I'm amazed that I waited till I was 23 to finally watch Pretty in Pink (1986). I almost died from every single shot, line, character that was sewn so neatly together to teenage dream perfection. It made me realize that Pretty in Pink encased the 80's like the The Perks of Being a Wallflower (out this week) did for the 90's. It gushes and oozed of high school nostalgia from the bullies to the dances to our first loves. No one forgets these moments especially the people you shared them with and I'm sure we all had a Duckie of our own. I need to get this on DVD ASAP and re-watch  it till it burns from exhaustion. It truly makes one appreciate the immense talent and wit that John Hughes possessed that allowed him to represent and give voice to an entire generation. And even though he presented mostly teens from the eighties, these teen issues reverberate throughout generations to come. I've been meaning to read Don't You Forget About Me, a collection of essays of contemporary writers on John Hughes' films. Now, all I have left to do is go through the whole Hughes' work starting from Sixteen Candles to Maid in Manhattan. Here we go....!

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Postercollective just posted up some of Lauren Rolwing's revision of classic foreign film (with the exception of Grey Gardens) posters that take on an abstract aesthetic rather than mundane montage formats that we're used to seeing nowadays. I'm glad to say that I've watched almost all of these films and each of them are a force of art that needs to be recognized to the highest standard.

 Little Otik

Grey Gardens

Delicatessen

Eyes Without a Face

The Seventh Seal

Cleo From 5 to 7

Click here to see more of Lauren's work. 

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Go On (NBC)

It's that time again! Fall TV season means new shows, new faces, and hopefully better story lines. Out of the many series that are premiering this fall, I have the most hope for at least three shows. Go On stars Matthew Perry as a Ryan King, a sportscaster coping with the loss of his wife. The show might stumble and struggle to keep people interested (maybe) but I'm excited to see what it has to offer. And I'm definitely expecting some old FRIENDS to stop by. If you know what I mean. It is premiering tonight at 9/8c tonight! 

Elementary (CBS)

The Mindy Project (FOX)

And then there is Elementary (CBS) and The Mindy Project (FOX). What do these two new fall shows have in common. FUCKING ASS-KICKING ETHNIC WOMEN! I've been waiting for Lucy Liu to make a comeback and not just in Southland but in a show all of her own. Of course she will be sharing the screen with Jonny Lee Miller (Dark Shadows, Trainspotting) as Dr. Joan Watson and Sherlock Holmes, respectively. And considering the main character is named Sherlock Holmes, I think we should all know by now what this show is going to entail. ( I HOPE) The mystery solving begins on September 27 10/9c. 

And then there is The Office veteran Mindy Kaling,who at just age of 24 was the first female writer for the mockumentary show. I've also been meaning to read her book "Is Everyone Hanging Out without Me?" which sounds fantastic! Who ever thought that a women of Asian/Middle Eastern descent would be headlining her own show in the year 2012! Surely, it sounds plausible (with the exception of Margaret Cho's All American Girl) but "shockingly", it hasn't happened till today. And I would want no one to lead this revolutionary move than Mindy. After the show was rejected by NBC (bastards!), FOX knew better and quickly snatched it up. Who wouldn't with The Mindy Project being produced by none other than B.J. Novak. Especially with Ed Helms appearing as a love interest in the pilot, it's fucking gold! The show premieres on September 25 9:30/8:30c on FOX! 

Naturally, I'm also going to keep up with my other shows such as How I Met Your Mother (CBS, Sept 24, 8/7c), Community (NBC, Oct 19, 8:30/9:30c), Bob's Burgers (FOX, Sept 30,  8:30/9:30c) and The Simpsons. Although, I haven't been keeping up with The Simpsons, when I read in Entertainment Weekly that Natalie Portman, Anne Hathaway, Zooey Deschanel, Sarah Michelle Geller, and Sarah Silverman was going to be in the season 24 premiere as Bart's old girlfriends, I almost choked on my chocolate cookie and fainted. If that kind of news wasn't shocking enough, Steve Carell, Justin Bieber, Edward Norton are also being featured throughout the season. Talk about a STACKED cast! I can't wait! I feel like the luckiest girl in the world! IM BLESSED, THANK YOU TV GODS!

