John Doe Has the Upper Hand!

With my "Fight Club" blog as my last entry, I decided to keep the Fincher-theme going and make what very well could be my last blog an entry on "SE7EN," a film that, without exaggerating, is one of the greatest films you will ever see, whether or not you're a horror fan.

This 1995 thriller sees a serial killer who cryptically calls himself John Doe take inspiration from the Seven Deadly Sins: Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Lust, Pride, Envy, and Wrath. In thinking about what piece of cinema I could possibly call my favorite, I had a hell of a time, but finally came upon one scene (minor spoilers contained herein.)

I was also conflicted when it comes to revealing who plays Doe himself. While it's not exactly a secret, and if you really wanted to, you could find out yourself, I think the impact of the revelation would be tremendous if you didn't already know who the actor was. It is this actor's unparalelled skills that truly make this scene.

Following John Doe's fifth murder (that of pride, in which he slices off a model's nose..."to spite her face," as the old saying goes), he enters the police station and reveals himself to Detectives Mills & Somerset (Brad Pitt & Morgan Freeman, respectively.) Through his attorney, he then reveals that there are two extra bodies buried in the desert, and should Mills & Somerset accompany him to find those bodies, he will plead guilty to every murder he has committed.

What follows is most definitely one of the most compelling scenes in cinema, and it all takes place in a simple police car. From behind the mesh divider, Doe explains the reasoning behind his actions at length, defining it as a sort of "cleansing" process, when what he's done is written off as just "killing innocent people." "Innocent? Is that supposed to be funny?", snaps Doe at a smug Detective Mills.

I wouldn't want to risk diminishing the impact of the speech, so I won't transcribe it here word for word. I recommend buying "SE7EN," if you don't own it already, or at least renting it from your local video store, and witnessing great writing, directing, and acting coming together in a disturbing, yet unimaginably impressive picture.

Well, Inscapers...it's been fun. Not much more to say.

Stay classy, Riverside.

The first rule is...

As much as I'd love to say that I hate "Fight Club," I simply can't. As much of a cult hit as it has become, it'd be easy for me to sit here and say, "I don't see why everyone loves it so much," but I can't say that. Simply put, "Fight Club" is my favorite movie, bar none.

Between David Fincher's ("SE7EN, Panic Room") darker-than-dark directing, Jim Uhls' fantastic screenplay based on Chuck Palahniuk's book of the same name, and the jaw-droppingly skillful acting trio of Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, and Helena Bonham Carter, "Fight Club" is not a movie you can easily ignore.

Brad Pitt steals the show in this film, no questions asked. His portrayal of Tyler Durden has created a character that has become legendary in cinema, a smugly anarchistic man's man that is the embodiment of what the contemporary male longs to be.

Being a projectionist named Tyler D. myself, I feel a certain connection with the character. Pitt's delivery, his manner of speaking, makes the role, and one of the most unforgettable moments in the movie, albeit not a single line (although the first two rules are the most famous), is his recitation of "the rules," the fight club ethos. These are as follows:

"Gentlemen, welcome to fight club. The first rule of fight club is you do not talk about fight club. The second rule of fight club is...you do not talk about fight club. Third rule of fight club...someone yells "stop," goes limp, taps out, the fight is over. Fourth rule...only two guys to a fight. Fifth rule...one fight at a time, fellas. Sixth rule...no shirts, no shoes. Seventh rule...fights will go on as long as they have to. And the eighth, and final, rule...if this is your first night at fight club...you have to fight."

Of course, this is just a sample of the incredible dialogue that comes out of Tyler Durden's mouth, or anyone in the film's, for that matter. See more of it here.

Or, better yet, go out and buy the book by Chuck Palahniuk, definitely my favorite author and one of the best ones around today.

The Best Kept Secret in Hollywood...

With the topic being "the actor that needs to be in more movies," my original pick was Chris Kattan. Between the comic relief he provides in 1999's "House on Haunted Hill" to his dimwitted but lovable portrayal of danceaholic Doug Butabi in 1998's "A Night At the Roxbury" (alongside a then fairly unknown Will Ferrell), Kattan is a much funnier personality than people give him credit for.

But, when thinking about the different Kattan movies that I enjoy, my focus quickly turned to one of his older brothers in 2001's "Corky Romano," Peter Berg (the other being another underrated talent, the late Chris Penn.)

Lately, Berg has been making a name for himself in the field of directing, helming such titles as 2003's "The Rundown," starring The Rock in one of his first starring roles, 2004's "Friday Night Lights," and the upcoming Jamie Foxx vehicle, "The Kingdom."

While his directing skills are quickly becoming some of the most sought-after in Hollywood, Berg's acting skills (and specifically, his comedic chops) are oft-overlooked.

