Cool Movie Reviews

08/04/2019

Caddyshack (1980)

The most quoted movie near any golf course in the country, this movie sparkles with absurdity and wit from some of the greatest comedy talent of all time. Though there is a main story involving Danny Noonan, we, as an audience just use it as a breather between Bill Murray mentally willing old ladies to bark like dogs and Chevy Chase trying to see his future, be his future, before he became a vedge.

It also brought Rodney Dangerfield out of retirement and made America give him the respect his doctor never did. And, much like the rest of his career, Brian Doyle - Murray just kind stayed in the background.
It taught us many valuable lessons about golfing in the rain, what a Baby Ruth looks like in a pool, and, of course, rat farts.

It doesn't follow the modern trend of cheap laughs and safe jokes, and those expecting that style, you'll get nothing and like it!

What Makes This Movie Cool: Chevy Chase

People forget that, at one point in American history, Chevy Chase was the coolest dude in the land. He was funny, arrogant, smartass, mean, and oddly smooth. The kind of qualities you find charming in that old school way. This movie is a staple of anyone who loves their remarks so quick and biting, you need to replay the scene several times. A flute with no holes is not a flute, and a donut with no holes is called a danish.
Thank you very little.

07/22/2017

Sorry my reviews have been few and far between lately. As soon as things get hammered out behind the scenes, the reviews will flow like diahrreah from the buffalo.

06/15/2017

Drive (2011)

In the grand tradition of Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen, Burt Reynolds, and finding oneself by forging a relationship with someone else's family while evading arrest and certain death, Nicolas Winding Refn's direction of Hossein Amini's screenplay based on James Sallis' 2005 eponymous novel pulses with quietly building intensity through it's neo-noir lens, a brilliant balance of sound and fury, and a retro 80's influenced soundtrack.

Ryan Gosling plays the main protagonist, an unnamed Hollywood stunt driver by day, and a getaway driver for hire by night. After becoming friendly with his neighbor (Carey Mulligan) and her kid, he is slowly thrust into a deadly cat and mouse game with a local mob boss, Bernie Rose (Albert Brooks) and his henchman (Ron Perlman).

From the opening heart-thumping backbeat behind The Driver's explanation of his getaway rules to an unknown party on the other end of a phone, we are immersed in his world. It is a world filled with dramatic statements, synthesizers, fast cars, and probably one too many movies. Through his neighbor, Irene, and her son, Benicio, The Driver learns to be human. To feel feelings. To do what's right by others instead of himself. To be a real human being, and a real hero. It's intoxicating in it's Shakespearean dealings.

What Makes This Movie Cool: Ryan Gosling

He doesn't say much. He doesn't emote much. Yet we feel for him. We grow fond of him at the same rate as his neighbor. And when the security of the people he cares about is threatened, the hellfire that comes out of him will make you want to stomp a mudhole in someone's face and walk it dry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBiOF3y1W0Y

Driver is a Los Angeles wheelman for hire, stunt driving for movie productions by day and steering getaway vehicles for armed heists by night. Though a loner...

06/08/2017

The Nice Guys (2016)

Parodies. The imitation of a work, artist, or genre using exaggerated tropes for comedic effect. Edwin S. Porter took it to the big screen. Abbott and Costello brought it to prominence. Mel Brooks made it an art form. And Friedberg and Seltzer have been doing everything they can to destroy it. But when Shane Black gave the world Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2005), it turned the parody on it's side. It successfully melded both a genre-imitating comedy and a legitimate crime drama into a cohesive, enthralling, highly entertaining piece of cinema that kind of flew under the radar for a long time. But by the time it had reached the cult status it currently enjoys, many were asking Mr. Black to do it again. And he did. And my god, it is awesome.

Holland March (Ryan Gosling) is an alcoholic private detective with a penchant for the dramatic, and a daughter, Holly (Angourie Rice) who is much smarter, more focused, and more skeptical than her father. In searching for a missing girl, Holland and Holly come across Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe), a grizzled enforcer who intimidates for money. Together, all three work to discover what the missing girl has to do with the sudden surge in homicide surrounding her.

It moves like a Coen Brothers film through a labyrinthine 1970's Los Angeles p**n industry that seems both seedy and friendly. The sets bring the viewer into this fully realized world, as do the costumes, music, cars, and television events that are transitioned into, or out of, with seemingly flawless ease. Also, Angourie Rice is yet another in a recent rise in incredibly talented young actresses that have been popping up lately (Millie Bobbie Brown, Daphne Keen). She is really funny, caring, and quite gutsy when she needs to be. It certainly grounds the film from Gosling and Crowe chewing as much scenery as they do.

What Makes This Movie Cool: Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe

The reason I consider this movie a parody is because it borrows, or imitates, so much from the buddy cop genre. However, the story interwoven into the cliches makes you easily forget that it's a spoof. But what really makes the movie cook, and keeps you riveted to every scene is the amazing chemistry between Gosling and Crowe. These two together are comedic brilliance. Their timing, inflections, physical comedy, and sheer dumb luck turn every nook and cranny of this comedic mystery into an out-and-out joy for everyone involved. Especially you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQR5zsLHbYw

In theaters May 20, 2016! http://www.theniceguysmovie.com https://www.facebook.com/TheNiceGuysMovie/ “The Nice Guys” takes place in 1970s Los Angeles, when d...

