Good Dick is not your typical romantic comedy. The title probably told you that.

Marianna Palka (also the movie’s writer and director) plays an anti-social, reclusive woman who only ventures out of her apartment to stock up on soft-porn videos, and Jason Ritter plays the video store clerk who follows her home and gradually becomes a part of her life. He is incredibly cute in a goofy way, and his optimism and good-natured persistence appear to repel and appeal to her in equal measure.

When he first pursues her, you may wonder why he does so; what this handsome, amiable guy seems to value so much in a dishevelled, hostile woman, but during the movie we realise that he has his own issues, and that he is somehow able to see her potential beneath all the barriers she has set up to stop people from getting close to her. As soon as he enters her apartment he starts to tidy it up, and he later offers her a gift but insists on washing her hair before she can have it. Though he constantly pushes past the barriers she has erected around herself, he does so in a way that doesn’t threaten her peace of mind, and accepts a good amount of verbal abuse from her without appearing to mind.

Although her apartment becomes a haven for him, it was her prison from something that would only be alluded to in the last few minutes of the movie.

I noticed that the men in this movie appeared to be acting in a more submissive role, which might normally be attributed to women. It was also clear that Palka’s character has a messed up relationship with her sexuality. At one point she suddenly jumps on Ritter and pretends to have sex with him as if she were a man. She tells him that penises are ugly (actually I agree with that!) and is visibly and deeply repulsed by the Zen Pussy: A Meditation On Eleven Vulvas video.

Derek, another video store worker, gets ridiculed for not knowing the location of the clitoris; Simon mourns the end of his relationship and is defended when Derek tries to ridicule him; and Simon and Derek later enjoy watching the Zen Pussy video.

Though I really enjoyed the movie, I felt that the developments occurring in the last 10 minutes were rushed. Overall though, it was a funny, sweet, and off-beat movie about love and sex, and I was glad to be able to see it at one of the few cinemas showing it.

Great soundtrack too; here’s the track from the opening sequence. Big Boots by Hello Stranger

Urban Recluse Rating:

A couple of weeks ago I went to see Get Smart with a friend. About 30 minutes into the movie, the screen went black, the lights came on and an ominous voice told us that there was an emergency in the building and we had to leave immediately.

Down and down countless flights of stairs until we reached street level. As we were ejected into the street we felt the rain on our faces and felt even more wretched, until we noticed the people from the gym next door who’d had to evacuate the building in their workout clothes, or with just a swimming costume and towels to protect their modesty.

So we waited around with more than hundred others for perhaps half an hour, while firemen came and checked out the reported gas leak. Then we were allowed back in, but some nice person had decided to continue our movie before we were able to enter the screen. I don’t think we missed more than about 5 minutes, but it was a bit rude. Then we sat back down and watched the rest of the movie. As we left the screen we were given free tickets to see another film. I had already booked my late-night viewing of Hell Boy 2 later that evening, so I just slipped it into my purse and wondered which film I would use it on.

[Show as slideshow]

I hadn’t heard great reviews of Babylon A.D., (indeed its rating on Rotten Tomatoes is only 7%), but I guess I was in the mood for a silly action movie, and it was free.

Vin Diesel plays Toorop, a mercenary based in Eastern Europe in a post-apocalyptic scenario. He takes on the job of conveying a package to the USA, a package which turns out to be a beautiful young woman called Aurora (Mélanie Thierry). Aurora grew up in a convent, and is to be accompanied by Sister Rebeka, a nun played by Michelle Yeoh. Toorop is unconcerned by the nature of the package; his only concern is completing the job so he can enter the United States again (he was banned for being branded a terrorist). During their journey we discover that Aurora is not quite your average girl. There was also some stuff about a deadly virus, an evil cult, immaculate conception and artificial intelligence, but by that time my brain had mostly switched off, and I couldn’t get my head around it all.

Anyway, the plot wasn’t really important in this movie. Neither was the acting. Vin Diesel played nearly the same guy we’ve seen in XXX, The Fast and The Furious, and The Riddick movies. You know, the tough, disillusioned guy who doesn’t trust anyone.

