CU update

Ok so I know I have been a bad bad boy and have neglected this site, but I have not neglected watching movies. I have a backlog of about 80 or so films that I have watched in the past month and will try and write about as many of them as I can. Here is to a new year and a steady path towards 500!

David Lynch Tribute Rap by Cancer Merchant

I loved this! I would type more but I want to listen to it again so bye...

#41. Child's Play - Review

Child's Play "Chucky" bannerChild’s Play was one of my favorite horror films as a child. My cousins and I would incessantly have our VHS copy playing on a constant loop; to my mother’s displeasure I am sure. With a brilliantly straightforward premise, Child’s Play (or Chucky as we called it) effortlessly stabbed at the simple characteristics of childhood that we took for granted. Our toys, the objects that brought us enjoyment, and to an extent defined who we were (I mean come on, you can immediately determine someone’s personality by which Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle they chose to play with. If anyone wanted to play with my Raphael figure, I knew right away we would not get along. Of course, I was always Michelangelo) were no longer safe. We trusted these dolls, figurines, and playthings to sleep by our sides throughout the night, to accompany us on long trips in the car, to have adventures with us in the bath. Child’s Play, for the first time, forced us to consider the idea that we may not be able to trust that which we held most dear - our toys. Voiced by the indomitable Brad Dourif, Chucky instantly jarred our psyche, put our fragile universe askew; for if we could not trust our toys, than who could we trust? Mom? Dad? Maybe not!Child's Play poster art

Unfortunately Child’s Play holds-up about as well as Zack Morris’ cell phone. It was a product of its time, and its time happened to be a decade fondly remembered with irrational nostalgic reverence: the 80s. Like so many other pop-culture icons from the neon era, Child’s Play is a silly film based on a very shallow, however convoluted premise.

Let’s see if I can do this in a single sentence. When serial killer Charles Lee Ray transfers his soul into a doll to escape capture, he wreaks havoc on an unsuspecting family when the doll is given to young Andy Barclay as a birthday present. I guess that will have to do. The fun really starts when Ray, trapped inside the Good Guy doll “Chucky” (think of the My Buddy dolls from the mid-1980s) begins to track down those that double-crossed him, or generally pissed him off.

I will just go ahead and say it right now; this is a really stupid movie. I can appreciate its popularity and what it did for the horror genre, but I just barely made it through the entire film. While the special effects are actually pretty good, it is the nonsensical plot that just kills my enjoyment. It neither achieves the highs to make it a deserved classic, or the lows to secure it with cult status. I will always push horror fans who have never seen the film to watch it as a sort of history lesson, but I may never watch this film again, which is a bummer. 

Live, Nerd, RepeatClick the image above, the author recounts a pretty funny story involving his My Buddy doll and Chucky that many of us that were kids in the 1980s can all appreciate! Also, click the "share" button below to link Controller Unplugged and help get the word out! Leave any comments you may have about the film or the 80s or TMNT or anything else below as well.

Child's Play poster artChild's Play poster art

Child's Play poster artChild's Play poster art

Child's Play poster art

#40. Austin Powers Goldmember - Review

Austin Powers Goldmember posterI put Goldmember to serve as background noise for a study session I did a few weeks back. As it turns out this wasn’t the best idea. I forgot how visually demanding a lot of the humor in the 3^rd Austin Powers film actually is. While much of the titular Goldmember’s jokes play fine, it is Michael Caine’s performance as Nigel Powers that still holds up best. He was such inspired casting, truly the funniest part of the film and one of the best characters in the series.The celeb heavy intro, with Tom Cruise, Kevin Spacey, Gwyneth Paltrow and other celebs shooting the cinematic adaptation of Austin’s exploits was dull, but Beyonce is still a charmer, although her dialogue is pretty silly.

The film’s star, Mike Meyers, has basically been converted into a sequel machine since Wayne’s World 2 (Wayne’s World 2, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Goldmember, Shrek 2, Shrek the Third, Shrek Forever After), but I honestly wouldn’t mind if the actor threw on some chest hair and gave the world a 4^th Austin Powers film. Goldmember so perfectly sets-up the next story, with Scott Evil embracing his dark side and the Powers-trio (Austin, Dr. Evil, and Nigel) joining forces to take him down seems awesome. IMDB lists Austin Powers 4 as in pre-development, so I am hoping that stays on track.

Am I crazy to want one more Austin Powers film? I complain about remakes and sequels constantly I know, but Meyers is rarely successful when he is not going back to the well (do I need to mention The Love Guru?) Let me know what you think, would you want a 4^th film to hit theaters?

Please help get the word out by clicking the "share" button below! Link to your twitter, facebook, and all other social media sites you may be a part of! 

#39. Inception - Review

Inception poster artAlthough I think Nolan's Inception, a follow-up to literally one of the biggest films of all time The Dark Knight, is an exciting twist on blockbuster filmmaking, I do recognize it is not a perfect film. The incredible action, mind-bending premise, and amazing special effects almost makes up for the fact that there is basically no character development, some pretty serious plot holes (Why doesn’t Cillian Murphey’s character not recognize Saito? Or how does Saito know at the end of the film if the inception actually worked or not?), or the fact that Ellen Page’s Ariadne is basically an exposition automaton simply employed to provide explanation for the audience.

