Big Mike's Movie Blog

Arrested Wednesdays #4

bigmikesmovieblog@gmail.com (Big Mike Mendez) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:00:00 +0000

Ever wonder why this beautiful, hilarious, critically acclaimed and beloved sitcom I blog about or ramble on incessantly about in real life was ever cancelled in the first place?

David Cross has a theory.

This Actually Isn't Really It

bigmikesmovieblog@gmail.com (Big Mike Mendez) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:56:00 +0000

The penultimate title of the Michael Jackson concert film, This Is It, maybe have noble intentions, but it's pretty misleading at best. Certainly while the back-up dancers, vocal singers and musicians are giving it their all 100% of the time, Michael understandably conserves his energy, walking through routines and skipping thorough lyrics. Yes, he does chide a singer for challenging him during a duet, but it is both brief and gentle. The reports of his task mastering in this film have been greatly exaggerated.

Which leads directly into one of the main faults of the film and from what I have read, most reviews of it. I wrote in a post at the time of his death about my feelings of great affection towards the man, but I know that those were not shared by everyone. There might not have been a more polarizing celebrity than Jackson, but it seems even in death, his fans have shown him great reverence and have flocked to see this film. I am surprised at how many respected critics seemed to enjoy the film and praise it merits, but I must admit, through my rose colored lenses which watched Michael dance in awe, waiting for a moonwalk that never happened and knowing every song he was going to sing before he sang it, the movie was not without its faults.

Yes, Michael is meticulous in the vision of his show. And his vision is truly grand. The movie only hints at what would have been an amazing show for those lucky enough to see it. Unfortunately, I feel that now we are the unlucky ones who get to see the skeleton of the show (no pun intended) instead of the spectacle that Michael had planned for everyone. Still, the movie is impressive enough with huge set pieces, special footage shot for new takes on "Smooth Criminal", "Thriller" and "They Don't Care About Us". And admittedly, when the Jackson 5 backdrop came down, I sucked in my breath and got all excited, but slowly exhaled when Michael again walked through the steps and ho-hummed thorough the songs. So, while I remain a huge Michael Jackson fan, I was glad I only paid five dollars to see the movie about a rehearsal of a concert that never happened.

Furthermore, I heard that Sony had planned a limited run in order to shorten the DVD release window and make it possible for a Christmas release. I for one, am a big fan of this strategy and had hoped it would payoff for Sony, thus enabling the damned teenagers behind to see the movie in a few months in their own home where they can talk through the entire film to their heart's content.

Stupid kids.

Arrested Wednesdays #3

bigmikesmovieblog@gmail.com (Big Mike Mendez) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:00:00 +0000

One of the ongoing storylines over all three seasons of Arrested Development, (now available for $12.99 at your local Target, just in time for the holidays) once the tender heart of young George Michael Bluth. Played wonderfully, by a then unknown Michael Cera, George Michael began the series with an unrequited crush on his cousin Maeby, played by Alia Shawkat.

At first, the infatuation seems one sided, as George Michael silently pines away for her and finds himself attempting to repress his feelings for her, knowing that their relationship is an impossible one. He even attempts to distract himself with a girlfriend Ann, but when Maeby becomes increasingly jealous and critical of her, it's as clear as the Ann on plain's face that the two cousins share a special bond. When Maeby gives into her feelings, she quickly retreats from George Michael, leaving him in a stifling fit of self doubt and confusion.

If there is one commonality that everyone can find with this wealthy family, it is the struggle and heartache of George Michael. As the years go bye, I find myself constantly drawn back to the character as his devotion and passion for the woman he cannot have but cannot stop loving drives him forward in the narrative. In many ways, as he grows on the show, the relationship does not, but George Michael soldiers on, determined to remain true to himself, his feelings and the most important thing.

No, not breakfast. Family.

By the way, check out the Movie/TV Quote of the Day on IMDB.com.

Arrested Wednesdays #2

bigmikesmovieblog@gmail.com (Big Mike Mendez) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:00:00 +0000

First names aside, I have always felt a deep connection with Michael Bluth. My favorite Bluth, Michael is fiercely loyal to his family and always puts them first, but is not above trying to get them to better themselves. Michael struggles both in his life and at work to always do the right thing, even when a short cut presents itself. He has aspiration of being a lawyer, finding another wife and mother for his son and handles all of his frustrations with a dry wit and confidence that even I cannot emulate.

While he may seem mild mannered, there is a darker side of Michael. He is capable of turning on his family, whether it's stealing his brother's girlfriend, deceiving his mother into rehab, keeping his father in prison, out of prison or on house arrest and striking a blind woman in the face with a bible, burning down the family banana stand and threaten his secretary all in the first season.

But, Michael does everything for his son and the Bluth Company. He lives and dies for them, putting his blood, sweat and tears into his work. Particularly, the sweat as evidenced in the clip below.

The Basterds, Quentin and Me

bigmikesmovieblog@gmail.com (Big Mike Mendez) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:05:00 +0000

Last Friday night, the New Beverly Cinema in West Los Angeles held a midnight screening of Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. Having already seen and reviewed the film, I still wanted to go see the midnight show. The New Bev runs double features every day of the week and you can catch some really great movies there for seven bucks. But, they also have special events as well and being so close to Hollywood allows them to host special guests. I've seen Last Picture Show and What's Up Doc? with Peter Bogdanovich in attendance and last Halloween I saw Shaun of the Dead with Edgar Wright and John Landis judging the costume contest. Living about forty minutes away from Los Angeles has it's advantages, but it's not always easy to get someone to go with me, particularly since on an evening like Friday, we didn't get home until four in the morning.

So, I decided to tell a little, tiny white lie.

Mike (on the phone)

Hey man.

Friend (also on the phone)

Hey man, what's going on?

Mike

There's a midnight screening of the Basterds at the New Bev tonight.

Friend

That sounds cool.

Mike

Yea, and I heard Quentin is going to be there too.

Friend

Seriously?

Mike

That's what I heard, man.

Would anybody really be upset if he weren't there? Probably not, but as it turned out, it didn't matter. We bought our tickets, received a free copy of the soundtrack and sat in our seats. I decided to go and get a soda and as I walked back up towards the lobby, I saw Quentin Tarantino standing by the wall. He saw me headed towards him and in an attempt to remain incognito, turned to face the wall, then turned around again, made eye contact and said. "Hey." I smiled, stuck my hand out and as he shook it, I said, "Big fan, man." He nodded and said thanks. I turned around in the lobby and went back to my seat, telling my friends that not only was the line too long for a Coke, but Quentin was here and I think he was almost ready to intro the movie. Which he did and as we applauded for him, I told my friends I couldn't believe he was actually here. But, you knew he was coming, they replied. No, I said, I made that shit up so you would come along.