06/05/2017

Groundhog Day (1993)

Imagine reliving the same day, over and over, for weeks, months, even years. Every day is the exact same. Wake up to Sonny & Cher's "I Got You Babe", report on a groundhog's emergence from a tree, and then discover yourself through various hijinks, costume changes, and su***de attempts in the lovely town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.

This is the fate of Phil Connors (Bill Murray), a lonely, self-obsessed weatherman for Channel 9 Pittsburgh. He enters Punxsutawney with the intention of filming his final Groundhog Day before probably leaving the company. However, a snow storm he expected to push off to the east is preventing him from leaving. So he decides to sleep it off, which leads to a mobius strip of February 2nd that, quite possibly, lasts several thousands of years. But through it all, he goes through a complete life process of birth, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, in the course of one day. On infinite repeat.

In a film often considered to be Bill Murray's, and Harold Ramis's, greatest achievement, Groundhog Day is effervescent. So much so that church groups from almost every denomination declared this movie as preaching their gospel. You know you've done well when you can make people of the Jewish, Muslim and Catholic religions believe that you're speaking directly to them. And there is absolutely NOTHING religious about this movie at all. It's an amazing morality fable filled with hilarity, thought-provoking self-reflection, and a wonderful supporting cast, including Andie MacDowell, Brian Doyle-Murray, Chris Elliott (Get A Life is the greatest underrated show of all time), Stephen Tobolowsky, and a barely able to drink Michael Shannon.

What Makes This Movie Cool: Bill Murray.

This should have not only nominated Bill for a Golden Globe, he should have won. While Robin Williams' role as a quirky wild man-turned-dramatically-wiser-wild man in Mrs. Doubtfire garnered him the Globe, Mr. Murray's transition from prima donna weatherman to risk-taking child to accepting of his fate as probably never escaping a non-holiday, this vehicle showed Bill's true acting chops as nothing before had. The man had, and still has, range and depth far exceeding what we'd always loved from our secular comedy god.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSVeDx9fk60

In Theaters:7 May 1993 (UK) A weather man is reluctantly sent to cover a story about a weather forecasting "rat" (as he calls it). This is his fourth year on...

05/27/2017

The Big Lebowski (1998)

The great thing about slacker movies is that they don't really have to go anywhere. And, by and large, they don't. They play for cheap laughs, fumble around a bit, and by the end they're supposed to learn some kind of lesson or something. When faced with such logic, all I can say is, "Shut the f**k up, Donny."

Jeffrey Lebowski, or The Dude (Jeff Bridges), is a victim of mistaken identity, which leads to him getting his rug peed on, his car stolen, getting knocked out, drugged, shot at, and threatened with castration. And that's not even mentioning a bowling tournament, a s**t-talking Jesus, being followed by a PI, the mysterious kidnapping of a trophy wife, and a bonfire p**n star trampoline. Worst of all, he's not even the only Jeffrey Lebowski.

Riding high after their commercial and critical success Fargo (1996), the Coen Brothers kinda flew this one under the radar. It received mixed reviews when it first came out, and actually took some time to recoup the money spent to make it. However, in that time, it has been considered by many to be the best cult movie to come out in the last 20 years. The dialogue, the transitions, the absurdity, the great performances from John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Julianne Moore, and John Turturro, and the fact that it keeps you glued to the screen, despite there not actually being much of a cohesive story. It even inspired an annual festival, Lebowski Fest, and a new religion, Dudeism. Probably some kind of eastern thing, man.

What Makes This Movie Cool: Jeff Bridges

Was there any doubt? Sure, he's won many awards for so many other projects. Sure, he's been doing his thing in Hollywood since the mid-sixties. Sure, everything he's done since his Oscar win has kinda been s**t. Nevertheless, when you hear the words 'Jeff Bridges', the first thing you think of is this movie. The zen-like quality and nonchalant wit to everything life throws at him makes every one of us, even for a split second, fantasize about being The Dude.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd-go0oBF4Y

Official movie trailer for "The Big Lebowski" - showing now on PictureBox.

05/24/2017

Akira (1988)

People said it couldn't be done. That this new Japanese animation would never even make a dent, let alone inspire a generation. And that's when Akira took the stage.

Written and directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, who was also the creator of it's manga origins, Akira is the story of streetbike gang member Shotaro Kaneda attempting to stop his friend, Tetsuo Shima, from releasing the destructive force known as Akira on the people of futuristic Tokyo.

Breaking from the trend of static face shots and triangles for mouths, Akira benefited beautifully with amazingly detailed scenes, a naturally fluid motion to the movements, and an incredible combination of cel and computer animation. While it didn't make a huge splash when it was first given a limited release in the States in 1989, it has since gained a massive cult following, and is considered one of the greatest science fiction movies of all time. Not bad for a silly cartoon. Also, if you've seen the early seasons of South Park (1997 - present), you'll find the ending to be especially familiar, hilarious, and enthralling at the same time. Bad pie.

What Makes This Movie Cool: The Metaphorically Correlating Future

While an anomaly at the time, the film itself has since become analogous to the technological state we currently swim through. Tetsuo's story is basically the same as America's as seen through eyes that have lived through the advent and popularization of the internet. We were struck by it, seduced by it, and in the end, we succumbed to it. And now it's growing out of control. Eventually someone will have to come and stop it.

Will it be you?

*This message brought to you by the internet.

**Damnit!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UhLderbuGI

Neo-Tokyo is about to E•X•P•L•O•D•E Akira isn't just a movie -- it's the genesis of a genre. Katsuhiro Otomo's landmark, cyberpunk classic obliterated the bo...