One of his most hilarious performances is Berg's straight-laced portrayal of boxer-turned-rocker-turned-boxer-again, "Irish" Terry Conklin, in 1996's "The Great White Hype." Berg never cracks a smile while delivering some of the funniest lines in the movie opposite Damon Wayans' just-as-deadpan James "The Grim Reaper" Roper, not the least of which is an acoustic song entitled "Mr. Roper, Mr. Roper," in which Conklin enthusiastically promises to "open up a case of butt-whippin'" on Roper.

Also worth checking out is Berg's performance in the afore-mentioned "Corky Romano," playing the tough but illiterate older brother of the title character, as well as his brief role as "Pistol" Pete Deeks in this year's "Smokin' Aces."

Tyler's bottom line: as good of a director as he is, Peter Berg deserves to be on-screen just as much as behind the camera in the future.

The ROCKIN' Sounds of Cinema...

In terms of movie soundtracks, I'm going to have to agree with Mr. Guy's post below this one and say that I prefer a good compilation over a score 9 times out of 10. My particular favorite, however, is a fairly sharp departure from "That Thing You Do!" (as much as I do love that movie and its music)

As a huge rock/metal fan (converted from country), I'm going to have to name "Saw 2" as my favorite soundtrack. With 2004's "The Punisher" a close 2nd, the next year's "Saw 2" is an essential album for any rocker.

The "Saw" films are some of my favorite movies in general (and yes, Tim, I recall your disdain for "torture porn"), and a large part of the reason why is the music behind the films. As soon as the movie faded to black, and Mudvayne's "Forget to Remember" began playing over the end credits of the film, I knew I had to run out and get the soundtrack.

The soundtrack to "Saw 2" is the exact opposite of that of the first movie. That is to say, the "Saw" soundtrack was largely a score album (with amazing work done by Charlie Clouser), with only a couple actual songs thrown in (including Fear Factory's haunting "Bite the Hand That Bleeds), whereas "Saw 2" saw almost all tracks done by existing bands, with only one Clouser composition, a mix of the signature "Saw" theme entitled "Don't Forget the Rules."

"Saw 2" brings together a veritable all-star roster of rockers, including Marilyn Manson, Ministry's Al Jourgensen, Queens of the Stone Age, Sevendust, and Skinny Puppy, along with lesser known (but still unbelievably talented) acts like A Band Called Pain and Bloodsimple to create a compilation disc just as chilling and intense as its namesake.

Tyler's bottom line: See the movie. Buy the CD. The end.

There's Something About Uwe...

As evidenced by Tim’s segue, when you’re talking about the most horrendous directors in contemporary cinema, it is impossible not to mention Uwe Boll. The German filmmaker has made a career out of making god-awful video game adaptations (a term that nowadays seems redundant anyway), and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down.

My first unfortunate experience with Mr. Boll was 2003’s "House of the Dead." As I’ve said before, I’ve seen some crappy movies, and even liked some of them, but I’ve never been so irritated, never felt so bombarded with silliness as I did when watching this film. From the nauseating fight scenes that scream "Hey look! We can do those cool ‘Matrix’ tricks, too!" to the barely stitched-together plot, it’s the only movie I can think of that actually angers me just with its existence.

He’s continued this trend with other video-game adaptations like 2005’s "Alone in the Dark" and 2006’s "Bloodrayne," a tragic film in that it featured actors like Sir Ben Kingsley ("Gandhi"), Michael Madsen ("Reservoir Dogs"), Billy Zane ("Titanic"), and, of course, Meat Loaf. It’s no surprise that this triad of gut-wrenchingly bad cinema has dug itself a permanent niche on the IMDb Bottom 100 Movies list.

But, see, it’s not only his films that make Boll a horrible director. He’s also made it painfully obvious (no pun intended) that he’s not quite the best at taking criticism, as in 2006, he challenged his most vocal of internet critics to fight him. Literally.

In addition to calling several of his critics "retards," the former boxer staged an event that saw him compete in actual boxing matches with five of his harshest critics, an event affectionately known as "Raging Boll." The bigger, more experienced Boll won all of his matches, setting his little German heart at ease, knowing he can beat the crap out of his internet critics. But fight or no fight, there’s no question that you’d be hard-pressed to find a worse director in the industry today than Uwe Boll.

MTV, VH1: Now With Even Less Music Than Before!

TV these days is in a sad, sordid state of affairs. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot worth watching out there, but for every "Entourage," there's an "I Love New York." For every "Office," there's a "Yo Momma." The funny thing is, all of the worst shows being put on right now air on the major music channels, and wouldn't ya know it? They all have absolutely nothing to do with music! (Hint to MTV and VH1: KNOCK IT OFF!)