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Outrage

(2010, Takeshi Kitano)

Grade: B+

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Year: 2012
Director: Craig Zobel
Cast: Ann Dowd, Dreama Walker
Region of Origin: U.S.
Rating: R
Time: 90 mins.

There are no cease to the power of film as they are intended to conjure even the deeply rooted fear, enthrallment, anger, and even inspiration in all of us. But no film has stirred more outspoken anger lately than the film Compliance. Craig Zobel's creation could well be debated for relentless hours if it is truly worthy or a piece of shit.

Compliance is based on true events about a prank caller who poses as a police officer, calls a fast food restaurant  and  convinces Sandra, the manager (Ann Dowd) to interrogate an innocent young employee, Becky, (Dreama Walker) of stealing money from a customer. Overwhelmed by her managerial duties on a hectic Friday night, she complies with the officer's order to detain Becky which quickly unravels into disturbing look at the lengths people will go when pressured by authority figures. 

From the beginning of the film, we are attacked with behemoth letters stating that the film is based on a true story tainting the mood for the scenes to come. I put up a post previously of the trailer and expressed my anxiety after watching the grueling clip. Immediately after, I googled the actual story and to my amazement, was taken aback by the extent this cruel and deceiving prank went to. I mean, this could possibly not be true, right? How could people be this stupid? Regardless, I desperately wanted to witness the unraveling of this tragic event to in order to see how Zobel would tell the seemingly impossible story. With sushi-cutting precision, he was able to build the chaotic atmosphere and characters without exploiting Becky under the progressively depressing events. 

Compliance was release only to a limited release at the Landmark theatre in LA. People were willing to pay $12.50 for the movie so I assume they already had previous knowledge of what to expect like I did. But while every single act was precisely according to the real story, it brought the daunting and horrifying reality that the people were more or less people we knew in real-life. Without scapegoating foreigners or criminals, these were regular average joes that followed authority without questioning the morality of the situation. This alone, angered many of the audience members. Some walked out, some bit their tongue and stayed. Viewers were outraged that Sandra and her fiancee (read more) could do such a thing. But the most disturbing thought is that in situations like this, they would probably do the same even if they think they wouldn't and they subconsciously know that which scares the hell out of them. Dowd is completely believable as the manager who just want to do what's right. Every hesitating expression to the wholly apathy for Becky was chilling to watch. It is a portrait of character study as people are willing to disregard their morals for selfish reasons and how the shocking reactions from both the female and male co-workers vary vastly from one another. Besides Sandra's fiancee, all the men workers who were ordered to watch Becky refused to be any part of the act. Whereas most of the female workers obliged making it apparent about the distinct societal roles they were embedded and expected to have. 

I received exactly what I bargained for knowing that I had already researched the actual occurrence and knew that this story would be remote when translated to the big picture. I went with my friend Michelle, and she felt cheated and abused. After the film finished, the man next to her exclaimed out loud "that was a movie?" What is there to expect but the cinematic version of this notorious story? And even though it was based on true events, it seemed too outlandish to actually be true that it translated to the audience to be unrealistic. Cinematic shots of close ups of the meat patty sizzling, foam bubbles, and customers eating was a route to create the atmosphere of the outside world to contrast the brutal dehumanizing act that was taking place only a few steps inside. Ironically, it also contributed to the de-crediting of the story, taking the audience out of the world he tried so hard to build. The most fascinating aspect of this film is not the content but the reaction it got from the outburst of hate to calm intense discussion of the film. Whichever it was, it brought unusual amount of  fervent emotion in the audience to speak their mind loud and mighty to further reason the action taken place in the film. Compliance is truly one film that will evoke strong emotions that they will continue to investigate through the internet, with friends, or even with themselves. B+

and if you're still not convinced of the story, watch the actual footage from the surveillance camera in the office where the most unforgivable and  despicable act took place. 

