Trainspotting (1996)

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Cast: Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Kevin McKidd, Robert Carlyle
Director: Danny Boyle
Writer: Irvine Welsh (novel), John Hodge (screenplay)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Crime/Gangster and Adaptation
Runtime: 1 hr. 34 min.
MPAA rating: R for graphic heroin use and resulting depravity, strong language, sex, nudity and violence.
Country: Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
Language: English

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0780536/
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Plot (Screenplay): 5 / 5
Music (Score): 5 / 5
Acting (Cast): 5 / 5
Pacing (Editing): 5 / 5
Visuals (Cinematography): 5 / 5
Overall Rating: A+ (100%)

This movie is about life. The wonderful eccentricities of this spontaneous subtext of existence. What can one expect from life but an eternity of sunshine, lollipops, night rainbows, and gremlins? Nothing goes wrong, and everyone is going to live happily ever after.

Fuck that.

If I learned anything from this movie, life is about making choices. But in the end it doesn’t even matter. Whatever you chose, you’re just going to come back to the same pathetic state that you’ve started off with. Nothing ever goes right, not even the microwave instructions on the back of the stupid pizza box.

Trainspotting is told through the eyes of a Scottish heroin addict (Ewan McGregor) and his obsession with choices: his friends some of who he can’t stand, dipping in-and-out of his addictions, his interaction with the “normal world” outside of heroin, his promiscuous lifestyle. His life pretty much. It’s like ‘Requiem for a Dream,’ only funnier. This movie brings a new meaning to looking for satisfaction in life. Whether it’d be through a heavy drug addiction, your mates, a high power job, your possessions, or whatever, people are always looking for ways to be satisfied. Finding those things are what makes life exciting.

The Iggy Pop love in this movie is also a plus. Also be sure to check out the rest of the soundtrack with kick ass musicians like Leftfield, Sleeper, New Order, Leftfield, Ice MC, etc. You will crave it every second of every day.

Bottom Line: I got a lot out of this movie. You may too. But if anything, it will entertain you for 1 hour and 34 minutes.

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Rotten Tomatoes rating: 88%
Consensus: “A brutal, often times funny, other times terrifying portrayal of drug addiction in Edinburgh. Not for the faint of heart, but well worth viewing as a realistic and entertaining reminder of the horrors of drug use.” -rottentomatoes.com

Braindead / Dead Alive (1993)

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Cast: Timothy Balme, Diana Peñalver, Elizabeth Moody, Ian Watkin
Director: Peter Jackson
Writer: Stephen Sinclair (story), Stephen Sinclair, Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson (screenplay)
Genre: Comedy / Horror / Campy
Runtime: 104 minutes
MPAA rating: Unrated
Country: New Zealand
Language: English
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103873/
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Plot (Screenplay): 5 / 5
Music (Score): 4 / 5
Acting (Cast): 5 / 5
Pacing (Editing): 5 / 5
Visuals (Cinematography): 5 / 5
Overall Rating: A (96%)

What happens when rats rape monkeys? They invade New Zealand, obviously. Zombie monkeys, ninja priests that “kick ass for the lord,” 1950s New Zealand. This movie has it all! When the story is about a typical mama’s boy trying to score with the hot Latina girl at the supermarket, but ends up trying to hide infectious zombies from the general public and fighting off waves of the undead, comedy and buckets of blood are about to ensue. I would have never guessed that this was made by the same guy who directed the epic Lord of the Rings movies.

If you like blood and gore, this movie rivals with the Evil Dead series. I’d even go as far as saying that it’s like a campy gory Shaun of the Dead.

Get the unrated version, NOT the rated R one. They edit out like 30 minutes of footage in the later.

Bottom line: Surprisingly funny and even heartfelt on some level, Peter Jackson knows how to make movies. Even comedy ones.

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Rotten Tomatoes rating: 85%
Consensus: None

The Aviator (2004)

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Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, John C. Reilly, Alec Baldwin, Kate Beckinsale, Alan Alda, Gwen Stefani
Director: Martin Scorsese
Writer: John Logan
Genre: Drama / Biopic
Running Time: 2 hrs. 49 min.
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for thematic elements, sexual content, nudity, language and crash sequence.
Country: United States
Language: English
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338751/
U.S. Box Office: $102,608,827
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Plot (Screenplay): 5 / 5
Music (Score): 5 / 5
Acting (Cast): 5 / 5
Pacing (Editing): 3 / 5
Visuals (Cinematography): 5 / 5
Overall Rating: A (92%)

Some say that this movie is boring. Sure, I’m not denying it. Pacing could have been better.

BUT, after picking it up on DVD by chance and watching it a 2nd time, I totally changed my mind!

I’m 20 years old, so Howard Hughes’ early life was even way before my parent’s time. All I knew about him before watching this movie was that Simpsons parody of Mr. Burns in the casino episode (“$pringfield”). The germ phobia, jars of urine, the long nails, etc. So that’s pretty much what stood out after watching this movie the first time in the theater.

Hoooowwwever…. After watching it a second time, I was really starting to respect the man! He wanted to be everything: a test pilot, a producer, an engineer, a daredevil. Makes you want to go out and accomplish something. So even though I originally thought Hughes was just some creepy old guy who wore kleex boxes on his feet, Scorsese does a good job bringing out the best in him, even when his obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) gradually gets worse. When he hits rock bottom, he manages to bounce back with a vengence (against a certain senator).

Again, this film raises a lot of OCD awareness. Kind of like what A Beautiful Mind did with schizophrenia.

Couple other things to note:
1) There are LOTS of technical aspects to look out for. Like for one, notice that all the shades of green, like trees and plants, are replaced by shades of blue for the first 50 minutes. It’s a tribute to the two color styling in the 1920’s-1935). Things like this make the film visually pleasing.

2) Great acting; DiCaprio, Blanchett, and the rest of the cast have this this infectious energy that they bring to the screen. Lots of cameos to look out for too, like Jude Law.

Bottom line: Go see this movie (when you’re not drowsy)! I hope you’ll be inspired by his achievements as much as I have!

Favorite scene: Shooting Hell’s Angels at the beginning of the film with the Bach music. Amoung many others!

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Rotten Tomatoes rating: 88%
Consensus: “Highly evocative of the period, Scorcese’s biopic of Howard Hughes is being hailed as another excellent film from the master.” -rottentomatoes.com

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