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joaniejo
Reviews
Pizza: The Movie (2004)
This indie is refreshingly fun with great extra features
This film starts out in a way that you think might be predictable, but with fun plot twists, clever dialogue, genuine energy and a slew of laughable moments, totally surprises you and wins you over.
If it seems like the film is only about the plight of a pizza delivery person, think again. Sure, most of the best moments are terribly funny scenes of the worst delivery scenarios imaginable. But there's a bigger story than that and other fun sub-plots that make for a well-rounded film about a guy who just happens to be delivering pizza for a concrete reason, and the rest of the world around him is given equal weight.
The whole DVD is a nice, slick presentation with tons of extras that are definitely worth checking out.
AND the soundtrack really rocks! It's a great array of mostly Ohio-based musicians (local to the filmmaker) and the varied songs are well incorporated into the film. This is truly a soundtrack that merits listening to on its own.
So, cue up your DVD, crank the volume, order a pizza (and tip generously, or at least humanely) and watch alone or with friends. Just don't burn the roof of your mouth!
Mystic River (2003)
overrated
This was basically a mediocre story with better than usual acting and production values. What it boiled down to really was a kind of stupid whodunnit and a parallel plot of "could THIS guy have dunnit" and lots of s*** in between made to seem more than it all was.
With no-name or recycled actors, couldn't this have totally been a "TV movie" (which I unfortunately equate with lesser quality and less discerning audiences)?
I get the feeling the book had more to it, and Helgeland probably boiled a lot down as well he could, but when he did that for LA Confidential he had a lot grander scope of things going on, and for this, there really just wasn't that much there there. Eh.
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
Great; goriest movie ever?
Wow, this film packed a wallop. While it had some little flaws (weapons allowed on planes? how do passports and cash simply materialize when necessary? etc.) the action is truly great. And the filming of the action was clear enough to follow, unlike the trend nowadays to splice so quickly you can't even tell what's going on. It is way up there with the goriest movies I've ever seen. I'm trying to think of similar gore levels in movies that are not just all about splatter...Braveheart? Maybe I'm thinking of that cause that film had such visceral sound effects like some of the ones in Kill Bill. But man, the blood does fly and so do body parts in this, and I can't imagine anyone disappointed by the levels of gore. Artistic gore! Clever and new gore! But aside from that aspect of the film, is a great throughline of intent. The Bride is so strong and focused...you figure she'll get out of Vol. 1 just fine cause there's Vol. 2, but still, it's exciting to see how she does it. And yeah, I want to know the back story - when the cliffhanger came at the end, I really wished Vol. 2 was spooled and ready to go. I would have sat another 2 hours right then. I can't wait for more. As for the "boycott" trend, come on. Did any of us boycott Empire Strikes Back cause we felt gypped that Star Wars continued on? How about Matrix fans, obligingly ready for 3rds even after crappy 2nds followed a good 1st? Get off the $10 high horse and see 2 parts of a good movie, and forego paying for some crap movies you know will suck, if that's what it takes. Hell, I went to a matinee today which was $5. If you want to see badly enough, you will. And you should!