This brings me to what I think is the worst TV show on television right now, a program on MTV called "Parental Control." Believe me, I had to rack my brain to think of what was the worst on the network right now, because between mind-numbing shows like "Next" and "Room Raiders," it was a tough, tough choice.

"Parental Control" takes the cake, if for nothing else, just because of how fake it is. Nevermind the lame concept; parents who despise their son/daughter's "boyfriend/girlfriend" send their offspring off on two other dates while they sit and watch with the object of their hostility. As the dates progress, the parents and the "boyfriend/girlfriend" trade oh-so-hilarious quips with all the acting chops of Heather Graham on Quaaludes.

Whether it's real or not, it's a terrible idea for a show. If it's real, it's unnecessarily cruel, forcing obvious wedges into what otherwise might be healthy relationships just because mommy and daddy don't approve. However, watching more than 30 seconds of the show will likely run off any suspicions of legitimacy, as the writing combined with the delivery makes "Pimp My Ride's" Xzibit look like Jack Nicholson.

In the end, both MTV and VH1 need to stick to the music and stop giving the spotlight to people whose 15 minutes passed a LONG time ago. (Andy Milonakis, I'm lookin' at you!) Oh well...at least Fuse has "The Whitest Kids U Know."

My Worst Movie-Going Experience OR...The Tale of "The '300' Riot"

For all of the good things about a trip to the local cinema, there are just as many headaches and annoyances to put up with. From outrageous prices to crying babies to the guy who finds it absolutely necessary to take his call smack in the middle of an important plot point, there seems to be no end to the inconveniences one faces at the movies. I should know, I work there.

My job as a projectionist affords me countless memorable movie-going experiences, for better or worse. That being said, if I had to think about my worst movie-going experience, I’d have a lengthy list of candidates to choose from, but at the top of that list is an event that has since come to be known to myself and my co-workers as "The ‘300’ Riot."

When major releases come out, like summer blockbusters, theatres usually receive them two nights before the intended release date (Wednesday night, in most cases.) While not exactly a blockbuster, "300" fell into this category, so for quality assurance purposes, it was screened for employees that night. There was also to be a midnight screening open to the public the following night.

The employee screening went flawlessly, except for the fact that an alarm was tripped at the end of the film (this meant that the film was missing a "cue," or a strip of tape placed directly on the film to designate when the auditorium lights as well as the projector motor should go on and off.) So, to remedy this, a co-worker of mine, Brent, went through the film, found the right spot, and added a cue. Problem solved, right? Not exactly.

So, Thursday night rolls around, and it’s time for the midnight screening. My theatre (the University Village Cinemas) isn’t exactly the biggest around, but on this night, we had managed to pack in about 400-500 people into our two biggest auditoriums.

Everything runs smoothly until near the very end of the film; in fact, during the climax of the movie. (For those of you that have seen "300," the "spear-throwing" scene) From what we’ve gathered since then, right around that scene, the lights came up and the film stopped completely, but because the film hadn’t tripped its fail-safe, no alarm sounded. Apparently, one too many cues had been placed on the film, making the projector think the movie was over. Thus, Brent and myself are patiently waiting for the movie to end, not knowing it had stopped altogether.

That is, until we see guests coming directly up to the projection booth and imploring us to rewind the film (for any of you that have asked that at a theatre, it’s not possible.) Now, theatre employees aren’t even allowed into the projection booth without authorization, so it’s definitely not for guests. Wanting to get them out as soon as possible, Brent and I run and restart the film where it left off...not knowing that everyone who had been watching is already out in the lobby complaining, unaware that the movie had restarted.

So, basically, 90% of the crowd (if not more) misses the end of the film, and like I said, it can’t exactly be "rewound." Combine this with the fact that the manager on duty didn’t have the combination to the safe at the time in order to give refunds, and you have the makings of a pretty volatile situation.

What ensues is the closest thing to a riot that I’ve ever been a part of, an event that saw hundreds of grown adults climbing all over arcade games, yanking banners directly off of the walls, and shouting at the top of their lungs. A few hours of Spartan bloodshed had riled up the crowd, as one ponytailed guest took on the role of a pale, oafish Leonidas, commanding the crowd from the balcony he wasn’t even supposed to be on. When he learned that myself and Brent were the projectionists on duty, rather than taking his frustration out on us (the obvious cause of the problem), he shouted "Hey, these are just the guys that run the movies!" Either he didn’t deduce that it was essentially our fault, or simply was too focused on getting his money back at that point.

