Watching a ton of movies this weekend

Which is always therapeutic for me. It's weird, films make me feel alive in some ways. And not even just the film, but the whole process of film making and how they go from beginning to middle to end of production. It keeps me intent on becoming a filmmaker myself, which will be happening soon. Too many ideas in this brain of mine to keep them silent.

There's many films I have never seen in my 28 years on this world. But if you came over and saw my decadent collection, you'd think I was a film fanatic (which I am). But Danyell hasn't seen as many films in her life, which makes me watching certain films like they were for the first time again.

This weekend consisted of the following films:

1)The Fly, the 1986 David Croneberg remake of the sci-fi classic. Jeff Goldblum is on Level 9 of Goldblum and Geena Davis was still the beautiful dynamo she was back in yesteryear. The special effects are still on top of their game, with the transformation of Brundlefly to the climatic ending that still makes me smile from ear to ear. Fun times are always had with the scientific update of the classic film.

2)Eastern Promises, another Cronenberg film from last year, about the Russian mob presence in England and the trials and tribulations of a driver for the mob boss's son. A grand film that is still in tune with Cronenberg's festival of the flesh and the poetry of violence that has always been prevalent in his films. A fantastic film that probably has one of the greatest fight scenes in the history of film. Let me describe it like this in a few words; one penis, a bathhouse, russian gangsters, knife wounds and did I mention there was a penis involved?

3)Gremlins, the Joe Dante film that made Steven Spielberg realize that there should be a rating between PG and R. Surprisingly violent children's film from 1984 by the Roger Corman alumnus. Still brings back memories from when I would repeatedly watch it when I taped it off of HBO, the only cable channel that we had at the time. The sadly under-used Zach Galligan and the "I've stopped working since marrying Kevin Kline and having a brood of my own" Phoebe Cates star in this fantastic melding of old monster movies, comedic films and the ol' Roger Corman school of not showing your moneymaker until almost an hour into your running time. Just one of those films that will always make me happy when I see it.

4)The Big Fat Kill segment from Sin City. Clive Owen is at his most bad ass, Benicio Del Toro at his most sleazy, Rosario Dawson at her most sexual dominatrix and Brittany Murphy at her most... bad acting. I had bought the recut and extended 2 disc edition, which has the distinction of having the 4 stories separately if you wanted to watch them. Love the movie to death, especially the tons of making of's that they packed on the discs. Also has the great 'Longest Take' segment, showing Quentin Tarantino directing his segment in the film between Clive Owen and Benicio Del Toro, the scene in which Dwight is transporting the bodies to the tar pits and while he's doing so, he's having a psychotic breakdown in the car, speaking to the dead body of Jackie. A great scene, which was the first Quentin Tarantino shot digitally.

5)Hard Candy, the great David Slade film in which I personally think Ellen Page should have gotten some sort of nomination for as opposed to Juno. Patrick Wilson is somehow as charismatic as can be, even though he is assumed to be a pedophile (for those of you who haven't seen it yet) and the battle of wits and strength between the two of them is one of the best on screen in a very long time. The color scheme throughout is great, really taking into effect the overall feel of the film, the mood is one of the main stars of the film. And the castration scene is one of brilliance, bringing the tension to a height that you can only keep ascending from. A great film that more people should watch, especially everyone who is on the Ellen Page bandwagon. And everyone who will soon be on Patrick Wilson's bandwagon after seeing him as Night Owl in the Watchmen movie.

6)Leon the Professional, the international cut, which throws together the whole lover angle that made tons of people feel very uncomfortable in test screenings. Not sure why though; it's played more along the lines of a young girl who had never had a father figure (even though she did in fact have a father, even though he was an abusive drug dealer) and when she is at death's door, so to speak, Leon, played by the fantastic french actor Jean Reno, takes her in, sealing both their fates forever. It was one of the first films Natalie Portman did, and she's fantastic in it. She's vulnerable, yet has a strength all her own that Leon sees is deep down inside of her and agrees to train her because he does care about her, the first person he's cared for since the woman he loved was killed back in Italy. Gary Oldman plays one of the greatest screen villains put to celluloid in the guise of Stansfield, a pill popping lieutenant on the NYPD who also has a huge drug cartel he's in charge of and doesn't care about killing women and children, something a 'professional' would definitely be against. Luc Besson, who has teased at retiring for the past few years (even though he's doing the trilogy of Arthur movies, the kid's books he wrote in France), was truly on a role back then, with films such as La Femme Nikita and The Big Blue under his belt already. It balances a fine line between comedy, action, romance, and mixes it together with a unconventional father/daughter film, and no matter what people say, it's not that creepy. He's just a hired killer who has never had the time to just sleep on a regular mattress, as opposed to always sitting in a chair with one eye open.

A lot of film watching, some Danyell had seen before, some she had not. A fun time for all, with the usual smattering of Law and Order: Special Victim's Unit thrown in between. Sometimes episodic television can help get your minds off of some heavy subjects, even if it's about sexual crimes.

Until next time, sleep has come for my body.

-James