The French Connection

The French Connection is basically a movie about a couple of cops who tail these drug dealers around NYC or as the boss dude in the film puts it, they "go all around town jerking off" (paraphrase)...and yet it is so much more than that.  There is something really interesting about the camera work in The French Connection, like how they filmed a hat in the back of a car or a girls feet peddling a bicycle.  There is also  a very subtle humor in the film that I really liked.  My favorite scene was them tearing the car apart looking for drugs.  Somehow, that was really fascinating.  Oh! And the "Tailing Frog 1" scene was funny, too.

PS. More pictures of Chickenproof at SFIAFF have come to light.  Here is me, director of Chubby Can Kill my homie Kevin Ung & my homie Kathleen at  the Chickenproof screening @ New People. Yep, great pose from me, eh?  That's what I look like.  I am the most photogenic person on the PLANET.

To Live and Die in L.A.

OK, so the first thing I think of when I think of To Live and Die in L.A. isn't this movie, but the song by Tupac. And when I think of the song by Tupac I think of this evil (no really) roommate I used to live with who would listen to that song.

Not that this has anything to do with anything.

This film is actually more artfully done than you'd think for a typical cop movie.  It's also really homoerotic.  And explicit with both violence and sex.  You see guys' heads get blown off.  You see William Petersen's dick.  That's right, the guy from CSI's dick!  After being a fan of CSI for years previously, it was weird to see this dick and then suddenly realize it was Grissom.

Speaking of dudes you'll recognize from TV shows, you'll recognize the co-ordinator guy from Quantum Leap, too.

The above picture ^ was the first short of Willem Dafoe near the beginning of the movie. At first I was thinking "OMG, Willem Dafoe is scary!" but by the end of the film he had grown on me.  I like interesting faces.

Speaking of endings, the ending to this one was somewhat surprising.

The soundtrack is by Wanng Chung (lol) and it's pretty dated...one of the lines in one of the songs is 

they've got a new religion

it's called: baby, everything's gonna be alright

Overall: better than you'd think.

Dirty Harry

Finally watching Clint Eastwood's movies from his younger days, starting with Dirty Harry.  Sad to say I thought it was pretty boring.  Old police mystery movies from like the 70s&80s all have the same kind of dull storyline...

L.A. Confidential

So, why haven't I been watching movies for the past few days?  What could possibly keep a movie addict like me away?  Law & Order, SVU dvds...that's what!  I LOVE THAT SHOW.

Erm, anyway, I finished a bunch of SVU dvds so today I watched L.A. Confidential.  The mystery in the story wasn't too compelling...it was really the characters that made this interesting.  I mean, they were kinda stock characters, but kinda not, yknow?   I think it was the acting that really pulled the characters off.  And everyone had such interesting faces!  How did they make Russell Crowe look so young, innocent, and brooding?  

Lethal Weapon

I'd never seen Lethal Weapon, so I thought I'd give it a whirl.  It was...a cop movie.  Lots of helicopters.  Lots of bullet holes in cars.  Mel Gibson was shirtless for so much of this, I guess this was back when he was maybe a stud rather than a creepy nutjob?  MEL GIBSON WITH A BLOWN OUT MULLET?!  The big wet fight scene at the end was ludicrous.  

...I kind of can't believe they made four of these

その護送車を狙え

Take Aim at the Police Van was directed by Seijun Suzuki, my favorite direct of all time.  ALL TIME.  It's a lot more straightforward than his other works (read: it makes sense).  It's just a standard noir story, but Japanese.  If you like noir and you like Japanese cinema, this is the flick for you!  I own the DVD--got it with the Nikkatsu noir box set when Criterion was having one of their sales.  Now to watch the rest of the set!