Michelle Yeoh didn’t have much of a character to work with, though I liked her line: “I can defend myself.” Mélanie Thierry, with her wide-set eyes and sensual mouth, looked as angelic as her character should have been. I enjoyed Gerard Depardieu’s brief appearance as Gorsky, the guy who hired Toorop for the job.

What really set this movie apart for me was its visual excellence. The contrast between the dreadful poverty in Eastern Europe, and the modernity of the USA was striking. The landscapes were amazing too. I enjoyed the scenes when the submarine broke through the ice, the snowmobile fight against the flying drones, and the following clip which shows some impressive Parkour moves from the people who try to abduct Aurora in the nightclub.

I also liked the cut which dissected the wings of the beast tattooed into Diesel’s back (you can see it in one of the above pics), and the line of snow which slowly descended from a railing in the background of a chase scene.

Apparently the director, Mathieu Kassovitz, was very unhappy with the 70 minutes cut from the movie by the studio and apparently has called the final movie “pure violence and stupidity.” I wonder if a director’s cut will be released for the DVD, and whether it might bring some needed coherence to this movie.

Urban Recluse Rating:

Ever since I saw the trailer for RocknRolla in the cinema a few weeks ago I’ve been looking forward to seeing the movie. The reviews have been mixed, but I like the idea of Guy Ritchie returning to what he does best: the British gangster movie.

Plus Gerard Butler shows his abs.

So I’m planning to watch it over the weekend. It’s something to look forward to.

Ben tagged me to take part in this meme. I won’t tag anyone else, but if you want to have a go, feel free.

Get the American Film Institute’s 100 Years… 100 Movies list and answer the following questions:

1) Your favorite 5 movies that are on the list:

Casablanca
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
The Wizard of Oz
Star Wars

2) 5 movies on the list that you didn’t like at all:

The Graduate (I fell asleep during it)
On the Waterfront (I lost interest after a while)

Those were the only two I could find, and I probably just wasn’t in the right mind-space to appreciate them.

3) 5 movies on the list you haven’t seen but want to:

Psycho
Chinatown
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
The Silence of the Lambs
Some Like It Hot

4) 5 movies on the list that you haven’t seen and have no interest in seeing:

Citizen Kane (actually after seeing this review I’m considering renting it)
Apocalypse Now
All Quiet on the Western Front
Yankee Doodle Dandy
Mutiny on the Bounty

5) Your favorite 5 movies that aren’t on the list:

Secretary
Little Miss Sunshine
Die Hard
The Matrix
Collateral

I’ve limited myself to American movies, in the spirit of the original list.

Continued from Part 1

Night Seven: Comic Relief

After six (mostly) serious nights we need to let loose and remember to laugh. I’m Gonna Git You Sucka is the first (and best) of the Wayans’ spoofs, which is a parody of blaxploitation movies. Check out this short clip of Antonio Fargas playing a pimp who has just left prison after 20 years, and hasn’t realised that the 70s are over:

I chose Anchorman as it’s a fun movie, but also because I’d love to see the frenzied newsteam battle on the big screen:

Night Eight: Childhood

The Little Mermaid and The Jungle Book are two of my favourite Disney movies from my childhood.

Video: Under The Sea from The Little Mermaid

Video: I wanna be like you from The Jungle Book

Night Nine: Girl Power

Real Women Have Curves is a really uplifting movie about a girl who is caught between wanting to live by the wishes of her family and wanting to find her own path. During the movie she learns about self-acceptance and romantic love, with the help of the women who work with her at the dress-making factory.

Kinky Boots is about a man who decides to save his family shoemaking business by creating shoewear for drag queens. Chiwetel Ejiofor is amazing as Lola/Simon, the drag queen who shows him the way. I dare you to watch this film and not want to boot up, whether you’re male or female!

Night Ten: Testosterone

Sometimes, when all else fails you have to bring the fight.

Predator is just the ultimate kickbutt movie; a team of commandos headed by Swarzenegger are hunted down by a bloodthirsty alien. At the end, only one man is left to face the predator…

Under Siege: A US battleship which is about to be decommissioned is taken over by terrorists. Only one man can stop them: Casey Ryback, a former Navy SEAL who is the ship’s chef… Classic Seagal.

