The Subjective Lightness Of Being

I'm going to close this blog

noreply@blogger.com (AaronFlux) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 23:59:00 +0000

I've grown quite fond of Wordpress over the past week. Given that as the case, I've decided to close this blog. Meaning, I'm not necessarily going to cancel it. You'll still find the content here. But I am not going to post anything new here after this. If you are reading this and are interested, go here: aaronflux.wordpress.com and subscribe there.

That is all.

Wordpress

noreply@blogger.com (AaronFlux) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 21:39:00 +0000

Hey all five of you who read this.

I'm experimenting with a Word Press blog. I've imported all the entries from here over there. I kinda dig them more. I may stop writing in here, not sure.

Check it:
aaronflux.wordpress.com

The Wrestler

noreply@blogger.com (AaronFlux) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:21:00 +0000

I grew up on wrestling. I was a Hulkamaniac. I had the dolls, the memorabilia, the wrestling wring, videos, etc. I thought Hulk Hogan was a real life Superman. I was also a big fan of The Ultimate Warrior, Andre The Giant, Jimmy Superfly Snooka, and Jake The Snake to name a few. When the concept was first told to me that wrestling was fake, I got really offended, then defensive, then just hurt. I remember seeing a slow replay of Macho Man Randy Savage pinning someone and he never touched the guy when he flew off the rope.

I find it all nostalgic now. The Wrestlemania where Hulk Hogan body slammed Andre The Giant. It all makes me teary eyed thinking about it. This was, of course, back when wrestling went national. It was around the same time that Cable Television was introduced to the public.

All this being an integral part of my childhood, I was quite fascinated with this idea of a movie about a professional wrestler. Plus being directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Mickey Rourke...well....I had to see the movie.

I have mixed feelings about the film. It's not a happy story. It's gritty and the character of Randy "The Ram", I can see being influenced by a few real people. The true stories I've heard about drug addiction, suicide, and other sad things regarding wrestling is touched on in this film. The stand out aspect of the movie was Mickey Rourke, hands down. I think it was one of the best performances I've seen all year.

I've also gotta say that Marisa Tomei has been impressing me recently. I wrote her off in My Cousin Vinnie....the same movie she won the Academy Award for which I still think was a lame decision on the academy's part. But she really does a good job. Not to mention....she has a pretty nice body to look at since she is hardly dressed in the majority of this film.

Overall, it was worth the trip to the theater and I hope Mickey Rourke gets more good work out there.

3 3/4 stars.

Slumdog Millionaire

noreply@blogger.com (AaronFlux) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 20:42:00 +0000

This was one of those instances where I went to the movie theater with the plan to see a movie but unsure which one. I walked up to the ticket guy and made him pick. I'm glad I did. I had no idea what Slumdog Millionaire was about. The only person involved with the film that I was familiar with was Danny Boyle, the director.

From the very beginning of the film, all the way to the end, it had me. The style, the music, the story. It was very engaging and I really enjoyed this movie a lot. A LOT. I would even go so far and say if it were up to me, this movie would get Best Picture for 2008.

Seriously.

I got to give it 5 stars. I rarely do that.

X Files: I Want To Believe

noreply@blogger.com (AaronFlux) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 23:22:00 +0000

I'm not even going to justify this review with a picture or video of the trailer. I heard from a few people how bad this movie was but I got it on Netflix and figured I'd give it a shot.

Holy Fuck A Cactus, was this movie horrible. I couldn't even believe how bad this movie was. Horrible. The plot was very lacking and you can tell this movie was thrown together just for any possible profit it could have made since it was done right at the beginning of the writer's strike. Just pull this script off the shelf. Californication had gone into hiatus and Duchovney needed work.

Christ in a corn field, this movie is not worth sitting through. I could barely sit through it. I'm trying my best to not list any spoilers for anyone still interested in seeing it.

Gah!

1 star...and I'm being nice.

Common - Universal Mind Control

noreply@blogger.com (AaronFlux) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 02:15:00 +0000

This is going to be short.

I just picked up the new Common CD "Universal Mind Control". Even though it's a bit of a different direction from his previous work, it's still an amazing piece of work. A lot of the songs are more dancey club style songs but still with more style than most of the shit on the radio.

