um... huh?

Revolver

* *

Sometimes, I think any sort of infamy will go to a director's head. They might get a little pretentious, or think maybe, just maybe, they're a little bit better than what they actually are. Sometimes, their heads get to swollen, and the figure, 'I've made two incredible films already, now I'm gonna do what I want to do.'

Then they make Swept Away.

I love Guy Ritchie's first two movies. I remember seeing Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels at an advanced screening, and being to the theatre for opening night of Snatch. Those two movies were well written, acted and directed. They were smart and funny and entertaining.

Then Swept Away came along.

Ritchie took a hit for it. Honestly, I didn't ever see it. It looked too bad. But when I found out that he'd made a fourth film, Revolver, I'd hoped that maybe this would be his comeback film. Sadly, its not.

Revolver's plot is very intricate. Well, complicated is more like it. Without giving away any major plot points, this movie is along the same vein as The Usual Suspects and Fight Club. Sort of. Its also nowhere near as good as either of those movies. I actually think the confusing parts of this movie take so much away from the overall experience. If it had just been straight forward, like Ritchie's other movies, it would have been a lot better.

Guy Ritchie needs to go back to his original formula for movie making: make good movies.

Pass on this one unless you're a big Guy Ritchie fan. And even then, you still might not like it.

In Heaven, everything is fine...

Eraserhead

* * * *

I recently got to see Eraserhead for the first time. Then I watched it again. And again. Three times I've seen this movie in one week. And honestly, I still can't explain what the hell is going on with this movie.

Eraserhead follows the story of Henry, who doesn't really have a job, and thinks his girl has left him, but it turns out his life is about to turn upside down. He finds out that his girl has had a "baby". A weird mutated thing that looks more like something from Alien than a David Lynch movie.

Then there's the Lady in the Radiator, who Henry dreams about stomping on gigantic sperm. And there's the mysterious Lady Across the Hall, who Henry has a brief encounter with. And there's a strange dream sequence when Henry's brain becomes erasers on pencils.

If anyone can explain any of this to me, I'd love the help. Because this movie is FUCKED UP.

But I love it. And I can't explain why. Maybe it's because I've heard so many things about this movie, and it totally lived up to, and beyond, the hype. I dunno. But this movie really grabbed a hold of me in a messed up way. There have been a handful of movies that I've seen that grabbed me like this in some strange way, and I just watch them over and over and over. I remember watching Good Will Hunting a lot after it came out. And after I saw Raging Bull for the first time, I just couldn't stop. Eraserhead has now joined this exclusive group of films.

If you've never seen Eraserhead, you simply have to. I'm sure you'll hate it. Because honestly, its probably the craziest thing you'll ever see.

wha happon?

Captain America

* 1/2

I love superhero movies. And I love bad movies. And I love when the two cross over. Opinions are my own, but for every good superhero movie, there is one bad one. For every Batman Begins there is a Batman and Robin; for every Spiderman 2 there is a Spiderman 3; for every Hellboy there is a Hulk.

There have been some notorious names associated with awful superhero movies over the years: Roger Corman, Dolph Lundgren, George Clooney, Joel Schumacher. But never before, with the blessing of Marvel, has such a cast of nobodies brought such a beloved comic book character to the screen. And the funniest thing about it, is that there are quality actors in this movie (Ronnie Cox, Ned Beatty, Darren McGavin) but none of them carry one of the major roles in the film. Instead, the title character is played by Matt Salinger, son of author JD Salinger. After watching this movie, its no wonder the author is in hiding.

This movie has all the properties to be a Roger Corman flick, but isn't. Its just plain, downright, all-out, full-bore, awful. Everything is awful about it. Quality actors underused; Captain America having NO muscle content whatsoever; Captain America's costume hanging raggedly from Salinger's body like a dress; the shield looking like a frisbee most of the time; Red Skull's pulsating face; the fact that Red Skull cut his hand off with a dagger.... everything. Too many things to name.

I remember reading about how Marvel Comics were so underwhelmed during the making of Dolph Lundgren's The Punisher that they pulled their name from it, which is why the main character doesn't sport the trademark skull t-shirt. I don't know how they didn't pull out of this one. I can't imagine anyone watching the dailies and going 'This movie is going to KICK. ASS!'

Captain America is a movie of legend. Like Roger Corman's Fantastic Four (get your hands on that gem), this one is hard to come by and pretty much only available as a bootleg. But it's legendary. And its awful. And I loved everything about it.

I highly recommend this one to anyone who likes superhero movies and bad movies.

Three cheers (and one and a half stars) for Captain America. Now, if only we could get the same cast together for a sequel...