The Trip

 

Miles Swain's 2002 epic about a friendship

and love affair between two men over the course of several

turbulent years and life changes is a captivating story.

"The Trip" blends comedy, drama, romance, and politics effortlessly

and keeps audiences wrapped up in the realistic view

of real love; messy, imperfect, sad, and ultimately rewarding.

It's a bittersweet love story with great dialogue and

standout performances from leads Larry Sullivan and Steve Braun.

The cast is rounded out by several quirky and fun

performances including Jill St. John, Ray Baker, Sirena

Irwin, and Alexis Arquette. A truly great ensemble

that pulls off a difficult and poignant film.

If you like 'period pieces' (1970s and 1980s,)

unrequited love, realistic romances, bold humor,

and great stories, do yourself a favor and check out

"The Trip."

I sort of imagine fans of "The Notebook" would

love this, even though "The Trip" is far superior, IMHO.

It has all those elements of missed opportunities and

dashed hopes..the makings of real life love.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzdhrY_jxoY

(If ordering it, be sure it's the 2002 film; there are

several with this name.)

Across the Universe

"Across the Universe" is a movie named after The Beatles song of
the same name. The film is a lush and haunting love letter to the
music of The Beatles from the mind and eye of story-teller Julie
Taymor (with story and script-writing from Ian La Frenais and Dick
Clement.)

In a nutshell--but not really, since the film defies apt summarizing--
more than a dozen songs of The Beatles were taken and meticulously
crafted together to form a powerful story that follows the lives of a
disparate group of young soul travelers during the Vietnam War. It
is gorgeous, provocative, eccentric, moving, and captivating.

The music blends directly into the salient story points and creates
an incredible experience. If you have never been a fan of the movie
musical, you still should see this film. It is a unique experience, indeed.

The cast includes Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess, Joe Anderson,
T.V. Carpio, Dana Fuchs, and Martin Luther as the primaries, each
struggling to find their place in the world in that pivotal time of social
change. There are also some outlandish cameo spots that steal the
show from Bono, Eddie Izzard, and Joe Cocker.

My expectations were low going in, as this movie had some steep
obstacles to overcome. Making a musical appear natural, using a
cast of mostly unknowns, making this many different plots intertwine
seamlessly, and giving proper respect to the material just a few. They
blew me out of the water.

The musical numbers are amazing, the feel and tone
of the music was remarkably captured, the rhythm
of the story pace was perfect, and the visuals were
mind-boggling.

(Yeah, it's totally theatrical and over-the-
top; it's a musical inspired by music produced during
the Age of drug experimentation! If that doesn't even
sound good to you, well, I dunno what to tell ya!
But the choreography and blending of story/music/art
was astounding!)

Definitely worth a check if you'd like a good laugh,
cry, and ultimately uplifting tale about the strength of
the human spirit.

Check these links for a few favorite scenes to get an idea
of what a superb job the cast does.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShNnEDb4wFA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2j7Z5Q7ZDs4

Humpday

If you have an aversion to all things low budget or artistic, then you will not want to see this film. But you'd be doing yourself a huge disservice by missing it. The movie Humpday is the story of two good college friends reconnecting after some time apart, discovering that friendship doesn't always maintain freshness. The two get drunk enough one night to devise an artistic premise for winning an amateur porn contest; have two heterosexual men (namely, them) engage in homosexual sex.)

Although the premise might sound a bit unfeasible on the outset, it does make a great deal of sense as played out in the movie. Logical, natural, unnerving, and tenuous. The movie deftly explores all manner of subject; human sexuality, ideals, societal demands, maturity, male bonding, sexual and platonic relationships, and more. Despite the restrictions on shooting, there are a lot of great moments. (Two faves included the 'kitchen table revelation' and the 'movie rental story.')

The film was done with an improv outline; the basic plot was written and hashed about, but dialogue was naturally developed between the actors in the scenes. It provides a very raw verve to what if of course a touchy and taboo matter. Often it feels more documentarian (in a good way) than fictional feature.

Both leads had a tremendous chemistry, and were adorable to boot. Mark Duplass especially had a way with the expressiveness and unspoken touches that was powerful good. But the moments of truth exposed in this movie, regarding everything from men's fighting techniques to faux liberals growing up, were stupendous. I'm always enraptured by truth in film, and the clever, real moments in this story were worth the watch. Lynn Shelton and crew did a fantastic job.

I won't give anything away, but I will say that I think the film is must seeing for everyone. Hetero men won't want to watch it with someone (most likely) but I think the mere act of seeing other humans discussing the material would make them feel more at ease in their own lives. As with sexuality itself, there are some complicated notions laid out. The defensiveness is almost as telling as the vulnerabilities!

For more info on the film:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1334537/

For similar films, check out:

Old Joy

Bruno

I Love You, Man

Romance & Cigarettes

"Romance & Cigarettes" is not a movie for everyone.

If you are easily offended, skip it.

If you have no sense of humor, catch it later.

If you don't appreciate dry wit and bizarre tangents and creativity and sultriness, you might want to catch some old Andy Griffith Show reruns instead.

But if you have an eye for the lurid and the dark, the insane and the profane, then this masterful 'musical' spoof is for you. Think of it as "Rocky Horror Picture Show" meets "Brazil." (The original wrist-slasher 'Brazil,' thank you very much.) No, that doesn't quite do it justice.

Maybe "John Waters married Ryan Murphy and they had a bastard celluloid offspring." Whatever you do, catch this biting comedy that received some very unfair criticisms from tight-ass reviewers who seemed to have a mad-on against John Turturro.

The wild ride includes music from Tom Jones, Bruce Springsteen, Connie Francis, Dusty Springfield, and more classic greats!

The cast includes James Gandolfini, Susan Sarandon, Mary-Louise Parker, Kate Winslet, Steve Buscemi, Christopher Walken--what, that isn't enough right there? Superb cast, non-stop giggle shits and guffaws. Here's a hint for the retards amongst ya; it isn't supposed to be Shakespeare!!! Unclench, Willamina!


For a snippet, check out:


http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://weblogs.variety.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/10/26/romance_and_cigarettes.jpg&imgrefurl=http://weblogs.variety.com/thompsononhollywood/2007/10/for-your-consid.html&usg=__pbgy2ynk9H_A4foQQVvuSGlKsvs=&h=853&w=640&sz=113&hl=en&start=3&um=1&tbnid=Q0YPIpxamI5JsM:&tbnh=145&tbnw=109&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dromance%2Band%2Bcigarettes%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1



For more info, check out netflix's info:

Romance & Cigarettes