Go take a listen...the whole album is available on his MySpace.

Common's MySpace

Cadillac Records

noreply@blogger.com (AaronFlux) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 02:05:00 +0000

I am going to begin this by saying I am biased. Biased in the sense that I am a huge blues fan and Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf are two of my all time favorite blues musicians. When I heard this movie was being made, I could barely contain myself. So of course I saw it opening weekend.

I'll start by saying that I'm not too impressed with Adrian Brody but he works well enough in this story. I was there for the two blues musicians I mentioned above. Now, even though Jeffrey Wright looks nothing like Muddy Waters, he brought a dedication to the role that soon had me forgetting that detail. It's like Pacino's accent in Scarface. He was dedicated to the accent even though it was not a correct dialect.

I am so happy Jeffrey Wright is working more. He was amazing in this role. All the actors sang their own renditions of the classics these musicians made famous. Mos Def was great as Chuck Berry. Even though I am quite sick of Beyonce, I have to see she too did a good enough job. I mean, don't get me wrong. She can sing of course. She has a bit of acting talent. But I couldn't help think that she just put on a wig and read the lines in a passionate way. Yeah, and she cussed alot in between expressing the daddy issues. I am wondering if she ever spoke with Etta James about the role before committing to it in her preparation. Either way, I can't avoid saying this, she be hot too. Both of them. Etta and her. Ok...moving on...

It was an enjoyable experience to watch the story of these artists unfold on the big screen. I don't think there will be any Academy Award nods for the actors' portrayals of these iconic characters but it's still worth the money...especially if you're a fan of the music like myself. It's also good to understand or learn how the music we listen to nowadays originated. Hell, I found it pretty damn cool they had a nod to Alan Lomax, Elvis Presley, and The Rolling Stones. Some people still don't know that Rock & Roll, R&B, and Hip Hop music all was derived from The Blues.

If I had em, it gets 4.

Milk

noreply@blogger.com (AaronFlux) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 01:54:00 +0000

I've gotta say, this movie really touched me. I remember a number of years ago, catching the documentary about Harvey Milk on cable. It was such a moving story. When I heard they were making a movie with Sean Penn starring as Milk, I knew it was something to check out.

Everyone should see this. Especially with how Prop 8 has ended up going. This movie takes place 30 something years ago, yet the subject matter is something that still signifies a struggle which exists today.

The cast is amazing. Gus Van Sant is a great director and he does good work here. Once again, Josh Brolin is in a movie I'm raving about. Seriously...go see the damn movie. Sean Penn will probably be nominated. He personified the role and seriously became Harvey Milk in his voice and mannerisms. The casting was perfect.

If I had stars, it'd be 4 1/2 out of 5.

Ghostbusters: The Video Game

noreply@blogger.com (AaronFlux) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 08:42:00 +0000

You know....my birthday is in June....just saying.

I got a little over a month to wait

noreply@blogger.com (AaronFlux) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 00:42:00 +0000

Dare I say, fuck Heroes, screw Lost...Jack Bauer is returning in a month. You two get a back seat.

Terminator Salvation Motion Poster

noreply@blogger.com (AaronFlux) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 00:41:00 +0000

I found these on the Icons Of Fright blog. Too good not to repost.

This is a pretty badass concept. I approve.

Click below for the complete motion poster.

Terminator Salvation

Quantum Of Solace

noreply@blogger.com (AaronFlux) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:04:00 +0000

I love a good James Bond movie. However, I started getting bored with the Pierce Brosnan movies. I really felt the series needed a change of direction. I always liked the classic films with Sean Connery playing Bond. As well, I remember thinking that when the Jason Bourne movies came out how much more entertaining and downright awesome they seemed to be.

I think the people behind Casino Royale and Quantum Of Solace shared my view. When I first heard Daniel Craig was to be the new Bond, I was skeptical. I knew of him as an actor but he was too rugged looking for me to accept him as a smooth talking 007. I realized, that was exactly the point. Casino Royale was an awesome movie. It was a bit long for my liking but I really appreciated the story line of a new upgrading an agent to double O status.

Quantum Of Solace started at the point right where Casino Royale ended. This movie was badass. Any action film fan would enjoy it. I think it worked on many levels, including as a James Bond movie. There's something about Daniel Craig's version of Bond that reminds me of classic Connery. Yet, it also infuses a more contemporary James Bond as well.

