The Good Stuff...

Top tens suck at life, I hate to say it but it is true. The concept of universally picking a top ten is morally corrupt. Based upon bias and fiction; I find top tens to be the lowest form of artistic review.

Instead, I am going to pick five fucking awesome movies off of Netflix Streaming, put them in no particular order, tell you that they are all number one’s in different ways, and fucking dare you to disagree. Because there is nothing to disagree with, it’s like my opinion and shit.

I will do more of these on days like today in the future, but for now and today here are five movies I love on Netflix Streaming,

I am a total Martial Arts dweeb and it stemmed from one movie, Enter the Dragon. What can I say, I was 5 years old when I first saw it and Bruce Lee was a God. He could defy gravity and kick the shit out of the baddest dude you know and look cool doing it. On a more technical note it was a fantastic blend of western and eastern cinema; with plenty of old Shaw Bros. style close-ups and a very Hollywood storyline, Enter the Dragon is as good as it gets and the first of it’s kind.

Baz Luhrmann is a crazy, maniacal, genius. His movies are visually stunning; he has the ability to capture the beauty in the slums during turn of the century Paris in Moulin Rouge. It is a fancy in your panties musical adventure with a nice love story and stunning visuals.

Here is something you may not know; there are multiple Stanly Kubrick films on the Stream. And while I am a fan of all of his work, yes weird Tom Cruise porn movie included, I think Full Metal Jacket is maybe the greatest movie about war ever made. I say maybe because, lets face it, the best anything is subjective to mood and disposition  Still the movie is haunting scene after haunting scene with no relief, as even the few moments of comedy are filled with the bitter darkness that war cloaks all things in.

The Dude is perhaps one of the most subversive character archetypes in cinematic history. His carefree manner and lazy approach to everything shape the dynamic of The Big Lebowski, turning it from a caper movie to a scathing rebuke of high society, or at least that is what some pretentious film snob would say. I love it for the memorable one-liners and fantastic characters that left an indelible impression.

Before there were, Motherfucking Snakes on a Motherfucking Plane, my favorite Sam Jacks line was, “That’s a duck, not a dick” which is just one of many one liners in the underrated and completely re-watchable, The Long Kiss Goodnight. Sure it has Geena Davis in it, but lets be fair this is when she was still hot as hell. And I am very aware of the absurdity of the story line, still it is fun, has a great soundtrack, and characters that you can invest in and cheer for. As a bonus it has Bryan Cox at his Coxiest and David Morse in one of his better performances.

That is five fucking fantastic films fuckers. If you have not see one of them there ya go if you have seen them all then you have too much time on your hands. I used to manage a video store what is your excuse? That's what I thought. Anyway, happy fathers day to all the dads out there, remember the love you give is greater then the love you receive.

Work is busy today...

So come back tomorrow, what you get what you pay for.

Listen to my uppity British Accent!

Character studies as films usually cause me to pass out in my chair and inadvertently wet myself from the depths of my boredom. There are notable exceptions, Taxi Driver comes to mind, however for the most part these movies are tedious, in many cases, well acted, boring biopics that are historically inaccurate. Basically I find the whole concept to be shit. So it is not going to be easy for me to look you in the eye and say hey watch this character study, because I don’t want to fucking watch them.

I do though, through some nonsensical drive to consume all media within my vortex I watch them and find myself muttering as I do laundry and dry the spot on the couch. That said I have noticed a trend in these movies, the ones based on fictional characters are far less infuriating then the ones based on real people. So on Netflix Streaming there is an excellent example, Croupier. It stars Clive Owen in his debut film and it is a stunning piece of filmmaking. It is tense, creepy, and a bit unnerving. After you finish you will not look at casino workers the same way again. This is a movie about a man in a downward spiral, it just happened to include gambling, sex, and booze, which to me sounds like a good Saturday night. Enjoy. 

Hustling baby...

Really what I want to do is tell you to watch the Hustler. The greatest movie about gambling I have ever seen. It led to knock off after knock off, some good, some bad, and one that was a sequel, but I prefer to pretend it did not happen. Paul Newman made Fast Eddie Felson the most memorable underdog that you felt bad cheering for but still wanted to see him overcome. Jackie Gleeson, doing all of his own shots, as the great Minnesota Fats, who sends Fast Eddie on his downward spiral. And George C. Scott as the heavy, Bert, who wants to own the soul of Fast Eddie and sends his minions in all of their forms to break Eddie to his will. It is without a doubt one of my favorite fucking movies ever.

Ladies, hello ladies, and gentlemen I introduce the problem I have with this blog, the problem is that for many of you The Hustler holds a similar place, so I have to go deeper and thus the challenge of this blog: balance the old with the new, the foreign with the domestic, the cats with the dogs. I am still trying to figure it all out, I assure you I won’t and promise to not even try very hard.

Still I want to recommend the Hustler, so instead I am going to recommend Poolhall Junkies, an almost direct rip-off of the Hustler, and it is really well done, with good acting and memorable characters. If you are a rabid fan of this site, and there are millions of you, take my word for it, then you saw the YouTube clip for yesterday. That was my little Easter Egg for you all, letting you know what this one was about. It is about some cool pool scenes, some witty banter, Chazz Palminteri being Chazz Palminteri, and most importantly Christopher Walken being Christopher Fucking Walken.  Enjoy. 

Midterm today...

Means new blog tomorrow. Happy Monday bitches.