Wendy's Films of 2010 #65: Chasing Amy (1997)

I wasn't taken with this film from the get go, but as the seconds passed I was slowly sucked into the story, the ideas and emotions of the characters. I don't want to ruin too much, because I went into this film not knowing what it was about and it was that much better because of it. Synopsis? Holden (Ben Affleck), a comic book writer, meets and becomes infatuated with Alyssa, a girl who dates girls. Their friendship becomes complicated when he tells her he's in love with her.

Unfortunately, I couldn't stop staring at Ben Affleck's goatee. Now don't get me wrong. I'm a fan of the facial hair when it works, but on Ben it looks like a fuzzy marmot has been taped to his baby face. Yet Kevin Smith manages to suck you in nevertheless, with moments of sheer hilarity and utter sadness. Jason Lee is arrogant, yet strangely charming, so I thought he deserved a mention. The role played Joey Lauren Adams (Alyssa) is one of a woman simply trying to be happy, regardless of labels determined by the world around her. Labels plague our lives - jock, skater, bisexual, straight, smart - so seeing someone attempting to shake the previously determined classifications of our culture is refreshing.

tm Does the QT 20 Part 3: Dazed and Confused

Dazed & Confused (dir. Richard Linklater – 1993)

Remember the joke about Seinfeld as the show about nothing? Well, this is the movie version.

This movie is takes place on the last day of a Texas high-school in 1976. School gets out, the older/graduating kids party, drink, smoke, get stoned, make-out, ponder what to do next while the kids going into high school worry about getting paddled as an initiation, some get to party with the older kids and so they get to drink, smoke, get stoned, make-out and ponder what to do next. Day breaks and most kids go home while a few drive to Houston to buy tickets for an upcoming Aerosmith concert.

I can see the appeal to this movie growing with repeated views; as QT said, they’re like old friends. And that there’s not much going on in the way of plot isn’t an automatic stumbling block, but with this movie, things drag. Further, this movie might be faulted for launching the careers of Matthew McConaughey and Ben Affleck but thankfully this movie preceded Linklater’s infatuation with Ethan Hawke…

The dvd has a few deleted scenes and a commercial for Vans shoes – not worth it.

tm sez: 5/10

Mike The Boss - Films of 2010 - Film the First: Extract

Extract (2009) (dir: Mike Judge)

Oh Mike Judge, please go away. Beavis & Butthead was stupid. Office Space had moments but was not really that good. King of the Hill is nauseatingly puerile. Idiocracy was likely your best film but the best joke is making fun of Crocs and how tough is that to do. And now you have given us Extract, a misogynistic, unfunny, unnoteworthy piece of crap filled with sterotypes that you pretend to like but don't even have the balls to respect. Wake up people, Mike Judge hates your guts and thinks you are stupid. Plus he's forced Ben Affleck on us in his unfunniest role yet. This film is a stillborn abomination and should be avoided at all costs. Yep, that was my first film of the year. Yeehaw!