I watched a short OVA called Mars of Destruction this week (which is notorious for being the lowest-rated title on My Anime List). It is glorious, like something Ed Wood would make if he were an anime director. I can't even describe it except to say that it is wonderfully bad. Everyone should watch this; it's only 20 minutes. In fact, here is a download link to make it easier!
The Verdict (1982): One of the bigger Paul Newman movies I had yet to see. Pretty good legal drama. Paul Newman is great as always, as is James Mason (who can always be counted on to play a wonderfully slimy bastard). A couple of problems, though: There's a romance subplot that leads to a melodramatic plot twist that doesn't really work for me at all and feels out of place in tone (the movie is much more low-key). Also think the ending kind of fizzles out; a bit too neat and tidy for my tastes. Ah well. Still well worth watching for Paul Newman.
I Love You Phillip Morris (2009): This is actually much funnier than I expected. Kind of like The Informant! in that it takes a true story and tells it with a sort of absurdist slant. Jim Carrey's southern accent is kind of distracting, though ... bit too much Huckleberry Hound in there.
Phantasm II (1988): Basically the same as Phantasm, except it sucks. This sequel clearly has a higher budget than the original, but the filmmakers don't really know what to do with it, so they blow stuff up and make everything bloodier without really changing anything from the original at all. The original is interesting just because it's so damn weird, but when you expect everything, it's pretty damn dull.
American Splendor (2003): Really good movie. It's part-documentary (sort of) and part adaptation of the American Splendor comics, and both parts of the movie intermingle at times, with fantasy bleeding into reality. It's a strange approach that works due to the nature of the comic series, which was basically Harvey Pekar's life (and glimpses of others in Cleveland) put into comic form. Really helps that both the movie and the American Splendor series itself are not totally flattering portraits of Pekar; for better or worse, he wanted everything to be "real", which definitely makes it more interesting.
On the queue for this week: Tangled (2010) (hopefully), The Rock (1996)
Total Movies: 81 (Blazing Saddles, The Descent, Gundam 00 the Movie: Awakening of the Trailblazer, Village of the Damned, Children of the Damned, Trigun: Badlands Rumble, The Night of the Hunter, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha the Movie 1st, Dawn of the Dead, Black Swan, Clue, Scarface, Dracula: Sovereign of the Damned, True Grit, Perfect Blue, The Quick and the Dead, High Sierra, Shutter Island, A Serious Man, Kite, The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Broken Blade 3, Kite Liberator, Machete, The Manchurian Candidate (2004), Heathers, The Prince of Tennis: The Two Samurai, The First Game, Notes on a Scandal, The American, King of Thorn), The Expendables, Sword of the Stranger, The Hangover, Welcome to the Space Show, Broken Blade 4, The Social Network, End of Evangelion, Neo Tokyo, Red, Dreamcatcher, Jason X, Wag the Dog, The Naked Gun, Dirty Work, 8mm, The Wicker Man (2006), Blood: The Last Vampire, Winter's Bone, The Road, Heartcatch Precure! Hana no To de Fashion Show ... Desu ka?!, Broadcast News, Bulletproof, Dead Leaves, Dirty Dancing, Hot Tub Time Machine, Eureka Seven: Pocketful of Rainbows, Cloverfield, Best in Show, Play Misty for Me, Paprika, The Cat Returns, Welcome to the Dollhouse, 12 Monkeys, The Killer, Metropolis, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, The Third Man, The King's Speech, Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus, The Abyss, The Fighter, Mega Piranha, Dumb and Dumber, The Rebirth of Buddha, 127 Hours, The Kids Are All Right, The Town, Willow, Akira, Morning Glory, The Verdict, I Love You Phillip Morris, Phantasm II, American Splendor)
