netflix barrage 003 - the sickly

I think this is the order we saw them in...
All viewed under the influence of a killer head cold...


Rocky (1976)
Finally saw one of the all time great sports/human struggle movies. Grittier than expected, Philly must be a rough town. The early shot with the puppies in the pet store window could have been throw-away symapathy, but the script ties it in. Beginning and ending with the famous steps is a brilliant way to show progress in the training montage. Wonder how part 2 will be.


Raising Arizona (1987)
In this indeed worthy predecessor to the likes of The Big Lebowski, a brilliantly white trash Nicolas Cage narrates his escapades involving convenience stores, a purdy police-lady, and some more well off folk undeserving of their newborn quintuplets. Succulent comedy flows in the very blood of the script, even in the names! Hilarious, despite baby content. Coen-tastic, in a word. Miller's Crossing is next, I believe.


Persepolis (2007)
My second viewing, but her first. Great contrasts between national conflicts and an (extra?)ordinary girl just trying to grow up and how children interpret what they see on TV and hear from parents. Interesting details about how politics can affect people's everyday lives and how they cope. The monochromatic animation is quite dynamic, especially during surreal-er sequences and silhouetted depictions of war. Having only seen it in French with subtitles, I am interested to hear there is indeed an English dub (featuring Sean Penn & Iggy Pop??).


Groundhog Day (1993)
Been meaning to see this for a long time now. It's truly a unique kind of movie. The premise is a once in a lifetime. Bill Murray repeats that one day many more times than I had expected. Great script going through how he would gradually go from glee to remorse to self improvement & making the best of life. Some hint of an explanation why he was repeating the day would have left the film with a bit more closure at the end, though I read there was an explanation in one version of the script - his spiteful coworker casted a voodoo spell on him *facepalm* - so no explanation is better than that.


Where The Buffalo Roam (1980)
"Remember that line in the song Home on the Range? Gonzo's all about the search for the American Dream!" this film constantly badgers you, "Well here's another kooky twist!" . Neil Young's score is but one of many annoying parts of this shoddy Hunter S. Thompson... biopic? I'm happy to read that, as well as critics, Thompson himself hated the film and its "bad, dumb, low-level, low-rent script." Perhaps I should have been inebriated for this one, the producers apparently were. Bill Murray as this gun-toting, drug-experimenting maniac does have a few brief shining moments, but definitely shy towards the 1998 Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. But once you do you can't go back to this.

The Machinist (2004)
An emaciated Non-F-Bomb-Dropping Christian Bale stars in this brooding thriller, one of those great ones that really turns everything on its ear in the final windup. The colors are (usually, unless the mood calls for otherwise) washed the heck out, loads of grit & grain all over the place, great style. Perhaps I should check out some of director Brad Anderson's other work?

Hmm... wonder what's next...