MUST SEE MOVIES FROM THE FILM FANATIC!

June 14, 2009 Well, my graduation ceremony was yesterday. It was a very nice day and it felt really good! Friends and family gathered and a good time was had by all. My 2 online Summer classes are going great so far! There is a horror movie in the making - A Tietjen brothers production with help from John & Bill Tietjen, Sandy & Carol Tietjen, Jason, Becca, Jody, Michelle, Phil and Richie. All collaborating to bring you some scary shit! Here's my recommendations this time around... MONSTER'S BALL - Proving that Halle Berry can pull the racism right outta anyone, even Billy Bob. It's nice to see Heath Ledger here as well. Awwww... JACKASS: THE MOVIE - Best party movie ever! Sit back, crack a beer, laugh and cringe a lot lot! MYSTIC RIVER - Whoa! This is heavy duty! Clint Eastwood directs the ingenius Sean Penn in a dark, painfully emotional film with an ending that could spark lively debate. Clint is my hero! THE LAST SAMURAI - One of my favorite Tom Cruise flicks, maybe because I lived in Japan. When honered, badass soldier Cruise is kidnapped by the enemy in battle, he goes thru a Dances-with-Wolves (the-enemy-is-not-so-bad) enlightenment journey of sorts. War can be fun! BOX OF MOONLIGHT - One of my favorite little unknown films starring the flawless John Turturro and the great Sam Rockwell! John Turturro needs to relax, enjoy life and escape structure. His crazy new friend Rockwell shows him how! PSYCHO BEACH PARTY - Here's a spoof of the 1960's beach party movies where we see Lauren Ambrose (Can't Hardly Wait, Six Feet Under) like we've never seen her before. And Xander! (TV's Buffy The Vampire Slayer) It's Xander! Great Fun! BEYOND THE SEA - I can still hardly believe that Kevin Spacey actually toured and sang Bobby Darin songs in front of live audiences. A phenomenon one can hardly fathom. But the movie's pretty cool. Check it out. MATCH POINT - Woody Allen's latest masterpiece. We've never seen a Woody Allen picture like this before. Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Woody's newest muse Scarlett Johansson are riveting! An unforgettable thriller! ROCKY BALBOA - Thank God Sly made one more Rocky movie to wash away the over-the-top goofy, although campily enjoyable Rocky IV and the godawful trash heap Rocky V. This is a great finale to a mostly really decent, sometimes masterful series about the human fighting spirit! Stallone, please keep on writing from the heart! PAPER MOON - Father and daughter Ryan and Tatum O'Neal are the perfect team of con artists in this always interesting dramedy. Tatum really deserved the oscar she won at the tender age of 10 years old. SYBIL - I watched this movie for the second time after 30 long years of having seen it for the first time on TV in 1976. Sally Field is nothing short of a prodigy, and the movie skyrocketed into my top ten favorites of all time. It is the true story of a woman with dozens of personalities. Psychology is the right path for me! DISTURBIA - Shia LaBeouf is definitely oscar bound in his inevitably bright career. He commands the screen in this hitchcockian story of a suspicious neighbor who may be a cold-blooded killer. THE LOOKOUT - Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Tommy of 3rd Rock From The Sun fame) is all growns up here and what a great little dramatic actor he did become! After an accident JGT's memory isn't what it used to be. When he falls into the wrong crowd he has to struggle his way out by using his damaged brain. Fascinating shit! SUPERBAD - Great cast. Great story. Great writing. This hilarious and touching coming of age sex comedy joins Sixteen Candles and American Pie in the panty collecting, band camp sex comedy hall of fame. August 5, 2009 MILLER'S CROSSING - The Coen Brothers continue their winning streak. One of J's favorite movies of all time. Albert Finney blasts his way through another great performance. WALK HARD: THE DEWEY COX STORY - This hilarious spoof of "Walk The Line" was written by 2 of the finest writer-directors around today, Judd Apatow and Jake Kasden. "Let's Duet! In ways that make us feel good..." DAN IN REAL LIFE - A great love story with an adorable pair...Juliette Binoche and Steve Carell. And it's always great to see Dianne Wiest. Up with love! BLADES OF GLORY - Written by Chicago born brothers, Jeff & Craig Cox, this laugh-a minute comedy leaves us wanting more. Wish I had a brother writing partner too. FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL - Jason Segel shows off his full feature acting and writing chops, as well as his full frontal ding dong in this successful, paradise-set, crack-up love story. But "Dracula The Musical" won't make a dime. AMERICAN BEAUTY - Sam Mendez' 1999 Oscar winning Best Picture is an exploration of a seemingly perfect family that is actually dysfunctional and depressed. Heavy subject matter expertly handled. Spacey commands attention as always. Still don't get the garbage blowing around though...Hmmm? THE STRANGERS - This