Kinda blurry, I know, but QT doesn't like to stand still.

Quentin thanked us for coming out and told us he had cut together some trailers from some WWII "guys on a mission" movies and would we mind checking them out before the Basterds? The audience clapped loudly in approval and then we sat through roughly twenty five minutes of trailers. Somewhere between Kelly's Heroes and Hornet's Nest, I leaned over to my friend and wondered aloud if anyone told Quentin that his movie was over three hours long since it was already twelve thirty in the morning. However, his movie held up extremely well for not having seen it in two months time and moves up on my list of top films of the year. Also, as we left, everyone got a free poster too.

Good times, good friends, good movies. What more can a guy ask for?

Not listening to the LAMBcast yet?

bigmikesmovieblog@gmail.com (Big Mike Mendez) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:00:00 +0000

The third installment of the LAMB's podcast, cleverly entitled the LAMBcast, has hit the interwebs and is available for download on iTunes. If you have not been listening to the LAMBcast, you suck. Every podcast has gotten better than the last and the third episode is chock full of more good stuff. I'm joined by fellow Bloggers Dylan Fields, Tom Clift, Nick Jobe and Jason Soto, all unique voices in their own right. We chat about news on our central website, The LAMB, which stands for Large Association of Movie Blogs, share what new trailers have our interest or disinterest and play a few games as well. It's topical, humorous and you just may learn a thing or two as well. You can check out the website here where you will find more information, options to download or just listen to the streaming version.

Now, all formalities and niceties aside, I have to write MY post-LAMBcast debrief and speak up on my own behalf. You see dear readers, I am the subject of mockery and ridicule for my general lack of knowledge in the horror genre. In episode 2, Attack of the Oscars, I was under fire for not seeing any Nightmare on Elm Street movies in my youth, whilst seeing more Billy Wilder films than every other LAMBcaster combined! In this week's episode, while improving my Last Man Standing record to 3-1-0, I was again marginalized by having intentionally missed 28 Days Later. Not a big Boyle fan, what can I say?

By now, I'm sure that you can tell I'm being sarcastic and have nothing but good things to say about the LAMBcast and my fellow LAMBcasters. I look forward to each new episode and have more fun recording them than almost anything else I'm doing right now. For myself and on behalf of the other LAMBs, we hope you enjoy listening to them as much as we enjoy recording them.

Also, below is the Cemetary Junction trailer that was discussed in this week's LAMBcast. Check it out, good stuff.

Damned Funny Film

bigmikesmovieblog@gmail.com (Big Mike Mendez) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:00:00 +0000

The Damned United is a British film about football coach Brian Clough. The film jumps back and forth between Clough's rise as the manager of small 2nd Division team Derby County and his fall during his 44 days stint as manager of powerhouse champions Leeds United. Clough was outspoken about football and despised within the sport, but along with his assistant manager Peter Taylor, he turned small clubs into contenders and remains the only manager to not only win the English League Championship with two different teams, but the only one to back to back European Cups as well.

Played more than ably by Michael Sheen, Clough is charming, outspoken and from the very beginning of the film, the audience is rooting for him. Granted, an American audience of six people watching the film less than twenty miles away from where their local team is that very night staving off elimination at the hands of baseball's greatest franchise is more likely to cheer for the underdog, but that's neither here nor there. Sheen shines in the film with no presidents or special effects to distract from him and he is brilliant. The film is a character piece that focuses on him rather than the sport itself. In fact, there are almost no scenes of him coaching and very few of the games themselves. Instead, one whole game is seen from his point of view, in his office, under the stands whilst the crowd cheers and shakes the stadium as he finally beats rival Don Revie and Leeds. The supporting roles played by Colm Meaney, Timothy Spall and Jim Broadbent are all well done, but it is Sheen who carries the film and creates a sympathetic portrait of a man who was loved almost as ferociously as he was hated by fans and footballers alike. If you get a chance to see it here on this side of the pond, I cannot recommend it enough.

Sheen is a pimp. He has a child with Kate Beckinsale for God's sake!

Arrested Wednesdays #1

bigmikesmovieblog@gmail.com (Big Mike Mendez) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:00:00 +0000

Today marks the debut of a new weekly feature on Big Mike's Movie Blog, entitled 'Arrested Wednesdays'. Every week I will be writing a short post highlighting the funniest television series ever, 'Arrested Development'. The purpose of this feature is twofold. First, to increase awareness of the critically acclaimed and publicly dismissed series as the likelihood of a feature length film based on the show grows greater by the week. Secondly, to motivate me to write something new even when I haven't seen anything new and exciting.

That is part of the charm of 'Arrested Development'. Off the air for years now, the show has gained a cult following and for some fans, has become part of their everyday vernacular. I am on of those devotees and will be recounting similar stories in the weeks to come. But, more importantly, I came to re-discover the series this past week and it lifted me out of my funk. I adore the show and wished I could write about it instead of the awful movie I saw instead. So, I decided to do just that.

'Arrested Development' was a Fox sitcom that ran from 2003 to 2006 and in just three seasons managed to win 7 Emmys and constantly stave off cancellation while struggling with ratings. It helped to launch the careers of Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Tony Hale and Alia Shawkat while serving as a huge career boost to Jason Bateman, Jeffrey Tambor, Jessica Walters and David Cross. The show hosted such special and recurring guests such as Charlize Theron, Henry Winkler, Liza Minnelli, Jeff Garlin, Ed Begley Jr., James Lipton, Julia-Louis Dreyfus, Zach Braff and Ben Stiller. Infinitely quotable and rapid fire with its jokes, the show never found an audience on the air, but lives on eternally on DVD, reruns and in the hearts of fans around the world.

If you are unfamiliar with the show, you can find the three seasons on DVD for under twenty dollars each in most places, especially Target.

Now, the blog feature about the story of a wealthy family who lost everything and the one son who had no choice but to keep them altogether.

It's Arrested Wednesdays.