My one gripe with the movie was the sticking with the issue of Vesper from the previous film. I think I understand why they did it. To show the arc of the new James Bond in learning the rules of the road and keeping his emotional instability at bay. Still...it seemed a bit tiresome at points.

All in all, though, this movie had everything a James Bond fan would want. There was no Q. I'm wondering if there will ever be the Q character. Besides that, there were the sleek fast cars, the hot Bond women, enough action to satisfy any action fan, and the classic flavor of the Bond series is still there.

I'd give it 4 1/2 out of 5.

Oh....and I can't get enough of the theme song either.

W.

noreply@blogger.com (AaronFlux) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 19:52:00 +0000

As I mentioned in the last blog post, I've been slacking off on the reviews. I went and saw W. the week it came out which was I believe the week before the election. I'm just getting around to writing about it now.

I enjoyed this movie. The one thing I went to see was Josh Brolin's performance. I'm sure a lot of people were on the same page. Much like the movie Ray, or Walk The Line, I was wanting to see this actor portray this larger than life individual who is still our president. I say "larger than life" the way I would to describe a cartoon character. It's not meant really to be complementary or insulting.

Anyway, I really enjoyed this movie. The thing I found was that it didn't seem as much to be a partisan leaning message trying to sway the audience one way or the other. It really came off like a life story, in a sense, of this interesting character. Dare I even say, I found myself actually liking the guy towards the middle of the movie. I felt empathetic towards him. I found myself wondering if this is actually what it was really like. If our President is really like this. I felt sorry for him.

Josh Brolin's performance was amazing. And once again....we have a review of a movie that has Elizabeth Banks in it. Marry me, Ms Banks!

James Cromwell played George HW Bush. I wasn't too sold on it. He did well but I just wasn't sold on him being Bush Sr.

The movie does have a great cast. Ellen Burstyn as Barbara Bush, Scott Glenn as Donald Rumsfeld, Jeffrey Wright as Colin Powell. The three, though, who stand out as a casting job very well done were Thandie Newton as Condoleeza Rice, Toby Jones as Karl Rove, and Richard Dreyfuss as Dick Cheney. Seriously...Richard Dreyfuss's portrayal of Dick Cheney was uncanny.

I'd suggest anyone go see this movie. It was enjoyable. Very much a character study of modern times.

I'd give it 3 1/2 stars.

Zach And Miri Make A Porno

noreply@blogger.com (AaronFlux) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 19:47:00 +0000

Ok. I've been kinda slacking off on the reviews here. I went and saw Zach And Miri Make A Porno almost a month ago and I've been meaning to write a little blurb about it. I have no excuses. I've just been slacking off I guess.

Anyway, this movie blew away the expectations I had for it. It was much funnier than I was expecting it to be. Mind you, I've already decided I'll see any Seth Rogan movie. I've also decided Elizabeth Banks is going to be my future wife.

Yes, it's a Kevin Smith movie so off the bat, I knew it would be enjoyable. It was more than that. Dirty humor all around. What I didn't expect was the underlying love story and that gave the movie more depth and story arc to enjoy on more than just the superficial dirty joke level.

There was one scene in particular that I think stole that show and that was the scene between Justin Long and Brandon Routh (the short lived new Superman). This scene was fucking brilliant. I won't give any spoilers. You'll see what I mean. Just go see it.

If I had stars, it'd get 4.

New Watchmen Trailer

noreply@blogger.com (AaronFlux) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 04:15:00 +0000

A little over four months away. Sooooo awesome.

Spacious Thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (AaronFlux) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:39:00 +0000

Sweet Baby! This collaboration has got me all giddy.

Kool Keith and Tom Waits.

Oh man just listen.

Pollen Botanical Design

noreply@blogger.com (AaronFlux) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 23:55:00 +0000

Eagle Rock, California's Pollen Botanical Design Studio's got a new online community. It's still in the process of being finalized but anyone who's interested, click the link and maybe even join if you'd like.

Pollen Botanical Design

24:Redemption

noreply@blogger.com (AaronFlux) — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 05:37:00 +0000

One word: FINALLY!