frightening shocker ended up in my previous list of the scariest movies of all time. This one still bothers me... August 9, 2009 Let's Get Right To It... LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA - Superior to its counter-part film, "Flags Of Our Father." It was much more interesting and certainly more moving. Clint Eastwood delivers! HOT ROD - Andy Samberg gives us a lot to laugh at here. The newish comic genius on the block. The "Footloose" tribute is totally tubular and truly gnarly dude! KRAMER VS. KRAMER - One of Dustin Hoffman's incredible performances, pre-dating the brilliant "Tootsie." Divorce can be a bitch, and so can Meryl Streep in her screen debut! Perfect! DEAD MAN WALKING - Geniusly acted by Sean Penn and Susan Surandon, this flick will tear your heart out and then inject it with deadly gas. TOP SECRET - Still hilarious since 1984, and watching this made me want more from Abrahams and Zucker. C'mon boys...I know you've got at least one more movie in ya's! SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL - Written by the recently late, and certainly great John Hughes, this film may be better than its more popular predecessor, "Pretty In Pink." Hughes had the best soundtracks to boot! He will be greatly missed and forever enjoyed on DVD. Recent Movie Experiences: I never had any interest in watching the original tv show "Get Smart," but it had to be better than the movie. More like "Get Stupid!" The last line of the movie is, "you gotta be kidding me." My sentiments exactly. Also watched an old Marty Feldman/Peter Boyle movie called "In God We Trust." I remember watching it over and over again back in 1980 on HBO. Written by Marty Feldman, this movie is still delightfully funny. Amen! Make It A Bob-Buster Night! September 22, 2009 GRAN TURINO - In a world more and more soured by politically correctness, this is a refreshing film from an American Icon - Clint Eastwood. No race, gender, creed or orientation escapes ridicule, and we love every minute of it! INFAMOUS - Look out Philip Seymour Hoffman, Toby Jones is playing Truman Capote and he's giving you a run for his money. Released in 2006, just one year after Hoffman's Oscar winning portrayal, this film still stands out and seemed more enjoyable to me. This also happened to me with "The Zodiac," a 2005 film starring Grey's Anatomy's Justin Chambers. This version was released 2 years before the popular Gyllenhaal/Ruffalo version, which was decent, but lengthy. Who needs big stars and big budgets to make a great movie? Not I! Although you will recognize a shitload of people in both of these underdog films. THE WRESTLER - Who'd-a-thought that Mickey Rourke could have ever recovered from the spectacular Van Damme bomb, "Double Team" co-starring Dennis Rodman. "Double Team" is remarkably bad and quite hysterical. But I digress...Wrestler Director Darren Aronofsky remembered an earlier promising, genuine, honest and pure Rourke in films like, "Body Heat," "Diner," and "The Pope of Greenwich Village." And for all you perverts there was "9 1/2 Weeks" and "Wild Orchid." "The Wrestler" is Rourke's crowning jewel, and Marisa Tomei is queen. I can't wait to see what Hollywood casts Rourke in next. Will it be an action-packed blockbuster, a heavy-hitting drama, or some little independent thing. These Post-Oscar casting decisions can be totally spot-on, or they go terribly terribly wrong. Only time will tell... IN BRUGES - One of the funniest movies I've ever seen, and that's saying a lot. Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson and and Ralph Fiennes are hilarious in some stellar material. Prepare to laugh, cry and possibly suffocate to death. ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO - Kevin Smith's latest endeavor is surprisingly thoughtful and touching, despite its title. We route for Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks to not only have cheap, meaningless sex, but to fall in love. Awwww STEP BROTHERS - Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Mary Steenburgen and Richard Jenkins are a dream ensemble and help make this movie funny from beginning to end. A ridiculous comedy worth your stupid time. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN - I do enjoy a movie from time to time that I just don't get. But I know that it's not only about the destination, but the adventure of getting there. The dog chase scene is one of the coolest things I've seen in a movie. The Coen Brothers always manage to create something visually stunning and unforgettable. This Oscar Winning Best Picture of 2007 stars little Josh Brolin from "The Goonies" all growns up...Tommy Lee Jones as a cop wishing for more sprinkles on his donuts...And Javier Bardem who gives a chilling, Oscar-Winning performance as the deranged psychopath who worships money and blood, and blood money. The ending is quite abrupt and leaves you feeling not only stupid, but really really dumb... Hurry up and see "No Country For Old Men!" Make It A Bob-Buster Night!