2010, The Year We Make MORE Contact

bigmikesmovieblog@gmail.com (Big Mike Mendez) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:52:00 +0000

In an interesting article by Gordon Paddison entitled Moviegoers 2010, the author cites a recent study intended for film marketers and explains how the Internet is mainly responsible for how people choose what movies to see. Traditional media and critics are becoming increasingly less likely to influence moviegoers and the Internet is their chief tool in learning more about a film that they are interested in. Furthermore, the opinion of their peers is an important factor in determining which movie they see, for better or worse. Audiences from age 13 to 49 spend a large amount of their time online and utilize various forms of technology for entertainment from TV, internet and mobile devices. Social networking sites and mobile to mobile communication are also very important as 'word of mouth' for younger audiences.

One unfortunate statistic was that teenagers tend to go to the movies in large groups. Thankfully, I tend to go to the movies at venues which have strict curfews.

Well, what does this have to do with my blog? If you're reading this, then it is statistically likely than your take my opinion into consideration when deciding to go out to a movie. If you happen to fall into this category, firstly I would like to thank you for reading and hope to continue to do so. Secondly, I am proud that you listen to my voice and would like to hear yours more often in any form of feedback. The thought that someone out there is reading my nonsense makes me want to write more of it.

However, if you are one of my movie blogging contemporaries, this study should be of far more importance than it is to the casual movie fan. As the shift from traditional media and critics continues, people who read our blogs and reviews will be more inclined to trust our opinions

more than anyone else. Most of us are already known amongst our friends as 'the movie guy/girl' and as our online readers grow, so will the number of people that will or will not see a movie based on your recommendation. Let's face it, movies such as Transformers 2 will remain critic proof, (the study backs this fact up as well.) but when deciding what else to see or what to see to avoid the lines and crowds they will likely be reading your site or a site like yours in order to help them choose. Remember that sites such as Ain't it Cool News and JoBlo.com started out as smaller sites run by one or two fans. I am not under the delusion that my little dog and pony show I call a blog is anywhere close to that caliber of a website, but some of your blogs that I read certainly have that potential. However, I get a ton of emails everyday from studios and independent filmmakers who are looking for any kind of write up on my site for their movie. I more often than not choose otherwise, but if it were a movie I was already interested in *coughShutterIslandcough then I might be more inclined to consider tickets to a screening or post a link to pictures or trailers.

So, in conclusion to my Jerry Maguire mission statement, the aforementioned article gave my cause for both hope and caution. Hope that someday what I write may be taken in by a much larger audience, who respect and value my opinion on film as a 'friend' rather than a 'critic'. And caution in that I try not to forget why I write and become the very reason that I started writing in the first place, which was to provide a my own unique take on movies.

Thanks for reading.

Doing Time in Stalag 17

bigmikesmovieblog@gmail.com (Big Mike Mendez) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 06:16:00 +0000

This post is in conjunction with the LAMB event - LAMBs in the Director's Chair.

Stalag 17 is a stand out film in Billy Wilder's career. It has all the hallmarks of a Wilder film, including voice over narration, double crosses and men in drag. But, it also marked an important turning point in his career. After making a few comedies and excelling at dramas and noir like, Double Indemnity, Sunset Blvd. and The Lost Weekend, Stalag was a war drama unlike any other. Taking place in a prisoner of war camp in World War II, a group of American sergeants try to discover the German spy in their midst that giving information to their captors. Like many Wilder films, it was based on a play, yet production started without a completed script. This added to the realism for the actors who themselves were unsure of which one of them would turn out to be the rat. Furthermore, Wilder infused the film with overtly sexual humor and clashed with the studio over the tone of the subject matter. It led to the dissolution of his working relationship with Paramount. As was his style, his belied his drama with a sublime humor that would be far more evident in later films such as Oscar winning movie, The Apartment. In addition, the studio angered him by withholding part of the film's profits and suggesting that Wilder change the nationality of the camp guards from German to Polish. It is widely believed that Wilder took carte blanche with the film because of the fact that his mother died in a concentration camp. That fact makes it more remarkable to me that he would choose to make a dark comedy about a film that show closely mirrored a tragedy in his own life. But, that was what made Wilder's movies special. He could take stories about betrayal, murder or lust and make them relatable, show us characters we could identify with and ultimately a movie that audiences would enjoy.

Not to take anything away from Wilder, but for me, the film is all about William Holden. In fact, it's a stroke of casting genius on Wilder's part for the studio wanted Charlton Heston in the role. But, Wilder saw the character of Sergeant J.J. Sefton as far more cynical and anti-heroic than he thought Heston or second choice Kirk Douglas could play. He instead chose Bill Holden, whom he made four films with, more than any other actor beside Jack Lemmon. Forced into the role by the studio, Holden, like the character, was stuck in a situation he could not escape, but he makes the best of it the only way he can. Sefton finally escaped, while Holden won an Oscar. He was an actor who simply seemed to be himself on screen, cool and intelligent. Who else could romance Audrey Hepburn while beefing with Humphrey Bogart? He won an Oscar, worked for wildlife conservation, brought Japanese films to America, fought against the blacklist and served in the Army during WWII. Bill Holden was just cool, man. In Stalag, he defies everyone's objections by trading with the Germans for luxury sundry items as well as conjugal visits with female Russian workers. As the other prisoners grow to resent him and become suspicious of his activities, he digs in his heels and is determined to find the spy himself. Finally, Holden leaves the camp with a line that I wish for anything in the world to be able to go back in time and tell some of the guys I served with as I left my duty station for the last time.

"If I ever run into any of you bums on a street corner, just let's pretend we've never met before."

All Aboard For Zombieland

bigmikesmovieblog@gmail.com (Big Mike Mendez) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:13:00 +0000

Zombieland was a terrific movie that had great characters, fun zombie killing action and an excellent script. It will undoubtedly earn comparisons to Shaun of the Dead, but the movie is closer to 48 Hours in it's tone. Bookended by great opening and closing action sequences, the movie is more memorable for the dialogue and interaction between the characters. People remember Nick Nolte picking up Eddie Murphy in jail and the scene in the bar and with Zombieland, audiences will remember Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson riding cross country and the first four rules of living in Zombieland. With a lack of serious zombie action, it is the story and the jokes that keep the audience laughing and never once wondering where all the zombies are at. Witty bon mots such as "One and done, that's my motto. I said that once." and "I've beat wholesale ass for a lot less" would have made this movie as classic on their own strength, but the appearance near the end of the film by none other than Bill Murray completely canonizes the film as not only a classic zombie movie, but a straight forward comedy as well.

And Emma Stone with a shotgun is way hot.