Guests repeatedly attempt to come up to the projection booth, where there’s quite a bit of expensive equipment, so Brent and I close the door and lock ourselves in. Another projectionist, Joe, who had been off the clock watching the film, nearly got into several fights reclaiming banners and theatre property from angry moviegoers trying to walk away with at least a memento of the night’s events.

It then takes about 30 minutes for the police to arrive and clear out the building. By this time, it was about 3 A.M., and all of us were just glad everyone was gone. This was definitely my worst movie-going experience, a testament to just how childish adults can be when they don’t get their way. So the next time you have to put up with a sobbing child in your theatre, or pay a few bucks extra for your popcorn, just keep in mind...it could be worse. It could be much, much worse.

These are good movies, really!

I have a confession to make. I like crappy movies.

Well, sometimes.

OK, let me explain...when I see a movie for the first time, I rarely think of it in terms of cinematic quality. You know, "good" good movies, like "The Shawshank Redemption" or "The Godfather." More often than not, I think of movies in terms of what they’re trying to be.

Thus, I end up liking movies like "House of 1000 Corpses" and "Ghost Rider," because they’re not trying to be anything more than good, old-fashioned cheese. And if there’s anything I like, it’s cheese.

That being said, I had to rack my brain in a pretty thorough way before I could come up with some genuinely good underrated movies that were out there.
My first pick is the remake of "The Hills Have Eyes," released just last year. From director Alexandre Aja (whose previous effort, "High Tension"...well, nevermind, that’s a whole other blog altogether), "The Hills Have Eyes" puts a new spin on Wes Craven’s 1977 horror flick that told of "mutants in them thar hills!" This time around, the "eyes" in question are mutated by radioactive fallout.

"The Hills Have Eyes" works on a much more personal level than the majority of horror films do these days. Without spoiling too much, the movie’s scariest moments see family members seeing other family members put through unspeakable horrors by these mutated cannibals. That adds a whole new element to the fear and the terror that works on a much more demented, traumatizing level. This element is what truly sets "The Hills Have Eyes" apart from the barrage of disappointment that has been the horror genre lately.

My second pick is another 2006 film, "A Scanner Darkly." An adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s classic science fiction novel of the same name, "A Scanner Darkly" is shown entirely in rotoscoped animation, giving it the surreal feel of "animated reality."

The film is highlighted by superb performances, the most entertaining of which being displayed by supporting actors Robert Downey, Jr. and Woody Harrelson. Downey, Jr. and Harrelson are the film’s comic relief, playing the parts of Bob Arctor’s (Keanu Reeves) paranoid, drug-addicted friends perfectly.

Following an intriguing, yet cleverly crafted storyline, "A Scanner Darkly" is definitely one of the best (and one of the most underrated) science fiction films to be made in a long, long time.

All Karnage and Mayhem at Merrit College

A six year old girl broke into tears when EWF pro wrestler Kid Karnage (A.K.A. Viewpoints Inscape editor Tyler Davidson) pushed her out of the way and senselessly beat a cowboy in front of her. That same girl would later cheer his name as he fought for the title.

Kid Karnage delivers a superkick to Ryan Taylor. Photo by Christopher Ullyott.

As Karnage made his way to the ring, he made it clear that he was not there to win fans. Telling cheerers to “shut up” and scaring a six-year-old into tears made this very clear.
It became the mission of the EWF “bad guy” to sway the audience, despite his lack of manners, sportsmanship, and stature.

Karnage, merely 5’7”, showed a great deal of frustration early in his first match as he attempted to take down “Tough” Tony Raze, a gigantic southern man who refused to hit the mat after several impressive kicks by Karnage.

As the crowd backed Raze, feverishly booing Karnage, Raze finally landed a solid pin on Karnage, ending the bout.

This would not, however, be the end of the day for the maniacal underdog. Later in the program, Karnage returned to the ring amidst a slightly warmer crowd as he took on the ultra-Australian Jay Law, whose bark was much stronger than his bite. As Law berated the crowd, Karnage began an impressive display of attacks, using his size to his advantage.
Following a mafia kick (a basic straight kick to the face) and an ensiguri (jumping off of a person’s knee and kicking them in the head), Karnage finally sent Law back to the outback with a quick pin.

By this point, the crowd had turned... everyone except a six-year-old girl. Viewpoints staff members (and Karnage fans) Corrine and Josh changed her tune with an orange sucker and a quarter. In no time at all, the same little girl that was crying as Karnage beat a cowboy turned into one of the biggest fans present at the event.

Kid Karnage celebrates his win by smacking me. Photo by Christopher Ullyott.

Despite the crowd uproariously cheering for Karnage, he lost the last match of the day to Cruiser Weight Champion Ryan Taylor.

But Karnage will live again....