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I don't watch every trailer thrown my way but after seeing this still from The To-Do List with

Aubrey Plaza and Donald Glover in eighties transitioning into nineties get up, i clicked play so fast I caused skid marks on my mouse pad. The To-Do List is not your typical valentinesy  day movie coming out valentines day with an all stars cast, corny jokes, relationship problems, and sexual innuendoes. Uhh, yeah it is...! The film stars the all hailing queen of monotone indifference, Aubrey Plaza and her friends, Donald Glover, Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, Rachel Bilson (wow!), and Christopher Mintz-Plasse. With this kind of all-stars cast, anything can happen especially with this fun of a premise and costume design! (Look at Glover's hair!)

The story is about Brandy Klark (Aubrey Plaza), an overachiever who feels the pressure to make a 'to-do list' of all the x-rated activities that she missed out in high school and wants to finish before college. 

This raunch-o-thon will be Maggie Carey's (Funny or Die Presents) feature writing and directing debut which will be released on V-Day, February 14, 2013. I'm pretty excited. Carey usually writes for 'Funny or Die Presents' so I'm assuming it will be hilarious every passing second. I'm not so sure how I would feel about seeing it as a teenager as that might emphasis and add more pressure to make one's own lists but I'm all for girl power, so here we go!

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When I first heard that there was a going to be a scene in the new Brian De Palma ( Carrie, (1976), Scarface (1983), Mission Impossible (1996) ) film where Rachel McAdams and Noomi Rapace kiss, I actually salivated! Now, getting a glimpse of what the story entails from this teaser gives more insight to this much anticipated intimate encounter between these A-List stars. Passion is a remake of the French film Love Crime (2010), directed by Alain Corneau, starring Kristen Scott Thomas and Ludivine Sagnier as two rivaling corporate executive. In this version, a young businesswoman Isabelle (Rapace) plots murderous revenge against her boss and mentor Christine (McAdams) who steals some of her ideas. By the look of it, it could either be extremely good or just plain corny. The French has a way to make these kind of stories work without losing credit, hopefully the Americans can bring do the same and bring some justice to the original. De Palma wrote and directed the film, so I'm crossing my fingers that it will be somewhat entertaining...? Hopefully. 

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Tomboy

(2011, Celine Sciamma)

Grade: A

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Year: 2012
Director: Len Wiseman
Cast: Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel
Region of Origin: U.S.
Rating: PG-13
Time: 118 mins

Naturally after the news was released that there would be a remake of Paul Verhoeven's Total Recall (1990),  a vomit-inducing amount  of inquiries came to mind: "Could Colin Ferrell really be better than the one and only Arnold?", "Will the three-breasted mutant and Kuato make an appearance?", "Will Melinda be black?", (love me some ethnic girls) and last but not least, "How did Jessica Biel even get this role?" With dizzying questions running miles around my head,  a cool calmness enveloped me and gave me a little more hope after seeing the trailer and Kate Beckinsale kicking some serious ass.

Douglas Quaid (Colin Ferrell) is a factory worker who married his high school sweetheart Lori (Kate Beckinsale) and lives day to day wondering if there is more to his life than just being an average person. The planet has been decimated by nuclear warfare and the only two places to live is the ultra-posh United Federation of Britain or the uninhabitable The Colony. Quaid longs for more to his life and one day goes to Rekall, when things go astray. 

What could've been an excellent revision of one of the most classic science fiction films, turned out to be a quick shuttle ride from enthrallment to entrapment. A tasteless, bland, and snooze-fest that seemed a little too long for its own good dragged everyone who dared to enter the theatre straight downhill. Although there were minor details that weren't included in the remake, it was those miniature detail that made the film falter at the most pivotal moments.  The film's core flaws are masked by breath-taking fight scenes and set decorations that stall your true emotions  The tag line "What is Reality?" should be the main focus but instead the audience knows exactly where Quaid stands and where he will end. It's a a decently thrilling take on the classic that doesn't quite capture the true essence of the unforgettable original. But if you love remakes or mindless dialogue with action-packed cat and mouse chases, this ain't sooooo bad. C+

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