Invention of Lying

bigmikesmovieblog@gmail.com (Big Mike Mendez) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:52:00 +0000

Ricky Gervais knows that the comedic genius of The Invention of Lying is in it's premise that people can only say exactly what they are thinking at any given time. He packs as many jokes as he can into the first twenty minutes and spends the rest of the film telling a story in the uncomfortable, patient style that is his trademark. Which is not to say that the movie drags or becomes too serious, but if you know how Gervais works, then you can take your time with this film and enjoy it.

Ricky is great in the movie, stretching himself as an actor, particularly in the heavy dramatic scenes. If you've only ever seen him in other features like For Your Consideration or Ghost Town, you should see the other side of him that was briefly glimpsed in The Office or Extras. The supporting cast is terrific as well, with a lot of well known comic actors such as Jonah Hill, Louis C.K., Jeffrey Tambor, Rob Lowe and Christopher Guest. Jennifer Garner is also great as the girl who doesn't find Gervais' character attractive but slowly becomes his friend and then falls in love with him. Throw in some great cameos by Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jason Bateman and Ed Norton and The Invention of Lying is a real treat.

I love Tina Fey, but I don't like her as the foil. I want to love her, not dislike her.

Always Sunny in Los Angeles, or The Nightman, The Dayman and Me.

bigmikesmovieblog@gmail.com (Big Mike Mendez) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 21:30:00 +0000

If you're not a fan of the television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia on FX, you're missing out on one of the funniest shows on the air. Almost Seinfeld-esque in concept, it's a show where the main characters are selfish, narrow minded jerks who like to get excited about a new venture every week only to become disinterested in it midway through the episode and focus their energies elsewhere. In only four full seasons, the show has brutally satirized every hot topic issue from abortion, child molestation, political corruption, patriotism and the current economic crisis. But, in between the social commentary they find plenty of time for pure laugh out loud comedy and one great idea sprang from the episode entitled, "Sweet Dee's Dating a Retarded Person" in which the gang comes to the conclusion that if Sweet Dee's retarded rapper boyfriend came become successful as a musician, they can start a band as well. The different creative direction of the group force them into separate bands, Chemical Toilet and Electric Dream Machine, which leads to Charlie writing two different songs for each, Night Man and Day Man. One year later, Charlie would combine both songs along with a troll, a baby boy and cat eyes in the rock opera known as "The Nightman Cometh".

One year after that, the creators of the show took their production on the road. The live show toured eight cities, ending up back in Los Angeles and I was lucky enough to have a friend score tickets to the show at the Palladium in Hollywood. After an opening band that really wasn't as bad as everyone made them feel, the audience was treated to clip from the upcoming A Very Sunny Christmas Special, in which Charlie accosts a mall Santa, resulting in bloodshed and Mac punching children. When asked if they would like another clip, the crowd roared with approval and we were treated to a full length episode to air later this year. In typical Sunny style, this episode found the gang renewing their flip cup rivalry with another bar, only to deal with that bar's disinterest by beginning a new rivalry with Dennis' old fraternity. When the episode was over, Charlie leaped onto stage, burst into song and opened the show. From Charlie's announcement of writing a musical, to first rehearsals and Charlie inviting the waitress to the show, the stage version was just as funny as the broadcast version, especially considering most people in attendance had seen the episode before. There were extended songs, great costumes and hilarious ad-libs that made it different enough to more than warrant the cost of admission. It was a really interactive show, with the performers acknowledging the audience and planting the waitress in the crowd as part of the show. At the end, the entire cast came back on stage to lead everyone in a sing-a-long of Day Man.

Great show, good times, best friends.

The Horror of The Cove

bigmikesmovieblog@gmail.com (Big Mike Mendez) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:52:00 +0000

The Cove is probably the most horrific film I've ever seen in my life and it is all real. Documenting the systematic slaughter and subsequent cover up of dolphin killing in a small village in Japan, The Cove tells the story of a determined group of men and women who plan to expose the killings to the world in order to stop them.

The titular cove.

A talented screenwriter would be hard pressed to come up with a better story that that of Ric O'Barry. Ric began as a dolphin trainer, working on the television show Flipper, but later became an activist against the captivity industry. The story of why he chose to leave that profitable, glamourous life behind is heart breaking and cannot be done just by me here. But by helping to create the demand for captured dolphins, he has dedicated his life to freeing as many as possible and the film begins with him in the small town of Taiji, in the Wakayama prefecture of Japan. He has found a secret cove where dolphins are driven en masse for capture and slaughter and he needs help to save them. But, as the filmmakers try to present all sides of the story, they find deeper levels of collusion between the Japanese government and the fishing industry, corruption of the International Whaling Commission, troubling environmental concerns, extreme health hazards to the Japanese citizens and the infinite possibilities of what dolphins might be able to teach to us.

I sat in the theatre, watching anxiously as the team infiltrated the cove and began to place recording devices in order to capture what they called 'the full orchestra.' And I nervously awaited their success because I questioned whether they would should the terrible, bloody images they had captured. But, I realized quickly that they would because of course, that was their purpose in making the movie. The sequence of the slaughter is one of the most saddening and infuriating pieces of film I've ever seen. The waters fill with a red hue that would rival anything in an Oliver Stone movie and the shrieks of the dolphins as they flail about helplessly in their death throes combine to leave you with thoughts that will stay in your mind long after you leave the theatre. For being a documentary, the film begins like any other, but quickly shifts to a spy thriller before becoming a horror flick.

Make no mistake either, the film is very well made. Combining archival footage with night and thermal vision cameras, an excellent score and very clever editing, the movie uses its medium to drive home the carnage on display. You will begin to question, as I did, your karaoke/sushi nights if for no other reason than your own health. The film is not without its detractors who would have you believe any number of things from the biased editing, inflated numbers of dolphin deaths or the fact that none of these events ever occurred until the Western filmmakers arrived in Taiji. But, I urge you to see the film for yourself and come to your own conclusions. It might motivate you to do some more research for yourself, as I did, which lead me to Ric's website. Read more to find out what has happened in Taiji after the movie's release.

Missed The Bus for District 9

bigmikesmovieblog@gmail.com (Big Mike Mendez) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:00:00 +0000

I was a few weeks behind everyone else in seeing District 9. Normally, when a friend of mine expresses a desire to see a movie, I am more than happy to oblige and accompany them to the theatre. However, when that arrangement gets delayed more than once, I usually give them a two week moratorium before I go see the movie anyway. The film was worth the wait as District 9 is easily one of the best films of the year.