Steven Spielberg & Will Smith Remaking OLDBOY?!

noreply@blogger.com (AaronFlux) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 23:22:00 +0000

The following story has been taken from www.iconsoffright.com....

Could it be?! Variety is reporting that "Steven Spielberg and Will Smith are in early discussions to collaborate on a remake of Chan Wook-Park's cult classic OLDBOY." The article states that Dreamworks is in the process of securing the remake rights for distribution through Universal.

"In the 2003 Korean original, a man gets kidnapped and held in a shabby cell for 15 years without explanation. Suddenly, he's released and given money, a cell phone and clothes and is set on a path to discover who destroyed his life so he can take revenge.

Spielberg had been looking for an opportunity to make a film with Smith, who would play the kidnapped man if all the pieces fall into place. Spielberg is looking for a writer to begin the development process."

Seriously...I've already said I would pretty much go see any movie Will Smith does. I mean, I did see Hancock. I just watched this trailer for Seven Pounds.

So yeah....that looks promising and I'll see it.

The idea of remaking Oldboy gives me pause but I'll give it consideration if Spielberg and Smith stay attached to it and it actually happens. For those who haven't seen Oldboy, I highly suggest watching it. It's a pretty fucked up movie and part of the cult classic Vengeance trilogy.

This right here is one of the best, if not THE best scene in the film.

Cadillac Records

noreply@blogger.com (AaronFlux) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 01:04:00 +0000

Anyone who knows me well, knows I'm big on the Blues. Especially the music that existed during the 1920s to 1950s. The Chitlin Circuit era. I saw the trailer above and damn near flipped. Two of my all time favorite blues musicians Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf are being portrayed in it. Beyonce looks like she does a great job as Etta James. Even Mos Def playing Chuck Berry....I mean damn!

I saw this trailer and now I can't stop listening to my collection of Blues.

So until then, I will tide myself over with these.

Muddy Waters

Howlin Wolf

John Lee Hooker

Big Mama Thornton

Buddy Guy

And although it seems heaven sent...

noreply@blogger.com (AaronFlux) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 00:54:00 +0000

...Yeah Tupac....we now seem to be ready to have a black president.

As soon as Barack (we're on a first name basis, he emails me) clenched it on Tuesday, the first thing I thought about was that song Tupac put out.

But seriously. Wow. It hasn't completely sunk in yet. I went to the Democratic Headquarters in my neighborhood for bbq catering, beer, and to watch the results come in on the big screen. They had the timing wrong slightly because a minute after they announced the food was ready and everyone crammed themselves into the poor excuse of a structured line, the Presidency was announced for Obama. I missed the announcement!

My response was, as I was in line on the other side of the building was 'Really? Already? Wow!'.

It was amazing, almost surreal. I felt like I should have been jumping and screaming but I found myself sitting there, once I got back to my seat with my food, with a huge smile on my face.

So that was great. That IS great. What isn't great is this Proposition 8 bullshit. I mean....we have broken down a major wall of intolerance and discrimination in nominating our first black president only to find another wall which stops people from getting married. I just don't get it.

I mean, I get the argument. I understand the opposing view point in the extent that I'm not an idiot. But I don't get it and don't understand the underlying prejudices that comes with the passing of the Proposition.

One step forward, one step back.

Re-Open Prop 8

According To Patton

noreply@blogger.com (AaronFlux) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:19:00 +0000

Today, started at 4:30pm Pacific Time, one of my favorite comedians Patton Oswalt will be live blogging on Comedy Central's Indecision 2008 Blog.

I will probably miss this, but I'm looking forward to reading the archive.

For those who are interested, and who wouldn't be...really....

According To Patton

Don't Vote

noreply@blogger.com (AaronFlux) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 05:34:00 +0000

5 More Friends

The Midnight Meat Train

noreply@blogger.com (AaronFlux) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 22:00:00 +0000

Last night I had the opportune chance to view a screening of Midnight Meat Train in an actual theater. It was playing in a double feature bill with Candyman at The New Beverly Theater in West Hollywood, Ca. Clive Barker was there to participate with a Q&A from the audience and introduce the film.