Night Eleven: Bloodsuckas

I love vampire stories, so I had to have a vamp night.

From Dusk Til Dusk starts off with the focus on a couple of criminals and their abduction of a preacher and his family, then abruptly switches to glorious b-movie splendour as they are attacked by vampires. Here’s Salma Hayek’s seductive dance from the movie:

Blade is the daywalker, the half-human who has all of the strengths of a vampire, and none of the weaknesses, except for the thirst. I love the opening scenes when Blade enters a rave where the vamps are showered in blood, and I still remember how great this scene looked in the cinema way back in 1998:

Night Twelve: Indulgence

I never got to see Dirty Dancing or The Princess Bride at the cinema, as I was only seven years old when they were released. I’d love to relive them on the big screen, as they are a couple of my favourite movies ever.

Tagged:

Semaj
Nicholas
Dr Monkey
Westcoast Walker
Captain Incredible

Two long weeks ago my buddy J.D. tagged me to do this meme where you get to create your own film festival. Then Becca followed up with her tag. Since I’ve been tagged twice I’m going to follow Becca’s example and write about twelve nights instead of six.

1) Choose 12 Films to be featured. They could be random selections or part of a greater theme. Whatever you want.

2) Explain why you chose the films.

3) Link back to Lazy Eye Theatre so I can have hundreds of links and I can take those links and spread them all out on the bed and then roll around in them.

4) The people selected then have to turn around and select 5 more people.

Night One: Urban Underworld

My first two selections are dark stories which focus on the cruel world in which we live.

Dirty Pretty Things shines a light on Britain’s shadow economy via the characters of Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Senay (Audrey Tautou), who are illegal immigrants working in a hotel. Former doctor Okwe finds a human heart in a toilet at the hotel and realises that his boss is not just a hotelier. In order to escape the immigration authorities and later to procure a new identity, Senay is asked to give up her sexual innocence.

It can be easy to ignore the poverty and criminality which lurk just beyond our front doors. Although I’ve never been to South Africa, there is an increasing level of violent crime in London and many other cities. Tsotsi has no regard for life, until he shoots a woman and steals her car then finds her baby in the backseat. The rest of the movie asks whether someone who has committed awful acts can redeem himself.

Night Two: Metamorphosis

The next two films are about transformation. The Prestige focuses on illusion and deception in a theatrical sense, while The Machinist is about the physical and mental deterioration of a man burdened by guilt. Both films happen to feature Christian Bale, though watching him in the second film isn’t much fun.

Night Three: Love, Lust and Madness

And then we get to the sex. Jamón, Jamón is a spicy Spanish surreal satirical comedy starring Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem. Penelope’s character is dating a guy whose mother thinks she is beneath them. The mother hires Javier’s character to seduce her away from the son, mayhem ensues and it all ends with a bizarre ham fight between the men… (Looking at the imdb page for this movie, I noticed that the characters are given hilarious generic titles such as The Whore Mother, The Mother Whore, The Whore’s Daughter, The Spicy Sausage (Chorizo).)

Betty Blue is a mesmerising look at utterly crazy love. Betty blows into Zorg’s mundane life like a hurricane and draws him into her crazy and erotic world. He endures her frequent tantrums and destructiveness without complaint as an active partner in their obsessive love. However, in time it becomes clear that he cannot protect her from herself.

Night Four: Intertwining Lives

In Amores Perros, the lives of several strangers are changed forever after a terrible car accident. In contrast, The Lives of Others focuses on a man who observes a couple without their knowledge, and becomes increasingly emotionally entangled in their lives. Both movies unearth significant truths about human nature.

Night Five: Martial Art

You know, if I had a few more movie nights I’d love to feature kung-fu classics like Drunken Master, Enter The Dragon or Knockabout, but I’ve got limited time here.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is probably my favourite movie, it’s just so amazingly beautiful. It was the first wuxia movie I’d ever seen, but it captured my imagination and led me to seek out other such films such as Hero and House of Flying Daggers.