District 9 lived up to the hype and completely blew me away. The documentary fashion immediately drew me into the story and I sat in rapt attention to the story of peaceful aliens who arrive on Earth, then are forced into detention centers while the governments of the world putter about and are unable to effectively deal with the problems posed by the influx of an alien population. I was horrified as the MNU agents laughed at killing the alien eggs while making abortion jokes and threatened the aliens with physical separation of their families. For all the obvious references to South Africa and apartheid, I could not but help to think of Germany and Kristallnacht. For here were living, breathing beings who are forced from their homes and killed if they resist, all because they are different from us. That's how terrific the storytelling was, it made me think of one of the darkest periods in our world history.

I had hoped for more of a determined resolve from the main character Wikus to stop the cycle of hate and ignorance in his metamorphosis into one of the creatures. While he does cut short his escape to defend them and help them get back to their ship, his own motives are purely selfish and even near the very end, he seems to act out of desperation and helplessness rather than a genuine empathy with the aliens. I think that was really the message of the film and I like that they didn't hammer it home, leaving the audience to root for Wikus and hoping he would help Christopher and his son get home.

Or at least return for the sequel.

The movie's narrative structure strongly reminded me of Jaws, insomuch as the story seems so grounded in reality that by time shit gets really crazy at the end, you don't even question, you just go along for the ride. Great, great movie.

Extract is 100% Pure Comedy

bigmikesmovieblog@gmail.com (Big Mike Mendez) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:00:00 +0000

Extract is Mike's Judge's third film after Idiocracy and Office Space. Following in the vein of Office Space, it is the natural progression of his work as a filmmaker and as someone who identified so strongly with Office Space as a teenager, Judge was able to tap into that same sense of humor and frustration as he did ten years ago and make a movie that I related to just as well now, working in a management position. While he was fighting the establishment and rallying for the freedom of the working man before, here he gives us a likable man who has worked hard for everything he has, only to see his world unraveled by bickering, lazy employees and a bored wife.

Jason Bateman, as extract creator Joel Reynolds, finds that everything he values is about to be lost to him, until he decides to get off his ass and do something about it. Bateman's dry, straight man delivery, perfected in Arrested Development, is on display as he carries this movie almost single handedly. Not to take away from the rest of the cast as everyone is excellent, but aside from Bateman, everyone else seems like they are barely in the movie. Even the gorgeous and comedically talented Mila Kunis is wonderful, but she has only a handful of scenes. Which, I believe, makes Bateman's performance that much more remarkable seeing as how he gives everyone in the cast so much of himself to work with. From Kristen Wiig as his distant, adulterous wife, J.K. Simmons as his number two man at work and David Koechner as his far too familiar obnoxious neighbor, everyone plays what would normally be very one note roles, very different and they do it all around Bateman. The dude should've popped way before this, AGAIN, but it will probably take audiences awhile to catch up.

Ben Affleck is hilarious as his pusher friend Dean. The Fleck hasn't had this great a supporting role since Boiler Room.

In the same way that you have to had worked in an office to appreciate Office Space, so too do you have to had been in charge of increasingly insipid subordinates, been in a dull, listless relationship with someone you truly care for and made some bad decisions under the influence to understand Extract. Judge's humor comes not from over the top set pieces or irrelevant, gross out gags, but from common situations that occur far to often to not take notice of. The jokes don't come rapidly, but are measured and methodical in delivery. For someone looking for another Apatow/Kev Smith type film, you're likely to be mildly unimpressed. But for fans of Arrested and terrific actors and dialogue, Extract is your best bet for weeks to come. Mike Judge has grown up to find that working for the man is just as maddening as being the man, but just as funny as well.

Tarantino, The Glourious Basterd Himself

bigmikesmovieblog@gmail.com (Big Mike Mendez) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:00:00 +0000

Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds is truly Quentin Tarantino's movie. Not as self-indulgent as Death Proof, but utilizing all of his ability like he did in Kill Bill, it's certainly the biggest movie he's ever made and after being ten years in the making and starring the biggest movie star in the world, it will probably be the biggest hit of his career. But, is it his best film?

Like the boys in Swingers, I subscribe to the theory that Tarantino bites everything from Scorsese. And Hawks. And Leone, Bava, Kubrick and so many others. Which isn't to say I don't enjoy Tarantino's movies, I probably enjoy them more because I am aware of all the films that are being stolen, I mean, 'referenced'. When he is on his game, films like Jackie Brown are wonderful. He writes fantastically for his characters and his own world and the film is very darkly funny if you think Nazis were evil and killing them by any means necessary is a good thing. Twisting three story lines together from Jewish refugees to secret Allied operations and the Basterds themselves, the movie follows a typically QT non-linear structure that jumps back and forth between the three but gives equal time to all. You can tell he has spent almost a decade on the script and while it shows a lot of growth and development, he still relies on his older methods to make it through certain parts of the script. Basterds feels almost like he has tired of the criticisms and decides to steal mostly from himself. The film is mostly scenes of people sitting around, talking to each other with an occasional bloody killing to break them up. Divided in chapters a la, Kill Bill, each one involves at least one tension filled scene of terrific dialogue and great acting across drinks and a table. After strudel with the Jew Hunter in a Parisian cafe, you basically know how the rest of these are going to end up and they become redundant. The rest of the Tarantino hallmarks are here from close ups of Diane Kruger's feet, to voice over narration and other B-movies tricks.

Foot fetishes aside, what I enjoyed most about the movie was how much of it centered around cinema. For those moviegoers without a general knowledge of pre-WWII film, and specifically, early German cinema, there won't be anything that will be taken away from the enjoyment of the movie by missing these references, but for cinephiles like Tarantino himself, you can smile and nod at the discussions of Pabst, film nitrate stock and Riefenstahl, as well as Chaplin, King Kong and Dietrich.

The performances all around are terrific, particularly when one considers most of the movie is spoken in languages that Tarantino himself doesn't speak. He shows tremendous faith in his European actors and they do not disappoint. Christoph Waltz and Michael Fassbinder as German and British soldiers, respectively are terrific and shine in their scenes. But, Melanie Laurent, as a Jewish woman living in occupied France, is mesmerizing on screen. Her mere presence gives us a sense of tension and fear at her true identity being discovered, but Tarantino ratchets it up whenever he gets the chance. I would have liked to see more resolution between her character and Waltz' 'Jew Hunter', but that was not to be.

PS - Brad Pitt is awesome in the film. But he's also awesome in real life.

