FilmFilmhttp://www.huqleberry.com/film/2008-11-12T19:18:10ZSquarespaceJCVD - The Muscles from Brusselshttp://www.huqleberry.com/film/2008/11/12/jcvd-the-muscles-from-brussels.htmlPortable Renaissance Reader2008-11-12T18:36:56Z2008-11-12T18:36:56Z
I first saw this poster here approximately 6 months ago. I almost went to see it but reneged because of a time constraint. The fact that it has emigrated to the US market is funny in itself. Though the actual movie was.... well, kind of forgettable. I'm really on the fence. 

Between his tax problems and his legal battle with his wife for the custody of his daughter, these are hard times for the action movie star who finds that even Steven Seagal has pinched a role from him! In JCVD, Jean-Claude Van Damme returns to the country of his birth to seek the peace and tranquility he can no longer enjoy in the United States. - IMDB

The opening sequence was classic JCVD. Full-on grenades, flame-throwers, explosions and burning stunt men in what was a typical one man army type situation for the Belgian action star. Then an Asian producer yells cut and digs into our hero via translator. A day in the life of Jean-Claude. From then on the movie oscillated between mildly entertaining and almost painfully tragic for me. In an attempt to make the leap from action star to a sort of method actor Jean Claude Van Dame falls just short, I would say, of success. This movie really left me wanting to watch an actual Van Dame action flick, not the self deprecating tragedy of a bygone action hero.

I would recommend seeing it, just barely. I think they would enjoy it. 

 

 

]]>Barry LyndonWatch it!http://www.huqleberry.com/film/2008/11/3/barry-lyndon.htmlHuqleberry2008-11-03T15:30:48Z2008-11-03T15:30:48Z   I just saw this movie for the first time.  It was part of the Kubrick Collection but it was never received well by me, I always opted to watch Clockwork Orange or Space Odyssey.  Last night I viewed this film and I just want to say:

"A Triumph."

 

]]>Rosemary's BabyWatch it!http://www.huqleberry.com/film/2008/10/23/rosemarys-baby.htmlHuqleberry2008-10-23T14:43:39Z2008-10-23T14:43:39Z   PRR and I were browsing his cable television for a classic horror movie to watch.  We came out empty handed.  Halloween?  Negative.  Friday the 13th?  Nope.  Bram Stoker's Dracula (Original).  Dry as a chicken bone. 

   I ended up choosing Roman Polanski's classic, Rosemary's Baby.  First, Mia Farrow has a slamming body.  Second, this was a highly entertaining film.  I always here people referencing this movie but never really understood what they meant; I just nodded my head in acknowledgement.  Great movie, see it.

]]>My Own Worst Enemy.Watch it!Waste of TImehttp://www.huqleberry.com/film/2008/10/14/my-own-worst-enemy.htmlPortable Renaissance Reader2008-10-14T20:47:00Z2008-10-14T20:47:00Z   People have told me for years I remind them of the lead character. That, my friends, is the sole reason I will not trash this show here. I feel inexplicably tied to the long term success(es) of this man, one Christian Slater.  The fact that his career has veered far off course since the well-received True Romance goes without saying, but is this his last hope at finding that comfortable niche catapulting himself to par with the film gods? What he didn't accomplish with Hard Rain, Broken Arrow and several other sub-par genre beaters could all be forgotten. 

    Reinventing himself amidst the hacks and has-beens that populate the present listings of your TV guide (Charlie Sheen). Aging gracefully with that award smiling down of the mantelpiece. That would be nice. Wouldn't it Christian? You hear that award buzz kicking off every street corner in Hollywood. Newman, young Redford, a method acting Brad Pitt. Clooney did it. In reverse I think though. I can see where the success formula lies in this show. I can almost appreciate it. To be honest it is a huge miss for me, but I am somewhat intrigued for one mere fact. This is a make or break career manuever. And to be quite honest I hope he makes it.

 

    You probably haven't read to this point because most of what's written above is what is going on internally in my head. Now flesh that type of inner dialogue out to a full hour segment with segways, commercials and the like. If you have done these things I know what you are missing in your life. My Own Worst Enemy airs Mondays Night on some TV network from 10-11 PM.


]]>400 BlowsWatch it!http://www.huqleberry.com/film/2008/10/12/400-blows.htmlHuqleberry2008-10-12T15:54:52Z2008-10-12T15:54:52Z   I couldn't sleep the other night.  It must have been around 3 a.m. and I decided to turn on Traffaut's, Les Quatre Cents Coups.  It was sublime.  For those that love film and and haven't seen it or if you've never heard of it, do yourself a favor and rent it.  Then watch it. 

   My favorite part might be the opening credits.  The streets of Paris and the looming Eiffel Tower.  Beautiful.

]]>Sierra Madrehttp://www.huqleberry.com/film/2008/10/12/sierra-madre.htmlPortable Renaissance Reader2008-10-12T03:00:30Z2008-10-12T03:00:30ZJust a big budget John Huston studio flick. Bogey kills it though. A grifter who is overtaken by greed. Second Huston film to grace the pages of Huqleberry's aptly named 'Film Review' section.