Beautiful Boxer relates the true story of Parinya Charoenphol, a Muay Thai champion who had a sex-change operation to become a woman. The brutal sport of Muay Thai seems a strange occupation for a man with yearnings to be more feminine, but it was the only way for him to help his family and save up money towards his sex change. He also incorporated his feminine leanings into his boxing persona, wearing make-up at matches and kissing his opponents coquettishly!

Night Six: The Search for Truth

Our sixth night moves us from the art house to the multiplex, though both films are equally intelligent and compelling.

While The Matrix is a based around a sci-fi premise, we can take much from Neo’s journey. He is given the choice to either remain in the artificial world that is all he knows, or venture out into the unknown to discover the truth. Which pill would you choose?

In Bourne Identity, Jason Bourne doesn’t remember who he is, but starts to piece together his memories as he tries to escape the people who hunt him. Though he has forgotten so much, his subconscious mind and physical prowess provide astonishing insights into who he used to be.

–

I’ll finish the second instalment over the weekend. In the meantime, what do you think of my selections?

Make It Happen. I might go and see this movie over the weekend. The only review I’ve read about it wasn’t great, but it looks like your typical believe-in-yourself-and-everything-will-work-out movie, which is what I need at the moment. Plus the sexy dancing is a bonus.

Wank.

Three weeks ago I bought my ticket to see the Dark Knight this Friday at the IMAX, and I can’t wait. At the moment I’m trying to avoid spoilers while gearing myself for the most anticipated blockbuster of the year.

Tonight I watched the animated movie Batman: Gotham Knight which I rented via iTunes. It was designed as a bridge between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, and depicts some of Batman earliest battles, whilst also exploring some aspects of Bruce Wayne’s origins and his path towards becoming Batman.

Though the movie works well as an anthology, the work of different animation teams is apparent in the disparate animation styles. I felt that this worked well as it showed that although Batman’s core values shone through in each story, he could be viewed through a range of perspectives.

This point was explored in the first tale which featured a group of kids who’d each had encounters with Batman and had a different interpretation on what they’d seen. The second story featured a cop who imagined Batman to be a dangerous vigilante, until personal experience of Batman changed his mind. The other four chapters focussed on Bruce Wayne/Batman himself; his values, his fears, his strengths and his motivations.

Overall, it was a great way to re-immerse myself in the legend and the mythology of this most human of super-heroes.

Urban Recluse Rating:

By the way, I’m really baffled about the reports that Christian Bale allegedly assaulted his mother and sister. I’m hoping that it’s not as awful as it sounds.

I’ve noticed this meme going around a few of my favourite blogs, so I thought I’d join in for the trip back in time. You basically choose the best film released during each year of your life.

1980: Flash Gordon (The soundtrack by Queen, the flying monkeys, Ming the Merciless, plus the buff Flash G himself makes this the perfect movie to commemorate my entrance into being.)

1981: S.O.B.

1982: E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial

1983: Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi

1984: Ghost Busters (I loved when Sigourney Weaver went all evil)

1985: Back to the Future

1986: Soul Man (seems bizarre now, I used to watch this film constantly – until the video wore out)

1987: Dirty Dancing (Amazing soundtrack!) Honourable mention: The Princess Bride

1988: Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Jessica!)

1989: When Harry Met Sally

1990: Ghost (the sweetest, saddest movie ever)

1991: Terminator 2: Judgment Day

1992: Aladdin (You ain’t never had a friend like me!)

1993: Dragon – The Bruce Lee Story

1994: Speed

1995: Se7en

1996: Scream (I first watched this film in Sociology class, our teacher was a cool dude.)

1997: Titanic

1998: The Truman Show

1999: The Matrix

2000: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

2001: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

2002: Spider-Man

2003: Kill Bill Vol. 1 (I remember watching this from the back row of a Parisian cinema)

2004: Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (I’ve never laughed so much in my life)

2005: Batman Begins

2006: Casino Royale

2007: Beowulf

2008 – The Dark Knight (I’m pretty sure that this will be the movie of the year, but I’ll confirm this view after I see it on Friday evening. Otherwise it would probably be between The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man)