Difficult, Difficult, Lemon Difficult

bigmikesmovieblog@gmail.com (Big Mike Mendez) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 19:57:00 +0000

In The Loop is a new comedy from the UK that fictionalizes the lead up to the US invasion of Iraq from both the view of the British and the American government. Starring a mostly British cast and James Gandolfini, the script has more curse words than anything more clever that I can think of. The story follows Ministers and their handlers and staff as they try to talk down rumors of an US-led invasion in the Middle East, as they meet with their US counterparts, deal with trans-Atlantic miscommunications, leaks to the media and finally, scurry to get behind the invasion and lend support to the Americans. For a British film, it is remarkably restrained in taking shots at Americans as war mongering buffoons and spreads the criticism around. There are American generals intent on peace and Minister who misspeak every other word out of their mouth. Far from being a political indictment of the war, the movie does a great job of showing how hard people worked on both sides of the issue from fighting the invasion and supporting it. Great performance all around and a terrific script that effortlessly bounces from one nation to another, from Downing Street to the UN and from their professional and personal mishaps, if the movie is playing near you, you owe it to yourself to be in the loop. (Pun!)

Tom Hollander (best known to American audiences from the Pirates trilogy) as Minister Simon Foster is the heart of the movie as the bumbling, nervous Minister who inadvertently begins to fuel talks of an invasion and spends the rest of the film frantically trying to correct his statement by making more ridiculous, ill-advised statements on both sides of the pond. At his finest, he channels the essence of Steve Carell and gives a performance better than any episode of The Office.

PS - The title of this post alludes to one of the many clever pieces of dialogue when one characters contends that things will NOT be easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy.

He's Got The Goods, For America!!!

bigmikesmovieblog@gmail.com (Big Mike Mendez) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:25:00 +0000

Is there anything more to say about The Goods, a comedy about car salesmen starring Jeremy Piven and featuring Ed 'The NardDog' Helms, Tony 'Buster Bluth' Hale and Will 'I'm in Every Movie' Ferrell, than it's laugh out loud funny, pretty vulgar and just as quotable as SuperBad, Anchorman or even Stripes? Well, there may actually be a little more to it.

Directed by Neal Brennan of 'Chappelle's Show', I found the movie actually has some nice social commentary on the current American economic state. From Don Ready's patriotic speech on board an airplane in which he invokes the Apollo moon missions and 9/11 in an attempt to convince a stewardess to allow him a cigarette, the film is deeply rooted in a sense of pride and can-do eagerness that can only be defined as American spirit. Don loves all things that are comically American like used cars, karaoke, breakfast at a strip club and having a catch with your son who is not really your son. But in between the jokes, there is a tale of redemption for Ready. The story focuses around a car dealership about to go under and while it is never specifically stated that it is due to the recession, most audiences will quickly identify and empathize with a failing family owned business. When nothing seems to work, Ready and his crew of cutthroat salesmen are called in to help sell the metal. And move the cars they do, using a variety of unethical schemes from airing television ads in which the dealer himself claims to be dying, booking a relative of a D-list celebrity to appear and turning a full scale riot into free air time on the local news. It's no accident that the three day sale takes place over the Fourth of July weekend as Ready motivates and inspires his melting pot staff of grizzled veterans, Koreans and strippers to appeal to the customer's hopes and dreams. While the thrill of the sell is a pure adrenaline rush for him, he also understands that selling the cars gives each customer a little bit of hope and is a small dream come true for each of them. Sales may be his first priority but getting someone in the car they want is a close second. Personally, Ready struggles with the death of his colleague who was killed, appropriately enough, plummeting to his death in an effort to promote a huge sale in Qurque. His irresponsible lifestyle catches up with him and he finds himself wanting something so simple that he takes it for granted he could ever know a normal life again. When it seems that he has lost his way and everything he knows and loves is taken from him, he finds his closure from the pain by getting back into the game and intent on going down swinging. In the storybook end, he gets a rag tag bunch of losers to believe in themselves and reach their goal of selling all the cars off the lot. It is because of his tenacious, take-no-prisoners attitude that Ready and the other salesmen can overcome the huge obstacles in front of them and jump start the dying dealership.

Don Ready is the kind of man that America needs right now to recover from its slow economy. With the willingness to fight, a little creativity and genuine pride on one's job, we too can get the country back on track, sell every single car off the lot and smoke this one for America!

Summer & I Are Over

bigmikesmovieblog@gmail.com (Big Mike Mendez) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:05:00 +0000

Let's get this out of the way straight off of the bat. (500) Days of Summer is a fantastic movie, very cleverly written and directed with two great performances from both Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel. Along with Away We Go, it has easily become the most personal movie I've seen all year. And if that film gave me a glimpse of my own future, then this movie has shown me my own past, with all its successes and shortcomings.

I've been in this exact shot.

Not since Rushmore have I watched a movie and seen reflections of my life so closely mirrored in it. From Joy Division t-shirts, dreams about teeth falling out and fancying yourself as Han Solo, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Tom perfects the everyman role that he has dodged for most of his career. His thoughts of love and his imagination fueled by films had me nodding my head and laughing in agreement with him, then grimacing and feeling his pain and frustrations with Summer. He loves her as simply and purely as he can express and seems to get everything from her but those three words. His love is like the love we experience in real life, not the type that happens in Sandra Bullock movies (which is also helped by being shot in Los Angeles, not New York/Toronto). Whether Summer is inspiring him to do some of his best work or crushing his heart to the point of becoming a shut in, everything is motivated by something as simple as going to a movie or getting something to eat and not a wacky fishing trip or a dinner party with a colorful grandparent. I challenge you to watch the scene where Tom goes to Summer's party and the screen splits into his expectations and his reality without recognizing that the same thought process has run through your own head at some time in your life. Even if you've never been in love, the insecurity and awkwardness that it captures is a uniquely human emotion.

This is expectation, NOT reality.

The movie's brilliance lies in perfectly capturing the highs and lows of the relationship and contrasting each with the other. But, the scene that brings it home and hit me right in the chest was when Summer brought Tom back to his apartment and the narrator tells us everything that he's thinking. I have walked into that apartment, had those same thoughts and I was comforted not by any physical connection but by the knowledge that I was the one who was being let into her world, I was the one who earned these stories. I felt her scars, saw her pictures and mementos and heard things that she had never told anyone before.

However, as the movie is quick to disclaim, it is NOT a love story. But, as it moved toward the last twenty days of Summer, I sat there hoping for some kind of closure. And not for Tom, but for myself. By that point, I had completely internalized the story and I had to know how things could end up for me. Perhaps I missed the message of the film and it was really about Tom's speech at work about how greetings cards and movies perpetuate lies and love and relationships. But, I think maybe the message was that things happen by chance and thought they don't work out how you might imagine, they work out the way they're supposed to. And if she's reading this, (she's probably not) I hope you're truly happy, even if it's not with me.

