Sex, MACHETES, Rock N Roll

Machete

English

105 Minutes

2010

NOT A FAMILY FILM!

*****

If you don't like violence, don't watch this. It's full of violence. And laughs. Lots of laughs. It is a Robert Rodriguez/Ethan Maniquis movie staring Danny Trejo, Robert De Niro and others. Why 5 stars? Because the violence is so improbable it's often downright funny. It's a vengeance story. Danny Trejo seeks revenge against De Niro and meets up with who else but Steven Seagal. If you want a thinking (wo)man's movie, if you want something genteel this ain't the movie for you. If you just want to escape your own reality for a while with something not quite Disney, this may be your cup of tea. It was mine. But then, I'm weird, strange, and post-menopausal. Sex, machetes, rock and roll.

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Bang-ja / The Servant

Korean w/English subtitles

124 Minutes

2010

****

This is a beautifully made movie of "old" Korea. The costumes alone make the movie worth the watch. I understand it is based on a popular story in Korea, and this movie took some artistic license. Not knowing the original, I just enjoyed it. It is a romance, where two men, one high born, the other his servant, both love and court the same woman. She, of course, loves the servant, but wants to better her life, and schemes for the nobleman. The ending had a twist I didn't expect.

The movie is available online at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gm_9p81D9-g There is nudity and sex, so may not be appropriate for some viewers.

23 Across -- 19 Down

Wordplay

Documentary
English

94 Minutes, 2006

4 Stars

Charter On-Demand, Free Movies.

Family entertainment on how crosswords puzzles are made, who makes them, and who works them. Will Shortz, the Crossword Editor for the New York Times is one of the main people, also Ken Burns, Jon Stewart, and Bill Clinton made appearances. The highlight is the championship games at the end.

When I was in high school, I mentioned to my science teacher about a final I had in 9th grade, that was a crossword puzzle. She immediately assigned me to write a final for her, as a crossword puzzle. It took a while, but once done, she made very few changes, filed it away, and a couple years later used it.

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Hellboy!

Hellboy

English

132 Minutes, 2004

PG 13

5 Stars

I've seen Hellboy2 on the tube many times, and just realized I'd somehow missed the first one. Oh. My. God. I haven't laughed this much in ages. Ron Perlman, long one of my favorite actors, plays Hellboy, a demon child summoned by the Nazi's from the realm of Chaos. He is rescued by the Good Guys and raised not to do evil, but to destroy it. Lots of action, fights with monsters from the supernatural realms. Hellboy is just great fun of Good vs. Evil – You know, when something goes bump in the night, someone has to bump back and that someone is Hellboy!

Comics were never this much fun (Hellboy is from the comic book series)

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Come Fly With Captain Abu Raed

21  Captain Abu Raed

Arabic, English subtitles

1002 Minutes, 2009

5 Stars

Too bad The Hedgehog couldn't have been done like this! Abu Raed is a widower with no children other than his books. He works as a janitor at the Amman airport who finds a Captain's hat in the trash. He brushes it off, and wears it. One of the neighborhood boys sees it, and insists Abu Raed is a pilot, even though he says otherwise. The next morning, several children are at his door to hear his adventures; and so begins a delightful story. Of course, there is some sadness to be expected, but the beauty of the story far outweighs it. This is a movie the whole family can enjoy. And I understand the children were locals. My only complaint is the DVD is so far out of my price range I can't afford it.

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Hedgehogs Are Cute -- The Movie Not So Much

20  The Hedgehog

French, English subtitles

98 minutes, 2009

3 Stars

SPOILER ALERT

5 Stars for the acting, 1 Star for the story and ending. This could have been a story of real growth for the young girl, but her epiphany came at great expense, and, well, one Awshit wipes out 1000 Attaboys. The last 5 minutes of this movie was a big Awshit in my opinion. I had considered reading the book, but now think it a waste of my time. An 11-year-old girl, rich, spoiled, jaded, decides to suicide on her birthday and the last day of school. She forms a rather unlikely bond with the concierge of the building, an older woman, widowed, alone and a bit curmudgeonly. The woman blossoms, finds friendship beyond her books and is killed. When she dies, the girl comes to her senses. Watch Captain Abu Raed instead. Much better!

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