The film was originally planned for release in May but due to politics over at Lionsgate Films, the movie was pretty much shoved aside and eventually came out in August. This happened when a new big wig took over Peter Block's job. Mr. Block was in charge of getting Midnight Meat Train out there to the many movie theaters it would play at. Well this didn't happen and it was subsequently released in about 100 movie theaters across the country without any advertisements or trailers played anywhere. You can read more about this HERE

Anyway, I have to say it was a refreshing night for me to actually see a true horror film on the big screen. With all the watered down teen scream flicks out these days, obviously just to make money, it was really nice experiencing a Clive Barker movie in a theater. I haven't had that experience since Lord Of Illusions....even though the movie really let me down. That, too, was a movie adaptation of a Clive Barker short story. With short stories, you only have so much material to work with, so I was happy with the length of the movie and vague explanation of the turn of events in the movie towards the end. To me, this movie was all about the experience. The director, Ryuhei Kitamura, seemed to be quite fond of putting the audience in the perspective of the victims on screen. There were a few moments where it was very successful. I haven't really seen this type of camera work done before. Don't take my word for it, if you watch the movie, you'll understand what I mean with the eyeball scene in the subway.

I'm hopeful we'll get the horror genre back on track. This movie gave me hope even though it was literally thrown under the bus by it's own movie studio. There can only be so many Saws and Hostels before people feel oversaturated with violence and gore without there being any real story or reason in the plot to justify its use.

Don't get me wrong, there is plenty of gore and violence in this movie but to me it didn't seem like it was gore for gore's sake. That's Eli Roth territory. Between that and the endless supply of remakes, things have gotten quite grim for original ideas to get their time of day and audience appreciation.

Anyway, I've gone on a bit of tangent of my issue with the state of horror movies today.

I give the movie 4 out of 5, if I had em. Stars, that is.

Hellraiser Remake News

noreply@blogger.com (AaronFlux) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:42:00 +0000

'Hellraiser' redo in Laugier's hands
Writer-director to help realize Dimension's relaunch

By Borys Kit and Gregg Goldstein (story taken from www.thehollywoodreporter.com)

Oct 29, 2008, 01:00 AM ET
Pascal Laugier, whose horror film "Martyrs" stirred controversy in his native France, is in final negotiations to write and direct Dimension's re-imagining of "Hellraiser," one of horrormeister Clive Barker's best-known creations.

Released in 1987, "Hellraiser" told the story of an unfaithful wife who attempts to assist her dead lover in his escape from hell. The movie introduced viewers to a race of demons called Cenobites, most notably one nicknamed Pinhead -- who became one of the most enduring horror characters of the decade -- who was summoned using an antique puzzle box.

Dimension has been hoping to relaunch the franchise for the past couple of years, first hiring Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo to write and direct a remake then tapping Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton to write a new draft.

ICM-repped Laugier at least seems to have thematic sympathies with the material, with his "Martyrs" beginning as a revenge movie then entering the grounds of spiritual horror, with torture figuring as a focal point. Torture -- though not the so-called horror subgenre of torture porn -- also is a key point in "Hellraiser."

"This is a dream project for me," Laugier said. "I know Clive Barker's work very well, and I would never betray what he has done. Fans are expecting a definitive 'Hellraiser,' and I don't want to take that away from them."

"Martyrs" has been dividing audiences since appearing at the Festival de Cannes because of its unrelenting violent nature. The movie was hit with a 18+ rating -- a rarity in France and an equivalent of NC-17 in the U.S. -- sparking a protest by the country's Society of Film Directors.

At the Toronto International Film Festival, several people reportedly fainted during its midnight screenings. The Weinstein Co. is the domestic distributor, but no dates have been announced.

The remake is part of Dimension chief Bob Weinstein's master plan.

"If I could make all my films from franchises, I would," the Weinstein Co. co-chairman said at the recent Media and Money conference in New York. At the event, presented by Dow Jones and the Nielsen Co., parent company of The Hollywood Reporter, he rattled off a list of other films that he hopes to continue sequelizing, including "Scream" and "Scary Movie."

Borys Kit reported from Los Angeles; Gregg Goldstein reported from New York.

And just because I wanted a taste of what this new director can do, I rewatched the trailer for Martyrs. Here it is.

This Hellraiser remake gives me hope. Hope that it won't suck balls like the Halloween remake.