That being said, Inception is a lot of fun, and there is far more to appreciate than denigrate. Joseph Gordon Levitt and Tom Hardy continue their rise to superstardom, and I absolutely love Ken Watanabe in everything he does. I’m not going to talk much more about Inception, if for no other reason (Like The Dark Knight) I just don't have much more to say that hasn’t already been said. I wanted to post some of my favorite Inception inspired poster and artwork from around the web. Some of these are pretty fantastic, and if you are like me than you are a huge fan of the minimalist movement taking over the poster scene. Enjoy

Inception poster artInception poster art

Inception poster artInception poster art

Inception poster artInception poster art

Inception poster artInception poster art

Inception poster artInception poster art

Inception poster artInception poster art

Inception poster artInception poster art

Inception timelineInception poster art

#38. The Dark Knight - Review

The Dark Knight bannerAfter watching the recent release of the full Dark Knight Rises trailer, I couldn't remember what happened to Harvey Dent (aka Two-Face) at the end of The Dark Knight. I could not figure out for the life of me why Aaron Eckhart was not in the new trailer, so I had to rewatch The Dark Knight to refresh my memory. So I won't spoil anything for those of you who are crazy enough not to have seen The Dark Knight yet, but all makes sense now. I have watched this film probably a half-dozen times since its release in 2008, and there is not much more I can say that hasn't already been said a million times before. Heath Ledger gives a masterful performance, Dent is terrifying, and Bale's Batman voice is rediculous. What else is there?

I will say, somewhat surprisingly, the emotional turns the film takes near the end of the 2nd act really hit me hard. I don't know why, but for some reason it got a little dusty during the conversation between Dent and Rachel Dawes before you know what happens. 

I am pretty sure this film will always hold up, and I am trying to keep my expectations low for Rises, I just don't see how Nolan and company can match what the they accomplished with The Dark Knight. I decided to showcase some of my favorite Dark Knight posters and artwork from around the wide world of the internet. I hope you enjoy these images as much as I do!

The Dark Knight poster artThe Dark Knight poster art

The Dark Knight poster art

The Dark Knight poster art

The Dark Knight poster artThe Dark Knight poster art

The Dark Knight poster art

#37. The Queen - Review

The Queen bannerFilmmakers aspiring to recreate moments of recent history are forced to walk a tightrope of resolute adjudication. The artist must constantly choose between historical accuracy, artistic license, and what is perhaps most tempting and at the same time deceitful, public assumption. For director Stephen Frears and screenwriter Peter Morgan, their 2006 film The Queen chronicles the seven-days in the life of Queen Elizabeth II and newly-elected Prime Minister Tony Blair following the 1997 death of former Princess of Wales Diana Spencer. This is a story of the many considerations a 20^th century queen must always appraise; be it socio-political, cultural, personal, or the long-established customs that come with being a monarch. However, is a feature length film, written and directed by men with expected bias and partisanship, really the most preferred method of conveyance? Impartiality cannot be expected, even when sharing the responsibility of portraying the Queen.

The Queen posterAided by news footage and personal accounts of the recent tragedy, Frears and Morgan faced the formidable task of representing the Queen of England, perhaps the most famous and at the same time unrevealed woman in the world, in a believable and insightful light. To put the gravity of this duty in context, Theodore Harvey in his review of the film said, “ Queen Elizabeth II, the second longest serving head of state in the world and certainly the world’s most famous monarch, is one of the great figures of our time. Only a minority of people now living can remember a time when she was not reigning.” (Harvey, 2006) And yet, the 80-year-old matriarch is also an enigma. She hides whatever personal characteristics she may have under a classical, albeit somewhat frumpy demeanor, never granting a public interview and forcing her subjects to speculate as to who the woman under the crown truly is.

There is early footage of the young princess in the documentary Queen Elizabeth: The Reluctant Monarch. Here we are granted rare access to life in Buckingham Palace, watching Elizabeth at first dote over her father and as she got older the handsome Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Once we are introduced to the Helen Mirren in The Queen, it is always on the back of one’s mind that her portrayal is more of a guess than anything resembling historical accuracy.

The death of Princess Diana, the “people’s princess” along with the rise of Tony Blair and his masterful reading of her tragic end, plays brilliantly when contrasted with Elizabeth’s struggle to remain in touch with her subjects. “…Not only won’t those fogies (Queen Elizabeth II and Philip) make concessions to time-honored traditions on behalf of Diana – who in life caused them nothing but trouble – they seem genuinely confounded as to why they should.” (Stewart, 2007) This struggle is illustrated elegantly throughout the film, beautifully blending conjecture with common-sense suppositions and archived news footage. Frears and Morgan understand how easily this project could fail if the not only the portrayals of the main characters, but the themes as well do not convince.  “The Queen is as director Frears describes it, un-sensational. It’s really a character study of a long-popular monarch at a loss when a largely media-driven event, rightly or wrongly, becomes all-consuming throughout much of the world.” (Galbraith IV, 2007)

This subtle approach lends itself to the nature of adapting a very current event. The Queen’s un-sensational manner invites those that are still emotionally invested to let their guard down and enjoy the storytelling for what it is, drama. There are no grandiose brush strokes of hypothetical presumptions, nothing that should insult any of those involved, which it must be reminded when dealing with contemporary history are all mostly still alive. Only time will tell if Frear’s film is genuine cinematic history or sincere speculation, but no matter The Queen’s accuracy, the power of this often tragic tale is ripe for the medium, and I for one am grateful the director and screenwriter Peter Morgan had the boldness to even dream of such intentions.