Nightmares in Red, White & Blue: 2009 documentary by Andrew Monument about the history of the American horror film. It’s a good general refresher about the genre, nice to hear from Romero and Carpenter, but nothing to write home about. A good place to start if you’d like to hit the horror highlights.
Monsters: 2010 British sci-fi movie written, shot and directed by Gareth Edwards, and starring Whitney Able and Scoot McNairy. Yes. Scoot. Areas of northern Mexico have been quarantined by the U.S. military because aliens crash-landed there, you know the drill. A slightly unkempt, slightly dashing photojournalist has been tasked with getting his boss’s daughter through the area and home to marry her boring fiancé. Think Jurassic Park redux, kind of. I must say, this + The African Queen + Apocalypse Now = no riverboat travel for me, thanks all the same. It’s matter-of-fact, good pacing, the music is nice and low key, and the ending is unexpected and kind of perfect. It’s a feel-good monster movie without being too touchy-feely-feel-good. Very “real.” Definitely see it.
Catching Hell: OK, technically this is a 2011 episode of the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary series, but I’m counting it as a movie. On October 14, 2003, Game 6 of the National League Championship Series, a Cubs fan named Steve Bartman attempted to catch a pop foul and, depending on which version you believe, RUINED EVERYTHING FOREVER. This poor guy. A single flubbed play does not make or break the ball game. Just ask Bill Buckner (who, p.s., was given way too much screen time in this movie). Other fans at the game tried to start fights with Bartman, threw beer on him, the poor SOB had to be disguised and driven home by Wrigley Field security. Rod “Totally In Jail Now” Blagojevich was quoted as saying, “If he commits a crime, he won’t get a pardon from this governor.” Now Bartman is the “JD Salinger of Cubs fans,” he’s gone underground. It’s a pretty solid sports documentary that highlights one of the many reasons people hate Cubs fans – we’re like Yankees fans without all the winning.
Casino Jack & The United States of Money: 2010 documentary by Alex Gibney. Man, people suck. Jack Abramoff, Grover Norquist, Tom DeLay and Ralph Reed in particular, totally suck. It’s a fascinating documentary about the modern conservative movement, how lobbying works, and how corrupt the system of political influence is. It’s also fairly depressing when you realize that the scandals never cease. See it, just be prepared to feel jaded and cynical by the end.
Hanna: 2011 thriller directed by Joe Wright and starring Eric Bana, Saoirse Ronan, and Cate Blanchett. Since she was a baby, Hanna and her former-CIA-operative father have been hiding out in the hinterlands, preparing. Blanchett is the operative’s former handler who wants him dead. Once Hanna is prepared, she sets off on her mysterious mission and just starts ruling the shit out of the entire intelligence community. I thought some of the flashy camera shots were unnecessary, but that’s really my only quibble with it. Ronan and Blanchett are fantastic, and excellent adversaries.
The Rules of Attraction: 2002 dark satirical comedy based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis, directed by Roger Avary and starring Shannyn Sossamon, James van der Beek, and Ian Somerhalder. A bunch of apathetic college students all have unrequited crushes on each other and are assholes. I tried to watch this soon after it came out but never got through it. Now I remember why. Not only is everyone annoying, they also keep retelling scenes from a different character’s perspective by, like, rewinding and starting the scene all over again. It’s intolerable.
The Interrupters: 2011 documentary by Steve James, about a branch of the Chicago community organization CeaseFire that sends former gang enforcers out into the neighborhoods to prevent violence. HOLY FUCKING SHIT. See this movie. Go watch it right now. Right now! Is my enthusiastic endorsement not enough for you? Then watch the trailer.
Beyond Hatred: 2005 French documentary directed by Olivier Meyrou, about the trial of young skinheads accused of killing a gay man. It’s heart wrenching, and hella confusing. His family is interviewed throughout the trial, and these scenes are powerful and moving. But then there’s the writing of the family’s public statement, and the squabbling over the exact wording to use, and talk of liberte, egalite, fraternite, and the trial that made no sense to me because I don’t understand French law. How many people were on trial? What exactly were they being accused of? Is that a lawyer for the defense or the prosecution? Can you really still smoke like everywhere in France?
So, unless you feel comfortable spending a lot of time researching the French legal system, I would maybe skip it.
Resident Evil Afterlife: 2010 sci-fi action movie directed by Paul W.S. Anderson and starring Milla Jovovich and Ali Larter. Sigh. I understand that my love of the first Resident Evil movie is baffling, and that none of the movies that followed were worth watching. And yet, I keep coming back. It’s terrible. Not as terrible as the second, not as “good” as the third, but no. Do not.
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