’s some really funny lines too, “Everyone liked Bubba Ho-Tep!” It’s got a great sense of humor and never treats Bruce Campbell like he’s Brad Pitt. There’s no ego involved at all. He’s not afraid to make himself look like an idiot. And that’s really charming. 

This isn’t an Oscar winner. This is a cult film. This is a cult film about one of the greatest cult film actors. It’s exactly what you’d expect it to be. It’s silly. It pays tribute to Campbell’s work, both good and bad. It references other movies, it gives a fan everything that they’d want. I wish that there were more movies that were like this.

I remember three years ago now I was on Aint-It-Cool News and I saw someone (probably Harry Knowles) discussing a little movie that Joss Whedon had been apart of. It was called The Cabin in the Woods, and whoever this Aint-It-Cool News reporter had reported that it was very good. Whedon? Good? It seemed like a no brainer to me. But through studio hardships and numerous delays, I was waiting and waiting and waiting to see this little horror film. But today, I finally had my chance.

It’s not everyday that you see a movie that really changes things.

As I said, Joss Whedon co-wrote and produced this little gem with his co-writer and director Drew Goddard (better known as the writer of Cloverfield). Chris Hemsworth, Kristen Connolly, Anna Hutchinson, Fran Kranz, and Jesse Williams star as a group of teens who go to a cabin in the woods. Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford star as some government types, but I don’t want to go into detail about it.

This was one of the few movies that I completely avoided any and all spoilers from on the internet. I covered my eyes or changed the channel every time a trailer aired. I didn’t read any reviews. I stayed in the dark. And I’m so very glad that I did. It’s totally worth waiting for the twists and turns and surprises. The way that it is laid out and the way that the story unfolds is so beautifully different and unpredictable. It has a sense of “what will happen next?!” but at other times, it goes right to the familiarity of the genre defaults. It’s a film that’ll really knock the internet snobs out cold because that’s who the villain is.

This movie knocks horror fans, movie fans in general, right on their asses. They bitch and moan about what they want, and they’ve devolved things to the point of cookie cutter bullshit. There’s a bloodlust, a brutal sacrifice that is necessary to appease movie-goers. You want to see some people ripped to shreds and have the most horrible things imaginable done to them. And the studious produce things to satisfy this, but in turn, we become desensitized and numb to everything that comes from it. Torture porn is on the way out, and I think this movie is going to have a hand in stopping it.

It’s so intelligent in the way that it dissects and destroys the horror film genre as of late. It parodies certain movies and writers and movie monsters. It’s just genius. If you don’t read any spoilers, you’ll never see any of the big twists coming.

I can’t praise this film highly enough. It’s one of the best movies that I’ve seen in recent years - heck, maybe even ever. It’s up there with Evil Dead, it’ll be one of the horror films that influence a whole new generation into horror. It’s just a brilliant film, and I couldn’t have liked it more.