Celluloid #108

In Theaters

Kaboom (2010) Araki - While the actual theater-viewing experience was horrible (one man could not stop cackling or yelling inane things, while another man was eating the neverending bag of popcorn in a way that popcorn-chewing has never sounded so disgusting), I still found enjoyment in this admittedly stupid movie. Smith and his lesbian friend Stella are first year college students who have a lot of sex. Mysterious and sometimes supernatural events start to occur, leading them to believe that the world may be coming to an end. 3.5/5

In Home

Alamar (2009) Gonzalez-Rubio - This documentary features very little dialogue, but incredibly beautiful scenery and a fairly touching subject. A man and his wife have a child. After some time, they decide to split up and she decides to take their young son back with her to Spain. Before she leaves, they decide to let the 6 year-old spend a few weeks with his father. Together they paint, spear fish, identify plants and birds, and wrestle around. Nothing much really happens, but it is really great. 4.5/5

Breakin' (1984) Silberg - Fun campy movie where a traditional dancer with proclivities towards ballet befriends some breakdancers. The breakdancers are currently embroiled with another crew, so the three team up to win the battle. Anyway, lots of dancing, bad acting, sorta fashionable clothes, montages, and an awesome soundtrack. 4/5

Careful (1992) Maddin - Too much desire! In an isolated mountain town, there's incest, murder, curses from dead relatives, animals with their vocal chords removed, and the constant fear of an avalanche. Guy Maddin is a master of the dreamy feeling film, and this one is no exception. Pastel light filters, weird saturation of color, and overly shiny things. Despite some confusion over plot and characters, overall I just love Maddin's style. 4/5

the Craft (1996) Fleming - Silly teen film about a group of girls that try to be witches. At first their powers are an uniting force in an environment that belittles girls and where guys always take advantage. After a while, jealousy gets the best of the former leader and the new girl Sara (a natural witch). They use magic to become beautiful, to get revenge, and to make boys fall in love, but the balance is not kept, so there are consequences to bear. 3/5

Flirting (1991) Duigan - Since this movie can be found in the "Cult" section of my local video store, I expected more gags and camp. Instead, what we see is a pretty normal coming-of-age story combined with an interracial teenage love story. It's always enjoyable to root for the underdogs. The only thing I would have changed was leaving out any politics. In addition, you get to see a young Nicole Kidman (looking like an amazon woman) and Naomi Watts (as the ugly girl!) 3.5/5

Hardcore (1979) Schrader - A girl from a religious and conservative family in Michigan goes on a trip with her church to California. Shortly after her arrival, she goes missing only to be discovered in a porno. Her dad goes out to CA to find her, but due to the secretive nature of the porn industry and his square looks, he can't get any information. He basically has to get deeply entrenched in the porn world. I though this was a good '70s style film, but not really as sleazy as I would have imagined. 3.5/5

Persona (1967) Bergman - A former actress has suffered from immense depression or some other mental hangup to warrant a stay in the hospital. She doesn't talk and when her nurse is invited along for her recuperation trip by the sea, she fills the silence with anecdotes revealing all sorts of personal information. Something happens to the women where they don't exactly switch places, but a bleeding of personalities and disorders seems to occur. In Bergman's impressive filmography, his crazy lady psychological thrillers are my favorite. 4.5/5

Stripes (1981) Reitman - Bill Murray stars in this party movie where he and his friend decide to take a break from their dead end lives to have some fun in the ARMY! Unfortunately this film hasn't aged the best. The jokes aren't funny and there's a weird problem with a premature story climax. I guess at least excessive boob shots are always a popular choice...3/5