 

Deep Human Conflict to Enthrall the Heart of the World!

]]>A Tout de SuiteWatch it!http://www.huqleberry.com/film/2008/10/12/a-tout-de-suite.htmlPortable Renaissance Reader2008-10-12T02:52:52Z2008-10-12T02:52:52Z

Quand elle raccroche le téléphone après un à tout de suite de son amoureux, elle sait bien sans le savoir encore ce qu'elle ne savait pas du tout : celui qu'elle aime, ce prince de nulle part, il est bandit, il vient de commettre un hold-up, il y a mort d'hommes. C'est dans les années 70, elle a 19 ans, et tout de suite justement, comme on rêve éveillé, elle bascule tête la première de l'espace contraint par l'appartement paternel - longs couloirs, beaux quartiers - à une géographie fugueuse - de l'Espagne au Maroc et à la Grèce - et d'une vie de jeune fille presque rangée à sa vie comme elle l'aura voulue pour le meilleur et pour le pire.


I watched this movie at 0200. You should too.

]]>A Porn reviewhttp://www.huqleberry.com/film/2008/10/10/a-porn-review.htmlHuqleberry2008-10-10T02:14:45Z2008-10-10T02:14:45Z   I don't know how to begin this.  I watched the first 30 minutes of the most expensive porn movie in the history of people having sex on film.  I'm not a huge porn person but I can't turn down the temptation of anything tagged with "the most expensive..."  As a film it was pretty terrible in the acting department but that isn't a big surprise.  The CGI is an eye sore, it was like watching MYST, the video game from the 90's.  All the animation was super glossy.  The only sex scene I saw was fucking hilarious. 

   Okay, well I don't know what else to say so I searched for "Pirates 2: Stagnetti's Revenge" on Google.  I didn't know imdb.com reviews porn, the movie received a 9.5/10.  I'm pretty sure that deserves a spot on the top 100 films of all time.

   I'm just going to paste this review by one, alanbobet:

 

Pirates: Stagnetti's Revenge is the long awaited sequel to Digital Playground's previous big budget pirate porn epic, Pirates made in 2005. As with all sequels, DP has spared no expense to make this film more bigger, sexier and action packed than the previous film. There are more CGI effects in the sequel than in Pirates, with demons, sea-monsters, monstrous creatures and even the return of the skeleton warriors of the first movie, this time with their own pirate ship. There are much more longer sex scenes here than in the first film, which could be considered a bit of a minus for a couples sex film such as this, since some but not all of the sex scenes tend to drag on a bit(especially the orgy scene in the middle of the film), putting the film almost to a halt unlike the first film that had it's sex scenes evenly put out together with the non sex scenes. But there are two sex scenes that really stand out in the sequel which are the scene between Jesse Jane & Belladonna and the scene between Jesse Jane, Katsumi and Tommy Gunn. The best performances in the film are Evan Stone, Belladonna, Katsumi & Steven St. Croix while Jesse Jane, Tommy Gunn, Shay Jordan and Jenna Haze are much better in their sex scenes than acting their roles in the movie. Also the film is 15 minutes longer(135 minutes) than the previous film(120 minutes) which also could possibly be a detriment in enjoying this film. But as a sequel to Pirates, I find it just as good, but not superior to the first one and the ending of the film leaves the door open to another sequel to Pirates, where our heroes may encounter again the villainous Captain Stagnetti. I recommend this great sex film for couples as well as for Jesse Jane, Katsumi and Belladonna fans.

   Also here are some of the topics on the message board:

  • Anal?
  • Here we go again! PIRATES II avaiable in the non-porno section of the videostore
  • Blu-Ray preorder...
  • My personal favorite - Will there be a soundtrack CD for PIRATES II?
  • List the sex scenes
  • OMG I CAN'T WAIT!

   I'm pretty sure my friend LAG could be mistaken as the main character(?).  Is there a main character?

]]>The Promotionhttp://www.huqleberry.com/film/2008/10/8/the-promotion.htmlHuqleberry2008-10-08T16:30:41Z2008-10-08T16:30:41Z  This movie was on my hard drive somewhere and I decided to watch it even after I checked out the imdb.com reviews.  It stars Sean William Scott as an assistant manager at a local groccery store intent on securing a promotion to buy a house and be the breadwinner for his women.  He appears to be the "shoe-in" until John C. Reilly shows up.  This sets up a pretty comical film.  I enjoyed it for what it was worth at 3 a.m. in the morning because I couldn't sleep and the clean cinematography brought a false sense of hope for a better day.

   My recommendation... See it or don't see it... It's easily forgettable yet memorable at times.  That last sentence is so vague I just want to stop writing.

]]>AppaloosaWatch it!http://www.huqleberry.com/film/2008/10/5/appaloosa.htmlHuqleberry2008-10-05T21:19:15Z2008-10-05T21:19:15Z   I'll make this short.  I had my reservations about this film going into the theater.  I thought it was going to be a failed attempt at a contemporary western.  I was dead wrong.

   This film had it all.  I was highly entertained, great dialogue, spectacular cinematography and the soundtrack (most important part of westerns imo) was perfect.  Go see it if you like gunslingers and a taste for justice.

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