Why Are the Best Judd Apatow Movies NOT Judd Apatow Movies?

bigmikesmovieblog@gmail.com (Big Mike Mendez) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 20:19:00 +0000

Funny People is a movie that, like it's main characters, is in search of itself. It's not outright hilarious or as vulgar as previous Apatow releases to be an outright comedy, but there are plenty of poignant moments and a lot of brutal honesty in it as well. Basically, there is not enough of either one to overwhelm the movie, which leaves is slightly underwhelming, a fine performance from Rogen aside. Of course, going into the film, I did not hold any high expectations because over the past few weeks leading up to the release, I've developed a theory that the best Apatow movies are NOT the movies that Apatow directs.

Funny People, they are not.

Let's review some quick facts. Yes, he did write for the brilliant Larry Sanders Show, as well as creating both Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared. But, he also has credits for Celtic Pride, Fun with Dick and Jane and You Don't Mess with the Zohan. He has produced Anchorman, SuperBad, Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Pineapple Express while also producing Drillbit Taylor, Talladega Nights and Walk Hard. Some of those movies are flat out brilliant and some of them are flat out shit. But, the films directed by Apatow himself, 40-Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up and Funny People strike the line somewhere in between. Never mind that each one of them runs about thirty minutes too long, but for me, they never seem to find the balance that some of the other movies (or even Freaks and Geeks) can. Apatow's instinct for what is funny is razor sharp, but what fails him in features is how to make people care once they stop laughing.

Taste in comics aside, Andy is a tool.

For a prime example, 40 Year Old Virgin and SuperBad are both movies about male sexual awakenings (as is Adventureland, but more on that later.) While the protagonists of SuperBad are adolescents and in Virgin, merely adults acting like teenagers, they all fall into the classic male stereotypes of objectifying women and minimizing their selves in order to become more likable. But, lessons can be learned from the trio in SuperBad and they are valuable life lessons. The boys learn that you don't have to get a girl drunk for her to like you (Seth), you don't have to take advantage of a girl (Evan) and simple confidence can get you over with the fairer sex (McLovin). Those lessons are painted in much broader strokes in Virgin and to more comical effect than in SuperBad. But, they are learned by all the characters in SuperBad and just generally addressed at the climax (pun unaviodable) of Virgin.

Which one were you?

Forgetting Sarah Marshall was one of my favorite films from last year, for the simple fact that the characters were so terrifically written that none of them turned out to be the villain of the piece. Both Sarah Marshall and Aldous Snow become real people who you can understand and relate to by the end, where even Peter thinks that Aldous is a cool guy. When Sarah puts Peter in his place and explains how hard she tried to make their relationship work, it brings an understanding and reconciliation to the relationship that you normally don't see in most movies, particularly Virgin or Knocked Up. It grounds the movie in reality and can force you to examine your own relationships as it did for both myself and my best friend when we went to see it. A movie like this one or SuperBad can make you sit back and say, "That's just like my life," but you would be hard pressed to say that for Virgin, Knocked Up or Funny People.

Peter Bretter, the everyman who writes puppet musicals and dates TV actresses.

I'll be honest and just say my main beef with Apatow's films is that they are never the movies I want to see. In Virgin, I want to see the movie about Rogen and Rudd and the crew at Smart Tech instead of watching Steve Carell date Catherine Keener. And when I got Knocked Up, it wasn't the movie about Rogen and Rudd or his friends, but the movie about Mann and Heigl and how they emasculate their men. It's a switch and bait move that gets more tired with every movie he makes, but that films like Pineapple Express (stoner action) or Walk Hard (biopic satire) never give into. I Love You, Man and Role Models (neither which were associated with Apatow) were the Rudd movies that I wanted to see, without any extraneous, wandering subplot to take away from the main characters. They delivered exactly what they promised you, a bromantic comedy and a raunchy movie with cursing kids and gratuitous nudity. With Funny People, I want to see the movie about Rogen and Sandler and Hill and the rest of the comedians, but that's not the movie we're given. It's a movie that's light on the funny and heavy on the drama and altogether depressing.

Yea, yea, he couldn't get her, but does SHE deserve HIM?

I said I would talk more about Adventureland (again not affiliated with Apatow, simply 'from the director of SuperBad') and all I can say is that it is probably the best films out of any of the ones mentioned above. With great performances and writing, it finds the fine line between the comedy and drama that the others seek, while delivering something rarely seen in cinema. I'm not referring to Ryan Reynolds actually acting, but realistically portrayed teenage characters in a heart felt drama without an abundance of raunchy humor or low brow jokes. Much has been made about how the current crop of teen movies were inspired or derived from the works of John Hughes and Adventureland comes furthest in pushing that special blend of humor and emotion to connect with an audience. Grossly unappreciated by audiences, Adventureland was a rare gem this spring upon it's release and I implore anyone who hasn't seen it to check it out. You'll find a film that plays with your expectations, then surpasses them.

I heard she was in some vampire movie too.

GI Joe: A Real American Movie

bigmikesmovieblog@gmail.com (Big Mike Mendez) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:05:00 +0000

GI Joe was exactly what I had thought it would be; a live action version of the cartoon. What more could you want out of a movie based on a line of action figures? More tongue in cheek than Transformers, it's a summer action movie that does not take itself too seriously. With plenty of hot chicks in skin tight leather, Channing Tatum with a huge (insert your own phallic euphemism here) and in jokes for Joe fans, the movie plays to it's primary audience, kids and those of us who watched it as kids.

The world and we, as an audience have changed over the past twenty years, of course. Rather than the rather absurd plot of the Cobras releasing deadly spores capable of infecting and mutating people like the cartoon movie, the new film has the Joes fighting to stop the release of deadly nanomites capable of infecting and destroying metal objects. But, a ridiculous plot should not keep you form enjoying the movie and neither should the terrible dialouge or the disinterested acting. Indeed, the best performances come from the twin ninjas, Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes, the latter of whom does not even speak. And special notice must be taken of Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Cobra Commander, who, out of the entire cast, seemed to understand the tone of the film as hams it up perfectly.

Unfortunately, the movie falls into the same trappings as the Hasbro cartoons of the Eighties, in which the action is mostly deathless combat. Perhaps because I grew up as the son of a Marine and understood the serious consequences of war, I never fully enjoyed the cartoons where the Joes and Cobras would fight every week and nobody ever died and nothing was ever really won. At least one bad guy dies in this movie, I guess to send kids the message that international arms dealing doesn't pay.

