1/20
The Machine Girl (2008, Noboru Iguchi, DVD) - 8.5
A girl's little brother is killed, so she seeks vengeance, and ends up getting her arm cut off, but then some people make her a new one that she can kill lots of people with, and then everybody screams pretty much non-stop because that's how Japanese people let you know that they are angry, sad, happy, frustrated, tired, or any other emotion that exists. It's really good. I don't like cartoon-y over-the-top blood sprays nearly as much as like, Fulci-style gore, but I still admired the violent creativity this movie had.
1/21
Towelhead (2008, Alan Ball, DVD) - 9.5
A half-Arab teenage girl has to deal with terrible parents and every guy she meets wanting to fuck and/or shave her. There's some pretty uncomfortable stuff in it, but it's also hilarious, which I didn't expect. It reminded me of Todd Solondz. Peter MacDissi as her father was especially great. Everyone in it was really awesome.
1/22
Baghead (2008, Jay & Mark Duplass, DVD) - 5.0
Some struggling actors go to the woods to make a cheap horror movie, but then the movie starts actually happening. This was the first mumblecore movie I've seen. It was ok. The people in it were just barely likable, and there was a bit too much of them getting drunk and being really irritating. And it's not very satisfying as a horror movie.
1/25
Reprise (2008, Joachim Trier, DVD) - 8.0
Two best friends who are writers and who are also Norwegian send their books off to what I guess is Norway's only publishing house, and one of them gets published but the other one doesn't, and the one who does has a mental breakdown, and then they both go through some shit. The way it's told and edited was really interesting, and made it all work well.
Ace in the Hole (1951, Billy Wilder, 35mm, Castro, Noir City) - 8.5
Kirk Douglas is a newspaper reporter and he discovers a man trapped in a cave, and so he turns it into a huge story, and does everything he can to prolong the amount of time it takes to extract the trapped man. It's really great.
Cry of the Hunted (1953, Joseph H. Lewis, 35mm, Castro, Noir City) - 6.0
A cop chases an escaped con through the swamps of Louisiana. It's pretty good, I guess. Not very memorable.
1/27
6 Films to Keep You Awake: A Real Friend (2008, Enrique Urbizu, DVD) - 5.0
A young girl is an outcast, and she has imaginary friends like Leatherface and Nosferatu, who protect her from a pedophile. It's a great premise, but the execution is fucking boring, and did nothing to keep me awake.
The Harder They Fall (1956, Mark Robson, 35mm, Castro, Noir City) - 7.0
Rod Steiger hires Humphrey Bogart to help him hype up a huge boxer who can't actually fight, and they pay off a lot of other boxers to lose matches to him. I didn't get all that sucked in, but it was good.
Johnny Stool Pigeon (1949, William Castle, 35mm, Castro, Noir City) - 6.0
A cop pulls a convict out of jail to help him bust a ring of heroin smugglers, but they don't get along. It's decent. Not really worth seeking out.
1/29
The Defender (2004, Dolph Lundgren, HD download) - 3.0
Dolph Lundgren and his team have to protect some government guy from terrorists, and Jerry Springer plays the president. It's pretty boring.
1/31
Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008, Kurt Kuenne, download) - 10.0
A man was killed by his crazy ex-girlfriend, so a friend of his decided to make a documentary about the guy in order to posthumously get to know him better, and then it turns out the murderous ex-girlfriend is pregnant, so the documentary serves a new purpose of being made so the son can get to know his father, and the crazy murderer mother ends up being able to continually postpone court dates and prison and also somehow gets custody of the baby over the loving and sane grandparents who can now only spend time with their grandson by also interacting with the woman who killed their son. It's all really horrible, and something about the way in which it's told completely fucking destroyed me and I cried like crazy throughout the entire movie. It's one of the best documentaries I've ever seen, but I'm really hesitant to recommend it to anyone.
Nerdcore Rising (2008, Negin Farsad & Kim Gatewood, download) - 7.0
A documentary following MC Frontalot on his first tour. I was disappointed it didn't touch more on nerdcore as a whole, but instead, focused almost exclusively on Frontalot. But it was still an entertaining watch, and there are some really amazing moments of the band nerding out.
January Top 10
1. Dear Zachary - A Letter to a Son About His Father
2. Synecdoche, New York
3. My Bloody Valentine 3D
4. Towelhead
5. The Wrestler
6. Gran Torino
7. Legend of the Drunken Master
8. Ace in the Hole
9. The Machine Girl
10. Rachel Getting Married
Bottom 5
1. The Blame
2. The Defender
3. Red
4. A Real Friend
5. Baghead
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