PS- I was looking forward to this movie so I could finally find out who Sienna Miller is. Pretty hot.

Caprica

bigmikesmovieblog@gmail.com (Big Mike Mendez) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:25:00 +0000

I'll be honest. I'm not a fan of BSG. Not for any other reason than I never watched the old version when I was a kid and did not get into it this time around either. But, here's a little more honesty for you. When a friend told me that the new Battlestar would be Esai Morales versus Eric Stoltz, I replied, "I'm fucking there." If you've read my blog before, you know that I have the highest admiration for Esai Morales. I'll see anything he does as I have regarded him as a hero of mine since I was young. And if he would present me with the chance to jump head first into a new world of science fiction, well, I'm on board for that too.

Caprica is the story about the origins of the world of Battlestar Galactica. Taking place some fifty years before it resembles a world almost like our own where terrorist attacks are carried out by religious zealots. Only these believers believe in one God, our God. Called monotheists, they are willing to sacrifice themselves because of their belief in eternal life. When you start to see the uncanny similarities to our world, like religion, the unchecked advancement of technology and the influence of corporations on politics. But really, as I have been told about the series, the underlying theme of Caprica is about humanity and the what makes us human. It is love or anger? Is it compassion or desire? For all the inventions and effects, the show has been criticized by die hard BSG fans as being a soap opera. But those themes are what drew me into the movie, made it topical and will probably gain a little bit more crossover, mainstream appeal for non-fans of the series.

Added to that is the classic look of the show that reminded me of Blade Runner in a way, with a stylized world reminiscent of classic Hollywood instead of noir. The show was intriguing enough for me to watch in when it beings to air regularly in January and I will write about it again then to tell you what I think. Until that time, check out the pilot on DVD and you can follow this link to see the Battlestar Galatica panel at Comic-Con with appearances by Esai and Edward James Olmos.

Public Enemies

bigmikesmovieblog@gmail.com (Big Mike Mendez) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:05:00 +0000

I think that I may be in the minority of film goers that does NOT regard Heat as a great film. It's a lot of fun at parts, but it's not without flaws. It is however, a Michael Mann film to the core. And while I do consider Collateral and Ali to be his best films, I was slightly skeptical going into Public Enemies, fully expecting the film to be a Thirties version of Heat. To my surprise, it was and I liked it.

While the obvious similarities to Heat include the cop versus the criminal, two acting heavyweights chasing each other around a movie and sharing only one scene as well as brief, intense action sequences punctuated with long, exposition character pieces, they all work in this movie where I did not feel they worked in Miami Vice or Heat. The movie is all about Johnny Depp as Dillinger, clearly enjoy a mainstream movie that actually challenges him to act again without funny make-up or wigs. Bale does not phone it in, per se, so much as he does what comes easily to him, making FBI agent Melvin Purvis a brooding man, conflicted by the inefficiencies of his methods and the necessity of capturing Dillinger.

Unfortunately, I happened to see this film with a friend who was foolish enough to let her mobile phone ring, not once, not twice, but FOUR consecutive times during the final sequence outside the Biograph Theatre. I hope she reads this and relives her shame.

Bei der Verteidigung Bruno

bigmikesmovieblog@gmail.com (Big Mike Mendez) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:05:00 +0000

Or, In Defense of Bruno

Critics have been quick to dismiss the tepid reception of Bruno, Sacha Baron Cohen's follow up to his comedy smash Borat, as either a flash in the pan or simply labeling Cohen himself as a one trick pony. After watching the movie the other night and laughing myself into hysterics, I have a much different opinion. Comparing the two films to each other is actually important because I believe the main difference lies between the xenophobia of the former and the homophobia of the latter.

While it might be a stretch to say that Borat captured the zeitgeist of the time, it did take this nation by storm for a few reasons. I believe that it presented the caricature of an immigrant in America at a time when the country was looking to find humor in such a device. Five years removed from 9/11, Americans were knee deep in a war they were mostly against and were about to oust the controlling political party out of power in the mid term elections that year. People were ready to move beyond the Bush doctrines and the narrow minded bigotry of anti-Arab sentiment. While Borat was clearly portrayed as Eastern European, his primitive views on women and Jews allowed Cohen to subtly mock the strict Muslim ideologies that were at war with the rest of the world. Borat gave us the laugh we were looking for. As if to underline his message, Borat starts his journey in New York City, where the citizens are terrified of both strangers and immigrants alike and proceeds across the Bible Belt, where he is either mistaken for an Arab or a homosexual. If he had begun in California, the movie would not have worked at all. Fortunately, the Golden State has remained unaffected by the terror attacks in this country, allowing us to live openly free of fear, which emboldens the largely held belief that most Californians are laid back, fun loving, pot smoking, tree hugging hippies who want to let gay illegal immigrants marry your baby for socialized medicine. Which is why Borat's story ended there and it is also where Bruno's begins.

The tale of Bruno and his quest to be an American celebrity is only half the story of a gay man looking for acceptance in society. The other half is entirely devoted to bashing the whole concept of 'celebrity' and fame. For all the laughs you can have as Cohen lets one pseudo-celebrity bash another or ask questions of celebrity charity PR reps that they can only answer slightly better than Miss South Carolina, you will shudder in horror as stage parents offer up their children to all manners of horrific situations in order to land a gig as a "baby to be dressed as a Nazi officer, pushing a wheelbarrow, with a Jewish baby, into an oven." If all the movie tried to be was an stinging criticism of empty, meaningless newsstand magazine type fame with sex tapes, anal waxing and carbo loading, it would probably have worked like gangbusters. But as is his fashion, Cohen pushes the envelope further.

In California, as in much of the rest of the world, gay rights is a serious topic. In only the past year, people have marched in the streets for gay rights, voted down measures against them and millions of dollars, countless hours of labor and so much more has been poured into the struggle on both sides. My state, which is as liberal and progressive as any other, does not find the hot button topic of gay rights and homophobia to be a laughing matter. To be sure, people like myself (straight, but friend of the family) are the key target for Cohen's work. But, the timing of the current political climate is working against him, where it worked for him so well before. When a openly gay character in a movie runs into a rally where picketers carry signs reading "God Hates Fags", his marriage is rejected, his child taken away and physical violence threatened upon him, not too many people are going to recommend the film to their friends. Five years down the line, I'm sure the movie will strike more people as funny than it does now, but hopefully, it will be because the prejudices and ugly hatred shown in the film will be a thing of the past.